The Lost Tomb : The Southern Archives Mysteries

Chapter 23: Three People, One Bathtub

Zhang Haiyan wanted to carry the assassin's corpse, grab He Jianxi's hand, and go to the third-class cabin. 　　

Zhang Haiyan was very sensitive to people's microexpressions, so if he did something unexpected while in the same space as the hidden killers, then he should be able to find them. This was because sudden actions made people's minute emotions immediately appear on their faces.

He was thinking that the killers definitely wouldn't expect him to carry the body and show up alone in the third-class cabin after their failed assassination attempt.　　

But he couldn't carry the corpse himself. He had to hide among the crowd; otherwise, he would suffer a lot since the corpse would get in the way if there were any conflicts. Moreover, there would be blind spots if he carried the corpse on his back. Zhang Haiyan was coming up with specific strategies while also making up lies to tell He Jianxi.

"There are a lot of pirates here. We're going to the third-class cabin to expose them."

"But the police weren't on par with them at all. We should find more police officers right now." 

"It's too late. They'll get rid of the evidence soon. But don't worry, there are too many people in the third-class cabin, so they won't dare do anything. We can go to the third-class cabin and intercept them. That way, they won't have the opportunity to throw the evidence into the sea."

He Jianxi was noncommittal. He felt that what Zhang Haiyan said seemed to make sense, but he also felt like something was wrong. 　　

There were two parts to the third-class cabin area: one was the steerage [1] area and the other was the private cabin area. There were four people to a private cabin, while the steerage area was actually the cargo hold.

Many people slept on big beds in the cargo hold because it created more space to accommodate as many people as possible. 　　

When they first arrived at the steerage area, Zhang Haiyan looked around and saw that there were shoddily-dressed civilians and vendors. He pulled the corpse from his back and directly passed it to the startled He Jianxi.

As He Jianxi started to struggle, Zhang Haiyan held him still and said, "Now, just walk in. Don't worry. Those pirates don't know the real situation, so they won't act rashly. It'll keep them from destroying the evidence."　　

"Wh—why?"　　

"Because they don't know who you are. They'll definitely think this is a provocation. If I stay in the dark, they won't dare do anything for fear of being discovered. They'll only observe you." 

And I will observe them, Zhang Haiyan thought to himself. He patted He Jianxi's ass and then pinched it. Just as He Jianxi screamed and stepped forward to dodge, Zhang Haiyan moved to blend into the crowd.

Everyone in the steerage area heard He Jianxi's scream and looked at him. He stared back at them and then reflexively walked into the crowd in a daze. 　　

Someone immediately discovered that the person he was carrying was dead. Everyone exclaimed and started retreating when they saw that the corpse's throat had been crushed.

Zhang Haiyan's tongue pressed against the blades in his mouth as he hid amongst the crowd. He observed He Jianxi's surroundings with a swift gaze, scanning as many faces as possible.

The most conspicuous person in the crowd was Hudson. Not only was he an American with a long beard, but he was also a member of Miss Dong's weapons team. Zhang Haiyan had met him when he was on the ship before.