Go all out

Chapter 41: The Body Retriever

Of course, this was just a fleeting thought. He’s the River God—with this tributary so narrow and the water so shallow, it’s probably just a “backwater” in his eyes. Why would he come here? I shook my head in resignation. I was about to park the scooter, but Yang Yun spoke up, “Don’t stop here—this isn’t the spot.” Alright. I kept my hands on the handlebars, and the scooter continued racing along the riverbank at breakneck speed. After about an hour, I was at a loss for words. Riding alone along the riverbank in the dead of night—anyone who didn’t know better would think I was crazy. In the moonlight, I spotted a dilapidated boat moored by the river in the distance. It looked like an ordinary fishing boat, shrouded in a layer of mist, but a blue lantern was lit at the bow, piquing my curiosity. This place is over a hundred kilometers from our village. I’m not too familiar with the area, but I’ve never heard of a boat like this moored here before. The car came to a stop. Yang Yunfei came over to my side, pointed at the boat below, and said, “The remains of that mother and child are very hard to recover. That man down there is a body retriever. Go down and find him now—ask him for help.” I felt awkward—I didn’t have a penny on me. I hadn’t even had a chance to deposit the 20,000 yuan that girl Ye Zhi had brought over today. How could I ask him for help without any money? I told him straight out that I didn’t have any money on me. Yang Yun glanced at me and asked where I’d put it. I said it was in the drawer. He told me to go get it and told me to go down first to talk to him. I nodded. After Yang Yun left, I parked my electric scooter and walked toward the boat. I’d naturally heard of “body retrievers” before, but what really made them famous were the body retrievers of the ? River. The ? River’s waters are murkier and faster-flowing than the Yangtze River’s; once someone falls in, they’re as good as dead. When the families of the deceased want to recover their loved ones’ bodies, they naturally have to hire professional retrievers—that is, body retrievers—to do the job. They’re a group of people who walk the fine line between life and death, also known as “those who straddle the boundary between the living and the dead.” But I never expected there to be “corpse retrievers” here as well. But from what I’ve seen in the news in recent years, recovering just one body can cost tens of thousands, and they even use the body as leverage—you have no choice but to pay, and not a single fen less. I wonder if my 20,000 yuan will be enough. It really hurts to part with that much money. I sighed helplessly. As I walked down, I saw the boat lit up. It wasn’t very big and was quite dilapidated—it looked like it had been in use for decades, covered in rust. But I didn’t mean to look down on him; he makes his living in the realm between life and death, and every job is a matter of life and death. Maybe the money in his bank account could scare the living daylights out of me… I stepped lightly onto the boat and immediately spotted a long hook placed at the bow—made of iron, too. It was the newest item on the boat, polished to a high shine; it must be what they call a “corpse-retrieval hook.” I took a few glances at it before walking over to knock on the door. There was a slight rustle from inside, and the door swung open. To my surprise, the one who opened it was a young man not yet thirty. I caught a glimpse of his face and immediately found him somewhat unsettling. His face looked as if it had been soaked in water—his pores were alarmingly large, and his complexion was faintly pale. If it weren’t for the cold way his eyes were fixed on me, I might have mistaken him for a corpse that had just been pulled out of the water, As for his facial features—triangular eyes, high cheekbones, and only half a set of eyebrows—he had the classic “death mark.” Simply put, such a person is a “harbinger of doom.” Whatever family he’s in, its members will die off one by one. It’s eerie. People with this facial structure are ruthless; if he weren’t a body retriever, he’d definitely be some kind of desperado. But what gave me a slight sense of relief was that there was no怨气 in his life palace—meaning he hadn’t taken anyone’s life. People like this naturally carry a certain yin energy. Fortunately, I can now barely control the energy within my body; otherwise, I would have revealed an instinctive fear in his presence, which would have been a real embarrassment. “Body retriever,” the man asked me coldly, “Yeah, recovering a body,” I nodded. The man expertly pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered me one. I shook my head to indicate I didn’t smoke. He lit one for himself, took a drag, and asked, “Tell me what’s going on.” “Oh… someone asked me to recover her remains,” “How long has she been dead?” The man said, “The sooner we recover the remains, the better the chances of success—and the cheaper it is. Of course, we can still recover them even if it’s been a long time, but it’ll cost a bit more.” “Um… over eight hundred years,” I said after a moment’s thought. The man gave me a deep look and furrowed his brow. “You’re not joking?” I shook my head. I realized my answer sounded a bit ridiculous myself. Eight hundred years? In this river, the remains would likely have been completely devoured by fish and shrimp long ago. Unless there were special circumstances or the body had been washed into a crevice between the rocks, the chances of finding any bones were pretty slim. The man took a few deep breaths and swallowed. He paused for a moment, seemingly hesitating. “Tell me the specifics first,” “This woman died in the river nearby eight hundred years ago,” “A woman?” The man’s eyes fixed on me, sending a slight shiver down my spine. “Be specific.” I took a deep breath. He was indeed very professional. “A woman who had a stillbirth,” “Sorry, I’m not taking this case,” the man shook his head decisively. “Can you give me a reason?” My expression changed—I hadn’t expected him to refuse so flatly. I knew body retrievers had their own taboos: they don’t retrieve bodies lying upright, nor those standing, though I wasn’t entirely clear on the others, “It’s simple: a woman who died while pregnant harbors intense resentment,” the man said, taking a drag on his cigarette. “But a corpse that’s been there for over eight hundred years should have turned to bones by now. Even if there’s some resentment, it shouldn’t be much of a problem,” I frowned, After all, the ghosts of that woman and her child had already been sealed away in the City of the Wrongfully Deceased by Yang Yun. The idea that they’d turned into water ghosts or something like that—that couldn’t be possible, could it? Just then, I suddenly felt a cold breeze brush past me. I glanced over, and Yang Yun had already appeared. “Huh,” He suddenly furrowed his brow, his eyes not fixed on me but on the space beside me. A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes. “You’re the one who wants to recover the body,” I was taken aback. No wonder they say these body retrievers make their living from the realm of the living and the dead—he could actually tell that Yang Yun was a ghost officer. Could it be that he’d heard about the “Ghost Eye”? “That’s right, it’s me,” Now that he’d called me out, Yang Yun beside me naturally revealed his true form. The man stared at Yang Yun for a few seconds, showing not a trace of fear. “Ghost Officer,” “Sharp eyes,” Yang Yun nodded indifferently. The man took a leisurely drag on his cigarette and asked casually, “Not even a Ghost Officer is exempt—the rules can’t be broken.” “Rules are just rules. Name your price,” Yang Yun said, flashing a rare smile. The man furrowed his brow and said without the slightest hint of negotiation, “I don’t need to tell you about certain rules, do I?” Yang Yun replied, “I’m well aware of your rules. But I’ve already sealed the souls of that mother and child in the City of the Unjustly Deceased. All you need to do is use your aquatic skills to recover their remains. If something seems off, you can choose to stop immediately—I’ll still pay you in full. There’s no risk involved.” The man continued smoking his cigarette, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. It seemed that, as Yang Yun had said, his concern had been that there might be a problem with the mother and child’s remains—after all, eight hundred years had passed, and no one knew what changes might have occurred. “I’m not too worried about those changes, though. The main issue is that it’s been eight hundred years—whether the woman’s remains are even still there is a real question,” I, for my part, discreetly observed the subtle shifts in his expression. This man wore his emotions like a mask—he was indeed a ruthless one. The slight furrow in his brow had smoothed out, clearly indicating he was tempted. However, a glow appeared in his Wealth Palace, meaning he was about to make a profit—and that profit would naturally come at our expense. I groaned inwardly… “All right. First, tell me her exact location,” the man said. “It’s about thirty li from here,” Yang Yun replied, “Thirty li,” The man furrowed his brow. He instinctively glanced in that direction, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. I knew that spot—it was a sharp bend in the river. It was quite possible that the woman’s remains had indeed been washed there. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, he turned his gaze to me, slowly held up five fingers, and said, “Fifty thousand. I’ll take this job,” My mouth twitched. Fifty thousand? How many lives would I have to take for that? You’re something else,