Fantasy: The Second Miss Said She Was Ordinary

Chapter 615 One Gold Ingot One Person

As they were talking, the group slowly made its way to the depths of the Gates of Hell.

Before them stretched a turbulent river, and on the opposite bank, a vast city with eerie atmosphere and towering eaves could be vaguely seen.

Grandpa Li sighed repeatedly.

"This is the River Styx. After crossing the river, you'll reach the City of the Dead. Once inside, you'll have to pay your respects to the Ten Kings of Hell in turn. Alas, I wonder if those Kings of Hell and Ox-Head and Horse-Face are as ferocious and inhuman as the legends say. Will people like us, who have lived honest lives, also be thrown into the oil cauldron?"

After all, folk tales about the underworld and hell have always been terrifying.

When he was being summoned by the Black and White Impermanence, he tried to find out more, but they kept their mouths shut and didn't say a word.

It is said that if his family had gone to fetch a doctor earlier, he might not have survived this ordeal; if he were to come back to life and leak these secrets of the underworld, it would be a grave dereliction of duty on both of their part.

Grandpa Li smiled bitterly; in the end, his son still didn't call a doctor.

The family only has so much money left, and it's all spent on his illness. How will our son afford to get married?

Until he closed his eyes and breathed his last, only a silent understanding remained between father and son regarding the word "doctor".

Therefore, the Black and White Impermanence escorted him all the way to this gate of hell, and there was not a single call or plea from the mortal world to keep him.

Once the soul has completely stabilized its form at the gates of hell, the Black and White Impermanence hurriedly go to collect the next soul.

He had nowhere to ask about the ghost town, and could only suffer in his imagination.

He wasn't afraid of death, but he was afraid of pain. At this moment, he put all his past thoughts aside and was only worried about whether he really had to go through fire and water.

Qin Jiyu remained silent, but she had a feeling that the afterlife was probably very different from what was rumored outside.

If those Ten Kings of Hell were truly the predecessors he suspected... how could they be so cruel and ruthless towards an honest and law-abiding person like him?

"Uncle Li, don't worry, things shouldn't be that bad," he said, trying to comfort him.

Ahead, the spirit of a rich, privileged young man adorned with gold and silver overheard their conversation. He looked the two poor-looking men up and down, a half-smile on his face: "Heh, you didn't even burn a single piece of paper money for yourself at home? As long as you have enough money, bribing those ghost messengers is a piece of cake, isn't it?"

He twirled the gold ingot, which was made from paper money, in his hand, and weighed it in his hand; it was quite heavy.

The old man froze, his withered soul seemingly deflated, turning into an empty, tattered sack. He lowered his head, speechless.

"A poor wretch is still a poor wretch even when he's dead." The rich kid glanced at the old man with disdain and continued to play with the few gleaming gold ingots in his hand.

The paper money and funerary objects burned in the mortal world become real, circulating hard currency once they enter the gates of hell.

A group of dead souls hesitated on the riverbank, gazing at the surging, turbid waves, unsure how to cross.

Just then, a pitifully small flatboat swayed and wobbled as it approached.

The plump boatwoman sitting at the bow took up almost half of the boat, her straw raincoat pulled low, obscuring her face.

The bow of the boat is sunken, while the stern is raised high, making it look quite comical.

"Welcome, esteemed guests, to the City of the Dead for your tourism and vacation!" the plump boatwoman said, her voice surprisingly melodious and pleasant. "Would you like to take a boat across the river? One gold ingot per person."

Tourism? Vacation?

The ghosts were taken aback. They had clearly been brought here after losing their lives, so how could such lighthearted and cheerful language be used?

"Life is like a journey, congratulations on reaching your final destination!" the plump boatwoman explained. "Take a short rest in this beautiful city, and leave your sorrows behind. Once you have recovered, a brand new future awaits you."

Upon hearing this, the ghosts were speechless.

How can something as painful as death be interpreted in this way?

But why does it sound so inexplicably tempting?

They quickly surrounded the boatman: "Boatman, how do we get on this boat? Can we just get on?"

“Oh, of course not,” the boatwoman said, spreading her hands. “You have to pay. One gold ingot per person.”

"What?" The ghosts almost cursed, grinding their teeth in hatred: "You might as well just rob us."

"Oh dear, I'm really sorry, these are the rules set by the Ten Kings. We're just employees, we can only follow the rules. Please understand, the reincarnation system has only been completed for less than twenty years, and the construction of the Underworld City is in a critical period of development, there are indeed many places where money is needed... If you don't want to cross the river, you can always turn back."

The souls nearly coughed up blood.

Turn back home? Do they even have the ability to do that?

Will I drift back to the mortal realm to become a wandering ghost?

"It's just a gold ingot, look how poor you all are!" The young master ghost said proudly, handing the money to the fat boatman and stepping onto the ferry: "Let's go."

"We haven't had enough seats yet, please be patient, sir."

"Ah, isn't that enough?"

The young master looked around and saw that the fat boatman opposite him occupied most of the boat, leaving him only a small place to stand. And even then, more people were still coming on board.

"Where will the next person stand?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Standing on your head."

The spoiled brat stared in disbelief: "What!"

Next, many more people paid and boarded the boat. They stacked themselves into the shape of the Eighteen Arhats in a small corner of the boat, in a manner similar to how Indians ride motorcycles.

"Ah, spread out a bit, you're crushing me!" The spoiled brat was pinned down underneath, barely able to breathe.

"Young man, just bear with it."

"The place is small, there's nothing we can do about it, just bear with it."

“We are all souls, nothing is more or less, don’t be so sentimental.”

Listening to the spirits above talking amongst themselves, the spoiled brat almost vomited blood.

He struggled to stick his head out from among a bunch of buttocks and glared at the boatwoman: "Is it okay now?"

The plump boatwoman shook her head: "Look, the bow is still tilted up. We're not balanced, and it'll easily capsize. Let's have a few more."

But the other spirits on the shore were all poor ghosts, and no one burned paper money for them; they didn't even have a single gold ingot in their hands.

"Hey, if you really don't have any money, just buy on credit. Your debts will be recorded in the Heaven and Earth Bank. Once you get to the city, work hard and pay off your debts before you enter the cycle of reincarnation."

"Can this still happen?"

The poor ghosts were overjoyed and jumped onto the boat.

"Ow!"

"what!"

"Well!"

The spoiled brat, pinned at the bottom, let out a series of mournful cries.

Old Li looked at Qin Jiyu: "Let's go too."

"Okay." Qin Jiyu nodded.

Old Li jumped to the top and saw a new mark on the back of his hand that read "Debt owed by the Heaven and Earth Bank," with a line of small characters below it: "Debt of 1 gold ingot."

Old Li's face turned ashen. He never imagined that even after dying and becoming a ghost, he would still have to continue working...

Qin Jiyu also jumped onto the boat, but there were no brand marks on his arms.

"Huh, there's one more person?"

The plump boatwoman sensed that the bow of the boat had risen up while the stern had sunk a little.

The number of people on each trip has always been just right, so why is there one extra person this time?

She looked up, puzzled, and peered up at the top. When she saw the white-clad youth at the very top, her pupils contracted sharply.

Qin Jiyu also got a clear look at the fat boatwoman's appearance.

The two spoke almost simultaneously: "It's you?"

"It's you!"