The ship’s cabin was quite spacious. A woman around thirty years old sat in the small hall, admiring fish in an exquisite glass fish bowl placed on the table.

Sitting together with the woman was a young man whose eyes held a trace of worry and unease.

On the soft couch on the other side of the small hall sat two men. One man had a silver carp beard and wore a light blue robe. When dim light filtered through, it was as if water ripples flowed across his blue garment.

The other person had a square-shaped face with regular, proper features.

Yue Tianhong made introductions for Li Si—

The woman admiring the fish was named Su Qin, from a matchmaking family. Yue Tianhong had invited her to arrange matters concerning the ancestral recognition ceremony.

The young man was Jin Xue’er’s friend, named Xiao Lu, invited by Jin Xue’er to travel together to Guiyun Province.

The man with the long silver carp beard was named Ji Ming, a traveling merchant.

Finally, the man with the square-shaped face was named Shan Jie, who followed Yue Tianhong in his work, managing the Yue family business affairs.

Yue Tianhong also introduced Li Si to everyone. After exchanging pleasantries, Yue Tianhong arranged the rooms.

The ship’s cabin was centered around the small hall and divided into left and right sections, with over ten cabin rooms on each side.

Li Si, Su Qin, Ji Ming, and Shan Jie were arranged in the left cabin, while Yue Tianhong, Jin Xue’er, and Xiao Lu stayed in the right cabin.

Inside the cabin was a small window through which Li Si could see the deep sea water outside. The sea vessel was sailing toward the end of the Jinbo River. In another hour, it would enter the East Sea, and in five days it would arrive at Guiyun Province.

Afterward, Yue Tianhong and Jin Xue’er accompanied Li Si on a tour of the sea vessel. On the deck, three thick masts stood like three long spears piercing the heavens, and the sails fluttering in the wind were like red tassels on the spears, snapping loudly.

The captain and crew all slept in the cabin behind the helm building. Li Si walked to the side of the cloud carriage on the deck. Cold wind from the river surface swept onto the sea vessel like sharp knives cutting through the air. Jin Xue’er, being frail, could not withstand the cold wind, so the three returned to the ship’s cabin.

Before long, food and wine were delivered from the ship’s dining hall.

Ji Ming hummed a little tune from his hometown, the melody pleasant to the ear. Su Qin struck her cup with wooden chopsticks to accompany the tune with rhythmic sounds. Yue Tianhong and Jin Xue’er chatted softly about something.

Throughout the entire banquet, the most restrained person was undoubtedly Xiao Lu. This young man’s gaze darted about evasively, the only time it settled was when he gazed at Jin Xue’er.

Xiao Lu let out a soft sigh and knocked over his wine cup, which was right at hand.

Li Si said, “Too much wine causes trouble. Drink less.”

Xiao Lu’s face reddened slightly: “Lord Li finds this amusing. It’s not the wine’s fault, but rather a condition I’ve had since childhood.”

“A condition?”

Xiao Lu felt he had spoken too much but continued, “My twin brother Xiao Chuan and I have had a strange illness since birth. We cannot see clearly anything within a fist’s distance to the left of our left eye. Famous physicians in the Holy City say this illness is hereditary.”

Li Si nodded slowly. He had heard Lao Sitou mention many strange illnesses before, among which was this type—a visual deficiency disease.

Jin Xue’er glanced over in this direction and continued chatting with Su Qin.

After the Hour of the Dog passed, the sea vessel entered the East Sea. Li Si returned to his cabin. The narrow cabin room rose and fell with the surging sea waves, as if he were lying in a cradle, his entire body and heart swaying left, right, up, and down together.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when Li Si seemed to smell a faint fragrance and gradually fell into sleep.

“Bang!” A muffled sound rang in his ears. Li Si opened his eyes—a stool in the cabin had fallen over. But his sight was quickly drawn to something on the table.

It was a palm-sized blue paper. On the back was a pattern of the sea, and on the front were two lines of text:

“Please find the person with three moles on their left hand. If not found within three days, you will die by piercing of the heart!

You also cannot reveal this to a second person, violators will die.”

Why did he encounter these strange and peculiar things wherever he went?

The blue paper for finding someone—this was a letter judging death.

On the second day aboard the sea vessel, Su Qin and Jin Xue’er were discussing the order of matters for the ancestral worship ceremony. Xiao Lu stood to one side of the two beautiful women, his eyes fixed on Jin Xue’er. Even a fool could see that Xiao Lu had special feelings for Jin Xue’er.

Xiao Lu’s hands were white, lustrous, and delicate, like a woman’s tender hands. When Xiao Lu saw Li Si approaching, he fled like a child who had done something wrong. Su Qin and Jin Xue’er also greeted Li Si.

The two young women’s hands were clean, without any three moles. Li Si was curious about what someone with such tender hands as Xiao Lu did for a living.

“Well, as for Xiao Lu, you’ll have to ask our Miss Xue’er about that.”

Jin Xue’er’s pretty face flushed with shyness: “Xiao Lu is like me—an opera performer.”

“Heh heh, no wonder Xiao Lu has hands like white jade.” Li Si smiled and said, “How long has Miss Xue’er known Xiao Lu?”

Jin Xue’er wrinkled her small, delicate nose: “We’ve known each other for about ten years or so.”

Li Si moved away from before the two women, then went to find Shan Jie and Ji Ming. Neither of them had three moles on their hands.

Yue Tianhong didn’t have three moles either.

Finally, Li Si observed the captain, crew members, cook, and maidservants one by one, but found nothing.

This blue paper must be someone’s idle prank. As the sky gradually darkened, Li Si in his cabin room seemed to smell again a faint, elusive fragrance and gradually fell asleep.

It wasn’t until the deepest moment of night that Li Si was awakened by a scream.

Li Si followed the sound and rushed into a cabin room. At the doorway were Yue Tianhong, Jin Xue’er, Shan Jie, and others, all panic-stricken.

Inside the cabin room lay a person quietly, face bearing a smile, peacefully asleep like a child—Xiao Lu!

A silver needle was inserted into the top of Xiao Lu’s head, and his feet were still wearing long boots.

Xiao Lu was dead!

On the chest of the already dead Xiao Lu lay a blue paper.

On the blue paper were only two lines of text:

“Please find the person who possesses three eyes. If not found within two days, you will die by brain penetration!

You also cannot reveal this to a second person, violators will die together.”