Chapter 58 Part 1
Su Chenyu, who was also a good singer, started the tune, and the panicked passengers on the deck joined in, singing the national anthem.
They stood up straight, their voices loud and clear, singing the familiar melody.
Over a hundred people, no rehearsal needed, no conductor required, they looked up as Chen Zhao, having somehow found a flag, raised it, the red flag fluttering in the moonlight.
Their voices were loud and harmonious.
The fear in their hearts gradually subsided, replaced by a sense of strength and unity, the color returning to their pale faces.
“It seems… it’s actually working, I don’t feel so nauseous anymore,” a female passenger said, rubbing her stomach.
This wasn’t food poisoning, but Yin qi trying to take over their bodies.
“Me too, the urge to… you know… is gone,” a young man said, clutching his backside, relieved.
Wu Heng, watching from afar, smiled faintly. Illnesses weren’t always treated with medicine, ancient shaman doctors excelled in Zhu Youshu (medical chanting), which included music therapy.
Shamans often chanted ancient melodies to ward off evil, and in modern society, the national anthem, imbued with national pride and unity, served a similar purpose, accessible to everyone, its collective power amplified.
The elderly man in the wheelchair, seeing this, shouted, “Don’t be afraid! Sing revolutionary songs!”
Forgetting about the luxury shops on the cruise ship, the passengers gathered on the deck and sang.
From patriotic anthems to folk songs, their voices resonating.
Some were even surprised themselves, they only knew the national anthem, but as the familiar melodies played, the lyrics flowed naturally, as if encoded in their DNA.
Under the cool sea breeze, they felt a warmth spreading through their bodies, their cold hands and feet regaining their normal temperature.
[I thought I was watching Su Chenyu show off his luxurious cruise, but now it’s a revolutionary song concert?]
[This is so inspiring! I can’t sing any other songs without going off-key, but these, I can!]
[I’m almost in tears, these songs, sung by those who came before us, gave us the peaceful life we have today, and now they’re protecting us again.]
[Singing the national anthem really works. I encountered a “ghost wall” before (a type of supernatural illusion that traps people), and I escaped by singing the national anthem with my eyes closed.]
An underwater graveyard below? They could turn it into their stage.
Chen Zhao, watching the passengers calm down, their faces regaining their color, breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, Wu Heng had that idea. Otherwise, this could have been a medical disaster.
Then, he noticed something, his face falling.
Holy crap, another Yin messenger? No one on this ship was dead!
A small boat, a single flickering black-green light at its bow, a white-robed Yin messenger standing inside, approached.
The unmanned boat, seemingly going against the current, gently bumped against the cruise ship, and the Yin messenger nimbly jumped onboard, his excited voice ringing out,
‘Vice squad! Everyone down! Men on the left…?’
Lai Jun, the Yin messenger, holding his lantern, stared at the fish-headed passengers singing revolutionary songs with a bewildered expression.
Except for those who hadn’t eaten the fish, the fish-headed passengers looked at him in horror, still humming the tunes.
Lai Jun: ‘…’
Even monsters were learning revolutionary songs now?
Seriously, those fish-headed creatures? That was considered obscene? How desperate was he?
Was Wu Heng’s information wrong?
“Aaaaa, help, Doctor Wu! White Impermanence is here! The emissary has come for us!” a girl screamed.
Lai Jun, hearing “White Impermanence,” smiled faintly.
Being mistaken for Lord Xie (Black Impermanence) wasn’t bad, that was his career goal.
A young man with a catfish head, crouching on the ground, his hands on his head, asked nervously, “Aren’t Black and White Impermanence supposed to escort the dead? They’re working vice now?”
“The underworld job market must be tough. Can we even find jobs down there after we die?”
[??? What’s going on? Su Chenyu’s low-budget counterparts can see the Yin messenger? What does he look like?]
[Doctor Wu, please say something, is this Yin messenger here to take them away? They were just singing patriotic songs!]
[Just one Yin messenger? Holy crap, I don’t want to die, imagine escorting two hundred people alone, what a heavy workload, overworked even after death.]
[Should those with weak birth charts leave? Chengde Medical Clinic’s live stream is too scary lately, always ghosts!]
Chen Zhao, observing the white-robed Yin messenger, figured he must be poorer than the black-robed one he saw at Professor Zhao’s place.
His robes lacked the sheen and intricate patterns, he was even wearing ordinary cloth shoes from Nan Nuo village.
Would Doctor Wu ask him to stall this Yin messenger too? How?!
This guy didn’t seem rich…
Then, looking at the lantern with the words “I, Yin Messenger, Pay Up,” Chen Zhao’s mind froze, and he blurted out, “Holy crap, you’re so rich?!”
The paper lantern looked ordinary but had multiple compartments inside.
Besides trapping evil spirits, it could also be used as a backpack.
And it was filled with underworld currency. Much richer than that 014 he robbed earlier.
Lai Jun glared at Chen Zhao, shaking his lantern. ‘Pay up.’
Chen Zhao patted his pockets. “Master, you can take me too.”
He had no money, only his life to offer.
Lai Jun sneered, ‘Pauper.’
The netizens in the live stream were confused, who was Doctor Wu’s apprentice talking to?
Wu Heng reminded him, “Doctor Chen, don’t disturb the master at work.”
A mysterious smile appeared on Lai Jun’s pale face, this was the first time Wu Heng had called him “master,” what an honor!
But those fish-headed creatures didn’t seem like they were engaged in anything obscene, and besides, they were still alive, an Yin messenger had no jurisdiction over the living.
Chen Zhao was disappointed, so he didn’t have to stall him this time? But all that money in his lantern… he could only look, not touch.
Lai Jun looked at Su Chenyu, who stood up straight, a chill running down his spine.
He… he could vaguely sense a figure staring at him!
Lai Jun looked at Su Chenyu’s phone. ‘No scannable targets, faulty intel, is there a traitor among us?’
He sneered, ‘If those fish-headed things are involved in anything obscene, I’ll gladly become the number one Yin messenger in Hezipo!’
Going to the underworld didn’t mean losing your sense of aesthetics.
*’…You’re robbing the cradle, literally and figuratively,’ Wu Heng said, using the language of the underworld. ‘Check below deck.’
Below deck, the dim, green lights of the bar illuminated the men and women inside.
“What are they singing up there? So noisy,” a man, holding a wine glass, his arm around a quiet, beautiful young man, a lecherous grin on his face, said, “My dear, why are you so cold? Let me warm you up.”
“What are they singing? Should we go take a look?” the young man, leaning against him, his voice soft, asked. His breath against the man’s neck felt like a chill from the grave.
The man, captivated by his scent, chuckled and pulled him towards a private room.
The other men and women weren’t surprised. Here, beauty was a commodity, regardless of gender.
“Wait, who are you?” a middle-aged man with a mustache suddenly stopped the young man, staring at him.
The man was dressed in a gray Taoist robe, various tools and talismans in his hands. The men and women around him quickly lowered their heads.
Yuan Song, his handsome face breaking into a sunny smile, replied, “I’m Tang Xueshan.”
Heavenly Master Liu, hearing this name, looked down at his feet.
There was no shadow under the dim light, definitely a ghost.
But something about his pale face made him uneasy. He quickly performed a calculation, his expression changing, “That’s not right. Tang Xueshan should be a woman.”
“How did you get in here using her name?”
“So it’s you. I’ve been looking for you,” the smile on Yuan Song’s face vanished, and he shoved the bewildered man beside him aside, leaping towards Heavenly Master Liu, pinning him to the ground.
Yuan Song’s hands tightened around his throat, his fists raining down on his face, tears streaming down his cheeks, his eyes filled with hatred.
“You killed the only person who cared about me, and now you won’t even let her rest in peace.”
His fist shattering the man’s teeth, Yuan Song’s rage and grief were palpable, his strength terrifying. “My precious Xueshan… you killed her in front of me, and now you’re making her a prostitute after death?! Fine! I have no intention of leaving this place alive today!”
Heavenly Master Liu spat out blood.
As Yuan Song’s furious punches landed, his chest heaving, the wisdom tooth necklace around his neck swayed.
The men and women around them were stunned. One of them, a wealthy-looking man with a large gold watch, tried to intervene, but Yuan Song spat at him and cursed, “You bunch of idiots! Check if they’re even alive before playing with them! You don’t even know you’ve caught a disease!”
They froze, his words hitting them like a bucket of cold water, as they looked at the seemingly beautiful young men and women around them.
A chilling Yin qi filled the space below deck.
They thought they were the hunters, but they were the prey.
“You’re crazy…” Heavenly Master Liu, initially stunned, then beaten senseless, finally reached for a talisman in his pocket.
Yuan Song, enraged, grabbed a fruit knife from the floor and stabbed his wrist, blood splattering everywhere.
The man screamed in pain. Yuan Song, his face covered in blood, laughed maniacally, then tears streamed down his face.
Xueshan always said he was a ray of sunshine, she had never met anyone so positive and outgoing.
She was four years older than him and always called him “little brother.”
And now she was gone, gone before his eyes, they wouldn’t even be reunited in the afterlife.
How could he bear it?
Tang Xueshan would never know their online encounter wasn’t accidental, he had sought her out. Having lost his parents and raised by his uncaring uncle, he had never thought he would be able to go to university. It was her financial support that helped him leave the mountains, to see the world.
And now she was dead, the flowerpot, blown by the wind, falling and hitting her head.
Lai Jun, the Yin messenger, and Su Chenyu, coming down with the phone, were stunned by the sight.
[Holy crap, is this attempted murder?]
[They’re singing revolutionary songs upstairs, and these two are brawling down here?]
[This doesn’t seem right… is this some sort of sex trafficking ring?]
[Looks like it, where are the prostitutes? They’re all gone?]
“Help! Police! Help!” Heavenly Master Liu lay on the ground, gasping, his vision blurry with blood, reaching out towards the white-robed figure.
