Riverkeeper

The river has been flowing for thousands of years, hiding all life and death in the world, as well as all evil and strange things. The world only knows that there are boats, fishing, and waves on the river, but they don't know that there are corpses, resentments, taboos, and lonely souls that refuse to be buried at the bottom of the river. My name is Chen Yan. I live in an old town by the river. I have guarded the river for three generations. I neither fish nor hunt, do business or work. I only do one thing - Defend the river, retrieve corpses, send souls, and settle grievances. Others call us corpse collectors, water ghosts, and ominous people. But they don't know that what we are guarding is not corpses, but human hearts; what we are looking for is not souls, but peace in the world. My grandfather was the last river guard. He died in the river on a rainy night, leaving only half a copy of "River Regulations", a copper bell, and a last word: "If you can't help but touch the things in the river, don't touch them; if you really want to touch them, you'll risk your life." I originally wanted to live a stable life, away from strange things, but when I was eighteen years old, a female corpse in a red coffin floated in the river. From then on, I was involved in a riverside mystery that spanned thirty years. The ghost sedan chair sinking into the river, the water ghost crying at night, the soul-locking iron chain, the dark soldiers taking advantage of the passage, the ghost marriage, the water monkey, the ancient tomb at the bottom of the river, the century-old corpse, the lost forbidden technique, the family curse... One by one, one by one, they emerged from the bottom of the river, forcing me to pick up my grandfather's corpse hook, put on my black water jacket, and step into the rolling river. I have seen paper lantern boats floating on the river late at night, I have seen the faceless corpse crawling out of the river on a full moon night, I have seen a living person being dragged into the water by a river ghost, leaving only a strand of hair. I have seen a thousand-year-old ghost town hiding under the calm river surface. Someone asked me if I was afraid. I'm afraid. But I can't retreat.