sovbooks Chapter 2 The Magistrate of Yanggu County
Chapter 2 The Magistrate of Yanggu County
The person opposite was startled, and Li Chong was also startled.
Li Chong took a half step back and stared at him, wondering why the man was reacting so strongly.
Li Chong laughed when he heard his question.
He raised his hand and asked, "Brother, where would a ghost come from in broad daylight? You're such a coward!"
The man composed himself and looked him up and down again.
"You...you're really alive?"
"Otherwise what?" Li Chong chuckled, "Look at the shadow behind me. Do you think it can be faked?"
The man looked down, then looked up at the sun in the sky, and finally his tense shoulders relaxed.
"Phew~~~"
He let out a long sigh of relief and murmured, "It's good that he's a human being, it's good that he's a human being."
However, while he was speaking, he couldn't help but look Li Chong up and down, making Li Chong feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Li Chong looked down at himself and found nothing wrong. His clothes were on properly and he wasn't wearing them inside out.
"Brother, you've looked me over for so long, is there anything wrong with me?"
The man shook his head and quickly said, "No, no, I... I was just looking around, just looking around."
However, as he spoke, the man still hesitated.
Finally, he approached Li Chong and couldn't help but ask, "Sir, do you recognize me?"
"Huh?" Li Chong was completely confused. What kind of question was this?
The two met by chance; why would they immediately ask each other if they knew each other?
He shook his head: "I was just passing by when I heard some noise, so I came to check it out. How could I possibly know you? Why do you ask that?"
"Wait a minute!" Li Chong's heart skipped a beat. "Could this guy be a wanted criminal?"
Thinking of this, Li Chong couldn't help but touch his lower back. Before he left, the shopkeeper had given him a dagger for self-defense, which he had never used before.
However, looking at the man's figure, Li Chong hesitated again.
Saying that person was too weak to even kill a chicken is a bit of an exaggeration, but he wasn't exactly strong either. He probably wasn't some kind of robber or anything like that.
Even so, Li Chong remained vigilant.
The man's eyes flickered, and he gave an awkward laugh before bowing slightly to Li Chong: "I apologize for the rudeness, sir. My name is Cui Shi. May I ask your name, sir?"
Li Chong nodded politely: "Brother Cui Shi, your method of exchanging names is rather peculiar. You ask others if they know you first."
Cui Shi scratched his head, looking honest and simple: "I just haven't learned it, please forgive me, sir."
"Brother Cui, please don't call me 'sir' anymore. I'm not a rich man." Li Chong clasped his hands in a gesture of respect. "My surname is Li, and my given name is Chong. You can just call me by my name."
Upon hearing Li Chong's name, Cui Shi paused for a moment.
"Li Chong, Li Chong, could it be the will of Heaven...?"
Cui Shi murmured to himself, as if his soul had flown away to another world.
Li Chong frowned. What's wrong with this guy?
Something's strange. There might be something going on here. I'd better get out of here quickly.
Thinking of this, Li Chong stopped wondering why Cui Shi had been crying earlier and immediately said, "Brother Cui, since there's no danger here, I'm relieved. It's getting late, and I need to continue my journey, so please excuse me."
After saying that, Li Chong turned and left, heading towards the official road.
Before Li Chong could take more than a few steps, Cui Shi hurriedly caught up from behind.
"Brother Li, please wait!"
Cui Shi looked very anxious and grabbed Li Chong's sleeve to stop him.
Li Chong frowned, inwardly regretting that he shouldn't have been so curious.
But there's nothing we can do about it.
As the saying goes, it's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature.
He's only been in the modern world for a month; how could he so easily change the habits he brought from the modern world?
Although he knew that the present was not a peaceful modern world, Li Chong was still too relaxed and not vigilant enough.
Li Chong relaxed his brow, his expression returning to calm, and turned to look at Cui Shi: "Brother Cui, is there anything else?"
As he spoke, Li Chong pulled his sleeve away from Cui Shi's hand and silently created some distance between them.
Cui Shi chuckled twice, rubbing his hands together, and said, "Well, well, where is Brother Li going? If we're going the same way, we can keep each other company on the road and also be wary of thieves."
Li Chong shook his head: "That won't be necessary. I'm a slow walker, and I don't want to slow you down. Besides, this is an official road of the imperial court; it's broad daylight, where would there be any thieves?"
Having said that, Li Chong no longer intended to argue with him.
At this moment, Cui Shi's expression changed and he sighed, "Brother Li, you are mistaken. Who said there are no thieves on the official road? If there were no thieves, how could I have fallen to this state? My master would not have died before he could even take office."
As she spoke, Cui Shi was overcome with grief and couldn't help but cry again.
Upon hearing this, Li Chong stopped in his tracks.
Thief? Master? Newly appointed?
What's going on?
Li Chong silently withdrew his foot, turned to Cui Shi, and said gently, "Brother Cui, please accept my condolences. Can you tell me what happened? If we really encountered bad people, we can report it to the authorities."
"Report to the authorities?" Cui Shi gave a bitter laugh. "My master's body is right there. Where am I supposed to report to the authorities?"
"Huh?" Li Chong was startled. "Were you burying a corpse just now?"
He couldn't help but look up, but the size of the pit didn't seem like it contained a person buried inside.
Cui Shi shook his head: "I won't hide it from you, Brother Li. My master was about to take up his post as the magistrate of Yanggu County. But unexpectedly, he was ambushed by bandits on his way, and he lost his life. If I hadn't been lucky enough to faint and fall into the ditch undiscovered, I probably wouldn't be alive now."
Li Chong stepped forward and hurriedly asked, "So, your master is an official? How dare these bandits intercept and kill an official of the imperial court? Aren't they afraid the government will send troops?"
"Heh." Cui Shi gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. "Judging from Brother Li's appearance, I'm afraid he doesn't know the system of the court. There are countless officials waiting to be filled in the court. Who would bother to go to such lengths for a county magistrate? Besides, my master doesn't have any influence in the court."
Li Chong's curiosity was piqued even more. He looked around and asked, "Brother Cui, have the bandits left yet?"
"They've left. If they hadn't, I wouldn't dare to hold a memorial service for my master here."
With that, Cui Shi bowed deeply to Li Chong: "Brother Li, after this ordeal, I am truly terrified and dare not travel alone again. Please, Brother Li, give me a ride."
Since they had already said all that, and upon hearing that there were robbers, Li Chong did indeed begin to have doubts.
Having more people means more protection. At the very least, if you encounter robbers, as long as you run faster than your companions, you'll have a better chance of survival.
Li Chong nodded: "Sigh, Brother Cui is having a tough time too. Alright, let's travel together and look after each other."
Seeing that Cui Shi didn't seem to be lying, Li Chong agreed to take him along so they could gather information on the way.
He was a servant in the county magistrate's household, so he probably knew a lot about the inner workings of the government and could help Li Chong make some judgments.
Cui Shi quickly thanked Li Chong and then said, "After I pay my respects to my master, I will set off with Brother Li. Oh, by the way, Brother Li, would you like to pay your respects as well? I hope that my master's spirit will protect us on our journey."
Having said all that, what else could Li Chong say?
He had no choice but to agree and go with Cui Shi to pay respects to his master, who was the new magistrate of Yanggu County.