This era is not a peaceful era. Water thieves, old robbers, water ghosts, and river monsters are not uncommon. So the boatman's words are not groundless.
Han Sheng took a closer look and saw that there was nothing but reeds around the woman. I thought in my heart that at a time like this, it would be difficult for a weak woman to survive in such a place. This is not on the way to seek Buddhist scriptures. How can there be any monsters? Even if she is a bad person, how can a weak woman be so evil? She is worse than me, a useless scholar. How can she use one woman to scheme against three men? Thinking of this, he grabbed the reeds on the shore with his hands and the boat stopped. When the woman saw that the boat had stopped, she ran over in three steps and two steps at a time. Xing'er stretched out his hand and pulled her onto the boat.
Han Sheng asked: "Who are you? Why are you here alone?" The woman replied: "The little girl's home was hit by a flood, the village was flooded, and she and her family fled. During the day, they were scattered by the flow of people who were eager to get on the boat. The little girl was eager to find The separated family members did not get on the boat. When they saw their family members on another boat in the distance, the boat here also sailed away. I was trapped here, but fortunately I met the young master to rescue me. The little girl is very grateful!" The woman's description was not very clear, but Han Sheng had already understood it. He quickly told Xing'er to bring out dry food for her to eat. Unexpectedly, the woman looked at the dry food and was too shy to move. Only then did Han Sheng realize that the two strange men stared at each other, which one of the girls opened their mouths, and hurriedly pulled Xing'er outside the shed.
After a while, they heard screams in the shed. Han Sheng and Xing'er hurriedly entered the boat shed and saw that the boatman had entered the shed at some point and was approaching the woman with a sharp knife. Han Sheng hurriedly stopped him, and the boatman said: "Young master, you don't know, she is a female ghost! If we don't kill her, none of us can survive!" Then he faced the woman and said fiercely: "You can hide it from the master, but you can't. Me! You water ghost!" He held the knife and continued to approach the woman. The woman gestured with her hands in front of her, backed away in fear, and explained pleadingly: "I'm not a water ghost, I'm not a water ghost!" The boatman was still approaching, and the woman panicked and shouted: "Master, help me! Master, help me!" "
Han Sheng was also at a loss and kept shouting "No! No!" but he did not dare to step forward and stop the boatman because at that moment, an unknown premonition flashed in his mind. This boatman is probably a gangster, and I don’t know the origin of this boatman. If the boatman is a gangster who seeks wealth and death, and drives the boat to this secluded place, he can only attack the woman first. If he attacks himself and Xing’er first, Every time he started, he was one-on-three. Only by attacking the woman first can the two of us doubt her origins and not help her. At this time, if we go up to her, we are likely to be fooled and be caught by surprise and stab ourselves!
But the matter was urgent and there was no room for further thought. Han Sheng rushed forward to pull the boatman. Unfortunately, it was too late. The woman had no way to retreat. The boatman's sharp knife stabbed directly into the woman's body. The woman screamed and turned over and fell into the water. The boatman also exerted too much force, lost his balance and stumbled, falling towards the position where the woman was just now. Bang... The boatman also rolled into the water.
As soon as the boatman fell into the water, he made two strokes with his hands in the air and sank into the water. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell at a glance that it was not sinking naturally, but was being dragged down into the water. Both Han Sheng and Xing'er were in shock, not sure what happened! At this time, the reeds on the shore rustled a few times. The reeds were opened and three people appeared.
Han Sheng thought, it’s broken! The rescue team from the shore has arrived. Regardless of whether the woman or the boatman is a bad person, he and Xing'er will only be killed! I saw three people on the shore, one was tall and heroic, one was carrying a sword, and the other was short in stature. The three people stepped up and boarded the boat without saying anything, just looking at the water quietly.
Han Sheng looked at the three of them timidly and said, "The three of them are..." The dwarf among the three made a "silence" gesture with his hand and still just looked at the water. After a moment, splashes were seen in the water, and then with a "swish" sound, something was thrown up from the water and landed on the boat. Han Sheng took a closer look and saw that it was the woman. The woman was thrown into the boat and seemed to be fine, sitting on the side of the boat.
After a while, there was a "wow" sound, and something was thrown from the water onto the boat. A closer look revealed that it was the boatman. There was still water bubbling out of his mouth. The short man stepped forward, took up the oar, and rowed forward. The heroic young man stepped forward and put his feet on the boatman's legs, and held the water with his head down for a while. Then, his hands pressed the man's chest several times, and the boatman coughed several times and woke up. But he saw the heroic young man sitting on the boat, kicking the boatman's chest with his feet, and controlling the boatman on the side of the boat.
At this moment, something suddenly jumped up in the water, causing a splash of water about three feet high. Then his body flashed and landed in a small gourd in the hand of the young man carrying the sword. Han Sheng looked at everything that happened suspiciously and was at a loss. The man carrying the sword pointed at the woman with his hand and said, "Tell me something." The woman didn't say anything and was already sobbing. It took a long time to wipe away my tears.
It turns out that more than ten years ago, the woman went to seek relatives and boarded the boatman's boat. Not far ahead, she was kidnapped by the boatman and taken to the reeds on the shore, raped and then killed. More than ten years later, the body was buried in the mud. For more than ten years, the female ghost has refused to be a substitute, and has been waiting for this unscrupulous boatman. The sky has eyes, and she finally got it today.
Only then did Han Sheng realize that this woman was indeed a female ghost, and she was killed by the boatman. No wonder the boatman didn't dare to stop the boat at first, but later he recognized that she was a female ghost. It is true that good and evil will be rewarded in the end.
The young man carrying the sword took out the gourd again and said, "Stay with me for a few days! We have a good relationship with the City God. When the case is concluded, I will find a way to send you to reincarnation." As he said that, a white light flashed through . The female ghost was sucked into the gourd.
The boat sailed to a place ahead, and there were many messengers holding torches on the shore. An officer was there directing, salvaging something from the mud. Needless to say, they were salvaging the woman's body. The three people jumped ashore and also called Han Sheng and Xing'er to come ashore. At this time, a police officer reported that the body had been fished out. Except for the mud all over the body, it was not rotten. The official ordered someone to take him back to the county government office.
Everyone mounted their horses one after another, and the young man carrying the sword approached Han Sheng and said, "You should also come back to Wu Ending City with us, and then transfer to the capital. The road from Wu Ending City to the capital has not been destroyed by the flood, and is still open. There are only more than 200 miles of dry roads in the capital, which are easy to walk and won't delay your autumn."
Han Sheng's eyes widened, "How do you know I came to Beijing to take the exam?" The policeman next to him laughed loudly: "Do you know who these three are!? These are the famous masters of our Wujiang County, Wujiang Sanjue! How can we hide anything from him? We are in control of everything you encounter today!" The young man with the sword behind his back smiled and said, "Why are you so talkative!" Only then did Han Sheng suddenly realize that he had already I heard that there are three mages in Wujing who are very powerful. I finally met them today! With that said, the short mage motioned for Han Sheng to get on his horse, and the heroic young man reached out and lifted Xing'er onto his horse.
Han Sheng rode a horse with the short mage and asked the mage, "Please tell me, mage, what is my future in this imperial examination?" The short man asked for the eight characters, and after some calculations, he muttered He said: "This year Xinmao Ke will be the next year Renchen Ke..." and then said to Han Wei: "There are some things that cannot be revealed. I can only tell you good luck."
Later, Han Wei succeeded in the provincial examination and passed the Renchen scientific examination the following year, and was appointed as the chief envoy of Shanxi Province.
Let’s go back to the outside of Wu Ending City. It is said that on this day, a corpse was parked under a big tree outside Wuzhong City, covered with a broken reed mat. Kneeling next to her was a woman in mourning clothes. There was a piece of paper on the ground that read "Sell yourself to bury your husband."
To say that "selling one's body to bury her husband" was a strange thing, and it quickly spread throughout the streets. Everyone ran to watch. Some lads and bachelors gathered around and said a few disgusting words and made comments. Some people said that he might be a liar; others said that he was buried in a ditch and thrown away in a ditch; others said that this was a eldest daughter who was begging for food - she was so stubborn. But few people came forward to ask the price, because everyone knew that the asking price for such a beautiful little daughter-in-law would definitely not be low.
At this time, someone separated from the crowd and walked to the front. When everyone saw it, it was the rich man Jiang Lao Wai. This Jiang Lao Wai was a womanizer. Because her brother-in-law is an official, he has a lot of business in Beijing and has a lot of money. The family already has a main wife and seven concubines. It seems that they plan to buy them as Xiaojiu. At that moment, Jiang Laowai stepped forward and asked, "Where are you from? Why are you selling yourself?" The woman cried and said, "My husband's surname is Zhang. He is from Baodi, a hundred miles away. He was forced to go out because of the flood in his hometown." To make a living. The husband had some strength and thought he could make a living by walking around here, but he didn't want his husband to suddenly become ill and vomit blood and die. The little girl was penniless. The couple usually had a good relationship but couldn't bear to abandon her body in the wilderness, so she sold her body and was buried. husband!"
With a smile on his face, Jiang Laowai asked, "How much do you plan to ask for?" The woman cried and said, "I don't want to say how much. I just need a thin-skinned coffin to bury my deceased husband in a place. I am willing to be a slave." Concubine!" Jiang Laowai immediately smiled and called his servants, arranging to buy a coffin to carry the body and hire a sedan to carry his wife! Some bachelors and bachelors stamp their feet and slap their thighs. If I had known that this was the only condition, how could I have left it to him? Look at this missed opportunity, it’s really a shame!