32: Chapter 32 Whom can he protect?

"No matter what,"

Zhou Hu, standing on the dock, quickly put the fact that he had soiled himself out of his mind.

"Since we were saved by Lord Qinling this time, the fish we caught are safe too!"

Hearing Zhou Hu's words, the eyes of the other crew members lit up as well.

"That's right! We ran into quite a few fish before we were attacked!"

"They're right in the cabin!"

"Fish! There are still fish!"

"This is great!"

The five crew members scrambled to carry all the fish out of the cabin.

In total, there were three and a half baskets of miscellaneous fish.

Looking at these three and a half baskets of fish, the five crew members' eyes welled with tears.

In the past, returning from the sea with only three and a half baskets of fish would certainly not be considered a bountiful harvest.

But given the current situation of Zhou Family Village, it was already beyond expectations that they could bring back three and a half baskets of miscellaneous fish from this trip.

"Our desperate gamble succeeded."

Zhou Hu looked at the catch and slung his arms over the shoulders of the other crew members, his eyes shining with light.

Previously, two fishing boats from Zhou Family Village had gone out to sea and never returned, leading to a food shortage in Zhou Family Village.

Many villagers of Zhou Family Village had fled to escape the famine, leaving the village more than half empty.

Zhou Hu, however, had found four other villagers who hadn't fled. They dragged an old, abandoned boat out of the shipyard and set out to sea.

It could be said that this trip to sea was an all-or-nothing gamble.

Needless to say, if they didn't return, they would surely have died at sea.

But if they could return, then there might still be a turning point for Zhou Family Village!

"Fortunately, we ran into Lord Qinling."

An elderly crew member sighed with emotion.

"This trip wasn't in vain after all."

Another young crew member let out a long breath.

"Let's go, process the catch, and then see how many people are left in the village. We'll distribute some to those who stayed first."

Zhou Hu called out to the other crew members.

An hour later.

A figure carrying a bundle arrived at the entrance of Zhou Family Village.

This figure was none other than Zhou Ping, who had rushed all the way from Qin Family Village.

It was now afternoon, and the glaring white sunlight shone down, making one's eyes blur from the heat.

As he walked through the village entrance, weeds had already grown on the dirt road beneath his feet, some even high enough to cover the tops of his feet.

There was no one.

Every household had its doors shut; some were ajar, while others were wide open, revealing pitch-black doorways.

Zhou Ping stood in the open space in the center of the village for a long time.

Then he turned and walked toward the eastern end of the village.

There was a household there with the largest courtyard and the highest walls in the village.

The door was closed, but there was no lock on it, only left slightly ajar.

Zhou Ping raised his hand and knocked on the door.

No one answered.

He knocked again.

"Who is it?"

A hoarse voice came from inside, carrying obvious impatience.

Zhou Ping didn't answer and pushed the door open to enter.

In the courtyard, Zhou Hu was squatting in the corner, sharpening a knife.

Hearing the noise, he looked up, his gaze falling upon Zhou Ping.

Zhou Hu could be considered quite a prominent figure in Zhou Family Village.

Although Zhou Ping was the chief of Zhou Family Village, most of the time, if Zhou Hu didn't agree, he couldn't make decisions even as the chief.

Seeing that the visitor was Zhou Ping, the knife in Zhou Hu's hand didn't stop as he continued to scrape it against the whetstone.

"Yo."

He spoke, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Isn't this our chief of Zhou Family Village? Didn't you flee the famine? Why are you back?"

Zhou Ping didn't reply.

He sat down on a stone stool in the courtyard, waiting for Zhou Hu to finish sharpening the knife.

Zhou Hu sharpened it a few more times. Seeing that Zhou Ping wasn't speaking, he wasn't in a hurry either.

He leisurely finished sharpening the knife, wiped it with a cloth, and then finally looked up.

"Speak, what is it?"

Zhou Ping looked at him and opened his mouth.

"I want to call all the villagers back."

Zhou Hu was stunned for a moment.

Then he laughed.

He laughed out loud, then shook his head after he was done.

"Call them back? With what? You stand at the village entrance and shout, and those fleeing villagers will just come back?"

Ignoring his sarcasm, Zhou Ping continued.

"I'm not joking. Nowadays, most coastal villages are experiencing situations where fishing boats don't return. Those fleeing villagers are highly unlikely to get any food."

Zhou Hu's smile slowly faded.

He stared at Zhou Ping, a little something extra appearing in his eyes.

"Then what are they going to live on if you call them back? Are you going to conjure up food?"

Zhou Ping shook his head.

"I don't have food."

Zhou Hu sneered and was about to speak.

Zhou Ping continued.

"But I have another idea."

Zhou Hu looked at him, waiting for him to go on.

Zhou Ping raised his head, looking into Zhou Hu's eyes.

"Once everyone is back, I want to replace the deity enshrined in the temple of Zhou Family Village."

Zhou Hu's expression froze for an instant.

"Replace it? Replace it with what?"

"Replace the deity."

Zhou Ping said straightforwardly.

"Go to Qin Family Village and invite their Lord Qinling over."

The courtyard fell silent.

Zhou Ping knew that Zhou Hu would definitely be angry upon hearing this.

Enshrined in that temple of Zhou Family Village was Zhou Hu's ancestor from who knows how many years ago.

Now Zhou Ping was saying to replace him with a nameless deity from another village.

Would Zhou Hu agree?

Zhou Ping waited.

Waiting for Zhou Hu to blow his top, waiting for Zhou Hu to kick him out of the courtyard.

But Zhou Hu didn't.

He just stood there, staring at Zhou Ping.

As he stared, his gaze changed.

Zhou Hu spoke, his voice much lower than before.

"Qin Family Village?"

"Yes."

"Lord Qinling?"

"Yes."

"Alright, let's replace him then."

Zhou Hu waved his hand and said.

"Huh?"

Zhou Ping was completely dumbfounded now.

He had been thinking that Zhou Hu would fly into a rage because he wanted to replace the Zhou family ancestor in the temple.

Who would have thought that Zhou Hu would just agree directly?!

"Lord Qinling is great! With Lord Qinling's protection, we won't have to worry or be afraid when we go out to sea anymore!"

As he said this, Zhou Hu's expression was excited.

In this world, to be able to go out to sea without fear?

What kind of concept was that!

"Huh? How did you know?"

Zhou Ping was even more dumbfounded.

Why was Zhou Hu saying all of his lines?

Shouldn't Zhou Hu have flown into a rage after hearing his proposal, and then he would explain the benefits of Lord Qinling's protection?

How did the tables turn so completely all of a sudden?

Zhou Hu, this descendant, waved his hand to replace his own ancestor, and kept saying how great Lord Qinling was!

This wasn't quite right, was it!

"Because we also just returned from the sea, and we caught a net of Cone Snail Demons."

"If we hadn't run into Qin Family Village's fishing boat and Lord Qinling, you probably wouldn't be seeing me right now."

Zhou Hu explained.

Hearing Zhou Hu's explanation, Zhou Ping's expression became complicated.

Clearly, even Zhou Ping hadn't expected these things to happen.

Zhou Hu turned his head and looked at him.

That face, which usually carried a hint of ferocity, looked exceptionally candid at this moment.

"Many of our Zhou Family Village's villagers died because we had no deity protecting us."

"I came back alive because there was Qin Family Village's deity on that fishing boat."

The courtyard was extremely quiet.

Only the sunlight shone on the ground, casting two long shadows.

Zhou Hu looked at Zhou Ping and suddenly smiled.

It wasn't the sarcastic smile from earlier.

It was a genuine smile.

"Let's replace our Zhou family ancestor."

Zhou Hu waved his hand and said.

"Who can he protect anyway?"

"Tell him to scram~"