Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 351 Route 350

"Has the appointment letter arrived?"

Shunzi was overjoyed upon hearing this. He took the bronze badge from Feng Xiuhu and stroked the chain and scimitar pattern on it with great affection.

"They came down a long time ago."

Feng Xiuhu sneered: "I originally wanted to use the pretext of a transfer to get you out of Feiquan'ao, but that damned Findlay Zhou disagreed—but he got what he deserved. If you weren't in the camp, the angels really would have stormed into the city."

When the topic was brought up again, Shunzi's expression became somewhat unnatural. He looked around and lowered his voice: "Brother, wouldn't you say we've gone astray? I've heard that people who side with evil gods never end up well."

Feng Xiuhu glanced at him sideways: "Who told you that?"

"Uh."

Shunzi opened his mouth: "That's what the older generation says... and it's the same in the stories told by storytellers."

Feng Xiuhu retorted, "Do you believe them or do you believe I am Qin Shi Huang?"

Shunzi was taken aback: "Who is Qin Shi Huang?"

Feng Xiuhu was also stunned, staring at the air as his thoughts began to wander: "Looks like someone who collects figurines..."

Shunzi became increasingly confused: "What are figurines?"

"A figurine is..."

Feng Xiuhu scratched the back of his head, unable to remember.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the garden.

Feng Xiuhu looked up and saw that Mike was surrounded by a group of people.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that all the directors and chief executives were present in the crowd.

Zhou Weili, holding Mike's left hand, said sternly, "Mike, I've been looking for you in the Grand Hall for a long time. Why aren't you here? I'll forgive you this time, but there must be no next time. I won't allow you to put yourself in danger."

Mike's right hand was held by Meng Hansheng, who said gently, "Father Mike, I clearly told you that if you encounter any danger, come to me immediately, and the police will definitely protect you."

Upon hearing this, Feng Xiuhu suddenly realized what was going on.

These officials lived nearby, so it wasn't surprising that they bumped into Mike.

Moreover, because of Meng Hansheng, they had police officers accompanying them as bodyguards, so they all banded together here.

Feng Xiuhu even spotted Cheng Aimei and her husband in the crowd.

Feng Xiuhu stepped forward and greeted Cheng Aimei: "Did you beat up your father-in-law today?"

When everyone saw it was him, their expressions changed slightly.

Cheng Aimei's father-in-law, Zheng Muwen, immediately rebuked, "You mad tiger! Stop acting strangely! Now that the church has lost power, do you still dare to be so violent?"

Before Feng Xiuhu could respond, Meng Hansheng quickly patted Mike's hand and comforted him, "Don't be afraid. No matter what happens to the church in the future, and no matter whether you are still a priest or not, my feelings for you will never change."

Feng Xiuhu: “…”

Since her emotions had been interrupted, she decided to let Zheng Muwen off the hook for now.

Feng Xiuhu blurted out: "Mayor Yan gave instructions before he died, specifically naming Mike to take over his job, and the temple shrine Wan Laiqiu can also testify—who among you agrees and who opposes?"

Everyone was puzzled.

Du Shiqin frowned and looked around: "The mayor instructed you to do this?"

Zheng Muwen jumped up again: "This is utterly ridiculous! How can a mayor appoint another mayor? There's no precedent for this!"

He bowed to the north, saying, "Such appointments have always been reserved for those in Taijing..."

Feng Xiuhu's eyes gradually turned hostile. Cheng Aimei saw it clearly and slapped Zheng Muwen across the face: "Shut up, you're acting like you have a mouth."

Feng Xiuhu smiled and scanned the crowd: "Any other opinions? Let's discuss them."

After a long silence, Meng Hansheng spoke softly, "I think the mayor must have his reasons for doing this. Since it was his last decree before his death, I will support it unconditionally."

With someone taking the lead, Zhou Weili also spoke up: "Fan City is currently in dire need of reconstruction and definitely needs someone to make decisions. We have all witnessed Mike's excellence, so before the new mayor arrives in Fan City to take office, Mike must take on the main responsibility."

Du Shiqin nodded in agreement: "That's right. With the assistance of our group of dedicated officials, I believe Father Mike will be able to do this job well."

Mike felt very awkward—he hadn't agreed yet.

He was forced into this situation, feeling lost and helpless—like he hadn't yet woken up from a dream where he was terrified by Mr. Grey.

Feng Xiuhu patted him on the shoulder from behind.

Mike jumped in fright and turned to look at Feng Xiuhu: "What, what's wrong now?"

"Relax, everyone likes you."

Feng Xiuhu brushed the dust off Mike's collar, and with a single sentence, he brought back to the day he gave his speech at the Great Hall.

Feng Xiuhu smiled and said, "Don't forget what you wanted to do. Now you have the ability to do it."

Mike's eyes suddenly lit up: "Build a road for Qingfang Town."

Feng Xiuhu said seriously, "You still have many roads to repair."

Mike's Adam's apple bobbed. "Then... shall I give it a try?"

"And one more thing."

Feng Xiuhu told him, "Forget Mike, you have your own name, Qian Guangtong."

Qian Guangtong nodded vigorously.

……

Surrounded by officials, Qian Guangtong strode confidently toward the government office, his figure disappearing at the end of the street.

With her slender waist leading the narcissus and lingzhi, she dragged two large suitcases full of luggage out of the house.

Slim Waist was still complaining: "A bunch of uncultured bandits, they even took the suitcases—we only have these two suitcases left at home, and they almost couldn't fit everything."

She pointed to the boxes and said, "This is for the master, and this is for Shunzi. The kitchen is making pancakes, and there's nothing else to eat right now. The master can have something to eat on the way."

Feng Xiuhu walked over, opened his box, and started rummaging through it.

Among a pile of clothes, he found the familiar wooden box.

The box was heavy and rattled when shaken.

When Feng Xiuhu opened the box, the first thing he saw made him freeze for a moment.

Those two fragrant deer antlers.

As the lid was lifted, a rich and fragrant aroma wafted out, but only Feng Xiuhu could smell it.

Beneath the antlers lay a thick stack of gold certificates and a silver plate covering the bottom of the box.

Feng Xiuhu took out all the gold vouchers and stuffed them back into Xiyao'er's hand: "Why did you keep so many of these useless things?"

The girl with the slender waist could hardly hold back her tears as she sobbed, "They say a poor family should travel with plenty of money. Master is going on a long journey, so you should bring more travel expenses with you."

Feng Xiuhu retorted, "Don't you know what kind of person the master is? He's afraid of nothing and yet he can't make any money."

With tears in her eyes, the woman with the slender waist smiled and said, "Master's skills are certainly well-known in Fancheng, but who can say for sure what will happen outside? With only this little bit of silver left, I'm afraid it won't even be enough for the travel expenses."

"Who said that?"

Feng Xiuhu pointed to the rickshaws across the street: "I'll go and hire one for you to see."

"Oh no."

Feng Xiuhu had just looked away when he immediately turned his head back.

Looking closely, who else could it be but that coachman who was grinning and nodding at him from the opposite side of the road?
"Oh, so you dare to come back!"

Feng Xiuhu rolled up his sleeves and stormed over, with Shunzi quickly following.

Upon seeing Feng Xiuhu approach, the coachman immediately stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Sir, how have you been?"

Feng Xiuhu sneered, "You didn't die either, did you?" The coachman still smiled obsequiously, "Thanks to you, I survived a great calamity."

Shunzi tugged at Feng Xiuhu's sleeve from the side.

Feng Xiuhu turned his head and saw Shunzi pointing at the truck bed.

Upon closer inspection, Feng Xiuhu's pupils constricted slightly.

There was something lying in the truck bed that looked very familiar to him—the painting "Divine Guidance Across the Waves".

At this moment, how could Feng Xiuhu not know? This painting was no ordinary work; the vast ocean that submerged the port area originated from it.

The only difference is that there are no sailboats or waves in the painting now, only a calm sea.

If the frame hadn't been unchanged, Feng Xiuhu would almost not have recognized it.

His gaze toward the driver turned serious: "What kind of tactics do you use?"

The driver cupped his hands and smiled, "I heard that the sergeant is going on a long trip, and I figured I'd definitely need a carriage, so I came here to ask for business."

Feng Xiuhu sneered: "My journey is not short, can you pull it?"

The driver nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, we can go as far as we want."

Feng Xiuhu felt suspicious. The driver in front of him clearly had a purpose, so he tentatively asked, "How much is the fare?"

The driver rubbed his hands together and said in a conciliatory tone, "I won't accept gold pillars or silver plates, I just want to ask the sergeant for one thing."

Feng Xiuhu became wary: "Tell me first."

The driver gestured with his hand to indicate the size: "A natural history notebook, about this size, with a leather cover, and only the author's name is written on it, Constance."

Feng Xiuhu remembered it, but his expression was strange: "How did you know that my things were here?"

The coachman said with a forced smile, "It is a memento left by a good friend of mine. I came to Sail City to find it."

“Actually, I always knew that the manuscript was kept by the church in the factory area chapel, but my identity is rather sensitive, and it is inconvenient for me to have a conflict with the church, so I can neither steal nor rob it, so I have to think of other ways.”

"So that's why I came here to curry favor with you, right? But then it seems we had some misunderstandings, and things didn't go very well..."

"Then I heard that you looted the sanctuary..."

Feng Xiuhu objected: "Watch your words! What do you mean by 'looting'?"

The driver lightly slapped his own face: "That's basically the gist of it."

Feng Xiuhu ordered Shunzi, "The things are in the study, go and get them."

Then he said to the driver, "This business is feasible, but you have to give me a clear answer."

The driver nodded with a smile: "There's plenty of time on the road, we can talk slowly."

Shunzi brought the note, and Feng Xiuhu handed it to the coachman.

The driver tucked the bag into his robes and lifted the handlebars: "Sir, please take a seat."

Looking at the wagon bed almost completely filled with the "Divine Guidance Across the Waves" painting, Feng Xiuhu clicked his tongue and said, "You can't even fit everyone here."

The driver urged, "How do you know there's not enough room if you don't get on?"

Feng Xiuhu had an idea. He tried stepping onto the carriage floor, and the scene before him changed instantly—he stepped into the spacious carriage.

"I knew I hadn't misread it that day!"

Feng Xiuhu slapped his thigh and leaned out of the window: "Shunzi, did you see it clearly?"

Shunzi was rubbing his eyes when he saw Xiyao'er and the others who had been brought out, all of whom were dumbfounded.

Feng Xiuhu excitedly shouted to the driver, "Your rickshaw is like a Transformer!"

The driver smiled without saying a word, but urged Shunzi, "Master Shunzi, if we delay any longer, the sun will be setting."

Shunzi snapped out of her daze and quickly carried the two of their luggage upstairs.

The slender woman finally couldn't hold back any longer and threw herself onto the carriage shaft, crying out, "Master, please have mercy! Take me with you!"

Feng Xiuhu abruptly lifted the carriage curtain: "Ruan Xiaoman!"

Startled by the sudden address of Xiyao'er by her full name, she paused in her sobbing and instinctively looked up, meeting Feng Xiuhu's gaze.

"Live a life worthy of being called a human being."

Feng Xiuhu said softly.

Slender waist trembled, tears still streaming down her face, but she covered her mouth and slowly backed away.

Feng Xiuhu lowered the curtain: "Let's go."

"drive!"

The coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage started moving.

"Sergeant, where are we going?"

The driver asked a question through the curtain.

"where to?"

Feng Xiuhu muttered to himself.

Shunzi looked over too: "Big brother, where are we going?"

Feng Xiuhu licked his lips: "Yes, where are we going?"

This last sentence is actually a question posed to eclipse.

A low, humming response echoed in my mind.

"Taijing".

Feng Xiuhu shouted, "Let's go to Taijing!"

The driver's laughter rang out: "Wow, that's really far."

Feng Xiuhu burst into hearty laughter.

"I'm not afraid of the distance, I'm only afraid of not having a road."

……

As the saying goes—

One day, my soul crossed the river, leaving behind my lost homeland; two tattered remains drifted to the city.

First recognize the church's ferocity, then ask the temple to fight its tyranny.

The absurdity of this place is too numerous to recount, and all of you who hear it are filled with righteous indignation.

The lowly toil in the streets and alleys, while the wealthy and powerful feast in the mansions.

Pray for benevolence and wisdom amidst the mist, seek beauty, goodness, and truth amidst the wind and rain.

Those who lack benevolence and righteousness but lack wisdom will find it difficult to care for the truly poor.

The tiger roars, breaking free from the shackles of injustice; the madman kicks open the door of inequality!
The wind and rain are dispersed, the fog is driven away, and a new world is revealed after a long journey.

---Dividing line---

Volume One [Storm, Fog, and the Road], Completed.

P.S.: Hooray for the ending! Just kidding.

Master Feng's journey ahead will be even more bizarre and fantastical. Sail City is merely the tip of the iceberg of this world, and relatively "simple" because its faith is singular. As Master Feng leaves Sail City, he will witness an even more chaotic and absurd world.

Finally, I urge you, dear readers, to recommend this book to bookworms all over the world.

(End of this chapter)