Chapter 617: Chapter 285 Mingxi Waterman_2

Huang Xi nodded repeatedly as the yellow-skinned creature finished relaying all the intelligence. She waved her hand, signaling it to leave for now.

After dismissing the Disciple, Huang Xi smiled sweetly at Zhou Xuan and said, “You go on a Divine Soul Day Trip just to find Zhang Sheng. I was expecting him to be some remarkable figure, but he’s really just a seller of cloth shoes.”

“I’ve told you several times that he’s a seller of cloth shoes. Why would I lie to you?”

Zhou Xuan got straight to the point and asked, “Tell me about Zhang Sheng’s background.”

“He’s just a seller of cloth shoes,” Huang Xi replied.

“Has he faced any upheavals in his life in the past few months?”

“There have been a few, but they’re all trivial matters. I figured the Young Master wouldn’t care to hear about them.”

“That’s unnecessary thinking. I came specifically for those trivial matters.”

Zhou Xuan said seriously.

“If you want to hear, then I’ll tell. His messed-up life does have some twists and turns.”

Huang Xi began recounting Zhang Sheng’s story.

This Zhang Sheng, who sells cloth shoes on South Street, had always run a brisk business. After deducting living expenses, he had some money left over.

However, this man was honest and loyal, and four months ago, his blood brother from the same clan decided to start a business and took a liking to a shop but didn’t have enough money in his pocket.

The brother took out a loan and had Zhang Sheng act as guarantor.

Who could have foreseen that the brother was a schemer? After securing the loan, he ran away with the money to another State.

The creditor couldn’t find him, so naturally, they came after Zhang Sheng, demanding repayment.

Zhang Sheng immediately went to look for his brother, but he couldn’t find him anywhere. As the guarantor, Zhang Sheng had no choice but to repay the debt himself. Not only was all his saved money taken, but he also had to mortgage his shop and borrow additional funds.

In the months that followed, the money he earned wasn’t even enough to cover the interest and principal repayments. He kept tearing down the East Wall to cover the West Wall, borrowing more just to stay afloat.

A small, thriving business turned into a failing home. His good days were gone, and he was left drowning in debt.

When Zhou Xuan heard this, he mentally calculated the timeline and understood why Zhang Sheng didn’t want his wife to become pregnant.

With the shop mortgaged and monthly repayments draining their finances, Zhang Sheng was living tightly with no surplus funds. Where would he find the resources to raise a child?

However, Zhang Sheng hadn’t been honest with his wife about these major changes.

Zhou Xuan asked Huang Xi again, “What happened next?”

“What happened next? He carried on like that. Over the last two or three months, Zhang Sheng has been tormented daily by debts, his mind constantly clouded, until a few days ago, after the Mingjiang flood disaster, he left home.”

Huang Xi finally touched on the key point.

Zhou Xuan asked, “Where did he go after leaving home?”

“To Mingxi District.”

“What’s he doing there?” Zhou Xuan asked.

“Of course, he’s there to make money.”

Huang Xi pulled Zhou Xuan by the shoulder affectionately and said, “You might be a high-ranking figure in Mingjiang Prefecture, but you wouldn’t understand the hardships of lesser folks like him.

The Mingjiang disaster, one massive flood wave, submerged Mingxi District. Mingxi is filled with depressions and deep pits. After the floodwaters receded, these depressions and pits retained large amounts of water, and many victims’ bodies were floating or submerged within them.”

Hearing this, Zhou Xuan felt a chill and asked, “Zhang Sheng went there to retrieve bodies from the pits for money?”

“You catch on quickly. Mingjiang Prefecture rewards families of deceased victims with comfort payments for their bodies. If a body cannot be found, the compensation is withheld. To resolve this, the Prefecture invested effort into retrieving bodies, trying to handle it properly to calm the populace.”

Huang Xi continued, “Now, Mingxi District has spawned Watermen who specialize in retrieving corpses from deep water pits.

Once the bodies are retrieved, they are counted by the head, and the Watermen claim bounties from the Prefecture. Zhang Sheng, apart from selling cloth shoes, is skilled in swimming. He grew up by the riverside of Mingjiang and can hold his breath long enough to dive to the bottom and catch large green fish.

However, logically speaking, corpse retrieval is work best suited for the boatmen Disciples of Bitter Ghost. Why didn’t the Prefecture hire Bitter Ghost but instead summoned civilian Watermen? I have no idea.”

Zhou Xuan, of course, knew the answer. He said, “The labor cost for Bitter Ghost Disciples is high. Civilians who take on the role of Watermen charge less, and the Prefecture doesn’t have the funds anymore, so they opt for the cheaper option.”

For post-disaster relief efforts, the Painter rallied various Tangkou groups to scrape together money for solace payments for the bereaved families.

The coffers were already bone-dry, and asking them to conjure up a large sum to hire Bitter Ghost for corpse retrieval simply wasn’t feasible.

“One flood wave has left Mingjiang Prefecture impoverished.”

“Where in Mingxi is Zhang Sheng? I’d like to take a Day Trip over to see him.”

“The Chenmu Mountain area. There’s a natural pit there called the Chenmu Sky Pit. Around seven or eight miles away from the pit, there’s a Ninechuan Street. It’s very crowded, and when the flood hit, many people were swept into the Chenmu Sky Pit.

Also, Zhang Sheng has a palm-sized scar on his back. You’ll recognize him when you find him.”

“Alright, thank you, Boss Huang. As for the Green Robed Buddha tattoo, if you have time, drop by Jingyi Store to pick it up.”

With that, Zhou Xuan embarked on another Divine Soul Day Trip, heading toward the Chenmu Sky Pit.

…

The Chenmu Sky Pit was originally a dry pit with some cracks at its bottom. After every rainfall, water would collect inside. However, within a few days, the water would seep slowly into the ground through its network of narrow fissures.

But the flood was too ferocious, filling the pit fully. Relying solely on those cracks to drain the water would likely take years.

At this moment, the Watermen at the pit were bustling with activity, retrieving bodies, making this desolate place unexpectedly lively.

The Watermen were divided into two teams. One team stayed onshore to pull ropes, while the other team tied ropes and weighted iron blocks around their waists, leaping into the water pit to dive and retrieve corpses.