Zhou You, who was at the center of the storm of public opinion, was riding a small boat upstream of the Qingjiang River with Chen Captou.
It was evening at this time, and the orange-red sunset was shining on the river. A solitary owl flapped its wings and flew towards the setting sun.
This situation reminded Zhou You of a poem by a certain poet in his past life.
The setting clouds and the lonely owl fly together, and the autumn water is the same color as the sky.
It's a pity that I'm not in the mood to appreciate this beautiful scenery when traveling around.
As a native of Ningshui City, Chen Captou has grown up on the river since he was a child, so he is naturally very skilled in boat control.
I saw him holding a bamboo pennant, and with a slight stroke, the boat flew out like an arrow from the string.
"Chen Captou, your Ningshui City has three rivers, why did you bring me to Qingjiang?"
Zhou You stood in front of the bow of the ship with his hands behind his back, his clothes fluttering in the gentle river breeze.
"Mr. Zhou, you don't know. One month ago, the first case of missing merchant ship occurred on the Qingjiang River."
"We didn't pay attention at first. After all, the river is ruthless, and there are many reefs under the Qingjiang River. The sinking of merchant ships happens from time to time, so it's not unusual."
"But after that, there were several cases of missing merchant ships in Qingjiang, and all the people and ships disappeared..."
"Just when we were alerted, it was calm for several days and nothing happened."
"Just when we breathed a sigh of relief, we thought it was all caused by accidents before, but another merchant ship disappeared."
Mr. Chen paused and sighed slightly: "And this time, he was not missing on the Qingjiang River, but on the Feiyu River!"
"Afterwards, things began to develop beyond everyone's expectations. More and more merchant ships disappeared, and even merchant ships began to disappear on the Luoye River. The county government tried its best to conceal information from the outside world, but there is no airtight wall in the world. This matter is very dangerous.
Soon the whole city was in turmoil... and then the ridiculous thing of using human sacrifices came up."
After listening to it, Zhou You thought deeply in his heart.
If it's what Chen Captou said, it shouldn't be the work of a water ghost.
Water is a black evil. People who drown in water will be trapped in the waters of death for eternity. People from passing ships must be dragged into the water and find a scapegoat to enter reincarnation. They cannot enter other waters at all.
If it's not weird, then there are only two possibilities left.
Either it's a demon or it's man-made.
"Captain Chen, are there any large-scale water bandits near Ningshui City?"
Zhou You thought for a while and asked softly.
"With the three major rivers in Ningshui City, water bandits are inevitable. But the only people who can commit such a heinous crime are the black dragon bandits."
Chen Captou said in a deep voice.
"Black dragon bandit?" Zhou You was confused.
"Yes, the Black Dragon Bandits are the largest water bandits here. There are hundreds of them at least. Different from other water bandits, these guys do not hide on remote islands, but live all day long on a ship called Black Dragon Bandits.
On the big ship."
"The speed of this big ship is extremely fast, and it comes and goes without a trace. Ningshui City has organized several navy encirclement and suppression campaigns, but they all ended in failure. In the end, we had to let it go."
Chen Captou introduced.
"Black Dragon? It's interesting." Zhou You nodded lightly.
It sounds like this black dragon bandit has the ability to commit crimes. After all, there is a large ship with extremely fast speed. It is difficult for ordinary people to do something like crossing three rivers, but it is possible.
Of course, this is only the most suspected target at present, and more evidence is needed to prove it.
"This Black Dragon doesn't seem to be that simple. It's blessed by a mysterious power that allows this ship to be so fast. Every time our official ship pursues it, we can't even see its butt."
Chen Captou sighed.
After Zhou You heard about it, his eyes twinkled.
Chen Captou's guess actually has some truth to it. After all, the official shipyard should have the best materials, the most talents, and the best design. But it can't compare to the big ship of a bandit?
It sounded like something was wrong.
While talking, the two slowly came to the waterway in the middle of Qingjiang River.
"Master Zhou, the first missing merchant ship is called Feiyun. A passing merchant ship once saw the last trace of Feiyun here, and then disappeared without a trace." Chen Captou said softly.
Zhou You glanced at the surrounding waters.
This river is called Qingjiang due to its deep green color.
Now in the huge waterway, there are no traces of any ships, only their small boat.
After all, Qingjiang is the first water area where trouble occurs. Even if a merchant ship chooses to take the risk of sailing, they would rather take a long way around than choose Qingjiang.
The once extremely busy waterway is now desolate.
"Wait for me here." After Zhou said, he jumped directly into the river.
The cold river water instantly wet his body, and he continued to sink.
For Zhenqi realm warriors, they can even hold their breath in the water for up to an hour without breathing at all.
After diving for more than 100 meters, Zhouyou finally landed on the bottom of the wet, muddy river.
After taking a look at the surrounding environment, I saw that I was swimming around like a flying fish, constantly paddling back and forth, even faster than the fish.
The view under the river was very dim, and even with the ability to travel around, I could only see clearly seven or eight meters away.
He dived into the river just to see if he could find the remains of the missing merchant ship and get some clues from it.
But something disappointing happened to him. Almost an hour passed and he still didn't find it.
At this moment, the vague outline of the ship's hull appeared in his eyes.
Zhou You's heart moved, he speeded up, and soon he swam near the hull of the ship.
Unfortunately, something happened that disappointed him. The hull of the ship was badly corroded by the river water, with pits and pits, and was covered with dark green moss. There were even crabs, fish and shrimps that had made their home inside, moving in and out.
Zhou You speculated that the ship may have been sunk for decades and was not a merchant ship that disappeared recently.
He shook his head slowly. After searching for almost an hour with no results, he decided to go back first.
Just as Zhou You turned around to surface on the river, a rotten and swollen, pale arm fiercely grabbed his ankle from deep inside the boat.
Zhou You was stunned for a moment, and then he felt a huge force coming from under his feet, as if he was not allowed to surface.
"Water ghost!"
Legend has it that people who die in vain in the water, because they cannot enter the reincarnation, will turn into water ghosts, drag people on the boats into the water, and let them serve as scapegoats for them to enter reincarnation.
Obviously, this merchant ship also hides an old water ghost who has been hiding there for decades.
Wait until Zhou You lets his guard down, grab him and make him his scapegoat!
Since it was inconvenient to exert force when traveling around the river, I let the arm pull me down.
Bang.
The ship's planks were blown to pieces, and Zhou You was pulled into the cabin.
As soon as you enter, you will feel that there is a cold feeling outside the river here.