Legend of carp essence (folk story)

Excuse me, Baima River, where the water is gurgling. The river is covered with all kinds of aquatic plants, and the banks are covered with endless reeds. On the west bank of Baima River, there is a silent fountain among reeds. I don't know when it started, what dynasty and when. Fountains spray water all year round and never dry up. It is said that this fountain is the outlet of an underground river, which leads directly to the East China Sea and the Dragon Palace.

There is a village two or three miles west of Yan Quan, where dozens of families live. Among them, a family named Cao came here first and was also a big family in the village. His family has 200-300 mu of land and a big quadrangle. There are six horses, six cows and a donkey in the family. Due to the shortage of staff at home, we employ several long-term workers and a breeder all the year round. Most other families in this small village moved from Shanxi to settle down during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. People work at sunrise and rest at sunset every day, and their lives are fairly stable. Every night after work, men have nowhere to go, so they all go to Caojia Gucang to chat.

On this day, August 15, people came to the barn to chat as usual, and it was late at night before they knew it. A man is going to take a nap. He went outside and looked up at the sky. The moon is round and bright, which makes the earth look like day, and even the reeds in the distance can be seen clearly. He was lost in thought when suddenly there came a melodious flute among the reeds. The voice is crisp and pleasant. Listen carefully. The sound comes from the direction of the fountain. He hurried back to the house and called the man out. People came to the street together, holding their breath and listening. Sweet flute sounds come with the wind, which makes people intoxicated. That voice is not an ordinary voice, it is the voice of nature. People are possessed, and while listening to the flute, they subconsciously move their feet into the reeds. I don't know how long it took, and I don't know how deep I walked into the reeds. Suddenly, a rooster crowed and the flute came to an abrupt end. People just woke up from a rude awakening, looked around and couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. When I got home, everyone was still worried.

The flute sounded among the reeds, and the village soon became a household name. People also have no intention to work, sitting in the streets in groups of three or five, talking about the flute last night. Some people say that the reeds have existed for many years, and there are ghosts hiding in them, which is aimed at luring people to do evil in the reeds. Some people object that it is not. The flute sounds from the direction of the fountain. Maybe there is fish essence in the fountain's eyes playing and playing the flute on a full moon night. Others say that foxes are hidden among reeds, and become elves over time, playing with flutes on the full moon night.

There are various theories, and no one can say for sure. No matter what it is, no matter what it does, the flute in the reed is real. People in the small village began to worry that there were monsters among the reeds, and they didn't know when they might come out to harm people. Since then, people in the small village have closed their doors early and stayed indoors as soon as it gets dark, for fear that monsters will come out of the reeds and hurt people. This continued until the end of the year, but there was no flute among the reeds, and no monsters came into the village to harm people.

In spring, reeds are still calm as usual, green buds have grown into reeds, and dry reeds have been submerged by green and full of vitality. What people were worried about didn't happen. The village is calm again. In the evening, people began to take to the streets to chat, and Cao's barn was crowded with chatters as usual.

In a blink of an eye, it's August 15. It's windy and sunny in jathyapple, and the sky in Wan Li is cloudless. The moon is like a big silver plate, which makes the reeds shine clearly and unusually. Even a few ancient official willows near the fountain can be seen clearly. As usual, people chatting in the barn sat up late into the night. They were about to disperse when suddenly there came a mysterious and moving flute among the reeds. People no longer panic, get together to enjoy the flute and identify the location of the flute. After a while, it was said that the flute came to the fountain, and the person who played the flute was probably a fish essence. As for ghosts and fox spirits, they are all bullshit. Everyone knows that ghosts and fox spirits are demons and are most afraid of light, so they will never choose to act on a moonlit night. This man has a point, and people all agree with him. No one dares to find out whether the piper is a fish essence. That night, people sat on stone benches and listened to the flute. No one got up and walked around until the cock crowed and the flute stopped.

This time, the whole village heard the flute, but people didn't feel panicked like they did for the first time, and they all seemed very calm. Because the first flute didn't bring any bad luck to the village, I believe it won't happen this time. People are no longer afraid, but hope to hear the sweet flute on every full moon night.

In this way, year after year, on August 15 every year, melodious flute sounds came from the reeds on time. People have become accustomed to it and are no longer surprised.

At noon one day, a stranger suddenly came to Cao's yard. This man is tall, with a wide waist and a beard. He claimed to be a distant relative of Tsao Gong, from Shanxi. He didn't sleep well on the way here. Zuo Gong is a kind person. He heard that the bearer was his relative, so he came all the way to defect. He didn't ask too many questions, so he stayed. It happened that the family was short of hands, and the groom went home two days ago because he was old and asked someone to replace him.

The old groom left, and the stable was replaced by a new groom, but every night people came to the stable to chat. They talk about everything and talk about a wide range of topics. Naturally, the topic of reeds and flutes is indispensable. On this day, people talked about it again, saying that it had happened for many years, but so far no one dared to investigate, which made them feel a little disappointed. The speaker is unintentional, the listener is intentional, and the big groom keeps it in mind. He is still counting on it. There are more than ten days before August 15. He decided to go deep into the reeds and give people an explanation.

Time flies, August 15 is coming soon. The groom fed and drank the animals early, then quietly walked into the kitchen, baked a pot of charcoal fire, and then secretly walked to the reeds.

It was getting dark and the moon climbed up the treetops. The groom walked in the direction of the fountain with a brazier in his hand. I can't see clearly when the moonlight shines into the reeds. Reed used to be a wetland, and it is dense and unusual. Few people come in and out, and there is no way to go. It's up to you to explore. Reed is all over the puddle, and if you are not careful, you will step on the puddle, causing great disaster. The groom almost stepped into the pit several times and only passed by death.

There are many wild animals living in the depths of reeds, such as badger pigs, foxes, wild cats, jackals and pythons, because no one has disturbed them for many years. The groom also met them several times, and he broke out in a cold sweat every time. Fortunately, the groom is a bold man. He didn't flinch and moved on. In the two or three miles, the groom has to walk for an hour to reach the fountain.

Seeing the fountain, the groom's heart suddenly jumped. He doesn't know whether he is excited or afraid. Anyway, at this time, his heart was in his throat. He looked around, trying to find an invisible place, one is not to disturb the piper, the other is to protect himself. He searched again and found a willow tree to the east of the fountain. This tree is not tall, its top branches are growing. This is a good place to be invisible. The groom soon came under the tree. He found that the trunk was covered with acne, just as he stepped on the tree. The groom climbed to the top of the trunk, found a trunk and sat cross-legged. He took a deep breath, calmed his thoughts, and then opened the front of his robe to cover the brazier, so as not to disturb water sprite by Mars. Everything is ready, and the groom stares at the fountain, just waiting to witness the true face of the piper.

The fountain is located in a low-lying land. Because of spraying water all the year round, a large pool is formed around it, with an area of about four or five acres.

At this time, the bright moon was in the sky, and the groom stared at the pool. Suddenly, the fountain began to stir, and then a tall column of water was ejected, and then a moon bud boat jumped out of the water along the current. At the back of the boat sat a child in Tsing Yi. The child was rocking in the water with an oar in his hand. He looked around in the water and then jumped into the fountain on his boat.

The groom's heart is in his throat again.

Soon, the ship jumped out of the water again. There's an extra woman on board this time. The woman is sixteen or seventeen years old, with a bun on her head, a glittering white hairpin in it, a white skirt on her head and a string of luminous pearls hanging around her neck. Her skin is white and beautiful.

The groom was blindsided.

The woman sat in the bow, facing the bright moon, slowly took out a pocket flute from her sleeve and played it gently. The flute is elegant, crisp and beautiful. The groom was so intoxicated that he completely forgot his fear.

The child rocked the boat gently and swam slowly, while the woman was absorbed in playing.

The boat approached the willow tree. The groom opened his eyes wide and saw the shapes of the two people on board completely. The woman's upper body is humanoid and her lower body is a bright red carp. A child in Tsing Yi is a grey mullet. The groom was stunned. He was so shaken that the brazier fell from the tree and sparks flew everywhere. Two fish spirits also found someone trembling. Carp essence suddenly stopped playing and glared at the child, his face full of murderous look. The children in Tsing Yi bowed their heads with trembling. The carp essence suddenly laid a hand on him, and the mullet essence sailed the boat and swooped into the water.

The groom climbed down from the tree trembling. He stood by the fountain for a while, then turned to leave. The next day, the groom told Cao Gong what he saw at night and all the people in the village. People were surprised and complained that the groom should not disturb the carp essence.

It's been a year, and August 15 is coming soon. People took to the streets as usual, hoping to hear the wonderful flute in the reeds again, but they waited until the rooster crowed, and no flute came. All I can hear is the rustle of dead leaves and the occasional whine of cold water otters.