Li Xiuyuan breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled the boatman from the water into the hand of painting the boat.
Finally, we arrived in time. If it had been any later, I was afraid that the boatman would also have fallen into the river.
But then when Li Xiuyuan looked towards the river, he found that the other boatman had disappeared, and not even a human figure was seen.
"Young Master." Two guards rushed over.
Li Xiuyuan concentrated and waved his hand: "Don't go near the river, there are foreign objects in the water."
In the blink of an eye, a boatman was pulled into the water, and there was no sign of a struggle. This was definitely not a normal fall into the water. There must be something evil in the river.
"Ahem~!" The boatman coughed violently and spit out several mouthfuls of river water.
"Shipman, are you okay?" Li Xiuyuan helped him up, patted his back and helped him breathe.
The boatman's face was pale, as if he had been frightened: "I, I saw a person under the water. He grabbed my oar with his hand... and then he grabbed my neck and tried to drag me in.
What are you talking about in the river? There is a king traveling ahead, and our ship cannot block the king's way."
"You are so powerful and confused, boatman, you must be scared and confused. How could someone pull you under the water? Maybe the oar got tangled in the water plants when you were rowing, so you accidentally slipped and fell into the water." Zhu Yu
smiled.
"No, absolutely not. There must be a water ghost in the river. Xiaowu was pulled down into the river by the water ghost just now. We can't continue moving forward and must turn back." The boatman said in panic.
"There are no water ghosts in broad daylight. It's just a rumor in the countryside." Zhu Yu shook his head and said, but he didn't believe it. Several other scholars didn't believe it either.
Scholars do not believe in ghosts and gods, and they have never encountered ghosts and gods.
But Li Xiuyuan frowned, neither believing nor disbelieving.
Water ghosts are unlikely, because the sky is not dark now, and it is impossible for water ghosts to show up. After all, ghosts are afraid of sunlight.
Of course, some very high-minded ghosts still have the ability to appear and appear in half a day.
"I believe what this boatman said about the water ghost." Wang Ping said righteously at this time.
"Oh, Brother Wang, do you really believe in things about ghosts and gods?" Zhu Yu said in surprise.
Wang Ping smiled and said, "Recently I have been reading books about strange gods and ghosts, but I believe that gods and ghosts really exist. Boatman, don't panic. If you encounter a water ghost, I have a way to cure it."
"Is it possible that Brother Wang also has the ability to drive away ghosts and catch monsters? Today we are going to see it." A man named Zhong Qingxu said with a smile.
"What's so difficult about this?" Wang Ping cupped his hands and said, "I only need a copybook and I can make the water ghosts retreat."
Li Xiuyuan next to him looked at him suspiciously. This Wang Ping had changed quite a lot over a period of time. He actually knew how to subdue water ghosts. It seemed that the painting incident last time had greatly stimulated him. He was actually relying on his talent here.
There is still time to see the wonders and ghosts.
"Please give way." Wang Ping smiled at this moment, walked to the table, spread out the paper, sharpened the ink and twisted the pen.
"This is a method I read in a book. The book said this method is the most effective when encountering water ghosts,"
Wang Ping wrote with ink, and then wrote: "This water ghost is actually not scary. It also has weaknesses. What the water ghost is most afraid of is the word "huo". As long as I write this word and throw it into the water, the water ghost will immediately escape."
Ying, this can keep us safe, everyone, please keep an eye on it."
"Oh, is it so magical?" Several scholars nearby came over and asked.
Li Xiuyuan also asked curiously: "I don't know which word it is? If it is useful, I will learn it too."
"Brother Li, you are so arrogant." Wang Ping said.
Soon, a big word "哩" was written. He blew the ink dry, then confidently took the copybook and threw it toward the river.
"Huh~!"
A gust of river wind blew by, and the copybook was blown by the wind. Instead of falling on the river, it fell on the hull of the boat and stuck to it when it encountered water.
"..." Wang Ping was stunned for a moment.
"Brother Wang, you lost it." Zhu Yu next to him couldn't help laughing.
"I wrote another one." Wang Ping was a little annoyed, so he turned around and wrote the word "哩" before throwing it into the river.
This time he learned a lesson and didn't throw it away directly. Instead, he reached out and placed the copybook on the river.
"It's done." Wang Ping nodded with satisfaction.
Everyone looked at the loud word floating on the river again, and there was silence for a while.
"The handwriting has changed." said a scholar.
"I saw it." Wang Ping said.
The river was rippling, and the calligraphy on the copybook floating on the river was washed away by the water and blurred, and the handwriting could no longer be read clearly.
"There should be no water ghosts now, right?" Zhu Yu asked.
Wang Ping replied: "Yes, it's possible, boatman, if you try to sail the boat again, the water ghost should have escaped."
"It can't be driven. We can't sail the boat today. Xiao Wu has already fallen in, and I don't want to fall in with him." The boatman was frightened and refused immediately. He would not touch the oar again no matter what.
"Brother Li, why don't you give me a try as an escort?" Zhu Yu said, "We can't be trapped on the river forever. It's getting late now, and we have to go back to the city."
"Yes, there might be some danger if you continue to stay here." Li Xiuyuan felt the seriousness of the matter.
The boatman who fell just now was probably in danger. He motioned to a guard next to him, and then warned: "Be careful."
The guard nodded in agreement, then took the oar and started rowing.
"There is something under the water." As soon as the escort oar reached into the river, he immediately felt a strong pulling force coming from the water.
Fortunately, the guard was well prepared and was not pulled down, but when his hand was released, the oar was dragged directly into the river.
"Water, the water ghost is still there." The boatman stammered in fright.
The guard was also shocked and did not dare to continue rowing. He quickly retreated from the side of the boat to avoid accidentally falling into the river.
"Brother Wang, your method won't work." Zhu Yu said.
Wang Ping smiled and felt embarrassed.
Li Xiuyuan shook his head and said: "You wrote the word arrogant and arrogant. People in the river didn't know it and thought you were scolding it. They are probably angry now, but your method reminded me. Maybe I can write it."
Write a letter to communicate with the thing in the river and see if it can let us pass."
After saying that, he went to the desk and started writing.
"Brother Li, are you also proficient in this matter of gods and ghosts? Could it be that you want to draw a Taoist talisman to drive away evil spirits?" Zhu Yu asked.
"I can't draw symbols."
Li Xiuyuan shook his head and just wrote a line on rice paper: If there is an obstacle when crossing the river, can we let him go?
After thinking for a while, I finally added: Give me some face.
Zhu Yu and other scholars next to him took a look and were stunned.
"I don't know, give it a try, maybe the things in the river will help me gain face." Li Xiuyuan said, then he dried the ink and threw the paper into the river.
What is strange is that when his copybook fell on the river, it was neither blown away by the wind nor washed away by the water. Instead, it seemed to have weight like a tile and sank straight down towards the river.