You have mastered the art of thunder and you tell me that it is in a strange world?

Chapter 7 Sacrifice to the River God

"The water near Yinchuan is suitable for rowing, and the bridge like Jingluo is suitable for riding a horse.

"Looking at the waves, all the annoyances are gone; praying for a good harvest, hearing the eight wax candles.

"Ever since the vast sea filled the Jade Pass, bells and drums have been ringing in the New Palace every year.

"Present the three animals!"

Xu Fugui, the president of the Bai Lao Society, is a short man, but he is very powerful when he shouts.

No one knew what trick he used, but his long shout sounded like the mooing of a cow. No matter if they were the guys in the Bai Lao Society or the farmhands who came over for a few copper coins, everyone nearby could hear his shout and then they all started to get busy in a hurry.

Soon, several farmhands brought out an octagonal table, placed an incense altar on the table, and neatly placed the cow's head, sheep's head and pig's head on the red cloth.

He tore off a small piece of red cloth, covered the eyes of the three animals, and tied a knot on the top of their heads.

After the sacrifice was ready, Xu Fugui nodded with satisfaction.

He walked to the altar, but his eyes did not fall on the lake at first, but walked towards the other side of the lake.

Xu Fugui had amazing eyesight and could see at a glance that there was also an altar on the other side of the lake.

It was also built very high, with three animals placed on top of the platform. Unlike the altar of the Bai Lao Society, there were many incense altars on the altar of the Wen Xiang Gang.

There were incense sticks on each incense altar.

The Wenxiang Gang, a group of evil people, want to steal the offerings to the river god again!

This is not the first time that the two gangs have been involved in this kind of thing. Almost every year, the two gangs would argue over the issue of offerings to the river god.

In recent years, the Bai Lao Society has always won and forced the Wen Xiang Gang out of Qingzhou. Naturally, Chu Xun of the Wen Xiang Gang was resentful and had been thinking about a clash with the Bai Lao Society every year, but he failed every year.

Only this year is a little different.

Chu Xun met a master outside the city. This master was very capable and could even talk to the river god.

Here, Chu Xun got a rare opportunity, which was his only chance to "invite" Bai Laohui out of Qingzhou City.

Xu Fugui didn't know what opportunity the master had asked for Chu Xun, and now he could only fight against the enemy with his own force and block the water with earth.

Concentrating his thoughts, the altar was already open. Xu Fugui could feel something in the lake staring at him, and a chill ran from the inside out.

He bowed calmly, but suddenly heard a low male voice coming from the river.

As he listened carefully, Xu Fugui's expression became more and more strange.

Before long, it was already past noon and Xu Fugui walked down from the altar, and someone immediately came up to greet him.

"President, what does the River God want to get this time?"

"Three days later, he wants a pair of boys and girls." Xu Fugui said.

The people below looked at each other in bewilderment. After a long while, a young man asked cautiously:

"This isn't much more than before. Can't we just grab some on the street?"

"You know shit!" Xu Fugui blew his beard and glared at the young man, cursing, "What we want this year is different from what we wanted in previous years! That old guy Chu Xun must have a trick up his sleeve!
"Go and find out what kind of boys and girls the Wenxiang Gang has prepared and captured. If you can't find any clues within three days, you can jump into the river and serve the river god!"

After hearing this, several of the men were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they immediately ran away.

Only Xu Fugui was left mumbling:

"Boys and girls? Only boys and girls?"

……

"This is Qingzhou City. If Taoist Zuo wants to find the Bai Lao Society, just walk along the main street. If you want to find a place to stay, I know a place where you can live comfortably."

Caiyi smiled and introduced the situation in the city to Zuo Chen, while Zuo Chen couldn't help but look towards the big lake not far away.

"I see there seem to be quite a few people on the lake now. What happened?"

Caiyi also looked over there, and after seeing the two memorial platforms, she laughed twice:

"It should be that the Bai Lao Hui and the Wen Xiang Gang are offering sacrifices to the river god. They come here once a year, offering three animals and praying to the river god to bless them with safety."

Zuo Chen's expression became even stranger.

Can such a weak river god really protect an area from harm?
Just now on the mountain, the wind was too strong and I couldn’t see clearly. After entering the city, Zuo Chen was completely sure.

The "River God" in the lake is probably not even in the Qi Refining Stage.

The entire lake exudes a gloomy aura from the inside out. This river god must have cultivated himself through some unclean means, but two gangs in the city want to offer sacrifices to him...

Is the local power in Qingzhou City so weak?

Zuo Chen felt that he might have misjudged the strength of the cultivation world below the mountain when he was on the mountain.

"Master Zuo? What's wrong?" "Nothing."

Zuo Chen suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in his mind. There might be some hidden secret behind this matter.

We still have to go to the lake first.

But you can't bring ordinary people with you to do this.

"Miss Caiyi, now that we are in the city, I can find my way by myself. Shall we say goodbye now?"

Zuo Chen turned to Caiyi and said.

But when Caiyi heard this, her expression changed slightly:

"Hey! Taoist Zuo, there are many delicious and fun things to do in Qingzhou City. I haven't had the chance to introduce them to you yet!"

"I didn't come to Qingzhou City for fun." Zuo Chen shook his head slightly, then looked at Caiyi with a half-smile: "Miss Caiyi, if you have something to say, just say it directly. I don't understand if you beat around the bush."

A blush instantly appeared on Caiyi's cheeks, and she felt quite embarrassed after being exposed.

She twisted her index fingers together in a circle, half-raising her eyes and looking at Zuo Chen awkwardly:

"Hey, you saved my life, I want to show my gratitude to you!"

"That's not necessary. Don't you have any family in Qingzhou? Is it really okay for you to follow me around outside?"

"Well, I'm an orphan, how can I have any family?" Caiyi was a little embarrassed. "I've learned magic tricks since I was young. I've made a good living in the city with my dexterous hands, but I'm also helpless. If I really need to pack my bags, I'm afraid there won't be as much as in Taoist Zuo's bamboo basket. I can leave anytime I want! You don't have to worry about me too much!"

"...You really want to follow me?"

"want!"

"But why should I take you with me?"

“I can do the laundry!”

"My clothes are durable and don't need to be washed." Zuo Chen was actually being modest. He was now dust-free, so his clothes were more than just durable.

"I...I can perform and earn money!"

“I should have better ways to make money.”

Caiyi's face was numb, and after a long while she managed to stammer out a sentence: "I... can I help with some chores?"

Zuo Chen stared at her for a few more seconds, with a hint of enlightenment in his eyes.

He has no evil spirit and has probably never killed anyone.

He is a little blessed and may have done some good things in his daily life.

"I'll make it clear to you first. Don't blame me if anything happens to you."

"Of course it's fine!"

Caiyi nodded repeatedly.

This Taoist priest is powerful enough. It’s mediocre for her to live in Qingzhou City, so she might as well cling to his influence!
These days, having thick thighs is much more useful than being strong!

The two of them soon reached the riverside. At a glance, there were some scattered shadows on the lake. They should be fishermen's boats, but they were just rustling and there were not many of them.

Walking to a boatman on the shore, Zuo Chen asked:

"Boatman, I would like to rent your boat for half a day. How much silver would it cost?"

"Half-day boat?" The boatman looked Zuo Chen up and down and said, "I'll pay you three taels of silver when you get back. I'll pay you two taels of silver and half a tael of copper coins when you come back."

Caiyi was quicker than Zuo Chen and took out three taels of silver and put them in the boatman's hand. After taking the silver, the boatman looked at the Taoist priest Zuo Chen with a strange look and gave him two more instructions:

"Be careful when you get out of the boat. The River God doesn't like a boat to stay above him for too long, so he'll move to another place every half an hour. I can rent this boat to you for two hours. Except for those who are too unlucky, the River God will show mercy and let the rest go."

"Thank you for the reminder, boatman."

Zuo Chen got on the boat, Caiyi hesitated for a moment and then followed him on.

Pulling the oar, Zuo Chen began to slowly move the boat towards the center of the lake.

After reaching the center of the lake, Zuo Chen sat cross-legged on the boat.

"Master Zuo, what do we want?"

Caiyi didn't know what Zuo Chen was here for, but she felt that he seemed to be planning something big.

"Me?" Zuo Chen said with a smile, "I'm fishing for the river god."

Caiyi: “???”

(End of this chapter)