The Hand of Confession – Chapter 327

Volume 10: Days of Cultivating in the Republic of China

Five River Gods

He Bo 101

That bamboo hat floated right in the middle of the river, its pointed top facing up, blown about by the wind.

Such bamboo hats were actually very common. It rained a lot in Huai Town, so most of the boatmen on the river had one. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone’s had fallen into the water.

However, even though that was the case, not one of the three who had been here yesterday was incurious.

Seeing the bamboo hat get closer and closer, Shen Maomao looked left and right, picked up a bamboo pole from the ground, and stood on the bank to hook the hat over.

Golden Retriever was quick-eyed and swift-handed. He squatted by the river and grabbed the tip of the bamboo hat, wanting to yank it directly out of the water.

The bamboo hat was heavier than he had imagined. It took him a bit of effort, but he succeeded in one go.

A splash was heard, and what came up with the bamboo hat was a dripping head.

It was just a head with no body. From the trio’s angle, they could clearly see its ferocious expression and wide-open mouth. Golden Retriever, however, was completely unaware and even switched his grip to the edge of the hat for convenience.

“Don’t!!” Sisi shrieked. Golden Retriever was startled by her. Just as he was about to turn his head to see what was wrong with her, his vision blurred. A huge impact came from the bamboo hat in his hand, the shock forcing him to loosen his grip. He then watched as it flew in a parabola and landed back in the river.

Beside him, Shen Maomao swiftly retracted her leg and disgustedly wiped the sole of her shoe on the grass. “What the hell was that, so scary?!”

Golden Retriever gripped the wrist of his numb hand with his other hand, staring at her, dumbfounded.

Who’s the scary one here?!

Shen Maomao said, “Don’t look at me. If I hadn’t acted, that thing would have bitten your hand. Who knows what would happen if you got bitten.”

Golden Retriever silently gave her a thumbs-up.

Sisi said in amazement, “Wow! Rabbit! I didn’t know you had moves like that! You lifted your leg so high just now!”

Of course. Her flexibility was nothing to scoff at; Lou Jingmo liked it the most… ahem, getting off-topic.

Shen Maomao gave a dry cough and said modestly, “Not at all. It was mainly because I seized the initiative.”

Because she had reacted quickly, their team didn’t end up losing a member. But now, none of them wanted to walk by the river anymore, and they all moved away from the bank.

A living human head floating on the river—the mere thought of it made Shen Maomao’s scalp tingle. And she had even kicked it. She had no idea if it would hold a grudge.

After walking for a while longer, they finally saw a small boat moving along the riverbank. It was the most common type used for ferrying people in Huai Town.

The four of them had no choice but to return to the bank and wave at the small boat from a distance. Waving and shouting, they finally caught the boatman’s attention, and he rowed the boat over.

Sisi gave him some money as a fee for information, then asked, “Old sir? Do you know what happened to He Bo Temple over there? The bridge is broken, why hasn’t anyone fixed it?”

The boatman stuffed the money into his pouch¹, tucked the pouch into his robes, and then said with a sigh, “In the middle of the night yesterday, there was a sudden clap of thunder. By the time we started work again, the wooden planks there were already broken. As for repairs… there are many poor people around here who can’t even afford to provide many sacrificial offerings, so how could there be money to repair He Bo Temple?”

He then looked at the four of them and said, “Besides, this temple has already lost. You folks might as well go check out the other temples.”

Dahai said, “What do you mean, lost? Is there some kind of competition for incense offerings² between He Bo Temples?”

The boatman raised an eyebrow at him. “Listen to you. I can tell you’re an outsider just by hearing that. Our town has a total of five River God Temples, and He Bo in each temple is different. Everyone has their own opinion, and no one will yield to anyone else, so we ended up with five temples. For many years, all five temples were maintained and repaired together. But recently, the fleeting years are not favorable³, and with the chaos of war outside, the town probably doesn’t have the money to repair the temples anymore. So they announced a rule: whichever temple has the most incense offerings will be the one to stay. They’re also preparing to hold a wedding celebration for the final victorious River God, to pray to Lord He Bo for peace and safety.”

Shen Maomao was a little silent after hearing this.

For some reason, she had a feeling that He Bos were participating in an idol trainee show.

The five River God trainees all want to debut in the C position⁴, so it all depends on whose fans are more formidable…

That’s it. She could no longer look at these ghosts seriously.

She asked the boatman curiously, “Old sir, which River God do you support?”

The boatman smiled. “Me? I support He Bo Temple to the west. The ones enshrined in the temple are a pair of twin sisters. Fifty years ago, the water level of Ye Lake suddenly surged. Those two little girls were the first to notice something was wrong and went home to warn the adults. That’s what gave most people a chance to survive. But in the end, the two of them drowned in the water…”

As he finished, the boatman said with emotion, “I even saw those two little girls. They were only this big, bright as a button. Such a pity.”

Sisi followed up on her question, “Then do you know what the five River Gods look like?”

The boatman shook his head. “That I don’t know. Is there anything else you want to ask?”

The group shook their heads.

“Then this old man will be on his way?”

After getting their approval, the boatman pushed off with his oar and slowly rowed away.

Shen Maomao’s group had gotten information they could report back, so they turned around and headed back.

In front of He Bo Temple, Kang Yuanhuai and A Nan were each holding a long wooden plank, attempting to build a new bridge over the gap in the wooden one.

Seeing this, Sisi said, “You plan to cross like that?”

A Nan said, “Not me, it’s Kang Yuanhuai. He said he wants to go over and take a look.”

Sisi looked down from the top and felt her legs go weak; she immediately took a few steps back. “Isn’t this too dangerous?”

Kang Yuanhuai, who had already laid one plank, looked up and said, “We’re already here. How can we leave without seeing what’s inside?”

The two planks were only as wide as a person’s foot. They were thick enough, but stepping on them would probably require some serious mental fortitude.

Soon, Kang Yuanhuai had laid down both planks and asked the players to help hold them down on the bank.

Sisi tried to persuade him again, “Maybe you shouldn’t go up there. We made a discovery on the other side, so it’s not like we’re returning empty-handed…”

Kang Yuanhuai cut her off with a single sentence, “It’s fine, I can swim,” stuffing all of Sisi’s remaining words back down her throat.

Sisi threw up her hands and gave up. A Nan and Shen Maomao stepped on the planks, and Kang Yuanhuai began to cross the river.

He first tried placing one foot on a plank, then lifted the other, testing the plank’s load-bearing capacity. After confirming there was no problem, he spread his arms to maintain balance and walked across, one step after another.

The planks sank slightly but didn’t break. Soon, he reached the other side safely and turned to wave at them with a smile. “I’m going in to take a look then. You all can just wait for me outside.”

With that, he pushed open the door of He Bo Temple, and his figure disappeared from their sight.

The people outside stared intently at the main door, feeling inexplicably nervous.

After about a few minutes, Kang Yuanhuai walked out of He Bo Temple safe and sound. He shouted to them from across the river, “The man you were talking about is no longer here, but I discovered that He Bo of this temple is not the same as the one I saw.”

Sisi replied, “You’re not mistaken. The five River God Temples enshrine five different River Gods. Why don’t you come over first, and then we can talk?”

Kang Yuanhuai agreed and, like three down five divided by two⁵, crossed over on the wooden planks. The group waited for a boat by the river, and in the meantime, they talked about their experiences on the bank earlier. Of course, Sisi omitted the part about the head under the bamboo hat.

While they were talking, Shen Maomao scanned the river’s surface, trying to find where that bamboo hat had gone.

As she was looking, someone suddenly poked her shoulder from behind. Without turning around, Shen Maomao knew it was Golden Retriever. Poking her like this probably meant he had discovered something but couldn’t say it in front of everyone.

She tilted her head slightly, then brought her right hand behind her back to pound her lower back, signaling to Golden Retriever that she had received the message.

Golden Retriever indeed quieted down and stopped moving.

Several hours had passed since the morning’s incident, and the players were getting hungry. After returning, the group had breakfast and lunch at a teahouse, and then, at Kang Yuanhuai’s suggestion, they went back to the small Western-style house.

The traces on the first floor had already been cleaned up, showing no sign that a corpse had ever been there. But everyone was psychologically scarred by the spot where Gauss had sat, and they all tacitly chose to stay away from it.

There was still plenty of time. Kang Yuanhuai returned to his room, saying he needed to organize some materials, leaving the players in the living room.

Shen Maomao, thinking about what Golden Retriever wanted to say, gave him a look and then stood up. “I’m going to the toilet first. How about we discuss the plot when I get back?”

Golden Retriever immediately stood up and pointed to himself.

Shen Maomao: “You need to go too?”

Golden Retriever nodded repeatedly.

Sisi also stood up. “Then I’ll go with you guys?”

Shen Maomao: “…” Why are you everywhere?

She had a flash of inspiration and said, “Don’t. Why don’t you tell them about the bamboo hat we encountered, and also about that room next to Kang Yuanhuai’s.”

Sisi thought that made sense, so she stopped insisting that everyone go to the toilet hand in hand.

Golden Retriever breathed a sigh of relief. The two of them went out together and walked towards the courtyard exit. They had the design of this villa to thank for this; perhaps for aesthetic reasons, the bathroom was not inside the courtyard, which made it convenient for them to talk in secret.

After leaving the courtyard, the two walked towards the enclosure wall. Once they were sure that the people in the house couldn’t see them, Golden Retriever said in a low voice, “Kang Yuanhuai smells of blood.”

Shen Maomao’s brow furrowed, realizing that things were not so simple. “When did you smell it?”

Golden Retriever said, “Right after he went into He Bo Temple and came back out. Plus, I was thinking, the temple is so small, what could he possibly have been looking at that he stayed inside for several minutes?”

Shen Maomao patted his shoulder, a glimmer of tears in her eyes.

Golden Retriever was taken aback. “What are you doing?? Is there a need to be so emotional?”

Shen Maomao: “The child has grown up. He knows how to use reason. I’m so gratified.”

Golden Retriever: “…Get lost.”

---

The author has something to say:

I’m here, I’m here, I’m here. I had an exam all morning and didn’t even eat breakfast. I rushed over to post an update.

---

---