Old Yuan was not to be underestimated when he lost his temper, and the two crewmen immediately wilted under his roar.
But who knew that at this moment, someone said, "Encountering ghost fog, who doesn't want to be safe? A protective charm might even save your life..."
I looked towards the source of the voice and saw a burly man with a handlebar mustache. This guy was Captain's man; I had seen him yesterday.
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything. The moment he did, the tall guy immediately went berserk. He didn't even heed Old Yuan's words and rushed forward to get into a brawl with the shorter man.
Old Yuan cursed, drew the gun at his waist, and fired a shot at the ceiling.
"Bang!"
The gunshot made everyone freeze for a moment.
Old Yuan pointed the gun at the two fighting men and said, "Believe it or not, I'll send you to feed the fish right now?"
Seeing this, even though their eyes showed defiance, the two had no choice but to stop.
I couldn't help but sigh inwardly, the people on this ship were truly a bunch of scoundrels.
But then again, most of them were uneducated and had been living a precarious life at sea for years, so their aggression was bound to be higher.
The hall fell silent, and everyone held their breath. Just then, a scream came from outside!
Hearing the sound, everyone looked at each other. Old Yuan frowned, "Go see what's going on!"
Immediately, two people quickly left the dining room and went downstairs.
The dining room had windows, allowing a view of the deck.
I leaned over and looked down. The thick fog obscured everything.
After a few minutes, several gunshots rang out from the deck!
I was also startled and instinctively pulled myself back, fearing I might be hit by a stray bullet.
I had seen people draw knives at the slightest disagreement, but this was the first time I saw guns drawn.
I didn't know what was happening below that led to gunfire.
Old Yuan seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and called a crewman over, asking him to inform Yang Hanxue and Captain Xue.
A few minutes later, Captain Xue arrived first, followed closely by Yang Hanxue.
Everyone gathered in the dining room, all looking at the two leaders.
"Who fired downstairs?" Yang Hanxue asked.
Everyone looked at each other, and no one could answer.
Old Yuan walked over and said, "Boss, there was some commotion downstairs earlier, so I asked Brothers Datou to go down and check. Not long after they went down, we heard gunshots... the situation downstairs now..."
Yang Hanxue glanced at Captain Xue, who hesitated for a moment before calling a few people over: "You go down and take a look. If anything happens, don't act rashly. Report back."
Those men looked troubled, but they complied.
Everyone crowded by the windows, and I also stared down at the deck a few times.
The fog was too thick; I couldn't see anything.
Less than seven or eight minutes later, a man rushed up in a panic: "It's bad! It's bad!"
"What's wrong?" Captain Xue turned and asked.
"A'jiang... A'jiang shot and killed Brothers Datou, and... and is eating their corpses..."
Hearing the report from the messenger, I was also stunned!
"Where is he?" Yang Hanxue asked, his brow furrowed.
"He's already been subdued on the deck... others have tied him up with ropes."
Without a word, Yang Hanxue headed for the stairs, and everyone else followed.
Seeing everyone go, I exchanged a look with Song Bing, signaling that we should go down and see as well.
Just as I was about to go down, Bai Hanyan grabbed my arm: "Let's not go down... the fog outside is so thick..."
I said, "We're on the ship now. We need to understand whatever is happening."
"But... what's so good about watching someone eat people?" Bai Hanyan's face turned a little pale.
"Then you stay here. We'll find you when we come back up."
"Alone?"
Women are so troublesome, I said, "It's broad daylight. You stay here, and shout if anything happens."
After speaking, I ignored her and quickly went downstairs with Song Bing.
Upon reaching the deck, I saw figures shrouded in the dense fog.
Two bodies lay on the ground, and someone was checking on them.
But it looked like they couldn't be saved.
And in the center, a man was tied up with ropes. This must be the A'jiang they mentioned. He was still shouting incoherently: "No... it wasn't me! It wasn't me!! It wasn't me!!"
Old Yuan walked over to the man, cursed a few times, and kicked him directly: "Damn it! Are you rebelling?"
A'jiang writhed on the ground, still shouting, "It wasn't me! I didn't kill you! It wasn't me..."
Captain Xue looked at Yang Hanxue and said, "Boss, perhaps we should take him to the cabin?"
Yang Hanxue nodded, instructed Old Yuan to have the bodies dealt with, and told everyone else to head to the cabin.
Soon, everyone arrived inside the cabin.
The deck and the cabin were like two different worlds. Outside, nothing could be seen clearly, as if one's eyes were covered with a veil.
Inside, visibility was restored.
The man named A'jiang was thrown on the ground, mumbling to himself, saying who knew what.
"Who knew where A'jiang was just now?" Yang Hanxue asked.
Someone stood up and said, "When we came up for dinner, he was in the cargo hold organizing things..."
"Did he seem abnormal then?"
"No... I called him for dinner, and he just said he'd be there in a moment."
Yang Hanxue nodded and looked at the others: "Do any of you know if A'jiang has been acting strangely lately?"
Everyone exchanged glances. After a few seconds, someone said, "Yesterday, after A'jiang saw Niugang being swept away by the waves, he came back at night and told me..."
"Told you what?"
"He said Niugang was taken by a water ghost..."
"Nonsense!" Captain Xue exclaimed, "Where the hell did a water ghost come from?"
"That's what he said... I'm not sure."
Yang Hanxue asked, "And then? Did he say anything else?"
"He said..." The man hesitated before saying, "'Setting sail on the ninth day of the ninth month is a major taboo. The sea god is displeased and will punish us...'"
The more this man spoke, the more outlandish it became.
At this moment, A'jiang on the ground suddenly crawled up and opened his mouth as if to bite someone, but was thankfully restrained by two crewmen.
"You've broken the taboo... You all must die! You all must die! Hahaha... Die! Die! Die!"
A'jiang struggled madly, like a mad dog, his expression contorted.
"Boss, what do we do now?" Captain Xue asked, a hint of apprehension in his eyes.
Yang Hanxue's brow furrowed. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Lock him up for now, and the rest of you, go back to what you were doing."