#14: Fengdu Ghost City (2)

At the end of the Yellow Springs Road was the Wangchuan River, flowing through the city. Its water was foul-smelling and yellow, with many maggots floating on it. On the bank, numerous souls waited to cross the river, and shuttling back and forth were small, flat boats. At the bow of each boat hung a dim, yellow oil lamp. The ferrymen, with hunched backs, stood at the bow, pushing long poles, diligently working day after day.

Zichen pulled Yao Yin down, crouching, and wrote on the ground: “Later, don’t speak. Be careful not to reveal your living essence and be discovered by the ghost guards.”

Yao Yin and Yun Yan nodded.

Zichen erased the previous writing and then wrote: “After crossing the Bridge of Helplessness, remember not to drink the Soup of Oblivion. I will distract the ghost guards; you two seize the chaos to enter the Gate of Reincarnation and return to the mortal world.”

“What about you?” Yao Yin wrote.

“I’ll find a way to meet up with you. Once we’re in the mortal world, everything will be fine.”

Yao Yin thought about it, felt this plan was feasible, and nodded. After their discussion, Zichen confidently stepped forward and joined the front of the queue.

Yao Yin was about to erase their writing when she suddenly froze. At this moment, she was not only surprised that Zichen knew the entrances and exits of the Ghost Realm, but even more surprised by his handwriting—his strokes were strong and lean, with sharp points. Even as a casual sand drawing, it gave off a sense of uprightness and grandeur. Could a woodcutter write such beautiful characters? However, what made her even more curious was that she somehow felt she had seen this handwriting somewhere before... Yun Yan rolled his eyes at the dazed Yao Yin, tugged her sleeve, and followed Zichen’s footsteps. Yao Yin felt a pang of reluctance but could only erase the writing on the ground and quickly walked to catch up.

The ghosts on the bank boarded the ferry one after another. The ghost guard thoughtfully glanced at the three of them, then at the Soul Reaper, but said nothing and allowed them to board. Only after getting on the boat did Yao Yin realize that the seemingly calm Wangchuan River was actually not peaceful at all. Ripples gently spread across the river surface, and from time to time, specters reached out their hands, grasping at nothing in the air. The reflection on the water was not one’s own, but the souls submerged at the riverbed. Their faces were deathly pale, submerged in the lake, their eyes wide open, staring at the passing souls. In those eyes, there was mostly resentment, but also, it seemed, another emotion, which she couldn’t recall at the moment...

Yao Yin had no intention of staring at the river, but after a quick glance, she couldn’t tear her eyes away. The water seemed to have a magical pull, making it impossible to escape.

“Hehe...” A silvery, bell-like giggle echoed in her ears. Reflected in the lake were several shy maidens, seemingly of mortal eighteen years. They were sitting around an old pagoda tree, telling interesting anecdotes. And that old pagoda tree was the oldest one in the Heavenly Palace Realm. Among them was a goddess in green, who had just shed her dragon scales and transformed into human form. On her neck and the back of her hands, faint, silvery-white scales with a hint of golden light could still be seen.

Wait, a dragon?

Yes, it was indeed a dragon.

The goddess had a pair of golden eyes, rosy lips, and two dimples when she smiled, which were very beautiful. It seemed as if all the most perfect things in the world were concentrated on her. She sat gracefully by the tree, quietly listening to the little fairy, who stood in the center, speaking with animated eyebrows as she told her story. However, the scene shifted, and a colossal monster fell heavily beneath a large stone inscribed with the words “Zhusheng Palace.” It had a pair of enormous wings and three long, dazzling tails. Its wings were stained crimson with blood, their original color no longer discernible.

Everyone was startled and scattered. Only the goddess was fearless. She helped him into Zhusheng Palace and carefully tended to him. Later, he lived and ate with them. The goddess particularly loved resting securely on his fluffy body at night. After a few years, he shed his wings and transformed into a human. His innocent, tiger-like appearance was quite adorable. The goddess often teased and played tricks on him, making him very embarrassed. At that time, his most frequent gesture was to scratch his head, blushing, and meekly call her: “Senior Sister... I like you the most...”

The scene changed again. Flames of war erupted, burning the Heavenly Palace. Yao Yin saw the most common scene from her dreams. The goddess in green, dressed in red, was stabbed directly in the heart by the man. Her golden eyes stared widely at him, refusing to close until her death.

Liquid traced a path down Yao Yin’s cheeks. She had never before believed the scenes from her dreams to be real. Even if they were real, she didn’t know if they were from the past or the future, and she certainly didn’t know who the person in her dream was. Although everything she saw today was just an illusion in the Wangchuan River, these must have been real events that had occurred in the past to appear now.

The person in the dream... who exactly is he?

Yao Yin racked her brains but couldn’t make sense of it.

Right and wrong are but the Wangchuan River; by the Bridge of Helplessness, one speaks of helplessness. Wangchuan, it is the last place one remembers the past in a lifetime. Upon reaching that river bridge, drinking a bowl of Soup of Oblivion wipes away all past memories.

Yao Yin suddenly thought, perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to drink a bowl of Soup of Oblivion and completely forget the nightmare. But forgetting the nightmare also meant forgetting everything; at that time, she feared she wouldn’t even remember Master Lisheng... Yao Yin sniffed, then suddenly noticed Zichen next to her, leaning outwards, his eyes glazed over, about to reach out and touch the water of Wangchuan.

“Zichen!” Yao Yin blurted out in alarm.

Zichen heard her and immediately snapped back to reality, but it was already too late. Thousands of ghostly faces suddenly appeared on the river surface, grasping at Zichen and pulling him off the boat.

With a “plop,” Zichen fell into the water. Whispers of laughter sounded all around. The ferryman’s shriveled, ancient face showed a strange smile, and the ghost guards watched the surface of the water as if enjoying a joke.

Seeing Zichen sink to the bottom, his expression growing more and more tormented, Yao Yin immediately focused her mind, summoned her immortal energy for protection, and plunged into the river without hesitation. The water of the Wangchuan River parted into two halves at her appearance. Many souls shrieked, their faces twisted and pained. They rushed towards Yao Yin in a stampede, but were blocked by her immortal energy. Yao Yin grabbed Zichen’s hand, swiftly flew upwards, then scooped up Yun Yan, holding him in her arms. Amidst the gasps of the ghosts, they flew straight towards the Bridge of Helplessness.

Zichen was disoriented, still not recovered from his memories. Yun Yan, however, struggled in her arms. There was not a trace of fear in his eyes; he seemed unwilling to leave this ghostly place.

“No living beings allowed in the City of Wrongful Deaths!” came the shouts of the ghost guards from behind. Yao Yin knew that the disturbance in the Wangchuan River must have alerted the guards of the Underworld Palace.

The ghost guards were enraged, and bolts of lightning followed in quick succession. Yao Yin narrowly dodged them, forced to fly at full speed to escape this place of trouble as quickly as possible.

Passing by Wangchuan, walking over Helplessness, behind the Three Lives Stone, there was a giant black hole. Wisps of white mist diffused from outside the hole; the mist was unfathomably deep.

“Ah!” Just then, Yao Yin’s already injured right leg was struck by a bolt of lightning. She could no longer bear the pain and fell from the cloud. The three of them happened to land inside the black hole.