Chapter 846: Chapter 846: Alive, We Must See the Person; Dead, We Must See the Corpse
But that’s not right, Guo Shun thought to himself, he hadn’t seen that remnant from start to finish.
At that time, he ordered the big ship to approach slowly, glimpsed from afar the madam and several girls coming to the bow of the ship, and as the cabin door closed, he saw a person inside the cabin, the silhouette resembling Old Turtle.
The situation inside the cabin was just a fleeting glimpse, and later, due to the angle, the inside of the cabin could not be seen again.
At that moment, under the cover of night, Guo Shun picked up his bow first, intending to catch them off guard and subdue the biggest trouble in the cabin. He had observed Old Turtle on the shore with some skill; this man was the biggest trouble, killing him would ensure no fish escaped the net.
This time, he intended to silence everyone, not leaving a single survivor.
Originally the shot he was certain of, Guo Shun didn’t expect to miss, someone dodged it and later charged out to save the madam.
What followed was the madam’s plea for mercy and the subsequent series of events; he managed to shoot the madam, calculating the angle at which she was pushed into the cabin, yet the situation inside the cabin remained unseen.
Guo Shun couldn’t help but ponder, indeed strange, he hadn’t seen that remnant appear from start to finish.
However, he was certain the remnant boarded the ship; he had seen the people board from the shore, three young girls, one madam, one Old Turtle, plus that remnant, for a total of six people.
According to the ship’s speed, there should not have been any stopovers, which is why he was determined, acting with lethal moves, just to ensure not leaving a single survivor.
But now, unable to find the remnant’s corpse, there were only two possibilities:
The first possibility was that he startled them and the remnant took the chance while they were far away to jump from a blind spot into the water to escape;
The second possibility was that something changed midway, the person "disembarked" earlier. After all, before boarding, he heard the madam mention the word escape; to his view, the remnant tried to escape during the abduction but failed, naturally, he would face heavy punishment.
As for Xiao Hua Mei, when Guo Shun noticed Cui Sanniang and her party, Xiao Hua Mei had already been dragged into the cabin by Second Master Liu; he hadn’t seen it at all and thus thought there were only six people.
Later, when Cui Sanniang let Second Master Liu accept Xiao Lian Hua, Second Master Liu’s entire body covered Xiao Lian Hua’s stature, Guo Shun naturally didn’t notice anything amiss.
At this moment, Guo Shun couldn’t come to a conclusion, the people on the Flower Boat were dead, and there was no one to ask.
Guo Shun said to the people in the two small boats: "Alive, we need to see the person; dead, we need to see the corpse. You stay here."
The remaining matters could only be entrusted to these people; he couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
To kill this remnant, he had already delayed too long; he needed to hurry to Jinling, and finally reach Yangzhou.
"Yes." The leader of the small boat responded loudly, then hesitated and asked: "Brother Shunzi, what about the Flower Boat and those corpses..."
"Burn them." Guo Shun coldly dropped these two words and then ordered the people on the big ship to continue sailing, no longer needing to extinguish lights or disguise.
The two small boats’ crew received the orders to destroy the evidence, immediately doused the whole Flower Boat with prepared tung oil, along with the corpses, and set it ablaze.
Raging flames erupted, illuminating the river.
Upstream, a small head hid among the water plants near the shore, undulating with the waves.
Her face looked indifferent as she stared at the flames soaring from the small boat, watched for a while, then turned and plunged into the water.
Xiao Hua Mei’s vengeance was fulfilled, she wanted to find Xiao Hua Mei; if she found her, she would bury her somewhere first, then she would rescue her parents and brothers. Later, she would think of a way to return, she promised to bring Xiao Hua Mei home.
Tears silently merged into the water, the river wind grew stronger, wave after wave crashed, consciousness floating and sinking, only endless darkness remained between heaven and earth...
"Nannan, don’t cry, don’t cry, I’m here..." Su Ran whimpered, using a handkerchief to wipe the face of the person on the bed.
Though the person sleeping sounded calm as usual, it made one feel the overwhelming sadness and despair.
Su Ran cried heartbreakingly: "Father and mother shouldn’t have left you, Nannan, if it happens again, mother will never leave you alone, even if it’s to die, we will die together..."
Her little daughter was now in this state, making her heart ache as if pierced.
Nanny Qi wiped away tears, also finding it hard to speak.
Xiao Jizi, Xiao Qing, and Xiao Linzi looked sorrowful, standing by, unwilling to leave, all secretly wiping tears.
In the sleeping chamber, the atmosphere was filled with desolation.
A touch of dawn appeared at the horizon, Divine Doctor Huang outside the hall shook his head and sighed, looking disheveled and exhausted, evidently having stayed up all night.
He had thought of all possible ways, yet the person hadn’t woken up, alas...
Last night, as expected, the person had extreme emotional turmoil, several times sleep-talking, even shouting, mostly incomprehensible, only fragments understood, eventually murmured a name, tears silently flowed, the name "Xiao Hua Mei".
Afterward, peace returned, no longer that earlier craze, yet also showed no sign of waking.
The heart’s tribulations are hard to pass, it relies solely on oneself, how can medicine cure it?
"Alas..." Divine Doctor Huang sighed deeply.
Inside Sky Prison.
A person bound by eight black iron chains knelt on the ground, head lowered, face void of life.
Next to him, a few steps away, stood a round, white, chubby eunuch, expression solemn, face devoid of anything resembling a smile.
Nearby stood a silhouette adorned in bright yellow, face hidden in shadows, expression unclear but exuding an intimidating royal aura, immense pressure felt, even someone seasoned like Guo Shun found his heart trembling.
He narrated what he knew from seven years ago: "...The Lian Family’s little daughter suddenly vanished, after the Flower Boat was burned, I first went to Jinling, then proceeded to Yangzhou to handle Guo family business, specially leaving people to search along the Yangtze River. As for what happened on the Flower Boat, I don’t know, I silenced everyone on that Flower Boat."
"I speculate that girl already met misfortune, to my knowledge, for runaway girls, the kidnappers enforce severe punishment, let alone those two resembling brothel madam and Old Turtle, they are ruthless, treating the girls with callous means, using fear and brutality as their primary tools, I guess ten to one that girl met misfortune, though I didn’t expect..."
The remnant of the Lian Family truly escaped.
That girl was indeed skilled, managing to escape repeatedly from his grasp, surviving again and again.
Initially, even though he speculated thus, with his cautious nature, he still had people search along the river, insisting on finding the corpse, all as a precaution.