Night. Stars glittered overhead.
The vast, boundless sea was calm beneath the cloak of darkness. A huge silver moon hung above the night sky, scattering gauzy moonlight that swayed with the waves.
Inside the passenger ship, Zhao Xuan and Hermione stayed in the same room. Naturally, there were two beds, and each lay on their own bed with their eyes slightly closed, secretly communicating through Spiritual Power.
It was already deep into the night, yet the ship was far too quiet. Even the noisy casino had fallen silent. That was rather unusual.
Zhao Xuan's divine sense covered the vast surrounding waters. He could sense the ship accelerating, but its course was rather strange. It was not following its planned route, instead heading toward the wide open sea.
"What do you think they're planning? Murder and robbery, or kidnapping for ransom?"
Within the divine-sense network Zhao Xuan had created, the two spoke softly. Hermione made her guess based on the information fed back by Zhao Xuan's divine sense.
"Who knows? We might as well play along with them. Otherwise, this trip would be far too boring."
Zhao Xuan was not in a hurry. If anything, he was mildly looking forward to it.
A faint set of footsteps suddenly sounded outside in the corridor. They were light and slow, as though their owner feared disturbing the sleeping passengers.
The footsteps abruptly stopped outside their door. Through Zhao Xuan's divine sense, the two could see a figure listening outside.
The visitor was very patient. Only after listening for a full quarter of an hour did he pull his ear away from the door. Then came the soft rustle of keys, followed by a click as the door opened.
Zhao Xuan and Hermione pretended to be asleep and did not move. After taking a