“Quick, bring out all the wine!”
At this moment, all the boatmen were a bit nervous.
From what they could see, Lord Jiang was definitely patrolling the river below.
In this situation, if they didn't offer a sacrifice to the river soon, they feared they would all sink and become food for the fish.
The boatmen were extremely tense, simultaneously needing to offer sacrifices to the river and row to prevent their small boat from colliding with others.
The old man was extremely nervous. After some thought, he handed the remaining wine to He Xiuyuan.
“Young man, please help me pour this wine into the water as an offering to Lord Jiang. I need to row, otherwise, I’m afraid we’ll crash into the other boats.”
The old man was extremely nervous at this moment. After some thought, he gave the task of offering the wine to He Xiuyuan.
He Xiuyuan was startled when he heard this. After a moment's thought, he took the wine. “But, I don’t know those words you were chanting earlier…”
Earlier, he had seen the old man chant many words before pouring the wine as a sacrifice to the river.
Those words sounded like they had a strong local accent, and He Xiuyuan certainly didn't know them.
The old man quickly said, “It's fine. I’ll chant, and you, young man, just pour the wine into the river when you see me lift my right foot.”
With that, the old man began to chant again in his local accent.
He Xiuyuan looked at the enormous Black Fish Demon below the water, his eyes glancing at the old man beside him.
He just waited for the old man to lift his right foot, then he would pour the wine into the river.
After the old man chanted for a while, he finally lifted his right foot. Seeing this, He Xiuyuan poured the wine in his hand into the river.
Under He Xiuyuan’s gaze, the wine he poured and the wine poured from the other boats all converged and were then sucked into the Black Fish Demon’s mouth.
Perhaps because it had drunk too much wine, the Black Fish Demon’s swimming speed slowed down a bit.
He Xiuyuan stared at this scene, stunned. Could it be that every time they crossed the river and encountered this so-called Lord Jiang patrolling, the reason they offered sacrifices to the river was because the Black Fish Demon would stop causing trouble once it got drunk?
A strange thought popped into He Xiuyuan’s mind.
And just then, the old man also noticed that the boat, which had been caught in the currents, seemed to have loosened its grip a bit.
Seeing this, he quickly rowed the boat and then swiftly said, “The river sacrifice is working! Everyone, cross the river quickly!”
The old man shouted repeatedly, and the other boatmen responded, then quickly rowed.
At this moment, it was vaguely clear that the many boats had escaped the turbulent currents at the bottom of the river.
However, before these boats could fully move, the Black Fish Demon below suddenly spewed out a stream of water, then shook its massive tail.
As the enormous tail moved, a whirlpool formed directly at the bottom of the river, firmly sucking all the boats in place.
Then the Black Fish Demon continued to swim forward, swaying its tail.
He Xiuyuan’s eyes looked into the distance, his vision piercing through the mist on the river surface. Soon, he saw an incredibly turbulent gorge ahead.
Judging by the terrain, the water flowed rapidly and there was a large bend. If the boats were carried to this area, it was likely that all these boats, large and small, would capsize there.
Furthermore, with the water in that area flowing so rapidly, it would be impossible for anyone who fell into the water to survive.
Even skilled swimmers would struggle to survive in such waters.
“It’s over, Lord Jiang is still not satisfied!”
The old man felt the current beneath his feet firmly gripping the boat, and his face instantly turned pale.
“Does anyone else have wine? Quick, bring it out to sacrifice to the river! Lord Jiang isn’t satisfied! If you keep hiding it, no one will leave today!”
At this moment, the old man was extremely anxious, shouting at the boatmen beside him.
Hearing his shouts, the other boatmen felt greatly wronged.
They had lived here for countless years and knew the importance of sacrificing to Lord Jiang.
Upon hearing this, they quickly shouted, “The wine on my boat is already used up! Where would I have any more wine?!”
“It's not that I’m reluctant! My three jars of stored wine have already been poured into the river! If anyone still has wine, hurry up! Do you really want to wait until the boat sinks before you hold that jar of wine and sacrifice it all together?!”
“Today’s Lord Jiang is truly difficult to please. Everyone, don’t be stingy. You must bring out the wine if you have it.”
The boatmen were also anxious at this point. If this continued, their boats would not only sink, but their lives would also be lost here.
Discussions constantly erupted around them. Everyone was trying to persuade others to bring out their hidden good wine.
However, after asking around, everyone said they had no more wine.
But thinking about it carefully, it seemed there really was no more wine.
Because they had seen earlier that people on every boat had poured wine into the river.
And usually, they weren't wealthy families, so why would they carry so much wine? They would typically only bring a flask or a jar.
If they truly had enough money to hoard wine, they wouldn't need to work as boatmen for a living.
The old man saw that everyone around him had no wine, and he too became anxious.
He looked around, and his gaze suddenly sharpened, falling upon He Xiuyuan’s waist.
A gourd was hanging from He Xiuyuan’s waist, with the character for “wine” carved on it.
If he wasn't mistaken, it should contain fine wine.
Thinking of this, the old man looked at He Xiuyuan with extreme eagerness. “Young man, the situation is urgent right now. Could you please use the fine wine in your gourd to make an offering to Lord Jiang?”
As he said this, he couldn’t help but rub his hands, a hint of embarrassment on his face.
He had originally brought the other party across the river, and now not only was there an accident, but he also had to ask the other party for wine, which was indeed a bit awkward.
But at this point, the old man truly had no other choice.
If this continued, they would all surely perish here.
He Xiuyuan listened with hesitation, but after a moment's thought, he unfastened the gourd from his waist.
There were too many people on the boat, some even women with children. If they were to sink like this, He Xiuyuan couldn't bear it.
Even the peach blossom wine in his gourd wasn't fully brewed yet, and he wasn't sure if it would have any effect.
As the gourd was unfastened, the moment He Xiuyuan opened the stopper, a strange aroma instantly wafted across the river surface.
Even the Black Fish Demon in the river seemed to have smelled something fragrant, abruptly stopping its movement.
Seeing this, He Xiuyuan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Had this fellow smelled the aroma of the peach blossom wine?
At this moment, even Zhong Xiuyun and the others beside him were stunned by the fragrance of the peach blossom wine.