Chapter 598: Chapter 569: Target of Public Criticism

Xu Chunliang looked at Liu Haiyu and said with a smile, "You must have a grudge against this guy named Meng. Even if I didn’t show up, you would have ruined his plans, right?"

Liu Haiyu chuckled and said, "I don’t need that thing anyway, might as well make some extra cash."

Xu Chunliang nodded, "Deal!" Thirty thousand wasn’t really expensive. If Liu Haiyu could get the dragon bone for him, he was willing to pay that amount.

Liu Haiyu extended his hand for a handshake, whispering, "Take your time browsing, whether I succeed or not, return the same way in half an hour, the speedboat is waiting for you below."

Xu Chunliang asked, "Will you wait for me?"

Liu Haiyu nodded, "I’ll definitely wait for you."

Liu Haiyu rose and walked into the crowd. From a distance, Xu Chunliang watched Bai Mushan follow Shi Taiping into a container. There were over a dozen containers on the deck, some temporarily converted into offices, used for large and secretive deals.

Afraid of being recognized, Xu Chunliang didn’t dare to follow too closely. Today felt rushed. If Liu Haiyu had informed him earlier, he would have been better prepared.

Xu Chunliang saw a brass mirror at a stall. The vendor priced it at five thousand, and Xu Chunliang casually haggled one thousand, unexpectedly, the vendor agreed immediately.

Xu Chunliang realized he wasn’t good at bargaining. The Ghost Market’s rule: once you haggle and they accept, you must buy it. So Xu Chunliang had to buy the brass mirror and then pretended to pick up a samurai sword.

"Ten thousand, a genuine East Ocean samurai sword, a trophy captured from the Japanese by the Flying Tiger Team back in the day."

Xu Chunliang examined the sword, noting its decent steel quality, but he hadn’t brought that much money: "Too expensive!"

"Haggle, then!"

"One hundred!" The Grandmaster Xu intended to recoup the money he just got swindled for.

The vendor rolled his eyes, "Are you messing with me?"

Just then, a voice came from behind: "I’ll take that sword!"

Xu Chunliang turned to see a tall and hefty woman beside him. It was a familiar face, Black Swallow, Wu Yuanyi’s goddaughter. Xu Chunliang had clashed with her in Xia Pi. This woman had high combat power and was skilled with a compound bow, causing Xu Chunliang considerable trouble last time. He didn’t expect all the baddies he knew would gather on this ship.

Xu Chunliang sighed, recognizing bad luck. But wearing an old man’s hat, Black Swallow, eyes on the sword, didn’t seem to recognize him. Xu Chunliang turned towards other stalls. As he walked, he noticed from the corner of his eye, Black Swallow was paying for the sword.

Xu Chunliang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, realizing this cargo ship was a large-scale fencing operation. He planned to contact the police for a sweep someday.

Xu Chunliang didn’t know much about Liu Haiyu. While aware of his grudge with the Qiongmeng, it was unclear if the guy would succeed in stealing the dragon bone. He discreetly approached the container where Bai Mushan entered, seeing Liu Haiyu not far away talking to three men, pointing in his direction.

Xu Chunliang immediately sensed trouble. Sure enough, the men simultaneously looked at him and then approached briskly.

Xu Chunliang turned to leave; clearly, Liu Haiyu wasn’t trustworthy, having sold him out.

A loud voice came from behind: "You with the green hat, stop right there!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Xu Chunliang sighed inwardly, realizing Liu Haiyu had set him up today. On the entire ship, he was the only one wearing a green hat. In such a sudden situation, the best move was to take it off and blend into the crowd, but removing the hat meant revealing his true face; truly a tough choice.

Xu Chunliang rushed into the crowd as three tall men pursued him rapidly.

Xu Chunliang moved through the people, encountering a huge man over two meters tall coming at him, arms spread to grab him. Xu Chunliang wasn’t about to let that happen, lowering his body he cleverly maneuvered with the Spiritual Snake Eight Steps, slipping under the man’s armpit.

The giant missed his mark, turned, and saw Xu Chunliang already escaping to the cargo area. Several big men closed in, and Xu Chunliang had climbed onto a container. With his skills, avoiding these men wasn’t hard.

One of the big men managed to climb onto the container, but as he grabbed the edge, Xu Chunliang stomped on his hand. The guy screamed in pain and had to let go, jumping back down to the ground.

Liu Haiyu pointed at Xu Chunliang on the container, shouting, "Police, the guy with the green hat is an undercover cop!"

Now all attention was on Xu Chunliang. Knowing the dealings here were shady, people initially felt fear at the mention of police. However, seeing Xu Chunliang alone, they assumed he was an undercover digging into the Ghost Market.

Each one grabbed their weapons, closing in on Xu Chunliang, jeering, "Throw him in the lake to feed the turtles."

Xu Chunliang looked at the so-called outlaws, cursing in his heart. Who doesn’t know who will end up feeding the turtles in the lake? Do any of them have a brain? Is there an undercover that dresses like me? Must I wear such a conspicuous green hat?

Two people climbed onto the container beside them, and the distance between the two containers was less than two meters.

They jumped across the distance and landed on the container where Xu Chunliang was.

Xu Chunliang pointed into the distance at Liu Haiyu, who chuckled and gave him a fist salute. Xu Chunliang realized this guy was trying to attract everyone’s attention in this way, so it would be easier for him to act. This guy was definitely an old hand in Jianghu, but his tactics were too lowly and detrimental to others as well as himself.

An iron pipe swung towards Xu Chunliang’s head, seemingly about to hit, but Xu Chunliang’s figure vanished into thin air. As the two turned to find their target, Xu Chunliang grabbed their heads and slammed them together.

The two heads collided like bowling balls with a thud, causing stars to swirl in front of their eyes. It was fortunate that Xu Chunliang held back, otherwise, he would’ve smashed their heads to a pulp.

Having just knocked two down, more than a dozen others climbed onto the container. Xu Chunliang didn’t want to linger, and with an incredible leap, he jumped over a distance of more than three meters to land on the container on the north side.

Crowds immediately closed in, making Xu Chunliang the number one enemy on the ship.

Shi Taiping emerged from the container, watching Xu Chunliang, who was being attacked by the crowd. Shi Taiping didn’t know who this guy was, watching with an ugly expression.

Xu Chunliang saw Shi Taiping too and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Shi Taiping, come over here and help me!"

Everyone around looked at Shi Taiping; he was baffled and shouted at the top of his lungs, "I don’t even know you, he’s an undercover cop!"

Liu Haiyu had just said Xu Chunliang was a cop; now Shi Taiping said the same, and everyone was convinced. They all rushed to capture the undercover cop and throw him off the ship.

Xu Chunliang had already picked his target, Shi Taiping, and jumped off the container, kicking a big man into the air. Several hands reached out to grab Xu Chunliang, but he twisted his body and slipped through the cracks in the crowd like a slippery eel.

Shi Taiping initially encouraged everyone to attack Xu Chunliang, thinking he had become a turtle in a jar. But unexpectedly, this guy dodged left and right through the crowd, rapidly approaching him.

The closer Shi Taiping observed, the more he sensed something was wrong. Despite dozens or even hundreds teaming up to block the green-hatted guy, they couldn’t stop this guy’s progress. In a blink, the distance was halved, and Shi Taiping realized he was the target. No longer daring to stand and watch, he turned and fled.

At this moment, the generator on the ship malfunctioned, causing a sudden blackout.

Shi Taiping sprinted towards the front containers. He claimed to be a descendant of the Drum-top Flea Shi Qian, with climbing skills far from ordinary. Despite his short stature, his jumping ability far exceeded that of an ordinary person. With a running jump, he grabbed the edge of the container, used his strength, and climbed up.

Xu Chunliang also jumped, grabbing the edge of the container with his right hand and getting on top. Shi Taiping ran quickly across the top. Xu Chunliang raised the iron pipe he held and hurled it towards Shi Taiping’s back.

The iron pipe spun like a windmill, seemingly about to hit Shi Taiping’s back.

Suddenly, a whizzing sound pierced the air, and an arrow shot out from the lookout tower, striking the iron pipe with incredible speed and accuracy.

Clang!

The arrowhead clashed with the iron pipe, sending sparks flying.

Shi Taiping dodged the black rod, twisting his body 360 degrees in the air, both feet landing firmly on the deck.

The cargo ship remained powerless. Black Swallow at the lookout tower, holding a compound bow, drew another crossbow bolt aiming at Xu Chunliang below. The cold intent reached Xu Chunliang through the night wind. As everyone focused on surrounding Xu Chunliang, she climbed to the lookout tower, occupying the most advantageous position on the freighter, with an unobstructed view below, bringing almost everyone within her attack range.

The blackout plunged the inside of the container into darkness. Bai Mushan, who was engaged in a transaction, sensed something was wrong and perceived someone stealthily entering the container.

Bai Mushan swiftly responded with a palm strike, met by a matching strike from the darkness. Both bodies shuddered as another struck in the dark with a thud, the sound of a palm hitting a body.

A bone-chilling cold swept through the entire container like a tide. In the darkness, someone, forced by the sudden cold wave, sneezed twice in a row.

The power was finally restored. Both sides of the transaction looked to the long table, only to find that the eight dragon bones that had just been displayed were now gone.

Bai Mushan’s face turned livid. Among the missing dragon bones were four he had brought. Who dared to steal the dragon bones right under their noses?

Black Swallow took aim again at Xu Chunliang’s chest, releasing another arrow. Xu Chunliang simultaneously activated his skills, effectively dodging Black Swallow’s shot.