2: Choosing a spouse, half-demon

Just as Jiang Lan was marveling at the beauty of the last two women, he heard a discussion beside him.

“Second Aunt, look at those two, why are their eyes different from normal people’s?”

A woman in the crowd heard this and turned her gaze to the last two women on the stage. After seeing them clearly, her pupils trembled.

“Half-demon! Great ill omen! Heavens, how could Anping County’s escort team send half-demons? Isn’t this harming people?”

Hearing the conversation, Jiang Lan also looked at the pupils of the two women on the stage.

The one on the far side had eyes that were a somewhat dull gold.

The woman beside her had eyes covered in a layer of gray-silver.

Half-demon… He was a member of the Demon Suppression Division, so he had some understanding of half-demons.

As the name suggests, half-demons are the Bloodline born from the union of humans and demons; some are also formed due to certain special circumstances.

Even among half-demons, there are differences in Bloodline concentration.

For those like the two women, whose figures and appearances are no different from ordinary people, and only their eye color is slightly different, the concentration of demonic Bloodline is almost negligible.

There is also no risk of them going berserk or similar.

It can be said that, apart from their eye color, they are completely indistinguishable from normal humans.

This is also why the Great Jing Dynasty can accommodate the existence of half-demons.

Of course, there are also differences among half-demons.

Those with a purer or significant proportion of demonic Bloodline, once discovered and confirmed, will be slaughtered.

Only those with extremely low Bloodline concentration, like these two women, are truly recognized as non-threatening and can live like normal people.

But even so, the existence of half-demons is still not understood or accepted by the vast majority of the world.

All people are the same.

The world Jiang Lan lived in during his previous life also had racial discrimination.

It’s just that in this world, half-demons suffer a more severe degree of discrimination.

People in this world generally believe that half-demons are an inauspicious existence.

They are the kind that are disliked by both humans and dogs.

Ordinary people seeing them on the street would rather walk around them, fearing they might be affected.

But Jiang Lan had lived two lives after all.

Compared to those burly or ugly ordinary women of marriageable age, if he had to choose, he would definitely choose the half-demons without hesitation.

At the very least, they are beautiful.

Don’t say it’s all the same when the lights are off.

Could that slender waist, easily grasped, be the same as the squat, thick water jar at home?

They have delicate jade legs; are those two large radishes stuck under a water jar, the same?

Just as Jiang Lan was lost in thought, a gong sounded in his ear.

“Dong!”

“The auspicious time has arrived!”

Hearing the sound, the crowd stirred.

There were many people below the stage, but most were just watching the spectacle.

Only about a dozen men of marriageable age, including Jiang Lan, who were close to the high platform, were truly there to get married.

These men were not well-dressed; some even wore patched clothes, and they were all sallow and emaciated, clearly suffering from long-term malnutrition.

But then again, wealthy families would have already found suitable matches, so why would they come to the Anping County’s escort team to choose a spouse?

In comparison, Jiang Lan was in the best condition among this group.

At least he had joined the Demon Suppression Division for a while, could receive a salary, and had no worries about food and clothing.

Jiang Lan didn’t know any of the marriageable men around him.

The Great Jing, though called a country, had a much larger area and population than the feudal dynasties of Jiang Lan’s previous life.

Just Anping County, where he was located, had millions of people, and its area was almost comparable to a provincial capital city in Jiang Lan’s previous life.

The Great Jing Empire is divided into Dao, Prefectures, States, and Counties.

There are thirteen Dao in total, each governing four to seven Prefectures, each Prefecture governing more than ten States, and each State governing more than ten Counties.

It is said that the entire Great Jing has a population of hundreds of billions of living beings.

That’s more than ten times the population of Earth in Jiang Lan’s previous life, with a twist.

“Old rules, those coming to marry, come draw lots.”

Below the high platform, a tall Yamen Runner stood beside a lacquered wooden box.

The men stepped forward to draw lots. Jiang Lan was a latecomer, so he was at the very end of the line, waiting for those in front to draw their slips.

Besides him, there were eighteen men in front.

When it was Jiang Lan’s turn, he casually pulled a paper ball from the box.

‘Twenty’

Jiang Lan: “...”

Nineteen people in total, and I’m number twenty, right?

He understood that they probably prepared twenty slips, but not enough people came.

“Number one, come up and choose your spouse.”

A thin young man heard this, a look of joy on his face, and jumped onto the stage, carefully examining each woman as if choosing merchandise.

Until he saw the eye color of the last two women, his body suddenly trembled, and he stumbled back several steps, almost falling directly from the high platform.

The young man pointed at the two women, his voice trembling:

“De-de-de... demonesses!”

Hearing the young man’s voice, the entire place erupted in an uproar, and a wave of discussion broke out.

“Silence!” Below, the Yamen Runner frowned and sternly rebuked, “What the hell are you babbling about? If you’re told to choose, then choose quickly! Even if they are demonesses, what does it have to do with you?”

Since ancient times, commoners do not contend with officials. As soon as the Yamen Runner spoke, the young man swallowed dryly and lost the desire to choose carefully. He casually pointed to a sturdy woman and said:

“This one will do.”

“Take your person and get out.” The Yamen Runner waved his hand indifferently, then continued, “Next.”

The second young man stepped onto the stage, his gaze sweeping from beginning to end. However, when it fell on the last two women, he didn’t even dare to look closely, his face full of apprehension, and he moved his gaze away with a hint of disdain.

Soon, he also chose a relatively robust woman.

It’s better for them to be strong; at least they can work.

If they can’t carry or lift anything, marrying them home just means adding another freeloader.

Despite the large population of the Great Jing, in any Dynasty, the lives of the common people are always fraught with hardship.

Those who could come to choose a spouse struggled to make ends meet and could not afford to support another idle mouth.

Next, the process repeated.

By the time it was Jiang Lan’s turn, only the two half-demons remained on the high platform.

Jiang Lan leaped onto the high platform.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that apart from their different eye colors, the two women looked almost identical.

Not exactly alike, but close enough.

Twins?

But the problem was he could only choose one.

Even with a job, his salary wasn’t high; it was already difficult enough to support one extra person.

If he supported two, he would truly have to tighten his belt and live frugally.

Just as Jiang Lan was hesitating about which one to choose, a synthesized electronic voice, like heavenly music to him, suddenly rang in his ear.

“Host detected to be getting married soon. The Many Children, Many Blessings System has successfully bound.”