Chapter 295 Carp Baked Noodles
The scorching sun roasted the cracked earth. Ye Fan stepped onto the scalding yellow soil and walked into the village where the disaster victims had gathered.
The scene before him was more tragic than he had imagined.
On the dry riverbed, several emaciated children were digging at the mud with wooden sticks, attempting to find a trace of moisture. Beneath a dilapidated grass shed, an old woman held a dying infant in her arms, her eyes hollow. In the distance, several strong young men gathered around a dried-up well, looking down futilely, as if staring a few moments longer would summon a water source.
The air was filled with the scent of dust and despair.
A gleam of light flashed through Ye Fan's eyes; this was exactly the opportunity he had been looking for.
He intentionally staggered a few steps to make himself look like a weary traveler, then walked toward a group of villagers who were sharing wild vegetables.
"Big brother," he asked with a hoarse voice, "do you know where I might beg for a drink of water?"
The villagers looked at him vigilantly, but seeing that his clothes were similarly tattered and his face haggard, they relaxed a little.
"Young man, where is there any water left here?" an old man with a wrinkled face smiled bitterly. "Even the tree bark is almost gnawed clean."
Ye Fan took the opportunity to sit down and chat with them. He deliberately revealed concern for the disaster situation while subtly implying that he had traveled through several prefectures and counties and knew some news from the outside.
Soon, an elder with graying hair and beard came over, supported by others; it was the village chief of this village.
"I heard a knowledgeable young man has arrived?" The village chief narrowed his cloudy eyes and sized up Ye Fan.
Ye Fan hurriedly stood up and returned the greeting, disguising himself as a traveling scholar and lying that he had been separated from his family due to the drought.
"Sigh..." The village chief sighed. "The imperial court should have sent relief grain long ago. There are clearly granaries in the city ahead, yet there has been no movement."
Ye Fan's eyes lit up: "I am willing to go to the city to scout for news!"
The village chief suddenly gripped his wrist, his withered fingers surprisingly strong. "Young man, do not act impulsively when things happen." A strange light flashed in his cloudy eyes. "In this world... some things cannot be accomplished just by having a good heart."
Ye Fan's heart moved slightly, vaguely feeling that this village chief seemed to have perceived something.
But he quickly suppressed his suspicion and nodded solemnly in agreement.
That night, borrowing the moonlight, he left the village and sped toward the direction of the City Lord's Manor.
The night was as dark as ink. Ye Fan concealed his figure, swept over the city wall like a gust of wind, and infiltrated the city.
Soon, he effortlessly found out the whereabouts of the Prefect and the relief officials—it was exactly the most luxurious brothel in the city, the Zui Xian Tower.
When Ye Fan arrived at the Zui Xian Tower, it was brightly lit, and the faint sound of silk and bamboo music came from inside.
Following the sound, he quietly climbed onto the eaves of the second-floor private room and looked inside through the gap in the carved window lattice.
Inside the room, cups and chopsticks were crossing. Several men wearing official robes sat high above, while a few fat men who looked like wealthy merchants were fawningly smiling and accompanying them.
The table was filled with rare delicacies, and the aroma of wine mixed with the scent of cosmetics permeated the room.
"Carp Baked Noodles, Yanjin style, please enjoy, my lords!" A pot-bellied merchant fawningly brought up a dish.
The carp was golden all over. Its body had been sliced into thin slices as light as a cicada's wing, then rearranged into the shape of a fish, drizzled with amber-colored sauce. The fish head was held high, and the tail was cocked up, as if it were still swimming. The noodles underneath had soaked up the fish soup and were crystal clear.
"Yanjin?" An official picked up a slice of fish meat and asked in confusion.
"Replying to my lord, Yanjin is a small city nearby." The merchant rubbed his hands and explained. "There is a big river next to it, and the fish there is most famous. But now with the great drought..." He laughed dryly twice. "The river has dried up too."
Liu Mingyuan stared at the lifelike fish in the plate and said faintly, "In a year of great disaster, this is a bit excessive."
But the next moment, as the fish meat entered his mouth, a fresh and sweet flavor blossomed on the tip of his tongue.
The fish slices were so tender they almost melted away. The sauce faintly held the aroma of wine, and the aftertaste carried a trace of the numbing spice of mountain pepper.
"Good fish!" Liu Mingyuan could not help but praise, then put down his chopsticks. "Boss Zhou, the grain has also been gathered, and the disaster relief was delayed for a few days as you wished. Now it is time to open the granary, right?"
The Prefect exchanged a glance with the merchant surnamed Zhou.
"There is no need to rush, Lord Liu!" Boss Zhou raised his wine cup. "Just give it five more days. Those disaster victims still have some land deeds and heirlooms they haven't coughed up yet..."
A glint of greed flashed in his eyes. "Starve them for five more days, and I'm afraid they would even sell their ancestral graves!"
Liu Mingyuan's expression changed. Just as he was about to speak, Boss Zhou suddenly clapped his hands.
With a light rustle of the beaded curtain, two young girls with similar features and thin clothing walked in timidly.
Their skin was faintly visible under the thin gauze. One girl, who looked no more than fourteen or fifteen, still had bruises on her wrists.
"This pair of sisters is absolutely the finest 'harvest' of the past few days. We have already examined them, and they are both still virgins. Consider this a tribute to the two lords." Boss Zhou smiled, his face full of wrinkles.
Zhang Ruxian grabbed the nearest girl with one arm and laughed amidst her terrified screaming: "Good! This official will happily accept them!"
...
Ye Fan watched all this with indifferent eyes. Although he could not view everything before him like a mortal, it did not prevent him from understanding clearly that everyone in this room was scum.
Although he knew that dealing with these scum under the premise of not being able to slaughter mortals at will would only impede his mental cultivation, Ye Fan still decided to try once.
Late at night, after these people had returned to their respective mansions, Ye Fan followed behind Liu Mingyuan. He could tell just now that out of everyone at the table, this person alone might have a conscience, though not much.
Liu Mingyuan returned to his residence swaying unsteadily.
Moonlight pierced through the treetops, casting mottled shadows on the ground, like distorted human faces.
When Liu Mingyuan closed the door and was about to change his clothes, the candlelight suddenly flickered. He abruptly turned his head, only to see a black-clad youth standing in the room at some unknown point, his eyes as cold as ice.
"You..." Liu Mingyuan's Adam's apple bobbed, and his back was instantly soaked in cold sweat.
"I come on behalf of the disaster victims outside the city." Ye Fan's voice was very calm. "I ask that My Lord open the granaries and release the grain."
"So it is for those disaster victims..." Liu Mingyuan let out a breath of relief, then immediately put on a pained expression: "Young hero, you do not understand! This official worries about this matter day and night, but..."
"But with the infighting in the officialdom, the Prefect pressing from above, and the powerful gentry restraining from below, I... am also powerless."
Ye Fan did not speak; he simply watched the look of beating his chest and stamping his feet. Then, seeing him suddenly look resolute:
"If the young hero does not believe me, feel free to kill this official immediately. If my death can be exchanged for the lives of the disaster victims outside the city, this official is also willing to accept it!"
Ye Fan let out a light sigh. Was this what the world would be like if there were no cultivation?
He could not help but sigh in his heart.
He was not a mortal, so how could he be deceived by this pretended righteousness?
But just at this moment, the sound of patrolling soldiers came from outside the window, and a glint of light flashed in Liu Mingyuan's eyes.
"Help! There is an assassin!" He suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs while quickly retreating to the corner of the wall. The feigned compassion on his face instantly turned into smugness.
"What do you people of the Jianghu understand? Do you really think this official does not want to be an honest official?"
The footsteps of the soldiers drew closer. Liu Mingyuan adjusted his attire and sneered:
"I know you so-called people of the Jianghu have your own code of honor, but do you know the difficulties of us officials? We exhaust our wits day and night. Sometimes I even hate being an official and wish I were just a commoner."
"Is that so?"
Ye Fan, who had not spoken since starting the conversation, suddenly interrupted him, a mocking curve lifting the corner of his mouth. "I will remember your words."
The candlelight shook violently. Liu Mingyuan felt his vision blur.
When the soldiers broke down the door, the room was already empty.
The night wind blew through the wide-open window, chilling Liu Mingyuan to the bone.
For some unknown reason, he suddenly recalled the sentence the youth said when leaving and shivered involuntarily.
...
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