Chapter 70: The Secret of Guidaowan (2)

As Lin Jianguo told the story, I realized that the key was in the tidal flats, which were exposed after an unexplained diversion of the Yellow River.

“The Yellow River’s diversion is always a disaster, but that diversion was silent, and even the people in our village didn’t discover it for a few days.” Lin Jianguo said lightly.

I don’t know what kind of disaster a Yellow River diversion would be, but it’s terrifying to think about. How many innocent people would be drowned in an unexplained diversion? To say that this silent and small diversion of the river is a coincidence, or is it the will of heaven?

I have no way of knowing what the truth of the matter was at the time, I was just curious as to why the people in the village didn’t discover the change in the course of the Yellow River that flowed by their side day and night for so many days?

But before I could ask, Lin Jianguo’s face showed a strange expression, and he rubbed his nose and continued, “Most people would be curious why it took us so long to discover the Yellow River’s new course. In fact, the area where the river changed course has always been problematic.”

“You mean… the location of the altar? The backwater bay?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes, before that stretch of land was exposed, the backwater bay was even bigger. But you know what a backwater bay is, right? There are many ghosts in the Yellow River, and every year many people are buried in the Yellow River. The backwater bay is generally where the dead bodies gather. Such a huge backwater bay, the people in the village occasionally pass by there, and almost always find floating dead bodies… There are also professional corpse-fishers who will be active in that area for a long time. But, do you know? If you want to go there to retrieve a corpse, the price that the family will offer is definitely not the same, it will be several times the normal price.” Lin Jianguo said to me seriously.

“Why?” I asked almost subconsciously, although I already had some guesses about why.

“Because people and boats often disappear in that backwater bay, and inexplicably can’t get out… Such things happen almost once or twice every few years, so if the corpse-digger is active in this area, they will naturally charge several times more.” Lin Jianguo looked at me meaningfully.

I already understood, and said, “Is the so-called inability to get out the same as the road we took, and did this happen?”

“Probably? Can it be that we will forever repeat this situation, walking on this waterway? I am not sure about the situation. The end is not something that everyone can reach, and even if they do, it is a dead end.” Lin Jianguo’s tone was a little sad.

This simple sentence made me think that it was extremely terrifying. Is it going to repeat forever? I just experienced that kind of despair… What’s even more desperate is that, judging from Lin Jianguo’s tone, the end is not a good place. It turns out that it is absolutely impossible to return to a familiar place.

Looking at my expression, Lin Jianguo sighed softly and continued, “This is the kind of place where people and boats often go missing. The people in the village think that these people were eaten by the ghosts that gather in the backwater bay, so unless it is absolutely necessary, they will definitely not take the secret path to the place where the backwater bay is located. This is why the people in the village only discovered that there was a tidal flat there after a few days.

“Haven’t other people found it? For example, the corpse-digger?” I asked.

“Is money more important than life? After things like this have been going on for decades, do you think there will be many more people risking their lives to retrieve corpses? This place was already a relatively remote area of the Yellow River, and after this happened, the area where our village is located became even more quiet. Lin Jianguo explained, and then continued, “It was a coincidence that we discovered the tidal flat. It was because someone in the village wanted to take a shortcut to get to a certain place, where they said there were good things, and he wanted to get there before anyone else.

“This discovery made that person extremely frightened, and he immediately turned around and headed back to the village. Don’t think this is an exaggeration. People who rely on the Yellow River for their livelihood and survival are extremely respectful of the river god, so such a small deviation is subconsciously perceived as a warning from the river god! You know, the reason our village has survived for so long and lived so carefree is because of the secret location of our village, which is like a paradise on earth… We are even more concerned about this kind of warning, for fear that the river god will be angry and flood the location of our village. Lin Jianguo continued.

I nodded, not laughing at these people’s superstitions… awe exists in every place on this land of China. Whether this awe is ridiculous or not, you have to admit that people who have awe will have some restraint in their hearts… and once the human heart loses its restraint, the horror is unimaginable.

“So, when that person passed the news back to the village, the village leaders decided to mobilize the entire village to hold a large-scale sacrifice to worship the river god.” Lin Jianguo said this with a hint of pain in his expression, but he quickly put aside his emotions and continued, “At that time, I had already been born and was still a child… If nothing had happened, I would have become a tomb raider on the Yellow River, but an accident happened.”

“How did it happen?” I couldn’t imagine that a sacrifice could lead to such a shocking accident.

“Remember that capable person I told you about before? That person is the village chief. He has very sharp eyes. He can see things that others can’t. He can tell what’s under the river and what’s under the mudflats. He’s never wrong. He says he has supernatural powers. Anyway I don’t quite understand it either. That day, I followed the people in the village to the tidal flats to prepare for the sacrifice. When I saw him, I was overwhelmed with excitement. He was as excited as a madman, telling the whole village that the exposure of the tidal flats was not a warning from the river god, but a blessing and reward from the river god.

Lin Jianguo did not specifically describe the situation at the time, but only gave a brief description. I could see the excitement of the so-called village chief, and at the same time, I was shocked. I had never heard of Chengzhen having this ability to see the ancient tombs underwater at a glance… Master is in the folk, is this what it means?

“In short, the result was that the village chief told us with absolute certainty that there were amazing treasures hidden under the tidal flats. So we had to dig up the tidal flats, and everyone in the village would get a share, because the river god’s reward could not be enjoyed by just one person. I still remember that the village chief was very excited, saying that if we were lucky, the things under the tidal flats would allow our entire village to live in peace for many years… that’s probably it.” Lin Jianguo said with a wry smile.

“What happened? What did you dig up?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“What was unearthed?” Lin Jianguo frowned slightly, then tapped the table with his finger and said in a long silence, “The village chief was right. We soon used a special method to dig a tomb passage in the tidal flats. After going down, we didn’t know whose tomb it was. Anyway, the burial objects inside were very rich and very strange… At that time, I was still a child and was not qualified to participate in the actual excavation. Anyway, I remember that at the time, the people in the village were all shocked by everything in the tomb because there were so many strange things… At that time, my parents were still alive, and I remember that when they came home, they first talked about how the tomb was, but then they kept quiet… So, I don’t know very much about those things. I know that the last thing that was dug up turned everything upside down.

“What was it that was finally dug up?” I thought the story was particularly complicated, and I didn’t even know how this matter was connected to Lin Jianguo’s son.

“It was something hidden at the bottom of the coffin, and it was only discovered after the coffin was pushed open… I haven’t seen that thing, I’ve only heard that it was a box with a gossip pattern.” Lin Jianguo said to me.

A box? I couldn’t help but show a look of doubt on my face. Obviously, I was deeply attracted by this magical past.

“It’s probably a box. Anyway, the tomb was already very magical, covered with various runes that the people in our village couldn’t see. The box was even more tightly protected. It was said that there were various talismans pasted under the coffin, and a piece of jade was inlaid on the box. According to experienced people, it was a jade talisman. In fact, I don’t know the details…” Lin Jianguo looked at me apologetically.

Jade? I don’t know why, but hearing this, I had a bad feeling.

I felt like I had something in my grasp, but I could never quite get to the point. But the inexplicable tension in my heart had already made my fingers go numb.