The Martial Saint Started from Scavenging

Once you enter the Bewitching Crossing, it seems as if all that remains in the world is a vast expanse of white.

The shouts of battle, the sound of flowing water, and the sound of wind behind me were all swallowed up by the thick fog in an instant, becoming distant and indistinct.

The small boat seemed to have sailed into a silent, secluded world, with only the slight "splashing" sound of the oars cutting through the water proving that they were still moving.

"Cough...cough cough..."

Inside the cabin, Ye Kai suddenly coughed violently, his face turning an unnatural flush.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Ye Sheng's heart tightened, and he immediately squatted down.

"Brother...I...I'm so cold..." Ye Kai's voice was trembling, and his teeth were chattering.

Ye Sheng reached out and touched his forehead, only to find it burning hot.

He looked at Ye Kai's body again and found that there were faint wisps of black energy moving under his younger brother's skin, as if they were alive.

This is?

Ye Sheng was immediately alarmed. He remembered that Manager Hu had mentioned before that Ye Kai's illness might be related to his constitution.

Could it be that my brother's special constitution was activated by the strange fog of this bewitching ferry?

"Brother San, there seems to be something strange about this fog!" Ye Sheng immediately shouted.

"I know."

Ah San's voice came from the stern of the boat, tinged with seriousness, "I've heard the gang leader say that the fog of the Bewitching Crossing can seep into one's bones and cloud one's mind. If mortals stay there too long, they'll become delirious and eventually jump into the river to feed the fish. We need to get out of there quickly!"

As he spoke, he rowed even harder. But in this thick fog, it was impossible to distinguish east from west, north from south, and the small boat could only move forward aimlessly by feeling.

Ye Sheng was extremely anxious. He took off his relatively dry outer garment and wrapped it around Ye Kai's body. He then slowly channeled the little internal energy he had left into his younger brother's body, hoping to help him resist the cold and yin energy.

With the internal energy entering his body, Ye Kai's trembling indeed lessened somewhat, and his complexion improved slightly.

But Ye Sheng could sense that the black energy was only temporarily suppressed and had not dissipated.

"Splash—"

Just then, the small boat suddenly rocked violently, as if it had hit something.

"What's going on?" Ye Sheng stood up warily, gripping his machete tightly.

"It seems like... we hit a boat." Ah San's voice carried a hint of uncertainty.

Ye Sheng walked to the bow of the ship, parted the thick fog, and sure enough, he saw a dilapidated warship lying across the front of their ship.

The ship was several times larger than theirs, and it was tilted, half submerged in the water and half above water.

The hull was covered with marks from being hacked and chopped, the mast was broken, and a magnificent banner embroidered with "Abundant Wealth and Prosperity" was torn in two and hung limply in the water.

"It's a ship from the Golden Jade Merchant Guild!" Ah San exclaimed in surprise. "They're the biggest silk merchants in Blackrock Town. How could their ship capsize here?"

Ye Sheng frowned and jumped onto the ship.

The deck was incredibly slippery, covered in dark red bloodstains, and several corpses dressed as guild members were submerged in the water, swollen beyond recognition.

His scavenging skills immediately made him sense something unusual.

It wasn't the smell of blood, but a sense of resentment. An aura of extreme unwillingness and venom permeated the entire ship.

"Brother San, let's be careful, something's not right here," Ye Sheng said in a deep voice.

He walked carefully on the deck, his eyes scanning every corner.

At the cabin door, Ye Sheng found a notebook. He picked it up and opened it. Most of the writing inside was blurred, but a few pages were still barely legible.

"In the winter month of the 1327th year of the Crimson Bright Era, I accompanied my master to escort a 'secret treasure' to the Central Plains... Passing through the Broken Dragon River, where river bandits were rampant, my master spent a fortune hiring镖师 (bodyguards) from the 'Iron Shield Escort Agency' to protect us..."

"...The bewitching ferry, fog rises, the boat loses its course. A song comes from the fog, like the weeping of ghosts, filling people with dread..."

"...There's something underwater! Ah!!"

The writing ends here, ending with a huge cross soaked in blood.

Ye Sheng closed the notebook, feeling an even greater chill in his heart.

Singing? Is there something underwater?

As he was pondering, he suddenly heard a faint singing voice.

The singing was ethereal and melodious, like a woman softly singing in the middle of a river. The lyrics were indistinct, but the melody had a strange magic that made people want to follow the sound.

"Don't listen!" Ah San suddenly shouted, his voice filled with terror, "It's a water ghost trying to take souls!"

Ye Sheng bit his tongue hard, and the sharp pain instantly brought him back to his senses.

He then realized that he had unknowingly walked to the side of the boat, with half of his body leaning out, as if he were about to jump into the river at any moment.

Inside the cabin, Ye Kai's condition was even worse. His eyes were tightly closed, but a strange, obsessive smile appeared on his face, and he was muttering something under his breath.

"Brother!" Ye Sheng was terrified and immediately rushed back to the small boat, slapping Ye Kai across the face.

Ye Kai trembled and suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze first filled with confusion, then turning into terror.

"Brother...I just...I think I just saw Mother, she was calling me..."

Ye Sheng's heart sank. This song could actually stir up the deepest obsessions in a person's heart.

"That's not Mother!" Ye Sheng growled. "Cover your ears! Don't listen to anything!"

Just then, the singing suddenly changed.

It was no longer a woman's soft moan, but turned into countless mournful screams and wails, as if all the dead on this wrecked ship were crying out their resentment and pain in their ears.

Ah San's face was deathly pale, and his hand holding the boat pole was trembling.

Ye Sheng's scalp tingled; he felt as if his head was about to explode from the sound.

"Splash!" A sound of water falling into the water rang out.

Ye Sheng turned around abruptly and saw that Ah San, whose eyes had rolled back, had fallen straight down from the stern of the boat and was instantly swallowed by the thick fog and the river.

"Brother San!" Ye Sheng exclaimed, trying to pull him away, but it was too late.

Only a ripple remained on the river surface, which quickly disappeared.

Only he and Ye Kai remained on the small boat.

The howling sound grew closer and closer, as if something was surrounding them from all directions.

Ye Sheng shielded Ye Kai behind him, held his wood-chopping knife across his chest, and stared intently at the thick fog around them.

The fog churned and gradually, some indistinct dark figures emerged from it.

The shadowy figures were indistinct in appearance; they had human-shaped outlines, long, thin limbs, and twisted joints. They were "walking" on the water in an extremely bizarre posture, approaching the small boat.

"Is it really a water ghost?" Ye Sheng gritted his teeth.

He could sense the cold malice emanating from these things.

A dark shadow approached first, extending a long, black claw towards the ship's side.

"roll!"

Ye Sheng roared, channeling his inner strength into the blade, and slashed down!

The blade flashed with a faint golden light, striking the ghostly claw.

"squeak--!"

A piercing sound rang out.

He actually severed that ghostly claw with a single stroke! A severed claw fell onto the deck, turning into a wisp of black smoke and dissipating into the air.

The dark figure in the fog let out an angry shriek and retreated sharply.

efficient!

Ye Sheng's heart skipped a beat. His internal energy had a restraining effect on these ghostly things!

But before he could catch his breath, more dark figures surged up from all directions.

Instead of probing, they launched simultaneous attacks from all directions.

In an instant, ghostly claws appeared like a forest, reaching out from the thick fog and grabbing at every corner of the small boat.

At this moment, Ye Sheng brought his [Basic Knife Technique] to its fullest potential. He moved nimbly and dodged on the cramped boat, his wood-chopping knife transforming into a curtain of light, severing all the ghostly claws reaching towards the hull.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The sounds of birdsong were incessant.

But there were too many of those "water ghosts," and they were fearless; as soon as one was cut down, two more would immediately take its place.

Ye Sheng's internal energy in his dantian was being rapidly depleted.

If this continues, we'll be worn down sooner or later!

"elder brother……"

Ye Kai's voice sounded behind him, with an eerie quality, "Let me go... let me go..."

"Shut up!" Ye Sheng roared without turning his head.

In the instant he was distracted, a ghostly claw bypassed the blade and grabbed at his back!

Ye Sheng felt a strong sense of alarm, but it was too late to turn back and defend.

A muffled "bang!"

The excruciating pain Ye Sheng had anticipated did not come. He turned around and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Suddenly, Ye Kai appeared, using his frail body to shield him from view. And the ghostly claw was imprinted on Ye Kai's back.

However, a strange scene happened.

The demonic claw, powerful enough to tear through metal, emitted a hissing sound and billowed black smoke the moment it touched Ye Kai's body.

The owner of the ghost claw let out an extremely mournful howl and shrank back like lightning.

Ye Kai let out a muffled groan, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. His face was even paler, but his eyes became unusually bright.

The black energy that had been surging from his body seemed to find an outlet at this moment, flowing back along the ghostly claw!

The "water ghosts" that had been attacking frantically suddenly stopped moving, as if they had encountered some natural enemy. They let out a terrified shriek and retreated into the depths of the thick fog like a tide.

The surroundings returned to a deathly silence.

Ye Sheng stared blankly at Ye Kai, then looked at the thick fog around him, his mind completely blank.

What just happened?

"Brother!" He reacted and immediately supported the swaying Ye Kai. "Are you alright?"

"Brother... I'm fine..."

Ye Kai gave a weak smile, but before he could finish speaking, his head lolled to the side and he fainted.

Ye Sheng quickly checked his breathing. Fortunately, although it was weak, he was still alive.

He looked at Ye Kai's back again; his clothes were tattered, but there was only a black palm print on his skin that was fading away rapidly.

Could it be that my younger brother's constitution... is able to restrain these strange things?

A storm raged in Ye Sheng's heart.

Without a second thought, he immediately embraced Ye Kai and poured the last of his internal energy into his younger brother's body.

Just then, a clear laugh suddenly came from the thick fog not far away.

"Heh, using the body of Dao Calamity to devour Yin Sha vengeful spirits. Interesting, truly interesting."

The sound wasn't loud, but it reached Ye Sheng's ears clearly.

Ye Sheng suddenly looked up and saw a magnificent ship, ten times more splendid than their small boat, silently breaking through the thick fog and slowly approaching.

At the bow of the ship, a familiar figure stood with his hands behind his back, smiling as he looked at them.

Dressed in green, wearing a jade pendant, with a handsome face and a playful gaze.

The visitor was none other than Yun Zhonghe!