#14 - Chapter 14 The Cruelty of the World

"......"

Hearing the question from Jin An, Huoshaoshan's entire body instantly stiffened.

As if reminded of something painful, he yanked off his hat and clutched it tightly in his hand.

Seeing the numb expressions on those people's faces, the shame on his face transformed into a raging fire.

"You're just a passerby, don't get involved in this."

He said in a hoarse voice, not wanting anyone to wade into this mess.

Jin An pointed towards the east: "I guess all the answers are over there."

He had been observing the expressions of the people around him and noticed that many of them were glancing towards the east, consciously or unconsciously.

"How do you know..."

Realizing he had misspoke, Huoshaoshan quickly stopped himself.

However, this sentence proved that Jin An's guess was correct.

"Now, are you willing to tell me what happened on this island?" Jin An asked.

A hint of hesitation flashed in Huoshaoshan's eyes. Too many people were involved on this island. This person's participation wouldn't change anything, but instead would bring danger to this kind-hearted person.

"Are you a man or not? Stop dawdling. I'm not even afraid, what are you imagining here?"

Jin An sighed. He thought Huoshaoshan was being fussy like an old woman when he was young, but he also felt that the boy was kind-hearted.

Huoshaoshan was really considering him as a merchant, afraid that he would provoke someone he couldn't afford to offend.

The problem was, he wasn't just a simple merchant. If he didn't need to secretly investigate and collect evidence, he would have already taken his knife and charged towards the east.

"Alright! Then I'll tell you everything I know!"

Since the person involved had said so, if he continued to hesitate, it would make him look like he was afraid.

He put his hat back on, using it to cover his face: "Follow me, it's in this area."

The problem here was actually very simple: collusion between officials and merchants, plus collusion between officials (Navy) and bandits (pirates).

This island was completely eroded by powerful forces, and ordinary people could only resign themselves to fate, with no chance of resistance.

Different forces had different demands on ordinary people. Some wanted power and achievements, some wanted money, and some chose to have it all.

The Navy, under the guise of pirates, burned, killed, and looted in the surrounding area, obtaining wealth.

Then they sent a team of Navy soldiers, under the banner of clearing out pirates, killing innocent people and claiming credit, in exchange for a future.

The pirates, with the protection of the Navy, forcibly abducted children and sold them at high prices, making money.

Merchants seized houses, traded arms, and marked up prices, making a fortune.

And the east side was the pirates' lair.

......

"Help!"

A heart-wrenching scream came from a distance.

The eyes of the people around flickered, and then, as if they remembered something, they all covered their ears with hatred, not wanting to hear the screams anymore.

Even though Huoshaoshan had seen this scene many times, his heart was still in pain. He couldn't blame these people who pretended to be deaf and mute.

Because they had all experienced this kind of thing, their families had all been taken away.

"Stay here, I'll be right back!"

Huoshaoshan drew his knife and said to Jin An next to him, then ran off.

The direction he went was the direction of the girl's cry for help.

Of course, Jin An wouldn't listen to Huoshaoshan's arrangement. With a leap, he disappeared from the spot.

At the girl's house, the wooden door was wide open.

A group of pirates surrounded the low hut, making disgusting lewd laughter.

"Boss, hurry up and finish, the brothers also want to get some action, hehehe..."

"Yeah, boss, this girl we found this time is pretty hot, I can hardly restrain myself."

The leader cursed with a smile: "Stop rushing me, all you know is to rush, why doesn't anyone rush to do real work?"

"You guys go out first, and after I'm done, you can come in."

As he said that, he drove the group of people out, closed the door, and regardless of the girl's cries in the house, slapped her face.

The girl was knocked down on the bed by the slap, her whole body was stunned, lying there blankly, even forgetting to cry, only tears kept flowing from the corners of her eyes.

"Don't know what's good for you!"

The man spat, ignoring the girl's reaction, and prepared to take off his clothes directly.

Knock knock knock!

A gentle knock sounded.

"Knocking my ass, I haven't even taken off my pants yet!"

The man cursed, thinking that the guys under him wanted to rush in first, ignoring it and wanting to continue doing his own thing.

Knock knock knock!

"Water meter check!"

A strange voice came to the man's ears.

"If you don't open the door, I'll have to go in myself."

Jin An pushed open the closed wooden door, and the first thing that caught his eye was a disgusting red color.

The room was dark without lights, the sun hadn't set yet, but the room was dimly lit. A girl was lying on the bed, and a naked man was looking at the doorway in surprise.

A man with blood was lying beside the bed, his body was still twitching, and he would die if he wasn't saved.

"You hurt someone?"

The elegant smile on his face instantly turned cold and piercing.

He had come as fast as he could, but he didn't expect to still be a little late.

"Huh? Why are these pirates lying on the ground?"

Huoshaoshan finally arrived outside the small house. The first thing he saw was the pirates lying outside the house. He was wondering, when Jin An's voice came from the house.

"Go find a doctor as fast as you can, and remember to be quick!"

Jin An directly left the pirate leader aside and went to stop the bleeding for the girl's father first.

The wound wasn't deep, and the blood loss wasn't too great, so he could be saved.

Huoshaoshan ran into the house and saw the mess all over the floor, and knew why he was asked to call a doctor.

"Roger, I'll go right away!"

He saw the figure of his superior in Jin An, no, this aura was many times stronger than his superior, making him choose to obey orders.

After Jin An finished the first aid, he took off his coat, put it on the girl, and helped her tidy up her messy hair: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

"Sir, I don't know what I did wrong to make you want to kill me, I will definitely change."

The pirate leader prostrated himself on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably.

The brothers outside the house died without making a sound, making him sweat profusely, thinking that he had offended this man in front of him at some point.

"No need to apologize to me. (Die for me)" Jin An glanced at him with disgust.

The pirate leader looked at Jin An in confusion, not knowing what he meant.

Jin An took out a Den Den Mushi and asked: "Did you come from the east?"

The man nodded: "Yes, we are all under the command of Lord Bellam, responsible for 'collecting' some supplies here."

"......"

Alas~ as expected, all crows are black.

Pirates don't produce anything, they are greedy for pleasure, their mouths are full of freedom, their mouths are full of affection, they hold banquets when they are happy, and they hold banquets when they are sad.

Most people only see the pirates' enjoyment and freedom, drifting on the sea, living a life of luxury.

But they don't know how many people are robbed by them, and how many people are ruined by them.

This is the sorrow of an era, and also the sorrow of the people living in this world.

...

Recording everything with the Den Den Mushi as evidence, Jin An kicked the man's head to pieces.