Zhang Zhiwei followed Zhang Jingqing all the way, and they walked further and further away, even deviating from the official road and coming to the bank of a river.
The weeds are overgrown and the fog and rain are thick.
Zhang Jingqing and Zhang Zhiwei stopped by the river.
Zhang Zhiwei did not ask Zhang Jingqing why he brought him here, because he had already discovered the clue.
I saw a dark black aura lingering in the river ahead, just like the ink dissolving in a lake, deep and bottomless.
There's a demon here...
Zhang Zhiwei understood instantly and said, "Master, are you bringing me here to sting the law?"
"You're just talking nonsense. Fishing is fishing, law enforcement is law enforcement, and demon-slaying is demon-slaying!"
Zhang Jingqing stretched out his hand and touched Zhang Zhiwei's head to block out his extremely intense yang energy.
Zhang Zhiwei cultivated both his body and soul, and his blood and energy were as strong as a dragon. Ordinary evil spirits would never dare to approach him. If he didn't hide himself, how could he lure out the evil spirit in the river?
As a Taoist master, Zhang Jingqing has rich experience in subduing demons and monsters. With his operation, the fish was hooked in no time.
In the distance, a small boat broke through the calm water and floated over, accompanied by a gust of white mist like gauze.
The white mist spread quickly and engulfed Zhang Zhiwei in a few breaths, making everything around him seem a little dreamy.
Soon, the boat came closer and arrived at the shore not far from Zhang Zhiwei.
At this distance, even in heavy fog, you can still see the situation on the ship clearly.
The person rowing the boat at the bow was a skinny and hunched middle-aged man who looked very lifeless and was rowing the boat intermittently.
"You two, do you want to take a boat?"
The boatman's voice was a little hoarse and lifeless. It sounded as unpleasant as iron scraping against glass, making people feel physically uncomfortable.
"Of course you sit down!"
Without much nonsense, Zhang Jingqing and Zhang Zhiwei walked onto the boat leisurely.
"Sit tight, let's go!"
The boatman didn't ask where the two were going. He just gave the boat a push and headed towards the middle of the river.
On the small boat, Zhang Zhiwei saw at a glance that the boatman was dead, and a dead man with a very creepy look.
However, as a Taoist priest of the talisman school, and possessing the Golden Light Curse and Thunder Magic, Zhang Zhiwei is naturally not afraid of these things. His confidence comes from his skills.
Zhang Zhiwei looked at his master Zhang Jingqing, not understanding the point of getting on this boat. Wouldn't it be better to just kill this evil spirit with a bolt of lightning?
Zhang Jingqing acted as if he didn't see anything. He sat cross-legged on the boat with his eyes closed.
Unable to figure out what his master was up to, Zhang Zhiwei was in no hurry to act. He looked at the dead boatman and asked:
"Master, how's business lately?"
"Not very good, sometimes two or three a day, sometimes one every two or three days!" The boatman's voice was still unpleasant.
"Oh, that's good business. By the way, how many orders have we received from you today?" Zhang Zhiwei asked again.
"You...are the first...order!"
"It's such an honor!"
Zhang Zhiwei grinned, revealing a row of neat white teeth. The boatman's voice was very hoarse just now, and the last word "single" always reminded him of the word "meal".
Sometimes two or three a day, sometimes one every two or three days. The dead thing has a big appetite!
When the boat reached the middle of the river, the fog on the water became much thicker than before, giving people a feeling of floating in the fog.
Perhaps it was a common problem among drivers. The boatman, who had been very frugal with words before, suddenly became talkative, but his voice was still unpleasant.
"There is heavy fog on the water and the boat is moving slowly. How about I tell you a story?" said the boatman.
Zhang Zhiwei sat on the boat with his arms folded and said with a smile, "Okay, I love listening to other people tell stories the most."
The boatman began to narrate in a hoarse voice.
"The protagonist of the story is Lu Ren, a traveling merchant. One day, he went to the river to fetch water and came across a drowning child. Lu Ren immediately dropped his goods, jumped into the river, rescued the child, and brought him back to the village."
"During this process, Lu Ren ran into villagers who were looking for their children. As soon as they saw Lu Ren, they mistook him for a human trafficker. They didn't listen to his explanation and beat him to death."
"After his death, Lu Ren's body was stripped naked and thrown into the river, left for fish and shrimp to eat. However, the villagers happily returned to the village with the child he had just rescued, his money and goods."
"In fact, as soon as the action started, the child who was rescued explained Lu Ren's identity as a rescuer, but the villagers did not stop after knowing it."
"Because during the beating, Lu Ren dropped a few silver coins from his body. The villagers, blinded by the money, took advantage of the situation and beat him to death, mistaking him for a human trafficker."
"Lu Ren, who died unjustly at the bottom of the river, was filled with resentment. His soul had nowhere to return to, and slowly turned into a fierce ghost."
"Lu Ren wanted revenge, but he was a ghost in the river and couldn't get out. So he came up with an idea. Since he couldn't get out, he would raise a monster that could get out to avenge him."
"So, he transformed himself into a ferryman on the river and threw the passengers into the river to feed the fish that ate his body, hoping that one day the fish would become a monster and come ashore to avenge him."
That's the end of the story.
As the boatman's story ended, the boat gradually moved closer to the center of the river.
The fog around us grew thicker, and the scenery on the shore gradually became blurred.
The boatman looked at Zhang Zhiwei with drooping eyes: "Brother, what do you think of this story? Is Lu Ren wronged? Do all the villagers deserve to die?"
Zhang Jingqing was still meditating with his eyes closed, as if he had handed over the initiative to Zhang Zhiwei.
In this case, Zhang Zhiwei also let go of himself and did not directly answer the boatman's question, but said:
"In that case, since you told me a story, I have one too. Do you want to hear it?"
"Tell me about it!"
The boatman was not in a hurry to act. He stopped the oars. The boat, which had lost power, stopped steadily in the middle of the river as if it had dropped an anchor.
Zhang Zhiwei leaned against the side of the boat and narrated slowly:
"In ancient times, there lived a man named Zhang Heng by the river. He believed himself to be a hero, upholding justice on behalf of Heaven, but in reality, he was a wicked and vicious man, a living devil on the water."
"Zhang Heng's daily routine was to pretend to be a traveler and board small passenger boats. Once they reached the middle of the river, Zhang Heng would draw his knife and offer the boatman and the other passengers a choice: 'bandao noodles' or 'wonton noodles.'"
"What does it mean? 'Ban Dao Noodles' means chopping you to death with a single blow and then throwing you into the water. 'Wonton Noodles' means letting you jump into the river yourself, lest you dirty the knife of the King of Hell."
“But then…!”
The story came to an abrupt end. Zhang Zhiwei stopped midway through his story and stood up and said:
"I like to hear stories about Guan Gong and Qin Qiong the most."
"Boatman, tell me, if your evil ghost disguised as a boatman ran into me, the living devil who invited you to eat noodles, what would the scene be like?"
"Boatman, do you want to choose the flat-blade noodles or the chaotic noodles?"
