A pale, crescent moon hung high in the heavens, its surface ghastly white, like the face of a skeletal skull.
A great river surged and roiled through the strange space beneath that dismal moon. None knew its source, nor where it was bound. The water was turbulent and dark, with ghostly shadows riding the waves and demonic corpses drifting in the depths.
A small boat moved silently across the dark river. Standing upon it were three figures: a refined and relaxed scholar in green robes, a delicate young girl wrapped in fox fur, and a ferryman clad in a straw raincoat and conical hat.
Chapter 73