When the wind is calm, the surface of the Indian Ocean takes on a strange golden hue at certain times in the evening.

The Cornwall sailed calmly through the waterways, silently parting the sea, like cutting through chunks of butter with a razor-sharp knife.

The twin chimneys of the clipper ship sailing from Britain to China are towering, reflecting dazzling light in the setting sun. In the past ten days, the Cornwall has crossed the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, and is now halfway through its journey.

World War I ended, but the world didn't get any better.

Anyone who is smart can feel the dark tide is raging, the danger lurks, and the roaring Indian Ocean only takes a break occasionally.

At this time, it was the leisure time for dinner, and there were only a few Chinese and a few foreigners in the second class who were eating leisurely.

On the small stage of the restaurant, a tall, thin, delicate black-haired woman was singing.

“…… When I lie down in the ground, may all the evil I have done not cause you to be troubled. Remember me, but, please forget my fate......"

The timbre is clear, like a golden stone, and the melody and singing are gripping, and several foreigners at the table in the front row applauded.

“Bravo！”

The cheers came and went.

She sang an excerpt from Henri Purcell's opera "Dedot and Aeneas", which tells the tragic life of Queen Dedot of Carthage, which is the queen's dying aria and is sung by the world.

"As a Chinese woman, it is rare to sing foreign devils so well."

Although several Chinese do not have such a deep feeling because of cultural differences, this voice is still breathtaking.

"Miss Devie is also a well-known vocalist in Italy, and she should have achieved even more if she had stayed in Europe. However, she was worried about the situation and resolutely returned to China, which is really a woman in the middle of a woman, which is admirable. ”

A businessman carried a Chinese-language newspaper with the news of the return of the famous singer Miss Diviy, accompanied by a black-and-white photo.

His companion pushed his glasses, carefully studied the photo, and stared at Di Wei on the stage, compared it for a long time, and salivated and said: "Miss Di herself is more beautiful than in the photo, she is really a big beauty." ”

Di Wei is twenty-five years old this year, with the grace of Chinese and the delicacy of Westerners, with a good figure and long legs, and she really can't find any shortcomings.

She has lived in Italy for ten years, and unlike the traditional conservative Chinese woman, she has an open and violent personality, and has a unique bewitching feeling.

"Isn't that companion of hers also a beauty?"

The first merchant to speak frowned, and out of the corner of his eye, glanced at the girl in a white dress at the next table.

The girl's forehead was smooth and she had a pair of big bright eyes, and she was looking at Diviy without blinking, cheering for her excitedly, and she couldn't hide her admiration and love, and Divi also nodded to her on the stage in response.

The two of them lived in the same cabin, and the girl in white named Rong Jiafan, who studied oil painting in Florence, heard that she met Di Wei at an art exhibition and became very good friends.

"These two girls, give me any of them."

"I heard that there are a few girls in the first class cabin who are very wonderful, and they are all rich girls, if you can meet ......"

The words of the two merchants gradually became obscene, and they talked about the female guests on the same boat as if they were talking about the fans of the Qinglou.

Han Yu frowned, put down his knife and fork, and gave way to the side.

These two compatriots are mediocre and cheesy, which really makes people want to avoid them.

He is a returning public student studying machinery in Germany, and has been away from his hometown for four years.

There are few Chinese in the second class, and it is even more difficult to find a partner who can exchange ideas, but fortunately he made a good friend in the first class, otherwise life on this ship would only be more difficult.

The other party's dinner is still in the first class, but after eating, we can sit and chat on the deck together.

This friend has a wide range of knowledge and unique opinions, chatting with him is a happy life event, and it is also the happiest time of the day on Han Yu's boat.

Han Yu quickly finished the veal and pea soup with anticipation, didn't even want to wait for dessert, and got up and left amid the lively singing.

Stepping on the deck, the howling sea breeze drowned out the hustle and bustle, and the sunset over the ocean was red.

Most of the people were still passing the time in the dining room and enjoying desserts, and there were very few people on the deck, and a young girl in moon-white satin leaned quietly on the railing, and an old woman stood beside her.

Her side face was gentle, her black hair was plated with a golden divine light, and her eyes reflected the light of the setting sun, and there was a certain imprisoned longing in them.

Han Yu couldn't help but glance at her more, not because of her beauty, but because of a tenacious and lonely temperament that didn't match her young and soft face.

Near the cabin, a young man in a black narrow-sleeved suit quietly closed his eyes and recuperated, and in front of him, a half-game of chess.

The setting sun could no longer shine into this corner, and the wall lamp on the young man's side was on, reflecting the handsome and elegant face, and the cold detachment between his eyebrows was a hint of mystery, which made people want to get closer to explore, but did not dare to disturb.

Han Yu withdrew his eyes from the girl, walked over, and saw the chessboard in front of him.

There are few chess pieces, and it has entered the endgame.

"Brother Zhou, who has the advantage on the left and right hands today?"

Han Yu has always been very enthusiastic, and his upright face does not have any haze, and at first glance he is a righteous young man full of sunshine.

The young man heard the voice and opened his eyes, their long, deep eyes like obsidian, shining with a cold glow of insight into people's hearts.

"Tie."

He responded indifferently.

Playing chess with the left hand and the right hand, it is difficult to tell the winner from the loser.

Even the sharpest attack of the left-handed white can be counteracted by the thick and steady defense of the right-handed black piece, and finally it is gone.

Han Yu touched his chin and looked at the endgame with interest, trying to find a way to break the game.

Unfortunately, after trying for a long time, I couldn't break this draw.

"Miss, it's windy, don't get cold, go back to the house." The old woman who accompanied the girl on the deck was well-dressed, and at first glance she was the grandmother of a large family, and she said in a low voice.

The girl standing by the railing watched the sunset being swallowed up by the sea and the sea breeze gradually getting cooler, nodded, and turned away from the deck a little lonely.

The old woman kept babbling and talking to the girl, and the girl listened absentmindedly, when passing by the two men, a gust of wind blew, and the handkerchief stuffed in the girl's clothes was lifted by the wind, and the hula flew to Han Yu's side.

Han Yu was still thinking and meditating on the chess game, but the handsome man known as "Brother Zhou" was quick-eyed, stretched out his left hand, and pinched the corner of the handkerchief, while the girl was still unaware and walked forward with a lot of worries.

Han Yu looked at the handkerchief, then at the girl's back, and immediately stood up and wanted to call her.

At this moment, a sharp scream suddenly came from the second-class cabin, and then someone rushed out of it and shouted for the ship's doctor.

When the old woman saw the chaos, she immediately pushed the girl and quickly walked to the first-class cabin, and said as she went, "Go back quickly, don't stand under the dangerous wall." ”

The young man sitting in front of the chessboard holding a handkerchief heard the screams, stood up, and rushed to the second-class cabin with Han Yu.

In the second-class restaurant, Rong Jiafan, a girl in white who had been discussed by several businessmen just now, fell on the woolen carpet with a chair, and her whole body began to twitch uncontrollably, and a sharp cry came out of her mouth.

"Jiafan!"

Di Wei on the stage stopped singing, ran straight down, and pulled Rong Jiafan, who was helped up by the people around her, so anxious that she almost cried.

Rong Jiafan's face was blue and purple, his mouth was foaming at the mouth, his originally beautiful face became distorted, and his eyes rolled white, revealing bloodshot eyes.

She saw Diviy coming, desperately struggling to sit up, but her body was out of control, tears flowed, and she couldn't speak.

"It seems to be poisoned......

In the chaos, a middle-aged man who looked elegant but looked very timid stood aside in a hesitant tone and whispered.

"Poisoned?"

The people around screamed, and many people broke the dishes, and the scene was even more chaotic.

Han Yu rushed in, and when he heard this, he asked, "Doctor Criminal, can you be sure?" ”

The middle-aged man Xing Zhili is a surgeon, studied in Europe, and returned to China with his fiancée on the same ship in order to get married, and chatted with the enthusiastic and straightforward Han Yu a few times, and they are also familiar with each other.

Xing Zhili looked around, although he was a doctor, he had a weak personality, he didn't dare to talk too much, and he didn't want to cause too much trouble, his face was pale, and his voice trembled: "It's like a symptom of acute arsenic poisoning." ”

"Arsenic poisoning?"

Several Chinese looked at each other and did not react.

"It's arsenic."

Han Yu's expression turned cold.

Arsenic is almost the most familiar poison to the general public, with a high lethality rate and popularity, but it is not easy for ordinary people to access.

There is no reason to mix arsenic in the restaurant food on this cruise.

Judging from the fact that no one else has anything abnormal, that is, Rong Jiafan was deliberately poisoned.

The young man who was with Han Yu didn't speak, and looked around carefully as if he was out of the way.

Ignoring the gasping voices around him, Han Yu asked Xing Zhili: "Can you save it?" ”

This is undoubtedly a murder, but the priority is not to find the murderer, but to see if the little girl can be saved.

Xing Zhili was afraid of taking responsibility, and shrank back: "If you wash your stomach in time and use special drugs, you may have a chance - however, there are no conditions on the ship, so let's take a look when the ship's doctor comes, right?" ”

This fearful attitude does not look like a responsible doctor, but he is not wrong.

Five minutes later, the ship's doctor arrived at the scene, and after diagnosis, he also came to the same conclusion as Xing Zhili, believing that it was acute arsenic poisoning, and the dosage was quite large, far exceeding the lethal amount.

- In other words, the poisoner was ruthless and didn't want to give Rong Jiafan a chance to survive at all.

Similarly, the conditions are limited, and neither Han Yu nor the young man who has been indifferent to the sidelines has any effective treatment.

Di Wei kept holding Rong Jiafan's hand and crying, and everyone was gossiping, using all kinds of home remedies to save their lives, but to no avail.

Rong Jiafan only held Di Wei's hand tightly, and kept worshipping her in pained and confused eyes.

After about an hour, Rong Jiafan finally stopped struggling, his pupils dilated, his gaze dilated, and he died in Di Wei's arms.

"She's dead." Han Yu hated himself for being helpless and said sadly.

It was the first casualty on board the Cornwall.