Xia Qingyu, upon hearing from Lu Yaoyang that Xia Qingtian had relented, happily clenched her fist and let out a soft "Yes!"
"You only need to prepare a few sets of clothes; the boat has everything else," Lu Yaoyang said. "If you have any other needs, feel free to ask Bai Yuqi."
"Alright, thank you, Mr. Lu." With that, Xia Qingyu left, beaming.
"Mr... Mr. Lu?" Lu Yaoyang watched Xia Qingyu's retreating back, awkwardly touching his cheek.
Hadn't she been calling him Brother-in-law before?
Why had she switched back to Mr. Lu?
Before Lu Yaoyang could react, Wen Jiu swaggered over with a grinning smile, "Yo~ Mr. Lu~ Busy, huh~"
"If you have something to say, say it," Lu Yaoyang looked at Wen Jiu's peculiar smile and knew this guy was up to no good.
"We're about to set off, so I wanted to ask our all-knowing Mr. Lu what to be cautious about on this mission." Wen Jiu had previously taken Lu Yaoyang's advice, which had saved her life multiple times. Her grandfather had mentioned this mission was unusual, so she came to ask for more advice to prepare herself.
"Stay alive. Don't die," Lu Yaoyang said to Wen Jiu.
"Huh? That's it?" Wen Jiu blinked. Just as she was about to press further, she saw Lu Yaoyang turn to leave. Wanting to ask more, she heard Lu Yaoyang say coldly.
"This time, even I don't know what will happen," Lu Yaoyang said in a deep voice. "You'll have to fend for yourselves."
With that, Lu Yaoyang disappeared from Wen Jiu's sight.
Before, hearing her grandfather describe the dangers, Wen Jiu had felt somewhat indifferent, having faced near-death situations countless times over the years.
However, hearing Lu Yaoyang say this, Wen Jiu truly grasped the danger and significance of this mission.
After much deliberation, Wen Jiu contacted her master. Due to confidentiality regarding certain key details, Wen Jiu could only briefly mention the situation.
"I understand. I'll have Third Brother help you," her master's voice was as cool and clear as ever. "How is Er Ya?"
"That junior sister I haven't met?" Wen Jiu tilted her head and thought. "I haven't seen her yet, but looking at how calm the other junior brothers are, she should be fine. She's alive, right?"
"It's good she's alive." With that, her master hung up the phone.
"Master is truly... still so aloof after all these years," Wen Jiu muttered, shaking her head while holding her now-dead phone. "She barely says a word..."
However, now that her master knew about this, even if she truly fell in battle, her master could return to the Wen family and manage the overall situation, preventing her grandfather from being completely devastated by the blow.
With that thought, Wen Jiu pocketed her phone and walked away whistling, with a roguish air.
The next day was the departure date indicated on the invitation.
Bai Yuqi's ship, the [detective], was already waiting at the port for its guests.
Lu Yaoyang and Xia Qingtian were the first to board. This time, accompanying them were Xia Qingyu, Miao Tong from the Miao family, Bai Yuqi, the owner of the [detective], Er Ya, the representative of the Tang family, Master Shi, who was responsible for protection, and Wen Jiu.
Accompanying Er Ya was Di San, whom Er Ya referred to as her third brother.
Xia Qingtian had spoken with Di San on the phone previously. Seeing Di San in person now, she found his appearance to be somewhat different from his voice.
Di San's voice sounded robust, but he was a delicate-looking young man with fairer skin than most girls. His hair was medium-length, and he had a slender, tall build. He wore a grey-blue hoodie with a pendant on the chest, which looked exquisite and ancient. He wore work pants, his many pockets seeming to hold various items.
Upon seeing Xia Qingtian, Di San offered a faint smile and thanked her for taking care of Er Ya.
Xia Qingtian also smiled and exchanged pleasantries.
After Bai Yuqi assigned rooms to everyone, he went with Lu Yaoyang to the control room. Miao Tong, claiming he wanted to look around, slipped away. In reality, he didn't want to see Er Ya. The thought of his full brother marrying Er Ya, the monkey king, made his heart ache, and he figured out of sight, out of mind.
Di San, with Er Ya in tow, chatted with Wen Jiu and Master Shi. Xia Qingtian took Xia Qingyu back to their previously occupied room.
Not long after, guests holding invitation letters began to arrive one after another.
It had to be said that Bai Yuqi's ship always gave off an impression of nobility, grandeur, and class.
Previously, they had considered the young scions of the Lu, Miao, and Tang families to be collectively extorting money. However, after stepping onto the [detective], they all fell silent.
The ship had undergone maintenance before. After returning from Northern Europe, Bai Yuqi had people repair the bullet marks on the hull. Knowing that the Bai family would also be boarding, he had people thoroughly wax and polish the entire ship.
In the sunlight, the entire ship gleamed brilliantly.
Although the Lu, Miao, and Tang families had decided to publicly announce the treasure's location and organize this adventure, Lu Yaoyang had done his homework and carefully selected the personnel.
It wasn't simply a matter of money to join the expedition. Thousands had paid a deposit domestically and internationally, but the number of people with actual boarding passes from the invitations was less than a hundred. Including staff, the total number of people was one hundred and twenty-three.
Those who did not receive an invitation had their deposits refunded within three days, along with a small gift as an apology.
Nie Qingkong's application was quickly rejected, and his deposit was returned. However, it didn't matter. He and Xiang Xueyuan had enough aliases. After trying two more aliases, they successfully obtained invitation letters.
Before boarding, Xiang Xueyuan, Nie Qingkong, and Ciff had undergone simple disguises. After reaching their suites on the ship, even the usually picky Ciff couldn't find any fault with the [detective]. In the end, she merely curled her lips disdainfully and scoffed, "Tch, charging twenty million per person for this? Why not just rob them?"
"Father, do you want to rest?" Nie Qingkong ignored Ciff's grumbling and asked Xiang Xueyuan with concern, "You didn't sleep well last night. Perhaps you should take a nap?"
"Mmm," Xiang Xueyuan indeed hadn't slept well. The thought of reclaiming what belonged to him and eliminating those who annoyed him made Xiang Xueyuan feel excited.
After so many years and having weathered countless storms, he hadn't felt such excitement that it kept him awake for a long time.
Therefore, despite his mental fatigue, he was inwardly pleased.
Seeing that Xiang Xueyuan wanted to rest, Ciff also obediently quieted down. After Xiang Xueyuan entered his room to rest, Nie Qingkong prepared to look around. Ciff immediately grabbed Nie Qingkong's collar and whispered, "I investigated this before. Xia Qingtian never agreed to let Xia Qingyu accompany them. I advise you to abandon those thoughts. If you ruin Father's important plans..."
"Annoying," Nie Qingkong pushed Ciff's hand away and walked straight towards the door. He wasn't doing this for Xia Qingyu; he had simply taken this ship before and wanted to explore casually.
He didn't care whether Xia Qingyu was on board or not. He had already said it: the next time they met, they would be enemies.
He would never show mercy to his enemies.
As soon as the door opened, Nie Qingkong saw the Xia sisters walking past, arm in arm, laughing and talking.
Nie Qingkong's heart skipped a beat.
Chu Qi has something to say: The conclusion is approaching. If any of you want your favorite characters to have more screen time, feel free to leave a comment!