Although Mulan knew a whole series of investigations would await the Princess Niseriel once she docked, he got up at once and began packing. He folded his clothes, neatly put away his toiletries, and packed everything into his suitcase. After gathering his remaining odds and ends, he quickly left the room with his suitcase in hand.
Quite a few people in the cabin corridor were doing the same. Passengers emerged from their rooms in twos and threes, carrying luggage and preparing to disembark.
"Mr. Jonester, are you getting off today?"
Someone greeted Mulan warmly just as he stepped out. He turned and saw a vaguely familiar face, probably one of the young men who had gone to the wheelhouse with him that day, though he did not know his name.
"Yes. Are you?"
By the time Mulan had greeted him, the young man had already come up beside him.
"I'm not getting off until the next port, but I thought I'd have a look around Valentine. It is a big city, after all. Oh, let me carry your luggage, sir. Your shoulder is still injured."
"No need. I'm mostly recovered, and I don't need to carry it with my left hand anyway. Just walk with me."
Mulan politely declined his offer. In truth, his left arm had not fully recovered, but it was still stronger than his right.
The young man was delighted by Mulan's invitation. As a retired military officer, Mr. Jonester possessed a distinguished bearing and exceptional courage that easily inspired admiration, especially among those who had acted alongside him that night. He was also quite approachable.
Chatting as they walked, the two reached the boarding deck. The gangways were already in place, and passengers and crew alike intended to go ashore and explore Valentine, whether this was their destination or merely a stop along the way. The area was already packed.
"What's going on?"
Mulan froze briefly when he arrived, then immediately hurried forward at a jog, suitcase in hand.
"Mr. Jonester? Wait for me!"
Shouldn't the ship have been sealed off? Shouldn't everyone have been kept aboard for now? Yet passengers were descending both gangways right before Mulan's eyes.
"Excuse me, coming through!" "Sorry, please let me through!"
Mulan kept repeating his apologies, holding his suitcase up in his right hand and taking off his hat with his left. He slipped through every gap he could find, forcing his way through by sheer strength wherever the crowd was too dense, and soon reached a position near the front.
Several crew members were directing passengers off the ship. One was attentively carrying two suitcases for a gentleman.
"After you, Sir Charlie."
The gentleman nodded and walked down the gangway with his cane, followed by the crewman carrying his luggage. Many other passengers crowded to either side and waited. Only after some of the privileged passengers had disembarked did the rest surge toward the gangway like sardines bursting out of an overstuffed tin.
"Wait! Hold on!"
Mulan pushed past the crowd with his suitcase, ignoring the dirty looks and curses around him as he forced his way to the front. The young man from earlier had failed to keep up and had long since been swallowed by the crowd.
"And you are?"
Many of the crew did not recognize Mulan, but he had no interest in introducing himself. He went straight to his questions.
"Why are you letting passengers off already? Where are the Valentine police? What about the crimes aboard this ship? What if the murderer gets away?"
Some of the disembarking passengers glanced back at the commotion by the rail, then continued on without a care. The crew members above thought Mulan was being overly anxious.
"The murderer? Sir, we've already caught the murderer. We've also sent someone to inform the Valentine police. We'll hand the culprit over to them shortly."
As he spoke, the crewman spotted another distinguished passenger approaching and immediately greeted her with a smile.
"This way, Mrs. Matthews! Gentlemen, please show some courtesy and make room."
Mulan's expression darkened. He looked at the people below who had already disembarked, but did not do anything rash like block the gangway. Instead, he joined the crowd in making way for the esteemed Mrs. Matthews.
Neither the competition of the twenty-first-century workplace nor the brutal war that had only recently ended had left Mulan an idealist. He quickly understood the situation before him.
Face reality, and know your own place.
"Heh..."
Mulan gave a mocking chuckle and decided he could not be bothered anymore. Still, his gaze involuntarily swept over those who had been first to disembark. The harbor fog blurred the scene below, where carriage lights stopped and then moved away.
Since he had already pushed his way to the front, Mulan had no intention of going back to queue again. Before long, he disembarked in his current place in line.
As his feet touched the ground at Valentin Harbor, the chill in the fog washed over him, bringing a faint sense of familiarity. He looked back at the Princess Niseriel, where passengers were still pouring down like ants. He had never realized how crowded the ship was. During the Siren incident, it had seemed eerily empty.
It was only early evening, but the fog had already darkened the harbor, and the gas lamps had been lit.
Mulan remained where he was while other passengers passed him one after another. Some were eager to get home, others wanted to take the opportunity to explore, and still others had had enough of the ship's food and planned to enjoy a proper meal in the great city of Valentine. Behind him, the Princess Niseriel would remain docked for two days before departing for her final destination, the royal port.
Two carriages slowly pulled up not far away. Their doors opened, and several people in uniform and several in plain clothes stepped out: detectives and officers from the Valentin Police Department. Mulan spotted one of the detectives at once, and that detective soon noticed him as well.
The detective bore some resemblance to Mulan, but looked more mature and wore a short beard. The two stared at each other for a few seconds. Then delighted surprise spread over the detective's face, and he strode toward Mulan.
"Mulan! You're back?"
Mulan had imagined meeting his family several times, always expecting all kinds of distance between them, especially with his older brother. Yet at that moment, excitement surged through him.
Even in a situation like this, the old Mulan would have offered no more than a cold reply. Now, after a brief hesitation, Mulan opened his arms.
"Leo! I'm back!"
Leo paused for only a moment at the gesture, then immediately pulled Mulan into a tight embrace and thumped him hard on the back.
"Hahahaha! You've gotten a lot stronger! Why didn't you write to tell me beforehand? Still, you're back, and that's what matters. Old Buck will be overjoyed!"
Feeling the strength of his younger brother's arms, the usually cold Leo was visibly excited. He turned and called to his colleagues.
"Look, this is my younger brother, Mulan. He was a soldier on the front lines. Isn't he just as handsome as me?"
"Hahahaha! Mulan's filled out! I hardly recognized him!"
Whether they had known Mulan before or not, the other officers and detectives obliged Leo and congratulated the brothers on their reunion.
The warmth of family reached Mulan even in the cold, foggy harbor. But as he looked at his brother, then back at the Princess Niseriel, he interrupted Leo's excitement.
"Leo, you're here about the case on the Princess, right?"
"Yes. A crewman came to the station and reported a murder aboard, along with some missing people. But they've already caught the murderer, so we just need to go through the formalities and take the culprit back to the station."
Mulan shook his head slightly.
"This case is more complicated than you think. The real murderer has probably already left the ship. The one they caught is just a lackey. And the girl who was killed..."
"Haha, I'll handle the case. Go wait in the carriage while I take care of it. We can talk about the rest at home!"
Leo patted Mulan's shoulder and headed toward the Princess with the officers, still smiling. After a few steps, he turned back to Mulan.
"Mulan, I'll handle it!"
Mulan stood where he was and glanced at the shoulder Leo had patted, putting his tangled emotions aside for the moment. I don't want to get involved anyway. He turned toward the carriage, only to notice someone standing beneath a gas streetlamp farther beyond it.
It was a man in clerical robes, watching the Princess Niseriel. Seeming to sense Mulan's gaze, he crossed his hands over his chest and gave Mulan a slight nod, then turned and left.