NOVPUB1134: The muffled voices in the drowning wave
1134: The muffled voices in the drowning wave
Yang Qing hashed out a few more details with Dong Ping before they finally parted ways, with Dong Ping eager to get started on the case—reaching out to Branch Manager Li Gang being at the forefront of his to-do list.
“Do you have a timeline for when the others will arrive?” Yang Qing asked, referring to the two remaining parties involved in the commission.
“Shouldn’t be more than three hours,” Fan Mei answered.
“Who’s coming from the Wind Gliding Mercenary Escorts?
Their chief logistics advisor?”
“No, one of their commanders who’s nearby will make the trip,” Fan Mei said as she began skimming through some of the scrolls scattered on her desk.
“I’ll call you when they arrive,” she added, glancing up briefly before returning her focus to the scrolls.
“No need—you can handle it all.
If I uncover anything new, I’ll send it to you to relay,” Yang Qing said.
“Mmh,” Fan Mei acknowledged with a soft hum and a slight nod, her attention already drifting from her conversation with Yang Qing back to whatever was in those scrolls.
“I’ll see you later, Fan Mei,” Yang Qing said as he stood to leave.
“And thanks for this,” he added, a grateful smile tugging at his lips.
Fan Mei, whose mind and attention seemed to be quickly disappearing into her work, suddenly lifted her head from the scrolls and looked up at Yang Qing, her focus no longer split.
“No problem,” she softly replied, offering a smile of her own.
“Though, if you want to thank me, bring more tea like this one,” she added, lightly shaking the tea kettle filled with the brew Yang Qing had made earlier using leaves from the green flame tree.
“There’ll be another five catties waiting for you before the sun is up,” Yang Qing said, waving goodbye as he departed her office.
….
After leaving Fan Mei’s office, Yang Qing made his way to the courtyard where he’d left Ming Wa.
To his relief, there were no reports of her attempting to escape, which meant one of two things.
Either his earlier threat—having her sent to prison if she tried to run—had worked too well and crushed any thoughts of fleeing, or, after some time to think, she was slowly warming up to the idea of unburdening herself and sharing whatever she was hiding.
As things stood, there were only a few people Yang Qing knew who were more invested than he was in uncovering what had happened to the missing flying ferry—and Ming Wa was one of them.
She wasn’t the only one who had lost someone or something on that ferry, but she was the only one desperate enough to act on it, going as far as bringing her troubles to the Bluefin Spine-tailed Swift Escort Agency’s doorstep—despite the risks of doing so in a town governed by the Order.
“Hopefully, she’s in a sharing mood,” Yang Qing murmured as he stared at the courtyard doors.
If she was still as uncooperative as before, while he wouldn’t send her to Requiem prison like he had threatened, he would have no choice but to hand her over to the special inquisitors—or worse, take up Ren Shu on his offer and let him dig the truth out of her.
If he could help it, Yang Qing hoped to avoid such a scenario.
He’d much rather she volunteered the information willingly.
At the reception, Yang Qing had one of the staff members bring out Ming Wa while he settled the payment for her stay—short as it was.
It wasn’t long before she appeared.
At least she agreed to come out, Yang Qing thought to himself, a wry smile tugging at his lips when he caught sight of her expression.
The moment her eyes landed on him, her composed, detached demeanor cracked.
In an instant, her expression shifted—from feigned calm to one of grievance, with a heavy undercurrent of fear she was struggling to conceal—before she quickly masked it with cold indifference.
Yang Qing smiled inwardly at her performance.
Her attempts at pretense were useless beneath his senses.
No matter how well she tried to hide behind that mask of indifference, her soul betrayed her true feelings.
Fear, worry, nervousness, anxiety, impatience, helplessness, anger, and despair—all tangled together within her soul and with great intensity at that, each trying to outdo the other.
Yet, amidst those turbulent emotions, he also detected two other emotions that stood in stark contrast to the rest.
She exhibited relief and hope, though in small doses.
That small trace of relief was a welcomed sign.
It meant there was still a chance she might cooperate.
When she finally stood before him, Yang Qing thanked the staff member who brought her before turning his attention to Ming Wa, his actions causing her anxiety, worry, and fear levels to jump astronomically.
“What?” Ming Wa asked coldly, trying to appear calm.
But the slight tremble in her voice gave her away.
Caught up in her own nerves, she didn’t seem to notice the slip—and Yang Qing had no intention of pointing it out.
He met her gaze calmly and said, “Let’s go.”
Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away, leaving a flustered Ming Wa rooted in place.
“Where?” she demanded, her tone just as cold and still carrying that faint, involuntary tremor.
Yang Qing didn’t answer.
His pace remained steady as he continued toward the entrance, and before Ming Wa realized it, he was already outside the building, nearing the courtyard gates.
After a slight hesitation, as memories of Yang Qing’s threat surfaced in her mind, which only served to unnerve her more, she clenched her fists and resolutely followed him, her insides churning with every step she took.
Even though she hated it at first, her brief time in the courtyard made her feel like she was in a refuge, sheltered from all her troubles, but now, with every step she took toward the exit, all the troubled things she had hidden her mind from over the past few hours here, seemed to surface and beckoned her with an unbridled vengeance.
Every step she took felt heavier than the last, as though mountains had been tied to her ankles.
The courtyard, which once seemed serene and quaint when she first entered, now felt entirely different as she walked out.
She wasn’t sure if it was because her strained mind had finally reached its breaking point, but the courtyard itself seemed to fade from her senses.
In its place, she saw turbulent, dark grey waters—surrounding her on all sides, enclosing her at the center.
The pressure rolling off those waves was suffocating—almost as overwhelming as the tribulation clouds had been when she broke through to the core formation realm.
Amid the crashing waves, muffled screams slipped through—voices thick with anger, pain, and desperation.
“I am the greatest sinner!
I’m sorry for dooming you all with my mistake…”
“Haven’t you taken enough?
We’ve given you everything!”
“When will this nightmare end?
Please!”
“You SCOUNDRELS!
This is how you repay us?
This is your gratitude?
Even snakes show more humanity than you!”
“Grandpa, please don’t!
Let me stay with the rest of you—please!”
“No, Fang’er.
You and the others must leave.
You’re our last hope.
It’s too late for us—we’ve disgraced the clan long enough.
Let us use our lives to pave a path for redemption.”
“Fang’er, listen to him.
You know he’s right.”
“Don’t live like us.
Don’t let preserving the bigger picture become more important than preserving the present!”
“Now go!
All of you!
Leave and never return—unless you’re strong enough!”
“Father…”
“What are you crying for, son?
Aren’t you afraid I’ll tease you endlessly for it—even in the afterlife?…
Leave and live, son.
Let this old man of yours do one last thing for you.
It’s what your mother would have wanted… And give us a grandson, will you?
Your head can’t only be filled with formation array blueprints.”
“Old Fu, why are your legs shaking?
Are you scared, old man?”
“Who’s scared?!
This is excitement, you bastard!
We finally get to confront those three snakes—my legs can’t wait!”
“Hehehe, you’re right there, Old Fu.
Seems like my hands can’t wait either!”
“I couldn’t be any more excited myself.
We old foggies get to erase our mistake today!”
“Kids… you don’t have to carry the memory of this grudge with you.
You only need to survive and live.
If you’re to carry anything, then carry our name—and our hopes that we will once again be where we once were.
But for that to happen… you need to live.
So live!”
The voices, which had grown in intensity as she walked, began to fade the closer she got to the exit.
And the moment she crossed that threshold, they vanished—along with the suffocating, overbearing waves.
Yet, despite their absence, Ming Wa didn’t feel any lighter.
Her heart and entire being felt heavier.
Just as she felt like her body was about to crumble and topple over, she felt her hand on her shoulder which seemed to hold her body steady, followed by a gentle voice.
“Miss Ming Wa are you okay?” called Yang Qing, who was already standing next to Ming Wa, supporting her from falling over.
Hearing the concern in his voice, Ming Wa looked up.
The calm façade she had tried to maintain was gone, leaving behind a fragile exterior with tears silently streaming down her face.
Her voice, slightly choked, wavered as she answered, “I’m not too sure I am.”
A pitiful smile touched her lips as she spoke.
