The journey to Fengdu was longer than it appeared. The three of them walked along the road in silence.
They didn’t see a single living creature along the way— or rather, no conscious beings that could move, since this was the ghost realm, where living things were probably the rarest of all.
Feeling a chill from her own thoughts, Shang CÃ n wrinkled her nose in boredom, realizing that this place was far from what she had imagined.
“Didn’t expect it to look like this?”
Perhaps noticing the emotion on her face, Pei Chen smiled and said, “The entrance is quite remote, so it’s normal not to see any ghost tribe traces for now. If the entrance were directly in Fengdu city, the scene we would have encountered upon arrival might have aligned more with your expectations, CÃ n.”
“Let’s not go there,” Shang CÃ n sighed. “In my imagination, I was prepared for a fight as soon as I landed.”
Thus, the calm journey they were currently on made her feel powerless, like she had swung a fist against cotton. To dispel this feeling, she initiated a conversation with Pei Chen: “It seems like Jun Kunyao knows a lot about this place. Have you been here many times?”
“… Yes.”
Pei Chen paused for a moment, then nodded: “I come here every month.”
Shang CÃ n’s brows shot up, and she wanted to exchange a glance with Yunduan, but the latter seemed lost in thought, her gaze lowered. So she just rolled her eyes and asked, “Every month? That’s quite frequent.”
Pei Chen’s gaze flickered subtly as he replied, “It’s part of my responsibilities.”
Shang CÃ n shot a cold glance at his unconsciously clenched fist, sighing inwardly that this heavenly leader was quite bad at lying.
It was probably related to the personal matter he had mentioned earlier about not sealing this entrance in time. Shang CÃ n thought, wondering what could have compelled such a serious person to defy the commands of their leader.
“I think I see something.”
The usually silent Yunduan suddenly spoke up, prompting the other two to look up. Sure enough, they spotted a few shadows in the red mist.
Wanting to avoid lingering on the previous topic, Pei Chen quickly took the lead, lowering his voice: “Up ahead is Fengdu’s protective river, also known as the River of Forgetfulness.”
“It’s the River of Forgetfulness—” Hearing a term she had read in a book before, Shang Cà n’s eyes lit up for a moment, then furrowed her brows again as she quietly asked, “…So those figures I see now, which look like people, are…?”
Yunduan echoed her soft tone and replied, “They’re ghosts.”
The flawless celestial body was particularly sensitive to the aura of non-human entities, making Shang CÃ n tense up. But she quickly realized that Yunduan had said “ghosts” rather than “ghost tribe,” and she looked at Yunduan, receiving a confirming nod in return.
“They’re probably newly deceased individuals who haven’t yet transformed into ghost tribe members,” she whispered. “Their ghostly aura is weak, far less chilling than the ghost tribe members we’ve encountered.”
“Exactly, we need to pass ourselves off as such newly deceased ghosts.”
Pei Chen said this as he moved ahead, signaling to the two: “Newly deceased ghosts have to go to the River of Forgetfulness to see if they qualify to cross over. If they can’t see the other side and re-enter the cycle of reincarnation, they’ll need to come up with a new plan.”
Right, she remembered reading about that. When newly deceased arrive in the ghost realm, they must first check the River of Forgetfulness to see if they can make it to the other side. If not, they would need to make further plans.
She pondered absentmindedly, thinking that those who could see the other side upon arrival must be the minority. Following Pei Chen closely, she suddenly stopped before heading to the River of Forgetfulness and grabbed Yunduan’s hand.
“Hold onto me for now,” Shang CÃ n said earnestly. “If we meet the real deal, and you get sniffed out as a flawless celestial body, we can escape together.”
“…”
Yunduan blinked in surprise, chuckling lightly, her graceful brows arching in a smile: “Then what about Jun Kunyao?”
“He…” Shang CÃ n furrowed her brows, thought for a moment, and ultimately didn’t say the cold words, “He can take care of himself.” Instead, she replied dryly, “I don’t really want to hold his hand.”
Pei Chen, feeling rejected, stiffened for a moment before quietly reassuring them: “Don’t worry, as long as we have those talismans, Jun Yungong won’t be exposed.”
“Is that so? Then that’s good.”
Feeling somewhat relieved, Shang CÃ n held Yunduan’s hand and nodded at Pei Chen with a composed expression: “Then let’s go.”
This time, Pei Chen lagged behind. He paused, his gaze falling on the intertwined hands of the two in front of him, his lips pressed tightly together, appearing somewhat despondent.
At the River of Forgetfulness, newly deceased ghosts gathered.
As Shang CÃ n passed by a man with a gray-white complexion, she couldn’t help but sigh when she looked at the groups of ghosts ahead.
Initially distant, she hadn’t noticed, but now up close, she realized there were quite a number of ghosts by the riverside. Most of them craned their necks towards the other side, their faces all showing the same dazed expression.
…Fortunately, these ghosts in the Netherworld didn’t seem to lack physical forms like those in the cultivation realm. Observing two drunken ghosts colliding without getting back up, Shang CÃ n secretly felt relieved; otherwise, with this density of ghosts, the three living humans would inadvertently bump into a ghost while passing by.
“New arrivals again.”
Just as they were struggling to move forward, a voice suddenly spoke up, clearly addressing them. Shang CÃ n held her breath, making an effort to adjust her expression to resemble that of the previous gray-faced man before slowly turning around.
“You are?”
To her surprise, the ghost before her didn’t look as dismal as most ghosts. He was a young man, appearing no more than twenty, with a cheerful demeanor. If it weren’t for his pale complexion compared to the living, he would be indistinguishable from an ordinary person.
“Don’t be so wary,” the young man waved his hand. “I just saw you looking a bit lost, so I came over to chat—after all, I’ve been where you are, and I know what it feels like to arrive here. It’s understandable to be unhappy right after you die.”
“…”
Shang CÃ n was stunned; this ghost seemed quite chatty, yet also terrible at conversation.
Even Shang CÃ n, the most eloquent among the three, hesitated for a moment before replying, “So, what you’re saying is… you’re not a newcomer?”
“Exactly. If we’re counting, I’ve been here far longer than you.”
Not quite sure what he was bragging about, the young man proudly placed his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest: “I’ve been wandering here for at least ten years!”
“…”
Shang CÃ n fell silent for the second time, looking at Yunduan. Worry reflected in both of their eyes, implying the same concern: Ten years have passed; surely this ghost isn’t turning into a ghost tribe member?
Fortunately, the young man’s next sentence eased her worries: “But now I can see the other side of the River of Forgetfulness. I’m just waiting for the ferryman to row me across, and I can leave this place to be reincarnated.”
“…Is that so?”
Shang Cà n secretly sighed in relief and looked towards the River of Forgetfulness in the direction he pointed—by the way, she couldn’t see where the bank was—she indeed spotted a bamboo raft making its way toward the shore. She nodded, feeling impressed: “It seems you’ve let go of your attachments; congratulations.”
“Thank you, thank you.”
The young man smiled and cupped his hands in gratitude for her congratulations, lamenting, “From the looks of you, it seems you can’t see the other side, right?”
Shang CÃ n honestly shook her head, and the young man nodded understandingly, glancing at Pei Chen and Yunduan beside her, lingering a bit longer on Yunduan. Just as Shang CÃ n began to feel wary, he casually leaned closer and said, “That lady is really beautiful. I see you two holding hands; are you close?”
“…Is that important?”
What’s wrong with this guy? Even after becoming a ghost, he’s still thinking about beautiful girls? Shang CÃ n replied curtly, only to see the oblivious young man nodding in agreement: “It’s not really that important, since we’re all dead now.”
Shang Cà n felt that talking to this ghost was a complete waste of precious time. Unable to endure any longer, she turned away, only to suddenly hear the young man sigh softly, saying, “My… my fiancée, she was also very beautiful.”
His tone shifted abruptly to one of nostalgia and tenderness. Shang CÃ n, caught off guard, stopped in her tracks and looked at him again.
“I died on my way to propose.” He recounted his death in a calm manner, even adding a touch of humor: “What bad luck! I was robbed not long after leaving home; it seems my father offended someone in business, so they took revenge on him through me.”
“At that time, I really wanted to live, especially since I was about to marry the person I loved; we hadn’t even held our wedding yet.”
As he spoke, a hint of regret emerged in his voice: “But unfortunately, I couldn’t fulfill that wish.”
“When I first arrived here, I was so sad. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see the end of this River of Forgetfulness. I kept wondering why this was happening to me—I hadn’t done anything wrong.”
“But soon I stopped caring, because…” The man paused, “Later, when newcomers from my hometown came down, they told me that my fiancée had shut herself in at home, and everyone said she had a husband-killing fate.”
“I was furious. It’s those bandits who are at fault; why should they blame her?”
Though he was recounting events from years ago, the anger still burned within him as he continued, “I couldn’t keep my promise to marry her, and that has nothing to do with her. She was just…”
He fell silent for a moment, then continued softly, “Just someone who has suffered so much unfair criticism because of me.”
“…”
Shang Can listened quietly and asked, “So you’ve been wandering here for ten years?”
“Yeah.” The man nodded candidly. “It was really tough. Many people who came here with me have changed. They say that if they become like that, they can return to the living world—but I’ve always felt something was off.”
“If I were to become like that,” he gazed into the distance and murmured, “she wouldn’t be happy to see me like this, would she?”
A heavy silence fell over them. Shang Can didn’t know what to say, but the man suddenly changed back to a cheerful tone.
“But but,” he brightened, a faint light appearing on his pale face, “just yesterday, someone told me some news.”
“She has a new engagement; her fiancé treats her very well, and his family is quite well-off.”
“I can’t quite describe what I felt when I heard that,” the man said, tilting his head in contemplation. “To put it simply—’That’s great!'”
“And now, when I look at the River of Forgetfulness, I can actually see the other side.”
As he spoke, he gazed toward the River of Forgetfulness. Shang Can felt as if she could see the boundless waters on the other side through his eyes. She turned to look, only to find a vast ocean again. The ferryman, wearing a conical hat, had already brought his bamboo raft to the shore, and several ghosts were slowly making their way toward it.
“Then I should be going.”
With a relaxed smile, the man pointed at the bamboo raft. Shang Can nodded, watching him leave. He took a couple of steps but suddenly stopped and rushed back to her side.
“I’m telling you all this because these ten years have been really hard. I’ve never seen a ghost linger here longer than I have.”
“But if I had given up waiting back then and turned into a ghost tribe member… then I would never have heard this good news.”
“So,” he said, patting Shang Can’s shoulder with emotion, “you must be a good person for being willing to listen to me, so you have to hold on!”
A sharp whistle sounded from the bamboo raft, probably urging him along. The man flinched, quickly waving his hand to her as he turned and ran toward the raft, this time not looking back.
The three of them watched as the bamboo raft disappeared from view. Pei Chen murmured, “He seems like a very simple person.”
“Yeah.” Yunduan replied softly, “It seems that even ghosts here know that becoming a ghost tribe member isn’t a good thing; it’s just hard to keep their true selves.”
“…”
Only Shang Can remained silent, staring blankly at the boundless River of Forgetfulness. Exhausted, she closed her eyes for a moment and slowly stepped forward.
“…I really can’t see the shore, no matter how I look.”
She spoke to herself, and the other two quickly followed. Yunduan remarked, “After all, we’re not the same; this is normal.”
Pei Chen also tried to comfort her not to be too affected by the man’s story. Shang Can absentmindedly responded, recalling the man’s words.
“Just hold on!”
She sighed softly.
“…Our situation is quite different.”
She mumbled, lowering her head, but suddenly realized that the reflection on the water’s surface was not the mask she wore but her true face.
Those enchanting peach blossom eyes in the reflection looked at her mischievously before suddenly curling into a smile.
In the next moment, the calm waters of the River of Forgetfulness surged violently, pulling Shang Can into its depths.
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