White mist floated on the surface of the river, and slight waves splashed across it. When the oars paddled out of the water, the light sailboat sailed quietly through the diffuse mist.
The river is wide, but not as vast as the sea. The sailboat is moving slowly and has reached the center of the river.
The waves were turbulent, hitting the hull and the sailboat was shaking, especially the bow and the side bow facing the upstream water, which were sometimes raised and sometimes tilted. The sails were furled and lowered at this time. It was a foggy and rainy day, so it was not suitable for fast travel.
The boatman rolled up his trouser legs and stood barefoot on the bow. As the boat swayed, his body changed balance slightly, and the fishing rod in his hand began to detect reefs.
"Dear guests, please sit tight and be careful not to fall into the river. It's difficult to rescue people in this foggy day."
Lu Liangsheng was leaning against the bulkhead at the stern of the ship, where the shaking was less severe, so he didn't feel anything. Old Donkey was under the spell of the rock and mountain, and he was kneeling on the deck with all four limbs. No matter how the ship shook, he didn't move at all.
The boatman's son, who was rowing the boat, was sweating profusely from exhaustion.
"Damn it, is it because the boat is taking up too much water, or is it because my wits are not working? Why is it so heavy?"
The other seven passengers at the front of the ship were all ordinary people. Three passers-by were holding umbrellas and leaning on the railings with blue faces, probably because they were seasick. The other four scholars were holding hands and standing in a circle. They were relatively stable and occasionally talked to each other in a low voice.
"Is what the boatman said true?" "I don't know..."
"We are scholars who save the world from danger. How can we be frightened by a mere fish monster?"
"Brother, you are right. The four of us have sworn brotherhood with the goal of supporting a wise ruler and bringing peace to the people of the world. How can we be intimidated by a fish monster? Look at that scholar over there. He reeks of alcohol and is slovenly. Don't learn from him and become so depraved."
Among the four, a relatively younger scholar suddenly interrupted.
"Eh, if you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have thought that person looked familiar, as if I've seen him somewhere before."
On the other side of the cabin, Lu Liangsheng closed his eyes and heard the four people talking. He reeked of alcohol, and his clothes and hair were wet. As soon as he got on the boat, the seven people seemed to be disgusted and kept a distance from him.
It’s better not to come, so you don’t have to say anything.
Along the way, Lu Liangsheng only spoke to the fat monk once, and the rest of the time he only spoke a few words to his master and the female ghost.
Just as the Toad Taoist said, people who have had smooth sailing will be hit harder than ordinary people when they encounter setbacks, but once they have overcome this hurdle, they will be full of energy again.
This is Lu Liangsheng’s current situation.
…
The surface of the river was white, and beneath the dark water, a group of white bubbles were rolling.
'Boo.'
It melted on the water surface, quietly creating a circle of ripples that spread out in all directions.
…
Suddenly, Lu Liangsheng, who was leaning against the cabin wall, opened his eyes slightly, and the toad coiled on the donkey's head also half-closed its eyelids.
"No, fish demon, it's a bit regrettable."
At this moment, a bang sound was heard.
"Ouch, how did a carp jump onto it?"
On the deck not far from the three peddlers, a large carp was seen jumping around on the boat, swishing its tail. It was soon caught by a man, who lifted it up by its gills.
"Boatman, do you have any pots and pans? Let's have some fish soup together."
"Haha, this is probably a gift from the Dragon King of the River because he saw that we had a hard time taking the boat." Another person looked at the carp and laughed.
Four scholars came over and looked curiously at the river water under the boat. Living in the south, they rarely heard of fish jumping onto the boat by themselves.
One bold scholar even leaned half of his body out.
"I don't know if there are any more."
At the bow, the boatman who was exploring the reef put away his fishing rod and turned back, feeling a little worried, so he asked the man carrying the fish over there to throw the fish back.
"We fishermen have always been respectful to the Lord of the River. If we take his things, won't it be a mess? Throw it back quickly, don't take anything randomly. We are almost at the ferry on the other side, don't cause trouble!!"
The boatman's son also spoke up to persuade him:
"Four guests over there, don't lean out, keep your eyes on the water, or be careful of drowning ghosts finding a substitute."
At this moment, amid the ups and downs of the waves, a huge black shadow swam underwater, looked up at the figure leaning out of the side of the boat above the distorted water waves, and stretched out its long, hard, thorny arms.
The huge body pushed the river water aside, creating waves that splashed away, and the sailboats on the water swayed in the ripples.
The scholar, looking down at the water, vaguely saw something deep under the water. When he wanted to see more clearly, he heard the boatman's son say, "Be careful of drowning ghosts looking for a substitute."
Instinctively he shrank back into the boat, and the black shadow with the shell broke through the water and immediately clamped the air.
The scholar turned around in the boat, straightened his face and flicked his sleeves.
"Nonsense, there is no such thing as something mysterious."
Gu~~
Bubbles surged out of the water and the voices stopped. The four scholars, who were leaning against the side of the boat, naturally heard it.
"What's that sound?"
"It seems to be coming from the water."
Bubbles on the water surface surged up one after another as if they were angry. The four scholars and the other three passengers also came closer out of curiosity.
At this time, the boatman at the bow was also shouting: "We are almost at the shore."
The seven people leaned out and subconsciously turned around to look at the bow when they heard the sound.
The river wind mixed with rain blew heavily, the furled mast creaked and twisted slightly, and the moment the carp in the man's hand swayed its tail, it was like the moment when a string was startled.
Lu Liangsheng, who was leaning against the bulkhead, suddenly stood up and disappeared from the spot. He waved his robe and the boatman shouted "Ah!". He pulled the fishing rod in his hand, broke the rope connected to the bow, and flew into the sky.
The moment his hand touched the pole, Lu Liangsheng kicked the mast, his robe fluttered, and he infused the long pole in his hand with magic power and threw it down from above.
Plop!
There was a sound of water splashing on the bodies and faces of the seven people. In that instant, they felt a chill rising up and every hair on their body stood up.
The bow of the boat lightly touched the ferry bridge at the pier. The slight vibration brought the boatman and the seven people on the side of the boat back to their senses.
A man wiped the water off his face.
"What just happened?"
"It seems that we see a white shadow above our heads..."
At this moment, someone suddenly discovered that there was one person missing from the boat.
"Where's that sloppy scholar?"
"Could it have fallen into the water? And the donkey is missing too." "Maybe it's a water ghost, it's all wet. Isn't that what's written in strange novels?"
"Go, go!"
Several people's faces turned pale and they didn't dare to stay on the boat. Anyway, the fare had already been paid. They hurriedly said goodbye to the confused boatman, took their luggage, got off the boat in a hurry, and ran away quickly.
Looking at the fishing rod lying quietly on the boat, the boatman walked over tremblingly, picked it up and looked at it in his hand.
"It's strange, how did they fly away, along with the scholar and the donkey?"
Huh.
What's this.
At one end of the long pole, there was a two-foot-long sticky substance that was yellow in color and had a strange smell.
The boatman reached out his hand and carefully touched it, frowned, and couldn't help licking it.
"Crab roe..."
At this time, the young man at the stern came over with his hands clasped together and bowed. When he saw the old man, he hurried over with excitement on his face. He was paddling at the stern and could see clearly.
"Dad, that sloppy scholar, that sloppy scholar..."
He stuttered excitedly and gesticulated, and after a while he uttered the last sentence in a heavy voice.
“…It’s a deity.”
The sound of tinkling came from the river bank. The rain was leaden blue, and water vapor melted on the scholar riding a donkey in the distance. He looked ethereal and hazy, like a god on earth.
The father and son on the boat were holding the crab roe with a strange fragrance, at a loss.
It took me a long while to react, and then I felt a sense of melancholy.
"I didn't know there was a master beside me..."