After the final headcount confirmed that everyone who was supposed to be here had arrived, the ship finally set sail.
By then, night had fallen completely. The sky was overcast, with no moon in sight. The sea was pitch-black, casting an eerie and unsettling atmosphere.
Ever since Lin Feng boarded the ship, Sun Fatty and I had been hiding in the cabin, doing our best to avoid crossing paths with him. Not long after the ship started moving, Sun Fatty, who was sprawled across a pile of burlap sacks, suddenly said, "Lazi, come here and take a look—what's going on with Wealth Rat?"
I turned to look. Wealth Rat had just been darting back and forth across Sun Fatty's body as usual. But all of a sudden, without any warning, it curled up into a ball and began trembling uncontrollably on Sun Fatty's belly.
What's wrong with the little guy? He looked absolutely terrified. Watching him still shivering, I said, "Dasheng, your wife wouldn't happen to be seasick, would she? I mean… can rats even get seasick?"
"Doesn't look like seasickness to me." Sun Fatty held Wealth Rat in his hands and studied him closely. "Not gonna lie, he's shaking like crazy. Looks more like he's been scared by something."
Just then, we heard Xiong Wanyi shouting up on deck: "Fog's rolling in! Heavy fog! Go get the captain, tell him to steer carefully!" As soon as his voice dropped, chaos erupted on deck—it sounded like something big had happened.
Still coaxing Wealth Rat in his hands, Sun Fatty glanced out the window, then turned to me and said, "Lazi, fog's coming in. Not gonna lie, fog on the sea is a bad omen. I read in a book that when the Titanic hit the iceberg, there was a thick fog over the sea too."
I laughed and said, "Dasheng, you read books? You mean Titanic? I thought you only watched the movie version."
Sun Fatty replied solemnly, "Saw the movie too. Not gonna lie, I especially liked that scene where the couple draws each other…"
Just as we were still joking around, a thunderous crash suddenly shook the ship violently—it felt like we had hit something. Sun Fatty and I managed to grab onto the bolted-down tables and chairs in the cabin, barely managing to stay on our feet. Sun Fatty's face turned pale as he stammered, "N-no way… I was just saying! They didn't have to take it so seriously!"
I grabbed him and shoved him toward the door. "Stop standing around—go see what's going on!"
Sun Fatty and I rushed up to the deck. The fog was incredibly thick, but we could still make out that the deck was already packed with people. It was eerily silent—no one made a sound. Almost every eye was locked onto something behind us.
I turned around and followed their gaze, and nearly jumped in shock. Emerging from the dense fog, a massive wooden ship was brushing right past our mixed-cargo vessel. The ship was ancient, built entirely of wood, and utterly colossal. It had three visible decks, and we could faintly make out sails fluttering at the top. Compared to this behemoth, our ship was like a tiny sampan.
I'd never seen—or even heard of—such a gigantic wooden sailboat. We must have collided with it earlier. Our engine had cut out, and the force of the collision had shoved us off our course. Around us, the other investigators stood grim-faced, all staring at the enormous vessel. Most had already drawn their pistols, as if preparing for a threat.
Through the thick fog, we could just barely make out figures moving on the deck of the wooden ship—and there were quite a few of them. It felt like they were watching us too… only, I couldn't sense any life in them.
One of Lin Feng's subordinates, an investigator named Zhang Tianlei, walked over and whispered something in Director Lin's ear. The more Lin Feng listened, the deeper his frown grew. Narrowing his eyes, he fixed his gaze on the figures aboard the giant wooden ship—but in the end, he made no move, simply staring intently.
Two or three minutes passed before the two ships fully drifted apart. We all watched helplessly as the massive ship vanished into the fog. Strangely enough, the moment it disappeared, a gust of wind suddenly swept across the sea, clearing away the heavy fog completely. Looking in the direction the wooden ship had vanished, we saw only the wide, empty sea—not even a shadow of the ship remained.
The captain and a few crew members were visibly paralyzed with fear. During the encounter, none of them had dared make a sound. Now that the phantom vessel was gone, the ship's first mate suddenly screamed hysterically, "The ghost ship has come to collect souls! We're all gonna die—die together!"
Xiong Wanyi stood right beside the first mate. Without a word, he slapped the man hard across the face. The blow was so fierce it left twin streams of blood running from his nostrils. But it had the intended effect—the mate fell silent, staring blankly at Xiong Wanyi.
But Xiong Wanyi wasn't done. He glared at the first mate and said, "Ghost ship collecting souls? What the hell do you know?"
The mate remembered something and looked even more terrified. The captain, unable to bear watching any longer, stepped in and recounted a local legend that had been passed down for centuries.
According to him, a ghost ship had long haunted these waters. It was said to be one of the treasure ships from Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas. On his sixth return trip, the fleet encountered a fierce storm, and one of the treasure ships began taking on water. Before the crew could evacuate, the ship sank to the bottom of the sea, taking everyone with it.
But ever since that day, roughly every twenty years, someone would spot a massive wooden sailboat drifting through these waters. And whenever it appeared, anyone who laid eyes on it would have their soul taken by the hungry ghosts onboard.
Just as the captain finished speaking, one of the crew suddenly shouted, pointing at a spot of light on the horizon: "It's back! The ghost ship's back!"
We followed his finger and saw a light out at sea—it was growing brighter and closer. As it approached, we could see that it was a ship after all, though made of modern steel. It was significantly larger than ours, but still nowhere near the size of the ghost ship. Standing on the deck were several familiar faces: Gao Liang, Hao Wenming, Qiu Bulao, and Xiao Heshang.
The two ships came alongside each other, and we all transferred over to Gao Liang's vessel. After boarding, Lin Feng gave Gao Liang a report on what had just happened. But Gao Bureau's reaction puzzled me—after hearing that we'd seen the ghost ship, a trace of disappointment flashed across his face.
Sun Fatty and I huddled behind Hao Wenming. Sun Fatty muttered, "Hao Tou, not gonna lie, we really went all in this time. We're not just here to fish off the South China Sea, right?"
Hao Wenming shot him a glare. "How many times do I have to tell you—stop copying the way I talk! Not gonna lie—when I say come, you come. Why the hell are you whining so much?"
Hao Wenming gave Sun Fatty a light kick. "I told you to shut up, and now you're getting even more excited."
Sun Fatty dodged with a grin, clearly not taking Director Hao's words seriously.
Hao Wenming sighed and got to the point. "Not that I want to make a fuss, but Hugo is still a foreigner. Some things should be kept from him. Chief Gao sent him and Moyes to the Catholic Archdiocese in Tianjin to host some sort of mass."
That caught my attention, and I interjected, "Hao, what exactly happened here? What's so serious that you need to hide it from Hugo and Moyes?"
"Not that I want to scare you, but... have you ever heard of the Ghost Ship?" Hao Wenming looked straight at me.
"Ghost Ship?" I thought of what I'd seen earlier and said, "Never heard of it before, but I might've seen the real deal a few minutes ago. Not sure if what I saw counts as one."
"Not that I want to jinx it, but I really don't know if you're lucky… or just cursed." Hao Wenming shook his head at me and Sun Fatty, sighing. "We've been drifting out at sea for over two weeks, dreaming every night about finding that ghost ship. But we never saw a single trace of it. Then you guys show up and run into it the moment you get in the water."
Sun Fatty asked, "Hao, was that really the ghost ship?"
"What do you think?" Hao Wenming looked helpless. "Come on, Sun Dasheng, you've been in the Bureau long enough. You should've recognized it at first glance."
He paused, took a breath, and continued. "Judging from what Lin Feng said, you've probably heard some of the ghost ship legends. That ship dates back to the early Ming Dynasty—so we're talking early 15th century CE. It should've been at the bottom of the sea for 600 years. But for some reason, it reappears once every twenty years or so. Records from the Ming, Qing, and even the Republic era mention sightings of it."
"Back in the Republican period, both the Religious Affairs Committee and the predecessor of our Bureau—the Special Case Handling Office—made full-scale attempts to board it and figure out what it was. But they always came up empty-handed. A few times, the ghost ship appeared just a few nautical miles away, like what you saw earlier. But no matter how fast they sailed toward it, the ship vanished into the fog right before their eyes."
As Hao Wenming spoke, Sun Fatty tilted his head, listening intently. When Hao finished, he asked, confused, "So it's just a ship, right? Not that I want to question everything, but does it really warrant this much drama? Why send the two foreigners away? What's on that ship?"
"It's exactly because we don't know what's on it that it's such a big deal," Hao Wenming said, furrowing his brow. Then he told the story of the ghost ship's origin.
The ship had been a treasure ship in Zheng He's fleet during his voyages to the Western Seas. It was even the fleet's flagship. When the accident happened, Zheng He was lucky—he was on another vessel at the time.
According to contemporary records, when word of the sunken treasure ship reached Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di), he issued an extraordinary imperial edict. He ordered the fleet, which had already returned to port, to set sail again immediately and salvage the ship—at any cost.
However, shortly after Zheng He's fleet left port again, a second edict arrived—this one repealing the first and ordering the fleet to return. When over 10,000 people returned, confused, over 300 of them were arrested at the docks by the Jinyiwei on charges of espionage. Zheng He himself was escorted to the capital by eunuchs from the Eastern Depot.
The very day he arrived in the capital, Zheng He was summoned by Emperor Yongle. No one knows what was said during that audience. But three days later, Zhu Di issued another imperial edict declaring that Zheng He's six voyages were complete and had brought great merit, but that further expeditions would be too costly and burdensome for the people. As such, the voyages to foreign lands would end.
(Note: Zheng He's seventh and final voyage would not take place until the sixth year of Xuande's reign, 1431 CE—seven years after Zhu Di's death—but it was on a much smaller scale.)
Twenty years later, a merchant ship passing through the area where the treasure ship had sunk was suddenly engulfed in dense fog. In the fog, everyone aboard saw a massive sailing vessel approaching them. Both ships were on the same route, and the merchant ship couldn't avoid a collision. It was rammed and sank.
Nearly everyone died—except one lucky sailor who clung to a piece of timber and drifted in the sea for a day before being rescued by another merchant vessel. That was how the legend of the ghost ship began.
Ever since, about once every twenty years, the ghost ship has reappeared. And the stories have grown more and more bizarre. Some say it carries a divine artifact Zheng He accidentally found during his travels through foreign lands. They claim this artifact, once exposed to the world, drew the wrath of the heavens, leading to the treasure ship's doom.
Although the ship's exact appearances remain unpredictable, a few patterns have been noted: it always appears during heavy fog, vanishes once the fog clears, and may reappear once or twice in the same window. But after that, it won't be seen again for another twenty years.
During the Republican era, the Religious Affairs Committee suddenly took an intense interest in the ghost ship. They nearly unraveled its mystery, even assembling a fleet of over a hundred vessels to intercept it. But that year, the ghost ship only appeared once—and only briefly. By the time they spotted it, it was already too late. They could only watch it vanish into the mist.
After Hao Wenming finished, I asked him, "Hao, how many times has the ghost ship appeared this time?"
Hao Wenming held up three fingers. "That's it for this cycle. We missed our quota again. Next time it comes around, I probably won't be around to see it. Not that I want to pressure you—but if you want to know what's on that ship, it's up to you guys."
Sun Fatty chuckled and said, "Hao, don't worry. If we really uncover the ghost ship's secrets twenty years from now, I swear we'll recite it all for you when we burn paper offerings at your grave."
The corner of Hao Wenming's eye twitched. He gritted his teeth. "Sun Fatty, if I throw you into the sea right now and you come back as a ghost to haunt me in my dreams, you can tell me what's on that damn ship that way too."
Sun Fatty kept grinning. "Hao, not that I want to brag, but would you even trust a word I said if I were a ghost?"
It seemed the ghost ship had slipped through our fingers once again. Gao Liang had no interest in continuing to sunbathe by the sea. After discussing briefly with Xiao Heshang, he called all the Bureau personnel into a large ship cabin for a meeting.
Sun Fatty and I slipped in with the crowd. We didn't have much say in a meeting like this—just there to listen. After a few days out at sea, Gao Liang's face showed clear signs of exhaustion, which was understandable. The man was in his sixties, after all. Days of sun and sea wind had turned his complexion waxy and yellow. And he'd been running himself ragged over this ghost ship. Just the fact that he was still up and chairing the meeting was a testament to his stamina.
Director Gao didn't waste any time. After a brief opening remark, he cut straight to the point. "Tonight, the Ghost Ship of Zheng He reappeared. Unfortunately, once again, we failed to seize the opportunity. It slipped right past us."
He paused and looked around at everyone before continuing, "Based on its centuries-old cycle, the next appearance will likely be twenty years from now. From a certain perspective, that's good news. Our current mission can now be wrapped up."
Most of the investigators let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Gao Liang went on, "Same procedure as always. Leave a few people behind for cleanup, and the rest return to the Bureau." His eyes scanned the faces of several department heads before settling on Director Hao. "Hao Wenming, looks like it's your Division One's turn this time."
The moment he said this, everyone in Division One—myself, Sun Fatty, and Po Jun included—froze. Normally, cleanup duties like this went to Division Two or Four. Very rarely did they assign it to us.
Cleanup referred to removing all traces of the Bureau's involvement after an incident was closed. Typically, the team that handled the case would do the cleanup. Now that Gao Liang had handed it to us, we couldn't tell what he was really thinking.
"I'm not busy at the Bureau right now. I'll stay behind and help with the cleanup too," said Xiao Heshang beside Gao Liang.
The Bureau Chief gave him a glance and nodded in approval.
Another one joining the party. But hadn't Xiao Heshang been floating around the sea for several days already? Wasn't he tired of it yet? Judging by his rosy complexion, he looked nothing like Gao Liang—who was clearly worn out. I started to wonder what kind of sea cruise he had been enjoying these past few days.
With the arrangements made, Gao Liang adjourned the meeting and stayed behind with a few directors for a private discussion. The rest of the investigators either returned to their cabins to rest or gathered in small groups. Maybe it was the prospect of finally heading back to dry land, but everyone seemed to be in high spirits—everyone except me… and Sun Fatty.
When I saw Hao Wenming, I'd originally planned to ask him about what happened back in '75, maybe probe a little. But then I caught Lin Feng glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. That look reminded me of what happened on the plane, and I swallowed my words.
Maybe on purpose, maybe not, but after seeing Hao Wenming, Sun Fatty's "not gonna lie" quirk came out even more: "Hao, not gonna lie, where's that foreigner Hugo? Wasn't he with you guys? Why don't I see him?"