Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 377 The Origin of Thousand Island City
A group of bruised and battered bandits huddled by the roadside, crying and wailing, which woke up the sleeping Fang Youliu.

He leaned out of the car window and was immediately stunned by what he saw: "So lively?"

Shunzi led the last two people out of the reeds and explained, "We ran into robbers."

The bandit leader corrected him: "Our main business is selling fish."

Feng Xiuhu added: "My side job is highway robbery."

Fang Youliu was still not fully awake. He rubbed his eyes and muttered, "What nonsense..."

Feng Xiuhu asked the bandit leader, "You bandits should have boats, right?"

The bandit leader nodded: "Not only bandits, but we also need boats to sell fish."

Feng Xiuhu waved his hand, too lazy to argue with him: "Since that's the case, then give us a ride—we're going to Qianyu City."

"It's okay, that's fine."

The bandit leader looked at Feng Xiuhu's carriage and said, "But we came in light, fast boats this time, which may not be able to carry such a large carriage."

"It's ok."

Fang Youliu waved his hand wearily: "Find a rope and tie it to the stern, then you can lead it."

The bandit leader expressed his incomprehension: "Lead it at the back? Won't the cart sink into the water?"

Fang Youliu yawned: "You don't need to worry about it."

The bandit leader stopped asking questions and pointed ahead, saying, "Keep going a little further ahead. There's a ferry crossing there. I'll have the men bring the boat over."

……

Once the matter was settled, Feng Xiuhu released the bandits, keeping only their leader as a hostage.

Fang Youliu mustered his spirits and drove on. After a short while, he indeed saw the ferry dock by the water.

Seven or eight small boats were already waiting on the shore. When they saw the carriage approaching, the pirates on the boats all stood up and shouted, "Boss!"

The carriage drove onto the wooden planks at the ferry landing, and everyone jumped off.

The bandit leader, still worried, added, "Let's make this clear: if the carriage sinks and ruins your valuables, it's not my problem."

Upon hearing this, both Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi looked at Fang Youliu.

Fang Youliu stroked the horse's mane, muttered a few words, and the carriage began to transform in front of everyone. In just a moment, a long, narrow boat appeared before them.

Feng Xiuhu took a closer look and couldn't help but laugh.

The boat was about the same size as an ordinary sampan, only slightly narrower, with three seats arranged in a row from front to back, and each seat had a footrest underneath.

Feng Xiuhu exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! It's a pedal boat?"

Looking further ahead, Feng Xiuhu was even more astonished—the bow of the ship was raised high, looking exceptionally handsome, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the head of a horse.

The horse head looked strangely familiar. Feng Xiuhu asked in confusion, "Hey? Isn't this the horse from your carriage..."

Fang Youliu gave an awkward smile: "I was lazy when I was finalizing the design. I originally planned to make a goose head to look better, but I didn't want to put in the effort, so I just used a ready-made one."

Shunzi asked anxiously, "Liu, where's our luggage?"

Fang Youliu reassured him and pointed to the bow and stern of the boat: "The area under the planks is hollow; everything is still there."

The bandit leader was dumbfounded. At this moment, he knew that he had encountered a master.
He quickly bowed to Feng Xiuhu and said, "It's my fault for not being careful today, which is why I offended the gods. May I ask which temple you three come from?"

Feng Xiuhu glared at him: "Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."

The bandit leader quickly nodded: "I am Shi Dajiao, my bandit name is Shi Nianzi, and I am the leader of Jinlou Village. May I ask how you are addressed?"

Feng Xiuhu told him this time, "Ma Er." Shi Dajiao then bowed to Shunzi and asked, "What is this valiant man's name?"

Shunzi patted his chest: "Ye San'er!"

Shi Dajiao pursed his lips and nodded in acknowledgment, his eyes filled with exceptional respect.

Fang Youliu interjected in a sarcastic tone, "Why didn't you ask me?"

Shi Dajiao quickly turned around and gave him a forced smile: "I was just about to ask."

Fang Youliu rolled his eyes: "I'm not telling you."

Shi Dajiao, having been rebuffed, laughed somewhat awkwardly.

Feng Xiuhu waved and said, "We can talk on the way. Let's get going."

Shunzi pushed the boat into the water, and two bandits quickly brought ropes to tie the boat to the back.

Fang Youliu jumped into the front seat of the horse-head boat first. He yawned, covered his face with his straw hat, and pretended to doze off.

Feng Xiuhu found the seats on the horse-head boat too cramped, so he jumped onto the bandits' speedboat, and Shunzi and Shi Dajiao followed suit.

Shi Dajiao snapped his fingers together and whistled loudly: "Let's march to Qianyu City!"

"Yo hey!"

The bandits shouted in unison, and the fleet broke through the waves.

……

Hearing that Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi were visiting Qianyu City for the first time, Shi Dajiao gave them a brief introduction on the way.

"The river we are standing on now is called the Feiqi River, which is a tributary of the Tianpu River."

"What? You don't know about Tianpu River? There are only three major rivers in the Great Xuan Dynasty, and Tianpu River is the southernmost one."

“Both Jinlou Island and Qianyu City are located on the Feiqi River, but Qianyu City is upstream and Jinlou Island is downstream.”

"The name Thousand Islands City also has a story behind it. As the name suggests, there are thousands of islands in the city. Saying thousands is definitely an exaggeration. I don't know the exact number, but it's certainly not few, because the entire Thousand Islands City is made up of these islands of all sizes."

"When you enter the city, go to the water tower on the foremost river island, and you will be able to see it clearly from a high vantage point."

“Starting from Hukou, upstream of Qianyu City, the river widens abruptly—as if the river suddenly became pregnant and swollen with a baby here in Qianyu City. The river water is divided by the islands of Qianyu City, flowing through them, and finally converges again at the ‘butt’ downstream, continuing to flow downstream along the narrowing river channel.”

"It is said that a long, long, long time ago..."

Feng Xiuhu interjected, "How long exactly?"

Shi Dajiao scratched his head: "I don't know either, it must have been a long time ago. Anyway, there was no Qianyu City back then. There was a large island in the middle of the river. When the river came out of Hukou, it was fierce and rapid. During the rainy season, it would flood the shore, and the people living on the island suffered terribly from the floods."

"One day, Jiang Liugong passed by here and, seeing this scene, couldn't bear it. So he used his divine power to manipulate the water pulse to create new waterways of all sizes. These waterways, some wide and some narrow, divided the entire island into what is now Qianyu City. And you know what? Since then, Qianyu City has never been flooded again."

"Jiang Liu Gong?"

Feng Xiuhu frowned upon hearing this. The name sounded familiar, but it seemed to be the first time he had ever heard it before.

Shi Dajiao exclaimed in astonishment: "Are you really the Great Xuan Man?"

Feng Xiuhu remained unfazed and repeated Fang Youliu's words from last time: "I come from Fancheng, and I only recognize the Goddess of Wind and Rain."

Shi Dajiao didn't want to ask any more questions, so he could only explain: "Jiang Liu Gong is the deity who controls the water veins of the world. In order to express his gratitude for Jiang Liu Gong's achievements, Qianyu City named the first island facing Hukou upstream 'Jiang Liu Island'. Jiang Liu Temple is also located on the island, and a water-suppressing tower has been built to monitor the water veins at any time."

PS: In chapter 359, Ma Sihai mentioned "the flood washed away the temple".

(End of this chapter)