When the shop gradually became quiet and the shopkeeper came to the two of them, Hua Rujin calmed down and asked in a low voice: "Shopkeeper, do you know what the officers of the inspection department were talking about just now? Why is it involved?"
To hundreds of lives?”
"Well, it's best that you two don't ask about this matter."
The store owner didn't want to mention this.
Shu Jinxuan knew that his cousin now wanted to get a foothold in the litigation field, and he was unwilling to let go of these tasks of complaining about people's grievances, so he urged: "Brother Hu, please stop being so pretentious and tell me, what exactly happened?"
Shopkeeper Hu looked around, then sat down and whispered to the two of them:
"This matter can be traced back to a year ago. The fishermen on the riverside in Jiang'an County often let cormorants go into the water to fish, but this year the cormorants refused to fish. Even the fishermen forced the cormorants into the water.
Throw it overboard and they quickly jump back into the boat."
"This is a strange thing."
The elegant cousin stroked his chin and sighed softly.
"Who says it isn't?"
Shopkeeper Hu continued: "This is nothing. One night just a month ago, the fishing boats on the river began to shake violently, and the cormorants kept calling, as if they were frightened. When the fishermen ran out of the cabins, they found many
The corpses were floating on the river, with black gas coming out of them. What was even more strange was that the corpses would not sink if they stood on the river. The next day, there were many dead fish floating on the river, and the surrounding river water
It’s all turned black.”
"Okay, why are there dead bodies on the river?"
Hua Rujin was also particularly puzzled: "What does this have to do with the hundreds of lives?"
"We don't know why corpses suddenly appeared on the river, but there have been a lot of strange things happening in the county recently."
Before Shopkeeper Hu spoke the next words, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead:
"Also last month, two red-eyed and white-haired monsters suddenly appeared in a household's house. The two monsters ate all the meat and vegetables that the household bought for a wedding banquet. The guests were so frightened that the two monsters dispersed in the household.
We were having fun at home for a while, but when we waited for the county government officials to send us there, we had already disappeared without a trace."
At this point, Shopkeeper Hu didn't mean to stop, but continued:
"There is an even more outrageous thing that I have witnessed with my own eyes. Probably last month, a neighbor in our village passed away. I went to kowtow in front of the coffin in the courtyard, and suddenly I saw the corpse's fingers moving slightly, and then his whole body
He actually sat up from the coffin, frightened everyone and fled out of the yard.
Several relatives and friends and I climbed up to the wall of the courtyard to take a look. We found that the body had walked out of the courtyard. Its arms could move on its own and its feet could jump very high when walking. I and several relatives and friends were frightened.
, picked up some stones and threw them into the yard. The corpse seemed to be aware of it, and then returned to the funeral shed. We were worried for a long time, and then someone bold went in to check. Guess what, the corpse lay back down again.
In the coffin, we were so frightened that we hurriedly sealed the coffin to calm down the storm."
No matter how Hua Rujin heard it, she felt that this situation was like a zombie movie she had seen in her own world.
Are there really zombies?
Shu Jinxuan also looked frightened when he heard this, and sighed uneasily: "These things have nothing to do with the hundreds of lives my cousin asked about."
"Why doesn't it matter?"
Shopkeeper Hu frowned and said: "In the middle of last month, a Taoist came to our county. He said that these things were all because of the resentment in the Chu River. Since ancient times, the Chu River has experienced many tragic wars. He only said that the great ancestor died when he crossed the river.
There are countless corpses entering the river. If the resentment gathers to a certain level, it will cause a disaster of corpses. People who drink the river water will become extremely vicious and kill each other. Then the world will be in chaos."
"It's a Taoist priest again."
Thinking of what happened to the Dou family, Hua Rujin didn't know how to describe her hatred for the Taoist priests at this moment.
"Hush, Miss Hua, please don't talk nonsense. Not even the government would dare to be careless about this kind of thing."
Shopkeeper Hu's expression was extremely serious: "The Taoist priest said that there are so many resentful spirits in the Chu River that even the River God dare not take them away, so they must be sacrificed to the River God."
"Could it be that more than a hundred lives were sacrificed to the God of Jiang?"
Hua Rujin suddenly understood.
"Exactly."
Shopkeeper Hu said: "It is said that seven or seventy-nine boys and girls will be used to lead the way, and ninety-nine and eighty-one girls who have just entered the age of hairpin will be dedicated to the river god and the various water ghosts and evil spirits in the river.
, Only in this way can the disaster be resolved.”
"That's unreasonable. Isn't this just killing people's lives?"
Hua Rujin was furious when she heard this: "Are these children and the girl's parents willing to part with them?"
"Hey, who would be willing to hand over their children if there is no other way?"
Shopkeeper Hu sighed sadly: "When Censor Caojiang left last month, he ordered the county magistrate and the general magistrate of the Inspection Department to investigate the matter thoroughly. They adopted the Taoist's suggestion and asked all parts of the county to maintain the use of lotteries.
The method is to select suitable candidates in each village. My unlucky nephew is now only four years old but he has been selected and will be sent for a sacrifice ceremony on the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Shu Jinxuan was already used to this kind of thing, and he didn't show any indignation like Hua Rujin.
Ever since Taizu passed away and the old custom of burying more than 40 people with him was resumed, there have not been many such incidents heard from various places in the past few years.
Although he sympathized with the plight of those who had been buried, he himself was a medical student and had a noble status in the eyes of outsiders, but was not worth mentioning in the eyes of the powerful officials.
So he didn't want his cousin to get involved in this kind of thing.
After all, this matter involves the government, and if you are not careful, you will lose your head.
He hurriedly ordered shopkeeper Hu to prepare some mung bean powder and left.
Hua Rujin took a piece of silver and handed it to Shopkeeper Hu, but Shopkeeper Hu resisted in every possible way: "Miss Hua is really out of touch. I have known Young Master Shu for many years, and you have come all the way. I'm afraid I won't entertain you well.
When it comes to raising money, you don’t treat me as one of your own.”
Hua Rujin also saw that Ruya's cousin brought her here not only to meet old friends, but also to save money for herself. She thanked Shopkeeper Hu and followed Ruya's cousin back to the carriage.
On the way back, hearing cries everywhere, Hua Rujin opened the curtains to take a look, and saw the group of patrol officers escorting young women or holding young children in their arms as they hurried out of the city.
go.
The voices of crying fathers and mothers could be heard behind them:
"You bunch of heartless thieves, give my daughter back."
"My child, give me back my child."
"You guys are damned, I curse you to a bad death."
Listening to the noisy crying outside, Shu Jinxuan lowered the curtain cruelly and said to Hua Rujin solemnly:
"Cousin, I don't think there's anything wrong with you wanting to be a litigator. I know you won't become someone like Gu Langxi, but I hope you don't put yourself in danger. Although I don't know anything about that girl from the Cheng family, you and her
How did we get to know each other, but you have also seen the dangers back then. Without Mr. Ye's help, you alone would not be able to shake this dirty officialdom."
After a pause, his expression became more serious: "Three years ago, if I had known what would happen to you when you went to the Dou family, I would have rushed back from Beijing no matter what. Now that I am by your side, I will never
I will watch you get into any trouble again."
In the past few days that I have known my elegant cousin, this is the first time I have seen him so serious and serious.
Hua Rujin smiled warmly at him: "Don't worry, cousin, I know it well."
Shopkeeper Hu's words were still fresh in her mind. If such a thing really caused chaos in the world, I'm afraid he would have given up more than a hundred lives even in front of the emperor.