Chapter 56 The Siren "Where are you going, young lady?"
Zhu He scoffed coldly and said to the servant beside him in a sarcastic tone, "Ah Xiu, do you think I forgot to check this year's almanac? This is truly an unlucky year..."
The servant named Ah Xiu chuckled: "Hey, sir, what are you saying? The fortune teller said you have the appearance of a celestial being, and even your luck is first-rate!"
The servant flattered him, showering him with compliments that left onlookers speechless. It also soothed Zhu He's previously agitated heart. Now, he was fanning himself with a smug and cheerful air, while the servant named A Xiu boasted in his ear: "They're just some annoying flies, why bother with them?"
After hearing this, Bai Yuheng and the others felt their teeth ache. They couldn't understand how this person had grown up in such a pampered environment, and didn't seem ashamed at all.
Zhu He smiled with satisfaction, gave a cold snort, and walked into the room while fanning himself. As he passed Cen Ying, he glanced at her sideways with a look of disdain.
“I really am—” This blatant contempt infuriated Cen Ying. She rolled up her sleeves, about to go up and talk to him, when Li Tiankuo stopped her.
What are you doing?
"Don't make a move, someone is watching us."
Cen Ying understood immediately. He took two deep breaths and calmed down, thinking to himself that he shouldn't let her catch him off guard, or he would be in for a world of hurt!
After exchanging a few casual words about the follow-up arrangements, the group went into their respective rooms.
"This kind of person will get what's coming to him sooner or later!" Cen Ying was furious. She threw the package on the bed and was still indignant.
Bai Yuheng smiled and comforted her, "Don't be angry. It's not worth getting angry over someone like that. Besides, he's your defeated opponent. No matter what, he's the one who lost face. Do you remember how he slunk away last night?"
Upon hearing this, Cen Ying realized it made sense and immediately stopped being angry.
"Hmph, you're right. Don't get angry, don't get angry. Getting sick from anger will only make you sick, and no one can take your place..."
Cen Ying lay on the bed, watching Bai Yuheng pack her things, and asked, "When do you think those people will make their move?"
The people who have been monitoring them since yesterday, though they haven't actually confirmed who they are, are all guessing that it's the rumored priest who colluded with the ticket sellers at the dock. The people at the inn probably also know who those people are.
Bai Yuheng put down what she was holding, sat on the edge of the bed, and propped her chin up as she spoke to her: "I guess the earliest is tonight, and the latest is tomorrow."
Cen Ying became interested, leaned closer, and asked, "Why?"
“Look, it’s only a two or three-day journey from Yueqing Town to Jiangzhou. We’re sailing at night, right at the heart of the sea where trouble often happens. Now is the perfect time to make our move. Besides, the day we bought our tickets, I saw another amount on the bill that man had written down. I guess it was for our safety. But he didn’t remind us to pay it since we didn’t know about it. This means our clothes caught their attention. It’s the perfect opportunity to make a big profit.”
"Perhaps they've encountered some difficulties and urgently need money? Or maybe something else; in any case, they must be very eager to capture us."
Cen Ying asked in confusion, "Then why did they attack us when they weren't at the inn? Wouldn't that have been more convenient?"
"Whether it's money or people, as long as we get into trouble in that river or sea, and it's not like someone plotted against us, we can just say we were captured by a monster or accidentally fell into the water... and the innkeeper said that the priest was paid to use his magic to rescue us. That way, we'll have both a reputation and money."
Cen Ying suddenly realized, "I see. So they'll make their move tonight. How should we respond?"
Bai Yuheng frowned and said, "We still don't know what they want from us, whether they want money or people, so we can only play it by ear."
"Um."
"Let's discuss it with Xiao Kuo and the others later."
"good."
After talking for a while, the two decided to go out for some fresh air and take the opportunity to check if there were any suspicious people on the ship.
Just as he was about to approach Pei Yuan and Li Tiankuo, the two of them came out of the room, talked for a while, and then went downstairs one after the other to the large deck below.
On the deck, several ragged men or shirtless crew members sat in twos and threes, their subconscious glances always making people suspicious.
The large ship sailed steadily on the water. At this moment, the sun was setting, and orange light spread across the water, creating a calm and peaceful scene.
“That gaze has started again,” Pei Yuan said, frowning.
"Let's strike first," Li Tiankuo said. This sticky, damp gaze was disgusting and made people feel passive, unable to do anything with peace of mind. It would be better to find the person first and then make other plans.
Cen Ying agreed, "That's fine, it must be too uncomfortable to be watched by them all day long!"
“Alright, let’s split up first so they can make their move.” Bai Yuheng said, taking out a cicada-shaped piece of wood from her Qiankun bag and giving one to each person. She explained, “We should strike first and see what they’re up to. We’ll split up and search for suspicious people on this boat. This is a listening cicada; it can blend into our skin to become invisible. If we find anything suspicious, we can call it. To call it, we need to recite a mantra. The cicada’s chirping will only be audible to the four of us, so we won’t alert them.”
"Mmm!" Cen Ying imitated Bai Yuheng, placing the cicada behind her ear. The wooden cicada instantly turned the same color as the skin behind her ear and adhered tightly, making it almost impossible to notice.
After exchanging a few more words of advice, the four of them went their separate ways. One sat down in a corner to enjoy the scenery, another went upstairs and gazed into the distance from the railing, one muttered that he was very hungry and went to the kitchen, while the other went into the cabin.
The shadowy gazes behind her disappeared for a moment as Bai Yuheng entered the cabin. She followed the stairs into the cabin, a damp, fishy smell filling her nostrils, and the sounds of loud laughter, whispers, and arguments filling her ears.
Bai Yuheng walked into the inner cabin, which was crowded with people. It was clear that they did not have enough money to buy a private cabin, and they were gathered in twos and threes.
Noticing that she was being followed, she turned and walked in a less crowded direction.
As they walked, they went further and further away, into deeper and deeper places, and could still faintly hear the sound of water flowing beneath the boat.
"Waaaaah..."
A very soft, faint sob sounded beside her ear. Bai Yuheng was startled, her steps faltered, and her gaze, which had been fixed on her back, paused.
She walked slowly, trying to hear clearly the sob she had just heard.
"Help, help me..."
It's happened again!
This time, Bai Yuheng really heard that extremely faint sound.
As she was about to walk toward the direction of the sound, a cold, heavy hand landed on her shoulder.
What followed was a low, hoarse voice, thick with phlegm:
"Where are you going, young lady?"
*
"Get out of my way."
"You go first!"
"Why should I go first?!" Cen Ying complained. "I was the one who went first, why should I let you have it? You're a defeated opponent!"
"You!" Zhu He realized he was really unlucky. He could run into this unreasonable girl even if he just turned around. He was the one who wanted to go first, but this girl insisted on pushing him.
Cen Ying was speechless and immediately rolled her eyes at him. She had clearly left first, but this person insisted on walking in her direction.
Zhu He suddenly opened his fan, a sudden inspiration striking him. He half-covered his face, revealing a pair of large, alluring eyes as he looked at her with a smile: "You wouldn't happen to like me, would you? Is that why you're trying so hard to attract my attention!"
Cen Ying: "..." Can anyone measure just how thick-skinned he is?!
I really want to use his face as a city wall; it would save so much trouble, no need to build anything! Because this guy is already despicable enough!!
Seeing that she remained silent, Zhu He's eyes widened even more, and he exclaimed in shock, "No way! No way!? You didn't actually guess right? You really like me?"
Cen Ying laughed in anger, baring her teeth at him with a clenched fist that cracked as she said with a forced smile, "Are you itching for a beating? Want to try this out?"
Zhu He was so frightened that he backed away repeatedly, saying, "No, no..."
Cen Ying rolled her eyes, only then noticing that the gaze that had been following her had disappeared.
She immediately became suspicious, took a few steps closer to him, and asked, intentionally stalling for time, "What's your name?"
Zhu He covered his face and laughed: "Why are you asking this? Do you like me?"
Cen Ying took a deep breath, trying to suppress the urge to punch him.
Shameless bastard!
"My name is Zhu He. May I ask your name, young lady?" Seeing her furious expression, Zhu He feared that her fist might strike and ruin his handsome appearance, so he stopped teasing her and respectfully bowed.
"At least he has the bearing of a young master." Cen Ying murmured to himself, then snorted coldly and said aloofly, "Cen Ying."
"Miss Cen," Zhu He said with a smile, "I wonder what business Miss Cen has with me?"
"There is indeed something I would like to ask Young Master Zhu."
Zhu He's eyes darted around, clearly still holding a grudge, and he smiled, "Please speak freely, young lady." Whether he would answer or not was another matter.
Cen Ying could tell from his expression that he was going to cheat; she had seen that look on his face far too often! Every time Cui Mingcan tried to trick her, he would give her that look. Just thinking about Cui Mingcan made Cen Ying forget everything else and only wanted to finish this matter as soon as possible so she could coax him back.
"I wonder if Young Master Zhu could answer this for me? It's not an extremely difficult question."
"This..." Zhu He was momentarily taken aback by her pitiful gaze and his heart softened. He thought that although she was mischievous, she was still a young girl, and he was much older than her and was at least an elder. He felt embarrassed to tease her anymore, so he abandoned his intention to tease her, coughed twice, and said seriously, "Speak your mind, and I will tell you everything I know."
Cen Ying leaned closer and lowered her voice, saying, "I've heard that there are man-eating giant beasts in this water, and only by offering sacrifices to the priest to protect the sea god can one overcome the difficulties. But no one told me this when I bought the ticket that day, and I didn't offer any sacrifices to the priest."
Cen Ying paused, making sure there were no suspicious gazes behind her, and then said, "Does the young master have any connections to purchase it? I'm extremely terrified to be in this water right now, fearing the sea god will not protect me..."
Zhu He was also a chivalrous man; if you were weak, he would be strong. He said loudly, "Miss, don't worry. I have been traveling on this ship for many years and have never seen any sea god or monster. This time, everything will be fine."
Cen Ying asked, "Did you make offerings?"
"..." Zhu He said awkwardly, and told the truth, "It has been offered."
“…” Cen Ying rolled her eyes at him speechlessly.
"These things are a matter of belief; if you believe, they exist, if you don't, they don't. I haven't heard of many ships getting into trouble in the past few years..." Zhu He chuckled awkwardly, scratched his nose, and explained.
The boat continued to move forward, its hull colliding with the water, creating ripples that spread far into the distance.
"Wow! What's that over there, Auntie?" A sharp-eyed child pointed into the distance, both surprised and delighted. In the dim light, several long, black things could still be seen reaching towards the sky, swaying left and right, looking extremely terrifying.
"Aaaaaah! The siren! The siren is coming!"
"Help! Help me!"
"Aaaaaah, run!!"
A panicked scream erupted from the crowd. The impact caused a huge wave, and many people fled in all directions, but the ship was only so big, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get very far.
Zhu He stared in disbelief, stammering, "This...this...this is a sea monster?!"
Cen Ying pulled him behind her and chanted a spell to make the cicadas chirp and notify the other three.
-
At the same time, Bai Yuheng turned to look at the person on her shoulder. It was a thin, dark-skinned man with a large, diagonal scar across his face. He looked somewhat unkempt, with messy black and white hair, and even the hand on her shoulder was covered in grime.
"Oh, I'm lost. I don't know which way to get out," Bai Yuheng replied with a smile to his earlier question.
"To get out, go this way." The old man glanced at her with his sharp eyes and pointed her in a direction.
"Oh, thank you so much, sir."
The old man grunted twice and walked away with brisk steps, not caring whether she would leave or not.
After Bai Yuheng and the others fell silent, she quietly walked in the opposite direction from the old man's directions.
It felt like we had arrived at the bottom of a ship.
A large iron gate was blocked by a huge wine barrel. Bai Yuheng leaned closer and could faintly hear someone calling out from inside.
Bai Yuheng tried to push aside the pile of wine barrels, but her hand suddenly stopped moving.
That dark, viscous gaze reappeared.
"thump!"
A thin, dark figure was reflected on the unconscious woman lying on the ground.
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