Without nourishment from human blood, scars would appear on the face. Who would believe this? Hua Yuxiu gave the five animals a thank-you gift and hurried back.
After this incident, Hua Yuxiu thought that the storm was over long ago and that she had gained a young body in vain. She became more at ease with the candidacy of the Han Drama Queen and did not take Yugu's words to heart at all.
After waiting for about a month, Hua Yuxiu woke up as usual in the morning. She thought she still had a youthful and beautiful appearance. The first time she looked in the mirror, she was shocked. Even though she was young and beautiful, there were indeed many things that appeared on her body. Markings, small lines forming fish scales, adhere to the skin, as if the skin is covered with a layer of transparent scales.
She was shocked and turned pale. She quickly stood in the sun and observed carefully. The scaly scars were indeed real and not an illusion.
"This also means that what Yu Gu said may be true. My skin does need human blood to maintain."
When Hua Yuxiu said this, Yue Guanchao asked: "So, you started killing people? Bathing with human blood."
What Yue Guanchao said made Boss Hua shake his head: "How dare I do this? This is a living person. How could I kill people casually? Besides, killing people in Jianghan is not that easy."
"Then how do you maintain your appearance?"
Yue Guanchao looked at Hua Yuxiu. If he had not used human blood for a long time, his whole body would probably have been covered with fish scale scars. Right now, they only appeared on his face and neck. It was probably because he stopped using human blood not long ago.
"Prisoner!"
Hua Yuxiu paused and her tone became mysterious: "Tan Yanqiu has connections in the Political Yuan. After the death of the condemned prisoners, their blood will be collected. Although it is the blood of the condemned prisoners, it is human blood after all, and it can also be collected." It works, that’s how I’ve been able to maintain my appearance in the past six months.”
"It's just." She changed the topic: "Even if I use human blood, it's not foolproof. As I use human blood more and more often, the time to maintain my appearance becomes shorter and shorter. Now, as long as I don't bathe in human blood for seven days, blood, scars will appear on the skin.”
"I've only stopped for a few days and it's already like this. After using human blood on my body for a long time, my whole body is full of bloody smell. It can't be washed away no matter how I wash it. I can only cover it with perfume and powder to suppress the smell."
"Boss Hua, didn't you ask Yu Gu to intercede? Maybe there was something wrong with the medicine Yu Gu gave you?"
Sun Daqiao interrupted and said that since it was the potion given by Yu Gu, she always knew how to resolve it.
Hua Yuxiu sighed: "Tan Yanqiu and I also went to seek help from Lady Fish. She said she didn't mean to embarrass me, but that I wanted eternal youth first, and Lady Fish chose me to fulfill her wish. It’s the price I pay.”
"After that, Tan Yanqiu also took me to see other people who were looking into the matter. They all said that this was not an evil attack, let alone a wild god deliberately looking for trouble. This was a transaction between you and me. Since it is a transaction, then they There is no reason to intervene.”
Listening to Hua Yuxiu's words, Yue Guanchao felt that there must be something fishy in it: "Boss Hua, why did Fish Girl say that Fish Girl chose you? Is there any explanation behind this?"
Hua Yuxiu was also a little confused about this. She shook her head and said, "I have asked about this, but Yu Gu said it wasn't time yet, so she hasn't told me yet."
"When things are strange, there must be a reason." Sun Daqiao muttered: "Mrs. Yu won't choose you for no reason. Old man, why do I think that Aunt Yu has set a trap for you, and only waits for you to get into it before inviting you to the urn?"
…
As mentioned earlier, Jianghan City is the integration of the three towns of Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang, which are connected by the cross-river bridge. The location of the Fish Temple is near the Dragon King Temple, and is located in the oasis in the middle of the river at the top of the delta. When a few people were talking, the car We have already driven out of Jianghan, heading towards the Delta near the river mouth, and slowly stopped at the Delta Pier.
From the dock in the delta, you can see a medium-sized oasis in the distance. This was originally a lighthouse island at the border of the ocean. After the construction of the customs building was completed, the island was temporarily abandoned and turned into an ownerless desert island. The fish temple of Jianghan City is built on this island.
Across the river, the Fish Temple is located in the middle of the island, with yellow tiles and white walls, green trees and blue sky, dense vegetation, and pristine green. Countless ferries and fishing boats have started to sail through the island in the center of the river. The whine of steam can be heard far and near, and the ringing of bells can be heard from the island. , visible smoke drifting away.
"Why is the Fish Temple in such a place?" Yue Guanchao asked. The temple fair in the north would like to be set up in the center of the county government so that people can find it immediately. This temple is located in the middle of the river and you have to take a boat to get to the island. It is obviously not as good as Convenient on land.
Hua Yuxiu explained: "Originally, a building like the Fish Temple should be in the center of the town, probably at the same location as the City God's Temple, but Jianghan City is three cities in one, and there is a river in the middle, so there is no way to find the center point. Later, Jiangxin Island was used, so that the fish temple could be located in the center of the three towns."
They took the ferry, but within a short while they had already set foot on the oasis in the middle of the river. The terrain of this island is not very undulating. It can even be said to be flat. The difference between the top and bottom is only more than ten meters. It is probably an oasis formed by the accumulation of sediment. There are dozens of It has not been developed for years and is surrounded by dense wild forests. The location of the Fish Temple can only be identified by relying on the flagpole of the Fish Temple.
"How old is this fish temple?" Yue Guanchao asked casually while walking in the jungle on the island.
Hua Yuxiu said: "It's been a while. Anyway, the Fish Temple was here when I was a child. It seems to have been during the previous dynasty. Taking into account my current age, it is estimated to be fifty or sixty years ago. Back then, , this oasis is actually not fixed yet.”
"Could it disappear?"
Hua Yuxiu nodded towards him: "Indeed, this island was originally formed by the accumulation of sediment in the river. It is just a tidal flat in the middle of the river. It is not even a stable island. When the water is high, it will be directly submerged under the water. When the water level drops, , will appear above the water surface again. During the ups and downs of the river, there are only algae and weeds on the tidal flats. Most of the islands are bare. They truly became stable islands. It was precisely when the fish temple was built on the island. Speaking of which, I have also heard from older generations that the story here..."
Back then, when the three towns of Jianghan had not yet become Jianghan City, Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang all had their own fish temples. As Hankou demarcated the boundaries of foreign ports, industrial trade became more and more prosperous, which also made Hanyang and Hankou's foreign trade more prosperous. There are more and more people, and it will inevitably be difficult to manage it as an ordinary Jiangbiankou town.
At this time, the Wuchang officials thought of merging the three towns in Jiangkou to form Jianghan City, which would also make it easier to develop trade. After the merger, the fish temple that was originally responsible for prayers became very embarrassing. The three fish temples were all It belongs to the main temple. If you don't distinguish between the primary and secondary monarchs, the three temples will inevitably conflict. If you offend the gods again, that will be bad.
The local people in Jianghan discussed and decided to merge the three temples. At the same time, they also moved all the wild gods in the three temples into the main temple. In this way, placing other wild gods according to the specifications of the main temple would not be considered as neglecting the wild gods.
After the idea was decided, the location of the fish temple was put on the agenda. The geographical location of the three towns was too special. They were located on the three banks of the river, with rivers in between. They did not have the regularity of the four towns at all. No matter where the fish temple was placed, it would always It is a bit unfair and inconvenient for the other two places to come and worship God.
After thinking about it, they took a fancy to the island in the middle of the river and decided to build the fish temple on the island. In this way, no matter where they started, they could enter the island to worship the gods in the shortest distance.
At first, some people were still worried that the fish temple was built on an island. If there was a flood season, wouldn't the temple be flooded?
When they drove the stakes on the island and until the temple was built, the island was not submerged by the river. Instead, the island became more stable because of the planting of trees. The tree is evergreen.
It was also because of this phenomenon that the people believed that the Fish Temple was indeed in the right place, and they gradually moved the wild gods from other fish temples here, and together they formed the Fish Temple Palace, which can be regarded as the largest fish temple on the riverside.
When they were talking, they had already arrived in front of the fish temple along the rammed earth stone road.
This Fish Temple Palace is a combination of the fish temples in the three towns. The specifications are a bit higher than the ordinary fish temples. It has changed from an ordinary courtyard to a courtyard style with a front hall and a backyard. The four-sided walls are painted with white clay paint and yellow tiles. Covering the side courtyard of the main hall, the rammed earth everywhere is solid, regular and solemn, and the painted carvings are mostly in the shape of waves and fish. It looks like a Jiangnan-style Chenghuang Temple.
Walking into it, there is a huge square in front of the palace, with decades-old trees growing in the flower beds on both sides, with lush branches and canopies, and countless red rope copper bells swaying and tinkling.
After passing the flower bed, you have arrived at the main hall. Most of these temples and palaces are the same old style, with high eaves and horns. Because the temple is dedicated to the wild gods, gold curtains are not allowed to be used, and there are not so many splendid decorations. Everything is simple and original.
On the altar of the main hall is a fish god with a fish body and a fish tail. There are many strange-looking supporting gods on both sides. After Hua Yuxiu informed him, these supporting gods are Bai Shilang (the God of Rain) and Chang Siye (the God of Rain). House God), Liu Locust Lord (Locust God), Jinshui Dragon King (River God), Jin Guangguan (Water Transport God), Tian Gong Tian Po (Farmer God), Yu Gong Yu Po (God of Fertility), Hairpin Empress (main appearance) ), Hua Ergu (mainly responsible for marriage), basically covering all aspects of people's lives.
When they entered the temple, they already saw many people coming to worship the wild god. Different people were kneeling on the futons, lowering their heads and praying.
"You are not here to worship God, right?"
Yue Guanchao followed the sound and saw in front of them a little old lady with shrunken features. Her head was covered with a blue handkerchief, a blue-gray coat and black wide trousers. Her apron was embroidered with colorful embroidery. Her face was not very white after working all year round. , I saw a healthy blush in the wheat color, but the eyes were particularly bright, almost evilly bright, just like the eyes of a fish, round and empty, with a round light.
"why is it you again?"
When the old lady saw Hua Yuxiu, she already knew what they were here for, and she looked a little impatient.
"Old lady, we don't mean any harm. We just want to ask what's going on with Boss Hua's face?"
Sun Daqiao looked at the old lady, his eyes were sharp but not evil. It was probably not her idea.
