Although Chenjia Village at the foot of the mountain looks large, it is obviously not very wealthy.

The most magnificent thing is not the house of the village chief or clan leader, but the Dragon King Temple built on the bank of Luoshui River.

I don’t know how much money the villagers spent or how much manpower they devoted.

Although the Dragon King Temple only has a two-entry courtyard, it is beautifully built with blue bricks and green tiles, carved beams and painted buildings, and flowers and plants planted everywhere.

at this time.

There was no one sleeping in the village most of the night, but the two sobbing children were not the only ones.

But all the more than a thousand people in the village were awake.

They all knelt on both sides of the door of the temple. Looking around, they saw a dark area full of human heads.

What's even more strange is that in the middle of the night, no one held a lamp, no one spoke, and no family took their children under the age of fifteen out together.

In addition to the sobbing sounds of two little babies who were washed clean and dressed in new floral clothes under the only oil lamp in the temple.

The whole village was eerily silent.

There was a village chief and an old woman acting as a temple blessing. From time to time they looked back at the rolling Luoshui River behind them, and from time to time they murmured something in a low voice:

"Goddess, why hasn't Lord Dragon come yet?"

"Why are you anxious? Master Dragon King will come naturally at midnight.

In the past thirty years, how has the master ever delayed?"

"Aren't I worried? If it doesn't stop raining, all the corn planted in the village will rot in the ground without waiting for harvest!"

Just like what Nie Renxiong’s dead subordinate Lao Hu once said (Chapter 114).

“Thirty years ago when the late emperor was in power, we followed the ‘Dragon Qi Law Ban’ and retreated to the township level. Fifteen years ago when Emperor Jianming came to the throne, we retreated to the county level.

Last year, even at the state level, we, Yu Longzhi, the paper framers, needed to make repairs from time to time."

The "Dragon Qi Law Ban" in the backcountry almost completely failed yesterday, but its rapid decline started decades ago.

As the "Dragon Qi Law Ban" continues to shrink, small villages like Chenjiacun, which are close to the mountains, are the first to suffer.

Just like during the dry season, many people will build their houses on fertile river beds and open up farmland to grow crops.

When the rainy season comes and the water level rises again, the river water will be the first to destroy these houses and farmland.

The same principle applies to the retreat of "Dragon Qi Law Ban".

However, for those people who have been recuperating on the "river bed" for more than two hundred years, it is really difficult to make the decision to move their families.

Maybe bystanders can make sarcastic remarks, why do these people want money rather than their lives?

But how could it be possible for the owners of these houses and fields to give up the family fortune accumulated over generations so easily?

Even if we leave this place and go to a county or prefectural city, where will there be a roof to cover our bodies and two acres of land to provide a meal?

This is a practical matter of survival.

No matter how thin the "dragon energy law prohibition" is, almost no one will abandon their family and career and leave their hometown unless they are completely unable to survive.

Just because the ability of the people at the bottom to withstand risks is too weak!

then.

If they want to survive in this mysterious world, since the court is no longer reliable, they have to find someone or a demon who can be relied on!

Even for some people, if they can fully understand the "commandments and taboos", even those [weird] thighs may not be incapable of being hugged.

Wow!

Suddenly there was a sound of surging water behind the villagers.

Then the horrible stench that burns people's nostrils comes with the wind.

Then there was the sound of wet footsteps, approaching step by step from the direction of the river.

But at this time, all the villagers were kneeling deeply on the ground, not daring to raise their heads and look at the supreme "Dragon King".

They were pretending to be cowardly, but the two children who were placed in the temple saw the "Dragon King" clearly.

What kind of Dragon King is this? It’s clearly a bloated catfish spirit that barely has the shape of a human!

The catfish's head is flanked by more than a dozen wriggling tentacles on both sides of its mouth. Its fat body is half human and half fish, dragging a long tail.

The black and yellow mucus on his body exuded a terrifying fishy smell, and even left a clear yellow mark on the ground.

"Ahhhhh"

"Wow wow wow"

Two little babies, a boy and a girl, who were only seven or eight years old, were immediately frightened and burst into tears.

But this is obviously not the first time that villagers have given dolls to monsters to eat.

Children are born in turns among villagers.

Their parents had also been guarded by other villagers long ago to prevent trouble from causing trouble during the sacrifice.

So no one will come to save them.

Seeing them crying with anger, the catfish spirit pretending to be the "Dragon King" suddenly burst into laughter and said in a loud voice:

"These two are strong enough this year, so they will taste very chewy."

He stretched out a stubby hand and grabbed the boy among them.

Just when he was about to start eating, he seemed to suddenly remember something, and turned to the villagers and said:

"In the past years, Your Majesty, I would only take one pair of 'Holy Infant Pills' a year.

But today is different from the past. I got news that the [Dragon Gate] on the Zhuo River is about to open. Your Majesty, I must gather enough strength to jump over the [Dragon Gate] and transform into a real dragon!"

Hear the words.

Under the leadership of the village chief, the villagers immediately flattered everyone:

"Congratulations to the Dragon King!"

"Congratulations to Lord Xilong!"

"Long live the Dragon King! Please protect us and other common people and keep them in good weather!"

The legend that there are three "Dragon Gates" (upper, middle and lower) on the Zhuo River has long been deeply rooted in people's hearts.

The people who live along the river, from the octogenarian to the three-year-old child, are all familiar with it.

Moreover, the downstream of Chenjiacun is not too far past the junction of Heluo and Heluo, where the first [Dragon Gate] is located.

There are two large mountains on both sides, sandwiched by a turbid river. The river is less than 40 meters wide. The river rushes out of the "gate" and the yellow waves roll down thousands of miles. It is also called "Yumen".

"Hejin is called "Dragon Gate". The water is impassable and no fish or turtle can get up there. Thousands of big fish from the rivers and seas can't get up to the Dragon Gate. If they can't get up, then they are like dragons!"

Legend has it that if a fish, turtle, or snake jumps over the Dragon Gate at a certain time, fire from heaven will burn its tail, transforming it into a dragon.

As the saying goes: "The dragon burns its tail and goes straight up to the blue clouds"!

Although this "Dragon King" has eaten two boys and girls every year for the past thirty years, he will bless Chenjia Village with good weather for the whole year.

Far better than a court that only collects taxes!

If it could successfully transform into a dragon, wouldn't it be more helpful to the village?

As long as it's good for you, who cares whether it's a child-eating monster?

Just as the emperor gave up on them as a matter of course, they also gave up on certain "similar people" as a matter of course.

However, the villagers did not wait for too long to be happy, but the "Dragon Prince" changed the subject and continued:

"Therefore, this year's pair of Holy Infant Pills is not enough.

From today on, you will give me a pair of virgins every ten days!"

"Two in ten days?!"

All the villagers were shocked. How could there be so many children in the village to feed it? It was clearly trying to eradicate itself!

"No, Your Majesty, the entire Chenjia Village cannot give birth to so many children in one year.

With this way of eating, it won’t take long before our entire Chenjia Village will be devoured.”

Gudong!

"Lord Dragon" suddenly opened his mouth and swallowed alive the villager who shouted the loudest.

The remaining people immediately fell silent and did not dare to say anything.

"What a disaster! What a disaster!

This monster is unreliable!"

Those with a slightly more flexible mind have completely understood that the reason why the other party has only had one pair of children every year for the past thirty years is not because they are willing to trade fairly.

Just to fatten up the entire Chenjia Village and then kill them!

Even after eating the so-called "Holy Infant Pill" and the other ones that taste worse, they may not be beaten by this demon.
To be continued...