Chapter 3 Chapter Three

There is a saying about patting the coffin. Generally, it takes seven consecutive pattings, which is called patting the coffin to shock ghosts. There are various rules and taboos in both worlds of Yin and Yang, and ghosts will not easily hurt people.People are afraid of evil spirits, and ghosts are also afraid of evil people. Generally, those who fight for money are born to eat the food of the dead, wandering in the yin and yang worlds, and naturally carry a fierce aura on their bodies, otherwise, how can they restrain the vicious ghosts? Ordinary people would burn a stick of incense long ago, kowtow three times to the coffin, and then leave quietly when encountering such an evil thing today. Under such circumstances, of course they can be saved.But because the monkey was already decapitated, and if old man Xu and Niu Da didn't do this kind of thing, they would die together sooner or later, so old man Xu was determined today to fight the evil ghost in the coffin.

Take a picture of the coffin, that is to give a warning. "Bang bang bang—" Seven times in a row, the old man Xu slapped the coffin heavily, which only shocked people's hearts. It seems that old man Xu vaguely heard someone in the coffin groaning softly for a while, as if he was frightened or in pain, he couldn't help crying out. Old man Xu's heart trembled. He didn't think that the low moan just now came from his own illusion? "Niu Da, burn the incense!" Old man Xu shouted. "Okay!" Niu Da hurriedly agreed, took out the incense that he had prepared a long time ago from the bag, lit it with a torch, and handed it to Old Man Xu.

The old man Xu took the incense, sandwiched it between the ring finger and the middle finger of his left hand, tapped his forehead once, and then bowed down to the coffin, muttering in his mouth: "Today, I, Old Man Xu, are here for the sake of life. Forced, I have to bother the distinguished guests and borrow some yellow and white things, and if they become prosperous in the future, they will definitely burn incense to the distinguished guests!" This combination of hardness and softness, slapping the coffin to shake the ghost, is a warning to the evil ghost inside, today he wants to borrow some yellow and white things, if not, he has to borrow, otherwise, he will not hesitate to destroy the coffin and injure its remains.Then in the incense burning ceremony, explain the origin, and at the same time make a promise of incense for the future.

After the worship, the old man Xu handed the incense to Niu Da, and Niu Da offered the incense in front of the coffin.Then the two joined forces and pushed open the coffin lid. Just as old man Xu expected, the coffin lid was not crucified, so they pushed the coffin lid away without any effort. Niu Da held up the flashlight and pointed it down. Inside the coffin, gold and jade were dazzling, and in the middle was a delicate gold silk embroidered with gold thread, wrapping a corpse layer by layer.The pattern embroidered on the gold silk was also a bit weird, the old man Xu had touched gold for many years, and his eyesight was extraordinary, he couldn't tell that the gold silk was embroidered with the above things, but he felt that the golden light was dazzling.

Probably due to being in the dark for a long time without much contact with the air, the golden silk is as brilliant as new.But old man Xu was very clear in his heart that although the golden silk looked like it was new, in fact, after the coffin lid was opened and exposed to the sun, it would turn into ashes and completely rot in a few days. Nothing can stand the passage of time. Since the remains were covered with golden silk covering the head and face, nothing could be seen, and old man Xu couldn't be sure whether the owner of the tomb was male or female, old or young... This way of encoffining also made old man Xu feel a little strange, but what attracted his attention more at this time was the burial vessels made of pure gold that shone with golden light around the remains.

In ancient times, those famous families and the high-ranking people of rich and noble families were extremely particular about their funeral, and the gold and silver objects buried in the funeral were also very particular. Old man Xu just took a look at it, and he knew in his heart that these gold and silver utensils were specially crafted It was used for the burial of the tomb owner after his death. Generally speaking, from the gold and silver utensils buried in the funeral, we can also see the identity, fame and title of the owner of the tomb during his lifetime.But at this moment, old man Xu couldn't care less about researching this. He immediately stepped on his feet and wanted to grab the nearest pure gold plate.

But the coffin didn't seem that big, but there was a palace bed underneath, which made the coffin too high. Now, even if old man Xu put his feet on it, he still couldn't reach the inside of the coffin. Niu Da gestured at old man Xu, signaling him to go in.Old man Xu thought about it, there was no other way, he immediately jumped into the coffin, took out the snakeskin bag he had prepared long ago from the bag, and stuffed the buried gold and silver utensils into the snakeskin bag one by one. Those gold and silver utensils were beautifully made, old man Xu counted carefully while stuffing them into the snakeskin bag, there were eighteen pieces in total, moreover, most of these gold and silver utensils were inlaid with precious gemstones of various colors.Old man Xu was overjoyed, he forgot about the monkey's tragic death for the time being, and after making such a fortune, he would not have to worry about it in this life.

Waiting to put all the 18 pieces of gold and silver utensils into the snakeskin bag, the old man Xu jumped out of the coffin, his eyes turned, and under the dim beam of the flashlight, it seemed that the head of the remains wrapped in gold and silk was released. Holding an ancient bronze sword with a simple shape, under the ancient sword is a volume of yellowed ancient books. Could it be that the book is the epitaph of the owner of the tomb?Old man Xu knows that epitaphs are all about the life of the tomb owner. Some people like to find someone to write down the epitaph, while others like to engrave all kinds of life on the coffin or the wall of the tomb chamber to form exquisite engravings. The effect is the same anyway. , It is to let future generations remember their "great achievements".

Thinking of this, old man Xu stretched out his hand to get the ancient bronze sword, and at the same time took the curly yellowed ancient book. I don't know the age of the ancient book, and I don't know what material it is made of. The texture is warm and moist, and I don't want paper. After all, if it is paper or bamboo sticks, it may have rotted a long time ago. How can it be preserved well? With the help of the dim beam of the flashlight, Old Man Xu discovered that the ancient book was actually incomplete. When he turned it over, he was so frightened that his liver was torn apart—what kind of epitaph is this?

On the ancient book, there are three big characters written: "The Dragon Burial Art!" The old man Xu only felt a slight tingling pain in his heart, thinking of the blood stains on the wind wall and the headless corpse of the monkey, plus the dragon well lock, I don't know, this tomb is really weird, I'm afraid there really are some monsters . Being like them, I am not so afraid of those dirty things, but I am afraid of some unknown monsters. Once they encounter them, they don't even know how they will die. Just when the old man Xu was in a daze, suddenly, some liquid splashed on the back of his hand, and it was raining?Old man Xu was dumbstruck instinctively, but then he remembered that he was in the ancient tomb, even if it rained, it wouldn't get wet on his hands?Looking down, the old man Xu was so frightened that he almost lost his wits.

On the back of his hand, there were two spots of bright red blood. For a moment, the old man Xu's whole body was stiff, and after about three or four seconds, he raised his head with difficulty and looked at Niu Da—Niu Da's huge body was still standing there straight, holding his hand. The flashlight, but the head on his neck disappeared... Blood sprayed out, splashed on the ground, and splashed on the bronze servants who carried the coffin... Why is this so, what kind of monster is it that can cut off Niu Da's head silently?He didn't see how the monkey died, but just now Niu Da, who was only two steps away from him, was beheaded by a monster just like that, and he didn't realize it at all? This is completely impossible and totally unreasonable! Old man Xu's heart was beating wildly, and he hurriedly collected himself, looking at the blood on the ground and Niu Da's body without his head, something was wrong—except that Niu Da was missing his head, he remembered it very clearly, Niu Da There must be an ax pinned to his waist... In the originally dead and silent ancient tomb, a gloomy gust of wind blew past. From the door of the tomb, there were heavy footsteps and the sound of iron chains being pulled. It seemed that someone was walking in handcuffs. The old man Xu did not blink Staring at the door of the tomb, a dark ghost, holding a sharp axe, is walking towards the ancient tomb step by step, it is not clear whether it is a human or a ghost... Old man Xu gritted his teeth, and suddenly jumped into the coffin again, then pulled the coffin lid from inside, and closed the coffin with a bang. Doing this seems to be asking for death, but old man Xu knows very well that today he encountered a monster guarding the spirit. Naturally, such monsters cannot be living people, and most of them were used inhumane methods before they were alive. Kill them, and then use the mysterious Gu poison technique to practice coffin-protecting monsters. They are ferocious and fearless, and the only thing they dare not touch is the coffin of the tomb owner. Therefore, he only needs to hide in the coffin, wait for a while, the monster leaves, and he goes out again, and the monster naturally can't do anything to him when he gets outside. The moment the coffin lid was closed, there was darkness all around. The old man Xu lay on the golden silk remains, not daring to move. At the same time, he turned his ears to the outside, trying to hear the movement outside. Helpless, probably because the coffin was well sealed, the old man Xu couldn't hear anything. After about a while, he estimated that it was almost the same. Even when he came out of the coffin, but at this moment, his body Suddenly, he stretched out a pair of extremely cold hands, and hugged him tightly, making him unable to move... The old man Xu was shocked and struggled desperately, but the cold hand tightened more and more tightly, almost breaking his sternum. He wanted to yell loudly, but his throat was hoarse, as if something was blocked, and he couldn't even say a word. Can't call out. There seemed to be a hoarse voice in his ear, talking about something constantly, the old man Xu was in a daze, and he didn't know whether he was dead or alive.I don't know how long it took before Old Man Xu woke up suddenly. Not only was he shocked, but he hurriedly got up, stretched out his hand to push open the coffin lid, and jumped out of the coffin. Not two steps away from the coffin, the headless corpse of Niu Da was still upright. Where are you standing, holding a flashlight in your hand, but the light of the flashlight is becoming more and more dim... The old man Xu only felt the back of his head being heavy and tight. Instinctively, he stretched out his hand to touch it. The next moment, his whole body was icy cold—the back of his head was bulging with a big lump. No, that's not a bag, that's another head. In an instant, the old man Xu was dumbstruck. He knew in his heart that he had let the owner of the tomb use a vicious method to attach it to his head. Don't even think about getting rid of it.No, he didn't have this life anymore, but in a short while, he completely turned into a monster who was neither human nor ghost. Thinking of his wife and children at home, the old man Xu gritted his teeth, tore off the cloth strips from his clothes, covered his head and face firmly, touched a few pieces of gold from the coffin, and stuffed them together with the dragon burial formula and the ancient bronze sword into the coffin. in the bag. At the same time, the old man Xu was shocked to find that his fingers were like chicken feet, pitch black, and there were terrifying snake scales, which was shocking... In the originally dead and silent ancient tomb, there was another gust of gloomy wind, and there seemed to be a desolate cry from someone indistinctly.Old man Xu didn't dare to stay any longer, he stumbled and walked towards the door of the tomb... When our team of archaeologists arrived at Huangtu Village, it was already sunset, and the setting sun in late autumn spread like blood on the turbid Yellow River. And what unfolds in front of our eyes is a desolate and desolate place. The development track of civilization seems to be stuck here. The autumn wind whines and rolls up the yellow sand all over the sky. Blood, weeping. Looking up, on the hills not far away, amidst the yellow leaves, there is a broken loess wall, with some traces of human habitation remaining. When Fatty Hu saw our group coming, he stood on the legendary ghost beach and waved vigorously at me, shouting at the top of his voice, "Boss Xu, come here quickly, there is a big discovery! Why did you wait until today? " Even Professor Qian expressed his excitement and greeted me loudly—it seems that this time the archaeological excavation in Huangtu Village really made a major breakthrough. I agreed, and looking far into the distance, as far as I could see, there were yellow sand shoals, and the Yellow River not far away was chaotic and rushing past.Looking up at the mountains in the distance - this place is surrounded by mountains and rivers, where the water of the Yellow River gathers and circles, and then rushes away. Is this terrain... the legendary "Dragon Eye"? Longan, I shivered involuntarily. Could it be that this place is—the place in that "story"? The past, which had been dusty for many years, appeared in my mind little by little, as clear as my own experience—— That was a story my grandma told me when I was young. The story took place before liberation. After nearly a hundred years of war in China, there is barrenness everywhere. The big cities are better. Some ordinary rural towns often see bones on the road, hear ghosts crying at night, and all kinds of weird ghost stories. It also spread quietly among the people, causing ordinary people to dare not go out at night. This story happened in a poor mountain village on the bank of the Yellow River. It turned out that there were only fifteen or sixteen families in this small village. Well, some people have long been unable to get along, abandoned their ancestral business, and dragged their children and children into the city to seek a living. As a result, Huangtu Village, which was not very populated, became even more depressed. This day, it was already past ten o'clock in the evening, and the only five or six families left in Huangtu Village also closed their doors early, got into bed early and fell asleep. Although the old man Xu also fell asleep, he couldn’t close his eyes no matter what. Now that his family was so poor that he couldn’t help it, and Huangtu Village was remote, he wanted to find someone to borrow some surplus food, but he couldn’t find anyone—it was good at first, and he was alone. People, just get something, and get rid of it, but since a year ago, when he was fishing on the ghost beach, he rescued a woman who was fleeing famine, and they lived a small life together. The woman is very virtuous, she washes, cooks, and tidies up the house on weekdays, so the old man Xu doesn't need to worry about it, but this year, he encountered a rare 100-year drought, the water of the Yellow River fell all of a sudden, and there was no place to fish ... Originally, the two adults were able to survive by saving food and money, but at the end of this summer, a woman gave old man Xu a baby girl. This kid came at the wrong time!The old man Xu turned over and muttered in his heart, hoping that Niu Da and Hou Zi could find something this time, make such a vote, and then the family would go to a certain way out in the city. Thinking of this, the old man Xu couldn't sleep even more, and he just tossed and turned on the kang for half an hour. At this time, he suddenly heard a sharp knock on the door from outside. In the dark night, it spread far and wide. It even makes people tremble a little. Both the woman and the child were woken up—the child, who was less than two months old, burst into tears with a whoosh. Old man Xu patted the woman, asked her to coax some children, put on a piece of clothing, took out the oil lamp from the stove, blew on the fire and lit the oil lamp, blocked it with one hand, stood at the door and asked :"Who?" "It's me, brother Xu, monkey..." A shrill voice came from the door. Old man Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief, the monkey is back?I don't know if that matter is settled or not?Immediately walked to the wooden door, pulled the latch, and opened the door. On a night in late autumn, a gust of cold wind blew in, making the oil lamp flicker on and off. There were two people standing at the door, one was tall and tall like an iron tower, the other was thin and small, and a bit bulky—it was the size of a monkey and a cow. "Come in!" Old man Xu greeted. Niu strode in, and the monkey closed the door cleverly, shutting out the cold wind and night. The old man Xu took out a bag of dry tobacco, lit it on the oil lamp, lit it, and smoked... "Brother Xu, you are still a treasured sword, and there are indeed goods there!" After the monkey came in, he shrank his head and said directly. The old man Xu didn't answer, he knew better than anyone else whether there was a stock in that place, but the problem was - if someone hadn't occupied such an ancient tomb, it would probably have an extremely powerful anti-theft mechanism. Breaking in, it would definitely be a narrow escape. In their line of work, they wander between Yin and Yang on weekdays, and they have no scruples at all. It's not the first time that Boss Xu, Hou Zi, and Niu Da have cooperated in this job, but they accidentally turned over when they were young. A dirt grave. Originally, none of the three people who had seen the big wind and waves took a bumpkin in their eyes, but in the end, something happened, and the three escaped from death. Don't do such things as moving mountains and unloading mountains... When I was fleeing, I spent a lot of money. Now I am sitting and eating, and naturally it is not as good as a year. No matter whether the old man Xu married a daughter-in-law and added a daughter, he was struggling, even with two bachelors, Hou Zi and Niu Da. It's almost impossible to live. There is no reason for this living person to starve to death. The three of them discussed and decided to find another place to work, and then go to a certain job in the city to support the whole family. Seeking far is worse than being nearby, old man Xu said, right on the ghost beach of the Yellow River, there is an excellent property, taking advantage of the current deserted and deserted village, but there are only five or six families left to talk to. No matter how loud the movement is, don't be afraid. Now, taking advantage of the severe drought in the Yellow River, it is just time to do it.Immediately, the three of them planned and asked old man Xu to guide the specific location. Pick a day and let the two of them step on a line first. This thing is very different from stepping on the green forest. It's just the rules of life for sheep. There is a lot of care in stepping on the line for the money. First, you have to choose a good day. Once you step on the empty line, it is very unlucky.The so-called stepping on the air, of course, does not mean that there are no goods below. Generally, those who specialize in moving mountains and unloading mountains, a pair of tricks are very poisonous. Where there are goods and no goods, even if there are no traces on the ground, it is very secretive. But their eyes. Stepping on the line - the point is to see, has anyone touched the stuff below?Otherwise, it would be a waste of time to work hard to open the robbery hole and let others take the lead, wouldn't it be bad luck? "Brother, no one should have touched that place!" Monkey squatted on a bench, looking at old man Xu and said. Old man Xu nodded, and with a bang of shame, he asked, "What time is it?" Niu Da stomped his feet and said in a low voice: "It's past the second watch, big brother, hurry up if you want to do it, don't be a mother-in-law, wait for such a vote, you can take your sister-in-law and eldest daughter into the city, Some good way out!" Old man Xu didn't say a word, but he felt a little worried. When he narrowly escaped death, the three of them had sworn that they would never fight again in this life. After all, this matter was detrimental to Yin's morality, but now... People in their line of business believed in this very much, and he always felt vaguely uneasy. "Brother, don't hesitate!" Monkey also persuaded, "We have no other skills, if we don't do this, we will die sooner or later!" "Okay, fuck it!" Old man Xu stood up from the bench all of a sudden, pulled out a few bricks from under the stove, found a wooden box, opened the box, and took out all the clothes - ghost blowing lamp , ambergris, candles, Luoyang shovel, etc... "Let's go!" Old man Xu said as he was about to go out, at this moment, the navy blue rag curtain in front of the room moved, and the woman looked at old man Xu with loose hair and tears in her eyes. "Children's mother, go back to sleep, I'll come as soon as I go!" Old man Xu sighed. The woman opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but she didn't say anything after all. Old man Xu thought for a while, looked at the woman and said, "If I can't come back, you can take Niuniu with you and find someone else to live with!" The woman didn't nod or shake her head, but under the dim oil lamp, the teardrops kept rolling down like beads with a broken thread. The monkey felt that before he left the gate, he encountered a yin man crying, (women belong to yin, so they call women yin people), which is very unlucky, but after all, she is the woman of old man Xu, so he can't say anything, but Niu Da , busy persuading a few words. Then, the three of them went out like this. The woman didn't close the door until their backs disappeared into the darkness, turned on the light, and coaxed the child to sleep, but she couldn't fall asleep all night. The old man Xu still didn't come back until the rooster crowed twice. The woman was so worried that she could only get up and wait. The woman once heard the old man Xu say during the discussion that one cannot touch money for money during the day-there has always been a saying that the cock crows and the five drums don't touch gold. Now, it's daylight outside, but old man Xu and Houzi haven't come back yet, could something have happened?The girl, who was less than two months old, cried for no reason for a day. In the end, her voice became hoarse from crying, and she fell asleep drowsily at night. The woman also cried for a day, her eyes hurt from crying. At dusk, she cooked some porridge with wild vegetables and fed her baby. There was a knock at the door. The woman regained her spirits, hurriedly put on her clothes, took out the oil lamp and lit it tremblingly, walked to the door, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Who is it?" The man at the door didn't speak, but knocked on the door a few times, his voice was long and short, quite rhythmic. The woman was overjoyed. Old man Xu used to knock on the door like this when he came back. This was confirmed, and he immediately opened the door—— When the door opened, a gust of cold wind rushed in, and the woman shivered involuntarily. With the dim light of the oil lamp, the woman was overjoyed when she saw old man Xu standing at the door. The cold wind swirls in the darkness, sweeping past, the woman smells a pungent stench, with the smell of rotten sand.The old man Xu's appearance is also a little strange now. The clothes on his body were wet, and there were even drips of sewage, but even so, he found a piece of cloth from nowhere, and wrapped his head tightly - this appearance, really It's a bit of evil.But the woman didn't think much, and was busy calling Old Man Xu to come in. Unexpectedly, old man Xu just stood at the door, slammed a broken bag into the room, turned around and walked outside. "The child is her father!" The woman became anxious immediately, and rushed to chase him out. However, the moment the old man Xu turned around, with the help of the unbearably bright oil lamp in the room, the woman was horrified to find that there was a slap on the head of the old man Xu. Behind the back of the head, there is a big piece protruding from the boss, as if the old man Xu wrapped a huge ball around his head. Such weird things made the woman at a loss for a moment, but seeing that old man Xu was going far away, the woman didn't care to think about it, and hurriedly chased him out, shouting at the top of her throat, "The child's father——" Seeing the woman chasing after him, old man Xu ran even faster. The two of them chased each other and soon reached the bank of the Yellow River. Old man Xu stopped and looked back at the woman. Holding the old man Xu's hand, he said anxiously: "Father, you can't leave me..." The woman only felt the coldness in her hands, and when she looked down, she was frightened out of her wits—Old man Xu's hands were also wrapped with cloth strips, but it was probably not wrapped tightly, and the woman pulled it hard, and it was immediately exposed. And on Old Man Xu's arms, black scales were densely covered, like fish scales, and snake scales... The woman crazily pulled the rag off old man Xu's head, old man Xu pushed the woman to the ground rudely, and ran away, but the woman still saw that old man Xu's face was also covered with terrible scales, It was densely packed, like a ghost... and his body exuded a stench like a rotting corpse. What was even more frightening was that there seemed to be another head behind Old Man Xu's head... This horrifying discovery made the woman fall to the ground, trembling. Waiting for the woman to come back to her senses, she stumbled up from the ground and chased after old man Xu again. Although she was very scared in her heart, even if this man turned into a monster, he was still his man... Although it was a severe drought, the chaotic water of the Yellow River did not completely dry up. Seeing the woman chasing after him, old man Xu fell headlong into the water of the Yellow River. "The child's father—" the woman began to cry hoarsely, but she didn't understand water. Her only hope was that old man Xu could come back, even if he turned into a monster, she would not despise him. The Thief, who had been dry for several months, happened to rain at this time, and the heavy rain poured down on the top of his head. The figure of old man Xu quickly disappeared into the yellow sand and silt. Regardless of the heavy rain, the woman stood by the Yellow River and shouted: "My child's father—" The woman's voice was covered by the sound of wind and rain, and could no longer be heard, leaving only a chaotic piece of yellow sand between the sky and the earth, rushing away—through the blurred rain, a huge object in the mixed Yellow River water suddenly twisted its body and appeared The surface of the water disappeared immediately... The woman stepped on the ghost beach of the Yellow River with a deep foot and a shallow foot, wandering and searching, but the rain did not stop for a moment until the sky was slightly bright, and the water of the Yellow River also rose up, and she cried all night, worrying about the child's woman, Finally stumbled back home. Opening the package that the old man Xu threw to her last, there was a simple bronze sword and a few gold ingots inside. Later, the woman brought the child into the city, and relying on those few gold ingots, she finally brought the child up. That woman is my grandma, and the old man Xu who turned into a monster in my grandma's mouth is my grandpa—grandma always misses grandpa, so I adopted my mother's surname—Xu. When I was a child, I listened to it as a story. When I grew up, I, who had received a modern education, naturally did not believe in such supernatural claims. Until my grandma passed away two years ago, when she was dying, she gave me a rusty ancient bronze sword and this remnant book... No one knows what terrible things happened to grandpa that year, why he turned into such a monster, and no one knows whether Niu Da and the monkey are alive or dead. That volume, called the Dragon Burial Jue, is a feng shui profound art of searching for the dragon and asking the veins. Unfortunately, there is only half of it, and the records in it are even more absurd. I am a student of archaeology, so it is inevitable that I have to deal with some tombs on weekdays, but this is the first time I have actually participated in the excavation, and someone reported that an ancient stone tablet was discovered by the Yellow River, and the relevant state departments attached great importance to it. Professor Qian is an expert in this field, and immediately organized a manpower to come to discover and investigate. I found a local guide hired by Professor Qian and the others, and after asking for a while, I found out that this place was indeed called Ghost Beach many years ago—in this case, isn’t this place exactly the Yellow River Longan? Is it the place where my grandfather robbed the tomb with monkeys and cows? In the end, my grandfather also turned into a monster and died in the Yellow River, but the monkey and Niu Da disappeared?I looked around, trying to find the hole left by my grandpa and the others when they robbed the tomb. Now, I no longer doubt the authenticity of my grandma's story, but I have to guess, what happened to my grandpa that year?Turned into that kind of monster?Or, in the dark, grandma made a mistake? But if grandpa didn't encounter anything, he didn't have to throw himself into the river in the end. After searching for a while on the ghost beach, I didn’t find the stolen hole left by my grandpa and the others. Thinking about it, I’m really stupid—it’s also during the drought, and the longan under the ghost beach only appears. There is a robbery hole, and now it is also filled with the silt in the rolling Yellow River, how can it leave traces?