Special Operations Group File, Number 35.

Codename: Ji.

Have you heard of Ji?

There is a saying, never live next to a newly built temple.

Not a Buddhist temple, but a temple that worships the local deity.

Inside the temple, there is a deity, all alone. After the temple was built, ten young men from the village died and were taken to the temple. What were they taken there for? Of course, to serve the deity, carrying palanquins.

Search "pawread dot com" for the original.

This is the deity on land.

What about the one in the water?

"Nowadays, it's fine. Twenty or thirty years ago, during bridge construction, when crossing the river, there had to be Ji. They were afraid of offending the River Lord. When building the bridge, they had to use a drill. Sometimes, even the modern drill could detach and couldn't be pulled up. Isn't that strange? Could it be something, I mean, possibly something, that secretly untied it..."

"Do you know? When fishing, you can encounter fierce fish that specifically bite off the bait on the hook."

"After a long time, they treat the people who come to fish as food. Sometimes, the drill is like a fishing hook. But what the drill attracts, no one knows."

"Usually, the things in the river are not aggressive. Giving them glutinous rice and wine will suffice. But sometimes, when there's no other way, when the thing can't be pulled up or moved, they have to cut the thick rope on Ji's waist. Generally speaking, the drill can be pulled up and the bridge can be built. This is called a living sacrifice."

"Sometimes, when the river is rough and turbulent, as if it wants to drag people into the water."

"At that time, Ji is also needed. Glutinous rice, wine, and, and..."

"Hehe, do you know? Actually, it's a bit of a pity. During the living sacrifice, those Ji with bad temperaments are not the best choice. The best choice is actually... hehe, haha..."

..................

The sun had just risen, and the sunlight fell on the water.

Zhang Tao, who had changed into ordinary clothes from his Taoist robe, and his fellow disciples from the Celestial Masters' Mansion, were riding a sightseeing boat on the Huai River, patrolling. However, the water surface was unusually calm, with nothing to see, making everything boring.

The reason they had to come on this trip was because of the message on their master's phone.

Without orders, they couldn't mobilize the forces belonging to the Celestial Masters' Taoism.

But since a contemporary Celestial Master mentioned a possible hidden danger, they habitually sent a few elite disciples to conduct an early inspection. If there were indeed problems, they would follow the procedures of the Celestial Masters' Taoism and mobilize the corresponding forces to resolve the internal hidden dangers.

However, now, looking around at the clear sky and calm water, and with the divination plate in his hand not detecting any problems, it was obvious that there was no evil spirit. But Zhang Tao didn't dare to be negligent. He was able to stand out among his fellow disciples and receive true teachings because he was meticulous in doing things.

The old man steering the boat chatted with another Taoist.

This boat was from a fishing village along the Huai River. The people there were simple and honest, relying on the Huai River for their livelihood. They usually fished and occasionally carried passengers. The old man was in the mood for a chat and had been talking to his fellow disciple for a while without stopping.

Zhang Tao continued to use his magical tools to survey the water surface.

The other Taoist couldn't help but laugh and say, "Junior Brother, just by looking at the river surface, you can tell that there is no trace of evil. Are you planning to survey the entire Huai River system with your spells? Where do you have so much spiritual power?"

Zhang Tao simply replied, "It's my duty."

At the same time, he pointed his fingers together and cast another spell on the divination plate.

But this time, when the spell fell, the entire river surface suddenly became turbulent.

It was as if the entire river was surging, creating waves on the flat surface. The boatman who had been laughing and chatting with them earlier had a change in expression and almost ran to the side of the boat, staring at the undulating river water, and forcefully took out a bag from the boat.

Inside the bag was fresh white glutinous rice. When the glutinous rice was scattered into the water, the waves on the surface calmed down slightly. But soon, they became even more violent, as if they were angered.

The old boatman's face turned pale, and he poured all the glutinous rice into the water.

He then picked up a bottle of green liquor, Erguotou, and poured it all into the river.

He knelt down on the ground, knocking his head and said, "River Lord, River Lord, you are a great being. My ancestors have made a living on this river for generations and have never violated your will!"

His face was pale, clearly terrified.

Zhang Tao stared intently at the water. With his cultivation, he could sense that something was about to emerge.A crack appeared in the river, and a sedan chair emerged from it, swaying gently.

Beneath the blood-red sedan chair were fourteen pallbearers, dressed in white, their faces heavily powdered, as white as the plaster on a wall. Their cheeks were adorned with large patches of red rouge. When they lifted their heads, their skin underneath the white powder was green and swollen, their faces bearing a creepy, unsettling smile.

Zhang Tao clenched his fist, "They're dead, Water Ghosts..."

"Children under thirteen, boys and girls, dressed like this, they were deliberately thrown into the water."

He retreated abruptly, his divination plate spinning in his hand, ready to cast a spell.

Behind him, a low wail was heard. As he was about to cast a spell, he felt a tremor in his palm. He could barely hold onto the divination plate. Looking down, he saw a pale, greenish hand tightly gripping the other side of the divination plate. The green, swollen skin of the hand had two eyeballs eerily raised, staring at Zhang Tao, grinning.

Crack, crack.

The divination plate split apart.

……………………

Zhang Tao's senior brother cast a spell in time.

The evil-slaying charm hit the pallbearer who had reached out, accompanied by a hissing sound, the pallbearer fell into the water. One of the Taoists ran to start the boat, but no matter how fast they moved, they seemed unable to escape. The sedan chair behind them followed at a leisurely pace.

Zhang Tao took a photo with his phone, but when he opened it, the photo was empty.

He sent a message to his sect, then suddenly remembered the senior who had advised them to come here. In the urgency of the situation, he gritted his teeth and sent a request message to the senior, using the number he remembered.

………………

In his dream.

A massive column of water crashed down.

Wei Yuan didn't know how many times he had been shattered in his dream by the Lord of Huai River, struggling to reform, and after dying countless times, Wei Yuan's anger flared up, and he finally couldn't help but curse out loud.

The golden-eyed, white-faced Wu Zhiqi only laughed even more wildly, his control over the Huai River striking again. Wei Yuan experienced all sorts of torments throughout the night, sometimes not knowing whether this was his dream or Wu Zhiqi's.

Not until the early morning did chains appear again on Wu Zhiqi's dream body.

This torturous night finally ended.

Wei Yuan opened his eyes in a daze.

He decided never to attempt dreaming again, relying on charms and meditation to maintain a dreamless sleep. After getting up and washing, he saw that the flower shop across the street was still closed. He couldn't see the celestial maiden, sighed, and idly flipped through the emoticons she had sent on his phone.

Thinking of her calm and cool demeanor, and how she earnestly added emoticons after chatting, he felt a bit amused. Just then, a new message notification popped up on his phone.

Wei Yuan was slightly taken aback when he saw the message: "Disciple of the Heavenly Master's Mansion requests senior's assistance!"

Wei Yuan accepted the request.

Then came an online call—

"Senior?! I apologize for the intrusion. I am a disciple of the Heavenly Master's Mansion. As you suggested, we investigated the Huai River and found traces of evil...cough, cough, cough..."

Accompanied by the sound of water and painful coughing, the young disciple's voice was intermittent:

"……We found seven pairs of boys and girls dressed in ancient clothes……"

"It's a primitive blood sacrifice, a blood sacrifice to the God of the Huai River, and, and the God of the Huai River responded."

In the background, an old voice could be heard crying out in panic.

"We're doomed, we're doomed!"

"We've run into Lord Huai Du on his patrol!"

PS: Second update of the day……

Thanks to the generous gift from Cool Hao, much appreciated~