Chapter 55: Soul Guidance
In the Wei River, the two people who fell into the water were tossed in the waves. After rising and falling twice, their arms were seen stretching out of the water and shaking, and then they were suddenly submerged in the river and disappeared. It took less than two minutes from falling into the water to disappearing. The fishing boats and wooden boats on the river bank were not ready to leave the shore yet.
The old boatman's face turned pale, and he muttered with trembling lips: "It's over, it's over, the river god is unhappy, I'm afraid I'll be in trouble if I rely on the water for my livelihood this year, oh, God won't give me any more food..."
Wang Jingzhe wiped the rain off his face and glanced at the girl next to him. To avoid further embarrassment, he followed the old boatman's words and asked, "How did it end? How did it get involved with the river god?"
"Of the two people who fell into the water, I don't know who the other one is, but the other one is an old acquaintance by the Wei River," the old boatman said with a worried look on his face, pointing to the river. "He is the boatman Lao Zhao. I have known him for decades . When his mother gave birth to him, she was washing clothes by the Wei River. She didn't have time to go to the village clinic. Lao Zhao fell into the river when he was born. It's strange that such a small baby fell into the water but nothing happened. He just floated on the water. When he was seven or eight years old, he played with us by the river. He would dive in for a long time without showing up. He started sailing on the Wei River at the age of twelve, and has been sailing for more than 30 years. People like us have spent most of our lives floating on the Wei River, and we are as familiar with this river as our own bodies. Just think about it, Lao Zhao fell into the Wei River like this, and although it was windy and rainy, he disappeared so quickly. Is it normal? Even though the wind is strong and the waves are big, it is not certain that he can be drowned..."
When Lao Zhao was talking, the boatmen and fishermen nearby all looked unhappy. Someone said, "It's the river god. The river god must be angry. We have to find a good day to offer sacrifices. We should kill pigs and sheep to offer sacrifices to the river god."
Most people living by the river have an inexplicable awe of the river, just like people living at the foot of the mountains who believe in mountain gods. Whenever there is a disaster, nine out of ten times it will be related to the river god or something.
In modern society, people are still very devout believers, but the situation is not so extreme. Hundreds of years ago, the villages and towns along the river would sacrifice a pair of young boys and girls to the river god every year, and the two living children were directly sunk to the bottom of the river.
Oddly enough, at this time the wind and rain had subsided. The strong winds and heavy rain just now weakened in an instant, and the river surface was no longer churning.
The old boatman suddenly knelt on the ground, and then the people around him also knelt down, kowtowed devoutly towards the direction of the Wei River.
Wang Jingzhe frowned and asked, "Is the water deep here? Those two who just drowned, shouldn't their bodies be fished out?"
The old boatman shook his head and said, "No, we can't get it out. The wind and waves are so strong that the body would have been washed away by the undercurrent after . How can we get it out?"
"Natural disasters..." Wang Jingzhe had just sighed when suddenly a very pleasant fragrance entered his nose, and then he sniffed hard.
The fragrance is particularly pleasant, even more fragrant than the two Wei River carp we just ate.
Wang Jingzhe turned his head and saw that the fishing woman had also come here. The fragrance came from her body.
"Oh, body fragrance" Wang Jingzhe suddenly understood.
When the girl came, her eyes only stayed on Wang Jingzhe's face for less than a second before passing by. Wang Jingzhe followed her gaze and looked at the river surface. He suddenly found that the place where the two of them had just sunk was still splashing with water, spreading out in circles.
Not long after, perhaps because of the cloudy sky, the sky quickly darkened, and the surface of the Wei River returned to its calm and became as still as a well. Even the sound of flowing water became almost inaudible.
At this time, many people came to the riverside, all of them were villagers nearby, among whom the largest number came from the family of the boatman Lao Zhao. An old woman in her forties sat by the river and cried loudly, and several young men and women squatted by the river and burned paper money, sobbing. Lao Zhao drowned in the river, and his family was the saddest.
Wang Jingzhe did not leave but stayed on the shore waiting for dark. He was a little curious about the two people who drowned, but he did not believe that the river god was angry.
The river god is not so petty that he would not kill two people just because of a little unhappiness. The river god also cares about cause and effect and good deeds. Unless the river god is out of his mind, he would not drown two people for no reason.
All things in the world have spirits. Even if the King of Hell comes to claim a person’s life, he will still have to consider whether the person deserves to die.
On the first day after a person dies, according to custom, family members have to keep vigil all night. Especially before the seventh day, the soul of the deceased may return home or appear at the place of death. At this time, family members have to stay and not let the soul feel lonely and helpless.
He waited until about midnight, when suddenly a figure came over from the distance on the river bank, holding a lamp in her hand. When she came closer, Wang Jingzhe saw clearly that it was the woman who was fishing.
The woman came over with a lamp in her hand, squatted on the ground, and whispered to the boatman Lao Zhao's wife: "It's not good for the old man to die without any remains. I have a way to find his remains. Do you want to try it?"
Lao Zhao's wife and son were all surprised and said, "The body was swept to the bottom of the river. The undercurrent was so strong during the day, so by now the body must have been washed away to who knows where. How can it be found?"
"Not necessarily, you can try..."
Old Zhao's wife said quickly: "Miss, thank you for your help. I hope you can fish out the body. Thank you."
"Just tell me the person's date of birth and find him a piece of underwear."
Wang Jingzhe, who was standing nearby, knew what the other party meant as soon as he heard it. The woman was holding a soul-guiding lamp, which, combined with her birth date, could summon the soul of the deceased. Once Lao Zhao's soul appeared, she would naturally know where his body was.
After Lao Zhao's family told the woman his birth date and eight characters, she wrote them on a piece of talisman paper and then placed the soul-guiding lamp on the ground.
After the talisman paper was lit, it burst into flames with a "puff". The woman waved her hand and the ashes flew out: "Children, put on his clothes and call his name three times in a row..."
