All the evil beasts in the world, I feed on demons and monsters

Chapter 22 River God Village

A group of naked men and women looked at Ji Ran at this moment, trembling as if they had seen a ghost.

Only Mr. Hu, whose face was sunken and one eyeball had drooped out of its socket, seemed to have been driven mad by being stepped on. He pulled the rope in his hand tightly and crawled towards the yard!
“Little one, little one!!”

Pfft!

Or maybe the rope had broken when Fire Chief stepped on it before, and now it was broken free by Mr. Hu. He slammed the gate open with his head, a hint of surprise appeared on his broken face, and he rushed into the yard.

Ji Ran walked over, raised his hand and cut the rope on the long pole, pointed the steel knife on the ground to everyone, indicating that they should cut the rope themselves, and then walked into the yard.

As soon as I opened the door, a warm feeling came from a fire in the middle of the yard.

But even though Ji Ran had already caught a glimpse of the scene in the yard, he still gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, and the veins on his hands were throbbing!

The moonlight is cold and the fire is jumping like a ghost.

On a high beam, four and a half people were hung on iron hooks. The reason why it was called four and a half was because in one place, only a thigh and half a rib were left.

Blood dripped onto the ground, and each one was like slaughtered animals, their stomachs ripped open and rinsed clean with water.

At that moment, a large vat was set up on the fire, bubbling with water. With each bubbling motion, one could see human hair floating in the soup like seaweed.

"Little one...Little one..."

"Hahaha, Xiao'er isn't here. This isn't it, and that isn't it either. Hehehe, he must still be alive!"

Bang!
The door of a side room was knocked open, and Mr. Hu was holding a bunch of round objects in his hands, looking at them and throwing them away.

One of them rolled to Ji Ran's feet. In the light of the fire, he took a closer look and saw that it was a child's head with the top of the skull pried open.

It looks exactly like the one I stepped on on the road.

Suddenly, Mr. Hu was stunned, staring blankly at a round object floating in the pot.

"Ah-ah-"

Mr. Hu opened his mouth wide, his facial features were distorted and his expression could not be seen at all. He just stood there, unable to utter a word.

"Ahhhh-"

He trembled, but at this moment he became mute. He rushed into the flames in front of him like a madman, half of his body submerged in the boiling water.

But the thing he wanted to fish out was boiled soft, so he had to fish deeper, not realizing that his hands were already burned and bleeding.

There was a loud "plop" and the man lost his balance and fell headfirst into the boiling water. His legs twitched for a moment and then he became motionless.

The only sound in the entire yard was the gurgling sound of boiling water.

Ji Ran sighed softly and took a quick look around the yard. He found an exquisite wooden box on a table. When he picked it up, he could smell a faint fragrance even in the bloody yard.

The black veins and grease on the box revealed it was a piece of fine agarwood. Opening the box, a hazy pearlescent light shone beneath the moonlight.

In that box, there were fine pearls of all sizes, round as balls.

South Sea Pearls

Quantity: 17
Effects: Calms the mind, stops bleeding, improves appearance, refines elixirs, and supports aquatic life. Swallowing instantly restores 5% of HP.

Abnormal evil spirit: Contaminated with unknown evil spirit, swallowing too much may cause mutation.

Note: Pearls produced below 500 feet in the South China Sea are imbued with the spiritual energy of the aquatic species.

Ji Ran's eyes lit up. What a great thing!
It turned out to be a treasure that restored life. This kind of thing could save lives at a critical moment! As for the so-called evil spirit, as long as it didn't erupt immediately, it should be cleared away by returning to the land temple.

However, these things were also his mission. Nankai was close to the sea and rich in products. Hawksbill turtles, agates, corals, pearls... these were all top-tier treasures today. This box of his own contained many more, but a single top-quality pearl was worth at least five hundred taels of silver!

In this chaotic world, a volunteer soldier could be paid 500 coins a month, which was enough to make him join the army and fight.

In other words, one South China Sea pearl was enough to support a thousand rebels for a month! His mission this time was under the orders of General Zhaowu, a close confidant of the rebel leader Zhang Yuxian. His fundamental purpose was to rob the Southern Han of its treasures and money to pay the troops!
Now that they've lost almost everything, if they want to return, they'll have to bring the general at least two or three hundred thousand taels! Otherwise, they'll be executed! The Red Army's motto is peace and prosperity for the people. They're the only army in the entire Southern Han Dynasty that forbids using civilians as military rations. So if they want food, they need money!
Nankaido is so rich in resources, there is still a chance to complete the task!

Taking a deep breath, looking at the yard where there was nothing but the corpse, Ji Ran turned and left the yard.

At this moment, some of the naked people had disappeared, and faint sounds were coming from some houses in the village.

"Have any of you ever seen another Red Army member?"

Ji Ran looked around and asked.

Most of the remaining people were huddled together, trembling. However, a dark-skinned young man looked up and said, "Three people were killed at the village entrance."

"There was another one who escaped into the village. I saw him."

"I didn't tell the Han army!"

The young man stood up, revealing his well-dressed, dark muscles, and said, "I can shoot arrows! My father used to be a hunter, but he couldn't swim. Two years ago, he was captured and made into a pearl diver, and he drowned."

"I want to join the Red Army, I want revenge!"

Under the bright moonlight, the boy bit his lips tightly, his eyes firm, eager and fearful.

Ji Ran looked down at him and said, "Do you know where the imperial court collects pearls?"

"Know!"

The young man nodded immediately and said, "The court... the court is now expanding the Guanhai Palace. The emperor wants to use agate to pave the roads, tortoise shells for lamps, coral for fences, and pearls for the ceiling. Now, every ten days, the village has to send ten people to the South China Sea to collect pearls. Shallow water pearls are not suitable. They are too small and not round enough. They must be collected from more than five hundred feet away."

"It's only in the deep sea opposite Guanchao Mountain!"

Ji Ran was speechless.

500 feet?
If I remember correctly, the Guinness record for free diving is 113 meters. The depth of the South Han River today is about 30.7 foot 153 centimeters, which means these severely malnourished fishermen had to dive meters underwater to collect pearls.

This is basically treating people as consumables.

Suddenly, the young man kowtowed to the ground, "bang bang bang" loudly.

"Please take me in, sir!"

When he raised his head again, the boy's head was already a mess of blood and flesh.

Ji Ran raised his hand, and a set of Red Army equipment and a steel knife fell in front of him.

"Put it on and lead the way."

"Yes!!"

The young man was immediately overjoyed and nodded to put on the armor.

【Rebellion Army·Wang Xian】

Life: 83%
Energy: 67%
Loyalty: 90%
Skill: Archery Mastery 60%
Skills and proficiency deep dive 90%
Special Skills: Speedy Runner: He has great endurance and leg strength, and can walk through mountains and fields as if it were flat land.

At this moment, Ji Ran could see the boy's attributes. This was his first soldier in the real sense!

Ji Ran nodded. This kid has two good skills. The skill levels are: beginner, familiar, proficient, and master.

Being able to master it is already far beyond ordinary people.

Ji Ran looked around at everyone else again, but said nothing more. He went over to collect the six sets of equipment of the Southern Han soldiers, and followed the young man into the village.

Soon, Ji Ran followed the boy to a place filled with a foul smell.

(End of this chapter)