Chapter 2 Chapter 1 Ghost Grinding: A Special Water Spinning Top Exclusive to the "Yan Wang Hook" Business

In May 1966, a catastrophe unprecedented in Chinese history swept across the whole of China, and the political movement of the Cultural Revolution set off a cold current on the land of China. And at that time, as one of the 20 million educated youths stranded in the city, under the arrangement of the Educated Youth Office, I entered the mountainous area where the Tujia nationality in western Hunan was located to jump in the queue. The exact location of the small ravine where I jumped in the line is hard to tell. I just remember that it is located in the mountainous area where the Tujia people in western Hubei are located. It is an extremely remote place on the edge of the Yangtze River.

Therefore, although the peak of the Cultural Revolution also affected here, the people in Shangougou always maintain a little or two of the inherent simplicity and comfort of mountain people.Although they also responded to the party's call and started large-scale production and large-scale battles, but it was nothing more than pulling the land temple at the east end of the village that had been abandoned for decades, and cutting down a few old locust trees. ! Despite the ups and downs outside, the villagers in the valley still follow the life trajectory that has been maintained for hundreds of years. They work at sunrise and rest at sunset, go hunting in the mountains, fish in the river, and their lives are quite stable. .

It's just that the educated youths like us from outside the mountains, how can each of them be able to sit still?In the first few days when I first came here, I behaved pretty well, but as the days went by and I got to know the local fellows well, this nature was gradually exposed. Compared with the city, life in the mountains is boring after all. There are only thirty or forty families in a mountain depression. Besides, there is the ancient Yangtze River ferry at the west end of the village that has been abandoned for hundreds of years, and There are hundreds of kilometers of virgin forest behind.

However, as the saying goes, you can rely on mountains to eat mountains, and rely on water to eat water!There are no other entertainment facilities in this mountain, but there is one advantage, that is, let our group of educated youths who go to the mountains and the countryside taste the smell of meat that they have not tasted in the city for several years.The land in the mountains is barren, and most of them are desolate forests. The land that can be reclaimed is that palm-sized area, which is not enough to feed half of the population.Therefore, since ancient times, every family of the old mountain people in the entire mountain depression is a hunter, and every household is an expert in fishing.

And because it is adjacent to the ancient ferry of the Yangtze River, the water resources and geographical location here are also very superior, and there are abundant fish resources, such as freshwater fish such as saury, eel, big green head, grass carp, big carp in the Yangtze River, and some marine migratory fish. , and the stories, legends, beliefs and customs about fishing are very long and rich. However, if you want to catch big fish, you must go to the center of the river and cast a big net with a rolling hook! In the water basin near the center of the river, there are some big fish, very fierce, and some even eat water snakes, water birds and other animals, and they are very powerful.

Someone once saw a terrifyingly large fish as big as the head of a Jiefang truck in the mouth of the Yangtze River. That year was said to be the flood season of the Yangtze River. There was just a big flood. In the vicinity of the junction twenty miles downstream of the ancient ferry, there was a village where cattle, sheep and other livestock were often lost. People don’t know why these large livestock It was lost for no reason, and at first it was suspected that it was dragged away and eaten by some wild beast like Xiong Xiazi from the mountains.It wasn't until one night that an old man herding cows got up early to feed the cows, but he heard the calf screaming miserably. After looking at it, he found that the old buffalo tied in the straw shed was gone.

The old man followed the footprints of the cow's hooves to the river, and saw a black-scaled carp that was as big as a small house, which he had never seen before, biting the cow's head and dragging it into the river with all his might. The old buffalo stuck its legs to the ground, desperately trying not to let the black carp pull into the river, and was in a stalemate when the old man rushed over.Then, all the people in the village came to watch the fun. The old man killed the big black carp with other people in the village. When they opened the fish, they found that there were still some undigested agricultural forks and forks in the belly of the fish. clothes and hair.

It took a lot of effort for everyone to carry the big black-scaled carp that was crushed in the river back to the village. It was the rainy season, and the weather was hot and humid. The big fish soon rotted and stinks. They were all wrapped in a foul smell. However, this fish was suspected to have eaten people, and no one dared to eat its meat, and fearing that there would be some taboo, so I pooled money and invited a local witch to make a plan.The sorceress made a calculation and said that this big fish is one of the nine sons of the Dragon King of the Yangtze River, who is in charge of making waves. Now that the villagers kill it, it may cause the Dragon King of the Yangtze River to be furious and cause floods.So people set fire to the big black carp, and buried the remaining bones under a Daqing mountain ten miles outside the village, saying that they asked the mountain god to suppress the ghost of the big black carp so that it could not Come out and make trouble again.This matter will be over.

At that time, an old man in the village where I jumped in the queue happened to be visiting relatives in that village, so I saw that scene.According to his later recollection, the big black carp did look different from ordinary fish, and there were two bulging meatballs growing on the part of the head covered by scales. Everyone also suspected that the big black carp was indeed related to the Yangtze River Dragon King. It has nothing to do with it, I was afraid that there would be some taboo if I talked about it, so I gradually stopped talking about it. The old people who have lived beside the big river all the year round know that in these places, the most mysterious thing is the things hidden under the bottom of the river.Especially for a dragon vein like the Yangtze River that has been running for millions of years, you never know what weird things are hidden under the waves in the center of the turbulent river...

The elderly people in the village still remember these old things vividly. Therefore, in my spare time, when I was smoking dry tobacco under the old elm tree at the head of the village who didn't know how many hundred years old, I couldn't help nagging us kids from outside. A strange thing that happened in the Yangtze River where they have lived all their lives. The old people said that although the bears and wild boars in the mountains are scary, they are still things that can be seen and touched, and the thing that can really make the people of the Yangtze River feel awe is always the turbid river that is rushing. And in the turbulent river water, deposited under the silt at the bottom of the water, one by one, all the weird and strange things that have long since disappeared in the dust of history!

Among them, there is the "submerged Jiao" that inhabits the center of the river and the mouth of the river, that is, the vulgar hui, a large python, but it is so big that it can swallow a buffalo in one mouthful. There are giant turtles that have died long ago, their bones and flesh have rotted away, leaving only the giant shells of giant tortoises and soft-shelled turtles that are as big as small houses and covered with strange patterns. There is a faint singing voice coming from the center of the river, and a woman's hair fluttering.There are gold and silver ingots that occasionally wash up on the shore, and there are boxes full of ancient coins.There are wooden Buddha statues weighing one or two tons buried in the mud, even coffins, tombstones, plaques, ancient bronze swords, and even huge ancient tombs and shipwrecks... According to the old man in the village, he grew up on the banks of the Yangtze River since he was a child. When he was nine years old, the western Hubei border encountered a severe drought that was rare in a century. When it dried up and the water source was cut off, many strange and weird things came out of it. At that time, people from all over the world were alarmed, and they all came to join in the fun. Barefoot, people were fishing in the river mud that had been deposited for hundreds of years, and they salvaged many things!There are washbasin-sized bronze mirrors engraved with patterns of seal characters, skeletons with unknown objects, jade slabs, scattered copper coins, spears, bronze swords, and armor used in ancient wars, but most of the things They were all rusty and corroded. Especially on the river bed at the center of the entire river, after that area dried up, a huge ancient monument with a height of three to four meters was exposed.A few brave people waded over to pick off the mud on it, and found a few ancient characters engraved on the front of the stone tablet, which were crooked, and they didn't know what was written. At that time, productivity was low, and the old fishermen living on the banks of the Yangtze River depended on the sky for food. Sometimes they couldn’t even fill their stomachs. How many people could read?But unable to hold back the curiosity of the crowd, some good-for-nothing people rubbed the words and found an old pedant who taught a private school a few miles away to identify them.The old pedant fiddled with it for a long time, flipped through the book, and copied it, before finally confirming that it was an ancient seal script thousands of years ago. The four ancient characters engraved on the stone tablet are: Yongzhen Jiangdi! "Eternal town at the bottom of the river?! What will be forever buried at the bottom of the Yangtze River?" At the beginning, all the villagers believed that this was a stele from the gods, to bless both sides of the strait with good weather, so as to ensure that the floods of the Yangtze River would not repeat.Therefore, since the stele was revealed from the riverbed in the middle of the Yangtze River, believers from eight villages from ten miles away came to burn incense and worship every day. However, as the dryness became more and more serious, the situation seemed to be reversed to some extent. There seemed to be some nicks on the back of the stone tablet. The writing on it was blurred and no one could recognize it. The picture seems to be about a person being dismembered by five horses... Although the villagers don't know what that means, they also know that it is not a good omen, so they dare not worship any more. Sure enough, on the seventh day after the stele was exposed from the center of the Yangtze River, a huge bronze coffin locked deep in the riverbed by eighteen iron chains gradually emerged one or two centimeters above the water. Covered with sand, it is not very clear.All the villagers thought it was an ominous sign, and they never dared to get too close. Until half a month later, the originally dry and severe drought suddenly took a turn for the worse. It rained for three consecutive days, and the waters of the Yangtze River soared. The bottom of the river never appeared again. Later, someone with a heart sneaked into the bottom of the river to look for it, and even hired fishing boats to salvage it, but there was no harvest for several months.It seems that just after that heavy rain, at the same position that year, a mysterious force has covered up everything, and it no longer exists in the world. Just when we educated youths were still feeling overwhelmed by the secrets inside the Yongzhen stele and the ancient bronze coffin that sank forever at the bottom of the river in that distant age, the old man sitting in the shade of the tree clattered Smoking a dry cigarette, it took a long time before I said a word. He just said indifferently: "If it sinks, it will sink. There is no pity. The things in the ancient Yangtze River are too evil. They only belong to the Yangtze River. Bringing them out will only cause trouble for the upper body. Let it sink..." I once expressed my incomprehension of this sentence, until the palm of fate pushed me into people and things that ordinary people could hardly imagine. The world is becoming more and more unclear. Some things, since the past, let it pass!How many secrets and weirdnesses are hidden in this turbid river that has been roaring for millions of years, and no one will be able to explain clearly! ... Speaking of this, I have to introduce you to the three craftsmen on the old Yangtze River. As the saying goes, "One side's water and soil support one side's people", relying on mountains to eat mountains depends on water to drink water, and the turbid waters of the Yangtze River are rushing endlessly. For thousands of years, I don't know how many unknown secrets have been swallowed up.Because of this, all the evil and weird things gathered under the thick silt of the Yangtze River, and gradually some craftsmen in the old trade made a living out of this, the most famous of which was the "three Dou Yimen".The so-called "River Amoy, Ghost Fighting, and Yan Wang Hook" refer to the three crafts handed down from generation to generation in the ancient Yangtze River-robbing river tombs, gold digging and corpse hunting. The remaining one is called "Dragon Head Up", which is said to be related to the Fengshui of the old Yangtze River. It has been lost by now, and even the name has not been left. Among these three crafts, "Taohe" has the longest history. To put it plainly, it is actually river robbery. The Wanli Yangtze River has a long meandering flow and deep water and soil. To some extent, it can be regarded as the largest dragon vein in the world.Originating from the Tanggula Mountains in Qinghai Province, all the tributaries and mountains along the way traverse almost one-fifth of China's land area.Therefore, since ancient times, the edge of the Yangtze River has been a treasure land of geomantic omen.The emperors, generals and dignitaries of all dynasties mostly used the area around the Yangtze River as their resting place. Over time, the area along the Yangtze River is full of ancient tombs and giant mounds, many of which are the mausoleums of royal families and wealthy merchants, and even formed a huge group of tombs covering different levels and dynasties of Chinese feudal society for thousands of years. . The floods of the Yangtze River over the years have submerged the land on both sides of the Yangtze River, and there are countless good things buried in the silt of the Yangtze River bed. Just a tributary of the Han River, there are several dynasties in the cultural layer.The huge tombs, pavilions, pavilions and mansions buried by the turbid Yangtze River water are an unimaginable astronomical number. These things are deeply trapped under the silt of the Yangtze river bed, and have been sleeping in the dark without seeing the sun. Only craftsmen who know the old Yangtze River's feng shui secrets and know the flow of the water veins can find them. Before liberation, the act of robbing river tombs was rampant to the extreme. Often a section of water where ancient tombs were densely buried, there were many tomb-robbing boats running around the river day and night. These are all on the bright side, and there are more people making up their minds in the dark. The bronzes, ancient swords, blue and white porcelain and Tang Sancai salvaged from the mud at the bottom of the river are all of great value.From ancient times to the present, there have been people who specialize in this business, and in some places, some villages along the banks of the Yangtze River even make a living from it. However, after all, Taohe Dou is robbing the dead, which itself has great risks and taboos.Sometimes the things fished out of the silt at the bottom of the river are even more unimaginable, so weird and terrifying that it is unimaginable. So every year when the old Changjiang craftsmen are digging the river, they are most afraid of digging up some unclean and evil objects. During the period, terrible things will happen, and many people will often die. In the early 1950s, a stone coffin of unknown age was salvaged from the Chishui River in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. There is nothing valuable in the sarcophagus, not even a single bronze vessel, because what lies inside is not a human being, but a huge Yangtze River carp. Covered in red scales the size of coins, with a slight bump on his forehead, as tall as a person, lying motionless in the sarcophagus. At that time, people who dared to dig the river were very courageous. Seeing that although the big red-scaled carp in the coffin was alive, it seemed that it could not move, but the two fish eyes were wide open, so they couldn't help but feel evil. With one knife, the head of the fish was chopped off.Then he disemboweled the belly, removed the fish skeleton, and stewed the big carp. That night, something happened.In the place where the group of people lived, there were inexplicable women's mournful cries throughout the night. No one dares to approach the place where they live. This group of people was so frightened that they had only one breath left, and persisted for several days in a row. During this period, various strange things happened, and even their brothers in the same family were scared to death several times. In the end, everyone disappeared mysteriously one night, leaving only the body of a man who suggested eating the big carp in the sarcophagus.The body's hair and clothes were soaked, as if soaked in water for a long time. The most frightening thing was that his skin was cracked into fish scales, and his face, hands and body were covered with rusty bronze color, just like a big carp that had been skinned. Later, someone inspected the sarcophagus of Shen Jiang, and he was almost scared to death just by looking at it.Where are the bones of any big fish in the coffin?It was clearly a red-clothed female corpse whose head had been beheaded. The flesh and blood on her body had been cut apart, leaving only a thin piece of human skin stuck to the bottom of the coffin... People of the older generation who live on both sides of the Yangtze River know that the most important thing to do when doing things on the Yangtze River is to be cautious in words and deeds, because no one knows how many unknown secrets are hidden under the turbidity of the rolling river. Death and Taboo. Let’s talk about the field of gold mining. Gold mining deals with water all day long, and what you do is to make a living by picking chestnuts from the fire. Not to mention the great danger, it is also called "ghost fighting" in the industry in the Yangtze River Basin.The reason why it is so named is because there has always been a legend in the Yangtze River people that everything that falls into the chaotic river belongs to those evil old things in the ancient Yangtze River. And things like gold are considered to be the magic needle for calming water in the ancient Yangtze River. Panning for gold from the bottom of the Yangtze River is equivalent to pulling teeth from the jaws of all kinds of evil old things in the Yangtze River. You must have considerable means and courage. Therefore, many old people who have lived on both sides of the Yangtze River all their lives know that there are only two kinds of people who can safely mine gold in the old Yangtze River, namely Hu and Zheng. These two surnames belong to the surnames of the six young ministers enshrined in the ancient Yangtze River. It is said that the "surname Hu" and "surname Zheng" are the descendants of two of the elders of the old Yangtze River. A set of unique methods, the so-called "observing water and tapping acupuncture points" and "turning stones into gold", have been spread in the rivers and lakes as miraculous, and have their own reasons and means of existence. Rumor has it that the ancestors of the gold diggers surnamed Zheng once had a great opportunity in the Yangtze River when they were young and ate half of the "Jiaolongdan" of the Yangtze River dragon.As the saying goes, "a ten-year snake, a century-old python, and a thousand-year Jiao", as we all know, snake gall is a good thing that can improve eyesight, and the older the snake gall in the deep mountain old python, the more effective it is.Although the Yangtze River Flood Dragon is known as a dragon, it has not completely escaped from the snake's womb. The gallbladder in its body is full of venom. Even if it is contaminated by a little bit, it is enough to burn the internal organs to death.However, the ancestor surnamed Zheng did not know what kind of means he used, but he did not die. Instead, he accidentally obtained a pair of "golden eyes" that could see through the muddy river water. It has won a great reputation in the Yangtze River area. And his descendants also inherited the medicinal properties of "Yangtze River Dragon Dan" in their bodies. Their eyes are very different from ordinary people. Under the sun, the pupils will reflect a touch of golden yellow, which is the origin of "Shuishui Golden Eyes".Although the descendants of the Zheng family cannot compete with their ancestors in observing water and mining gold, they are also unique among the gold diggers of the ancient Yangtze River. However, the family died later, and no one has seen the descendants of this family for a long time. It is said that they have long since died. blood. After talking about the Zheng family, let's talk about the Hu family. Different from the family inheritance of the Zheng surname, the Hu family is a gold mining sect formed by a group of gold diggers along the Yangtze River. It is just because entering this sect requires worshiping the ancestors in the sect as their ancestors, so everyone has to change their surname to "Hu". .The reason for this is that it is said that the patriarch of the sect surnamed Hu was originally an old eunuch in the imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty. Because of his incomplete body, he could not have any heirs. In order to avoid having no successors, such weird rules were established just now. As the saying goes, "acquire literary and martial arts and sell them to the emperor's family", the ancestor of the Hu family possessed the ancient secret art of gold mining, so he secretly took charge of a gold mining team secretly organized by the officials for Ming Chengzu Zhu Di. Explore the direction of gold veins in various places.Its organization is similar to the "Jinyiwei" of the Ming Dynasty, except that one is in the open and the other is in the dark, one is responsible for the safety of the emperor, and the other is responsible for grabbing wealth for the emperor.It is said that when Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang died and Zhu Di sought power to usurp the throne, it was this gold mining team that provided a large amount of military expenses.After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the Hu family's Caijinmen were divided into two factions. Some people lived among the people and continued to do the beheading business of folk gold mining, while the other part was bought by the government and became He became a secret soldier who worked for the government.It wasn't until the late Republic of China, when warlords scuffled, that this gold mining sect gradually disappeared... However, compared to the disappearance of the Zheng family, Hu's Caijinmen has been handed down after all. Today, it is said that some people have seen them in the Yangtze River area, but they have long since lost their former glory. Different from the extraordinary talents of the Zheng family, the Hu family's gold mining skills are completely honed. It is said that they will develop a strange plaster, which is a kind of eel called "moon eel" in the Yangtze River. The oil is extracted with other medicinal materials.Hu's gold miners smeared this fish oil on their left hands since they were young, making their left hands ten times more tactile than ordinary people, and after thousands of times of practice, their palms will eventually become different from ordinary people, especially It is the middle finger that will become very special. Once you stick out the finger, you can feel the direction of the veins under the water. No matter how mixed the mud and sand are, you can feel the clues. The gold vein deposits in the depths of the lake. Of course, these are extremely brilliant skills and methods, which cannot be learned by ordinary people. During the period of the Republic of China, the most famous craftsman in the gold mining industry was Hu Santaibao.His original name was Ma Taiyuan, but later he changed his family and surname, and worshiped under an old gentleman of the Hu family's gold mining school. He learned the ancient method of gold mining, and he did several big deals one after another. He was so eloquent that he gathered a group of local hooligans and became one of the gold-mining sects with a large number of people, who were also bandits and robbers. He was honored as Hu San Taibao in the world. Legend has it that in the early years, he led people to mine gold in Zishui, Hunan, and found an unnamed gold mine nearby.After three days of groping, a gold dog's head weighing three kilograms was found under a Buddha statue in a temple ruins at the bottom of the river. The image of this dog's head gold is surprisingly strange, like a token, in the middle is a woman who was sentenced to death, two lines of red rust slipped from her cheeks, her expression was painful, and she looked full of resentment.Especially under the token, a big "death" character is naturally formed, which is frightening. At that time, an old Taoist in ragged clothes from Hubei came and was terrified on the spot, saying that the thing had an ominous origin. It was originally suppressed under the main hall of the ancient temple, but later the Yangtze River diverted and was buried in the mud at the bottom of the river.Unexpectedly, it was dug out by Hu San Taibao. Unless it is thrown into the bottom of the river again, and it will never see the light of day, otherwise catastrophe will happen. But Hu San Taibao couldn't believe it, so he asked people to drive this Taoist out.Unexpectedly, not long after, some of Hu San Taibao's group went to drink at night and did not return all night.He was found dead on the trail the next day, his body was already cold, half of his head was bitten off by something, and he couldn't die anymore. Immediately after entering the water again, there was a veteran gold digger with rich experience, who was born as a river soldier for generations. He was like white stripes in the waves in the water, comparable to swimming fish.But for no reason, the ankle was entangled by aquatic plants, and he drowned at the bottom of the Yangtze River. When he was discovered, his skin was already white and wrinkled. At first everyone thought it was a coincidence, but who knew that from now on, things would happen every now and then, and then people would die one after another, either by drowning in the water, or by being stabbed to death for a disagreement, or even Those who died on the belly of a woman while shopping in a brothel, all in all, the death looks are not very good-looking. Paper cannot contain the fire, and this matter gradually spread. Everyone was shocked, and felt that just like the old Taoist said, the dog's head gold that was touched from under the wreckage of the Daxiong Palace at the bottom of the river a few days ago conflicted with the old things at the bottom of the river.There is a word "death" on the token, which looks very evil at first glance.Some people also said that since Hu San Taibao got the dog's head gold, when he went to the toilet in the middle of the night, he could always faintly hear the sound of a woman crying in the dark, but there was no one there. This incident became more and more evil, and then there was nothing to do, and Hu San Taibao was also afraid, so he sent someone to invite the old man again, and asked him to help change Fengshui.The old Taoist asked Hu San Taibao to sacrifice three animals, and led a group of people to kowtow to the King of the Yangtze River to apologize.And put the "death" token back under the Buddha statue at the bottom of the river, and then it's over. Strange to say, since Hu San Taibao put the dog head gold back to the bottom of the river according to the old Taoist's instructions, all the strange things have stopped, and no one will die suddenly. This incident is talked about by the old people in the Yangtze River. has been handed down. Later, the famous Hu San Taibao suddenly announced that Jinpen had washed his hands, and he lived until he was one hundred and three years old before he died. To put it bluntly, in the eyes of those who have lived along the Yangtze River for generations, the Yangtze River will always be an existence worthy of awe. In the turbid river water, there are all kinds of unknown secrets and taboos. But to ordinary people, things in the old Yangtze River are always so strange. However, compared to river panning and gold mining, what happened to the corpse-hunters in the Yangtze River was even more sinister. In the mouths of the older generation of the old Yangtze River, corpse hunting is undoubtedly a relatively taboo topic. Because once the "Yan Wang Hook on the Yangtze River" is mentioned, it means that someone has been invited by the Dragon King in the Yangtze River to feed the fish.The terrain of the Yangtze river bed is complex, with different depths. Countless people die in the turbulent river every year. Ordinary fishermen dare not salvage easily. They must invite professional corpse hunters. ghost". When inviting water ghosts, experienced corpse hunters will first prepare things such as black dog blood and glutinous rice to ward off evil spirits, and then roughly determine the location of the corpse according to the flow of the water, and start salvaging from the submerged location.When salvaging, the iron hook tied with the bamboo poles sank to the bottom of the river, and then followed the flow of the water veins, dragged the iron hook in one direction, and hooked up the corpse. Generally, before salvaging the corpse, the person who retrieves the corpse will first tie a "red belt" on the bamboo pole used to retrieve the corpse. This red belt is said to be a white silk dyed red with the umbilical cord blood of a newborn black pup. Then it is made by some special crafts and has the function of driving away evil spirits. As a very old profession, the corpse hunter in the old Yangtze River is actually a very dangerous business. Those who play with guns die on the holes of the guns, and those who play with knives die on the edge of the blade.Even experienced corpse hunters can easily die on those evil objects in the water. Therefore, there have always been many taboos and rules. "People sink into the outer coffin, ghosts grind the mill" is the legendary secret of the old Yangtze river corpse hunter's business. The so-called "ghost grinds the mill" actually means that when salvaging Shenjiang's corpse, the corpse hunter will be on the surface of the water. Place a specially made water spinning top on it. If the water top is still on the water surface, you can continue to salvage.If the water top spins rapidly in a certain direction, the corpse fisherman will definitely not try to salvage it in a short time. Legend has it that this is a rule established by the ancestors of the corpse hunter industry and the old things in the Yangtze River. It is a contract between the living and the dead that has been passed down for thousands of years. Unless it is necessary, it must not be broken. Although this is just a superstitious behavior of the corpse hunters in the old Yangtze River, it may not be without some reason. In the deep water area of ​​the Yangtze River, so-called "wozi" often appear. On the surface, the waves are calm, but in fact the bottom of the river is a huge underwater vortex.There are many "nests" at the bottom of the river, and the corpse is generally drawn into the "nests". After drowning, the hand will still hold the bottom of the river tightly, and it takes a lot of force to pull it up.If the corpse hunter goes into the water at this time, it is very likely that he will be pulled down by the underwater vortex, and he will never come up again. However, the corpses of those who died in the Yangtze River are not the most troublesome. The most terrifying are the ancient corpses that have been dead for hundreds of years and still sink at the bottom of the river. When it comes to the ancient corpse in the water, there are many ways and taboos in it. The folk name "kappa" is also called "yinbian", and it is called "iron corpse" in the old Yangtze river corpse hunter ". Strange to say, these ancient corpses have been dead for hundreds of years, but there is no sign of decay. The skin and flesh of the whole body are tight, and the eye sockets are sunken. On the contrary, they look like mummified corpses that have been dried in the desert for decades, with copper skin and iron bones all over their bodies.What's even more strange is that these iron corpses are not floating on the water, but standing upright in the mud at the bottom of the river... Generally speaking, if a passing ship encounters such a thing, most of them will immediately evade it, often Anyone who has walked around the Yangtze River knows that this kind of thing should not be contaminated. According to the older generation of Yangtze River people, these ancient corpses at the bottom of the river often carried unimaginably large objects such as iron coffins, copper monkeys, and iron sedan chairs.Their positions are not fixed, and sometimes they move out a few meters to hundreds of meters overnight. This is not surprising at first, as the river washes away, the corpse will be carried forward.The frightening thing is that these ancient corpses carrying iron sedan chairs often move from downstream to upstream.In other words, it seems that there is a mysterious force supporting these ancient corpses to move against the direction of the current in the turbid bottom of the Yangtze River. Moreover, after these ancient corpses mysteriously moved hundreds of meters, a series of footprints of different shades can often be found behind them in the mud... In the waters of the old Yangtze River, especially in spring and summer, there will be many swimmers who are bizarrely drowned. Generally speaking, most people who dare to swim wild in the big rivers have excellent water skills on weekdays. Even if they are physically weak, they should be able to support them and call for help twice. But what is strange is that these drowned people often sank to the bottom of the river at the very beginning, and it seems that there is a huge and mysterious force from the bottom of the water that suddenly pulls them into the abyss of death. According to some people who escaped by chance, when they were swimming in the middle of the river, it seemed that a hand suddenly stretched out from the water, grabbed your feet and dragged you down until you drowned.Every year, people drown everywhere, and the old people say that this is caused by "kappa".In this regard, no one can give an accurate statement. However, I heard from the knowledgeable older generation that most of the people who died in the Yangtze River died too miserably, with resentment accumulated in their bodies, and they had to find someone to "replace their life" before they would re-enter the cycle of reincarnation, so they always wandered in the Yangtze River. At the bottom, waiting for an opportunity to drag people into the river. According to the elders, it is not the ancient corpses that are really evil, but the iron coffins, copper monkeys, iron sedan chairs and other old objects carried on the ancient corpses or in their arms. creepy stuff. For this kind of thing, ordinary corpse hunters can't do anything at all, and they may even sink themselves.If you want to salvage these extremely evil things, you can only ask for help from the Jiang Gui in the Hunan and Hubei area. The so-called Jianggui does not refer to the real water ghost, but the name of the elders in the Yangtze River for a group of hereditary "Xu surname" corpse hunters in the Hunan and Hubei regions.The origin of this group is beyond investigation, and it is said that it appeared as early as the Western Han Dynasty.There have always been many different versions about the origin. Among them, there are two versions that are the most weird. One is said to be from an ancient tribe deep in a mountain in the Sanjiangyuan area. Few people know about their origins. They only know that their whereabouts are secretive and their style is different from ordinary people. They have been living in the ancient Yangtze River for thousands of years. What is hard to find in the heart, rarely appears in front of people.Another theory is that it is an unknown Taohe Doumen sect formed by a small number of people with the same surname along the Yangtze River. But even those who have lived in the old Yangtze River all their lives, most of them don't know much about this family. It is said that these descendants surnamed Xu are different from ordinary people. The reason why they don't appear in front of others is to protect a big secret in their tribe.These people with the surname Xu have a very special physique. They have always been afraid of the sun, and most of them only act in the dark or in rainy days.According to legend, the ancestors of the Xu family were Yin soldiers left in the world when "Yin soldiers borrowed the way", so they were born with a pair of strange "Yin eyes", able to see many things that ordinary people cannot see, even at a glance. To the iron corpse hidden in the muddy river, and the resistance to the ancient corpse in the water has also been greatly strengthened. They seem to have a natural resistance to any evil Gu insects.It can even be said that they are inextricably linked with those evil things in the ancient Yangtze River. Rumor has it that smearing their blood on the magic weapon can drive away evil spirits and avoid insects, so that no evil spirits can get close to them. Moreover, according to some creepy rumors, these Xu surnames do not intermarry with outsiders at all, and strictly implement some mysterious rituals that are not humane.And from the few words that have been handed down, the ancientness and strangeness of these rituals have long been beyond the imagination of outsiders.The person surnamed Xu seems to have concealed a certain identity all his life.When they died, they would be divided into five horses by the tribe before encoffining, then sealed in iron coffins, and sank into five different waters of the Yangtze River. It is said that someone once salvaged a rusty iron coffin from the bottom of the Yangtze River, and sealed it with molten iron, as if to prevent the contents from escaping. Big difference. It's just that the iron coffin that was opened at the beginning seemed to faintly reveal some horrifying weirdness, and the things inside seemed to be—— Not people.In other words, not ordinary people. Later, for some reason, there was no further text on this matter.The people who salvaged the iron coffin and opened it all died strangely, and it is said that the death was very strange and bizarre. It seems that some kind of extremely mysterious and terrifying power cut off the whole clue in order to cover up some kind of secret.有人说，这些人打开了铁棺材，发现了某个难以想象的可怕秘密，纷纷以诈死来脱身，更有人来说，这些人早就被许姓部族的人灭了口，那族的秘密是沾染不得的，总之，是众说纷纭。这个秘密便永远成了一个传说，没有人知道是真是假。 直到今日，长江一带的人仍然怀疑着这一切。许姓人的来历太过离奇和古怪，他们的来历十分古老，但千百年来不与外人通婚却没有灭绝，这些人说是沿着长江从三江源大山深处来的大族，但却查不到丝毫关于其中的线索，这些人就像是忽然有一天从地底下冒出来的一般，没有人知道这些许姓人到底想要干什么。 还有，他们死后的仪式是如此诡异和可怕，每一个入殓的人都被人分尸，又以铁水封棺，沉入老长江滚滚浑浊的河水中，难道是一种古老的仪式？还是说，他们真正的目的，是想要防止什么东西跑出来吗？就像是传闻中的那样，这些许姓人根本就不是人，他们在死后，尸体会产生某些极为可怕甚至是毛骨悚然的变化吗？ 当然了，这也都是后话了。 毕竟，凡是和老长江沾得上边的东西，再怎么邪性都很正常，何况是一个来历莫测的神秘族群呢。 ... 不知不觉，我们进入插队的那个长江古渡口已经过去了两三个月的时间。骤然来到这么一片陌生的土地，城里来的知青们总是有些不适应，尤其是当刚进山时的那种兴奋感和新奇感都已经被消磨干净之后，那种枯燥的氛围也就日益浓厚起来。 我所在的古渡口人均土地占有面积极低，几十户人家总共也只有巴掌大的地方能够开垦。 临近秋天，除了在那几亩贫瘠的荒地上种些日常的口粮之外，村子里有些岁数的大老爷们也都行动了起来，磨刀霍霍，擦亮猎枪，上好膛，一个个成群结队地进山打猎。剩下的女人们也不闲着，织补好去年闲置的渔网，等待家里的男人们回来后，到古渡口的江心去撒上几网子。 现在正值夏秋交换的季节，天气凉爽，正是捕猎的好时节，山里的狍子、野山鹿、锦鸡、山猪、地老鼠，甚至是黑熊瞎子，经过春夏两季的育养，也都到了膘肥体壮，最有油水的时候。 还有古渡口的江面底下，都是一水儿的黄黑色。 到了时下的季节，古渡口周边的江面上水流湍急，尤其是江域中心的区域，那里的水深，还存在暗流，人一进去，水性差点的就直接没影了，所以也被称为“水底捞”。意为是水性再好的人进入其中，都会被隐藏在江底深处的水鬼给一把捞走。 不过，也就是在这极深的水下，才隐藏着最为肥硕的鱼类，草鲢子、大白鱼、长江大鲤鱼、黑江头等无数深水生物，其中不乏有能把人生生从岸上拖入水中的几米长的大鱼。至于大鳖、巨龟、巨型的螃蟹虾类等，更是不知道有多少潜藏在一片水草茂盛、混沌不堪的江底深处。 和我一起进山的几个知青，眼巴巴地见着村子里的各家各户抽调出最有经验的猎手，牵着家里养的极为凶悍的土狗，雄赳赳，气昂昂地进山去。心里急得抓痒挠腮，却也知道自己这些人进山打猎是一点戏都没有了。 一是由于上山打猎是个技术活，不是是个人就能够干的，深山里上了年纪的老猎人对于危险有一种天然的预知感，我们这群自幼在城里长大的瓜娃子进去也只能够帮倒忙。 其二，我们这群知青，虽然到这古渡口插队才不过半年，但已经将这山沟沟里搅得鸡飞狗跳，乱成了一锅粥，所以老村支书在村大会上已经重点点名，让我们几个城里来的后生晚辈老老实实地待在村里，别再惹出什么乱子来了。否则，耽误了秋季打猎的大好时节，众人没有吃食过冬，那种违反了“革命大生产”的责任谁也担待不起。 不过，村里的男人们基本上都上山打猎去了，只留下一摊子的老弱妇孺，让我们几个大龄男青年整日地在村里转悠，游手好闲着实也影响不好。 所以，在进山的前一天，老村支书郑重地找我们谈话，用一种援引毛主席最高指示的语气对我们说：“娃子们，根据最高领导的指示，大家天南海北聚在一起……那个，那个一定要一切活动听组织，在这村子里我最大，你们就要听领导的安排嘛！ “这不，村子里的猎户都投入了赶冬荒这场无产阶级革命的大斗争中去了，村子里剩下的都是老弱女幼，所以，留下你们这些个知青，就是为了守着村子。半夜里，千万别叫夜猫子、黑熊瞎子之类的野兽摸进了村子。为了确保安全，那个，那个我决定，你们这些知青留下五六个巡视村子的安全，顺便也帮助帮助村子里日常垦荒，修补渔网，这也算是为无产阶级革命斗争作出了应有的贡献……” 老村支书越说越高兴，越说越来劲，最后似乎是想起了什么，才板起脸对我们说：“至于林二八和三胖子两个人，这些知青娃子里就数你们两个最会惹事，胆子也最大，留在这里不知道又会惹出什么乱子，这次就让李家的么伢子栓子带你们俩去东山上看义庄去，正好锻炼锻炼你们两个的胆子，也给看义庄的王老跛子带去口粮……我，我可告诉你俩，别再给老子惹事了，上次你们把张婶家的那只不下蛋的老母鸡偷烤了吃，老子还没找你们算账呢，知道不？” 眼看着老村支书为了剔除我和三胖子这两个害群之马，甚至连我们以前的斑斑劣迹都拿来清算了，我就知道，看来在眼前的问题上已经没有了调和的余地。 所以也只能在其他几名知青默哀的眼神中，和三胖子一起应下来上东山看守义庄的事情。 从村子东边的那条小路一直向东面，穿过终年奔涌不息的古渡口上百米江面，在古渡口外的青龙山下就分了茬。 一条继续转向东南，就会绕过山崖，和几十里地的山城小道连成了一起。而另外一条，则是沿着一条蜿蜒曲折的狭窄的怪石小路，背对着古渡口的方向向山上行走，一道陡峭的山道就伫立在眼前。因为和长江古渡口连成了一线，貌似蜿蜒流转的长江龙脉偶然扭动抬起的狰狞头颅一般，再加上山上众多常年青柏的植被，所以就被当地人称为“青龙山”。 这座长江古渡口边上的山峰平地而起，海拔虽然不高，但是山势却异常险峻。 黑褐色的坚硬岩石嶙峋起伏，覆盖着常绿的青柏植被，宛如一道天堑一般高高地耸立在茫茫的长江岸线上。山上没有一家农户，也没有什么大型的野兽出没，就算是平常村子里的人也极少到这儿来，都传说这山上有什么古怪，只是不知道在什么时候，在青龙山的半山腰上建有一座义庄。 和其它地方的义庄不同，青龙山上的义庄应该算是长江古渡口中的一大怪。 义庄的建造时间已经难以考究，据说已经有上百年的时间了，战争时期曾经收纳过众多因战乱而死亡的尸体。只是因为后来死人越来越多，甚至连义庄都装不下了，为了防止瘟疫之类的传染病大规模爆发，就统一地就地掩埋在这青龙山上。 所以直到现在，还能够看得到在义庄附近，那参差不齐、密密麻麻的老坟，都是当年在战乱中死去的没名没姓的孤魂野鬼！ 常年看管义庄的人是一个上了年纪的老瘸子，据说是姓王，附近古渡口的许多老人都不太清楚他的来历，只知道打他们记事起，这王老跛子就在那青龙山上看守义庄了。而且因为某些不足与外人道的原因，古渡口的居民基本上都对这常年看守义庄的老瘸子抱有深深的尊敬和畏惧，并且把义庄所在的区域人为地划分为当地的禁区，经常嘱咐自家的小孩没事不要靠近青龙山的范围。 我们这些个知青下乡之后，也曾经被村里的老人这么告诫过，至于继续深问其中有什么原因，村里的老人们也只不过叹了口气，脸上的神情很是古怪！ 只是说，这青龙山上有些邪气！ 当地人似乎都对于青龙山、义庄，乃至于王老跛子有着深深的不可言喻的忌惮，他们好像都在害怕着什么。就连一直大大咧咧，具有东北人豪爽性格的老村支书，一听到青龙山这三个人，都立刻像是换了一个人似的，沉下脸来，深深地告诫我们不要瞎琢磨。 日子久了，连我们这些城市里上山下乡的知识青年们似乎都受到了感染，一个个都对于青龙山抱有了几分警惕和不安。 这一次，难道是太阳打西边出来了？老村支书竟然会叫我和三胖子去山上看守义庄，不知道是打的什么主意，突然间，我的心上涌起了一丝不怎么好的预感。 随着夜幕降临，古渡口边上的渔民都开始晾晒渔网，逐渐返回家中，四下里显得冷冷清清的。 从古渡口向南延伸出一条小路，能够看到一里地之外在黑色夜幕下影影绰绰的鱼排和晾晒渔网的搭杆，使得四周的环境更显阴气逼人，让人走在河岸边都格外地感到一种莫名的阴冷！ 紧挨着长江古渡口，我们一行人大包小包地拎着东西，里面都是些口粮之类的东西，是来时，老村支书特意嘱咐我们给那义庄的看守人王老跛子带去的。 我们这一行人一共四个人，一女三男，除了我和三胖子两个人是城里上山下乡来的知青外，另外一男一女则是村子里和我们同龄的本地年轻人。 那一男一女除了之前老村支书叫给我和三胖子引路的李家的栓子外，还有村支书自家的闺女“小梅”，梳着时下里最流行的大辫子，一身洗得有些发白的土布衫虽然宽大，明显是父辈的衣服改来的，但还是遮盖不住逐渐发育的身材，惹到同行的三胖子忍不住咽了咽口水。 栓子的水性极好，而且又认识路，本来是给我们引路的最佳人选。 而小梅就是纯粹自己硬要跟来的，这女娃子胆子极大，曾经一个人带着猎枪和狗上山追过熊瞎子。村里的男人都进山去了，也就没人能够管得住她了。这一次一听到我和胖子要上青龙山看义庄，这小妮子立刻就兴奋起来了，叫嚷着要跟着一起去。我们也拗不过她，也就让她偷偷地跟来了。 其实，就这么一路上，有一个正值青春的少女跟着，也不会显得那么无聊。 而且，就我和三胖子心里那点小九九来说，这次老村支书派我们两个人去看义庄，明显是公报私仇，谁叫三胖子这吃货嘴馋，偷了村支书家刚抱窝的母鸡窝里的鸡蛋被这老棒子逮着了，没有治我们一个“偷社会主义鸡蛋”的罪名就不错了，让我们去青龙山看义庄显然是想要治一治我和三胖子这两个知青中的害群之马，杀杀我们的胆量。 这我们也就认了，强龙压不住地头蛇，反正现在拐了老村支书家的闺女一起上山，等着老棒子从山上打猎回来，看看他是一个什么表情。 三胖子叫陈建国，这小子虽然一身肥膘子肉，看起来憨厚老实的模样，其实肚子里蔫坏，这次拐带梅子上山的主意就是他想出来的。 我和这胖子从小就是死党，一起在一个军属大院里长大，父辈都是团级的军队干部，只是文革时期直接给打成了右派，现在还在牛棚里劳动改造着呢！我们哥俩也算是难兄难弟了，家里的成分都不太好，就连插队都被分配到同一个地方。所以村子里平常里有什么风吹草动，基本上就可以认定是我们兄弟两个鼓弄出来的了。 我们沿着长江古渡口一直向前走，出了几里地，游目四顾，远处的浑浊不堪的河岸边，一块被涨潮时江水冲出来的平滩上，隐隐有屋舍阡陌存在。 一眼望过去，大概也就是几户人家，在草棚子搭着的房屋前后，都是竹竿搭着晾晒的渔网，江岸边的浅滩上，还有几艘小渔船停靠着。 长居住在江水边的人们，几百年来就是依靠捕鱼而生，只是现在已经是黄昏夜幕，再出水捕鱼并不安全，所以在古渡口周边的几家渔户都收拾好渔网等工具，回家搂着婆娘睡觉去了。 古渡口的岸边显得更加的冷清和寂静！ 只是却急坏了我们这一行人，青龙山就在这长江古渡口的对面，要想去义庄，就必须坐船过河，要是今天赶不过去，我们难道还眼巴巴地回去？ “这下可就麻烦啦！四下里可没有渔船了啊。”无奈地摸了摸下巴，我没奈何地冲着三胖耸耸肩。 梅子说不着急，先再找找，或许还有捕鱼刚回来的船，能够搭我们一程。 几个人又朝着四下里望了一会，三胖子首先发出嘿嘿的得意的笑，他指着数百米外，隔着一片被山峰阴影遮盖住的水域，一条孤零零的带着乌篷的小船就摇摇晃晃地停在那里，显然是刚刚靠岸。 我们大喜过望，连忙连拉带拽地跑了过去，走到跟前，才终于看清，那是一个极简陋的木板子拼成的小船。似乎是已经极为老旧，连木榫的连接处都长满了青苔，在江水的冲刷下，不住地微微摇晃，让人很害怕它在下一秒就分崩离析，解体成木板子。