bookcurios Chapter 451 The Strange Tales of Crossing the River 1
Chapter 451 The Strange Tales of Crossing the River 1
It turned out that Old Man Yu's money was returned, but this did not make him happy for long.
Instead, his life got even worse.
Because everyone knows he has a lot of money, even distant relatives want to come and get a share.
Even more extreme, many people wanted to give their children to the old man so that they could inherit his property.
……
Ren Yinyin and Shi Shaojian left Yun'an County together to continue their journey.
However, shortly after they left, a yellow paper crane suddenly fell from the sky and landed in front of Ren Yinyin.
Ren Yinyin was overjoyed; she immediately recognized it as a message from her master.
She carefully opened the letter Feihe had brought, and saw that her master hoped she could visit her junior brother Mao Xiaofang in Gantian Town and invite him to his fifty-fifth birthday banquet.
"If I remember correctly, my uncle's birthday should be in five months, right?" Shi Shaojian looked at his uncle's message, his face full of black lines, speechless at the invitation five months in advance.
Ren Yinyin smiled and explained, "Master was worried that Uncle Mao wouldn't have time, so he told him in advance!"
Shi Shaojian shook his head helplessly and muttered, "Isn't that a bit too early?"
Ren Yinyin didn't mind at all. She said happily, "I haven't seen Uncle Mao in a long time either. This is a good opportunity to go and see him!"
When Mao Xiaofang was mentioned, Ren Yinyin's face showed a hint of admiration.
Mao Xiaofang used to be a wandering Taoist priest who chased zombies all over the world and experienced countless ups and downs.
Later, after experiencing many things, he finally decided to find a place to settle down, where he could both protect the area and retire comfortably.
The place he ultimately chose was Gantian Town.
In this small town, Mao Xiaofang opened a Taoist temple called "Fuxi Hall," which specializes in exorcising evil spirits, warding off disasters, and solving problems for the villagers.
On ordinary days, he would also generously donate rice and medicine, which earned him the respect and love of the villagers in Gantian Town and the surrounding villages.
"Yinyin, we have plenty of time. There's no need for us to rush over now, is there?" Shi Shaojian subtly advised Ren Yinyin.
Ren Yinyin nodded, "Let's make a plan, we can get there within a month!"
After some discussion, the two decided to go to the riverbank together to prepare to cross the river by boat.
When they arrived at the riverbank, they found a medium-sized boat quietly moored on the shore.
The ship looks quite old; the paint on its hull is peeling and faded, but you can still see its former glory.
By this time, the ship was almost full of passengers, and the captain was just waiting for the last few passengers to board before setting sail.
When the captain saw Ren Yinyin and Shi Shaojian, he was overjoyed and shouted, "You two have come at just the right time! As soon as you're on board, we can set off immediately!"
Ren Yinyin and Shi Shaojian exchanged a smile upon hearing the boatman's greeting, then quickened their pace and boarded the boat.
With the last two passengers boarding, the ship was finally full of guests.
The boatman stood at the bow, skillfully untied the mooring ropes, and then gave a strong push, and the boat slowly sailed away from the shore.
The passengers on the ship came from all over the world, speaking different accents, and chatted happily with each other.
Some were talking about the local customs and traditions of their hometowns, some were sharing strange and wonderful stories from their travels, and others were discussing business matters.
The cabin was filled with laughter and cheerful chatter.
Ren Yinyin and Shi Shaojian stood on the deck, gazing at the distant river.
The river and the sky merged into one, and where the water met the sky, it was impossible to distinguish where the water ended and the sky began.
A moist breeze gently caressed their faces, bringing a cool and refreshing breeze that made them feel relaxed and happy.
The two were enjoying the beautiful river view while chatting.
Suddenly, the sound of a child crying came from the stern of the boat.
The sudden crying shattered the harmonious atmosphere, prompting some disturbed guests to complain.
"I'm telling you, as a mother, why don't you know how to comfort your child?" came a dissatisfied voice from the crowd.
“Yeah, it keeps crying. Is it hungry or does it need to poop? Take a look!” another person chimed in.
The child's mother, a young woman, blushed deeply and repeatedly apologized to everyone in embarrassment.
While comforting the baby in her arms, she frantically rummaged through her bag for toys and food, trying to stop the child from crying.
However, the toddler, who was just over a year old, seemed uninterested in any of this. He just kept crying, and his cries grew louder and louder, as if he were going to capsize the whole ship.
The young woman's patience gradually wore thin, and she finally became angry, yelling at the child, "Stop crying! I knew I shouldn't have taken you out!"
But how could the child understand what she was saying?
He continued to cry on his own, even though his voice became hoarse from crying so hard, but he showed no sign of stopping.
The young woman was so annoyed by her child's crying that in a fit of anger she put the child by the railing and threatened, "If you cry again, I'll throw you down there to feed the fish!"
The child was clearly frightened by his mother's actions; his crying suddenly became intermittent, and finally gradually stopped.
The young woman breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.
Just then, the boat captain came out of the cabin and overheard the young woman's words.
He was greatly alarmed and hurriedly shouted, "What nonsense are you spouting, woman?"
"I'm sorry, I was just trying to scare the kids!" The young woman didn't understand what the boatman meant, but she apologized first. After all, when traveling, it's better to avoid trouble.
Seeing that she didn't understand, the boatman could only sigh and say, "There are many taboos on the river. I don't blame you for not knowing, but please don't say things like that to scare the children!"
A curious passenger overheard the boat captain's words and asked, "Boatman, what do you mean by that?"
The boat captain frowned and explained, "On this river, water ghosts love to find scapegoats. If you say you're going to throw the child overboard to feed the fish, and the water ghosts hear you, they'll believe you and think the child is meant for them. They'll then try everything to pull the child overboard. In that case, our whole boat could be in trouble."
Upon hearing this, the young woman turned pale with fright, clutched her child tightly, and said in a trembling voice, "Then... what should we do?" The boatman sighed and said, "We can only burn some paper money at the bow of the boat to apologize to the water ghosts and beg them to be merciful."
As he spoke, the boatman instructed his men to prepare paper money.
Ren Yinyin and Shi Shaojian exchanged a glance and stepped forward to help.
Shi Shaojian whispered to Ren Yinyin, "It seems there's something strange about this river."
Ren Yinyin nodded, her gaze warily fixed on the river.
After the paper money was burned, the boatman stared nervously at the river. After a while, seeing that nothing was amiss, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The boat continued its journey on the river, but everyone felt a growing sense of unease, glancing at the water every now and then, fearing that a water ghost might actually appear.
Time passed quietly, and the afternoon sun shone on the shimmering river. The boat sailed steadily forward, and everything seemed so peaceful and safe.