Chapter 23: Ghost Ship Crossing the Ghost River
"Youxiao!" Cang Ming was overjoyed and waved to the ghost young man at the bow of the ship.
You Xiao was stunned. He leaned over the railing and tried to identify the person for a long time. "Are you the Rabbit Demon Master?"
Cang Ming took off his mask with a smile and put it away, then raised an eyebrow at You Xiao.
"Oh my!" You Xiao folded his hands and smiled happily, "It's Master Daoist!"
Wu Lu looked at Cang Ming with new eyes: "You also have a few friends in the underworld?"
Xisheng quickly judged, "This ghost's resentment is not strong enough to cause any evil."
You Xiao stepped off the boat. Cang Ming left everyone behind and approached him enthusiastically, greeting him: "Young Master You, how have you been recently? Have you gotten used to life here? Is Old Master You okay? Have you been out to the human world?"
You Xiao smiled shyly: "It's all good, all good. With the amulet that the Taoist Master gave me, I have visited the human world several times."
Cang Ming reached into his arms and took out two more talismans. "This talisman is made from leaves. It has a simple effect and should not lose its effect. However, I'll give you two more as a backup! You can bring your family along next time!"
You Xiao was so moved that he almost cried: "Master Taoist, after my family died out, no one has been so kind to me in many years! I, I... if you need anything in the future, just mention my name!"
Cang Ming waved his hand and said, "You're welcome. You should be careful when you go out alone. By the way, have you heard of Xian Zhenyu?"
You Xiao said with an innocent smile, "I haven't heard of it. So you're here to visit the underworld. Grandpa has given me this boat, so why not lend it to you? Take it and ride it!"
Just as Cang Ming was about to decline, Wu Lu immediately poked her heel with his crutch: "Hey, isn't it just a good thing that you have a boat? Don't be so polite."
Xisheng walked up slowly and said, "The boat is a good one, but if we don't know the route, what good is it?"
You Xiao said, "The route? It doesn't matter if you don't know the route. The old man will find the place."
Cang Ming was stunned: "Which old man?" Could it be that Mr. You wanted to drive the boat himself?
You Xiao waved his hand gracefully, signaling a ghost servant to come over and open the hidden compartment at the bow of the ship: "The old man is the bow of this ship."
Several people looked into the dark room and shuddered at the same time.
A pair of bright yellow eyes like huge bells stood upright in the darkness, staring back intently.
The ghost servant whispered a few words to the eyes, and then they closed, and the dark room became pitch black.
The next second, his eyes opened wide, his eyes shining brightly.
The ghost servant closed the door of the secret warehouse, bowed deeply to the few people, touched his forehead to the ground, and respectfully invited Cang Ming and his party to board the boat.
Cang Ming made up his mind and said to You Xiao, "Master You, thank you so much. We will definitely protect this ship! As long as the ship is alive, I am here. If the ship dies..."
Wei Ci said, "I will compensate for the loss of the ship."
Wu Lu said happily: "That's great, Brother Huo is actually a wealthy businessman! No wonder he has business dealings with antique shops. The first time I met you was in an antique shop, haha, haha..."
You Xiao had already changed into a golden carriage and waved and smiled at them in a noble and reserved manner until the ghost servant drove away.
The ghost ship first slowly moved backwards for a while, then stopped. Wu Lu asked curiously: "What's going on? Is this ship only able to run on the ground--"
Before he could finish his words, the ghost ship suddenly rushed out like a cannonball, landed on the river with a bang, broke through the ice and waves, and set sail.
Several people on the boat were thrown off the ground and staggered here and there. Wei Ci quickly grabbed Cang Ming's shoulders, and the two of them became the only two people standing on the boat.
Wu Lu got up and complained, "This old man is quite loyal to his master..."
Cang Ming arranged Hua Yi to rest in the cabin, and the rest of them sat on the deck. They didn't have to move their legs, and they could enjoy the river breeze and watch the ghost scenes on both sides of the river. They all felt that this was the right boat to take.
Wu Lu said nostalgically: "Sister Cang, think about our childhood, we had golden carriages and silver horses, sedan chairs and painted boats, we rode everything..."
Cang Ming exclaimed, "White jade paved the floor, ivory made the bed, but it's all just a dream."
Xisheng didn't feel too sad: "All the disciples of my sect came from humble backgrounds. In the past, they would ride donkeys when they went down the mountain to study."
Wu Lu said, "Whether I rode a car or a donkey before, it's the same now. It shows that no one can truly own anything; everything is just an experience."
Cang Ming said to Wu Lu, "If I were to give Tongduo Mountain to you right now, would you be willing?"
Wu Lu snorted and said, "Needless to say? Tongduo Mountain is rich in spiritual energy. My uncle traveled to the southwest and found this blessed land. He moved his entire sect from outside the Great Wall to practice here. The mountain has everything you need. An ordinary person would never want to leave after entering for a lifetime."
Xisheng asked, "If the disciples in the mountains were also handed over to you, what would you do?"
Wu Lu pinched his chin and thought for a moment. A thoughtful expression emerged on his ordinary fake face, and each of his features expressed its own confusion. He said, "As for me... I want to organize a national hero gathering!"
"Use the number of disciples we have now?" Xisheng said coldly.
"No, I will recruit talents from all over the world, teach them the art of music, and choose a wise man to succeed me..." Wu Lu's eyes sparkled, as if he saw through the green mist of the underworld and saw the future of the evening bell of Xishan.
Cang Ming and Xi Sheng exchanged a look and smiled meaningfully. Cang Ming exclaimed in admiration, "I never thought you, a guy who spends all day calculating, actually have some great ambitions."
Wu Lu waved his cane to shatter the beautiful dream in front of him: "Alright, why are you talking about all this nonsense? I never have any wild thoughts."
The boat traveled a few more miles, and Xisheng pointed to the shore and said, "Look at those little ghosts. They are quite interesting."
It's a rare opportunity for Xisheng to speak, and Wulu opens his sleepy eyes to show his support.
Cang Ming raised her head in a daze and found that her eyes were blurry from sleep. She leaned on Wei Ci's shoulder and squinted unconsciously. She sat up quickly and said, "Strange, why am I so sleepy?"
Wei Ci said softly, "Go to sleep, General."
Wu Lu interrupted their staring in horror: "What was that?! Xisheng, you call that interesting?"
The grass on the shore was scorched black, the dead trees were like hooks, and even the sky turned ink-black here. A group of strange ghosts were slowly digging something in the soil.
Some ghosts' heads grow in the opposite direction, with their faces facing backwards, their backs further down, and their arms extending to the back of their heads.
Some ghosts had only a body, no head or neck. A closer look revealed that their faces were attached to the back of their robes, like a crumbling mask.
Cang Ming said, "Wulü, don't make such a fuss. She just looks different from you. It doesn't mean that we look right."
Wei Ci said, "General, these are transformed from dead people, and their names are poor ghosts."
“…”
Wu Lu shouted, "Brother Huo, are you making some insinuations?"
Wei Ci said, "No."
Wu Lu said, "Aren't the three biggest poor guys at this moment the three Xiyuan Immortals in front of you?"
Wei Ci said, "It's you two, not the general."
Xisheng said sinisterly, "If I had known this was the life I would live after becoming an immortal, I would have stayed in my hometown and farmed."
"Yeah, Xisheng, if you had stayed back home, there wouldn't have been this Kaleidoscope incident..." Cang Ming watched as more and more poor people gathered on the shore and couldn't help but ask, "I wonder what they're digging for?"
Wei Ci said, "General, these ghosts were all nameless people when they were alive. They worked hard every day to dig for food in the soil. After they died, they were unwilling to resign themselves to the fate of the land. They turned their heads in a different direction because they didn't want to face the earth."
The dead branches and leaves dug out of the soil were gathered into a pile, the bonfire shot up into the sky, and the scarlet flames rose above the dark background.
Groups of poor ghosts gathered around the fire to keep warm, their stiff joints stretched and crackled with the flames. One ghost began to point to the sky and the ground, and after a long time of spinning around, Cang Ming realized that she was dancing.
Then all the ghosts began to dance around the fire, a circle of ghosts like black rings spinning in the scarlet flames.
Cang Ming asked softly, "Will they be reincarnated?"
Wei Ci smiled slightly: "Ghosts with money can stay in the underworld forever and avoid the suffering of reincarnation. Ghosts without money can work or beg here while waiting for reincarnation."
“…”
Xisheng said thoughtfully, "Have we also been reincarnated?"
Wu Lu asked nervously, "Could it be that this was how we were in our previous life...?"
Wei Ci said to Cang Ming: "General, those who become immortals are destined to be immortals, and their souls will not enter the underworld in each life."
Cang Ming unconsciously patted his chest and said, "That's good. I thought we were the reincarnation of poor ghosts. I was scared to death. Haha..."
There's no sun in the underworld, and winters are even colder and damper than on earth. The bonfire gradually dwindled, and the poor ghosts cried out, "Don't go, don't go..."
They stretched out their arms like fire sticks, as if trying to hold on to the ghostly warmth and light.
Cang Ming leaned over the railing and watched, slightly anxiously saying, "Add more fire! Pick up more branches!"
The group of ghosts seemed to have thought of this trick as well. They scattered, swaying left and right, and started digging hard in the ground again.
A sharp cry reached the sky, shaking the bonfire violently and causing the dead trees and black grass to sway back and forth.
"What's wrong?" Wu Lu stood up with the help of crutches and looked towards the shore.
A dead tree, bent like a claw, suddenly turned around and howled at a poor ghost. The ghost's robe flew back like rags, and his head, which had been tilted back, was about to fall.
The poor man turned his head towards the dead tree and said blankly, "Who is it?"
A long gash suddenly opened up on the trunk, opening and closing. "My roots! Let go of my roots!"
The poor fellow was stunned for a long time, then slowly turned around and stared at the tree trunk for a long time. Suddenly he said, "It turned out to be a tree spirit."
The withered tree smiled coldly, causing another gust of wind: "You think you can call grandpa by his name? Why don't you let go——"
A branch struck the ghost squarely in the face, and its head fell off, flying into the fire. The head remained in the fire, seemingly freed, burning smaller and smaller until it disappeared. It no longer had to struggle to twist itself behind itself.
"Ah? Where's my head?" The headless ghost collapsed and fumbled around on the ground, not realizing that his head had been burned to ashes.
"The tree spirit is killing the ghosts!" the other poor ghosts shouted, "Go! Go together!"
A strange, weeping laugh echoed across both banks, growing louder and weaker on one side while the dead trees, like waking from sleep, twitched and stretched their branches, suddenly clutching at the group of poor devils.
Even the branches on the other side of the river came over to help, as if building hundreds of sky bridges on the water.
The poor ghost was caught in the dryad's net and was beaten so hard that he couldn't fight back. A quick-witted ghost shouted, "Dig them up by the roots!"
The ghosts immediately used all ten fingers together and skillfully dug out the roots quickly.
Suddenly, demons clashed in chaos, cries and shouts filled the air, headless corpses lay scattered across the ground, and broken or bitten branches flew everywhere.
Even though the three immortals were veterans of battle, they were all stunned at the moment. Even the ship stopped, as if to see what was going on.
Wu Lu knocked on the railing at the bow with his cane and said, "Old man, hurry up and move on while the branches are not blocking the way."
The ghost ship sat steadily in the rapids in the center of the river, motionless.
Cang Ming leaned out half of his body and looked towards the dark warehouse: "Is the old man asleep?"
Wu Lu sank his energy into his dantian and shouted loudly: "Hey, old man——"
Cang Ming also shouted: "Hey, old man——"
Wei Ci gently pulled her back and said warily, "General, there's something underwater."
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