The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 146 Lunar New Year's Day
"Clap clap clap..."

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, just as dawn was breaking, Wang Wen was awakened by the continuous sound of firecrackers. Listening closely, he could also hear the distant sounds of gongs and shouts.

Caught up in the festive atmosphere, he got up, walked to the table, poured himself a glass of cold water, and took a big gulp. The icy water instantly sobered him up.

"Attsu."

The teacup was placed back on the coffee table, and a soft knock sounded in response: "Brother, are you up?"

Hearing Yu Shitou's cautious voice outside the door, Wang Wen couldn't help but recall the lively scene from the past when he would come back after working all night and these idiots would rush into his little hut to grab his poor little bed.

These guys are all native Yangzhou natives. Each of them has their own home in the city, but they would rather sleep on a bench or a coffee table in their cramped little room than go home and sleep in their own spacious, soft bed...

Thinking back to the past, Wang Wen couldn't help but smile knowingly. He pulled up a chair, sat down, and said softly, "Come in!"

"Squeak."

The door opened, and Yu Shitou, dressed in festive new clothes, stood at the door, one hand on the door and the other herding a group of maids carrying soup and water inside like ducks.

A group of young maids, heads bowed, lined up and walked quickly and orderly into the room to serve Wang Wen as he washed and changed.

Wang Wen sat firmly in the chair as if rooted to the spot, letting them do as they pleased, his gaze sweeping over Yu Shitou's bright red new clothes: "Are you getting married today?"

His question seemed abrupt, but Yu Shitou immediately understood. He proudly tugged at his new clothes, showing them off: "Isn't it beautiful? My mother sewed it by hand!"

Wang Wen laughed and cursed, "Damn, you'll have no friends if you keep chatting like that!"

He also had new clothes, which were personally delivered last night by the owner of "Jinyi Huacai Cloth Shop," the largest cloth shop in Yangzhou. He said they were made by an old tailor from the Imperial Clothing Institute in Bianjing, who used to make clothes for the princes.

Along with the gifts, there seemed to be several boxes of valuables and a few young and beautiful embroiderers. Wang Wen didn't see the exact amount; the list of gifts piled up on his desk was almost a foot high. A mere brocade-clad and extravagant family wasn't enough for him to personally review.

Anyway, he accepted everyone who came... That's how all the maids and servants in his general's mansion came about.

This is the rule in Yangzhou's officialdom, and also the rule on the streets of Yangzhou.

For example, Jin Yi Hua Cai (锦衣华彩) can be used to promote the fact that the clothes Wang Wen is wearing are from their clothing shop. This will make any local bullies who want to mess with Jin Yi Hua Cai think twice.

Even powerful local gangs like the Qinghe Gang would send a gift to the heads of various government departments in Yangzhou during festivals.

Even after Wang Wen took office as the Demon-Slaying General of Huainan Circuit, he remained the same.

Of course, whether or not to give it to Huang Xingde is up to him.

Whether or not to accept it is up to those in power...

"Call your brothers, come home with me later, and we'll go wish your grandpa a Happy New Year."

Wang Wen opened his arms and let the maids tie his hair and change his clothes, giving them instructions in a soft voice.

"This...isn't appropriate..."

Yu Shitou chuckled, his eyebrows dancing with excitement, "The brothers are all officials now, it wouldn't be appropriate for them to ask the master for a red envelope, would it?"

He said it wasn't appropriate, but his eyes and brows said, "It's perfect!"
Wang Wen ignored him and said, "Send someone to all the major restaurants in the city and have them send some chefs over to set up a banquet at the drill ground tonight so the brothers can have a good treat."

Yu Shitou: "Don't worry about this. The invitations from all the restaurants will be delivered before the fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month!"

Wang Wen nodded without any surprise, then suddenly remembered something else: "What about the Demon Suppression Division? Have they sent invitations to all the major restaurants?"

Yu Shitou thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Perhaps not, anyway, I've never heard of it..."

Wang Wen clicked his tongue: "Send someone to greet these clueless bastards. Don't forget the old ones when there are new ones. After all, Lord Zhao once saved their lives."

He understood that this was not just a matter of a hot pot and a cold stove.

The main reason is that Zhao Zhiling is not from Yangzhou and does not have a good impression of the gentry and wealthy families in Yangzhou. Now that they have a better option, those gentry and wealthy families are naturally unwilling to put on a good face for Zhao Zhiling's cold backside.

But being aloof is not wrong, nor are the Demon Suppression Guards of the Demon Suppression Division who risked their lives for the cause. They should not be treated so coldly.

Wang Wen, however, could not be swayed by the factionalism of these gentry and wealthy families to fight against the Demon Suppression Division; he had no interest in that.

On the contrary, he was very interested in joining forces with the Demon Suppression Division to slaughter those rich dogs back then!

Yu Shitou responded, indicating that he would send someone to deliver the message later.

His current position is the same position Xu Wu used to be in.

This was because Xu Wu had been promoted to the position of Commander-in-Chief, and could no longer act as a servant, running errands for him all day long. That's why he promoted Yu Shitou.

But seeing how well Yu Shitou handled his trivial matters, it was still a bit of a waste to have him do the work of a personal attendant...

Wang Wen had just put on his new scarlet and gold-embroidered tiger-striped clothes and was about to personally insert the hairpin, which was transformed from the Dawn Spear, into his hair bun when he heard a series of rapid, muffled drumbeats.

Upon first hearing the rapid drumbeats, he paused for two seconds before suddenly realizing that it was the drumbeat of the "Call for Justice" drum.

He joked with a smile, "Truly a new year, a new look! We're open for business so early in the morning!"

Yu Shitou, standing to the side, crossed his arms with a gloomy expression and said, "Big brother, I'll go take a look!"

Wang Wen waved his hand: "What are you going to look at? Isn't Er Gou at the yamen? Let him handle it."

His Demon-Slaying General's Mansion was not yet fully established. Only the main hall and his official residence had been hastily repaired. Only about 800 soldiers had been recruited for the mansion, and even the plaque had not yet been hung on the gate.

This is the first deal for his general's mansion!
Perfect timing, let's take this opportunity to review the effectiveness of his internal training over the past few days.

"Go and prepare the car quickly."

Wang Wen straightened his tiger-head belt and waved his hand, saying, "Let's go home!"

Yu Shitou crossed his hands and quickly left Wang Wen's bedroom.

A moment later, Hei Erniu, with a big red flower hanging on his forehead, pulled the cart and came to a steady stop at the Qinghe Gang's headquarters at Taiping Bridge.

As soon as the car came to a stop, Yu Shitou strode forward, lifting the curtain with one hand and shielding the roof with the other.

Wang Wen bowed and stepped out of the carriage. He saw dozens of carriages surrounding the gate of the Qinghe Gang, and servants dressed in festive attire carrying all kinds of red and colorful gifts on their shoulders and backs, forming a long line on the street.

Wang Wen glanced at the long line, then turned to Yu Shitou beside him and whispered with a smile, "Tell me, shouldn't we come and ask your grandpa for a lucky draw?"

Yu Shitou chuckled.

The gentry and wealthy families who were queuing up in carriages to enter the gate couldn't contain their excitement when they saw Wang Wen getting off the oxcart. They swarmed around him, spewing auspicious words as if they were free.

"Lord Wang, Happy New Year!"

"Lord Wang, may the new year bring joy and may everything be in harmony with spring..." Wang Wen patiently returned the greetings with clasped hands.

Yu Shitou and his men followed him, constantly taking out red envelopes containing money from their vermilion wooden boxes and handing them out to everyone they met.

The red paper packets contained copper coins.

But these gentry and wealthy families who received the profits all looked proud, secretly thinking how lucky they were to have gotten up early today...

It took him more than a quarter of an hour to walk from the oxcart to the main gate of the temple, a distance of only ten steps or so.

The group of Qinghe Gang members with red belts who were standing at the gate to greet him all clasped their hands in a salute and addressed him as "Lord Wang".

"Big what?"

Wang Wen slapped them one by one, knocking their heads to the side, and said with a vulgar laugh, "On such a big holiday as the New Year, are you trying to poison my mind?"

A group of Qinghe gang members were beaten up, but they were still covering their foreheads and laughing "hehehe".

Yu Shitou and the others who were handing out red envelopes behind him also chuckled.

The gentry and wealthy families queuing outside the gate watched this scene. The less astute ones were still laughing along, while the more astute ones had already pulled their servants aside and whispered urgent urging them to hurry home and fetch their money...

This is no godson at all!
This is clearly his own son!

No, even biological sons are rarely this filial!

Damn it, Huang Tianba's ancestral grave must be emitting auspicious smoke!
Meanwhile, Huang Xingde, who was receiving several clan leaders from prominent local families in Yangzhou in the main hall, was both delighted and annoyed to hear that Wang Wen had arrived early in the morning. He bowed respectfully to everyone and hurried out to greet him.

Then, the dashing Wang Wen, leading his group of imposing henchmen, strode up the steps, lifted his hem, and knelt down with a thud, his head hitting the ground with a thud.

"Your son wishes you a Happy New Year, Father! May the New Year bring you good fortune and longevity!"

"Wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year, and a long and healthy life!"

Huang Xingde's outstretched hands froze in mid-air, and his cloudy eyes showed signs of tears welling up.

He had never even dreamed of this scene...

"Get up quickly!"

Huang Xingde quickly came to his senses, pulled Wang Wen up from the ground, and muttered, "I'm in good health. I'll come back to pay my respects in another twenty or thirty years... Why are you here so early in the morning instead of celebrating the New Year with the officials of the yamen? I don't need your flattery here!"

"Hahaha, no adult is more important than me going home to wish my old man a Happy New Year!"

Wang Wen laughed and spread out one hand: "Enough nonsense, old man, I've already kowtowed, where's my New Year's money? I'm not even married yet!"

The group of henchmen standing behind him also spread out one hand: "Yes, sir, where's our New Year's money?"

"Decent!"

Huang Xingde pretended to sternly scold him, but then he grinned and tears welled up in his eyes. While laughing, he shouted loudly, "Lei Zi, Lei Zi, where are you? Can't you see your Tiger Brother is back!"

"I'm coming……"

A young gang member carrying a tray lined with red silk hurried over, winking and whispering a greeting to Wang Wen: "Brother Tiger."

Wang Wen slapped his head back, knocking it to the side: "Where have you been slacking off? You didn't even come to greet me when I got back!"

Huang Xingde: "Hehehe..."

He was so happy that he picked up the red paper packets from the tray one by one and handed them out to Wang Wen and the others.

Wang Wen took the red paper packet, rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger, and exchanged a wink with Yu Shitou beside him: 'Silver notes!'

Yu Shitou: 'Hehehe...'

After receiving his New Year's money, Wang Wen greeted the local clan chief, who was standing inside the gate with a broad smile and a hunched back. Then, he loudly led his underlings to the kitchen to inspect the chefs' skills, just like every New Year's Day.

If he wasn't mistaken, the patriarch of his branch of the Wang clan seemed to be in the main hall as well.

But what does it matter?

Wang Qiang's grave has yet to be placed in the ancestral cemetery...

The feng shui of the ancestral graves must be bad!
……

"Why isn't the food served yet...?"

Around noon, twenty tables were set up at Qinghe Hall. Wang Wen sat at one of the tables, chopsticks in hand, and joined his brothers in making a ruckus.

Just then, Xu Wu, dressed in official uniform, hurriedly entered, took off his waist knife and official hat and threw them to the accompanying demon-suppressing guards. He stepped forward and respectfully kowtowed three times to Huang Xingde. Then, taking the New Year's money given by Huang Xingde, he quickly walked to Wang Wen's side, kicked the chair under Yu Shitou's buttocks, and signaled him to quickly give up his seat.

Yu Shitou grumbled as he got up with his bowl and chopsticks, but Xu Wu rudely snatched them away.

Yu Shitou retorted, "So what if you're a high-ranking official?"

Xu Wu grinned: "Yeah, having a high-ranking official makes you great!"

Yu Shitou: "Brothers, let's beat up his brother-in-law!"

"Haha, Stone, hurry up! We support you!"

"Haha, Stone, you're so brave! We all believe in you..."

Amid the cheers, Xu Wu plopped down next to Wang Wen.

Wang Wen also grinned and asked, "What's going on?"

While winking at his brothers at the table, Xu Wu replied in a low voice, "The massacre of the village is a bit tricky. We've confirmed that it was the work of a monster, but we haven't figured out what kind of monster it is yet. I've sent people to survey the entire area within a fifty-mile radius, and we should have some clues as early as tonight."

Wang Wen frowned, then laughed and said, "This is the first shot of our General's Mansion to make a name for itself, so don't make it a dud!"

Xu Wu leaned back tactically, his voice resolute: "If the real culprit cannot be apprehended within three days, I will offer my head to you!"

Without turning his head, Wang Wen slapped him across the head, making it throb like a chicken pecking at rice: "On such a festive occasion as the New Year, can't you say something auspicious? If things really got serious, would it be your turn to step in? Are you the general, or am I the general?"

Xu Wu rubbed the back of his head... This familiar spot, this familiar pressure, it feels so familiar!
His expression became much more serious, and he said in a low voice, "This case isn't difficult to solve. The problem lies in the rumors that there are no monsters in that area. I'm afraid that the monster that committed the crime is just a passing monster that ran away after committing the crime. One night is enough time for it to travel hundreds of miles..."

Wang Wen was still smiling, but his eyes were so sharp that Xu Wu dared not look him in the eye: "I'm only giving you two days. If I don't see that damned mountain beast by the morning after tomorrow, I'll take action myself. And you will all be fined three months' salary and have your training doubled!"

(End of this chapter)