Twenty corpses floated on the river’s surface.
Each one face-down, limbs spread, their water-soaked clothes puffed up, looking eerie.
As dusk fell.
The appearance of these twenty floating corpses cast a sinister, terrifying atmosphere over the dim canyon.
“Boss, could they be…”
Before Xiao Zhan could finish, Ye Qiu turned to Longbrow True Person, “Old thing, this is your so-called auspicious omen?”
Longbrow True Person hadn’t expected this either. His eyes darted slyly as he said, “Little rascal, don’t jump to conclusions. These dead might not be from this ship.”
Ye Qiu sneered, “There are twenty Dragon Gate disciples on this ship, and now twenty corpses on the river. You still say it’s not them?”
Longbrow True Person rolled his eyes, “You haven’t seen their faces. How can you be sure they’re from this ship?”
Hmph, still making excuses.
Ye Qiu snorted coldly, “Once I pull them up, let’s see what you say.”
“Xiao Zhan, get the tools.”
“Prepare to retrieve the bodies.”
Xiao Zhan dashed into the cabin and returned with a tool resembling a fishing rod, its tip fitted with a small pulley wrapped with fine copper wire, attached to an eagle-claw-like iron hook.
This was a body-retrieval pole commonly used by corpse fishers.
Standing on the deck, Xiao Zhan aimed at a floating corpse and flicked the pole.
Splash—
The hook shot out, precisely grabbing a corpse.
“Up!”
Xiao Zhan shouted, pulling the corpse onto the deck with the pole.
He was about to inspect it when Ye Qiu stopped him.
“Hold it!”
“We don’t know the cause of death yet. Be careful of poison.”
“I’ll handle it!”
Ye Qiu crouched by the corpse, turned it over, and a dead face appeared.
It was a young man, likely in his early twenties.
“I know him.”
Xiao Zhan exclaimed, “His name’s Zhang Wei, a Dragon Gate disciple.”
Ye Qiu carefully examined the body.
He noticed Zhang Wei’s face was swollen, bluish-purple, with bloodshot eyes and bloody foam in his nose and mouth.
His eyes bulged dramatically, as if he had severe hyperthyroidism.
“Boss, how did Zhang Wei die?” Xiao Zhan asked.
Ye Qiu said, “Based on these symptoms, it’s likely he drowned.”
“Drowned?” Xiao Zhan was stunned, “That’s impossible. Zhang Wei was an expert swimmer.”
Ye Qiu asked, “You know him well?”
Xiao Zhan explained, “I saw Zhang Wei in the capital a few days ago. He was among the three thousand elite Dragon Gate disciples Zhuque was taking.”
“Zhuque sent me a table earlier with detailed info on the twenty disciples on Dragon Prosperity II.”
“It specifically noted that Zhang Wei was a skilled swimmer, even winning national swimming competitions.”
Xiao Zhan found it hard to believe, “I can’t fathom how someone so good at swimming could drown.”
Longbrow True Person said, “Kid, ever heard the saying, ‘Walk by the river long enough, and your shoes will get wet’?”
“Many die in the very field they excel at.”
“Like assassins, masters at killing, but they usually end up killed themselves.”
“So, nothing strange about it.”
Ye Qiu asked, “Xiao Zhan, did Zhuque’s info mention any illnesses Zhang Wei had?”
Xiao Zhan checked the table and replied, “Zhang Wei’s health status is listed as ‘healthy.’”
Ye Qiu nodded, “Got it. Pull up the rest of the bodies.”
Xiao Zhan got to work.
A few minutes later.
The remaining nineteen bodies were retrieved and neatly lined up by Xiao Zhan.
Ye Qiu instructed, “Check each one to see if they’re the missing people from this ship.”
“Yes.”
Xiao Zhan used his phone, comparing the table’s photos to the corpses.
“Wang Lei.”
“Li Jun.”
“Zhang Tao.”
“Wang Shuai.”
“Huang Wei.”
“…”
Soon, Xiao Zhan finished and reported, “Boss, after careful verification, these twenty dead are indeed the twenty missing Dragon Gate disciples from Dragon Prosperity II.”
Ye Qiu looked at Longbrow True Person with a cold smile, “Old thing, your divination is spot on, isn’t it?”
Catching Ye Qiu’s sarcasm, Longbrow True Person didn’t get angry and chuckled, “I’m the world’s greatest diviner, never wrong. But speaking the truth leaks heaven’s secrets, so I can only say the opposite.”
Ye Qiu scoffed, “Twisting words.”
“Twisting words? Don’t you know fortune-tellers who speak plainly risk divine punishment, blindness at best, or fatal backlash at worst?”
Longbrow True Person said righteously, “So, even if I divine the truth, I say the opposite.”
“Whether you understand depends on your insight.”
Xiao Zhan cursed, “I’ve seen shameless, but never this shameless.”
“Who’re you talking about?” Longbrow True Person glared at Xiao Zhan, “Say that again, and I’ll throw you in the river to feed the fish.”
Xiao Zhan shut his mouth.
Against a master with nine strands of true qi, he was wary.
“Enough, let’s get to business.”
Ye Qiu began examining the disciples’ causes of death.
He found each body’s condition nearly identical: no external injuries, no poisoning, and judging by their facial expressions, all had drowned.
Ye Qiu frowned, “So many people, including a skilled swimmer, all drowned? That’s too abnormal.”
“Something must have happened before they died.”
“What could it be?”
Xiao Zhan asked, “Could they have encountered something sudden, like a tornado?”
This earned a scolding from Longbrow True Person.
“Ignorant fool! This is a canyon, with high mountains and calm waters. How could a tornado form?”
“Even if one did, their first instinct would be to hide in the cabin, not all drown.”
“And if there was a tornado, why is this ship undamaged?”
Xiao Zhan knew Longbrow True Person’s logic was sound but refused to back down, retorting, “If you say it’s not a tornado, True Person, then tell me, how did they die?”
“How would I know?”
“You don’t know? Didn’t you claim to know astronomy above, geography below, and all things in between?”
“You little bastard, I’ll beat you to death!” Longbrow True Person rolled up his sleeves, ready to strike.
Suddenly, Ye Qiu’s voice rang out.
“I know how they died.”
