"Mighty... Mighty..."

In early spring, at noon, the Yamen lobby of Yan County.

As the soap-clothed servants on both sides of the hall held killing sticks, Wang Xian ordered a "Ascend to the hall!", and two elderly crop men were brought up.

"Lord Wangqingtian is in charge, my family's cattle were stolen by this old man Zhao who killed a thousand knives..."

"Wronged, wronged, begging Lord Qingtian to be the master, I didn't steal Old Man Li's cattle at all. ”

Wang Xianling began his 'performance' in this way.

In the corner of the lobby, a young man-like official seemed to be listening intently, but in fact, his thoughts didn't know where to go.

"Alas, it's another trivial matter, it's extremely boring..."

The little officer, named Zhang Yifan, is 14 years old this year, and he is the youngest catcher in the county.

When his father suddenly disappeared, Wang Xian ordered him to remember the old age, and seeing that he was young and lonely, he asked him to be a small servant in the yamen first, and received a salary that could support himself.

When Zhang Yifan was 14 years old, Wang Xianling asked him to become a junior catcher to assist the head catcher in handling the affairs of the county government.

Zhang Yifan is not very old, but he is quite precocious, which is related to his life experience, his father disappeared, and his mother died of illness.

He always wants to make a career, catch a few thieves, solve a few murders, and become a generation of gods.

It's a pity that this small county town is located in a corner of Huzhou, too quiet and peaceful, and there is basically no major event in the entire ten miles and eight townships, and the mind of showing ambitions can only be thought about.

Zhang Yifan felt that time passed very slowly, and in fact, it was only more than half an hour, and Wang County's order was over.

It's not a big deal, it's just that the cattle of the farmer surnamed Li were lost, and it happened that the farmer surnamed Zhao saw it, and the two went to court for it.

Wang Xianling was a little angry because the two of them went to court for such a thing, scolded the two croppers a few words, and arranged for the officials to go to recover the lost cattle, and then retired from the court.

"Xiao Fan, Xiao Fan. A big man in a head-catching costume saw that Zhang Yifan was a little distracted, so he called him.

"Hmm... Brother Wang, what's the matter?" Zhang Yifan came to his senses, his face flushed, and he was a little embarrassed.

"What do you think about all day long, if the adults know about it, they will discipline you again. The old man Li's cow was lost at Xiandu just now, you accompany Uncle Chen to find it over there, go and come back quickly!"

"Okay, Brother Wang, I'll go with Uncle Chen and promise to complete the task!" Seeing the mission, Zhang Yifan was very excited, and happily set off with a goatee who was about fifty years old.

The goatee catcher is named Chen Danian, who has been a catcher in Yan County all his life, and he is calm and capable of doing things. Wang Zhutou asked him to take Zhang Yifan with him, and he also had the meaning of teaching him by word and deed.

Yan County is located in the northwest of Huzhou and is a small county town under Huzhou.

It faces a lake to the south and a large river to the north, and the whole area is a plain area with few mountains and many waters. In a county like Huzhou, there are not hundreds of them, and it seems ordinary and ordinary.

Xiandu Port is somewhere in the big river north of Yan County. This river is called Xiandu River by the locals, and it is said that a long time ago, this place flooded, and at the moment of crisis when the dam was about to burst, there were immortals in the water who calmed the flood with great magical powers and saved the common people. Perhaps to commemorate the merits of the Xian family, the name Xiandu continued.

Xiandu River is usually about 50 zhang wide, if it is the rainy season, the river can be wide to 300 zhang after the rain floods the riverbed, and it is also a great river in Huzhou.

At this time, it was spring, the Xiandu River had not yet risen, and the water and grass on the riverbed on the bank were luxuriant.

Farmers in the neighborhood usually raise their cattle here, because each cow has its own brand mark, so they are not afraid of the cattle getting lost.

According to Old Man Zhao, a few days ago, he went upstream to fish and encountered a cow going upstream, but there was no one to herd the cow, so he thought it was strange but didn't think much about it, so he took the cow back to the original grazing land and left it alone.

After dinner, Old Man Li looked for cattle everywhere but didn't find it, asked the nearby villagers, and some people said that they saw Old Man Zhao leading the cow, so he insisted that Old Man Zhao stole his cattle, so he dragged Old Man Zhao to the yamen.

The scope of Xiandu is not large, and it should be easier to find a lost cow, this is Zhang Yifan's idea.

Xiandu Port is not far from the county government, and about half an hour later, Chen Zhuai took Zhang Yifan to Xiandu Port.

"Uncle Chen, where do you find so many cattle?" Looking at the dozens of ploughing cattle on the riverbed, Zhang Yifan felt a headache and a feeling of not knowing where to start.

"Xiaofan, the average villager will put a brand on their cow buttocks. Near this riverbed, look for the cow stock mark that Old Man Li said, and see if the cow has returned to the herd. The old man Zhao said that he had seen the cow upstream, so I went upstream to check it outstream. Whatever the outcome, an hour later, we will assemble here. Chen Danian said with a smile.

"Okay, Uncle Chen, then I'll go over there and take a look. With that, Chen Yifan trotted all the way towards the cattle on the riverbed.

"After all, I'm still a child, and my temperament is still a little frizzy, and it seems that there is still a distance from being a real catcher. You'll have to polish it well in the future. Chen Yu shook his head and smiled bitterly, and then walked towards the river.

After a while, Zhang Yifan came to the herd and began to check the butts of the herd, and there was some divine chatter in his mouth.

"Aunt Li's family, Liu Guizi's family, Wang Ergou's family..."

After looking for a while, but he didn't see Old Man Li's cow, Zhang Yifan felt a little thirsty at this time, so he walked to the river and drank two sips of crystal clear river water, and suddenly felt a little less tired.

He couldn't help but sigh that the water of the Dadu River was still as sweet as ever, but he hadn't been here for a long time.

Zhang Yifan looked back at the herd, but he didn't feel anything unusual. After a lap, he didn't find the mark of the right number, and he knew that Old Man Li's cow had not returned.

Thinking that it was still early, Zhang Yifan pondered and went downstream to take a look.

Generally speaking, the water in the lower reaches of the Xiandu River is turbulent, and the grass is thin and muddy, so it is unlikely that the cattle will go there. But there is a sluice gate over there where cattle and children occasionally play, so Zhang Yifan plans to go there to inquire about the news.

After trotting all the way along the river embankment, about a quarter of an hour's effort, Zhang Yifan came to the vicinity of the sluice.

The sluice gate is a bit out of place in the middle of nowhere, as it's too big. The entire sluice tower has three floors and is about ten zhang high, which is the tallest building here.

There are two sluice gates, one large and one small. The floodgates are generally not opened, and it is said that the flood gates will only be opened when there is a flood that occurs once in a century. The small gate is used for irrigation of farmland in the nearby townships.

Generally speaking, this gate tower is guarded by a special person in the rainy season, and there are usually occasional water servants who come here to inspect it, but there is no one now. So at this time, the iron gates were closed and unguarded.

Because the Xiandu River floods every few years, and children drown here almost every year near the sluice, some nearby villagers take this as a sacrificial point and put some sacrifices to ask for the blessing of the water dragon king, pray for good weather and blessing their children from being hooked by water ghosts, so the incense is also strong here.

Although the tall sluice towers may look a little eerie, this does not prevent cattle herders from using it as a mecca for play.

When Zhang Yifan came here, it was warm in the afternoon, and several children from nearby villages were playing here, chasing each other, so it was not lively.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Yifan couldn't help but smile at the corner of his mouth. He thought of the past, and he often came here to play, and he was often found here by his mother, and he was inevitably reprimanded.

"Alas. Zhang Yifan sighed, seeing Jing Siqin, but now it is difficult to see his mother's voice and smile. I couldn't help but think of his father, and I don't know where he went, and he has not been heard from so far.

After pondering for a moment and cleaning up his mood, Zhang Yifan began to ask a few children.

When he asked if he had seen a ploughing ox go downstream a few days ago, several of the children shook their heads and said no.

But the children gave him new news. In the last few days, there have been several cows going upstream, and I don't know why. Adults were worried about the cattle getting lost, so they put up a temporary fence near the upstream.

Listening to the child's words, Zhang Yifan thought to himself that there was something strange about the upstream, and he couldn't figure it out for a while, and the time was almost an hour at this time, so he thought about meeting with Chen Danian at the agreed place before making plans.

When he arrived at the meeting place, Zhang Yifan saw Chen surnamed Zhukuai talking to a farmer. So he trotted all the way over, and he didn't care about wiping his sweat, and hurriedly asked, "Uncle Chen, how is it, do you have any clues?"

"Xiao Fan, don't worry, there are almost some clues, but I estimate that Old Man Li's cattle are likely to be unable to be recovered. Chen Zhu said unhurriedly.

"Why is that, could it be eaten by wild beasts? There are no wild beasts around here. Zhang Yifan was a little surprised.

"It's almost the same to say that he was eaten, but he was eaten by the river in front of him!" Chen Danian said with a somewhat strange face.

"Ah, what's the situation? Could it be that there are really water ghosts underwater?" Zhang Yifan felt unbelievable and hurriedly asked.

"Zhang Xiaoyu is fast, I guess it's really true. I saw with my own eyes that the cattle of Wang Xiaohu's family in our village were swallowed up by the river, and the kung fu was gone in the blink of an eye. There are really water ghosts playing tricks underwater, it's terrifying. The old farmer next to him was probably also a little frightened, and hurriedly said, his face pale.

"Don't confuse the people here! It's not clear what's going on now, I'll report to Wang Zhixian first, and ask the people from the Dushui Department to come and see. Old Wangtou, take care of your mouth, and then talk nonsense to cause panic among the people, aren't you hard to be a yamen board!" Chen Danian reprimanded Lao Wang.

"Xiaofan, this place is not too far from your house, do you want to go back and have a look?" Chen Danian seemed to think of something and said to Zhang Yifan.

"Okay, Uncle Chen. I haven't been back for a long time, and I miss my uncle and aunt a little. I'll go home and take a look, and I'll report to the yamen tomorrow, and you can talk to Brother Wang." Zhang Yifan said with some joy.

After that, Zhang Yifan said goodbye to Chen Danian, turned his head and ran towards a village in the distance.

Looking at Zhang Yifan's back, another petite figure appeared in Chen Danian's eyes. He sighed, and then walked towards the yamen.

Along the way, Chen Danian was thinking about the strange scene of the river swallowing the cow, I don't know why the ploughing cow ran towards the center of the river like crazy, is there really a water ghost and a river demon?