Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

The night was as dark as ink, and a thick layer of white mist rose from the surface of the Grand Canal.

Chen Ping stepped onto the No. 7 ship step by step, using the somewhat slippery gangplank.

This is a heavy cargo ship with a capacity of 4,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), made entirely of black ironwood, with towering gunwales.

From this distance, the massive ship appears as a suffocating black wall, making people below seem exceptionally small.

As soon as I stepped onto the deck, the wooden planks under my feet creaked so hard they made my teeth ache, and a strong, unbearable smell of mildew and the fishy stench of the river hit me right in the face and into my nostrils.

There weren't many people on the deck. A few dim, fading lanterns hung on the mast, swaying in the night wind and casting dappled shadows.

Several canal workers on night watch huddled in the gaps between the cargo, sheltered from the wind, their necks hunched, their eyes filled with fear, like a flock of startled quails.

Just as Chen Ping was about to ask someone a question, a hoarse voice came from the shadows of the pile of cables.

"New here?"

Chen Ping looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old canal worker with only one ear looking at him warily.

The man clutched a sharpened bamboo pole tightly in his hand, his eyes were sunken, and his face was sallow.

"Ghost Hand Zhang asked me to fill Old Zhao's vacancy." Chen Ping said calmly, his gaze sweeping over the old man's bald earlobe.

Upon hearing the name "Old Zhao," the one-eared old man's face visibly twitched, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes.

"What the hell is this bad luck..."

He muttered a curse under his breath, then pointed his withered finger toward the stern. "Since it's a vacancy, you'll guard the stern. The fore and middle cabins are taken. The stern is the most remote, and it's also... the place Old Zhao stayed last night."

Chen Ping nodded, without asking any further questions or complaining.

He knows the rules.

"I've got it," just as Chen Ping turned to leave, the one-eared old man hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and added, "Don't look into the water. If you hear any movement in the water, don't be curious. Just stab it with something as hard as you can. If you hit it, run. If you miss... well, you're just waiting to die."

Thanks.

Chen Ping clasped his hands in thanks, then picked up a thick, hardwood whistle stick from a pile of miscellaneous items nearby. He weighed it in his hand and walked along the ship's side towards the stern.

The further you go towards the stern of the ship, the dimmer the light becomes, the heavier the humidity in the air, and the stronger the unpleasant fishy smell grows.

The cargo containers on both sides were piled high, looking like silent giants in the darkness, leaving only a narrow passage.

Chen Ping walked through the passage and finally arrived at the stern of the ship.

The enormous rudder stood tall, with the dark, churning river water splashing and pounding below, a sound that was unsettling to hear.

Chen Ping found a spot with a good view and his back against the cargo box and stood there.

The massive ship swayed slightly as the waves rose and fell.

For ordinary people, this kind of swaying will make their lower body feel unstable, making it difficult to exert force, and may even cause dizziness and nausea.

But Chen Ping felt no discomfort whatsoever.

He parted his legs slightly, his toes gripping the slippery deck through his straw sandals.

The physical instincts honed through a thousand repetitions made his legs like deeply rooted old trees, naturally adjusting his center of gravity with the rise and fall of the boat.

Time passed slowly in silence.

Chen Ping held the whistle, standing motionless like a statue.

His ears perked up, catching every subtle movement in the sounds of the wind and water.

Suddenly, a faint, putrid smell entered his nostrils.

Chen Ping frowned slightly.

The smell wasn't like dead fish or rotten shrimp; it was more like... a dead rat that had been soaking in a sewer for over ten days, carrying a nauseating, fishy stench.

The smell was coming from the shadow of the ship's wheel.

Chen Ping's eyes narrowed, his muscles tensed instantly, and his breathing became extremely light and slow.

He made no sound, moving like a cat, inching his way toward the rudder.

By the faint glow cast by the dying lantern on the mast, Chen Ping finally saw the scene clearly.

His pupils suddenly contracted.

It was a corpse.

A canal worker dressed in a light blue short jacket was leaning over the railing, half of his body already over the railing, his neck twisted at a bizarre ninety-degree angle, clearly broken.

On the back of the corpse, a dark figure was crouching.

The thing was about the size of a five or six-year-old child, completely black, naked, and its skin was covered with a layer of wet moss and slime.

It was lying on the corpse's neck, making "gurgling" sucking sounds, as if it were sucking on something.

Seemingly sensing the presence of a living person, the dark figure abruptly stopped moving and slowly turned its head.

Chen Ping saw a face covered in fine scales, its features blurred as if melted wax, with only a pair of dead fish eyes that had only whites and no pupils, emitting a faint white light in the darkness.

His mouth split open to his ears, revealing a row of sharp, serrated teeth, with blood still clinging to the gaps between them.

Water ghost!

"hiss--!"

The monster let out a shrill scream, its limbs slamming into the ground like a black lightning bolt, and instantly pounced on Chen Ping!

too fast!

Chen Ping felt a blur before his eyes, and a stench rushed towards him.

He had no practical experience; his mind reacted quickly, but his body was a beat slower.

In the face of life and death, he could only subconsciously raise the baton in his hand and hold it horizontally in front of his chest to block.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound.

The sturdy hardwood club snapped instantly under the monster's sharp claws, just like a brittle reed!

The claws continued their relentless attack, gripping Chen Ping's chest tightly.

"Sizzle!"

The coarse linen clothes ripped instantly, and a searing pain shot through his chest. Three bloody scratches were so deep that the bone was visible.

If he hadn't reacted quickly and leaned back half an inch the moment the baton broke, that claw might have ripped him open!

The smell of fresh blood instantly filled the air.

"court death!"

The excruciating pain did not frighten Chen Ping; instead, it aroused the long-suppressed ferocity within him.

After landing successfully, the monster did not retreat but instead opened its large mouth full of sharp teeth and bit at Chen Ping's throat again.

This time, Chen Ping couldn't dodge, nor could he.

If you can't avoid it, then crash into it!

He stomped his feet hard on the ground, and the thick ship plank beneath his feet made a muffled "bang," creating two shallow dents.

In that instant, Chen Ping felt as if his spine was a great dragon awakening, suddenly springing up and instantly integrating the strength he had honed from carrying hundreds of kilograms of heavy objects into his right shoulder.

Instead of retreating, he advanced, charging headlong into the monster's gaping maw!

"Bang!!!"

A dull thud that made your teeth ache was heard.

The water ghost was like a tattered sack, blasted away by Chen Ping's powerful ramming.

It let out a piercing scream, its body slamming heavily against the ironwood railing of the ship's side, making a crisp sound of bones cracking. Then it slid to the ground like a puddle of mud, unable to get up for a moment.

Chen Ping also felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder; it felt as if he had hit a rock.

But he doesn't have time to manage it now.

While you are sick, I will kill you!

He roared and took a step forward, his slightly clumsy figure being compensated for by his powerful explosive force.

Before the monster could even struggle to its feet, Chen Ping had already rushed in front of it.

He raised his large foot, clad in straw sandals, and with the terrifying leg strength honed from carrying hundreds of kilograms of heavy objects, stomped it down hard!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

The kick landed squarely on the monster's forehead, and Chen Ping felt a numbness in his foot, as if he had stepped on a piece of hard iron.

The monster's skull was surprisingly hard; it didn't break when stepped on, but only cracked, causing half of its face to collapse instantly.

"squeak--!!!"

The monster let out an even more piercing and ear-piercing scream than before. Although its head had been severely injured, the demon's vitality was extremely tenacious.

It writhed wildly, its two sharp claws flailing wildly in the air, creating a foul gust of wind, and almost grabbed Chen Ping's calf.

"Still not dead?!"

Chen Ping's eyes twitched violently, and the ferocity within him erupted completely.

Without the slightest hesitation, he used the force of the rebound to lift his foot, aim at the already deformed head, and stomped down hard again!

"Bang!"

The second kick! Black, foul blood gushed out from the soles of Chen Ping's feet.

The monster's struggles slowed noticeably, but a chilling "gurgling" sound continued to emanate from its throat.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Chen Ping gave it no chance to breathe, gritting his teeth and stomping on it again and again with red eyes.

I don't know how many times I stepped on it, until the texture under my feet changed from hard to soft and mushy.

The roar of the water ghost beneath my feet completely disappeared, and its head turned into a pool of black and red flesh, its original shape no longer recognizable.

Chen Ping finally stopped, panting heavily.

His chest heaved violently, sweat mixed with splattered blood streaming down his face.

He stared intently at the completely motionless headless corpse at his feet, his legs going weak and he could barely stand.

This was the first time he had killed a living being.

The battle was fought with such difficulty and in such a sorry state.

"This monster is incredibly strong, and its skull is ridiculously hard."

Chen Ping glanced at the broken wooden stick on the ground, then at his bleeding chest, and a strong sense of lingering fear welled up inside him.

The reason I was able to win was purely because of my relentless, ruthless spirit; I wore it down until it was defeated.

This is the price of lack of experience and strength.

Before he could catch his breath, he heard hurried footsteps and firelight at the front of the cabin.

"What's that noise?!"

"At the very back!"

"Quick! Go and take a look!"

Clearly, the frantic stomping noise had alerted the people on the ship.

Chen Ping took a deep breath, quickly tore off a piece of his shirt, and used it to simply tie the wound on his chest to stop the bleeding.

He raised his head, hastily wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve, and walked toward the flickering firelight in the distance.