Knight of the Blue Lagoon (The Past of Tao v)

III. In the cold winter , when the sky is bright, the sun and the moon are unclear, evil harms the emptiness, the Yang Qi is blocked, the earth Qi takes its name, and the clouds and mist are not clear, then the dew above should be white but not downward, the communication is not expressed, and the life of all things is not given, and if it is not given, many famous trees will die.

In the mountains, the shadow of winter lingers, the blue lake is filled with mist, and the spring spirit is hiding in the valley, as if it is deliberately escaping from something. The life of the people of Dongfu is becoming more and more stable day by day. It is hard work and desire. Happiness is always inadvertently. Satisfaction requires a normal heart. Some crises should not be faced by the people, and some disasters cannot be avoided by the people.

49. Shikou Village At dusk, the mountains are far away, the weather is cold, the white houses are poor,

~

This morning, there was a chill in the air. Dots of white snow could be seen on the mountains in the distance. The yellow leaves on the ground were melting hard and preparing to contribute to spring plowing. A few bare trees guarded the village. The thatched houses were covered with moisture, and the treetops were covered with moisture. A few crows crowed, and the cries echoed in the valley, like a warning and a farewell, a bit cold, a bit lonely, a bit desolate, and a bit sad.

There is no good news in Wu Ming's land. It is not a natural disaster or a local disaster.

This is a remote frontier village in the north of Dongfu State, under the jurisdiction of Wu County, which is under the jurisdiction of Chenzhou. The village is located at the exit of the valley, surrounded by steep mountains. The exit is connected to the Blue Lake. The mouth of the valley looks like a lion with its mouth open and spitting water, hence the name Shikou Village.

Because of the special terrain, there are dangers during summer floods. The village has been hit by floods many times. Later, the villagers built improvements at the entrance of the village, which was like adding teeth to a lion. The village was also sealed. Coupled with the inconvenient transportation, it gradually Ignored by the state.

The mountains here are relatively barren, and the villagers have made a living by fishing for generations. The young men in the village have never been prosperous. Life in the mountains is rough and rough, and the people who rely on water for survival are shallow. Young people are unwilling to stay here, so most of the people left in Shikou Village are old people.

Although the village is sandwiched between mountains and has the sea as its companion, and the air in the valley is moist, the winter in the low-lying areas always lasts longer and is lighter, so the elderly people live here in comfort. As the morning sun rises, the villagers begin to work. The hard work does not distinguish between winter and summer, and a new day begins in the coolness.

A family was still enjoying the joy of reunion. The old woman prepared breakfast and waited for her son to get up. It was already half noon. The son must have been tired from traveling all night, so she didn't pay attention. The old couple never had children and were often bullied in the village. When they had a son in middle age, they naturally doted on them and developed a naughty and mischievous character in their son. When he became an adult, he did not want to work and often engaged in sneaking and fighting. He became a popular figure in the village. He is a rogue, and anyone who messes with him will be entangled by him, causing constant troubles from then on. Everyone in the village hates him and always wants to drive him away. The old couple defends and guarantees in every possible way. They are heartbroken about this and only want their child to be by their side.

A few years ago, his son got into a fight over a girl. He was very violent and attracted many villagers to watch. The villagers knew that it was not easy to mess with, so no one dared to stop him. It was not until the old villager arrived with people that he stopped him.. The son was tied to a tree in the village and was about to file a lawsuit. The old woman set a fire nearby at night, and the caretaker went to put out the fire. The old man secretly let his son go, and then the son fled Shikou Village. Although no one saw who set the fire and did not know how his son escaped, the villagers believed that it was the old couple.

There has been no news about his son in these years. I believe it must be difficult for him to survive outside. No matter what, the second child is still very happy to see his son back. The old woman reheated the food. At noon, the old woman opened the door again. The son was motionless and went to call his wife. The wife thought that her son was lazy and had a tendency to sleep, so she didn't pay much attention to him and continued to do the work at hand. The old woman walked to her son and found that he had no breath and his body was cold. Only then did the two elders panic. Although his son had done a lot of bad things in the village, he was gone after all. Looking at the helpless old couple, the old villager felt compassion and stopped pursuing the past.

Death has always been a big deal in the village. Since most young people are away from home, whenever an elderly person dies, the village leader will bring some enthusiastic villagers to help with the burial. Although they were very reluctant this time and even thought that their son was not worthy of dying in this village, due to the kindness of the old villager, they still came after hearing that the old woman was crying hard.

The old woman collapsed before her son's coffin was buried. Everyone thought it was a transition of grief, after all, she had lost her son in old age. The villagers could only continue to help take care of the old woman's funeral, and then the old man also collapsed. The villagers felt something strange, and some people with malicious intentions said it was retribution. Until a villager who helped prepare the funeral also collapsed, the villagers began to feel uneasy. Then the villagers who participated in the funeral collapsed one after another. So many people died at once, and there was not much labor in the village, and the village fell into panic. Death continues, terror intensifies, and rumors spread. Rumors began to spread in the village that their son must have done something harmful outside, and then suddenly sneaked back and brought disaster into the village. The villagers began to complain that the old villager should not be involved in his family's affairs. Now the whole village implicated.

Lao Wang is an influential figure in the village. He failed to fight for the village leader in the past few years. This time he saw the opportunity and thought it was a good opportunity to bring down the village leader. He began to incite the villagers, pointed the finger at the village leader, and accused the village leader. Lao Cunzheng should be responsible for the village. He advocated that as long as Lao Cunzheng stepped down, the village would be peaceful. There was an immediate response. Some villagers with resentment came to attack Lao Cunzheng. When they opened the door, they found that Cunzheng and his wife were also dead. Wang naturally became the new village leader. The old Muramasa's son was working as an errand in the county, and no one was willing to notify him.

An old man with messy hair. His son was about to get married. He was injured by the son of two old people. The old woman made a mistake in making medicine for his son. The son died soon after. The old woman was so distraught that she hanged herself. Everything was blamed on the fact that the villagers did not stop his son, otherwise his child would not have died. The villagers also felt a little unjust and avoided him. Later, they even suspected that the villagers deliberately let the two old men's sons go. , gradually became crazy and ran around the village. For several years, whenever he saw people, he said that everyone in the village would suffer retribution.

I met the crazy old man talking crazy words again. On the contrary, this time Lao Wang stepped forward to scold him and even drove the crazy old man out of Shikou Village.

~

The death did not stop just because the old Cunzheng left and the crazy old man was driven away. The disaster spread to the county. Lao Wang only got the county government to report the death, and by the way, he reported to become the new Cunzheng.

"What happened?"Wuxian County Grand Master asked

"It's no big deal, it's all the old man's fault. He will be fine soon after he takes over as the village chief."Lao Wang explained.

The county magistrate didn't ask any more questions. After Lao Wang left, Staff Liu beside him was worried:

"There are not many people in Shikou Village, but the death of more than a dozen villagers at once is not a trivial matter. Should adults go and investigate?"

"In a remote village, the court may not know, so what to investigate would be unnecessary."The county magistrate disagreed.

An older staff member explained:"Compared with such a big thing as the food ban, there is no time to take care of such a small thing, that is, how many people are dead in the village. Staff Liu looked at the county magistrate carefully and said cautiously:"It's not good to ignore the people!""

"Although you are in the government office, you are not an official after all. You don't understand. The new governor is our boss. There have been constant troubles since he took office. We can no longer cause trouble to the governor. As long as we improve the taxation of Wu County and pay more taxes, the governor will have us in his heart and everything will be easy to handle in the future. , nothing else will be a problem."The county magistrate

"The master can be regarded as a disciple of the Minister of the Ministry of Finance. We have stayed in Wu County for a long enough time. We want to go to the east capital. The Ministry of Official Affairs also sent money, but we can't be promoted. Now that the government has changed, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance has Resting at home, should we take the opportunity to show our filial piety again? When he comes back in two years, he might think of us."The old staff suggested

"Well, this is an opportunity to honor his old man. Both parties must honor him and neither can neglect it."The county magistrate.

After that, he checked the fish sent by Lao Wang and said:"It's still alive. We can still catch such a big fish in this season. This Lao Wang is quite good at doing things."

"Lao Wang knows that he likes to eat fish, and the winter fish in Blue Lake are good things."Old staff

"To eat fish, you need to eat it fresh, and you need to know how to choose what to do. Take it back to Fuzhong and let it stew in the kitchen. Today you come to Fuzhong for dinner."The county magistrate.

The old staff was very favored. After taking a look at Staff Liu, he ordered the fish to be sent back to the house.

Lao Wang walked out of the county office and saw the crazy old man who had been driven out of the village talking nonsense on the street. He was about to After driving them away, a warlock came over and asked questions. When he saw people watching, Lao Wang had no choice but to give up.

A few days later, there were also deaths in Wu County, and Staff Liu asked to investigate again, but the county magistrate still didn't take it seriously and said that all those who died were They were frail and sickly old people, so there was no need to make a fuss. Then more deaths occurred in Wu County, not just old people. Rumors appeared on the streets of Wu County that they were caused by evil spirits. Liu's staff realized that the situation was serious and approached the county magistrate. The county magistrate scolded him for making a fuss out of a molehill. Liu The staff was worried and went to check. The county magistrate was very angry when he learned that Staff Liu had left privately. Staff Liu also knew that he might never be able to stay in the county government again.