Chapter Five: The Bride of the River God
After sending a distress signal to Luxianbei through the d*ath-Owl Badge, Du Sixian got out of the car and arranged the talismans she had brought from the equipment department around the vehicle, ensuring they were all in place. She then refilled the magazine of her handgun, feeling slightly more at ease before returning to the car.
The night in the mountains was very quiet, so quiet that one could hear various subtle sounds—the trickling black water sounded like someone plucking strings, the evening wind rustling dry leaves resembled a flute, and there were distant echoes that sounded like someone drumming.
Not knowing if it was her imagination, Du Sixian felt that the myriad of sounds intertwined, as if someone were playing music for a theatrical performance.
Then.
All sounds vanished in an instant, and a large ship glowing with a terrible red light suddenly appeared on the river.
Such a ship should not be seen in this small river, nor should it exist in this world, Du Sixian thought.
Because it was a vessel burned for the dead, because it was a boat made of white paper…
————
Just when the grass hat urban legend was halfway through, Old Master Beard suddenly seemed to think of something, his small green bean-like eyes lighting up slightly.
“I know! It’s the River God getting married! That girl has encountered the River God’s marriage!”
“The River God getting married?” Luxianbei frowned, “Is it the kind of marriage that forces girls to jump into the river, as the legends say?”
The water resources in Huacheng were always abundant, with rivers crisscrossing everywhere. In ancient times, due to frequent river course changes and flooding, humans believed such disasters were caused by the River God, leading to a long-standing reverence for him.
Even though Luxianbei had lived on Mudan Street his whole life, he had heard various versions of the River God’s marriage stories told by elderly storytellers in tea houses.
In those stories, the River God, from a certain perspective, was quite pitiful; in the end, he would always be defeated by justice-driven companions who smashed his dog head and took away his wife, returning to the village to lead a happy life.
However, being pitiful did not mean he deserved sympathy.
Such actions were no different from human trafficking.
The River God kidnapped young girls, and it was unlikely he did so to secretly sponsor their education and cultivate them into useful members of society, Luxianbei thought.
“Do you know about this River God marriage situation?” Luxianbei asked Old Master Beard, “Could you elaborate?”
Old Master Beard cupped his hands in acknowledgment, saying, “Your Honor, there has been a saying circulating around here that every three years, the River God would ride on a large ship along the river; sometimes it’s a white boat, and sometimes a red boat.”
“The white boat is fine; it represents that the River God wants offerings. Villagers just need to provide enough livestock as sacrifices. But the red boat is trouble; it signifies the River God wants to marry and requires several unmarried young girls. If the offerings do not satisfy him, he will cause floods.”
“However, I have only heard of these legends; I have never seen one, after all, Huacheng hasn’t flooded for nearly a century.”
“To hell with feudal superstitions! This River God marriage truly harms people!” Mangpu said angrily, “Calamity Lord, you must teach him a good lesson!”
Luxianbei glanced sideways at Mangpu, “…”
Is it inappropriate for an urban legend to say such things?
However…
If I could handle it, I’d naturally teach him a good lesson. Such unlawful and chaotic behavior, even if I agreed, the civil affairs bureau and the ‘Republic Marriage Law’ would not!
Luxianbei thought and then inquired, “By the way, since the River God’s marriage only requires young girls, why have villagers from Baiyanzi Village gone missing?”
“Could it be that this River God hasn’t taken a wife in nearly a century and is resorting to marrying the entire village out of desperation?”
What does this count as? The anger of a hundred-year-old single dog?
“This…” Old Master Beard hesitated for a moment and bowed deeply to Luxianbei, “Sorry, Your Honor, that is all I know; I dare not presume on other matters.”
Luxianbei, “…”
With hundreds of people missing at once, the matter is likely more than just the River God’s marriage; there may be other reasons involved.
If it were solely a marriage, it would be bad enough if the male was not spared; after all, times have changed, and there are many ‘male mothers’ around. Why can’t the River God marry a few male spouses too?
But to not spare the elderly and children is truly too much.
Luxianbei thought to herself, glancing at the grass hat urban legend by her side, eagerly awaiting a reward. She furrowed her brow slightly and rummaged through her belongings, pulling out a core of the urban legend, breaking it in half and presenting one half in front of it.
Seeing that the grass hat urban legend had provided useful information to Luxianbei, the surrounding little urban legends were instantly stirred up, chattering about what they knew.
“Calamity Lord, I have intelligence!”
“Speak!”
“I know that Widow Li from Baiyanzi Village goes to Old Man Wang’s house every night to sleep!”
Luxianbei, “…”
“I also have information! I know that last month the whole village had diarrhea because Zhang Doudan accidentally spilled medicine for curing constipation at the village well.”
Luxianbei, “…”
“And, and, Ma Laosan and his goat…”
“Enough!” Luxianbei interrupted, holding her forehead.
From the babbling of the little urban legends, she could tell that in this village, there were not many serious people, just a lot of odd behavior.
Yet, out of so much information, none were useful. Continuing to listen would only waste time; she might as well think of a way herself.
At that moment, the grass hat urban legend, having just consumed half of the legend’s core, weakly spoke again.
“Calamity Lord, I have yet another piece of intelligence to share…”
“Another?” Luxianbei frowned at the grass hat urban legend, “Why didn’t you mention it earlier?”
“This, this…” the grass hat urban legend stammered, “I wanted to earn another reward.”
Quite clever… Luxianbei rolled her eyes, “Speak, and if it’s useful, the reward is yours.”
“Mm mm!” the grass hat urban legend answered eagerly, “Before that large ship appeared, I heard someone singing a play.”
“Singing a play? What was it about?” Luxianbei asked.
“About what? It’s hate, pure hate; I couldn’t quite understand it…” the grass hat urban legend replied.
Upon hearing this, Old Master Beard’s eyes brightened again, interjecting, “Speaking of this, it seems there was also a performance in Baiyanzi Village a few days ago.”
“Oh?” Luxianbei narrowed her eyes, deep in thought.
Could this performance be related to the disappearance of the villagers and Du Sixian?
It seems she must first understand the origins of this play.
Coincidentally, among her followers, isn’t there a famous actress from the Republican period in Huacheng? Meng Meng should know something.
Thinking of this, Luxianbei immediately focused her mind and connected her consciousness with the follower mark, sending a message to Meng Meng.
While at it, she also used the follower mark to check Du Sixian’s location, but the result was the same as when she came—nothing.
It seemed a powerful force was interfering with Luxianbei.
————
While waiting for Meng Meng’s response, Luxianbei slowly walked toward the theater stage in the empty square of Baiyanzi Village.
Crossing what seemed to be a dead village, she soon saw the eerie stage, partly suspended over the river, and the scattered clothing by the benches in front of it.
Reclaiming her gaze from the stage and clothing, she circled the empty space, and under a wall, she discovered a shattered camera.
Luxianbei picked up the camera fragments in her hand, carefully examining them, and furrowed her brows.
She saw that the camera fragments were covered in countless bite marks, as if they had been gnawed—these bite marks were blunt, not from dogs or cats, but more like humans.
Unfortunately, if the camera had been preserved in better condition, she might have seen what it captured. Luxianbei thought that perhaps this camera was destroyed because it recorded something important.
As she pondered, she received a response from Meng Meng.
“Reporting back, Master, I know what play that was; it was ‘The Ten Hatreds’ from ‘The Girl Who Rescues Herself.'”
“It’s a very moving play about Su San, dressed in bl**d-red criminal clothes, who is wrongfully accused and sentenced to d*ath. As she is being escorted for a retrial, onlookers, seeing her beauty despite her d*ath row outfit, become curious and approach to ask, so she weeps and tells of her tragic fate.”
“However, the play doesn’t end here; there’s still the story of how Su San’s grievances were righted. When we used to perform this play in our theater, we usually performed both acts together, but the old owner claimed that ending it after one act without concluding the story was ominous—it would attract bad things.”
So that’s how it is?
Could it be that the villagers of Baiyanzi Village inadvertently invited the River God by committing some taboo while performing this play?
Luxianbei pondered and suddenly had an idea, asking Meng Meng, “Meng Meng, one more thing. Have you heard of anything related to the River God’s marriage?”
“Oh my! Master, are you saying someone sang this play by the river but didn’t perform the next act?” Meng Meng exclaimed, “That’s bound to cause trouble!”
Luxianbei was taken aback; it was the first time she had seen Meng Meng act like a young girl, shouting, and found it oddly adorable.
“What’s wrong with singing this play by the river?”
“Master, you may not know,” Meng Meng explained, “When I was young, before being sold to the theater, a neighboring village experienced this.”
“At night, the young girls from the neighboring village cried out, so loudly that we could hear them from our village. It was particularly frightening, but a few days later, the crying stopped, and on that day, we heard them playing gongs and drums to sing a play.”
“When I was little, I didn’t know what they were singing about, but when I got into the theater and recalled it, I realized they were performing a play, one that was extremely unlucky, meant to invite the River God to take away his bride.”
Luxianbei furrowed her brows and mused, “So you’re saying the urban legend incident in Baiyanzi Village was triggered by their reckless singing of plays?”
“I can’t say for sure,” Meng Meng replied, “But if it’s as you say, the likelihood should be very high.”
“…”
After listening to Meng Meng, Luxianbei pondered for a moment, saying seriously, “Meng Meng, do you know how to sing the plays that summon the River God?”
“Of course!” Meng Meng replied confidently, “In those years when business was bad at the theater, we sometimes sang mourning plays at funerals!”
“Wonderful!” Luxianbei nodded, “Have you heard of ‘Xianren Tiao’ (Fairy Jumps)?”
“Ah?” Meng Meng paused, surprised, “Master, are you not planning to go yourself to be the River God’s bride?!”
“You think too much; of course, it’s not me!” Luxianbei replied, “Don’t you know me? How could I do something so dangerous myself?”
Even simply confronting the so-called River God would require plenty of preparation; she’d need to find a dozen or so of Huacheng’s strongest urban legends for assistance, let alone being a bride!
What if, accidentally, the River God captured her and dragged her into the river? Wouldn’t that mean getting wet and losing her virtue? Luxianbei thought.
“Then…” Meng Meng was at a loss for words, her voice suddenly sweetening as she added, “Master, you wouldn’t want me to…”
“No, no, I had no intention of going against you, I just meant that the River God is often mysterious. Going might mean not returning. If I don’t come back, you mustn’t forget me, and…”
Why hadn’t I noticed before that Meng Meng knew so many plays?
Wait, she was originally an actress; isn’t it normal to know many plays?
Luxianbei mentally scolded herself and interrupted Meng Meng, “Alright, stop the pity party. You’re not going, I have someone else in mind, so hurry and prepare to showcase your talents!”
As for who would be the bride, I already have someone picked out… Luxianbei silently added in her heart.
————
That night, atop a hotel in Huacheng Financial Building, in a certain suite.
A goblet filled with red wine quietly sat on the desk while Xing Yuan was holding a comic book of “I Really Want to Tell You,” studying it intently.
Just then, the golden d*ath-Owl Badge on the desk began to vibrate lightly. Following the sound, she touched the badge with her fingertip and heard Luxianbei’s invitation to be the bride.
She furrowed her brow slightly, just as she was about to refuse, Luxianbei said, “Sister, don’t refuse yet. Don’t you want to confirm Water Brother’s feelings?”
“When I tell Water Brother about this, if he comes, then he still has feelings for you. If he doesn’t come, then he has let go. Knowing his feelings, won’t it be easier for you to formulate your future strategies?”
“This is a rare opportunity! Besides, aside from that, investigating the urban legend incident thoroughly is a responsibility for every operative in your Siye Society, right? Also…”
“Alright, stop right there.” Xing Yuan interrupted, “This time, I’ll help you.”
Although she knew Luxianbei was being cowardly and trying to use her, otherwise, if both were to be brides, why couldn’t Luxianbei go herself?
At her age, she was more suitable to be the bride, right? At her age, it would only be considered a second marriage.
But she still wanted to see how Bai Kai would react in the face of such matters.
————
When Luxianbei sent a message to Bai Kai, he was in a private room in the underground world, surrounded by two alluring matrons, comforting their lonely souls.
The River God truly envied him by name.
Luxianbei could even hear the muffled cries and the heart-wrenching music from his side.
“In my heart, I’ve always regarded you as my brother… I’m sorry, I’ve always kept this from you. If my brother were still alive, boo hoo…”
“Me too, me too! If my sister were still around, she would be about the same age as you…”
“Pfft—!”
Luxianbei couldn’t help but laugh at the words of the two matrons. Just as she was about to tease Bai Kai, she heard a sound of light footsteps, followed by Bai Kai whispering, “Xiao Bei, do you have anything important to say? I’m working here!”
“Water Brother, sorry! I used to think your job was just selling your body; I didn’t expect… pfft, brother and sister, pfft—!”
“Xiao Bei, you don’t understand. The most important aspect of my job is to provide angelic care and comfort to the emotionally wounded ladies; our own feelings are secondary.” Bai Kai explained earnestly.
“I’ve never heard of any angel comforting others by going to their beds.”
“You just don’t understand. Some ladies need angelic care, but some ladies need the devil’s whips.”
“Uh… Is this whip you’re talking about the one I think it is?” Luxianbei asked, puzzled.
“…” Bai Kai was momentarily speechless, pausing for a few seconds before saying, “Xiao Bei, let’s get back to business. Why did you look for me?”
“Oh, just a small matter.” Luxianbei said casually, “I guess you might not be too interested, but I thought it was necessary to tell you anyway.”
“Small matter?” Bai Kai frowned, “Xiao Bei, just tell me directly without any suspense!”
“It’s like this. I heard that the inspector who came down recently is your first love, right?” Luxianbei said nonchalantly.
“Hah! What do you want to say about that dog?” Bai Kai sneered, “I don’t want to know anything about her.”
“Oh, is that so?” Luxianbei responded flatly, “I actually wanted to tell you that I heard from my subordinate little urban legend that she seems to be getting married tonight, but it seems unnecessary now, right?”
“Fine! Then I’ll take my leave!”
“…”
Bai Kai pondered in a complex manner for a moment, “Wait a minute, Xiao Bei, you said she’s getting married tonight? What time, where, and with whom?!”
“Uh, I’m just asking; there’s no other meaning…”
“…”
Luxianbei pretended to hesitate for a moment before saying, “Water Brother, how about we just forget it? It’s her big day; I’m worried you might make a scene. After all, she’s your superior, and one can’t always avoid each other.”
“Furthermore, she isn’t a good woman, so let’s give each other a chance.”
“Xiao Bei, you’re right, but…” Bai Kai said with a hint of melancholy, “I just want to look, just at a distance.”
Hearing Bai Kai’s suddenly sorrowful tone, Luxianbei was taken aback.
In her impression, Bai Kai had always been lively like an untamed husky; she had never seen him experience grief.
“…”
Now, it seems like I might have crossed a line.
Luxianbei thought to herself and told Bai Kai the location of the wedding, “The place is at…”
