Chapter 409: Hanging Ghosts! The Scabby-Headed Monk! Desiccated Corpses! The River Bandits’ Lair!?

Countless corpses hung suspended, half of their bodies submerged in the dark, murky water below.

There were men and women alike among them, some dressed in the robes of the Kingdom of Qian, others in the garb of the Western Regions or the grasslands. It was hard to imagine that in the waters near Wei City, there could be such a ghastly sight, so many hanged corpses swaying silently in the darkness.

These corpses hadn’t swollen up like ordinary bodies that had been soaking in water; instead, they had eerily dried out, shriveled in a strange and unnatural way. It was as though their blood and essence had been completely drained by something unspeakably sinister, leaving behind only shriveled remains.

The air was thick with decay and death. Even the faint lapping of the water felt like a whisper from the dead.

And among those countless corpses, several appeared...

new.

As though they had only recently been hung there.

“Look, there!” The ferryman, Elder Chen, pointed with a trembling hand, voice tight with fear.

Li Yanchu and Zuo Qian followed his gaze, and both of their expressions darkened.

Among the swaying bodies hung a Buddhist monk clothed in monk’s robes, freshly strung up and left to rot in this hellish place. Judging from the looks of it, this monk hadn’t been dead for long, as the blood and essence in his body hadn’t yet dried up, and his face still retained the features he’d had in life.

“How could it be him!?” Li Yanchu’s brows knit tightly together.

He recognized this monk. Back when he was investigating Miss Dong’s case, this scabby-headed monk had fought fiercely against that kolonok. It was also this very monk who had told him about the White Marsh Demon Kingdom.

He was an Executive Officer from the Court of Judicial Review, the scabby-headed monk from Wenhua Temple. This monk’s cultivation wasn’t weak, yet he had met such a miserable end in this dark cave.

“Damn it, this place is cursed! Let’s get out of here, fast!” The ferryman, Elder Chen, spoke with lingering fear in his voice.

He pointed at another corpse, his face pale with terror. “T-that one there, that’s a ferryman from the Xia River lineage! His seniority’s even higher than mine! And he’s been strung up here too!”

Li Yanchu turned to look.

Sure enough, it was an old man, though some of his blood and essence had already faded, his build still showed that in life he’d been a burly, muscular man, his arms twice as thick as an ordinary person’s.

For a moment, the atmosphere turned heavy and strange.

Among the ferrymen clans, the Xia River ferrymen were known as the most orthodox, their methods the most mysterious. They spent their lives plying the eerie waterways where the dead outnumbered the living, and had inherited a unique craft from their forebears.

Ordinarily, no matter how many others died, a ferryman would be safe, for they were themselves half yin, half yang, dwelling between the worlds of the living and the dead.

But here, not only had a senior ferryman of the Xia River lineage perished, even a legitimate Buddhist Shakyamuni[1] disciple had died as well.

The place reeked of unnatural evil.

Zuo Qian, the young martial warrior, was equally uneasy. He feared no fight of saber and steel, but this kind of sinister, uncanny horror sent a chill crawling up his spine.

Li Yanchu lifted his head, gazing at the enormous round wooden beam that stretched across the cavern, its surface dark and lusterless, exuding a sinister, eerie aura.

A flicker of spiritual light glinted in his eyes as he activated his Spirit Eyes.

A beam that had borne the weight of many hanged corpses would naturally retain powerful resentment qi, sometimes even giving birth to vengeful spirits.

And this beam had hung

so many.

The death qi and resentment within it surged like a storm.

Then, just as the three hesitated, the rows of hanging corpses suddenly turned their heads in unison, moving though there was no wind. In an instant, it was as if they had all come back to life!

On every withered face twisted a look of venomous hatred, as though they were silently screaming,

Why wasn’t it you who was hanged instead!?

Three nooses suddenly shot toward the three of them, so fast they were nothing but blurs.

At the same time, an overwhelming wave of yin qi surged from the massive beam overhead, filling the air with a chilling, malignant force. It was so cold it felt as though their very blood was about to freeze.

Whether it was Elder Chen, the ferryman skilled in traversing the yin waterways, or Zuo Qian, the martial expert brimming with blood and qi, both found themselves completely paralyzed, unable to move even a finger.

They could only stare helplessly as the coarse hemp ropes came whipping toward them like living serpents.

Clang!

With a sound like a dragon’s roar as the blade was drawn, the three thick ropes were all severed in an instant.

Elder Chen and Zuo Qian both gasped as their bodies finally regained feeling, their limbs once again free to move.

“How dare you play tricks in front of

me

!?” Li Yanchu gave a cold, disdainful snort.

He raised the Heaven-Illuminating Seal in his hand and hurled it forward. The seal expanded against the wind, and from it burst a blinding blaze of divine fire. The flames devoured the massive beam in an instant!

But it didn’t stop there, that domineering sacred fire surged outward, engulfing the countless hanging corpses before them.

Blazing Inferno!

The icy, sinister dead were reduced to ashes in moments. The entire cavern was cleared, and the oppressive, corpse-choked space suddenly fell silent and empty.

Within the fire, a white-clad woman’s shadow appeared, twisting and struggling violently, as though trying to flee. But before she could escape, the overbearing divine flame consumed her utterly.

The fire seemed almost sentient; not a single scorch mark marred the rock walls or the surface of the water. Yet the beam above, once like a scene from a horrific hell, was cleansed as all the hanging corpses were burned to ash.

The entire cavern was scorched spotlessly clean.

“Holy shit!” the ferryman couldn’t hold back his exclamation.

He’d spent his life roaming the

jianghu

, and he’d met plenty of monks and priests, but never one this ruthless and terrifying!

What a monster of a man!

Li Yanchu smiled faintly at the two of them. “Let’s go. Keep the boat moving and find the people.”

“Yes, sir! You just sit tight and watch, Daoist Master Li!” The ferryman’s voice trembled slightly, but his eyes gleamed with awe.

With a man this fierce leading the way, what danger in heaven or earth could possibly stand in their path?

If gods blocked the way, he’d slay gods. If demons blocked the way, he’d slay demons.

The three continued forward, gliding across the silent stretch of dark water.

Even Li Yanchu himself felt a flicker of surprise; as his cultivation grew deeper, his control over the Heaven-Illuminating Seal had clearly become far more refined. In the past, he could never have achieved such precision strikes and destroyed monsters without disturbing the surroundings.

Its power’s still a little lacking

, he thought to himself.

If I combine it with the Five-Dragon Wheel, the Ten Thousand Crows Urn, Cloudpiercer, and the Flying Smoke Sword, even a third-realm powerhouse would have a real headache.

A sudden idea crossed his mind: if only he had some kind of Three Heads and Six Arms[2] divine ability, or an avatar technique.

He had too many magical artifacts; with mere Telekinetic Command alone, he couldn’t fully unleash their combined might.

That thought quickly passed.

They rode the fishing boat onward, passing through the branching waterways. Though the ferryman had never been here before, he possessed certain techniques to traverse the yin realm unique to the ferryman lineage. Especially upon these waters[3], his talents were like wings added to a tiger.

Along the way, whenever they came across floating corpses or drowned bodies, Li Yanchu would summon divine fire to burn them to ashes, advancing through the cave like an unstoppable force.

Until...

Thud!

A crisp sound echoed. At last, the three of them had reached shore.

Before them stood a ruined waterside stronghold; from its remains, one could faintly see that it had once been prosperous, a fortress with strict defenses and thriving life. Now, though, it was nothing but decay and desolation, and the air was thick with the nauseating stench of rotting flesh.

Without hesitation, the ferryman followed the two men ashore. He knew the old taboos of his craft: a ferryman must never meddle in passengers’ affairs, lest misfortune follow.

For generations, their lineage had strictly adhered to these ancient rules of the trade. But today, this young Daoist had completely overturned his expectations. This place was a great cursed land, yet to this handsome, calm priest, it didn’t seem dangerous at all.

The three of them finally stepped onto solid ground. As they ventured deeper inland, they passed by collapsed watchtowers, training halls, armories, and lookout towers, all long since abandoned.

A single glance told the story: these ruins had been deserted for a very, very long time.

1. Shakyamuni 释迦 refers to Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.

Here is a reference

image

. ☜

2. Three Heads and Six Arms (三头六臂, sān tóu liù bì) is a Chinese idiom originally derived from Buddhist terminology, referring to the manifestation of a Buddha’s divine form. Later, it came to be used metaphorically to describe someone possessing extraordinary or superhuman abilities.

The phrase first appeared in the Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (《景德传灯录》) by the Song Dynasty monk Shidaoyuan (释道原), in a passage describing the figure of Nezha. Its prototype originates from

ancient depictions of deities with three heads and six arms

. ☜

3. In the context of yin and yang, water is the most yin element, contrasting with fire, which is the most yang. It embodies yin's characteristics of being dark, heavy, soft, and yielding. ☜