In the dim sky, there is a looming black air, and on the vast land, there are dead branches of old trees everywhere. Black crows cackle on the branches, and green will-o'-wisps float out from the soil.
This is the Mikawa River, which looks like the world of the dead. This is indeed the world of the dead. Here, the number of dead people far outnumbers the living.
Sanhechuan is the intersection of three rivers. These three rivers are said to be 'the one who comes is born,' the one who goes dies, and the one who stays is alive.
At the confluence of three rivers, there is a huge town, where living people live.
The place where Zhang Cundao appeared was by the river. Not far away was a busy dock. On the dock, a man who looked like a clerk was directing a group of people to get on the boat. Although it was a boat, it was actually a raft made of several wooden boards. The raft was half submerged.
The filthy water makes people feel like they will sink in the next moment.
At this time, perhaps he spotted Zhang Cundao on the side of the road, and the guy shouted: "Hey! Do you want to get on the boat?"
Zhang Cundao asked: "Where is your boat going?"
The job replied: "Where else can we go? Of course it is to the town. Are you going to the town? If so, we will give you a ride."
After Zhang Cundao heard this, he also wanted to know where the corpse temple was, so he walked up. As soon as he reached the pier, he smelled a strong smell of corpses. Then he took a closer look, oh wow! These groups
Wherever the people on board were alive, they were all dead!
These dead people were wearing shrouds, their faces were blue and white, some were swollen, and some had half of their faces missing, as if they had been eaten by something.
Seeing Zhang Cundao hesitate for a moment, he smiled and said, "Is this your first time coming to Sanhechuan? Have you never seen us transporting Xike?"
When he smiled, he revealed his white teeth, which actually shone brightly in the dim environment.
After all, Zhang Cundao is a 'mighty' with the third level of divine light. He calmed down, shook his head and said: "This is my first time here, and I really haven't seen these before."
The job smiled and said: "That's not surprising. In fact, there is no taboo. Xike is not noisy or noisy, and he doesn't care whether he is comfortable or not. He is the best guest. If you mind, then you can only go on foot.
We're in town. But don't blame me for not warning you, it's not a smooth road."
When Zhang Cundao heard this, he said calmly: "Then your waterway will be peaceful?"
The waiter smiled and said: "The waterway is not smooth, but it doesn't matter. If something happens, Xike can sacrifice himself."
Just as the two of them were talking, a human head suddenly emerged from the water. The head took a long breath and walked out of the dirty river water. As he walked, the river water on his body dried up quickly and seemed to be absorbed by him.
Enter the body...
The man came to the boy's side, frowned and said, "Why are we still chatting? We haven't even finished the work yet!"
The boy smiled and said, "I met a visitor from a foreign country and just chatted for a few words. Has the bottom of your boat been repaired?" The boss of the boat nodded, glanced at Zhang Cundao, turned around and picked up his long pole, which was completely black.
, I don’t know if it’s been soaked in water for a long time or something else, but there are pieces of sphagnum moss attached to it, and some sphagnum moss even releases sticky liquid, which is quite disgusting.
The boy immediately said: "You can't get on the boat. After this point, there will be no boat!"
Zhang Cundao looked at the distance, then at them, and finally nodded and said: "Up!"
Not long after, the group of happy guests boarded the raft and lined up very neatly in three rows and four rows. The guys stood at the bow and the boss of the boat stood at the stern. They only heard the boss of the boat shout: "Get off the boat! Welcome all the happy guests. Everything goes well."
!”
He pushed hard with his pole, and the raft slid to the center of the river. Then the whole raft began to shake, almost making Zhang Cundao lose his footing. But the strange thing was that those Xike were as steady as old dogs and did not shake at all.
.
The boy was also shaken, but he didn't worry. Instead, he took out three or five pieces of paper money from his arms, threw them directly into the water, and shouted: "Friends in the water, please help me! I will protect you all the way."
Great reward!"
As soon as his voice fell, a few rickety bodies floated in the water. These bodies were pale white with water, and their limbs were as long as bamboo. They grabbed some 'paper money', and then grabbed the edge of the raft to stabilize it.
When the boat boss saw this scene, he also started to control the direction with a pole and paddle the raft forward.
The water in the Mikawa River is very calm, but this is only a superficial phenomenon. There are various turbulences under the water. Not long after walking, a 'friend' holding a raft was swept into the water by the turbulence, and then was caught by a black shadow.
Swallow...
When the waiter saw this scene, he frowned slightly and muttered: "Why are you so unlucky? You got into trouble right from the beginning."
He sighed helplessly and kicked a Xike into the water.
This Xike didn't make any sound (and probably couldn't make any sound), he just splashed into the water and was dragged away by the shadow.
The black shadow dragged Xike away, and the water returned to calm. The worker sighed and said, "I hope we won't encounter him later, otherwise this boat trip will be in vain."
After he finished speaking, he bowed his hand to Zhang Cundao and said, "I am Tong Lang from Sanshi Trading Company. I don't know what to call this friend."
Zhang Cundao also bowed his hand to him and said, "Zhang Cundao from Zhishan Water Pavilion."
"Zhishan Water Pavilion?" The man frowned and thought for a while, but could not figure out what sect it was, and then said: "My friend came to Sanhechuan, but what happened? Our Sanzhi Trading Company has many years of experience in transporting happy customers.
, if friends have needs, we can take care of it no matter where it is sent.”
When he said this, he was advertising for his firm to attract business. He was indeed a good guy and never let go of any potential customer.
During the exchange, we learned that his Three Corpses Trading Company is both a trading firm and a spiritual sect. Indeed, it is impossible to transport Xike without cultivation. According to his introduction, Three Corpses Trading Company is also a well-known trading firm in Sanhe Town.
Specializing in the transportation of Xike. Even the Huangquan Sect once invited them to transport Xike.
When talking about this, Tong Lang's face was still very proud. After all, he was invited to work by the Huangquan Sect, so he looked up to them!
The two of them were talking, but at this time the boat boss shouted: "Attention! We are going to Yaohezi!" After he finished speaking, he propped up the raft with a pole, causing the raft to sway suddenly.
By swaying, he bypassed an underwater undercurrent to avoid being sucked into the undercurrent. But at the same time, a 'friend' holding on to the raft was also drawn into the undercurrent.
"Hey, Tong Lang! There aren't many escorts left, so you need to hire some more." The boss of the boat also shouted at this time.
Tong Lang nodded, with a look of indifference on his face. As long as it wasn't a loss to Xi Ke, he wouldn't feel bad no matter how many of these ship-guarding ghosts were swept away, it would just be a waste of some paper money.
He took out a few pieces of paper money again from his arms, then scattered them into the water and shouted: "The water is turbulent, the price will double!"
The next moment, several boat-guarding ghosts jumped out of the water and grabbed the paper money on the water. Unfortunately, one boat-guarding ghost didn't even catch the paper money and was swept away by the sudden undercurrent.
Finally, an apparently lucky boat-guarding ghost grabbed the paper money and swallowed it before coming over to hold up the raft.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Cundao felt a little curious and asked: "Brother Tong, the water is very turbulent, why do you still use this kind of raft? Isn't it better to use a better boat?" Riding on this simple raft is simply better than rafting.
Be exciting!
Tong Lang explained with a smile: "Brother Zhang is a foreigner, you don't know something. This is the rule of Sanhe River. What's on the river belongs to the people, and what's below the river belongs to the river god. If you use a big boat or a good boat,
, this boat does not need to be protected by the boat guardian ghosts, and the property will not fall into it, which will naturally make the river god displeased. It will also cut off the financial path of the boat guardian ghosts. They will unite to capsize your boat!"
"These three rivers are the source of food and clothing for millions of ghosts in the river. Cutting off the ghosts' property is more uncomfortable than killing them. Therefore, using a raft like this, you can occasionally 'drop' some belongings and hire some ghosts to protect the boat. Although there are
It’s a small expenditure, but it’s better than the boat capsizing and the people dead.”
Zhang Cundao looked incredulous after hearing this, the reason is actually like this!
Tong Lang continued: "These are the rules set by the masters of Huangquan Sect and the river gods of Sanhe River after a fight. Fortunately, there are rules, otherwise this life would be difficult."
He smiled and said: "If you take the land route, there should be many ghosts attacking and entangled by now. There are too many and complicated things on the road, but they are not as simple and clear as on the river."
While the two were talking, they saw the outline of a town vaguely appearing in the distance, and the river was now much wider. But at this moment, for no reason, the river suddenly surged and set off a wave.
Come!
The big waves rolled up the raft, and the boat guarding ghost could not hold the raft now. A Xike suddenly became unstable and fell into the water. As soon as the Xike entered the water, an invisible big hand dragged him to the bottom of the water and disappeared.
not see.
When Tong Lang saw this scene, he also showed a helpless look. He said: "It's the river god who collects the tax. It's okay this time. I only lost two happy guests and made a small profit. It's coming to town soon."
."
As he spoke, he told Zhang Cundao: "Brother Zhang, be careful. You can pick up things that fall on the ground, but you must not pick up things that fall into the water. If you see gold and silver in the water, don't be tempted.
If you go into the water and fish for fish, those are the temptations of the River God. Once you enter the water, you belong to the River God!"
He glanced at the boat boss at the stern and whispered: "The boat bosses are also the people of the river god. If something falls into the water and must be picked up, go find them. Only they can enter the water."
After listening to Qi Qiran, Zhang Cundao understood a little bit about the rules of Sanhechuan.
After a while, the outline of the town finally became clear. It was a town that looked like a Jiangnan water town, with gray walls, black tiles, and everything was in heavy gray and black tones.
When the raft docked, Tong Lang settled the bill with the boss of the boat. Then he said to Zhang Cundao: "If friend Zhang has any needs, he must remember to come to our Sanzhi Trading Company!"
Then, he whispered: "The Yunshi Temple you mentioned is located three miles outside the town. It is not peaceful outside the town. You have to be careful!"