After all, only the dead don't increase strength.
They suddenly remembered the dead people in the cemetery.
Wei Xin gave a stiff smile: "You'll find out about this soon enough, provided you can survive in the burial ground."
His stiff smile, combined with the eerie environment, gave off an indescribable sense of dread.
"Alright, now it's time to talk about compensation."
"remuneration?"
Wei Xin nodded: "You don't think I warned you just now out of kindness, do you? I saved you, and now you need to repay me. Newcomers, here's a piece of information for you, remember, in the burial ground, the most important thing is not your strength, but your money. Here, money is everything."
This left everyone completely bewildered.
"Money? What good is money in this godforsaken place?"
"The money I'm talking about isn't real money, but ghost money."
"Ghost money!? Are you kidding me? Even if you're making a deal with the supernatural, ghost money is useless. The supernatural isn't the kind of supernatural thing in the traditional sense."
"That's right, it's ghost money, but I didn't say I was trading with the supernatural, but with the dead. You'll understand the importance of ghost money in a moment. Now let's continue talking about payment. I know you don't have any ghost money right now, but you can owe me. I saved your lives, so considering you're still newcomers, I'll pay you 100,000 ghost money each."
Everyone frowned, not because they disliked Wei Xin asking for money, but because they disliked that he was a riddle-maker who wouldn't say anything and that everything would be revealed in a moment.
Li Xiaoru said with dissatisfaction, "Even if you hadn't reminded us, the mere white silk ribbon wouldn't have been able to trap us."
Yang Ming seemed to be naturally sensitive to money. As soon as he heard the other party asking for money, no matter what kind of money it was, he couldn't just arrive at the burial site and haven't done anything yet, only to be in debt.
He retorted, "We didn't ask you to remind us! You volunteered to remind us, and you want money for it? What kind of money?"
Wei Xin seemed completely unafraid of people defaulting on their debts, and his tone remained calm and unhurried throughout.
“I taught you the method, and since you used my method, you have to pay. Here’s a friendly reminder: never think about shirking your payment at the burial site. This is a rule we all agreed on. If you don’t pay, you’ll become a public enemy.”
Oh, by the way, this young man doesn't need to pay; after all, he used his own method. I'm a person who values fairness and impartiality above all else. The rest of you will each receive 100,000 ghost money, not a penny less.
Although no one knew the purpose of the ghost money, seeing Wei Xin's money-grubbing attitude, it was not hard to guess that the ghost money must be extremely important at the burial site.
"Also, the boat tickets for later will cost money. The ticket price is 1,000 ghost coins per person. I know you don't have any ghost coins right now, but I can lend them to you first. After you earn money, each of you can pay me back 10,000."
"You don't need to worry about not earning ghost money. You're at least some of the fourth-tier cultivators. Those of third-tier shouldn't worry either; since you've come to the burial ground, you must be among the best of the third tier. As long as you're willing to work hard, you'll eventually earn ghost money."
"Borrow a thousand and return ten thousand?! Why don't you just rob someone?" Yang Ming roared.
Wei Xin smiled slightly: "Why rob anything when you can make money so fast?"
Seeing Wei Xin's confident and fearless demeanor, Fang Xiu's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. It seemed that this trip to the burial ground would be even more interesting than he had imagined.
“Perhaps we have a better way,” Fang Xiu suddenly said.
"Oh? What method?" Wei Xin narrowed his eyes, staring at Fang Xiu, who seemed to be the team leader, with great interest.
"Let me guess, you're not planning to rob me of my money, are you? That way you won't owe me any money, and you can even make a fortune."
Fang Xiu nodded calmly: "Exactly."
Wei Xin gave a cold laugh: "That's a good method, but I advise you not to do it, because..."
"I'm sorry, but I'm the kind of person who... never listens to advice."
Whoosh!
The scalpel instantly transformed into a cold light, stabbing fiercely towards Wei Xin's neck.
Facing the fierce attack, Wei Xin did not dodge at all; he was still smiling.
Pfft!
The scalpel easily pierced his neck.
However, the next second, Wei Xin's body shattered like a bubble, turning into a paper figure that fell to the ground, along with several pieces of ghost money that were on his body.
There was a scratch on the paper figure's neck, a mark made by a scalpel.
Fang Xiu frowned slightly. No wonder he was so confident; it turned out he wasn't in his true form.
At this moment, Wei Xin's voice came from the paper figure on the ground.
"You should have let me finish speaking, but it's too late now, newcomers. Remember, in the burial ground, once a deal is made, it must be kept. Otherwise, the dead will not make a deal with someone who breaks it."
Besides, these ghost money notes are mine. Unless I give them to you voluntarily, you can't spend them even if you steal them.
Oh, and by the way, you don't need to spend it anymore, because you've broken the deal. No dead person will accept your ghost money, and you'll never be able to leave the Ghost Forest by boat again; the ferryman won't take you!
Yang Ming shouted, "You're talking nonsense! When did we agree to trade with you? You've been forcing us to buy from you from the very beginning!"
Wei Xin's smile emanated from the paper figure.
"Although the ticket deal wasn't finalized, the method I taught you before meant that the deal was completed the moment you used it. Hahaha... Just wait to die, newbies. What a pity. I was hoping to have you as my slaves for a few years, since these two women are quite attractive, and I'm really tired of the women in town. What a pity..."
The voice on the paper figure grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared completely.
The crowd looked extremely grim. Although they didn't quite understand the meaning behind Wei Xin's words, they felt as if they had been tricked.
"Brother Xiu, what do we do now?" Yang Ming once again switched to his "when in doubt, ask Fang Xiu" mode.
Fang Xiu remained calm throughout, seemingly unconcerned about Wei Xin's threat.
He gazed calmly at the lake and said softly, "A boat is coming."
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a small boat drifting silently in from the thick fog deep in the lake.
On the boat, a gaunt figure dressed in a straw raincoat and wearing a bamboo hat was rowing.
"Is this the ferryman Wei Xin was talking about? How many people are there in this godforsaken place?"
"I'm afraid it's not a human who's coming. Didn't Wei Xin say that ghost money is for the dead?"
"You mean the ferryman is dead!?"
Finally, the small boat drew closer, and everyone could finally see the ferryman's face clearly—it was a corpse!
His skin was dry like tree bark, and he had no flesh at all; he was just skin and bones. There were two empty holes around his eyes, with worms wriggling inside.
Yet, it was precisely this corpse that seemed to be supported by some force, allowing it to propel the boat.
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