Although Gui Heng was praised by him, he couldn't feel happy for some reason, always feeling as if he had been walking along just fine and was suddenly kicked.

Wei Ming turned and walked upstairs, "This ship has no markings, inside or out, and not a single object that could reveal its origin can be found. At first, I thought it was due to being plundered, but now it seems I was likely biased by my preconceptions."

Gui Heng asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"It means this ship might actually be a 'ghost ship'," Wei Ming said. "Coastal prefectures and counties sometimes have rumors about 'ghost ships', referring to merchant ships with no names or markings that travel between nations like ghosts, conducting shady business, such as smuggling gold, silver, weapons, salt, and iron, or trafficking women and people."

"Don't the authorities do anything about it?" Gui Heng asked. "They come and go on the seas, why don't pirates rob them?"

As a deity who resides high above the Ninth Heaven, Gui Heng naturally had a perspective of looking down upon all living beings. Sometimes, his insight was so sharp he could even see past blind spots before Wei Ming. But at other times, his lack of common sense made him seem out of touch with the mortal world, like the kind of fool who would say, "Why not eat minced meat?"

Wei Ming stopped in his tracks helplessly and said with a wry smile, "Immortal Lord, can't you guess? Without the tacit approval of the government, how could they get their hands on government-monopolized salt and iron? Without their smuggling, where would the pirates get the weapons for their rebellions?"

“...”

Gui Heng muttered, "Mortals are too terrifying... Then, according to His Highness's theory, are the Liang Continent officials also involved?"

"Just based on one stranded ship, we can't conclude that Liang Continent officials are involved," Wei Ming said. "Right now, there are two leads in this case. One is the identity of the corpses on the ship, including the ship's origin. If our deduction is correct, and those bodies are not people of Great Zhou but foreigners, I'm afraid it will be very difficult to investigate further, and pursuing their cause of death will also be fraught with difficulties. This lead is basically a dead end."

"The second is the cause of death for Tian Youyu and the others. We've already caught hold of a thread. Following it might not necessarily yield results, but it will definitely startle the monster at the center of this spiderweb."

"As long as it can't hold back and makes a move, our chance will come."

That night.

An eerie wind blew through the charity morgue. Two figures vaulted over the courtyard wall, landing lightly and silently. One of them struck a flint striker in his hand. By the faint, flickering light, the two familiarly made their way into the wing-room where the bodies were kept.

A pair of hands gently pulled back the white cloth covering Tian Youyu's body. The other person stood watch at the door, casually placed a restrictive spell, and only then dared to complain aloud: "I say, Your Highness, did we really have to come to such a gloomy place in the middle of the night?"

The flint striker moved to the oil lamp on the table, and the light flared up. It was Wei Ming, dressed in tight-fitting black clothes. "Nonsense. Are you going to cast a spell on a corpse in broad daylight in front of so many mortals?"

Gui Heng straightened his clothes and said with the air of a true deity, "Let me be clear first. After a person dies, their three hun and seven po souls leave the body. The hun souls go to the Underworld to await reincarnation, while memories return to heaven and earth, becoming part of the Heavenly Dao. He's been dead for several days. Even with the Reappearance Technique, there's no guarantee his memories remain in his body."

Wei Ming said, "It's fine, let's try it first. Something is better than nothing."

Gui Heng said, "Then, Your Highness, first move aside, stay far away from me... And don't stand opposite me!"

Wei Ming was driven a good distance away by him and asked in confusion, "Do you need to make such a big fuss just to cast a spell? Is the spell particularly complex, or are you just not skilled enough?"

Gui Heng said angrily, "There's no problem with my skill! But can you not stand there and stare at me? It'll affect my performance!"

Wei Ming: "..."

This rebellious child is truly hopeless.

Gui Heng held his breath, his hands moving extremely fast to form a complex incantation seal. A ball of green light condensed in his palm and flew to a spot directly above Tian Youyu's forehead. A faint halo enveloped every inch of his flesh and bone, summoning wisps of fine threads tinged with black and purple qi. As if they were alive, they were all drawn in, swaying as they flew into the ball of light.

As more threads were infused, the green light was gradually dyed with other colors. It stretched and transformed in mid-air, morphing into a giant mirror of light. The black qi condensed and scattered within the mirror, thickening and fading, finally presenting a vivid and lifelike image as if it were real.

Gui Heng wiped a nonexistent bead of sweat from his forehead, secretly let out a sigh of relief, and said, feigning nonchalance, "We're rather lucky. His memories haven't completely dissipated."

Wei Ming just smiled without a word and gave him a round of applause.

The mirror reflected a city full of lanterns, the common people bustling as they crowded around to launch flower boats into the water. It was precisely the night of the Zhongyuan Festival they were looking for.

Outside the mirror, Wei Ming and Gui Heng, with indescribably complex feelings, watched alongside the people in the mirror from three months ago, as a dozen huge, bright flames floated downstream and into the distant sky, until their light was swallowed by the pitch-black horizon.

After watching the flower boats being launched, most people went home. Only a dozen or so scattered people remained on the beach to clean up. They were yawning endlessly, their eyes hazy with sleep, when Tian Youyu suddenly pointed into the distance and said, "What's that?"

A few people looked in the direction he was pointing and laughed mockingly, "Old Tian, you're so tired your eyes are playing tricks on you! What else could it be? A flower boat, of course!"

Tian Youyu rubbed his eyes and stared hard for a while. He said doubtfully, "No, that light looks strangely eerie. What flower boat has that color? It looks like a big ship to me."

A chill ran down everyone's spines at his words. Cursing loudly, they pushed and shoved each other as they waded into the sea. After a moment, they indeed saw the dark silhouette of a large ship appear on the sea's surface. Strangely, the ship was pitch-black all over. There were no lights or voices from the cabins, and not a soul could be seen on deck. Only a single, will-o'-the-wisp-like, faintly green lantern hung from the mast. When the waves pushed the ship to shore, an eerie wind blew from nowhere and with a "whoosh," it blew out that lone light.

The group of men looked at each other, their hearts pounding. They gathered to discuss. Tian Youyu said in a low voice, "Today is Zhongyuan. I hope we haven't run into something unlucky. Why don't we leave it stranded here for now and report it to the authorities tomorrow, let them send bailiffs to investigate."

But another person said, "This ship has no flag or markings, and it's been damaged by the wind and waves. Perhaps it's a defeated ship abandoned at sea by government troops after wiping out some pirates. There might be some valuables inside. Since we're the ones who've stumbled upon it, it must be a fortuitous opportunity granted by our ancestors. How can we just hand it over to the bailiffs?"

These men all made a living by fishing or doing odd jobs. Their families could barely make ends meet. Hearing this, who wouldn't be tempted? So they summoned their courage, bowed three times to the large ship, lit a few lanterns, and climbed over the gunwale onto the deck.

The ship was pitch-dark, like the gaping mouth of a giant deep-sea fish. The men held up their lanterns and cautiously felt their way forward. They entered the passenger cabins in turn. Seeing three or four rooms on either side, they split up and pushed open the doors.

The room Tian Youyu entered was exquisitely and opulently furnished. On the desk was a book, left half-open. He was illiterate, and a quick glance only told him that the writing was not from Great Zhou. Outside the mirror, however, Wei Ming's brow twitched. He said softly, "It's the script of Qiyun."

There were no signs of an attack on the ship. It was as if its master had just stepped out for a moment and never returned. Tian Youyu didn't dare to move things around recklessly. He only opened a few chests and cabinets, finding things like paper, brushes, and books, but no gold, silver, or valuables. After all, he had the guilty conscience of a thief. The longer he stayed, the more unnerved he became. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Something's wrong, something is wrong with this ghostly place, I should leave quickly!"

He closed the cabinet door and was about to leave when he suddenly heard another companion shout from outside, "Found something!"

Tian Youyu hurriedly pushed the door open and went out. He saw the man running frantically from the other end of the corridor, holding up an exquisitely made black wooden box. "Everyone, come and look!"

The fishermen gathered their lanterns, illuminating the area between them brightly. The man held a bronze candlestick in his hand and smashed open the small lock on top with a few blows. By the lamplight, he gently lifted the lid.

In that instant, a brilliant light shone forth. Everyone's vision blurred, dazzled by the sight. When they focused their eyes, they saw it was a box full of pearls the size of a thumb's pulp, and a stack of gold coins a full three inches in diameter!

"We're rich..."

"We're completely rich now!"

In an instant, be it demons, ghosts, the Sea God, or their ancestors, all had to make way for real gold and silver. Even Tian Youyu's calves stopped trembling. With a shaking hand, he grabbed a pearl and rubbed it hard in his palm, his voice already tinged with tears: "We did the right thing coming here, we really did!"

The man casually swiped the pearl from his hand, grinned at him, a grin filled with an indescribable madness. "Go and search! Don't miss a single room, rummage through everything carefully!"

"First come, first served! Whoever finds it, gets to keep it! Take as much as you can carry! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Bronze censers, embroidered quilts, fine porcelain cups... all were now haphazardly overturned onto the floor. With the precedent of that box of pearls and gold, Tian Youyu no longer paid any mind to these trivial things. He put all his effort into searching chests and hidden compartments, tossing aside the entire bedding, and carefully knocked on every bed plank. He actually managed to find a loose wooden board at the head of the bed.

Inside the hidden compartment were a few scattered silver notes. What was most eye-catching was a red lacquered box. Its four corners were wrapped with copper flowers, the sides were inlaid with intricate patterns of mother-of-pearl, and the top was carved from a single round piece of green jade into the shape of a flying bird.

Outside the mirror, Wei Ming and Gui Heng slapped their palms at the same time, "So it was this!"

It was the very pattern they had seen on Tian Youyu's body during the day!

Tian Youyu had never seen any rare treasures and didn't even know how to open the box. But he knew it must be something good. So he tore off a piece of the curtain, wrapped the box up whole, and stuffed the bulky package into his robes.

After more than an hour, everyone gathered on the deck again. Each of them was covered in sweat, the glint in their eyes unnervingly bright. Someone suggested, "We should go now. If we're discovered, it won't be good."

But Tian Youyu said, "Hold on. This upper level belongs to the passengers. There should be a cargo hold below. Should we go take a look?"

If this ship had truly belonged to pillaging pirates, then the cargo hold below must hide even more treasure. The things they had now were enough to keep them fed and clothed for decades without worry. But if they could really obtain the pirates' treasure, then they could completely turn their lives around. Even their descendants would benefit endlessly.

The men looked at each other. Their heads were already dizzy with excitement, and their courage swelled along with it. Not only did they no longer think it was a gloomy ghost ship, they even felt it was radiating a golden light.

They felt their way to the entrance of the cargo hold. A heavy wooden door was wrapped haphazardly with several iron chains, with a heavy brass lock hanging from the end. Seeing it so heavily guarded, their anticipation grew even higher. They didn't have the patience to look for a key. They pulled an axe directly from a pile of junk, swung it, and began hacking away with a series of "thuds"!

With a "clang," the chain broke.

Tian Youyu stepped forward, his fingers gripping the handle tightly. He swallowed nervously, looked around, and said in a deep voice, "I'm opening it."

The door opened outward and wasn't hard to pull open. He even felt that he hadn't used much strength. With just a light pull, the door slid open with a force of its own.

The door panel brushed past the tip of his nose, and then something half-soft, half-hard slammed onto the top of his foot with a "thud".

Tian Youyu looked down and met a deathly pale face staring straight at him.

"Help... help..."

He heard his companion's teeth chattering. He looked up, and by the time he realized what he was facing, it was too late to turn and run, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

An entire ship's hold, filled with corpses whose faces were lifelike and whose eyes were wide open, yet who had not a single breath of life in them.

"Ah————"

A blood-curdling scream echoed across the late-night sea.

Author's Note:

Wei Ming, a fatherly figure who doesn't forget to check his kid's homework even while investigating a case.