Shou Shi Jiang held his pipe, waiting for Hei Tou, the water ghost, to rendezvous with them.
With nothing else to do, Shou Shi Jiang puffed on his pipe, gazing at the river surface filled with pervasive gloom.
He began to tell us about the taboos and lore of this river.
Lao Mo and I listened attentively.
However, when we heard the last two sentences.
My heart gave a lurch.
The drowned souls in the water would actively seek out those with weaker fates to become their substitutes.
What was meant by a weaker fate?
It referred to people destined to be frail and prone to dying young.
It was clear that I was one of them.
I was born with an Yin fate that attracted ghosts. If it weren't for Qing Dai's promise from my past life to protect me for twenty years.
And later, when my master taught me Taoist arts and used ghost lifespan money to borrow lifespan for my lamp oil.
I would have died long ago.
If what Shou Shi Jiang said was true.
Wouldn't the drowned souls in this river actively seek me out?
I pondered.
Meanwhile, Lao Mo was captivated by a later statement from Shou Shi Jiang.
Were the black fish churning downstream on the river surface countless drowned souls?
Lao Mo looked at the river water.
The surface of the water was calm, but if one looked closely.
It could be seen that under the illumination of the white lanterns.
Black fish were swimming back and forth beneath.
However, these were not real fish, but drowned ghosts that had accumulated in the water over many years.
Without a proper ritual, these drowned ghosts could not leave the water.
They could only find the next substitute to leave the river and reincarnate.
Lao Mo looked at these and said in surprise:
"Grandpa Jiang, this is too terrifying!
With so many black fish swimming in the river.
Doesn't this mean there are many drowned ghosts around our boat?"
Shou Shi Jiang had lived in the river for decades and was already accustomed to it.
Without even looking,
He leaned against the side of the boat and tapped his pipe.
"Isn't this very normal?
We are all living people.
Those drowned ghosts, some might have been in the water for decades or even a hundred years.
They all want to reincarnate.
Naturally, they want to find a living person to take their place.
The human vitality we emit will naturally attract them."
Shou Shi Jiang said calmly.
Lao Mo swallowed and continued: "Grandpa Jiang, if that's the case, then anyone who falls into the river is doomed?"
Shou Shi Jiang smiled:
"Do you think it's that easy for ghosts to find a substitute?
Don't think of these drowned ghosts as being that powerful.
If one has a strong fate and heavy Yang energy.
Even if they fall into the water, these Yin spirits cannot enter their bodies.
It's the people with weak fates and low Yang energy that we worry about falling into the water.
Especially on a night like this.
If they truly fall in, being entangled by a hundred ghosts, it becomes very difficult to get ashore again."
Shou Shi Jiang continued to explain.
Lao Mo finally understood:
"Oh, so it's different from being on land.
People with weak Yang energy are also prone to attracting ghosts when walking at night, it's the same principle!"
Shou Shi Jiang took a puff of his pipe and continued:
"The ghosts on the road are nothing compared to the ghosts in the river!
On land, you can shout, run, or jump.
But in the water, you can't shout, run, or swim.
Without help from outsiders, once entangled, you're basically dead.
Just last month, a diner from the pier fish restaurant fell into the river.
I was the one who pulled him out.
I heard that person was a good swimmer when he was alive.
He drove his car that night and hadn't drunk anything.
But he drowned in such a shallow spot by the pier, without any strong currents.
It's obvious that he was claimed by the Yin spirits in the river."
Shou Shi Jiang and Lao Mo exchanged words.
The more I listened, the more my heart pounded.
If Shou Shi Jiang was right, wouldn't it be very dangerous for me to go into the water?
After all, my fate was weak, my eight characters were entirely Yin.
This was a fact I couldn't change.
So, I asked Shou Shi Jiang:
"Grandpa Jiang, what happens if a person with entirely Yin eight characters comes onto the water?"
Shou Shi Jiang paused upon hearing my words.
Then he looked up at me with a strange expression.
Upon hearing my question, Lao Mo's eyes widened as he looked at Shou Shi Jiang.
Lao Mo also knew I had an Yin fate.
After a moment of pause, Shou Shi Jiang continued:
"If an Yin-attracting person with entirely Yin eight characters gets on the boat, it might not be a big problem during the day.
But if it's nighttime, it becomes very dangerous.
The fate of such a person is like Tang Monk's flesh to the Yin spirits in the river.
As long as they dare to touch the water, they will practically leave their lives in the river..."
"Ah! That serious?"
Lao Mo exclaimed in surprise.
I also frowned, revealing a hint of worry.
I hadn't expected that my fate would also have an aversion to water.
Perhaps those hands reaching out from the mud I saw at the bottom of the river during the day were those of the drowned souls?
I mused.
Shou Shi Jiang glanced at Lao Mo:
"Mo, why are you so surprised?"
Lao Mo remained silent.
I offered a wry smile:
"Grandpa Jiang, to tell you the truth.
I am an Yin-attracting fate with entirely Yin eight characters."
The moment I said this, Shou Shi Jiang, who was smoking, choked on his pipe.
"Cough, cough, cough, what did you say? You, you have an inherently Yin fate?"
Shou Shi Jiang looked at me with a strange expression.
I nodded with a wry smile.
In our line of work, we don't casually talk about fate and eight characters.
But I was alive today because Shou Shi Jiang saved me.
And now, I still needed Shou Shi Jiang's help.
Moreover, Shou Shi Jiang had said that people with Yin fates were very dangerous on the river.
If I didn't reveal it, it could bring unnecessary danger to everyone later on.
By revealing it, Shou Shi Jiang might have a plan to deal with it.
After seeing me nod, Shou Shi Jiang gasped.
His eyes were full of surprise as he looked at me.
But before he could speak.
Many small bubbles suddenly appeared on the river surface around us.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
The sound was very faint, but on the silent river, it was quite clear.
Lao Mo was the first to notice the situation.
He exclaimed:
"Holy cow, what's going on? Why are there so many bubbles around?"
Shou Shi Jiang and I also looked towards the river surface.
The range illuminated by the white lanterns was limited.
But within sight.
We could see human-head-sized bubbles appearing and bursting one after another.
And their numbers were increasing, becoming denser and denser.
Besides that, with our naked eyes.
We could already see dark figures swimming back and forth beneath the river surface...