Chapter 5 The sword is not ready, it is already a river and a lake when you go out
"You really have a lot of tricks up your sleeve."
Duan Kuohai threw a Plum Blossom cigarette to Xu Shu, Xu Shu took it and clamped it to his ear.
"What exactly is the problem?"
"There was too little lubricating oil, which caused the piston ring resistance to increase. The fuel quality was also poor, and most of the carburetor was clogged. Those who didn't take advantage of it just managed to clear it out, and it was able to drive temporarily. But how far it can be driven is not guaranteed."
"Xiao Qin, what do you call this little brother?"
"My name is Xu Shu, and I am Teacher Qin's student."
"My name is Duan Kuohai. You can call me Brother Duan or Old Duan. Xiao Xu, let's discuss it with you. Teacher Qin and I have something important to do. But this iron guy is too careless. It's troublesome.
How about you come with us for a while?"
Qin Bing stared at Duan Kuohai.
Duan Kuohai nodded slightly to reassure her.
"No problem, but if you are late for school tomorrow, you have to ask Teacher Qin to ask for leave for me."
"That's a good feeling!"
"..."
Suddenly, the three-wheel vehicle rushed out of Changxing East Road, puffing out thick smoke.
Half an hour later, turn onto Yanjiang Avenue.
Qin Bing took over his shoulder bag and sat alone, while Xu Shu squeezed behind Duan Kuohai and looked at the scenery.
For him, the scenery and people along the way are new everywhere.
On the west side of the Yangtze River Avenue, the Songmin River is mighty and mighty. It flows eastward for another fifty miles before it merges into the sea.
On the river, more than ten steamships were slowly sailing towards Songmin Port. The sound of steam whistles and the chants of civilians formed a moving music.
When Biansanwan was about to exit Yanjiang Avenue, a black Gongyang Model T car drove past Xu Shu.
It was rare that Xu Shu had an impression of this thing.
He remembered that this Ram Car was put into production in Chunshen last year. As soon as it came out, it became an absolute favorite in the city.
The predecessor Xu Shu had a deep memory, but the current Xu Shu had little interest in this stuff. After taking a quick look, he stopped paying attention.
Bian Sanlun galloped all the way, and finally arrived at Xiahe Village when the moon was above the willow trees.
Under the bright moon, the broad Pu River has no waves. There are towering rocks on the right bank of the river and hundreds of houses scattered on the left bank.
I barely managed to hold on to a small hill, and the engine sounded like it was about to die.
The three of them got out of the car. Without Duan Kuohai's greeting, Xu Shu took out the tool box and started maintenance.
Not long after, two figures came running from the foot of the hill, both wearing the green uniforms of the sheriff.
Duan Kuohai and Qin Bing took out an iron plate with a pin from their pockets at the same time and wore it on their chests.
The style and appearance of the iron plate are exactly the same as those of Vice President Tan.
It's just that Duan Kuohai's iron plate has two vertical lines, while Vice President Tan only has one.
And Qin Bing's iron sign is also a vertical line.
"Hello, sir!"
The middle-aged police officer with a flat head performed a flat-chested salute, raised his right hand across his chest, and hung a lead breastplate, two vertical ones.
The short police officer performed a military police salute, which was the same as the salute in his previous life, without a badge on his chest.
After the ceremony, both parties introduced each other.
Sheriff Pingtou is the head of the local security office, his name is Chao Jiang.
The short one is the newly assigned police chief named Jing Cheng.
"Let's introduce the situation."
Duan Kuohai took the cigarette from Chao Jiang.
Chao Jiang continued to share the smoke with Xu Shu, "The River Dragon King in the Pu River appeared five years ago. At first, the villages along the coast only lost some livestock, and they all thought it was caused by wild beasts in the mountains.
It wasn't until an old cow that was drinking water by the river was dragged into the river in full public view that the whole Xiahe Village was shocked.
Later, the village organized sacrifices, but to no avail. Not only did the animals continue to be lost, but people also began to disappear.
It was not until three years ago that Xiahe Village built a Dragon King Temple on the other side of the river that things were peaceful again in Xiahe Village.
A week ago, the security office captured a group of Renyazi gang. One Renyazi confessed that three days ago, they sold a pair of five-year-old twins in Xiahe Village.
We sent people to Xiahe Village to negotiate with the village chief Yang Shunguo, but Yang Shunguo refused to acknowledge it.
Thanks to Xiaojing's cleverness, he found the abducted child in a farmhouse through clues. When Xiaojing led three security team members to rescue him, he was surrounded by Yang Shunguo and his crowd.
I led the crowd to support, but Yang Shunguo resisted fiercely, and all the villagers rose up to attack. For fear of provoking a civil uprising, we had to retreat.
Later, through visits, I learned that every year in Xiahe Village, people buy boys and girls from Yazi and throw them into the Pu River to sacrifice the River Dragon King."
"Asshole!"
Qin Bing's pretty face turned pale.
Duan Kuohai smoked heavily, "I heard that a police officer was dragged into the river?"
Chao Jiang's face darkened, "After retreating, I sent a law popularization team to go down to the village to promote the law. Xiao Zhao, who participated in the law popularization, didn't believe in any river dragon king at all, and insisted on getting rid of the villagers' superstitious ideas.
He personally demonstrated and jumped into the river. A huge wave came, and there was no trace of Xiao Zhao. Now, the villagers no longer believe in us, and they insist on sacrificing the boys and girls, and the time is set for these two days."
Duan Kuohai put out his cigarette butt, "What do you think?"
Chao Jiang's eyes became sharp, "Now that the matter has come to this, there is no way to persuade, so we can only use coercion. Xiahe Village is a large village, with more than 500 households and more than 1,000 young people.
Everyone is in awe of the River Dragon King to the core, so relying on local security forces will definitely not be able to solve the problem, and I am afraid the only way to do this is to dispatch the suppressing army."
Duan Kuohai shook his head, "Sending out the town troops will inevitably lead to bloody conflicts. Even if we rescue the abducted children, if we don't solve the problem in the river, we won't be able to solve the fundamental problem."
"That's the truth."
Chao Jiang was very sad.
"Xiao Qin, what do you think?"
Qin Bing was still grieving for the sacrificed virgins and men, shaking his head and saying nothing.
"Chief Chao, can I ask a few questions?"
Xu Shu closed the tool box and stood up.
"What are you messing around with?"
Qin Bing glared at him.
"Who is this?"
Chao Jiang looked at Xu Shu curiously, but did not find his name tag.
Duan Kuohai said, "He is Xiao Xu, the logistics support officer for this operation. Xiao Xu, feel free to ask any questions you have."
Xu Shu said, "Chief Chao, no one has ever seen the true face of that thing in the river?"
"We don't know about this. Maybe some people in Xiahe Village have seen it, but they all keep it secret."
"You said there were sacrifices in the past. After the sacrifices, did those things really stop causing trouble to Xiahe Village?"
"It's true, otherwise the people in Xiahe Village wouldn't regard the sacrifice as a big deal."
"That thing has the ability to move ashore?"
"Yes, after I led the crowd to take action last time, three houses collapsed the next day, killing two people."
"strangeness."
"What's the blame?"
"Imagine, that thing is just for eating people. With its ability, does it need to sacrifice people? Just go ashore and catch people."
"Maybe it doesn't eat in the short term but eats in the long term. By relying on hunting, it will only make the villagers stay away from here and ask for sacrifices, which will last longer."
"It's unreasonable. With its appetite, sacrificing a pair a year is not enough to fill the gaps in its teeth. Besides, it doesn't have to think about the long term. The Pu River stretches for six hundred miles, and there are hundreds of surrounding villages."
Duan Kuohai nodded, "What Xiao Xu said makes sense, so what's the point of the sacrifice?"
Xu Shu said, "This should be asked to the person who first thought of the idea of sacrifice. I always feel that the thing that was sacrificed was not for eating meat."
Chao Jiang slapped his thigh continuously, "Brother Xu's analysis makes sense. That thing crushed the house and killed people, without touching the bodies!"
"Isn't it convenient for you to take us to the site of the house collapse?"
Xu Shu got into the role very quickly.
In his previous life, he carried too much burden. He studied hard and studied hard. The first time he participated in such a thrilling action made his blood boil.
Chao Jiang said, "You have to ask Xiao Jing, he knows the situation over there in more detail."
Jing Cheng said, "The house collapse site is only thirty or forty meters away from the Pu River. Because the house was destroyed and people died, two families nearby were so scared that they moved away. As long as you are careful and don't disturb the villagers, it should be fine."
Duan Kuohai took out biscuits and cans, and after a few people made some simple supplements, he went to explore the site of the collapsed house.
The bright moon hung high in the sky, and the storm on the Pu River was calm. The group of people sneaked quietly and arrived at the site of the collapsed house half an hour later.
After some investigation, Duan Kuohai said in a deep voice, "There is no doubt that these three houses were destroyed by huge force, which shows that the thing has a power beyond that of a bear and a tiger."
Chao Jiang said, "It should have a huge body, and it will leave traces like stone rollers in the fields."
"If it is an anaconda, the recorded anacondas cannot be of such terrifying size. Could it be the legendary water dragon?"
Qin Bing frowned.
A chill ran down everyone's spine.
Xu Shu said, "It's not a dragon, but it's almost the same. At least it has human intelligence.
If you think about it carefully, this thing is just for food. It is not more suitable to eat cows and sheep than humans. With its size, it is better to eat cows and sheep than to eat people, but it insists on sacrificing virgins and boys.
Moreover, they would be satisfied by sacrificing virgins only once a year, as if they were observing some kind of taboo.
The most interesting thing is that the villagers or village chiefs here can accurately understand its requirements.
Then how did it notify Xiahe Village of its requirements?
In addition, since Chief Chao and the others came here last time, the building began to collapse.
Obviously, this was the thing's warning to the villagers of Xiahe Village, asking Xiahe Village to prevent official interference.
All the above show that it has good thinking ability."
After coming to this conclusion, Xu Shu was not only not afraid, but his blood surged, as if he was opening the door to a new world.
"This, this, isn't this a monster?"
Jingcheng couldn't help but tremble.
"What is the cement floor over there used for?"
Xu Shu asked, pointing to a concrete floor by the river.
Chao Jiang said, "That's the sacrificial altar. Boys and girls were locked in cages and sank into the water from there."
"Locked in a cage?"
Xu Shu thought to himself, "Where is the Dragon King Temple and how far is it from here?"
Chao Jiang pointed to the dark ridge on the other side of the river, "It's between the two cliffs over there, about a mile away from the altar."
Xu Shu said, "Have your people visited the Dragon King Temple?"
"Seen."
"Dare to cross the river?"
"Of course I don't dare. I'll take a long detour."