Free Web NovelAfter sending a distress signal to Lu Yibei through the baogang cang owl badge, Du Sixian got out of the car, arranged all the talismans she had received from the equipment department around the car, and refilled the pistol's magazine. Only then did she feel a little more at ease and returned to the car.
The night in the mountains was very quiet, so quiet that one could hear various subtle sounds. The gurgling black water was like someone plucking strings, the evening breeze blowing through withered leaves was like playing a flute, and there was an empty sound coming from somewhere, like striking clappers.
Perhaps due to psychological effects, Du Sixian felt that the various sounds intertwined, as if someone was playing music for an opera.
Then.
All sounds disappeared in an instant, and the large ship reflecting a ghastly red light suddenly appeared on the river.
A ship like this shouldn't appear on such a small river, or even in this world. Du Sixian thought.
Because it was a ship burned for the dead, because it was a ship made of white paper...
----
The Straw Hat urban legend was only halfway through when Old Man Beard seemed to suddenly think of something, his small green bean eyes slightly brightening.
"I know, it's the River God's wedding! That Miss has encountered the River God's wedding!"
"River God's wedding?" Lu Yibei frowned. "Is it the kind of wedding where, according to legend, girls are forced to jump into the river?"
Hua City has always been rich in water resources, with a dense network of rivers. In ancient times, because rivers often changed course and floods were rampant, people believed it was a Disaster caused by the River God, and their reverence for the River God had a long history.
Even though Lu Yibei had lived on Peony Street since she was a child, she had heard various versions of the River God's wedding story told by the elderly group in the teahouse.
From a certain perspective, the River God in those stories was quite pitiful. At the end of the story, He would always be beaten senseless by the righteous companions, who would then take away His wife and return to the village to live a happy and fulfilling life.
However, despite being pitiful, He wasn't worthy of sympathy.
This kind of behavior was no different from human trafficking.
It's not possible that the River God kidnapped young Misses just to secretly fund their studies and cultivate them into people useful to society, right? Lu Yibei thought.
"Do you know the situation with this River God's wedding?" Lu Yibei asked Old Man Beard. "Tell me about it in detail?"
Old Man Beard cupped his hands towards Lu Yibei and said, "Replying to Adult, there has always been a saying circulating in this area. Legend has it that every three years, the River God will come sailing along the river in a large ship, sometimes a white ship, sometimes a red ship."
"A white ship is fine, it means the River God wants tribute. The villagers only need to offer enough sacrifices of five types of livestock. A red ship is troublesome, a red ship means the River God wants to marry, and they must offer several young, unmarried Misses. If they cannot satisfy the River God, He will cause a flood."
"However, this junior has only heard the legend and has not seen it with his own eyes, after all, Hua City has not had a flood for nearly a hundred years."
"To hell with that feudal superstition and bad custom! This River God's wedding truly harms people deeply!" Mangpu was filled with righteous indignation upon hearing this, and said angrily, "Disaster, you must teach Him a good lesson."
Lu Yibei glanced sideways at Mangpu, "..."
Is it a bit inappropriate for a urban legend to say such a thing?
However...
If I can beat Him, I will naturally teach Him a good lesson. Even if I agree to this kind of illegal and disorderly behavior, the Civil Affairs Bureau and the 'Marriage Law of the Republic' wouldn't agree!
Lu Yibei thought, and pressed on, "Speaking of which, since the River God's wedding only takes young Misses, why did the villagers of Baiyanzi Village disappear?"
"Could it be that this River God hasn't taken a wife for nearly a hundred years and has reached the point of being desperate, marrying the entire village?"
What is this? The anger of a century-level single dog?
"This..." Old Man Beard hesitated for a moment, then bowed deeply to Lu Yibei. "Sorry Adult, this is all I know, I dare not speak rashly about other matters."
Lu Yibei, "..."
With hundreds of people disappearing at the same time, the matter is probably not as simple as the River God's wedding. Perhaps there are other reasons.
If it was purely a wedding, it would be understandable not to spare the men, after all, times are different now, 'male mothers' are everywhere, so why shouldn't the River God marry a few male wives?
But not sparing the elderly and children is too beastly.
Lu Yibei grumbled internally, then glanced at the Straw Hat urban legend beside her, who was looking at her eagerly, waiting for a reward. She frowned slightly, fumbled around on her body for a while, took out a urban legend core, broke it in half, and put one half in front of it.
Seeing that the Straw Hat urban legend had provided useful information to Lu Yibei and indeed received a reward, the Little Freaks immediately became restless, speaking up one after another about what they knew.
"Disaster, I have intelligence!"
"Speak!"
"I know that Widow Li from Baiyanzi Village goes to Old Man Wang's house to sleep every night!"
Lu Yibei, "..."
"I have some too, I have some too. I know that the entire village had diarrhea last month because Zhang Goudan accidentally spilled the medicine for Old Man Zhao's constipation into the village well."
Lu Yibei, "..."
"Also, also, Old Man Ma and his family's goat..."
"Enough!" Lu Yibei interrupted, rubbing her forehead.
From the rambling words of the Little Freaks, she understood that not many people in this village were decent; they only did bizarre things.
However, none of this information was useful, and continuing to listen would only waste time. She might as well figure things out herself.
Just then, the Straw Hat urban legend, who had just finished devouring half of the urban legend core, spoke up weakly again.
"Disaster, I have another piece of information to tell..."
"Still more?" Lu Yibei frowned and looked at the Straw Hat urban legend. "Why didn't you say it just now?"
"This, this..." The Straw Hat urban legend stammered, "I wanted to receive another reward."
Quite clever... Lu Yibei rolled her eyes. "Let's hear it. If it's useful, your reward will not be small."
"En en!" The Straw Hat urban legend replied repeatedly. "Before that big ship appeared, I also heard someone singing opera."
"Singing opera? What were they singing?" Lu Yibei pressed.
"They were singing something like 'one hateful, two hateful', I didn't quite understand it either..." The Straw Hat urban legend said.
Hearing this, Old Man Beard's eyes lit up again, and he interjected, "Speaking of this, a few days ago on the opera stage in Baiyanzi Village, they also seemed to perform this very piece."
"Oh?" Lu Yibei narrowed her eyes slightly and began to ponder.
Could this opera piece be related to the disappearance of the villagers and Du Sixian?
It seems I need to first figure out the origin of this opera piece.
Coincidentally, among my dependents, isn't there a famous Hua City performer from the Republic of China era? I think Mengmeng should know something.
Thinking this, Lu Yibei immediately focused her mind, connected her consciousness to the dependent mark, and sent a message to Mengmeng.
Incidentally, she also used the dependent mark to confirm Du Sixian's location, but the result was the same as on her way here, she found nothing.
It seemed as if a powerful force was interfering with Lu Yibei.
----
While waiting for Mengmeng's response, Lu Yibei walked slowly towards the opera stage on the open ground of Baiyanzi Village.
Passing through the seemingly dead village, she soon saw the bizarre opera stage, with a small part suspended over the river, and the scattered clothes beside the benches in front of the stage.
Taking her gaze off the stage and clothes, she circled the open ground again, and then found the camera, which had been torn into pieces, beneath a wall.
Lu Yibei picked up the camera fragments and examined them carefully in her hand, frowning slightly. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
She saw that the camera fragments were covered with dense teeth marks, as if they had been bitten. The teeth marks were blunt, not from canids or felids, but more like those of a human.
It's a pity, it would be better if the camera had been preserved more completely, then I could see what it captured. Lu Yibei thought, this camera might have been destroyed so thoroughly because it captured something important.
While she was thinking, Mengmeng responded.
"Reporting to Master, this servant knows what opera piece was being sung. It was the 'Ten Hatefuls' from 'Nu Qijie'."
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"That is a very touching opera piece. It tells the story of Su San, wearing a blood-red female convict's gown, who was framed and sentenced to death, and was being escorted for review. Passersby saw that she was beautiful but dressed in a death row inmate's clothes, felt curious, and stepped forward to ask. So she tearfully recounted her tragic experiences one by one."
"However, this opera piece does not end here. Afterwards, there is the story of Su San's grievances being cleared. When our troupe used to perform this opera, we usually performed both acts together. The old troupe leader said that if only one act was sung and then it stopped abruptly, it would mean that grievances could not be redressed, which was unlucky and would attract bad things."
Is that how it is?
Could it be that the villagers of Baiyanzi Village committed some taboo during the opera performance, which attracted the River God?
Lu Yibei thought to herself, and a thought struck her. She quickly asked Mengmeng, "Mengmeng, there's one more thing. Have you heard anything about the River God taking a bride?"
"Oh my heavens! Master, could it be that someone sang this scene by the river but didn't sing the next act?" Mengmeng exclaimed in surprise. "That's going to cause trouble!"
Lu Yibei was stunned for a moment. It was the first time she had seen Mengmeng shouting and screaming like a Little Girl, and she found it strangely cute.
"Is there a problem with singing this scene by the river?"
"Master, you don't know." Mengmeng explained, "Something like the River God taking a bride happened in a neighboring village when I was still young and hadn't been sold to the opera house yet."
"At that time, every night, all the young Misses in the neighboring village would cry. Even our village could hear them; it was especially terrifying. However, the crying stopped after a few days. The day it stopped, we heard the neighboring village beating drums and gongs and singing opera."
"When I was young, I didn't know what they were singing. It wasn't until I entered the opera house and occasionally recalled it that I realized they were singing opera, scene after scene of bad omens, all for the sake of inviting the River God to take His bride away."
Lu Yibei frowned and thought for a while, saying, "So, the urban legend incident in Baiyanzi Village was caused by them singing opera haphazardly?"
"I can't say for sure." Mengmeng replied. "However, if it's truly as Master said, the possibility should be extremely high."
...
After listening to Mengmeng's words, Lu Yibei pondered for a moment and said seriously, "Mengmeng, can you sing the operas that attract the River God?"
"Of course!" Mengmeng said confidently. "In those years, business at the opera house wasn't good, so we would sometimes go to people's funerals to sing funeral operas!"
"Very good!" Lu Yibei nodded and said, "Then, have you heard of a honey trap?"
"Ah?" Mengmeng was stunned for a moment and exclaimed in surprise, "Master, you're not planning to be the River God's bride yourself, are you?!"
"You're thinking too much, of course not me!" Lu Yibei said. "Don't you understand me? How could I possibly do something so dangerous myself?"
Even just confronting the so-called River God would require much preparation, finding seventeen or eighteen of Hua City's strongest urban legend to help, let alone being the bride!
What if, by accident, she was captured by the River God and dragged into the river? Wouldn't she get wet and lose her virginity? Lu Yibei thought.
"Then..." Mengmeng was momentarily speechless. When she spoke again, her voice had clearly become somewhat strange. "M-Master, you're not thinking of letting me..."
"No, no, I don't mean to disobey Master. I just want to say, the River God has always been strange. If I go this time, there's a high chance I won't return. If I truly can't come back, please don't forget me, and also..."
Why didn't I notice before that Mengmeng has so much drama?
Wait, she's originally an opera singer. Isn't it normal for her to have a lot of drama?
Lu Yibei muttered inwardly for a couple of sentences, then interrupted Mengmeng, saying, "Alright, stop trying to sound pathetic. I'm not sending you. I have someone else in mind. Just come over quickly and get ready to use your professional expertise!"
As for who will be the bride, I already have someone in mind... Lu Yibei added silently in her heart.
----
That night, in a suite at a hotel on the top floor of the Hua City Financial Building.
A wine glass filled with red wine was quietly placed on the desk. Xing Yuan held a manga titled "Kimi ni Todoke" and was studying it intently.
Just then, the golden baogang cang owl badge on the table vibrated with a "buzz." She looked towards the sound, lightly touched the badge with her fingertip, and heard Lu Yibei's invitation for her to be the bride.
She slightly furrowed her brow, and just as she was about to refuse, she heard Lu Yibei say, "Sister, don't refuse yet. Don't you want to confirm Shui Ge's feelings?"
"When I tell Shui Ge about this, if he comes, it means he still has you in his heart. If he doesn't come, it means he has moved on. After knowing his feelings, won't it be easier for you to formulate future strategy plans for different situations?"
"This is a rare opportunity! Besides, putting all that aside, isn't it the responsibility of every member of your Night Watch to investigate the urban legend incidents thoroughly? And..."
"Alright, stop talking." Xing Yuan interrupted. "I'll help you this time."
Although she knew that Lu Yibei was just being cowardly and setting a trap to use her, otherwise, if it was about being a bride, why couldn't she go herself?
Her age is more suitable for being a bride, right? At her age, she would at most be considered a second marriage.
But she still wanted to see how Bai Kai would react when faced with such a situation.
----
When Lu Yibei sent a message to Bai Kai, Bai Kai was in a private room in the Underground Human Realm, surrounded by two charming young women, comforting their lonely souls.
The River God was genuinely envious.
Lu Yibei could even hear the suppressed crying and heartbreakingly sorrowful music from Bai Kai's side.
"In my heart, I have always, always treated you as my younger brother... I'm sorry for always hiding it from you. If my younger brother were still alive, *sobbing*..."
"Me too, me too. If my younger sister were still alive, she would be about your age..."
"Pfft—!"
Lu Yibei couldn't help but burst out laughing when she heard the two young women's words. Just as she was about to tease Bai Kai, she heard a series of light footsteps. Immediately after, she heard Bai Kai ask in a lowered voice, "Xiao Bei, do you have something important? I'm working here!"
"Shui Ge, I'm sorry! I always thought your job was just selling your body, but I didn't expect... Pfft, younger brother and sister, pfft—!"
"Xiao Bei, you don't understand. The most important part of my job is to bring angelic care and comfort to the young Misses with wounded hearts. As for our own feelings, they are secondary," Bai Kai explained earnestly.
"I've never heard of an angel comforting someone by comforting them all the way to their bed."
"That's where you don't understand. Some young Misses need angelic care, but some young Misses need the Devil's whipping."
"Ah, this... Is the whipping you're talking about the whipping I'm thinking of?" Lu Yibei asked doubtfully.
"..." Bai Kai was momentarily speechless. He pondered for a few seconds and said, "Xiao Bei, let's talk about something serious, shall we? What do you need me for?"
"Oh, a small matter." Lu Yibei said nonchalantly. "I guess you might not be very interested, but after thinking about it, I still felt it was necessary to tell you."
"A small matter?" Bai Kai frowned. "Xiao Bei, stop keeping me in suspense. Just tell me directly?"
"It's like this, I heard that the Superintendent who came from above recently is your first love, right?" Lu Yibei said indifferently.
"Heh! Why are you telling me about that dog thing?" Bai Kai sneered. "I don't want to know anything about her."
"Oh, is that so?" Lu Yibei responded indifferently. "I originally wanted to tell you that I heard from my Little Freak subordinate that she seems to be getting married tonight, but now it seems there's no need, right?"
"Alright! Then I'll leave first!"
...
Bai Kai pondered for a while with a complex expression. "Wait a minute, Xiao Bei, you said she's getting married tonight? What time, what place, and to whom?!"
"Uh, I was just asking, no other meaning..." freewebnσvel.cѳm
...
Lu Yibei pretended to hesitate for a while and said, "Shui Ge, how about we just forget it? It's her big day, and I'm worried you'll go there to cause trouble. After all, she's your superior, you'll see her around."
"What's more, she's not a good woman anyway. Let her go! Give each other a chance."
"Xiao Bei, everything you said is right, but..." Bai Kai said melancholically, "I just want to see her, just a distant glance is enough."
Hearing Bai Kai's suddenly infinitely melancholic voice, Lu Yibei was stunned for a moment.
In her impression, Bai Kai had always been as lively as a runaway husky, and she had never seen him look sad.
...
Now, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» does it seem like I might have gone a bit too far with this?
Lu Yibei thought to herself and then told Bai Kai the location of the wedding. "The location is..."
