Chapter 8 of 100

Chapter 8

17 min read4,310 words

The blood-red Yellow River water surged, striking the dark brown flat-bottomed boat, splashing up white waves. Water ghosts drifted along the River of Forgetfulness, howling desperately, stretching out their ghostly hands to try to pull Su Xing into the water, to make him a water ghost too!

Su Xing shrank his neck, raised his collar, and involuntarily tightened his grip on the immortal longevity robe, sitting further into the boat.

"Cough, cough."

Suddenly, a foul wind blew across the river. Su Xing accidentally inhaled a mouthful and immediately started coughing violently, tears streaming down his face, almost coughing up his throat.

Suo Suo.

The River of Forgetfulness emitted a rustling sound. Su Xing glanced over, his face turning pale in an instant. He immediately shrank back, seeing the river surface crawling with colorful venomous insects and snakes.

The ferryman of the River of Forgetfulness remained calm, his face under the bamboo hat unchanged. When he picked up the bamboo pole, it often carried venomous insects, snakes, and fierce water ghosts. When he put it down, he easily shook off these filthy things, sliding them off the thick layer on the river surface.

Su Xing lay down in the flat-bottomed boat, his arm supporting the back of his head, gazing at the gray sky, unable to see the sun, moon, or clouds.

"The Bridge of Sighs, a long and winding road, three miles per step, free and easy; the River of Forgetfulness, a thousand years of separation, faces unrecognizable, what can be done?" Bored, Su Xing recited casually.

"You are a virtuous soul." The ferryman suddenly spoke.

"What!" Su Xing jumped up like a spring, staring at the ferryman in shock, "How did you know?"

Clearly, Song Jing, a learned fourth-rank ghost official with a full house of students, and Luo Sen, a powerful third-rank ghost general with the Ghost Eye, could not see through it. A ferryman on the River of Forgetfulness could see it at a glance?!

"Your ghost body is golden, with a faint yellow virtuous aura rising inside. What else could you be if not a virtuous soul?" The ferryman replied calmly.

"I have a virtuous aura inside me?!" Su Xing was stunned. Luo Sen had grabbed him and searched him with the Ghost Eye, almost dispersing his ghost body, but found no virtuous aura. The ferryman just glanced casually and...

The ferryman lowered his head, pushing the bamboo pole, speaking slowly, as if to himself.

"The River of Forgetfulness, the third main branch of the Sanzu River, was not like this before. There was no Bridge of Sighs, and the River of Forgetfulness was clear and bright..."

"The clear spring water flowed down from the mountain, with fragrant orchids and fresh bamboo on both sides. Dead souls passing through the River of Forgetfulness could enter the underworld and be reborn. They only needed to drink the spring water of the River of Forgetfulness, forgetting all the joys and sorrows of their past lives, turning everything into fleeting clouds."

"A beautiful girl often sat by the River of Forgetfulness, watching the fishermen fish..."

"Later, the River of Forgetfulness became polluted, and souls could not cross safely. The underworld built the Bridge of Sighs, and ghosts had to cross it. The clear spring on the other side dried up, the fragrant orchids withered, and the fresh bamboo died, giving birth to the blood-red Mandarava flowers. The innocent girl was gone, replaced by an old woman selling the soul-forgetting soup. A celestial being from the heavens came and established the Six Realms of Reincarnation."

Su Xing listened, his heart surging with waves of shock, too terrified to speak, letting the ferryman murmur to himself.

"After the great change in the underworld, the Yama Realm was established. Dizang made a great vow, praised by the world, and the Buddha Shakyamuni praised, 'Dizang, Dizang, your divine power is inconceivable. Your compassion is inconceivable. Your wisdom is inconceivable. Your eloquence is inconceivable. Even if all the Buddhas of the ten directions praised and spoke of your inconceivable deeds, they could not exhaust them in millions of kalpas.'"

"The celestial court descended upon the Six Realms, using the flesh of the Earth Goddess as clay, mixed with her blood, to cast the Six Realms, gathering souls and the essence of the River of Forgetfulness, establishing the cycle of rebirth, gaining supreme virtue."

As Su Xing listened, he was so shocked that he became numb, knowing he had heard something extraordinary, which could bring disaster.

"What was the great change in the underworld?" Su Xing asked cautiously, unable to suppress his curiosity, which could be fatal.

The ferryman looked up, glanced at him, and said casually, "Human hearts have changed. You don't need to know too much."

"Virtuous soul..." The ferryman muttered, bending down, his long, withered hand grabbing a handful of insects and snakes from the toxic River of Forgetfulness, alive and wriggling between his fingers.

Crack, crack...

The ferryman's hand kneaded, mixing the insects and snakes with the River of Forgetfulness water to form a blood-red meatball, the size of a ping-pong ball.

"Forgetfulness River meatball. Eat it, it will be good for you." The ferryman extended his hand, saying calmly.

"Eat?" Su Xing looked at the bloody meatball, his heart racing. It was made entirely of live venomous insects and snakes.

"Whether you eat it or not is up to you." The ferryman tilted his hand, and the meatball fell into the boat, rolling to Su Xing's feet.

The ferryman continued to push the bamboo pole, the flat-bottomed boat cutting through the thick river surface, slowly gliding. The River of Forgetfulness, only a hundred meters wide, took a long time to cross.

"Eat or not eat?"

Su Xing looked at the Forgetfulness River meatball at his feet, thinking of the legend of the Sanzu River.

The Sanzu River has three branches: one for the human world, absorbing human souls and transporting them to the underworld; one for the celestial realm, absorbing celestial souls and transporting them to the underworld; and one for the underworld, flowing through the underworld, accepting souls, and sending them to the two realms for rebirth.

In the past, the underworld had no Bridge of Sighs, no Six Realms of Reincarnation, no Dizang, and no Ten Yama Kings, no Yama Realm!

"Eat! Why not eat!" Su Xing pursed his lips, picked up the Forgetfulness River meatball, and swallowed it in one bite.

"Cough, cough."

Su Xing's eyes rolled, almost choking to death.

The ferryman rowed alone, a faint smile appearing under his bamboo hat.

"Clang"

The flat-bottomed boat trembled slightly, the bottom hitting the shore.

"Arrived." The ferryman said calmly, telling Su Xing to get off quickly.

"Ha ha, thank you." Su Xing scratched the back of his head, smiling apologetically, and jumped off the boat.

On the other side of the River of Forgetfulness, there was no clear spring, fragrant orchids, or fresh bamboo. Only the blood-red, flame-like Mandarava flowers bloomed in clusters.

"Beautiful but sad." Su Xing was captivated by the clusters of red flowers, feeling an inexplicable sadness.

Red usually symbolizes joy and festivity, so why did the flowers on the other side bloom so tragically and sadly? Moreover, Su Xing noticed that among the clusters of red flowers, there was not a single green leaf.

"Mandarava flowers, blooming for a thousand years, withering for a thousand years, the leaves and flowers never meet. Love is not bound by cause and effect, fate determines life and death. You are lucky to encounter the blooming thousand years. If you waited for the withering thousand years, the ground would be covered with green leaves." A ethereal voice suddenly sounded, and Su Xing followed the voice to see a woman in white sitting among the dazzling and alluring Mandarava flowers.

What a beautiful woman, with eyes like autumn water, skin like white jade, and bones like crystal, like a fairy from the moon palace or a dragon maiden from the crystal palace, ethereal and otherworldly, like a silver moon reflected on the sea, almost unreal.

"Is there such a woman in the world? Like a fairy from the moon palace, like a dragon maiden from the sea." Su Xing wanted to approach and chat, but he lacked the courage, feeling like a deflated balloon.

"Better to reincarnate quickly, be born into a good family, enjoy a good life, and maybe even marry a beautiful wife." Su Xing thought, chuckled, glanced at the woman's graceful figure, and walked towards the Three Lives Stone.

Before reincarnating, one must observe the Three Lives Stone to understand their past and present lives, and the causes and effects of their fate. Then, they must climb the Platform of Longing, where they can see the human world and fulfill their last wishes. After that, they must drink the soul-forgetting soup from the old woman, forget the troubles, love, and hate of the human world, shed the burdens of their past life, and shed their last tear of the mortal world to continue.

After reaching the Tenth Hall of Reincarnation, they must take off the immortal longevity robe, walk naked, and enter the Six Realms of Reincarnation to start their next life.

"Pretty good..." Su Xing thought, head hanging low.

"Hey, what is love?" A ghost suddenly called out to Su Xing.

"Me?" Su Xing looked up and saw a young male ghost with half-gray hair sitting at the head of the Bridge of Sighs, with no small ghosts or yakshas paying attention to him.

"Kid, do you understand love?" The half-gray-haired male ghost asked.

Love? Could the half-gray-haired male ghost be a love-struck soul?

Su Xing's eyes darted, his mind racing, and he said solemnly, "Heaven! I wish to know you, to live forever without end. Mountains will lose their peaks, rivers will run dry, winter thunder will roar, summer snow will fall, heaven and earth will meet, only then will I part from you!"

"Heaven? You're trying to fool me with a poem!" The half-gray-haired male ghost's eyes widened, an indescribable aura bursting out. His tone suddenly changed, "But it's not bad. Recite another one."

Strange ghosts in the underworld, rarely encountered on the Yellow Spring Road, all met here.

Su Xing muttered to himself, reciting with deep emotion, "What is love in this world, that makes people pledge their lives to each other? Flying together from the south to the north, old wings enduring cold and heat. Joy and sorrow, parting and reunion, there are also passionate lovers. You should have words, vast clouds and snow, only a solitary figure, where to go. On the road of Fen, the flutes and drums of old are silent, the desolate smoke still covers the plain. Summoning the soul, what can be done, the mountain ghost weeps in the wind and rain. Heaven is jealous, not believing that, like swallows and orioles, they will turn to dust."

Yuan Hao Wen's "Ode to the Goose," a poem that moved heaven and earth, and made ghosts weep.

"What is love in this world, that makes people pledge their lives to each other? Flying together from the south to the north, old wings enduring cold and heat. Ha ha! Good! Really good!" The half-gray-haired male ghost exclaimed, laughing wildly, the entire Bridge of Sighs shaking. He suddenly looked at Su Xing, asking seriously, "Did you write this poem?"

"No." Su Xing hesitated slightly, answering honestly, his heart pounding as he waited for the male ghost's reaction.

"You're honest. I'm Yuan Liunian, my life stained with sorrow. If you're bullied by ghosts, mention my name, and I'll protect you!" Yuan Liunian jumped down from the head of the Bridge of Sighs, patted Su Xing's shoulder, and disappeared.

"Truly elusive, another strange ghost." Su Xing sighed, increasingly reluctant to reincarnate, waving goodbye to the bizarre world.

"He's a ghost immortal, often sitting at the head of the Bridge of Sighs waiting for ghosts, probably a love-struck soul." The small ghost yaksha said casually.

"Ghost immortal?" Su Xing's expression changed, suddenly looking at the small ghost yaksha in surprise.

"When did the small ghost yaksha become so talkative!?" Su Xing shook his head, having encountered strange ghosts since crossing the river.

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