Chapter 64 River God Festival At five quarters before dawn, the door of Liang Qu's house was knocked loudly. No one is here to cause trouble. In the entire Yixing City, everyone knew Liang Qu's identity, so no one dared to come and cause trouble. The one who knocked on the door was Chen Zhaoan's grandson Chen Tongmin. Liang Qu put on his clothes and opened the door. Chen Tongmin bowed. "Brother Shui, my grandfather asked me to ask you if you are familiar with the sacrificial process. You don't have to memorize the sacrificial text, but you must read it as fluently as possible without any mistakes." "How about I read it to you?" "This..." Chen Tongmin hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Then I'll trouble Brother Shui." When it comes to offering sacrifices to the river god, Liang Qugui, who is taught directly by Master Yang, cannot be careless.
If you don't do your job well, you will be cursed by the villagers. Of course, if you do a good job, you will be praised by everyone, and telling others that you are the number one person in Yixing City has both advantages and disadvantages. Even though he was very tired when he got home last night, he still forced himself to recite it more than ten times and thought there was no problem. Liang Qu and Chen Tongmin read the sacrificial text face to face. "God of the River, I borrow the land of Yixing City, which is adjacent to the waters of the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. I accept the trust and hopes of the people and lead the people to worship before you and present this sacrificial text." A quarter of an hour later. Chen Tongmin nodded: "Brother Shui's work is indeed reassuring. With such a level of skill, the villagers will surely praise him." "Not as good as Chen Lilao." Liang Qu said modestly. "There's no problem with the sacrificial text. Are you familiar with the procedure?" "I grew up in Yixing City and come here twice a year. Even if I haven't eaten pork, I have seen pigs run. Just ask me anything." Chen Tongmin was not polite: "After the officiant has called for the offering of the sacrifice, what should the chief priest do?" "First, burn incense, then drink wine, and finally recite the sacrificial text. After reciting, let the villagers kneel down and worship, set off firecrackers and then leave the altar." Chen Tongmin nodded. He was familiar with the sacrificial text and the procedures, so there would be no problem. It would be good enough if it was basically correct. "Okay, the sacrifice will start at 1:15 pm. I will come to take Brother Shui away at 3:15 pm. You will need to wear clean and tidy clothes by then. If you don't have any, I will find one for you." "That's not necessary. I have a way." "Okay, see you at three o'clock then." Watching Chen Tongmin leave, Liang Qu felt a little excited. There are thousands of people here. He has to burn incense, offer wine, and recite sacrificial texts in front of so many villagers. It is also his first time facing such a large scene. He is inevitably nervous. He hopes there will be no problems. Take a shower first.
Liang Qu closed the door and boiled water to make soap. He hadn't caught any fish for several days, so the fishy smell on his body had dissipated a lot and ordinary people couldn't smell it at all. After washing up, tying up his long hair, and changing into the clothes and treasures given by his senior brothers and sisters, he felt very handsome. Walking to the table, Liang Qu tapped his fingers rhythmically. The blue bead on the table trembled, stretched out, and turned into a six-inch-long centipede with gleaming blue armor, shining brightly in the morning light. The Tianshui centipede crawled along Liang Qu's palm to his wrist, with its head and tail connected, and its hundred legs tightened and fitted together perfectly, turning into a blue jade bracelet. Liang Qu hid it under his arm guard and pushed the door open. As the festival approaches, Qingshi Street is much busier than usual. The cloak is not a cape, but a loose robe with sleeves. Liang Qu has a tall and straight figure, and when he wears it, he has a handsome air when he walks, which is significantly different from the ordinary people in linen clothes and is very eye-catching. Many villagers saw this and felt complicated. The crowd watching yesterday was only a small part of the people in Yixing City. Many people learned about it later through word of mouth. Now, everyone has different thoughts. There was envy, jealousy, happiness, and even regret. She regretted not having become Liang Qu's relative earlier and letting the rich son-in-law slip away in vain. "I wanted to become a relative of Ah Shui at first. If it worked out, wouldn't I be just as glorious now? Who knows, I might be the one carrying the animals today?" "Is your daughter worthy of Ah Shui? You don't mind her being ugly, but I do. Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself?" "How can you talk like that? What happened to my daughter? Ah, what happened to my daughter?" "What are you arguing about? Liang Qu is so promising, I think he is worthy of being the daughter of the county magistrate!" "That's right." Someone shouted and gave a thumbs up: "A Shui, you are so righteous! The bricks and tiles are ready, I will come to your house to build the wall someday!" Liang Qu bowed and smiled: "Thank you, Uncle Hu!" "Why are you being polite? I have plenty of strength. I can earn a hundred coins just by exerting some strength. I don't know where to find such a good thing." "Yes, I don't have much else, but I have a lot of strength! Just use me as you like!" Labor in the countryside is the cheapest, especially in winter, when they can earn even less money. People are always scrambling for work just to get a meal. Now, you can earn 100 coins by helping out for two days, which is a very good job that people would be eager to get. At noon, Chen Tongmin came to find Liang Qu, and the two went to the pier together. Villagers gradually came out from the alleys on both sides of the bluestone street and gathered at the pier. The tall trapezoidal altar was built on a bluestone brick platform with thirteen wooden steps. On the top was a large square table filled with fruits and vegetables. There was a person holding a large flag standing on each side of the altar, and there was a team beating gongs on the side. Liang Qu also saw Chen Jiechang and Li Libo. The three of them practiced martial arts together in the martial arts hall, and Chen Zhaoan naturally arranged for the two of them to be the strong men who would kill the animals before the sacrifice.
One of them held a sheep and the other held a cow, and they were waiting to deliver the animals. A quarter past noon. Everyone is here. The village elders and Liang Qu stood on the left side of the altar, under the eaves of a large courtyard with a tall gate. Two stone lions were squatting on both sides, making the crowd look majestic. Thousands of villagers stood in front of the altar, all waiting silently. Clang! Clang! Clang! Boom, boom, boom! Three gong sounds. The old priest walked towards the altar along the central axis of the altar with one step at a time, then turned left and stood at a quarter of the way up the altar, with his back to the altar and facing the crowd, shouting loudly. "Present the sacrifice!" Chen Jiechang took the lead, grabbed the cow's nose ring and walked forward, followed by Li Libo, and finally Chen Tongmin led a pig. The three men came to the right side of the altar, and someone came forward to hang up the three animals. The three animals struggled hard, but were entangled in the chains and it was of no use. The three men each took a sharp knife and pointed it at their necks. "prick!" At the priest's command, the sharp knives stabbed into the neck and severed the arteries. Bright red blood splattered out and fell into the wooden barrel, emitting hot steam. A strong smell of blood rose into the sky and spread throughout the entire pier along with the cold wind. "rise!" The three men lifted the barrel and followed the drumbeats to the shore. "fall!" The wooden barrel overturned, and blood plasma rolled out, splashing into the water, spreading out like a ball of black ink. All that was left in the wind was the thick smell of blood. "The wizard is back!" Five gongs sounded. Liang Qu saw two shamans walking out from beside him, standing on both sides of the altar, singing and dancing, and he couldn't help but clench the manuscript in his hand. After the witch comes out, it is his turn to go on stage. "Officiant, OK!" Nine gongs sounded. The sound of the gong was deafening. Liang Qu was stunned.
He saw a dark shadow crawling across the tiled roof, flashing from the eaves in front of him, and disappearing behind the fire-proofing gable. He was withered and skinny, with skin as brown as an old tree. (End of this chapter)