Chương 21: Chapter 21: The Strange Fog

If he agreed rashly at this point, he would be too foolish, and it would make Xu Su suspicious. Yang Xiao did not give a direct answer, maintaining a noncommittal attitude, which would help him to control the initiative in the next round of negotiations and possibly get more clues about the rules of the script from Xu Su.

Then, when cross-referenced with what Kuang Hongyi had said, it would be much safer.

"Let's leave here first," Yang Xiao said, taking Xu Su away from the busy dock.

Xu Su turned his head to look at the bustling dock and asked in confusion, "Weren't we here to ask about the Bai Family Troupe people?"

"Working on ships is fraught with taboos; all these boat captains worship the Water Dragon King, and they especially avoid mentioning sinking, capsizing, and the like. If we ask about the shipwreck case here from ten years ago in this crowded place, it could draw unwanted attention from the overseers, and that would invite trouble," Yang Xiao explained as they walked.

"You sure know a lot," Xu Su obediently followed by Yang Xiao's side.

The two of them headed to a shady spot not far from the dock, which was somewhat dirty and unkempt, with a wooden sign planted in the ground. Nearby, there were scattered groups of bare-chested men resting.

They were clearly the dock's laborers by their garb, but these men were older and not as robust. Seeing Yang Xiao and Xu Su approach, they quickly surrounded them, "My lords, are you here to move cargo? Which family's ship?"

"Don't overlook me because I'm skinny, my lord; I'm sturdy, unlike those young fellows who might look strong but are actually shirkers!"

After a few exchanges, Xu Su also realized that these were the old dockworkers who hadn't been selected for work; in this line of business, physical strength was the key asset.

When Yang Xiao said there was no cargo, the laborers dispersed, and he directly approached an old-looking laborer squatting on the ground, who seemed to have cloudy eyes.

"Want to ask about something."

Upon seeing the scattered silver Yang Xiao produced, the old laborer's cloudy eyes suddenly became clear, and he reached out to grab it, but Yang Xiao dodged him.

The old laborer quickly got up, presenting to Yang Xiao and Xu Su what he considered a kind and genial smile, revealing a few missing yellow teeth, and fawningly spoke, "Ask away, my lords, I've been scrapping around this dock for nearly 20 years; there's nothing I don't know."

"Ten years ago, a ship sank here at the Old Bull Bay Ferry Crossing, with a group from the Bai Family Stage aboard. Do you know about this?"

At those words, the old laborer's sycophantic expression instantly changed, even showing a hint of panic, "What... what do you want with that matter?"

Seeing the old laborer's reaction, Yang Xiao knew he had found the right person, "It's none of your business. I'm just curious. If you can recount the whole story of what happened, then this silver is yours!"

The old laborer stared intently at the piece of silver, then back at Yang Xiao's face, going back and forth several times before finally hardening his resolve, "Alright, I'll tell you. But we can't talk here; otherwise..."

Understanding the old laborer's concerns, Yang Xiao nodded. Then the group left the place and turned several corners to arrive at a quiet spot. They sat down.

"Ah, you ask someone else and they might not know, it's ancient history. But back then, it caused a huge stir—all those people on the ship, and only a few escaped!" the old laborer began with a sigh.

"Let me think, the day was... it was late September of the Gengyin Year, no, it was the sixth of September! Yes, that's right, September the sixth, I remember it clearly. That very afternoon I even unloaded a batch of goods for Nian Family Cloth Village in the eastern part of the city."

"It happened in the evening, just after I had settled my day's pay, a group from Bai Family Troupe came hurriedly with big and small bundles, eager to board the ship."

At this point, Xu Su couldn't help interrupting, "Are you sure it was those people from Bai Family Troupe? You saw them with your own eyes?"

The old laborer narrowed his eyes, "Of course, could this be false? You might not think much of me now, but back in the day at the docks, I had a reputation, and when I had the money, I often went to Yingke Building to watch plays. I recognize a few of the managers from Bai Family Stage."

"Then you must also recognize Xi Yao, did you see her?" Yang Xiao asked further.

"No, I didn't," the old laborer shook his head.

Xu Su gave Yang Xiao a meaningful look, clearly suggesting that if they had seen the people from Bai Family Stage alive before boarding the ship, it meant these people had not been silenced at Feng Family Mansion.

"Besides the people from Bai Family Troupe, were there others traveling with them?" Yang Xiao speculated whether it was inconvenient to take action in the mansion, wondering if the Feng family had sent people to follow them to the ship—after all, it was the seventh day after Old Master Feng's death, and it was inauspicious to spill blood in the mansion.

The old laborer sported a bitter smile, "Ahoy, there's no way I could remember that. It was getting dark, and I can't just make up lies to deceive you."

"Hmm, go on," seeing the old laborer seemed somewhat honest, Yang Xiao passed him half a piece of silver. The old laborer quickly snatched it up, cautiously biting it between his teeth, the next second his entire face bloomed like a chrysanthemum, wrinkled with joy.

"Ah, let me think, then I left, went to sleep, and it wasn't until I came back to the dock the next day that I saw a crowd gathered around. The constables from the magistrate's office were already there, and after asking around, I found out that a boat had sunk the previous night, killing quite a few people."

"Apart from the troupe of Bai Family Stage, there were also a few officials from the nearby barracks, who were rumored to hold not insignificant positions. At the time, the matter became quite significant, and people from the magistrate's office came down to the docks to investigate for a long while."

"For a period, many people's livelihoods were disrupted, and several boat owners spent a good amount of silver trying to grease palms so they could send their boats out to do business, but the officials wouldn't budge."

As he spoke, the old laborer suddenly looked around before lowering his voice, his expression mysterious, "But privately, people were saying something was off, that there was an evil presence at play!"

"If you don't travel by water you might not know, but the currents at Old Bull Dock are always calm, and there aren't any large rocks on the riverbed that could catch the bottom of a boat, so accidents are almost unheard of. Moreover, the weather was fine that day, no rain or fog. Yet, as soon as the ship left the dock and moved into deeper water, the weather suddenly changed."

"Not only did a downpour start, but a thick fog also suddenly rolled in. I wasn't there at the time, but later, I heard from other laborers who were at the dock; they lived half a lifetime and had never seen such a strange fog, with the gray pallor of death, so dense that not even the lanterns hung on the ship were visible."

Hearing this, Yang Xiao and Xu Su's expressions changed instantly; after all, they too had experienced such fog and sudden rain the previous night.

Seeing the change in their expressions, the old laborer thought his story had frightened them, and grew even more secretive, "That's not even the scariest part. It's said that the ship suddenly stopped in the middle of the river, as if something from the river had grabbed it, and then it sank. It went down particularly fast. Many aboard were good swimmers, but in the end, only one person escaped."

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