Chao Jiang said, "After the incident, I sent Xiao Jing and others to take a long way to the other side, climbed to the mountain wall next to the Dragon King Temple, and peered down. Xiao Jing, please tell me about the situation at that time."
Jingcheng said, "At that time, we climbed up the cliff. We were afraid that the thing was hiding under the cliff, so we didn't dare to go down to the temple, so we only hid from a high place and looked around.
The Dragon King Temple was built on a half-acre piece of bluestone between the two cliffs. The bluestone was covered with wet moss. Through the transom on the roof, I didn’t see that thing..."
"Ouch!"
Suddenly a huge roar came from the river, like an elephant roaring.
Immediately afterwards, a one-meter-high water wall was raised in the middle of the river, and the water wall rushed towards this side quickly, as fast as an arrow.
"No, I was discovered by that monster."
Chao Jiang's legs trembled.
Duan Kuohai advanced instead of retreating, rushed up to the altar, and stared sternly at the wall of water.
Unexpectedly, the wall of water suddenly turned around and disappeared in an instant.
"So fast!"
Xu Shu's eyes lit up.
"It's those green dogs again..."
"If we fight with them, no one will survive if they don't let us live..."
Countless torches gathered at the entrance of the village and formed a fiery snake, swimming towards this side quickly.
"No, sirs, please retreat first. Xiao Jing and I will follow."
Chao Jiang urged urgently, already taking out the gun in his hand.
Duan Kuohai shouted in a deep voice, "Xiao Qin, take Xiao Xu and leave first."
Just as Xu Shu was about to leave, Qin Bing took off his backpack and opened it.
At this moment, on the hillside behind them, there was also an army of torches swimming towards this side, encircling them from front to back. Where could they go?
The night wind was howling in all directions, and hundreds of torches illuminated the night sky as if it were daytime.
A man in his fifties with a Chinese-character face separated from the crowd and walked out. It was Yang Shunguo, the head of Xiahe Village.
"Lao Yang, what are you going to do? Violently resist the law, do you know the consequences?"
Chao Jiang shouted sharply.
With a plop, Yang Shunguo fell to his knees and said, "Chief Chao, I have said all the good things I can say. Please show mercy..."
Chao Jiang was caught off guard by Yang Shunguo's new trick, and he helped him up, "Old Yang, you are violating the national law by offering human sacrifices. Am I going to embarrass you?"
Yang Shunguo stood up and his eyes became fierce, "Chief Chao, if we can't live anymore, who should be afraid of the law? I only know one thing, if we don't let thousands of people in Xiahe Village survive, we will fight to the death."
"
"Fight to the death..."
Thousands of young men roared like clouds, and each torch danced like a demon.
bang, bang,
Chao Jiang fired a warning shot, but the sparse gunfire could not suppress the roar of thousands of people.
The blood of thousands of villagers surged, and the encirclement gradually narrowed. Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, a beautiful figure walked past Xu Shuchao and moved forward.
Under the dim moonlight, her Taoist robe was fluttering, and the dust was like snow. She was graceful and graceful, just like a jade spirit coming to earth.
But seeing her lightly raising her bare hands, two yellow talismans spilled out and danced around her body. She flicked the fly whisk, and a cyclone was born. The dust and dead grass under her feet swayed away one after another, and even the torches around her were blown away.
Destroy.
Then I heard her singing loudly, "A crane returns from the flower table after a thousand years, and condenses elixir on its head and snow as its clothes. People listen to the fairy words of the stars, but they flutter their wings and fly towards the five clouds."
The villagers in the countryside had never seen such a beautiful fairy. Some of them immediately knelt down and kowtowed in worship.
Yang Shunguo was dumbfounded. No matter what Chao Jiang said, he would reject it.
But the appearance of the goddess really challenged his cognitive limits, and he suddenly didn't know what to do.
"Chief Chao, I've said all I have to say, it's up to you."
Without saying this, Yang Shunguo led hundreds of villagers to retreat.
"You, are you Chief Qin?"
Looking at the fairy beauty, Jing Cheng stammered and asked.
"it's me."
The goddess smiled slightly.
Jing Cheng's thin face turned red, and his eyes were full of admiration.
"If it weren't for Chief Qin, today would have ended badly."
Chao Jiang looked happy.
"Xiao Xu, what do you think?"
Duan Kuohai looked at Xu Shu.
Xiao Xu was already dumbfounded.
Duan Kuohai patted Xu Shu on the shoulder and said with a smile, "It's just a trick, I think it will scare you."
Xu Shu knew in his mind that he could still distinguish between tricks and magic.
He calmed down and said, "The thing that was chirping just now was obviously giving a notice to go down to the river.
Our arrival will definitely make that thing uneasy, and he will definitely use the influence of the villagers in Xiahe Village to drive us away."
Duan Kuohai nodded, "I think so too. Chief Chao, you go back first and bring all the strength of the security office to assemble here tomorrow morning."
Chao Jiang took the order and left.
Duan Kuohai, Qin Bing, and Xu Shu returned to the small hillock where the motorcycles were parked. The three of them found a place leeward from the hillside, set up a bonfire, and shared biscuits to satisfy their hunger.
After eating, Qin Bing wrapped herself in a blanket and fell asleep by the campfire.
The bright moon was in the sky and the river breeze was biting. Xu Shu hugged his legs to warm himself by the fire and couldn't help but said, "Brother Duan, which department do you and Teacher Qin belong to?"
Duan Kuohai said with a smile, "Knowing too much is not a good thing for you. Just treat what happened today as a wonderful experience. After it has passed, forget about it and go to sleep."
With that said, Duan Kuohai threw the last blanket to Xu Shu, added firewood to the bonfire, and slept on the ground.
Xu Shu hit a wall, but became more and more curious. After thinking about it for a whole day, he fell asleep.
"roll!"
Qin Bing turned over and sat up, his starry eyes red.
Xu Shu and Duan Kuohai turned over and sat up.
The sky is already bright, the lead clouds are hanging low, the wind is howling sadly, and the waves are rising.
"But the dream comes into my arms?"
Duan Kuohai asked.
"The same to you?"
Qin Bing said in shock.
Duan Kuohai nodded, "That evil beast threatened us to leave in the dream. I didn't expect that he actually had the magic power of dreaming."
Xu Shu was surprised, "It turns out that I used dreams to communicate with Xiahe Village."
"It must be so."
Qin Bing took out the hair tie and tied up his hair like a waterfall of ink.
Duan Kuohai frowned, "He is strong, strong, intelligent, and has the magic of dreaming, so we are in trouble."
Xu Shu said in a deep voice, "Why didn't that evildoer entrust me with his dream? Did he look down on me?"
"Don't think so, maybe you are different."
Duan Kuohai patted Xu Shu on the shoulder and walked towards the river bank.
The three of them took river water to wash themselves briefly. Chao Jiang led six police officers, including Jing Cheng, who arrived on bicycles, three of whom were armed with guns.
Chao Jiang brought breakfast to the three of them. The fragrant scallion meat dumplings and steaming rice porridge went into their stomachs, and the coldness of the night was gone.
While everyone was talking, they suddenly heard firecrackers exploding.
At the entrance of the village, a winding team stretched out its head like a long snake. The leader was Yang Shunguo. He wore antlers made of yellow paper on his head and a raincoat on his shoulders.
Behind him, a group of male villagers were all dressed in this way. The two teams held up plaques above their heads. The plaques were full of beautiful words praising the River Dragon King.
On the side of the team, an old man with gray hair wore a tall white hat and held a white flag in his hand. He sang like a Qin opera roar, "The sky and the earth are open, the day is auspicious and the times are good. Huang Ji is open and good luck is coming. Sacrifice to the dragon is good luck."
Chang; when the sun rises, the east becomes red, and the fairy boy is sacrificed to the dragon..."
In the one-meter-high iron cage in the center of the team, two children dressed in red sat quietly, holding a big white steamed bun in their hands. While eating, they looked around curiously with ignorant eyes.
"commit a sin!"
Qin Bing's eyes were red.
"boarding!"
Duan Kuohai roared angrily, "Xiao Xu, you drive. If I don't shout stop, just pull the accelerator and rush forward."
"okay!"
Xu Shu stepped onto the car and kicked the three wheels. Duan Kuohai jumped into the sidecar.
Kangkongkangkong, he rushed to get laid off in three rounds.
"Follow up, keep up. Boss Su has told us that if these two make mistakes, we will all have to take off our skin and go home to comfort the children."
Chao Jiang took out his gun, put it on the chamber, and roared.
Jing Cheng exclaimed in shock, "President Su from the county? Is he also alarmed?"
"Who else could it be besides him?"
Several police officers were frightened and hurriedly followed.
Bian Sanlun rushed to 300 meters away, and the sacrificial procession stopped. Yang Shunguo waved his hand, and dozens of young men, holding wooden sticks as thick as their arms, stood at the front of the procession.
Behind them there were hundreds of young men, holding farm tools and waiting in full formation.
"This is our private matter. Please don't interfere, sirs. When the Dragon King is angry, both jade and stone will be destroyed..."
Yang Shunguo shouted loudly.
No one responded to him, and he didn't slow down even after three rounds, and crashed into the sacrificial procession.
"brake!"
When Bian Sanlun rushed thirty meters away, Duan Kuohai shouted loudly and jumped up from the sidecar like a big bird, gliding into the array of wooden sticks.
Xu Shu braked suddenly, and an astonishing spring force came from behind.
Qin Bing's jade face turned red, and her jade fingers touched Xu Shu's waist. Xu Shu immediately grinned.
More than a dozen villagers swarmed up and surrounded Bian Sanlun. Bang, bang, bang, gunshots were heard not far away, and Chao Jiang and others arrived.
"Ignore what's in the car, stop the one who can fly."
Yang Shunguo shouted.
But I saw Duan Kuohai, like a big bird, stepping on the shoulders of the farmers, jumping around in the crowd, and every time he stepped out, he was two meters away.
"Sir's coffin board."
Xu Shu's eyebrows danced with joy.
Duan Kuohai flew down and rushed to the iron cage like a dragon crossing the river. He grabbed a broom and pointed it east and west. Dozens of young men were knocked to the ground by him in an instant.
"The strength, speed, and accuracy are far beyond the limits of ordinary people. This is not kung fu, but magical power."
Xu Shu's blood boiled.
"Come up if you don't want your life."
Duan Kuohai roared and strode forward. The young men in front of him backed away one after another. The man in front of them, who looked like a god of war, was beyond their understanding.
"Step aside."
Yang Shunguo shouted loudly.
The young men dispersed one after another, and the iron cage was exposed. Eight old women stood in a circle with their backs against the iron cage, holding onto the iron bars with both hands.
Duan Kuohai was stunned, "What are you going to do? Your own children and grandchildren are human beings, but other people's children are not human beings?"
No matter how angry he was, he would never attack these old women.
An old woman with white hair knelt down and said, "Sir, there is nothing we can do. If we don't sacrifice this River Dragon King, hundreds of children in Xiahe Village will die.
If the officer wants to save people, we immortals will have no choice but to die in front of the officer. If the officer is unjust, as long as the sacrifice is completed, we immortals will be willing to throw ourselves into the river. The officer is merciful...
"
The villagers of Xiahe Village knelt down like fallen wheat.
Yang Shunguo stepped forward and said with emotion, "Sir, if we are not afraid of the national law, if the national law could protect us, we would never dare to do such an animal thing."
Duan Kuohai was silent for a long time and said with emotion, "Hand over the children for sacrifice. I will take care of the affairs of Xiahe Village to the end."
"The sheriff who came earlier also said the same thing. Later he sank into the water and never came back. As a result, thirteen more animals were lost in Xiahe Village, three houses were destroyed, and two people died."
Yang Shunguo pointed to the surging Pu River, "We used to trust the officials, but the officials couldn't protect us. We had no choice. Now we only believe in the River Dragon King."
It's not impossible for the chief to take away the two sacrificed children, but there is only one condition for the untouchables."
"you say!"
Duan Kuohai never expected that he would reach a dead end and there would be a turning point.
Yang Shunguoyuan pointed to Xu Shu, "Unless the young man who drives the car is exchanged for these two children, I will not give up the sacrifice even if we both die in Xiahe Village."
Duan Kuohai was confused.
Xu Shu's heart skipped a beat and he almost fell off the motorcycle.
Qin Bing was also stunned.
Duan Kuohai swallowed his saliva and said, "If you want to change, just change it to me."
"Only for the younger generation."
Yang Shunguo said, "There is still half an hour before the auspicious time. Sir, please make a decision quickly."
Duan Kuohai let out a long sigh, separated from everyone, and walked towards the side of Sanlun.
Before he could approach, Xu Shu got out of the car and ran wildly, fearing that Duan Kuohai was chasing him.
He is here to investigate the weird, not to sacrifice his life to save the world.
As he ran, Xu Shu found that Duan Kuohai was not chasing him. He stopped and turned around, seeing Duan Kuohai standing quietly on the spot, obviously wanting to let him go.
Instead of feeling lucky, Xu Shu felt an unspeakable feeling in her heart. The confused and panicked eyes of the boy and girl kept flashing in his mind.
Xu Shu raised his head to face the gloomy sky, howled, and walked back feebly.
Duan Kuohai started his tricycle, carried Qin Bing, and picked up Xu Shu.
The three of them looked at each other, and no one said anything.
"Change!"
Xu Shu said hoarsely.
Qin Bing's beautiful eyes turned red.
Duan Kuohai slapped Xu Shu on the shoulder, "Good boy, you see heroes in danger. You are much better than I was back then."
Xu Shu waved his hand, "Don't give me chicken blood. I don't want to be a hero, I want to live."
"Don't worry, I won't let you die even if I die."
Xu Shu waved his hand, "Captain Duan, I just want to ask, if you were on the shore, would you be able to deal with that evil beast?"
He has confidence in Duan Kuohai's strength. Duan Kuohai was shouting on the shore last night, and none of the things in the river came ashore, which shows that the things are afraid of Duan Kuohai.
Duan Kuohai's eyes lit up, "If I can really lure this evil beast to the shore, I can chop him alive. Brother, what can you do?"
Qin Bing also stared at Xu Shu closely.
"I'm still thinking of a solution."
After saying that, Xu Shu walked towards Yang Shunguo.
Qin Bing stamped her feet angrily, "When did it happen? You're still lying."
Duan Kuohai looked at Xu Shu's back and sighed, "What a young man. His mental quality is better than mine back then."
Yang Shunguo stopped Xu Shu, "Young man, what do you mean?"
"Village Chief, if you want my life, why don't you let me see my burial place?"
"How come I want your life..."
While Yang Shunguo was still waiting to argue, Xu Shu strode towards the iron cage.
"Quick, quick, get the child out and keep an eye on it."
Yang Shunguo shouted loudly.
Xu Shu came to the iron cage and found that the two young children had been moved.
The entire cage is welded with steel bars as thick as your little finger, and the welds are in very new condition.
At the bottom of the cage, a piece of pig iron is welded, half a finger thick and about the size of a cattail fan.
Xu Shu walked around the iron cage, his eyes actually focused on the keyhole. After walking around twice, he turned around and left.
Yang Shunguo asked urgently, "Young man, have you changed your mind?"
"Allow me to explain the funeral arrangements."
"Okay... okay, time is running out, hurry up."
After Xu Shu left, a villager whispered, "Village Chief, this guy thinks the cage is fake and the lock is real, is he just trying to hide his tools and break out of the cage?
If you ask me, it would be more appropriate to sacrifice those two children, as nothing would happen. I just don’t understand why the Dragon King wants those boys."
Yang Shunguo scolded, "Can you guess the Dragon King's immortal will?
If this young man really wants to open the lock, he can only make a miscalculation. Even if he is given the key and sunk in the water, the lock will be difficult to open.
What's more, when he's underwater, with the Dragon King around, he won't stand a chance.
Oh, what a pity."
Xu Shu returned to the tricycle, quickly took out the tool box, picked up two thin wires, a screwdriver, and put them in his sleeve.
Qin Bing was worried, "If you are in the water, there is a lot of resistance. This thing can't open the lock."
Xu Shu didn't explain, so he called Jing Cheng, "Brother Jing, how long does it take to get to the cliff above the Dragon King Temple from here?"
Jing Cheng said, "If we can cross the river, it won't take ten minutes.
If we take a detour, it will take at least three hours."
Xu Shu said, "It's impossible to cross the river. The monster is astonishingly sensitive. As long as he enters the water, he will definitely be alarmed. The only way is to take a detour."
Duan Kuohai's eyes lit up, "You mean, that evil beast will drag the iron cage back to the Dragon King Temple?"
Jing Cheng said, "I once climbed up the cliff where the Dragon King Temple was staring and took a peek. The Dragon King Temple was empty and that evil beast was not entrenched there."
Xu Shu said, "I'm not here usually, but I will definitely be there today.
Just imagine, if that guy wants to eat people, he doesn't need to be sacrificed and put in an iron cage.
What He wants is a living person, a virgin boy or girl dragged into the Dragon King Temple who is still alive."
Everyone stared at Xu Shu in surprise, thinking that he was talking nonsense in broad daylight.
Xu Shu continued, "Last night, we went to the site of the collapsed house, and I observed the sacrificial altar.
The terrain there is too steep and full of mud puddles. From the perspective of the villagers of Xiahe Village, it is not suitable for building an altar.
It can only mean that the location of the altar was chosen by the evildoer.
It is easy to observe that the location of the altar is the point with the shortest distance from the river bank to the Dragon King Temple.
Obviously, the evil beast hoped to drag the iron cage back to the Dragon King Temple in the shortest possible time.
Last night, Chief Duan rushed up to the sacrificial altar and startled the evil beast, who escaped.
That formation and speed were comparable to the True Dragon King.
At that speed, it would never take more than a minute for the evil beast to rush back from the sacrificial platform to the Dragon King Temple.
Moreover, that evil beast may not be using full speed.
Therefore, even if there is an extra iron cage, the evil beast will probably be able to rush back to the Dragon King Temple within a minute."
Chao Jiang said in shock, "If a person is in the water, he will probably not drown for a minute. If he is dragged back to the Dragon King Temple, he will indeed be alive."
Duan Kuohai clapped his hands and said, "So that's it. Let me tell you why there is a huge iron handle on the iron cage. It turns out that it is convenient for the evil beast to bite."
Qin Bing frowned, "I have a question. Since the evil beast wants to live the young men and women, why not just let Yang Shunguo take a boat to the Dragon King Temple? Why bother with an iron cage and a sacrifice?"
“To create a sense of mystery!”
Xu Shu said, "That evil beast wants a pair of boys and girls every year, but people's hearts are full of flesh. Yang Shunguo, the village chief alone, is not enough to fight against the government, and not enough to calm the public opinion."
Using this sacrificial method, the villagers of Xiahe Village witnessed the existence of the River Dragon King with their own eyes. The fear and mystery were enough to condense the will of the villagers of Xiahe Village into steel.
In this way, this ugly sacrifice can continue to be performed."
"This kid is really impressive."
Qin Bing said secretly.
Duan Kuohai waved his hand, "Without further delay, the direction has been made clear, let's act separately. Xiao Xu, you will be responsible for holding Yang Shunguo back later, and leave the rest to us.
Don’t worry, if you have any shortcomings, I will..."
"Hurry up, it's already here, can you say something auspicious?"
Xu Shu pouted.
Qin Bing shook his head and smiled bitterly, took out an apricot-yellow talisman and handed it to Xu Shu, "You hid it close to your body, maybe you can use it."
"I have something for you too."
Xu Shu took out an old wallet, picked out six silver dollars and several banknotes, and carefully counted them one by one, "A total of six yuan and three quarters. Everyone can see clearly. Please help to be a witness."
Immediately, he stuffed the money back into his wallet and handed it to Qin Bing.
Qin Bing took the wallet and couldn't laugh or cry.
After handing over his most important possessions, Xu Shu turned around and left. He wanted to shout "Wind Xiao Xiao Xi", but his throat was terribly dry.
The hostage exchange went smoothly.
Yang Shunguo was careful enough and would not hand over the two young children until Xu Shu entered the cage, locked it, and moved the iron cage to the rear.
The two police officers who picked up the young child were Duan Kuohai, Qin Bing, Chao Jiang, Jing Cheng and others who had long since disappeared.
After watching the two police officers leave, Yang Shunguo's heart fell back into his stomach.
Suddenly, more than two thousand villagers in Xiahe Village, young and old, all knelt down towards Xu Shu.
Yang Shunguo also knelt down and said, "Young man, you are a good person. We really can't help it. If you want to hate, then hate your life. Don't worry, after you die, we will build a temple for you and offer incense to you for generations to come...