Chapter 521: This Person Is Definitely Not as Harmless as They Seem
Chapter 521: Chapter 521: This Person Is Definitely Not as Harmless as They Seem
A vast expanse of clams stretched out before her eyes. There were white ones, black ones, and gray ones; large ones and small ones. Su Qing gave them a quick scan. There had to be at least ten thousand, all resting quietly in the sand and mud of the seabed. Some were half-buried, while others were slowly inching along on their extended hatchet feet.
Su Qing suppressed her delight and commanded her vines. In several batches, they coiled around nearly a thousand clams, which she stored away in her space one by one. She made sure to pick the larger ones, about twenty to thirty centimeters in diameter. Seeing the clams piled up like a small mountain inside her space, Su Qing was practically bursting with joy. ’Once I’m back in Beijing, I’ll open them up and see how many pearls I can find.’
The prospect of opening them, like a series of mystery boxes, was truly exciting.
Gathering the clams had taken a while. By now, the speedboats that had been circling the Jixiang were returning, one after another. Judging by the expressions of the people on board, Su Qing knew their search had come up empty.
Just then, Hua Zifeng approached Su Qing’s side. He glanced at the speedboats and asked, "Miss Susan, where do you think Miss Angela is right now?"
Su Qing turned to face Hua Zifeng. "Mr. Hua, are you asking me?"
"Of course."
"I’m sorry, I don’t know either," Su Qing said coolly. "After all, I was resting in my room when Miss Angela disappeared. How would I know her whereabouts? Mr. Hua, you’d be better off organizing your people to conduct another thorough search."
Hua Zifeng frowned. "Miss Susan, Miss Angela is a daughter of the Walker Family. If something has happened to her, I’m afraid the Walker Family won’t let this matter rest."
"And what does that have to do with me?" Su Qing shrugged. "It’s not like I was the one who made Miss Angela disappear. I don’t understand why you keep targeting me, Mr. Hua. Have you already decided I’m the perpetrator?"
Hua Zifeng turned to look at Su Qing. "Miss Susan, I’m saying this for your own good. After all, you had a prior conflict with Miss Angela, and the number of people on this ship who had issues with her is very small."
"I’ll repeat what I said before: the burden of proof is on the accuser. If you think I’m suspicious, Mr. Hua, then please present some evidence instead of constantly harping on the minor conflict I had with Miss Angela." Su Qing stared fixedly into Hua Zifeng’s eyes. "Frankly, your actions are bordering on harassment. I understand that the Walker Family is powerful and that you’re eager to solve the case and curry favor. However, do not use me as your stepping stone. Otherwise, I won’t be so courteous."
Su Qing’s words made Hua Zifeng’s brow furrow deeply.
Su Qing looked away from Hua Zifeng and said, "Jim, let’s go back. Honestly, you try to enjoy the scenery, and someone always has to spoil the mood."
Jim glanced at Hua Zifeng, then replied, "Yes, Miss Susan."
Hua Zifeng silently watched Su Qing’s retreating figure. Just then, his assistant walked over. "Mr. Hua, the speedboats found nothing. The surrounding sea appears normal. Furthermore, we had people search in the water, but that also yielded no results."
Frowning, Hua Zifeng thought for a moment before asking, "What about that young starlet who had a run-in with Miss Angela the other day, and the head of the Mi Family? Any unusual movements from them?"
"None," his assistant replied. "They’ve both been staying in their rooms and haven’t left."
"Have someone keep a close watch on that woman, Susan, who just left," Hua Zifeng instructed.
"Yes, sir." The assistant quickly complied, then asked, "Mr. Hua, why do you think Miss Susan is the prime suspect?"
"That woman is definitely not as harmless as she appears," Hua Zifeng said. "She has a murderous aura about her, the kind you only see on someone who has killed before. So, this Susan definitely has blood on her hands. The only question is whether it has anything to do with Miss Angela."
The assistant nodded quickly. He had followed Hua Zifeng for many years and knew he was an excellent judge of character. Hua Zifeng’s intuition, in particular, was incredibly sharp. Thanks to that intuition, he had solved ninety-five percent of his cases and caught the real culprit. This was one of the reasons Hua Zifeng was so famous in Xiangcheng. If he said that Miss Susan had blood on her hands, then it was almost certainly true.
Su Qing had no idea this was the reason Hua Zifeng was so focused on her, but even if she had known, she wouldn’t have cared. After all, the people she’d killed were monstrous criminals who deserved to die. Besides, she had used her vines to drag their bodies fifty or sixty meters underground, so deep that they could never be found.
When she returned to her room, she saw that Yarn was also back. Su Qing asked, "Mr. Yan, any news about Miss Angela?"
Yarn wearily shook his head. "Not yet."
He then added in frustration, "If I had known this would happen, I should have just given in to her. If we can’t find Angela, I don’t know how I’m going to face Uncle Walker."
After all, Angela had followed him onto the Jixiang, and now she had disappeared on the Jixiang. No matter how you looked at it, he couldn’t escape responsibility. It might even affect the business relationship between their two families.
Seeing Yarn so dejected, Su Qing could only offer a few empty words of comfort before returning to her own room.
Su Qing had no fondness for Angela, but Hua Zifeng’s constant surveillance was becoming a nuisance. There was nothing she could do about him, though, since he was just trying to solve a case. After some thought, Su Qing decided to wait for nightfall and try to find Angela herself.
Not every part of the ship had plants, so for Su Qing to search for someone, she’d have to use her vines. During the day, however, the vines would be too easily spotted, and she had no desire to attract that kind of trouble.
A day passed with no sign of Angela. The Jixiang remained anchored at sea, unmoving. Many passengers were starting to complain, but with the Walker Family involved, the captain didn’t dare take the situation lightly. He could only try to placate the guests and promise that if Angela wasn’t found by the next day, the ship would set sail. After all, they couldn’t just stay anchored at sea indefinitely.
Su Qing waited until the dead of night, when nearly everyone was asleep. Then, she quietly released her vines, beginning a meticulous search of the entire ship.
In truth, Su Qing wasn’t very hopeful about finding Angela. The ship had already been searched from top to bottom without a single trace of her. Su Qing was just trying her luck. If she found her, great. If not, it didn’t matter. The worst that could happen was that Hua Zifeng would keep watching her all the way to A Tai.
However, to Su Qing’s surprise, she actually found her!