When Li Yu and Li Yu arrived in Changlin County, it was already noon the next day.
After asking some passers-by, the two came to a small town called "Hedong Town".
This is the place where Wang Yu said the river demon was causing trouble.
However, after traveling for a day and a night, the two of them were a little tired, so they found an inn and had a meal, then asked for two rooms, where they took a hot bath and had a good rest.
"Man, wait a minute, I have something to ask you."
When the waiter entered the room to pack his things, Li Yu stopped the waiter and slapped a dozen copper coins on the table.
"Hey, sir, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. As long as I know what I know, I won't be vague!"
The waiter's eyes lit up. As he spoke, he reached for a towel and wiped the table neatly. When the table was wiped clean, the copper plate on it had disappeared.
Li Yu smiled and said:
"I heard that there is a river demon causing trouble in your Hedong Town. I don't know if this is true. I hope you can tell me about it."
When he heard the word "River Demon", the waiter's expression changed, and he hurriedly put the copper coins back on the table as if his hands were hot:
"Master, I am not fooling you, this is actually the matter."
Before he finished speaking, he saw Li Yu take out another shining piece of silver and put it on the table. At the same time, he turned sideways, revealing a long sheathed knife on the side.
"Go on, you can choose either of these two things. If you don't say anything, I will help you choose."
Li Yu said with a smile, but there was a cold light in his eyes.
Gudong!
The waiter swallowed hard, then reached out his hand decisively, and all the copper plates and broken silver on the table disappeared.
He smiled and said, "Sir, it's like this. The river demon actually happened several years ago."
"This matter has to start from our Hedong Town."
"As the saying goes, you rely on mountains to eat and water to eat. Our Hedong Town is close to Baishui River, so most of our people here make a living by fishing."
"Five years ago, something strange happened here."
"At that time, many people had dreams for several days in a row, and the dreams they had were all surprisingly similar. They all dreamed of a burly man wearing heavy black scale armor and holding a steel fork. This man looked fierce and called himself the Black-Horned King.
, is the river god of Baishui River."
"It requires our town to hold an event to worship the river god every three months. Not only must there be three animals, big and small, but there must also be a pair of boys and girls. Otherwise, fishermen will not be allowed to fish in the river."
As the waiter talked, he couldn't stop talking and started talking incessantly:
"Of course many people didn't believe it at first, and they even found a mage to subdue the black-horned king."
"Who would have thought that when the mage was practicing magic on a boat in the river, the boat was knocked over by a giant object in the water, and the person also fell into the river. When he floated up, he had no head. Not long afterward, people around him
Fishermen fishing in several villages also had accidents one after another. Either the fishing boat was knocked over, or the fishermen accidentally fell into the river and drowned while fishing."
"Sir, you need to know that these fishermen have been fishing since they were young. They all grew up soaking in the water. They are more agile than fish when they fall into the river. How could so many of them drown for no reason? This must be because of the black fish.
King Horn did it."
"In the end, after discussing with some clan elders, Li Zheng decided to follow what King Black Horn said. Otherwise, without the fishing job, most of the people in Hedong Town would starve to death."
"so."
Li Yu took the words and said:
"So, since five years ago, your town has been worshiping the river god four times a year? Every time you worship the river god, you have to throw a pair of boys and girls into the river?"
Li Yu looked calm, but the waiter felt a chill in his heart for no reason. He stammered: "That's right."
"In a dream, claiming to be the King of Black Horn? Every time, a boy and a girl are required."
Li Yu rubbed the rough and cold handle of the knife in his hand, remained silent for a moment, and said:
"Okay, you must have seen this kind of activity to worship the river god several times with your own eyes. Tell me about the process and you can go."
"Why!"
The waiter in the shop said hurriedly: "Actually, I have experienced this a few times. Every time when I offer sacrifices to the river god, I draw lots in advance to decide whose child will be used as a sacrifice. After the decision is made, the child is placed in the ancestral hall.
,start preparing."
After the waiter finished speaking, Li Yu warned the waiter to keep the matter secret and asked the waiter to leave directly.
At night, the moon and stars were sparse, and it was already late at night.
At this time, at the entrance of the ancestral hall.
Two young men were guarding the door. One of them opened his mouth and yawned, scratched his scalp, looked at the moon in the sky, and muttered:
"It's already the middle of the night, it's so late, why hasn't the replacement come yet?"
"Humph, I must have gone somewhere to drink and eat meat."
Another person said dissatisfied: "If you ask me, we two are really unlucky. We don't share in the good things, and there are a lot of bad things, even the two little brats inside. At least they two were able to survive before they died.
It’s going to be delicious and delicious for a few days!”
"Hey! Judging from what you said, these two little brats will have to be boys next to the River God tomorrow. If you have the ability, you can trade with them and become a boy too!"
"Then forget it. It's better to die than live. Brother, I haven't lived enough yet!"
The two were chatting when they saw a middle-aged woman walking over carrying a lunch box.
"It's Erya's mother"
"Hey, this is a poor woman and a widow. She managed to raise her children with great difficulty, but unexpectedly, both of her children were chosen by lot! This is so unlucky!"
"There is no way, who dares to violate the rules set by the clan elders?"
"Huh, rules? Do you dare to say that no one did any tricks in the draws?!"
"Shut up. Don't dare to say such nonsense, it will kill someone!"
"Huh, I'm just talking casually."
"Okay, shut up!"
The two looked at each other, and one of them stopped the woman: "Sister-in-law Xianglin, what are you doing?"
The woman looked haggard and had red and swollen eye bags, as if she had cried many times.
She reluctantly opened her mouth, forced out a smile and said:
"Brothers, we are going to worship the river god tomorrow. I will never see Erya and Xiaodouzi again from now on, so I want to see them again tonight and give them a taste of the wontons I made."
The two of them had troubled expressions on their faces: "Sister-in-law, it's not that our brothers are embarrassing you, it's just that the clan elders have given orders that no one can enter this ancestral hall. If something happens, we brothers can't afford it."
"Can you be accommodating? After tonight, Erya and Xiaodouzi will never be able to eat the wontons I made."
The woman's voice was sad, and as she spoke, she knelt down and kowtowed to the two of them:
"You two, just because Erya's father has taken good care of you two in the past, just let me in. My sister-in-law has no other requirements. She just wants to chat with the two children and come out soon. Forget it.
I beg you!"
The two of them had no choice but to think about it, and finally they had to let her in: "Sister-in-law, let's talk ugly things in front of you, so just go in and stay for a short while, and you must not tell anyone else about this matter."
"Thank you two brothers, I kowtow to you!"
The woman kowtowed excitedly, her forehead was red and swollen, and then she carried her lunch box into the ancestral hall.