Chapter 968 Night Journey on the River
“You mean, you want to invite us to take a boat trip on the river to perform sacrificial rituals to the river god?”
As soon as Shu Ci arrived home, he didn’t see Balian. Wherever he went, before he could even put down the iron pot behind him, a large group of people came in the darkness outside the house.
They were all women, children and aunts in the village, and they surrounded the house completely.
What kind of unclean things have been caused in the village recently.
Therefore, the immortal Huang Tao Ren from Qingyun Mountain was attracted to come here to eliminate evil spirits and regulate the world.
There have been a lot of strange things happening in the village in recent days, always in the cool evening.
If a girl washes her clothes alone by a stream, she will always disappear for no reason, and her family will not be aware of it until a few days later.
Probably because on the day those girls Huanyi disappeared, in the middle of the night, the girl's figure and voice appeared frequently in his house.
So much so that everyone in the family thought everything was business as usual.
But thinking about it carefully afterwards, the girl's figure and voice were particularly vague in those days.
When I really recalled it, I felt an unreasonable fear.
I suddenly realized that I didn’t seem to really see the girl’s appearance clearly at home.
Until I saw my girl’s clothes half buried in the soil by the creek forest, she had obviously been murdered for many days, but her body was missing.
Such weird things have rarely happened in remote mountain villages with insufficient spiritual energy.
For a time, the ignorant rural women who were not familiar with astronomy and geography were at a loss as to what to do.
They were frightened every night, lest something strange happen to their homes.
Now that I meet such an old god, I should be able to offer him enough incense.
Coupled with Huang Laodao's opening ceremony, a series of mysterious methods of blowing the fire talisman were revealed.
In the eyes of these rural women, they have great supernatural powers, and they worship him without any doubt.
In the past few days, Huang Laodao had taken advantage of the situation and made a fortune in this remote and impoverished mountain village.
Some worn-out items, such as peach wood swords, yellow talisman papers, Five Emperors copper coins, bronze swords, and cinnabar Taoist robes.
Everyone had a good time in this village.
However, we all have to sacrifice to the river god tonight, and we need to prepare completely and there is no excuse for failure.
Previously, many requirements were put forward for sacrifices, and six women were required to travel together in the same boat to sacrifice to the gods.
Shu Ci is the sixth candidate.
In short, Huang Laodao made these rural women stunned by his endless explanations.
I only know that the selection of the sixth person is not trivial and cannot be done casually.
Since the old god named the lady with the surname Su, it can only be her, and no one else can do it for her.
Looking at the chaotic group of people outside the door, murderous intent loomed in Shu Ci's eyes.
She is not interested in the trivial things of mortals like cats and dogs, nor does she have the patience to do stupid things like offering sacrifices to gods.
Just as she was about to get angry, Aunt Wu jumped out and accused:
"What are you guys doing? Sister Su is not from our Qiaokou Village. What obligation do you have to force me to go to the river to do such a dangerous thing?"
Shu Ci glanced at Aunt Wu lightly, as if she was a little surprised to face so many aggressive people.
She, a woman and child, had the courage to stand up and speak out in defense.
Even though she said she was humble, she didn't need anyone to protect her.
Although Aunt Wu has not read any books, she is not as ignorant as these people.
I have a bad impression of Huang Laodao.
Yesterday, I saw that the old Taoist was obviously trying to get the idea of a sweet girl.
I heard from the blacksmith master today that it seems that in the early morning, this sweet girl and the old Taoist man had some unpleasantness in the blacksmith shop.
The master blacksmith was also an honest man, and with a clear eye it was clear that the old Taoist was trying to touch the wife first.
It’s just that the old Taoist is now in the prime of his life in the village, and the master blacksmith doesn’t want to cause any more trouble, so he doesn’t go around saying anything.
It’s just that Aunt Wu can’t stand it. This is obviously an advantage and a deliberate revenge.
It's early spring and it's cold, it's been raining heavily for several days, and the rivers are dangerously fast.
When performing sacrifices at night, if something unexpected happens and someone falls into the water, there is a risk of freezing to death even if the person does not drown.
Most human beings are inherently selfish. In the face of life and death, there is no room for them to think carefully about the truth, not to mention that human beings cannot understand the joys and sorrows.
They didn’t take Mrs. Wu’s accusation seriously at all, and said confidently:
“Since she has settled in our village, she is a member of our village, and she also eats from us. Rations in the village.
Aren’t the medicinal herbs her sick husband drank all day long and the fire he kept burning all come from our village?
It’s not like we’re asking her to spare some time now. How can we deduce life? It’s so vague.”
There are some people in the village who know right from wrong: "What Aunt Li said is wrong. Madam Su, whether it's food or a fire, she spent money on it.
If nothing else, it's just Those few luminous pearls were the harvest of several years in the village. She didn't owe anyone else anything.
It's a sweet girl. Don't be surprised. There are such strange things happening in our village right now.
Several girls have gone missing. If it was worse, they might have died.
We also want to end this matter as soon as possible, but we don’t want to attract some unclean things.
The old god named you, saying that you have a strong character and a noble destiny, and you can make the gods appear.
If you can do something good and help everyone get through this difficulty, we will remember you forever. "
Shu Ci is obviously a soft-spoken person. She sneered: "What do I need you to remember me for all my life? Will remembering my good deeds keep me fed, or will it help me resolve my misfortunes?
Don’t be an eyesore here, and don’t blame me for being rude! "
Shu Ci is used to being arrogant in the demon world. For Lord Mohe, these words are not excessive.
But in the ears of this group of humans, it was extremely harsh.
It made everyone very unhappy.
“This woman is so unreasonable and shows off her face to no one. If we hadn’t taken them in, her husband-in-law would have stepped into the Palace of Hell long ago!”
"Yes! Since she is so ignorant, why should we be polite to her? She is so unsympathetic.
Why should we throw her little husband out of the village and care about his life or death?!"
These words were obviously made in anger.
But this undoubtedly touched Shu Ci. There seemed to be flames raging in her eyes, and she said sternly: "You dare!" If it makes a big fuss, you only need to cooperate a little bit. When the sacrifice is over, we will naturally not do it. It’s difficult.
If one thing happens and your husband, who is in poor health, becomes ill again, it will be very bad. The old Taoist will definitely feel very sorry. "
Just listen to one thing. An old voice came, and the crowd slowly separated into a path.
Huang Laodao was wearing a new eye-catching Taoist robe, holding a whisk in his hand, and looking at Shu Ci with a sincere face.
Shu Ci is indeed worse than a child when it comes to human relations and sophistication. But when it comes to conspiracies and tricks, it is difficult to find an opponent in the demon world, except for the demon king.
Looking at Huang Laodao in front of him, Shu Ci couldn't guess that he was coming for him.
A mere mortal dares to plot against the Lord of the Demonic River.
Shu Ci has never been a kind person, so he smiled coldly in his heart.
Since the old Taoist priest insisted on going to the bank of the stream to worship the god of something, she didn't mind giving him a ride.
“Since the words have come to this point, I will not refuse.”
Huang Laodao was slightly stunned, thinking that this woman knew that he was avenging a private revenge, so she would definitely Push three times, block four times.
In this way, these villagers can also use the hands to make things difficult for her.
Unexpectedly, she agreed so readily.
Seeing that she finally relaxed, the villagers stopped being aggressive and dispersed to go home to get the sacrificial objects to prepare.
Led by the top five selected women, Shu Ci followed the others and walked far away to the side of the stream.
Before leaving, she glanced sideways at the old Taoist priest, her eyes were really strange.
Half of her face was reflected in the shadow of the backlight. She was so beautiful that she looked more like a human than a ghost.
Huang Laodao's body shook violently, and his eyes immediately became gloomy.
"Master..." the little Taoist priest next to him called weakly: "Will there be any accidents with your method? After all, there are many strange things in this village. There is indeed a lone woman in the river. They disappeared for no reason. Do we really want to go boating with them tonight?”
The little Taoist priest’s voice made Huang Laodao follow. When he came back from his trance just now, he frowned and said:
"What a fuss, you just said that only women who are alone will disappear for no reason.
The old Taoist is quite satisfied today. Eight people have gathered together to travel together. If there are really ghosts and monsters, there will definitely be no trouble tonight. "
Huang Laodao squinted his eyes: "What's more, that boy is really as you said. He must be able to communicate with birds and beasts. He must have magical powers.
If we can take advantage of his illness now, we can use these If a person's life falls on him, the woman surnamed Su will not be able to escape. In the end, she will have to let the Tao handle it obediently!"
The little Taoist priest looked cowardly and seemed to be hesitant.
Seeing that he was so submissive, Huang Laodao frowned and said, "What are you afraid of? After practicing this Tao for decades, you will also have some Taoist practices close to you. If there are really evil spirits that are harmful to others, this Tao will just do it." If you accept it, wouldn’t it be better to become famous for it?”
The little Taoist looked helpless.
......
......
The crowd soon came to the river, led by Huang Laodao, who opened the altar and performed a performance of spitting fire and burning the talisman sword.
After reciting a lot of crooked words that even Shu Ci could not understand.
The old Taoist duo suddenly opened their eyes wide: "The sky is clear, the earth is full of spirit, burn incense to worship Master Zhang, Thousands of Thunder Gods, thousands of stars are pointed, thousands of stars are shining brightly. Press the sword with your hand to kill the evil spirits, if there are any Those who do not hide their evil light will perish under their feet. The divine soldiers are as hasty as the law!"
Another huge burst of fire spurted out from the old Taoist priest's mouth, and the momentum was so frightening that the people around him were amazed.
But Shu Ci felt like sleeping after watching it.
After some chattering, the old Taoist priest shouted: "The time has come."
Then there was a nondescript dance, which is the legendary dancing master.
Then the girls were fooled onto the crudely built boat, which was prepared with three animals, fruits, and flowers in advance.
The waxing moon was gradually covered by dark clouds, and the sky became gloomy.
Just as the old man was pole-sailing upstream, a loud noise pierced the sky covered with heavy clouds. The sky was dark and the rain was clearing the waves.
The rain fell coldly and quickly without warning, and no one had prepared an umbrella, so they were soaked in the rain in an instant.
Huang Laodao's beard has also become shabby, his crown and hat were wet and knocked crooked by the heavy rain, and he no longer looks like an immortal.
The cold night, the bleak river, and the desolation of a heavy rain made the atmosphere inevitably a bit gloomy.
The five women who came to join in the count had their arms folded and were shivering with cold. The lanterns hanging on the small boat were also extinguished by the heavy rain, and the darkness from all sides seemed to be swallowing them up.
The moonlight was hidden in the clouds, and their field of vision was extremely limited. It was dark and dark everywhere. They were trembling, feeling scared, and looking left and right.
When they first boarded the ship, they relied on the belief that the powerful Huang Xianren could protect them.
But now, in the face of this unknown fear and danger, my heart feels chilly.
Shu Ci had foresighted it a long time ago. He squatted in a corner with the iron pot half on his head, but he did not suffer from the wind and rain.
It has been raining continuously for the past few days, and it has only been sunny for two days. It started to rain continuously at night, and the heavy rain looked like it was going to be a heavy rain.
Everyone on the boat began to panic. At this time, a woman said weakly:
"Huang... Huang Daozhang, is the sacrifice over? When can we go ashore, melon on the boat? If the cattle and sheep are thrown into the river, will there be any accidents if they don't come ashore?"
Some women have already begun to cry: "I am not surprised when I look at this river during the day, but why is it so scary tonight? I have been walking for so long, and I still can't see the river bank."
The scary thing is that when they look back, they can no longer even see the lights of the villagers beside them when they came.
As far as the eye can see, there is a dark and fast river.
It actually gives people a sense of suffocation and despair of walking on the edge of an abyss with no way out.
There are countless strange black-scaled fish swimming rapidly in the river.
They swore that they had lived in this mountain village for decades, and that fishermen had fished the rivers and seas for so many years.
They have never seen these weird-looking fish full of scales and spines tonight.
Those fish seemed to be swimming aimlessly, but under the bamboo boat, they were being bumped by these fish, and the hemp rope binding the bamboo boat seemed to be loose.
Such changes made everyone more and more uneasy.
The little Taoist priest was also obviously panicked, and shook his head and said, "Master, what should we do now?"
At this moment, Huang Laodao did not forget to maintain his strength. Showing his superior demeanor, he pretended to say:
"It doesn't matter, but there will be wind and rain, and I will naturally protect you all safe and sound."
Having said that, it was not in his plan to rain so heavily.
He observed the situation of the river for several days and remembered that at night, a turbulent whirlpool would appear in a certain direction of the river. If a person was caught in it, his life would be in danger.
If this fragile boat is involved, various people on the boat will inevitably need his rescue.
He ordered his disciples to set up mechanical hidden stakes in the water in advance. The old Taoist had excellent water properties. With the help of hidden stakes, he could demonstrate his ability to walk on water.
Rescue these little ladies one by one, except for the sweet potato lady.
She has to suffer a lot, make her beg for mercy, and treat her docilely before she can be sensible and obedient.
But now the rain is falling so hard, the lanterns have been extinguished, and the canoe is drifting in the turbulent current of the river.
I don’t know where I am at the moment, let alone whether those hidden piles have been washed away by the heavy rain.
The old Taoist was equally uneasy and anxious, secretly thinking that he was really going to encounter something unclean tonight, right?
(End of this chapter)