No taboos

Chapter 123: Strange Things in the City
The county lieutenant knew the identity of the criminal in Hegong Lane, but he didn't care too much. He thought that someone in the area had become rich now, and his identity would be pardoned soon!

A hundred years have passed since the events in Hegong Lane. Even though there are still some rumors in the county saying that there is something "unusual" in Hegong Lane, most people just treat it as a story.

Chen Liangxuan also didn't take it seriously at first.

The same is true for the county lieutenant.

Even people of Ma Tianshou's level don't know the details, let alone the county lieutenant.

Xu Yuan agreed to help put in a good word, but refused to entertain him with a meal, and the county lieutenant did not dare to express any opinion.

He already knew that Xu Yuan was the deputy inspector, held a higher position than him, and was a favorite of Lord Ma. He was willing to help out of respect for his fellow townsman.

The county lieutenant felt that he had to "express something".

He arrived when Xu Yuan left the alley, but he didn't dare come out for fear of annoying Xu Yuan.

After Xu Yuan is gone, do your best to help his family. Xu Yuan will know about it in the future.

……

Xu Yuan and Yu Yunhang rode horses, and they were not fast at the beginning because Xu Yuan was learning to ride while walking.

The two of them only walked more than sixty miles in the whole day... and finally entered the northern county seat of Shanzhao County before dark.

Yu Yunhang was considerate and chose a docile horse for Xu Yuan, but Xu Yuan was still thrown off three times on the first day.

I fell so hard that my tailbone was almost broken.

By the afternoon, Xu Yuan's hips were both worn out.

Yu Yunhang led the horse and asked passers-by about the location of the post station in the city, and then went there.

Xu Yuan grimaced in pain and left all these trivial matters to Yu Yunhang.

When they arrived at the place, Yu Yunhang did not go in directly. He stood outside the gate and looked around, then said to Xu Yuan, "Sir, please wait a moment."

He walked around the post station outside the wall and came back and said, "You can stay here."

So he went forward, knocked on the door, showed his badge, and asked the postmaster for two upper rooms.

Yu Yunhang helped Xu Yuan lie down in the room. Xu Yuan hissed and took a deep breath. While secretly using medicinal pills to treat himself, he asked, "Is there something wrong with this post station?"

"There's nothing wrong with this one." Yu Yunhang smiled and explained to Xu Yuan, "Sir, the mountains have their own evil spirits, and the city has its own strange things.

It's just that small towns like Shanhe County and Shanzhao County don't have many hidden wonders—but there are indeed some issues with your Shanhe County post station. Otherwise, why would the commander stay at the inn instead of the post station? "

Xu Yuan: "Commander, are you afraid of the monsters hiding in the post station?"

"It's not that I'm afraid." The situation was rather complicated, and Yu Yunhang considered how to explain it clearly: "If we want to stay at the Shanhe County post station, there won't be any problems, but you know the old man's temper. There are some things he wants to intervene in when he sees them, and he gets unhappy when he can't."

"I might as well not live there anymore. Out of sight, out of mind."

Xu Yuan became interested: "How do you put it?"

"How many post stations and express delivery shops are there in this world? The imperial court spends over 40 million taels of silver on them every year!
In fact, the expenses for maintaining the personnel and livestock of these post stations and express delivery shops are not very high, but every year due to evil spirits, the food is destroyed, the livestock die, and the houses collapse - doesn't this require reconstruction, and the money is spent in this way.

So it's not like just any monster can take over the post station, and killing a monster won't solve the post station's problems."

Xu Yuan understood, it was indeed very characteristic of our Ming Dynasty.

I felt bitter and speechless, but I could only shake my head and sigh.

"So, what you just said about the strange things happening in the city, is this the reason?"

"Of course not. The county town is still too small. When you get to the provincial capital, you'll understand that big cities tend to harbor filth and corruption.

There are some places that even our Extermination Department cannot take care of.

Door gods could prevent common evil spirits from entering the house, but the city still had many abandoned areas that naturally harbored filth. The city walls had also fallen into disrepair, often with cracks, damage, and even collapse. They couldn't keep out the many evil spirits.

However, most of the monsters in the city are smart and know how to abide by the rules, so they can live in peace most of the time.

Also… you know the saying ‘city foxes and community rats’, why are they called ‘city’ and ‘community’? There are also some secrets behind it.”

"Is there anyone who doesn't follow the rules?"

Yu Yunhang smiled bitterly: "Of course there is, but if you don't follow the rules, there will only be two results. Either the city strangles the monster, or the monster destroys the entire city."

Xu Yuan nodded, and couldn't help but sneer in his heart. He was actually looking forward to getting to the provincial capital as soon as possible to see the so-called "weird things" in the city!
The Ming Dynasty established five prefectures in Jiaozhi Province, three in the south and two in the north. Naturally, the power of the Southern Office of the Quhui Division was stronger than that of the Northern Office.

The provincial capital is Luocheng Prefecture, where the Southern Office is located.

Shanhe County was under the jurisdiction of Champa Prefecture and was located southwest of Luocheng Prefecture. The distance from the county seat to Luocheng Prefecture was about 600 li, passing through Champa in the middle.

When I woke up the next day, the skin and flesh between my legs had grown back.

Xu Yuan looked at the almanac and found that today's ban was:
Talk a lot, wear heavy makeup, build a stove, and walk at night.

"No unnecessary talk..." Xu Yuan touched the back of his head, feeling quite regretful.

If it was the Haikou Toad Battle today, it would definitely be much easier.

The Haikou toad's trick of "Four Mouths of Melting Gold" could not be performed at all.

No redundant talk means you should not repeat yourself or nag. When a Haikou toad opens its four mouths to say a sentence, it is equivalent to repeating it four times.

Therefore, taboos are not always beneficial to evil spirits.

For example, when "funerals", "sacrifices" and "turning over corpses" are prohibited, the corpse-mothering woman in Mao'er Tomb will become extremely vicious, and all kinds of strange methods will become more powerful.

But when "excessive speech" was banned, the strongest trick of Haikou Toad was suppressed.

As for the old fox, his tricks will probably increase greatly today!

However, an old monster like Haikou Chan must have a way to deal with such days.

Similarly, the impact of taboos on practitioners is not entirely negative.

For example, on days when "Cold Food" is forbidden, the power of the fire in the abdomen will increase dramatically.

Xu Yuan and Yu Yunhang ate the simple food prepared by the post station and then set off again.

Today Xu Yuan had become proficient, so he increased his speed and ran 150 miles in one day and entered the provincial capital of Champa.

The Ministry of Elimination of Filth had an office in the provincial capital, and the highest position was a chief lawyer.

Yesterday, the two of them stayed at the post station in the county. When they arrived in the provincial capital, Yu Yunhang led Xu Yuan straight to the Champa Office of the Ministry of Elimination of Impurities.

"Living in our own place is much more comfortable than the post station, and there are not so many dirty things."

If Yu Yunhang had come alone, he would have been very disciplined and cautious. But now, with the commander's favorite standing behind him, the newly promoted deputy inspector, he straightened his back and swaggered to the door of the Champa Office.

As a result, when he was twenty feet away from the yamen gate, he was stopped by a sword that suddenly blocked his way.

"Who is it?" the other party asked.

Yu Yunhang stared at the other person's uniform, then looked at his own. Yes, it was the same.

The other party still refused to let him go: "In recent days, someone in the city has been impersonating a captain from the Extermination of Filth Division, so his identity must be strictly prohibited!"

Yu Yunhang realized something was wrong and asked in a low voice, "Brother, is there something wrong at the office?"

(End of this chapter)