Chapter Sixty-Three: The Curse of the Black River Prison

Seeing the prison ghosts reaching out to him, Wei Xiaoping immediately gripped the chains with both hands, his feet ceaselessly hopping left and right, up and down around Old Master Ma, kicking at the attacking ghosts. Those ghosts struck by Wei Xiaoping flew out like terrifying rag dolls, sent dozens of meters away, tumbling into the surging black waters. Submerged, they floated up again, clambered onto the waves, and once more lunged toward him!

Behind, Big Flower the Ox circled Wei Xiaoping and Old Master Ma, weaving through their surroundings. Her three canine heads barked and bit at the ghosts charging them, or used her massive body to ram the prison ghosts aside. Those caught in her jaws were either torn apart, their bodies shredded into pieces, or flung skyward by her heads, landing in the black river. Submerged, they surfaced and drifted back on the waves, hands outstretched, calling, “Please, take us with you! The Black River Prison is unbearable!”

Big Flower and Old Master Ma had grown up in the wild. Since childhood, they hunted alone, endured countless hardships, and honed their skills into brute strength. Thus, any prison ghost rammed by Big Flower or Old Master Ma was sent flying hundreds of meters away. The ghosts soared through the air, limbs flailing, sobbing, before falling into the black waves, submerged, then climbing out to drift back again.

The relentless tide of prison ghosts was constantly kicked or rammed by Wei Xiaoping, Old Master Ma, and Big Flower, sent flying, only to return atop the waves. Those struck seemed immune to pain; after falling in the river, they slowly righted themselves and resumed their assault on Wei Xiaoping and his companions.

Despite the repeated fighting, they could not stem the ghosts’ endless surge. Progress was slow.

“This won’t do!” Wei Xiaoping thought. “If we keep being blocked by these prison ghosts, we’ll be delayed. If I waste too much time, my body in the world of the living might awaken—or my soul might fail to return, or take too long to re-enter my body, which could then slip back into unconsciousness or die, never to awaken again. If that happens, I’ll truly become a ghost.

Then, I’ll never return to the world of the living, never see my brother Wei Xiaofan again, nor those I long for! Those I long for? Yes, there are many in the world of the living whom I miss—my junior disciple Zhang Xiaoyan, my master Daoist Xuanzhe, and my comrades in the army, like Huang Xianlin. They are the ones I care for most, and I am the one they worry about! And if I meet my parents, already ghosts in the underworld, how could I explain things about my brother Wei Xiaofan?”

“Old Master Ma, Big Flower, these prison ghosts keep blocking us—our progress is too slow. Is there any way to shake them off quickly, get ashore, and return to my body in the world of the living?” Wei Xiaoping asked the ghostly hound Old Master Ma and Big Flower as he kicked at the charging ghosts.

“Those prison ghosts in the Black River Prison are all souls who seriously violated the king’s law in life and were executed. Lord Yama judged them unfit to reincarnate or become human again, but not deserving of the death penalty, so he sent them into the Black River, condemned to never rise again! It’s like a life sentence in the world of the living—they’re allowed to be ghosts but can never escape Black River Prison. After so long, boredom overwhelms them, leading to constant fighting and mutual harm.

Some ghosts, living such meaningless days of violence, wish for death or try to escape. So, when new ghosts pass through on their way to reincarnation, the prison ghosts rush to intercept them, hoping to be taken along. They want these souls crossing over to help them escape.

Every time a soul eligible for reincarnation passes by, the prison ghosts fight to grab them. Once seized, it’s hard to break free.” Old Master Ma explained as he charged forward, ramming with his neck.

“Why don’t these ghosts just run ashore themselves? Why must they rely on souls passing through to take them?” Wei Xiaoping asked.

Old Master Ma replied, “They are souls who broke the king’s law, so Lord Yama won’t let them leave. Yama placed a curse on the riverbank, sealing Black River Prison!”

“Then why do they insist on being taken by souls passing through? If they have someone to lead them, can they escape?”

“Any soul eligible for reincarnation or crossing over carries a power that bypasses Yama’s curse on the Black River. Such souls are immune to the curse. The prison ghosts know this, so they try to use the crossing souls to trick Yama’s curse, sneak ashore, and reincarnate or return to the living world as evil spirits to harm mortals.” Old Master Ma explained.

By now, the prison ghosts surging ahead grew more numerous, each taller and stronger. Some used the force of the black waves to leap high, reaching for Wei Xiaoping’s head. Others, less agile but powerful, crawled beneath Wei Xiaoping and Old Master Ma, grabbed other ghosts, climbed onto their shoulders, and reached for Wei Xiaoping.

Dense crowds of prison ghosts blocked their path, while others reached from beside them. Wei Xiaoping, Old Master Ma, and Big Flower struggled fiercely, knocking down one batch only for another to surge forward, as if the ghosts’ hands were endless, like trying to cut water with a blade.

Wei Xiaoping gripped the chain with one hand, fighting with the other and his feet, scanning the surroundings. The surface of Black River Prison stretched almost a hundred miles wide, its ends lost in the distance. Far off, countless black dots moved across the river, swarming like bees in a hive, drifting toward them.

So many prison ghosts—dealing with the ones in front was already overwhelming, let alone all those converging. “This won’t do, Old Master Ma, Big Flower—all the prison ghosts are charging toward us, and we can barely handle those ahead. Is there any way to quickly repel them?” Wei Xiaoping shouted as he fought.

“To my knowledge, any soul crossing Black River Prison on its way to reincarnation must first have Lord Yama cast a curse on it, to safely traverse the river. When we left the Crossing Consultation, the Horseface envoy must have forgotten to curse us! Ah, that Horseface—how could he forget something so important!”

“What now? Do we have to go back and find the Horseface envoy to have him curse us? Isn’t it too late?” Wei Xiaoping said.

“It’s already too late to go back! Your body in the world of the living may be waking, and if your soul returns too late, it might slip back into unconsciousness or die. All our effort would be wasted. Now, we must break through Black River Prison ourselves!” Old Master Ma said, biting at the oncoming prison ghosts with his three canine heads.

Hearing this, Wei Xiaoping sighed, “It seems we can only rely on ourselves!” Clenching his teeth, he seized the chain with his right hand, leaped with both legs, flipped, and launched a lightning-fast spinning kick at the surrounding ghosts. In the blink of an eye, the ghosts around him were sent flying in all directions.

Big Flower, seeing Wei Xiaoping’s swift circular kicks toppling a batch of ghosts, cheered, “General Wei, that technique is excellent! You keep driving away the ghosts around you like that. I’ll chase away those under Old Master Ma, and together we’ll fight and move forward!”