Secret realm? I asked Master what is a secret realm.

The master said that it was a section of the road between the ghost city and the world. It was shrouded in thick fog all day long, full of mystery and danger. Even the top practitioners dare not enter it easily, so they can't say what it looks like. It's like the rubber layer of a balloon, which isolates the inside and outside spaces.

Then, the master told me that if I was curious, I could go out and take a look now and I should see an extraordinary view.

I was overwhelmed by surprise. The boat sailed for a while and was full of curiosity about the outside world because we were walking an unusual road, a road that ordinary people would never see in their lifetime.

I nodded immediately, lifted the curtain and walked out, and saw that the oil lamp at the bow of the ship had been lit, and a small handful of orange-red flames were swaying.

The sight passed Lao Qian, and the scenery outside came into view in an instant. A thin mist floated on the calm water surface like a mirror. The mist was gray yarn and the water was black ink. Lao Qian's oars slowly waved, causing layers of ripples. Suddenly, a little green starlight appeared in my vision, and I stared away. The little starlight was like a candlelight in the dark, suspended on the water surface, suddenly jumping, like a marble that fell to the ground, disappeared, and then appeared in another place.

I widened my eyes and looked at the magical light. Then, countless faint green starlight flashed like beans in the mist, spreading across the entire wide river in an instant, reflecting on the water surface, like a dancer in the water, very beautiful.

When Lao Qian saw me leaning out, he kept looking around and said, "Little baby, don't move around. The water here is not something you can touch casually, and it will be even more dangerous if it falls."

I smiled and said, "I'm going to be by the water and I'll hold it in the water for three minutes without breathing. Don't worry, I can float up if it falls."

Old Qian shook his head helplessly and said, "Even if you are a fish, you can't get up after going down, so you should sit firmly."

"How to say it? Is there anything in the water?" I asked.

Old Qian looked at me deeply and pointed behind me. When I looked back, a chill suddenly came to my heart.

I saw a gray shadow swimming in the water behind me, like gauze and water plants. What really made my heart tremble were those shadows, from time to time, people's faces appeared, their empty eyes, and their distorted faces seemed to be full of pain and sorrow.

It's a ghost! Why follow us!

"This is" because of my timidity, my voice became cautious.

"This is the ghost of the water, they all drowned. Because they were washed by the cold wind for many years, they had already exhausted their basic consciousness. All that was left was endless unwillingness and resentment. They were no longer considered lonely ghosts. They had no home and would follow any ship that was marching here, waiting for the people on the ship to fall into the water accidentally and drown them as scapegoats. The only way for them to pass away. But as long as you stay on the boat obediently, there would be nothing." Lao Qian swung his body with the oars, and the sound of paddling was almost gone.

The entire river surface became more and more quiet, but the sound of my conversation with Lao Qian was floating.

I asked again what those green spots were.

Lao Qian said, "That is ghost fire, a ray of nostalgia that remains in the world by every ghost. It brings the memories of the dead in life, and slowly burns here until it disappears. It cannot be touched, and it will ignite your soul."

I quietly looked at the ghost fires leaping on the river, but I didn't feel scared, but instead a hint of sorrow rose from the bottom of my heart.

When a person dies like a lamp extinguishes, all traces left in the world will gradually disappear. In the end, dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth, and everything becomes nothingness.

"So, what is the meaning of life?" I was talking to myself.

Lao Qian stared at me, his eyes dim.

"People are like a lamp, burning themselves and illuminating others. This is the meaning of life." The master's voice sounded behind me.

As soon as he finished speaking, a light suddenly flashed in Lao Qian's eyes.

I turned around and saw the master lifting the curtain and staring at me. Then my face changed and said strangely: "You kid is very philosophical, and you are thinking about the meaning of life! It is already very rare to be yourself. What's the point of thinking so much? You can still ascend to immortality if you see through it!"

This suddenly came out of the master's mouth, giving people an indescribable feeling of depression, as if they were choking on taro.

I was speechless and choked.

At this time, I saw a black-sailed boat slowly approaching us in another river channel. Unlike us, the oil lamp on the bow of the boat was green.

I was puzzled and asked Lao Qian. Lao Qian said this was called the soul-guiding lamp. When sending souls, you should light green flames, and when sending people, you should light a normal flame. The tent itself has a magic circle, which can prevent the ghosts entering it from running out again.

The ship slowly approached us, and a rough voice rang out: "Old Qian? Take someone?"

"Well, Lao Yang, where are you going?" Lao Qian also replied, and it could be heard that the two were old acquaintances.

"Going north, I recently heard that there are many areas in that area, and I feel uneasy," the man paused and saw me, "Is there a child?" This man's accent was from another place.

“No need to ask if you bring it to the guest.”

"I feel that there are a lot in the past two years, and many colleagues say they can't be busy." The man wore a wide military uniform, but his figure was not tall, and his clothes almost covered his knees.

Lao Qian did not answer, so the man continued, "Go and go after picking up the person."

Lao Qian waved his hand, "No, I want to go west, and I won't be at peace there."

"Ah? What's the matter?"

"Maybe something went wrong."

"I heard that something is making trouble in Poyang Lake, which has affected the ghost town over there, and many ghosts escaped." It was Grandpa Gan's voice. I turned around and saw Grandpa Gan poking his head out, probably because he heard the conversation between the two.

"What? That's a Class B ghost city, the city lord is still a Yinglong!" the man exclaimed.

"We don't know either. The area is now in chaos, and the relevant departments are also trying to solve it." Grandpa Gan said.

"Old Wu, is the matter serious over there? Several people in the Duyin area are my friends." Lao Qian put away the oars and let the boat slide forward slowly.

"I'm not very optimistic. As far as I know, there has not happened to the Duyin people, but ordinary families in several nearby villages have died. Now Zhang Shixiu in Lushan is coordinating with relevant departments to preside over the overall situation." When talking about this, Grandpa Gan frowned.

"Zhang Shixiu? I heard that he is Ziyun Zhenren, one of the three cultivators. Even such a person is present in person. It seems that things are not small." The man was surprised and sighed.

"Have you found out why?" Lao Qian habitually took a cigarette and held it in his mouth, thought about it and put it back.

"Not yet, several nearby provinces have been affected. At present, the relevant departments are still in charge, so there will be no big deal for the time being." Grandpa Gan replied.

"That's true. If someone is taking care of you, there will naturally be pressure to continue to be applied and no major problems will happen. We outsiders are willing to help but not enough." The man sighed.

This is the general idea of ​​ordinary people. When the sky falls, there will be people who will hold on to it, so they just talk about it as gossip.

And I also have similar thoughts.

At that time, we didn't know that the Poyang Lake incident that we talked about casually would really turn into a huge disaster.

"Let's go, I'll walk with you for a while." The man continued.

People who cross the Yin River wander alone at night all year round, accompanying loneliness, rarely meet colleagues, and being able to walk with each other is a good opportunity.

So, the two ships set off again side by side, and Master and Grandpa Gan returned to the cabin one after another.

I think the master knew about this, but he didn't say a word throughout the whole process, and probably he didn't participate in it.

As the two ships slowly advanced, the fog became thicker and thicker. I found that the ghost fires seemed to be wise and would deliberately avoid us and make a way out for us.

After about ten minutes, my eyes could only stay within a range of less than fifty meters. Occasionally, a slight wind was so cold that it penetrated my bones, making me wrap my clothes tightly.

At this time, the person who was traveling with him said to Lao Qian, "Lao Qian, I will part here." As he said that, he pushed hard and quickly turned the bow of the boat to head north.

Old Qian waved his hand and said to me, "Let's go back almost, don't come out next."

I was already very cold, and saw that there was nothing to see outside except fog, so I immediately turned around and crawled into the cabin.

When the master saw me coming in, he carried me to his lap and wrapped me in his thick robe to keep me warm. In fact, the cabin was very warm, and the temperature had basically not changed since I left.

Although the master is strict and serious, the gentleness he sometimes shows does make people feel warm.

Seeing this, Grandpa Gan smiled at the master, and the master couldn't help but cough a few times in embarrassment.

But after a while, Lao Qian's curse sound came from outside the cabin, and the rhythm of rowing also accelerated. It was obvious that the ship began to accelerate in the cabin.

The old Qian stopped the curse, and then he opened the curtain and came in and sat next to Grandpa Gan. At this time, the ship was still moving forward quickly.

I was really shocked. If no one holds the boat, wouldn't it hit the shore?

All three of them laughed, and Grandpa Gan replied to me: "No, because Lao Qian used his skills, the boat would drive by itself."

I was amazed and felt that each sect had unique and magical methods, like the stars in the sky, each brightly.

Then, Lao Qian took out a bamboo basket from the bottom, which contained a jar of wine and peanuts and melon seeds. He put it on the table one by one and said to us: "There is still a long way to go next. Let's eat a little while to pass the time." After that, he grabbed a handful and stuffed it into my hand, then took out three cups, poured the wine, and handed it to the master and grandfather. Before the two of them could do it, he raised his head and drank the glass of wine in his hand.

The master also took a small sip of wine and frowned spicyly. It was obvious that Lao Qian's wine was relatively high. Grandpa's sip was the same as his expression.

"This is the sorghum wine I brewed myself. It is strong in nature and warms up my body," Lao Qian briefly introduced when he saw the expressions of the two. "We ferry on the river at night, and the humidity is heavy, and this wine can drive away the cold and remove dampness."

I believe that I have been traveling to the dark world all year round, accompanied by smoking and drinking, so as to relieve my worries and comfort myself. It’s okay to pick up people, but I can chat and send ghosts on the way, so I’m really alone.

It’s not too late now, and it’s about seven o’clock when you go out. As you go, you’ll be at most eight or nine o’clock.

In the cabin, Lao Qian was drinking heavily while asking Grandpa Gan about Poyang Lake. I was in good spirits and had a strange tacit understanding with my master. He was concentrating on peeling melon seeds and peanuts, and occasionally pricked up his ears to listen to their conversation.

I heard about Poyang Lake, and it was something in the lake that was causing trouble, destroying the formation outside the ghost city, causing a large number of ghosts to flee to nearby areas, causing a lot of panic and even causing death.

Because the information blockade measures were done well, basically, except for some of the parties involved, people in the surrounding areas did not know the specific situation, and those who were passed on by word of mouth were also treated as rumors, which soon became very bizarre and unfounded statements. The outside world has stated that many shipwrecks occurred in Poyang Lake, and now the matter is thoroughly investigated.

After hearing Grandpa Gan’s words, the shipwreck incident did happen, and the initiator has no way of knowing it yet. It is not without any connection with the damage to the ghost city formation. There is insufficient information and no analysis is possible.

After about half an hour, the ship's traveling speed suddenly slowed down, interrupting our conversation. Lao Qian threw away the fruit shell in his hand and said to us: "Okay, I've already left the secret realm and can go out."

After saying that, he lifted the curtain and went to the bow to row. I jumped off my master's leg and climbed out as well.

There is no land on both sides of the left and right, and the water surface is boundless, not sure whether it is an ocean or a lake. Behind us is a thick fog, covering the sky and the earth like a curtain. In the distance, there are some buildings with shadows near the sky. The stars and lights are clearly visible in the dark, like a small village or town, and there is no special thing.

However, at this time, there were five or six black-sailed ships similar to us nearby. Several of the ship's soul-attracting lamps were also orange-red, which means that they were carrying people. It seems that the ghost market that Master mentioned was indeed a big gathering.

As time went by, we got closer and closer to the ghost town, and I couldn't help but widen my eyes, wanting to see the entire ghost town.
Chapter completed!