The black water covered by clouds and the low roar coming from the mist seemed to come from ancient times.
On the boat.
A group of boatmen who have spent their whole lives making a living on the water looked nervous and did not dare to breathe for fear of attracting the attention of the "Dragon King" of the island.
Ji Ping'an stood behind the crowd and could clearly see the old and thin man Zhao standing at the front of the deck, with firm eyes, his hands clenched at his sides, and his gray hair shaking in the autumn wind.
The surroundings were filled with a depressing and solemn atmosphere.
The old man seems to be confronting the "lurking dragon" on the island, or wrestling with the fear in his heart.
Finally, when the low roar gradually disappeared and the suffocating atmosphere relaxed, Old Man Zhao turned around, glanced coldly at the group of boatmen, and ordered:
"Set the boat and enter the lake!"
"ah."
A group of crew members were all busy talking.
Ji Ping'an suddenly said: "In previous years, when you came here to catch crabs, was it the same?"
Zhao Daniu regained his composure and explained in a low voice:
"The sacrifices are all the same. The weather has never been good, but this year it has been particularly bad. The Dragon Prince spoke, which is not very common, but I have heard it a few times, but this is the first time he heard it right after the sacrifice. Yes. Sometimes I’m lucky and can’t hear the whole thing, that’s the best thing.”
Ji Pingan nodded and said:
"Then have you seen the 'Dragon King' with your own eyes?"
Zhao Daniu smiled:
"You are joking. If I had seen him, I would not be alive now. We are both sensible. Although we want to go into the swamp to catch crabs, we will not go too deep. Moreover, there are signs for the Dragon Prince to go on patrol. As long as we notice a large number of fish escaping, we can just run with them."
Then, this talkative man who yearned for the world of immortality shared the general process of catching crabs.
in short:
The crabs in Blackwater Lake begin to migrate along a certain route every year in early autumn.
Boaters like the Zhao family who make a living by fishing for "black water crabs" have the ability to observe "water patterns" and can roughly determine where the "crab farms" are. At the same time, they can also grasp the "route" of some crabs' migration. .
As long as the boat sails over and determines the approximate location based on experience, the crab trap will be sunk into the water to block the migration path of the crabs.
Then, as long as you wait an hour or two and pull the crab trap out of the water, those crabs that have not climbed through the obstruction and are hanging on the equipment will become the fisherman's harvest.
If it's nighttime, you can try using lights to attract them.
"Sometimes you are lucky and don't have to go too deep to find the crab farm. But if you are not lucky, you have to go deeper. The black water crabs will crawl to Qianjiao Island." Zhao Daniu sighed with envy:
"The immortal masters on the island will definitely have no shortage of crabs to eat."
Ji Ping'an smiled.
At this time, old man Zhao called his son over at the top of his lungs.
"Dad, why are you calling me?" Zhao Daniu asked confused.
But he saw the old boatman's majestic face. He glanced behind him and saw that Ji Ping'an had returned to the cabin. Then he took out the tobacco bag wrapped around his waist, untied the rope bit by bit, took two puffs of low-quality native cigarettes, and stared at Erlang:
"Don't get involved with that group of people. They are a bunch of rich people who don't know the world. They can't live a good life. They just come here to fight for their lives. We only use money to do things. When we walk in and find the crab farm, we can catch almost everything." Let them go and don't involve too much."
Zhao Daniu wanted to say something, but his old father raised his hand to drive him away, so he had to swallow it and go about his business.
Old man Zhao was left puffing out smoke and looking at the dark lake, feeling increasingly uneasy.
On the other side, Ji Ping'an returned to the cabin and explained the situation to the God Emperor who was lying on the bed.
Fang Shijie and Huang He looked at each other in confusion:
"Did the master of Qianjiao Island do this deliberately? To prevent mortals from approaching?"
Ji Ping'an shook his head. According to what the Zhao family and his son said, Heishui Ze had been restless since the stars returned to their positions. He heard the roar just now, which made him have some guesses.
But it was difficult to prove it after all. He shook his head and said:
"Don't think too much, just wait patiently. According to the time, these two days should be the days when the other Four Saints will land on the island. Maybe we will meet again later."
…
The ship officially sailed into Blackwater Lake. After entering this lake with a huge area and dangerous terrain, it was obvious that the ship's speed began to slow down.
Looking out the window, one can also see the rapid flow of water.
The boats moved forward in a certain direction and docked one by one under the guidance of Old Man Zhao. Then the boatman threw the crab trap into the water and tied a fish bubble to it as a beacon.
Then set sail and do the same at the next location.
In this way, when you come back from the circle, you can just pull up the cage, which interests Yu Yu, Mu Yaoyao and others who have never left the capital.
It's just that the Zhao family's father and son obviously had bad luck. They put down several cages in a row, but all failed.
On the other hand, the net thrown down together picked up many fat and big black fish.
"Let's walk in." Old man Zhao held his pipe in his hand, hesitated, and ordered through gritted teeth.
The boat continued to sail, but not long after it went, huge raindrops fell from the sky, causing ripples to appear on the lake.
Accompanied by thunder and sudden strong winds, the sky and earth became dark, like night.
Waves hit the side of the ship, and the old fishing boat shook violently. The boatmen ran in panic, fixing the crab fishing tools on the boat, and some went to lower the sail.
Old man Zhao stood in the rain and shouted loudly, but his voice was muffled by thunder.
"The cage is open! It's open!" Suddenly, someone exclaimed.
I saw the rope on one side of the deck fell off, and several crab crabs woven from bamboo rolled down into the lake.
Zhao Daniu's expression changed drastically, and he rushed forward to grab the rope and break it. However, the bumpy and undulating deck and the heavy crab cage made it difficult for him to use his strength.
Just when he was about to fall off the boat together, the end of the hemp rope suddenly tightened.
Zhao Daniu turned around hastily and was shocked to see the five people in the cabin walking onto the deck at some point. At this moment, a girl was holding the rope soaked in oil with one hand, her face expressionless, as if she had not exerted any effort at all.
How can it be?
Zhao Daniu suspected that he was dazzled. When he looked again, there were five people holding on to the rope, and they all looked like they were struggling.
"Go back to the cabin, go back to the cabin!"
Old Man Zhao in the distance shouted this way. Under the violent wind and rain, no one else noticed what just happened here.
After a group of people rushed back to the cabin in panic and locked the main cabin door with the latch, they realized that the sound of wind and waves outside suddenly decreased.
The bumping of the ship became more severe, and all the boatmen were soaked to the skin and looked anxious.
But with such a strong wind, it was difficult to even stand firm. As mortals, they were unable to compete with the power of heaven, so they could only huddle in the cabin and let themselves be manipulated.
Ji Ping'an and the other five stood in the corner, and then looked at Zhao Daniu, who was sitting on the ground and breathing heavily:
"Is this common?"
The latter's face turned pale, he wiped the rainwater and said:
"There hasn't been such a strong wind in previous years. This wave is almost as big as the sea."
When something goes wrong, there must be a monster.
Ji Ping'an remained silent, closed his eyes and secretly felt that in such a harsh environment, old man Zhao, as an old fisherman, had lost his sense of direction, but he could not trouble the star official.
Soon, Ji Ping'an discovered that the boat was drifting deeper into the Blackwater swamp. Unknowingly, it had gone deep and no other fishing boats could be seen nearby.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the wind quieted down and the ship stabilized.
The boatmen in the cabin had the courage to open the cabin door, only to see dim light outside, light rain falling in the sky, and big black fish jumping on the deck one after another.
But Old Man Zhao's face suddenly turned ugly, and he found that the outline of Qianjiao Island was very close.
"Raise the sails, raise the sails quickly, and go back quickly!"
The dark-skinned old man shouted loudly, with an unprecedented sense of crisis in his heart - it was the first time in his life that he had penetrated so far.
"Ah, look, the fish in this water..."
A boatman ran towards the mast, stopped suddenly, and pointed down the side of the ship in shock.
When everyone took a closer look, they saw a huge school of fish running madly into the distance under the lake. The number was astonishing.
If they saw it normally, the fishermen would be overjoyed, but now they were only horrified.
Zhao Daniu suddenly raised his head and looked in the direction of Qianjiao Island, and heard the sound of water rushing. There was a faint, low sound echoing that was hard to contain and gave rise to fear.
The island in the mist looked like a huge ancient beast crouching, choosing people to devour.
The lake surface rolled up cascading water waves, and a huge shadow gradually approached.
The boatmen exclaimed, and some wanted to raise the sail and turn the helm, but were horrified to find that the water on the lake suddenly rose higher than the boat.
The waves rolling in front lifted the tall bow of the ship little by little, and the deck became tilted. Some people were unsteady and lying on the ground, and barrels rolled down along the deck.
Old Man Zhao grabbed the steering wheel with both hands, his legs as motionless as nails, and his clothes were torn open, revealing his rugged and dark chest.
At this moment, he opened his mouth wide and tried his best to raise his head and open his eyes.
Then, this old man who had been traversing the waters south of the Yangtze River for decades saw a scene he had only seen in his life.
The surface of the lake suddenly exploded with a wave of ten feet. One head was more than ten feet tall, black and green, smooth and scaleless, with two bulges on the top of its head, and a "dragon" with long beards trembling slowly emerged from the swamp.
From a high position, overlook this wooden ship.
The huge eyes of the "Ink Dragon" were like lanterns, like a headlight piercing an orange-yellow beam on a rainy night, shooting out two beams of light, overlooking the deck.
An indescribable fear that originated in the blood arose, instantly causing the ten boatmen, including Old Man Zhao, to go blank and fall into extreme panic.
He lost the ability to speak, and the blood in his body seemed to be frozen, and he could only scream unconsciously.
"Dragon...Dragon King..."
Zhao Daniu's head seemed to explode, his eyes widened, and there was only this thought in his mind:
The Dragon King appears and targets everyone who breaks in. They will all die!
The boatmen, who were in such a state of terror, had no time to notice that at this moment, the five young men on the boat, whom they looked down upon and thought were seeking their own death, showed no fear at all.
His body didn't even tremble at all, he was firmly planted on the sloping deck, only his clothes were shaking.
What's more, they didn't know that what this huge "ink dragon" was really staring at was not them at all, but a few people headed by Ji Ping'an.
"Let this saint come, and I will definitely chop this ugly thing into pieces with one sword!"
Yu Yu had an excited look on his face, transmitted the message into the secret, and kept stroking the sword cord on his wrist that was hidden in his sleeve.
Huang He and Mu Yaoyao were equally eager to give it a try and felt the excitement.
The first-generation God Emperor leaned over the puppet and rolled his eyes in the book box. He had also seen the real East China Sea dragon.
At a glance, it can be seen that the bluffing big guy in front of him is just a giant loach that barely ranks among the dragons.
Ji Ping'an held a book in his hand, his black hair trembling in the wind, and his expression was calm. Hearing this, the book in his hand flipped, and there was a shimmer of light on the yellowed pages.
However, just as he was about to tear off the page, his ears suddenly moved and he suppressed the thought of taking action.
The next second, a sharp shout was heard from behind the ship:
"You evil beast! How dare you show off?"
As soon as the sound reached their ears, the boatmen immediately felt their blood begin to flow again and their minds become active again. They subconsciously turned their heads and looked back, and saw a small boat shooting towards them in the drizzle like an arrow.
At the head of the boat, stood an old Taoist priest wearing an apricot yellow Taoist robe, a Taoist bun, a string of silver bells around his waist, and holding a strange lantern.
The handle of the lantern is light in front and heavy in back, curved in shape, and polished smooth and translucent.
An iron chain hangs from the end, and hangs an octagonal oil lamp with a black iron frame. The wick is burning with a cluster of faint purple flames, and there are streams of brilliant light that surround it.
Behind the Taoist, to the left and right, stood two girls of about seven or eight years old.
One person is holding an oar, and they are actually twins with exactly the same appearance.
"Roar--" At this moment, he was suddenly interrupted by a sharp shout. The ink dragon looked away, looked at the Taoist priest, and roared in warning.
But the next second, the old Taoist priest stepped on the bow of the boat, jumped up, and flew over the big boat.
The left hand pointed like a sword, and the purple flame in the lantern stirred, suddenly filled the air, burned silently into a large piece of purple fire, and rolled back towards the ink dragon.
The huge pseudo-dragon seemed to be afraid and let out a roar of unknown meaning.
Water splashed, and its huge body rumbled into the water. Before diving into the bottom of the lake, it glanced suspiciously at Ji Ping'an's location.
The dark green dragon came and went quickly. In the blink of an eye, the water splashed and the lifted bow fell heavily.
The huge black shadow disappeared and the lake surface returned to calm.
Only when the drizzle fell, did Ji Pingan notice that the old Taoist priest holding a soul lamp had his eyes slightly closed.
From the slit between the eyes, one can see the turbid whites of the eyes.
"Is he a blind man?" Yu Yu muttered in a low voice, disappointed that he had missed the opportunity to appear in front of a person.
"The person who came here is evil." Ji Ping'an whispered and put away the scroll in his hand.
At this time, the mortals on the ship woke up like a dream and realized what had just happened.
Old Man Zhao gasped for air and almost collapsed on the rudder. He didn't care that the pipe rod attached to his waist fell to the ground. When he recovered a little, he immediately turned around and knelt down, and knelt down to the blind old Taoist priest:
"Thank you, Immortal Master, for saving your life..."
The other boatmen realized it later and hurriedly started shouting.
In their eyes, someone who can scare off such a powerful dragon with just one appearance must be an extremely powerful immortal master.
The blind old Taoist didn't pay attention to the prostrations of these mortals. Instead, he turned around, holding a purple soul lamp, and stared at Ji Ping'an and others with his blind eyes.
The corners of his mouth slowly formed a smile and he said:
"This young master wants to land on the island?"
He quickly judged the master-slave relationship from everyone's dress and position.
Ji Ping'an nodded, and when he saw a boatman looking over, he cupped his hands:
"We are people from Zhongzhou. We heard that there is an inheritance of immortal magic on Qianjiao Island, so we came here to seek immortality."
The blind old Taoist had a strange expression when he heard this. In an instant, he seemed to understand the situation, smiled and said:
"Pindao happens to be going to the island, why don't we go into the house and talk about it?"
Ji Pingan happily agreed and told Yu Yu and others to wait in a room while he walked to a separate cabin.
At this time, the small boat also sailed next to the big ship, and two seven or eight-year-old girls quickly secured the two ships together.
Then he jumped onto the deck and quickly walked to the blind old man.
Among them, the elder sister with slightly thinner cheeks went to get the lantern:
"Master, let me get it."
The old Taoist priest who just appeared on the stage, who seemed to be a righteous person who eliminates demons and protects the Tao, suddenly turned gloomy, "stared" at the latter and said:
"I'm blind, are you blind too? Didn't you see that the light wasn't bright enough?!"
As he spoke, he slapped him down, but was suddenly blocked by the round-faced sister with his back, making a dull sound. The girl's round face instantly twisted with pain, and tears fell one by one:
"Don't hit your sister, don't hit your sister..."
The elder sister hurriedly protected her younger sister behind her, raised her little face, and forced out a flattering smile:
"What Master is reprimanding is, add fuel to the fire now, add fuel to the fire now..."
The blind old Taoist priest retracted his hand and said calmly:
"Let's add more later. I'll go with my master to meet the guests."
With that said, the three of them followed Ji Ping'an and went to the same cabin.
Only Old Man Zhao, Zhao Daniu and other boatmen were left, kneeling on the ground. Only then did they raise their heads. They were both grateful to have survived the disaster, but also confused and worried.
"Dad, I always feel that this old immortal master is not a good person..."
Zhao Daniu lowered his voice, "Is that young master in danger?"
Old man Zhao glared at him fiercely: "Shut your mouth!"
Then the stubborn old man picked up the pipe rod and ordered the other boatmen to quickly tidy up the deck and repair the ship.
Immediately, he looked at the closed door of the cabin anxiously and doubtfully, not understanding what was going on.
…
inside the cabin.
As the door of the room closed, Ji Ping'an Shi Shiran sat cross-legged at the small table, motioned for the three blind old Taoists to sit down, and said calmly:
"The Taoist leader just reprimanded the disciple in person, which was too much."
Hearing this, the older and immature girl seemed to be afraid that her master would be angry. She was about to explain something, but was interrupted by the old Taoist priest holding the soul lamp with a smile:
"This young man has a kind heart."
After saying that, he put the lantern aside, let the purple flame burn, and sat cross-legged.
Examining Ji Ping'an with a pair of pale, blind eyes, his "eyes" fell on the crumpled book he put on the table, smiled, and said:
"I don't think so. There are actually descendants of calligraphers in our holy religion. It's really rare, strange, strange."
This sentence is light but full of temptation, or in other words, it is a threat.
You must know that there are not many people in the world who can recognize the "calligrapher" inheritance. The old Taoist priest pointed out his identity at the beginning, just to gain the upper hand in the conversation.
At this time, I was even more expecting the shocked reaction of the young man in front of me.
However he was disappointed.
There was no trace of surprise or caution on Ji Ping'an's face. He just glanced at him, or at the soul lamp, casually, then picked up the teacup and said lightly:
"It's better than the Soul Lamp Sect who uses the blood of children to burn oil to light lamps."
The blind old Taoist's smile suddenly froze, and his expression changed slightly.
(End of chapter)
