The atmosphere in the room was somewhat strange.
Ji Xun wanted to refute what Huo Ranyin had just said, but felt it didn’t seem to be the main point right now.
He rubbed his temples and negotiated with the two who were still locked in combat: “In short, can you guys stop first?”
No one paid him any mind.
Meng Fushan and Huo Ranyin remained locked onto each other, searching for weaknesses in the other to subdue them in a single blow.
A friend’s friend doesn’t equal a friend; a lover’s friend, of course, means even less so.
Ji Xun let out a deep sigh: “Brothers, we are on a ship with a long history of breaking the law. Just up the stairs outside, there are double-digit armed bodyguards waiting for us, and they wouldn’t blink an eye at killing someone. On top of that, there’s a deep-thinking murderer who already has three lives on his hands yet remains impeccably hidden. And our only force—”
He displayed the gun in his hand.
“—is just this.”
“So, even if we can’t achieve 1+1+1 > 3, at least let’s not make it 1+1+1 < 2, alright?”
Perhaps taking Ji Xun’s words to heart, or perhaps after a moment of reflection both realized it was unlikely to easily control the other, they released their grip at the same time and each took a step back.
Huo Ranyin retreated toward the door, while Meng Fushan backed away toward Ji Xun’s position.
The layout of the room left Ji Xun standing at the innermost spot, with Meng Fushan positioned between him and Huo Ranyin.
This positioning gave Ji Xun a subtle sense of unease, but given how narrow the room was, it was the only option for now.
“How did you get up here?” Meng Fushan spoke up, asking Huo Ranyin.
“That’s not very important…” Ji Xun tried to smooth things over.
“No, it is very important,” Huo Ranyin said lukewarmly. “Just as important as why Meng Fushan approached Boss Jiang before Boss Jiang died.”
“…” Ji Xun paused.
Meng Fushan hadn’t mentioned this detail when they talked earlier. Ji Xun glanced at him.
Meng Fushan said impatiently: “I didn’t approach Boss Jiang; I approached Boss Jiang’s bodyguard, Fang Li. I wanted to test the waters to see if I could get his gun. It didn’t succeed, so was there any point in bringing it up?”
Ji Xun’s brow smoothed out; the explanation was completely reasonable.
Upon hearing the news of Ah Tang’s disappearance, Meng Fushan likely deduced that Ji Xun had knocked Ah Tang out and taken his gun. With Ji Xun as a precedent, it was a logical progression for Meng Fushan to consider how to acquire another weapon. As for why he didn’t mention it afterward, Meng Fushan gave his reason: it failed, so talking about it was pointless—which also fit Meng Fushan’s personality.
“My question has been answered. What about you?” Meng Fushan’s hawk-like gaze pierced toward Huo Ranyin.
“I’m afraid you won’t really want to know my answer.”
“Are you afraid to say it?”
“Why don’t you take a guess—how did I find out this ship had problems, and whose path did I take to get on board? After all, you didn’t reveal a single word about the ship to me.” Huo Ranyin didn’t look at Meng Fushan; he looked at Ji Xun.
Ji Xun met Huo Ranyin’s eyes for a moment.
The unease in his heart expanded.
“Stop talking,” Ji Xun said abruptly.
“Why shouldn’t he speak?” Meng Fushan said, determined to find out how Huo Ranyin had boarded the ship. However—with an expression of forced endurance, as if ants were crawling on his neck—he offered a brief explanation, “I was the one who threatened Ji Xun into coming aboard with me, and I was the one who told him not to tell you.”
“Meng Fushan,” Ji Xun called out softly.
Meng Fushan couldn’t understand why Ji Xun kept trying to stop a conversation that could be resolved quickly.
“Is that so?” Huo Ranyin let out a laugh. “Ji Xun, you really listen to Meng Fushan. Is that how he deceived you?”
He looked at Ji Xun, then shook his head a moment later, saying unhurriedly:
“No, saying he deceived you gives him too much credit and understates your intelligence. You already know what I’m talking about. The truth sits right in front of you inside a box, but you don’t dare touch it. Ji Xun… you really disappoint me.”
Then, turning to Meng Fushan, he announced the answer.
“I found Ah Bin.”
Suddenly, the room fell silent—so silent a pin drop could be heard, so silent even the sound of breathing vanished.
Ah Bin. Cao Zhengbin.
Chen Jiashu’s right-hand man, who had gone missing after Chen Jiashu’s death.
“When I found Ah Bin, he was trying to get onto this ship,” Huo Ranyin said flatly. “Just as Meng Fushan believed, this ship is heavily guarded. To have a chance at getting a ticket, the new must be brought by the old, and the shipowner, Mr. Liu, must personally review it.”
“I captured him and conducted an emergency interrogation. He knew that once he fell into police hands, he would never escape and couldn’t accomplish what he wanted to do… What he wanted to do could only be completed by the police on his behalf. Therefore, without hiding anything, he disclosed several things.”
“First, Chen Jiashu never touched the organ trafficking business. The one involved in that business from beginning to end was this ship, and Mr. Liu on this ship. That’s why we didn’t find anything related to the ship or the phrase ‘May the voyage be smooth, the wind calm, and the waves settled’ at Chen Jiashu’s office or home. Yet, based on various clues, you managed to find those suspicious traces in the village—the casino, the ship in the casino, and the surgical equipment beside it. If those weren’t Chen Jiashu’s, what could the answer be? The only answer is that someone very familiar with Chen Jiashu arranged it all.”
“Second, Chen Jiashu did indeed commission Zheng Xuewang to forge a medical record. The purpose was to test whether Meng Zhonghai was trustworthy. This likely corresponds to the various communications between Meng Zhonghai and you back in Qin City. After finishing the test and confirming Meng Zhonghai was trustworthy, Chen Jiashu brought Cao Zhengbin and Meng Zhonghai onto Mr. Liu’s ship.”
“Third, while on the ship, Mr. Liu once expressed an intention to cooperate with Chen Jiashu. Not long after leaving the ship, Chen Jiashu died. When I found Cao Zhengbin, because Chen Jiashu was gone, Cao Zhengbin couldn’t find any way to get aboard no matter what. Yet Meng Zhonghai not only found a way, but also brought you onto the ship.”
“Is that enough, Ji Xun?” Huo Ranyin said faintly.
He looked at Ji Xun, who didn’t speak; he then looked at Meng Fushan, who remained silent as well.
Huo Ranyin smiled once more, his tone laced with sarcasm:
“Meng Zhonghai. Meng Fushan’s alias. An alias that can hardly be called attentive. It fits Meng Fushan’s subsequent actions well—he used Chen Jiashu as a stepping stone, making a light leap right onto this ship. That’s why, even though he suspected my identity, he was never willing to believe I could get on board. Because he paid far too much just to get onto this ship.”
“He—”
Ji Xun closed his eyes.
Yet Huo Ranyin’s voice still cut like a blade, piercing his ears, slicing through his heart, and rending his body open.
“—paid with a person’s life.”
The Grim Reaper swept open his cloak, embracing him with deep compassion.
Beneath the wings of death, he seemed to see his sister. For the very first time, resentment appeared in her sorrowful eyes.
She resented him—resented his cowardice, resented how he considered himself clever yet made mistake after mistake, to the point of dragging even Meng Fushan into an abyss of no return.
“You two must have met right before getting onto the ship,” Huo Ranyin continued. “Because you didn’t dare face him, and he didn’t dare face you. You were both afraid that once you met and spoke, this self-deceiving act could no longer go on.”
“Whether what I said is true or not, Ji Xun, why don’t you ask your good friend?”
“Ji Xun…” Meng Fushan finally spoke up.
Before his voice even faded, he made a move that caught everyone off guard!
In a single stride, he snatched the gun right out of Ji Xun’s hand.
Swift as a leaping hare, the dark, hollow muzzle of the gun aimed straight at Huo Ranyin.
Meng Fushan said coldly: “Stand still. The trigger Ji Xun couldn’t pull, I will.”
