The Baijin River is not very wide in this section, and a group of people quickly crossed it on a fast boat.
When Chen Yu went ashore, he found that there were already people climbing up on the scattered stones.
"This road is too difficult to walk, and we have to dig deeper."
Someone complained a few words and pulled his wife up step by step.
This place was originally a gentle tidal flat, close to a cliff. Later, Feizhou passengers chose this place to pick up and drop off tourists, so they opened this stone road.
In fact, it was not considered a road. I dug a shallow ditch and placed a bunch of large and small stones randomly stacked so that visitors would not have to spend a lot of effort to climb the steep rock wall.
The road condition was indeed very bad, but fortunately it was nothing to Chen Yu. He followed the others and climbed the gentle slope easily.
Next to it, several men dressed as boatmen were leaning together and carrying cloth bags to collect money from the crowd.
Go ashore first, then pay.
I have to say, this alone is much better than the boat gang at the ferry 40 miles away.
Chen Yu didn't think about what to do if he couldn't pay the money. He took out a handful of coins and handed it to the other party. Then he asked the person next to him for directions, and then left quickly carrying his own baggage.
After passing the Baijin River, there are two more counties to the north. After crossing them, we reach Pingcheng.
There are many rivers in Xizhou, and there are many drownings in dangerous shoals. In addition to the Baijin River with the still sound of waves behind you, there are also three large rivers crossing this section of the road.
They are all tributaries of the Lancang River.
…
"Push it down!"
"Burn them all together!"
"Pooh!"
"You beast! Why are you so selfish!"
At the entrance of the village, a group of people stood in a huddle.
Chen Yu stood outside, not very curious about what was happening in this village called Shengyu, but he still took a few steps closer.
I plan to ask for directions.
He was lost and felt a little helpless. He really didn't expect that Chenzhong County would be so difficult.
The official road is narrow and short, and the mountains are high and the water is far away. From the time I left Baijinjiang to now, I have walked for about two hours, but I feel like I have been wandering in the ravine without seeing two people.
He wondered if he had gone in the wrong direction from the beginning, and maybe the friend who was guiding him had also taken the wrong path.
"If I had known this, I should have asked those flying boat passengers directly."
At that time, I was thinking about leaving, and I saw that there were many travelers who had traveled through mountains and rivers around me. After all, they were more familiar with the local area than I, a fledgling.
As a result, something went wrong. Along the way, the direction may have been correct, but the road went round and round.
Fortunately, he finally came across the village. He walked outside the village and peeked inside, but it was tightly blocked inside, leaving only a tall wooden pile in front of him. He couldn't really see the details.
The villagers were surging, and their faces seemed to be burning with anger. A few old people were leaning on crutches and repeatedly leaning on the ground. While making banging sounds, they also kept saying reprimands mixed with accusations, and vented them further back.
Chen Yu couldn't see him, but someone spotted him first.
Several skinny farmers came out. Seeing the man's temperament and dress, they were a little unsure about his origins. Finally, one of them stood up and asked.
Chen Yu turned around and told the other party that he was a Taoist priest from Shiya County, dozens of miles away. This time he was going to Pingcheng. He never thought that he would accidentally get lost in an unfamiliar place.
"Pingcheng? Brother Liu, do you know where it is?"
"do not know."
The few people in front of him didn't know Pingcheng. Chen Yu was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that these were farmers. They probably had rarely left Chenzhong County in their lives. Their understanding of Pingcheng was definitely not as good as that of the tourists and scholars by the riverside.
So he added, "Pingcheng is governed by Guangyong Prefecture and is located in Dongjiang County."
"Dongjiang!"
Now several people finally understood and spoke one after another:
"If you want to go to Dongjiang, you should go to Shicun."
"It is better to go directly to Tuozi Mountain than to Shunshi Village, and then take a boat across Sanfanshui."
"No, Brother Liu, it seems that the Sanfanshui area has been occupied by a group of water bandits and is making a scene!"
"Oh, then you really should follow the stone."
After a few words, Chen Yu finally understood his current position.
Just as he thought, the general direction was indeed correct, but the road was a little off track, and he had to go around Shunshi Village to leave Chenzhong County and re-enter the official road.
When asked why the roads in the county are so rough, several people looked angry.
"Those officials spend all day drinking and drinking, how can they care about the affairs of common people like us?"
"It doesn't cost money to build the road? It doesn't cost people? In the end, every family won't be able to share it equally. Maybe those officials will have to add some names to scrape some money from us."
"You can still walk this way, but it's not worth repairing it."
Hearing this, Chen Yu was silent and didn't say anything more. Both Shiya and Quwu had many officials and merchants. Compared to Chen Zhong, it was far behind now. As far as the eye could see, there were mountains, forests and vegetation, and no roads.
, let’s talk about pedestrians.
After finding out the way, he was about to leave when he heard a wailing sound coming from the village, which was hoarse and miserable.
This is……?
He looked at the people in front of him in confusion. Unexpectedly, the expressions of the three of them were shocked. As if they remembered something, they all turned around and started shouting curses.
Not only them, but also many villagers gathered around him. He also saw several hunters holding long knives and waving them fiercely in the air, as if they were about to beheaded at the next moment.
Chen Yu found a high place and stood up, finally seeing the innermost scenery clearly. However, the scene before him made people really unhappy.
Two people, one large and one small, were tied to the tree stump. The older one was covered in bruises, while the younger one was silent and was obviously frightened.
The villagers still roared angrily, but then the village elder finally stood up.
This is an old man, accompanied by an old woman with three patterns painted on her face.
The old woman holds a staff, tied with a strip of cloth, wears wooden shoes on her feet, and wears all kinds of strange-shaped ornaments on her body.
On the other side, Chen Yu listened for a while, and it was only then that he barely understood the situation of the two people.
It's simple to say, it's exactly what you can often see in books (sacrifice).
It just changed from a story to reality.
According to what he heard, Shengyu Village and many nearby villages depended on Sanfan water, whether it was for watering the fields or fishing to support their families. However, there was a severe drought this year. Shiya was actually better off, but Chen Zhong
But I was made anxious by the huge sun above.
Not a drop of rain has fallen for more than a month, and the food is about to dry up and die. However, a group of ruthless bandits have come over from Sanfanshui and control the river. The fishing methods in previous years are no longer feasible.
Since then, rumors have spread nearby.
It is said that a fisherman accidentally caught the Baijin Dragon King's concubine - a pearl clam - and became angry and wanted Chen Zhong to be exposed to the sun for half a year!
This sounds like there are a lot of loopholes. For example, what does the three times of water have to do with the Hundred Gold Dragon King? Another example is that the dignified Dragon King actually likes a smelly clam. Could it be that the refined clam becomes fragrant?
Therefore, not many people believed it at first, but as time passed and the rain did not fall, the rumors in several villages around Sanfanshui became more serious.
Finally, the village elder of Shengyu Village invited a goddess who knew how to dance from nowhere. After an in-depth discussion, they settled on the so-called (sacrifice) ceremony and prayed for the forgiveness of the Baijin Dragon King.
Chen Yu stared coldly at the smiling goddess and the village elder who angrily accused the two people on the stake.
The sacrifice required sacrifices, and the sacrifices for the living sacrifice were the two on the wooden stakes.
"I didn't want to meddle in other people's business."
However, Master Chen Daguan has always disliked this, and if he ignored it, his mind would not be smooth...