Chapter 32 No god dislikes me! ...
"This is....."
Pingyu, with her sharp eyes, noticed that some gold nuggets were still barely intact amidst the thick pulp. She quickly scooped them out and examined them closely.
It doesn't feel right.
“It’s paper money,” Nezha asserted.
He knew this all too well; every year in Qianyuan Mountain, he would personally fold paper ingots from gold paper. Whether communicating with the gods or descending to the netherworld, these were indispensable items.
How did all that perfectly good gold end up as currency for the underworld?
"Do you think it's a trick?" Mu Zha took the paper gold brick from Ping Yu's hand and frowned at his younger brother.
Nezha's expression was equally grim: "It's troublesome if it's an illusion."
Both he and Muzha had confirmed from above that the room was indeed filled with gold and jade. If this was truly a trick used by someone else, it would prove that the other party's magic was superior to theirs.
The boatmen urged, "Who's paying?"
"Let's get on the ship first." Ping Yu finally made the decision, striking the gavel. She then spread her hands to the remaining three: "How about the fare?"
The money in Nianyouyu's bag had all turned to mush; they couldn't scrape together even a single penny.
"I'll pay."
Under Ping Yu's astonished gaze, Hun Tian Ling placed four gold bricks in Nezha's palm. He explained, "I advised you to take these with you when you took the jade, as travel expenses."
Um?
Before he could get a good look, the boatmen had already taken all four gold bricks away.
"Get on the boat." The man's voice was as thin as the wind brushing the river's surface: "If you don't leave now, you'll have to wait for the next batch."
Pingyu noticed that as they spoke, the blue lamp at the bow of the boat dimmed further. The light was barely visible, with only the flickering sparks from the wick remaining. Suddenly, darkness enveloped the surroundings. She stumbled, pulled by an external force, and heard someone say, "Let's go."
She was carried onto the boat.
With a wooden paddle propelled from the riverbank, the boat moved steadily forward.
Pingyu poked her head out of the boat awning and looked back at the riverbank she had come from.
The riverbank, which was just occupied by them a moment ago, is now densely packed with people. Some, unable to wait for a boat, are even walking straight into the river.
The black water started from the toes and then engulfed the top of the head.
These people seemed oblivious to the dead end ahead, rushing forward one after another, trying to fill the river with their own bodies.
Seeing Pingyu staring intently, Nian Youyu curiously came over and said, "Pingyu, Pingyu, what are you doing... Holy crap!"
The boy couldn't help but swear.
Nian Youyu trembled and shrank back. He was so frightened that he brought up a topic in the boat awning: "Young master, why are your gold bricks made of real gold?"
"have no idea."
He glanced at the other person and said succinctly, "Perhaps there's something wrong with the river water. Any living thing that comes into contact with the Styx River will turn into a dead thing."
"Where is the person?" Nian Youyu was even more frightened: "Can a living person turn into a dead person if they come in? I just drank several sips!"
this......
Nezha and Muzha were stumped by the question.
The River Styx truly only carries the dead.
Are they dead?
.
The boat, passing through layers of mist, finally reached the shore.
The bright moon is like a plate, its cold light shining brightly.
Moving forward from the shore, across the mudflats, the stone gatehouse is not far away.
Other ships also docked at the same time as them, and dark figures emerged from the ships, revealing human shapes.
The cinnabar used to write the plaque seemed to have melted, flowing straight down.
Three words were written on it:
Candeng ferry.
Nian Youyu hesitated for a moment, then hid behind Ping Yu.
"It seems like they're all going here..."
Pingyu: I'm just an ordinary child, is this reasonable?
No one paid any attention to Nian Youyu; everyone else simultaneously started walking towards the Ferry of the Broken Lamp. He jumped twice on the spot, then reluctantly followed.
The ferry crossing is also a town, and most of the townspeople coming and going wear masks.
The bronze mask has a strong sense of déjà vu.
"Nezha," she called out, "Don't you think this looks a lot like what we saw when we first arrived?"
"Worship the gods," the boy uttered the words in her heart, "just like the masks they wear."
Some are money, some are flying insects, and some are even [illegible].
This place is very similar to Cihangwu; apart from the thick darkness of the night sky, it is almost identical to the town above.
There were significantly more people wearing masks around than at Cihangwu.
She said, "Look, both people and ghosts are worshipping the god, which is enough to prove that there's something fishy about that golden toad god. Why don't we join the group and go take a look?"
“But we have no money,” Nian Youyu raised her hand to speak. “Normally it’s fine, but when we go to the Golden Toad God for the worship ceremony, they require proof of funds. Not to mention how much, we don’t have a single penny right now…”
"Damn it!" Pingyu lamented, "I only took the risk because I was too poor, and after all that hard work, I'm even poorer. Wasn't I destined for wealth? Where did my wealth go?"
Muzha was incredulous when he heard the word "poor." He turned to Nezha and asked, "Didn't your parents give you a monthly allowance?"
He had only been away from home for a few years, yet his younger brother's relationship with the family had deteriorated to such an extent!
“...I didn’t bring it.” Nezha said calmly.
Three small dark clouds loomed over the area, and Muzha, naturally, was penniless during his cultivation.
Sigh, it's a dismal situation.
The worry lasted only a few moments, and Pingyu quickly composed himself.
She said, "You can't get anywhere without money; you have to work first."
But the Ferry Crossing is shrouded in an eeriness; even the fare is paper money, and no one knows how to find a job.
"Working is too slow."
Nezha rejected Pingyu's suggestion. His clear black and white eyes darted around, and he said, "I have a better way."
Last time it was a kind-hearted person making a donation, this time it's...
Nezha ran out.
After a stick of incense had burned, he brought a huge burlap sack and four bronze masks.
Pingyu didn't dare to ask.
Muzha was blunt: "Nezha, where did this come from?"
"I picked them up from the ground." He handed out the masks, lying through his teeth: "I thought nobody wanted them, so I took them back."
"Oh, I see. You're lucky, Nezha!"
Second brother, don't believe it!
Nian Youyu gave a thumbs up: "I've wanted to do this for a long time!"
Sigh, this team really lacks a sense of morality.
But it's a ghost, not a human, so never mind!
Ping Yu put on the mask with a calm and composed demeanor.
They followed the procession toward the temple where the golden toad was enshrined.
It's quite a journey from here to the mountain. Nian Youyu, unable to bear the silence, took the initiative to start a conversation: "Speaking of which, I heard that the temple outside the mountain used to enshrine the Golden Toad God, not the Golden Toad God, but a shrine."
"An ancestral hall?" the three asked.
"Demons can't turn paper into gold." Countless people worshipped the gods, their heads thronging the area, so many wearing masks that they looked like faceless ghosts. Nezha said, "Besides, even if the temple is ruined, there are still gods living inside."
"What god?"
"Yin spirit".
We've arrived at Jinchan Temple.
The temple was dilapidated and leaky, with no signboard or plaque.
The roof tiles are carved with rows of bronze animal heads, their eyes dotted with cinnabar, exuding a fierce aura.
The Golden Toad God is enshrined in the main hall; it is the first temple you encounter upon entering.
Nian Youyu wondered to himself, "Could what Grandma said be true?"
"It's a bit different from what I've seen...?" After observing it carefully, he came to a conclusion. The boy drew a circle around both the toad's feet and mouth: "The golden toads outside the mountain have three legs, but this one has four. And why is there a kiln under its mouth?"
"Three-legged golden toad, four-legged demon toad." There was no response. The boy frowned and muttered to himself, "Why is there no demonic aura?"
Nezha was a spirit pearl descended from heaven, naturally gifted with the ability to distinguish demons and ghosts. However, ever since entering the casino, his senses seemed to have gone awry. Just now, when facing the boatman collecting paper money, even though he knew perfectly well that the man was either a demon or a ghost, his senses still mistook him for a human.
“Yes.” Pingyu nodded, showing her arm to the others.
She was born to attract ghosts, overflowing with spiritual energy. She would get goosebumps whenever she encountered something strange. People looked at her arms and face; they were as smooth as porcelain.
She said, "I actually feel safer here than up there."
This place is very strange.
The flames instantly engulfed the paper-made gold brick, spitting out bluish-green fire. White smoke twisted into a thread and drilled into the toad's mouth.
Before long, the fire went out.
The smoke condensed into gold bricks, which poured continuously from the toad's mouth. The man filled two burlap sacks and left, satisfied.
"They actually have money that just keeps flowing out?" Nian Youyu and Ping Yu exclaimed in unison, rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
Nezha and Muzha looked at the four-legged demon toad and fell into thought.
"Could it be the technique of growth?" Mu Zha: "Nezha, I am not as good as you in terms of magic."
"I'm afraid not."
The boy compared what he had just witnessed with the spells he had learned. Even the technique of proliferation was merely the differentiation of spiritual energy, a branch of illusion. But these gold bricks were clearly not fake; otherwise, so many believers wouldn't have come to worship them. Not to mention how much demonic energy would have been consumed to create the gold bricks needed to attract so many believers.
Seeing the two of them still arguing, Pingyu picked up the bag on the ground and said, "Let's just go and burn it. There's no one there!"
Before the newcomers could catch up, the group had just reached them.
As Nezha dragged the bag closer, the kiln seemed to sense something and burst into flames. He followed the example of his predecessors, pouring in paper bricks and letting the heat devour them into ashes. White mist seeped into the demon toad's tongue, but after a long while, no more gold bricks were expelled.
"..." Pingyu looked at Nezha, who was equally puzzled, and asked cautiously, "Have you offended the God of Wealth recently?"
"How is that possible!?" Nezha reacted even more strongly: "No god dislikes me."
How can anyone say such a thing with such confidence?
Ping Yu pursed his lips and didn't respond.
When Nian Youyu saw the money being swallowed, he panicked and kept circling around. He gritted his teeth and burrowed directly under the toad's mouth.
"What is this?" Two thick, hemp-colored objects were swaying in the toad's mouth. It looked very large, completely blocking the statue's mouth. The boy turned to his companions and called out, "Look, it looks like it's blocked."
Muzha immediately stepped forward, grabbed the two hemp-colored strips, and pulled them outwards.
The cultivator's strength was far beyond that of ordinary people; the young man barely exerted any effort, yet the object in his hand was pulled out intact. In an instant, a torrent of golden liquid gushed from the demon toad's mouth.
The ghost that Nezha robbed was a wealthy man, carrying a considerable amount of money. The gold bricks almost swallowed Nian Youyu and Muzha whole, raining down on them head to head.
Pingyu and Nezha rushed over, trying to pull the two out.
"Second Prince, what did you pull out?"
Ping asked.
“I knew it was impossible for any deity not to like me,” Nezha said.
After they finished speaking, they both stopped digging bricks and stared blankly at each other.
They both saw the same message on each other's faces:
Now is the time to talk about this!?
In the silence, Muzha emerged alone.
He said irritably, "By the time it takes you two to save people, I'll have to be reincarnated twice."
The young man threw out what he had in his hand.
The fish and the things that were pulled out fell together onto the gold bricks scattered on the ground.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." The boy rubbed his buttocks, wincing and gasping for breath.
"May you have fish in the year?"
Hearing someone call his name, Nian Youyu looked up. He was met with a haggard face. Recognizing the person, he exclaimed in surprise, "Yan Erlang!?"
Nezha and Pingyu were jolted back to their senses by the name.
They were right there and could see the man's face clearly:
This is the same boy who was beaten half to death by the woman when he first entered the casino, and who was shouting crazy things.
Yan Erlang only snapped out of his daze when his name was called. He looked at Nian Youyu, and as if he had thought of something, his face suddenly turned deathly pale: "You're here all the time, could it be... that I'm really dead?"
This sentence structure is quite intriguing, and the other three turned their gazes to the stunned boy.
"You're clearly dead! I only fell out because I saw your memorial tablet!" Yan Erlang buried his head in the gold bricks, muttering, "You were right here. I remember you fell out with me..."
Nian Youyu panicked and hurriedly turned to the others, saying, "He's the one spreading rumors and sowing discord! I'm not dead!"
The two accused each other and hurled insults at each other, calling each other dead.
Based on the available information, Pingyu and Nezha are more inclined to believe that "Yan Erlang" is the one who is already dead. After all, they met Nian Youyu at a casino, and Yan Erlang was already in a half-dead state when he first appeared.
"It's alright, I believe you..."
Before Ping Yu could even finish his comforting words, Yan Erlang had found what he was looking for. He held up a wooden sign and shouted, "It's right here!"
Nian Youyu quickly snatched it away, looked it over from left to right, and said with an embarrassed smile, "I can't read..."
Pingyu took it from his hand.
The words carved on it were very simple, containing only a few sentences. The girl read them aloud verbatim:
"The youngest son of the Nian family, Youyu, lived to the age of five."
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