Liu Han and I held hands and walked side by side through the streets of Hekou Town. The two of us have known each other for almost five years, and it is rare that the two of us can go shopping and see the scenery together as a couple like this, intimately, openly, and without worrying about other people's eyes.

Liu Han resisted my attempt to hold her hand at first. As a former Shengyang gang member with a pungent personality and unwilling to be under men, she has long been unaccustomed to this kind of affectionate and affectionate behavior. However, under the entanglement of my dead face, she still did not shake my hand away.

The streets of Estuary Town are soft and soft under your feet, and they are all covered with fine river sand. The houses here are heavily piled, and the first floor is unoccupied to prevent the river from flooding into the house when it rises. There are not many residents in Estuary Town, about 500 people and about 5,000 ghosts, all of whom do work related to fishing.

The Stygian Sea is actually a very large underground lake, which is said to be hundreds of miles in circumference. I remember that Skeleton King, the leader of Skull Mountain in Zuoqiu City, once came here, and went to the sea alone to catch a ghost shark, and then pulled it back to the Longevity Hotel to cook fish soup and drink. That incident made a big impression on me at the time.

However, I observed that the ships in the estuary town did not have the kind of big ships that could go out to sea. As a small fishing port close to the Stygian Sea, it is strange not to have a large ship. Do the people here only fish in the rivers and near the waters?

After an hour, we finished walking around the town of Hekou. To be honest, Liu Han and I were both a little disappointed.

Although it seems that there are many expeditions and fishing boats coming and going every day, and the business atmosphere is quite hot, it lacks a bit of charm, as if this is just another version of the 18 holes. In addition to buying seafood, people come here to take advantage of the way to go to the Ghost Eating Forest, and only a few ghost cultivators with high cultivation or deep resentment will choose to rent a boat in Hekou Town to go directly to the Styx Sea for exploration.

For this reason, I went to a ship repair yard in the port to inquire about it.

I first used my noodle boat as an excuse and asked about the cost of repairing the ship. A master glanced at my ship from a distance and said very unceremoniously: "As for that broken ship, the cost of rebuilding the overhaul is estimated to be enough for you to buy a new ship!" ”

I'm a little embarrassed. But I didn't want to repair the ship in the first place, so I started to turn the conversation to the sea adventure.

I said, "I wanted to take this ship into the Stygian Sea to see it, but if you say that, should I rent a bigger ship more cost-effectively?" ”

"Rent a big ship and go into the Styx?" The old master looked at me again with a mocking gaze, "I'm afraid no one here wants to rent a ship like this big for you to do this kind of obviously losing money, let alone a bigger ship!" ”

"Why do you say that?" I wondered.

Although the master's tone was a little rude, his attitude was not bad. He patiently explained to me, "We never build big ships here. It's not that we can't make it, it's that we don't have to. The water level here in the town of Hekou is shallow, and there is nowhere to dock when the big ships are built. In addition, we need a lot of good wood to build a big ship, and we don't have it here. ”

"The most important thing is that there are all kinds of ferocious and violent underwater monsters in the Stygian Sea, and ordinary large ships can easily become targets for their attacks. Although there are occasional expeditions that venture deep into the Styx, they rent small boats. Driving a small boat is more flexible and convenient than a large boat, and if it is broken, the loss is not great. ”

"Because of the dangers in the Stygian Sea, few people dare to go deeper, so the fishermen of Hekou Town generally fish near the mouth of the underground river, and only the disgruntled ghost cultivators dare to dive into the water to catch big fish on their own. I see that you are all Yin cultivators, even if your cultivation is higher than others, I'm afraid you are not suitable for adventuring at sea. Ghost cultivators can't drown in diving, can you? ”

Although the master who repaired the ship was ruthlessly scolded, we still got a lot of information. It seems that this estuary town is not for us to stay long, unless we just want to keep running a noodle shop.

So, Liu Han said to me: "I don't like it here, why don't we go and eat the ghost forest?" ”

I nodded: "Hekou Town is only suitable for a transit trading post, and the personnel are quite complicated, which is not conducive to our hiding. It's okay to go and eat the ghost forest, and it's a big deal to return here and plan again! ”

After discussing it, I announced the decision to a few ghost guys on board. But with the exception of the silly dough rollouts, the sarcasts, bookworms, and scissorheads all expressed disappointment in our decision.

The sarcastic ghost said: "Boss and boss lady, you are Yin cultivators, and if you want to enter the Ghost Eating Forest to take risks, forget it, but what can we do?" You can't use us as bait, can you? ”

Bookworm ghosts are the least courageous, and they already start to tremble when they hear the words "Eat Ghost Forest". It cried and said, "Yes! Eat the ghost forest, eat the ghost forest, aren't we little ghosts going to be eaten? ”

Scissorghost is a little more sensible, but also sad. It said: "Boss, I have no problem cutting noodles, vegetables, and meat with these two scissors in my hand, and I have used them to fight, but I am not suitable for this kind of work!" ”

I hurriedly comforted: "You guys can rest assured, we just went there to have a look first, and didn't say that we would definitely stay there and develop." Besides, even if the two of us really want to go into the Ghost Eater Forest, we won't force you to go with us. You're just responsible for staying on this boat. ”

A few ghosts were relieved when they heard me say this. Of course, I know what they are afraid of, but I don't have to force it to do what they can.

After resting in Hekou Town for three days, sure enough, Xue Da came to me again and asked, "Boss Feng, are you still going to eat the ghost forest?" ”

I didn't finish my words, but I still left myself a way out, and only said, "Didn't you say that there is a small fishing village outside the Ghost Eating Forest?" We're going to go there and see before we decide whether or not to go into the woods. If you want to take this boat, come along! ”

Xue Da was very happy and said with a smile: "Actually, there are boats to eat the ghost forest every other day, but we are just hungry for your noodles." In that case, it couldn't be better! ”

After talking about the itinerary, Xue Da once again beckoned his team members to carry their luggage and supplies back to the ship. This time, they purchased a lot of logistics equipment and dry food in Hekou Town, because the small fishing village on the edge of the Ghost Eating Forest was too small to buy many things, so they could only purchase them in Hekou Town in advance. For example, this time they bought two large lizards to bring to the ship and equip them for transportation capacity.

In order to avoid the same situation, I also temporarily bought a batch of supplies in Hekou Town. Among them, flour, spices, oil, salt, chili peppers and other ingredients and seasonings that are in high demand must be prepared more, otherwise my noodles will not taste good.

The next day, the noodle shop boat set sail again and sailed in the direction of the Ghost Eater. From Hekou Town, we walked another hundred and eighty miles along the coastline, and the next evening we arrived at the nameless little fishing village of which Xue Dakou had spoken. Although the fishing village is small, a small pier has been built and two other small fishing boats are docked.

What amazes me is that there are only a few dozen ghost cultivators living in this fishing village, and there is not a single big living person among the permanent residents!

However, the most resentful of these ghost cultivators is an ink ghost. This is also relatively prominent in the remote area of Hekou Town, no wonder this small fishing village can always exist independently, without being controlled by Hekou Town or other large forces.

Of course, this place is too remote, the transportation is inconvenient, and there are no rich specialties, so it can only be used as a foothold to enter the ghost forest, and the safety is not very good. It is obviously not a very cost-effective thing to go out of business for such a small place.

In this way, this place has become a small gathering place for ghost cultivators, and the ghosts who live here are all ghosts who can't stay elsewhere and come here to take refuge.

Xue Da often came here, so he knew the village chief very well, and took Liu Han and me to meet the village chief as soon as the boat docked. The village chief's surname is Wang Mingshou, and he is a bearded old ghost with thick hands and feet. As soon as we met, I was fascinated by its big rough hands. These hands are completely comparable to the hands of the rolling ghost, but the hands of the rolling ghost have been transformed by alchemy, and this hand of the village chief Wang seems to have been tempered by doing a lot of rough work on weekdays!

"Wangtou'er, long time no see!" Xue Da took the initiative to greet him warmly.

Wang Shou was old-fashioned and not as outgoing as Xue Da, but he just smiled and said, "Old Xue, you are here again, and you brought a new companion this time?" ”

A companion is a companion, a companion, but I haven't agreed to join Xue Da's expedition yet. So Xue Da explained: "This is Boss Feng, and his boat is a noodle restaurant. However, Boss Feng's martial arts are also good, and he is very interested in entering the Ghost Forest, so I fooled him! Ha ha! ”

I laughed and said, "Captain Xue just likes to joke." I'm just here to see the world, and I haven't decided whether I want to go into the woods or not. ”

Wang Shoudao: "It's really dangerous to eat ghosts, it's not a tourist resort, and if it's not for Lao Xue, there's really no need to go in." ”

It seems that this Wang Shou is a sincere person, and as soon as we meet, he advises me not to take risks, which increases my good impression of him. But when he said this, it piqued my interest in eating ghost forests.

I asked, "What is the most dangerous monster in this ghost-eating forest?" ”

"Yes......"

"Be careful! There are murderous things! ”

Wang Shou was about to answer my question, but was interrupted by Liu Han, who had been standing quietly behind me. She tugged at me hard, and at the same time pulled out a simple knife she had brought with her, and turned to wait.

I was also taken aback by her reaction, and I also pulled out the usual knife from my waist and turned my head to look.

A tall, unknown beast had already dived five meters behind us. It was on all fours, its fur was dark, its claws were like steel, its fangs were like cones, its eyes were like electricity, it was staring at me and Liu Han tightly, and it also stretched out its tongue from time to time to lick the tip of its nose, and it seemed to be a little hungry!