RNP Chapter 2563 The Fire Man and the Boatman
Chapter 2563 The Fire Man and the Boatman
Chapter 2563 The Fire Man and the Boatman
The man by the campfire looked to be about forty years old. His black hair had turned into almost dirty long hair because he hadn't taken care of it for a long time. He was wrapped in black clothes.
If Shad were asked to describe his first impression of him, it would probably be that he is an unlucky and frustrated guy with a broken marriage, disobedient children, on the verge of unemployment, seriously ill parents, and he found a bedbug in his cereal for breakfast this morning.
The middle-aged man also heard Xia De's footsteps in the monotonous sound of the waves, but he just glanced at him and lost interest.
After entering the range of the campfire, Shade felt that the sadness and melancholy had receded a lot. However, his life was happy and fulfilling now, and there were not many bad things worth recalling, so these negative emotions had not yet completely affected him.
He sat down by the fire, holding onto the sand, and sighed comfortably. He looked at the middle-aged man by the fire to make sure he was alive, and then looked at the tall figure on the boat next to the pier. The figure was wearing a black robe, and the hood completely covered his face. He was at least three meters tall, so the normal-sized wooden boat looked very small in comparison.
"god."
With just one glance, Xia De confirmed the other party's identity. The waves did not affect the stability of the small boat, and the figure standing on it in a black robe did not shake.
Xia De nodded slightly to show his respect.
In fact, the boat was not very far from the bonfire on the shore. Even if you didn't take the pier, you could run a few steps on the beach and then jump into the water, and there was a chance that you could jump directly to the stern of the boat.
"You're so close to the shore, aren't you worried about getting stranded?"
He was thinking in his heart, but the silent man spoke at this moment, his voice was extremely hoarse, as if he had not spoken for a long time:
"You're not going aboard?"
The language he used was not because of "linguistic proficiency", but more like it was influenced by the power of the dock itself, and was directly understood by Shade.
Xia De understood that this venue itself had the characteristics of allowing everyone to communicate freely, so he looked at the small wooden boat and then at himself:
"So, you sell boat tickets?"
"."
The middle-aged man who looked up at him didn't say anything, so Xia De nodded:
"You're not selling tickets, so why should I get on board?"
"Since you're not boarding the ship, you want to wait for someone here, right?"
The vicissitudes of life in the middle-aged man asked again, and Xia De shook his head again:
"I actually don't know where this is, or what this place means."
Generally speaking, ordinary people who can survive in such a strange place must have their own stories and pursuits, so Xia De asked:
"Can you tell me about what's going on here?"
There was no sound from the burning bonfire, and the voice of the middle-aged man seemed never to be heard again amid the roar of the waves.
Silence enveloped the two people around the small campfire. Just when Xia De thought that he didn't want to answer and wanted to get up to communicate with the gods on the boat, the middle-aged man spoke again:
“This is the Lost Land - Black Sand Pier.
According to rumors, only those who have lost hope in life or want to completely escape from reality will come here. They will board the ship and be carried to a place where they will never return. "
Xia De raised his head slightly and looked into the depths of the black waters covered by fog. There was no dark moon there:
"Will it lead to death?"
"It's not death, it's a place farther away than death."
The middle-aged man still stared at the flames instead of at Shade:
"I asked the witch to help me find this place. She said that once they were taken away by this ship, they would not be found even in death."
In other words, if you board the ship at the "Black Sand Pier", you will no longer be eligible to reach the end.
"Well, I'm not a nosy person, and I don't like to pry into other people's privacy, but who are you waiting for here?"
"She" laughed in Shad's ear, "ridiculing" Shad's previous explanations.
This time the middle-aged man finally turned to look at Xia De. His tired and cloudy eyes swept over his young and handsome face, confirming that he was in a normal mental state:
"Waiting for my wife, she doesn't want to see me, nor our children. I've been looking for her for years, and I knew she would end up here and on this ship, and I wanted to see her one last time."
Although the middle-aged man did not tell the story of him and his wife, the outsider had already guessed the complicated and tortuous story:
"Shad Hamilton."
He nodded and stretched out his hand. The middle-aged man was a little surprised, but he also stretched out his hand and shook hands with Xia De:
"Frank Nelson. If you got here by mistake, I don't know how to get out of here. Maybe you can ask the boatman over there. He should know something."
Mr. Nelson didn't seem to know that the ferryman on the boat was a god, but Shad thought that his mission this time was to help Mr. Nelson say goodbye to his wife.
He asked the sad man some other questions, and then learned that Mr. Nelson didn't know how long he had been here. He only knew that all the visitors after him came from the direction of the dark town far away from the water, just like Shade.
However, except for Xia De, everyone else went directly to the pier, talked with the boatman for a few words, and then was carried by the boat into the depths of the mist.
As for this bonfire, it also existed before he arrived:
"Perhaps there are other people who came here but did not leave immediately. This flame is the final resting place for those who are determined to leave."
Because Mr. Nelson could not determine the time, he could not say how long it would take for the boat to return once it left. But people would come here during the time when the boat was away, and people would wait on the pier, and a few people would even talk to him.
"So, those who come here are those who want to get away from everything, right?"
"Even if it's not, if you stay here for a long time, you will have that kind of thought."
The middle-aged man with a scruffy beard looked at Xia De:
"If I had not been determined to wait for her, I would have left on the ship long ago. Young man, try to escape as soon as possible, otherwise you will get on that ship sooner or later."
The depressing atmosphere of the scene itself and his low tone made it difficult for even the most cheerful people to feel happy at this moment, so Shade made a little joke:
"Well, now that we have time, do you want to play a game of Rhodes?"
"what?"
"Kidding."
Shad stood up with a little good mood, and Mr. Nelson watched him silently as he walked onto the pier and came to the side of the boat.
We were already above the water, but we still couldn't feel the wind. The old pier that looked shaky was surprisingly stable when we walked on it, and there was no creaking sound.
"Hello."
Xia De bowed respectfully to the tall figure on the boat, and then he realized that the god was not wearing a black robe, but the black mist around him gave the appearance of a black robe.
There was nothing on the ship, and there were no markings on the god. Even because the god had restrained his own power, there was no trace of the "divine afterglow" on Shade's body.
God responded to him:
"Stranger, do you want to leave here by boat?"
The voice was hoarse and slow, and it was as if there was phlegm stuck in the throat, but Shad noticed that he was speaking the Draerion language.
Xia De did not refuse immediately, but asked:
"Where can this ship take me?"
"Anywhere."
The god responded, as if he knew what Shade was asking:
"The boat can ferry you to any time and place you know, even to the river beach illuminated by the dark moon."
This answer was quite unexpected:
"But those mortals who come here."
"You are different from them."
This is true, and Shade looked at the mist in the depths of the water again:
"If I really want to go on a boat, what should I pay for the fare?"
He didn't think it was free.
God answered:
"It depends on when and where you want to go."
"May I know how mortals address you, I understand?"
Xia De asked again, and the hoarse and slow voice under the black robe answered:
"The God of Ferrymen, or the Ferryman in the Narrow Space."
Xia De tried hard to recall and confirmed that he had never heard of the name of this god. So this god was definitely not an evil god. He had at least heard of the names of the evil gods who were still active in the Sixth Era.
"Is this the unknown old god who left in the Fifth Epoch?"
He thought to himself, turned around and wanted to return to the campfire, but asked again:
"Can you please tell me how much you charge for the ferry ride for those mortals who wish to leave forever?"
"Memory, emotion, and the warmth of the soul."
"clear."
Shade thanked him again and returned to the campfire. Then he saw Mr. Nelson looking at him strangely. The area where the pier was located seemed to have a unique "silent" environment. Mr. Nelson, who was outside the pier, probably didn't hear what Shade and the boatman said. He was surprised by another thing:
"You reached the ship, but you weren't taken away by it?"
"Maybe I am happy enough and I don't want to leave without looking back for the time being."
Xia De sat down again, and the weathered middle-aged man nodded gently:
"You look so handsome and energetic, you must be living a happy life, right?"
"Fortunately, I have my own house, a fiancée who loves me very much, a beautiful lover who is willing to spend money on me, a teacher who likes me very much, friends who are willing to help me, and a very cute cat at home."
Dirty Mr. Nelson smiled for the first time:
"So how's your job going?"
"It's not so bad. I am considered a minor noble. I have a job that pays well but doesn't require any actual work. I also have some side jobs that make money."
"You look about 22 or 23 years old. Don't you plan to have children?"
"I haven't considered it yet. I still have a long way to go in the future, and I'm a playboy. There are a few girls around me. I probably can't do it. I also have to consider everyone's thoughts."
[You actually admitted that you were unfaithful? ]
Mr. Nelson hugged his legs with his hands, and nodded slightly with a smile and a little melancholy:
"Since you are living a happy life, you can think about children later. Family harmony is the most important thing. You are still young, and you and the people around you will have a long way to go together in the future. Some people say when they are young that they will love each other until the end of time, but..."
He stopped talking and looked towards the distance on the beach with Shade, because a staggering figure was walking towards them.
(End of this chapter)