Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 374 373 On the Road Again
The three of them set off again.

After a series of trivial matters, they were still busy until mid-afternoon. Liu Ben wanted to stay another night to avoid having nowhere to stay when the night was late, but Feng Xiuhu was unwilling to stay a second longer. Under his insistence, the carriage left the city gate of Jiangluoxi, stepping on the afterglow of the bluestone slabs.

Coming with the setting sun and leaving with the setting sun, in a sense, this can be considered a unity of knowledge and action.

Before leaving, the chief priests nominated Run Rusu as their representative to persuade Feng Xiuhu to stay for a few more days to take charge of the overall situation.

Run Rusu gave a very good reason: "There is no one in charge in the county now, and it will take several days to report to the prefecture in detail. Moreover, it involves Caiyi Temple, so we really need someone who can take charge."

Feng Xiuhu's response was also very direct: "Do I look like I have nothing better to do?"

The chief priests simply felt that Feng Xiuhu had a mysterious identity and held a high position of power, so they wanted him to stay and take charge.

But Feng Xiuhu wasn't buying it. However, he did point out a way for Runrusu: "Go to Fancheng and find Wan Laiqiu. Tell him that Ma Er, who holds the Wind and Rain Command, sent you. Tell him everything, and he'll clean up your mess."

Runrusu thought to himself, "Shouldn't I be cleaning up your mess, Master Ma?"
But he didn't dare say it out loud, so he just bowed and agreed.

Besides that, there is another urgent matter that needs to be addressed – car repair.

Fang Youliu bluntly stated that no one else could help with this matter; he had to rely on himself.

Under Fang Youliu's command, the group carried the cart back into the city and fought their way to the blacksmith's shop.

Father John stepped in and sent the guards to clear the area, then found the blacksmith and asked to borrow his furnace.

The blacksmith dared not refuse.

So the Divine Guards were sent outside to stand guard, and Fang Youliu closed the upper bunk door, leaving only Feng Xiuhu and two others inside.

The bright red firelight cast flickering shadows on their faces.

Although Fang Youliu didn't hide it from Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi, Feng Xiuhu actually didn't quite understand it either.

All he saw was Fang dismantling all the damaged parts and throwing them into the furnace one by one to reshape them—whether it was the cast iron shaft or the wooden wheel, they were all thrown into the fire.

Here's the strange thing: after being smelted at high temperatures, these things all turned into the same substance in no time—it resembled both flowing molten copper and wriggling tendons.

It seemed to have a life of its own.

Feng Xiuhu exclaimed, "It's alive!"

Fang Youliu shook his head: "It's dead."

Feng Xiuhu exclaimed in disbelief, "It's clearly moving!"

Fang Youliu countered with a question: "Water moves, fire moves, are they also alive?"

Feng Xiuhu was convinced, but asked in confusion, "Then what exactly is it?"

Fang Youliu thought for a moment: "A kind of soil? Or a kind of mineral? Actually, I can't say for sure, but in short, it's a magical material. You can think of it as a specialty of Pioneer Island. It is because of this material that my car has the ability to change."

"This material can be guided and shaped by magic, and after it is shaped, it will take on the appearance you want it to have."

As he spoke, Fang Youliu had already drawn runes and cast a spell. The molten copper in the furnace was drawn up and flew into the air, beginning to change shape.

Feng Xiuhu's eyes lit up: "I don't believe it unless you conjure up a pure gold carriage for me."

The abacus beads were practically popping out of Fang Youliu's face. He rolled his eyes and said, "No matter how realistic it becomes, it's still not real—hey, stop picking at my rivets!"

Fang Youliu slapped Feng Xiuhu's hand, which was frantically fiddling with the carriage shaft.

How insightful is Master Feng? He understands perfectly well that whether it's gold or not is secondary; the value of this material itself is definitely higher than that of gold!

Seeing Feng Xiuhu's darting eyes, Fang Youliu knew he was up to no good and said urgently, "Don't mess around. Even if I gave you this thing, you wouldn't know how to use it. Before you took it out, it was a rivet, and it will still be a rivet in your hands—what's a rivet worth?" Feng Xiuhu replied confidently, "Then teach me."

"I can't teach it."

Fang Youliu shook his head decisively: "This belongs to the special-level teaching content of our Mystic Arts Academy. Only scholars who have reached the Bachelor of Natural History degree and are qualified to submit an application for 'long-distance travel' can obtain the corresponding approval."

Feng Xiuhu's eyes darted around: "So how much is your tuition per year?"

Fang Youliu answered tactfully: "It has nothing to do with money. It's just that our academy only admits students with clear minds."

Feng Xiuhu was furious: "What if I donated a school building to you?"

Fang Youliu was taken aback: "That's a novel way of putting it..."

The car has been repaired.

Just before they set off, Father John suddenly reappeared.

He was accompanied by a guard who was carrying a money box. It was easily recognizable as a money box because Feng Xiuhu and his men used the same kind of box when collecting tribute silver in Fancheng.

Father John bowed deeply, first touching his chest in a gesture of respect: "Praise be to the mist."

Then he spoke to Shunzi, saying, "Your Excellency, this is the embezzled money that Ma Sanjiang forcibly gave me under the guise of donations over the years. Apart from the portion that was used for the normal repair of the prayer hall, the rest is all here. I think it should be handed over to you for destruction."

Shunzi lifted the lid and saw that there were several thick stacks of gold coupons inside.

Feng Xiuhu was slightly disappointed—was that all?
But then I realized—it might be a little less than the amount of embezzled funds, but it was just right for filial piety.

Under the guise of handing over embezzled funds, Father John was actually currying favor with the priest because he feared that his representative would speak ill of him back in Taiping.

Shunzi's face was ashen, but he suddenly roared in anger: "Who wants this kind of dirty money!"

He was about to overturn the money box when, fortunately, Feng Xiuhu had learned his lesson this time and grabbed Shunzi's arm first.

Feng Xiuhu pushed aside Shunzi and took the money box from the guard. He said to Father John, "Since you know your mistakes and can correct them, I guarantee that your name will not appear in the report submitted back to the Taijing Temple."

Father John beamed and bowed repeatedly to Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi.

Feng Xiuhu nodded sternly and waved for Father John to leave.

Forget about Father John's name; they wouldn't even have a performance review report.

Back in the carriage, Feng Xiuhu was overjoyed. As he stuffed the gold vouchers into his suitcase, he scolded Shunzi: "You have to learn from Xiyao'er in this respect. Don't refuse anyone who comes along. If we don't get any more silver coins, we'll both be sleeping on the streets when we get to the next city."

Shunzi replied sullenly, "Who said it wasn't recorded?"

He took out a jade pendant from his pocket and showed it to Feng Xiuhu: "This is what I took from Ma Sihai when I killed him that night."

Feng Xiuhu was quite pleased—Shunzi had indeed maintained his consistent fine traditions.

When the carriage reached the city gate, it suddenly slowed down.

Fang Youliu called out from outside, "Second Master, someone is looking for you."

Feng Xiuhu lifted the carriage curtain and took a look—

It turned out to be Zheng Ajuan.

(End of this chapter)