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墨書 Inktalez
Compared to the flickering lights of the Coast barbecue camp, the Stilt House felt somewhat silent. The glow from Coast did not reach here, and there were no lights inside the wooden house. Only a pale white moonlight cast down silver frost, accentuating the whispering evening breeze and the deep, inky night sky, evoking a chill that rose from the depths of one's heart.
Song Jiu led Yuan An in a loop around Mangrove before stealthily returning to the Stilt House they had just visited half an hour ago.
"Is this the place?" Song Jiu whispered.
"Yes, Jin Bo vaguely mentioned coming here to talk, so it should be this one," Yuan An nodded in response.
"Damn it, I just had a good night's sleep." Song Jiu chuckled bitterly as he scanned the perimeter of the Stilt House under the cover of Saddle Vine. There were no guards on duty, likely confirming what Yuan An had suggested—that today was just meant for a discussion with Jin Bo.
Gathering his thoughts, Song Jiu signaled quietly and moved with Yuan An, one after the other, from behind Saddle Vine. Since there were no guards left behind, there was no need to be overly tense. After passing through some low shrubs, they walked straight through the wide-open Gate. Song Jiu made a gesture for silence and slowed his pace as they approached the door. It was closed; he pressed gently against it but it didn’t budge—there must be a bolt secured from the inside.
Yuan An didn’t dare to ask more questions and concealed himself beside the wooden steps, sliding along the wall until he stopped beneath a window.
Voices could be heard.
Yuan An quickly signaled to Song Jiu, who understood immediately. He suppressed his footsteps to avoid making noise on the grass as they leaned against the window ledge, straining their ears to catch any faint sounds. After listening for about two minutes, a sudden outburst of anger erupted from within, followed by a series of loud thuds as if something had been kicked over. Then everything fell silent again.
A jolt of alarm shot through Song Jiu. He swiftly drew his pistol from behind his waist and hurriedly opened the magazine amidst Yuan An's surprised gaze, quickly loading it up before whispering, "You wait here."
Before Yuan An could respond, voices came from the window again.
"Jin Bo, don't get agitated. Let's sit down and talk calmly."
It was a male voice that sounded somewhat older and more composed.
"Talk my ass! Just because I’ve been laughing with you doesn’t mean you have any right to boss me around!"
The voice of Jin Bo echoed.
Outside the window, the two exchanged glances, somewhat bewildered by the situation inside. Jin Bo remained fierce, clearly agitated, cursing loudly as if he were berating several people at once, yet no one dared to respond for quite some time. After a while, his tirade subsided, and silence fell again in the room, punctuated by faint sighs and murmurs that were too soft to discern.
On Song Jiu's side, things felt awkward. It seemed they were indeed discussing something serious; the tension was palpable, but it shouldn't escalate into a full-blown conflict. After all, this was about island affairs, and if he barged in recklessly, it could worsen the situation.
"Should we leave?" Yuan An shared his unease, feeling that lingering by the wall was strange and uncomfortable.
"Wait a moment," Song Jiu gestured with his lips. Since they were already there, it was better to listen a bit longer.
Sure enough, not long after, the voices inside grew louder again.
A male voice spoke first: "Jin Bo, don't misunderstand our intentions. We are also here for the island's sake. It's not easy for us to have come this far; we should work together to maintain what we have."
Another male voice chimed in: "Exactly! That's what I'm saying. Although I arrived late, I've put in my share of effort on the island. We need to address some issues directly; otherwise, over time, misunderstandings will only deepen."
Jin Bo retorted sharply: "What does it have to do with you two? When I was pioneering on this island, you probably didn't even know where you were struggling to survive. Now that you've had your fill of wine and meat these past two years, you think you can come here and act like you're in charge?"
The second male voice countered: "You can't say it like that. The island's current state is due to everyone's efforts. We know you can fight and kill, but how much power do you really have alone?"
A third male voice added: "Regardless of anything else, we are still your elders. You should speak respectfully to us."
"What did you say?" Jin Bo shot back.
The third male voice cleared his throat: "I mean we're all on the same side here; we're all part of the same family."
Song Jiu yawned. After listening for a while without grasping the essence of their conversation, he realized they were just going around in circles, repeating vague platitudes about working for the island and everyone’s welfare. He could sense an undercurrent of power struggle in their words, yet they refused to be explicit about it. As for Jin Bo, he completely ignored their attempts at dialogue and continued his barrage of insults while the others seemed too intimidated to retort. The standoff persisted for quite some time.
Song Jiu furrowed his brows, thinking for a moment before pulling Yuan An away from the windowsill. They quietly slipped out of the Stilt House courtyard and hid beneath the shadow of a row of pineapple plants outside.
"Yuan An, who went to the forest with you?" Song Jiu asked directly, without beating around the bush.
Yuan An lifted her eyelids, hesitating for a moment before replying, "It's someone from the island named Liang Song."
Yuan An's answer was quite straightforward, leaving Song Jiu momentarily at a loss for words. He frowned and pondered for a while before asking, "What happened? Tell me in detail."
"Uh," Yuan An stuck out her tongue, looking slightly embarrassed. After considering her words, she said, "They arranged a barbecue at the Coast this morning, and I happened to run into him. There wasn't much going on at the time, so we chatted for a bit."
"Oh, oh. So why did he take you to the forest?" As soon as Song Jiu asked, he regretted it. He had been dazed by the situation with Jin Bo earlier, but now that he thought about it, it was probably just some trivial matter between a man and a woman.
Yuan An's face flushed slightly as if she sensed Song Jiu's thoughts. She playfully scolded him, "It's not what you think."
"I didn't think anything," both stubbornly insisted.
"Actually, there really wasn't much to it. Before dinner last night, he just said he wanted to talk to me for a bit. You understand," Yuan An said with an exasperated expression. She was two years older than Liang Song; their morning conversation was merely polite small talk. Young men often got carried away with their feelings, but it truly had nothing to do with her.
Song Jiu couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter. "So he was confessing to you!"
Yuan An shot him a glare and ignored that comment. She continued, "After that, we casually chatted for a few more minutes. I jokingly asked him why he didn't find Jin Bo a girl to match with, and his tone when he spoke made it seem like he didn't take Jin Bo seriously at all. That's why I was curious."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"He didn't explain too clearly, but the gist of it was that I shouldn't be too afraid of Jin Bo; he isn't really anything on the island or something like that."
Song Jiu raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Why does he think you're afraid of Jin Bo?"
"I have no idea," Yuan An said, pouting. "Sometimes when chatting with young people, we're just not on the same wavelength. Maybe he just wanted to express that he's not afraid of Jin Bo."
"And then?"
"Then I casually asked a few questions, pretending to want to understand more. He turned out to be quite talkative, saying whatever came to mind." Yuan An shrugged, indicating her inability to handle such inexplicable enthusiasm. "He mentioned that Jin Bo took many people when he left the island and said he was supposed to bring back supplies. But when he returned, not only did he not bring any supplies, but also very few of those who left with him came back. So everyone has some grievances against Jin Bo."
Song Jiu narrowed his eyes, suddenly understanding. The earlier strange conversations in the room finally made sense; no wonder it was all about this issue. Regarding the supplies, Song Jiu was well aware. When they met at Desolate Mountain Cave, Jin Bo had indeed come for military supplies. However, things went awry at the train station, nearly costing him his life. It was a miracle he made it back to the island at all; as for supplies, that was out of the question.
"Did he say what he specifically wanted to do?" Song Jiu pondered for a while, feeling something was still missing. Even if they had grievances against Jin Bo, so what? After all, Jin Bo had previously stated that everyone would maintain a facade of peace; no one could do anything to anyone else. To put it bluntly, if Jin Bo got truly angry, the firepower in the basement would be enough for a bloodbath, and those people wouldn't end up well.
"I don't know about that," Yuan An replied, having no thoughts on the matter. She wasn't aware of Jin Bo's trump card; she only shared this information with Luo Yu out of caution. By chance, she saw Jin Bo leaving with a few others and connected the dots, worrying something might happen to him, which led to their nighttime visit to Stilt House.
Song Jiu chuckled; if there was going to be a peasant uprising, there should at least be some real weapons involved. These people had no guns or cannons—what could they do? Humiliate Jin Bo until he cried or reason with him?
Before either of them could think it through, hurried footsteps approached from Saddle Vine's direction. Song Jiu peeked out and saw Fang Fei and Ye Qingmei rushing into Stilt House with flushed faces. They were nothing like how they had been sneaking around earlier; they kicked open the door and immediately turned on the lights.
Song Jiu and Yuan An exchanged glances; being in charge certainly made a difference—their presence commanded respect.
Before long, the door swung open again as four or five men rushed out in single file. As they ran, they shouted something back over their shoulders. Before they could finish their words, a rattan chair flew out from inside and hit several of them on the head as they scrambled away from Stilt House.
"Aren't we supposed to value peace?" Song Jiu chuckled in disbelief. Truly, women were not to be underestimated; while Jin Bo merely cursed a few times, these two had managed to kick them out entirely.
Inside Stilt House's living room sat Jin Bo, Fang Fei, and Ye Qingmei on one side, while Song Jiu and Yuan An sat across from them. They stared at each other wide-eyed, feeling somewhat awkward.
"Is there anything else? If not, I'm going to eat. I'm still hungry," Song Jiu said after sitting for a long time, unable to endure it any longer.
Jin Bo forced a smile, stood up, and put his arm around Song Jiu's shoulders, sighing, "Let's eat, let's eat. No more talking."
"Sit down!" Fang Fei snapped, her brows furrowing.
"Akin, what are you planning to do?" Fang Fei exhaled deeply, looking somewhat weary. "This isn't a solution; they are already openly challenging you."
"Let them shout," Jin Bo replied dismissively, snorting. "You two were a bit too anxious just now. I haven't even figured out what they want yet."
"What else could they want? You can't keep them under control anymore. Xiao Zhuang has been gone for over half a year. If Song Jiu hadn't come back with them this time, I really think something would have happened," Fang Fei said wearily, resting her hand on her forehead. "They know you have a gun, but that doesn't help. Can you kill everyone? If not, are you going to sleep with your gun from now on?"
Song Jiu looked at the others in confusion and asked, "Who is Xiao Zhuang?"
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