Although both Xu Baomo and Sheng Weiqiao had countless doubts at the moment, they pressed their impulse to question, considering the incessant killings everywhere. They tried to put on an act that Ningwei Marquis' Young Lord had to persuade the Slaughterer not to kill Sheng Weiqiao, who was taken hostage to cover up the truth that Sheng Shuihe was unable to fight again.

“We'll just wait for him to explain everything!!!” Sheng Weiqiao and Xu Baomo didn't know much about the pirates, let alone the name “Crow Slaughterer”.

Their only knowledge of “Crow Slaughterer” was inferred from the earlier conversations Young Master Han and his servants had in horror. At this moment, they were both surprised and found it unbelievable. They thought over and over again, “Who is this person?! What is his relations.h.i.+p with Sheng Family?!”

However, they didn't get a chance to find answers from Sheng Shuihe. His men killed the last batch of pirates and pulled the towering s.h.i.+p closer. The handsome young man whom Sheng Weiqiao had met once held the rope and boarded on the sampan. Just as he whispered “chief”, Sheng Shuihe pa.s.sed out!

“How is he doing?” Xu Baomo and Sheng Weiqiao were both startled and asked in haste.

The handsome young man held Sheng Shuihe, examined him quickly, and said with a look of indifference in his eyes, “Chief was not recovered from his serious injuries, yet he forced himself to pull the bow. His blood soaked through his cloak, so you tell me if he is okay!”

Sheng Weiqiao then remembered when she was held by Sheng Shuihe, the blood she smelled was not from Young Master Han but Sheng Shuihe himself. The thought sent s.h.i.+vers down her spine, but she was a little annoyed by the young man's “it's all your fault” att.i.tude. Since Xu Baomo just pressed her cheekbones back to normal, she could speak as usual, so she sneered, “If you had not hidden it from him and brought me here, Brother Xu wouldn't have had to chase all the way here. We would not have met that b.l.o.o.d.y Han! Your chief would not have been implicated in all this!”

Hearing this, the handsome young man went silent. He just turned around and ignored them, calling the others to lift Sheng Shuihe onto the deck. Though that Scarface worried about Sheng Shuihe, he did not forget to throw a rope ladder to them.

With the help of Xu Baomo, Sheng Weiqiao climbed onto the deck with difficulty. When she was about to catch her breath, the young man came out of the cabin with blood in hands, and said to her with a deadly sober face, “Write a letter to you father and let him know we can't slow down the speed and wait for them to catch up. Let him find a way to pick you up on the Daimao Island!”

Without waiting for Sheng Weiqiao's response, he turned away. Someone on the s.h.i.+p took notice of Sheng Weiqiao and worried that she might lose her temper, so he came up to her and explained kindly, “Miss Sheng, please write a letter, and we'll get it delivered by a pigeon! We thought we would not run into s.h.i.+ps from Han Family and Pan Family on this route at this time, but we did not expect you to run into them. If the s.h.i.+p sent by your father is captured by them, there probably would be another bloodshed.”

He continued, “Gongsun Xi owes a debt of grat.i.tude to the chief. When we saw the smoke of the burning boat, the chief worried about you two. He planned to return to see what happened exactly, which was strongly opposed by Gongsun Xi. After that, the chief ordered Gongsun Xi to dress up like him so he could make a detour to the back of the s.h.i.+p. Gongsun Xi nearly disobeyed his order! Now that the chief has returned while severely injured, he was concerned, and thus his words to you sounded rather impertinent. I beg you to forgive his rudeness!”

Sheng Weiqiao didn't respond. “Gongsun Xi?” Xu Baomo frowned slightly, “Does he belong to Gongsun Family on the Daimao Island? Well, in this case, what is the relations.h.i.+p between Brother Hengshu and Gongsun Family?”

The man laughed when he heard the words and said, “Gongsun Xi was n.o.body. The chief took pity on him, so he was given the name 'Gongsun'. But the chief is the righteous foster son taken by Gongsun Family. Our chief's name is Gongsun Ya. After he took command of the Wuyi Battalion, he has made remarkable achievements. For he wore a black cloak all the time, people began to call him 'Crow Slaughterer'.”

Judging from his tone, he seemed rather proud of Sheng Shuihe's t.i.tle, “Crow Slaughterer”.

Xu Baomo and Sheng Weiqiao didn't know what to say. After a while, Sheng Weiqiao broke the silence, “But my dad said his name was Shuihe and courtesy name Hengshu.”

“Oh, those were given by his father.” The man didn't seem to care, “By the time he was given the name, he was ten years old already. He was named Gongsun Ya at the age of five by our Sea Master when he first came to Daimao Island. For those of us who live on Daimao Island for years, we absolutely favor the name bestowed by our Sea Master.”

Sheng Weiqiao bit her lip and then asked the question that confused her the most, “Is he really the son of my father?”

“If he weren't, why would your father admit that the chief is his son? He has no other son. Or does your father really want to give Sheng Family to Daimao Island?!” The man sneered, “Not to mention the fact that when the chief was rescued by our Old Sea Master in a s.h.i.+pwreck, he was dressed well, unlike kids from ordinary families. If I say he is not from a wealthy and privileged family, will it be plausible?”

Saying that, the man looked at Sheng Weiqiao queerly and said with a spurious smile, “What I am about to say is unpleasant to hear. Your father is known for his excessive indulgence towards his daughter. But he certainly can't have you under his protection forever! Suffice to say that what happened today proved our chief is by no means a narrow-minded person. Thus, don't you think you should persuade your mother in this regard?”

Sheng Weiqiao took the hint immediately. He implied that Sheng Shuihe's exile to Daimao Island was schemed by her mother, Madam Feng!

She burned up and yelled to the man, “Why don't you listen to your mother's advice? Don't always think the worst of people! My mother is in no foul play!!!”

The man grinned cheekily, “I'm sorry to tell you that my mother was long gone. Her preaching, however I wanted to hear, could not reach my ears!”

“Zheng Sen, come here!” The man wanted to tease her with a few more words, but Scarface called him back and said to him in a low voice, “What's in it for you to provoke the daughter of Sheng Lanci? Our chief's wounds were almost healed but now all split open. Even if he survived till we get to the island, you tell me what is there on the island right now? Everything is in shortage. Maybe we need to count on Sheng Lanci to provide us with some of the most important medicine. You know how much he loves his daughter! If she is annoyed and makes a scene in front of her father, our chief will be the one to suffer!”

Hearing this, Zheng Sen's face suddenly darkened, “Second Brother Xu, I realized what a mistake I made. Shall I go back and apologize to Miss Sheng?”

“Don't mess with her. Just ignore her.” Xu Lianshan glanced at Sheng Weiqiao, who was not far from them and looking at them with bitterness. He snorted coldly and added, “No need to apologize to such kind of misses. The more you flatter her, the more presumptuous she will get. We don't have the time to make her happy here!”

In fact, Zheng Sen was reluctant to yield to Sheng Weiqiao, for they were all very displeased with the hards.h.i.+p Sheng Shuihe endured at Sheng Family. On the one hand, they suspected Sheng Shuihe was set up by Madam Feng or others; otherwise, someone as privileged as him would not have been banished to Daimao Island. On the other hand, they thought Sheng Lanci showed favoritism only to his daughter.

Sheng Lanci was known for his excessive indulgence towards his daughter. Back then, Sheng Shuihe returned to Sheng Family with great difficulty. Learning the critical situation in Daimao Island and the ambush against Gongsun Su, Sheng Shuihe could not get the full support from his father and therefore had to go back to Daimao Island alone. The reason why Zheng Sen and others would take Sheng Weiqiao with them at Orange Osmanthus Courtyard was that they could not tolerate Sheng Family anymore!

After hearing what Xu Lianshan said, Zheng Sen was relieved and sighed, “Second Brother Xu, what does Eldest Master of Sheng Family have in mind? Nomatter how underappreciated our chief's mother was, now that he has acknowledged our chief is his own son, why doesn't he take him seriously? I mean, they are related by blood. Frankly speaking, no matter how much he dotes on his daughter, she is going to marry someone else within a few years. The only one who can stay beside him when he gets old is our chief, don't you think so?!”

He couldn't understand what Sheng Lanci had in mind. Nowadays, no matter the rich or the poor, both preferred boys to girls. Even if people adored their daughters very much, their love for their sons was paramount!

This conversation gave Xu Lianshan a headache. He said, “If I had known why things ended up like this, I would have already come up with some ideas for our chief. But I don't know a d.a.m.n thing! Why don't you p.i.s.s off and get some work done?!”

When they were murmuring, Xu Baomo was comforting Sheng Weiqiao, “Aunt Feng came from a prestigious family. I don't think she would have done such a dishonorable deed. That man was either talking nonsense, or he had some sort of misunderstanding. Didn't he also mention that when Brother Hengshu first came to Daimao Island, he wore unusual clothes that were not seen among common people? What does this tell you? I think it showed that Brother Hengshu was always treated well. If not, why would Aunt Feng give him a fine dress?”

Sheng Weiqiao was still furious and said, “Before my dad took him back this time, my mother didn't even mention him. I believe my mother, like me, didn't know his existence at all!”

“When Brother Hengshu wakes up, let's ask him what this is all about!” Xu Baomo continued, “I think there is probably a misunderstanding. After all, as that man said earlier, Brother Hengshu was injured but still went out of his way to save us, which means he sees you as his sister! If he had been set up by Aunt Feng, more or less, he would have been angry with you. In that case, why would he risk his life and fight for you?”

Xu Baomo said these with a.s.surance, but in fact, he was uncertain as to what to believe. Judging from the fact that Sheng Shuihe hurried back to Daimao Island to help his foster brother, he thought Hengshu Brother must have held profound feelings towards Gongsun Su.

Under this circ.u.mstance, no matter how he felt about Sheng Weiqiao, he would not allow her to be harmed!

After all, Sheng Weiqiao was only there because of Sheng Shuihe's men. If anything had happened to her, Sheng Lanci would have tracked down these men under Sheng Shuihe and even blamed Daimao Island!

Daimao Island was already in a desperate situation. If Sheng Family, one of the three influential families in Nanfeng County, were to turn against Daimao Island, the consequences would be dire!

As for why Sheng Shuihe exiled to Daimao Island with fancy clothes, his own mother or Sheng Lanci might have given these clothes to him, except Madam Feng discovered this and tried to kill him! He was just born when Madam Feng married into Sheng Family.

Feng Family was a notch prestigious than Sheng Family back then. Besides, Feng Family regretted the marriage between one of their daughters to Xuanyu Family. If they had known that Sheng Lanci had a b.a.s.t.a.r.d son, they would not have let Mrs. Feng marry into Sheng Family.

Sheng Lanci knew this well. If he had known that he had a b.a.s.t.a.r.d son back then and could not make up his mind to kill him, then he would have tried every possible way to hide his son. Besides, the fact that his son was five years old when he came to Daimao Island was also worth pondering.

Madam Feng's daughter Sheng Weiqiao turned 13 this year!

In other words, when Sheng Shuihe turned into a little pirate from a wealthy little boy, Sheng Weiqiao was born just a few days ago.

After all, Sheng Shuihe was the child of Sheng Lanci. Since Madam Feng did not bear a child after she married Sheng Lanci, however close the couple was, she did not dare to take action against Sheng Shuihe even if she had already found out his ident.i.ty. However, after the birth of Sheng Weiqiao, Sheng Shuihe was no longer the only child of Sheng Lanci though Sheng Weiqiao was just a girl!

If Madam Feng or Feng Family had decided to kill Sheng Shuihe and even his own mother, at this point, Sheng Lanci would have tolerated such actions for the sake of his daughter.

While he was trying to comfort Sheng Weiqiao, Xu Baomo thought to himself, “I've always thought Aunt Feng was an elegant lady. But if she was indeed relevant to Brother Hengshu's exile to Daimao Island, then she is so good at acting!”

Xu Baomo did not bother with what kind of person Madam Feng indeed was, even though Xu Family was always on good terms with Sheng Family. But he was worried that what if someday his Weiqiao would learn from her mother and act as a virtuous wife but secretly torture his concubines, along with the children he had with them?!

Sheng Weiqiao did not know he had such thoughts, but her anger subsided. She said with a hum, “After he wakes up and clarifies everything, I'll demand an apology to my mother and me from that man!!!”

Xu Lianshan came to her and asked her to write a letter in a cabin below. The writing brush, ink stick, paper, and inkstone were all looked very familiar. They were taken from the cabin where Sheng Weiqiao had taken a nap at noon. Sheng Shuihe was also in that cabin. It seemed like this s.h.i.+p was only equipped with one set of stationery. Otherwise, they would not have taken it from the cabin out of their respect to and care for Sheng Shuihe.

Sheng Weiqiao wrote the letter as requested by Xu Lianshan and the others solemnly. Then Zheng Sen brought in a basin of water and said it was for her to clean up.

Looking at the reflection of her bloodstained face in the water, Sheng Weiqiao suddenly remembered that she had just killed a man!

“Sister Sheng?” Xu Baomo followed Sheng Weiqiao wherever she went since she was the only girl on the s.h.i.+p. He did not let his guard down just because this s.h.i.+p belonged to Sheng Shuihe. He saw her staring at the basin and asked her, “What's wrong?”

He thought to himself, “When Sister Sheng beheaded the pirate at short range, she was panicked for a moment but did not behave drastically despite the blood all over her. She was indeed the granddaughter of Senior Master Sheng and had inherited the bravery and courage of forefathers. Why would such an extraordinary girl from a prestigious family be absent-minded when seeing a basin of water?”

Was she shocked by her own bloodstained reflection in the water?

Then he saw the sudden change in her face. Sheng Weiqiao did not wash up. She stumbled along the bulkhead and ran to the deck. Xu Baomo wondered what made her run and followed her. He then saw her running towards one side of the s.h.i.+p and throwing up into the sea!

She was vomiting, crying, and muttering to herself, “I killed him? I killed him! I am the one who killed him!!!”

Xu Baomo, “….”