Chapter 48: The Whale Worships the Dragon King

  The rain finally stopped, the sun was shining brightly, and the sky was very clear, but Lin Xue never moved back. After the heavy rain, various plants such as trees and reeds began to grow lushly, and various animals such as birds and fish multiplied in this area. The large riverbank was full of vitality, bustling with activity, and from time to time some animals would come to "visit", causing ripples in their "little days".

  Yu Songyuan woke up on time that morning, and when he got out of bed, he saw Lin Xue sleeping soundly in her own upper bunk, so he thought to let her sleep in. He quietly opened the door and was doing some warm-up exercises with Da Jiang in front of the door when Lin Xue had already gotten up. So, the three of them went for a slow run together on the dam for a thousand meters.

  Just back to the wooden bridge, suddenly, Lin Xue excitedly shouted: "Wow! Yu brother, you quickly look, you quickly look, wow, heavens! Pigs, there are so many pigs in the river!"

  Yu Songyuan raised his head to gaze out at the river, where downstream a group of black dots were tumbling and leaping in the surging currents, swimming against the flow, rolling and coming forward. The black dots grew larger, appearing and disappearing from time to time; from afar, they seemed like a herd of pigs running across a lush field of crops, or like a group of black iron buckets bobbing up and down amidst the waves.

  Lin Xue was still excitedly jumping and shouting: "Look, look, so many, wow, tens of thousands...!" The general was also abnormally excited, following her as she ran and jumped.

  At this time, the vanguard of the fish school in front was less than 200 meters away from them. The big ones were about 20 meters long, and the small ones were one or two meters long. Several heads formed a row, and rows followed closely, sometimes exposing their backs, sometimes revealing both head and tail, forming a magnificent fleet that stretched for three to four kilometers, advancing steadily upstream with an unstoppable momentum.

  Where the fish swim, the river surface ripples and waves splash, "shrimp soldiers and crab generals" frequently jump out of the water and rush forward in unison, as if sounding the trumpet to open the way. Under the riverside plank bridge, a large number of river fish rush into the reed marshes, like an opened pot, jumping up and down from time to time in panic.

  Yu Songyuan said: "Girl, this is not a pig, it's a group of false killer whales, locally known as 'river pigs'. Every year during the leap month or at the end of summer and beginning of autumn when the tide is high, they will swim against the current from the river mouth into the river. Such a large scale event usually only happens every three to five years, we're lucky to have caught it."

  "Why did they enter the irrigation canal?"

  "The Guanhe River is the only major river in our province without a dam, and it's a second-class navigation channel. In late spring to early summer, it's the spawning season for whales. The Guanhe River is deep and wide with good water quality, where fresh and saltwater mix, and there are no dams blocking the way, making it an ideal place for whales to gather and give birth. Every year at this time, they come in groups."

  At this time, the whale array had arrived right in front of them.

  Only countless whales, either chasing and playing in the waves like arrows, or jumping out of the water column as high as several meters. The largest is over 20 meters long, and the smallest is also several meters long, forming a huge whale group dragon that is about 2,000 meters long. Where the fish pass by, fountains rise and fall, fine mist rises into the air, river water rushes forward, waves hit both banks, the scene is magnificent, breathtaking.

  Lin Xue was still a child, and this magnificent scene made her so excited that her small hands were clapping red, and her throat was almost hoarse. The general was also stunned, waiting for the whale group to pass by, which took about two hours. Lin Xue looked at the distant whale group and asked reluctantly, "Yu Ge, why are they in such a hurry? Where are they going?"

  "Folk legend has it that people go to the Dragon King Temple to worship the Dragon King."

  "Worshiping the Dragon King, is there really a Dragon King? You deceived me."

  It's just a folk legend. The school of fish swims to the front of the Dragon King Temple, where the river is exactly at a 90-degree turn, and the big tide rolls over the temple. The big fish are affected by the water flow, and they will change direction and stand upright in the water, with their upper body exposed above the water surface, as if watching the temple. At the same time, they will spray out a high column of water into the air, reaching several meters high, just like the big fish kowtowing to the Dragon King. According to legend, there is a jade lotus platform at the bottom of the river, and the big fish kneel down on it to worship the Dragon King. When the school of fish passes by the Dragon King Temple and heads west for over ten miles to the Three Forks Mouth, the river becomes narrow and shallow, usually during low tide, and then they follow the rules again, riding the falling tide, heading east into the sea.

  "Where is the Dragon King Temple?"

  "The Dragon King Temple is located on the north bank of the Guanhe River, at a large bend of about 90 degrees. It was built in the mid-Qing dynasty. Originally, there were twelve tall bronze men cast in front of the temple, standing on the riverbank to suppress the tide. However, due to nearly a hundred years of frequent war and devastation, by the time of the Anti-Japanese War, both the Dragon King Temple and the twelve large bronze men had been destroyed by fire. As for the Dragon King itself, it does not actually exist; it is simply a beautiful folk legend."

  Lin Xue was stunned, it had been over 40 minutes since the fish swarm passed by, and the general jumped up excitedly again. It turned out that the large group of whales had begun to swim happily back to the ocean.

  They hastily looked towards the river surface, only to see a huge pod of whales, like a large black cloud, and also like thousands of horses and soldiers, rolling in from upstream, flowing downstream on the river surface, and then surging into the sea. Large batches of whales jumped out of the water one after another, slapping waves and making a loud noise.

  At this moment, many people on both sides of the river are watching this spectacle. The local fishermen who were prepared cheered and set off firecrackers. The whale seemed to be very spirited and jumped more happily on the water surface.

  The whale group finally went away, and the three people were not satisfied. Yu Song yuan was especially lucky to see this wonderful scene. When he was a child, his father and grandfather often told him and his brothers about the legend of "Jiang Pig Worshiping Dragon King", and today they finally got to witness the whole process with their own eyes.

  "Today was truly eye-opening. After your explanation, I realized that the story of Guanhe has a lot more to it, and there are even more culturally rich anecdotes?"

  "Another widely spread and deeply influential legend of the Guanhe River is the story of Erxian Temple and Erlang God," Yu Songyuan introduced.

  It is said that Erlang Shen rushed to the sea from Mount Tain, passing through Guanhe River, and accidentally dropped a stone, which fell into the mouth of Guanhe River and later grew into a small island, which is now Kaishan Island. Kaishan Island is very small, it stands at the estuary of Guanhe River. It looks like a bun, with an area of only 0.13 square kilometers. The strange rocks on the island are steep and precipitous, with no soil or fresh water. It stands between the sea and sky, and above the vast waves, with a magnificent view. Climbing to the top of the island and looking far away, it has the poetic feeling of "waves looking like upside-down, Penglai Island looking like a forest".

  The hometown of Erlang Shen is at the mouth of Guanhe River, which was called Guanjiang in the Ming Dynasty. The economic center of our county, Ershenggang, got its name from Erlang Shen and Ersheng Temple. It is said that on the mountain near the sea in Ershenggang, there used to be a magnificent temple dedicated to Erlang Shen, with many pilgrims visiting it. However, it was destroyed by war at the end of the Qing Dynasty.

  One of the Four Great Classical Novels of China, "Journey to the West", author Wu Cheng'en often came and went from this place. The hometown of Erlang Shen in his writing is at Guanhekou (also known as Guanjingkou), "East Sea Dragon Palace", "Erlang Temple", "Sun Wukong's Great Battle with Erlang Shen" and so on, are all based on the scenery of Kaishan Island at the mouth of Guan River.

  After the whale group left, they returned to their dormitory when it was almost ten o'clock. Everyone was still very excited.

  ……

  The college entrance exam is approaching, and Yu Songyuan's studies are getting more and more tense. With no time to hunt anymore, Da Jiang took on the responsibility of hunting on his own initiative. Lin Xue often joked that Da Jiang was a thief in the riverbank, and he never returned empty-handed when he went out to hunt.

  The general almost every day, as long as he goes out for a short while, can bring them a surprise. Pheasants, wild ducks, geese, wild geese, fish, snakes and so on, indeed never fall empty-handed. Yu Songyuan has always been puzzled, always wanting to figure out one thing, the general weighs 70 or 80 kilograms, how does it catch fish in the water, can it dive?

  A girl changes greatly after eighteen, Lin Xue who had been away from home for a year was originally born with a beautiful appearance. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, she was in her blooming youth and growing rapidly. With enough food to eat and adequate nutrition, plus her love for exercise and romance, she grew up quickly like a seedling after a spring rain, becoming a tall, slender, and charming beauty.

  One Saturday evening, after they had just finished dinner, Zhuang Ba and Hu Bing came with a subordinate. Zhuang Ba seemed to be doing quite well, dressed in a suit and tie, looking like a young boss. Yu Songyuan could only take out an evening's time to accompany them drinking and chatting, and finally sent him off. Before leaving, Zhuang Hu left behind a Shanghai Phoenix 26 bicycle as a gift for Lin Xue.

  This year's rain is really heavy, with less than a month to go before the college entrance exam, another week of continuous torrential rains has turned the entire world into a vast expanse of water, with ditches full and rivers overflowing.

  The Guan River suddenly turns right at a nearly 90-degree angle about five or six kilometers upstream in the county, and then flows northward. On the left bank of the big turn, there are six or seven tributaries radiating outward. The riverbed of the Guan River is steep and deep, with dense tributaries. With the rise and fall of the tide, the tributaries constantly gather together to form a spectacular waterfall, which can be heard for several kilometers around.

  Among these tributaries, there is a small one called Xiao "Fei Huang River", which is connected to the large Fei Huang River that flows through Liu Tao. At that time, on the Xiao Fei Huang River in the county town section, there were many wooden bridges, one of which was relatively low and was flooded by water when the river rose, so locals called it "Shui Man Bridge".

  In early June, the navy's spring recruitment work in northern Jiangsu had entered its final stages, with officers beginning to visit households. On this particular morning, naval recruitment officer Liu was conducting a home visit when he encountered danger on the "Water Overflowing Bridge" of Xiao Huanghe River while heading out to the countryside with local armed forces officials after having an early breakfast.

  When Liu Gan and his companions were crossing the bridge, the water flow was too rapid, and the bridge planks submerged in the water were too slippery. A local young woman walking in front of Liu Gan suddenly slipped into the water with a splash and was instantly swept away by the turbulent river current. In an emergency, Liu Gan threw away his bicycle, took a leap and plunged into the water, tightly grabbing the woman's clothes. The woman struggled desperately, tightly embracing Liu Gan, and both were choked with several mouthfuls of water. Having no alternative, Liu Gan had to knock her unconscious with one punch before he could lift her head out of the water.

  The water was flowing too fast, and there was no way to pull her to the shore. The two were soon swept away by the turbulent river water into a diversion canal. At the bend, the current was even faster, Liu Gan was exhausted, having used too much force earlier, his legs started cramping again, the pain was unbearable, he could only flail with one hand, the situation was extremely dangerous.

  Before breakfast, Yu Songyuan was reciting English words on the abandoned wooden bridge under the river embankment, while General Jiang watched at home. Lin Xue sat quietly beside Yu Songyuan, holding a book and staring blankly at the rushing water below the wooden bridge. She inadvertently raised her head to look towards the river surface, only to see someone in the middle of the river struggling and flailing desperately on the water's surface.

  "Yu Ge, look quickly, someone has fallen into the water!"

  Yu Song suddenly stood up, looked around and saw that more than 100 meters upstream, in the middle of the turbulent river surface, two small black dots appeared from time to time among the rolling waves. Upon closer inspection, they were clearly two people drifting with the current, in a precarious situation.

  He suddenly threw away his outer garment, shook off the rubber shoes on his feet, and turned to shout at Lin Xue who was in a state of panic, "Girl, don't go anywhere, go back to the dormitory first to have breakfast and wait for me to go to work together." Before Lin Xue could react, he made a beautiful dive, and with a loud splash, he plunged into the river from the high wooden bridge.

  Lin Xue was shocked, only to have time to exclaim "ah" in surprise, Yu Songyuan had already jumped into the river. She cried and crawled to the side of the plank bridge, desperately searching for Yu Songyuan's figure on the water surface. But after Yu Songyuan jumped into the river, he was never seen again, leaving only the rushing and urgent river water, rolling and flowing eastward.

  Her mind went blank in an instant, time seemed to have stopped, and a heartbreaking scream burst out, she cried out almost hoarsely, but Yu Songyuan still didn't appear from the river surface. She sat paralyzed on the edge of the plank bridge, sobbing and staring at the river surface, with only one thought swirling in her mind: it's over, Brother Yu was swept away by the rapid current...