Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 288 Wen Yan
Wow.
The Qiantang River is rolling with countless rapids and torrents. From time to time, one can see one or two huge fish heads with bulging eyeballs and several swollen corpses of humans and animals in the waves.

In this seemingly dangerous clear and turbid current, a single-masted sailboat was riding the waves and sailing downstream.

Yangzhou has a clean administration system and honest folk customs. Although it is not yet to the point where no one picks up lost items on the road or leaves any talented person unattended in the wild, ordinary people do not have to worry about encountering robbers or cannibalistic inns when walking on the official roads.

But if you want to take a boat alone to cross the river at the confluence of three rivers, it is a different story. The Qiantang River from Yushan to Wenyan has been winding and full of undercurrents since ancient times. The boatmen who can make a living on this dangerous river are naturally no ordinary people.

The waters of the world are deep and the people are treacherous. If you are alone without any companions and your money is exposed, the ferryman will inevitably be tempted by your money and can easily rob you and kill you on the boat. By then, the waters are so vast that you can't even escape.

After killing someone, the body was sunk in the water, and no one could speak up for the poor creature. Because the cost of committing a crime was too low and the profit from committing a crime was too great, many people would take the risk. People kept a distance from the Wenyan area, which was closely related to the rumors that the evil spirits in the water were causing harm to people, but the number of people harmed by the boat bandits and pirates lurking in Qujiang and Qiantang was not small.

People know that ghosts are scary, and ghosts know that people's hearts are vicious. Cars, boats, shops, feet, and teeth should be killed even if they are innocent. This is not an alarmist statement in some ancient works.

The reason why the imperial court did not allow the boatmen and white-water boatmen who had been roaming on the river for years to go ashore was mainly based on this consideration.

Farmers and hunters would be firmly tied to the land and forests, while boats and ships could come and go without a trace, making it impossible to manage them. It would be better to simply ban them from going ashore to prevent them from becoming erratic bandits who roam the rivers and seas and commit crimes.

However, this sloop that was swimming in the middle of the river was obviously different from those sampans. On the bow deck stood a heroic hunter who looked like a towering green mountain. The wind blew across the river, and his black uniform was particularly eye-catching. Especially the nine-headed tiger on his body, which was howling with its neck stretched out, and it looked like an angry spirit with a blazing might.

It was Qinhuai, the Tiger-Headed God, who followed Cha Xiaodao to Fuchun Market in Wenyan.

There were very few ships sailing on the Qiantang River. Even if a few fishing boats that were clearly larger than ordinary sampans wanted to approach, they immediately moved away when they saw the majestic giant tiger on the middle deck.

Obviously, with the intimidation of the three men and the tiger of the White Tiger Guards, not to mention the boatmen who were tempted by the money, even the demons and monsters who had no taboos would have to consider whether their weight was enough to feed the tiger.

Since the [White Tiger Guards] were dispatched to provide protection, the boat that Cha Xiaodao was on naturally could not be neglected. Qin Huai also took advantage of this opportunity. Several people specially dispatched an official warship from Yushan upstream of Wenyan, and sailed downstream, using the water's high speed to reach Fuchunji.

Just as Qin Huai was admiring the surging river, Zha Xiaodao's friendly Tianjin dialect suddenly sounded behind him:

"My goodness, the rain has never stopped from Lin'an to Yushan, why is it still raining on the river? Did the Dragon King of Qiantang River overturn the basin while taking a bath?"

Qin Huai turned around and saw Cha Xiaodaoji sitting on the doorstep under the awning extending from the cabin. With one hand he scooped out scraps from the [fresh cage] to feed the big tiger, and with the other hand he carefully stroked its fluffy fur.

"A few days ago, the Dragon Lord of Dongting Lake issued a decree with the authority of a true god, causing the water elements of the entire Yangzhou to spontaneously gather in Qiantang. During this period of time, even the rainstorms that have not been seen in decades will only be normal. The general once instructed that it would not be surprising if anything strange and beyond common sense happened during this trip. So, I hope that Chef Cha will forgive me."

The head of the guards, who had been standing guard beside Cha Xiaodao like an iron tower, began to explain and revealed a lot of information.

The influence of the Yunmeng decree was subtle, but it could not be hidden from the meticulous and sensitive Yanfu.

Ever since Qin Huai and his party left the provincial capital Lin'an, the originally continuous rainy weather gradually turned into heavy rain, causing the water level of the Qiantang River to rise significantly.

Qin Huai listened to the explanation of the head of the guards, with a thoughtful expression on his face: "So, the court sent you to assist the spirit chefs to hold banquets in Qiantang in order to deal with the non-human beings affected by this decree and prevent them from harming the people?"

"Officer Qin Lie has a good idea. The general and Shaoqing have exactly the same idea."

Seeing that the captain confirmed his guess, Qin Huai walked under the tent, rubbed the tiger's head with his big hands, and sat down on its warm and soft belly.

"The Grand Commander and Zhen Shaoqing really have a good plan. This not only solves the problem, but also reduces expenses and allows the exam to be held at the same time. It's killing three birds with one stone~"

Hearing Qin Huai's sigh, Cha Xiaodao was a little confused at first, but then he came to his senses and figured out the key.

The legal issues, the cooking competition issues, the dragon boat issues... all of them are essentially economic issues, at least from a macro perspective in Yangzhou.

"He does three things for one dollar. Look at his skills. Otherwise, how can he be the Grand Commander~"

When Cha Xiaodao was working as a laborer in Beijing, he would go and listen to the old men in the alleys bragging when he had nothing to do. Over time, he naturally developed a unique understanding of certain aspects.

At this moment, the tiger, who was taking a nap after having a full stomach, suddenly growled at the surging water.

Bang!
Suddenly, a dark green figure jumped out from the whirlpool, and its five slender fingers like daggers pierced directly into the heart of the unarmed Cha Xiaodao!

Qin Huai glanced at the White Tiger Guard who was about to attack, hesitated slightly, and forcefully held down his half-extended fist, then gathered his strength but did not strike out.

Captain Wang Yuan drew out the White Tiger Guard's standard tiger-head knife in an instant. The piercing cold blade cut through the thick mist and split the dark green figure in half.

bang~
Dirty blood spurted, evil energy filled the air, and two parts of a human-shaped body, resembling the upper abdomen and lower waist, fell on the deck, emitting a fishy stench.

Qin Huai looked closely and saw that the monster was covered with dense green fish scales all over its body. He could vaguely see eerie purple eyeballs on its facial features, and sharp fins grew on its back and limbs.

[Jiang Chan]: A rare water-dwelling ghost whose body can switch between real and virtual. Creatures scratched by its fins and claws will feel the phantom pain of drowning.

Note: Not edible!
"Good knife!"

Qin Huai cheered, praising not only Wang Yuan's decisive and sharp swordsmanship, but also the extraordinary quality of the standard tiger-head knife in his hand.

I saw that the end of the tiger-head knife handle was inlaid with a brass tiger head, and the blade was made of iron, smooth and shiny silver. When the wind and rain blew, the mottled dirty blood flowed to the ground like mercury.

【Tiger head knife】

Category: Weapons

Quality: Rare

Sharpness: 77
Own attributes:
[Tiger Power] (Quenched with tiger blood, increases damage to non-human beings, and can kill demons naturally.)
【Heyan Killing Ghost Seal】(temporary)

Before setting out, the White Tiger Guards used the lightning-struck peach wood seal on the tiger-head knife to gain powerful damage to evil objects for seven days.

"You two, we are almost at Wenyan."

After taking out the knife cloth to wipe the blade dry, the captain pointed to the gray-black area in the distance that appeared in the gloomy mist, and spoke in a deep voice to Qin Huai and Cha Xiaodao.

"Red at the start of the door, a good sign~"

Qin Huai kicked the dead but still stiff Jiang Chan at his feet, and seemed to not take the Wenyan Ghost Market, which ordinary people were terrified of, seriously at all.

"Come on, let's go take a look at the ghost market first."

Cha Xiaodao patted his butt, stood up, and with a wave of his hand, he decided the first destination for everyone.
-

The heavy rain seemed to be mixed with aphrodisiac incense and drugs, making people drowsy.

Qin Huai hurried forward on the gravel path in the forest, with one foot deep and one foot shallow. Beside him were three silent White Tiger Warriors and Cha Xiaodao who was riding a tiger.

Suddenly, in the gray-black rain and fog ahead, an incoherent and upside-down song came: "The fluff pulls the hand, the sheep shepherd turns around and runs into the tail-biting dog.

The mouse chased the cat, but the old cat bit his hand. The vicious dog ran away with its tail in its mouth, and the child carried the sheep on his back.

Following the singing, a strange figure in patchwork clothes came out from the rain and fog, driving a dozen cows, sheep, pigs, donkeys and various livestock. It seemed that he was traveling with Qin Huai and his group.

"It's not a good idea to cause trouble on this trip. We'll take the initiative to avoid it."

Qin Huai saw that the shepherd was behaving strangely and singing in disorder, so he sped up and arrived in front of the Taoist in just a few steps. However, he did not expect that the dozen or so cattle, sheep, pigs and donkeys were not intimidated by the tiger's might, and even their speed was barely keeping up with Qin Huai and his group under the shepherd's drive, hanging behind them not far away, looking at them from a distance.

After rushing along the bank of Qiantang River for a long time, Qin Huai and others came to a village with a stone tablet at the entrance, which was called "Wangjiatun".

"Captain, how far are we from Fuchun Market?"

Qin Huai stopped and looked at the populated village not far away, then turned to ask Wang Yuan who was carrying a map box.

"At our current pace, we'll have to walk for another half a day."

"Daozi, it's getting late. Instead of walking on the night road and encountering ghosts, why not stay here for a night?"

Cha Xiaodao was soaking wet and had already wilted from the heavy rain. He was eager to find a place to wash up and change into clean clothes. He nodded and said, "We have been traveling for so long, it's time to take a break. Let's go and ask the village chief if there is any vacant room for us to stay overnight."

Qin Huai was a skilled and courageous man, and was not afraid of encountering ghosts, so he led everyone inside.

Suddenly, they smelled a strange fishy smell. The shepherd who was driving the cattle, sheep, pigs and donkeys took advantage of the time when they stopped to discuss and caught up with them and entered Wangjiatun first.

"Old Wang, I am here to keep you safe!"

Hearing the shouting coming from afar, Qin Huai frowned and looked at Cha Xiaodao.

"There's something strange about this place."

"Then let's go?"

"No rush, let's take a look first."

Wangjiatun, not far from the beach, is a typical fishing village. Although it looks large, it is obviously not very wealthy.

Come to think of it, Wenyan is surrounded by winding paths, strong winds and fierce waves, and there are water minions that harm people from time to time. Even if people have relied on the water for generations, how many fish can they catch and how much wealth can they make?
Qin Huai looked at the most imposing but also the most dilapidated house in the fishing village, and couldn't help but murmur in his heart.

"It shouldn't be the case that the Dragon King Temple has been discontinued like this."

Yes, the most imposing house in Wangjiatun is the Dragon King Temple that faces the Qiantang River in the distance.

Even though Qinhuai is not specialized in folk architecture, it can be seen that the Dragon King Temple was once a prosperous place with green bricks, green tiles, and exquisite courtyards with painted beams and rafters.

But now the doors and windows are dilapidated and overgrown with weeds, and it seems that no one has taken care of it for a long time.

In front of the temple, there were more than a dozen cows, sheep, pigs and donkeys tied up, and there were also a few people who were obviously the village chiefs and clan elders. They were gathering in front of the strange Taoist priest, whispering something.

"Master, what's the price of the three animals this time?"

"The pigs, cattle, and sheep total three thousand taels of silver. I guarantee that after the Dragon King eats them, he will be very happy and the weather will be good!"

"Why are the three animals so much more expensive this time?"

The old man who looked like the village chief's cane trembled and he almost cried out in surprise.

"In a few days, Lord Dragon will fly over the Dragon Gate and ascend to heaven. If you serve him well this time and receive a reward from the king, you will benefit your descendants!"

The strange Taoist sneered, as if mocking the village chief's narrow-mindedness.

"Okay! Since this is a one-time deal, it doesn't matter if it's a little more expensive."

After discussing with several elders for a while, the village chief gritted his teeth and nodded to the strange Taoist priest.

"Cash, notes, or money?"

"Human silver, I brought all the kids."

The village chief sighed and waved his hand, and several families came out of the darkness with a dozen boys and girls under the age of ten.

"Hey! It's your blessing to be chosen by the Taoist master and accepted as a Taoist guardian. Why do you have such a sad face? You are not obedient! Not obedient!"

The strange Taoist shook his head and blew gently, and the corresponding star destinies of the dozen boys and girls appeared in the air.

"[Love blossoms happen in your fate], [Red Luan star moves], [Tiger runs to the morning]."

After scanning the horoscopes of all the children of appropriate age, the strange Taoist picked out a boy and a girl and dispersed the strange phenomena above the children's heads.

These children collapsed in an instant as if all their strength had been drained away, and were supported by their parents and relatives who were prepared. It is hard to say whether this is fortunate or unfortunate.

"Old Wang, remember this: one white pig, one yellow cow, and one black sheep. Don't lead the wrong ones!"

"Of course, of course, Master Dao, take care."

Seeing the strange Taoist put the man and woman on the big blue donkey he was riding, the village chief, Old Wang, hurriedly signaled two strong men to lead the cattle and slaughter the sheep to prepare the three animals.

The strange Taoist didn't stay for long. He drove the remaining livestock out of the village leisurely, as if he was busy going to the next village.

After a while, the three animals were laid out. The village chief, Lao Wangtou, and an old woman who served as a temple priest looked at the rolling Qiantang River not far away, feeling a little uneasy: "Witch, why hasn't the Dragon King come yet?"

"Why are you in such a hurry? The Dragon King will come naturally at midnight. It's only a minute away now. Can't you wait?"

"I'm worried! If the rain doesn't stop, the crops in the village will be drowned!"

Before the village chief, Lao Wang, could complain more, a column of water suddenly rose up from the river in front of him.

The dragon is coming.

(End of this chapter)