Midnight · Riverside Dock
No moon. No wind.
At the canal dock, a massive merchant vessel was being loaded through the night.
A lantern bearing the mark Jubao Hall hung at the bow—
yet above it flew a banner of Official Transport.
Government protection.
No inspections. No questions.
"Quite the spectacle," Prince Chen said coldly from the shadows, watching the dockworkers move in silence.
"Hauling human bones under a government flag. Magistrate Liu treats the law like a footrag."
"The draft is too deep," Iris said, eyes narrowing as she studied the waterline.
"If this were tea or porcelain, the ship wouldn't sit this low. Unless the crates are filled with stone… or soil."
Prince Chen's gaze sharpened.
"Move."
"Who's there—?!"
The ship's guards barely had time to shout before dark figures dropped from the rigging.
A heartbeat later, the deck was under control—Prince Chen's shadow guards moving like ghosts.
Iris and Prince Chen stepped aboard.
The shipmaster, a scar-faced brute, was forced to his knees, still shouting.
"Are you blind?! This is an officially approved vessel! Authorized by Magistrate Liu himself! We're transporting tribute-grade tea to the capital! Damage a single chest and your entire clans won't be enough to repay it!"
"Tea?" Prince Chen lifted the man's chin with his scabbard, expression disgusted.
"I've tasted plenty of tea in my life. Never one that smells like death."
He turned to Iris.
"Inspect."
The crates were stacked neatly at the center of the deck. Each bore a pristine seal:
Imperial Tribute · Pre-Rain Longjing
Iris grabbed a crowbar.
No hesitation.
Crack.
The lid split open.
Inside were rows of elegant blue-and-white porcelain jars.
"See? Tea!" the shipmaster barked. "This is robbery!"
Iris lifted one jar.
Too heavy.
And beneath the glaze—faint but unmistakable—the scent only a forensic examiner could recognize: corpse wax, bleeding into the night air.
[System Scan Initiated]
[Analysis: High-density biological residue detected. Internal contents contain bone matter with intense resentment.]
Iris smiled thinly.
"Since when does tea require red clay seals?"
She raised the jar high—and smashed it against the deck.
Crash.
Shards exploded outward.
No tea spilled.
Instead, a mass of dark red, foul-smelling clay burst free. As it crumbled, what lay inside was revealed—
Human bone tokens.
Dozens of them. Pale, polished. Each etched with dense, complete crimson sigils.
Silence fell over the deck.
Only the water lapping against the hull remained.
The shipmaster's face drained of color. He collapsed.
Prince Chen stared at the scattered clay and bone, his gaze colder than the river itself.
"Imperial tribute," he said softly.
Then he lifted his head toward the distant lights of the City Magistrate's Office.
"Caught red-handed."
He turned away.
"Prepare a return gift."