1265 - The Price to Pay
Chapter 1265 The Price to Pay
The battered boat was made from rotten black wood, with holes covering its sides and bumpy deck. It looked like it would sink at any time as it drifted wobbly on the calm, glossy surface of the Netherworld Yellow Spring waters.
At the bow sat a person dressed in white robes and whose black hair was fluttering. He naturally possessed an elegant, handsome, and heroic spirit, and his temperament was rather similar to Ye Qingyu’s. However, a black eyeband covered his eyes and was tied behind his back as he sat cross-legged in silence.
At the stern stood a scarecrow that was the height of a regular person.
This was a figure that was put together using dry thatch in an extremely crude fashion, with a topless straw hat worn on its head. It was no different from any scarecrow placed in a wheat field by an old farmer to scare the crows and sparrows off, except that it possessed life and looked extremely bizarre. Its hand, formed from tied-up bamboo branches, were holding a virid-colored bamboo pole of five to six meters in length as it clumsily and slowly steered the battered black boat toward the duo.
It’s indeed “it”.
With one look, Ye Qingyu recognized that this so-called scarecrow spirit was the Netherworld Ferryman he had seen on the Yellow Springs River in the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor.
At that time, the Netherworld Ferryman abused its unmatched strength to force everyone onboard to pay a ferrying fee if they wanted to cross the river successfully. It behaved extremely overbearingly, as if it was committing a robbery. Now, however, it seemed that it had only displayed one percent of its strength back then. This was because Ye Qingyu could clearly feel that the scarecrow’s strength was at the level of past sovereigns, and not average past sovereigns at that. Emperor qi circulated round its entire body like dark surging waves, much more powerful than that of the sovereigns whom Ye Qingyu had met, such as the sovereigns of the Sky Reaching clan, the Lofty Mountain clan, and the Dark Feather clan.
After the Reincarnation Hall collapsed, the Netherworld Ferryman went missing, disappearing together with the water of the Yellow Springs.
Ye Qingyu had never imagined that it had actually come to this chaotic domain together with the water of the Yellow Springs.
“After the Reincarnation Hall collapsed, the ancient castle and the Yellow Springs water came here. Could this chaotic domain have some connection with the Reincarnation Hall?” Ye Qingyu pondered.
By this time, the battered black boat had already drawn near.
Bai Yuanxing sat cross-legged at the bow, seemingly sealed of all his senses while cultivating an unknown technique, and was unaware of Ye Qingyu’s arrival.
“Brother Bai Yuanxing… Brother Bai Yuanxing!?” Jin Ling’er eagerly shouted. Among everyone, Brother Bai Yuanxing was the person who missed Teacher the most. Jin Ling’er could not wait to impart this good news to Bai Yuanxing, but unfortunately, despite operating his Quasi-emperor qi waking techniques, he was unable to wake Bai Yuanxing up.
“The time is not up yet,” the Netherworld Ferryman spoke in a voice that sounded like the friction of two wooden chips.
Ye Qingyu restrained Jin Ling’er from shouting further and cupped his hands gently, saying, “Senior, we meet again.”
The Netherworld Ferryman turned its head mechanically before using its seemingly coal-leveled eyes to gaze up and down at Ye Qingyu, and eventually nodded, saying, “You’ve grown stronger.”
It could perceive Ye Qingyu’s current strength and cultivation level.
However, after a pause, it added, “Still a little short.”
Ye Qingyu was taken aback.
What does that mean?
A little short of what?
However, before he opened his mouth and asked, the Netherworld Ferryman continued, “Have you thought things through? What price are you going to pay to thank me?”
Huh?
Ye Qingyu felt that the Netherworld Ferryman was really like its scarecrow body - a little mechanical, incoherent in speech, and unable to clearly express itself.
However, in little time, the latter used actions to explain things clearly. When it held the virid bamboo pole horizontally, Ye Qingyu discovered that there were two faint-yellow strings, invisible to the naked eye, tied to the pole. The other ends of the strings were tied with unknown things and extended down into the water of the Yellow Springs. The Netherworld Ferryman slowly twisted the bamboo pole, winding the strings round and round while pulling ceaselessly. It took a full ten minutes for the two strange strings to be completely pulled out of the water.
The figures of a boy and a girl were pulled out together.
“Cough cough… Scarecrow Demon, I’ll fight it out with you.”
“Dammit dammit dammit… you cursed scarecrow spirit, this is water of the Yellow Springs for crying out loud. Did you intend to drown us? Do you know how many mouthfuls of water I choked on?”
Two cursing voices rang out.
It was none other than Li Ying and Li Qi.
Ye Qingyu recognized them with one look, and was astonished at first. After all, even a Great Saint or Quasi-emperor would find it difficult to survive being dunked in the water of the Yellow Springs. However, upon close observation, he discovered that, despite looking wretched, the Li siblings did not have any injuries and were instead brimming with vigor. Associating this with the descriptions provided by Jin Ling’er and the others. in the ancient castle earlier, he immediately understood that the Netherworld Ferryman had probably dunked the duo in the Yellow Springs water to cultivate and toughen them up. After all, the water was under its control, and thus Li Ying and Li Qi would not have lost their lives even if they drank a stomachful of the water, as long as it did not wish so.
Unexpectedly, Li Ying and Li Qi were currently also of Quasi-emperor-level cultivation, more or less on par with Jin Ling’er.
Initially, Li Ying’s and Li Qi’s talents were heavily inferior to that of Jin Ling’er, but they got to know Ye Qingyu earlier and thus followed him and received his advice for a longer time than the latter did. Moreover, Ye Qingyu had washed their marrows, thereby allowing them to be reborn. However, these were extrinsic methods after all, and could not compare to intrinsic advantages. Nevertheless, over the years, the fact that the duo was able to keep on par with the supremely-talented Jin Ling’er in terms of strength was testament to the hard work and effort they had put in.
“Shut up,” the Netherworld Ferryman spoke.
As if his words were the law, a few water formations immediately jumped out of the Yellow Springs water and sealed the duo’s mouths.
“Mmmfff…”
“Mmmfff? Mmff!”
At this time, the duo noticed Ye Qingyu’s figure and thus became extremely excited, their eyes gleaming with wild joy. However, with their mouths sealed, they were unable to say a word, and could only struggle while making muffled noises. Unable to free themselves from the water formations, they looked amusing like no other.
“H… he, her… and them.” The Netherworld Ferryman pointed at Li Ying and Li Qi, then at Bai Yuanxing, at Jin Ling’er, and finally at the sky. “Your people… Repay me.”
At this time, Ye Qingyu finally understood, and did not know whether to laugh or cry.
The Netherworld Ferryman meant that it was the one who helped to teach and train Jin Ling’er and the other two hundred-plus boys and girls, and thus it expected to be repaid by Ye Qingyu.
This fella is still as greedy and money-grubbing as it was on the Netherworld River.
However, Ye Qingyu knew in his heart that this was a favor he ought to repay. He was entirely able to imagine that the Netherworld Ferryman had not just helped him to guide and train Bai Yuanxing and the other youths. Instead, over the past few years, the fact that the [Heroes’ Castle] had not been stormed by Invaders despite being in such a terrifying and dangerous place, and the youths, whose overall strength was originally weak, were able to make it to this day without a single death, meant that they were definitely being secretly protected by this past-sovereign-level character.
This was a great favor.
After thinking for a while, Ye Qingyu took out a white-jade bottle and handed it over.
This was a spatial treasure that had an extremely large capacity and was filled with chaotic thunder liquid.
Chaotic thunder liquid was the extremely yang-rich universal thunder liquid refined by the [Lightning Emperor] Qin Ming many years back. To an Emperor-level expert, it was considered a supreme treasure and was precious like no other.
Receiving the jade bottle, the Netherworld Ferryman pulled the stopper out and took a look. A surprised expression suddenly formed incredibly and animatedly on its originally lifeless and stiff face. It then raised its head to look at Ye Qingyu, with a strange expression abruptly circulating in its eyes that had been as dull as coal balls. Subsequently, it plugged the stopper back in and raised both hands in front of its chest, beginning to dance merrily while grinning silently. There was something sordid about this grin no matter how one looked at it, as if the ferryman was plotting something inwardly. In the end, it burst out laughing in a croaky voice.
It was highly obvious that the ferryman was very satisfied with Ye Qingyu’s gift.
Ding dong.
Finally, the ferryman carefully threw the white-jade bottle into the Yellow Springs water.
Ye Qingyu was unsurprised by this.
This was because he could already tell that the entire sea of Yellow Springs water was actually an Emperor weapon of the Netherworld Ferryman, who had refined the water to serve as its life weapon. Although this kind of Emperor weapon was very rare, it had special powers and effects. To the Netherworld Ferryman, throwing the white-jade bottle into the Yellow Springs water could not be any more appropriate and safe, much like Ye Qingyu’s storing of valuable items in the [Cloud Top Cauldron].
The Netherworld Ferryman waved its hands.
Li Ying and Li Qi finally jumped out of the water.
“Master!”
“Teacher!”
Jumping on to the battered black boat, the duo knelt to salute Ye Qingyu at once, the joy on their faces too wild to contain.
Ye Qingyu also felt a warmth in his heart. Although the two siblings had only been able to follow beside him because of Mother Wu, it was nevertheless considered fate that they eventually came under his custody. Bai Yuanxing aside, they were the first to follow beside him, and had long become like kin to him. Seeing their wild joy, he felt gratified like never before.
“Come back in three days.” With a wave of the virid bamboo pole, the Netherworld Ferryman sent Li Ying and Li Qi flying to beside Ye Qingyu before pointing at Bai Yuanxing. It roughly meant that the latter still needed three days of time to end his isolation. With that, without waiting for Ye Qingyu to reply, it held the bamboo pole and steered the battered black boat toward the far end of the Yellow Springs water.
Ye Qingyu did not obstruct this.
He guessed that Bai Yuanxing was probably cultivating some kind of extremely mysterious technique and had reached a critical point where he still needed three days to round things off.
It’s just as well to come back in three days.
Bringing along Jin Ling’er, Li Ying, and Li Qi, Ye Qingyu soared into the sky and returned to the ancient castle using the same way he came from.