BXBX NOVEL Chapter 978 - 978 Nosy Business (1)
They had reached the heart of the South after a month of travel. One day, as they ascended Mount Liang, they overheard the locals talking about a commotion in a nearby village.
“Go check what’s going on up ahead,” Gu Chengrui instructed Tiger.
“Yes, Master,” Tiger acknowledged. He returned shortly, panting. “Master, there’s a girl accused of premarital pregnancy. Her clan is about to put her into a sinking pond.”
“Only the girl?” Gu Chengrui raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, only the girl,” Tiger confirmed.
Gu Chengrui exchanged a glance with Zhou Ying. He couldn’t intervene directly without causing trouble. Zhou Ying, however, could.
Of course, they could simply bypass the situation if they chose not to get involved. Zhou Ying understood his unspoken message.
She quickly used her divine sense to assess the situation. A young girl, no older than sixteen, stood locked in a bamboo cage with six clips on her body. Tears streamed down her face, but there was no pleading in her eyes.
Her parents, however, were a different story. Kneeling on the ground, they cried and begged the surrounding villagers for mercy. It seemed they only had one daughter. Losing her would destroy their entire family.
“Daddy,” Guoguo piped up curiously, “what is a sinking pond’?”
“Sinking pond is a barbaric custom where men and women who violate female chastity are drowned,” Gu Chengrui explained.
“But can’t they just get married?” Guoguo questioned. “Why kill them?”
“It’s their clan rules.”
“Then can’t we save them?”
Gu Chengrui pondered. “Are you sure you want to interfere? You’d be taking on the karmic burden. If the clan forbids their marriage, how would you handle it?”
Looking at Guoguo’s distressed expression and the parents’ tearful pleas, Zhou Ying made a decision. “I’ll go take a look. If they deserve saving, I will.”
She disembarked from the carriage and called for two guards to accompany her.
As she approached, she saw them preparing to drown the girl. Zhou Ying stepped forward, feigning confusion. “This is strange. Shouldn’t there be two people? Why is just one being punished? Are you attempting murder?”
Everyone turned to stare at her, bewildered by her words. Yet, they sensed an air of authority about her, which filled them with unease.
A white-haired elder waved his hand dismissively, muttering a few incomprehensible words.
Before Zhou Ying could ask for clarification, the girl’s parents rushed towards her and kowtowed repeatedly. “Please, have mercy! She was a victim, not a willing participant!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! This is a clan matter; none of your business!” the elder retorted.
“Are you trying to distort the truth?” Zhou Ying countered.
“Silence!” The elder roared.
Zhou Ying interrupted, her voice firm. “In that case, I’m taking charge. Release her immediately, or face the consequences of attempted murder.”
At her command, the two guards moved to intervene and prevent the bamboo cage from being submerged.
A scholarly-looking man stepped forward, cupping his fists in respect. “May I inquire, madam, who you are? This is a matter of our clan’s tradition. Please don’t interfere.”
“Do the clan’s rules supersede the law?” Zhou Ying challenged.
“But this custom has been passed down for generations,” the scholar stammered, surprised by her audacity.