She pushed open the door, and Afanti was still waiting. She was silent for a moment, then asked him, "What happened?"
Afanti said, "Some fools. You don't need to worry, our island is heavily protected, and you won't be affected."
“Your island keeps having problems every now and then, how can I be at ease?” Xie Lanzhi said, “I will be meeting the island lord tomorrow.”
Strangely, Afanti did not refuse this time.
He said, "You will see him tomorrow."
Having said that, Afanti bowed and withdrew.
Xie Lanzhi couldn't help but frown; she had a feeling that things weren't so simple. Both the old man holding Xie Ying hostage and the owner of the Twin Islands were highly suspicious.
Her goal was always clear: to find Anshan. And Anshan was a businessman. Businessmen are driven by profit, and naturally, they are involved with money. Twin Islands just happened to be a place where countless illegal merchants stored their gold and silver treasures.
Is the owner behind it really just a small island lord?
Xie Lanzhi closed the door. She decided to take Xie Ying away from here. Meanwhile, several pairs of eyes had already gathered around the house, watching them intently.
The following day, news of Yang Gao's shooting death in Si Hong's room spread throughout Twin Island.
Twin Islands are a lawless place, so naturally no one will stand up for Yang Gao. Si Hong was arrested because he killed the island lord's sworn brother.
The merchants of Wulin Island were extremely dissatisfied with the second young master, whose whereabouts on Twin Islands had been exposed since he faked his death. They were now being watched by the authorities, forcing them to come and collect their money.
Si Hong was pinned to the ground, his face covered in blood, his lips white, and his whole body trembling. He was clearly in a daze.
When Si Hong was taken to Big Brother Island, he kept insisting that he hadn't killed anyone. He claimed that Yang Gao suddenly came to his room and shot him to death through the window.
There was no coroner on the island. No one could verify Si Hong's authenticity. The only option was to lock him up.
Si Hong has truly vanished from the face of the earth this time.
Xie Lanzhi sensed danger. Suddenly, many ships arrived at her island, and gunners carried box after box of goods onto the ships, which were then transported to the open sea.
Afanti approached her.
"The islander wants to see you."
Xie Lanzhi narrowed her eyes. She followed Afanti to find the island lord. She wanted to see just who this island lord was.
This time she finally arrived at the back island. The facilities there were clearly better than she had imagined. All the buildings were made of cement, with only the roofs covered in blue glazed tiles. It had a distinct blend of rural and Western styles. The tallest buildings were three stories high.
The handrail is an iron inclined ladder.
She went up to the second floor, and Afanti opened the door for her. She had just stepped inside, her feet sinking into the familiar concrete floor, when the door behind her suddenly slammed shut.
The light in the room suddenly dimmed, and on the right side of the room was a bookshelf with a door leading to the cellar in the middle. Suddenly, the cellar door was opened from the inside out, and a foot wearing a leather shoe stepped out first.
Then came a strong, overpowering scent of perfume. It was a bit pungent. Xie Lanzhi instinctively covered her nose, and soon a delicate fist punched her.
Chapter 185 She's been tricked??
Without hesitation, she grabbed the other person's fist, bent her arm, and pressed the other person's entire hand against the bookshelf.
Unexpectedly, the other person was not afraid of pain and even reached out with their other hand to touch her chest. Xie Lanzhi frowned and pushed the person away. Only then did she see that the other person was a tall woman with blonde hair, wearing a white veil hat, and her full figure made her dress bulge.
Seeing how skilled she was, the other person whistled, "Miss, you have impressive skills."
Xie Lanzhi was taken aback. Was it a foreign girl?
"Who are you?"
The blonde, wavy-haired foreign girl winked at her: "I am Marilyn, the Left Secretary of the Island Lord."
"I heard Manager Lan wants to withdraw all the savings from Twin Islands..." She stretched out a finger to poke her nose, but Xie Lanzhi slapped it away. Unexpectedly, the other woman pressed down on her and fell into her arms, like a leech. It gave Xie Lanzhi goosebumps all over.
She was about to push the other person away.
The iron gate was suddenly kicked open from the outside.
A loud bang. The person outside immediately rushed in. It was a man. An atmosphere of catching someone in the act of adultery spread.
Xie Lanzhi subconsciously turned her head, her gaze landing on the man who had entered.
From Ce's perspective, Xie Lanzhi's clinging to a foreign woman, judging by her attire, suggests she's from Anluo. He also thought of his master.
Ce looked at Xie Lanzhi with disdain.
Xie Lanzhi: "......"
When Marilyn saw that it was a handsome stranger, she whistled again, and soon ten gunmen at the door raised their guns from outside the window and doorway.
Faced with the dense array of gun barrels, Xie Lanzhi frowned and pushed the woman away. Marilyn readily stepped out of her embrace and gestured to the people outside. The gunners immediately closed the door.
“Then, Manager Lan, no, Miss Unknown,” Marilyn walked behind the wooden table, sat down, and crossed her legs, “can you tell me why you took all the savings?”
Xie Lanzhi asked, "Who is the island owner?"
"Show me your island lord."
"Island Lord?" Marilyn chuckled. "Twin Island just left the Central Plains. I'm the highest-ranking person here now."
Marilyn was curious about the woman wearing a mask.
Why did you take all the savings?
Xie Lanzhi said, "Because Twin Islands are not safe."
“Really? This young lady has also noticed some wolves and tigers around me.” Marilyn seemed to be quite knowledgeable about the Central Plains. She said, “And your reason doesn’t seem to be enough to take that million.”
Xie Lanzhi quickly replied, "Then I won't take it."
Marilyn's prepared lines instantly choked in her throat.
"Then what are you doing on the island?"
Xie Lanzhi ignored her. She said directly, "Tell your men to lay down their weapons."
Marilyn wouldn't act unless she had a substantial sum of money. Especially not from a major investor, even if it wasn't the one who had previously deposited money.
Before she could speak, Ce had already raised a gun and pressed it against her head.
The situation reversed instantly. Marilyn's face darkened as she watched this man from the Central Plains dare to casually pull out a flintlock pistol and press it against her head. But she wasn't afraid.
She calmly said to Xie Lanzhi, "It seems you want to ask something?"
"Where are you from?" Xie Lanzhi replied, "I'm here looking after someone's valuables."
Marilyn only answered one question: "Anluo. This is Anluo's first post in the Central Plains. The official letter signed by the King of Yue is here."
As she spoke, she pointed to the bookshelf. Xie Lanzhi went to the bookshelf herself and the first thing she saw was a self-portrait sketch of a man from the Central Plains. She didn't recognize the man, but his eyes were dark and deep, with a hint of malevolence.
Marilyn said, "Don't pry into other people's privacy."
“This is my boyfriend from Central China. I came to Central China to find him.”
Xie Lanzhi put the portrait back on the bookshelf. She found a letter of official documents, which indeed bore Zheng Fu's seal. It seemed this woman had no connection to the subsequent events.
Xie Lanzhi placed the letter of state inside again. She thought that since the emergence of Anluo Kingdom was inevitable, it was only a matter of time. Rather than being passive, it was better to take the initiative to make contact.
"The Yue Kingdom is already defunct in name only. Didn't you receive any intelligence about this?" Xie Lanzhi said, "You can send an envoy to the new Tianjing in the future. As long as Prince Fengning signs the official letter for you, the entire Southern Central Plains will recognize the legitimacy of the Anluo Kingdom here."
"It has more legitimacy than in a small country."
Upon hearing this, Marilyn's eyes lit up. However, she quickly put on a bitter face and said, "Unfortunately, I've lost a large sum of money from my motherland. I'll be punished when I go back."
property?
Xie Lanzhi said, "Losing money?"
Marilyn immediately covered her face, as if she were too ashamed to face anyone, and said, "My lover from the Central Plains was short of money. He said he would lend me the money for a month and pay me back immediately. But after he borrowed ten million, he abandoned me. Waaah."
"After that, he returned one million taels to me, and then stole another ten million taels from me. He hasn't contacted me since. He also said that he would only part from me when the mountains crumble and the heavens and earth unite. He wants me to wait for him for a year."
"But it's the second year now. He still hasn't paid me back. Don't you think he cheated me?"
After these words were spoken, the scene fell silent.
Xie Lanzhi: "......"
Policy: "......."
You've been scammed, girl! Logically, if someone is scammed out of ten million, you should be wary. How could someone else still manage to scam you out of ten million?
And that money, could it be that it was embezzled from those unscrupulous merchants in the Central Plains?
Xie Lanzhi looked at this person who seemed to be pretending to be weak while actually being strong. Although she was a bit love-struck, she was probably quite good at making money.
Marilyn suddenly lowered her hands: "How about this, you find my lover for me, and I'll let you take one million, plus an additional one million taels."
This number completely shocked Ce.
Xie Lanzhi was considering that she would have to deal with the Anluo people anyway. Suddenly, Marilyn stood up and moved closer to Xie Lanzhi, the gun still pointed at her. The gunners outside dared not move, fearing an accidental discharge that would kill their leader inside.
Marilyn sniffed at her, her face full of nostalgia: "Smells so familiar."
Xie Lanzhi: ?
“It smells like mint, it’s the same scent my lover smells when he sees me.” Marilyn took a long, greedy breath. “I can guarantee he’s been with you.”
Ce immediately gave Xie Lanzhi a disdainful look, as if he were looking at a scumbag woman about to commit adultery.
Xie Lanzhi's lips twitched. So why only treat her like this?
She immediately stepped back and replied, "I understand, I promise you, Miss Marilyn."
Marilyn was then satisfied and ordered the gunners outside to stop.
"Manager Lan, you can go back now. You can use my people as you please." Marilyn generously reminded her, "By the way, some scoundrels have appeared on my island. They're scoundrels from your Central Plains, using my Anluo power to establish a private treasury on another island that's no less powerful than mine."
"And the annual rent I receive is ten thousand taels of silver."
Upon hearing this, Xie Lanzhi immediately thought of Si Hong.
Wulin Island was still in chaos. Yang Gao's bandits had been forcibly brought under the island's control.
The old man led Xie Ying to the thatched hut where Si Hong was being held. The old man simply tossed a pill on the ground, and the gunner pounced on it like a cat seeing fish, grabbing the pill and stuffing it into his nose. He seemed to enjoy it.
Xie Ying's face turned pale as she realized it was the "Free and Easy Pill." The old man had deliberately played with it in front of her.
The old man opened the iron gate and saw Si Hong inside, rolling on the ground, tearing at his skin with his hands, looking extremely painful.
The old man immediately tossed him a pill, which Si Hong picked up shakily. He then skillfully took out his pipe and tinder from his pocket. It took him several puffs to recover.