The 20th Chapter

He stood there, trembling, but didn't fall.

His body began to shake violently. He seemed to be terrified of something, overcome with unimaginable fear.

The passengers on the boat shouted even louder and more fiercely.

Suddenly, someone on the boat stood up. This person had been sitting quietly in a corner, unremarkable and silent. But as soon as they stood up, an invisible, awe-inspiring aura emanated from them, like a gust of icy blades slicing through the wind on the Mo River. Everyone shivered, goosebumps prickled their skin, and they couldn't utter a word.

Only those who had seen blood and killed others possessed such a chilling presence.

The person's gaze swept over them, and an oppressive sense of dread arose.

The people on the boat felt a bitter dryness in their throats, unable to speak. They lowered their heads, their hearts pounding.

It was a tall, thin man. His hair was meticulously tied up with a tortoiseshell pin. His small eyes glinted sharply, giving off an incredibly dangerous aura. Beside him sat a woman wearing a hooded cloak, her head bowed, her features hidden.

The man's sharp gaze shifted to the motionless Ferryman at the dock, and he called out, "Boatman, it's time to set off."

"Setting off" carried many implications.

Spoken in the man's dry, cold voice, it immediately conveyed the most ominous meaning.

The Ferryman froze, then managed to say, "I've had too much to drink. I'm afraid I can't take you to the other shore."

The man replied, "Go as far as you can. Don't dawdle. The time has come. If I say go, you must go!"

The Ferryman said, "I really can't go. It's not even Chen Shi yet! I won't leave before Chen Shi."

The man let out a cold snort and strode from the boat towards the Ferryman at the dock. With each step, the entire ferryboat shook violently, as if about to capsize, sending passengers tumbling.

In the blink of an eye, the man was beside the Ferryman. He suddenly reached out a hand, intending to grab the Ferryman by the scruff of his neck and pull him onto the boat to make him start.

The old man turned abruptly and saw the man's cold, smiling, chilling face. He turned deathly pale, his legs went weak, and he fell to the ground. The man's grab missed.

The man's eyes turned cold. He leaned down and grabbed again, finally catching the Ferryman. With a forceful heave, he lifted the old man up. The man sneered, "Since you insist on waiting until Chen Shi to set sail, I'll sober you up first!" He walked towards the water's edge, carrying the Ferryman. But he stopped after one step because the old man's feet seemed rooted to the ground.

The man's brows furrowed, and he let out a cold shout, his arm suddenly exerting force, intending to lift the Ferryman completely. He had realized something was off about the old man and suspected he knew martial arts. Thus, he exerted immense strength to test the old man.

But as he exerted his strength, the Ferryman floated up as lightly as a swallow. Not only did the Ferryman float up, but the sinister man did too. With a splash, they both fell into the water. The Ferryman struggled, splashing noisily, and climbed out of the water.

The man, however, had vanished.

The Ferryman climbed out, staring blankly at the water's surface, and exclaimed in shock, "Where is he? Why didn't he come up? Ah, could there be water ghosts in the Mo River?"

Someone suddenly screamed, "Look there!"

Everyone on the boat looked towards the river. About seven or eight zhang away, a person was floating downstream, bobbing with the waves. It was a corpse – the man's corpse.

Everyone felt a chill creep up their spines, a sense of the bizarre. They all turned to look at the Ferryman at the dock.

The Ferryman was utterly panicked, collapsing onto his backside. "It's not my fault, it's not my fault..."

Chaos erupted on the boat. Some people no longer dared to stay on board and rushed towards the dock.

As the boat descended into chaos, someone suddenly jumped off, splashing into the water.

The woman in the straw hat also stood up abruptly. The people who were trying to run off the boat suddenly began foaming at the mouth and collapsing, one after another. Not a single one managed to escape.

The boat was still full of people, a boatload of dead people.

The Ferryman was also spitting up large amounts of foam, tinged with streaks of blood.

The woman said coldly, "It's Chen Shi now, isn't it!"

The Ferryman's face contorted in pain, and he looked in despair at the woman, only her pointed chin visible. He couldn't utter a single word.

The woman let out a cold snort. "Now that it's Chen Shi, you can't leave even if you want to. Old man, why didn't you listen to advice?"

The Ferryman struggled to speak, "A man who wanted to save his brother took three hidden weapons for me. His brother is on my boat, and I must wait for him!"

The woman sneered, "Unfortunately, he can't make it at all. Under the Green Bamboo Swordsman, he wouldn't last half an hour."

Suddenly, the sound of intense hoofbeats echoed from afar.

The smile on the woman's face widened, revealing two dimples on her exposed cheek. She said, "The Green Bamboo Swordsman has arrived and brought me a fine horse! Hehehehe!" She laughed heartily.

That fine horse was, of course, Liu Ruyan's Chasing Lightning.

But soon, her laughter died. The person arriving held not a sword or a head, but an iron rod.

"Ning Family's Chang'an?"

The woman shrieked and stumbled back five steps.

Ning Family's Chang'an had arrived at the dock and sneered, "Guo Qingshui, your plan has failed."

Guo Qingshui murmured, "It has indeed failed. I finally realized something: the Green Bamboo Swordsman is a complete waste." Her expression turned extremely ugly as her pointed chin began to tremble.

Little Brother suddenly emerged from the water and crawled ashore.

His body was hunched over in unbearable pain, his face bruised and purple. He bared his teeth at Chang'an and smiled, revealing his white teeth.

A smile also appeared on Chang'an's pale face. Despite his upper body clothes being completely soaked in blood, he was truly happy.

Little Brother said heartily, "Our lives are truly resilient."

Chang'an replied, "We don't die easily."

Little Brother said, "My iron rod is never far from my hand. You should give it back to me now."

Chang'an said, "This is a divine weapon, and it truly cannot be easily handed over to others." Chang'an handed the iron rod to Little Brother.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the boat: "It's a trap!"

It was Little Brother's voice, tense and distorted.

Chang'an was stunned and found that the Little Brother in front of him suddenly stood up straight, his joints cracking. This person wasn't Little Brother; Little Brother wasn't this tall at all.

The iron rod in Chang'an's hand was already being gripped, and a tremendous force came from one end of the rod, sending Chang'an's body flying high off his horse. The iron rod was already in the hands of the imposter Little Brother.

While Chang'an was still in mid-air, the whistling of the iron rod began.

That blow was incredibly powerful, capable of shattering stone, and the whistling sound was exceptionally piercing.

Chang'an's heart sank. With a surge of effort, his barely closed wound ripped open. The piercing pain caused the strength he had gathered to dissipate instantly, leaving him unable to adjust his posture in mid-air.

But the iron rod suddenly stopped. A hand gripped the middle of the iron rod, unmoving.

The hands were covered in calluses and wrinkles, seemingly weak yet unshakeable. These were hands that had often worked, often held an oar. The Ferryman, whose body was already bent with age and who was spitting blood from poisoning, stood straight and tall. His eyes were filled with weariness and determination.

Chang'an landed on the ground, looking at this scene in astonishment, his heart still pounding.

When he first met the Ferryman, he hadn't seen any trace of martial arts skill in him, only taking him for a scared old man guarding the entrance.

True masters hide in plain sight!

The Ferryman sighed, "I spend my days ferrying people from this shore to the other. This shore is the mortal world, and the other shore is also the mortal world. The guests on my boat, coming and going, each have their own paths. But there is never a dead end. For years, my boat has never been stained with blood, nor has anyone ever died on it. Why do you have to break this peace, making it impossible for me to live out my twilight years, and even causing so many lives to be lost?! Everyone must die eventually, but not everyone deserves to die. What wrong have all these innocent people done to deserve such a fate?"

The Ferryman questioned them with each word, and with a sudden flick of his wrist, the imposter Little Brother, who was holding the iron rod, let out a muffled groan. His face turned purple with shock, and he stumbled backward repeatedly, spitting out a mouthful of internal organ fragments before falling to the ground dead.

Chang'an's pupils constricted as he watched. He had never seen such powerful and unique inner energy; a flick of the wrist could shatter someone's internal organs. It was simply horrifying. Even Yang Taiyi, with his profound inner energy, was far inferior to this Ferryman.

Chang'an leaped up, his body already on the boat.

Guo Qingshui slowly removed her bamboo hat, revealing her enchanting beauty. A gentle smile graced her face, her lips as red as blood, her eyes twinkling as she gazed at Chang'an, showing no fear.

Chang'an moved forward abruptly and saw Little Brother, tied up tightly, in a corner. The cloth wad that had been stuffed into Little Brother's mouth had been spat out. Little Brother's face was now dark purple, his eyes dull and lifeless.

Guo Qingshui said leisurely, "He's been poisoned."

Chang'an said coldly, "Give me the antidote!"

Guo Qingshui laughed heartily, her serpentine waist swaying as she slowly circled Chang'an. She said charmingly, "Why should I give it to you?"

Chang'an grabbed Guo Qingshui, his voice cold, "One life for another! If you don't give me the antidote, I'll kill you immediately."

Guo Qingshui said indifferently, "Kill me then! If I die, a child named Erhu won't survive either."

Hearing the name "Erhu," Chang'an's face turned ashen.

Guo Qingshui said, "I advise you to let me go! If Little Brother doesn't get the antidote within an hour, he will surely die. However, you can kill me right now, but you'll never find the antidote and can only watch Little Brother die of poisoning. Erhu won't survive either!" Guo Qingshui puffed out her chest and took a step forward, stretching her long, fair neck as she tilted her head to look at Chang'an.

In the distance, a fast boat was approaching the ferry crossing on the water.

Chang'an said, "Give me the antidote, and I'll let you go this time. One life for another!"

Guo Qingshui narrowed her eyes and smiled happily. Two small, exquisite jade bottles appeared in her hands. Only when the fast boat drew near did she throw the two jade bottles into the Mo River. Chang'an had no choice but to release her to catch the jade bottles.

Guo Qingshui's toes touched the water, and she had already leaped onto the fast boat.

Chang'an caught the jade bottles. Guo Qingshui stood on the departing fast boat, her voice carrying from afar, "Ning Family's Chang'an, only one of them is the antidote. If you want to save your friend, you'll have to taste it yourself and find out. Hahahaha... I know you won't be poisoned to death. I will personally cut off your head. Just you wait!"