Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

"laugh……"

A smooth braking sound rang out, and the bus came to a complete stop.

The car door slid open silently.

A gust of wind, even colder and damper than inside the carriage, carrying a strong, fishy smell and an indescribable stench of decay, blew in.

Outside the car window, the streets and ruins were no longer gray and white.

Instead, it was a boundless, pitch-black body of water.

A thicker, almost solidified, gray-black mist, denser than elsewhere, swirled slowly over the water. In the far distance, shadowy black outlines were faintly visible.

There was no sound of water here, only a low, mournful wail, as if coming from the deepest part of the water, bringing a sense of inexplicable sorrow and despair.

This is Ghost Cry Bay.

It is a treacherous tributary of the River of Oblivion, where resentment gathers and lingers, making it a dangerous place that even ordinary ghosts dare not easily approach.

Lu Changsheng stood up and patted Cheng Caijun, who was still a little dazed: "We're here, get out of the car."

The two got off the bus one after the other.

The doors closed quickly and silently behind them. The ghost bus didn't stop at all; it accelerated even more frantically than when it arrived, the engine emitting a strained whine, and disappeared in the blink of an eye, as if something terrifying was chasing it.

Faced with this desolate and hopeless dark water, Cheng Caijun's little bit of courage was instantly overwhelmed by the boundless chill.

"Brother Lu...that...that messenger's body...is it down here?"

His voice trembled as he pointed to the bottomless black water that seemed to swallow all light.

"Um."

Lu Changsheng walked to the water's edge. He glanced at the dark water and then looked back at Cheng Caijun, whose face was deathly pale.

"Scared?"

Cheng Caijun wanted to nod, but looking at Lu Changsheng's calm eyes, he finally gritted his teeth and shook his head.

"No, I'm not afraid! Brother Lu, whatever you say, I'll do!"

A barely perceptible hint of approval flashed in Lu Changsheng's eyes, but his tone remained calm:

"Stay close to me, don't stray more than three steps. This water is much more troublesome than the car."

After saying that, he took out two items from his backpack without hesitation.

It was a short, dark red, blood-soaked rope. He wrapped one end around his left wrist, tied it in a complicated knot, and tied the other end to Cheng Caijun's right wrist.

The rope was extremely thin yet exceptionally strong, cool to the touch, and carried a faint, peculiar scent reminiscent of sandalwood mixed with rust.

"Tie it tight, don't lose it. This thing is called the 'Soul-Binding Rope,' it can guide you if you get separated underwater."

Lu Changsheng explained, his tone serious.

The other item was a palm-sized, flat leather bag. He opened the bag and poured out a dark green, fine, powdery substance.

"Apply this to your eyelids and sprinkle some on your body as well."

The thing felt cool and slippery to the touch, and had a strong smell of mugwort, which made Cheng Caijun's eyes almost water.

"This is 'eye-opening sand' made from several kinds of medicinal herbs that ward off evil spirits. It can temporarily help you see things underwater and also help you resist some of the erosion from water."

Lu Changsheng quickly applied the ointment himself as well, his movements practiced and steady. "Remember, when you're underwater, no matter what you see, hear, or feel, as long as this rope isn't broken and I don't tell you to move, just follow me. Don't believe anything, don't look, and don't touch anything."

Cheng Caijun nodded emphatically, feeling a cool sensation on his eyelids. His vision seemed unchanged, but he felt slightly more at ease.

Lu Changsheng took a compass out of his backpack.

The compass was about the size of a palm, neither gold nor wood, and heavy in the hand. Its surface was a dark bronze color, engraved with dense, fine silver runes, as fine as mosquito gnats. In the center of the compass, a jet-black, shiny magnetic needle floated quietly.

The black magnetic needle in the compass pool began to slowly rotate. At first, it was a little sluggish, but then it became faster and faster, and finally it stabilized. The tip of the needle trembled slightly and pointed firmly to the left front.

"That's it."

Lu Changsheng glanced at the compass, and after confirming that it was correct, he carefully put it away. He walked to a relatively flat black rock by the water, took out a bell from his pocket, and gently placed the bell on the rock in the direction the compass had just indicated.

After doing all this, he turned to look at Cheng Caijun, who was waiting anxiously.

"This bell is causally linked to the target corpse. Placing it here as an 'anchor' will help us locate ourselves and return. When we go into the water later, follow me and try to keep your eyes on my back, or just look at the ropes on our wrists."

He paused, then emphasized, "Remember, underwater, no matter what you hear or see—whatever looks like 'me' waving or talking to you—if you don't feel a clear, continuous pull on the rope around your wrist, it's all fake. Your job is to hold on tight to the rope, swim with me, and leave everything else to me."

Cheng Caijun nodded vigorously, feeling his throat dry, unable to utter a single word.

Lu Changsheng said no more, and checked the Soul-Binding Rope on his wrist one last time to make sure the connection with Cheng Caijun was secure. He took a deep breath, then leaped into the water silently.

"Thump!"

The splash was tiny, almost instantly swallowed up by the viscous black water.

Cheng Caijun gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and jumped into the water in the direction Lu Changsheng had entered.

Cold! Heavy! Sticky!

An indescribable feeling instantly enveloped Cheng Caijun. The black water was like some kind of wriggling gel, desperately squeezing in from all directions. The eye-opening sand on his body emitted a green fluorescent light, protecting his body.

At the same time, an indescribable mix of sadness, despair, and resentment surged into his consciousness.

The "eye-opening powder" applied to his eyelids worked its magic the moment he entered the water. His vision opened up before him, but it also allowed him to see the true horror underwater.

Cheng Caijun saw it.

Countless shadowy, pale, and distorted human figures, like carelessly discarded water plants, floated silently in the dim water.

This is a huge, three-dimensional graveyard made up of countless corpses.

Cheng Caijun's heart nearly stopped beating, and his lungs ached from the cold and the feeling of being short of breath. He frantically flailed his arms and legs, trying to find his balance and direction, his eyes searching frantically.

Just then, a steady and firm pull came from my wrist.

It's a soul-binding rope!

Lu Changsheng was not far below him, swimming at an angle towards the deeper water to his left.

The Soul-Binding Rope in his hand glowed faintly. Cheng Caijun grasped at it like a lifeline and immediately adjusted his posture according to the rope's pull, following Lu Changsheng as he swam downwards.

The deeper they went, the lower the water temperature seemed to drop, the greater the water pressure became, and the dimmer the light grew. The floating corpses around them also seemed to become more densely packed; Cheng Caijun could even see details on their clothes and the pained, grotesque expressions on their faces.

He gritted his teeth, remembering Lu Changsheng's instructions, his eyes fixed on Lu Changsheng's back and the glowing Soul-Binding Rope on his wrist, ignoring the auditory hallucinations and prying eyes.

Suddenly, Lu Changsheng, who was leading the way, stopped abruptly and floated in the water.