There is a small river next to the small village in my hometown. The weeds on the shore can be taller than people, swaying with the wind in the dark night, it is very scary.

On this day, there was an emergency at home calling him back to his hometown. He didn’t want to wait for a moment. He caught a glimpse of a small boat on the wooden pier not far away and hurriedly greeted the boatman to ferry across the river. The boatman’s price is not high, but one condition is that he cannot look into the river when crossing the river. He was eager to return home and agreed.

As the boat walked halfway, he always felt something drifting under the water, reflecting a little sparkle. He saw the boatman paddling in front of him. Without paying attention to him, he couldn’t restrain his curiosity and looked towards the bottom of the river. Pale human faces lined the bottom of the ship’s gunwale with staring eyes, and he sat on the ship board with fright. The boatman yelled that he was not keeping his promises and dragged the two into danger. After all, the boatman knelt beside the boat, holding up the river water and rubbing it on his face and body with lightning speed.
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After his repeated begging, the boatman told him the whole story. Those human faces are the souls drowned in the river, waiting for the living people to cross the river and drag them into the water as substitutes. However, two conditions are needed to pull a person to be a stand-in. The first is that a living person needs to see his face or have contact.

So many water ghosts will float by the ferry boat in groups, tempting people to look under the water. There are also some water ghosts who can get out of the water after cultivation, and become drowning children or gorgeous women, and add various lies and scams to contact each other and obtain substitutes when passers-by are saving and approaching.

The boatman immediately explained the solution. Because the water ghosts were killed in the river, they were all infected with the smell of the river water, so he poured the river water on him and made the water ghosts think he was flooded. Dead companion, let him cross the river.

He hurriedly climbed the ship’s side, holding water too. The boatman immediately stopped, saying that the speed must be fast, otherwise the unjust souls under the water will take the opportunity to drag people into the river. After hearing this, he made a plan, took off his jacket and dipped one end into the river, then pulled up and screwed the water on his body, and suddenly his whole body was stained with the smell of river water. Sure enough, all the human faces receded, and the ship reached the other side safely.

After going ashore, he gave the boatman some more money as a thank you for saving his life, and then asked afterwards: “The water ghost is looking for a substitute. What is the second requirement?”


“The second condition is that the person involved must be covered in river water so that the two can come into contact. In addition, the water ghost must make up all kinds of lies in order to find a substitute.” The boatman said, and took off his head. Under the cap is a face that has been soaked and rotted for a long time.