Just as Shuijing was considering whether or not he should do a good deed, the dark-faced man suddenly knelt down and knocked his head on the ground.
"Sir, I beg you to save me!" His voice was so loud that it was deafening.
Shuijing was so scared that he took a step back. He was too shocked to stop him. When he came back to his senses, the dark-faced man's forehead was full of blood.
Shuijing had just looked at his face. His eyebrows were lowered, his eyes were drooping, his eyes were lifeless, and his spirit was dispirited. Recently, he had indeed been harassed by villains. He was afraid that he would lose money and lose his life.
However, the dark-faced man had just asked him to save him …
This was the second person today who had come to ask him for help. Was it because he looked like a merciful Bodhisattva?
Shuijing was a bit narcissistic, but not to this extent. Besides, in the past, no one would ask him for help when they saw him. Today was really strange.
He narrowed his eyes and stared at the dark-faced man who had stopped kowtowing but was still kneeling on the ground. After a while, he said, "Tell me, what kind of trouble have you encountered?"
If the dark-faced man directly told him about his difficulties, then his purpose was mainly to ask for help and not to have his fortune told.
Shuijing was a bit puzzled. Although he didn't deliberately hide his whereabouts, it would be difficult for someone to inquire about him. This dark-faced man looked like a poor man who worked in the fields all year round. According to common sense, he shouldn't know his identity.
But why would the dark-faced man ask for help from a fortune teller without knowing his true identity? Shuijing had two guesses. Either the dark-faced man had gone crazy, or someone had said something behind his back to make him so certain. Shuijing was more inclined to the second possibility.
The dark-faced man clearly didn't understand the twists and turns in the story. He honestly said, "My family has lived in a ravine in the suburbs for several generations. My family has been guarding the twenty mu of land outside the door. A few days ago, I don't know where a group of ruffians came from. They took a piece of paper and said that I had sold the land and house to them. I can't read, so I don't know what's written on the paper. But I'm very sure that I've never sold my farmland or house to anyone, let alone my family. Those people didn't listen to my explanation at all. They smashed the house and even injured my father. " He stopped to catch his breath and said angrily, "My whole family depends on this land to survive. If we move out, my whole family will starve to death. Those people gave me a deadline. If I don't move out by tomorrow, they will kick my family out. "
Forcibly occupying the fields!
Shuijing's eyes suddenly sharpened.
Those who could do this were usually people with power and influence. As long as he communicated with the government and created a fake document, the owner of the field would immediately change. This was especially true for people like the black-faced man, who lived in the outskirts of the mountains. Every household was far away, so if something happened, no one would know. Those ruffians would first symbolically inform the black-faced man and put on airs. If the black-faced man didn't want to submit to power and stubbornly refused to move, they would kill his entire family and throw the bodies into the mountains. No one would know that they were dead for eight to ten years. Even if someone asked in the future, they could say that they were given time to move out. They wouldn't know where they moved to. Besides, officials protected each other. They couldn't afford to offend someone they couldn't afford to offend for a few commoners.
Sure enough, the black-faced man said, "I went to report it to the government, but I was kicked out before I could even enter the yamen. I had no choice, so I could only … "He suddenly closed his mouth and didn't say another word.
"Could only what?" Shuijing looked at him and knew that what he was about to say was related to him coming to find him, "What did you do after that?"
The black-faced man's voice became small again, "I, I came to find you."
Shuijing leaned back in his chair, "Tell me the truth and I'll guarantee the safety of your farmland, house, and even your family. How about it?"
The black-faced man's face tensed up, but his mouth was still tightly shut.
Shuijing was also very patient. He played with the ring on his thumb.
Time passed by slowly. The black-faced man, who was worried about the livelihood of his family, couldn't hold it in anymore. He said in a low voice, "I just went to Mr. Ge's place to do a divination. He said that unless someone important helped us, my family would be in danger." The black-faced man carefully glanced at Shuijing, "He was the one who asked me to find you."
"Mr. Ge?"
"It's that Taoist priest." The black-faced man pointed diagonally across from him.
That skinny old Taoist priest!?
Shuijing was shocked. He immediately stood up and strode toward the skinny old Taoist priest's stall. However, other than the stall, the skinny old Taoist priest was nowhere to be seen.
The black-faced man also followed him. When he saw Shuijing's uncertain expression, he asked anxiously, "Is … is there a problem?"
Shuijing took a deep breath, "It's nothing. You can go back first."
The black-faced man glanced at Shuijing. He wanted to say something, but hesitated.
Shuijing said again, "Go back. I won't forget what I promised you."
The black-faced man finally smiled. He knelt down and kowtowed again before leaving.
"You're letting him go just like that?" Wen Dongyan asked in surprise.
"What else can I do?" Shuijing sipped his tea and said lazily, "Looking at his face, I can tell that he's not a scheming person. He should've already told me everything he knows. There's no point in keeping him. Anyway, I've already sent someone to follow him."
"You've already decided to get involved in this matter?"
"Forcing someone's entire family to die for a mere 20 mu of farmland. Of course, I want to see who's so bold." Shuijing put down his teacup and looked at the hidden guard who had been waiting for orders in the room. He asked, "What's the matter with Mr. Ge? Have you found out?"
"In reply to Master, Mr. Ge came to Yangzhou three months ago. He's proficient in geomancy, divination, and physiognomy. In a short time, he's become somewhat famous in Yangzhou. Moreover, his prices are cheap. Sometimes, when he meets poor people, he doesn't even take a penny. He spends his own money to help them solve their problems. However, his whereabouts are unknown. No one knows when or where he's setting up his stall. When mortals ask, they say that they'll meet if they're fated. "
Shuijing finally understood that he had wronged the hidden guard. He guessed that the hidden guard didn't know that Mr. Ge would set up a fortune-telling stall on Nanfang Street today. When he found out, he couldn't stop him.
"It seems that he's a genius. It's not surprising that he can tell that Master has a noble status." Wen Dongyan smiled and said, "Speaking of which, Master only has a small achievement in physiognomy. You can't compare to his all-rounded talent."
Shuijing rolled his eyes and didn't continue the conversation. He asked again, "What else?"
"The old man who came to Master for fortune-telling is the chief steward of the Imperial Salt Inspector Lin Ruhai's residence. People call him Lin Bo. This Lin Bo also went to Mr. Ge's place for fortune-telling before going to Master's place. At first, we didn't suspect anything. It was only when that farmer also came to look for Master that we started to pay attention. Unfortunately, Mr. Ge had already disappeared by then. "
"Based on the current situation, this Mr. Ge doesn't seem to have any ill intentions towards Master. There's no need to spend too much energy on him." Wen Dongyan pondered and said, "However, we don't know what happened at Ruhai's place. Lin Bo actually placed his hopes on fortune-telling to change his luck."
The dark-faced man looked at the mess in the courtyard. His wife and children were crying, and his parents were unconscious. He didn't know if they were dead or alive. He trembled with anger. "You, didn't you come here tomorrow?"
"You want to keep your word with us? Are you stupid? My master can't wait any longer. All of you should get out of here today. "
"You, you guys, I'm going to report you to the authorities."
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