Chapter 86 The Real River God
Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming sat in the hall and listened to a story about the Yu family compound.
The story includes the hostess of the Yu family, the young master Yu Caizhe who was used for sacrifice, and many other plots that they had not guessed.
After offering sacrifices to Yu Caizhe, the young master of the Yu family, the incessant downpour ceased, as if the river god had truly been moved by the sacrifice. The townspeople were ecstatic, marking the day as the river god's birthday like a festival. To celebrate, they hung red lanterns along the streets, and the entire town was filled with a festive atmosphere.
However, this celebration did not last for a few days before an accident occurred again in the city.
People began to die in the small town. The dead seemed to have been eaten by something, and not even bones were left. Only some hair and nails were left on the ground.
At first, everyone thought it was a wild beast that had infiltrated the city, but this theory was quickly dispelled. No beast could devour a human so quietly. The mystery of death was soon solved. The creature that devoured the city's inhabitants wasn't a living creature at all. Instead, it was a river imp with a mouth full of sharp teeth and swollen cheeks from blisters.
Everyone was in panic for a moment. No one had ever seen such things, and no one knew how to deal with them.
Just when everyone was about to be overwhelmed by fear, the hostess of the Yu family stood up. She said that her son who was used for sacrifice had appeared in her dream and told her how to solve the problem.
Just as everyone was about to rejoice, they heard the hostess of the Yu family come up with a solution. She said, "Only lamps made from human oil can stop the little ghost."
The people in the city fell silent. Although lamps made of human oil could stop those things, where would the human oil come from?
The hostess was not in a hurry, but just waited quietly.
Soon, her goal was achieved, and some people who could not bear the fear began to attack their own kind.
"It was them, they were the ones who proposed to sacrifice children to the river god." Such voices began to appear in the crowd and became more and more intense.
In the end, those who proposed to be used for sacrifice to the young master were taken as the first victims.
They were killed mercilessly, and the hostess, with a gentle expression, used their bodies to make oil lamps.
The oil lamps were distributed to the residents, so no one died at the hands of the devils.
The residents thought the matter was resolved until the next birthday, when the rain began to fall again.
The residents panicked again, and the hostess told them the solution.
"We need a new river god," she said. "We need a new river god." Her red-naked finger pointed at a child still tucked away in her mother's arms. She smiled and said, "Look, this lovely child! You're perfectly suited to be the new river god."
The child's mother was stunned, and then she started cursing angrily, just like the hostess at the time.
When the young master of the Yu family was chosen to be the river god, the hostess cursed in the same way, but it was of no use. Her child was still snatched away, taken to the river, and thrown into the rushing water.
He was so young and could only call for his mother, but he was taken away from her and would never come back.
The hostess was particularly satisfied that someone else was experiencing what she had experienced. She watched the mother and child separated, watched the child being thrown into the river, watched the heavy rain stop, and looked at the bright oil lamp in her hand.
"Huh." With a breath, the hostess blew out the oil lamp gently, and her smile became even brighter.
Although the rain has stopped, new little ghosts have appeared in the town.
The oil lamps were no longer enough...a vicious cycle began.
The whole town was shrouded in this desperate cycle, and no one could escape it until the arrival of outsiders.
"Since they know nothing, let's use them as oil lamps." A tiny voice emerged from the crowd, expressing the deepest malice in everyone's heart, "Anyway, anyway, they know nothing..."
"Yes, yes, what do you think? How about using them as human oil lamps?" someone else asked timidly.
The hostess, wearing a red dress, sat among the crowd. She said softly, "Okay."
People were ecstatic.
Hundreds of years have passed, and the hostess still retains her youthful appearance. But no one asks how she got to this point, and no one dares to doubt whether she is still human, because without her, the town will have no oil lamps, and everyone... will die.
So, everyone tacitly pretended not to see the hostess's appearance, which seemed to be covered by the dust of time, and treated her with caution, as if they were treating a god who was easily angered.
The poor outsiders became the sacrifices for this river god worship. Their bodies would turn into lamp oil, emitting warm light, protecting the people of the entire town from being harmed by monsters.
The story ends here, with Lin Qiushi filling in some parts with other clues. However, the storyteller's tale still provides him with a very important background and framework, allowing him to fill in the entire story.
With another bang of the gavel, the storyteller ended this long story.
"It's getting dark." When Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming reacted, the sky outside had gradually darkened and the streets began to become empty, with only red lanterns spinning in the cold wind.
"Let's go, let's go back." Gu Longming shivered, as if he felt a little cold. He whispered, "Why is it so cold here? Back home... I never felt cold..."
Lin Qiushi glanced at him and said, "How can you not feel cold wearing short sleeves in this weather?" It was twelve or thirteen degrees Celsius, and this guy was wearing short sleeves. It would be really strange if he didn't feel freezing.
Gu Longming said helplessly: "I didn't bring any other clothes, otherwise I would wear a short skirt?"
Lin Qiushi thought to himself, you might as well not wear anything at all.
The two of them slowly walked back to the yard, where people were having dinner.
Compared to the dining room on the first day, the dining room was much emptier now. As soon as Lin Qiushi entered, he felt Yan Shihe's gaze on him.
Most people who stole something would probably feel a little guilty, but under Ruan Nanzhu's guidance, Lin Qiushi had completely forgotten how to write the word "guilty." So he looked back at her without hesitation and said, "What's the matter?"
"It's okay." Yan Shihe smiled, "I'm just worried that you guys came back too late and it's already dark."
Lin Qiushi uttered an "oh" and said, "Thank you for your concern."
The two of them found a place to sit down and started eating dinner.
The others left one after another. Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming also finished their dinner and walked towards their residence.
Because of what happened last night, the window paper of the place they originally lived in was all torn, so they moved to a room with intact window paper.
Lin Qiushi entered the house and lit the oil lamp they had stolen from Yan Shihe.
A flame lit up on the wick, illuminating the entire room. Lin Qiushi stared at the flames in a daze for a while. No one would have thought that the fat extracted from the bodies of their own kind would emit such a bright light.
After a while, Lin Qiushi took out the family tree they had stolen from Yan Shihe.
Gu Longming sat on the edge of the bed: "Do you want to see it again?" They had already read it carefully many times during the day.
Lin Qiushi said, "Well, let's take another look." He always felt that this family tree was very important.
By the light of the oil lamp, Lin Qiushi flipped open the first page, which contained a photo of the hostess and Yu Caizhe. Only in this photo did she smile truly and brilliantly. When Lin Qiushi first encountered the family tree, he felt only a sense of wonder. But now, the storyteller's tales resolved all his doubts. She wasn't a deity who had saved the town, but merely a mother who had lost her child.
Lin Qiushi stroked the photo with his fingers for a moment, sighed softly, and turned to the second page.
However, when he saw the photo on the second page clearly, he held his breath and his eyes showed astonishment.
Gu Longming noticed Lin Qiushi's strange behavior and asked, "Linlin, what's wrong?"
Lin Qiushi said nothing and waved at him.
Gu Longming stood up and walked behind Lin Qiushi. When he saw the changes in the family tree, his eyes widened involuntarily: "This...this photo..."
Under the light of the oil lamp, the woman who was originally holding the child had completely changed her expression. Even the fake smile on her face disappeared, leaving only a gloomy indifference. The child who should have been in her arms was held in her hands in the photo. She grabbed the child's neck as if she was holding an insignificant chick, without even a disguise of tenderness.
The child's body completely softened, his cheeks were swollen, and he opened his big mouth full of tiny and dense teeth, trying to bite the people around him.
The black and white images only added a touch of horror to the photos. Lin Qiushi flipped through a few more pages and, as expected, found that the photos were almost identical. The only difference was that some bright blood-red spots had begun to appear in the backgrounds. At first glance, it looked like the photos had been poorly taken, but as Lin Qiushi looked at the bright spots, he was reminded of the countless pairs of eyes he had seen on the ancestral hall ceiling.
The hostess's attitude towards these children being sacrificed was completely devoid of tenderness. Her eyes were full of resentment and indifference, as if she were a vengeful ghost, torturing everyone in her own way.
Gu Longming looked at the family tree and rubbed the goose bumps on his arms vigorously. He said, "I finally understand why Yan Shihe refused to carry this thing with him."
Anyone who sees it will feel their scalp explode.
Lin Qiushi looked at the photo without saying a word.
Gu Longming looked at the pensive Lin Qiushi and said, "Linlin, what are you thinking about?"
Lin Qiushi said, "Of course I'm wondering where the key is."
"Do you have any idea?" Gu Longming said, "It seems that the river god sacrifice is about to begin..."
Lin Qiushi said, "A little bit, but I'm not sure."
Gu Longming said: "Hmm..."
Lin Qiushi said, "These little devils obviously don't like the hostess."
"Who would like someone who sacrificed them? It's already very kind of them not to come back for revenge." Gu Longming muttered. He obviously didn't like the family tree in front of him and turned his eyes away from it.
"What did you say?" Lin Qiushi suddenly had an idea.
"What?" Gu Longming was confused. "I said... who would like someone who sacrifices them..."
Lin Qiushi said, "No, it's the latter sentence."
Gu Longming: "Is it possible not to come back for revenge... Wait, what do you mean?" He also understood the meaning of Lin Qiushi's words.
Lin Qiushi slapped his hand on the table and said, "Have you forgotten how the River God worship began?"
Gu Longming: "It was a child thrown into the river who turned into a ghost and came back for revenge!"
Lin Qiushi: "That's right, revenge, it's revenge—" He stood up. "The mistress's children are seeking revenge, and the mistress is also seeking revenge. Their enemies are already dead, but what about these little ghosts? They haven't taken revenge yet!"
They are not active perpetrators, but innocent victims.
They were chosen by the mistress, forcibly taken away from their parents, and thrown into the rushing river as sacrifices.
The resentment thus lingered for a long time.
But because of the human oil lamp made by the hostess, they had no way to seek revenge. Lin Qiushi felt that he had grasped the most crucial clue.
Gu Longming said: "You mean, we have to kill the hostess? But don't we know that she is not human?" Something that can live for hundreds of years cannot still be human.
"That's right, she's not human anymore." Lin Qiushi said softly, "We can't kill her, but those things can."
Gu Longming understood what Lin Qiushi meant: "You want to use the little ghosts? But wouldn't that be too dangerous?" Those little ghosts were obviously not easy to control. If the double-edged sword was not used properly, it would hurt yourself.
Lin Qiushi said, "The River God Sacrifice is coming soon. We can't wait any longer." He closed the family tree in front of him. "When that day comes, perhaps none of us will survive. If we're lucky, only one of us might survive—but with a one in seven chance, do you dare to bet?"
Gu Longming really didn't dare to gamble. He looked at Lin Qiushi and smiled bitterly, "Okay, I'll do as you say. After all, you have much more experience than me."
Lin Qiushi nodded, returned to the bed, lay down, and said, "Go to sleep, otherwise the oil lamp might light up again at night."
Gu Longming said "oh", extinguished the oil lamp, and lay down beside Lin Qiushi.
Lin Qiushi slept outside, perfectly positioned to look out the nearby window. Shadows shimmered against the window paper, their silhouettes resembling the shadows of windswept trees. But upon closer inspection, a tall, thin figure stood within the shadows. Lin Qiushi knew this figure well; it was the mistress of the courtyard. Lin Qiushi closed his eyes and could picture her standing in the middle of the courtyard, dressed in that red dress, quietly gazing at the room they were in.
The wind was blowing harder and harder, and the whistling sound was like a person's wailing. It was already late at night. Lin Qiushi closed his eyes and forced himself to fall into a deep sleep.
That night, Lin Qiushi finally did not wake up halfway. He slept until the next day, when he was awakened by the sound of Gu Longming getting up.
Lin Qiushi rubbed his eyes, changed his clothes, and washed up briefly before rushing to the breakfast area. He wasn't really hungry; he just wanted to know if anything had happened the previous night.
After arriving at the restaurant and counting the number of people, Lin Qiushi confirmed that no accidents had occurred yesterday.
But he had no appetite and drank the porridge in front of him in a disjointed manner. Gu Longming looked completely different from him. He held the bowl in front of him happily and almost buried his face in it.
After finishing his meal, Lin Qiushi planned to go to the woman's residence. Although the place was extremely dangerous, he had a detailed plan in mind.
Gu Longming followed Lin Qiushi and asked him what he planned to do there.
"Find a big bag," Lin Qiushi said, "and steal all her lights."
Gu Longming was shocked: "Steal the lamp? Why would you steal the lamp?"
Lin Qiushi said, "Have you forgotten what the lamp is for?"
Gu Longming suddenly realized: "You mean the woman didn't die because of the lamp? But if we go in and steal the lamp like this, will we be hacked to death on the spot if we are discovered?"
Lin Qiushi: "...That possibility exists." He turned to glance at Gu Longming, "So it's a choice: to be gnawed to death by the little ghost, or to be hacked to death by the mistress."
Gu Longming thought about it and compromised: "Let's just chop it to death, at least there will be a corpse left." If it is eaten to death, there will be nothing left.
Lin Qiushi: "She might not keep it. She might even refine it into lamp oil."
Gu Longming said: "Then I am willing to illuminate you and turn into spring mud to protect the flowers..."
Lin Qiushi thought that his friend's poem was not meant to be used in this way.
The two of them quietly arrived outside the hostess's yard. Gu Longming tilted his head and looked inside: "She doesn't seem to be here."
The door was still open as before.
There was indeed no sound from inside. Lin Qiushi said, "You keep watch outside for me. I'll go in first."
Gu Longming said: "Farewell, let's go together——"
"No," Lin Qiushi said, "At least if something does happen, there's someone outside to take care of us."
Gu Longming wanted to say something else, but seeing Lin Qiushi's firm attitude, he had to give up and stood outside the yard, watching Lin Qiushi go in.
As soon as Lin Qiushi arrived in the courtyard, he quickly locked onto the house he had entered earlier. Not wanting to waste time, he stuffed the oil lamps into his backpack until it was completely bulging. He then tossed the remaining oil lamps from the shelf directly into the nearby fire pit where a hot pot was burning.
The oil lamp and the flame emitted a strong grease smell. If you didn't know the smell, you might think it was nothing, but once you knew it was the smell of human fat, you would inevitably feel particularly disgusted.
Lin Qiushi did the same. He suppressed the nausea and threw all the oil lamps into the fire. Just as he threw away the last lamp, a child's cries rang out from the inner room. The cry was so sharp that it stung Lin Qiushi's ears. He was about to go to the inner room to check on the crying creature when he heard Gu Longming's voice again.
Gu Longming, who was watching at the door, suddenly started swearing and used his Northeastern accent to rudely curse the 18th Company for its poor quality.
Lin Qiushi instantly understood what Gu Longming meant. He didn't dare to go into the house again. He picked up his backpack and turned around to run. He didn't dare to run towards the gate of the yard, but went to a remote place first.
Sure enough, a woman in a red dress appeared at the gate of the yard. She seemed to have heard the crying of a child coming from the house. Her black eyes gradually widened, and an uncontrollable anger appeared on her expressionless face.
Lin Qiushi watched with fear.
The woman's next action was to hang a big lock in the yard as usual, and then turned around to go into the house.
Lin Qiushi knew he only had one chance. He held his breath and ran towards the big lock hanging on the door after the woman entered the house.
He quickly took out his hairpin and tried to open the iron lock in front of him.
Hurry up, hurry up... Cold sweat broke out on Lin Qiushi's forehead, but his hands were steady. He forced himself to calm down, no longer paying attention to the footsteps behind him, but concentrating on opening the big lock in front of him.
With a click, the padlock unlocked, and the woman's footsteps reached behind him. The moment Lin Qiushi opened the door, he felt a strong gust of wind pass behind him. Gu Longming, standing at the door, looked behind him with a look of extreme fear. He shouted, "Linlin—Run!!!"
But it was too late. Lin Qiushi saw a shadow slither past him, and then something slashed down hard at his back. At that moment, he finally understood what that shadow was. It was the long knife held by the woman, and it had already struck his back. He felt an extremely powerful force, sending him flying.
Lin Qiushi fell to the ground.
Gu Longming couldn't help but curse and hurried forward, "Yu Linlin, Yu Linlin, are you okay?" When he checked on Lin Qiushi, he turned his head to look at the woman and saw her standing in the yard, giving them a twisted smile, obviously certain that Lin Qiushi was dead.
While she was holding the knife, it seemed she couldn't leave the yard, which made Gu Longming feel a little relieved. However, when he thought of Lin Qiushi's condition, his heart sank. In his opinion, Lin Qiushi was probably in great danger after being struck like that.
However, just when Gu Longming thought Lin Qiushi was gone, he saw Lin Qiushi coughing violently several times, struggling to get up from the ground, and said, "I..."
"Fuck, you're okay!" Gu Longming couldn't help but curse, "Yu Linlin, you're awesome."
Lin Qiushi also thought he was dead. He turned his head and looked behind him, only to find that his backpack had been cut open, revealing the oil lamps he had stuffed inside. There was a deep cut on each of the oil lamps. Without a doubt, it was these lamps that helped him block the fatal blow.
He successfully survived!
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