Chapter 24: Plunging into the Sea
As he stepped outside, Chi Xiasheng smelled the salty air of the sea breeze.
The sound of waves crashing against rocks came from not far away, and occasionally, a seabird would circle and cry out in the night sky.
Although he was still blindfolded, Chi Xiasheng could roughly tell that they were near the coast.
Hai City was a port city with a rapidly developing foreign trade, and overseas commerce accounted for about thirty percent of the city’s entire business. However, in the course of its development, some ports that were too remote or poorly located had been gradually forgotten and abandoned. These abandoned ports had witnessed the entire rise and fall of Hai City, only to fade away in obscurity after its prosperity.
But now, this small port was being used by these kidnappers to hide and evade capture.
The damp air brushed against Chi Xiasheng’s face, slightly moistening his dry skin. But this misty vapor was too little to alleviate the deep dehydration in his body. Instead, it intensified his craving for water, and the restless feeling in his body became more pronounced.
The skin on his calves, which used to just crack, now had the condition spreading upwards, and even his arms began to feel dry and cracked. The exposed skin on his arms, touched by the slightly salty water vapor, was like a dry stream bed, the cracked lines unsatisfied, desperately craving more.
When they reached the port and Chi Xiasheng was being pushed onto the boat, his jeans were accidentally torn by a sharp, rusty piece of iron on the side of the boat.
The sound of the fabric tearing was not obvious amidst the bustling footsteps of everyone boarding, but Chi Xiasheng felt a slight pain in his calf, though it didn’t seem to be bleeding.
Under the cover of night, no one saw that what was revealed beneath Chi Xiasheng’s torn jeans was not his usual fair skin, but light-blue scales that shimmered like jewels.
It was only after everyone was on board that Chi Xiasheng’s black blindfold was finally removed, and he could see where they were.
The kidnappers were very clever. After the Su family had prepared the ship, they had demanded it be left at a fixed location. Their own men had gone to inspect it and, after confirming there were no tracking devices, they had boarded with the two hostages and left.
By now, they had already sailed some distance from the shore. The brown land was just a black silhouette under the cover of night.
A faint light began to rise from the east over the sea, but it was still too weak to illuminate even the sea’s surface.
So it’s already the dawn of the next day, Chi Xiasheng thought, squinting slightly. He turned his head to look at the vast sea.
For some reason, even though he was still tied up, he didn’t feel particularly scared. In fact, looking at the boundless ocean, he had the strange thought that if he jumped in, the restless, thirsty feeling in his body would immediately be soothed.
Chi Xiasheng thought he was probably just too uncomfortable. The feeling of dryness inside him was already giving him a headache, as if his head was about to split open.
After preparing the ship and the cash, the Su family had followed in another boat, staying hidden in the dark.
Although the kidnappers had said they would release the two hostages on a lifeboat after they had safely sailed away, the Su family didn’t believe a word from such vicious criminals and didn’t dare to let them out of their sight.
On the kidnappers’ boat, they all breathed a sigh of relief as the land gradually receded. Two of them were even about to celebrate early but were punched in the head by their leader.
“What are you celebrating for?! We’ve only just left. Who knows if someone is still secretly following us!”
The other kidnappers didn’t dare to speak, shrinking their necks, realizing it wasn’t time to celebrate yet.
“Boss, if we escape successfully, are we really going to release these two?”
The leader clicked his tongue. “What else can we do? We want money! If we really kill the hostages, even if we escape abroad, with the power of a family like that, they’ll hunt us down and kill us sooner or later.”
It was better to take the money and run. That was the smartest move in their line of work. After all, for those rich people, losing some money might not be a big deal; they could just earn more. But if their child was killed, some of them would go crazy and hunt you to the ends of the earth! They had no power overseas, so killing the hostages was the most self-defeating option.
Hearing their words, Su Chimian and Chi Xiasheng, who were being watched on the deck, both breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed these kidnappers were only after money, so their safety should be guaranteed.
But before they could take another breath, Chi Xiasheng saw the “security guard” who had knocked him out rush up, panting heavily.
“Boss, there’s not enough money!”
At these words, everyone on the boat’s heart leaped into their throats.
Chi Xiasheng’s heart also clenched. His gaze shifted from the kidnappers to the dark surface of the sea, and he silently closed his eyes.
Su Chimian subtly glanced at Chi Xiasheng before turning his attention to the men opposite them.
“It’s short? How much is it short by?!”
The leader’s voice was extremely rough. He was a large, burly man, and the flesh on his face trembled, making Chi Xiasheng’s heart sink.
“Probably short by half.”
After all, not much time had passed, and the Su family had cunningly scattered all the cash in a room in the lower cabin. The two kidnappers who had gone to count the money were young. The moment they saw so much money, their eyes had glazed over. How could they have told that half of it was missing? It was the first time in their lives they had ever seen over a hundred million. Whether it was one hundred million or two hundred million, it was impossible to tell just by looking.
At first, they had been immersed in the pleasure of counting money, but it wasn’t in stacks; it was all loose bills. After counting for over ten minutes, their hands were sore and their eyes were tired. One of them, who was a bit quicker on the uptake, looked at the scattered money and, with a roll of his eyes, felt that something was wrong.
“This money is too scattered. Why didn’t they just bundle it in stacks of ten thousand for us?”
Both of them sensed something was off, so they came up with a way to weigh it. They put all the money in a sack and estimated its total weight. Since they had no weighing equipment, they estimated it by the maximum weight they could lift. After a lot of effort, they finally came up with a rough estimate. One hundred million in cash should weigh at least a ton, so two hundred million would be two tons. And the weight of the money in the cabin, though just an estimate, was far from two tons.
Hearing this, the leader slammed his fist against the ship’s railing. The railing was even slightly dented by his punch.
“Damn it! Rich people really are cunning. If it weren’t for your smarts, we would have been fooled!”
By now, half an hour had passed since they set off. The ship had sailed further and further away, and the land had shrunk to a small black dot, almost out of sight.
“That damn Su family is so treacherous! I was thinking of releasing the two of them in a few minutes, but now I don’t want to!”
The leader had a fiery temper. He was crude but also sharp. Knowing that the Su family was definitely still following them, he took out the phone he had used for the initial conversation and shouted at the other end.
“Hello, Su Chengjian, you son of a b*tch! You dare to fool me! Don’t you want your sons to live?!”
The moment Su Chengjian received the call, he knew the kidnappers had probably discovered the money was short. As expected, his face turned ashen. He had indeed wanted to use this little trick to get away with it, or at least to buy some time.
“I didn’t fool you. I wasn’t sure if you would release them. What if I gave you the money and you killed them? Wouldn’t I lose both my sons and my money?”
It had to be said that Su Chengjian was indeed a man who had seen it all. Even now, he showed no signs of guilt, and his words managed to bluff the kidnapper leader.
“Fine, then tell me, where’s the other half of the money?!” The kidnapper leader cursed a few more times but still said patiently, “Give me the money now, or don’t blame me for really throwing your two sons into the sea to feed the sharks!”
Hearing this, Mother Su, who was standing nearby, felt her head spin and her blood pressure rise. She almost fainted. But she dug her nails into her palm, barely managing to stay calm.
Su Jinfeng was also extremely anxious, but he was still a hot-headed young man and too flustered to handle the situation. He almost blurted out, “Release my brother now!”
Su Chengjian remained calm for a few seconds before answering, “The other half of the money is on my ship. I can’t trust you, just as you don’t trust me. You release the hostages first, and then I’ll give you the rest of the money.”
The kidnappers were not so easily fooled. They let out a cold laugh. “I don’t believe you’ll give me the money after I release them. People like you are the most treacherous and cunning. I can only release one of them! You’ll only get the other one after you give me the rest of the money!”
The kidnapper was so frustrated by Su Chengjian’s trick that he wanted to kill both Chi Xiasheng and Su Chimian to vent his anger! Releasing one of them was already him swallowing his pride for the sake of the other hundred million.
The kidnapper leader looked at the two people huddled on the deck and sneered. You dare to play me, I won’t let you off easy either!
“I’ll give you two minutes. Think about which one you want to release. The offer expires!”
Throwing this problem to Su Chengjian, the kidnapper leader cast a sinister glance at the two people on the deck.
“I’ve given your dad a chance. He gave me half the money, and I’m a man of my word, so I’ll release one! Haha, now let’s see who your dad chooses. If that bastard Su Chengjian doesn’t give me the money, don’t blame me for being ruthless and blowing the other one’s brains out!”
The kidnapper leader even had time to enjoy the show. After all, he would love nothing more than to cause trouble for the Su family!
Hearing the kidnapper’s words, Chi Xiasheng’s heart completely lost all hope. He knew it wouldn’t be so smooth. In Su Chengjian’s heart, he was not worth that much money.
On the other hand, Su Chimian was slightly relieved. He had no doubt about his parents’ love for him and was certain he would be the one to be rescued first. As for whether Chi Xiasheng could be rescued later… Su Chimian thought it would be better if he couldn’t! Chi Xiasheng’s existence was a constant reminder that he was the fake young master who had been switched at birth, not the biological son of his parents!
As the two of them were lost in their own thoughts, a message finally came from the other end of the line.
The kidnapper looked at the message and pointed at the two of them. “Which one of you is Su Chimian?”
Another one of the kidnappers recognized Su Chimian and dragged him over. “The other side wants to exchange for him. Go and throw him on the lifeboat.”
Knowing he was safe, the gloom in Su Chimian’s eyes was instantly replaced by a bright light. He almost ran as he followed the kidnapper down to the cabin and onto the lifeboat.
The moment he left the cabin, Su Chimian collapsed onto the lifeboat and let out a huge sigh of relief.
Then, the Su family’s ship came over and quickly rescued him.
Seeing her son, who had been tormented to the point of exhaustion, Mother Su’s tears almost streamed down her face. But she could only hold them back, not daring to show too much. After all, Chi Xiasheng was her “biological son.” She absolutely could not let Su Chengjian suspect anything.
“Mom!”
Su Chimian didn’t care about any of that. He threw himself into his mother’s arms and cried his heart out. “Thank you, Mom. If you hadn’t saved me, I really would have been thrown overboard. Those people were so scary.”
Su Chimian’s face was streaked with tears, which he couldn’t stop. Immersed in the joy of being rescued, he couldn’t control his emotional outburst.
Mother Su couldn’t hold him and cry with him. She could only nod with tears in her eyes. “Don’t thank me. It was your dad’s decision.”
Although Mother Su was desperate to save Su Chimian, the only one in the family who had the real power to make decisions in such a major matter was Su Chengjian.
In the two minutes he had to choose who to save, there was no hesitation in Su Chengjian’s eyes, only guilt towards her and Chi Xiasheng.
Mother Su had seen that look in his eyes too many times. She instantly understood what he meant. She didn’t know what she was hoping for. The eyes that were filled with tears were also filled with an undisguised coldness and numbness.
As expected, in the face of a life-and-death choice, Su Chengjian was still so unreliable!
Mother Su sneered inwardly, but on the surface, she still gave him a sad look and then gently nodded in support of his decision.
They had been married for over twenty years, and Mother Su had never gone against any of his decisions, always maintaining a gentle and generous image. But Su Chengjian’s attitude was still a thorn in her heart. This thorn had been planted twenty years ago, and now it was twisting in her flesh again, making her heart even more riddled with wounds and dripping with blood.
She knew that from the moment they had given up Chi Xiasheng, she had been given up along with him.
Su Chengjian hadn’t come in yet. He was still on the deck, negotiating with the kidnappers on the phone.
If he could, he would naturally want to save Chi Xiasheng as well, but reality did not allow it.
Su Jinfeng stood by, his mind completely numb. He was naturally biased towards Su Chimian, but he also didn’t want to see Chi Xiasheng threatened and killed like this. But if he had to make the decision, perhaps…
Su Jinfeng suddenly clenched his fists. He looked at his father and suddenly wanted to ask him, what if it had been him and Little Mian who were kidnapped? Would he still have unconditionally chosen Su Chimian? Or would he have chosen to give less money and give up on him to prevent the Su family from falling into a business crisis?
Father Su’s decisiveness made Su Jinfeng feel a little uncomfortable. No matter how unlikable Chi Xiasheng’s personality was, he was still his biological son.
Su Jinfeng, who had not yet completely inherited his father’s selfish nature, looked lost.
As Su Chengjian was on the phone, the moment Su Chimian was rescued, the anxiety in his heart had gradually calmed down. All that was left was to do his best and leave the rest to fate. He had tried his best to stall the kidnappers with his words, but even if he could delay them for a while, he couldn’t change the fact that he wouldn’t give them the other hundred million.
Su Chimian, who had temporarily recovered, was still a little dazed. He had just walked back from the brink of death, and his hands were still trembling, but he still followed his mother’s instructions and handed his father a glass of water.
“Dad, it’s okay. You don’t have to blame yourself.”
Isn’t it good that there’s no money? Su Chimian thought with trembling lips. Just let Chi Xiasheng be buried at the bottom of the sea!
Su Chengjian hadn’t slept for a day and a night and was exhausted. He could only rub the bridge of his nose to keep himself awake.
From the moment he had chosen to save Su Chimian, he had essentially given up on Chi Xiasheng. He would not waste this money on the kidnappers for nothing. After all, it wasn’t just a matter of a hundred million; it also involved the company’s cash flow.
That child… Su Chengjian sighed deeply. He really owed him too much. If there was a next life, and they were father and son again, he would definitely do his best to compensate him. At least, he wouldn’t let him wander for so many years, only to be abandoned by his own biological father upon his return.
Just as Su Chengjian was about to turn the ship around and leave, he saw another ship approaching at high speed. It passed them directly and headed towards the kidnappers’ ship.
“That looks like CEO Sheng’s ship?”
Su Jinfeng had seen Sheng Sheng once or twice. When he saw the person standing on the deck, he was surprised for a moment and then recognized him.
“What is Sheng Sheng doing here?”
This sea area was too remote and was almost out of bounds. And Sheng Sheng’s hurried appearance didn’t look like he was out for a joyride on a ship.
Just as Su Chengjian was wondering, Sheng Sheng’s call came through directly. “CEO Su, call the kidnappers. I’ll give them the money. Tell them to release the hostage immediately.”
Sheng Sheng had already found the kidnappers’ number, but they were very cunning, not answering calls from strangers and constantly changing their number, as slippery as an eel.
With no other choice, Sheng Sheng had called Su Chengjian directly, asking him to contact the kidnappers.
Hearing Sheng Sheng’s words, Su Chengjian was so shocked that his mind went blank for a moment. He took a couple of seconds to recover before speaking. “CEO Sheng? What do you mean?”
“What do I mean?! I don’t want to waste time explaining to you. Call them now. I’m on my way!”
Sheng Sheng was a step behind Su Chengjian. By the time he arrived, he saw that Su Chengjian had already rescued Su Chimian.
When he learned that Su Chengjian hadn’t not given the money, but had only given half, Sheng Sheng was truly annoyed.
Chi Xiasheng was Su Chengjian’s biological son. Sheng Sheng felt that no matter what, he shouldn’t have given up on Chi Xiasheng for such a small amount of money. The kidnappers’ motive was clear: they wanted money. As long as the money was there, the person would be fine.
Last night, Sheng Sheng had acted on his intuition, feeling that having the money might be useful. But he never expected it to really be useful, and in such a disgusting way.
He himself was a demon. He really couldn’t understand how Su Chengjian could be so biased and even shortchange the kidnappers at a time of life and death!
If it weren’t for his internal injuries not having recovered, he would have wanted to slap open Su Chengjian’s head and see what was inside!
He’s even more cold-blooded than I am!
As expected, humans were much more heartless than demons, Sheng Sheng couldn’t help but snort coldly.
Hearing him, Su Chengjian decided not to probe into the relationship between Sheng Sheng and Chi Xiasheng for now and quickly dialed the kidnappers’ number.
“Hello, we’re already on our way to deliver the money! Don’t be rash…”
The kidnappers on the deck were already impatient. Another one with sharp eyes, holding a pair of binoculars, saw Su Chengjian’s ship starting to turn around and quickly reported it to the leader.
The leader, hearing Su Chengjian’s nonsense on the phone about coming to deliver the money, was so angry he almost smashed the phone.
“Deliver my ass! Your ship is already running away, and you want me to believe you!”
Being tricked again and again, the kidnapper leader wished he could just fly over and dunk Su Chengjian in the sea!
Only then did Su Chengjian realize that the captain had followed his orders and was already heading back.
A cold sweat dripped down his forehead, and he quickly explained to the other party, “Another ship is coming over, really. We’re… we’re just temporarily heading back. The ship with the money is almost there…”
Su Chengjian was feeling guilty and couldn’t explain himself properly. To the kidnappers, it all sounded like excuses.
“Keep making things up! I can’t believe I still trusted you! Just wait to collect your son’s body!” The kidnapper continued viciously, “Su Chengjian, remember this, you are the one who killed your own son!”
With that, the kidnapper didn’t hang up. He directly had another person bring Chi Xiasheng over.
“Come on, watch your son die with your own eyes!”
The kidnapper’s temper, after being played by Su Chengjian, completely exploded. He started a video call and pointed a gun at Chi Xiasheng’s head. “Don’t blame me. If you want revenge in the afterlife, go find your own father!”
After a loud “bang,” the sea fell silent for a few seconds.
The cry of a seagull broke the night sky, along with the sunrise in the east, awakening the sparkling sea.
After the gunshot, there was the sound of a splash into the sea.
On the other side, watching the sea stained red with blood in the video, no matter how strong Su Chengjian’s psyche was, he couldn’t help but stumble back a few steps, barely steadying himself by holding onto the railing.
Su Chimian, on the other hand, fainted from disgust. Mother Su supported the collapsing Su Chimian and took a deep look at the sea in that direction. She knelt on the ground, her expression numb.
Su Jinfeng was completely stunned. But he was also the quickest to react, shouting, “Rescue him! What if he’s not dead yet? If we go now, we might still be able to find him!”
After all, a living person had been shot in front of his eyes. It was impossible for Su Jinfeng’s mind not to collapse. Moreover, this person was his own blood-related brother.
It seemed that only then did Su Chengjian react. He immediately dispatched the search and rescue team that had been prepared on the ship to go and rescue him.
On the other side, Sheng Sheng, who was already approaching the kidnappers’ ship, heard the gunshot from that ship. His pupils instantly turned into vertical slits, and his fingers deformed the railing he was gripping.
Then he saw a person fall from that ship, straight into the sea.
A person didn’t weigh much. At least in Sheng Sheng’s eyes, when Chi Xiasheng fell, he didn’t even make a splash, just silently being swallowed by the sea.
Then, blood bloomed like a flower on the surface of the sea, a vibrant red, quickly dyeing a large area of the seawater.
In his desperation, Sheng Sheng directly hid his aura and transferred half of his Demon Core into the other’s body.
A ball of light, invisible to the human eye, entered the sea. Sheng Sheng’s body also became extremely weak. His lips instantly turned white, and his tall body took two steps back, leaning against a pillar for support.
Sheng Sheng’s voice was weak and low, almost inaudible as he said to Secretary Liu, “Go and save him.”
The Demon Core had a different meaning for Sheng Sheng. Moreover, he was already injured. Losing half of his Demon Core was almost equivalent to being half-crippled.
Now, let alone finding someone himself, he was relying on his willpower just to stand steadily. Even speaking took all his strength.
Secretary Liu naturally saw the faint ball of the Demon Core enter the sea. The shock he felt was no less than when he had first transformed. He was stunned for a long time before he reacted.
That was a Demon Core!
With Sheng Sheng’s power, that Demon Core was as precious as a dragon’s gall or a phoenix’s marrow. If those other demons who had gained intelligence knew that he had so generously given half of it to a human, they would probably go crazy!
And Sheng Sheng, for some unknown reason, was also injured and couldn’t easily use his magic. To give away half of his Demon Core under such circumstances, this had to be true love, right?!
Secretary Liu was dazed, thinking that his previous guess about a little lover was wrong. This was a human-demon romance even more steadfast than that of the White Snake and Xu Xian!
But Secretary Liu was loyal and capable. Although he was extremely surprised, he still managed to support Sheng Sheng in time and called for a search and rescue team.
Both sides took action, quickly starting to search for Chi Xiasheng.
Sheng Sheng not only dispatched a search and rescue team but also directly spent a lot of money to send people to hunt down the kidnappers.
The sky was already bright, the red sun hanging in the sky, and then it sank into the sea in the west.
The kidnappers were arrested that night, thanks to the police’s investigation and Sheng Sheng’s generous funding. Not a single one escaped.
The sea was different from the land; it was always dangerous.
A hurricane blew up in that sea area that night, and the waves constantly battered the ship, forcing Sheng Sheng’s ship to retreat. His body also couldn’t withstand such high-intensity operation and he collapsed weakly on the ship, being taken back by Secretary Liu.
The Su family had already retreated back to land during the day. After resting at home, they continued to send people to follow up on the search. Unfortunately, they encountered a small tsunami that night and found nothing.
By the time the sea was calm again, it was already three days later.
Su Chengjian had also recovered from the events of that day. He frowned slightly and asked Su Jinfeng, “Little Jin, do you know what the relationship is between Xiaosheng and CEO Sheng?”
Su Jinfeng looked at the elaborately arranged dishes on the table. For some reason, his stomach felt sick, and he couldn’t eat. Hearing his father’s words, he shook his head silently. “I don’t know, but when Xiaosheng was being suppressed before, it was Shengshi Group that stood up for him.”
Su Chimian, who was drinking a fragrant and tender pigeon soup, lifted his eyes slightly, but then quickly lowered his head and continued to drink his soup.
In his opinion, even if Chi Xiasheng had a relationship with Sheng Sheng, so what? After all, the person had already fallen into the sea, and his body was nowhere to be found. Even if Sheng Sheng liked him, could he remain chaste for him for the rest of his life?
Su Chengjian sighed, his thoughts coinciding with Su Chimian’s. At this moment, he was thinking that if Chi Xiasheng hadn’t had an accident, perhaps he could have established a good relationship with Sheng Sheng through him, and they could have had smooth business dealings with Shengshi Group.
Unfortunately…
The Su family sent people to search for a week, but eventually, due to various reasons, they stopped the search.
On the other hand, Sheng Sheng was still sending people to the sea, as if he was determined to find the body even in death.
Many people in the industry already knew about the Su family’s son being kidnapped. After all, such a big event couldn’t be hidden. After learning that Su Chengjian had only saved his younger son, many people were disgusted, but they had to admit that he had indeed stabilized the Su family and had not allowed any gaps in their funds. The Su Group was still operating well.
Many people secretly marveled at Su Chengjian’s achievements. With his ruthless nature, he could even abandon his own son. What else could he not do?
Many people were also moved by Sheng Sheng’s devotion. After all, it had been almost a month, and the Su family had already given up, but Sheng Sheng still hadn’t, even going to the sea himself from time to time.
With only half of his Demon Core left, Sheng Sheng’s recovery speed was much slower. In the first month, he couldn’t maintain his human form at all and could only transform back into his cub form to recuperate.
When he had thrown out that half of his Demon Core, it had been a desperate choice. After all, Chi Xiasheng had saved him twice, and one of those times had been pulling him back from the brink of death. Although he couldn’t figure out why the final, most powerful heavenly thunder hadn’t struck them both dead that day, it was a fact that Chi Xiasheng had risked his life to save him.
Sheng Sheng was not a good person, but he knew how to repay kindness, especially since this kind of favor was entangled with karma. He naturally had to repay it.
And privately, Sheng Sheng was unwilling to believe that Chi Xiasheng, who had once rubbed his head with such gentle hands, was just dead.
But after the Demon Core entered Chi Xiasheng’s body, it was like a kite with a broken string, completely unresponsive.
Sheng Sheng felt that this shouldn’t be happening, but he could only patiently and slowly search.
It wasn’t until a month later, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, when a huge moon hung in the sky, bathing the entire city in bright light, that Sheng Sheng, while recovering from his internal injuries, suddenly felt a movement from the other half of his Demon Core.
He opened his eyes, a hint of surprise in them, and wanted to use the Demon Core’s guidance to confirm Chi Xiasheng’s location.
Logically, the Demon Core was his own thing. As long as he wanted, he could control it even from the ends of the earth. But at this moment, the Demon Core’s reaction was extremely strange. Not only was it unwilling to be controlled, but it was also trying to break away from him, telling him to get lost. It was much like a rebellious son who had found a partner and abandoned his old father.
Sheng Sheng was startled by this thought in his mind. Then he thought it was impossible, and then he tried again…
It was still the same attitude of telling him to get lost.
Sheng Sheng: …
Frowning deeply, Sheng Sheng looked at the full moon in the sky and, in his original form, went to the seaside again to see if he could find anything.
