Chapter 402: The Old Man at the Soul Ferry

The Ghost Market is a bazaar outside Fengdu, separated from it by a single river.

No one knows the name of this river; legend has it that the Weak Water flows into it from here.

The Weak Water dissolves bones and erodes souls, and no boat can float upon it; it is said that from ancient times to the present, the only person capable of crossing the Weak Water alone was a general from the Upper Realm.

Because the God of the Underworld cannot set foot on this river, the Ghost Market has flourished here, free from the control of Fengdu.

The Demon Canon records that the one who governs the Ghost Market is a dragon-ghost, or perhaps a fallen Heavenly Dragon, or even an evil dragon born in the Blood Pool Hell; some even claim it is the soul of Zhu Yin.

Amidst the conflicting accounts, no one knows its true origin, nor has anyone seen its true face; it has never appeared, and all matters of the Ghost Market are handled by its subordinates.

Most of the departed souls who come to the Ghost Market have one purpose: to trade Good Fruit, whether between soul and soul or between soul and the Ghost Market, in order to offset the sins of their past lives and avoid the punishments of the Ten Halls, with the price being the blessings of their next life.

Such conduct truly goes against the Dao and nature, yet that dragon-ghost possesses the ability to deceive the black-and-white text in the Life and Death Ledger.

Later, the birth of the Demon Realm made the Ghost Market even more prosperous.

Past Demon Lords have never been kind masters; many members of the Demon Race, whether forced or exiled, eventually settled in the Ghost Market, creating the current state of the Ghost Market where all sorts of people are mixed together.

There is no sun or moon in the Underworld, making it difficult to distinguish the days; Maidong and her companions no longer know how long they have been lingering in the Ghost Market, not because they are stalling, but because they have yet to find a way to cross the river.

To reach the Ghost Gate, one must first go to Fengdu, and to go to Fengdu, one must first cross the river that spans the two places.

As for crossing the river, it is not that there is no way.

On the bank of Fengdu, there is a ferry called the Soul Ferry, where an old man poles a withered leaf, traveling back and forth between the two banks all year round, ferrying the departed souls from the other shore to the Ghost Market.

Do not look down on it just because it is a tattered, withered leaf; it can miraculously carry thousands of departed souls. It is just that the old man has a strange temper; when he is happy, he can make dozens of trips a day, but when he is not, he will not move an inch for a year or half a year.

Yet if one wants to go from the Ghost Market to Fengdu, one can only cross the river by waiting for the old man to pole his boat over.

It is said that the cloak on Wumin Jun is made from a fragment of the withered leaf that the old man poles, and when the Demon Soldiers cross the river, they rely entirely on the supernatural powers of Wumin Jun.

But now Wumin Jun is not present, and no matter how anxious the three of them—Maidong and her companions—are, they have no solution.

Although Langtou is human in body, his face bears the flesh and blood of the Demon Race, and Boluohui, fundamentally speaking, is not a living person, so these two are relatively safe in the Ghost Market.

But Maidong is different.

Maidong is a living person with a heavy amount of Yang energy, while the Ghost Market is mostly filled with departed souls; not only is the Yin energy excessive, but their obsessions are also profound.

To these departed souls, Yang energy is like poison; if they smell it, they will turn into evil ghosts and inflict the sins and karma of their past lives upon Maidong.

Therefore, Boluohui does not dare to leave Maidong for even a step, solely to use the corpse energy on his body to cover up her life force.

But this is not a long-term solution; Maidong's consciousness is already weak, and if she lingers in the Yin energy for too long, her Yang energy will become weaker and weaker, and eventually, her soul will leave her physical body.

Just when they were at their wit's end, Langtou finally brought good news: the old man from the Soul Ferry had come poling his withered-leaf boat.

Upon hearing this, Boluohui hurriedly carried Maidong on his back and prepared to move, but Langtou stopped him.

The old man's trip would surely involve many Yin souls boarding the boat; if they just followed along casually, and one of the Yin souls on the boat smelled Maidong's Yang energy, there would be nowhere to escape amidst the waves.

This was indeed something to consider, but if they did not leave now and missed this trip, they did not know when the next ferry would be.

What was to be done?

"It's not that there's no way, it's just..."

Seeing Langtou's hesitation, Boluohui urged him, "What time is it now? If there is a way, say it quickly."

"It's just that it's a bit unfair to you," Langtou frowned, "You have already passed away, and the blood in your body is dead blood; if it can be smeared on Maidong, it can temporarily cover her life force with corpse energy, but..."

This was indeed very offensive.

After a person dies, no matter what, they seek to keep their corpse intact. If they were to use Boluohui's blood, they would not know how many holes they would have to pierce to get enough to cover Maidong; after all, it is very difficult to draw blood from a dead person.

Upon hearing this, Boluohui did not say a word, drew Langtou's saber, and stabbed it into his own chest.

"This body is already in the Underworld, where else is there a place to be buried? What does it matter if the corpse is not whole?" Boluohui said as he pulled out the blade.

Boluohui is a Living Corpse, so naturally, he could not feel pain, but even though the blade pierced his spirit platform, only a few lines of black blood flowed out.

Langtou admired Boluohui's courage, and regardless of the difference between man and woman, he hurriedly tore off his robe hem and smeared the blood onto Maidong.

Boluohui stabbed nine holes in succession before Maidong's face, neck, and arms were covered in blood; Langtou draped the blood-stained cloth over Maidong, and the three of them then headed toward the ferry.

But even so, Langtou and Boluohui were very careful along the way, trying their best to avoid the passing Yin souls and members of the Demon Race.

After much trouble, they finally reached the shore, and the withered-leaf boat was already crowded with souls.

There was indeed an old man on the boat, his eyes covered by a cloth strip, his hair and beard completely white, leaning on a pole like a withered branch, with a Purple Gold Gourd hanging from the pole.

Boluohui, carrying the unconscious Maidong, boarded the boat with Langtou, and not long after, the boat set off.

The three of them huddled in a corner, Boluohui and Langtou tense and not daring to relax for a moment, but just then, the old man poling the boat laughed.

"There is no need to worry; these passengers have already cleared their Karma, and there is nothing that will threaten this little girl."

Langtou and Boluohui were shocked: the old man's words were clearly directed at them; even though he was blindfolded, how did he know about them?

While they were astonished, the old man laughed again: "People are often blinded by a single leaf; only if one loses these eyes can the heart be more clear."

As the old man spoke, he pulled the Purple Gold Gourd from the pole and threw it to the two stunned men.

"This girl's consciousness is damaged and her Yang soul is incomplete; I fear that before you reach Humoukou, you will have to change course to the Yama Hall." He pursed his lips, "Pour her a mouthful of this old man's turbid wine, and she will wake up once you reach the shore."

Boluohui and Langtou looked at each other; the former hesitated, but the latter, after much thought, followed the old man's instructions and fed Maidong a mouthful of the wine from the gourd.

Langtou had his reasons for doing so, of course.

Being able to pole a boat at the Ruoshui Source and travel between Fengdu and the Ghost Market, this person was definitely not simple; although they did not know who he was, they figured he had no reason to harm them.

Langtou returned the gourd, thanked the old man, and said nothing more, but Boluohui was still a bit uneasy.

"Senior, we are complete strangers; why would you help us?"

The old man smiled again, stroking his long beard, and only said: "Entrusted by others, I am loyal to the task." He said nothing more.

Entrusted by others? Entrusted by whom? Could it be the Fucang Elder?

That makes no sense! How could the Fucang Elder know such an expert? But apart from her, Boluohui really could not think of anyone else.