klisemfg Chapter 289 Re-offering Sacrifice to the Sea
Chapter 289 Re-offering Sacrifice to the Sea
Soon after the fishing boats docked, the river was filled with people.
Xu Yiyi's fingertips still had the sticky liquid from the sea snake, which smelled fishy.
She subconsciously began scrubbing herself in the riverbed.
“In previous years, there weren’t many sea snakes on the surface of the sea at this time. We thought that if we could catch a whole netful, that would be about right…”
This is why Ah Da agreed to let Xu Yiyi go out with him.
With few sea snakes around, Xu Yiyi went out with them, treating it almost like a game.
"But who would have thought that I had already pulled up to the third network, and it was only increasing and not decreasing."
Ah Da patted his chest, his eyes still showing a hint of fear.
"I pulled four nets, and each time it was more than the last."
The uncle leaning against the boat next to Xu Yiyi had just come to his senses, and his tone still carried a hint of sigh as he spoke.
"We didn't have time to pull the last net up, so we had to let it go."
……
Ah Da comforted him, "In that situation, you were almost going to die, don't be so greedy."
"Isn't it great to say that? A bumper harvest."
Aunt Li asked curiously, and it was indeed a bumper harvest. Every boat was packed full, leaving only enough space for people to stand.
“That’s when things started to go wrong. Most of the sea snakes that were pulled up were adults.”
Upon hearing what Ah Da said, everyone realized that young snakes rarely come with adult sea snakes when they enter the sea.
"At that time, the sea snakes kept swimming around our boat, which scared us so much that we ran away... I was unlucky and one of the sea snakes wrapped around my ankle."
Everyone gasped in alarm, realizing that being bitten by a sea snake meant certain death.
He was lucky to escape with his life.
"As we ran, we heard a series of rumbling sounds. What else could that be but the Dragon King's wrath?"
Xu Yiyi pursed her lips, listening to them chat.
Fortunately, that area of the sea is some distance from Wangdao Island, otherwise this area would have suffered as well.
She remained silent, utterly bewildered as to which city in the future this was, and why it was experiencing a mud volcano eruption.
Perhaps the sea has receded and the land has moved away, and the islands may no longer exist in later generations...
Xu Yiyi thought to herself, then looked up.
Then they discovered that Uncle Taiye had been helped over by Uncle Pinghai.
Following behind were all the uncles and elders in charge of the clan.
Grandpa Xu, Xu Zhengci, and Xu Ming lagged behind, strolling over slowly, looking indifferent and unconcerned.
Xu Yiyi shifted her gaze to Grandpa Xu. She had been talking to Ayue this morning and had forgotten about it as soon as Xu Anyang arrived.
Looking at it this way, the old man certainly doesn't seem like an ordinary fisherman.
Grandpa Xu noticed it at a glance.
He glanced at her and saw it was Xu Yiyi, then turned away nonchalantly.
"What's going on here?"
Auntie Si sighed; this year has truly been unlucky.
"How about we perform another sea sacrifice?"
Aunt Li walked up to Ah Si and muttered to herself.
It can't be that the Dragon King was unhappy because the offerings weren't good enough when the seas opened.
"What else could it be?"
Xu Ming's gloomy voice rang out, and everyone subconsciously looked in his direction.
“There weren’t so many problems in previous years! Clearly, someone has offended the Dragon King.”
As he spoke, Xu Mingzai turned his gaze to Xu Yiyi, who had been sitting on the small boat.
A buzzing sound immediately erupted from the crowd.
[Damn it! That bastard is trying to mess with me again!]
Xu Yiyi screamed inwardly and stood up.
When the great-uncle saw this, his brows furrowed, and he looked grim as he leaned on his cane.
Xu Ming was starting to have doubts, and in the next instant, his cane was about to smash into him.
Xu Pinghai said in an annoyed tone, "What nonsense are you spouting now?"
Xu Ming bluntly stated, "Women getting on a boat is considered unlucky..."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed instantly.
“A few years ago, Widow Chen touched a fishing net, and the next day two boats capsized,” he rambled on.
Xu Pinghai was so angry he laughed: "The weather was already bad back then, and the sea was rough, so capsizing was a common occurrence."
Uncle immediately chimed in, "Whose fishing nets aren't mended by women and children? That's the point of your statement..."
Xu Zhengci, who was standing to the side, quickly tugged at Xu Mingzai's sleeve.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Yi-yi is your niece, not your enemy!"
"Xu Lao Er, have you lost your mind? Your wife went out to sea to harvest seaweed last year, why didn't the Dragon King get angry then?"
As soon as Auntie Si spoke.
The other women chimed in.
Li Xiuying stood in the crowd, watching Xu Yiyi's misfortune with schadenfreude.
"What kind of bullshit rule is this?"
……
The crowd stirred immediately. Aunt Li squeezed to the front, her apron, covered in fish scales, still dripping wet.
"You son of a bitch, you eat from the bowl and then curse us. Every knot in these fishing nets is a bloody mark left by our women's fingers. And now you're just dismissing our hard work with a single bad word. You're utterly heartless..."
Li Xiuying looked at her mother cursing in front of her, and her expression didn't look so good either.
Are you out of your mind?
Xu Yiyi looked at Xu Mingzai with suspicion: "There are plenty of women who go to sea. What will the widows in the tribe eat and drink if they don't go to sea? Are you going to support them?"
Although women were a very small minority, they did go out to sea.
It's really pointless for Xu Ming to use this as a pretext to target her.
"Is that how you talk to your elders?"
Xu Ming felt that Xu Yiyi had no respect for him as an elder, and his face immediately turned even uglier.
Xu Yiyi said with utter disgust, "Here we go again. Can't you think of any other tricks besides using this to pressure me?"
From the very beginning, after Xu Yinli "died" and Zhan Jilan ran away, he started trying to take advantage of them by using their status as elders.
“Our family has nothing to do with you anymore, so stop putting on airs like an elder in front of us.”
Xu Yiyi snorted coldly, and the others also looked at Xu Mingzai with displeasure.
Xu Zhengci tugged anxiously at Xu Mingzai's sleeve.
"If you ask me, we should hold a new sea sacrifice."
Xu Pinghai spoke, Uncle Taiye nodded, and everyone else had no objections.
After all, the clan leader has gotten old in the last two years and has stopped managing affairs.
Xu Pinghai is the next clan leader, and his words have begun to carry weight, so naturally no one else will object.
"Everyone, disperse. I don't want what I just said to continue circulating on the island."
……
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd dispersed.
Xu Pinghai and A Si helped Xu Yiyi lift the sea snake off the boat.
"It's not easy to deal with these snakes at home. If you accidentally miss one, it might bite one of your children."
As Xu Pinghai spoke, he and A Si carried the things directly to the middle reaches of the river.
Uncle followed slowly behind.
Xu Yiyi squatted down and picked up a seashell that had been rounded by the seawater. Aunt Si went back to get the tools for dealing with the sea snake, and the rest of them could only wait there.
Xu Yiyi said slowly, "Grandpa, why do you think the snakes fled so quickly this year?"
Uncle shook his head.
She then looked at Xu Pinghai, her eyes filled with doubt.
“Because they smelled the sulfur,” she said softly. “Before an underwater volcano erupts, the seawater turns acidic, fish die, and snakes flee. This has nothing to do with people, and even less to do with women going out to sea on boats.”
Uncle remained silent for a long time, then stood aside leaning on his cane: "You are much smarter than your father."