This boundless ocean is called the "Styx".
Different from the River Styx in Western mythology, this River Styx is an independent space that exists in the human world but does not interfere with the human world.
It belongs to another space that overlaps with the human world.
In the Styx space, the whole world is such a vast ocean. The only shore is where the Styx connects with the real space, called the other shore, which leads to hell.
On the River Styx, only this small silver boat can sail and travel, and no other living or dead creatures can survive on the river.
The silver boat will automatically stop beside the soul that has missed the time to reincarnate in the underworld and is stranded in the human world. At this time, the ferryman on the boat is needed to fish out the soul stranded in the human world, take it on board, go to the other side, and send the soul to the underworld.
All "passengers" who board the ship have to pay some fare.
The soul cannot be brought into this world and cannot be taken away when one dies, so naturally there is no property on the person that can be used to pay for the boat fare. At this time, the boat will automatically extract one tenth of the power of the "passenger's" soul, digest part of it itself, and give part back to the extraditioner.
The power extracted from the soul belongs to the ghost's own accumulated power and will not affect reincarnation.
"Don't look so unhappy. I see that you are surrounded by bad luck, which seems to be caused by external forces and is constantly increasing. If this continues, I'm afraid it will overwhelm your own good fortune, and you will be unlucky for the rest of your life."
The mustached man wearing a conical hat spoke leisurely.
Is the ability of bad luck still increasing?
Luo Zheyu didn't know this. He only vaguely felt the existence of the bad luck ability in himself.
"Please give me more advice." Luo Zheyu looked earnestly.
Since the man in the bamboo hat pointed out his problem in this way, he must have some solution.
"No need for my instruction, no need for my instruction~" The man in the bamboo hat waved his hand and said with a smile. The shadow of the bamboo hat covered his face, making his teeth look especially white.
"If you take the oar, it means you have accepted the job of ferrying people. The more souls you ferry, the more soul power feedback you will receive. By then, you will naturally find a way to resolve your bad luck."
"Thank you for your advice, but..." After thanking him, Luo Zheyu frowned slightly.
"But what? I tell you, once the oar touches your hand, you are the one who delivered the goods. You can't regret it!"
What the man in the bamboo hat said was true. After the oar was stuffed into his hand, Luo Zheyu clearly felt a strong connection between himself, the oar, and the silver boat, which was inseparable.
"It's not that I don't want to be the extradition person."
"So what are you?"
"I can't keep doing this as an extradition agent. Can I leave in the future?"
He traveled through time in his dream this time just to be able to control the ability to bring bad luck. Now he is willing to be an extradited person, also for the ability to bring bad luck. If he cannot return to the real world because of this, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
After hearing Luo Zheyu's explanation, the man wearing the bamboo hat breathed a sigh of relief.
The job of extraditing the person is difficult, although Luo Zheyu cannot get away if he cannot break the connection, but it is completely feasible to do the work without putting in any effort. The man in the bamboo hat does not want to see such a result.
"You don't have to worry about this. If you don't want to do it anymore, just find a soul like you who is surrounded by golden light and merits and recognized by the Styx Boat."
“It’s very simple!”
The man in the bamboo hat added.
It was as if the person who was overjoyed and impatiently put the oar into Luo Zheyu's hands was not him.
"Golden light and merits are entangled?"
Luo Zheyu lowered his head to look at himself - this time he traveled through time in the dream in his own image, although it was only a soul.
He was wearing the same black suit that he wore during the day, and his hair was combed back and fixed with hairspray, revealing his forehead.
He obviously didn't look like this before he went to bed.
However, no matter how he looked at it, Luo Zheyu did not see any golden merits in himself.
“You cannot see the merits of the golden light now, but you will be able to know it when your soul power becomes stronger in the future.” The man in the bamboo hat explained.
"Okay, I've explained everything to you. So, I hope you can do a good job! I'm leaving now. Bye~"
The man wearing a bamboo hat smiled, revealing a row of white teeth under his mustache. He smiled brightly, stretched out his hand and waved at Luo Zheyu, then fell on his back.
Beneath me was clear blue water, calm and without ripples, like a mirror.
"The Styx Boat will teach you what to do..."
“Plop!”
Before he finished speaking, the man in the bamboo hat dived into the water, making a huge splash. The water flow parted slightly to allow him to enter. After he fell into the water, the water flow quickly closed up, the ripples subsided, and the whole place became calm and peaceful.
Luo Zheyu was left alone standing in the sky and water composed of light red and yellow colors. The silver boat was like a small boat, lying on the mirror-smooth river water, reflecting and blending each other, abrupt yet harmonious.
The boundless sky and river embrace the silver boat. The vastness and the smallness coexist, creating a sense of openness and wonder.
"The extradition person..."
The clear voice like a spring murmured softly, echoing between the silent sky and the river.
————
The silver boat swam very fast in the red and yellow water, leaving a long white tail on the water.
After swimming to a place, the silver boat slowly stopped and stayed in the river.
The water here is all the same. There are no markers or coordinate pointers, so it is impossible to tell how the place where the silver boat is staying is different from other waters.
“Crash…crash…”
The water surface, which had been calm all the time, suddenly began to ripple from the middle to both sides. The waves rolled up layer by layer and spread out in all directions on their own, revealing the scene beneath the water.
Luo Zheyu was originally sitting upright on the boat, his mind empty, admiring the space. At this moment, he heard the movement on the water and turned his head to look.
When the water was pushed aside, a living room was revealed. The decoration and furnishings were all in modern style, with apricot-colored tiles, a long table with wooden chairs, apricot-colored walls, an album with a bouquet of flowers hanging on the wall, and a cabinet and refrigerator for wine glasses on one side.
The decoration is warm and elegant.
From the perspective above the water, it's like looking down from the ceiling.
There were three people sitting in the living room at this time.
Two adults, a man and a woman, both in their twenties or nearly thirty, and a boy about seven or eight years old, wearing a T-shirt and overalls, with a round face due to baby fat.
The man and the boy sat on one side of the long table, and the woman sat on the other side.
There were four dishes, one soup, and three bowls of rice on the table. Chopsticks were placed next to the bowls. The food had already cooled down and was not hot at all, but no one picked up their chopsticks.
The woman stared blankly at the food on the table with her eyes wide open.
The boy looked at a plate of chicken wings on the table and quietly reached out his hand...
A big hand held his small hand.
The boy looked up.
The man looked at him, shook his head, and mouthed to the boy, "Let mommy eat."
The boy pouted, his eyes were red, and he cried in a tiny voice: "I miss my mother..."
He turned his head and looked at the woman sitting opposite him.
The man covered his eyes with his hands and whispered:
"You can't look at her. You can't let mom find out that you are looking at her..."
The tone is gentle.
"If mom finds out, she won't be able to let us go and will be even more sad."
"Dad, why does Mom stay at home all the time?" the boy asked.
The man touched his head and looked down at the top of his head without answering.
…
The boy stood in the bathroom, tiptoed, leaning on the sink, and using the reflection of his shadow in the mirror to quietly observe the woman standing blankly behind him.
After a while, he put down his hands that were clinging to the sink and ran to the man.
The woman standing behind him lowered her eyes woodenly and brushed her fingers across the corners of her eyes.
"Dad, Mom looks so sad."
The boy held the man's hand and looked up at him, his large black and white eyes filled with fear and timidity.
"She didn't shed any tears, but she looked like she was crying."
The boy grabbed the man's hand and dragged him towards the bathroom, with all his strength resting on the man's hand.
"Dad, go and tell Mom to stop crying."
"It's okay." The man squatted down and held the boy in his arms.
"It's okay. After a while, when mommy puts you down, you won't cry anymore."
His voice was low and somewhat deliberately suppressed to cover up the unevenness of his breathing.
"As long as you listen to me, don't look at mom, and don't let her find out..."
"She'll forget about us."
"Wuwuwu..." The boy sobbed softly in his arms.
"I listened and didn't look at mom. I looked at her secretly through the mirror and she didn't notice. I didn't want her to forget me... woooo... Mom also said before that she wanted to go to the amusement park with me, and she allowed me to have two ice creams and bought me a racing car toy..."
"I've only put half of the puzzle my mom bought me. She hasn't finished it with me yet..."
The man ruffled his fine hair.
"Forget us, and then you can start a new life."
…
“Ding ding ding ding…”
The cell phone rang.
"Dad, Mom's cell phone is ringing." The boy pulled the man's sleeve.
The man stood behind him, silent.
The two men stood beside the woman, but did not dare to look at her.
When a person looks at another person, the person being looked at notices it.
Even if the other person is not a human, you will still feel like you are being watched.
The woman had been too sensitive recently, so they didn't dare look at her.
She stared at the phone for a long time, until the first ring ended and the other party called again persistently, then the woman slowly picked up the phone.
"Hey, Yuxiao, um..."
A middle-aged female voice came from the other end of the phone. Her voice was high-pitched, but her tone seemed a little difficult to speak.
The woman listened quietly, and when the other end saw that she didn't respond, he just continued talking to himself.
"Oh, that's it... I know you feel bad, but you still have to live your life, don't you? Your parents only have you as their daughter, and they feel bad for you being like this. Just think of it as living a good life for them."
"...Um, I just want to ask, do you want to come to work tomorrow? Just come out to relax..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com