Chapter 178 Ferryman Dungeon (I)
[Players, please note that the dungeon "Yellow Springs Ferryman" is about to open. Please be prepared, the countdown begins now...]
[The "Yellow Springs Ferryman" dungeon is now open, and the transfer begins now.]
Legend has it that long ago, there was a river at the foot of a mountain. It was a necessary passage for people on both sides to travel. To reach the other side, people had to cross the river by boat. Thus, the water there supported a group of boatmen.
[However, the river here is a little peculiar. It leads to two different places during the day and at night. If the boatman is not careful, he may be swallowed by the water.]
You have come here to learn the skill of rowing from the old boatman. The old boatman has given you 10 days. You need to learn his rowing skills as quickly as possible and survive on this river.
[Attention all players! Please immediately accept the instructions for this instance, then head to the riverbank to find the old boatman within 10 minutes. The old boatman hates apprentices who are not punctual, and he will not be happy to share his knowledge with such students.]
[Attention, players! The river before you is called the Yellow Springs River. It's quite dangerous. If you want to make a living by paddling here, you must pay attention to the following precautions.]
[1. The old boatman on the Yellow Spring River is your master. If you have any questions or problems, you can ask him immediately. He may have a bad temper, but compared to death, being scolded is a relatively light punishment, isn't it?]
Black cats are said to be very spiritual animals, but some old people also think they are evil and that they will attract unclean things.
But Xia Yingnuan felt that the little coal ball was her lucky star because it gave her hope in her ghost life!
"Meiqiu, you said you can see me, then you must be an extraordinary kitten. You are not a monster..." Xia Yingnuan squatted in front of the kitten, looking at Meiqiu combing the fur of her paws with a serious expression. Then she put her right index finger and middle finger together, pointed at the kitten and said, "Change for me!"
After a moment of silence in the air, the kitten walked away with its butt twisted in disgust, its tail wagging, and it ate its dinner in front of the automatic cat food machine with a "crunching" sound.
Xia Yingnuan's ghost is back, and the little kitten doesn't know the difference between humans and ghosts. As long as the poop shoveler is back, everything tastes delicious to it.
"You little heartless thing." Xia Yingnuan curled her lips and reached out to rub the kitten's head lightly. Seeing it eating so happily, she felt a lot more at ease.
She actually hoped that her senior schoolmate could be more conscienceless like this little coal ball that ate and slept when full and ate when full, so that she would not be sad because of her death.
It was getting dark and Aunt Liu had already brought the food to the table, but Ning Hanqi had not come out yet. Thinking of her senior sister's unwell condition during the day and her getting caught in the rain, Xia Yingnuan was worried that she was sick and hurried up.
"Well, tell me when there's news."
"As long as you pass the things on to me, your boss will get whatever he wants."
Xia Yingnuan heard these last two sentences when she floated in, and then Ning Hanqi hung up the phone. The haze in her eyes was heavy, making people feel breathless.
No, no way! It's only the first day, and she's already taking a dangerous step? The more Xia Yingnuan watched, the more she felt this scene resembled some unspeakable transaction with a criminal gang!
The gears of the plot were already turning in an orderly manner, but as the only one who knew about it, she could do nothing but stare anxiously.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Aunt Liu outside knocked on the door.
"Miss, it's time for dinner. You need to rest early tonight."
Tonight is the seventh night. The soul of the deceased will return home. The living should either live somewhere else or stay in their own room and not come out, otherwise they will disturb the dead soul.
This is a superstitious belief. Aunt Liu helped to prepare the entire house for tonight. Ning Hanqi, whose family members are either soldiers or police officers, did not believe this at first. But it was only at this moment that she realized that it was not a question of belief or not, but that the living were desperately trying to find a place to rely on.
Aunt Liu prepared the offerings and placed them on the altar, inserted a chopstick vertically into it, and lit the incense and candles on both sides.
Then she took out a bag of incense ash, closed the door of Xia Yingnuan's room but did not close it tightly, and sprinkled a layer of incense ash on the ground.
Ning Hanqi slept in the guest room tonight, and of course she took Coal Ball and the cat's bed with her to prevent it from making trouble late at night.
"Miss, please go to bed early tonight. No matter what happens outside, don't come out. I'm leaving now and will come to help you clean up tomorrow morning."
The incense and candles burned quietly, and suddenly a very fragrant smell drifted into Xia Yingnuan's nose.
Xia Yingnuan's mouth was watering! She traced the source of the fragrance to the offerings Aunt Liu had prepared for her!
Can ghosts really eat offerings?! Xia Yingnuan performed a wind inhalation and burped afterward.
Ever since she became a ghost, she's been feeling a bit listless, as if something's not right. Turns out she's hungry! Sure enough, eating a full meal makes her feel more energetic!
She inhaled the incense like she was slurping noodles. The dessert after the meal was not bad, but it had no taste and was not as delicious as the offerings. However, after eating it, she felt more energetic and the effect was better than the offerings.
But as she ate, Xia Yingnuan became worried again. Looking at the pitch-black darkness outside, she always felt like something was staring at her...
Could it be true, as Aunt Liu said, that a soul-catcher would take her away tonight?
well……
Xia Yingnuan watched the time pass by minute by minute, and her eyes inadvertently caught a glimpse of the layer of incense ash on the ground.
Can this incense ash really leave footprints of ghosts?
Curiosity drove her to the incense ashes.
"Click..." Suddenly, in the dark night, a sound like a chain dragging on the ground came from outside the window.
Xia Yingnuan felt her soul tremble, and an extremely terrifying pressure made it difficult for her to move.
“Crack…”
The voice rang out again, and Xia Yingnuan shuddered. She looked around and hurriedly hid under the cloth-covered memorial table.
"Click... click..." The sound seemed to be there and not there, and suddenly stopped for a while, as if the thing stopped somewhere.
Xia Yingnuan gritted her teeth, not daring to make a sound. She huddled beneath the spirit table, trembling. A moment later, the voice reappeared, this time fading away until all movement vanished. Was it the soul-catcher? Or a wild ghost?
Xia Yingnuan lived in fear that night. She was afraid that if she looked up, she would see creatures like the Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced Demons, the Black and White Impermanence, etc. outside the window looking at her.
Time passed midnight, and the night of the seventh day finally passed, and it was quiet outside.
It was 2 a.m., and Xia Yingnuan heard the sound of a cat scratching at the guest room door, along with Meiqiu's meowing. It made her panic. What was that little thing, Meiqiu, doing? It was disturbing her rest! And what if it attracted that thing?
Xia Yingnuan mustered up the courage to stick her head out and look at all the windows. After making sure that there was nothing scary, she quietly crawled out from under the table and floated into the guest room.
As soon as Meiqiu saw Xia Yingnuan, he meowed.
"Shh! Don't call mommy anymore, don't disturb the senior sister's rest~"
But that little bad boy not only didn't listen, he also jumped directly onto Ning Hanqi's bed, which made Xia Yingnuan's blood pressure rise immediately.
"You little bad thing!" Xia Yingnuan couldn't touch it, couldn't pick it up, and could only stare at it.
"Meow..." Meiqiu huddled beside Ning Hanqi's face and kept rubbing it.
Gradually, Xia Yingnuan realized that something was wrong. Her senior sister was a light sleeper and it was impossible for her to still be asleep after being tormented by the coal balls. She hurried to Ning Hanqi's side.
After becoming a ghost, she possessed night vision abilities that she had never dared to imagine before. With the help of a little moonlight, she saw the fine beads of sweat on Ning Hanqi's forehead and his expression with a hint of pain.
Ever since the accident, the senior sister has lost a lot of weight and looks extremely haggard, and the dark circles under her eyes can hardly be covered.
I haven't had a good rest for a few days, and I happened to get caught in the rain. Even the strongest body can't stand it!
You need to see a doctor! Or at least take some medicine!
Xia Yingnuan knew where the medicine box was at home, but she couldn't reach it. She couldn't expect the kitten to get it, right?
"Nuan... Nuannuan..." Ning Hanqi, who was sick and a little confused, murmured as if talking in his sleep.
"Hey! I'm here! Senior, are you still conscious? You need to get up and take your medicine!"
Ning Hanqi said a few more confusing words, but Xia Yingnuan didn't hear clearly, so she moved closer.
"Nuan... is... back?"
Xia Yingnuan couldn't hold back her tears and burst out.
"I'm back, I'm back..." Xia Yingnuan lay on the bed, unable to speak clearly. She wiped her tears fiercely. Now was not the time to be sentimental. She had to think of a solution.
"Meow?" Little Coal Ball rubbed against her again, meowing.
"Meigu, can you help Mommy get the medicine?"
"Meow……"
She must be stupid. Even if Coal Ball is gifted, you can't expect it to pour a glass of water and feed the senior sister medicine, right?
Xia Yingnuan patted her head. Senior Sister looked very ill. She couldn't wait until Aunt Liu came to cook and found out...
Xia Yingnuan was pacing around the room anxiously until a light suddenly appeared in the room and attracted her attention.
Ning Hanqi's phone on the table lit up because of a new message.
A light bulb went off in Xia Yingnuan's head, and she set her hopes on her own gifted and amazing little coal ball. A seemingly unrealistic idea was born in her mind.
"Come here, Coal Ball, come to Mommy."
The little black ball walked over, jumped onto the table, and squatted next to the phone.
Xia Yingnuan tapped the phone. Little Coal Ball glanced at her, then stretched out his paw and pressed the phone.
"Yes, Meiqiu, bring your phone over here." Xia Yingnuan patted the bed again.
Meiqiu looked at her as if she were a fool.
Xia Yingnuan suddenly remembered that a long time ago, when her senior schoolmate wanted to train a kitten to be a dog, she said helplessly, "The cat won't go along with you."
Thinking about her sometimes rebellious Coal Ball, Xia Yingnuan tentatively reached out her hand and tried to push the phone inside. Sure enough, the next second, Coal Ball waved its claws and pulled the phone out onto the bed.
"Courier, can you be more rebellious?"
The unruly kitten licked its paws, not feeling that it had done anything wrong. Want to tame a kitten? Impossible in your next life!
But at least the phone was finally moved to the bed. After Xia Yingnuan and Meiqiu battled with each other for a long time, the phone was still a little distance away from Ning Hanqi's hand.
Xia Yingnuan is about to be defeated by her own furry child. If she had known this would happen, she should have taught the kitten how to make a phone call!
"Meow..." The little cat shook its tail proudly. This scene really makes people feel that the little cat is expressing its disdain for the owner.
"Meigu, if you push this over here, I'll give you a can tomorrow." Xia Yingnuan said casually, but as soon as the word "can" came out, the kitten suddenly stretched out its claws and pushed the phone over.
"..." Her kitten can understand human speech, right? It's waiting for her here! Xia Yingnuan wanted to bite the kitten's head hard to punish it!
Now that my phone is here, how do I unlock it with my fingerprint?
This time, it was not very easy to command Little Coal Ball. The little kitten had limited abilities and failed after trying several times.
Her hope was shattered in an instant. Sigh...why not? She should go out and try her luck, to see if there is anyone who can see ghosts? Although it is very dangerous, if she encounters a powerful ghost, she will not be able to come back.
"Come on, Meiqiu, move your mother's finger over here like mommy does..." Although she was the one who was teaching and couldn't touch the entity, Xia Yingnuan seemed to be using all her strength and her face started to become ferocious!
Just as she was working tirelessly, Ning Hanqi's fingers suddenly moved.
However, what moved Ning Hanqi's hand was not a furry black claw, but another extremely cold finger.
Xia Yingnuan stared blankly at her hands and unlocked phone.
A miracle happened!
She...she actually met the senior!
[2. The fees here are different during the day and at night. During the day, you only need to pay two cents to cross the river. At night, no matter how much or what the guests give, you can accept it all. Remember, do not talk to the guests at night, just do your job of rowing the boat.]
[3. Whether it's day or night, the waters of the Yellow Springs River are very dangerous. Remember, no matter what happens, do not go in the water. If you accidentally fall into the water... if you want to survive, find a scapegoat~]
5. After dark, you may feel that the river becomes wider and the paddling time becomes longer. Please don't panic, this is normal.
6. If you notice red spider lilies blooming along the riverbank while seeing off guests at night, remember: first, you need to get them to the shore. Then, you must light the incense sticks that every boatman must have. Then, quickly row away in the direction of the smoke until the boat reaches the shore again. Never look back during this process! Otherwise, you will get lost on the river!
【7. ……】
7. Remember! If you see any other unknown phenomena at night, don't delve into them! Don't delve into them!
[You will all return in 10 days, but before that you need to save up 500 copper coins for travel expenses...]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
