Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 486 485 Treasure Hunt for All
The meal was rather haphazard, but Feng Xiuhu was still quite happy—after all, getting a good meal for free was a bargain.

After saying goodbye to Fu Rongshui, the two brothers went back to their room first.

Fang Youliu hadn't returned yet, and Feng Xiuhu said suspiciously, "It's just a few words of manuscript, does it really take this long? Is he off somewhere fooling around?"

Shunzi spoke up fairly: "He's not familiar with this newspaper. Even if he has a letter of recommendation, they won't let him report it casually. It will probably take some persuasion."

Shunzi clearly underestimated Fang Youliu's professional abilities, but Feng Xiuhu had witnessed them firsthand. With Fang Youliu's captivating writing skills, even in Taijing, newspapers would be vying for him.

But Shunzi's words reminded Feng Xiuhu, who nodded and said, "That's right, the best-selling content recently is definitely the 'Treasure of Restoration.' The student strike can't overshadow it at all, so it's understandable that the newspaper doesn't want to accept Fang Youliu's article."

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Shunzi's mind. His eyes lit up as he looked at Feng Xiuhu: "Brother, do you think the Duke of Daguo might also be here for the treasure?"

Feng Xiuhu was taken aback; he had forgotten about this—but upon closer inspection, he realized it didn't make sense.

"The Duke of Daguo is short of money? Even if he is, as a Duke of Daguo, he has plenty of people to do things for him. There's no need for him to come here personally to search for treasure."

Shunzi nodded hesitantly, "That makes sense."

Since the conversation had already reached this point, and they were both free anyway, Feng Xiuhu simply got up and called to Shunzi, "Let's go out for a stroll. I want to see how this 'Restoration Treasure' is causing so much trouble in Yu'ai Prefecture."

……

The two went out onto the street.

The streets were still bustling, with vendors setting up stalls, pedestrians hawking their wares, and people haggling over prices; it seemed no different from usual.

Feng Xiuhu was pondering this, thinking to himself that Fu Rongshui had exaggerated.

Suddenly, amidst the cacophony of shouts, a voice rang out: "Treasure map! Treasure map! A treasure map drawn by the bandit king himself! Absolutely authentic! Only two left!"

Feng Xiuhu was shocked—good heavens, Zuan Shanbao had gone to great lengths and spent a fortune to get his hands on this rubbing, and now someone on the street is selling it off? And it was even drawn by the bandit king himself!
Feng Xiuhu strode closer, and Shunzi took the lead, pushing through the crowd with both hands and shouting, "Get out of the way! Let my older brother see first!"

Seeing his figure, the crowd dared not argue and could only swallow their anger.

Feng Xiuhu arrived at the stall, and the stall owner put on a smiling face: "This gentleman has an extraordinary bearing. I can tell at a glance that you are destined to find the treasure of the bandit king."

Feng Xiuhu waved his hand: "Enough nonsense, where is the treasure map?"

The stall owner pulled a roll of straw paper from the bamboo tube beside him and spread it out in front of Feng Xiuhu: "Please take a look, sir."

Feng Xiuhu took a closer look and almost burst out laughing in anger.

Not to mention that the paper was brand new, the patterns drawn on it were crooked and looked like graffiti. What's most infuriating is that the route on it had absolutely no resemblance to the rubbing in the hands of the mountain leopard.

"And it was even drawn by his own hand..."

Feng Xiuhu sneered repeatedly: "What, did you draw the bandit king at your house this morning?"

The stall owner wasn't embarrassed at all, and replied with a smile, "The bandit king doesn't have that kind of time. This is a copy of his original work by a humble servant. Otherwise, where would I get so many copies? But sir, you can rest assured that the map is absolutely authentic. As long as you follow the route on the map, you will definitely find the bandit king's treasure."

Feng Xiuhu pointed to the upper left corner of the map: "Isn't something missing here?"

The stall owner asked blankly, "What's missing?"

Feng Xiuhu reminded him, "Why do I remember there should be a poem here?"

The stall owner sneered, "Sir, if you don't understand, don't talk nonsense. Why write poetry on a perfectly good map? That takes up too much space."

Shunzi couldn't stand it anymore and retorted, "What you're selling is clearly counterfeit!"

The stall owner, surprised, protested, "My sir, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. I'm here to do business with honesty and fairness!" Shunzi, enraged, was about to smash the stall.

Feng Xiuhu tugged at him: "Ignore him, let's go."

Shunzi's arrogance vanished instantly, and he protected Feng Xiuhu as they squeezed out of the crowd.

Back on the street, Shunzi was still indignant: "These are such obvious scammers, yet they still manage to lure so many people into their trap. Don't they have brains?"

Feng Xiuhu shook his head and said, "It's not that they're brainless, but rather that they're driven by a gambler's mentality. Even if there's only the slightest chance of getting rich, they want to try it, just in case they're the lucky one. In essence, they're no different from those rich people who form treasure hunting teams."

Shunzi nodded thoughtfully, though it was unclear whether she understood.

Suddenly a voice came from behind.

"The secrets of heaven enter the jade dome."

These are the last five characters of that riddle poem.

Feng Xiuhu stopped in his tracks and turned around to look.

There was an old fortune teller with a goatee, carrying a banner on his back. The front of the banner read "Face Reading and Fortune Telling," and the back read "Iron Mouth Direct Prediction."

Judging from his appearance, he must have been following Feng Xiuhu for a while.

Feng Xiuhu carefully examined the person, not underestimating him—this person must know something to be able to utter those five words.

The man with the goatee bowed to Feng Xiuhu and said, "My esteemed guest, I noticed you lingering at that swindling stall for quite some time. I suppose you've come here in search of treasure as well."

Feng Xiuhu remained noncommittal, then gestured with his chin at him: "What brilliant idea do you have?"

The man with the goatee stroked his beard and shook his head, saying, "No, no, I did not mean to stop you. Rather, I saw your face and realized that we are destined to meet, so I spoke the truth to make you stay."

Feng Xiuhu squinted and pondered. The fact that the fortune teller could say those five words meant that he had at least seen the map. In that respect, he was already much more reliable than the stall owner from before.

Seeing that Feng Xiuhu remained silent, the man with the goatee knew that the guest had been kept in the guest room.

So he deftly took down the bamboo basket he was carrying on his back, quickly took out a low table and stool and placed them under the eaves of a building on the street, then extended his hand to invite: "Honorable guest, please, this connection needs further explanation."

Feng Xiuhu sat down as instructed and asked, "What do you know?"

The man with the goatee adopted a condescending air: "It's not that I, a hermit, know anything, but rather what this noble person wants to know. Face reading, palm reading, character analysis, fortune telling—what does this noble person want to know?"

Feng Xiuhu thought for a moment and said, "Let's decipher the characters."

The man with the goatee took out paper and pen and pushed them in front of Feng Xiuhu: "Silently recite what you are thinking and sincerely write down one word."

Without giving it much thought, Feng Xiuhu casually wrote down the character "tiger" and slapped it in front of his goatee: "Fine."

The man with the goatee stared in thought for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Tiger, the mountain king! King, the emperor! Oh dear, the mountain bandit king's treasure is indeed destined for a noble person, and it's an extraordinary destiny!"

He spoke with great conviction and reason, and Shunzi, who was easily swayed by this, became incredibly excited upon hearing it, shaking Feng Xiuhu's shoulder and shouting—

"Brother! His predictions are fucking accurate!"

(End of this chapter)