Chapter 4439 — Thrown into the Sea
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Everyone craned their necks to look, carefully sweeping their eyes over each reef, yet they found no sign of the cargo, nor the slightest trace that anyone had chiseled into the rock. Qi Mingyuan let out a breath of relief.
"Nothing?" Hai Wuliang could not help but frown. The others exchanged glances, murmuring with doubt, "Does that mean it is still hidden aboard the ship?"
But this was such a small cargo boat, and they had already searched every conceivable spot on it from top to bottom. They had already fallen into a rut of thinking; even if they searched again, would they really be able to find anything?
Watching this, Qi Mingyuan was instantly delighted. Now the original disadvantage had turned into an advantage: after practicing on the previous twenty-nine ships, the rut of thinking everyone had unconsciously developed had instead become the finest camouflage.
"Since we cannot find it this way, then let us try another approach. Tear this ship apart and search it piece by piece!" Hai Wuliang suddenly spoke up.
"What? Tear it apart?" Everyone was startled. They all knew that once a ship was dismantled, nothing could possibly remain hidden. But if it truly came to that,恐怕 no one could last a stick of incense, could they?
"Chief Escort Hai, to target my Qingtian Escort Agency so openly—are you perhaps afraid we will score high again? If word of this gets out, I fear it will not sound very good, will it?" Qi Mingyuan had not even finished savoring his delight when he heard this; his expression turned ugly at once, and he gave a cold snort.
At these words, the bystanders could not help but suddenly understand, and each of them put on an expression of watching a good show. So this was a private grudge after all. Just now Qi Mingyuan had ruined the plans of their Sihai Escort Agency, and Hai Wuliang clearly wanted to use this to recover his face!
"Chief Escort Qi, that is rather harshly put, is it not? Heaven and earth bear witness—as an official judge, everything I think and do is for the sake of a fairer and more just competition. Where is this targeting of your Qingtian Escort Agency?" Hai Wuliang responded with a cold laugh.
"If that is truly the case, then I was wrong, and I apologize to you, Chief Escort Hai. But let me ask just one thing: when it comes to my Qingtian Escort Agency alone, you start making arrangements to tear the ship apart—is that appropriate?" Qi Mingyuan said neither humbly nor haughtily.
"What is there to be appropriate or inappropriate about? Chief Escort Qi, have you forgotten that we are playing the role of bandits right now? Is it so strange for bandits, after flying into a rage from humiliation, to tear the ship apart?" Not only did Hai Wuliang show no sign of guilt, he spoke with perfect confidence.
"That..." For a moment Qi Mingyuan could not react, and was left speechless by him. It was indeed not uncommon for bandits to destroy a ship after looting it; many, to destroy the evidence, would even pour oil over it and set it ablaze.
"If Chief Escort Qi still has objections, that is fine too. Let us five judges simply hold a show of hands. The minority submits to the majority—surely there is nothing more to be said after that?" Feigning magnanimity, Hai Wuliang addressed the other judges: "If I may trouble you few to state your positions—should we tear this ship apart?"
"Tear it apart. Since we are bandits, how could we not? If not for Chief Escort Hai's reminder, we judges would all be accused of dereliction of duty!" Zhao Bufan and the other three spoke almost in unison.
After all, their three escort agencies, like Sihai Escort Agency, had long since had their turn. Of the five great escort agencies, only Qingtian Escort Agency remained. From where they stood, of course it was best if Qingtian Escort Agency scored nothing at all—they were all sick with envy.