Quick Travel: Passing Through the Bloody World

Governor Wang talked with Pei Yu about the case for a while, then Governor Wang said with a smile: "Master Kong Ji, tomorrow is the Outing Festival. If you have something to do, you can leave the Governor's Mansion on your own."

Pei Yu shook his head and said, "I am alone and came to Lingbao Temple when I was young. I don't need anyone to offer sacrifices to me."

I don't know if the original body deliberately forgot the memories of childhood, but the original body does not have a deep impression of his biological parents.

Pei Yu himself has never experienced the word "family affection".

Pei Yu's eyelashes drooped slightly, hiding the emotions deep in his eyes.

Governor Wang noticed the subtle change in the atmosphere and said, "Tomorrow is the Outing Festival. I originally wanted to take my family to the outskirts of Xianzhou to enjoy the flowers and play, taking the meaning of the word 'outing' to welcome the spring. In this case, why don't Master Kongji come with us?"

When talking about his family, Governor Wang's face was filled with a happy smile.

Perhaps fearing that Pei Yu would refuse, Governor Wang hurriedly said, "Master Kongji, please don't refuse. My little daughter likes Master Kongji very much. If you go, she will definitely be very happy."

Pei Yu smiled and said: "In that case, thank you for your kind invitation, Governor."

"How could that be..."

Governor Wang wanted to say a few more words to Pei Yu, but his assistant, Sima Zhuang, came running over in a hurry and told him that the third merchant, Dong, under the bridge at the west street entrance, had just gone to the government to report that his seven-year-old son had gone missing that morning.

"Where can I find it?" Governor Wang slammed the table and stood up, frowning.

After Governor Wang finished speaking, Sima Zhuang looked unhappy: "When the businessman Dong reported the case, he was crazy and his words were irrelevant. Our people asked him for a long time and barely understood him."

"The general idea is that his son was taken away by a claw stretched out from the river, and he insisted that there was a water ghost."

Zhuang Sima was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and spread his hands: "Sir, this is nonsense. If you blame ghosts for everything, how can we do our job as an official?"

Governor Wang was dissatisfied and said: "No matter what it is, we must investigate it thoroughly. Rumors and gossips will only damage the people's hearts if they spread too much.

Xianzhou is at the foot of the capital, and His Majesty has only known about this matter for a day or two, so it is important to investigate it quickly."

Sima Zhuang scratched his head and nodded hurriedly.

Governor Wang asked Sima Zhuang to prepare the carriage first, and then his eyes fell on Pei Yu, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

Pei Yu said: "Don't worry, Governor. Kong Ji will go with you to investigate this matter."

Governor Wang was pleasantly surprised and said, "Thank you very much, Master Kong Ji."

The place where Dong the merchant's child disappeared is under the bridge at the intersection of West Street. The stone bridge crosses a winding river. The water in the river is not clean because people on both sides wash clothes and cook there.

The river was not deep. A seven-foot-tall man could only reach a little above his waist. There were no messy water plants at the bottom of the river to trip him, but a child of seven or eight years old just disappeared at the bottom of the river.

Although the officers and soldiers investigating the case had distanced themselves from the onlookers, a group of people were still gathered around the high and low places on both sides of the river, and the sound of whispers could constantly penetrate people's ears.

The focus of their discussion was sometimes on the missing child and sometimes on the water ghost.

Until the Buddhist disciple in white clothes slowly stepped down from the carriage, the topic suddenly turned to the Buddhist disciple.

"What a beautiful person..."

"Is there such a good-looking monk in Xianzhou? How come I have never seen one before?"

"This is Master Kongji of Lingbao Temple. After the previous abbot passed away, he took over the position of abbot temporarily."

"What a young monk."

"I heard that the governor went to Lingbao Temple to ask for it."

"What does the governor want to do by inviting a monk?"

Questions were raised.

Someone quickly answered: "We invite monks to perform rituals!"

"Is there any place in Xianzhou that needs a ritual?"

"Never heard of it."

"We are investigating a case today, why did the governor bring him here?"

"Is there really a water ghost?!"

"Oh my god."

When someone talks about water ghosts, there are people who can accurately describe the appearance of the water ghost as if they have seen it before.

He looked very serious and even patted his chest at the end.

Pei Yuben was standing on the shore, looking down at the flowing river, and smiled when he heard the sound.

When the snow first melts, it makes people dazed.

Governor Wang asked in confusion: "Master Kong Ji, did you see anything?"

Pei Yu neither nodded nor shook his head, but pointed to a place and showed it to Governor Wang: "I just heard someone describe the appearance of a water ghost in vivid detail, and I found it interesting. It made me want to see what this water ghost looks like."

"Master Kongji is joking. There is no water ghost." Governor Wang shook his head and sighed.

Pei Yu flicked the Buddhist beads with his fingertips and said slowly: "Kong Ji is not joking. I really want to meet the legendary water ghost."

Governor Wang: "..."

Seeing Pei Yu's expression, Governor Wang probably guessed that he was not joking, so he waved his hand and called his subordinate over. After whispering a few words to his subordinate, the subordinate brought over the person who described the appearance of the water ghost.

He was an old man who was selling candies at a stall. He was not tall and was very dark and thin. After being brought over, he rubbed his hands nervously, hunched over and didn't dare to look.

Upon seeing this, Governor Wang stepped forward, lifted up the old man's hand and straightened him up.

"Don't be afraid, old man. I am very interested in the appearance of the water ghost you described. Just describe it to me in detail."

The old man was stunned for a moment, and said fearfully: "Oh, sir, I just said it casually, please don't arrest me!"

"We won't arrest you, just tell me what you mean..." Governor Wang soothed.

After some conversation, the old man was sure that Governor Wang did not want to arrest him, and then he described the appearance of the water ghost in detail to Governor Wang.

When he was young, he worked as a boatman in the rivers outside Xianzhou. He saw many people coming and going from all over the world and heard some strange stories.

Because he spent most of his time on the river, he was particularly impressed by the rumors about the water ghost.

The water ghost looks like a monkey, with extremely long hair all over its body. It is particularly strong in lakes and rivers. It will grab the ankles of a person who falls into the water and drag him into the water. It will then block the person's seven orifices with mud, suffocating the person to death, and it specializes in eating people's eyeballs.

After Governor Wang had someone give the old man a string of copper coins, he described the old man's words to Pei Yu word for word.

Governor Wang stroked his beard, his face full of worry: "Master Kong Ji, do you really think this water ghost exists?"

Pei Yuzheng gathered his sleeves with one hand, and with a handkerchief wrapped around his fingertips, he touched the moss on both sides of the river.

After the moss stained the handkerchief, Pei Yu immediately took it away, held a corner, and looked at it in the sunlight.

"Water ghosts do exist."

Hearing Pei Yu's words, Governor Wang looked even more worried. If they really used a water ghost to catch the child and closed the case, his position as governor would be over.

Governor Wang: "Master Kong Ji..."

Pei Yu raised his hand and handed the moss-stained handkerchief to Governor Wang. A fishy smell immediately lingered in Governor Wang's nostrils.

Governor Wang no longer had time to say what he had been holding in his mouth for a long time, and he took a few steps back.

"Why does this moss smell so fishy?"

Pei Yu pinched a corner of the handkerchief, smiled and asked: "Yes, why does the moss by the river smell fishy?"