Super God Grandmaster
Chapter 1318 - 1318 1304 Searching the Boat

Chapter 1318: Chapter 1304: Searching the Boat Chapter 1318: Chapter 1304: Searching the Boat Fu Hongzhang said with confusion, “It was a girl, taking a group of people skilled in martial arts.”

“Our girl knows some martial arts. To deal with her, only those skilled in martial arts could possibly succeed, and without drawing the attention of others.” Watching Fu Hongzhang’s skeptical look, Ye Chen continued explaining what he had found out, how the person was captured, how they were taken away, and the innkeeper’s statement that they were strangers.

Ye Chen continued, “We are too anxious. We really don’t want to cause trouble here. It’s just that we are afraid, if we don’t find out soon, our captured girl might be sent away from Lotus Leaf Island. Where she might go next, it will be like finding a needle in the ocean. I hope you understand.”

Fu Hongzhang, a rather reasonable man, asked, “Are you certain they’re still on this island?”

Red Demonic Spirit walked over and said something to Ye Chen.

Turning back to Fu Hongzhang, Ye Chen said, “The group of strangers who captured our girl arrived at the inn the day before yesterday, which means their boat docked that day. Those who aren’t islanders usually come and leave by the same boat. They left the inn yesterday at noon, but from yesterday afternoon onwards, no large boat that arrived the day before yesterday left, so I think they should still be on this island.” Visitors to the island wouldn’t casually change inns; they typically stay at one inn until they leave.

Just now, the Red Demonic Spirit had told Ye Chen that they found no large boat that arrived the day before yesterday leaving after yesterday afternoon.

Fu Hongzhang slightly nodded, feeling that the young man’s analysis made sense.

One of Fu Hongzhang’s subordinates shouted, “But you can’t go around capturing people here. This isn’t your territory. We’ve already given you face by letting you dock and rest. If everyone acted like you, capturing whoever they want, do you even consider us?”

Ye Chen said to Fu Hongzhang, “Senior, how about this? You watch us as we inquire and we will not coerce them. We just want to get clarity and then we will let them go. How about that? Please tell your men to stand down.” Dawn was breaking.

Fu Hongzhang nodded slightly, signaling his men to back off.

Ye Chen quickly thanked him.

Red Demonic Spirit took the two men to an inn, entered a room, and started questioning them. Of course, the men denied any wrongdoing, and Red Demonic Spirit certainly couldn’t easily believe them.

Fu Hongzhang also came in and said, “These two, they indeed have done such deeds before, but that was a long time ago. They were under the influence of a very bad leader back then. After their leader was killed, these two reformed and haven’t had any criminal records for quite a few years now. I can vouch for that.”

Seeing Fu Hongzhang speak so, and knowing his reputation on Lotus Leaf Island, Ye Chen didn’t think he was being deceived.

Red Demonic Spirit continued to ask them if they knew anyone else who was involved in such deeds to make money, in essence, relating to human trafficking.

One of the men with a turtle-like neck said, “We’ve stopped dealing with those people long ago. Since we decided to stop those deeds, why would we still mingle with them?”

“So you know of anyone who does such things?” pressed Red Demonic Spirit.

“Yes, of course I know, but I know they’re not on the island.”

“How do you know they’re not on the island? You say you don’t deal with them anymore, yet you know their whereabouts?” Red Demonic Spirit questioned.

The turtle-necked man replied, “If they were on the island, they would definitely know about the young maiden being captured. But nothing like this has happened here for a long time.”

Fu Hongzhang nodded and said, “He’s right. It’s been at least a year since anything like that happened here. You don’t know, but we deeply detest those who do such unconscionable deeds. If such people were on the island, our families could be threatened as well, so we’ve intensified our crackdown on them. Moreover, several leaders have donated money and hired help to fight against human traffickers. Of course, we can’t guarantee that some traffickers might have come again.”

Red Demonic Spirit got nothing useful out of the two men.

By that time, the search at various inns had reached a stage; the sky was growing brighter and soon the sun would rise. Ye Chen had no time to waste on those two men or to talk further with Fu Hongzhang. More and more people were starting to move about, and it was estimated that some ships would also be leaving.

People continuously reported negative news, and essentially, nothing useful had turned up all night. Ye Chen could no longer afford to waste time. “Let those two go,” he said.

Red Demonic Spirit spoke, “Sect Leader, whether what these two said is true, we have no certainty yet.”

However, Ye Chen knew that continuing this way was pointless. “Listen to me, let them go,” he insisted. He trusted Fu Hongzhang’s words. Even if they didn’t release the men now and they kept their silence, there was nothing more he could do. Turning to Fu Hongzhang, he said, “Senior Fu, I need to find the person. I can’t chat with you, my apologies for the trouble.” Daylight was steadily increasing.

Feeling empathy, Fu Hongzhang offered, “Well, if you need anything, let me send someone to help you search. Some ships will be leaving shortly, and we haven’t searched them yet.” Having spent the entire night searching the inns without news, it was entirely possible that Yun’er was taken to a ship yesterday. The day was continuously getting brighter.

Ye Chen said, “If that’s the case, then I’m deeply grateful.”

“No need, I’m quite willing to help you out,” Fu Hongzhang was also aware that the situation was very urgent.

After all, Fu Hongzhang was a local of the island, more familiar with it than they were. Getting their help would mean encountering fewer obstacles.

“I’ll go and bring in my men,” Fu Hongzhang stepped out.

At that moment, Ye Chen quickly seized the time to understand the information gathered overnight.

“It seems impossible to look for the inn. They might not have been there last night. They might have already boarded the ship, and the ship just hasn’t set sail yet, or they could be staying in the homes of common folk. Even though they are strangers, it’s possible they have contacts here,” Red Demonic Spirit said.

Ye Chen could only think the same and set the next tasks, which were to search the ships and block the exits. He asked, “Has there been any news about the ships?”

At that moment, someone ran up and said, “Regarding the unfamiliar ships that docked on the island, there are sixteen.”

“How many docked the day before yesterday?” Ye Chen asked.

“From what the dockworkers said, there are three that are quite unfamiliar, never seen before.”

Black Demonic Spirit said, “Perhaps those people simply hitched a ride on someone else’s ship to get here.”

“Right, that’s a possibility,” Ye Chen mused, considering it imprudent to assume that the people they were looking for were on those three ships just because they were unfamiliar. He then asked, “How many large ships docked the day before yesterday?”

“There were seventeen,” came the reply.

Seventeen ships—it still might be manageable. He said, “Search these seventeen ships, and also pay attention to the people boarding them, especially those three unfamiliar ones.”

Red Demonic Spirit analyzed, “Since no ships that docked the day before yesterday left yesterday afternoon, there’s a high possibility that Yun’er is still on the island. If she’s still here, she might be on one of those seventeen ships or she might be preparing to board at any moment.”

Ye Chen nodded and said, “Right, so in addition to searching the ships, we need to watch the people boarding. Yun’er might be hidden in one of the crates being loaded onto a large ship.”

Red Demonic Spirit nodded slightly, understanding Ye Chen’s point.

Ye Chen continued, “Also, the ships that docked the day before yesterday by the seaside might leave today. We must inspect these ships even more thoroughly.” If the ship carrying Yun’er were to leave, he reckoned he would never see her again in this lifetime. They couldn’t be careless with this matter.

Red Demonic Spirit added, “It doesn’t matter whether they docked the day before yesterday or not. Any ship that intends to leave today must be searched before they can depart.”

Someone suggested, “Otherwise, we could just inspect all of the ships.”

Ye Chen knew this would require a lot of manpower and probably wouldn’t be effective anyway. More importantly, they weren’t on Sacred Spirit Island; they couldn’t do as they pleased here. He said, “It’s difficult; this isn’t Sacred Spirit Island. Moreover, there are so many ships docked, and there was nearly a fight this morning. Let’s stick to the plan we just discussed and, on the side, look for the unfamiliar girl with the eyes like a flatfish that the landlady mentioned yesterday.”

Fu Hongzhang came in with a few people, who must be his left and right hands.

Seeing the man with whom Red Demonic Spirit nearly came to blows earlier, and now needing his help, they naturally went up to apologize.

Ye Chen shared their recently discussed plan with them. Fu Hongzhang felt it was feasible and said, “Alright, we’ll do as you say and start the search.”

Ye Chen didn’t know how to express his gratitude, as Fu Hongzhang had already sent a few people to follow Red Demonic Spirit down.

“I really don’t know how to thank you all enough.”

“Hey, don’t mention it, nobody wants things like this to happen.” He had already learned from the landlady that the situation was indeed serious and didn’t want such an incident to tarnish the reputation of Lotus Leaf Island further.