Chapter 424: City of Ghosts (2/2)

However, before they could react, a dozen young men had already boarded the s.h.i.+p to enter the vast Nightsea.

Qiurong Wanxue took them to several ferries, but all of these boats were either already reserved or taken by others.

Each boat had a handler, but the strange thing that surprised the group of Peng Zhuang was that these handlers were different from the ghosts back at Necropolis. The handlers had a body that exuded a weak blood energy.

The youths were also quite scared as they looked at these handlers since they dressed like mummies who just came out of a tomb. Especially their eyes that were filled with ghastly energy, they caused others to s.h.i.+ver.

“Are these handlers ghosts or people?” Peng Zhuang had to ask.

“No one knows. The handlers are always here to row the boats since they are the only ones capable of using these ferries.”

The disciples noticed the faint blood energy on the handlers’ bodies and curiously asked: “Are they just like Necropolis’ ghosts? Can they not leave Necropolis either?”

“Not necessarily.” Li Qiye, who was behaving quite well and didn’t talk a lot, smiled and shook his head: “A legend claims that a handler left this place and achieved invincibility.”

“Left Necropolis?” Another disciple asked with surprise: “Is that true?”

Qiurong Wanxue looked at Li Qiye and said: “This is only a legend. The person is the patriarch of the Nether Crossing Swamp, but this is — of course — only limited to a legend.”

Peng Zhuang slapped his thigh and said: “I have heard of this legend!” He then excitedly continued: “He is Immortal Emperor Ming Du! It was said that he came from Necropolis and might have been a handler.” [1. Ming Du is Nether Crossing; it should give the feel of a ferryman taking someone across the River Styx for example, or the Yellow River in Asian myths.]

“Yes, it is Immortal Emperor Ming Du.” Qiurong Wanxue added: “However, it's only a rumor. The Nether Crossing Swamp had never accepted this hypothesis. Moreover, the handlers cannot leave this place. Such a thing is unheard of!”

Immortal Emperor Ming Du was the emperor before Immortal Emperor Qian Li. There were many theories regarding his origin, but there were two that were the most popular. First was that the emperor was a boat-rowing ghost of the Underworld River, and the other was that he came from Nightsea at Necropolis.

For the second theory, it was said that after he obtained a great fortune, he was able to return to life and finally escaped Nightsea and Necropolis to become an invincible emperor.

But of course, regardless of whether he came from the Underworld River or Nightsea, they were just unproven rumors. In addition, even Immortal Emperor Ming Du’s lineage, the Nether Crossing Swamp, denied these claims.

Future generations later on believed that Immortal Emperor Ming Du came from the Ghost Race — this was widely acknowledged by people from the same generation as him.

Qiurong Wanxue led the group of Li Qiye to find ferries, but they were always late and had their ferry taken by others.

Qiurong Wanxue pondered for a moment before looking at Li Qiye to say: “Fellow Daoist Li, please watch over them, I will go and find a ferry.”

Compared to an energetic youth like Peng Zhuang, the well-behaved Li Qiye was more trustworthy, so Qiurong Wanxue temporarily left him in charge.

“Don’t worry, we will wait here until you return.” Li Qiye answered with a smile. This was his chance since he wanted to ask Peng Zhuang some more things regarding the Prime Ominous Grave.

Qiurong Wanxue looked at Li Qiye then cautioned the group of Peng Zhuang before quickly leaving to find a ferry.

After she left, Li Qiye immediately asked Peng Zhuang: “Brother Peng, what do you think the gigantic hand that night was?”

Another disciple said with a smile: “Brother Li seems to be really interested in this matter.” They had no ill feelings towards Li Qiye, and to the contrary, quite liked him.

Li Qiye calmly smiled and replied: “That day, when the night suddenly came, it really frightened me to death, so I am very interested in hearing about the gigantic hand from Brother Peng.”

The five disciples became excited and quickly discussed: “I nearly lost my mind too. I heard right after that the chief and the elders all went to the ancestral ground since they thought it was a huge deal.”

“Right when the sky turned dark, I really did see a gigantic hand. Although it was fleeting, I am sure that it wasn’t due to my blurred vision or anything.”

In fact, very few believed Peng Zhuang since he was the only one who saw it. At that time, he was coincidentally looking towards the Prime Ominous Grave.

Li Qiye asked with great interest: “What kind of gigantic hand was it?”

Peng Zhuang thought about it carefully before answering: “Hmm… How should I put this… It was a really huge hand. It seemed as if it was its own separate heaven and earth. It was like the stars in the sky or another world entirely. It had stars, a moon, and a sun… It was as if this gigantic hand replaced our own sky.”