PFC Chapter 213 Take action
Chapter 213 Take action
A dreamless night.
Morning light streamed in through the window. Chu Ling opened his eyes, glanced at the empty bed beside him and a figure lying on the floor, and sighed in emptiness.
But his emptiness didn't last long, as he was soon interrupted by a dull knocking on the door.
"Guest, your breakfast is here."
"Go in," Chu Ling replied in a deep voice.
The door was pushed open, and in came Zhang Dasheng, whom they had met yesterday, and someone that Chu Ling had been thinking about until just now.
Xie Yan, who was at the back, raised her wrinkled old face and winked at Chu Ling in a rather playful manner.
Chu Ling: "..."
cute.
Zhang Dasheng placed the tray neatly on the table in the center of the room and smiled obsequiously at Chu Ling, saying, "Guest, please enjoy your breakfast."
Breakfast had been served, but he remained standing there with a fawning expression, showing no intention of leaving.
Chu Ling sat at the table, looking at the exquisite and tempting dishes on the tray. His eyes flickered slightly, and he picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and ate it without changing his expression.
Zhang Dasheng's heart pounded like a drum. His eyes were fixed on Chu Ling's opening and closing mouth until he was sure that the person in front of him had swallowed all the food. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
However, he soon remembered something else.
"Oh, right, there's another young master—"
With a quick glance, I was caught off guard to see a figure lying on the ground in an extremely undignified manner, motionless, its fate unknown.
Zhang Dasheng's words came to an abrupt end.
What's going on? Why is this person sleeping on the floor instead of in their bed?
Noticing Zhang Dasheng's pause, Chu Ling casually turned his head, glanced at him lightly, and said, "He's seasick, don't worry about him."
Zhang Dasheng: "..."
Is this definitely seasickness, and not death?
Seeing that the person lying on the ground showed no sign of getting up after dawdling for a long time, and fearing that staying any longer would arouse Chu Ling's suspicion, Zhang Dasheng could only exchange a helpless glance with Xie Yan and awkwardly leave the room.
"Did they all eat it?"
The captain sat on the deck, tapped his pipe, and glanced at his men surrounding him.
"Yes, boss, we all saw them eat it with our own eyes."
Hearing the affirmations of his companions, Zhang Dasheng hesitated for a moment, about to say something, when he was suddenly tugged at by Xie Yan beside him.
"It's better to avoid trouble. He's just a seasick good-for-nothing. Even without being drugged, he can't cause any trouble."
Zhang Dasheng: "...That's true."
White waves roll and blue waters ripple.
On the vast, boundless sea, a merchant ship sails peacefully.
But it was only seemingly calm—
Several crisp cracking sounds and dull thuds of things falling to the ground echoed from inside the cabin.
"It's done!"
The boatmen waiting outside exchanged glances and excitedly rushed into the room.
Half an incense stick later, several figures, tightly bound, were thrown onto the deck.
To ensure everything went smoothly, the boatmen administered a very large dose of sleeping potion.
So even after being treated so roughly, Chu Ling and the others lying on the ground remained completely still and unresponsive.
The boatmen surrounded the group of people who were bound hand and foot, excitedly rubbing their hands together, waiting for the boat owner's order to act without any scruples.
The crowd's gazes moved back and forth over the people lying on the ground.
But slowly, their smiles froze on their faces.
The more people looked, the more they felt that something was wrong.
One of the boatmen hesitated before asking, "How many people were there originally? Why does it seem like one person is missing no matter how I count them?"
Someone quickly answered him, "You didn't miscount. I counted them when they boarded the ship; there were indeed seven people, but now..."
"Where's one missing? Who forgot to bring him along?"
"How could we possibly forget anything? We've searched the house inside and out!"
With this rebuttal, the once lively deck fell completely silent.
The group exchanged bewildered glances, a sense of foreboding creeping into their hearts.
The boat captain's face instantly turned extremely ugly. He stood up abruptly and shouted, "You bunch of idiots! What are you all standing there for? Get out here and go find someone!"
At the command, the boatmen knew something was wrong and quickly scattered to search everywhere.
However, the result was predictable.
The ship was turned upside down, but no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find a trace of the missing person.
The atmosphere on the ship was extremely oppressive.
The boatmen returned to the deck trembling, not daring to look even once at the captain with his gloomy face.
"Reporting, boss, we can't find him..."
Although he had expected it, the boat captain still couldn't contain his rage when he heard these words.
"waste!"
He roared, his face filled with undisguised murderous intent.
He then kicked the boatman who came to report, sending the boatman, who was more than twice his size, flying several feet away and crashing to the ground, his life hanging in the balance.
Seeing their fallen companion convulsing on the ground for a long time, no one dared to step forward to help, not even daring to breathe.
After a moment, the boatman, who had finally calmed down, turned his sinister gaze to Chu Ling and his group and said through gritted teeth, "Wake them up."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone stepped forward, roughly grabbed one of them, and slapped him hard twice without saying a word.
And this person, by sheer coincidence, turned out to be some unfortunate imposter.
"Snapped!"
"Snapped!"
Loud slapping sounds echoed across the deck.
Among the onlookers, one of the boatmen, looking at the prisoner being held in someone's hand, inexplicably sensed something was amiss and muttered to himself with self-doubt, "Was this person ever this short before?"
Even the most thick-skinned person couldn't withstand such a series of slaps, let alone someone who hadn't been drugged.
A weak groan was heard, and the man named Xie Yan finally woke up.
The moment the man opened his eyes, he screamed, "A ghost!"
He seemed to be greatly frightened, and his whole body began to writhe uncontrollably, almost causing the boatman holding him to let go.
It wasn't until he was slapped a few more times that he finally regained some of his senses and looked at the crowd in front of him with disbelief.
"Are you all crazy? How dare you hit me?!"
Unlike his youthful face, this man's voice was extremely hoarse and aged, creating a striking contrast.
And... does that sound a bit familiar?
The boat captain's eyelids twitched, and he subconsciously looked at Liao Hong, who had somehow gotten close to him.
A cold glint suddenly appeared in his eyes.