Chapter 1276: Don't Make Me Sacrifice Girls, I Truly Am Not the River God (Seeking Monthly Ticket, Combined)

The old crow laughs as it climbs the slope under the full moon, brewing wine at the third watch to pour on the beachhead.

The old crow brings back a red veil, a paper sedan chair, a torn fishing net, and eighteen poles planted at the whirlpool's mouth.

A red bowl holds rouge, the crying bride's song sung backwards—

The River God lifts the red silk, fish carry the sedan, the bride gasps for air underwater————

On the dirt road, hair flower-white, disheveled, the shaman in a raincoat turns the rattle drum, singing and dancing, muttering incantations, the brown dried reed layers on the raincoat overlapping, rising and falling like feathers, as if the old crow he speaks of had spread its wings.

Late May, the sun blazes, scorching the land yellow and sandy, ants relocating, orange-yellow brilliance.

The thirteen-year-old girl sweats on her forehead, dressed in new red clothes, seated in a new bamboo sedan chair, covered with a fishy-smelling fishing net.

Four strongmen grab the green bamboo poles, heave-ho, hoist them onto their shoulders, amidst gongs and drums, the bamboo sedan bounces, rushing toward the yellow sands.

The procession numbers about a thousand, elders, children, youths all present, marching mightily, already thirty li traveled, the Da He near at hand, many elders drenched in sweat, hearing faint water sounds in their ears, the damp air, gritting their teeth to persevere.

"Don't cry, don't cry, don't mourn, don't mourn. Marry the River God, your daughter enjoys blessings! Return home tonight, wait till spring next year, the River God will send your family a big fat boy! No need for oxen to plow, no need for donkeys to turn the mill!"

The village elder, cane in hand, accompanies the girl's parents along the field ridge, walking and speaking, seeing the girl on the sedan chair trembling violently, he pulls from his sleeve a half-melted maltose candy, stuffs it into the girl's mouth, his rough large hand wipes sweat from her forehead.

The girl's attention is wholly drawn by the sweetness in her mouth, stopping her trembling.

"Village elder grandfather, if I marry the River God, can I truly enjoy blessings?"

"Of course blessings, last night my granddaughter appeared in my dream, telling me daily feasts of fish and meat, so rich it cloyed, even the big carp had no bones, urging me to seize the chance, dig two catties of wild vegetables to send over." The village elder produces a bundle of dried wild vegetables,

"You girl hold tight, this bundle of vegetables, give it to your sister, from now on you are sisters, for any matter, discuss it together."

"Mm, good, discuss it together."

The girl clutches the rope.

Beyond the Nine Heavens, drifting mist, faint and elusive.

"Such living human sacrifices—does Heposuo not care?"

Liang Qu folds his arms, rides the dragon and bears witness, looks down upon all happening below, furrows his brow.

In the distance, yellow sands roll like melting maltose syrup, exuding sweetness and honey, each person seeming an ant drawn to it, swarming forth, rushing eagerly.

"Naturally it is managed, living human sacrifice, originally an ignorant act, rightly should be suppressed." Above the drifting clouds, Sinan respectfully replies, "Since you spoke of rushing the sands, we anticipated this, sent people to various remote villages——"

"What are you doing, what are you doing, who let you sacrifice living people, nonsense. This is the imperial court governing sand control, not some River God, go back, all hurry back!"

Shouts erupt.

The gaze from above shifts.

The advancing "ant swarm" is blocked by three men in dark blue official uniforms, they crossed mountains and ridges, panting, soaked through with sweat.

The two sides face off.

Young and strong laborers encircle the village elders, utterly unafraid of official might, even locally stronger in strength, this remote village actually has several four-gate martial artists, truly rare.

A fierce clash and contradiction, the entire wedding procession scatters sparsely, thin and scattered.

Settled?

Liang Qu raises an eyebrow.

He glances at the calm-faced Sinan, again feeling this matter is not so simple.

As expected.

After waiting two quarters of an hour, officials trapped in the crowd, the selected sacrificial girl trembling, her parents pull her from behind the crowd, wrap her in straw mats.

Led by the village elder and shaman, guiding two young people, using the human wall as cover, they detour around the three Heposuo officials, rush into the forest, hack through brush, straight for the Yellow Sands River.

The River Chief and River God remain unaware, still pushing and shoving noisily with villagers.

Only then does Sinan have an explanation.

"Your Highness Huai Wang, this place is called Zhu Jia Village, villagers mostly surnamed Zhu, over one hundred thirty households, over eight hundred people, the nearest county seat is over nine thousand li away. The place is remote, situated among mountains, beyond reach.

The village has a set of simple martial arts passed down collectively, all males can learn, the village elder personally teaches, cultivation resources rely entirely on mountain hunting, self-sufficient, brought by the village elder's ancestors long ago, hence prestige extremely high, word is law.

Because of the sturdy folk customs, the village also harbors many tax-evading black households, hidden in the mountains, since the sixteenth year of the Great Shun, when officials rested and went hunting on the mountain, they discovered, the villagers also learned of the dynastic change, caused trouble for two or three years, then resumed tax payment.

And according to legend, a hundred years ago, this village personally witnessed the River God transforming into a green fish passing by, hence superstition prevails, thus even though today's interception occurred, they will still continue sacrifices on some uninhabited day, the former leading village elder even sacrificed his own granddaughter, insisting on speaking of marrying the River God to enjoy blessings."

"Has the officialdom intervened before?"

"Intervened, past county magistrates were quite enlightened, made efforts, yet results minimal, first, the place is too remote, ordinary officials unwilling to make the trip, second, changing customs is costly, after issuing bans, villagers treat them as non-existent, mutually cover up, hard to supervise.

Third————this village poses little danger, over decades, sacrificing girls only three times, all villagers voluntary, believing selection brings blessings", occasional drowning deaths of children from slips far exceed this number, gradually no effect, even good governance yields little, so they grew indifferent."

Liang Qu pinches his brow, understands.

He originally thought perhaps a reenactment of the "Xi Men Bao story".

Local tyrants, to extort wealth, collude with witch-wives, fabricate the River God's marriage scenario, deceive the populace.

I need only stage a "magical showdown", emulate the ancestors' wisdom, declare "girls are no good, trouble the great witch to report to the River God, seek better girls, send them the next day."

Deliver the witch-wife, village elder, and tyrants into the river, eliminate the chief culprits one by one, easily resolve, meanwhile give Heposuo officials a small "Huai Wang wisdom" shock.

Could be done with ease and poise.

Result: half a day's effort, pure feudal superstition! Village elders leading the charge, directly offering their own granddaughter to the River God as sacrifice, displaying piety, "leading by example".

Where to reason?

If normal logic, this matter is indeed hard to handle, over a hundred years, several generations' indoctrination, everyone firmly believes without doubt. If lucky, two sacrifices both "effective", directly imprinting the idea.

Requires long-term education, and education itself must have a sufficiently correct, logically self-consistent academic foundation to change customs.

This undertaking takes long.

Cost far exceeds decades of losing two or three, buying a maid in the slave market costs little, several magistrates tried the hassle, simply gave up.

But———

Now is not normal logic!

Who says the "magical showdown" in the Xi Men Bao story cannot inspire, cannot be extrapolated?

Don't make me sacrifice girls, I truly am not the River God?

No!

Liang Qu laid his cards on the table; he stopped pretending.

"I am the River God, and I oppose this marriage!"

Heavenly thunder shook and rolled; dark clouds churned.

Just moments ago the sky was clear for ten thousand miles, not a wisp of cloud to be seen, golden light brilliant; in the blink of an eye dark clouds covered the sky densely, blocking out the light of heaven!

Black clouds spread rapidly, wind howling, enveloping a hundred li in every direction, a thousand li————like an iron wok inverted over heaven and earth, the county seat, the prefectural capital, mountain ridges, Tian Ye, none escaped this enclosure!

Lightning tore the sky, forking into branching bolts.

Fierce wind whipped up temple hair, fluttering wildly; black snakes danced.

Liang Qu rode the dragon, eyes askance: "You girl, on the boat you deliberately told me there was a River God taking a wife—was it just to lure me here to settle this matter?"

Si Nan knelt on one knee, her ponytail hanging down: "The Huai King is benevolent and powerful; it would be a trivial effort for him. If you did not wish to bother, you would not have come in person."

"Hmph hmph, little girl, so young yet so many schemes."

"I am thirty-eight this year, eight years older than the Huai King; Your Highness's talent surpasses even the Overlord of old."

"————" Liang Qu drew a deep breath, "Third Prince!"

A small dragon head emerged from the dragon's waist, dragon claws pressing against the horn.

"Third Prince reporting for duty, ready to serve at any moment!"

Rumble—

Thunder rolled continuously, torrential rain poured down.

Finger-thick columns of water fell straight down, whipping the ground like whips; rain mixed with yellow mud, swiftly forming mud pools; stepping on them, incomparably slick.

Sudden rain on a clear sky, abrupt change without omen.

Dark clouds extremely thick, never before such darkness.

Village elders and shamans faces ashen, heads spinning, at a loss.

The young men carrying the straw mat in the mountains panic-stricken, gale blowing so hard they could barely stand; straw sandals slipped, grip failed, both men tumbled out together with the straw mat.

The girl hidden in the straw mat was thrown flying, sliding along the ground on the mat; dizzy and disoriented, she had no time to react, blankly clawing at yellow earth, and finally plunged straight into the Yellow Shahe!

Plop!

Splashing up a yellow water flower.

The Yellow Shahe water was swift and fierce, like a man-eating tiger in the mountain ridges that leaves no bones; the girl in the bloom of youth sank into it, without a sound, not half a bit of struggle.

River water collided and swirled.

Villagers swallowed saliva; they saw clearly, the girl fell into the great river.

Sacrifice successful?

No bridal veil, no sedan chair—can that count as the River God marrying a wife?

The River Earl and River Chief cold sweat dripping.

Done for, done for, couldn't stop her!

Before coming, Chief Clerk Si Nan specifically warned them to————

Unexpectedly, the girl sank into the river, like a sluice gate dropped; the surging Yellow Shahe abruptly halted, no longer flowing east, stopping completely before everyone's eyes; then amid everyone's utter shock, the river water rapidly rose, a huge water bladder bulging in the center, higher than the river embankment, finally the water bladder burst, pouring and flowing, coughing up an object onto the riverbank.

Pfft!

The girl panted heavily, lingering fright not faded, eyes blank, whole body soaking wet, head covered in black water weeds, as if rolled around in a fierce tiger's mouth then vomited out, covered in saliva.

Villagers' pupils dilated.

The girl who should have become the River God's wife!

Just now a vicious beast that ate people without spitting out bones————in the blink of an eye, as if it ate something filthy, hurriedly spat her out!

Everyone baffled; the River Earl and River Chief stared dumbfounded; originally blocking villagers from advancing, now they instinctively wanted to retreat behind the villagers.

"Could it be————the River God didn't fancy her? Then————switch to another?"

"I think the Li family at the village east end isn't bad either; let their daughter go enjoy good fortune————"

"I said, I oppose this marriage!"

Rumble—

Thunder cut off the words.

The Yellow Shahe, eighty li wide north to south, stretching endlessly east to west, rose from the ground before the horrified eyes of all villagers and officials, suspended in the sky!

Countless streams climbed, flowed, shaped, forming an azure-yellow dragon, lowering its head to gaze down!

Looking left and right.

What a colossal dragon body?

Ultimate breadth, boundless.

The dragon body resembled an infinite yellow earth wall, blocking out everything; birds crossing the river crashed into it, struggling and tumbling.

Terrifying pressure dropped a lump of solid lead onto the onlookers' nerves; temples throbbed violently, pupils dilated sharply, breathing completely frozen, just like the struggling birds.

Heavy rain hung down in streams.

Silent dead stillness.

"River God! Manifestation! River God manifests!"

Suddenly the village elder spread his arms, breaking the silence, weeping bitterly as he knelt on the ground.

"River God manifests! River God manifests!"

"River God manifests! River God manifests!"

The lead lump slid away; villagers one by one opened their Ren and Du meridians, stagnant brains turning again, matching their worldview, finally understanding everything.

River God!

It is the Yellow Shahe God they worship day after day!

After a hundred years, He appears once more!

Held breaths grew twice as heavy; bodies trembled with uncontrollable awe and excitement, every muscle twitching and jumping, blood surging to the brain, nearly fainting.

Villagers knelt in the mud, knees splashing up sprays of water, hands raised high in worship, voices hoarse with exertion, blue veins bulging.

The River Earl and River Chief looked left and right, Adam's apples bobbing, and carefully knelt down too, stretching out their hands and crying out to the River God.

Lightning in the sky exploded again.

The yellow dragon's head split open a gap for this bolt of lightning; water churned, foam blossoming like flowers.

Under the trembling gaze of countless pupils, a towering white jade palace slowly crashed out of the dragon's head!

The lofty Zhenxing Pavilion stands tall against wind and gale.

Dangerous railings look down on soaring birds; upturned eaves surpass flying monkeys.

Carved beams and painted rafters, pavilions and towers, clouds and mist swirling, waterfalls cascading.

So exquisite and intricate, even exhausting the imagination could not describe one ten-thousandth of it!

This is the River God's palace?

Torrential rain poured down, washing the dragon's head.

Atop the white jade palace on the giant dragon's head, the main gate towered high, sturgeons dancing.

Rainwater gathered midair into stairs, spreading along the jade gate to the riverbank, clusters of white jade lotuses blooming.

People waited with bated breath, eyes wide.

"Pat."

A furry large palm stepped onto the rain stairs, sending out ripples.

No.

That wasn't a palm; it was a sole!

Villagers stared blankly and looked up, following the white-furred sole upward.

Lightning tore the sky, briefly illuminating the earth; a three-zhang white ape, domineering and proud, canine teeth protruding, golden eyes brilliant, appeared before their eyes!

This————

Is this the model of River God?

Beating hearts skipped a beat.

Villagers subconsciously looked toward the village elder and the shamans.

But saw the village elder already streaming tears and snot, knees shuffling, crawling prostrate at the white ape's feet: "Not knowing if this old man's granddaughter served the River God my lord well!"

"Never seen her, don't know her, don't randomly claim kinship."

"?" The village elder stared blankly and looked up.

"This God has a wife, and doesn't eat people; human flesh is sour, bitter! Next time you randomly throw people, randomly marry them off, I'll beat you!" The white ape snorted from its nostrils, clenched its fist, flicked its forefinger, pointing at villagers one by one, "Throw things randomly again, and this God will unleash a great flood — what village, county, prefecture, you you you, all drowned! Every last one drowned! Drowned dead!"

The yellow dragon abruptly raised its head, rearing even higher.

All excitement turned to horror in an instant; villagers trembled, hurriedly kowtowing, saying they dared not.

The village elder's eyes clouded; all thoughts froze at this moment, heavy, heart turning cold; he was dazed, trembling whiskers: "Then————then this old man's granddaughter————"

"This God transforms in a thousand ways!"

As the white ape spoke, its body warped, suddenly turning into a massive green fish.

Villagers, village elder, shamans widened their eyes.

Right, this is right.

This is the model of River God!

Exactly the same as the Laozu Sect records.

However the next moment.

The big green fish transformed into a white dragon, then into a giant frog, into a carp, everything appeared, finally returning to white ape.

Torrential rain poured; the white ape crossed its arms: "Foolish people! This God is heaven-born, heaven-raised, not human at all, how could I take a human as wife?

Climbing dragons and attaching to phoenixes? Wild fantasy!"

The village elder gaped, soul lost, visibly withering, as if his essence, energy, and spirit had been sucked away.

Villagers were even more clamorous, panicked.

Didn't get to enjoy the fortune————

The girl savored the sweet maltose candy, expression desolate.

"Bang!"

A silver ingot smashed onto the ground.

"Just that little money, nothing better to do, take it back and build a small shrine, worship a bit and that's about it; Heaven and Earth are not benevolent, treating all things as straw dogs — besides your parents, who cares about you.

Also don't randomly throw things from now on; summer's coming, weather getting hotter, kids don't go in the water casually, I've got a whole bunch of water ghosts under me, see one grab one; village must be harmonious and friendly, help each other.

Otherwise, unleash a great flood, drown you! Heavy rain, scorch your wheat to death!"

Gods are formless, and even more capricious in joy and anger.

Villagers kowtowed repeatedly, saying yes.

"Hmph, this God is so busy, yet mortals randomly add trouble! Randomly throw things!"

"Drown dead! Scorch dead! Drown dead!"

Thunderclaps sounded again, voice fading into the distance.

The white jade palace sank into the yellow dragon's head; the yellow dragon turned and fell back, rushing eastward.

Dark clouds in the sky rapidly dispersed; light leaked from the hollows.

In the blink of an eye.

The weather was clear, the sunlight just right, the yellow-green wheat swaying.

The villagers looked around; the land had all been watered.

Everything seemed like a dream.

Only the village elder was absent-minded, his soul not guarding his abode.

The shaman leapt up from the ground, rushed forward holding a silver ingot.

"Quick, quick, quick, build a temple for the River God my lord! Right here, right here!"

The crowd surged like ants, all holding silver ingots.

Above the vault of heaven.

Liang Qu let go, and the sky-covering, sun-blocking Yellow Shahe, like a tamed dragon, returned to its riverbed, flowing quietly.

The little mirage dragon leapt back, coiling around his waist to serve as a belt.

"Wuhu, reporting to the boss, the Third Prince has perfectly completed the organizational task! Requesting a merit record!"

"Next time for sure."

Si Nan witnessed everything, her heart and spirit shaken.

Commanding clouds and rain, seizing and lifting the yellow sand, the Bai Yu Palace produces——

As the Chief Clerk of the Heposuo General Office, having seen countless river conditions and known countless governance methods, she can affirm that among the world's flood dragons, few can achieve the same! Unrelated to strength, unrelated to realm, they simply cannot!

Liang Qu clapped his hands: "How about it, settled now, right?"

Si Nan took a deep breath, suppressed her emotions, and flipped out a register: "Yesterday, Your Highness rushed the sand for over a hundred li, a radius of three hundred li all trembled; there are still two villages with similar stubborn sacrifices."

"Still more?"

"Yes, and it can be foreseen that during Your Highness's future water control journey with the Ape King, along the way there will still be a large number of villages and stockades——"

"Sacrificing this, sacrificing that, so idle!"