“I remember your kid is about to go to high school, right? His name is Zhang Laiming, right?” Mu Enli smiled.
“Captain, you still remember the name of my kid!”
“That kid is good. His future is promising,” said Mu Enli softly. Then he ordered, “You twisted your hips last month. Take care of yourself a little bit, don’t tire yourself out.”
“I understand!”
“Go to work.”
In addition to Aunty Cui, he also met several other people who worked on the ship; he greeted and chatted with them. He always managed to mention their family matters.
“Captain! I’m getting married next month! You must come!”
“Captain, come to my house for dinner next time! My mother brought a batch of old rice wine from my hometown!”
“Captain… I heard that the police are looking for you, you… you must be careful!”
“Captain…”
Thank you, thank you all.
…
Standing in front of the door of his bedroom, Mu Enli took a deep breath. He opened the door without closing it. He walked to the bed and pushed it open.
Mu Enli could naturally see the peeling off of the wallpaper, thinking that Mu Qinghai might have done this.
He sighed, his gaze was a little complicated, and then sad. He took out his pocket watch silently, opened it as well, then opened the cover behind his arms, took out a tiny key, and inserted it into the only keyhole.
The keyhole was not large. Mu Enli reached in with both hands and pulled out a box from the inside. It was an ancient leather box, and there were even cracks in many places on the leather.
Mu Enli held it and patted it lightly. He did not speak but walked to the closet and found a clean captain’s suit and hat.
After tidying up, Mu Enli reached out and pulled the front hem of his hat, carried the old suitcase, closed the door, and left.
He didn’t want to meet anyone this time.
So he chose a very quiet road.
He was more familiar with the Baiyu Cruise than anyone else. When he wanted to avoid others, naturally no one could match him. He treaded a spiral ladder, a safe passage that was seldom used, and an old extension ladder.
He climbed to the Baiyu’s ship horn deck, which was not the highest place of the Baiyu. However, apart from the maintenance, no one else came here.
Mu Enli walked to the edge, put down the leather suitcase, and opened it. He hadn’t opened this leather suitcase for a long, but everything in it was still fresh in his memory as if he had seen it yesterday.
There was an old-fashioned silver handgun, which could only hold six bullets.
He took out the gun, then closed the leather box again… Mu Enli took a deep breath, held it with both hands, gritted his teeth abruptly, and then slammed out… With no one else watching, the leather suitcase sank into the sea without any surprise.
“Like this… my sin…”
He closed his eyes and put the old gun into his mouth, tapping his fingers… but there was no trace of fear in his expression. It was calm… as calm as the sea in front of him.
“Mister, with this shot, your life will really end this time.”
Mu Enli opened his eyes subconsciously, put down the gun, and turned around after a while, looking at the person talking to him… He remembered the voice, and now he could see the person clearly.
This man was with a mask, so his age could not be estimated.
Mu Enli suddenly said, “I have fought wars and killed pirates in this life… I have seen all kinds of strange things, but some magical things are unexpected. Will you take my soul?”
“Of course.” The boss said calmly, “According to the content of the contract, it is true.”
“What is a soul?” Mu Enli shook his head, “The person is dead and his consciousness is gone. What can these so-called souls feel?”
“Soul…” The boss turned, looked at the sea, and said, “Probably, it can be regarded as another form of continuation of life.”
“Continuation…” The old captain was silent for a while, then looked at the sea and said, “I already have something that continues… I don’t want to understand that kind of illusory thing anymore.”
“Of course, this is your choice.”
Boss Luo nodded, “I’m just here to remind you that according to the content of the contract, you have a few days left… But if you insist on ending it here, we will not change the content of the contract. So you should think about it.”
Mu Enli shook his head, “Too many unexpected things have happened… so it is unnecessary. It has been delayed for a long time, and the variables are too great for me to lose.”
“Then, I won’t bother you.” Boss Luo nodded, backed… and disappeared.
The old captain looked at this deserted place… He always felt the phrase ‘won’t bother you’ was heard somewhere before.
He shook his head. This mysterious businessman’s arrival didn’t change his plans, and such interruption didn’t seem to shake his determination to seek death.
“I’m here to accompany you.”
Mu Enli said this silently in his heart and put the gun into his mouth again, against his upper jaw.
“Dad- No!”
…
“Dad! Don’t be impulsive!” Mu Qinghai rushed forward nervously.
He was gasping for breath, likely because he came here in a hurry, but he didn’t dare to restrain Mu Enli physically… He knew his father’s stubborn character too.
“Why are you here? I had already said whatever I needed to say to you very clearly when I was in the office! Have you forgotten?!” Mu Enli looked at Mu Qinghai harshly.
That was the harshest expression Mu Qinghai had ever seen from Mu Enli in his life.
“I received the message! I heard it all… How can I not hear it?” Mu Qinghai said in pain, “While you are talking to Police Officer Ma, you quietly use the communicator under the table to tell me to keep quiet with the Morse Code… I… How can I not hear it?”
Mu Qinghai knelt on the ground in pain, “I don’t care if you did anything harmful thirty years ago! It doesn’t matter if you are a so-called agent… But you have raised me for thirty years. I was abandoned at the dock. If it weren’t for you, I absolutely wouldn’t be who I am today! Even if we are not biologically related, Dad, if you want to admit to this crime for me, am I still a human?! But you… why did you threaten me at that time, threaten me with your own life! Forcing me to be silent! Do you know how terrible I feel?!”
“I won’t live long. I only have a few days left.” Mu Enli shook his head and sighed, “You stupid boy, why ruin your future for someone like me who is about to be buried in a coffin? Qian Guoliang wanted to negotiate with me. I couldn’t kill him, but let him escape. As a last resort, I had to go to the surveillance room and replace the video… You should have seen me at that time?”
Mu Qinghai shed tears and nodded silently, “I… I saw you when I returned to get the key. At that time, I didn’t know what you were going to do, nor did I say anything. I just saw you delete the part where Qian Guoliang escaped from your room… I was going to ask you, but looking at you… Your expression at the time was too… I had never seen you like this before. It was too scary… too unfamiliar…”
Mu Enli shook his head and sighed, “Scary? Silly boy, when I killed pirates, I looked ten times more terrifying than this… I originally wrote down Qian Guoliang’s location, but I couldn’t find him when I looked for him. You brought him away first, right? When Qian Guoliang died, looking at the place where he appeared, I knew… that person was you.”
Mu Qinghai nodded, “Dad… you. Did you know it was me early on?”
Mu Enli sighed and said, “The small space above the utility room, I knew it was you at a glance… At that time, you were young, and I went out on the ship all day, so I took you along. But you are naughty and would always hide. That place is the place you used to hide from people. Do you think I am old and confused?”
“Dad… you… You still remember.”
“Why don’t I remember?” Mu Enli gave a wry smile and glanced around, “It’s like how you can find this place…You know me, so don’t I also know you? Silly boy!”
“I…”
“But you foolish kid! Is it really because of the treasure that you murder others?”
“No! No!” Mu Qinghai hurriedly said, “I don’t care about the treasure at all! It is him! When I found him! He told me that you are probably an agent! And the thing with the box! He promised that if I save him, he will give me a lot of benefits! But!”
Mu Qinghai widened his eyes and said, “I can’t do this! I can’t do this! I can’t let your things be exposed! I can’t. I can’t… I really can’t! I want to destroy these things! I want you to enjoy your old age. I want you to watch me succeed in my career! I want you to watch me get married… Dad! I don’t want to watch you go to jail! Dad, if I didn’t meet you in this life, I might have died on the dock long ago… I will never let you suffer! I want you to retire gracefully from the Baiyu. I want you always to be the flawless Captain in the crew’s heart! I don’t want that to break! Dad… I will never allow your life to have any flaws! But you… but why did you surrender yourself in the end? Why?!”
Mu Enli sighed and said, “Silly boy, how can a person’s life be unblemished…? I am not as perfect as you imagined. But that’s all. I have also explained the box I brought and Qian Guoliang… Even if you don’t help me, Qian Guoliang won’t live long. Now that the box has been handed over, I admit that I killed him too. If you care about my kindness for raising you, treat it as repayment and keep quiet! I have nothing to say if you want me to die with grievances.”
Mu Enli placed the gun against his temple this time, “But, I really hope this matter is over… I’m tired, I don’t want to be subjected to endless interrogation, and I don’t want to face any more things. Qing Hai, think of me as a coward, just to fulfill my last wish.”
“Dad! Don’t be impulsive!” Mu Qinghai desperately got up from the ground and rushed madly towards Mu Enli.
*Boom-!*
“Dad!”
Mu Qinghai yelled frantically but stopped subconsciously.
He saw that Mu Enli’s handgun was knocked into the air and fell directly onto the deck, while Mu Enli grabbed his wrist in surprise, showing a trace of a daze.
“Captain Mu Enli, our interrogation is very civil.”
…
Seeing Ah Li walk out calmly, still holding the small black handgun in her left hand, he said calmly, “Especially for the elderly, the treatment will be better.”
“You… Are you following me?” Mu Qinghai said in a flustered manner.
Ah Li said blankly, “If I didn’t deliberately distract people, could you walk away so easily?”
“What do you want to do?” Mu Enli frowned at this moment, “You… heard everything just mow?”
Ah Li suddenly said, “Mu Enli, how about making a deal in private?”
“Tell me!”
“I can disregard everything just now.”
Ah Li said calmly, “My task is to find King and bring back the box. As for the death of a foreign agent – Qian Guoliang, no matter who kills him, it is a job well done for the country in a sense… I can contribute a little bit with the government review of Mu Qinghai, but you must cooperate with me, don’t think about dying, and restore the shipyard company’s plan thirty years ago. Also, a report in detail about the mysterious guys that looked for you, the more detailed, the better. Of course, this will be done in private, and we promise that it will not affect Mu Qinghai’s daily life.”
“I promise you.” Mu Enli nodded suddenly.
“Dad!” Mu Qinghai wanted to say something.
But Mu Enli shook his head, took a deep breath, and whispered, “Go back.”
…
“Sister Ah Li’s shooting skills are more accurate than Uncle Ma’s.”
Boss Luo took off his mask.
The ship’s horn deck of the Baiyu was empty.
“Master, I found it.”
Luo Qiu turned around and looked at You Ye… The maid grabbed a wet old leather suitcase with both hands and stood against the wind.
Boss Luo smiled slightly, walked closer, and stretched out his hand to wipe the box’s watermarks, “This is… the treasure.”
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