Chapter 817: Something You Hold Dear

The boat was made of white bones and the boatman was a scarecrow. The entire vessel had been constructed from countless bones, seamlessly interlocked and stacked together. Large and small bones alike gleamed icy white, almost like jade, yet emanated a chilling, macabre aura. It was obvious at a glance that these were not ornamental, They had been stripped from real creatures and pieced together to form the shape of a boat.

Standing at the stern of this bone-crafted boat was the boatman, crudely assembled from straw. His limbs and joints were clearly made of human bones, while the rest of his body was stuffed with disordered straw, like the ugly patchwork of a mischievous kindergartener. His oversized head was entirely made of straw, with a mouth and nose roughly drawn in charcoal. The eye sockets were hollow, pitch black, and unsettling.

Upon closer inspection, faint blue flames flickered within the scarecrow’s empty sockets. They flickered briefly before vanishing.

“Are you all here to cross the river?” The scarecrow’s mouth did not move, yet an ancient, drawn-out voice rang out.

It was an eerie sound, like the death rattle of someone speaking with their last breath. It was low, raspy, and ominous.

Everyone shuddered involuntarily.

What kind of creature is this?

Chu Xiang, ever the bold one, called out, “You... who are you?”

“The Ferryman.”

“The Ferryman?”

“Yes. They all call me... the Youming Ferryman.”

“Youming Ferryman...” Chu Xiang chuckled. “That’s a pretty cool name.”

She then asked, “Can your boat really cross the river?”

“I can.”

Chu Xiang pressed further, “We’d like to cross. Can you take us?”

“I can,” the scarecrow replied. He stood motionless, the withered stalks of straw making up his body rustling in the wind. “As long as you can pay the price.”

Chu Xiang asked, “And what’s the fare to cross?”

“One item,” the scarecrow said. “Something you hold dear.”

Something dear to the heart?

Everyone paused slightly at the ferryman’s words. Chu Xiang tilted her head in thought, then pulled out a green silk pouch embroidered with a pair of mandarin ducks. “This is a treasured keepsake I always carry with me. Can it serve as a ticket?”

The scarecrow’s ghostly eye sockets ‘gazed’ at the green pouch for a long time. At last, he nodded and said, “It can.”

Beside her, Hua Dongcheng didn’t hesitate. He took out a golden flying disc and said, “This was my life-bound weapon before I ascended to the Cosmic Lifeform level. I used it throughout my cultivation journey. Can it serve as a ticket?”

The Youming Ferryman nodded. The group felt a wave of relief. It seemed the price wasn’t so unreasonable after all.

Husi stepped forward and produced a command token. He said, “This represents my status in the Mythic Mercenary Group. I risked my life completing countless missions to earn it. Can this serve as a ticket?”

The ferryman nodded once again.

Another member of the Mythic Mercenary Group, Fei Lun, followed suit and offered up his own identity token. It was also accepted. The four of them exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, then stepped onto the boat.

Seeing this, Luo Ge retrieved a broken half of a jade pendant. “This is—”

The Youming Ferryman suddenly interrupted her and said, “Full. Next trip.”

With that, he pushed off with his long bone pole, guiding the skeletal boat into the Heavenly River. It seemed the boat could only carry a maximum of four passengers.

“Wait!” Seeing this unfold, Song Yu panicked. She quickly shouted, trying to stop them.

Of course she didn’t want others to reach the far shore before her. But it was already too late. The Youming Ferryman rowed through the murky waves, the boat swaying as though it might capsize at any moment, but somehow remained steady and on course. Before long, it disappeared into the thick river mist.

The expressions of those left on the shore grew strained. Song Yu’s face was filled with frustration. She had pinned all her hopes on Li Xiaofei, on having him watch Ishihara Masami, the Primal God, to determine the direction of Heaven.

But Ishihara Masami had yet to show the slightest reaction. Instead, it had been the old Chancellor who had led them here, to the Heavenly River. She began to wonder if it was time to change her strategy.

Now, only Song Yu, Lin Yi, the old chancellor, Luo Ge, Xia Zi, the silver giant, Li Xiaofei, the mute girl, and Black Emperor remained on the riverbank.

The bone boat could only carry four people at a time. Which meant it would take at least three more trips to ferry everyone across. Deciding the order of passage was now a major issue.

About an hour later, the Youming Ferryman returned once again. This time, Song Yu rushed forward and held out a thin silver needle. She said, “This is a keepsake from my mother. Can it serve as a ticket?”

“It can.” The Youming Ferryman seemed unusually agreeable.

Lin Yi quickly stepped up, offering a beautifully embroidered ceremonial robe. It was accepted without issue.

The old chancellor presented an ancient coin and said, “This was the last of the travel money my father gave me when I left home to study the arts. Only this one remains. Can it be used as a ticket?”

“It can.” The ferryman accepted it readily, like all the others.

Luo Ge stepped forward again, holding out the same broken jade pendant from before, and this time, it was accepted without question.

Four passengers boarded and the white bone boat set off once more into the vast and misty Heavenly River.

“Woof, woof!” Black Emperor barked urgently behind Li Xiaofei, seemingly frustrated that he hadn’t rushed to get on board yet.

But what puzzled Li Xiaofei even more was the calm composure of Xia Zi, the enigmatic man with the compound eyes.

Among all the members of this expedition, Xia Zi remained the most inscrutable. There was something unsettling and deeply mysterious about him. He gave off the sense that he knew more about this forbidden land than he let on. His strength, too, had always felt profound and unfathomable.

An hour later, right on time, the Youming Ferryman returned once again, pushing the white bone boat to shore. Li Xiaofei glanced at Xia Zi. But the latter stood in place, making no move to board.

Li Xiaofei thought for a moment, then stepped forward and took out a small, ordinary glass medicine vial. It had once belonged to his aunt, used back on Earth No. 89876 to store her homemade concoctions.

He had kept it ever since, as a memory and a link to a different time. This vial was deeply precious to Li Xiaofei. Before this, he had been tempted to try offering something cheap and meaningless just to see if it would work. But in the end, he had pushed that thought aside.

“It can,” the Youming Ferryman said with a nod.

The mute girl stepped up next, pulling out a metal wine gourd. She stared at it for a long time, reluctant to part with it. Her expression carried a hint of wistfulness, and to everyone’s surprise, a shy little smile even crept across her face. But in the end, she handed it over.

The ferryman nodded in approval.

Black Emperor trotted up, opening his mouth to spit out a tiny milk tooth. It was one of his own teeth. The ferryman said nothing. Black Emperor didn’t wait and simply leapt onto the boat.

Li Xiaofei was startled by the sudden move. But the dog said nothing. Then, Xia Zi approached, holding out a blackened, charred-smelling pill.

“It can,” the Youming Ferryman confirmed.

With that, Xia Zi and the silver giant behind him both stepped onto the bone boat. The ferryman pushed off once more, guiding the vessel into the depths of the Heavenly River.

But a question stirred in Li Xiaofei’s mind.

What is going on?

This time, the boat had five passengers. He glanced at Black Emperor.

Does... he not count as a person? So the bone boat’s limit is strictly based on human heads—not total creatures?

Li Xiaofei stared down at the churning, boiling waters of the Heavenly River beneath his feet, an uneasy feeling creeping into his chest. Something didn’t feel right.

About half an hour later, from further down the river, a voice suddenly rang out.

“Help! Help me!” A desperate, panicked cry echoed across the waters, sharp and shrill.

Li Xiaofei turned toward the sound, and what he saw made his pupils shrink in shock.