After we returned to the surface by the same route, we realized the sky had already darkened. Hugo's foreign partner—Moyes—was standing anxiously by the dry well, peering downwards. When he saw Hugo come up safely, his face finally regained some color. He pulled Hugo about ten meters away, and after exchanging a few words in their native language, Hugo discreetly handed his phone to Moyes when no one was paying attention.
Surrounded by personnel from Section Two guarding the dry well, there was no point staying there any longer, so we began walking toward the dock. The dock was now eerily quiet; those who had waited here for rescue earlier had all vanished. Sun Fatty found Ximen Lian, one of the guards, and asked where those people had gone. Ximen Lian's expression shifted and he said, "Don't mention it... they're dead. This afternoon, those people were arranged to take boats back to the mainland. The first few boats were fine, but the last boat carrying the boss here got struck by lightning. The whole boss family fell into the sea..."
Hearing this, my face darkened. I didn't care about the fate of the Xie family, but I was worried that my brother might have acted impulsively and boarded Xie's boat with his wife. If that happened, my grandfather's entire family wouldn't even have time to grieve. Ximen Lian wasn't sure if my brother was on that ill-fated boat or not. Fortunately, Old Qiu and the others brought communication equipment and contacted my father, and we learned that my sister-in-law was not on the boat when the accident occurred. Possibly, before Xie Pang boarded, he had a bad premonition and entrusted his beloved daughter to his son-in-law. Even Guo Xiaoni, the bridesmaid who stayed with my sister-in-law, narrowly escaped the disaster.
It seemed the ordeal was finally coming to an end. Although Hao Zhengyi and Crow begrudgingly ended up working for the Bureau, there was no point for them to remain here any longer. Not long after, Xiao Heshang emerged from the Yin Convergence Point, asked detailed questions about what happened there, and after confirming Hao Zhengyi and Crow had not taken any souvenirs from inside, arranged a boat to send them off the island.
Watching Hao Zhengyi and the others leave by boat, Sun Fatty swaggered over to Xiao Heshang and grinned at the consultant, saying, "Old Xiao, if it weren't that we're old friends, I'd have thought you took money from Hao Zhengyi to let them go just now. I'm just saying, when did you get so friendly with him? I remember last time on the Ghost Train, you slapped Hao Zhengyi hard the moment you saw him."
"You don't know a damn thing!" Xiao Heshang cursed, then sighed, switching to a more sorrowful tone. "Min Tianyuan left last night. With him gone, the Min clan that founded the Religious Affairs Commission is utterly broken. It's chaos over there now. Some elders have openly declared they only recognize Huang Ran, who shares blood ties with the Min family, as qualified to inherit the commission's leadership. Hao Zhengyi is from the Bureau, and given his relationship with Director Hao, when the Bureau and the Religious Affairs Commission clash again, Hao Zhengyi won't go too far."
At this, Xiao Heshang spat sharply: "Pah! This should've been Gao Fatty's job, but he's hiding, so I'm the unlucky one who got stuck with it. Is this what I signed up for as a consultant?" After grumbling, he remembered his duties and went back inside the Yin Convergence Point with Yang Jun.
Meanwhile, the dock was becoming emptier. Yang Xiao had been standing beside Wu Rendi, but Hugo had somehow approached Wu and was chatting cheekily with him. Among the directors, only Hugo could really talk with Wu Rendi. Yang Xiao showed some tact and gave his spot to Director Yu, then wandered off alone, staring at the moon.
Seizing the moment, Sun Fatty pulled me over to Yang Xiao and after some polite small talk, quickly got to the point: "Yang Xiao, what did you see under there about Crow? What wasn't hidden well, and what was he saying? Seriously, what's going on with Crow?"
Yang Xiao smiled, glanced back at Wu Rendi—who was still expressionless, watching Hugo's chatter—and seeing no objection, he turned back and said, "Crow has actually been dead for a long time."
Sun Fatty's small eyes widened. "Dead? Then who was the one babbling nonsense down there just now?"
Yang Xiao flashed his palm before Sun Fatty's face and said, "My palm is a hand; the back isn't a hand, right?" With a hint of disdain, he continued, "That Crow must have died over ten years ago. His soul was taken away by the Underworld Agents and branded. Later, someone used sorcery to pull his soul back, but they didn't know how to remove the brand. So, they split off a fragment of their own soul to cover it up. The brand is on Crow's vocal cords, so he hasn't been able to speak since. If he opens his mouth, the fragment covering the brand shatters, and the brand will reveal itself again—something souls alone can't hide."
He spoke so casually it seemed such a case was nothing unusual to him.
I tilted my head, only half understanding. But I caught the gist, and asked, "So Crow talking nonsense just now was because of this?"
Yang Xiao glanced at me and nodded. "Yes and no." Seeing my confused expression, he smiled and explained, "Crow's somewhat lucky. His fate in the underworld still has a step as an Underworld Envoy. After he died the first time, his soul was supposed to be claimed by the Underworld Agents. Now that his brand has reappeared, soon the Underworld Envoys will come to take him away. Not just them—thinking about it makes me scared." Despite saying that, Yang Xiao's face was smiling, without a hint of fear.
Now I understood why Hao Zhengyi reacted so strongly when Crow spoke again. Crow's ability to see inside the Yin Convergence Point wasn't due to any spiritual sight, but because of the Underworld Envoy's eye he gained after his first death.
Yang Xiao was acting unusual today—he seemed excited, even overly so. Usually cautious in the Bureau, I'd never seen him like this. Sun Fatty laughed and said, "Old Yang, what good news have you got? You're glowing with spring vibes, all happy and lively."
Yang Xiao smiled at me and Sun Fatty, hesitated a little, then waved it off. "Nothing big, just some personal matters." No matter how much Sun Fatty pressed, Yang Xiao wouldn't say more—just smiling silently whenever the topic came up.
We had been preparing to book a good hotel room, expecting to spend the night on the island. Unexpectedly, a command from Director Gao, missing for a while, came through the communication device Old Qiu brought: the investigation was temporarily suspended. Old Qiu was to arrange Section Two personnel to guard the Yin Convergence Point while the others were to return immediately to the Bureau. There was an important announcement forthcoming.
—End of Volume Four—