The woman, who looked like a drowned ghost, did not react at all and remained standing quietly.

Water droplets kept sliding down her hair and the hem of her clothes, making a dripping sound that was particularly clear in this deathly silent, gloomy place.

Seeing that ordinary verbal communication was completely ineffective, the Taoist priest pondered for a moment and took out a blank yellow talisman.

Then, he bit his fingertip and quickly drew a talisman with his blood. This talisman was not for exorcising evil spirits, but for communicating with ghosts.

He tossed the talisman into the air, and it immediately ignited without fire, turning into a wisp of green smoke that drifted straight toward the female ghost.

The moment the smoke touched the female ghost's body, she seemed to be stimulated, suddenly raising her head, her wet hair flying back to reveal her face.

It was a pale, swollen face, deformed from being soaked in water!

Its features were blurred, its lips were purplish-black, but its eyes were bloodshot and looked like they were dripping blood!

It was filled with endless pain, despair, and resentment!

I couldn't help but smile wryly. It seemed this ghost wasn't as easy to talk to as the old man from before.

Moreover, the old man had no intention of harming anyone, while this ghost was probably no different from a vengeful spirit, the kind that would kill anyone it saw.

However, she seemed to be suppressed in this dark realm; otherwise, she would have attacked us immediately.

"ah!!!"

Even though we hadn't done anything, a piercing scream suddenly erupted from her mouth, making my eardrums ache!

Luo Tianhe and Li Huai also covered their ears in pain and squatted on the ground.

Only Master Zhang Qingxiao swayed slightly, managing to steady his mind.

After the screams, countless fragmented and chaotic images and information streams, like a movie playing, rushed into our minds along with the lingering smoke from the spirit talisman!

The icy river water, the biting darkness, the ankles entangled by algae, the more you struggle, the tighter they become.

A feeling of utter despair, suffocation, and a burning pain in my lungs!

As the pain spread through our lungs, the images in our minds became far more concrete and clear than before.

Before me lay a wide, swift-flowing river, the night deep, its surface reflecting the dim light of the sky.

A woman, dressed in a worn floral dress, with her hands tied behind her back and a rag stuffed in her mouth, was kneeling at the bow of a dilapidated awning boat.

She must be what this female ghost looked like when she was alive.

I pondered this silently in my heart.

Judging from the numerous injuries she sustained, she must have died in a man-made disaster. No wonder she harbors such deep resentment.

She was still struggling desperately, her eyes filled with disbelief, terror, and tears, and she was making muffled, desperate noises in her throat.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't spit out the rag in her mouth, and she couldn't speak at all.

There were three people standing in front of her.

One of them was a boatman with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, and lewd eyes. He was rubbing his hands together and grinning with yellow teeth.

A fat man with a face full of scars, wearing a silk mandarin jacket, was weighing a small money bag in his hand, making a clinking sound as the coins jingled. His eyes were full of greed.

The last one was a thin, hunched old man with shifty eyes.

The female ghost seemed to want to talk to him, but he didn't dare to look her in the eye and just bowed to the fat man with his head down.

I heard his voice: "Master Wang, my daughter has brought you some money. Look at this..."

"Don't worry, Old Zhou, the agreed-upon five taels of silver will not be shortchanged by a single penny."

Fat Master Wang tossed the money pouch to the old man, then glanced at the woman trembling violently at the bow of the boat, and licked his lips:

"This girl has a bit of a fiery temper, but she's quite pretty. The River God should like her!"

River God Festival!

I immediately understood what was happening!

They were going to throw her alive into the river as an offering to the so-called river god, to pray for good weather and a bountiful harvest, or perhaps to cover up some more sordid deal!

The person who kidnapped her was actually her own father, all for a mere five taels of silver.

I know that ancient times were marked by male chauvinism and feudal superstition, but those who could do such things were often not human, but true beasts.

"The time has come. If you still can't bear to watch the scene then, you should leave," said the fat Master Wang, letting out a strange laugh, the source of which was unclear.

"Oh, well, I'll be leaving now. After all, I raised him myself, and I really feel a little reluctant to do so."

His father spoke almost obsequiously, and after receiving the money, his attitude towards the fat man became even more respectful.

As for his claim of not being able to bear it, that's clearly a load of nonsense.

Just then, the woman finally spat out the rag from her mouth and, with all her might, pleaded with her father:

"Father, save me! Don't make me sacrifice to the river god! They must have other motives, sob sob..."

Before she could finish speaking, the boatman slapped her hard across the face.

Then the boatman picked up the rag that had fallen to the ground, rubbed it maliciously against the dirty side of the boat, and stuffed it back into her mouth.

Her so-called father merely turned his head and glanced at her.

They're both fathers, so why is there such a big difference?

A man's obsession with his missing daughter lasted for hundreds of years, and he kept lighting a guiding lamp, just so that his daughter could return home!

The other one, for just five taels of silver, sold his daughter alive—no, this shouldn't be considered selling, it was murder.

With her father gone, the woman fell into utter despair.

"It's a bit of a waste that Master Wang offered it up to the River God like this, otherwise we..."

The boatman's voice rang out, his tone filled with lewdness.

"Ahem, it's an offering to the River God, after all. You expect him to wear your worn-out shoes?" Master Wang laughed heartily. "However, a little tampering is fine. Working for me will bring you plenty of benefits!"

The next scene was the boatman and Master Wang's lewd behavior. I closed my eyes, feeling a little reluctant to do so, but the image kept playing in my mind.

After being humiliated for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Master Wang, panting heavily, wiped the grease off his face.

"Alright, time's up. Throw her down."

"Okay."

With a "plop," the icy river water instantly swallowed her up.

The rope binding her hands had loosened considerably due to their lewd acts and her previous struggles.

Driven by extreme fear and a will to survive, she managed to break free. She struggled to the surface and swam toward the other side of the shore.

As long as you can swim to the shore, where there are reeds as tall as a person, there is hope of survival!

However, things didn't go as planned!

With the sound of oars slicing through the water, the boatman actually rowed the boat up to her.