Chapter 31: Watching the Demon Spirit in the Tide of the River
The setting sun hangs on the river bank.
Waterbirds screamed and flew across the high-hanging sails to the magnificent red clouds in the distance. Amidst the sound of rolling waves, the sparkling waves were pushed away by the sailing ship.
The boatmen who were exploring the water were walking barefoot on the side of the ship with their trousers rolled up. The boat passengers around them gathered in their own circles. There were scholars who were holding books and looking at the undulating river surface and telling their classmates about their ambitions and heroic spirit. The man with his family was carrying his baggage.
Crowded in the cabin with his wife and daughter, the little girl was curious and wanted to go onto the deck, but was pulled back by her mother; the traveler, who was looking forward to returning home early, pressed the wooden railing and looked at the other side, which later attracted the captain's scolding.
"Be careful if you fall. The water below this section of the river is fast and there are whirlpools. If it rains, don't dare to cross here."
The boatman dragged the long oar to drive the guest back. He pointed to his waist and said to the man, as well as to the boat passengers around him: "It's not that I'm pedantic and won't let you watch the river, but it's too dangerous.
When encountering strong currents, a bump can cause a person to fall in. Even if we are sailing all year round, we should also tie up ropes so that if we fall into the river, we will not be swept away by the undercurrent."
Chen Yuan's eyes fell on the other party's waist. The rope was wrapped in the animal's skin, probably so that if he fell into the water, the rope would not strangle him uncomfortable. At this time, Sun Zhengde and his master came up from the bilge, one wearing a Taoist robe and the other wearing clothes.
Raggedy walked to Chen Yuan and sat down, causing several people who were originally close to get up and go elsewhere.
"What a divine weapon..." The fat Taoist sighed at the backs of the other party.
The crazy old man followed suit and then suddenly stopped, tilting his ears as if listening to something.
At the front of the ship, the boatman who was exploring the water swayed slightly to maintain a delicate balance with the undulating ship. He also stopped and looked at the river in the distance. His expression changed slightly and he quickly asked the boatman to stabilize the ship.
The sudden change puzzled everyone on the boat. For a moment, four boatmen ran to the sides of the boat and threw the seven or eight baskets containing bluestones into the water.
Chen Yuan stood up curiously and saw two large ships sailing not far away doing the same thing.
Encountered a big wave?
Before I could think about it carefully, the boatman at the bow of the boat had already run back to everyone, asking everyone to return to the cabin quickly or hold on to the guardrail.
"Unlucky, I caught a river tide."
Chen Yuan grasped the guardrail, held his fingers in his sleeves and pointed at Sun Zhengde and his master next to him. The three people's feet seemed to have taken root, tightly connected to the deck. As the ship's hull gradually swayed, they stood firmly in place.
.
The surrounding passengers were shaken and staggered, and ran into the cabin peeing like shit. The next moment, a cold wind blew over the river, mixed with water vapor.
People who were still outside the cabin heard the sound of water waves on the river in the distance, and at the end of the east, a white wave across the river rolled up two feet and swept over.
"There's more over there!"
Someone shouted in the cabin, and on the west side of the river, the same white waves flowed down the river and rushed towards the big wave coming from the opposite side.
In the sight of everyone, two waves across the river collided with each other at the moment when the hull of the ship was arched.
‘Boom party’
There was a huge sound of water waves crashing, and the swaying river water shook the three large ships docked on the river. Everyone in the cabin suddenly rolled into a ball, and the two boat passengers outside near the ship's side screamed "Oh!"
Turn over the guardrail.
At this time, Chen Yuan also stretched out his hand, grabbed the two passengers who had no time to enter the cabin, and pulled them back from the guardrail. Immediately, he dispersed with his fingers and continued to watch the wonderful scene in the river as if nothing happened.
The next moment, the aftermath of the impact had not subsided. In the middle of the river, a water column rushed out four to five feet, leaving many people stunned.
Um?
Chen Yuan frowned, and in the rolling waves, a white shadow flashed past. The crazy old man seemed to have seen it and grabbed the guardrail excitedly, pointing at the turbulent water surface, and jumped up and down happily: "Fish! Big fish
!And the big black bastard!"
Chen Yuan raised two fingers and wiped his eyes. At this time, the water waves on the river had stabilized. But with the blessing of magic power, under the undulating water surface, he could vaguely see a huge fish shadow wandering there. Its huge body was almost as big as this
The boat is about the same size as a large boat and can stir up waves on the river by swinging its fish tail.
Under the water on the other side of the river, a round black shadow confronts the big fish.
'The two waves of water just now should have been caused by the fighting between them.'
The wind and waves on the river calmed down, and the three large ships sailed towards the middle of the river. The two black shadows below seemed even larger than the hulls of the ships. Chen Yuan stood behind the guardrail, holding the spell to prevent any unexpected events. Fortunately, from them
None of the ships passing by had any intention of attacking the ships.
'I was treated to a good show.'
Chen Yuan stood on the side of the boat and thanked the two spirits in the river.
"If we are destined to do so in the future, I will treat you two to a good show."
At this moment, everyone on the boat did not know that there were two behemoths lurking under the water. They came out of the cabin one after another and excitedly talked about the scene just now.
"It's so magnificent. I've never heard of such wonderful scenery on this side of the Canglan River."
"...Yes, if I had known earlier, I would have taken more trips."
"Just now, someone shouted big fish, bastard..."
Amidst the nagging words, the boatman said with a smile: "Such a wonder may not be seen once a year, but occasionally twice in a few months. If you want to see it every day, I'm afraid you won't be able to do it. But ah
, We sailors know that it must be the Dragon King of Jiang who sails under the water, otherwise there would be no such momentum. Dear guests, if you want to take a boat in the future, you might as well go to the Dragon King Temple in Linjiang County to burn incense, haha..."
"Send incense to protect me while I wait to cross the river?" someone asked.
"No, I wish I could see this again!"
The captain's words made everyone on the boat laugh. Chen Yuan started laughing too. He looked at the river that had gone far behind, but unfortunately the two large underwater creatures could no longer be seen.
If the people on the boat had known that they had passed over two big guys just now, I wonder if they would have been able to laugh at this moment.
'If I hadn't stepped into the Taoism, I probably wouldn't have seen such a scenery. Just like ordinary people, I would only see a strange scene.'
The river breeze blew his clothes and robes flying, he stood on the side of the ship and sighed like this.
Soon, the three ferries arrived at the ferry on the other side of the river almost at the same time. After everyone got off the boat, they stepped hard and felt much more at ease. Chen Yuan and the Taoist came out of the cabin. It was getting dark and there were not many people at the ferry.
The vendors were also packing up their stalls and getting ready to leave.
In the light of the lantern hanging on the bow, the large ship docked on the other side was also being driven out by carriages and horses.
"unlucky."
On the ship we were on just now, the captain stood at the bow and cursed at the carriages and horses coming out of the big ship over there, then turned around and shouted to the boatman to get the willow sticks.
"Why is this old man scolding others for no reason?" The fat Taoist lit the lantern, held it forward and took a light, and then, with an ouch, he carried his body to the bullock cart.
In his dim vision, he could see two carriages approaching. The one at the back had no carriages. There was a dark coffin lying on the carriage, as if several men guarding the hospital were urged by the leader to go towards the official road.
"Leaving?" The fat Taoist turned back and looked at the convoy submerged in the darkness. "No wonder we chartered a boat. It turned out to be carrying coffins across the river."
"They should be from a wealthy family who died in a foreign land. There's nothing to say. Let's go."
Chen Yuan had no taboos about this. After all, it was human nature for fallen leaves to return to their roots. Afterwards, he sorted out the things in the car and went to the official road with the Taoist master.
The cold moonlight illuminates the surrounding forests and mountains.
Under the pale moonlight, the bullock cart carried three people, and the creaking and groaning sound spread along the dead road.
After about three miles, there were lights burning in the dark in the distance. For a moment, at the fork ahead, the outline of a small town appeared in Chen Yuan's sight.
"There should be an inn in the town. Let's rest here tonight."
With that said, Chen Yuan drove the bullock cart into the town entrance. The long street was dimly lit, and it was difficult to see pedestrians on the street. Occasionally, there were a few barking dogs coming from the deep alleys and houses.
Woof woof woof——
Amidst the faint barking of dogs, I finally saw the lanterns hanging in front of the street, and the flags outside read the word "Yunfu Inn".
"Man! A customer is here!" Sun Zhengde was already very hungry and thirsty. As soon as he arrived, he rushed to the store door without waiting for the bullock cart to hear about it. He was stunned as soon as he entered.
Chen Yuan followed her master in. In the middle of the night, there were actually three or four tables of guests in the inn, all of them were men. She looked at the three people at the door and engrossed herself in eating in silence.
"These people look so familiar..."
When the fat Taoist looked at these men and muttered, the store clerk came over with a sad face.
"You three, do you want to eat or stay in a hotel?"
"It's so late at night, are you planning to let the three of us live outside? Hurry up and drive the oxcart to the backyard, and serve the best dishes in the store."
Sun Zhengde didn't talk nonsense to him, and hurriedly went to an empty table, put down the stools that were overturned on the table, and invited Chen Yuan and the crazy old man to sit down.
At this time, the innkeeper also came over, took note of the dishes, hesitated for a moment, and said: "If you three want to stay in the hotel, I'm sorry, the guests are already full. If you really want to stay, you can only stay in the backyard."
, but it’s just a bit…”
He felt a little embarrassed to continue talking about the rest.