Ding Changsheng sent Yi Sa a restaurant address via Dianping using Ding Yudi’s phone.

It was a Shanxi cuisine restaurant, about half an hour away according to the distance.

Since Yi Sa had been racing around all afternoon, Zong Hang drove this time. Yi Sa sat in the back seat, actually contemplating what dishes to order: “I can have them order first, so we can eat right away when we arrive… Do you eat deep-fried pork? And this one, potatoes stir-fried with laolao – what’s laolao?”

Zong Hang said: “You can still think about food at a time like this?”

His tone was indignant, but unfortunately, right after he spoke, his stomach growled.

Yi Sa said: “Of course we should eat. Why not? People who worry themselves sick are the most foolish. The problem isn’t solved, and you’ve starved yourself on top of it.”

Zong Hang hesitated: “Yi Sa, I’m going to see Ding Xi later, aren’t I?”

“Scared?”

Who’s scared? Zong Hang straightened his back, wanting to say something bold but couldn’t find the words.

The dark barrel of a gun seemed to flash before his eyes again. Being killed by someone – it was impossible not to have some trauma from that.

They did see Ding Xi, standing at the restaurant entrance waiting.

The restaurant was decorated in local style, with an antique facade and double wooden doors. Red silk streamers hung from the eaves, with large red lanterns suspended below.

Ding Xi stood beneath them, his whole body bathed in red light. Seeing the motorcycle approach, he stepped forward, politely greeting Yi Sa first: “Long time no see.”

After speaking, his gaze casually flickered toward Zong Hang.

Zong Hang removed his helmet.

Since the incident, this was the first time he’d stood face-to-face with Ding Xi at such close range. His current predicament was all because of this man, yet there wasn’t even a trace of guilt on that face…

Zong Hang suddenly felt angry, unconsciously clenching his fists. Just then, Yi Sa broke into giggles.

She said to Ding Xi: “The person you killed yourself has come back, standing alive right in front of you, and not as a ghost… This experience must be unique to you. You could probably apply for a world record.”

Ding Xi’s expression changed slightly before quickly returning to normal. He stepped aside with a gesture of invitation: “Godfather is waiting upstairs.”

After speaking, he turned to lead the way.

Yi Sa deliberately fell back a few steps, tugged at Zong Hang, and asked in a low voice: “Want to hit him?”

Zong Hang nodded.

The second floor was all private rooms. Ding Changsheng had reserved the innermost one. When they opened the door, only Ding Changsheng was there, sitting before a table of freshly served, steaming dishes.

Yi Sa acted just like an invited dinner guest, peering at the dishes on the table: “Uncle Ding, did you place the order for the dishes I requested?”

Ding Changsheng said: “I did, they’ll come one by one.”

Yi Sa sat down with a grin, pulling Zong Hang along: “Why are you standing? Sit down, eat up.”

This action drew Ding Changsheng’s attention to Zong Hang. He looked him up and down: “So this is… the person? Who died… and came back to life?”

Even as he said it, he felt how absurd it was, and a chill ran up his arm.

Yi Sa said casually: “Uncle Ding, haven’t you seen plenty of people like this? Weren’t all those people in the kiln the same?”

Ding Changsheng was caught off guard: “Ah?”

Yi Sa expressed surprise: “You didn’t know?”

Then lowering her voice: “Back when the incident happened at the Three Rivers source, didn’t you go for the rescue? You thought you saved a bunch of infected people, but actually, they weren’t – they were all people who had died… and come back to life.”

The private room door opened as a server came in with dishes: bean curd bowls, clear-stewed lamb with tofu, and boiled sole fish.

Zong Hang picked up his chopsticks and took some tofu, bean curd bowls, and a piece of fish.

Ding Changsheng watched the server leave, then spoke somewhat disconnectedly: “You’re saying… how is this possible? Besides, those people were all deformed, but he… he looks perfectly normal…”

Yi Sa spoke through a mouthful of rice: “What did you expect? He has episodes at any time. Taking care of him on this journey has worn me out. Oh, right…”

She unzipped her bag and placed the black leather book on the rotating table, forcefully turning it toward Ding Changsheng: “How’s Ding Yudi? You didn’t give him too hard a time, did you?”

Ding Changsheng smiled awkwardly.

Who gave who a hard time? Ding Yudi was worse than a professional scammer. It was just a home visit to ask questions, plus Ding Xi was a bit rough and pushed him once, but in Ding Yudi’s telling, it had become “they brought people to wreck my home and nearly crippled me.” He’d also threatened, “Just you wait, I’m going to find the Elder. What’s the point of being a water ghost? We don’t even have basic rights. I quit!”

The Elder was Ding Haijin, who was known for being protective of his own. Plus, he’d had heart bypass surgery, so everyone spoke carefully around him, afraid of upsetting him – this matter would inevitably end with him, Ding Changsheng, having to host a reconciliation dinner and apologize to that effeminate little brat.

The black leather book rotated in front of him. Ding Changsheng made a show of picking it up to look, but though it was full of text, he couldn’t take in a single word. Finally, he couldn’t help but ask: “Yi Sa, what exactly… is going on here?”

Yi Sa took a few more bites, then finally leaned back in her chair and wiped her mouth with a napkin: “Uncle Ding, you’ve kept quite a few things from our Yi family, haven’t you?”

Ding Changsheng remained silent, not yet knowing exactly how much she knew. It would be unwise to respond rashly.

“Let me be direct. Here’s what happened. Last time at Lake Poyang, when we postponed opening Jin Tang and all went our separate ways, I left the boat but didn’t want to leave so quickly since I’d rarely come back to China. So I stayed a few extra days. Then Ding Yudi found me, saying he wanted to explore a sunken ship at Laoyemiao and asked for my help, so I agreed.”

Ding Changsheng gave a sound of acknowledgment.

This story had no flaws – Ding Yudi’s obsession with sunken ships was no secret, and he had indeed gone diving at Laoyemiao.

“But in the end, forget about sunken ships, we didn’t even find a piece of scrap metal. I was about to leave, but the night before my departure, a woman came to find me.”

Ding Changsheng held his breath.

“She was very ugly, and I didn’t know her. I wasn’t going to pay her any attention, but then she said she knew my father and my sister, and she told me Jiang Xiaoguang was dead, killed by Jiang Jun…”

Ding Changsheng’s heart pounded like a drum. According to Yi Sa’s timeline, this would have been after opening Jin Tang at Laoyemiao.

At that time, both Jiang Xiaoguang and Jiang Jun had disappeared. He had sent people with diving equipment to search for two days without success and had to make up a story about “Jiang Xiaoguang being in intensive care” as a temporary cover.

Yi Sa looked up at him with a cold smile: “Uncle Ding, if it were you, with things being so strange, you would have wanted to hear her out too, right?”

Ding Changsheng’s throat was dry. He took a sip of tea to moisten it: “Then what?”

“Then, she told me a story.”

Just as she was saying this, Zong Hang suddenly cried out in pain beside them, his head crashing onto the table.

Ding Xi’s temple throbbed as he thought Zong Hang was about to do something, but then realized that wasn’t it – Zong Hang seemed to be having an episode, his body out of control. After knocking over nearby bowls and plates, he convulsed and tumbled from his chair, rolling around on the floor almost maniacally.

Ding Changsheng quickly stood up to look: “Is he…”

He swallowed the rest of his words.

He could see now – black blood vessels were bulging on Zong Hang’s arms, calves, neck, and face, like roots twisting over his skin, continuously swelling as if the blood inside might burst out at any moment…

This scene wasn’t unfamiliar – many people in the kiln had been like this.

But Yi Sa seemed used to it, even sighing: “As I said, he has episodes at any time, that’s why we don’t usually let him go out…”

She crouched down and propped Zong Hang’s upper body against the wall. He was shaking violently, barely able to make a sound, the blood vessels on his face burning hot as his body continued to spasm.

Yi Sa turned to look at Ding Changsheng: “It’s fine, let him rest a bit. He’ll be better in about ten minutes. Now… where were we?”

Ding Changsheng collected himself: “You were saying that woman told you a story.”

Yi Sa nodded: “I’m not entirely certain whether this story is true or false. There are some things I need you to confirm, Uncle Ding – during those days, weren’t you at Laoye Temple, where you boarded a boat and met up with Jiang Xiaoguang, planning to secretly access the Jintang?”

Ding Changsheng’s face alternated between pale and ashen. After a pause, he said: “Yes, that happened, but we weren’t planning to access Jintang… we just wanted to scout the route…”

Yi Sa smiled: “That settles it then. That woman said she was underwater at the time and personally saw Jiang Jun descend with the ancestral tablet, and she also saw Jiang Xiaoguang holding an underwater camera.”

Ding Changsheng’s hand gripped the armchair tightly.

That’s right, all the details matched. So what exactly happened next?

Yi Sa narrated a condensed version of the story about three people entering the Xi Nest.

The story included the boat graveyard, Xi soil, Xi nest, countless corpses, and the Cycle Bell with the embedded ancestral tablet. Jiang Jun killed Jiang Xiaoguang and attempted to control that woman, but failed. Later, the woman escaped through some unknown means.

“Then she told me she was my sister. She explained what happened after the Three Rivers Source incident, and said that many of them were coming, asking me to warn you about this.”

She paused here, giving Ding Changsheng time to process while pouring a glass of water for Zong Hang. His bulging blood vessels had subsided, though his skin remained flushed and hot as if steamed.

Yi Sa wanted to ask how he was feeling but hesitated. Zong Hang, while drinking water, suddenly glanced at her with a rather proud look. After finishing his water, he quietly sat down and resumed eating.

Ding Changsheng finally reacted: “You… just believed her?”

Yi Sa said: “Not immediately. The story was well-crafted, but everything needs evidence. Her first piece of evidence was Zong Hang, and she said Ding Xi was the witness who could verify that Zong Hang had died and come back to life.”

She smiled at Ding Xi: “Is that true?”

Ding Xi hesitated: “Yes.”

“Did you kill him?”

Ding Xi’s expression grew complex, and he remained silent.

“She told me to keep Zong Hang with me, saying he would be very useful – not a water ghost, but stronger than one. She also said if I didn’t believe her, I could go to the kiln factory and find a black-covered book – the one we just returned. So I asked Young Lady Ding Yudi about whether you had a kiln factory.”

Ding Changsheng let out a long sigh.

The causes and effects, intricate as they were, had mostly aligned. Even a major mystery that had troubled him for over twenty years was about to be revealed.

“Then… what about Yi Xiao?”

Yi Sa smiled bitterly: “She left. We parted ways at Laoye Temple. She said she didn’t have long to live and wanted to die peacefully. Besides, at that time, I wasn’t entirely convinced she was my sister… until today when I got this book at the kiln factory.”

The book…

Ding Changsheng opened the book.

Coincidentally, the first thing he saw was Yi Baoquan’s drawing. He had pondered this “Boat Ride” drawing countless times, never understanding its meaning. He hadn’t even thought it depicted a boat ride, suspecting it might show two people floating together. Now he understood.

No wonder they said corpses were boats for crossing over.

He flipped forward.

— Hundred-zhang drums on the Yellow River banks, Cycle Bell in the lake’s depths, Jintang waters connect to the path of next life, thousands of boats await at the crossing.

Ding Changsheng muttered: “I need to think about this. It’s too significant. I need to discuss this with them…”

Yi Sa scooped some soup: “Exactly. After seeing the book, I realized how huge and urgent this matter was, which is why I called you immediately. Uncle Ding, do you think there might be people crawling out by Lake Poyang right now?”

Ding Changsheng felt uneasy at her words.

Yi Sa gauged his expression: “I think it’s better to believe it exists than to dismiss it. Uncle Ding, the Laoye Temple waters aren’t that large. Maybe you should urgently arrange for some people to patrol that area tonight? If there are any, catch them one by one, and get things under control. Don’t wait until after your discussions when everything might already be out of hand…”

Ding Changsheng’s mind was in chaos, without any clear plan: “You’re right. Whether it’s true or not, I should make arrangements first. Sasa, keep eating, you’re not leaving in the next few days, right? We might need you later. I need to go discuss this with others…”

Yi Sa said: “I’m not leaving. This is such a major issue, and it involves my family – I want to know the truth too.”

Ding Changsheng nodded: “This time, we owe you our thanks. I’ll go handle things now, you all continue eating…”

Yi Sa remained silent, watching until he and Ding Xi were almost at the door before speaking up: “Uncle Ding, there’s still one matter unresolved.”

Ding Changsheng stopped in surprise: “There’s more?”

“Did Ding Xi kill someone?”

Ding Xi’s expression changed. Ding Changsheng felt overwhelmed: “Sasa, about this… Ding Xi was following my orders. At that time, we didn’t understand the situation. Yi Xiao had escaped, and we thought it was dangerous, so we took extreme measures…”

Yi Sa smiled: “I understand that… Zong Hang!”

Zong Hang had been listening to her and was caught off guard: “Huh?”

“Go hit him.”

Was this… meant to be real or just for show? Zong Hang hesitated.

Yi Sa coldly smiled: “Didn’t Ding Xi just admit to killing someone? You shot him three times, so letting him hit you back isn’t unreasonable, is it? If it weren’t for you, Zong Hang would have been living comfortably at home by now, instead of ending up in this neither-human nor non-ghost state, right, Uncle Ding? Is my request unreasonable?”

Seeing her change in demeanor, Ding Changsheng knew she was serious. After consideration, he realized Ding Xi was indeed at fault regarding Zong Hang: “It’s not unreasonable.”

Yi Sa looked at Zong Hang: “Go on.”

Zong Hang stood up and walked over.

Fighting was one thing, but being told to hit someone with everyone watching, with all this setup…

Zong Hang clenched his fist.

Ding Xi smiled and looked up at him: “Put some strength into it. Once this is done, we’re even…”

Zong Hang’s mind exploded, and he shouted: “Bullshit!”

He delivered a fierce hook to Ding Xi’s left cheek. Ding Xi couldn’t withstand the force and fell, knocking over several chairs.

How dare you say we’re even? You tried to take my life. What is a life? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – even if you get another chance, you can never return to how things were. How dare you talk about being even?

Ding Xi stumbled, using a chair to stand up.

He was still smiling: “Come on, three shots, three punches. You still have two more. Don’t hold back.”

Who said three shots equals three punches? That’s not how this works.

Blood rushed to his head as he charged forward with another punch, then another, each hitting flesh, his vision blurring.

When Yi Sa pulled him away, Ding Xi was already beaten down, his lip split and bleeding. He tried to get up several times but couldn’t. Finally, supporting himself against the wall, he managed to stand: “We’re done now, right? Can I leave?”

He wiped the blood from his mouth corner, breathing heavily, and limped away.

Ding Changsheng watched him leave before turning to Yi Sa: “Indeed, Ding Xi went too far. Sasa, please try to understand…”

Yi Sa smiled: “I understand, what’s there not to understand? Everyone has their difficulties… but Uncle Ding, this isn’t over yet.”

“I can’t say Ding Xi killed Zong Hang and my sister since they came back to life. There’s no precedent for this kind of thing. But I had a friend, Chen Heji – I don’t know if Ding Xi mentioned him to you – he’s truly dead.”

Ding Changsheng fell silent, his expression solemn.

“Not only dead but burned, his remains thrown in a swamp, exposed to wind and rain for over a month. I found him and buried him myself. This one can never come back to life. I made a vow at his grave to get justice.”

“Uncle Ding, Ding Xi is your godson, please help me make this right. Regardless of Ding Xi’s reasons at the time, killing is killing. Our three families have always been reasonable – we can’t just ignore a matter of life and death, can we? Chen Heji had no family and no descendants. We don’t want money, just justice.”

After a long while, Ding Changsheng nodded: “Alright, give me time to consider. I’ll try to find a solution that satisfies everyone.”

Once Ding Changsheng left, Yi Sa collapsed into a chair, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably.

Were there any flaws in the story she made up? It seemed not. She had fooled them, delivered the message, and taught Ding Xi a lesson – perfect execution.

Suddenly remembering something, she asked Zong Hang: “Are you okay?”

Zong Hang wasn’t sure which incident she was referring to: “I’m fine.”

“Are you stupid? You should have just taken a small bite of the fish for show, not such a big piece.”

Zong Hang said: “Well… it had to look convincing.”

He looked at the table full of dishes: “Are you still eating? Their food is really bad, not even as good as street food stalls.”

Yi Sa said: “If you say it’s bad, why would I eat it? Let’s go. If we see any food stalls on the way, we can eat another round.”

Unfortunately, they didn’t find any food stalls on their way back.

It was late, few people were on the streets, and the streetlights were dim. Yi Sa drove very slowly, even slower than Zong Hang’s proclaimed safe speed, like a snail crawling along.

After driving for a while, she stopped by a phone booth: “Go make a call.”

Zong Hang asked curiously: “What call?”

Yi Sa gave him a sidelong glance: “Someone showed his face in front of opponents tonight and is temporarily safe. You don’t need to dress like a thief when going out anymore, and you don’t have to worry about endangering your family. Don’t you want to let your parents know you’re safe?”