Arad's unruly savior

Chapter 3907 A Brilliant Method
The underworld, the River Styx.

A layer of mist-like white vapor floated on the surface of the pale, turbid river, permeated with a bone-chilling cold that stripped away all warmth, making one wonder if even the blazing sun would be quickly extinguished if it fell into it.

Frequently, painfully contorted faces surfaced from the bottom of the water, swollen and festering from being submerged, all reaching out towards the surface but finding nowhere to grip, before finally sinking back to the bottom in despair.

A dark wooden boat suddenly broke through the misty air and murky water, and moored on the bank where red spider lilies were in full bloom. The boat was almost dilapidated, about the same size as the boats that fishermen use to fish in the river. It had no mast or sail and was propelled by a black pole of unknown length.

The crimson of the red spider lily is one of the few bright colors in the underworld, as if it were watered with blood. The souls that were already waiting on the shore did not need the boatman to call them; they simply stepped onto the boat on their own.

The boatman, with his head bowed, was shrouded in black shadows and exuded a putrid stench. His features were obscured, and he remained silent until the soul boarded the boat. Then, he began to row, propelling the boat toward the other side of the River Styx.

The boatman's outstretched hand, gripping the pole, was wrapped with a dense array of grotesque faces, writhing like a snake.

Generally speaking, only two types of people can ride the ferry across the River Styx. The cause and effect of their lives are determined the moment they board the ferry: those who were judged as good people in their previous lives, and those who are evil people.

Death is the inevitable end for all life. Whether one was powerful or lived an ordinary life, all are equal in the face of death, and there will be another set of standards for judgment.

Those who do good can cross the river to the other side by ferry and go further to embrace true death, without having to walk across the crowded Bridge to the Underworld.

The boat of the wicked will be tested by the boatman halfway through the journey. The boatman will ask the wicked for things that exist in their soul, such as ill-gotten wealth, power that serves only themselves, and harm to others. As each sin is taken out, the ferry will sink a little deeper as if it were loaded with a heavy load, until the waters of the River Styx rush in, and the soul will also sink completely into the River Styx. From then on, it will float up and down at the bottom and the surface of the water, and no matter how much it struggles, it will not be able to get out.

After a period of silence, the ferry boat had already left the shore. The boatman, shrouded in shadow, steered the wooden boat. A thin white mist filled the water, and often painful faces and hands would reach out to the ferry boat, trying to escape the endless torment.

The Styx River, so wide that its opposite bank was completely invisible, was extremely quiet throughout, and it was unclear when one would reach its destination.

Suddenly, the soul sitting on the ferry boat spoke up, asking in confusion:

"Aren't you going to follow the proper procedures, take a look at my sins, and ask me for something?"

The boatman, gripping the long black pole, paused for a moment, somewhat surprised. The moment a soul falls into the underworld, all that remains is the instinct to embrace death; there is no longer any intelligent consciousness or thought. Only a very few strong individuals can maintain basic thinking.

It can be said that the ability to think is positively correlated with the strength one possesses during their lifetime.

Then, as one's cultivation level increases, at a certain point, one can initially break free from the call of the underworld after death and transform into a ghost or deity wandering the human world, living as a soul.

Once one reaches a certain level of cultivation, death becomes even less likely. One possesses extremely strong vitality and can be fully resurrected if one retains a soul. However, death often means being annihilated by the enemy, both in body and soul, and naturally, one will not enter the underworld.

"The weight of your soul was already measured the moment you boarded the boat," the boatman said in a low, indifferent voice, continuing to pole the boat at a leisurely pace, creating ripples on the surface of the River Styx.

Occasionally, a tormented soul tries to grasp at the boat pole as a lifeline, but He mercilessly knocks it away.

The soul continued to ask, "Is there no sound in the River Styx?"

After a while, the boatman slowly said, "Only the guilty can hear their painful cries, and those cries will drag the guilty down into the River Styx."

Since you cannot escape suffering yourself, then let others also be plunged into suffering.

Falling into the River Styx is just one of the most common forms of judgment in the underworld.

After the ferry had traveled some distance, the spirit on board seemed to get restless again and asked a series of questions: "Have you considered getting a large ferry? This small boat can only carry five or six people at most, so won't it be very inefficient? How many ferrymen do you have in total? I heard your boss went on strike. Is it because the benefits aren't good enough?"

The boatman stopped punting and turned to cast a cold, scrutinizing gaze at the soul. It was the first time he had ever seen a passenger so talkative and audacious, daring to inquire about matters of the underworld. It seemed the passenger possessed immense boldness and courage.

Moreover, the other party seemed to know some secrets of the underworld and knew about the ferryman.

The pained face floating in the River Styx did not frighten him, nor did the deathly aura of the ferryman frighten him. He even knew the secrets of the underworld; he must have been someone of great importance in his previous life.

However, no matter how powerful you were in life, you can't make a ripple in the underworld after death. Many of the countless souls floating in the River Styx were important figures with extraordinary backgrounds in life.

"Gig, have you become mute? After Karon left, are you temporarily taking over His work? Part-time?" The soul on the ship spoke again, seemingly unable to rest for a moment and unable to bear the slightest loneliness.

Upon being identified, the boatman's intimidating gaze faltered for a moment, then he asked in a low voice, filled with disbelief, "Ye Lin?"

"I thought you recognized me a long time ago, but it turns out you just found out," Ye Lin complained.

The ferryman is the former priest Gig, and his situation is similar to what Ye Lin said. After Kalon left, he temporarily took over the job of ferryman. Of course, Kalon is not the only ferryman of the River Styx in the underworld; Gig is now the leader.

Giger waved his hand to dispel the black shadows. His body was covered with a dense mass of vengeful spirits, all with vicious faces, frantically gnawing at his inner soul. These were the resentments left behind by the humans he had killed during the chaos of ghosts and gods, so powerful that even ordinary ghosts and gods feared them.

However, he had completely adapted to it and had never done so even though he possessed the power to get rid of vengeful spirits.

Giger nodded and said, "Although the gatekeeper Caron has left, he left behind a portion of his power, which he used to empower a ghost god to guard the gates of the underworld and perform His duties."

Gigg recalled that the gatekeeper Charon returned to the beginning, his aged body seemingly infused with new blood, rejuvenated. Wearing the crown of the gods and carrying the sword of Charon, he went alone to the ends of the world, leaving behind his duty to guard the gates of the underworld and the River Styx, never to return.

With the goddess of death and darkness, Ushir, presiding over the underworld, the basic order of the underworld was not disrupted.

"I saw it when I came here, it was the Ghost Blade, right?" Ye Lin clearly remembered that a tall black ghost god stood next to the gate of the underworld. Its aura was cold and intimidating, and it had many merciless eyes. There were many swords and knives with violent energy in its body, and sharp blades emerged from its body surface. It was not an independent soul, but a special ghost god composed of many powerful souls.

Among the many ghosts and gods in the underworld, Blade can be considered one of the top powerhouses.

The ferry reached the other side in an instant. Giger, who worked part-time, stood at the stern and asked:
"How did you come to the underworld in such a state?"

He knew that Ye Lin was powerful enough to descend into the underworld in his physical body and freely enter and exit the most terrifying depths of the underworld, without needing to take a ferry.

…………

"so……"

The noblewoman in the black dress, seated on the throne of death, crossed her long, shapely legs, leaning slightly to one side, her elbows resting on the armrests, her hands supporting her head in a languid posture. Her gaze towards Ye Lin was enigmatic, containing a strange smile.

"Were you killed by Remy?"

What did you do to her?

As her longtime partner and best friend, she knew Misty Eyes' temperament well. Although the holy texts of the Clergy had a side of her burning away evil with fire, it seemed that she had two sides: one side was saving the world and the other side was hating evil.

But that's not actually the case. She was never a hot-tempered goddess. On the contrary, she was actually very rational and gentle.

So she was genuinely curious about what Ye Lin had done to offend the squinty-eyed man, and he was actually beaten to death.

Moreover, you should know that Ye Lin not only flirted with women right under Remy's nose, but also dared to seduce the priest of the Grand Cathedral, Yue Na, into calling Remy's name during sex... Even so, Remy didn't kill him.

As for why the lady in the black dress knew about this, it's because Mavis had also shouted it.

"Of course, it wasn't a real killing." Ye Lin was embarrassed and guilty, not daring to tell the truth about the black-skirted lady's incident, deliberately avoiding the latter question, and explained:
"I mimicked a normal death, pretending that I was beaten to death by her and my soul fell into the underworld."

If we disregard the realm of cultivation, then he was indeed killed by Remy. The call of the underworld had entangled his soul, representing the complete death of his body. This is also why he saw the gate to the underworld and the ghost Blade.

The lady in the black dress nodded slightly, thinking she could fool me. "Impossible," she said with a faint smile.
“Tell me the truth, or I’ll hand you over to Squinty Eyes myself.”

"Lady...this really can't be said." Ye Lin suddenly felt her scalp tingle and her vision go black. As expected of her best friend, the lady in the black dress was full of bad intentions.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Let's go back to before Ye Lin was "killed".
Remy and Siat, who returned from the three primordial moments, completed the exchange of fate and identity once again. The original universe's erroneous perception of them was also corrected, and both returned to their own trajectories. Everything will move towards the future as usual.

Then, with a squint, he naturally knew what had happened to "her" during this period: her combat power had increased dramatically, soaring from just over two digits to three digits.

"Squinty-eyed, did I do anything to you? Or are you trying to settle old scores?" Ye Lin frowned deeply, then looked at squinty-eyed with a puzzled expression, putting on a convincing act.

Then he took the initiative, touching the pale forehead of the man with squinty eyes, and asked with concern:
"Is it because you've just returned to your destiny and are still a little unaccustomed to it, or did you encounter some enemy in the beginning? Tell me, and I'll go back in time and kill Him directly!"

Just as his squinty eyes returned, he suddenly thought of a crucial element: a chance to deceive everyone and get through this ordeal without relying on his mother-in-law's help.

That is, apart from Celia, it seems that only he knew that Remi and Siat had swapped their fates and identities, and that the goddess of wisdom Nimer, the goddess of elements Pusia, Sirocco, and others were all kept in the dark.

Celia only confirmed her guess after getting up close to "Hiat".

So a wonderful possibility has emerged: if he also pretends that his perception has been altered by fate and acts naturally, and if Celia keeps the secret and doesn't reveal it, there is a great chance that he can get away with it.

From then on, he knew, Celia knew, but no third person knew.

As for the memories of the squinty-eyed man, those things that have already happened cannot be deleted or modified. A guilty conscience will always be noticed. However, as long as the squinty-eyed man tries to ask him, he insists that he was with Hiat during those days. He is Hiat, a noblewoman from the Delos Empire. He refuses to admit that he knew that Hiat at that time was actually Remi.

Despite her seemingly outgoing, cheerful, and sometimes risqué personality, she's actually quite shy and would probably be too embarrassed to ask questions.

Even if you secretly question her or find witnesses, as long as Celia doesn't speak, the secret won't be revealed. Logically, it's smooth and perfect.

Just as Ye Lin had predicted, Mimi was furious and wanted to skin him alive. The dignified Primordial Goddess was actually cooperating with this and that pose and wearing this and that outfit.

However, there is indeed no evidence to prove that Ye Lin was not affected by the exchange of fates. Even powerful figures like Nimer and Pushia are still discussing the changes in their perceptions after the fate exchange.

Hiat has already gone into seclusion to cultivate.

The "secretary" angel Irena and several archangels descended from the light, reporting on several important tasks, seemingly completely unaware that their goddess's fate had been reversed.

Of course, this was also a clever arrangement by Ye Lin, with the purpose of proving that the exchange of fates would affect everyone's perception.

"I...I'm fine, I'm sorry to have worried you." She squinted, swallowing back her frustration, then gave Ye Lin a radiant smile, her beauty breathtaking, as if the matter was over.

After all, judging from Ye Lin's appearance, her perception of her has probably been altered, and she's being mistaken for Xia Te.

Ye Lin and Xia Te are a married couple who have been properly married and are recognized as husband and wife in the world. Isn't it normal for them to spend a few days together, making love?

Ignorance is no excuse, so it's really hard to blame her for what Ye Lin did to her while she was using the identity of Xia Te.

"Are you really alright? I made you a nourishing soup with ingredients collected from beyond the realm. They're all very precious and effective even for those in the Divine Realm." Ye Lin's eyes were as clear as crystal as he held Remi's soft hand, his expression full of concern.

"Ah."

Remy was now in an even more difficult position to get angry. She and Xia Te were both suffering from the negative effects of their swapped fates and were experiencing the same discomfort. Ye Lin was now only holding her hand and showing concern, ignoring Xia Te, which seemed like favoritism, leaving no room for argument.

When Ye Lin brought over the nourishing soup, Remy suddenly narrowed his eyes slightly and said:

"Aren't you being a little too attentive?"

Ye Lin shuddered almost imperceptibly, then chuckled, "You and Xia Te are both not in good shape, but she's in seclusion."

　I didn't update yesterday, so I'll post them all today...

　　Originally, I was thinking of taking leave because of the Ghost Festival and the group activities, but then I realized I could write it all out, but I didn't have enough time, so I put it all out for today, which doesn't count as taking leave.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)