Li Bai and the other three had greatly increased their internal energy and were in a happy mood. After enjoying themselves in Jiangling for ten days, they hired a boat again and sailed up the Yangtze River to Jingmen.
When they arrived at Jingmen, the three of them went ashore. When they touched their money bags, they found that they had no money, so they went directly to Tangming Pavilion in Jingmen, hoping to get a copper post order and earn some money for their travel expenses.
Jingmen Tangming Pavilion is located in the west area of Jingmen County. It is one of the prefecture Tangming Pavilions. It has a martial arts arena where you can receive silver and bronze orders. Its area is much larger and more luxurious than Anhan Tangming Pavilion.
Li Bai and the other three arrived at the door, showed their tokens of talent and talent, and then stepped inside.
All Tangming Pavilions across the country have a unified layout, so the three of them quickly found the details of the silver and bronze orders and browsed them individually.
Suddenly, a silver post caught everyone's attention, it read:
Jingmen Water Monster. A group of nameless water monsters with bull heads and fish bodies appeared in Jingmen waters. They are designed to ram passing ships. In the past two years, sixteen merchant ships have been smashed through the bottom of the ship and sank into the river. All people on board were killed, and the cargo was missing. The losses were very serious.
Now, the Tangming Pavilion in Jingmen has set up a silver post order to urge military officials to capture water monsters and eliminate harm to the people. In addition, the merchants in Jingmen have added a reward of 100 guan to those who catch the monsters together.
After reading the introduction of the silver post order, Wu Guanzhi said to Li Bai and Sima Heng: "You two, how about you just take this silver post order?"
Li Bai nodded and said, "Catching water monsters for the people is not bad, it is exactly what I want!"
Sima Heng joked: "Haha, Brother Wu, among the three of us, you are the only one who is a martial arts scholar and is qualified to receive the silver post order. Of course I will listen to you!"
"Haha." Wu Zhizhi patted Sima Heng on the shoulder and said, "Okay, just take this silver post order! Let's go to Jingmen waters to catch water monsters!"
After saying that, Wu Zhizhi, Li Bai and Sima Heng turned around and walked out of Tangming Pavilion in Jingmen.
After leaving Tangming Pavilion, Wu Zhanzhi asked Li Bai: "Li Bai, among us you are the best in literary talent and the most cunning. How do you think we should catch this water monster?"
"Yes, Li Bai, we will listen to your arrangements." Sima Heng also said.
Li Bai thought for a moment and said: "If you want to catch water monsters, you must first go out of the river. Brother Wu, you first go and find out if there are any large merchant ships that are going to sail recently. If there are, you can show your decree and say that we will be his bodyguards."
, not taking a penny; Brother Sima, you can find a way to find a big hammer and a big copper bell and come back, I can use them. Once the matter is done, we will meet here."
Although Wu Guanzhi and Sima Heng didn't know Li Bai's intentions, seeing that Li Bai was confident, they didn't say much and went about their business as arranged.
After Wu Guanzhi and Sima Heng left, Li Bai turned around and walked back to Tangming Pavilion in Jingmen. He directly went to Bo, the master of Tangming Pavilion, and asked about the water monster in Jingmen.
When the master heard that they were going to catch the water monster, he was naturally happy, because the silver post order had been hanging up for two years and the case had not been solved yet. It was really embarrassing for Tang Mingge of Jingmen, so he talked about the water monster in detail:
"The water monster only appeared two years ago. It was looking for merchant ships and destroyed large ships. At first, the Yamen and Tangming Pavilion thought it was the work of water thieves, so they specially asked Wu Ju and Wu Xiucai to disguise themselves as boatmen and get on the ship. They actually encountered it, but
It can be said that it was a heavy loss that time. Four martial arts scholars and ten martial arts scholars went away, but only one martial arts scholar came back, and the martial arts scholar who came back had a big hole in his left hand with a horn! According to the martial arts scholar's report, these water monsters
It was really not a water pirate, but a real monster with a bull's head and a fish's body. It was so powerful underwater that it could easily pierce the bottom of the boat with its horns. The boat sank very quickly once it entered the water, and everyone fell down.
The water is full of water monsters, and soon everyone will be killed and eaten."
"Then how did the returning martial artist escape?"
"This martial arts man went into the water when the ship sank. He was attacked by several water monsters and his hand was injured. Fortunately, an empty wooden box happened to float by. He hid in the wooden box and floated along the river, and escaped.
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"Then where is this martial artist now?"
"This martial arts scholar was not originally from our Jingmen. He came back and reported the situation and then left. He has never been to our Jingmen Tangming Pavilion again."
"So that's it." Li Bai seemed to understand something and continued to ask: "Then no one will catch water monsters again?"
"Yes, there are, but most of them are martial arts people who act alone, and they either didn't encounter the water monster, or died at the hands of the water monster. No one has ever caught a single water monster! So much so that now we are here in Jingmen
There are fewer and fewer cargo ships. If this continues, the Silver Tie Order may be upgraded to the Gold Tie Order, and by then our Jingmen Tangming Pavilion will really have a disgraceful face!"
Li Bai chuckled after hearing this, and comforted Lord Bo by saying, "Don't worry Lord Bo, there is no need to upgrade the silver post order to the gold post order. We will just wait until we solve the case!"
"Are you so confident?"
"Haha, just a few water monsters, how could we be so lucky?"
"As long as you have faith, I'll wait for your good news!"
Then Li Bai didn't ask any more questions about the water monster, and just chatted with Lord Bo about everyday things.
After a long time, Li Bai saw that the time was about the same, so he said goodbye to his boss and left Tangming Pavilion to join Sima Heng and Wu Guanzhi.
Just after leaving Tangming Pavilion, Wu Guanzhi and Sima Heng came back.
Sima Heng borrowed a large bronze bell from a nearby temple, which was five feet high and three feet wide. Unless a person with strong internal strength could not move it, he also borrowed a large hammer from a blacksmith.
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Director Wu also found out that a merchant ship was rushing to transport a batch of silk to Dongting in the afternoon. Originally they were also afraid of the water monsters in Jingmen waters, but because the interest offered by the owner of the cargo was too generous, they decided to take the risk. Now I heard that there is
Wu Juren and Wu Xiucai were willing to work as bodyguards for free. The ship owner was very happy and naturally welcomed them to go with him.
Li Bai was very happy to hear what Wu Guanzhi said, and told the two of them the news he had learned from Tang Ming Pavilion Master Bo.
After listening to what Li Bai said, Wu Zhizhi said: "Li Bai, do you really believe in a water monster with a bull's head and a fish body?"
"Haha, of course I believe it." Li Bai laughed, and then said: "The world is full of wonders. Didn't we also see the roc a month ago?"
"But I always feel that this Jingmen water monster is a bit weird, but I can't tell what is weird?" Wu Zhizhi scratched his head and said.
At this time, Sima Heng also intervened and said: "Yes, Li Bai, I also feel that something is wrong, but I don't know how to say it."
"Haha, let me tell you what's wrong." Li Bai said with a smile: "Only one person has ever seen this Jingmen water monster, that is, the martial arts scholar who escaped death, and the appearance of the water monster was only described by this person.
Yes, but the biggest problem now is that the martial arts man has disappeared! So..."
Li Bai paused and continued: "So I think this Jingmen water monster is a lie!"
"Lies? Then you just said you believe in a water monster with a bull's head and a fish's body?" Wu Guide said.
"Yes, I believe that there may really be a kind of water monster with the head of a bull and the body of a fish in the world, but I don't believe in the Jingmen water monster that the martial arts man said!"
"Oh, you believe it and you don't believe it at the same time. It makes me a little confused!" Wu Guide said: "Li Bai, just tell me what to do next!"
"Brother Wu, our next step is to take the big bronze bell and the hammer on the boat and go out of the river to catch water monsters."
"Catch water monsters?" Wu Guanzhi was a little confused and asked: "Li Bai, how do you know that we will definitely encounter water monsters when we get on the boat and go out of the river this time?"
"How do you know? Haha, Brother Wu, even you, an outsider who has just arrived in Jingmen, can find out that a cargo ship left the Jingmen waters in the afternoon. How could the water monster not know about it? Don't worry, they will definitely come." After that, Li Bai said
Yun Jin held up the big bronze bell and said as he walked: "Let's go, let's find a tavern to have a good meal first."
Seeing this, the two had no choice but to follow. Wu Zhizhi suddenly remembered that they had no money, how could they have a good meal? So he said to Li Bai: "Li Bai, we have no money and can't go to the tavern. Why don't we get on the ship first and ask the cargo owner?"
Looking for something to eat?"
When Li Bai heard this, he turned around and smiled at them and said, "It's okay. I just borrowed three hundred Kaiyuan Tongbao from Pavilion Master Tang Ming, which is enough for a good meal."
It turned out that they had already prepared for it, but since they could have a good meal, Wu Guanzhi and Sima Heng were naturally willing to follow.
So the three of them found a pub with a nice environment and had lunch.
After that, Wu Zhizhi led the way, and the three of them arrived at Jingmen Pier, greeted the owner of the ship, and got on the ship together.
The ship was a large wooden ship, loaded with a boatload of silk, with sails hoisted on the tall mast. There were eleven or twelve boatmen and seven or eight bodyguards, plus the captain and Li Bai, there were more than twenty people in total.
The boat departs from Jingmen Pier, exits the Yangtze River via Jingmen Waterway, and ends at Dongting.
Half an hour after setting off, the cargo ship entered the center of the Jingmen waters, which is where water monsters are most commonly seen. At this time, everyone on the ship became nervous. The owner of the ship carefully steered the helm, thinking constantly in his mind that he must not run into the water monster.