Chapter 621 Doubting Anyone Would Disagree
“The police should be here soon. If you do something before then, we’ll testify for you and prevent you from getting locked away in prison. On top of that, you’ll get to keep the one hundred thousand,” stated Nan Chen after exchanging looks with Ning Ran.
Filled with hope, Guo Si quickly inquired, “What should I do then?”
“Get us out of here after you finish your drink,” replied Nan Chen. “Huh?” With his eyes widened in surprise, Guo Si immediately disagreed with Nan Chen. “Absolutely not!”
“Suit yourself,” voiced Nan Chen coldly. Guo Si then explained with a hardened face, “I’ve already told you my situation. They’re threatening me with my wife and children. If I let you all go, they’ll harm my family for sure.”
“We’ve been here for days, but did they come to the island?” questioned Nan Chen.
“No.”
“So how did they know about our situation here?” continued Nan Chen.
“I told them about it, of course.”
“Then do you know why they never came to this island?”
Guo Si shook his head in response. “I don’t.”
“They’re fine with letting you handle things alone because they think you’re honest. When the police come, they’ll say they have no idea what’s happening here since they’ve never set foot on this island. Who do you think will take the blame then? You may think you can explain yourself, but you have no one to back you up. There are many of them, so they can alibi each other and testify against you. What can you do about that? Besides, they have the village head as their leader, so how will a regular villager like you stand a chance against them?”
Guo Si was shocked when he heard Nan Chen. “How did you know they have the village head as their leader?”
“I’ve known since day one. Who’s more familiar with the terrain than the villagers? Only they know the safest spot on the island and how to trap us here. It would take someone with great influence to get the villagers to do their bidding. That person had to be either rich or powerful. If they were rich, it’d be unlikely that they did this for money. Hence, it’d have to be someone powerful. Who in the village would have the power to order your people around besides the village head?” questioned Nan Chen rhetorically.
Besides the alcohol, Guo Si began to sweat bullets on his forehead because of his nervousness.
“You knew from the start? I have to admit that I’m impressed. You got me involved without even lifting a finger!” Guo Si wiped the sweat from his head.
“Let’s get back to the point. The village head may be the most powerful figure to the villagers, but that certainly isn’t true in the legal system. No matter how influential he thinks he is, he still has to go to jail for breaking the law. You don’t have to fear him because it won’t be long before he gets what he deserves. Even if you take us elsewhere, none would be the wiser since they refuse to come to this island. Didn’t you say it yourself that they’d enter the city tonight? Not only is that more than one hundred kilometers away, but the road is also under maintenance. There’s no way they can get here any time soon. Those people are going to have themselves a good time eating and drinking in the comfort of the city. Heck, they’ll probably even get drunk. It’ll be afternoon when they get to the village tomorrow, and the police will have already found us when they realize we’ve left the island long ago. Then, we’ll tell the police you didn’t kidnap but saved us, and you’ll get off scot-free with one hundred thousand in your pocket. I’d say this one is a no-brainer, wouldn’t you?” With that, Nan Chen gazed intently at Guo Si.
“Even if I were to release you, where would you go? It’s not as if your legs can take you far in that condition. I can’t send you to the city since the only vehicle I have is a tricycle; we’ll never reach our destination on that.”
Ning Ran was impressed with Nan Chen because Guo Si’s words clearly showed that he was willing to help. That poker-faced man doesn’t always have a lot to say, but when he does talk, I have to admit that he’s pretty good at convincing people! My goodness! He negotiated as though he did that for a living. The things he said made so much sense that I doubt anyone would disagree with him.
“If we don’t go to Lightspring, is crossing the province to Gerton our alternative?” inquired Nan Chen.
“Yes. The town we’re in is at the border of Gerton. We’ll cross the province if we don’t head in the direction of Lightspring,” answered Guo Si with a nod.
“Does this reservoir extend all the way to the border of Gerton?”
“Yes, but there’s a long way to go to get to the other side. And even then, we’ll only reach a village far from the city,” explained Guo Si.
“Are they friendly with your village?” questioned Nan Chen.
“Sort of. We make deals sometimes since we’re close to each other, but at the end of the day, we still belong to different provinces. The people of my village consider them outsiders, so we don’t intermarry with them. However, some of their women have married into our village, and my cousin-in-law is one of them—”
Before Guo Si could say more, Nan Chen waved his hand to stop the man from digressing. “Is their village head close with yours?”
“No. They rarely had anything to do with each other.”
“Will they report to your village head if they see us?” asked Nan Chen worriedly.
“No. We hardly ever visit them because, just like us, they think we’re outsiders.
“Good. Then we’ll make our way to Gerton. We go now!”
“Are you sure we should go now?”
“Yes, now. You’d better not drink too much because you have to row the boat later,” reminded Nan Chen.
However, Guo Si was still hesitant. “What should I tell the village head when he returns tomorrow?”
“Just tell him we’re still on the island and that everything’s fine.”
“What if he comes here to check and finds out you’re gone? What do I do then?”
“For starters, the likelihood of that happening is very small. If he wanted to come, he would’ve done so already. That man won’t take a step on this island because he wants you to be his scapegoat in case anything happens. Even if he does come for whatever reason, you can just tell him you have no idea how we managed to swim away. The village head won’t dare to kill you since the matter itself is illegal. He’s already got the money he was promised, so he’ll probably tell his contact what you told him. It wouldn’t be a smart move for him to harm your family just because we’re gone, would it?”
After listening to Nan Chen, Guo Si could not help but agree that the former had a point.
“So my family and I will be fine?”
“Of course. Not only will you be able to get away scot-free, but you’ll also get one hundred thousand. What’s there to worry about?” asked Nan Chen rhetorically.
“Okay. Let’s go now.”
Just then, Ning Ran whispered into Nan Chen’s ear, “Why do we have to go now? Shouldn’t we wait for your family to rescue us since they can find Guo Si? Why take the risk?”
“There’s a mole in the family, and we still have no idea who it is. We’ll be silenced for good if Grandpa happens to send the mole, so we better escape on our own and avoid taking any chances. We can get to the bottom of it afterward,” revealed Nan Chen.
“Wow, that’s brilliant!” exclaimed Ning Ran.
With his chin held high, Nan Chen responded proudly, “Of course.”
