Chen Shi leapt up and paced through the air before landing on the painted boat.
The ferryman steering the painted boat was a familiar face, and the boat girl inside was putting on makeup, with a hairpin between her lips and her hands coiling her hair, chuckling, "Master Jieyuan, you seem rather impatient today."
Chen Shi smiled and said, "I need a favor from you two."
On the shore, a group of scholars stomped their feet and said, "Are you docking or not? Are you still in business?"
Some were anxious and jumped towards the boat with extraordinary cultivation; among them were some who had achieved Nascent Soul, capable of walking on air, but as they leaped, they found themselves getting further from the painted boat and splashed into the water one after another.
The boat girl secured her hairpin and asked, "What is it?"
Chen Shi spoke of his mother’s spirit separating from her body and said, "I beseech your help, and I will offer a generous reward."
The ferryman had remained silent until now, shaking his head only after Chen Shi had finished speaking, "I’m afraid I cannot comply."
Chen Shi frowned slightly, "With your abilities, finding my mother’s spirit shouldn’t be hard. And I didn’t come empty-handed."
He took out the Sheep Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp and placed it in front of them, saying, "If you find my mother, this treasure is yours to keep."
The boat girl hesitated, continuously glancing at the ferryman, somewhat tempted.
Although both of them were ferrymen of the underworld, there were differences in status among them. The lamp they used was the Child Heavenly Spirit Lamp, a notch below the Sheep Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp that Chen Shi offered.
The ferryman shook his head again, "I’m afraid I cannot comply."
Chen Shi couldn’t hold back and asked, "Why?"
The ferryman gave him a deep look and said, "Doesn’t Chen Jieyuan remember what happened in the underworld?"
Chen Shi was stunned, shaking his head, "I don’t remember."
The ferryman said, "I see, no wonder you’re asking for our rescue. When you fell into the underworld, wasn’t your mother’s spirit found by you?"
Chen Shi was dumbfounded.
The boat girl added from the side, "After you entered the underworld, your mother’s spirit also entered the underworld to search for you. I’ve seen her before; at that time, you were together with your mother. After your incident, she was also incarcerated in the Yuan Chen Palace as an accomplice."
The ferryman coldly said, "To save your mother, we father and daughter would have to break into the prison! If we do that, we’ll become your accomplices! We’re already in deep trouble, as bald as a hornet’s nest. If we break into the prison, we can forget ever returning to the underworld!"
Chen Shi muttered to himself, "My mother has always been with me?"
His eyes reddened, "She found me?"
"It should be unmistakable," the boat girl affirmed.
She suddenly remembered something and urgently tugged at the ferryman’s sleeve, pulling him aside to discuss in hushed tones.
The two of them were sneaky, speaking in gibberish that was incomprehensible, leaving it a mystery what they were discussing.
After a while, the boat girl’s face was beaming with a smile as she said to Chen Shi, "We can break into the prison for you, and we might even do it without the Sheep Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp. But Master Jieyuan must do us a small favor in exchange."
Chen Shi’s spirit was lifted, "What is it?"
The ferryman said, "Just a small matter. Someone escaped from the underworld, and they’ve contacted us to capture him. This person has been reincarnated for many years, and only recently has the underworld discovered his whereabouts." freёNovelHub-com
Chen Shi asked in confusion, "Who is this fugitive?"
The boat girl said, "It must be a Yin realm errant who has made a mistake; the higher-ups didn’t say much. He has not been reincarnated for more than twenty years and carries the mystery of his conception without having awakened his memory. You just need to capture him. He’s reincarnated in the vicinity of the Western Capital, and his hometown is a day’s journey from here."
Chen Shi agreed, saying, "What do you both know about this errant Yin realm offender?"
"Just a minor officer, who’s weak and scholarly after reincarnation and really can’t fight."
The boat girl said with a laugh, "It will be easy for you to capture him. Oh, his name is Zhong Kui."