[To Become a River of Stars] Dong Xiange - Chapter 28

“Of course it’s the officials rounding up children to sacrifice to the river god. What’s so hard to guess?” He didn’t even raise an eyebrow, calmly revealing the answer.

Shiliu maintained a calm expression, but her mind was bubbling with confusion. Had the Fate-Link Bond somehow allowed him to read her thoughts?

But that couldn’t be—she couldn’t read his thoughts. The bond couldn’t be so selectively unfair, could it?

Li Xuanci was growing increasingly adept at seeing through the thick facade of her expressions and guessing exactly what she was silently grumbling about.

He sneered, “Do you think you’re the only one with eyes and ears?”

“Fine, you say one clue, I’ll say another, and we’ll see who pieces it together better,” Shiliu retorted, still unwilling to concede.

Li Xuanci glanced at her, teasingly offering a hint, “The old woman buying dumplings.”

“Why?” Shiliu asked, though she knew he had already figured it out. She refused to back down without a clear explanation.

“She mentioned the city gates close early, meaning she lives outside the walls. Soup dumplings are best eaten hot, yet she still insisted on taking some home. That means her grandson must particularly love them. If she hadn’t brought him to the market often before, how would the child even know about the soup dumplings in the city? Clearly, she used to bring him but stopped recently, which explains the situation.”

“And the hawker—his cart had household items, women’s trinkets, and men’s accessories, but nothing for children. Markets are lively, and kids love pestering their parents to buy things. It’s a prime opportunity for sales, yet he didn’t bring any children’s toys. That shows he already knew no children would be coming to the market.” Shiliu nearly bounced on her feet, spouting her reasoning in one breath, unwilling to let him make her look like a fool.

“Is that all?” Li Xuanci asked, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.

“Of course not! When I asked about the children, he deliberately switched to the local dialect. Once he realized we weren’t from here, he even lost interest in doing business and hurried away. If he were afraid of local troublemakers, he wouldn’t be so wary of outsiders. Merchants fear officials—it’s clearly the local authorities’ doing, which is why he’s so cautious.”

“There’s flooding, and children are being rounded up. What else could it be but a sacrifice to the river god?”

Shiliu added triumphantly, feeling rather pleased with herself. One-on-one, she had even more clues than he did. She was clearly the smarter one.

But Li Xuanci raised a finger and flicked her forehead, leaving a red mark. Shiliu immediately covered it, glaring at him.

“You missed one thing, dummy,” he said leisurely, watching her indignant expression.

Seeing Li Xuanci’s calm composure, Shiliu carefully ran through the clues again. Just as she was about to retort that she hadn’t missed anything, her eyes suddenly widened with realization.

“The woman on the passenger ship,” she blurted out, stunned.

“Not entirely hopeless after all,” Li Xuanci added, twisting the knife.

That woman had mentioned the recent unrest on the water. Her child was still so young, just an infant. Since she cherished her child so much, why would she choose such a risky time to return to her parents’ home?

Clearly, the local authorities were rounding up children to sacrifice to the river god, forcing her to take the risk and bring her child back to her parents’ home for safety.

The evils of men far surpass those of monsters.

Shiliu sighed inwardly, her feelings complex.

The two of them were engrossed in their debate, but Jin Zhan, standing to the side, silently rubbed his chin.

His Highness was exceptionally sharp, but he was usually too lazy to explain himself, preferring action over words. Yet now, he was meticulously debating trivial matters like buying snacks, street hawkers, and returning to one’s parents’ home with this little Taoist—and doing it with such vivid detail, arguing back and forth so animatedly. Such a… childish side of His Highness was something Jin Zhan had rarely seen in all his years of service.

“Then let’s storm the government office, arrest that corrupt official, and restore peace to the people!” Shiliu grew more excited as she spoke. Now that she had a powerful backer—and an extremely influential one at that—it would be foolish not to use such influence. She had long wanted to see the legendary “Dog-Beheading Guillotine” from the operas with her own eyes.

Li Xuanci shot her a disdainful glance, shattering her fantasy of becoming an instant chivalrous hero or a righteous judge. “Go ahead. I won’t stop you.”

Shiliu’s enthusiasm deflated like a pricked balloon. She hadn’t brought her sect’s official documents, and even if she had, interfering in government affairs was a major taboo—the paths of governance and Taoism were separate.

“Then what should we do? I’ll… just follow your lead,” Shiliu swallowed her pride and asked obediently.

Seeing her compliance, Li Xuanci rarely showed mercy and revealed his plan, “Since we know there’s flooding and human wrongdoing, the next step is naturally to hear the truth.”

“The truth? Will the county magistrate tell the truth?” Shiliu asked, puzzled.

“People lie, but inanimate objects do not,” Li Xuanci replied meaningfully, brushing the dust from his sleeves.

Shiliu felt a tiny flicker of admiration for him—about the size of her pinky fingertip. When it came to schemes and calculations, this tyrant was the craftiest. No one could outsmart him.

Whether this was praise or an insult, however, remained unclear.