Chapter 638: Arrived at Yunzhou Island

"So this is the reason for my exposure?"

Fat Aunt couldn’t believe this was happening.

"It’s not just that."

Ji Youzhi sneered and continued, "Do you remember when we were interrogating those government agents, you said something."

"What did I say?" Fat Aunt asked.

"You said, we just throw people into the cabin and don’t care about them. If it weren’t for your experience watching over them, they would probably suffer a lot."

"That... That’s what I said, but why would you determine that I have a problem just because of this sentence?"

"It’s because of this sentence. It may seem casual, but it actually reveals that you often imprisoned people in the cabin when sailing."

"You... you just base it on this..."

Fat Aunt’s expression darkened.

At this moment, she started to understand the reasons.

"Indeed, you often keep people in the bottom of the cabin. There is only one possibility: you are transporting people from Yunhang and engaging in human trafficking, aren’t you?"

Ji Youzhi said all this in a single breath, shocking everyone present, especially Princess Ata, who asked in surprise.

"Just because of this sentence, you conclude that the people on this ship were originally engaged in human trafficking?"

"Yes. These people are human traffickers. I have always wondered what kind of people could be locked in the cabin by these boatmen? Are they house slaves? Or criminals? Not until I remembered the purpose of our sea voyage—to find out about the residents on both sides of the Yunhang Coast—did I understand that those residents were put on ships and sold at sea, which is why Fat Aunt would say such a thing."

As soon as Ji Youzhi’s words came out, Fat Aunt’s face looked like a frostbitten eggplant—wilted!

She glanced at the boatman and all the Sailors who were tied up aside. She confessed.

"I confess. Those residents sailed on this ship. They were sold to Wangwu Mountain."

Once Fat Aunt said this, the boatman and the Sailors couldn’t help but become dispirited. They knew that this would be the outcome.

The boatman said, "To go to Wangwu Mountain, the primary condition is to cross this Black Water Ridge. But before that, we need an essential prerequisite: it has to be raining heavily. The rain will clear this fog, and then we can move forward. Now that you have tamed the Black Jiao, as long as you remove this fog, our ship can continue."

After questioning them, Ji Youzhi got this information from the boatman’s mouth.

"Removing the fog is naturally possible," Ji Youzhi said. "I will have Big Black remove it. After we leave, it can set it up again. However, after we pass the Black Water Ridge, how do we get to Wangwu Mountain?"

Xiaosuisui and Xie Pan’Er had been sitting aside listening to Ji Youzhi’s interrogation. After hearing this, Xiaosuisui interjected.

The boatman replied, "Go to Wangwu Mountain? We can’t go. In the past, every time we took people there, someone would meet us after we passed the Black Water Ridge. We would hand over the gift manifest from the Yunhang County Magistrate. They would then send someone to take over our ship and sail it into Wangwu Mountain, while we would disembark halfway and not go to Wangwu Mountain!"

"What did you say?"

Anger suddenly surged from the Emperor.

Feeling his anger, Ji Youzhi quickly cupped his hands in a salute. "Your Majesty, please quell your anger!"

"Quell my anger? How do you expect me to quell my anger? My own officials are engaging in human trafficking right under my nose! Those people are my subjects! How can you tell me to quell my anger?"

"Your Majesty, we’ve only heard their side of the story, and we lack sufficient evidence. Besides, we need them to lead us to Wangwu Mountain right now. Please, bear with it for now. Once we find Wangwu Mountain and gather proof, upon our return, you can have Wu Li suffer death by a thousand cuts!"

Only then did the Emperor’s anger somewhat subside.

Xiaosuisui used her mind-reading ability and knew that the boatman and Sailors weren’t lying. It was true that the residents had been sold to Wangwu Mountain. But they indeed didn’t know where Wangwu Mountain was.

"So what should we do now?" the Emperor asked.

Ji Youzhi replied, "Let’s go to Yunzhou Island first. We can ask around when we get there. We’ll find out eventually."

"The Yunhang Sea has several islands. If all else fails, we’ll visit every single one of them."

After Ji Youzhi finished speaking, the Emperor finally seemed to be calming down.

Xiaosuisui ordered Big Black to temporarily disperse the fog.

Then the ship continued sailing. The boatman and the government agents were released. They each drank a mouthful of tea that Xiaosuisui handed them. Only after they finished drinking did Xie Pan’Er tell them,

"The Eldest Princess put poison in the tea. As long as you behave, you will get the Antidote every three days. If you try any tricks, then I’m sorry, but there will be no Antidote for you."

The boatman and government agents were momentarily stunned. Xie Pan’Er then left them in suspense for half an hour. After that, they were free to move about and continued sailing the ship, heading towards Yunzhou Island.

「With Big Black leading the way, they reached Yunzhou Island that same day.」

This was not a large island and had a meager population. The Island Master’s surname was Yun, and they didn’t welcome outsiders.

As soon as Ji Youzhi’s ship dropped anchor, they were driven away by the island’s residents.

"Hurry up and leave! You can’t dock here!"

Two men, around thirty or forty years old, brandished knives and pitchforks, forcefully preventing Ji Youzhi and his crew from disembarking.

"Brothers, listen to us!" Ji Youzhi said. "We’re not bad people. We’re merchants sailing the seas. This is our first time in your esteemed place, and we’d like to do business with you!"

"Nonsense! We never trade with strangers here. Hurry up and leave, or don’t blame us for being discourteous!"

The oldest man yelled loudly, urging Ji Youzhi and his crew to leave immediately.

Everyone on the ship showed anxious expressions. Xiaosuisui, standing next to Xie Pan’Er, heard the man’s words and casually asked,

"You don’t trade with strangers? Then who do you trade with?"

Xiaosuisui’s question momentarily stumped the two burly men. They immediately replied,

"Naturally, we only trade with people from the Bright Moon Pavilion. Our island never welcomes foreign ships. Apart from those from the Bright Moon Pavilion who can land here and trade with us, no one else should even think about setting foot on our shores!"

After saying this, the burly man couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

Strange, why did I spill everything?

"Then do you know who the owner of the Bright Moon Pavilion is?"

Hearing that they only allowed the Bright Moon Pavilion’s ships to dock, Ji Youzhi immediately grew excited and asked loudly.

At this time, the man was still puzzled as to why he had answered the little girl’s question. He didn’t hear Ji Youzhi’s words at all.