Chapter 113: The Heavenly Furnace Isn't Burning Charcoal, It's Burning Living People

Xingguofang

Under the furnace, upon hearing the sound of the oxcart, Guan Ye wiped her sweat and looked up. She saw that Song Mian, who was driving the cart, was no longer as energetic as he had been a few days ago. He had droopy eyelids and seemed to be thinking about something. Guan Ye deliberately coughed a few times, and Song Mian suddenly came back to his senses, smiling at Guan Ye and revealing two rows of white teeth.

Guan Ye dusted off her hands and approached the oxcart, glancing at it casually and saying, "Haven't seen you in a few days, changed the wheels? Wan Qixi really went for it?"

Song Mian jumped off the oxcart. “If we don’t change it now, the cart will fall apart sooner or later on the way. A set of wheels doesn’t cost much money. Boss Wanqi isn’t as stingy as you think.”

"Hey?" Guan Ye circled around Song Mian. "It hasn't been long, and you're already speaking up for him? I knew it, you've gotten fat again."

Song Mian pinched the increasingly plump flesh on his cheeks, looking a little embarrassed. Guan Ye counted the large bags on the oxcart and pointed to the backyard, saying, "I trust you won't shortchange us. Just send them directly to the warehouse."

"Alright." Song Mian rolled up his sleeves, then suddenly stopped, glancing around the bustling foundry as if looking for someone. "Where are they?"

"Who is it?" Guan Ye was writing down the numbers in the ledger, not even lifting her eyelids.

"Them?" Song Mian leaned closer. "Those people on the boat, didn't Ajiu say last time..." When he mentioned "Ajiu," Song Mian unconsciously mumbled the words, "said... they went out with the brothel owner. Are they in the brothel today?" As he spoke, he pulled a bulging money bag from his pocket and waved it at Guan Ye. "I got paid yesterday, and I promised to treat everyone to drinks."

Guan Ye's fingers trembled, almost dropping the ledger. She quickly tucked it behind her back, swallowed hard, unsure how to answer. Song Mian walked around the foundry, scanning everyone's faces, but didn't recognize a single one. "What... you went out again?" Song Mian scrutinized the somewhat uneasy Guan Ye. "Every time I leave you alone in the workshop as the supervisor, Guan Ye, am I trying to bully you?"

"Who dares to bully Guan Ye?"

As they spoke, Feng Shisan, carrying his sword, swaggered into the foundry. He spotted the oxcart that had passed them that night and immediately recognized Song Mian, the driver. Feng Shisan said without changing his expression, "We went out, but we're back now."

Feng Shisan, seemingly oblivious to Guan Ye's wink, beckoned several people behind him over, as if he wanted to line them up and give Song Mian a piece of his mind. "I just heard you say you were going to treat us to drinks? Looks like you really made a lot of money. Well then, we won't stand on ceremony. When are we going?"

As Feng Shisan spoke, he reached for the money pouch in Song Mian's hand. Song Mian quickly put it into his pocket, bowed deeply to the swordsmen, and said respectfully, "This humble servant greets you gentlemen. I offended Miss Guan just now, please forgive me. In the future, when I have saved up some more money, I will definitely treat you all to a good meal."

Feng Shisan scratched his head. "Not us? Who are you looking for?"

Song Mian looked behind the swordsman again and again, but seeing no one else come in, a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes. Lou Cangyu held his sword with both hands, watching Song Mian's every move warily. Seeing that his expression was strange, he quietly slid his right hand towards the hilt of his sword.

"I'm looking for..." Song Mian started to say, but then swallowed his words and glanced at Guan Ye, "I'm looking for A-Jiu. Where is A-Jiu?"

"Ah Jiu," Guan Ye spoke up at the right moment, pulling Song Mian aside, "Ah Jiu won't be back early. Another day, another day when he's free, we'll go out for a big meal. What are you all standing there for?" Guan Ye winked at Xiao Ma, "One bag each, carry them to the warehouse."

"We're carrying the bags?" Ji Fang thought he had misheard and pointed at Song Mian, saying, "The shopkeeper didn't say that swordsmen were to carry the bags. If we carry them, what will he do?"

Guan Ye put her hands on her hips and glared, "Swordsmen are manpower too. Everyone's busy, what's wrong with you carrying a bag? Song Er is as skinny as a chick, it's more like he's the one carrying the bag."

Xiao Ma stepped forward, picked up a bag of sand and gravel, and said with a frown, "Ji Fang, let's go."

Although Feng Shisan couldn't understand the situation, he was determined to follow Xiao Ma's lead. With his large, round eyes scanning the oxcart, he picked the largest one and hoisted it onto his back, striding forward without even breaking a sweat.

Lou Cangyu calmly lowered his hand from the sword hilt, and Ji Fang opened his palm to reveal the scar, "Second Young Master? Look..."

Lou Cangyu shook his head helplessly, "Let's go together, you just need to lend a hand."

"Alright!" Ji Fang clapped his hands and happily went off to carry the bags with Lou Cangyu.

Before Guan Ye could catch her breath, she suddenly looked up and saw Song Mian's gloomy eyes, and a chill ran down her spine again.

"Let's do it tonight." Song Mian's voice dropped its hesitant tone, and his words carried an unyielding insistence. "The busiest tavern at the intersection of West Street, the one owned by Boss Wanqi. At 7 PM, you take Ajiu with you, and I'll wait for you."

"Song Mian..." Guan Ye thought to herself that things were not good. Song Mian had sharp eyes and a meticulous mind. He must have seen through something. Since things had come to this point, no reason could make sense. She could only... bite the bullet and agree.

After emptying the large bundles, Song Mian skillfully climbed onto the oxcart, giving Guan Ye a meaningful look, his eyes seemingly still carrying resentment. The cart wheels creaked and groaned as it drove away. Guan Ye turned around, and Lou Cangyu was standing not far behind her, his gaze also following Song Mian's oxcart.

"You scared me," Guan Ye gasped.

Lou Cangyu picked up the sword in his hand. "Song Mian found people... they must be your fellow passengers from the same boat. They... were thrown into the sea to feed the fish by that boatman named Hu Xian a long time ago. Didn't you tell Song Mian?"

Guan Ye flipped through the ledger haphazardly, turning her back to him, unwilling to answer. Lou Cangyu said in a deep voice, "Judging from his expression, he seems to still care about everyone. If he knew that everyone else was dead... what would Song Mian do?"

"Lou Cangyu, you're meddling too much." Guan Ye didn't care whether he was Lou Cangyu or Pei Ershao.

Lou Cangyu snorted, "Guan Ye, I'm just reminding you, how could someone who fries fried dough cakes switch to selling iron ore? I'm not stupid. You've dealt with Wan Qixi before, you must have helped Song Mian get this job. Now look what's happened, all your enemies are in the neighborhood, I want to see how you're going to clean up this mess. Only you and Ajiu survived on the boat, you two better not cause any more trouble in Xingguo Neighborhood, or you'll end up alone again."

"Lou Cangyu, since you think everyone is blocking your way, then why don't you just leave it to yourself and go wherever you want?" Guan Ye wanted to say a few more words to him, but Lou Cangyu had already turned away with a flick of his sleeve. Ji Fang, who was not far away, stared blankly at the two arguing. Guan Ye hadn't done anything wrong, and what Cangyu said made sense, so where was the mistake? Perhaps the mistake was... that no one could do anything about it.

When Guan Ye arrived at the tavern on West Street, Song Mian had already ordered the food and drinks. As a descendant of an official, Song Mian did not engage in empty formalities; the table was laden with many fine dishes. Some of these were dishes Guan Ye had eaten before, such as the Rouge Goose Breast, which looked quite expensive. Others were dishes Guan Ye had never seen before, so exquisite that it was almost too beautiful to eat. Song Mian's grandfather had been a high-ranking official, so he must be very familiar with these official dishes. Now that he had earned some money, he was eager to share it with his companions. Song Mian had spared no expense in preparing this table of food and drinks.

"You're here early." Song Mian tilted his head and glanced behind Guan Ye. "Why are you the only one here? Where's A-Jiu?"

Guan Ye pulled out a stool and sat down. "Ajiu has something to do, so I'll eat his food and drink for him."

"You're quite the loyal one," Song Mian forced a dry laugh. "With so much food and drink, how much of it can you eat for him? Aren't you afraid of stuffing yourself to death?"

Guan Ye picked up the wine jar and poured some into her bowl. "I don't think... you'd just stand by and watch me drink myself to death, would you?"

Song Mian picked up the wine bowl in front of him, swirled it around, and then brought it closer to Guan Ye, saying in a deep voice, "What are you thinking about?"

Guan Ye looked at the wine in the bowl and remembered the storm at sea. The timid girls huddled in the cabin, their screams rising and falling with the rise and fall of the ship. Some were so frightened that they cried out, just like cats whose tails had been stepped on.

Guan Ye also thought of A Jiu, who was silent under the mast. He watched Guan Ye approach, his face showing a composure beyond his years. He knew where Hu Xian's ship was headed. His dark eyes looked towards the distant smoke, telling everyone that the big ship was heading to Canglang Island.

The swirling in the wine bowl slowly stopped, and Song Mian flicked his wrist, overturning the bowl and spilling the spicy wine onto the table.

—"Song Mian jumped into the sea!"

Guan Ye saw Song Mian's dark head bobbing up and down in the waves. Everyone begged Hu Xian to turn the boat around and save Song Mian. Hu Xian stroked his beloved beard and said: "Everyone has their own ambitions. If he wants to die, let him die."

"Where are they?" Song Mian gripped his wine bowl tightly, his eyes burning.

Seeing that Guan Ye bit her lip so hard that blood seeped through, Song Mian pressed on, "The furnace in Xingguo Ward doesn't burn charcoal, it burns living people. Were they... filled into the furnace by the Pei family?"

"No." Guan Ye opened her mouth and looked up at Song Mian.

"No?" Song Mian clearly didn't believe it. "Then where are they? Don't tell me they're still on Canglang Island."

Guan Ye saw it again. She saw Hu Xian dragging his companions out of the cabin. Before they could struggle, Hu Xian pushed them one by one into the sea, leaving none behind. They thrashed about on the sea like duckweed for a few moments before sinking and disappearing... Guan Ye still remembered the face that fair-skinned boy made at her, and then he turned into a water ghost, lingering outside Canglang Island...

After Hu Xian dealt with everyone, the large ship sped away against the wind and disappeared from Guan Ye's sight.

“They’re gone,” Guan Ye murmured. “They’re all dead… dead.”

"How did everyone die?" Song Mian pressed his hands on the table, his fingernails, covered in dirt, digging fiercely into the table's cracks.

“They drowned.” Guan Ye slowly told Song Mian everything. Her nightmares were not only about Jiang Muyun, but also about her companions who had been on the ship for more than ten days. Like Jiang Muyun, their lives vanished in an instant before her eyes, either sinking into the cold seabed or perishing in the scorching flames... They disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed in the world.

“Hu Xian?” Song Mian remembered the man who had tricked him. Years ago, he was exiled to Tangshui City and was among the refugees waiting to be assigned somewhere. A tall man approached him and said there was a good place for him.

Hu Xian said: "You look like you come from an official family. In Lingnan and Mobei, there are only heavy and arduous jobs. Judging from your physique, you definitely can't handle them. Why don't you get on my ship and you can have a better future?"

Song Mian looked down at his thin arms and legs. He'd been farming in Lingnan and building cities in the northern deserts; if he were lucky enough to receive a general amnesty from the emperor, he couldn't afford to work himself to death. So Song Mian asked Hu Xian, "Do you want to do any work?"

Hu Xian stroked his beard and smiled, "You're literate, isn't it a waste to do manual labor?"

It was because of this sentence that Song Mian risked everything and boarded Hu Xian's ship. Little did he know that the ship was heading to Canglang Island. Canglang Island, what kind of place was that? His grandfather had told him that the Pei family of Xingguo Ward had sworn never to leave the island. No one had entered or left the island for decades, and no one knew if anyone was still alive there. It was a deserted island isolated from the world, with clansmen living in seclusion. Hu Xian was taking a ship full of people there for one of two reasons.

"Do you remember Hu Xian?" Guan Ye interrupted Song Mian's recollection. "I'm also curious. You knew the ship was going to Canglang Island, so why did you choose to jump into the sea instead of going with everyone else?"

Song Mian took a deep breath, picked up his wine bowl and drank the remaining wine, as if to bolster his courage. "No one has been to Canglang Island for many years. There are only two reasons why Hu Xian took a boatload of lured teenagers there."