Free Web NovelChapter 96: Chapter 95: Hungry
This so-called "Revolutionary Faction" wasn’t plotting anything earth-shattering. Their discussion mostly revolved around how to receive "Mr. Mingyi" after he arrived in Shenghai, how to host him, and other similar matters.
’I should look into who this Mr. Mingyi is later.’
Fu Juemin withdrew his attention and stood by the railing, gazing at the distant scenery.
The Haiyan would reach Shenghai in the afternoon. They hadn’t even arrived, yet he could already sense the turbulent undercurrents and the motley mix of people in the city ahead.
After soaking up some sun, Fu Juemin was about to return to his room when a commotion suddenly broke out on the deck.
A squad of tall guards in dark teal, double-breasted uniforms suddenly rushed out from the cabins. They blocked everyone on the deck, preventing them from going back inside. Their leader was a tall, bearded Westerner with deep-set eyes and a high-bridged nose, flanked by a dark-skinned man in a sailor’s uniform.
"What’s going on?"
Fu Juemin’s eyes flickered. Just as he was about to ask Cao Tian to inquire about the situation, he saw the bearded Westerner leading two guards straight toward them.
SWOOSH—
Before Fu Juemin could speak, Cao Tian had already stepped in front of him. With one hand resting on his waist, he stared coldly at the approaching men.
Perhaps provoked by Cao Tian’s defensive stance, the bearded Westerner leading the group immediately barked a sharp command. The two guards behind him raised their guns and aimed in their direction, shouting warnings.
’Lonia People?’
Fu Juemin recognized the foreign tongue they were spouting.
"Don’t make a move!"
The man in the sailor’s uniform who was with the bearded Westerner quickly ran up and stood in front of Cao Tian. He could see that Fu Juemin was the one in charge and immediately said, "My name is Chen Yanze, First Officer of the Haiyan. And how may I address you, Young Master?"
Fu Juemin stated his name coolly. The man who called himself Chen Yanze clasped his fist in his hand and said, "Ah, so it’s Young Master Fu."
He took two steps closer and explained with a wry smile, "This isn’t directed at either of you. The thing is, Miss Delorofna, the daughter of the Lonia Kingdom’s ambassador, just lost a precious heirloom necklace. She suspects someone on the deck picked it up, so we need to search the entire top deck.
Until the necklace is found, no one on the deck is allowed to leave."
"So what is their intention now?"
Fu Juemin glanced at the Westerners behind Chen Yanze and said calmly, "Are they planning to search us?"
"Yes."
Chen Yanze nodded, a look of helplessness on his face.
"There are so many people on the deck. Why are they starting the search here of all places?"
Cao Tian spoke up coldly. "Neither I nor my Young Master have seen any necklace."
"You both know how it is..."
A flicker of indignation crossed Chen Yanze’s eyes, but his tone became even more helpless. "The others are all Westerners... It’s not just you two. Even the deputy director of the Shenghai Water Bureau next door has to be searched..."
Cao Tian’s brow furrowed. Just as he was about to speak, Fu Juemin suddenly cut in, "What kind of necklace did the ambassador’s daughter lose? Can you describe it in detail, First Officer Chen?"
Chen Yanze was taken aback, but he quickly replied, "I think it was... an agate necklace, a rather old-fashioned design..."
Fu Juemin listened quietly until he finished, then said calmly, "Then there’s no need to search. Help me tell him..."
Fu Juemin said a few words coolly. Chen Yanze gave him a strange look, half-believing and half-doubting. After a moment’s hesitation, he walked back to the Westerners and quickly relayed the message in the Ronian Language.
Soon after, two of the guards broke away and ran quickly toward the cabins.
About five minutes later, the "lockdown" on the deck was lifted.
"It was just as Young Master Fu said. That bastard lost his mind gambling on the ship, and he got bold enough to target one of the guests.
And of all people, he had to pick on an ambassador!
This is all thanks to Young Master Fu..."
Chen Yanze personally came over to escort Fu Juemin back to his room, his words filled with gratitude.
After all, the guests on the top deck of the Haiyan were either rich or noble. They might have complied with the search under pressure from the Westerners, but afterward, they would surely have directed their anger at the Haiyan and him, the First Officer.
For the matter to be resolved so smoothly, Fu Juemin had really done him a huge favor.
After thanking Fu Juemin profusely all the way to his door, Chen Yanze finally couldn’t hold back any longer and asked cautiously, "I have one more small question, if Young Master Fu would be so kind as to enlighten me... Did you, by any chance, see that kid steal the necklace with your own eyes?"
"Of course not."
Fu Juemin tossed out the words lightly, then shut the door with a THUD, leaving Chen Yanze standing stunned outside.
"He... figured it out... by divination?!"
.....
The so-called case of the ambassador’s daughter’s lost necklace was nothing more than a minor interlude for Fu Juemin.
Of course, he had been quite lucky. A quick listen with [Yao Ling] revealed that the necklace had been stolen by a waiter with sticky fingers.
Around one in the afternoon, with a long, low blast of its steam whistle, the Haiyan finally arrived in Shenghai.
Standing on the deck and looking out at the Sixteen Wharves Pier, he saw a forest of masts on the river, as dense as reeds. Barges and sampans of all sizes weaved back and forth like shuttles on a loom. The entire pier was like a giant boiling cauldron, bubbling with the roar of human voices and a deafening clamor.
Compared to the Luan River Pier, this pier was not only larger, but its ant-like swarm of people included not just laborers, but also all sorts of visitors from every corner of the country. freewēbnoveℓ.com
’The Eastern Magic City, the Miracle City...’
The Fu Family party, each with their own thoughts and feelings, slowly disembarked with the crowd.
Xu Xinyi clung tightly to Fu Juemin’s arm, looking quite excited and curious about everything around them. She had probably been bored stiff on the ship.
"Young Master Fu, please wait!"
As they were stepping onto the gangway, First Officer Chen Yanze caught up to them again, stopping Fu Juemin.
He respectfully handed Fu Juemin a small, exquisite box. "When Miss Delorofna, the ambassador’s daughter, heard it was Young Master Fu who helped find her necklace, she specifically asked me to deliver this to you."
Fu Juemin blinked, casually opening the box. Inside, he found only a white card. An address and a phone number were written on it in elegant script in the Ronian Language.
’An unexpected favor, I suppose?’
Fu Juemin smiled and put the box away. "Please tell Miss Delorofna it was nothing."
"I’m afraid you’ll have to find a chance to tell her that yourself."
Chen Yanze pointed in a certain direction. Fu Juemin followed his gaze and saw a group of Ronian guards escorting several people, striding down from the other side of the deck.
The guards’ bodies blocked his view, so Fu Juemin couldn’t see the person in the middle clearly. He could only catch a glimpse of a shock of brilliant, platinum-blonde hair.
"Young Master Fu, if you ever take the Haiyan again, be sure to look for me. Also, there’s one more thing... I’d like to ask you to do a reading for me..."
Chen Yanze hesitated, then lowered his voice and whispered a few words into Fu Juemin’s ear, looking a bit embarrassed.
After listening, Fu Juemin couldn’t help but chuckle. He patted Chen Yanze’s shoulder and shook his head. "This isn’t something you should be asking me, First Officer Chen. You’d be better off hiring a private detective to follow your wife. That would be far more reliable than my divination..."
Chen Yanze’s face flushed red. He said no more, instead loudly calling for someone to arrange a faster disembarkation route for Fu Juemin’s party.
Just then, another commotion erupted below. A large group of armed Patrol Police in black uniforms charged up onto the ship against the flow of the crowd, shouting that they were there to arrest some "revolutionary rabble."
On the second deck of the Haiyan, several young men carrying luggage, who had been about to disembark, saw the situation and their faces paled. Without a second thought, they turned and ran back.
The orderly disembarking line was thrown into chaos as the two groups—one pushing up, the other running back—collided.
As the First Officer, Chen Yanze quickly apologized to Fu Juemin before hurrying off to maintain order.
By the time Fu Juemin’s party finally made it off the ship, some of the men being pursued by the Patrol Police had been cornered and forced to jump into the sea. They were the very same "Revolutionary Faction" members Fu Juemin had noticed on the ship earlier.
’I wonder if they’ll give up ’Mr. Mingyi’ after they’re caught.’
Fu Juemin was watching with interest when suddenly, a figure quickly squeezed past them.
In that instant, Fu Juemin’s body gave an imperceptible shudder!
In the unseen depths of his mind, it was as if two phantoms—a snake and a mouse—simultaneously opened their cold eyes...
"Hey! Watch where you’re going!"
Xu Xinyi stumbled after being jostled, rubbing her sore arm and complaining in annoyance.
Ahead of them, a tall, thin man in a black trench coat carrying a suitcase heard her and quietly paused. He turned around, revealing a pale, handsome face.
"My apologies."
The man tipped the flat-brimmed hat on his head and gave Xu Xinyi an apologetic smile.
Xu Xinyi huffed softly. She turned her head away, about to say something to Fu Juemin, only to find a strange expression on his face that she couldn’t decipher.
"Brother Lingjun, what’s wrong?"
"It’s nothing."
Fu Juemin stared at the man’s retreating back, an indescribable light flickering in the depths of his eyes.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he slowly said, "It’s just that I suddenly feel...
...a little hungry."
With that, he waved Cao Tian over and gave him a few quiet instructions.
After listening, Cao Tian, his face expressionless, quickly set off in the direction the man had gone.
