After Old Mo said that rather chuunibyou line, he looked quite proud.
I smiled and replied, "That's right, the Demon Extermination Duo."
Even though it was chuunibyou, I said it out loud.
But as soon as the words left my mouth, several water ghoul-corpses grabbed onto the boat's gunwales, revealing half their heads.
They tried to climb aboard.
"Kill!"
I shouted again, attacking the water ghoul-corpses attempting to board.
Old Mo followed suit, shouting, "Let the light of justice judge you all."
With that, he raised his double axes and began to hack wildly at the water ghoul-corpses.
Master Jiang, at the stern of the boat, looked at the two of us, a smile suddenly curving his lips.
But then, he resumed stabbing his black iron ruler, inch by inch, into the water.
We couldn't see through the black water, nor could we discern the positions of the water ghoul-corpses beneath it.
But Master Jiang could.
He had encountered over ten types of ghosts and corpses on this river, in all sorts of situations.
For each type, he knew how to deal with them.
We fought and slashed on the swaying boat.
We killed twelve or thirteen water ghoul-corpses.
The appearance of so many water ghoul-corpses also surprised Master Jiang.
This was because water ghoul-corpses were already classified as vengeful spirits.
Normally, if even one appeared in a river section, it would cause unrest throughout that entire stretch.
Yet now, we had already killed more than a dozen.
This showed just how dangerous this section of the river had become.
If left unchecked, this river section would surely become a haunt for water ghosts.
The boats passing by, the residents on both banks,
would surely suffer many unexpected deaths.
"Damn it, I never expected this river to be turned into a ghost den by these evil spirits.
Do they really think this old corpse retriever is made of mud?"
Master Jiang shouted in anger.
Corpse retrievers were also called corpse collectors, and had another alias: river guardians.
The river surface was their territory.
This river section was their area of protection.
After Master Jiang shouted, he hung up the white lantern.
Then, he took a handful of small paper scraps from his pocket.
If one looked closely, they could see that these were small paper boats, already folded.
Master Jiang, holding this handful of small paper boats, suddenly scattered them into the river.
He formed a single-handed sword gesture.
He shouted loudly:
"Spirits of heaven and earth, heed my call. I have a hundred nether ships to sail. Decree!"
With that, he pointed at the white paper boats on the river surface.
Those small paper boats, tilting and swaying on the river, suddenly stood upright.
No matter how the black water churned, it couldn't sink these small paper boats.
Furthermore, an even stranger scene unfolded.
It appeared after Master Jiang's gesture.
Guided by Master Jiang's sword finger, those white paper boats
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh" dived into the water, heading in all directions.
In a moment, a "buzzing" sound, like firecrackers, could be heard underwater.
This was followed by the emergence of large bubbles.
And with each surging bubble, billows of black smoke emanated.
Within less than ten seconds,
more than ten large bubbles appeared on the river surface.
As these large bubbles churned, the rippling river surface once again calmed.
Those water ghoul-corpses climbing onto our boat never resurfaced.
They were likely blown to death by these small paper boats, or perhaps scared away…
As the surrounding river surface calmed,
the small paper boats that had dived underwater gradually surfaced.
There were still about forty to fifty of them.
Although they emerged from the river, they were not wet at all.
They appeared perfectly dry.
Moreover, these small boats seemed to come alive.
With a few ripples, they began to swim clockwise around our boat, in rows and columns…
"Master Jiang, what kind of Taoist magic is this?"
Old Mo exclaimed, amazed.
The ability to control objects was clearly a rather advanced Taoist art.
It might be on the same level as the "Break" incantation and sword control techniques in my cultivation of the Qiankun True Dharma.
I also looked at Master Jiang.
Master Jiang chuckled, "Heh heh heh":
"In our Corpse Retriever sect, we call this technique the Nether Ship Curse.
Each small boat is inscribed with a spell beforehand.
Through incantations, they can be controlled and deployed.
It is considered a rather high-level Taoist art."
After speaking, Master Jiang’s face clearly showed a hint of pride.
This was also one of Master Jiang's strongest techniques.
Although he came from an unconventional background, not a famous sect within the Taoist world,
by learning the "Nether Ship Curse," he could traverse rivers and lakes.
"Master Jiang, what a magnificent skill!"
I praised him.
Old Mo also gave him a thumbs-up:
"Master Jiang, your move is simply divine.
With these small boats to guard us, those water ghosts won't be able to get near our boat!"
As he spoke, he looked at the small paper boats still rotating clockwise around them.
Master Jiang smiled contentedly, clearly an old man who enjoyed face and praise.
However, before Master Jiang could finish his smile,
the calm black water surface began to churn again.
A discordant, throat-slittingly hoarse voice suddenly rang out:
"Stinking old man, you keep crossing me. Tonight, I'll kill you for sure."
The voice seemed to come from all directions, like surround sound.
It was impossible to determine its origin.
And as the voice sounded,
with a "whoosh,"
an eerie wind swept through.
That bone-chilling sensation returned.
In addition, a ripple of water surged from afar.
The ripple was small and seemed harmless.
However.
When that ripple passed the small paper boats surrounding the boat,
those small paper boats suddenly "boom boom boom" ignited, burning with black flames that water couldn't extinguish.
Upon seeing this, the three of us all wore expressions of astonishment.
Especially Master Jiang.
He knew the power of his small paper boats well.
Yet now, a small ripple had broken his spell.
This made him almost disbelieve it.
Not only that, but the small boat we were on
also emitted a dull "bang" under that small ripple.
It was as if it had been hit by a truck.
The entire boat spun on the river surface.
Old Mo and I desperately gripped the gunwales, steadying ourselves.
Master Jiang shouted, "Hold steady, hold steady."
And he desperately paddled, trying to control the small boat.
But from the gaps between the wooden planks, a "creak creak" sound emerged.
Then, "sizzling" water began to seep in.
It was as if the boat was about to break apart and collapse…
ps: Five chapters are here. I hope all my brothers and sisters will give a five-star review. Thank you, thank you. A cupped-fist bow.