Yellow River Craftsman

Chapter 22 The Legend: The Iron-Headed Dragon King ([-])
Tang Taizong was about to call people to rescue him, when he heard several loud bangs, several huge water jets shot up into the sky, sending several soldiers flying into the sky.Immediately afterwards, a large vortex with a diameter of more than ten meters appeared on the water surface, and a huge black shadow slowly emerged from the water surface.Soldiers floating on the water screamed in terror, struggling desperately to escape from the waters.But their strength was so weak, and their struggle was so weak, one soldier after another was sucked into the vortex and disappeared instantly.A large amount of blood continuously floated up from the bottom of the water, dyeing this large area of ​​water red.There was a strong smell of blood in the air, as if the sunset in the sky was dyed red.

In the astonished eyes of everyone, a silver-gray Chinese sturgeon with a length of tens of meters surfaced from the water.The Chinese sturgeon itself has a very gentle temperament, but this huge Chinese sturgeon is extremely fierce. It opened its mouth wide, and its sharp fish teeth were like guillotines, setting off bloody storms one after another on the water.

In the age of peace in the world, such a monster appeared unexpectedly, which made Tang Taizong extremely furious, and quickly issued a kill order, ordering the soldiers to shoot and kill this strange fish immediately.

Hundreds of archers lined up on the side of the ship, drawing their bows to the full, and shooting sharp arrows at the strange fish one after another.Originally thought that the strange fish would turn into a water hedgehog in an instant.What I didn't expect was that the scales of the strange fish were extremely hard, and those sharp arrows couldn't penetrate the scales of the strange fish. The arrows all over the sky fell on the strange fish, and the starting point of the splash was ignited, making a tinkling sound. With the sound, many arrows snapped on the spot.

The people's resistance aroused the anger of the strange fish. The strange fish poked its huge head out of the water, like a fired shell, and slammed into a military ship more than ten meters away fiercely again.There was a loud bang, and the hard fish head pierced through the warship easily.Hundreds of soldiers fell into the water, the sky was stained red with blood, and screams were heard endlessly.

Facing such a monster, even Tang Taizong, who swept away thousands of troops and pacified Shenzhou, did not dare to fight again. He hurriedly set sail and fled the waters at an accelerated rate.

Since then, the Chinese sturgeon has been called the "Iron-headed Dragon King". The legend of the Iron-headed Dragon King is not only spread in the ancient Yellow River Road, but also recorded in history books.However, for hundreds of thousands of years, although there have been legends of the Iron-headed Dragon King on the Yellow River Ancient Road, very few people have actually seen the Iron-headed Dragon King, and the Iron-headed Dragon King has gradually become one of the most mysterious creatures in the Yellow River Ancient Road. one.

Of course, not to mention the ten-foot-long iron-headed dragon king, even ordinary Chinese sturgeons are hardly seen in the Yellow River Basin.No one can verify how the legendary Iron-headed Dragon King appeared in the Yellow River Ancient Road. People only know that the Iron-headed Dragon King in the Yellow River Ancient Road is the refined Chinese sturgeon.

"I have been walking on the Yellow River for dozens of years. This is the first time I have seen the Iron-headed Dragon King. At that time, my knees softened and I almost knelt down to the Iron-headed Dragon King. Our Uppong boat has limited horsepower. With the obstruction of the evil waves, it is simply impossible to get rid of the iron-headed dragon king.

Your father was also in a panic at the time, and even took out a long-barreled shotgun from below the deck.How can the Iron-headed Dragon King be dealt with by a mere shotgun? By the time I wanted to stop your father, it was too late. He rushed to the stern and pulled the trigger on the Iron-headed Dragon King.I asked your father to stop shooting, because instead of hurting the Iron Head Dragon King, it would irritate him.But your father said that he couldn't sit still and wait for death, so he put all his eggs in one basket and didn't listen to my advice at all.

The iron sand hit the iron-headed dragon king, as if it was tickling it. With the power of a shotgun, it was impossible to penetrate the thick layer of scales on the iron-headed dragon king.Facing the iron sand flying all over the sky, the Iron-headed Dragon King was finally irritated. He flicked his giant tail, and his big, hard head hit the stern fiercely.

How could the Upon boat withstand such a violent collision, the stern of the boat was instantly shattered, and your father also fell into the water.Before he poked his head out of the water, the iron-headed dragon king opened his mouth, and the surrounding water poured into its mouth.At that time, I watched your father being sucked into the stomach of the iron-headed dragon king, but there was nothing I could do.

Maybe it's because I should die, but the Iron-headed Dragon King didn't continue to attack me, but slowly sank to the bottom of the river, and soon disappeared.

Strange to say, when the iron-headed dragon king disappeared, the torrential rain suddenly stopped.The wind tore the dark clouds into pieces, and the bright sunlight penetrated through the gaps and fell on the water.The evil waves are no longer rolling, the Yellow River is no longer roaring, everything has become peaceful and beautiful again.

The stern of the Upon boat was severely damaged, and a large amount of river water poured into the cabin.In desperation, I had no choice but to give up the boat, put on a life buoy and jump into the Yellow River, drifting along the water.I don't know how long I drifted, but a passing fishing boat rescued me.I narrowly escaped death and returned to Hezi Village, but your father will never come back. "

Having said that, Grandpa put down the old cigarette stick, his old face was covered with tears.

I held Grandpa's hand tightly and didn't speak.

Grandpa’s story is shocking. For so many years, I have never known how my father passed away. When I was young, I would often ask grandpa, but grandpa always drank silently and did not answer my questions.Only now did I know that my father was buried in the ancient Yellow River Road.

After a moment of silence, Grandpa said with a sad expression: "Maybe I am really a disaster star. I blame Grandpa for being bad. I bought some kind of tortoise coffin and went home. This time I caused you to get into such a big trouble. Grandpa's heart is really... ...It's hard..."

"Grandpa, please don't say that! Some things are destined to happen to us, and we can't hide even if we want to. This is our fate. Now that things have happened, let's face them bravely!" said Then, I picked up the wine cup.

Grandpa wiped away his tears, with a determined look on his face: "Well said, face it bravely! Child, the Tuoba family is proud of you!"

With Grandpa, a capable old helmsman, joining our team, I am full of confidence in this trip to the Yellow River.In the next few days, we began to prepare busyly.

In order to better protect our safety, grandpa used his savings to buy a second-hand iron boat from a neighboring village. This kind of boat is much better than traditional Uppong boats in terms of horsepower and sturdiness.Moreover, the volume of the cabin is enough to accommodate the four of us, and it is more comfortable to ride.

We took the time to overhaul the tin boat, replacing some old parts and replacing it with a more powerful diesel engine.In addition, we also cleaned out the cabin, not only piled up sufficient water and dry food, but also spread two quilts, so that we can take turns to rest during the boat trip.

After everything was ready, we boarded the iron boat. Grandpa brought an old shotgun, a big red rooster, glutinous rice, and incense and sake.According to the usual practice, we must pay homage to the King of the Yellow River and ask the King of the Yellow River to bless us safe and sound before the official departure of the ship.

The ancients were very superstitious. At a time when science and technology were still very backward, people were full of reverence for the natural world and believed that the whole world was ruled by gods.And gods are everywhere, there are gods in the sky, mountain gods in the mountains, sea gods in the sea, and river gods in the rivers.The so-called King of the Yellow River actually refers to the river god who controls the Yellow River. We must respect the river god so that the river god will bless us.If we don't respect the river god, once the river god gets angry, we will be doomed.

In the ceremony of worshiping the river god, we were still very devout. Believe it or not, we still wanted to seek auspiciousness and a good omen, and hoped that the journey would be safe and that nothing would go wrong.

Grandpa put a bowl of snow-white glutinous rice on the deck, and then put a lit joss stick in the bowl.He asked me to hold the big red rooster, and with a knife in his hand, he chopped off the rooster's head, and the bright red blood spurted out.Grandpa took the headless rooster and walked around the deck, spilling the blood of the chicken on the ground, and whispered a strange sacrifice: "Dear King... you must bless your children and grandchildren... You are an immortal god... Let all the wandering souls go back... Give us a safe ancient road along the Yellow River... Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..."

I haven't heard this sacrificial lyric for a long time, and I couldn't help but sing along.I didn't expect that after so many years, I still haven't forgotten.It turns out that some things have been deeply imprinted in our bodies unconsciously and cannot be erased.

After the song was over, Grandpa threw the rooster into the river, and placed the severed chicken head upright on the front of the deck.Immediately afterwards, Grandpa poured a pot of sake on the ground, knelt down devoutly in front of the chicken head, and bowed respectfully three times.

Seeing this, we also knelt down with grandpa and bowed three times to the bloody chicken head.

After all this was done, the joss sticks in the bowl were almost burning. Grandpa said happily: "The king of the Yellow River has appeared, and the joss sticks burned smoothly without breaking. It seems that our luck is good this trip!"

After the joss stick was completely burned out, grandpa put the chicken head in the bowl and sank it into the water together with the bowl of glutinous rice.

Grandpa put his hands together and bowed to the water: "Thank you, King of the Yellow River! Thank you, King of the Yellow River!"

After the worship ceremony was over, Grandpa patted the dust off his trousers, got up and walked to the cockpit.When passing by Gu Meidi, grandpa smiled embarrassedly: "Future granddaughter-in-law, don't laugh at me, don't think that grandpa is out of his mind, this is the rule of boating passed down from generation to generation by our Yellow River corpse hunters!"

Gu Meidi smiled and said, "Don't worry, Grandpa, I know this!"

"That's good! That's good!" Grandpa turned back and walked into the cockpit.

(End of this chapter)