Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared-Chapter 575: Pirate Leader

"I’m sorry I got you all involved in this. I didn’t intend to, but since it’s happened, I can only say you’re not very lucky." Although Qiao Ya sounded somewhat helpless, Qin Jia faithfully translated this for him.

Gu Fan simply asked: "What are you guys here for and what is your relationship with the pirates?"

Qiao Ya could only respond with a cryptic smile; it was obvious that he was not going to reveal anything.

Dong Ni also came over, looking very alert and even slightly gleeful, "Hey, don’t be scared, gorgeous. I’ll think of a way to rescue you and prove that I can be more dependable than your boyfriend."

Qin Jia merely snorted in response, her disdain for Dong Ni all too clear.

Lin Xi ventured a guess: "We ran into Qiao Ya and his group earlier and their boat had capsized. They claimed they were attempting a daring crossover of the ocean, but it now seems that they were here to find the pirates. They chose to sail themselves in order to avoid detection."

Gu Fan nodded, "Exactly. If they had taken someone else’s boat, it could potentially have been tracked, so they had to sail their own boat, a boat unknown to others."

Lin Xi began to worry: "What do we do now? With these highly skilled fellows around, getting rid of the pirates will be challenging. If we think of Qiao Ya as being on a par with Sister Su, I’m not confident we can handle them."

"Let’s take things one step at a time." Gu Fan didn’t know how he should react either; the appearance and stance of Qiao Ya and his unit were outside his original plans.

Just then, the pirate chief sauntered out. He was bald, with a dark complexion, sinister eyes and a scarred face. He wore a large knife on his belt, his swagger making it clear to everyone that he was the boss.

However, upon seeing Qiao Ya, the pirate chief couldn’t help but break into a grin, even sharing an embrace with him. They clearly knew each other well.

The pirate chief engaged in a dialogue with Qiao Ya, but as they were speaking in a local language, even Qin Jia could not understand. But seeing their laughter, it seemed they were hatching some evil plan.

"They’re all up to no good, definitely plotting something terrible." Right as Xu Haowen finished talking, the pirate chief’s gaze landed on a group of hostages.

Seeing the interested look in the pirate chief’s eyes as he approached step by step, Gu Fan, Lin Xi, and the others grew nervous, especially Lin Xi and Qin Jia who felt as if a venomous snake was watching them.

The pirate chief gestured, and his subordinates understood, immediately coming over to the prison to drag Qin Jia out.

"Are you kidding me?!" Gu Fan and Lin Xi were visibly worried about Qin Jia’s safety.

The lecherous look in the pirate chief’s eyes was unmistakable; he touched Qin Jia’s face and then hoisted her up to take her away. It was clear to the onlookers the pirate chief had unsavory intentions for her.

Qin Jia struggled, resisting fiercely and screaming, but was met with a harsh slap. She was not a match for the pirate chief in terms of strength and was dragged away. They could only imagine the grim fate that awaited her.

"What do we do, Gu Fan? Should I just charge in now?" Lin Xi couldn’t stand by and watch her good friend being bullied and was ready to spring into action.

Gu Fan knew he couldn’t wait any longer. Even if it would disrupt their plans, they had to act to save their companion.

Unexpectedly, Dong Ni stepped forward, blocking the pirate chief’s path, and said something with a smile.

Whatever Dong Ni said, the pirate chief didn’t seem to appreciate it and appeared to be telling Dong Ni to butt out.

This time it was Qiao Ya who stepped forward and muttered a few words.

Clearly, the pirate chief respected Qiao Ya more and chose to let Qin Jia go, having his men lock her back up.

Moving back to her companions meant temporary safety. The ordeal had scared Qin Jia to tears, and Lin Xi consoled her, "What are you afraid of? If not for Qiao Ya and his men stepping in just now, I could’ve turned this place upside down."

Hearing that, Qin Jia managed a smile. She had been so terrified that she’d forgotten Lin Xi was with her and she had nothing to worry about.

Xu Haowen chimed in: "Qin Jia, you’ve been through a lot before, going to foreign lands, to Yuxueyun Mountain, encountering all sorts of terrifying situations. How could a mere pirate scare you to tears?"

"Easy for you to say," Qin Jia snapped back, "you’re not the one being manhandled by that man... "

True, said Xu Haowen dismissively, "I can assure you that even if someone tried to assault me, I wouldn’t cry like you did. But the problem here is, there are no female pirates here to do that to me." No sooner had Xu Haowen spoken than a group of female pirates walked out. As they passed by their cage, they looked in and one particularly hefty pirate with a ferocious bearing seemed rather interested in Xu Haowen.

"You can’t be serious!" Xu Haowen huddled against the back of the cage, trembling with fear of the incoming female pirates.

Qin Jia retaliated, "What happened? Didn’t you say you’ve been through bigger challenges before? Why are you scared now? Why are you turning away from those women? They’re not going to eat you alive. Who knows, you might even strike it lucky."

Left with no other option, Xu Haowen had to apologize, "Fine, you win. I was wrong, okay?"

Just then, Qiaoya walked over, looking stern: "These pirates are only interested in money. They’re hoping that ransom will be paid to free you. Otherwise, I won’t be able to help you. I managed to spare Qin Jia once, but I can’t guarantee it a second time. From here on out, it’s up to you. Besides, you helped us, and we helped you. We’re now even."

Gu Fan accepted his words but he was still curious about what might happen if no ransom were to be received.

Qiaoya didn’t respond. His downcast facial expression gave them a grim answer, but with Lin Xi here, they were confident that they could deal with the pirates.

Gu Fan added, "When we deal with these pirates, you all better not interfere, otherwise we’ll count you as our enemies too."

After Qin Jia translated this to Qiaoya, he looked puzzled and silently wondered how they could do anything in their present helpless state, bound and unarmed as they were.

In the end, Qiaoya could only say, "I hope your luck holds out. If you manage to escape, I promise to turn a blind eye."

"Great, thank you for your kindness, and thanks again for saving Qin Jia." Gu Fan believed that Qiaoya and his unit were reliable, but their differing positions meant they could not end up as friends.

Dong Ni also came over, assuming some credit for saving Qin Jia and trying to patch things up with Qin Jia, even giving her a meaningful look, but Qin Jia continued to reject him.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢