Chapter 597: Similarity
Bai Suihe had learned a lot more. In particular, her skills in bone-setting and suturing—subjects she had struggled with in the past—had improved tremendously overnight.
When the master and servant boarded the small boat to return to their main ship, they finally noticed that the guards were looking at them with newfound awe.
Neither of them paid it much mind. Before leaving, they simply instructed the guards to give Mr. Tianxia and his men a quick, painless death as a reward for their cooperation the previous night.
As for the confiscated valuables, though there was a decent amount, Bai Suihe and the others had no intention of keeping it. Gu Kaiyuan divided the loot among the men on the spot as an extra bonus for their efforts.
Receiving such a substantial windfall, the guards instantly felt they were making a killing on this mission. If they could get a few more sweet deals like this, they could buy property for their families back home. After working for the Bai Family Head for a few more years, they would even be able to retire early.
As for whether they felt any psychological burden? What a joke. They were ridding the people of a menace. This was exactly why they had learned martial arts in the first place. They could eliminate evil and earn Silver at the same time. There was nothing better in the world.
They also gained a new level of respect for Gu Kaiyuan. He must have made extensive preparations beforehand; otherwise, his intel wouldn’t have been so spot-on every time.
And then there was Ms. Suihe. As the respected lady of the Bai Family, she was actually studying medicine and excelling in poisons. If a well-bred noble lady could endure such hardships and study so diligently, it meant they weren’t working hard enough. In just these past two days, they had gained and learned so much. They had to work even harder.
Back on the ship, Bai Jiannan was holding Gu Xingyang. The two of them stared at the returning couple with identical looks of disdain. A niece naturally bore some resemblance to her uncle, but seeing their identical little expressions made Gu Kaiyuan a bit jealous.
He wondered why the child he and his wife had worked so hard to bring into this world looked so much like Bai Jiannan.
He quickly walked over, wanting to take his daughter, but Bai Jiannan dodged him. Gu Xingyang clung tightly to Bai Jiannan’s neck, sending her poor father’s jealousy through the roof.
He shot his brother-in-law a fierce glare, then turned to complain to his wife. “Suihe, look at Jiannan. He just glared at me.”
Bai Suihe was speechless. She had already seen it, and she knew she was the next victim.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Bai Suihe scoffed. “I haven’t done anything to wrong you.”
“How could you sneak off in the middle of the night? Leaving me and little Xingxing here—is that fair to us?”
Bai Suihe took a deep breath. This was her own biological brother and her adoring, silly daughter. “It was the middle of the night, and I had official business to attend to. I wasn’t out playing. Stop being so unreasonable, both of you.”
“Xingxing, listen to this. Your mother says we’re being unreasonable…”
Gu Xingyang also wore an accusatory expression. “How could you leave your own daughter alone on the ship? Weren’t you afraid bad guys would kidnap me?”
Bai Suihe swept her gaze over the guards standing around the two of them, then looked out at the vast, open ocean. She wondered who on earth would have the god-like ability to kidnap someone from this heavily guarded ship in the middle of the sea.
However, she couldn’t say that out loud. Putting on a placating smile, she said, “You were sleeping so soundly. It would have been cruel to wake you up in the middle of the night. Anyway, the island is right over there. If you’re curious, I can take you to see it.”
“What’s there to see now?” They had seen plenty of landscapes along the way. Bai Jiannan retorted grumpily, “Next time you go anywhere, we are coming with you.” Taking advantage of his sister’s slight guilt, Bai Jiannan hurriedly laid down his terms.
Bai Suihe didn’t answer him, turning to head straight back to her room. “You should act more mature. You are the Family Head now, after all.”
“What does it matter? Everyone who came out with me is a trusted confidant. Even if I were to throw a temper tantrum right now, they wouldn’t breathe a word of it to anyone.”
Gu Xingyang looked at her uncle with adoration. She thought, “So Uncle Jiannan has such an incredible secret weapon! I’ve learned something new today.”
Bai Suihe rolled her eyes at him. “I’m remembering those words. When you’re in your seventies or eighties, I’m going to repeat them to your children and grandchildren.”
“Heh, you think I’m scared?” Perhaps out of boredom, or maybe just letting himself go, Bai Jiannan blurted out, “Mother used to tell me plenty of your embarrassing childhood stories too. What’s it going to be? Shall we resort to mutual destruction?”
Gu Xingyang blinked her starry eyes. She thought, “Uncle Jiannan, I’m curious. I want to hear the stories.”
Bai Suihe finally took her daughter into her arms. “If you’re really going to play that game, then we’ll just have to wait and see.”
She didn’t have any dark secrets anyway. Whatever she had done couldn’t possibly compare to the endless mischief the man standing before her had caused in his youth.
“Suihe, you’re no fun like this. Can’t you just yield for once? Anyway, next time, no matter what, I have to come along.
“If worse comes to worst, make Kai Yuan stay on the ship. Anything he can do, I can do too.”
“Kai Yuan has his intelligence sources. Do you?”
Bai Jiannan was speechless for a moment before insisting, “Next time we set sail, I’ll definitely be prepared.”
He planned to issue a bounty as soon as he got back. He refused to believe that he couldn’t buy a few traitors out of these short islanders.
“Are you just going to abandon your businesses? Don’t forget your status,” Bai Suihe said crossly. The only reason she had brought him along this time was because she wanted to give him a chance to relax, seeing as he had shouldered such a heavy burden at a young age.
Besides, once they returned, the promotion of chili peppers and various new dishes would keep him plenty busy. He was dreaming if he thought he could go out to sea again.
“How about letting our youngest brother be the Family Head?” Bai Jiannan suggested.
Wealth was certainly tempting, but no matter how much you had, it was ultimately just a number. Meanwhile, as the Family Head, he lived like a workhorse, toiling from dawn until dusk. His younger brother had it much easier, sleeping in every day and gallivanting around with his friends.
“Do you think that’s possible?” Bai Suihe ignored his whining. If she weren’t his biological sister, she would have thought the kid was just humblebragging in front of her.
“Go back and work hard. From now on, my good days and your younger brother’s good days all depend on you.” Bai Suihe dealt the killing blow, even standing on her tiptoes to pat his shoulder encouragingly. “I believe in you.”
Bai Jiannan was left speechless. He thought, “I came here to confront her, so how did I end up getting roped into being someone else’s workhorse again?”
Gu Xingyang was equally quiet. She wondered, “Poor Uncle Jiannan. He’s so young. I wonder if people go bald in ancient times…”
Bai Suihe lightly swatted her daughter’s bottom. “How is your Uncle Jiannan pitiful? He sits on wealth that others can only envy. He holds the position, so he must fulfill its duties. Don’t you dare be a bad influence on him; our family still relies on him to earn Silver for us.”
“Mother, you’re so mean…”
“Yes, I’m mean. You’d better start thinking about how to coax your own father instead.”
“But I didn’t do anything!”
“You glared at him…”
“I did not…”
Over the next few days.
They continued their voyage, reaping rewards all along the way. Although the confiscated goods weren’t massive in quantity, it at least allowed them to vent their frustrations and strike a blow against the pirates.
Through interrogations over the past few days, they learned that these raiders were merely putting up a false front. They were just outcasts who couldn’t survive in their homeland and had fled to become wandering bandits.
Furthermore, it was said that their homeland was suffering a terrible year. Several earthquakes had struck, leaving the populace in a state of panic. With everyone focused entirely on rebuilding their homes, their government had no spare resources to support these wandering bandits.
Bai Suihe also confirmed one crucial detail: the current island nation was still nothing more than a disorganized scattering of loose sand.