Chapter 293

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Chapter 293: The Mystery of the River God

Nanyi Town is not very far from Luohe City, Chu Jiang and the others drove there.

The first stop was Nangao Village’s Nangao Inn, next to a scenic spot called "Shining Lake Reflection". Legend has it that hundreds of years ago, there was a rampant epidemic in the southern region, with disasters year after year, and the people were struggling to survive.

One day, golden lights and colorful rainbows appeared in the sky above the River God Lake. When these golden lights with gentle rain fell on the local people, they miraculously found that their illnesses disappeared, the epidemic receded, and even the withered crops in the fields came back to life.

In the following three years, the southern region experienced smooth weather and abundant harvests, and the people lived in peace and happiness.

The local people, grateful for the River God’s blessings, built a temple for Him next to the River God Lake. This is also the first River God temple within a radius of 100 miles around Sanjin Mountain.

As for the source of the Luohe River, it is not always a clear spring as people might imagine.

It is difficult to find the source of most rivers. Some are in swamps, while others are formed by many small mountain springs gathering little by little.

In general, the highest altitude and the furthest distance from the end of the river is considered the source of the river.

The source of Luohe is also hard to find. People only know that it originates from the main peak of Sanjin Mountain, but it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact spot.

At the foot of this mountain, there is a river god lake formed by natural mountain springs and underground water. It is a clear large water source, so people built a temple by the lake.

When Chu Jiang and his companion arrived, it was a sunny day and the weather was nice. Plus, it was a holiday period, so there were many tourists coming to this bed and breakfast.

Chu Jiang and his companion strolled by the lake, watching tourists talking, taking pictures, and posting on social media. They also saw local people selling local specialties like honey, sweet rice cakes, seaweed, and free-range chicken eggs at small stalls.

Honestly, there was no sign of any haunting. The atmosphere was even more peaceful than the city outside.

Jing Ruoxue became more certain of her guess when she saw this. She said to Chu Jiang, "If it really is evil spirits appeasing the river god, then there must be many disasters happening here. It’s impossible for it to be calmer than other places, especially in the context of global supernatural revival."

Chu Jiang thought for a moment and said, "Let’s go check out that river god temple."

The river god temple was on the left bank, and it was obvious that the temple had recently been renovated or even completely rebuilt. It looked magnificent and bright, completely different from the run-down temple Chu Jiang had seen in the information.

At the entrance, an old man was guarding the temple. Inside the temple, there were three courtyards and the incense was quite good. Besides local worshippers, tourists also liked to buy some incense and pray for good luck.

Chu Jiang didn’t rush into the temple at first. He approached the old man and talked for a while, but unexpectedly the old man rubbed his fingers together.

Chu Jiang was speechless, but still gave a hundred first.

With the money, the old man became easier to talk to. Chu Jiang asked questions and he answered them warmly.

According to the old man, the temple of the river god has a long history, but it has declined in recent years. The dilapidated temple is on the verge of collapsing, and even the temple caretaker ran away over a decade ago.

If it weren’t for the local customs of worshiping the gods, everyone would have come to the temple on their own during festivals and cleaned it. It’s estimated that the place would be covered in cobwebs and filled with dust.

All the changes began over a year ago.

At that time, a villager was possessed by a ghost and came to the temple to pray. Surprisingly, they were cured after returning home. This news spread and although people were skeptical, the temple’s popularity increased.

The most peculiar change happened six months ago. One night, the temple suddenly became very noisy. Some even heard roaring, struggling, and shouting.

On that night, the village dogs were barking crazily, and the domestic animals like chickens, ducks, pigs, and cows at the villagers’ homes were also restless.

At that time, no one dared to go near the Temple of the River God. It wasn’t until it became light outside that someone dared to go and investigate. They found that the statue of the god had collapsed and broken into several pieces.

When the villagers of Nangao Village saw this, they thought that the River God was angry. So they spontaneously raised money to create a new stone statue. They also invited a mage to perform a ritual, hoping to calm the anger of the River God.

Surprisingly, this seemed to really work.

From that day on, the River God started to show its presence. Children who fell into the river were mysteriously lifted out by an unseen force.

And people often saw the fish in the River God Lake worshiping towards a certain direction.

Some even claimed that the River God appeared in their dreams and told them to go to the temple and offer incense for blessings.

These strange rumors quickly spread throughout Nanyi Town, and even residents of nearby counties knew about it. Some people traveled from far away to worship the god.

As for this temple, it was renovated with contributions from wealthy households nearby. The names of these donors are engraved inside the temple.

"Does worshiping really work? Or is it just psychological comfort?" Chu Jiang asked.

The old man shook his hand and said, "Don’t talk nonsense, the River God is listening. Haven’t you seen how many people are praying? Some visitors even buy small statues of the deity to take home and worship."

Upon hearing this, Jing Ruoxue hesitated a bit. Is it too quick to believe that after praying, the god will come back?

Chu Jiang calmly continued to ask, "Does your River God require human sacrifices or anything like that?"

"When I was studying, I had a lesson on ‘The River God Marries a Wife,’ which talked about the witch selecting young girls to sink into the river."

The old man slapped his thigh, clearly angry, "If you keep saying that, I don’t want your money! Our River God is not some random nonsense. Why would it want to drown people?"

Chu Jiang just smiled and took the lead towards the temple.

Jing Ruoxue hurriedly followed.

……

As they entered the innermost part of the temple, Chu Jiang was momentarily stunned because the statue of the River God at the front had a slight resemblance to Wang Lei’s face??

He took out a photo and compared it, maybe not exactly, but at least somewhat similar. This man looks quite strong, and Chen Keai once mistook him for a gangster.

But how is this possible?? The new statue, made by a stonemason, should have been carved based on the old one, right? So why does it have some similarities with a modern person?

Considering what the old man at the entrance just mentioned about the timing, the day when the River God Temple had unusual activity should be the same day Wang Lei died suddenly in Luohe City.

Jing Ruoxue also noticed this situation and suggested to Chu Jiang that she should try offering incense first, to see if she would be affected by any supernatural power on a spiritual level.

However, Chu Jiang refused. After thinking for a while, he took out a regular Soul Guide Incense, lit it, and stood in front of the altar, bowing respectfully.

This surprised the surrounding worshippers. How can someone be so insincere when offering prayers to the gods? Just lighting one incense stick is one thing, but standing and bowing?