Originally, according to Wu Rendi's idea, Sun Pangzi was supposed to be given a life buoy and swim to shore by himself. In fact, that's exactly what happened—Director Wu had already asked Yang Xiao to prepare a life buoy. Sun Pangzi's face had turned deathly pale. No matter how much he explained, Wu Rendi pretended not to hear. Neither my persuasion, nor Po Jun's and Hao Wenming's, worked. Even Xiao Heshang raised his eyebrows and approached, but Wu Rendi blocked him.
Sun Pangzi was saved by Gao Liang. Just as the ghost ship completely disappeared beyond the horizon, a rusty fishing boat appeared in the distance. Gao Pangzi stood at the bow, and the fishing boat sailed close to our small boat. Director Gao used a megaphone and shouted, "Monk! Is that Wu Rendi beside you? What is Sun Dasheng doing? Why is he trying to jump into the sea?"
Ever since receiving news of the ghost ship's reappearance, Gao Liang had gathered his team and rushed back. At the dock, he hired a fishing boat that was about to set sail and hurriedly went out to sea. They had arrived in the nearby waters more than an hour earlier. Just as they were beginning to catch sight of the ghost ship, the Blood Sea Worms appeared, surrounding their boat. Luckily, Director Gao and his team were well-prepared. Still, it took them over an hour to break a path through the center of the Blood Sea Worms. Unfortunately, they were just a bit too late—missing even the last glimpse of the ghost ship by more than ten minutes. Wu Rendi only owed Gao Liang a favor within the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, and this time Director Gao truly saved Sun Pangzi.
After we boarded the big boat, Gao Liang's eyes lit up when he saw the white-haired Yang Jun. It seemed Gao didn't know about Wu Rendi's connection to the ghost ship. Gao called Wu Rendi aside, and after a long conversation, when Gao looked at Yang Jun again, he was beaming, patting Yang Jun's shoulder and saying, "Director Wu has told me about your situation. From today on, you're officially part of the Bureau. For anything, just come directly to me."
Yang Jun was used to life on the ghost ship—from the young white-haired man to the soldiers and sailors—no one had ever spoken to him like this. He felt a bit awkward at first. Just then, Yang Jun's backpack moved. The backpack wasn't locked, and the lid was pushed up. A black cat poked its head out. Nie didn't know when it had sneaked into Yang Jun's backpack. The black cat then jumped out nimbly, grabbing onto Yang Jun's shoulders and resting there, its eyes fixed steadily on Director Gao.
"Is this your cat? Looks very agile," Gao Liang said with a smile, reaching out to stroke the black cat's sleek fur as if trying to break the ice with Yang Jun. But a few seconds later, Gao recognized the cat's origin. His face turned pale, his whole body trembled, and he stepped back several times. Just as his hand stroked the cat, the cat lazily lifted its head, showing a mouthful of tiny black teeth, and called out sharply, "Nie!"...
Since the female school incident ended, Sun Pangzi and I rushed nonstop to the sea. After drifting for so many days, we finally followed the main force back to the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation. On the way, Gao Liang arranged for Yang Jun to slowly get familiar with the Bureau environment. Later, like Yang Xiao, Yang Jun would join the Sixth Office as an investigator and become Wu Rendi's subordinate.
The unluckiest was Sun Pangzi. Although he didn't have to swim back to shore, the items he hid in his backpack were soon discovered by Gao Liang. Inside the small backpack, he had hidden six gold spheres weighing about 120 to 130 jin (roughly 60 to 65 kg). After much back and forth and hard bargaining by Sun Pangzi and Xiao Heshang, Gao finally agreed to allocate two gold spheres—one as a public fund for our First Office, and the other as a reward for the five of us for this ghost ship incident.
The handling of the gold spheres was done by Sun Pangzi, Xiao Heshang, and Hao Wenming together. Initially, Gao Liang offered to buy the gold spheres at 150 yuan per gram (about 20 USD), but after checking the gold price, Sun Pangzi and Xiao Heshang refused outright. Gao was tired of arguing and waved his hand, "Do whatever you want."
Considering that the two gold spheres were produced more than six hundred years ago and could not have the purity of modern 99.9% gold, Sun Pangzi took some gold dust from the ghost ship and had it tested by a specialist. The results were almost unbelievable. The sample was old gold, but the refining technology back then was already extremely advanced—close to the purity of modern gold.
With this test result, Sun Pangzi started to find buyers. Having many contacts, one phone call explained the gold's purity. After negotiations, the price was set at 260 yuan per gram (about 35 USD). The gold spheres weighed about 9.5 kilograms each. After the final price was converted, each of the five of us could receive nearly 500,000 yuan (about 70,000 USD).
These past few days, Xiao Heshang had been staying in our office. He was the first to hear the news and immediately wanted to drag Sun Fatty to sell the golden orb. But the two of them had a bad record not long ago, so originally both Po Jun and I were supposed to go. After careful consideration, however, Hao Wenming represented us. The three of them went after lunch and returned before dinner.
Sun Fatty and Xiao Heshang each carried a black plastic bag used for trash. The bags were bulging; no need to guess what was inside. Seeing Sun Fatty's playful grin, I asked knowingly, "You guys didn't put the money in the trash bags, did you?" Sun Fatty sighed and glanced at Xiao Heshang. The old master Xiao said, "What do you know? Putting it here is safest. Have you ever seen anyone with nothing better to do come and steal two trash bags?"
"Well, have you ever seen three grown men carrying two trash bags and wandering around like they have nothing better to do?" I retorted. Po Jun, already impatient, said, "You two settle this later, take care of business first. Great Sage, did the buyer haggle the price?" Xiao Heshang replied first, "Sun Fatty has the connections. Not only did the buyer not lower the price, but added a bit more. Exactly five million yuan (700,000 USD). Your office's public funds, the check that Little Hao asked for, and our share in cash — one bag contains 1.25 million each." Sun Fatty looked helplessly at Xiao Heshang and said, "I originally wanted to deposit the money directly in the bank, but old master Xiao wouldn't have it — insisted on taking the cash back. I was scared the whole way…" Before he finished, Xiao Heshang impatiently interrupted, "Stop dithering. Take care of business first... and then split the money."
No need to go into detail on this process. I just didn't expect them to bring back cash directly, so I had to make do. I found a cardboard box and put my 500,000 yuan inside. Ouyang Pianzuo has a safe, so I left it there for the night and planned to deposit it in the bank first thing tomorrow.
Holding the box containing 500,000 yuan, my heart was pounding. When I opened the door to the office, I saw someone standing there. When they saw me come out, they smiled at me. I was startled and only then realized it was Yang Xiao. He hesitated for a moment and said to me, "There's something I want to trouble you and Great Sage Sun with…" I tightened my grip on the box and asked, "You're… asking to borrow money?"
Since joining the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, Yang Xiao had always kept a low profile. So low that many had forgotten his connection to the Kirin Fifteen-Story Building tragedy years ago. Except for the two directors of the Second Office who still eyed Yang Xiao warily. Of course, they could only glare; if it came to blows, I didn't think those two directors would gain much advantage.
Now Yang Xiao came specifically to ask Sun Fatty and me for help, looking somewhat sheepish. The same Yang Xiao who could pull souls out without batting an eye was now humbly asking us for a favor. For a moment, I felt a bit honored. I had already decided to lend him the money as long as it didn't exceed my 500,000 yuan. After all, this money was essentially a windfall. And knowing Yang Xiao's character, he probably wouldn't default on the debt. Just then, Sun Fatty also came out carrying his own box of money. The three of us went to a secluded spot at the end of the corridor.
Contrary to my expectations, Yang Xiao wasn't here to borrow money. He really wanted us to help him and Sun Fatty. He seemed reluctant to speak, pausing repeatedly. Finally, I couldn't help but say, "Old Yang, what happened to the determination you had on the roof of the Kirin Fifteen-Story Building when you nearly killed Wu Rendi? You're not afraid of Wu Rendi now, but you can't even say a few words?" Sun Fatty chimed in, "Yeah, Old Yang, just say it. Even though I and Lazi almost died by your hand, it was all tough love. We're all in the same boat now, so what can't be said?"
I shot Sun Fatty a glance for saying we almost died by Yang's hand. Was he encouraging or discouraging him to talk? Yang Xiao gave a wry smile and said, "Let's not bring up past offenses. This time, I truly need your help…"
Yang Xiao finally opened up: this morning, Wu Rendi suddenly called him over and told him about a matter he'd been concerned about for a long time. His wife — Xu Rongrong's soul had finally been reshaped. In three days, she could reincarnate. But since this soul had been flawed before, even after Wu Rendi's reshaping, it was still somewhat fragile.
During the reincarnation process, Wu Rendi had to stay by the soul's side in case something went wrong. This reincarnation was different from normal reincarnation — in short, Wu Rendi and Yang Xiao were taking opportunities from other souls' reincarnations. Underworld Officials would come to interfere. Yang Xiao was responsible for dealing with these Underworld Agents.
Sun Fatty said, "One guards the soul, one watches the perimeter. Isn't that enough? Why do you need us?" "It's not that simple," Yang Xiao shook his head and explained, "Because this reincarnation took a crooked path, before the soul enters the fetus, the fetus will be in a brief period of ownerless vacuum, attracting many stray souls to compete for it. Xu Rongrong's soul is too fragile to handle their disturbances. Wu Director and I can't leave, so dealing with these stray souls falls to you two."
After Yang Xiao finished, Sun Fatty and I were silent. We had some experience dealing with ghosts from the Kirin Fifteen-Story Building incident. With the Bureau's equipment on hand, we were somewhat confident — except for that one word from Yang Xiao: 'many' stray souls. That unsettled us.
Yang Xiao was one of the few people in the Bureau whose word still carried weight, and among those, only Sun Fatty and I. Initially, we wanted to ask Yang Jun. But since Yang Jun was new, Director Gao treated him like a treasure and had him studying modern knowledge day and night. Asking for help from him would alert Gao Fatty, and we couldn't let Gao Liang know such a risky thing. There were also Xiong Wanyi, Ximen Lian, and Mi Rongheng — after the female school incident, they had some tacit understanding with Yang Xiao. They would have been the best choice. But since they were all investigators under Qiu Bulao of the Second Office, and considering their relationship with Qiu Bulao and Wang Ziheng, they couldn't get too close to Yang Xiao. So, Sun Fatty and I were Yang Xiao's reluctant choice.
Seeing no response from us, Yang Xiao sighed and said, "I understand this is a dangerous matter for both of you. Whether you agree or not, I'll understand. Fine, just forget I said anything. I'll find another way." Saying this, he lowered his head and quietly walked toward the elevator. Seeing his back, I felt soft inside and was about to agree when Sun Fatty beat me to it, shouting, "Old Yang, we'll help you!"
Yang Xiao was taken aback, looking at me again. Sun Fatty laughed and said, "No need to look at Lazi; if I say yes, that means he agrees too. I wouldn't let him off the hook on something like this." I helplessly swallowed my saliva and listened as he continued, "Old Yang, your problems are my problems. Lazi and I will definitely help. We should look out for each other. Besides, if someday Lazi or I need something from you…" Before he finished, Yang Xiao cut in, "When that time comes, just say the word. Except for my life, I'll do anything else for you."
So that's how we agreed to help Yang Xiao. Sun Fatty and I began preparing for the events three days later. Actually, we didn't have to do much; Wu Rendi had already privately contacted Ouyang Pianzuo. Ouyang had prepared all the necessary equipment. Besides a bunch of Bureau-made bullets, each of us was given a pistol silencer.
We were familiar with these; the silencer, like the Bureau's pistols, was covered with talismanic patterns — clearly designed to match the pistols. Yang Xiao explained Xu Rongrong's reincarnation was scheduled for midnight three days later. Using firearms at that hour wasn't convenient, so Ouyang Pianzuo specially provided the silencers. These silencers could also increase the bullets' effectiveness when hitting the "target."
The rest of the equipment wasn't for Sun Fatty or me, so we didn't pay much attention. Three days passed in a blink. Except for one trip to the bank to deposit money, we stayed at the Bureau and listened to Yang Xiao explain the precautions for that night. But the more detailed his explanations were, the less confident Sun Fatty and I felt…