Without waiting for me to speak, Jiang Erwa kicked Old Jia to the ground with one foot, then stepped on Old Jia's face with his rain boots.
"You despicable scum, take a good look at who I am."
Old Jia rolled his eyes, staring at Jiang Erwa for a long time. Finally recognizing him, he punched the steel plate in frustration, making a loud "clang" sound.
"It's you! No wonder I always sensed your unease. Didn't expect you'd track me down here."
Jiang Erwa gritted his teeth. "Do you know what I hate most in my life?"
Old Jia remained silent.
Jiang Erwa answered his own question. "First, being wronged by someone who knows the truth. Second, having someone mess with my wife."
With each word, he pressed harder with his foot, the rain boot scraping against flesh, making a squeaking sound.
Old Jia's expression twisted in pain, but a provocative smile lingered at the corner of his mouth. "Your wife willingly slept with me. And let me tell you, it was quite enjoyable, less talk and more action."
Pausing for a moment, as if recalling something, he clicked his tongue a few times. "She even called me 'Bailang.' Do you know what 'Bailang' means? Hahaha."
"Son of a bitch, son of a bitch, son of a bitch."
Jiang Erwa was completely infuriated, delivering a furious barrage of blows to Old Jia, ending with a final kick aimed fiercely at Old Jia's groin, a movement resembling an alien Ronaldo's violent shot.
Faintly, the sound of something breaking could be heard.
Old Jia instantly curled up, his features contorted, cold sweat pouring down his body. He writhed on the ground like a snake stripped of its skin, in agony.
Looking closer, the ground beneath him was already damp.
"Ahh, ah," Old Jia gritted his teeth, enduring the pain. "Today, falling into your hands, I'm out of luck. If you want to kill or torture me, it's up to you."
Jiang Erwa shook his head. "Killing you like this would be too easy. I want you to suffer, to beg for death but not receive it."
Two Manchu men rushed in, pushing Old Jia out. I followed, seeing that the others had already been tied up.
Guo Tianming patted Old Jia's face. "All of this is because you forced my hand."
"Old Gui, I won't let you off easy."
"Even facing death, you dare to be so arrogant. Take them away."
They were taken away.
Guo Tianming shouted, "Lock them up in Room 8. Shouhou, find two people to keep watch, don't let them escape."
Wang Xiaoliang replied, "Rest assured, Lao Gui, they won't escape."
I asked Guo Tianming, "How do you plan to deal with them?"
Guo Tianming glanced at me, ominously saying, "You don't need to know about that. But, you've helped me tremendously, I'll definitely show my gratitude."
This seemingly mundane statement sent a chilling sensation down my spine.
At night, unable to sleep, Wang Xiaoliang went to watch over Old Jia and the others in Room 8, while Duan Huairen slept in his spot.
"Guangting, what are you thinking?"
I sat up, staring at Duan Huairen. "Lao Gui wants to kill everyone."
"Hey, what's the big deal? Let him be. We're only after the money. Even if Lao Gui turns those people into minced meat dumplings, it's none of our business."
"Lao Duan, I mean everyone."
At this, Duan Huairen's face darkened, his hand stroking his goatee.
"This is serious. Are you sure?"
I sighed. "No evidence, but Lao Gui is devious and cunning. My intuition is strong."
"What should we do?"
"Drawing a tiger is difficult without drawing its bones. We know people's faces but not their hearts. Let's be more cautious in the future. If things don't look right, like this time, we'll strike first."
Duan Huairen nodded.
In the following days, my suspicions were confirmed. Guo Tianming began to distance himself from us, deliberately keeping his distance.
He's the captain now, calling all the shots, never mentioning our collaboration.
I've analyzed that Guo Tianming has been using us all along. After killing He Huan and controlling Lao Jia, he intends to kill us all.
However, the Ji Yu 0825 fishing boat is nearing Incheon Port in South Korea in a few days, where there are frequent maritime law enforcement checks.
During those days, coast guard ships were observed observing and recording us from a distance. Fortunately, they didn't come aboard for inspection, giving Guo Tianming no chance to strike, giving us some breathing room.
Day or night, I dared not sleep anymore. Wang Xiaoliang's trust had already eroded.
Duan Huairen, Jiang Erwa, and I took turns keeping watch, always vigilant, with knives close at hand. With the heightened tension, after just a day or two, we were nearing our breaking point.
Duan Huairen yawned. "Today, I saw Lao Gui using the satellite phone to contact the South Korean side. The guests will be here in two days."
I said, "Then let's prepare the feast."
Jiang Erwa, who was cooking with Lin Canghai in Shaanbei, could understand our conversation.
"Last time, when Shouhou used the crane, I was there watching. It's not difficult. If necessary, we can use it to bring things up."
I immediately found Guo Tianming. To avoid mutual destruction, he couldn't openly break ties, so he reluctantly agreed to hand over the Princess Pingyuan's body and the figurine of Yu Wen Tai's warrior to us.
Soon, the two items were roughly secured and hoisted onto the deck.
That night, as I slept, someone suddenly shouted outside.
"The captain has escaped and killed several people."
"He's gone mad, let's run!"
Upon hearing this, I jolted awake. Almost simultaneously, three or four people rushed in, wielding fish knives and stabbing indiscriminately. Several people were stabbed to death while still in bed, seemingly beyond saving.
As one person lunged at me, I threw the blanket aside and grabbed the fish knife from under the pillow, stabbing vigorously.
Shouhou had sharpened the fish knife so much that it pierced through the blanket, stabbing one assailant in the thigh and another in the abdomen, creating bloody holes.
With reinforcements arriving one after another, I began to feel overwhelmed. I needed to break out of this siege quickly, or I'd be facing certain death.
Remembering the severed head of Yu Wen Tai's warrior, I grabbed it and swung it forcefully, resulting in two heads splitting open and blood gushing out as they fell to the ground.
Another person was about to close the door. I rushed over and kicked him in the buttocks, sending him flying out of the door.
Upon stepping outside, chaos reigned. The deck was covered in blood, with several people lying on the ground, and others chasing each other.
"Guangting, hurry, let's go."
It was Duan Huairen's voice. Following the sound, I saw him with a backpack and a fishing rod, standing at the ship's railing and shouting to me.
"Take these things, you go down first, I'll find Lao Jiang."
"Guasong, are you crazy? Hurry up and leave."
"You go first, I'll be right there."
After a quick acknowledgment, I tossed the head and Duan Huairen leaped into the life raft.
Just as I turned to find Jiang Erwa, there was a thud, and a person covered in blood collapsed in front of me. Upon closer inspection, it was Guo Tianming, blood bubbling from his neck as he lay there motionless.
He looked at me, mouth agape, blood spurting out.
A figure darted past, Lao Jia straddling Guo Tianming, stabbing him repeatedly with a knife. I could even hear the sound of the blade piercing the body and hitting the deck.
The more Lao Jia stabbed, the more excited he became, as if possessed by a grim reaper. After dozens of stabs, there was a crisp snap as the fish knife broke.
Only then did Lao Jia stop.
Looking at Guo Tianming, who was already dead, Lao Jia stood up, wiping the blood from his face, a greedy smile on his lips.
"The tables have turned, haven't they?"
Just then, someone stood at the railing and shouted, "Captain, two people have escaped, it's Daniaoyu and Shouhou."
Duan Huairen often touched his goatee, causing the upper part to be mostly gone, leaving only the lower half. Because of this distinctive and quirky feature, he was known as Daniaoyu among the crew.
Watching the two life rafts disappear into the vast sea, Lao Jia seemed particularly agitated, continuously pounding on the ship's railing.
Suddenly, he turned and stared at me.