After the banquet ended, Zhao Tingying led a group of officials and took his leave. Wei Ming and his party stayed at the Prefect's Manor, which Fang Tianchong had specially cleared out for them. After bathing, Wei Ming sat under the lamp and carefully went over his conversation with Zhao Tingying at the banquet tonight, feeling as if he had overlooked something. Just as he was pondering, Gui Heng knocked lightly on the door twice from outside, reminding him, "His Highness, the night is late. You should be sleeping."

Wei Ming said in surprise, "Why are you so considerate today? Do you become more sensible just by being away from home?"

Gui Heng: "..."

He rolled his eyes dramatically and said in a strange, sarcastic tone, "Why must Your Highness ask when you already know the answer? It's fine if you don't sleep. Later, if a certain someone asks, I'll just say that while Your Highness was away, you tossed and turned every day pining for him, spending long, lonely nights unable to sleep..."

Wei Ming got a headache from his nagging and had no choice but to get up, prepare to extinguish the lamp, and go to bed. He said casually, "I know, I know. Anyway, you immortals don't need to sleep. We mortals will just..."

His voice came to an abrupt halt. Gui Heng waited for a long time but heard nothing more. In an instant, a thousand ominous thoughts flashed through his mind. 'Don't tell me he's been snatched by a demon,' he thought, reaching out to push the door. "His Highness!"

The door was suddenly pulled open from the inside without any warning. Gui Heng lunged at empty air, his body stumbling forward. He nearly fell right on top of Wei Ming, saying blankly and confusedly, "His Highness?"

Wei Ming, completely unaware of the tempest raging in Gui Heng's heart, said quickly, "I remember what was wrong."

Gui Heng: "Huh?"

Wei Ming said, "Zhao Tingying said they couldn't find a cause of death for the bodies on the ship, so they speculated it was a demon devouring people. As for those fishermen who drowned, because they were connected to this incident and seemed to be possessed, the authorities believed that, like the people on the ship, they also died from a curse."

Gui Heng said, "That's right."

"That's not right." Wei Ming said, "Just as you said earlier, immortals don't need to sleep, only mortals do."

Gui Heng was completely bewildered. "When did I say that? You're the one who said it..."

"This case is the same," Wei Ming completely ignored his weak protest, his voice growing heavier. "To take a mortal's life without a trace, only a demon could do such a thing. But since it can kill invisibly, why would it go to the extra trouble of driving the fishermen mad before drowning them?"

Gui Heng was stunned for a moment, then it dawned on him. "His Highness means... the deaths of the fishermen and the bodies on the ghost ship weren't caused by the same culprit? A demon kills without leaving a trace, so conversely, the one who left traces could be a human..."

Wei Ming clapped him heavily on the shoulder, a smile of relief on his face as he nodded. "Exactly."

"I'm begging you, Your Highness, please stop smiling." Gui Heng was so creeped out by his smile that he spun him around and decisively shoved him back into the room, closing the door. "Talking about this stuff late at night instead of sleeping, aren't you scared at all!"

The next morning, they went to the public morgue accompanied by Zhao Tingying, the Liangzhou Judicial Officer, the coroner, and others. Fortunately, the weather had turned cooler, and the bodies had not yet decomposed. Wei Ming was currently in a state of extreme curiosity. He asked for a cloth to cover his mouth and nose, picked up a pair of tongs, and began to personally examine the bodies, completely forgetting his noble status as a member of the imperial family, leaving Zhao Tingying and the others stunned.

His Highness, Prince Duan, led by example, so those under him had no choice but to brace themselves and follow suit. He Guan and Shen Yunshan were both talented young men from official families, young masters whose hands had never touched menial work. Although their job was to investigate and solve cases, they usually just sat in the government office reading case files. It was their first time setting foot in such a gloomy place, coming face-to-face with two rows of ghastly pale corpses. They wished they could shrink down to three inches tall on the spot and hide in the pockets of His Highness, Prince Duan, one on each side.

He Guan still hesitantly tried to dissuade Wei Ming, "Prince, why don't we let the coroner do it..."

Hearing his weak and trembling voice, Wei Ming, despite being busy, shifted aside to reveal the bloated, pale white corpse on the slab with its wide-open, dilated eyes. He even thoughtfully took a moment to comfort him with his courtesy name, "Jialiang, you don't need to worry. It's broad daylight, and with so many people here, even if there are ghosts, they wouldn't dare to come out and harm anyone. If you're really scared, go find Gui Heng and have him draw a talisman for you to wear to ward off evil and calm your nerves."

He Guan: "Ugh..."

Gui Heng: "Don't throw this on me! I can't draw talismans... When did I ever learn to draw talismans? Lord He, let go of me first. Lord Shen, could you please move aside a little, you're stepping on my foot... Lord Zhao, it's already crowded, don't come any closer!"

They were clearly treating Gui Heng like a house-guarding divine beast, all clinging to his side and refusing to move. Gui Heng, a perfectly fine immortal, was being dragged around by mortals to the point he couldn't walk. He was utterly exasperated and about to lose his temper when he suddenly heard Wei Ming say, "Come look."

At this moment, His Highness, Prince Duan, had ascended to a height unattainable by mortals in their hearts. No one dared to disobey his words, but the few of them were truly timid. They could only huddle together, shuffling forward one step at a time. Just as they mustered up their courage, they saw Wei Ming suddenly hold up a pale, cold, dead hand.

Everyone: "Waaahhhh—"

Wei Ming said, "Isn't it obvious?"

Shen Yunshan: "What-what's obvious?"

Wei Ming said helplessly, "I don't see what you're all 'waah'-ing about. I mean, look at the hand. There's mud in his fingernails."

He Guan fought back his nausea and said, trembling, "But for farmers and fishermen, isn't it normal to have mud on their hands?"

"It is normal, but don't forget: they weren't out working, and they had been soaked in seawater for half the night." Wei Ming walked around the slab and held up another person's hand. "Everyone else is more or less like this one. Their hands were soaked in water for too long, so their fingernails have basically been washed clean, with at most a little sand."

"Only his hands, for some unknown reason, were not soaked in the water for a long time, so the dirt in his fingernails was preserved. And look, he has mud on every finger. Is it possible that he dug something before he died?"

He Guan and Shen Yunshan both fell silent. Only Zhao Tingying was still asking sincerely, "What did he dig?"

"I don't know, but I think it's related to his death." Wei Ming said, "Judicial Officer Cao, what is this man's name?"

Liangzhou's Judicial Officer, Cao Gong, quickly flipped through the case file. "Replying to the Prince, this man is named Tian Youyu. He lived in Yellow Fish Well Lane in Xingye Ward of Liangzhou City. His wife is Lady Qian, and they have two daughters. His family wasn't well-off; their house was rented. His old home was in Datangzi Village in Yulong County. That place was once attacked by pirates, and the entire village was burned down. Tian Youyu thus moved his whole family to the city, making a living by catching and selling fish."

Wei Ming nodded and fell into silent contemplation. Just then, the coroner at the side suddenly said, "Prince, there is one other difference with this corpse."

Wei Ming said, "How so?"

The coroner stepped forward and lifted Tian Youyu's sleeve, pointing to a mark on the inside of his elbow that had almost disappeared. He said to Wei Ming, "When the body was first brought in, there was a large bruise here. You could faintly see some patterns, as if he had been holding something like a chest, and the pattern was imprinted on his arm."

Wei Ming immediately asked, "What did the pattern look like? Did you make a rubbing of it?"

The coroner hurriedly took a piece of paper from his small bag and said, "This humble one drew it. Please take a look, Prince."

Wei Ming took it, and the people beside him all craned their necks to get a look. They looked at it from every angle but couldn't make heads or tails of it. "Is this a pattern?"

"It looks like a curved blade?"

"But whose curved blade would have so many patterns? I think it looks like a kitchen knife."

"Could it be a moon? A wolf's fang? A cow's horn?"

Among them, only Shen Yunshan had formally studied painting. He said hesitantly, "I think it looks like half of a bird..."

Wei Ming slapped the paper against his chest. "Good, it's you then. Baiyue, Jialiang, for the next few days, you two will split up and investigate the homes of these fishermen. Find out if there was anything unusual about them before and after the incident, where they usually went, and while you're at it, see if you can figure out what this pattern is."

He Guan and Shen Yunshan said in unison, "As you command."

"Gui Heng, come with me," Wei Ming said. "The rest of you don't need to follow. This Prince is going to the seaside to take a look at that ghost ship."

Zhao Tingying hurried forward. "This subordinate will accompany the Prince."

But Wei Ming just smiled and politely refused, "Lord Zhao is the parent official of a prefecture. It's not appropriate to have you always running around with us. Besides, Liangzhou is under the jurisdiction of Governor-General Fang. It's very safe; nothing will go wrong."

Zhao Tingying stammered, "But, but..."

Wei Ming smiled. "But what?"

Zhao Tingying hesitated. "The area around the ghost ship is guarded by Governor-General Fang's personal guards. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to approach. This subordinate is just afraid that they won't know His Highness has come in person and might offend you..."

Wei Ming said, "That's simple too. Lord Zhao, write a letter, send a yamen runner to lead the way, and this Prince will bring it to the soldiers on guard. They will know as soon as they see it."

Zhao Tingying said, "This..."

"Is there anything else troubling Lord Zhao?" Wei Ming asked patiently, yet with a sense of pressure. "Are you afraid that Governor-General Fang's personal guards won't recognize your letter and won't listen to the Liangzhou Prefecture's orders? Or does Lord Zhao have a reason why he must follow this Prince closely at all times, without leaving my side for a single step?"

On such a cold day, Zhao Tingying was so pressured by the questioning that he broke out in a sweat. He quickly said, "I wouldn't dare," and ordered someone to bring a brush and paper. He wrote a personal letter, affixed his seal, and presented it to Gui Heng with both hands. Only then was Wei Ming satisfied. He said, "Let's go," and left in a grand manner with his men.

From Liangzhou City to the seaside was only a journey of about half an hour on horseback. From a distance, they could see the large ship run aground on the coast, with five or six soldiers taking turns to guard it. Wei Ming observed with a cool gaze. These personal guards were all lean and valiant, their movements carrying a grim, murderous air. It was clear they had been seasoned by the battlefield.

It was said that those who came from the battlefield carried a malevolent aura that demons and ghosts dared not approach. Who knew if Fang Tianchong had chosen these men to guard the ghost ship specifically for this reason.

The yamen runner leading the way handed Zhao Tingying's letter to the personal guards. As expected, they didn't say much and set up a ladder to let them in.

Wei Ming carefully inspected every room in the passenger cabins before heading down to the cargo hold. The bodies that had been piled up here had long since been removed and buried, but a lingering, sinister chill still hung in the air of the hold.

"A total of over thirty bodies were found in this room," Wei Ming said, walking a circuit around the edge of the dim room, measuring the area with his steps. "To fit so many people in such a small space, and with an iron lock on the door to prevent them from leaving... it's clear these people had a very low status. Were they prisoners?"

Gui Heng guessed, "Could they have been kidnapped by pirates who were planning to demand ransom from their families?"

"If they were kidnapped for ransom, their identities shouldn't be unrecognizable." Wei Ming said, "I've also seen the portraits Zhao Tingying had drawn. They are quite lifelike and not deliberately distorted. It's been almost three months since this case occurred. Forget Liangzhou City, news of it has probably spread through half of the Great Zhou Dynasty, yet no one has recognized the identity of a single one of them. This is too strange."

But Gui Heng said, "It's not strange at all."

Wei Ming: "Hm?"

Gui Heng said, "If people from our own country can't recognize them, then it just means they're foreigners. What's so strange about that?"

"..."

"I originally thought that bringing you along was more or less like bringing a mascot, good enough to place by the door to ward off evil." Wei Ming pressed on his shoulder and sighed with great solemnity, "I never expected that at the critical moment, I'd still have to rely on an immortal to work a miracle!"