They continued upriver, now only about a hundred li from the source of the Yong River. Strange phenomena grew more frequent.
Quinn saw bright lanterns ahead, illuminating the darkness. It was a village, its lights standing out starkly against the night.
Inside the village, an old man was pasting and folding paper boats. After each boat was finished, it floated out of the village and docked at the riverbank. Wet men and women boarded each boat, which then drifted toward the center of the river, vanishing into thick mist.
"That's an underworld courier."
Village Chief whispered, "They appear at night to guide those who died in the river. Don't disturb them."
"Underworld courier?"
Curious, Quinn glanced at the old man. His face was blurred, as if veiled, making it impossible to see his features.
The old man in the village seemed to sense this, looking up at Quinn. Quinn shivered, feeling his soul shake as if it might fly out of his body. Just then, a resounding Buddhist chant flared from his brow—the Buddha mark Grandpa Mark planted between his eyebrows shone brightly, blocking the old man's gaze.
The old man lowered his head and continued making paper boats, his faint voice drifting over: "The living must halt."
Village Chief cautioned, "Quinn, do not interfere with the world after death."
“The world after death?”
Quinn was taken aback. “But we’re clearly inside the Great Ruins—this isn’t the world after death. Why would Village Chief say that...?”
“There are many uncanny places in the Great Ruins, connecting to multiple worlds. That little village is a border where the world of the dead meets reality.”
Village Chief said, “It’s not just the Great Ruins—there are places like this outside it too. If you ever leave the Ruins and see such a village and such an old man, don’t approach or ask questions. As long as you don’t provoke them, they won’t meddle in the human world. But they do know a lot; you can ask them for directions. Dao-brother, may I ask how to reach Carefree Haven?”
The old man in the village raised a finger, pointing into the darkness. “You cannot reach the true Carefree Haven...”
Village Chief thanked him, and they continued onward. After an unknown distance, Quinn’s Jade Pendant suddenly floated up from his chest, pointing ahead.
Quinn felt a stir in his heart. “Village Chief!”
Village Chief turned and saw, nodding gently. Quinn removed the Jade Pendant, hesitated, and then let go.
The Jade Pendant floated forward, flying faster and faster, streaking through the darkness like a shooting star.
Quinn and Village Chief hurried after it. Suddenly, with a soft whoosh, like a pebble dropped into a lake, the Jade Pendant struck an invisible membrane, sending ripples through the air.
Before Quinn and Village Chief, a strange new world seemed to unfold with the ripples—a vast land shrouded in gray mist, towering mountain ranges, boundless and desolate, hidden within the darkness and overlapping it, yet not the darkness itself.
“There really is another realm inside the darkness!”
Village Chief led him forward in pursuit. Quinn reached out and grabbed the Jade Pendant, unable to contain his excitement. “Is this Carefree Haven? Are my parents here?”
In his hand, the Jade Pendant kept leaping, as if still seeking its true owner.
Quinn hung the Jade Pendant back around his neck and let it guide the way, stepping forward. Village Chief quickly moved in front of him, his expression calm but cautious. “Quinn, we’re here now—no need to rush. Take it step by step. This place is very strange...”
Quinn forced himself to calm down and moved forward. The mountains here were handsome and steep, but veiled in gray mist, making everything blurry and unreal. Was this really Carefree Haven?
Hadn’t the underworld courier said they couldn’t reach the true Carefree Haven?
Gray mist stretched ahead, mountains looming faintly. Suddenly, a crisp cracking sound came from beneath Quinn’s foot, followed by a voice complaining, “You stepped on me...”
Startled, Quinn looked down and saw a withered bone hand pull itself out from under his foot. Next, a skeleton head poked out from the mist, its hollow eye sockets turning toward him.
“Human!”
The skeleton let out a piercing shriek, its harsh cry echoing through the gray mist world, painfully grating on the ears.
Quinn hurriedly stepped back, and another crack sounded beneath his heel. Only now did he realize the ground was layered with countless withered bones, stacked together to unknown depth!
His Ninefold Heaven Eyes spun as he looked toward the mist-covered mountains, shivering uncontrollably.
Those mountains in the mist were actually constructed from endless bones, piled into peak after peak, hidden within the fog!
A chill ran down Quinn’s spine as the bones on the ground began standing up, one by one. Skeletons swayed to their feet in the gray mist, and twisted voices echoed all around: “Human? Where is there a human?”
“No humans have appeared here for a long time! What kind of people can break in?”
“They have flesh, and we have none—take their flesh!”
...
Village Chief frowned, looking into the distance. The far-off mountains were trembling too, and then one mountain stood up—like a monstrous beast made entirely of bone—striding toward them. As it walked, countless skeletons gleefully ran over, climbing onto it and making the bone giant grow ever larger.
Some bones still radiated divine or demonic aura—clearly the remains of gods and demons!
The skeletons’ raucous voices clamored and roared, countless cries calling to devour the intruders who had come here.
“Where did all these bones come from?”
Even Village Chief felt a chill. Several tiny skeletons, only three feet tall, rushed out of the gray mist, grabbed Quinn’s legs, and bit down. Quinn smashed them with a palm each, but more skeletons came clattering in like a tidal wave—an utterly terrifying sight!
Village Chief unleashed his yuanqi, transforming it into streams of sword-light, but there were simply too many skeletons. Even he felt troubled—especially with those divine and demonic bones, which would be even harder to handle.
But just then, a burst of light shone from Quinn’s brow, and a gigantic Buddha phantom appeared, seated behind them. Instantly, countless skeletons shrieked and scattered in all directions.
Many skeletons clustered together as they ran, merging into giant forms. Some giants tripped and collapsed, breaking into scattered skeletons who scrambled away, only to merge again into new giants.
Quinn breathed a sigh of relief. The Buddha phantom Grandpa Mark had left in his brow was truly effective against these strange skeletons, keeping them at bay.
Even the distant bone mountains paused, watching from afar and not daring to approach the Buddha behind Quinn.
The gray mist rippled like gentle waves, and the fog between the bone mountains made the land look like a boundless sea. Suddenly, a light appeared. Quinn narrowed his eyes in surprise: a narrow skiff was drifting out from between two bone mountains.
The little skiff floated atop the mist. At its bow, a solitary mast held a lantern, its faint light glowing in the fog. There was no sail.
At the stern, a ferryman in tattered rain gear stood rowing, his head covered by a bamboo hat. Beneath the lantern sat another figure, also wearing a bamboo hat, his face hidden in shadow.
The skiff quickly drifted to a stop before them. The man under the lantern stood, turned, and bowed to the ferryman, producing a gold coin.
The ferryman reached out to take the coin, and Quinn immediately saw that his hand was entirely bone—no flesh at all!
Under the bamboo hat and rain gear, the ferryman was a skeleton!
A skeleton, rowing the skiff!
The man beneath the lantern stepped off the skiff. Seeing Quinn and Village Chief, he paused in surprise, then bowed. His voice was old and hoarse: “Dao-brother.”
Quinn and Village Chief returned the bow. “Dao-brother.”
The man pressed his bamboo hat down and walked away.
Village Chief suddenly called, “Dao-brother, wait.”
The man stopped.
Village Chief asked, “Dao-brother, do you have any spare coins?”
The man’s voice was hoarse as he chuckled, “You came without money and expect a ghost to row for free?”
Village Chief smiled. “That’s why I’d like to borrow a little from you.”
Laughter came from beneath the bamboo hat. “Old Sword God, it’s been ages since I saw you. So few of our generation remain—it’s fate to meet here. Fine, I’ll give you a few Underworld Capital coins.”
He stretched out his palm, and several gold coins floated up from it.
Village Chief’s face grew solemn. Manifesting arms and legs from yuanqi, he slowly reached out to take the coins.
Their hands met, and both figures wavered slightly.
The man under the bamboo hat withdrew his arm, turned, and walked away with a sigh. “You’ve gotten old, but you’re still a bit stronger than me. Still, I’m a few years younger, so I might outlive you yet.”
Village Chief watched him go. “You’re stronger than before, but you may not live longer than me.”
“Hard to say.”
The man vanished with a leap. Village Chief opened his hand, and four coins dropped into Quinn’s palm. His manifested arms and legs faded. “Quinn, let’s board the boat.”
Quinn, anxious, stepped onto the skiff. Village Chief floated aboard and leaned against the mast. The skeleton ferryman turned the boat, and it glided smoothly into the depths of the mist among the bone mountains.