Merchant of the Underworld

Seeing this, I couldn't help but drink.

It's not that I'm afraid they'll make things difficult for me, but it's hard to refuse their kindness when faced with these cheerful gangsters.

I immediately took the bottle of wine and took a swig, but I almost choked and spit it out. I frowned and then swallowed it!

Not only is this wine highly alcoholic, it is also extremely spicy. Once it entered the throat, it was like swallowing molten molten lava alive, and the internal organs were almost burned.

"Okay!" the old man shouted appreciatively.

"Come on!" The men around him holding wine jars stretched their arms forward and shouted.

This is the second wine ceremony, called Tongxin Wine.

As the saying goes: If you are in the same boat but have different intentions, the water will weigh eight thousand pounds!

It means that if people in the same boat don't work together, once they fall into the water, they will be like a big iron ball weighing 8,000 kilograms tied to their bodies, and they deserve to drown.

This turned out to be an oath made when sailing, but later it turned into a toast, and this one is inevitable!

I endured the spiciness just now and took another sip.

"Smooth winds, smooth waves, good hearts, we have all the wine for you and me!" Everyone drank loudly and took turns lining up, and everyone took a swig.

This is also the last toast.

I wish you a smooth sailing and a fruitful return.

It is said that when Caogang was popular, if anyone dared not to drink this wine, they would immediately throw you into the river to feed the fish.

Of course, it's just a matter of luck now.

They are all people who live in the water, so naturally they will not get into trouble.

Since I’ve had two sips, I still have to drink this last sip, even if I fall drunk and fall unconscious after drinking it!

After finishing this sip of wine, everyone laughed and applauded in unison!

After passing these three levels, they regarded me as one of their own and never saw me again.

But these three sips of wine also gave me a lot of trouble, it was so spicy!

Fortunately, no one will force you to drink again, depending on your drinking capacity.

I sat down in front of the old man and asked them where this came from.

The rule of the Caobang is that you can only ask where you came from, not where you are going.

Because in the early days, there were many water bandits. Once they knew your destination, they would intercept and kill your property along the way. Where you came from was not that important. On the contrary, you can also ask each other about past incidents.

The old man drank the wine, sighed and said: "We came from Beihe. We have been walking and walking along this way. The river is a little uneven. There has been no business for a long time..."

The Beihe he mentioned refers to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and Caobang also started on the canal. In many cases, the water waybill even refers to the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal area.

Caobang has little business, which is understandable.

Nowadays, social science and technology are becoming more and more developed. Not to mention railways and aviation, they are much faster than traveling by boat. Even the same water transport is still steamboat and yacht. How can the most primitive people row wooden boats and have any business? I am afraid that these people in front of me are not only the only remaining Caogang in the modern era, but also the last group.

But it is difficult to understand that the river is not peaceful. The social security now is many times better than it was back then. How can there be any water bandits? Where does this unrest begin?

The old man took a sip of wine and shook his head gently: "Everyone has calamity, and water has evil. If the evil water is not removed, the river will be difficult to flow!"

"Are you saying there are ghosts blocking the way?" I asked.

Human robbery refers to the exploitation by water bandits and officials, while water evil refers to dangerous water conditions or unclean things. Commonly known as water ghost, or water demon.

If you are an ordinary sailor, no matter which one you encounter, the situation will be bad.

However, the Caobang has been inherited for hundreds of years, and has some connections both in the world and in the officialdom, and no one will deliberately create difficulties. Moreover, each of them has extraordinary skills, and ordinary robbers would not dare to touch the Cao Gang's boats. Human robbery is nothing to fear for them.

They often walk on the Beijing-Hangzhou River, and they know where the waves are and where the beaches are dangerous. There is nothing to worry about.

When the Cao Gang sails, they will bring some evil spirits with them, and once they hear that someone has died on a certain section of the river or there is any strange noise, they will immediately offer sacrifices.

Therefore, ordinary water ghosts and water monsters will not be difficult to transport by water.

What they fear most is meeting Ligui.

Li, among the five elements, refers to fire.

But what Caobang said about Li Gui was not a fire-natured ghost, but a ghost that was incomprehensible and intolerant of both soft and hard.

This is also the most worrying thing for Caobang!

When the old man heard me say the word "Li Gui", his eyes suddenly lit up, he looked at me again, cupped his hands and said, "I dare to ask, little brother, are you from Zhumi?"

When sacrificing water ghosts, a knowledgeable person should be asked to sprinkle glutinous rice along both sides of the ship while reciting the requiem mantra. Therefore, they all call the person who presides over throwing rice to offer sacrifices to ghosts the rice man. After all, the name "Li Gui" is a code word among Zhumi people, and even ordinary Caobang disciples have never heard of it. I am not a disciple of the Caobang, and I can say the word "li ghost" at the same time, so this old man naturally regarded me as a Zhumi person.

"It's just half an earthen pot, but I would like to meet this ghost." I also said with my hand.

"It turns out to be a fortune teller! How rude!" The old man immediately stood up and knelt down to me in shock.

Tuhu and fortune teller are both slang terms of the Caobang.

Earthen Pot refers to a mage who does not walk on waterways. Half Earthen Pot is naturally a modest name.

To put it simply, Master Mi is a heavenly master who can save everyone's lives. It's just that when the Cao Gang was on the rise, each faction could only have one Heavenly Master, which was not just called casually. Therefore, no matter how powerful the other people were, they could usually only call them Fortune Master.

The people around me were all stunned when they heard this old man kowtow to me and call himself a fortune teller. They even forgot to drink wine.

"Why are you still standing there? Why don't you come over and see the fortune teller!" the old man shouted.

Everyone stood up quickly, wiped their hands on their chests to show respect, and saluted respectfully: "I have met the fortune teller!"

When sailing on the road, they are most afraid of encountering dirty things, so they have always respected people who know magic.

I quickly stood up and returned the gift.

The gesture we exchanged with each other, which seems extremely weird to modern people, caused other tourists on the pier to look at us, almost as if they were looking at a group of lunatics.

But I've long been used to it!

Ever since he entered the business of being a trader in femininity, such eyes have not been uncommon.

If you don’t believe me, tell an ordinary person anywhere that you are a trader in femininity and see how others will look at you?

And these Caobang men still maintain such ancient etiquette and habits to this day, and I am afraid they have received all kinds of strange looks, and they have long become accustomed to it.

After we exchanged greetings, we sat back down again without caring about what the tourists thought.

Since I have received the gift, according to the rules, I have to introduce myself to my family. It seems a bit unethical to use the three words Zhang Jiulin.

Although the people in the Caobang respect the fortune teller, they have always been a little wary!

In ancient times, many people pretended to be fortune tellers and boarded the Caobang's boat. They rode the boat for free, eating and drinking for free, and asked for money and food before leaving. After all, it's rare to see a water ghost haunting you. As long as they don't touch something dirty, they can't reveal their secrets.

The people in Caobang couldn't afford to offend, but they didn't want to suffer this hidden loss.

From then on, a rule was formed.

When the master is ordered to board the ship, he must report to his family!

This was not only a way for the Caobang to be on guard, but also a way to preserve the reputation of the True Life Master, which was immediately approved by the True Life Master.

For example, those secret words just now can only be understood by fortune tellers and Caobang people. Other charlatans who know some Five Elements and Eight Trigrams will no longer be able to muddle through.