81st Extra: He Was Young at That Time

  Preface

  In the dimness, stars twinkled like will-o'-the-wisps, swaying gently. The vast and surging river flowed with waves lightly lapping against the shore, where red ripples seemed to hold the faint wails of ghosts, like lamentations. The murky sky was reflected in the foul-smelling, blood-red river water, with wind stirring up dark whirlpools, also rustling the ghostly soul flags on the riverbank. In this eerie and desolate land, apart from the deep red, blood-like river flow, only remained cold winds, tattered flags, and withered, dragon-like grasses. As the wind passed, the flags swayed again, bringing up another mournful, ghostly cry.

  This is the Exile Abyss, a place of exile and abandonment.

  However, in this ghostly realm where no living being should exist, by the river of resentment and grievances that had accumulated for thousands of years, a person full of vitality suddenly appeared.

  "...travelling over ten miles, spreading out for several feet, flowing southwest..." "...its water is all blood..."

  The red-clad man standing by the river gazed at the rolling waters disappearing into a hazy mist in the southwest, muttering to himself or perhaps to the nearby spirits: "Is this the Nai River mentioned in 'The Story of the Decline of the Zhou Dynasty'?"

  Only a faint splashing sound was heard, but a small boat made of green bamboo emerged from the yellow fog on the river and approached. A black-clad ferryman poked his head out from behind a dark oar and used it to steady the boat against the riverbank. The bamboo boat rocked back and forth several times before coming to a stop. Only then did the man stand up straight, but he was wearing a conical hat that obscured his face, although his build was quite tall and large.

  After a while, a voice came from under the bamboo hat: "Have you seen the person you're looking for?"

  The sentence is nonsensical, but judging from the tone and language used, it seems that the ferryman knows the man in red.

  The man in red raised his head, and a bitter smile appeared on his handsome face as white as jade. He shook his head and said, "It seems that the person has not passed away or has already been reincarnated. I waited for a long time in front of the wheel-turning mirror platform, almost startling the ghostly envoys, but still couldn't see him. Alas..."

  The ferryman didn't ask any more questions, and simply said lightly: "Then get on the boat, strangers shouldn't linger in the ghost realm, I'll send you back." The bamboo hat slightly tilted upwards, as if catching a glimpse of a faint smile at the corner of the red-clothed man's lips, he added: "...and so are demons."

  The man in red smiled stiffly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, and said: "You can see it?"

  The ferryman smiled lightly, and his smile carried a hint of vicissitude: "When alive, one can't see through it; after death, one can see it clearly." He sighed, paused for a moment, then said, "Get on the boat."

  The man in red nodded slightly, and with a mere touch of his toes, he floated down onto the green bamboo boat like a feather. The small boat sank only slightly, but didn't wobble at all. The ferryman wasn't surprised in the least, and with just one push of the pole against the riverbank, the green bamboo boat slowly drifted out into the current.

  The yellow fog gradually closed in behind the two, blocking out that desolate and barren land of exile, and also cutting off the mournful cries. In the stillness, only the faint sound of water flowing under the boat and the creaking of the oars could be heard, as if this small bamboo boat had become a world unto itself, surrounded by the fog on all sides.

  After a long time, the ferryman suddenly said: "The person you are looking for... is very important to you?"

  The man in red sat in the boat, originally lost in thought. Hearing him ask this way, he fell silent for a moment before saying: "He is my... younger brother."

  The ferryman nodded and said: "Since we are brothers, why don't you know whether he is alive or dead?"

  The man in red slightly lowered his head, but the corners of his lips curled up with a bitter smile, and he said softly: "Originally brothers, now separated by heaven."

  The ferryman no longer asked many questions, but instead urged his arms to row the oars in silence. After a long while, the surrounding fog grew darker and more somber, and amidst the sound of the oars, he slowly said: "I also have a brother, we've been together since childhood, like each other's limbs... now it's just life and death, two vast expanses."

  The ferryman of the Nai River, who travels between the world of humans and ghosts, is also a minor official in the ghost realm. The afterlife is quiet and still, but memories of past events remain vivid. Perhaps it was the rare sight of a living person that stirred up old memories, and the ferryman sighed softly before continuing: "My brother has always been eccentric and talented since childhood, surpassing me in many ways. Our father was a skilled thief in our village, and we learned from him from a young age. However, one year he went missing and returned changed, becoming foolish and dull. People outside the village said it was because he had done too many evil deeds and lost his good fortune, leading to this downfall. My brother was angry when he heard this and took over our father's legacy, and I followed him. At the time, we thought that although these dealings were not good to speak of publicly, they were also a way to help people..."

  "But what kind of business is this?" The man in red suddenly said.

  The ferryman was taken aback, his hand holding the oar also stopped, as if he was somewhat ashamed to explain. After a long silence, he sighed and said: "It doesn't matter, it's all in the past, so I'll tell you about it. My family, including everyone in our village and clan, were all involved in the same business. My brother and I learned the art of Feng Shui and grave robbing from a young age. This isn't a good thing to do, but at the time, we thought that taking wealth that the dead didn't need and using it to help the living was making good use of it. Although it's considered theft, we thought we were doing something righteous. But after death, we realized that even the dead have their own attachments. Our clan took away the things that the dead were attached to, disturbing their spirits. This is truly a great sin, but we didn't realize it at the time. However, the underworld has been keeping track of all this in the book of life and death!"

  The man in red robes exclaimed: "Could it be that you think this errand is...?"

  "You're not wrong." The ferryman nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "People of our clan have always had extremely short lifespans. Even those who live long lives can't live past the age of thirty. After death, they still have to serve as attendants in the underworld until their sins are cleared before they can be reincarnated..."

  A sorrowful sigh was followed by another period of silence, the ferryman stood at the bow of the boat gazing out at the river, his pole stirring the red water with a slow and rhythmic motion.

  The man in red didn't go to disturb them either, but sat quietly in the boat, his eyes also watching the ripples of red spreading from the side of the boat.

  After a while, the ferryman continued: "Everyone in our clan knows that life is short-lived, and it's natural to be unwilling. My brother and I were also like this. Later... I was bedridden with illness, and he had an additional obsession, which was to find a way to live forever so that I and everyone in our clan could escape the fate of being short-lived. When I died, he was still rushing around outside... Now that I'm in the underworld, I realize that no matter what method of longevity there is, it can't wash away the sins of our clan, but he won't know until he gets here..."

  The man in red furrowed his brow and shook his head, saying: "By then, what's the use of knowing?"

  "What you said isn't wrong?" The ferryman sighed, "What's even more worrying for me is my brother's daughter. That poor girl, her parents knew they wouldn't live long and were afraid that one day after they died, she would be heartbroken. So they kept their distance from her, usually only I spent more time with her... now I don't know how the little girl is doing..."

  As they spoke, the yellow fog in front gradually brightened, and there were also the sounds of river water slapping against the shore and faint human voices. The ferryman said: "Fengdu is just ahead, it's time to return to the mortal world. It was a bother for you to listen to this old story for so long."

  The man in red stood up and said, "Why bother to mention it? On the contrary, I should be thanking you profusely. If not for your guidance, how would I have known the location of the rotating mirror platform? And without you providing passage here, how could I have easily traveled back and forth between the mortal realm and the underworld? The great favor you've done me is still unpaid, so what's there to bother about?"

  The ferryman smiled and said lightly, "Life and death are different, I don't have anything that needs you to repay me. If you really feel uneasy... then just take a look at that little girl for me, see if she's doing well or not, that would be repaying me."

  The man in red clothes nodded without hesitation and immediately cupped his hands: "It's settled with one word."

  And so the story begins.