Chapter 4 — Arc: Ferryman of the River of the Dead. The Reward

April 22, 2026

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Footnotes

[1][sān tiān liǎng tóu] — literally "three days, two heads," a Chinese idiom meaning "very often" or "constantly."
[2][yīnqì] — Yin energy. In Chinese metaphysics, this is cold, dark energy associated with death, ghosts, and the underworld.
[3][yúlóng hùnzá] — literally "fish and dragons mixed together," an idiom meaning a mixture of good and bad people, or a motley crew.
[4][hóngmáodān] — rambutan, a tropical fruit with a red skin covered in hair-like spikes.
[5]两个尖 [liǎng gè jiān], lit. "two tips" or "two peaks" — In Chinese card game slang, this refers to a pair of Aces (AA). Similarly, Three-K refers to three Kings.
[6][wàiguān] — literally "appearance," but in gaming slang refers to skins or cosmetic items.
[7][gēnchǒng] — a gaming term for a pet that constantly follows the player character.
[8][fùjiā zuòyòng] — literally "additional effects," referring to "buffs" or beneficial stats provided by an item or pet.
[9][1814] — in Chinese culture, this number is considered extremely inauspicious due to phonetic puns. The number "4" (sì) is a homophone for "death" (sǐ). Furthermore, in room or phone numbers, "1" is often pronounced as yāo, which makes "14" (yāo sì) sound nearly identical to "must die" (yào sǐ). When combined with the "18th floor" — a reference to the 18 Levels of Hell in Chinese mythology — the number 1814 carries a heavy connotation of "certain death" or "dying in the depths of hell.”