Chapter 557 - 558: Return
Chapter 557: Chapter 558: Return
These small coastal fishing villages had previously suffered from the pillaging of this group of people. In the past, they would just snatch things and leave, but now they were so deranged that they massacred entire villages.
This was their common enemy. If Gu Kaiyuan could truly wipe these people out, it would help the villagers vent their deep resentment. Moreover, he had planned a safe retreat for those who led the way and offered a generous reward. If the villagers refused such a good deal, they would be acting like fools.
Gu Kaiyuan knew that speed was paramount in military matters. Since they had already been delayed for a few days, he feared those people might have found a new foothold, so he decided to set off that very day.
Bai Suihe wanted to tag along this time but was unsuccessful. However, Nanny Pang managed to squeeze her way onto the boat. In her words, although Gu Kaiyuan and his men had been instructed in the use of drugs, she was the one who was truly proficient. Moreover, she had Martial Arts to protect herself; her presence would only be beneficial.
What she didn’t say out loud was that she still felt uneasy about such a risky endeavor and had to go keep an eye on them. The madam and the young miss had finally managed to live a good life. She couldn’t let any mishaps befall Gu Kaiyuan, or else how would she explain it to Mrs. Bai?
Gu Xingyang looked on with envy as the boat sailed further and further away. "Mother, when can I go out to sea?"
Bai Suihe looked into the distance, her tone a bit sour. "Your mother wants to go too."
She clearly had the ability to protect herself, yet she was treated as a burden. Who could understand how frustrating that felt?
Even when Nanny Pang boarded the boat just now, she had to disguise herself as a middle-aged man; otherwise, she would have had to waste a lot of breath arguing. Around here, women were not allowed on boats. It was believed that women were yin while men were yang, and the combination of boats and water made the environment heavily yin, which would bring bad luck.
Pressed for time, Bai Suihe hadn’t wanted to argue with the men. Besides, she was young and inexperienced. Afraid that her own disguise might give her away, she could only give up. As for the future, their family owned a shipyard. They could definitely have their own ship, and she would be able to play on it by herself then.
That night, Bai Suihe couldn’t sleep. As soon as dawn broke the next day, she went to the shore early to wait. Only when she saw the boat sailing back from a distance did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Gu Kaiyuan stood at the bow of the boat. When he saw Bai Suihe, a wide smile broke across his face. There was nothing happier than the feeling of having someone waiting for you when you returned home.
"The sun is so strong, why didn’t you wait at home?" Gu Kaiyuan raised his straw hat high to help shield her from the sunlight.
Bai Suihe replied, "It’s fine, the morning sun isn’t that harsh. How did it go? Did everything go smoothly?"
She looked him up and down and found nothing unusual, then she looked at Nanny Pang behind him. Seeing that everyone was completely unscathed, she relaxed.
"It went very smoothly. Come on, let’s head back and talk." Owning their own village was truly a delightful thing; at the very least, they didn’t have to worry about drawing a crowd of onlookers when they came and went.
Lin Hua and the others stayed behind to settle the accounts with the fishermen who had led the way. After seeing them out of the village, they returned.
"We found their lair and conveniently eliminated future troubles," Gu Kaiyuan explained clearly in just a few words.
"It was that simple? There wasn’t a bloody battle?"
Gu Kaiyuan glanced at Nanny Pang and laughed heartily. "This was the easiest battle I’ve ever fought. God was looking out for us yesterday!
"When we finally sneaked into the place, those short savages were sitting by the sea holding some kind of ceremony. Seeing them dance around so weirdly, it looked like they were praying.
"The wind direction was just right, so Nanny Pang raised her hand. We waited quietly for a moment, and all of them collapsed."
"You did this in front of those fishermen who led the way..." Bai Suihe was a bit conflicted. If even one of them talked too much to outsiders, their family wouldn’t be safe.
"Don’t worry, we aren’t that stupid. Once we found the place, they were even more terrified than we were. They rowed the small boat I provided and hid far away early on.
"They couldn’t see what we were doing. Besides, we were very fast. After making sure the enemies were all poisoned, we gave them a quick end.
"After finishing them off, we hurried back. We didn’t mention a single word of it to the fishermen. We just told them we were scouting the area and would report it to the authorities later."
As for any follow-up questions, as long as those people were a bit smart, they wouldn’t ask around. After all, Gu Kaiyuan planned to continue developing his influence here in the future, so he couldn’t afford to get a reputation for being ruthless.
Despite the fact that those short savages murdered and pillaged, there were always some bleeding hearts who, untouched by the blade themselves, felt no pain. They would think that since the events had passed, there was no need to slaughter them all. Although most people were rational, there was always a bad apple in the barrel. It wouldn’t kill anyone, but it was incredibly sickening.
Now that those people were dealt with, Gu Kaiyuan planned to find a time to take Bai Suihe out to collect the loot. Although he hadn’t searched carefully, those people still had some wealth stashed on that small island.
After eating and taking a good rest, Gu Xingyang became active again. "Daddy, take me with you. I’ll show you the way, and I guarantee they won’t even be able to leave a single copper coin behind."
"This is going out to sea. If we encounter a storm, will you be scared?" Gu Kaiyuan didn’t agree immediately, but teased her instead.
"What’s there to be afraid of? With me here, even if there are storms, the waves won’t be able to rise.
"You took care of those guys yesterday. If we don’t hurry and bring the loot back today, we might just be doing all the heavy lifting for someone else’s benefit," Gu Xingyang earnestly advised. When Silver fell from the sky, if they weren’t diligent enough, someone else might pick it up.
Bai Suihe picked Gu Xingyang up. "Alright, you father and daughter, stop bickering. If we weren’t going to take you, we wouldn’t have let you know.
"Hurry up and get some good sleep now. We’ll wake you up when we get there—you’ll have to put in some effort."
Gu Xingyang refused to be fooled this time, shaking her head like a rattle drum. "No way, no way! You said the exact same thing last time, but when I woke up, you had already finished everything.
"I’ve suffered so many losses already. If I fall for it again, I’d be an absolute idiot."
"You little brat, you’re actually guarding against me." Knowing she had a track record, Bai Suihe felt it was normal for Xing Yang not to believe her, but she really hadn’t intended to trick her this time. It was said that the island was quite large. If they missed out on anything, it would be their family’s loss.
"Do you not trust your parents anymore?"
Gu Xingyang chuckled. "I want to believe you, but Mom and Dad, please stop tricking me."
Gu Kaiyuan awkwardly rubbed his nose. Tricking their daughter was something Bai Suihe did far more often; he was just getting caught in the crossfire.
However, they had to do this covertly. Gu Kaiyuan came up with a flimsy excuse, saying he was taking Bai Suihe and their daughter out to see the sunrise, meaning only their family of three would make the trip.
In fact, the only person here who warranted an explanation was Nanny Pang. Nanny Pang gave them a deep look, ignored them, and turned directly to enter the apothecary.
The little one, Gu Xingyang, managed to force herself to stay awake through some unknown method. It wasn’t until they boarded the boat and Gu Kaiyuan began rowing away from the shore that she finally succumbed to sleep.