Ghost Ship (2)
Yang So So lit the corridor with her torch and spoke.
"The master's quarters are straight down the corridor, then one flight of stairs."
With the key in hand, there was no need to take detours like before. Yang So So took the lead, and the group followed behind her.
They soon arrived at the master's quarters.
Yang So So found the key to the quarters, inserted it into the lock, and turned it.
But just as she was about to open the door, Seo Baek raised his hand to stop her.
"Hold on a moment."
"What's wrong?"
"When entering a new area, you must first check for revenants. We got lucky last time with the severed head."
"……!"
Yang So So flinched, realizing her mistake.
Lucky because it was just a severed head.
In other words, this time a revenant with its body attached might burst out from behind the door?
Seo Baek pulled three daggers from his pouch—one for himself, and handed the others to Wang Yi Sam and Yu So Un.
"It's cramped down here in the hold, so use daggers."
"Should've borrowed a hand axe from the deputy master."
"It won't match a hand axe's killing power, but in tight spaces, a dagger's better than swinging a bulky hand axe."
"Fair point."
Wang Yi Sam nodded at Seo Baek's cool-headed judgment.
Yang So So drew her own sword from her waist.
"I'll use my sword."
"As you wish."
The group made their final preparations. Seo Baek placed his hand on the door, shoved it open, and swiftly stepped back.
Kiiiiiik. The door swung open.
The master's quarters were pitch black, not a handspan of visibility.
Seo Baek borrowed Yang So So's torch, entered the room, and scanned every corner. Fortunately, no revenants.
"All clear."
The group filed into the master's quarters.
Yang So So felt a surge of emotion upon entering. She ran her hand over the table once, as if her father's warmth still lingered there.
Seo Baek watched her quietly.
"Where is the Long River Three Gorges Waterway Gang's sacred relic?"
"Ah……."
Yang So So snapped back to reality and went behind the desk where the safe was.
But the moment she saw it, she recoiled in shock.
The safe's hinges had been ripped off, leaving it wide open. And inside? Not just no relic—the whole thing was empty.
"Who the hell……."
Yang So So trailed off, stunned.
Seo Baek watched her and thought.
She's no leader for a gang.
Of the women he'd met since venturing into the jianghu, there had been two: Ami Faction Leader Jeong Su Sa Tae and Sichuan Tang Clan's Dang Hong.
One a virtuous soul, the other a villainess, but they shared something in common. Beyond their superior martial prowess, their resolve was ironclad.
Yang So So, by contrast, lacked both.
The gang master's disappearance leaves his incompetent daughter to inherit the seat?
Rare unless it was a famed family clan. Bloodlines mattered there, but in the martial world, factions prized skill above all.
There must be a reason an incompetent like Yang So So took the master's seat.
Seo Baek suspected the Long River Three Gorges Waterway Gang hid secrets he had yet to uncover.
As Yang So So stared blankly at the empty safe, Wang Yi Sam shook his head.
"No relic, so why not bail? This ship's got a haunted vibe that's creeping me out."
"A revenant already showed up, didn't it?"
Yu So Un chuckled dryly.
"Yeah, well, Seo Baek handled that one. Let's bounce before more pop up."
"Couldn't agree more."
"Fine. Let's head to the engine room where the deputy master went."
Yang So So gathered herself and replied.
"If we figure out why it's drifting on the Yangtze tributary, we can reclaim the master's ship……."
At that moment, Seo Baek pressed a finger to his lips and quickly shut the door.
"Shh."
"What is it?"
"Didn't you hear that?"
"I did."
Yu So Un confirmed he'd heard it too.
"I didn't hear shit. What sound?"
"You might think I'm nuts, but it sounded like singing."
"Singing? What lunatic's belting out tunes down here……."
Suddenly, a faint voice came from beyond the closed door.
"The Long River Three Gorges winds ninety-nine bends……."
"The Long River Three Gorges depths ninety-nine fathoms……."
Yang So So jumped at the sound.
"That's the boatmen's song from the Three Gorges! Survivors on the ship!"
She lunged for the door to rush out.
But in the next instant, a sharp tingle shot down her spine, freezing her steps. Seo Baek had struck her back acupoint with lightning speed.
"Your life or death is none of my concern. But since you promised to uncover the master's ship's secrets, I'll see this through."
Seo Baek's voice was cold as ice.
He held the immobilized Yang So So and retreated. Wang Yi Sam, baffled, asked.
"Why'd you seal the master's acupoint all of a sudden?"
"Revenants outside."
"……!"
"This ship is overrun. The severed head was just the beginning."
Meanwhile, the singing grew louder.
And worst of all, it was heading toward the master's quarters.
Thud, thud, thud…….
Footsteps in the corridor.
No doubt. The revenants were approaching the master's quarters.
Seo Baek flashed three fingers to the group—the three ways to evade revenants. Their faces hardened as they drew deep breaths and held them.
Then the door burst open, and a revenant entered.
Wang Yi Sam gripped his dagger and signaled Seo Baek with his eyes.
Just one. Take it out?
Wait. Let's observe more.
Seo Baek shook his head, halting him, and gestured for everyone to press against the wall. They plastered their backs to it.
The revenant stepped to the room's center and slowly looked around. The singing stopped upon entry.
A man past middle age doesn't change his features easily. The years etch lines like tree rings.
This revenant was no different.
Its flesh was bluish-green, mold sprouting in patches, rotting away, but the face retained its living likeness.
A fifties martial artist with a long, streaked beard, exuding grave dignity.
The instant Seo Baek saw it, he knew.
The former master of the Long River Three Gorges Waterway Gang, Yang Gok.
His guess was spot on.
Yang So So, held by Seo Baek, teared up, her eyes glazing with emotion. Her presumed-dead father had appeared.
But this was no time for sentiment. Had she heard the singing and rushed out blindly, she'd have mistaken him for alive and run straight into the revenant's arms?
Then it happened. Revenant Yang Gok raised his massive huandao overhead.
Wang Yi Sam signaled in panic.
What now? Still just watch?
Yes. It doesn't know we're here.
Seo Baek calmly shook his head.
Yang Gok swung the huandao down. It whistled right past Wang Yi Sam's nose.
Flaaash.
"……!"
Wang Yi Sam froze, nearly fainting.
But Yang Gok wasn't aiming at him—he advanced a few steps, swinging wildly. The group, backs to the wall, dodged the air-slashing blade.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
A huandao that could split a man's head like a watermelon danced inches from their faces, yet Seo Baek's gaze remained icy, Yu So Un's even leisurely.
Wang Yi Sam inwardly marveled at them.
Realizing Yang Gok wasn't hunting the living eased his tension.
But Seo Baek's expression hardened further, utterly impassive.
Yang Gok wouldn't sword-dance alone. Which means…….
As Seo Baek pieced it together, several more revenants entered in a line from the corridor. Blue headscarves marked them as former deputies.
And unbelievably, the deputies raised their own huandaos to attack Yang Gok?
Clang, clang, clang, clang.
Yang Gok and the deputies exchanged several clashes. Eerily, it wasn't real combat—it looked like a rehearsed play, perfectly in sync.
Suddenly, Yang Gok and the deputies froze mid-motion. They blankly lifted their heads and resumed the boatmen's song.
Yang Gok had sung alone at first, but now it was a chorus.
The revenants' rotting flesh and severed vocal cords leaked bloody gurgles into their voices—like pigs squealing the tune.
Then Yang Gok and the deputies turned and filed out one by one, vanishing into the corridor.
As the singing faded away, Seo Baek quietly closed the door.
Wang Yi Sam exhaled the breath he'd held.
"What the hell did I just see? This ain't a revenant ship—it's a ghost ship. We gotta bolt now!"
Seo Baek agreed, but they couldn't leave yet.
I've grasped a clue to the master's ship's secret.
Now, find the evidence.
Seo Baek looked at the paralyzed Yang So So.
"I'm releasing your acupoint now. Scream or run out after your father, and I'll seal it again."
He unsealed it. Yang So So didn't bolt, but shot back defiantly.
"My father's still alive! Didn't you see him?"
"No. What we saw was a revenant."
Seo Baek's tone was glacial.
"If you're so sure he's not, we'll escape with you, then you return with the other deputies to fight the revenants and rescue him."
"Fine. But if he's a revenant, why act so lifelike? I don't get it."
Yang So So accepted his advice but couldn't fully accept her father was undead.
Wang Yi Sam scratched his head.
"Weird, yeah. Why swing that sword solo?"
"Reenacting his past."
Yu So Un answered.
"Revenants repeat their most intense living memories. Not swinging at air—he was reliving a fight."
"What? That's ridiculous……."
"Revenants are ridiculous by nature, aren't they?"
"Well… tch, can't argue that."
Wang Yi Sam grumbled, but Seo Baek endorsed Yu So Un's view.
"My master taught me the same. He fought someone here, then got killed by the deputies who burst in. The revenants repeat that day every day."
"Nonsense! That's absurd……."
Yang So So protested, but Seo Baek ignored her.
"Proof: not a speck of dust on this table."
He swiped his finger across—no dust. He'd noticed when Yang So So touched it earlier.
"The ship adrift for ages with no living soul, yet no dust? Means revenants live here like in life."
"……!"
Yang So So fell silent in shock. But Seo Baek dropped a bigger bombshell.
"Someone broke in, smashed the safe, stole the relic. The master fought him but was betrayed and slain by his own deputies. Thief and deputies were in cahoots."
"……!"
"Someone got infected, revenants overran the ship. The master and deputies turned, now drift the Yangtze, reliving their last day. That's the master's ship's secret."
Yang So So gaped, as did Wang Yi Sam.
Yu So Un nodded in admiration, unsurprised but impressed by Seo Baek's evidence synthesis.
With consensus, Seo Baek said.
"Secret solved. Time to escape."
"…Got it."
Yang So So relented.
Seo Baek explained the three revenant evasion methods to her.
"Even if you meet your father, follow these three strictly. Then check if he's a revenant—it won't be too late."
Yang So So nodded.
Of course, Seo Baek was certain Yang Gok was undead.
"Let's go."
To hold his breath, Seo Baek circulated the Shika Heart Method.
But his chest stung, and his inner energy wouldn't gather.
What?
The Shika Heart Method had precautions.
His master's warning upon transmission:
Best is a cup of tea's time (15 minutes).
Next best, a meal's time (30 minutes).
In mortal peril, up to half a shichen (1 hour).
Remember: longer risks qi deviation!
Not even half a shichen—he'd barely started.
No qi deviation signs. Just inner energy wouldn't pool in his dantian; body otherwise fine.
Only one answer.
Qi-Dispersing Poison.
Qi-Dispersing Poison scattered one's inner energy.
The martial world's most dreaded colorless, odorless toxin, crippling arts.
Seo Baek was poisoned.