Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 386 385 News from Not Long Ago
Feng Xiuhu returned to his physical body and squatted down with Shunzi in front of the woman in Western clothes.

"He was dressed to the nines, but he couldn't even produce a single gold coupon."

Shunzi muttered softly.

Feng Xiuhu glanced up and, in the blink of an eye, Shunzi pulled out the woman's purse from somewhere.

He muttered to himself as he stuffed the few silver plates he had into his pocket.

"This means she doesn't usually need to spend her own money."

Feng Xiuhu made a deduction and also searched the woman's body thoroughly.

The man carried nothing else but a bright red handkerchief folded in the inner pocket of his Western-style dress. When unfolded, it resembled a festive veil, embroidered with intricate patterns in gold thread. Feng Xiuhu examined it for a moment and noticed that the patterns contained runes that looked somewhat familiar.

He suddenly realized—he had seen these runes on the Double Happiness Cup before.

Feng Xiuhu had a guess in his mind. He closed his eyes and carefully sensed it for a while. Sure enough, he detected the fluctuation of magic power on the red handkerchief.

"This should be a standard ritual implement from a marriage temple."

Feng Xiuhu was quite certain. He folded the handkerchief again and put it back—this was something he couldn't just take care of, or he might get himself into trouble.

"Let's get out of here quickly."

Feng Xiuhu stood up and called to Shunzi, "Those doormen will be here soon."

Shunzi responded, picked up the bent and deformed copper pipe, and ran off with Feng Xiuhu.

……

Fortunately, Shunzi remembered the way, and the two walked quickly and discreetly. After some time, they arrived home safely just as a light drizzle began to fall.

Feng Xiuhu went back to his room on the second floor to change his clothes, then went out onto the balcony to look outside.

Most of the shops on the opposite bank of the river had closed, but the thin wisps of smoke had not yet dissipated, gradually dissipating as the light rain washed them away.

Lost in thought, gazing at the night view outside, Feng Xiuhu recalled what he had seen and heard that evening.

The fact that there was no fish in the restaurant was indeed strange—whether there was actually fish or not was secondary; the energy this restaurant possessed far exceeded what a restaurant should have.

Armed doormen, throngs of officials, and even monks serving as bodyguards.

How could a woman who has lost power have such great abilities?
Even if her husband—the former mayor—hadn't died, and even if she were still the mayor's wife, this level of defiance was clearly excessive.

The best contrast is that Yan Qingtian, the mayor of Fan City, has no cultivators as bodyguards.

"I've only ever seen one woman who could have a cultivator as her bodyguard..."

Feng Xiuhu muttered to himself, then suddenly paused.

Another maidservant beside Wei Su'e, Wu Caifeng, also came from the Marriage Temple.

Could it be a coincidence?
Feng Xiuhu was unsure.

Tuk-tuk-tuk.

"Brother, are you asleep?"

Shunzi knocked on the door from outside, interrupting Feng Xiuhu's thoughts.

Feng Xiuhu pushed open the door and came out: "What is it?"

Shunzi frowned, biting his nails for a long time, as if he had finally sorted out his thoughts, and said, "Brother, me and..."

He pointed at Feng Xiuhu: "...The person on your body, we saw an acquaintance when we escaped from Shiwuyu."

Shunzi actually has acquaintances in Qianyu City?

Feng Xiuhu asked curiously, "Who?"

Shunzi pursed his lips and said seriously, "I only glanced at it hastily at the time and didn't see it clearly, but now that I think about it, it should be Zheng Sumei." Feng Xiuhu was stunned: "Cheng Aimei's wife?"

If I remember correctly, Zheng Sumei was still by Cheng Aimei's side when Feng Xiuhu and the others left Fancheng.

Feng Xiuhu found it unbelievable: "This can't be right. When did she arrive? What's she doing here? She arrived even faster than us?"

Shunzi guessed, "Didn't we stay in Jiangluo Creek for two more days? Maybe they overtook us then?"

Feng Xiuhu still felt that this matter was unreasonable—firstly, the evil god of Fancheng had already retreated, and Cheng Aimei's family had no reason to choose to flee at this time; secondly, given Cheng Aimei's family's wealth, they would not choose to eat expensive meals at Shiwuyu.

Where is Cheng Aimei?

Feng Xiuhu asked.

Shunzi shook his head: "I didn't see any. Zheng Sumei was indeed accompanied by several people at the time, but Cheng Aimei was not among them."

That makes even less sense.

Zheng Sumei gave up her thriving dim sum business and abandoned her husband to travel to Qianyu City alone.

Before I could figure it out, I heard the sound of a lock being opened downstairs.

Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi came down the stairs and saw Fang Youliu standing at the door.
Fang Youliu dressed as he had before leaving home. He pulled out a thick stack of newspapers from under his vest and gently patted them to shake off the few drops of rainwater.

Feng Xiuhu greeted him: "You even brought back the newspapers—does that mean you've successfully started the job?"

"They're all old newspapers."

Fang Youliu replied, "Only this copy is from some time ago."

He pulled out a copy and handed it to Feng Xiuhu. Feng Xiuhu looked up and saw that it read "Western Times".

Fang Youliu came over, turned the page for Feng Xiuhu, and pointed to a corner of the business section: "Look at this news."

Feng Xiuhu looked as instructed and saw that the small characters were very dense, and it read—

[We received an urgent telegram from the Grand Xuan Trading Company headquarters. Yesterday morning, Pioneer Island was suddenly struck by a drastic change in the Earth's crust. The tremors lasted for more than half an hour, and the shockwaves reverberated for hundreds of miles, causing the sea to become disordered and a massive flood to occur.]

According to the first mate of the Jardine Matheson fleet: "The sea was boiling, and the Kuroshio Current rose three zhang high. Although our ship quickly turned to avoid its onslaught, all the windows in the superstructure were shattered, the engine room flooded, and the cargo boxes on deck were submerged. The estimated losses were a thousand jin of Lonjah tea and over a hundred barrels of rubber."

[Author's Commentary: When natural disasters strike suddenly, how can human planning be neglected? In recent years, the number of Western ships has increased daily, yet the establishment of observatories and radio stations is not widespread. If we had followed the example of Western nations and deployed extensive surveillance facilities, how could merchants have suffered such an undeserved calamity? We urge the Maritime Directorate and the Radio Control Directorate to work together swiftly and implement effective measures to safeguard the lifeline of our great maritime trade!]

After Feng Xiuhu finished reading, he asked Fang Youliu, "Is your college built on a volcano? If so, it is indeed prone to earthquakes."

Fang Youliu shook his head and said, "Look at the date on this newspaper again—the day of the earthquake happened to be the day the Seven-Colored Scales were rising from the waves."

Feng Xiuhu was stunned for a moment. He suddenly realized what was happening and subconsciously turned to look at Shunzi.

He remembered—the Academy of Arcane Arts wasn't built on a volcano, but on the back of Gan Dang.

Do you think it could be a coincidence?

Fang Youliu asked in a low voice.

Without a second thought, Feng Xiuhu replied decisively, "Definitely!"

Fang Youliu asked in confusion, "I haven't even said what it is yet."

Feng Xiuhu slammed the newspaper on the table: "No matter what it is, it must be a coincidence!"

Fang Youliu scratched the back of his head and muttered to himself, "I originally thought that the battle between the true gods in Sail City had somehow disturbed something beneath the academy..."

He suddenly realized he had spoken out of turn, shut his mouth, and swallowed his words.

Then he shook his head and said, "Forget it, maybe it really is just a coincidence. After all, Sail City and Pioneer Island are so far apart."

(End of this chapter)