I have no idea how long we've been walking. During this time, we've eaten three times—feasting on the severed limbs fished from the river. It must have been a day or two already, but here, the concept of time has completely vanished. It's even more oppressive than the Dark Place.
John Chou barely spoke a word during this stretch, leading us along the river. No matter where we walked, the scenery never changed. Aside from a few small arguments between the Tabby Cat King and Rusty, there was almost no conversation.
My stomach is empty again. Now, eating things from the river doesn't feel so repulsive. I just close my eyes, shove whatever it is into my mouth, and swallow it down.
"Let's rest for a while and find something to eat!"
John Chou said this, and we started casting nets. With three nets in the river, we hauled up a good amount of things and began to eat.
"John Chou, what exactly did you think of, or see? When we both came down just now, your eyes were fixed on the direction the river was flowing, as if you'd witnessed something extraordinary. What was it?"
The Tabby Cat King asked.
"We'll talk when we find the source. The only way out is to find where the river begins."
After a short rest, we continued walking. Then Rusty called out—floating on the river was half the body of a tiger. The Tabby Cat King and Rusty both threw out their hooks, and together they dragged the tiger corpse ashore. It was like finding treasure; the two of them broke into delighted laughter.
John Chou shot them a sideways glance. They were already carving up the tiger, each slinging a chunk of meat over their shoulder.
After walking for quite a while, John Chou stopped and crouched by the riverbank, observing.
"What's wrong? Did you find something?"
"Brother, and you two—are your eyes just for decoration?"
We exchanged glances for a moment, then looked at John Chou.
"The rate at which animal and insect corpses dissolve changes roughly every kilometer or so, and the concentration of dissolved ghost energy in the air varies too. It's a layered change—can't you sense any of it?"
The Tabby Cat King burst out laughing, hands on his hips.
"Of course I noticed. I just didn't say anything."
Rusty and I looked at the Tabby Cat King. He quieted down, and John Chou tossed his Dogpaw Hook toward the riverbank.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing? John Chou, if you do that, the rope will dissolve too!"
Rusty, looking distressed, hurried over to stop him. John Chou reeled the rope back in.
"I was just testing the density of the ghost energy being devoured here. All right, let's keep moving."
Afterward, we grew even more confused when John Chou, after walking a certain distance, suddenly turned back. He walked for a long time, repeating the route several times before finally moving forward again.
It was just as Rusty said—this river seemed to have neither a source nor an end. It was impossible to find.
After walking for a while, I spotted a cave on the opposite bank, about three or four meters high. Rusty spoke up.
"I used to live there, but I can't remember how long ago that was. This river is strange—some places you can find lots of severed limbs, some places you can't even find a hair. So I moved, always to places where there were things floating on the river. I've changed homes so many times, I've lost count."
It's been so long that it's clear Rusty really can't remember. During this, the Tabby Cat King kept probing him, but Rusty's responses were always normal.
"That's because this river that devours animals has stagnated."
All of us looked at John Chou, but he still didn't explain, just kept leading us onward.
Who knows how many days we've walked again. John Chou kept wandering back and forth—I felt like we were just circling the same stretch of land.
Suddenly, I saw what looked like a human hand floating on the river. I stared in shock as John Chou, quick as lightning, hooked it ashore.
With a slap, the human hand landed on the ground. It was as long as from hand to elbow, shriveled and dry—clearly a mummified hand.
John Chou picked up the hand. Rusty chuckled.
"You can't eat this stuff. I've seen plenty of them, not a single one edible. They're hard as rocks, and..."
"This is the Animal Realm. Why would there be a human hand?"
John Chou asked, and the three of us stared wide-eyed. This really was the Animal Realm—here, the ghosts were either animals or insects, so how could there be a human hand? I looked closely and realized the hand resembled that of a Hungry Ghost. Many Hungry Ghosts have shriveled bodies, almost like mummies, with especially sharp fingers and nails. Some of the nails on this hand were already broken, and it was posed as if grasping something.
"Now we can basically confirm what the River of the Three Paths really is."
We gathered around John Chou, staring intently at the human hand.
"What is it, exactly?"
The Tabby Cat King scratched his head and asked.
"The River of the Three Paths is just a special method used within the Three Paths to process excess ghosts. It's a way to completely resolve the lingering energies left after a ghost dies—those energies become river water, flowing toward a place that can contain them."
"So what if we know? What's the point?"
The Tabby Cat King muttered. John Chou smiled and pointed upward.
"Haven't you ever wondered? Where exactly are we right now? Especially you, brother—you've seen it before, right? The surface of the Three Paths: in the Hell Realm, there are those giant worms on the surface; in the Animal Realm, it's mostly rocks; and in the Hungry Ghost Realm, it's mud."
I stared in shock. John Chou was right—when I first brought Uncle Zhuang to the Three Paths, I did see those black, worm-like things, almost like tubes, wrapped around the outside of the Hell Realm. The Hungry Ghost Realm looked like mud, full of wailing Hungry Ghosts, and the surface of the Animal Realm was like cracked rock.
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"So how are these things connected?"
"Everything here—the atmosphere, the aura—is exactly the same as on the surface of the Three Paths."
As John Chou spoke, he pointed to the river, then looked around and reached down, suddenly scooping up a handful of mud and slapping it onto the ground. The river wasn't deep, only knee-high. Then he knocked on the wall nearby, and we crowded over—the wall was brittle, and under his tapping, cracks appeared.
Finally, John Chou pointed at the black river water.
"What could possibly digest everything? Brother, haven't you seen it before? When the Immortality Society was capturing the Burial Squad, the Fifth Yama King appeared—though it was only a projection."
"Hellstream?"
I stared in surprise. John Chou nodded, his wicked laughter echoing through the sealed space, grating on the ears.
"Now I'm certain—this place is a measure the Underworld Court uses to deal with the surplus ghosts from the Three Paths. The river's end is probably in Hell, beneath the Underworld Court. There's a big secret buried down there. I once overheard my idiot sister talking with Lady Meng, and that's how I found out. Why is the River of the Three Paths so hidden, not out in the open where it would be easier to manage? Why underground?"
I swallowed hard.
"To keep others from finding out."
"Those Yama Kings are ruthless. Since they can't reincarnate these ghosts, they quietly dispose of them. It's a clever trick."
Then John Chou pointed above our heads.
"That's why ghosts from the Animal Realm fall from above, Hungry Ghosts float up from the riverbed, and Hell Realm ghosts come straight out of the water. The Hellstream connects all three evil paths, so there's no real source."
"Then how do we get out?"
"Of course, we have to leave through the river. Brother, do you remember that special passage made by the demon spirits?"
I immediately thought of those soft, black, muddy spaces where things crisscrossed and overlapped. Back then, when we needed to enter the Yin world, we had to go to Lady Meng's house first, but couldn't take the Yellow Springs Road directly—instead, we used the special Cryptway to reach the Underworld Court.
"Cryptway?"
John Chou nodded.
"That thing was made by demon spirits digging up a lot of Hellstream. I don't know exactly where they got it, but I can confirm the mud in the Cryptway is the same kind—it's all Hellstream, though not as strong as what we have here."
"So what exactly..."
Suddenly, my eyes widened as I caught the look in John Chou's smiling eyes. I seemed to understand.
"Are you saying the Hellstream is interconnected?"
"Of course, brother. Otherwise, how could it flow through the Three Paths?"
Old Tie cheered in surprise, and the Tabby Cat King seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Next came the problem of escaping the Hellstream. After all, we couldn't use ghost energy—if we did, we'd be swallowed up instantly. That's what happened in the Cryptway before; using ghost energy made the mud grab you, and it was extremely dangerous.
Especially now, with such a powerful Hellstream, John Chou was still thinking. We waited for him to come up with an idea, and started fishing for food in the river with nets.
"I've got an idea, but it's a bit risky."
John Chou stood up, and the three of us, who had been eating, immediately crowded around him.
"Hurry up and tell us. I don't care if it's dangerous—I've had enough, I can't take it anymore."
Old Tie shouted, his voice full of anger.