Disappeared Without a Trace, The Goal

"I asked, 'Her husband said that on the day of her accident, she got a call from the unit saying there was an urgent job. Can I know what kind of urgent job it was?'"

Director Fang pursed his lips. "This is my fault too. I actually knew her mental state was off during that time. When Gu Song came to me asking for leave for her, I even told him to spend more time with her and counsel her properly. To be honest, I really shouldn't have made that call, but it truly was an urgent job."

I didn't interrupt him, just listened quietly.

"That day we received an anonymously donated cultural relic—an important piece that had ended up in the Island Nation: a Song Dynasty Yao Bian San Mu. As everyone knows, there are only three complete Song Dynasty Yao Bian San Mu in the world, and all three are in museums in the Island Nation. For us cultural relics workers, that's a tragedy."

I'm a layman when it comes to cultural relics, but from his words I could tell that only three complete Yao Bian San Mu exist in the world, all in Island Nation museums, which shows just how rare this piece was.

So it made sense that he called Xie Xiaotang.

Without a doubt, if this relic was genuine, it was national treasure-grade.

"Never thought a single phone call would cost her life."

Listening to Director Fang's words, my mind turned to another question.

He'd just said the relic had ended up in the Island Nation, meaning it was connected to them. And in that Dreamscape earlier, the black-robed figure I saw was also from the Island Nation, and an Onmyoji at that. So could these two things be related?

I vaguely felt like I'd grasped something.

"Is that relic still here?" I asked.

Director Fang shook his head. "Because of Xiaotang's accident, we sent the relic to the province, hoping authoritative experts could help authenticate it. But later, the relic was stolen."

Director Fang looked pained as he said this.

"Stolen?"

"Mm, to be precise, it vanished into thin air. That's what the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau told me. Though I really don't want to believe it, that's how it was. On something like this, the Bureau wouldn't dare lie."

I narrowed my eyes. This relic was the key to Xie Xiaotang's accident. Without it, there wouldn't have been that car crash. In other words, it was bait.

But then again, that Onmyoji seemed pretty formidable. If he just wanted to kill Xie Xiaotang, he could have done it much more simply. So what unknown reason lay behind all this?

This case was getting more and more interesting.

"Ask him if he can trace the donor. The relic was stolen—didn't the donor want an explanation?" Duan Hongbin's voice reached my ear.

I asked as instructed, but Director Fang said they'd never met the donor in person. It was all over the phone, and the item was left at a designated spot for Fang's people to pick up.

As for the theft, it hadn't been publicized, so the donor still didn't know.

Of course, they were also worried the donor might suddenly pop up demanding answers, but that wasn't his concern anymore—the item wasn't lost on his watch.

"I still don't quite get it. What do you mean by 'vanished into thin air'?"

Director Fang gave a bitter smile. "It was just sitting there, and suddenly it was gone. I watched the surveillance footage. One second the thing was there, the next it wasn't. No one was seen. Also, it was under a reinforced glass case—even a hammer might not break that. To take it out normally, you'd need a special key to lower the lift platform."

"It was in an exhibition hall?"

"No, a storage room, like a bank vault. Impossible to enter without the key. So this whole thing is unbelievable. I heard later the case was handed over to some mysterious department—I don't know which one—but it proves how bizarre this case is."

A mysterious department—could it be Unit Nine again?

If so, Xie Yi should have mentioned it. And he did say they had no investigators in Qian Province before. Now they do, just me and Xu Qiuyan. Unless someone came from headquarters—that's possible. Since I'm new, I might not have clearance for that case.

I didn't ask further. I stood up, took my leave, and left.

On the way back, I kept thinking. Was there a necessary link between the relic's mysterious appearance and bizarre theft, and Xie Xiaotang's car accident? I believed there was. At the very least, both were connected to the Island Nation.

"That's right. Both things are tied to those Island Nation people."

Duan Hongbin appeared in the seat beside me.

"If it were you, could you make a relic disappear like that?"

"I can't, but that woman can."

"Which woman?" I didn't catch on right away.

Duan Hongbin chuckled. "The one by your sweetheart's side. She's a Ghost Body. Meaning, if she wants, she can make herself invisible to anyone, and she can also grab things from a distance, bypassing all that so-called security."

"You're not suspecting her, are you?" I shot him a glare.

Duan Hongbin rolled his eyes back at me. "What are you thinking? You don't think an Onmyoji can control ghosts?"

A single word woke me from my daze. Why hadn't I thought of that? Onmyoji really can control ghosts. I'm not too familiar with it, but I could figure that much.

"But there's one thing that doesn't add up."

"What?"

"That Onmyoji seemed really powerful. If he just wanted to kill Xie Xiaotang, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble, even bringing out a national treasure."

My words made Duan Hongbin fall into thought too.

"It does feel like taking off your pants to fart. But what if Xie Xiaotang wasn't their ultimate target, and killing her was just for some other reason?"

If that were the case, their scheme was much bigger.

When I got home, Xu Qiuyan was already there.

Eccentric Song guessed right—she really had brought Yin Wuyu back.

"So, surprised?" Xu Qiuyan's face was full of smiles. She genuinely wanted to give me a pleasant surprise.

I smiled and nodded. "Mm, I was just thinking about when I'd go pick him up. Didn't expect you'd already gone."

I felt a twinge of guilt as I said this, and cast an apologetic glance at Yin Wuyu.

"Boss!" He looked at me, his eyes brimming with gratitude.

That only made me feel worse. I patted his head. "From today on, you'll live with us. I've got your back."

He smiled, a bright, happy smile.

"By the way, what did the Cultural Relics Bureau say?" Xu Qiuyan brewed me a cup of tea, sat down, and asked.

I gave her a rough rundown of the situation. After hearing it, she furrowed her brow. "That doesn't add up. Stirring up such a big commotion just to kill one person—and it's completely pointless to boot."

Her mind was sharp too; she zeroed in on the crux of the issue in an instant.

Then she added, "There must be something else behind this that we don't know. What do you think it could be?"

I shook my head.

"Right, how exactly did that artifact disappear?"

I knew she'd pick up on the mysterious theft of the artifact.

So I relayed Duan Hongbin's speculation.

"Is that so? Sister Hong, can you really do that?"

With Xu Qiuyan's call of "Sister Hong," that cold and aloof woman—no, I should say cold and aloof female ghost—appeared before my eyes. Yin Wuyu saw her too. "This big sister is so pretty!"

I scolded, "What does a little brat like you know?"

The woman glanced at Yin Wuyu, her brow slightly furrowed. "Forbidden Technique."

Her voice wasn't loud, but I heard it clearly. "What Forbidden Technique?"

"Someone placed a Forbidden Technique on him, so his intellect can't develop like a normal person's—because part of his soul is sealed away."

Xu Qiuyan looked at the woman with concern. "Sister Hong, can you help him?"

The woman shook her head. "I can't help. But don't worry too much; this seal won't do him much harm, and it has its benefits. If I'm not mistaken, he should possess some kind of ability beyond ordinary people."

I was a bit stunned. Xu Qiuyan had often visited Yin Wuyu before—didn't this woman know anything about it? If she stayed by Xu Qiuyan's side, how could she not recognize Yin Wuyu?

Yet she genuinely didn't.

It seemed that when Xu Qiuyan went to see Yin Wuyu before, she really hadn't brought her along.

Hearing the woman say that, Xu Qiuyan didn't press further.

I asked curiously, "You said he might have some abilities beyond ordinary people—does he or doesn't he?"