Chapter 222 Rescue
The young man felt that his ears, mouth and nose were filled with water, and he struggled hard towards the surface.

This young man can be a boatman, he has confidence in his swimming ability, he can cross ordinary rivers in one breath, and even if he holds his breath in the water, he can stay for a while. Since he was a child, as long as the weather is a little warm, he likes to jump into ponds and dive into water holes. It is for this reason that many people in the village call him Water Boy.

Shuiwa was confident in his swimming ability, so when he grew up, in order to save money to find a wife, he found a job as a boatman.

But today he was trapped by the water, and he seemed to be unable to swim, struggling desperately in the river.

He felt something was wrapped around his feet and waist, and a sharp pain came from the tips of his toes, making him scream.

Just by opening his mouth, a mouthful of river water poured into it. The fishy smell of the river water filled his mouth, making him feel as if his lungs were burning.

He struggled in panic and tried to call for help from the boat, but he didn't know whether he made any sound.

When the boatmen on the boat saw Shuiwa like this, they stood there in a daze for a moment, not knowing what to do.

Someone grabbed the pole and handed it to the boy, but was stopped by the old boatman. He didn't dare to let everyone use the pole to rescue, for fear that someone else would be dragged into the water the next moment.

Someone found a rope, tied one end to the side of the boat, and threw the other end to Shuiwa. Then the rope seemed to be pushed by something and moved towards the boat as soon as it hit the water.

The situation was urgent and human lives were at stake, so the old boatman also had a worried look on his face.

He had just given so many warnings, but he didn't expect that someone would still fall into his trap.

This situation is obviously different from the past. If you go into the water to save people, it would be like throwing a meat bun at a dog - you will never come back.

What should I do?!

The old boatman looked worried and had no idea what to do.

The water boy in the river felt that his consciousness was becoming blurred, the sounds in his ears were blocked by the river water, and he gradually lost his strength.

His hands and feet were twitching and his lungs were burning with pain.

His eyelids grew heavier and he knew he was going to die.

"Dad, Mom. Shuiwa hasn't been able to earn enough money to honor you." Shuiwa thought sadly, and childhood scenes appeared before his eyes.

I heard that when people are about to die, they will remember a lot of things and see their entire life, just like watching a Western movie, with scenes passing by in their mind.

Maybe Shuiwa is about to die.

The water baby in the river gradually lost its breath. The boatmen on the boat saw that the water baby's movements were getting smaller and smaller, and it seemed that it was sinking. They stamped their feet anxiously, but there was nothing they could do.

At this moment, a young man's voice came to the boatmen's ears: "What happened?"

The old boatman looked at the young man and saw that he was a fair-faced young man from a wealthy family.

He was wearing clothes and standing in the cabin, just like the golden boy and jade girl in a Taoist temple, not like a visitor from the human world.

"Sir, it was our boatman who fell into the water." The old boatman said with sadness on his face.

"Then why don't you save people?"

"It's impossible to save them, it's impossible to save them. Whoever goes down to save them will die. We are all born by our parents, no one can lose his life in vain." The old boatman sighed.

The young man did not reply. He walked to the side of the boatmen and stared at the river. After a moment, he asked the old boatman, "Do you have a rope?"

"Of course there is." The boatmen pulled up the rope that had been thrown into the water and said, "We wanted to use this rope to save him, but as soon as the rope was thrown over, it was pushed back by something and could never reach the water baby!"

"Oh?" The young man took the rope and responded in confusion.

When everyone saw the young man taking the rope, they looked at each other in confusion. They all didn't know what the young man was going to do. Did he want to use the rope to save people?

Everyone was silent and looked at the young man. They saw him standing by the boat. He stretched out his hand and made a spell, like a Taoist priest. He took out a yellow talisman from his bosom and stuck it on the rope, chanting: "Mighty Yang Yang, the sun rises in the east. I now chant a spell to sweep away all the bad luck. Those who encounter the curse will be destroyed. Those who encounter the curse will die. Heavenly Master, protect me, kill the evil and destroy the spirit, and there will be spiritual light in my body. I obey the order of the Supreme Lord Laozi!"

After the curse was uttered, the yellow talisman flashed.

The boatmen stared with wide eyes, their mouths opened in surprise. They stared at the boy without blinking, afraid of missing any details, and then saw the boy throw the rope into the river and shouted softly: "Hit!"

The rope drilled towards the river surface like a snake, splitting the water and breaking the waves.

Then a scream was heard, and the sound was like the scream of a monkey. The water in the river was rolling, and the originally floating head opened its eyes wide. Suddenly, the scalp burst, and a monkey covered with moss and long hair crawled out.

"Water! Water monkey!" The boatmen finally recognized what the creature was, and the expressions on their faces were a mixture of excitement and panic.

There are countless rumors about water monkeys. People also call them "water lion ghosts", "water corpse ghosts" or "drowned ghosts". It is often said that water monkeys will dive to the bottom of the water and pull swimmers into the water and drown them. Some people also say that water monkeys are actually drowned children who are resentful and will drown people and then absorb their souls.

Therefore, parents often use water monkeys to scare their children and tell them not to go to the river to play in the water at will.

But rumors are just rumors, and few people have actually seen water monkeys. Now that they have actually seen one, the boatmen feel like they have opened their eyes.

Naturally, the young man ignored these people. He swung his arm holding one end of the rope and drew a circle in the air. The circle followed the rope and wrapped around the young man in the river. The young man was immediately tied up. Then the young man shouted "Recruit!" and the rope dragged the young man onto the deck.

The boatmen crowded over and hurriedly lifted the water boy up and laid him flat, pressed his stomach and chest, and helped him pour out the water from his mouth and nose.

During this period, there were still ways to rescue drowning people. It was not like what most people said, that there was nothing that could be done once someone drowned.

In the "Collection of Emergency Medicine" compiled by Cheng Pengcheng in the Qing Dynasty, there is a method to rescue drowning people: after dragging the drowning person to the shore, you cannot immediately let the drowning person turn his head down to drain the water, but you must pry open his mouth and find a chopstick to put in his mouth. Then find a wide stool, fold a cotton quilt on it, put a cotton pillow under the quilt, make it high in the middle and low on the sides, like a cow's back, lift the drowning person and lie on it horizontally. The stool cannot be placed steadily, and one foot of the stool is placed empty. Have someone shake the orange frequently, and the water will drain out and the person will survive.

However, these methods all depend on the moment of drowning and are not as convenient as artificial respiration in modern times.

The young man retracted the rope, turned around and looked at the head in the water. Seeing the water monkey lying on it, he told the old boatman beside him: "Go find some wine and chicken blood. If there is no chicken blood, boy's urine will do. Mix it with glutinous rice and sprinkle it into the river. After doing this, burn a stick of incense at the bow of the boat. For the next seven days, recite "Om Kirin Om Po Lin" once a day, and you will have a safe journey."

"Yes." The old boatman thanked respectfully and bowed to the young man.

After watching those moves just now, he knew that this young man was no ordinary person and must be a capable person, so he asked curiously, "Which family of magician are you from?"

"I am a Taoist priest from the Baiyun Temple in Maoshan." The young man said with a smile, and walked towards the drowned and unconscious water boy, teaching the boatmen how to use artificial respiration. After waking up the water boy, the young man walked into the cabin.

Nothing else happened during the rest of the night, except for a stick of incense on the bow.

The old boatman and the boatman all worshipped towards the river.

The two men looked serious and were talking about something.

Not long after, there was a gentle knock on Li Daoxuan's small door.

Looking at the Xue sisters sleeping soundly on the ground, he quietly opened the door and saw the fat boatman holding a box and looking at him with a smile on his face.

"Young Taoist priest, this is a small gift from our family. I hope you can accept it. If you hadn't helped me this time, I'm afraid we would be in trouble."

"You're too polite, boatman. This is what I, a Maoshan disciple, should do." Li Daoxuan smiled as he watched the boatman decline.

Seeing Li Daoxuan's refusal, the boatman hurriedly said, "It is the Taoist priest's business to do what he should do. This little gesture is what we should do. If it weren't for the little Taoist priest, I'm afraid someone would have died on my boat. Who would dare to board our boat then? This small gesture is not worth mentioning. Please accept it. Otherwise, people in the south and north of the Yangtze River will say that I, Niu, am immoral and don't even thank my benefactor."

"Okay, I'll take it." Li Daoxuan didn't refuse anymore and accepted the money frankly. Li Daoxuan had a dilemma in his mind, this was both a thank you and a hush money, so he smiled helplessly.

The two men exchanged a few words, and then the boatman surnamed Niu left.

As the night fell, the ship slowly approached the mouth of the Grand Canal on the north bank of the Yangtze River. Soon, it dropped anchor about two meters away from the river mouth and moved no further.

The north bank of the Yangtze River was silent at this time, with only three or five torches swaying in the night wind, guiding the direction for ships at night.

Most large ships that arrive here at night and prepare to enter the Grand Canal will do so. They will drop anchor near the river mouth. Firstly, such large ships are prone to accidents when entering the Grand Canal in the dark at night. The Grand Canal is not as wide as the Yangtze River, and large and small ships are traveling densely. Unless they are in a hurry, they will not enter at night. Secondly, dropping anchor not far from the north bank can prevent accidents on the river surface. There are soldiers stationed here to patrol, which can also prevent no one from rescuing them.

The passengers in the cabin were all fast asleep, waiting for daybreak when the ship would continue northward along the Grand Canal to Yangzhou, becoming the first wave of river visitors in Yangzhou Prefecture in the early morning.

But just at dawn the next day, there was another knock on Li Daoxuan's room.

(End of this chapter)