Chapter 232 Zigui Suspense
Beside the river bank, boats of all sizes docked.
Incense was lingering on the shore, accompanied by the sound of gongs and drums, and several Spirit Mediums wearing Red Robe and crowns were jumping and performing.
They turned over, wheeled, shuttled, and performed dazzling hand movements. The atmosphere was mysterious and solemn, and various cakes were thrown into the water from time to time.
This is Spirit Medium Dance, which originated from Chu palace dance.
Spirit Medium Dance is divided into Upper Altar and the lower altar.
Upper Altar pays homage to the dead and saves the souls of the dead, with solemn and solemn actions.
Go down to the altar to drive away ghosts, ward off evil spirits, pray for good luck and receive blessings, with light and free movements.
The one in front of me is Xiatan Spirit Medium Dance.
At the same time, there were several men in Confucian robes, high crowns and holding scriptures in their hands, standing by the river and chanting loudly:
"The sun is about to set, and I forget to return home, but I am in my arms at the end of the river, in the dragon hall with the fish scale house, and in the pearl palace with the purple shell. Why is the spirit sitting in the water, riding on the white turtle, chasing the fish..."
There were many people watching, all of them were solemn and silent.
Many of them are dressed like boatmen and fishermen.
Of course, there were also whispers.
"Is that thing still there?"
"Well, I heard that in Xiling Gorge, ships were destroyed and people were eaten, and a mage was hired to slay the demons."
"You won't come to our Zigui County, will you?"
"Who knows, but no one dares to go to Yichang. I asked Spirit Medium to do this today, just to hope that the ship to Shu will be safe..."
Li Yan and others were also among the crowd.
Some of the conversations among the people around me were in dialect, which I couldn't understand at all, and some were mixed with official dialect, so I could barely make out the meaning.
While Spirit Medium Dance was going on, there were several boats on the river.
A red cloth was hung on the bow, an incense burner was placed, and a statue of a god was enshrined. The boatmen worshiped together and threw paper money and five-color cakes.
"It's the person from the Raft Sect."
Sha LiFei whispered.
Li Yan nodded and said nothing.
It seems that the river demon's troubles have also affected this place.
The Spirit Medium Dance on the shore is still going on. According to the opinions of the people around, it will take three days and three nights, but the Raft Sect people have already set sail.
The bow of the boat propped up the bamboo pole and sang loudly. "Weigh the anchor!"
The boatmen around them shouted slogans, "Hey yo hey yo~"
"I'm going to pull some clothes and go!"
"Hey yo hey yo~"
"The ship is about to leave!"
"Hey yo hey yo~"
"Keep your rudder steady!"
"Hey yo hey yo..."
Accompanied by the powerful Yangtze River trumpet, the boatmen performed their duties in an orderly manner, controlling the huge cargo ship to the land of Bashu.
At this time, the river fog was thick and it quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.
"Raft Sect people are very courageous."
"What can I do? We can't stay stuck in the water forever..."
Just then, the chirping of birds sounded.
Seemingly attracted by the excitement on the shore, a cuckoo flew from the mountains, landed on the branches of the trees, preened its feathers and kept chirping.
"The bird is here."
"It's the Qingming Festival, but strange things are happening right now. Water monsters appear. Alas, it's an ominous sign..."
"Hmph, Sanlü Grand Master will take care of them!"
"Shh, you don't want your life..."
Many of the people looked sad and angry.
There were occasional whispers, but they were all cautious.
"Let's go."
Li Yan shook his head slightly.
After leaving the crowd, Sha LiFei muttered, "There is obviously something wrong with this Zigui County atmosphere."
"Yan XiaoGe, should we go to the village directly, or go to Zigui County first to get some news."
Li Yan pondered for a moment, "This matter has caused quite a stir. People are panicking. Many parties are paying attention to it. The evil spirit behind it must also be prepared."
"If you go there rashly, you might alert the enemy. The strong laborers in the village are being imprisoned in Yichang Prefecture. They must be resentful and cannot use the name of City God Temple."
"Let's find out some information first, and then change our identities!"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately nodded in agreement.
The county seat of Zigui County is Gui Prefecture Ancient City.
Because it is close to the Yangtze River and there are dense rivers in the territory, there are both local Han people and many Tujia people coming and going.
Because it is close to Shu, there are many people who speak Bashu accent.
Everyone came down from Jiang'an Mountain, took a detour, and came to the pier from the side. Looking up, they saw an ancient city built against the mountain.
The city is not big. It is built of stone. It is full of ancient charm, solid and thick. It is small at the top but big at the bottom. It looks like a gourd.
Wang Dao Xuan raised his head and stroked his beard and said, "Before coming here, Pindao made some special inquiries. This city has a lot of background."
"In the past, when Saint Guan died, Liu Xuande personally led an army of 700,000 people from the middle of Shu to attack Wu, and gathered soil to build a city here, so it is also called Liu Bei City."
"Zigui County City was originally located in the King of Chu Old City on the other side. Later, the weather changed suddenly and it rained heavily for several days. The city collapsed and the river poured back into a lake, so we moved here."
"It was originally a Tucheng. After several repairs, it became what it is today."
Sha LiFei on the side had no interest. He looked around and whispered, "Master Dao, it doesn't matter Zhang Fei or Liu Bei City, I just know that something is wrong here..."
But I saw a small caravan coming from the shore. They all spoke with Bashu accents, and there were several large carts pulled by mules and horses, which were piled with debris.
In the distance, several Yamen Runner were walking with hounds.
"If you have a problem, leave first!"
Li Yan had already noticed something was wrong and took everyone away.
"Stop!"
As soon as they retreated to the roadside, they heard a shout.
It was not that he called them, but one of the policemen suddenly drew his sword and stopped the Shu caravan.
"Master Cha, what's wrong?"
"Check!"
"Here... please be accommodating."
The leader of the caravan is a middle-aged man.
He was short in stature, wearing shabby coarse clothes and a white cloth wrapped around his head.
"Men and women in western Sichuan have their heads wrapped in white. This custom is passed down to Marquis Wu."
This is a characteristic of the clothing of the Han people in Sichuan. It is said to commemorate Zhuge Wuhou and has been passed down to this day.
Although he is dressed as a civilian, no matter from his body shape or gait, it can be seen that he is a practitioner.
He had a flattering look on his face and spoke Mandarin with a Bashu accent. He hurriedly stepped forward to say good things, and secretly took out a few taels of silver from his arms, intending to give it to the messenger.
However, several officials did not give him any face.
Snap!
The leader of the official waved his hand and knocked the money out of his hand, and cursed angrily, "You are so sneaky, and there will be problems at first sight. Please wait and see for me to investigate!"
As he spoke, he winked.
Two men immediately stepped forward. One held up a spear in his hand, while the other held a hound and walked around several large carts.
"Woof woof woof!"
Suddenly, the hound barked at one of the wooden carts.
The officer with the gun stepped forward and stabbed him without saying a word.
The bottom of the wooden cart shattered with a sound.
Bang! Many white lumps fell out.
It's table salt!
Li Yan was not surprised at all after seeing it.
He just realized something was wrong, secretly used Divine Ability, and already smelled a lot of salt in the convoy behind.
These people are all private salt dealers.
Great Xuan Dynasty Salt Policy, in the early stage, it was the Central Law, but now it is the Outline Law.
The so-called "Gang Law" means that businessmen holding Salt License will be compiled into the Gang Register. Businessmen who are not included in the Gang are not allowed to operate the salt industry.
Moreover, it must go to designated salt fields and is not allowed to be misappropriated across borders. During the transportation process, various inspection methods are extremely strict.
As soon as this method came out, many wealthy businessmen were created immediately.
Basically they are all involved with local officials.
Of course, there has never been a shortage of people taking advantage of loopholes in the world, and this has been the case since ancient times.
Salt gang is controlled by officials and merchants. At the same time, various private salt dealers have emerged, often from the Jianghu.
For example, Guanzhong some famous swordsmen make a living by selling illegal salt.
"Do it!"
Seeing that things were getting worse, these private salt dealers in Shu pulled out daggers from their waists one after another, and two of them pulled out long knives from their wooden carts.
However, the three officials did not panic.
They quickly backed away with their dogs.
At this time, there were also strange movements in the surroundings.
In the nearby tea sheds, merchants rushed out with their weapons and weapons, and many people also jumped out of the crowd to see the excitement.
This is obviously a trap!
Seeing these people rushing out, Li Yan frowned slightly.
Lu San's eyes darkened, his face full of disgust.
He smelled a familiar scent from these people.
The servants of this imperial court are all the same as Qiao Sanhu's former subordinates. They all have fierce faces and are not serious people.
The leading policeman raised his eyebrows and sneered, "Great Xuan Law, anyone who sells smuggled salt will be punished with a hundred sticks and a three-year apprenticeship. If you have weapons, you will be given one rank. Anyone who resists arrest will be killed!"
"I'll kill you, you idiot!"
The private salt dealer cursed and took action directly.
The boxing skills of these people are all from the same school. Their postures are neat, strong and powerful, short and sharp, and they like to fight close to each other.
Combined with a dagger, it becomes even more fierce.
Sha LiFei narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "It's Monk Fist. I guess he came from the same village and made his way into the world."
Li Yan nodded, "A little reckless..."
Monk Fist was introduced to Emei during the Tang Dynasty from Shaolin boxing. It was developed by monk Emei Mountain by combining the characteristics of boxing techniques from the two places and was widely spread among the people in central Sichuan.
These people are old and young, and most of them come from the same village.
If you dare to fight and fight hard, you can be considered a member of the world.
It's a pity that these people have average kung fu, not even one of them is Peak of Manifested Strength, they all fight with fierce momentum.
But the police officers who rounded them up were also no experts.
The two sides fought together, and the rules quickly became chaotic. It was no different from an ordinary gang fight.
Blood splattered everywhere, and shouts of death and curses continued.
Soon, more than a dozen people were lying in a pool of blood and expired.
"Killing people!"
Many people were so frightened that they retreated.
The timid among the private salt dealers had thrown away their weapons and knelt on the ground, and were swarmed by officers and arrested.
"Let's go!"
Li Yan shook his head slightly and left quickly with everyone.
They want to be low-key, but they can't.
Sha LiFei Of course, it goes without saying that he is tall, bald, bearded, and full of menace. According to his honorable portrait, he will definitely be able to catch a few criminal thieves.
Wang Dao Xuan Immortal Wind Dao Bone, originally the most normal Lu San, now has a big gourd on his waist, Erhu on his back, and Little White Fox's head sticking out of his chest. No matter how you look at it, he is not an ordinary person.
On the contrary, Li Yan is dressed like a swordsman, which is the most normal.
Sure enough, he was stopped as soon as he arrived at the city gate.
In order to avoid alerting others, Wang Dao Xuan took out the white ultimatum.
The soldier guarding the city took the ultimatum, looked at the stamp Yunyang Prefecture on it, and immediately smiled and said, "Hey, it's really lively today, how many of you are here because of Young Master Wu's illness?"
What is Young Master Wu's disease?
Li Yan is a bit baffling.
Sha LiFei rolled his eyes, took out a few taels of silver from his pocket, stuffed it into the hands of the soldier, and said with a smile, "Soldier, we are from another place and we are not familiar with the place. What is going on with Young Master Wu's illness?"
"How dare you come here if you don't know?"
The soldier guarding the city was a little surprised. He looked around and calmly put the silver in his arms and whispered, "Young Master Wu is possessed by an evil spirit. I heard that he was possessed by a female goblin and has been going crazy all day long."
"Which Young Master Wu?"
"It's Young Master Wu from the county magistrate's house..."
The soldier wanted to continue talking, but after glancing into the distance, his expression changed slightly, and he immediately said urgently, "Hurry into the city, don't get in the way!"
Li Yan turned around and saw that the battle over there was indeed over. Someone was cleaning the battlefield, and someone was escorting the private salt dealer towards this side.
They didn't waste any time and entered the city immediately.
The leader of the official mission who arrested the private salt dealers followed closely. Looking at the leaving figures of several people, his eyes were filled with suspicion. He grabbed the soldiers guarding the city and asked in a cold voice, "What are the backgrounds of those people?"
"A divine man from out of town comes to the Wu Mansion for treatment."
"Oh."
The official leader breathed a sigh of relief, and then warned in a cold voice, "It's not peaceful recently, and many people want to cause trouble for us. Be careful with your tactics and keep an eye on us!"
"Head Luo Don't worry..."
Gui Prefecture City is much larger than the average county town. In addition, it occupies the strategic point of the Yangtze River, so the city is very prosperous.
A few people found an ordinary inn and stayed together.
"This Zigui County rumor is wrong."
Sha LiFei shook his head and said, "I'm going to get some information."
"I'll go with you."
Afraid that something might happen to Sha LiFei, Li Yan followed behind.
The two of them were familiar with each other. They walked around the streets and alleys of the city for a few times and immediately found a Jianghu store.
This store's buying and selling information is also classified as Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain.
Sha LiFei Jianghu Old Taoist, talked nonsense to the store owner, but the other party couldn't figure out their origins, but he also knew that it was Xuan Gate People, so he didn't dare to neglect at all, and immediately told the story about the situation in the city.
"Zigui County Things are not peaceful these days..."
"Officially, a Shangguan came from Yunyang Prefecture and urged the county magistrate to invite a few nearby chieftains to the city, in order to appease them and stop them from causing trouble..."
"There is an undercurrent surging on the road. There is a local gang ChaoShan Society, which has an unusual relationship with Magistrate Wu. It controls the transportation of salt. Now that the war is about to break out, people everywhere are hoarding salt, and the supply of salt exceeds demand."
"It's a pity that this ChaoShan Society wants to eat alone, and has had several fights with the brothers on the road, both openly and privately..."
"What's even more troublesome is that a lot of strange things happened."
"Oh, what weird thing happened?"
"Two Stele Bay In the village, the rice seedlings are not viable..."
"Old Official Temple, there are rumors that someone was crying in the middle of the night, but no one could be found, and the people were so scared that they didn't dare to come near..."
"River Monster is out on the river, you should know."
"Also, you two must be here because of Young Master Wu's illness. Take the advice from the next sentence and don't get involved in this matter. You can't handle it!"
Sha LiFei was happy, "Isn't it just that I was fascinated?"
"It's not that simple!"
The shop owner lowered his voice and said, "To tell you the truth, several batches of Xuan Gate People have arrived in the past half month, and I heard that several of them died."
"Then Young Master Wu is not obsessed at all, but is being targeted by a powerful evil spirit."
Sha LiFei became interested, "Why are evil spirits so rampant?"
The shop owner swallowed, "Have you heard of, Midnight Sedan Chair, Ghost Bride?"
Li Yan's pupils suddenly shrank, "What did you say?!"