River Tuluo Xian

Chapter 18 The Secret of Hujiang
"Sit tight, the anchor is weighed."

With a shout from the boatman, the wooden boat set sail and began to leave the dock.

Sitting on the stern of the boat, Jiang Ling felt an invisible thread in the palm of his hand, which could be touched through the air.

At the other end of the line, there should be Xue Wencai, the owner of Xianheng's pawnshop;
He suddenly stretched out his right hand, pinched the invisible thread, pulled it out and snapped it.

Inside Guobei City, Xue Wencai felt his health was getting better, and just ordered a table of food and wine at the restaurant diagonally opposite, suddenly, as if possessed by an evil spirit, his limbs stood numb, and he froze, from his eyes, ears, mouth and nose , actually shed blood.

The waiter in the restaurant who came to serve the food was shocked and hurriedly called someone to check the situation.

But when he waited for someone to help Boss Xue up and touch his pulse, he had already stopped moving.

On the other side, in the Hujiang River, the wooden boats flowed eastward along the water, passing through the mountains along the way, and the turbulent places fell and flew.

The waterway looks thrilling, but none of the people who travel with it is afraid.

It turned out that the boatman was formidable, he had already mastered the techniques and skills by heart, and he was able to pass any dangerous place with ease.

A long pole props up the cliff, explores the whirlpool, circumnavigates boulders, avoids the shallows, and is very flexible like an arm.

On the stern of the boat, there is also a man holding a penny, who is the son of the boatman.

He is about the same age as Jiang Ling, and is currently learning to steer the helm.

Seeing Jiang Ling holding on to the ship's side several times, he couldn't help smiling: "Guests don't need to be nervous. My old man has been at the helm for 40 years, and he has never thrown a guest into the water. The guest just needs to relax. After passing through this section, we will arrive at the boat." Downstream will be fine."

Jiang Ling also smiled to himself, and chatted with him, "How much do you learn so far, little brother?"

The little brother smiled and patted his chest: "I have passed on the skills of the old man, the only thing is that I have no hair on my mouth and I can't do things well, so the left and right don't let me steer."

As soon as he finished speaking, the boatman laughed and scolded at the bow: "The boy is irritable, and he can't control himself. Why do you steer the boat? Don't brag about yourself there."

There were three or four guests in the boat, and they all laughed at this time.

The little brother was helpless, so he shrugged his shoulders and shut up, and spread his hands towards Jiangling.

Jiang Ling said again: "How does driving a boat compare to farming?"

The little brother sighed: "It's all just barely making ends meet, there is not much difference. If there is a natural disaster in farming, it is common to have no harvest; but it is a little careless to beg for food on the waterway... oh, almost."

He didn't say anything unlucky.

As the saying goes, if you often walk by the water, your shoes will not get wet.Perhaps, this is also the reason why his old man did not let him take the helm so early.

After half an hour, the water reached the downstream, and its water potential also calmed down.

Recently, the weather is unpredictable and there have been several heavy rains.In the lower reaches of the Hujiang River, you can see many places where the farmland has been washed away and the seedlings have been destroyed.

When the little brother saw it, he said, "Did you see it? Ordinary tenants don't want to harvest when there is a natural disaster, but as far as the landlord's family is concerned, regardless of natural disasters and man-made disasters, you still have to pay the rent when it is due."

Jiangling looked around, and suddenly at Yihui Bay, he saw red silk and rotten bamboo rafts.

The red silk and bamboo raft looked familiar, and when the boat approached, he wanted to reach out to grab it, but his younger brother suddenly stopped him.

"Guest, don't take it, listen to me, it's best not to touch it at all."

"Is there something taboo about this?"

"Don't you know something about this? Legend has it that the Hujiang River was transformed by a drought snake. It was punished by the Lord of Heaven and suppressed this place for hundreds of years. It turned into a river. The Lord of Heaven wanted it to protect the environment and the people, but it held a grudge. God does not give it a chance to soar. Therefore, it commits crimes every year, and when the stinging valley rains, the Hujiang River will be torrential.

In this case, there is only one village along the Hujiang River that is an exception.That is Qingniu Village. I heard that the village has been instructed by an expert to offer sacrifices every three years. Ever since Qingniu Village worshiped the river god, they really haven't been disturbed by floods.

And the red silk and rotten bamboo rafts in the water are all sacrifices from their upper reaches. "

Jiang Ling frowned slightly: "I heard that the sacrifices in Qingniu Village are sacrifices to living people, and sacrifices are made every three years. Isn't this kind of cruelty?"

"What kind of cruelty is this? It is very cost-effective to save one side of the country once every three years." The little brother said.

Other guests on the same boat also spoke at this time: "Compared to dying of starvation and freezing every year, offering sacrifices every three years is really nothing. Our village is still envious."

Hearing what they said, Jiang Ling felt deeply that in this era, human life really is as cheap as a dog.

"Then after every sacrifice in the upper reaches, can anyone make sacrifices in the lower reaches?" Jiang Ling thought of the girl who was sacrificed with him.

Although I don't know who it is, and I haven't seen what it looks like, but I must not be as lucky as him.

The little brother said with a smile: "Survival? How can it be possible! But all sacrifices are in the flooded sky. In such water conditions, even my old man dare not go out of the boat to get close to the water. And the living people were thrown into the Hujiang River , It’s strange that he can survive. It can be said that no one has survived for so many years.

Maybe the river god really accepted it, otherwise, how come Qingniu Village has not been affected by the flood all these years? "

Seeing that he spoke clearly and logically, Jiang Ling was also very embarrassed.

And who knew that this year's Qingniu village's sacrificial boy boy, not only did he not die, but he was sitting on this boat chatting with him?

"And I've also heard that every time there is a sacrifice, the birth date of the sacrifice will be presented together. As long as it enters the water, it will not escape." The little brother added in a low voice.

At this time, the boatman in front also shouted again: "You brat, stop talking nonsense, the first thing you need to do to eat water is to control your mouth."

It means to stop his son from talking nonsense.

There are taboos in all walks of life, don't talk about immortals when you go up the mountain, and don't talk about ghosts when you go down the water.

The little brother shrugged his shoulders, "The old man won't let you talk, and the guests have the right to take it as a joke. Just listen to it, don't take it seriously."

After half a day passed, the wooden boat finally approached the boat.

But here, it rains suddenly.

It was pitch black, with heavy rain and thunder.

The boatman and the little brother quickly opened the awning and let the guests sit in the middle.

"Guobei is near the boat, the weather is different for ten miles, I never thought it would rain so heavily here today."

The little brother put on his coir raincoat and went to the bow to replace the old man. The water here is flat, and the old man gave him full power.

When Jiang Ling saw him, he thought to himself that this little brother is also a filial man.

But before he traveled far, on the bow of the boat, the little brother exclaimed and called the old man.

The old man scolded in the boat: "What's the matter? Just say something, don't shout."

"There are people in the water." The little brother shouted.

When he shouted, the guests in the boat couldn't help being curious, and lifted the sheepskin awning on the side of the boat.

Looking ahead, there is a dead tree in the river blocking the stone, and a person is hanging on the dead tree branch.

Sway with the waves.

The man was only seven or eight or nine years old, with double braids and a bright red dress.

At that time, his body was swollen, and he had been dead for a long time.

When the guests in the boat saw it, they all looked away, unable to bear to look any further.

The boatman took a look and reminded his son: "Just keep away, don't touch her."

While speaking, he glanced at Jiang Ling for no reason.

He has been on a boat for more than forty years, but he has never seen a sacrificial corpse in the Hu River.

But today, the boatman had just mentioned this matter, and not long before and after, they actually met each other.

(End of this chapter)