Upon receiving the news, Lu Xunguang immediately put aside his trivial matters and rushed straight to the beach.
The sea was calm now. All the good swimmers in the fishing village had gathered here. However, not only could they not find Granny Sun and Mianmian, but they couldn't even see a single piece of clothing.
Zhang Lu and a few others gathered together and speculated that perhaps an undercurrent had swept the two into a whirlpool. Since the fishing boats were still in the village, they might as well search in deeper waters.
They decided to act right away. After informing Li Ying, they set sail separately.
Li Ying thanked them one by one, but there was still a hint of doubt in her heart.
The sea was so calm that it was like a stagnant pool. It was really hard to imagine that just a while ago, such terrifying waves had risen.
She had a faint suspicion. Just as she was hesitating, Lu Xunguang walked onto the shore, soaked all over.
He opened his hand, and in his palm were a few fragments of coconut shells.
"A Ying, it's the sea pirates," he said firmly.
How could Li Ying not recognize that these coconut - shell fragments were exactly the "coconut - shell bombs" she had made.
When Su Buchi was captured, the sea pirates had confiscated some smoke bombs that hadn't been set off yet. But later, since she had successfully captured all these water bandits, she had no longer bothered about this matter.
Li Ying felt a rush of blood to her head.
Those sea pirates were full of sins. They should have been imprisoned by Magistrate Lin long ago, but now they had come back unscathed?
She only thought for a moment and then understood clearly.
Although Lian Ji had colluded with Magistrate Lin and managed to spare the sea pirates from prison, when had these desperadoes ever suffered such a defeat? After escaping, the first thing they did was to come to the fishing village for revenge. Or perhaps, they had received some secret instructions from Lian Ji.
"Where is Lian Ji now?" She said with a cold face, no longer hiding her anger. Lu Xunguang followed closely behind, ready to go with her.
"Please calm down, Young Master. The old master's health has been deteriorating recently. The madam is very worried. She goes to the Buddhist hall every day to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddha with Mrs. Lin, praying for the old master's health. She has also told us not to disturb her easily..." A young servant replied carefully.
Li Ying frowned.
"Brother Lu, you mustn't act rashly."
Since Lian Ji had been deprived of the power to manage the family, she had been submissive and humble, showing a most obedient and deferential attitude.
There was no definite evidence to prove that Lian Ji had sent someone to kidnap Granny Sun. Lu Xunguang had just returned to the Lu family, and hundreds of eyes were on him. If he made a single mistake, he might be caught. Moreover, slandering his step - mother was such an unfilial act.
Lu Xunguang knew the stakes, but he just frowned indifferently.
"A Ying, everything I've built is for you. If I can't even guarantee the safety of you and your daughter, what's the point?"
He was about to say more when suddenly Zhang Lu and the others rushed back, their faces full of panic.
"A Ying, Brother Lu, something's wrong!"
"Our boats... were punctured. There were also many words of revenge written on them!"
Several boatmen were working together to pull the damaged boats onto the shore, looking worried.
Their fishing boats, the means of their livelihood, had been destroyed. They didn't know how much time it would take to repair them. What could they do?
Li Ying looked at the words like "an eye for an eye" and "raze the fishing village to the ground" written in shocking animal blood on the boats. The stone in her heart finally fell to the ground.
It was true that these sea pirates wanted revenge, but they had deliberately punctured all the boats in the fishing village, which clearly meant they didn't want to be traced. That is to say, Granny Sun and Mianmian were still alive.
"Brother Lu, I already know where to confront Lian Ji. With the villagers going with me, there are so many of us. I'm sure Lian Ji won't dare to act rashly."
"I have another urgent matter for you. Fishing in the sea can wait, but the delivery of goods can't be delayed."
Many villages had ordered new products from the canning factory. The Bobo Chicken and hot - pot base also needed to be delivered on time.
In business, the most important thing was "trustworthiness". The economic development of the fishing village was on the rise. If they lost the trust of their customers because of this accident, it would be bad.
"Brother Lu, could I borrow the convoy of Ping'an Bank to deliver goods for the fishing village? I will pay all the expenses one by one."
Lu Xunguang seemed a bit surprised by her words and couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
"A Ying, there's no need to be so formal between us. However, in the heyday of Ping'an Bank, the transportation of goods relied entirely on the leaders of the horse - caravan. Now that Zheng Ji has betrayed us, there's no longer any horse - caravan to rely on."
Hearing this, Li Ying also frowned.
It was A Man who pushed through the crowd and stood in front of her nonchalantly.
"Sister, you just go and look for Granny Sun and Mianmian with confidence! Isn't it just horses? Leave it to me!"
A Man patted her chest and promised firmly. Li Ying was worried about the old and the young at home. Although she didn't know what idea A Man had, thinking that she was a Hu girl and had dealt with cattle, sheep, and horses since childhood, maybe she could really come up with a way. So she didn't ask further and just nodded in agreement.
The three of them split up. A Man took Lu Xunguang and rushed straight to the grassland north of the town, while Li Ying calmly led a group of fishing girls to the Buddhist hall.
"Boss Li, my madam has repeatedly instructed that during the period of Buddhist worship, no outsiders are allowed to disturb!" The young servant looked at Li Ying and the fishing girls behind her in a difficult situation and firmly guarded the door of the Buddhist hall, not willing to give way.
Looking at his appearance, Li Ying was even more certain.
The villagers had heard that Granny Sun and her granddaughter might have been kidnapped by the sea pirates and secretly imprisoned. They were so eager to find them that they almost turned the whole town upside down but still found nothing.
They really didn't want to disturb the clean and quiet place of the Buddhist temple. After careful calculation, this was the last place where the hostages could be hidden and had not been searched by them.
"I don't want to disturb anyone's cultivation. I'm really at the end of my rope. If Madam Lian Ji is really kind - hearted, please don't decline. Let us go in and look for them!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she slightly waved her hand, and the fishing girls behind her, who had been unable to hold back for a long time, rushed forward.
The young servant wanted to stop them but was pushed aside and staggered.
"How dare you! Li Ying, you don't even put me, Lian Ji, in your eyes. Do you think even Mrs. Lin can't stop you from running wild?" Lian Ji walked out of the Buddhist hall slowly, holding a string of floating - flower bodhi prayer beads. Behind her, Mrs. Lin, the wife of Magistrate Lin, looked at her unhappily with a hostile expression.