If I stay in the Hehuan Sect, I'll live off the pampered daughters of the Heavenly Pride Sect.

Chapter 479 Bloodstained Ship License Plate Reveals a Huge Secret

The stick in Old Zhou's hand hung above the boat sign, the wet black seeping from the broken edge creeping along the wood grain, and the characters in the engraving emerged stroke by stroke.

His Adam's apple bobbed twice before he pulled the pot stick back to his shoulder.

"Twenty years ago, a cargo ship flying the Hehuan Sect's foreign affairs flag did indeed dock at Hongfeng Ferry."

Shopkeeper Hu raised the lantern slightly, the edge of the lampshade brushing against her soaked fingers.

"Did you see the flag clearly?"

"I saw it clearly."

Old Zhou squatted down next to the boat sign and pointed to the newly emerged engraving.

"Blue background, red border, with the Hehuan Sect's emblem in the center, and a small flag from the Foreign Affairs Hall hanging beside it."

Qin Wanzhuang looked at him.

"What were you doing at the ferry crossing back then?"

"Unload cargo from ships and earn a few spirit coins."

Old Zhou placed the pot stick across his knee, rubbing the soot from his palm into the wood grain.

"Back then, the old ferry crossing hadn't collapsed yet, and the salt warehouse hadn't been sealed off."

"When did the cargo ship arrive?"

"Before Hu Shuang'er boarded the red lantern boat."

Shopkeeper Hu's fingertip rested on the crease of the lampshade, and the flame inside the white paper lamp shrank to the size of a bean.

"A few days ago?"

"A few days ago."

Old Zhou looked up and glanced at the river.

"I don't remember exactly how many days passed."

"The boat stayed on the shallows overnight."

"The rope was untied before dawn the next day."

Boss Fan stood outside the front line, holding a harpoon, his shoes leaving two muddy marks at his feet.

"Why would a cargo ship flying the banner of a celestial sect stop at our dilapidated ferry crossing?"

"Someone asked that question back then too."

Old Zhou twitched the corners of his mouth, his lips covered in salt frost dried by the wind.

The person asking the question stood far away, not even daring to get close to the boat's shadow.

"What's on the ship?"

Qin Wanzhuang held the scabbard in her hand, the sword light illuminating the old mark in the lining of the mission card.

"Cargo box".

Old Zhou shook his head after he finished speaking.

"It was covered with an oilcloth, and talismans were pressed down at the corners of the box."

"Nobody dared to lift it."

Manager Hu stared at him.

Has anyone disembarked from the ship?

"I didn't see it."

Old Zhou lowered his head and spun the pot stick in his palm.

"The fog was thick at night, and there were no lights in the cabin."

"Everyone on the shore has closed their doors."

"At the time, I thought that the important figures from the immortal sects found the river route too winding and wanted to borrow our ferry to rest for the night."

The wick of the white paper lamp leans towards the old ship's nameplate, and when the flame touches the cover paper, it leaves a slightly charred yellow mark.

Shopkeeper Hu put the lamp back in front of his chest.

"Before Shuang'er boarded the ship, a cargo ship from the Foreign Affairs Office stopped by."

She looked down at the broken end of the ship's nameplate.

"Twenty years later, the fragments of the Foreign Affairs Office were found again in the wall of the salt warehouse."

The young man in the cabin huddled on the door panel, his wrists bound by hemp rope, and he stopped reading the file aloud.

He looked at the old imprint on the inner lining of the mission card and moved his lips twice.

"I've never seen this seal before."

Qin Wanzhuang glanced at him.

Nobody asked you.

The young man turned his face toward the door, his forehead pressed against the damp wood.

Mo Chengyue's left palm was still covered with white silk, and the black ship nail rubbed against his skin under his palm, with the red thread at the end of the nail curling into a thin bend around the talisman fire.

"Old Zhou, does that cargo ship have a name on its hull?"

"no."

"The bow of the boat was covered by a black cloth."

"I remember there was an old wooden sign at the stern of the boat."

Old Zhou raised the wok stick and pointed it at the cracked boat sign.

"It's similar to this pattern."

Manager Hu looked at Mo Chengyue.

"Are you still going to say this has nothing to do with your sect?"

Mo Chengyue did not touch the mission card.

The Rain Flower Sword lay across the edge of the plank, the ash from the thunder and fire on its blade blown away by the river wind.

"The foreign affairs flag stopped at Hongfeng Ferry; this matter must be noted."

"The red-light boats devoured people, the old salt warehouses hid patched pages, and people on the shore handed out papers—all of these must be recorded."

Shopkeeper Hu's silver hairpin slipped from his sleeve to his fingers.

"You think you can just write Shuang'er's life down in a book by saying you have to?"

"I didn't ask you to write it down."

Mo Chengyue raised his left hand, and the black nail under the white silk tapped against his palm bone.

"We must investigate that ship from twenty years ago."

"Whether the flag of the Foreign Affairs Office is real or fake, what was handed over on the ship, and who received the items on the shore, all must be investigated."

"Why can't we find the person?"

"Continue investigating."

"And it turns out they're from the Foreign Affairs Office?"

Proceed according to the evidence.

Manager Hu did not respond.

She pinched the lampshade, leaving a crease, and the tip of the silver hairpin pressed against her palm, leaving a faint white mark.

Qin Wanzhuang sheathed the Lieyang Sword.

"Old Zhou."

"exist."

"Give me the old ship's license plate."

Old Zhou held up the boat sign that had been broken in two with both hands.

"Fairy Qin, this thing is leaking water."

"The sword case can be sealed."

Qin Wanzhuang took the ship's token, and a small slit popped open in the side pocket of the sword case.

The golden-white sword flames bypassed the broken edge of the wooden plaque, while the wet, black watermarks retreated into the depths of the cracks.

"The mission card is sealed on the second layer."

"The old seal of Qingquan Peak is separated separately."

Shopkeeper Hu raised the white paper lamp.

"What about Hongfengdu's statement?"

Write them separately.

Qin Wanzhuang looked at Boss Fan.

"The boatmen wrote down whatever they saw."

"Record separately what Old Zhou, Xiao Liu, Fat Manager, and Accountant Chen said after they woke up."

"Don't add anything you've heard or guessed."

Boss Fan scratched behind his ear.

"I'll go and call back the two literate boatmen."

"Let them write separately."

Manager Hu took over the conversation.

"Put your fingerprint on the completed text."

"Whoever can't see the words clearly, read them to themselves."

"He nodded and then pressed it."

Boss Fan nodded and slung the harpoon over his shoulder.

"I'll do it too."

Xiao Liu stood by the fire line, holding a copper basin, the rim of the basin brushing against his clothes.

"Manager Hu, the fire in the temple needs to be tended until dawn."

"Guard."

Manager Hu looked towards the direction of the Earth God Temple.

"The roster remains under wraps."

"When Accountant Chen woke up, we first asked him if he had seen that cargo ship twenty years ago."

Old Zhou opened his mouth.

"Back then, Accountant Chen was just a young apprentice."

"His father worked in the dockside accounting office for several years."

Mo Chengyue looked up.

"Write this down as well."

"Don't ask him if his father was the one who handed him the paper."

Old Zhou gripped the pot handle tightly.

"I'll go and find out too."

Qin Wanzhuang took out the scorched and damp thin page and sealed the remaining paper crane seal into a sword box.

The ash of the talisman was pasted on the mouth of the box, and a light gold ring was burned around the edge.

"Testimony of Red Maple Ferry, fragments of the register, and paper crane seal."

"I will take these three items back to the sect."

Manager Hu asked, "Whom should I give it to?"

"First, enter the sword box at Qingquan Peak."

Qin Wanzhuang closed the jade box tightly.

"Anyone who wants Kaifeng, come find me first."

Mo Chengyue looked at the sword box in her hand.

"Don't even bother with fake family visiting cards in the Foreign Affairs Office."

"I know."

Qin Wanzhuang turned her face to the side.

"How many more floors would you like to have?"

"If you can separate, then separate."

"The hands in the water move frequently and reach out long."

Shopkeeper Hu tucked the silver hairpin back into his sleeve.

"Your sect is investigating its own people, and you also have to guard against your own people taking the evidence?"

"If we don't take precautions this time, we might not have any paper left next time."

After Mo Chengyue finished speaking, the black nail in his left palm moved again.

The edges of the white silk were stained dark by the moisture, and the red thread at the end of the nail crawled along the lines of his palm toward his wrist.

Qin Wanzhuang turned her sword sheath sideways.

"Don't touch it."

"It's moving on its own."

Mo Chengyue opened his palm slightly.

"Senior sister, look at the nail tail."

Qin Wanzhuang pinched the other end of the white silk with her fingertips, preventing the black nail from touching her hand.

"The red thread is pointing north."

"The sect is to the north."

Manager Hu looked at the thin red thread.

"Is Yu Lin Hong giving you directions again?"

"She's been setting the way from the very beginning."

Mo Chengyue's right palm was hidden under his tattered sleeve, with the blood-stained talisman pressed against the base of his palm, the talisman fire reflecting a dark red circle.

"The red book says my right arm is useless."

"The paper crane seal reveals a fragment of the Foreign Affairs Office seal."

"The fake family name card was used to send my senior sister's name onto the ship."

"An ink stain was found inside the black nail."

"The old seal of Qingquan Peak is now hidden in the hidden compartment of the quest card."

Qin Wanzhuang looked at him.

"Do you think Yu Lin Hong arranged all of this?"

"She wants me to return to my clan."

Why?

"She left a place in the sect where she could catch me."

Manager Hu's lamp flickered.

"You knew there were people waiting ahead, yet you still went back?"

"The Foreign Affairs Office has already written a receipt for me confirming that I am colluding with the treacherous ship."

Mo Chengyue raised the Rain Flower Sword, its tip touching the gap in the ship's planks.

"If I stay at Red Maple Ferry, they can continue to add insult to injury to me."

"And then what?"

"Let's go back to Qingquan Peak first."

"Investigate the Foreign Affairs Office again."

Qin Wanzhuang's ponytail swept past her shoulders, and the blood-red jade at her waist jingled softly against the scabbard.

"Keep the black nail in your hands; it will continue to provide directions."

"It recognizes me."

Mo Chengyue gathered the white silk and wrapped the black nail back in his palm.

"Place it at Red Maple Ferry, and it will keep watch over this place for the Water Account."

"Take it back; at least it'll be under my nose."

"You're using yourself as bait?"

"It had already stuck the hook in."

Qin Wanzhuang raised her hand and placed it on his left shoulder.

"On the way back to the sect, you will follow behind my sword."

"Tell me before the black nail moves again."

"It's acceptable."

Mo Chengyue looked up at her.

"Senior sister's praise is more bitter than medicine."

"Shut up."

Shopkeeper Hu stood outside the lamplight, the white paper lamp reflecting the water streaks at her temples that were still wet.

The small box containing the sealed soul, hidden in the ashes of the stove, still gleamed with an old silver light beneath the talisman paper, separated by a distant earth temple.

She looked at the white silk in Mo Chengyue's palm, then at the paper crane fragments stored in the sword case.

"Immortal Master, if it's found that they are indeed from your sect, can I collect the debt?"