Case Files Chapter 74: Fright Aboard the Cruise Ship (8)

Translated by Vivian of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

Guan Jin steeled himself and was about to spar with Lu YunYang to vent his anger, and although he couldn’t beat him, when he thought about it, Lu YunYang wouldn’t really fight back. As he thought about this, Guan Jin was both dismissive and delighted that he was being pursued by this type of man, and it made him feel a little vain and satisfied.

Guan Jin raised his fist and threw a punch towards Lu YunYang’s chest.

“Ahh!!!”

Guan Jin’s fist stopped midair.

Lu YunYang spread his hands innocently. “That wasn’t me.”

“Nonsense, I’m not deaf.” Guan Jin put his hand down. “It was a woman, and it seemed to have come from this floor. Was it Jiang LingXuan again?”

Lu YunYang had already opened the door. “Let’s go see.”

The two of them walked down the corridor for a while and discovered that Fang Lin’s room door was open. A server had also heard the noise and had rushed over. The doors of the rooms in the corridor opened one after another, and everyone poked their heads out, unnerved as they asked one another what had happened.

Fang Lin helped Mrs. Fang walk out of the room, and her expression was solemn. “Just now, WanQing saw a man wearing a black cloak run past the door.”

Lu YunYang raised an eyebrow. “Mrs. Fang, did you see him from the window?”

“No, it was when I opened the door.” Mrs. Fang’s face was a little pale. “A-Sen’s throat is uncomfortable, so I asked the kitchen staff to boil some sugar and Asian pear water. I heard some movement outside, so I thought that the server had come, so I opened the door. Unexpectedly,” she paused and seemed to be unsettled, “I had just opened the door a crack when I saw a man wearing that type of black cloak with a hood that looks like a wizard’s cloak like in the movies quickly run past. I was frightened, so I couldn’t help but scream.”

“Did you see what he looked like?” Guan Jin asked impatiently.

“No, his head was lowered, and the hood on the cloak he was wearing covered his face, so I didn’t see anything.”

“Then how about their height or figure?”

“…I was frightened, so I don’t remember at all now. However, they probably weren’t too tall or too short, or else I’d remember it clearly. As for his figure, the cloak was very large, so I couldn’t tell.” Mrs. Fang thought back carefully.

“Why is someone always doing this type of prank?” Wang XuTong, who had rushed over from the other side, frowned.

“It might not have been a prank.” Lu YunYang shook his head. “People don’t usually come out at this hour, so that person wasn’t in this corridor to scare someone. It was purely accidental that Mrs. Fang saw him.”

“But what would someone wearing such weird clothes be doing on the ship in the dead of night?” Fang Sen’s younger sister, Fang Lin, yawned.

“True, what was he doing?” wondered Lu YunYang.

The people present all suddenly felt a chill run down their spines.

“How do you know he was a man? Wasn’t his face covered by the cloak?” asked Wen JingHan, who had come down from the third floor.

Zhao WanQing was a little at a loss. “I…I thought that he was a man, based on what he was wearing. Now that you ask about it, I’m also not too sure.”

“Which direction did he run towards?”

“There, towards the staircase.” Mrs. Fang pointed.

“A lot of people opened their door and came out right away, so if no one saw him, then it’s very likely that he ran to the deck. Or,” Wen JingHan swept his gaze across everyone, “he hid in his own room.”

Guan Jin calmly looked at the people who had come out. “Where are Dong Chong, Tian QingLin, and Fang Mo?”

“They’re staying on the other side, near the front, so it’s very likely that they didn’t hear anything,” said Lu YunChi, whose room was also there. “I only heard a faint scream, since the soundproofing on these rooms aren’t bad.”

“This ship can accommodate over 180 people, but right now, even including the servers, there are less than thirty people, and a lot of the rooms are empty. Mr. Fang, are you sure a stranger couldn’t have gotten on board?” asked Wen JingHan.

Fang Sen was a little surprised and didn’t seem to have thought about this problem before. “There’s only one entrance to the ship, and the security checked for invitation cards, so probably not. However… a lot of the rooms are empty, so if someone really did sneak in somehow and was hiding in an empty room, it would indeed be hard to discover them.”

“I suggest that, for everyone’s safety, the men can split the work tonight and carefully search the ship in pairs. Mr. Fang, besides the crew and personnel who can’t leave their posts, please notify everyone to join. You and your wife can stay here. If something happens, just contact us,” said Wen JingHan.

“I agree,” seconded Lu YunYang and Wang XuTong.

“Um, do we also have to inspect our own rooms?” Fang Lin didn’t seem to want to do so.

“We’re only checking to see if a stranger has snuck in, so we won’t violate anyone’s privacy.”

Fang Sen nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll notify the security personnel and organize the employees to check the first floor of the ship. I’ll leave the other three floors to you all.”

The others, who had been sleeping, were woken up and several people mumbled their complaints.

*****

“Okay, the women can gather in the big suite next to Mr. Fang’s room. Everyone else, get into pairs, and according to how we divided the work just now, bring your self-defense batons and flashlights and check carefully. The lights in the rooms have all already been turned on, so take a look inside before entering. Be careful. Let’s begin,” ordered Wen JingHan.

Guan Jin and Lu YunYang were a pair, and they fell to the back of the crowd.

“Do you really think a stranger snuck in here?” asked Guan Jin.

Lu YunYang smiled. “Even without strangers, this ship is already messy enough. It would be best if this has nothing to do with your business, or else we’ll have to be on the defense.”

“Well, well, it’s just like you said, this ship is now an isolated world, and we can’t stay out of anything.” Guan Jin curled his lips.

The two of them went to the third floor and began to search each room.

“I can see those two black towers from so far away, don’t they need to sleep?” Guan Jin turned the corner and spotted the two unmoving bodyguards dressed in black in front of a nearby suite.

“I reckon they were alarmed, and important people have privileges. We’re here risking it to work, tired and cold, but he has someone to watch the door and is probably sleeping.” Lu YunYang shrugged.

“You sound envious, jealous, and resentful.”

“Yeah, I feel a lot of pressure, and if I don’t work hard, how can I win your heart?” Lu YunYang always found a way to turn the conversation in a certain direction.

Guan Jin rolled his eyes. “You can’t keep up with others even if you worked hard for another 500 years. That’s called lineage, understand?”

“Little Jin, you dislike me?” Lu YunYang was plaintive.

“It’s not like I’ve disliked you for only a few days, don’t tell me you just found out.”

The two of them bickered wittily with each other as they walked up to the men in black. As predicted, they were stopped.

“Lord Duke is resting right now, what are you two doing here?”

“Police inspection!” Guan Jin said straightforwardly.

“Do you have a search warrant?” The men in black unexpectedly went along with what he had said.

Guan Jin turned around to look at Lu YunYang.

“Officer Wen has the search warrant.” Lu YunYang immediately found an excuse.

“I even bring a search warrant when I’m on vacation, this is the first time I realize how dedicated I am.” Wen JingHan walked towards them, along with Lu YunChi, who had been paired with him.

“Let them in to take a look, Seth won’t mind,” Wen JingHan said to the men in black.

The two of them exchanged looks and obediently stepped aside.

Lu YunChi rubbed his chin. “Even the bodyguards listen to you, how capable.”

Wen JingHan opened the door. “I’m flattered.”

There was a small living room inside, and the decor was of a much higher standard than the other rooms. Lu YunChi exclaimed, “Mr. Fang is so biased, this room was specially decorated, right?”

Suddenly, a door was opened. Canterbury was wearing dark gray pajamas when he walked out, and although his face was rather impassive, anyone could tell that he was in a very bad mood.

“How can you welcome guests in your pajamas, where are you strict and rigid nobility etiquette?” Wen JingHan was seemingly unafraid of death as he added fire to the fuel.

“It’s one in the morning right now, should I appear in formal dress and a tie?” The Duke glanced at the two men in black who had also come in. 

They lowered their heads and moved to a corner. It’s not our fault, it’s your so-and-so that should be blamed.

“Actually, they admire you so much, they didn’t hesitate to find an excuse to observe the mysterious life of a royal noble with their own eyes. In our words, they’re your brain-impaired fans, so their brains are all impaired. Don’t mind them.” Wen JingHan quickly smiled apologetically before Canterbury could kick them out, while also glaring fiercely at the three people who wanted to refute.

The Duke glanced at the three “avid fans” who didn’t seem to intend on leaving anytime soon. “How are your investigations going?”

“We haven’t found anything so far. We already finished checking the third floor, and there’s no problems.” Wen JingHan shook his head. “The others are still searching.”

The Duke didn’t seem to be interested in the result, and his question just then had merely been “diplomatic language”. “Since you’re done with your investigations, come back to sleep.” After saying this, he pulled Wen JingHan towards him and walked towards the bedroom.

A few steps later, he stopped and said without looking back, “You can worship my belongings if you want, but don’t touch anything.” Then, he dragged Wen JingHan into the bedroom and closed the door.

…The three of them could only quickly “worship” the places outside of the bedroom.

Lu YunChi pressed his ear to the bedroom door. “I wonder how intense they get?”

The door was pulled open, and Wen JingHan was standing there.

The Duke, who was standing inside, had a dark expression.

“Never mind, we’re already satisfied.” Lu YunChi smiled.

“We’ll get going now.” Lu YunYang grabbed Guan Jin, who was desperately peering into the room, smiled at the people inside, and strided out.

“Hey, I wasn’t done looking.” Guan Jin struggled out of his grasp in discontent.

“It’s useless no matter how long you look for, it’s not like you can tell if he’s Hermes just by looking at him.” Lu YunYang let go.

“Say, how did Wen JingHan get together with such a legendary person? And he even has him in the palm of his hand.” Lu YunChi’s gossipy side was ready to make trouble.

“How do you know it’s not Wen JingHan who’s in the palm of his hand?” Guan Jin raised an eyebrow.

“Brother-in-law, trust my eyes. That Lord Duke is the one that’s poisoned the most deeply.” Lu YunChi appeared to be experienced in this matter.

Perhaps Wen JingHan’s feelings for the Duke weren’t that deep. Maybe this was good news for them…

*****

After a few hours, they finally finished verifying that it was safe, and they all went to sleep. There wasn’t a sliver of light on the still and silent ocean.

Suddenly, Guan Jin’s pupils dilated. Someone had stopped on the lower deck for a while and then quickly left.

 

The front of the second and first floor’s decks were far apart, and the light on the deck was very dim, so he couldn’t see the person clearly. Who was it? A crewman on duty? But that person definitely hadn’t been wearing a white uniform. It seemed to be a very large black… cloak?!