"But thinking about it, that kid died quite unjustly. We asked him where the key was, and he refused to say, even under duress." As he slept, Qiao Huali dangled a key in his hand, "And the result? It still ended up in my possession."
It was indeed about the key.
Hu Jia had long suspected this, as his connection with Mou Jixuan was due to the Wang brothers, and the Wang brothers were linked to that key.
"Let's make a deal," Hu Jia managed to calm his emotions, glancing at Luo Wenwu opposite him, and proposed to accelerate the process.
"You're in quite a hurry," Sixth Master chuckled, turning to the person beside him. "Bring me a cup of water."
The man nodded in agreement and respectfully handed over a cup of tea.
Hu Jia took a look. This Sixth Master was rather particular. One person was to drink two cups of tea.
One white lidded bowl, one gray lidded bowl.
The two stood facing each other for about ten minutes, and Sixth Master had tried both types of tea.
Taking a light sip, Sixth Master handed the teacup back. "A deal isn't impossible, but I don't know if your iron box is real or fake."
Hu Jia glanced at the other person indifferently. "I can stay."
"Boss!" Luo Wenwu was anxious. Sixth Master's meaning was simple: he needed a hostage. And now Hu Jia was prepared to use himself as a hostage for Luo Wenwu.
Hu Jia ignored Luo Wenwu and continued to look at Dao Sixth Master.
"But Captain Wu is quite skilled, and I'm a bit worried my men won't be able to restrain you," Sixth Master said.
Hu Jia cursed inwardly, then said without hesitation, "Tie me up then."
Hu Jia understood now. The other party was clearly prepared, pushing him step by step with each sentence.
Since he was going to be tied up anyway, it was better to offer it himself.
"Boss. I'll be the hostage, I don't need you to save me." Luo Wenwu was still shouting, which made Hu Jia speechless.
This Wenwu also had no sense. Did they want a hostage? They wanted him, Hu Jia.
"Straightforward!" Sixth Master's tone was excited, and then a small lackey stepped forward and directly threw a handcuff at Hu Jia.
"I want to see him board the ship and leave first." Hu Jia wasn't that foolish. He would be cuffed before Luo Wenwu was freed, and then the box would be snatched away.
"Mm." Sixth Master didn't reply, seemingly lost in thought. The masked man behind him handed him another cup of tea.
"What? Sixth Master, don't you have confidence in your subordinates? Never mind so many of you, even in the middle of the river, I can't escape," Hu Jia continued.
"Hahaha." Sixth Master laughed heartily, "You don't need to provoke me, indeed, in the middle of the river, you have no chance of survival."
With that, Sixth Master waved his hand, and the man escorting Luo Wenwu prepared to leave.
"Boss, I'm not going." Luo Wenwu struggled, but the ropes were too tight, making him like a zongzi, with only his mouth agile, nothing else.
"You go back and freshen up, we'll have a late-night snack together tonight." Hu Jia sized up Luo Wenwu. "You're so dirty, did you roll in a cesspit?"
Luo Wenwu: ...
At a time like this, you're still joking? Do you think I can laugh?
Luo Wenwu didn't want to leave, but Hu Jia forced him. "See the torches on the shore? Qingqing and the others are waiting for you there. Once you arrive safely, wave in an eight-shape."
Hu Jia didn't need to worry about the escorts, as anyone could guess that the police would be waiting on shore.
"But..."
"If you want me to be okay, then go ashore obediently. If I don't see the eight-shaped torch, I won't hand over the box. If they wait too long, who knows how they'll deal with me."
Uh, perfectly handled Luo Wenwu.
Luo Wenwu cast a sullen glance at the surrounding guards. "Boss, my hands are all bruised from being tied. Say a few good words for me and untie these ropes, will you?"
Hu Jia glanced at Luo Wenwu, then at Dao Sixth Master.
Dao Sixth Master didn't make things difficult and directly had his subordinate untie the ropes.
He wasn't afraid of Luo Wenwu playing any tricks, as Hu Jia had made it clear: if he didn't see Luo Wenwu waving the eight-shaped torch, he wouldn't hand over the iron box.
The longer Luo Wenwu took to return to shore, the greater Hu Jia's danger.
After the ropes were untied, Luo Wenwu moved his hands and feet. The two were four or five meters apart, and Luo Wenwu looked at Hu Jia. "Boss, this Sixth Master is very cunning, be careful."
Hu Jia looked at Luo Wenwu, his brow unconsciously furrowing.
As Luo Wenwu left, besides the sound of the wind, there was nothing else on Coral Dam.
This was very abnormal. Sixth Master had initially thought Hu Jia would have many questions for him, but he didn't expect the other party to just stand there quietly, gazing at the opposite bank of the river, and occasionally turning his head to look at him.
He really had a lot of patience.
"What exactly is inside this box? It's so important that you've been chasing it for 11 years," Hu Jia suddenly spoke, which startled Sixth Master.
"A secret, ask no more." It wasn't Sixth Master who spoke, but the person who had just served him tea.
Hu Jia's eyes flickered. Why had this person's voice changed too?
Hu Jia subtly glanced at him. He was also wearing a mask, a long gown, and cloth shoes.
Hu Jia's mind began to form a hypothesis.
Just now, when Luo Wenwu was leaving, he suddenly said, "This Sixth Master is very cunning." On the surface, this sentence wasn't strange, as they were on opposite sides. Luo Wenwu uttering a parting threat and specifically warning Hu Jia to be careful was all within reason.
However, others might not understand, but Hu Jia did. Luo Wenwu's hands had been making two gestures.
These were the two secret signals he had taught Lü Qingqing, representing the truthfulness and falsity of a statement.
But what confused him was that when they communicated similar information in secret, they would either say the opposite of what they meant, or say the opposite of what they meant.
But Luo Wenwu's hand gestures kept alternating between "true" and "false."
He said this Sixth Master was "very cunning," and "very cunning" was definitely true. But why did Wenwu use a secret signal to indicate he was lying?
It couldn't be that he was saying Sixth Master wasn't cunning, right?
Hu Jia had been lost in thought just now, trying to figure out the key point. Since "very cunning" was not the issue, then the remaining part was the three words "this Sixth Master."
Could it be that this Sixth Master was fake?
Hu Jia suddenly realized that Luo Wenwu's hand gestures had been alternating between true and false, so perhaps it meant he himself wasn't sure?
After all, Luo Wenwu had been in Sixth Master's hands for so long, he had seen Sixth Master a few times. He must have noticed something wrong with that Sixth Master just now, which was why he warned him.
This meant that this Sixth Master could be real, or he could be fake.
Thinking of this, Hu Jia immediately recalled that every time he asked some questions, that Sixth Master would drink tea.
The person who handed him tea sometimes brought a white lidded bowl, and sometimes a gray one.
And this Sixth Master would always answer his questions after drinking the tea.
Could it be that the person who handed him the tea was the real spokesperson?
And the white lidded bowl and the gray lidded bowl corresponded to "can be said" and "cannot be said" respectively.
So, he had deliberately asked about the box just now, and as expected, this time it was the person who handed him tea who spoke.