Episode 9 recap: The mysterious ghost ship involves a former dynasty organization.
Empress Wu issued an order to Di Ren Jie, informing him that there had been an influx of Baekje gold into the capital city. She gave him one month to investigate the case and warned that if he failed to solve it within the given time, he would be held equally responsible as the gold smugglers. However, during this period, the riverbanks were enveloped in thick fog, making it impossible to see clearly even within a five-step radius. Investigating the matter seemed impossible.
Di Ren Jie visited the docks multiple times, but he gained no useful information. Several days later, a luxurious ship suddenly appeared at the dock, but it was filled with lifeless bodies, causing widespread panic among the people. Di Ren Jie inspected the ship and noticed a severed rope, which led him to deduce how the killer had managed to escape from the ship unnoticed.
Di Ren Jie's sudden appearance displeased Liu Zhongshi, who was in charge, so Di Ren Jie reported the details of the case to him. It was revealed that someone had reported Gu Mengbin for hiring a mercenary named Wang Lide to smuggle weapons from the military, which was a grave offense under Tang law. Gu Mengbin became angry and denied the accusation of weapons trafficking, while the magistrate vowed to investigate the matter of tax evasion. Meanwhile, Ma Rong and Qiao Tai infiltrated a tent where gifts were being stored at the docks but accidentally alerted the guards, prompting them to call for Di Ren Jie's help.
Liu Zhongshi confirmed that the two were followers of the magistrate and did not delve deeper into the matter. He dismissed the others and quietly conveyed the empress's order to Di Ren Jie: to investigate the recent influx of Baekje gold into the capital city and solve the case within one month. Otherwise, he would be held equally responsible as the gold smugglers. At that moment, a commotion arose nearby as the people gathered, and a dense fog covered the sea, making it difficult to see beyond five steps. Suddenly, a luxurious ship emerged from the fog and collided with the dock.
The next morning, the magistrate and his men boarded the ship to investigate. They reported that the ship was indeed mysterious, its origin unclear, and the sailors mysteriously disappeared, with no survivors. After hearing this, Liu Zhongshi brought two gold coins and asked everyone to examine them. Only Di Ren Jie noticed that one of the coins was from Baekje, indicating a connection between the ship and the smuggling of Baekje gold.
Impressed, Liu Zhongshi agreed to let Di Ren Jie personally interrogate the situation. As expected, Di Ren Jie found a thin man from Baekje who had been unconscious hiding in the dark cabin. Subsequently, Di Ren Jie held a hearing in the courtroom, with Yu Su assisting as a translator, and Liu Zhongshi, Hou Yu, and the magistrate's officials as spectators.
The thin man from Baekje claimed that he had fled his hometown due to chaos and had resorted to smuggling rice cakes in the Tang Dynasty. He had been hiding in the dark cabin all along, witnessing changes in the ship's course several times, passing by a white island. However, a mysterious murder occurred later, and he almost starved to death because he couldn't escape.
Di Ren Jie asked the thin man to identify a portrait of Wang Lide, but Gu Mengbin became flustered and accused the thin man of lying. Suddenly, the thin man remembered seeing strange tattoos on the ship's crew members. At Di Ren Jie's request, he used a pen to draw a pattern of black flames, which shocked Liu Zhongshi. The name "Black Flames" was fresh in Liu Zhongshi's memory, as it referred to remnants of the previous dynasty and was considered a major threat to the emperor. The organization was scattered throughout the country.
In the fourteenth year of the Zhenguan era, the imperial court had made significant progress in eradicating the Black Flames, even uncovering connections between Di Zhi Xun and the organization. Now, with the reappearance of the mysterious tattoos, it indicated that this group was making a comeback. Not long after, news came from the prison that the thin man had died, allegedly choked to death by gluttony. On the other hand, the ship's worker, Jin Sang, miraculously survived and accused Wang Lide of murder in the courtroom. He claimed to have overheard Wang Lide conspiring with others to smuggle gold, which involved several influential figures in Penglai, including Gu Mengbin, Yi Si Shi, and Di Ren Jie.
Although Jin Sang's testimony couldn't be fully trusted, it still aligned with the current investigation, such as Wang Lide's disappearance and the possible connection between the Penglai gold case and the Black Flames. With these doubts in mind, Di Ren Jie went to Mingyue Lane and listened to Cao An's music. Suddenly, he remembered something from his youth and vaguely recalled his father having interactions with the Black Flames.
Similarly, Cao An reminisced about her encounter with the masked Black Flames, who saved her many years ago. She had also accidentally saved an injured member of the Black Flames, and that time spent together was her most unforgettable memory. The investigation into the gold case made no progress, but rumors of a haunted ship spread throughout the district. That night, Di Ren Jie took Hou Yu to the ship to capture the ghost, only to encounter a figure in a black robe. The figure intentionally left behind a box containing a celestial navigation chart and a star compass, with an island on the map matching the testimonies of the thin man and Jin Sang.
Di Ren Jie believed that this island was the key to the case, and Hou Yu agreed with his assessment. They reported the situation to Liu Zhongshi, hoping to quickly set sail for the island and prevent others from getting there first. Liu Zhongshi immediately ordered the preparation of a ship and called for Yu Su and others to join them.
Despite Di Ren Jie's advice, he warned Cao An not to board the ship. However, she did not heed his advice and insisted on accompanying them.
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