Chapter 92: The truth of the local legend

The ship docked in this small town in India. Before docking, Johnny repeatedly confirmed with Walmar: “Are you sure that the legend happened in this place?”

“Of course it can’t be this town. It should be a village belonging to it. I haven’t been here in person. You know, I’m not really lacking in courage, because I’m just too busy…” Before docking, Volma finally changed out of his Snoopy suit and put on his usual casual clothes. I just admire him for being able to dance and talk non-stop every time Johnny asked him to confirm.

Uncle Johnny’s good mood finally wore thin with Wal-Mart, and he grabbed Wal-Mart by the collar and roared, “No one cares why you didn’t go there. I demand that you get to the point.”

Volma immediately put away his party prince’s face and said in a very serious tone, “In fact, if you ask the locals, you will definitely know which village it happened in. I’m sure it’s near this town.”

Uncle Johnny gave Walma a look and let go of him, taking the lead in getting off the Penglai.

While straightening his collar, Walma looked at the shore and the children who were watching the ship dock. He muttered something in Hindi, but was met with the sound of the children laughing and then dispersing.

Chengzhen was so curious that he couldn’t help but ask Singh, who was busy doing all the things needed to stop the boat: “What did Volma say?”

Singh smiled and said in English, “He told the children that he was a real strong man, but he was keeping the virtue of humility, so he didn’t want to argue with the old man, so he let the old man treat him like that, and told the children not to watch the fun, but to learn from him.”

“Haha,” Chengzhen rolled his eyes and said to Singh, “Volmar is really humorous.”

“Yes, I think so too.” Singh’s smile remained simple and honest, and then he whispered to Chengzhen, “I think if the master is willing, he can beat up 10 Volmas by himself when he is angry.”

“Haha… this idea is very reliable.” Chengzhen couldn’t help but laugh a few times. The Walma in front of him seemed to have a sense of induction, suddenly turned around, looked at Chengzhen with a naive look, and said, “Chengzhen, why aren’t you getting off the boat? What are you laughing at?”

“Oh, she was laughing because she just saw a stupid fish get hit by the boat, and the fish was so proud that it told the other fish, ‘I don’t want to argue with that boat, or I’ll knock it over.'” Xiao Da Shao loudly responded to Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart looked confused, shrugged his shoulders, and muttered to himself as he walked away: “It’s really listening to Uncle Johnny talking about fish that has made these poor people obsessed, and they actually think that fish can talk.”

Then, Xiao Chengqian experienced the same loneliness as Huigen, for the same reason: Wal-Mart simply didn’t understand what they were saying.

This is a small town, but it has an extremely difficult and long name. Because we are not native to India, our group of people really can’t pronounce the name of the town. We simply call this town the River Town because Walma told us before that the name of this town, when translated, is the name of a river god.

The town is really not that big, with only four or five main streets, and we felt a little uncomfortable walking down them because there were so many people watching us, and some children even followed us around.

Personally, I think it was because we were well-dressed and modern-looking that attracted the crowds. In fact, this is indeed a poor town.

Like many cities in India, the environment here is very dirty and messy, with garbage piles everywhere, wandering cows of unknown ownership, and cow dung, and in the sun, the dust is clearly visible.

The difference is that cities always have a bright and beautiful side, but here it is everywhere.

Or perhaps he was tired of the children watching, because he gave them some coins and said to us, “I’m sorry to show you the bad side of my country. I love China and I love Europe, but compared to the two, I love this place more.”

“Actually, I don’t mind,” I said seriously. “China also has many bad places, but I love it too.” I can’t forget the helpless, confused and panicked feeling when the car drove away from the border. China is my eternal mother.

“Haha… I’m glad you understand. Then let’s go over there to find out some information.” Johnny pointed to a place where people were eating. It looked very simple, but there were a lot of people gathered there. It seemed that the people in this town loved this restaurant.

Under Johnny’s guidance, we soon entered the restaurant. We were inevitably looked over by the locals. I endured this uncomfortable feeling. Under Johnny’s financial attack, the owner of the restaurant finally agreed to add a table for us in this small restaurant. When I sat down, I finally felt relieved. It was better to sit here than to be looked at in the middle of the restaurant.

Compared to my discomfort, Wal-Mart was like a fish in water, quickly striking up a conversation with the locals. When he came back, he was already shouting, “Why do you think the locals love this restaurant so much? Because they have the most authentic pancakes here, and with the jam, it will be so delicious that you will swallow your tongue into your stomach. By the way, the grilled chicken here is also very good. Chengyi, do you know baked chicken? It’s actually a famous dish in India, called tandoori. I didn’t expect to find it in such a small town. I heard that the owner of this restaurant is very good at cooking. In fact, I suspect that he is from Punjab (the birthplace of tandoori).

This Wal-Mart is really too wordy. This long string of words made Johnny frown, and he pulled him over to sit down next to him and warned him to be quiet. However, after the food arrived, he couldn’t sit still again, took a cup full of juice, and went to mingle with the locals.

This time, Johnny didn’t stop him. He quietly spread jam on the pancake and said, “I was probably wrong. In fact, with him, I don’t have to worry about how to ask for information.” While talking, Johnny had already rolled up the pancake in his hand and took a big bite. His voice was crisp and he chewed very sweetly.

“Not bad!” Watching Johnny eat so sweetly, I couldn’t help but make one for myself, and couldn’t help but exclaim that this was the best pancake I had ever eaten in India.

“Of course it’s delicious. Generally, the ones you can buy are grilled, but this one is made in a pan, so it’s just like home cooking.” Johnny winked at me and then enthusiastically said to everyone, “Try this chicken tikka, a famous Indian dish. This is a flavor that I can’t replicate.”

Under Johnny’s enthusiastic invitation, we naturally didn’t hold back. To be precise, the chicken was really good, with a crispy skin and tender meat, giving it a flavor similar to Peking duck. But because of the different spices, it had a slightly spicy taste when eaten. As a native of Sichuan, I naturally preferred this spicy flavor, and before I knew it, I had eaten quite a lot.

While we were enjoying our meal, Wal-Mart had already successfully integrated with the locals. In no time at all, he brought two people to sit at our table. He said to us, “They speak English and know the story of that year. I think we can communicate with them.”

Johnny gave Wal-Mart a thumbs up, expressing his appreciation for Wal-Mart’s approach. Then he enthusiastically poured a cup of delicious ginger tea for the two locals and warmly invited them to eat and drink with us.

The dinner table is a place where it is easy to get close to people. With the presence of Wal-Mart, the banquet prince, it took less than half an hour for the two locals to break the ice and have a good time talking with us.

Under the guidance of Johnny, our identity became that of producers of a TV show that came to discover strange and unusual things. So, under this identity, the topic naturally turned to the legend.

When the legend was mentioned, the locals naturally knew about it, and one of them even said that he was an eyewitness to the incident.

This coincidence can only be described as a blessing from heaven. We immediately invited him to tell us more, and the local man did not delay, beginning to recall the incident.

What he said was more or less the same as what Walmar had said, except that there had been more than one such incident, and the time of occurrence varied.

“The first time was many years ago, I think it was more than ten years ago, 15 or 16 years, I can’t remember, I was still a teenager at the time. That time, a child who was playing in the river disappeared.” That’s what the local man told us.

Another local resident quickly added, “Yes, that child disappeared without anyone seeing exactly how it happened. As you know, it’s very common for several people to drown every year while playing in the river, and it’s not surprising that the bodies drift away and can’t be found. The disappearance of this child didn’t attract any attention.”

“That’s the way it was. People were always so numb that every one or two years, one or two children would go missing, and they didn’t think it was because they had offended the river god. Only once, about nine years ago, did someone witness a child suddenly disappearing into the water, and that’s when people started to look into it. But it was just a moment of doubt. After all, unlike the young man who suddenly disappeared, the child suddenly disappeared into the water, and only one person witnessed it.” The local man said these things with a lot of emotion.

He paused for a moment and then continued, “So this kind of thing kept happening until seven years ago, when the young man was dragged into the water, and the matter finally became a big deal… so many people saw it, even his lover, and it was something that couldn’t be suppressed. Then several people from the town and several villages pooled their money to hold a large-scale sacrificial ceremony to end this nightmare.

“So the river god cannot be taken lightly. Are you trying to find the river god by asking around? If so, I advise you to go back. It is impossible for a god to be captured on camera, and if you disturb him rashly, it may cause a tragedy to happen to you.” After the local man finished speaking, another local man added in a somewhat nervous manner, apparently the series of nightmares that had lasted for more than a decade had left a deep shadow in the hearts of the locals.

But Johnny didn’t care. To be precise, none of us at the table cared. Even Wal-Mart couldn’t contain his excitement.

Johnny said to the two locals: “The whole town has contributed money, and several neighboring villages as well. That means the incident did not happen in one place, in one village?” Obviously, Johnny had grasped the more important point.

“Of course, it happened nearby. Several villages have experienced the same thing, including a section of the river near the town. For more than ten years, the river god has swallowed up a total of 12 people! But what kind of attention can 12 people attract? Every year, so many people drown in the river, so other places laugh at us for making up such an incredible story. They think that the river god’s anger should cost hundreds of lives. Only we locals are convinced that it is a real nightmare. Those who have not seen it cannot feel the horror. The unknown existence under the water, so silent and quiet, suddenly drags a person into the water! There is no cry for help, not even a struggle. The silence is terrifying. ” The local man’s face did not look good when he talked about this.

At that moment, another local said, “So let those who laugh at us experience that nightmare! I heard that the river god’s anger spread to other places. In one place, the river god even dragged a cow down, a cow, do you know?”

At this point, even I couldn’t help but be moved, even though it was just an unintentional remark! I hurriedly asked, “Are you sure this is true? Are there other places with similar legends?”

“No, I’m not sure. I just heard it by chance. No one wants this to happen all the time. I hope that the place that suffered the disaster will hold a sacrificial ceremony to solve the disaster.” That’s what the local man answered me. His expression told me that he wasn’t lying. He really wasn’t sure, but he just heard it by chance.

I frowned and thought about what it meant.

But Johnny interrupted: “Where is this hearsay from?”

“Well, it seems to be somewhere downstream of us, actually already another branch of the Ganges, I can’t tell you for sure.” As he said this, the local man casually took a sip of ginger tea.

He didn’t know that his casual remark had given us a clue.