Chapter 36: Jae Shin
As the prisoners were escorted off the ship one after another by officers and soldiers, the officer finally could not bear it anymore and called Xu Shanshan to stay and talk alone.

The prisoners all glanced at the two men with a vulgar look that showed the men knew everything, and finally they were kicked off the deck by the officers and soldiers.

When the deck was quiet, the officer drew out his sword and pointed it at Xu Shanshan: "What did you mean by that sentence you said earlier?"

"You should have checked my background," she asked.

The officer narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze fixed on her: "Oh, it's because I checked you that I know how glorious your history of fraud is. You'd better tell me the truth..."

"Otherwise, once we get to Black Island, I'll have plenty of ways to make your life a living hell!"

The salty sea breeze on the deck lifted her hair. After several days of twists and turns, her white dress still had few wrinkles, not to mention any dirt on it.

The more the officer observed her, the more frightened he became. Was she really as unbearable and stupid as the investigation showed?

Would a person with a bad character prefer to be arrested and imprisoned rather than collect and bury the bodies of his adoptive parents who were left lying in the wilderness?
Could a stupid person spend several days safely among a group of male prisoners surrounded by dangerous conditions?

Everything is so unusual that it is impossible to ignore or convince yourself.

He didn't want to take her words seriously, but what she said in the past few days was like a spell engraved in his mind, making him unable to live in peace.

"Clang!" The knife fell.

In an instant, he found that he could not move.

He couldn't even feel the force of a finger, like a useless man who had lost control of every aspect of his body.

He didn't know that a lively little paper man was silently sticking to his shoulder.

"I'd like to hear how you plan to make my life a living hell?" Xu Shanshan crossed her arms, trying to put on a good show.

The officer was so confused that sweat broke out on his forehead. "I'm sorry, I just said nonsense. I spoke without thinking. Please, I just want to know where my mother is buried."

The feathers flew out from her sleeves and landed on her shoulders. Xu Shanshan touched its soft feathers.

"I heard that Black Island is divided into two floors to hold criminals. One is in the dark and damp underground, and the other is above ground where you can't avoid the scorching heat or severe cold. I want to be assigned to the floor with the eldest daughter and youngest son of the Xu family."

The officer understood what he meant immediately, and he responded hastily: "Don't worry, I can do it. I'll arrange it when the next ship arrives."

Since the "deal" was done, Xu Shanshan generously told him everything he wanted to know.

"There is a dilapidated temple three miles outside Huaijiang City. You must have dug up the silver under the bricks, but you never found your mother's body, right?"

The officer's pupils shrank, he felt that she was really a prophet. Even though he was locked up in the county jail, she knew that he couldn't sleep at night, so he ran to the dilapidated temple and searched through the bricks used as footstools, and finally dug out a bag of silver.

But his purpose was not the money, but the "female corpse". He dug three feet into the ground but still couldn't find it.

"Yes, that's right, Master Xu, please, tell me where she is?" he said with an earnest look.

His mother had been missing for more than ten years. Everyone in the family slandered her, saying that she had committed adultery and stole the family savings and ran away. But he knew that his kind and caring mother would never abandon him and leave home.

But he couldn't find her. No matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find any clues.

This matter has been snowballing over the years and has almost become a thorn in his side. If it is not resolved, he will never be at peace for the rest of his life.

She asked again: "Can you see a statue of Guanyin in that dilapidated temple?"

The officer recalled for a moment, then began to tremble uncontrollably, and the last glimmer of hope in his eyes was shattered.

“…Yes, yes, could it be that?!”

Seeing that he was in tears and standing in a daze, Xu Shanshan obviously fell into an emotion of grief from which he could not extricate himself, so he did not say anything more.

She stepped past him and walked off the boat.

But he found that the prisoners and soldiers on the dock had disappeared. When he raised his eyes, he saw Mo Han running towards him with a terrified look on his face and a blue complexion.

As soon as he saw her, he couldn't hide his anxiety. He grabbed her wrist and said, "Hurry, get out of here!"

Leave? She said, "Not yet."

Mo Han ignored her answer and gasped, "Go and ask that officer. He will let you talk alone and will surely help you. You can't stay in this damn place. The people on this island are all crazy! They are a bunch of evil ghosts who kill without blinking an eye!"

It was obvious that Mo Han was suddenly stimulated by something, which made him confused and incoherent.

Xu Shanshan was silent for a few seconds, then smiled and said, "How do you know...I'm not more evil than a demon?"

Mo Han looked at him in surprise, never expecting her to say such a thing.

...She is really like a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger. By the time she truly witnesses the ugliest and most horrible evil in the world, I'm afraid it will be too late for her to regret.

He didn't know what to advise her for a moment, and only smiled bitterly: "You should be a little scared at a time like this..."

He guessed that maybe it was because the officer promised to protect her on the island, or maybe she had some family background that made her so confident.

But Mo Han, who had experienced the ups and downs of life, no longer trusted anyone. The help offered by others was only temporary and could be withdrawn at any time.

He would not allow himself to be in such an uneasy and compromising situation again.

Either die or become strong!
Xu Shanshan reached out and grabbed Maomao, who was about to fly off to see the "excitement", and asked casually, "Are you scared? What did you see?"

Before Mo Han could speak, several dark-skinned men quickly chased after him: "Good boy, you are so brave, you dare to run away? After landing on this island, where do you expect to escape to?"

Mo Han was frightened by their laughing voices, but he still looked over bravely and said coldly, "What do you want to do?"

"Brother Qi has come specially to greet the new prisoners on your ship."

As they were talking, they discovered that there seemed to be someone hiding behind Mo Han. They turned their heads to take a look, and their eyes suddenly glowed a faint green.

"A girl?! Damn it, I didn't expect there would be such a delicate and tender girl on the island, hahahaha..."

They couldn't wait to take Mo Han and Xu Shanshan to the top of a cliff.

Xu Shanshan found the prisoners on that ship...and the officers and soldiers.

The officers and soldiers stood by and watched as the prisoners were tied up hand and foot with ropes, and were forced to the edge of the cliff with their backs to the vast ocean. The surging waves occasionally hit the axe-cut and knife-carved coastline, and the roar was like thunder.

It is no exaggeration to say that the prisoners were almost scared to death at this time.

Because once they accidentally fall down, there will be no possibility of survival.

"Brother Qi, there is a woman among the prisoners on this ship!"

The lackey pushed Xu Shanshan to the front like he was presenting a treasure.

I saw a muscular man with his upper body naked and only wearing a pair of trousers sitting on a stone with his legs crossed. His skin was dark and shiny, his muscles were full and strong, and his overall body was slender and perfect, like a nimble and dangerous black panther.

He was surrounded by a large group of old prisoners from the archipelago, who all followed his lead.

"female?"

The man who was lazily basking in the sun finally opened his eyes. When he saw Xu Shanshan, a hint of surprise flashed across his deep eyes.

"She's really a woman."

And she is a young, fresh and youthful girl.

He straightened up, his eyes wandering over every part of her body, and asked with a raised corner of his mouth: "What's your name?"

"Xu Shanshan." She pronounced the name clearly.

When she announced the name, a skinny seven-year-old child behind the prisoners suddenly opened his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and disgust, and he couldn't wait to squeeze to the front of the crowd.

(End of this chapter)