Mysterious Revival

The group boarded the small wooden boat and left the second dock, continuing downstream.

Although the journey was calm, without encountering any dangers.

However, after the second docking, an untouched three-yuan banknote appeared on the boat, indicating that something had boarded from the previous dock.

No one noticed it at the time.

Even though no one noticed, Yang Jian and the others were already aware of it.

On this boat, there were definitely not just the five of them; there were three unknown presences traveling with them, which might be human or might be ghosts.

The latter possibility seemed more likely.

Thus.

In the upcoming journey, there was a possibility of being attacked by malicious spirits.

The light at the bow flickered, dispelling the thin mist over the river.

Everyone became somewhat silent, their attention highly focused and vigilant, even ready for a ghost attack.

The boat swayed unsteadily, not as stable as before.

Subtle changes were noticed by the leaders.

"As expected, something did get on board. Traveling together like this is always a hidden danger," Shen Lin squinted, breaking the heavy atmosphere.

Yang Jian said, "It's not wise to make a move on the boat. If we fall into the river after leaving this small boat, anything could happen. Let's maintain the status quo. As long as we aren't targeted by the ghosts, it doesn't matter."

"And even if we are targeted, we are all captains, and all have some means to survive. It won't be a problem."

Leuk San said, "We are relying on this boat to move. If there's a ghost on the boat, then our foothold isn't safe. If we don't resolve this hidden danger in advance, I'm worried the ghost on the boat will block our retreat. This shouldn't be taken lightly."

"You have a point," Yang Jian didn't disagree.

Li Jun said, "You two are both right. Acting now could lead to the boat sinking or us falling into the river before we reach Ghost Lake. If we act when we get to Ghost Lake, we might face more than just the haunting ghosts within the lake — there could be other malevolent spirits as well."

"So, let's be fair and vote: should we eliminate the hidden danger now, or deal with it later?"

"Act now," said Leuk San.

Ah Hong said, "I also think we should act now."

Shen Lin laughed, "Acting without knowing the situation is too impulsive. I agree with Yang's view. If there are really ghosts on board, just leave them be. It's not smart to act at this critical moment."

"Two to two, only your vote is left, Li Jun," Yang Jian said.

Li Jun frowned slightly, thinking.

He did want to act to eliminate the hidden danger, but Yang Jian's reasoning seemed more sound. Provoking other things before dealing with Ghost Lake wasn't wise, and with the boat being so small, any problem might lead to losses.

"Let's not act yet,"

After hesitating, Li Jun decided that the Ghost Lake incident was most important, and agreed with Yang Jian's judgment.

"However, now the issue isn't whether to act or not. We have a more serious problem," suddenly, Leuk San looked down and lifted his foot.

A wet patch appeared underfoot.

At some point, water had started flowing into the small boat.

"I had noticed before. Ever since we left the second dock, the boat has been getting heavier and heavier. At first, I thought it was my mistake, but now it seems my observation was correct. If this continues, the boat will soon exceed its weight limit," Shen Lin said.

"In other words, we are very likely to sink before reaching Ghost Lake."

Ah Hong looked to the side.

Indeed.

The icy river water seemed to be close to engulfing the small boat.

"Overloading?" Yang Jian's eyes narrowed.

How familiar this scene was.

A similar situation had occurred on the supernatural bus. Once overloaded, the ghosts on the bus would start killing passengers to make room.

"Yang Jian, what do you think?" Li Jun asked.

The others also looked at him.

Yang Jian said, "The method to solve the overloading issue on the supernatural bus was simple: eliminate the excess people to make space."

"Too many people, so forced reduction is needed?" Li Jun's expression changed. "That's not possible."

"But I don't think this boat is overloaded with people; the number isn't the cause. When the five of us boarded, the boat didn't even sway," Yang Jian said. "So this isn't an ordinary boat; it's a ghost ship, falling into the realm of supernatural objects."

"If it's not the weight, then is it the river water?" Leuk San looked at the river's surface.

At this point, the boat sank a bit more.

Ah Hong said, "The water in Ghost Lake can engulf everything. Maybe we're getting close to Ghost Lake, which is why the boat is sinking."

Yang Jian stood at the bow, also feeling the boat's precariousness, as if it were about to sink.

Yet, he remained calm and contemplated: "The supernatural Ghost Lake, the ghost ship leading to it, everything is connected. It's like everything was arranged beforehand. Thus, this ghost ship can't possibly sink in Ghost Lake; otherwise, none of it has meaning. I suspect the true cause of the sinking isn't the number of people, nor the weight."

"Then what is it?" Ah Hong asked, looking at him.

"The supernatural!"

Yang Jian said, "I suspect this boat can only carry so much of the supernatural. Once that limit is exceeded, the boat will gradually sink, taking all the supernatural elements into the water, into Ghost Lake, erasing them from this world completely."

"This isn't a boat for transporting the living; it's a boat for transporting malicious spirits, and Ghost Lake is the final destination."

Shen Lin's eyes moved slightly, "So the true issue is not reducing the number of people, but reducing the supernatural on the boat."

"I think so," Yang Jian said. "At least, until there's new evidence, I stand by my deduction."

But in his heart, there was one more thing he didn't say.

If this theory is proven true,

then when they first boarded the boat and paid four yuan for five people, it made sense.

The four dollars were likely not meant to be paid to the living, but to the dead, paid to ghosts.

Therefore.

Among the group of five with Yang Jian, four were deemed ghosts by this boat, leaving only one who was recognized as human by the boat.

Five people, four of whom.

These four must be Yang Jian, Leuk San, Li Jun, and Shen Lin, the four captains.

Because they have already transcended the category of humans, becoming entities of a different kind.

"To prove whether Yang Jian is right is simple; discard some supernatural, and see if the weight of the boat is reduced," Li Jun said.

He then immediately took something out without saying another word.

It was a dry, twisted arm, as if charred.

Obviously, this was a part of a ghost, dismembered and scattered for some reason, but this charred arm still possessed some incredible supernatural power.

Li Jun had kept it, likely prepared for himself.

But at this moment, he hesitated for a while, finally gritting his teeth and throwing the charred, dry arm off the boat.

Plop!

Water splashed as the charred arm fell into the water.

Yet instantly, this dry, charred arm stretched out and grabbed the boat, refusing to sink.

Yang Jian glanced at it, picked up a spear, and pierced the charred arm, then flung it away.

Only now did this charred arm sink like a piece of dried wood, quickly disappearing.

With a part of the supernatural reduced on the boat.

The small wooden boat indeed floated slightly upward, just as Yang Jian had guessed.

The water no longer flooded into the cabin.

"You are right, the boat bears the supernatural, not weight, so the ones who boarded were not the living, but ghosts," Leuk San said solemnly.

"Since they are ghosts, why would they willingly give money? It makes no sense."

Yang Jian said, "Someone once told me, the actual use of paper money is to hand it to the ghosts, that way the ghosts won't attack you. But I have another question, why won't the ghosts attack you? In other words, if ghosts don't attack you, who will they attack? Where will the ghost attack be diverted to?"

"The money isn't just money, it's bait. Give the money to the ghosts, and they likely won't attack you but might attack this boat. But the boat is a supernatural object and cannot be killed, so the ghost boarded the boat." Shen Lin narrowed his eyes.

"But the boat then carries the ghosts to Ghost Lake."

"As more ghosts board, the boat will sink, drowning an entire boatload of fierce ghosts into Ghost Lake, where they will be suppressed by the lake."

Upon hearing this, everyone was suddenly shocked.

"If that's the case, then this is a well-designed supernatural trap, specifically set up for ghosts, to imprison ghosts using ghosts."

Leuk San exclaimed, "But how is this possible, how could anyone design such an intricate and bizarre trap?"

Ghosts, paper money, boat, Ghost Lake.

The four seem unrelated, but once the ghost accepts the paper money, an invisible rule begins to operate, drawing the ghost to the dock, boarding the ghost ship, which then sinks, submerging the fierce ghost into Ghost Lake, from which they can never escape.

"This trap was not designed by people of our era; it was the accumulation of the wisdom from the previous era."

Yang Jian's expression shifted slightly, "Do not underestimate the top figures of the previous era. Those people managed to suppress the supernatural until now, relying not on strength, but wisdom, which is also our only weapon to defeat fierce ghosts."

"The Republic of China period?" Shen Lin said softly.

"Who else but those old figures?" Yang Jian said.

At this moment.

Everyone again sensed the terrifying wisdom of people from that era, using ghosts to set traps for ghosts, making the ghosts imprison themselves.

And there are many similar places like this.

Fushou Garden Cemetery in Dahai City

The old forest outside the mysterious ancient house.

Caesar Hotel in Zhongshan City.

Now, there is also a Ghost Lake in Zhongzhou City.

"But now's not the time to discuss this. The boat is still sinking, and just discarding one thing is not enough." Li Jun looked at the others: "You also need to lighten the load, abandon some things."

Yang Jian directly said, "I'll be the second, if the boat continues to sink, it's your turn."

He was referring to Shen Lin and Leuk San.

After saying this, he threw down a face-covering yellow paper.

The one Zhou Deng gave him on the supernatural bus.

Pasted on the face, it can make one sleep, while also preventing fierce ghost attacks, but as a cost, the person cannot wake up, needing others to tear the yellow paper off their face.

This thing was useless at this time.

Yang Jian thought for a while, choosing to abandon this supernatural object.

The yellow paper was thrown off the boat, quickly sinking into the river.

But this item is not considered a very powerful supernatural object; it didn't have much effect, only stopping the boat from sinking further, insufficient to make the boat float up.

If Yang Jian threw the Firewood Knife away, the boat might immediately float up.

But there's no way he would abandon this supernatural item.

"Looks like it didn't achieve the desired effect. It's your turn," Yang Jian said.

Leuk San glanced over, "Third one, your turn?"

"Doesn't matter, I'll do it." Shen Lin shrugged, indifferently.

Since they are taking turns to discard parts of supernatural objects, it's fair enough; nothing more to say.