novelAbuy Chapter 3 Impersonation
Chapter 3 Impersonation
"Yanggu County?" Li Chong asked curiously, "Does such a county really exist?"
Upon hearing the name of this county, Li Chong couldn't help but think of the famous novel, "Water Margin".
He had always believed this was the Northern Song Dynasty in history, but now that Yanggu County had suddenly appeared, Li Chong was no longer sure.
But in Daming Prefecture, he had never heard of the name Jade Kirin Lu Junyi.
The exact background of this world remains to be confirmed.
Cui Shi looked up at Li Chong and asked, "Brother Li, you don't know Yanggu County?"
He raised his hand and pointed east: "If you follow the official road east for several dozen miles, you'll reach Yanggu County. Brother Li, aren't you a local from Yunzhou?"
"Uh." Li Chong paused for a moment, then casually replied, "I'm from Daming Prefecture. I'm in Yunzhou on some business. I don't like to go out, so I don't really know the surrounding counties."
Choi Si-sil nodded slowly.
He lowered his head and rolled his eyes around a few times.
"I see. I often hear my master read aloud a saying: 'While parents are alive, one should not travel far.' Brother Li, your family must be very worried about you while you are away."
Li Chong didn't notice anything amiss with Cui Shi and answered casually.
He shook his head: "To be honest, Brother Cui, I'm still all alone. I'm all alone, so there's nothing to worry about."
A strange look flashed across Cui Shi's eyes, and he immediately apologized, "I misspoke, Brother Li, please don't take offense."
"No, no," Li Chong said, indicating that it was no problem.
However, Li Chong did not notice that when Cui Shi learned that he had no relatives, he lowered his head and smiled slightly, and made a decision in his heart.
Li Chong was completely unaware of this; he was simply wondering if this was truly the world of "Water Margin."
"Brother Cui, since your master is an official, he must have taken the imperial examinations and been to Bianliang, right?"
Cui Shi raised her head: "That's right, my master was a Jinshi in the second year of Zhenghe. It was also in that year that my master selected a son-in-law from among the successful candidates and married my daughter to him, which is how I came to be with my master."
"I see." Li Chong nodded slightly.
As the two were talking, Choi Si stopped.
"Brother Li, we've arrived. Let's offer incense to our master. We don't have real incense, but a few twigs will do to show our respect."
Li Chong cautiously peeked out; having lived two lives, he had never seen a real corpse before.
Li Chong had only heard Cui Shi say that they had encountered bandits, and he couldn't imagine what that scene would be like. Now that he saw it, he was horrified.
Ahead was a long ditch, filled with a haphazard pile of branches and weeds, clearly covered by Cui Shi. There were also many drag marks on the ground.
It's really asking too much of him to dig a big hole and bury someone all by himself.
Along the ditch, there were messy traces everywhere, with occasional bloodstains mixed in.
As for inside the ditch, through the gaps in the branches, Li Chong could vaguely see several pale skins.
For a moment, Li Chong felt a slight tightness in his throat.
Cui Shi's sorrowful voice came: "My master has wasted so many years, and finally got a position as a county magistrate. He was just about to make a name for himself when he was robbed by these damned bandits."
"After they found out who my master was, they killed him to cover it up. If I hadn't fallen into the ditch and no one had found me, I probably wouldn't be alive either."
Li Chong quickly turned his head away, no longer looking at the corpses, and walked over to Cui Shi to comfort him.
It's nothing more than saying things like "please accept my condolences" and "the deceased is gone."
Cui Shi raised his sleeve to wipe away his tears: "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Brother Li. I've placed my master's body here separately. Brother Li, please offer some incense, and let's get going."
The thought of being surrounded by corpses made Li Chong feel a chill.
Hurry up and finish this, then leave. If there's anything you want to ask, you can ask Choi Si on the way.
Li Chong nodded hurriedly, "Of course, of course."
Cui Shi led Li Chong a few more steps and pointed to a solitary "grave," which belonged to its owner, the newly appointed magistrate of Yanggu County.
Li Chong piled up some soil, used tree branches as incense, raised it, and bowed three times.
Respect for the deceased is paramount. Even if you don't know them, it's still appropriate to offer incense.
Li Chong silently prayed, "May this magistrate have a safe journey. If he truly has a spirit in heaven, please bless me. Thank you very much."
Having gone through this ordeal, even though Li Chong is still a materialist, there are some things he'd rather believe than not believe.
It's always good to maintain a sense of awe.
After bowing, Li Chong stepped forward, preparing to plant the branches, and then quickly left.
As Li Chong looked down, he glanced into the ditch and a familiar face came into view. Li Chong's pupils constricted instantly.
"Is there a mirror in there?"
"No! That's not a mirror! That's..."
Before Li Chong could figure it out, a "thump" came from beside him. He turned around and saw that Cui Shi had already knelt down and kowtowed to Li Chong repeatedly.
"You, you..." Li Chong looked into the ditch, then back at Cui Shi, his heart filled with suspicion. "Brother Cui, what exactly do you mean? Who is this person in the ditch, and why is he acting so...?"
Cui Shi raised his head, ignoring the dust on his forehead, and explained, "The man in this ditch is my master. Before meeting Brother Li, I never imagined that there could be people in the world who could look so alike."
"I apologize for inviting you here, Brother Li, but I truly wish to bestow upon you a great fortune, and I also beg you to help me!"
After saying that, Cui Shi kowtowed again, appearing very sincere.
Li Chong gradually calmed down and looked back at the corpse. After confirming that it was not water or a mirror, he was secretly surprised.
I never expected that someone could look so much like me.
"If this were a soul-transmigration, I'd probably be in his body, right?" Li Chong muttered to himself.
As for the wealth and status that Cui Shi mentioned, Li Chong already had some guesses.
If it works out, it would be a real fortune for him, but whether he can actually do the job remains to be seen.
Li Chong stepped forward and helped Cui Shi up: "Brother Cui, don't hurt your head. Get up and talk to me properly. What wealth and status? Why do you need me to save you again? How can I agree if you don't explain yourself clearly?"
Cui Shi stopped kowtowing, but still stubbornly said, "If Brother Li doesn't agree, I won't get up."
Li Chong's face darkened: "I'm the kind of person who responds better to gentle persuasion than force. If that's how you put it, then I'm leaving. You can kneel there and die!"
As he spoke, Li Chong lifted his leg as if to leave.
"Hey!" Choi Sil raised her hand to stop him.
After a moment's hesitation, he slowly got up from the ground.
Li Chong smiled slightly: "That's more like it. Tell me, after all the trouble you went through to bring me here, what exactly do you want me to help you with?"
Cui Shi looked at Li Chong and revealed his plan: "I want Brother Li to impersonate my master and go to Yanggu County to take up his post. In the future, he will be the head of a county. Wouldn't that be better than what we're in now?"