I shook my head slightly.
Anna, the short-haired woman, had the bill ready. She held out her tablet to me.
I entered an email address directly, then took out my phone and started transferring the money to the other party’s account.
Only after the transaction showed as processing did Chu An Hạ visibly breathe a sigh of relief.
“Damn it, who did this? Where’s the captain?”
Chu An Hạ regained his composure and looked at Bạch Tịnh. “Are you a crew member? Where’s your captain? Why are there stun grenades and smoke bombs on this ship? How do your people handle security?”
I’d never encountered stun grenades and smoke bombs before. The other party had acted very quickly—they’d clearly planned this in advance.
Bạch Tịnh looked awkward.
Just then, Dương Kỳ’s voice came from outside. “Hứa Tâm, are you all right?”
Dương Kỳ came in with several people, followed by a middle-aged man in uniform.
Chu An Hạ hurriedly said to the middle-aged man, “Captain Giang, how do you handle security? Why are there stun grenades and smoke bombs on the ship? Where are the surveillance cameras? Check the footage immediately. I want to know who dared target our Giai Đức auction house.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Chu. We’ll make sure the Giai Đức auction house gets a satisfactory explanation.”
Captain Giang’s voice was hoarse. His gaze swept over everyone present, then finally settled on me and Bạch Tịnh. “Bạch Tịnh? What are you doing here?”
Bạch Tịnh explained, “Miss Hứa is staying in the penthouse suite on the top floor. She wanted to inspect the auction items, so I went with her.”
“Mm.” Captain Giang nodded, fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
“Everyone, there’s been a theft aboard the ship. Until you’ve been cleared of suspicion, please remain in your private rooms. I’ll assign people to stand guard.”
“Go back to our rooms?” I said coldly.
“Captain Giang, are you trying to detain us?”
“It’s not detention. I’m just asking you not to wander around for the time being, so we can avoid unnecessary trouble.”
Captain Giang said seriously, “Miss Hứa, this concerns the Giai Đức auction items. You’re an outsider, so logically, you’re probably the prime suspect.”
I raised a hand. “Captain Giang, you’re mistaken. I’ve already paid for these auction items. They belong to me now. I don’t need the insurance company to compensate me. Mr. Chu, there’s no need to call the police. Just consider the more than two billion I spent the price of buying my freedom aboard this ship.”
Chu An Hạ immediately nodded with a smile. “Understood. Everything is up to Boss Hứa.”
“You’re not pursuing this?” Captain Giang looked at us, his eyes widening a little.
I nodded. “I’m not pursuing it. Steward Bạch, take me back to my room.”
“Understood, Miss Hứa.” Bạch Tịnh nodded respectfully and led the way.
I left the valuables room and glanced at Dương Kỳ. He understood and followed me.
At the door of the luxury suite, Mumu’s mother opened it and quickly stepped aside when she saw me.
“Miss Hứa, you’re back.”
Mumu’s mother glanced at the slightly messy living room and said, “I’m sorry. I’ll clean it up right away. I… my husband… he’s in the bathroom, Miss Hứa. I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine. You can use this room however you like. Is Mumu all right?”
Mumu’s mother shook her head and looked at Mumu, asleep on the sofa. “She fell asleep not long after we got here. She’s sleeping soundly.”
I looked around the room, then turned to Dương Kỳ. “Come talk in your room.”
Once we reached Dương Kỳ’s luxury suite, I went into the bathroom and washed my face. Then I took out the snuff bottle and inhaled from it once more. My thoughts immediately became exceptionally clear again.
In the living room, Dương Kỳ eyed the snuff bottle in my hand and asked curiously, “You still use this stuff? What’s inside? It’s not something illegal, is it?”
“There’s nothing inside.” I held up the snuff bottle.
“It’s a haunted object—the only one among the 26 auction items. Its resentment is very faint, so it wasn’t what caused the ship to sink.”
“Of the 26 auction items, this is the only haunted object. The resentment in this snuff bottle is very weak. One sniff gives off the scent of sandalwood and can immediately clear your head and sharpen your thoughts. The effect lasts about five minutes.”
Dương Kỳ was surprised. “You’re saying the ship didn’t sink because of a haunted object among the auction items?”
I nodded and looked at Bạch Tịnh, who was sitting nearby. “Bạch Tịnh, who are you, really?”
“Me? Miss Hứa, I’m your personal steward.” Bạch Tịnh smiled.
I stared at Bạch Tịnh.
Bạch Tịnh’s smile turned a little rueful. She scratched her head. “Miss Hứa, what just happened really had nothing to do with me. All right, I’ll come clean. I do know about haunted objects, and I know who you are. I…”
“You’re a descendant of the Bạch family of Vô Vọng Y Quán,” I said.
Bạch Tịnh looked at me in surprise. “You… you knew?”
“The six major shops of the ghost market vanished from the streets of Phan Jia Yuan after an incident during the Republican era. I came aboard the Princess Rose this time to find Vô Vọng Y Quán’s shop-guarding haunted object. I never expected to run into a descendant of the Bạch family of Vô Vọng Y Quán. You didn’t show up here by chance. What are you doing here? Why did you board this ship? Do you have Vô Vọng Y Quán’s shop-guarding haunted object?”
Bạch Tịnh looked at Dương Kỳ.
Dương Kỳ smiled wryly. “Am I the odd one out now? Fine, I’ll wait outside.” With that, he walked out of the room.
Only Bạch Tịnh and I remained in the luxury suite.
Bạch Tịnh raised a hand and produced several silver needles. “This is our shop-guarding haunted object from Vô Vọng Y Quán, the Thirteen Ghost Gate Needles. But I’m missing a few needles, and I boarded this ship to find one of them.”
“The Thirteen Ghost Gate Needles?”
There were thirteen needles in all. Bạch Tịnh had come to find the shop-guarding haunted object, while I had boarded this ship after learning about Vô Vọng Y Quán’s shop-guarding haunted object during the ghost bus incident.
“How do you know about me?” I asked, puzzled.
Bạch Tịnh shrugged. “My father told me about your Hứa family long ago. I’ve also looked into you quite a bit. But he told me not to seek you out unless… the Bạch family had no descendants left. Before I died, I was supposed to go to Tâm Trai and give the Thirteen Ghost Gate Needles to the Hứa family.”
“I boarded the Princess Rose this time to find Vô Vọng Y Quán’s shop-guarding haunted object, too,” I explained, then continued.
“But that’s not important right now. We can talk about it later. First, let’s deal with what’s right in front of us—the ship sinking. It may have something to do with someone on board.”
I went to the door, opened it, and let Dương Kỳ in.
Dương Kỳ smiled. “Done talking? That was fast.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to talk later.” I looked at the two of them.
“Mumu opened her Heavenly Eye. The ship sinking she saw was probably real. I also experienced a temporal disturbance and saw the ship sink. Besides, Captain Giang carries an unusually heavy yin energy. The recent theft of the auction items may well have something to do with him.”
Bạch Tịnh asked curiously, “Why would he do that?”
“To distort our view of things and make us focus entirely on the auction items,” Dương Kỳ said bluntly.
He was a police officer, after all, so he’d spotted the crucial point at a glance.
I nodded to Dương Kỳ. “Our opponent is probably trying to distort our view of things. If the information I saw during the space-time disturbance was accurate, the circle you drew was the captain’s cabin. You’re telling me the captain is involved.”
“No wonder that old man made me uncomfortable the moment I applied for the job.”
Bạch Tịnh asked me, “What do we do now?”