Chapter 7, Crossing the Shadow

As the board is lifted, a ripple suddenly spreads across the endless void. Clearly, there is not a single drop of water, yet the sound of the board breaking the surface of the water resonates throughout this realm

"You have a strong desire to survive," Grandma said leisurely as she exhaled a puff of smoke. "Those who have consumed the Tai Sui do not live or die, nor do they grow; they are not recognized by the realms of Yin and Yang. Now that the underworld has come to a standstill, your good days are naturally coming to an end. The better outcome is to become a wandering spirit drifting about, while the worse outcome is..."

Between the ferry and the skeleton bridge lies an endless chasm, which these specters are utterly unable to reach. The moment they take a step forward, they immediately plunge into the infinite abyss below, and instantly, a chorus of joyful female laughter echoes from within the depths.

The ghostly paper money fluttering in the air due to the fall of the spirits is as breathtaking as the clouds of mist splashed up by a waterfall cascading down three thousand feet

I really... I don't want it anymore, is that okay?

Beneath this endless abyss lies something terrifying, quietly waiting like a hunting spider for the souls that dare to enter its domain

Silently watching the two walk along the path of bones. Moreover, with each step Grandmother takes, those enormous eyes retreat a step. It is as if the entire starry sky begins to sway.

"Are you looking for death?" Grandmother exclaimed angrily, "Look at your feet!"

Even further, if you are fortunate enough to be promoted to a position above that of a ghost officer, there is no need to traverse the underworld; you can directly take action on this path between the living and the dead. Alright, bow your head, we have arrived, you may speak now

Oh?

For thousands of years, I have never known his name. He never speaks a word, quietly bringing people to my presence and then silently departing. We thought we would gaze at each other in silence forever, who would have known...

"What is the rush?" His grandmother gave him a look that said, "Young people are always so careless," and then said solemnly, "This ship... is not something that just anyone can steer. Only those who can ferry others are qualified to be true messengers of the underworld. Whether you can be promoted to a formal messenger and enter the civil service system of the underworld depends on whether you can steer and navigate effectively"

Since it is not appropriate to ask, then do not ask. Grandmother seemed to know what he wanted to ask and said softly: You have lived too long, much more perceptive than ordinary people. Some questions are better kept in the heart.

Grandmother finally spoke, her gaze steady: "What do you want to say"

Your superficial conjecture merely anticipates one ten-thousandth of the great terror you are about to witness

"It is possible, Dog Egg." Grandmother lit her pipe and said softly, "You have three days left to live."

This is called crossing the yin. If your cultivation is sufficient, you can find the soul you seek within seven days. It is even possible to temporarily restore the other party's consciousness and converse with them. The so-called soul summoning by those sorcerers in the realm of the living is merely a temporary retrieval of the soul from here when the ghost has not yet fully departed, and there remains a final breath of yang energy.

These gigantic figures, resembling small mountains, are more than dozens of times larger than my grandmother. Their ghostly, fiery eyes shimmer in the surging sea of fog like countless stars in the sky, fixated intently on Qin Ye. However, not a single one dares to approach.

Qin Ye heard something unprecedented, and his gaze grew increasingly serious: "What on earth has happened in the underworld?"

She used a smoking gun to draw a circle around the skeletal bridge, filled to the brim with spirits: "Choose one?"

Qin Ye took a deep breath, and an absurd thought surged in his mind. He stepped forward and said tremulously, "The underworld... has come to a standstill?"

Qin Ye gritted his teeth: "Then who am I supposed to ferry? What exactly are you looking for? Can you give me a clear answer!"

Qin Ye fell onto the ferry with a thud, wishing he could curse three times with an expletive! Rubbing his waist as he stood up, his grandmother's voice floated over slowly: "Shake and sway, the spirits that hear the ferry sound will automatically gather around you. However, they cannot come over; you saw it just now, not everyone can board this boat. And between the ferry and this road, there exists a terrifying presence. So you can rest assured." And between the ferry and this road, there exists a terrifying presence. So you can rest assured.

Qin Ye immediately focused his mind and lowered his head

Wait! In Qin Ye's mind, alarm bells rang instantly as he looked at his grandmother with distrust: "What do you mean by the last misfortune? What nonsense are you talking about? I don't recall ever agreeing to that. Moreover, what is with this tone of delivering a final message?"

No wonder...! No wonder the situation in the human realm is escalating every day, no wonder there has been a sudden outbreak of so many supernatural events...! The human realm... is transforming into a living hell

It was an ancient ferry, measuring a full 1,000 meters in length, quietly suspended in the void. However, where the ferryman should have been, there now stood a golden skeleton.

As soon as he stepped out, he felt a sudden emptiness beneath his feet, and his body lost balance abruptly. Then, a strong force came from his arm, yanking him back violently

Come on... go to that ship, shake and sway, prove that you are qualified to become the last messenger of the underworld

Once the underworld comes to a standstill, where will the hundreds of billions of souls go

She shook her head and did not continue speaking

Qin Ye looked down with cold sweat all over his head, and beneath his feet, under the bones, was actually an abyss of ten thousand zhang deep

Interesting. Grandmother did not speak immediately; after a long while, she finally laughed softly and said: "Young man, your imagination is quite rich. But ..."

Pit!

Qin Ye's voice suddenly dropped by an octave: "... ... No, we are having a pleasant conversation, could you not suddenly switch to this horror channel?"

The second horn sounded, and the ferry slowly turned around. As the ferry rotated, the spirits on the skeletal bridge finally began to move. They stared intently at the ferry, each holding ghost money in their hands, stepping forward without any awareness. Immediately, the entire tide of spirits began to slowly surge forward.

Grandmother's lips parted slightly, and Qin Ye shook his head, continuing, "Moreover, I had thought before that the number of wandering souls during the Ghost Festival... is abnormally high. Yet now, these souls are unable to enter the gates of the underworld. Furthermore, not a single ghost messenger has appeared, which is even more unusual."

Grandmother's gaze was incredibly complex: "It is not death... but rather departure..."

Gazing directly into his grandmother's eyes, he spoke each word clearly: "Who can instantly obliterate the ferryman?"

Qin Ye seemed to be lost in thought as he withdrew his gaze. At that moment, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, his eyes brightened sharply, and he looked at the boatman once again in disbelief, taking a step forward involuntarily.

His posture was just like that of a ferryman, even his hands were straining to push and pull. This was a sudden death, completely unexpected, even from the perspective of a ferryman. Moreover, it was an instantaneous obliteration, to the extent that he remained in that position even after his passing

The ferry rests in the void, creating an illusion that one can cross over solid ground, yet this is far from the truth

In this situation, Qin Ye could not help but recall a song in his mind: "Let us row our oars ~ ~ the little boat pushes aside the waves ~ ~ the water surface reflects the fierce ghosts, surrounded by ~ the wicked old woman ~ ~.

Hundreds and thousands of spirits, with the previous batch falling into the abyss, followed closely by the next batch, endlessly plunging into the abyss, have surprisingly formed a...! ... waterfall of souls!

The abyss of ten thousand fathoms is not terrifying; what is truly frightening is... This abyss can only be seen once one steps off the bridge... Moreover... At the moment he fell, he vaguely heard a series of soft, giggling laughs from below, as countless black waves erupted violently from the bottom of the abyss, spreading wildly along the mountain walls.

She stared intently at Qin Ye, speaking each word clearly: "Do not use human hearts to speculate about the ghosts... They are a thousand times more terrifying than you can imagine..."

The ferryman has died, and at this very moment, continuous supernatural events are occurring in the mortal realm. Can I assume that this great upheaval in the underworld is the root cause of the dramatic changes in the mortal realm?

How many people die in a day

Qin Ye gently brushed aside his grandmother's hand, and the two locked eyes: "I have a question. I am not sure whether I should ask it or not."

Grandmother Su Rong said: "Do not think that this is merely the first section of the road to the underworld and let your guard down. There are far too many unimaginable entities along this path. This is a forbidden zone for the living; one misstep could lead to a dead end"

Before his words had finished, a tremendous force came from behind Qin Ye, and he was swept away like a leaf in the wind, floating towards the ferry. During his flight, countless dark energies suddenly erupted from his body, and the ghostly attire transformed in an instant.

A sudden sound of a horn echoed from the ship, and at that moment, all the spirits at the skeletal bridge raised their heads in unison, looking this way.

Grandmother sneered: "Useless, living too long makes one perceptive. No matter how much you pretend to be innocent in front of me, it is of no use. You are just like me; beneath the surface, the heart is dark. Furthermore... do you think that when you arrive in my territory, you can still act willfully like this little ghost of a hundred years?"

That is not the Black Tide

However, this cannot possibly deter the countless spirits that come one after another; this ship stands out like a lighthouse in a storm, remarkably conspicuous

"He... is dead?" Qin Ye murmured

but ... ... hair

This style is completely off!

A green hat and a green raincoat, with bones of pure gold, still gripping the oar, slightly bending at the waist, head down, striking a pose of exertion. It is hard to imagine that this ordinary-sized skeleton is the ferryman of this thousand-meter ferry. On the other side, at the skeletal bridgehead, countless spirits, having unknowingly grasped the ghostly banknotes, stare intently at that skeleton.

Without waiting for his grandmother to respond, he said in a deep voice: "I just suddenly realized... the death of the ferryman was by no means a natural death"

The scene is extremely magnificent

I shake, I shake immediately... When it comes to ruthlessness, I only bow to the group of people below you. Qin Ye, with tears of despair, bowed three times to the golden skeleton, gently moved it aside, and pressed down hard on the shaking device.

Upon uttering this sentence, even Qin Ye could not help but shudder all over; this speculation was too terrifying, so terrifying that he himself could hardly believe it

This skeletal path has reached its end, where a large ship stands prominently.