Qi Buyan looked up at the spot on the bed where blood was dripping. The cabin was pieced together with wooden planks, and inevitably, there were some gaps. Blood was seeping through the wooden cracks of the room.
A few drops of blood fell on Qi Buyan’s face, appearing particularly eerie in the dim night.
Blood?
He Sui’an slowly raised her hand, and a drop of blood fell into her palm as well.
Something happened outside the cabin?
Plop.
Another string of blood fell, brushing past He Sui’an’s earlobe and trickling into her slightly loosened collar, making her scalp tingle instantly.
They couldn’t possibly pretend nothing had happened and continue sleeping. He Sui’an didn’t bother wiping off the blood on her body or changing into a new dress. She immediately followed Qi Buyan to open the door.
They left the cabin together, estimating the location above that corresponded to their room.
There was indeed a puddle of blood that hadn’t been dealt with yet. A few dark-skinned sailors stood nearby, their hair tied loosely with cloth strips, blown into disarray by the sea breeze.
Their expressions were somewhat strange.
Not exactly strange, more like they were staring at the blood for some unknown reason.
It was as if the appearance of this blood was unexpected for them, and they temporarily didn’t know how to handle it properly.
He Sui’an wore a red long dress tonight.
It was striking whether during the day or night. The sailors noticed her and Qi Buyan almost immediately and asked what they were doing there.
She held a candle in her right hand and showed them her left hand, which had been dripped with blood in the room: “Blood was dripping from our room.”
That was why they came out to investigate.
The sailors understood what she meant.
They exchanged glances. Soon, a bearded man stepped forward and said, “I see. We apologize for disturbing you, young miss and young master.”
He Sui’an asked, “What were you doing? Why is there blood dripping down?”
She kept a safe distance from them.
There was a puddle of blood nearby, and they happened to be there, which was highly suspicious.
The bearded man explained to He Sui’an why there was blood, saying that a distinguished guest on the ship suddenly wanted fresh pork bone soup in the middle of the night, so they slaughtered a pig to make a pot.
He even half-jokingly complained that those distinguished guests treated the sailors like slaves, making them handle every little thing.
Someone pushed him.
“Old Hu, say less!”
The man called Old Hu changed his tone: “It’s all our fault for being clumsy and not catching the pig properly. We thought to stab it first, causing the blood to spill here. We apologize for disturbing you. Please don’t take offense.”
Killing a pig on the ship?
He Sui’an listened to them seriously.
It did make sense since large ships often had crew members raising poultry or other animals on board for fresh food.
She was half convinced.
Is it really just that?
The bearded man seemed to guess what He Sui’an was thinking and added that the pig was brought on board by the distinguished guest. Unexpectedly, it got loose, and to avoid alarming the passengers, several sailors worked together to catch it.
Fearing He Sui’an wouldn’t believe him, they offered to show her the dead pig: “Young miss, you don’t think we’re lying, do you?”
He Sui’an waved her hand: “No.”
Qi Buyan looked at them with a half-smile.
He hadn’t wiped off the blood on his cheek, the bloodstains like petals of a blooming rose, bright red and about to drip, looking eerily beautiful and contradictory, like a mountain ghost that often appeared at night.
The sailors thought they were just two kids and wanted to compensate them for the scare with a small token by waiving their ship fees.
At worst, they could give them some silver coins to avoid trouble.
“Is that okay?”
They asked.
The girl looked down at the puddle of blood on the deck, remaining silent for a moment, as if she was still frightened by the blood dripping into the room, even if they claimed it was pig blood.
The boy, however, was more agreeable: “Fine.”
The bearded man said: “Then it’s settled. We won’t charge you any ship fees or for food.”
Qi Buyan replied with a single word: “Fine.”
After a while, He Sui’an nodded.
A pockmarked sailor half-kneeled on the deck, vigorously wiping away the blood with a cloth: “I’ll put something to cover it, so nothing will drip down again. You can rest assured.”
The bearded man glanced at the sky and kindly reminded them: “It’s getting late. You two should go back to your room and continue resting.”
Qi Buyan turned and went back.
He Sui’an had no excuse to stay.
The sailors were actually quite fearless. Unlike on land, movements on the water are restricted. If someone acted out of line, they would have nowhere to escape and might even be thrown overboard to feed the fish.
Despite her doubts, He Sui’an had no evidence and could only pretend to believe the sailors’ words, returning to the cabin.
She dipped a cloth in water and wiped away the blood on the bed.
Pig blood? Or human blood?
He Sui’an sniffed, trying to discern what kind of blood it was.
Qi Buyan had already determined it was human blood, not pig blood. Since leaving Gu Mountain, he had smelled too much human blood and remembered its scent well. Pig blood had a different, peculiar odor.
Her hand paused as she wiped the blood, speculating, “Could they have killed someone on the ship?”
Qi Buyan neither confirmed nor denied her speculation.
Whether it was true or not, it didn’t concern him.
He was never one to meddle in others’ affairs, having lived long isolated from people. His sense of morality was almost non-existent, unless the other party had something to trade with him or something he desired.
He Sui’an sat dazed in the clean corner of the narrow bed, seemingly concerned about the matter. The sailors were very nervous about the cargo on the ship. If they had indeed killed someone, could it be related to the cargo?
Or maybe she was overthinking.
Qi Buyan walked over and took the damp cloth from He Sui’an’s hand.
“Stop wiping for now.”
She snapped out of her thoughts: “Why?”
His smile was disarming: “Weren’t you curious about what was in those boxes during the day? Let’s go check now. My Gu seems to have sensed something interesting.”
***
The cargo on the ship was stored in the ship’s hold.
The hold was divided into two areas: one side consisted entirely of rooms for passengers, and the other side was a warehouse slightly larger than those rooms.
There were three hatch doors in the passage between the rooms and the warehouse, each guarded by two sailors. These sailors were experienced and took turns keeping watch, ensuring the area was never unattended.
The security was quite strict.
If any uninformed ordinary passengers approached, the guards would tell them to leave. Most people wouldn’t dare to cause trouble and would obediently leave.
Only the ship’s head or foreign guests were allowed through, as the sailors would step aside to let them pass.
It wasn’t easy to get through.
He Sui’an had no idea how Qi Buyan intended to bypass the three hatch doors to reach the warehouse.
Disguising themselves as changing shift sailors? The thought crossed her mind but was quickly dismissed. They didn’t look anything like the seasoned, sunburned sailors.
To her surprise, Qi Buyan didn’t disguise himself. He just led her straight to the hatch doors, naturally encountering the sailors’ obstruction: “Who are you?”
As soon as they spoke, their expressions became dazed.
A Gu worm had entered their bodies.
Those skilled in using Gu worms always did so silently and swiftly.
He Sui’an almost forgot that Qi Buyan was a master at using Gu worms. However, it was her first time seeing him use Gu worms to control people’s bodies. Previously, she had only seen him use them to harm or kill.
Just like that, they smoothly passed through the three hatch doors and entered the warehouse.
The warehouse was locked.
He Sui’an bent down, intending to search the sailors for the key. Before she could touch them, Qi Buyan used his silk thread to extract the key from a sailor’s pocket. Among the keys was one with a distinctive shape.
With a few soft clicks, the lock was opened by the uniquely shaped key. He Sui’an felt like a thief at that moment.
Qi Buyan stepped inside first.
The candlelight flickered, casting long shadows.
He Sui’an followed, holding the key, and looked around. Boxes of cargo were neatly stacked, appearing normal.
Since the ship had previously stopped at two ports to load and unload cargo, part of the warehouse was emptied, leaving a narrow path. He Sui’an carefully walked in, lifting the cloth covering one of the boxes.
The boxes beneath the cloth were unlocked.
There seemed to be something moving inside.
Qi Buyan tapped the small box she was holding with his finger: “Don’t you want to open it and see?”
He Sui’an unlatched the copper buckle and lifted the lid, revealing golden Gu worms crawling inside, each about the size of a fingernail, with antennae on their heads. There were ten gold worms in the box.
More worms?
Upon seeing the worms, her first instinct was to throw the box far away. But reason held her back.
They had secretly infiltrated the ship’s warehouse to inspect the cargo, so they couldn’t make too much noise or damage anything.
He Sui’an forced herself to hold the box steady.
“Turns out they’re illusionary Gu…” Qi Buyan deftly pinched one of the gold worms between his fingers.
“Illusionary Gu?”
She always learned about various Gu worms from him: “What is an illusionary Gu? The name makes it sound like a Gu that can cause hallucinations?”
Qi Buyan tossed the golden worm back into the box: “You’re right. Illusionary Gu can cause hallucinations, similar to the effects of the Five-Stone Powder, but better and more pleasant.”
He had memorized the books on refining Gu worms. A single glance was enough for him to recognize them.
Each illusionary Gu could only be used once.
After being used, the illusionary Gu would die.
The illusionary Gu was somewhat like a bee that stings and dies, leaving its toxin in the body. But the toxin left by the illusionary Gu was exactly what people desired, as they liked to indulge in hallucinations.
Ordinary people couldn’t afford to “enjoy” illusionary Gu; only the wealthy and powerful had the money and time to seek such novel thrills.
Refining illusionary Gu wasn’t difficult.
Anyone who knew the basics of refining Gu could make them. Those who could refine illusionary Gu found it a quick way to earn money.
The main issue was that using illusionary Gu frequently led to addiction.
The wealthy and powerful, once addicted, would become regular customers, ensuring a steady income.
