"I'm He Kuidong, the guy who left you a phone number, the one who retrieves bodies. I'm currently about four miles away from the bridge where you are. If you want to find your daughter, follow my instructions. Head to the bank near my boat." My dad instructed the deceased girl's father over the phone.

"I—I'm on my way!" The father of the deceased replied on the phone, sounding shaken, and then hung up.

"Ten thousand is not bad at all. At least you can use it for the dowry when you get married. The house can be sorted out later." My dad, having shared this sentiment with me, sat down, pulled out a box of cheap cigarettes from his pocket, lit one up, and took a drag.

While my dad was smoking on the boat, I stood at the bow, gazing at the river. I pondered over the beauty of the world, wondering what could have driven the girl to such desperation. As the saying goes, "It's better to live well than to die." I, for one, couldn't fathom choosing suicide.

While looking at the river, I suddenly noticed three black figures moving in the water near our boat. These dark shadows appeared peculiarly human. It brought to mind the stories my grandfather used to tell me, stories of souls meeting an accidental demise in the water, unable to be reborn. These souls would linger in the water, pulling living people underwater to take their place, and they were known as water ghosts.

"Dad, dad, dad, water, water, water ghosts!" I pointed at the three black figures in the water, shouting nervously to my dad. My face had turned green, and my hands and feet were trembling. Despite being in the body retrieval business for five or six years with my dad, I had never encountered water ghosts.

My dad, upon hearing my words, stood up and scanned the area around our boat. However, the three black figures had already disappeared.

"What's with you? Where are these water ghosts? Did your eyes play tricks on you?" My dad saw nothing. The three black figures that were there before were now gone.

"Dad, I really saw them!" I spat out my words, my hands sweaty, and my scalp tingling.

About ten minutes later, the father of the deceased arrived at the riverside opposite us in his car. He proactively called my dad. Shortly after his arrival, some onlookers, including cyclists, electric scooter riders, motorcyclists, and drivers, followed him.

"Now, kneel down, facing the river, and call out your daughter's name, tell her to come home!" My dad answered the call from the deceased father and issued this command.

"Jiang Qinyu, come home..." Following my dad's instructions, the father of the deceased knelt by the river, screaming his daughter's name repeatedly with all his might.

Hearing the grief-stricken cries of the deceased's father, I, too, felt a heavy heart.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

As the father cried out his daughter's name, my dad and I looked around the river, searching for the girl's body.

After about two minutes, about seven or eight meters to the left of the bow, there were bubbles emerging. My dad, seeing the bubbles, grinned.

My dad rowed the boat slowly towards the bubbling water. As we approached, I saw a female corpse rising from the river bottom. Unlike a normal floating body—either facing up or facing down—this body stood upright in the water. Only a strand of hair floated on the surface, creating the illusion of a leisurely stroll in the water. I stared at this standing female corpse, a chilling breeze running down my spine, and my scalp tingling once again.

Seeing the girl's body, my dad grinned and commented, "This one hundred and fifty thousand is ours." To him, it wasn't just a corpse; it was a pile of money.

"Dad, grandpa used to say that an upright corpse in the water signifies bad luck; it means the deceased is unwilling to leave. We shouldn't retrieve such a body; we should stay away, or misfortune will follow. Better to avoid it, or it could lead to serious illness or even loss of life. Let's not earn this money!" I turned to my dad, almost on the verge of tears, expressing my fear.

"Your grandpa's words are nothing but superstitious nonsense. It's just a corpse, nothing to be afraid of. Take this pole, hook the body, and tie the rope around its wrist. We'll take the body to ask for money. In this day and age, money is more important than anything else. What's the point of living without it?" My dad excitedly replied, seeing this as a financial opportunity. To him, it was not a corpse but a pile of RMB.

"Dad, I feel something is wrong. My right eyelid has been twitching since this morning; I have a bad feeling. If we retrieve this body, something bad will happen. Let's not do it!" I turned again to advise my dad, genuine fear in my eyes.

"You're useless. Come here and help me pull the body. I'll tie her up." My dad scolded me, dismissing my concerns.

Reluctantly, I stood up, took the pole from my dad, and pulled the body.

My dad, leaning over the boat's side to grab the girl's arm, triggered beads of sweat on my forehead. I was worried he might have an accident, being pulled into the water by something strange.

My worries seemed unfounded as my dad successfully pulled the girl's arm out of the water. He carefully hooked the girl's clothes with the pole, pulling her to the right side of the boat. My dad was cautious, fearing damage to the body, and wanted to give a satisfactory explanation to the deceased's family.

As the body approached our wooden boat, I felt a cold wind blowing from it, giving me goosebumps.

"Dad, there's something in the water grabbing my wrist. We really shouldn't retrieve this body; it's dangerous!" I spoke up again.

"You're just seeing things. Come over and help me tie her up." My dad dismissed my concerns, his focus solely on the potential reward.

I reluctantly stood up and took the pole from my dad, assisting in tying the girl's wrist.

My dad didn't start the diesel engine at the back of the boat. Instead, he used oars to paddle the boat towards the father of the deceased on the shore.

"Boss, we found your daughter!" My dad shouted towards the father as the boat approached the shore.

Upon hearing that we had found his daughter's body, the father sat down and wailed in sorrow. The deceased's mother fainted on the spot. The onlookers, who had followed, couldn't hold back their tears upon witnessing the plight of this grieving couple.

Some of the spectators, seeing the mother faint, took out their phones and dialed 120 for emergency assistance.

The Blue Sky Rescue Team, upon learning that we had retrieved the girl's body, ceased their retrieval work and joined us on the shore. The body of the taxi driver that they had recovered earlier had already been taken away by the funeral home's hearse.

"Boss, you promised before that whoever helped you retrieve your daughter would be rewarded with a hundred