That scream startled not only the people experiencing it firsthand, but even the two outside the mirror. It was followed by an extremely blurry and chaotic image. Gui Heng frowned and said, “What is this mess?”

Wei Ming said, “He must have been scared out of his wits, only focused on escaping for his life, and remembers nothing.”

When his vision returned to normal, the fishermen had already fled the ghost ship. Several of them sat panting on the sandy beach. The cold wind blew against their hot sweat, making them shiver as if they had a chill. Someone sneezed and asked in a muffled voice, “What do we do? Should we report it to the authorities?”

“Report it. We must report it,” another person said. “Such a huge ship is docked here, it’s not like it will grow legs and run away. If someone discovers it tomorrow and the authorities come to investigate, won’t the investigation lead right to us?”

Another person said, “But if we report it now, aren’t we just turning ourselves in for questioning? The treasures we worked so hard to find will surely be confiscated by the authorities. Then what was all this fright and exhaustion for tonight?”

At these words, everyone fell silent. Still shaken, Tian Youyu hugged the box in his arms tightly, staring blankly at his mud-caked shoes for a moment before suddenly saying, “I have an idea.”

“Let’s not take these treasures home. First, let’s find a place to bury them. Then we’ll report it to the authorities, and when we do, we’ll pretend to be crazy, acting as if we were scared witless by ghosts. Don't answer any questions they ask.”

“No one knows what the ship was originally like. When they see the ransacked cabin and all the dead bodies below, they’ll just assume the ship ran into pirates. Even if the authorities suspect us, they won’t find anything of value in our homes, so they can’t do anything to us.”

“Once the heat dies down, we can go back to the hiding spot and dig up the money and valuables. Then we can row our boats to another region or an island and hide out for a few years, and the money will be completely ours... What do you all think?”

After pondering it over, everyone agreed that his method might actually work. They immediately took action, running to a deserted cliff by the sea. Together, they dug a pit and buried the gold and silver they had plundered from the ship. They then carefully planned their act of feigned madness and what to say, agreeing to return to dig up the treasure together after the storm had passed.

Watching this, Wei Ming sighed inwardly, having roughly understood where Tian Youyu’s problem lay. While the fishermen’s greed was unjust, the plan they came up with on the spot was indeed rather quick-witted. If they could have remained patient, or if the local officials had been a bit more muddle-headed, they might have actually been able to pull the wool over everyone's eyes and get away with it.

The mirror flashed through Tian Youyu’s memories of feigning insanity day after day, while in reality, he was straining his ears for news from the outside. During this time, yamen runners had searched his home, and officials from both Liang Continent and the Ministry of Justice had interrogated him, but he had managed to deal with them all with his crazed act and nonsensical babbling. As three months passed, the rumors caused by the ghost ship gradually died down, and the government office no longer sent people to his door. Tian Youyu could finally breathe a small sigh of relief.

But just when he thought he was safe, a heavy rain suddenly began to fall one day. Hiding at the base of his courtyard wall, he suddenly heard two men talking amidst the sound of the pouring rain outside.

“...No need to keep staking out the Tian family. I hear the one over there has already confessed...”

“Confessed? Was it really them?”

“Absolutely. They’re the ones who stole the goods, they just hid them. You know that Wang Xiaoluo who always hangs around with Tian Youyu and the others? The scoundrel couldn’t keep his composure and let it slip to his wife. Our men on stakeout heard it, and he’s already been arrested and sent for interrogation.”

“Then where on earth did they hide the things?”

“We don’t know yet. The Judicial Officer has been called back to interrogate him. As long as we can make Wang Xiaoluo talk, how could we fail to find out?”

“True. Let’s get going then...”

Tian Youyu’s heart pounded violently twice. For an instant, all the blood in his body rushed to the top of his head, only to plummet into a bottomless abyss. He nearly suffocated himself before finally releasing the hand covering his mouth and nose, panting rapidly as he stared at his rough, scar-covered palm.

A moment later, he abruptly stood up from the base of the wall and rushed out into the heavy rain.

Fortunately, due to the downpour, the streets were empty, and no one noticed him. Tian Youyu ran all the way to the cliff in one breath. He stumbled and fell to his knees at the spot they had marked, moved aside the rock on top, and began to dig into the mud with his bare hands.

Soon, his fingertips touched the soft cloth of the outer wrapping. Tian Youyu hastily tore open the bundle, stuffed his red box into his robes, and then, gritting his teeth, he pulled the entire bundle out of the ground, intending to make a desperate gamble and hide it in a different location before the soldiers arrived.

But as he turned around, the sharp, gleaming blade of a knife was pressed against his throat.

Tian Youyu saw all of his companions from that night on the ghost ship being pushed up the mountain one by one. Their faces were ashen as they stood in the drizzling rain, blades pressed to their throats just like his. The group holding them captive, though dressed in yamen runner uniforms, had an aura that was clearly more dangerous and vicious, as if...

As if they were soldiers fresh from the battlefield.

The bailiff holding the knife snatched the bundle from Tian Youyu's hands and, without a glance, tossed it to the person behind him. He gestured at Tian Youyu's chest with the tip of the blade and snarled, “The thing in your robes, take it out!”

Trembling, Tian Youyu reached into his robes and pulled the red box halfway out. The man’s expression relaxed, and he was about to take it himself when Tian Youyu suddenly twisted his body and, clutching the box, took off running!

The group probably didn't expect him to dare to struggle when he was at death's door, and they actually let Tian Youyu get a short distance away. However, he was ultimately weak and alone, unable to make a difference. Before he could get far, two tall and strong bailiffs caught up to him from behind and shoved his head down into a puddle of muddy water.

Tian Youyu was like a live fish on a cutting board, struggling with all his might, but the hands holding him down were as unmovable as a mountain. Suffocating with his face covered in muddy water, he finally exhausted his strength and his body went limp.

Seeing him stop moving, the bailiff he had shaken off strode forward and kicked Tian Youyu over, revealing the red box he had been desperately protecting beneath his body.

He picked up the box and actually wiped the specks of mud off it with his sleeve before putting it into the pocket at his waist.

The man treated a broken box with such meticulous patience, yet wouldn't spare even a single glance for the living person lying in the heavy rain. He turned his head and said to someone behind him, “Our business is finished. Thank you for your assistance, my lord.”

The heavy rain washed away the mud caked on Tian Youyu’s face. He gasped for several breaths, his head lolling weakly to one side. Through his blurry vision, he saw pairs of mud-caked boots part to reveal a person slowly walking forward from behind them.

That person wore a pair of half-new, thick-soled black boots. The hem of his gently swaying green robe was dampened by the splashing water, blooming into a deep turquoise, like the color of the sea on a clear day.

He struggled to lift his head, blinking away the rain from his eyes, and finally saw the man’s face clearly.

The room was dim, the green lamp flickered faintly. Wei Ming softly spoke the answer in his heart for him: “Zhao Tingying.”

The Chief Administrator of Liang Continent, Zhao Tingying, held an oil-paper umbrella in one hand as he walked through the crowd to the front. He gave the ground a cursory glance before looking away, as if he had just seen an earthworm in the mud, not even worth a twitch of his brow.

Beaming, he said to the man, “Captain Liu, you’re being too polite. It is this official’s duty to ease the Governer-General's worries. Moreover, you, Captain, have even captured these cunning and unruly commoners for this prefecture. It is I who should be thanking you.”

Captain Liu’s expression softened. He said, “Lord Zhao, you flatter me. As for the matter of retrieving the lost item today, once this subordinate returns, I will naturally report it truthfully to the Governer-General.”

Zhao Tingying’s smile grew even more sincere. “Then I must trouble you, Captain, to send my regards to the Governer-General.”

“Rest assured, my lord.” Captain Liu agreed, then asked, “Then I’ll leave these fishermen to you, my lord. How do you plan to deal with them?”

Zhao Tingying asked, “Did the Governer-General give any instructions?”

Captain Liu lowered his eyelids, casting a cold glance at Tian Youyu, who was straining his ears to listen to them. He said nothing, merely shaking his head.

Zhao Tingying pondered for a moment before saying, “Although they were merely driven by greed, by inadvertently hiding important evidence, they ended up complicating the case. We just managed to send away the officials from the Ministry of Justice a while ago, but who knew the Dali Temple’s review wouldn't pass. The Imperial Court has now sent an Imperial Envoy to continue the investigation, who will arrive in Liang Continent shortly.”

“The one presiding over the case this time is that cultivator, Prince Duan. I hear he’s an unorthodox character. If we let these men return alive, I’m afraid today’s events will be brought up during questioning, which would only cause trouble for the Governer-General.”

Captain Liu nodded. “That is precisely the logic. So, in your opinion, my lord, what should be done?”

Zhao Tingying lifted the hem of his robe and squatted down in front of Tian Youyu. Tian Youyu hadn't fully understood their conversation, but that didn't stop him from comprehending the murderous intent hidden in their words. The moment he saw Zhao Tingying approach, he immediately pleaded desperately, “I won’t say anything! I won’t say anything at all!”

“My lord! I know I was wrong... I was possessed by greed! I deserve to die! I beg you, my lord, spare this lowly one’s life! I have a family at home waiting for me to support them... My lord! This lowly one is willing to work like an ox and horse to repay you, I won’t say a thing... My lord, my lord!”

“Tsk, listen to you. What do you even know? What is there that you can’t speak of?” Zhao Tingying said contemptuously. “Rather than wait for you to spout nonsense and falsely implicate me in front of the Imperial Envoy, it would be better to make you shut your mouth forever right now.”

“If you must blame someone, blame your insatiable greed, your eyes going wide at the sight of money. When a windfall falls from the sky, you have to see if your worthless life is fated to receive it.”

He dodged Tian Youyu’s hand as he tried to grab him, then rose and said to Captain Liu, “These fishermen had already lost their minds from fear after trespassing on the ghost ship. The whole city now knows they encountered ghosts. Since they’re madmen, it wouldn’t be strange for them to run out of their homes on a rainy day and lose their footing, falling into the sea, would it?”

Captain Liu understood and nodded, gesturing to the bailiffs behind him. “Throw them into the sea.”

Below the cliff, crashing waves beat against the shore.

Tian Youyu was lifted by the collar and dragged to the cliff's edge. The sound of wind and rain roared in his ears, and the dark sea below churned like endless ink. The fear of impending death seized his throat. Only tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes, but in this downpour, heavy enough to wash away all traces, no one could hear his cries.

The image in the mirror shifted from light turquoise to deep blue, then to a blood-like dark red, and finally faded into silent darkness.

Thin, black-purple threads pierced through the mirror's surface, but did not return to Tian Youyu’s corpse. The moment they touched the air, they dissipated silently, like wisps of smoke.

Witnessing death from a firsthand perspective was a shock that no ordinary person could easily endure. Gui Heng watched the motionless Wei Ming with complex feelings and asked softly, “His Highness, what should we do next?”

“Although Zhao Tingying is an out-and-out scoundrel, he was right about one thing,” Wei Ming said coldly. “As long as it's something done by humans, it will always leave a trace. For Fang Tianchong to value that red box so much, even deploying his personal soldiers to cooperate with Zhao Tingying, it seems that must be the ‘trace’ he left behind.”

Gui Heng was on the verge of collapse from the treacherous hearts and deceit of these mortals. Pent-up rage filled his belly, and he wished he could just grab Zhao Tingying and throw him into the sea right now. He said angrily, “I’ll go right now to that what's-his-name Governer-General and snatch the box back! With this evidence against these dog officials of Liang Continent, His Highness can deal with them, right?”

“Without knowing the exact location, you’ll have a hard time finding it. Besides, Fang Tianchong has deep roots; a small thing like this isn't enough to shake his foundation.” Wei Ming rubbed Gui Heng’s head like he was petting a dog and, after a moment of thought, said, “Don’t be in such a hurry to get angry. The more clues we have, the more flaws they’ll reveal. I’ll think of a way to lure the snake out of its hole and have him lead us to what we’re looking for himself.”