Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 488, Parting with Fang Youliu

It's clear that Liu the philanthropist is genuinely interested in finding the treasure; otherwise, the steward wouldn't have gone to such lengths, even promising a share of the treasure.

But Feng Xiuhu was skeptical: "Anyone can make empty promises. There are plenty of wealthy families who have the ability to form treasure-hunting teams. The treasure for restoring the country may not necessarily fall into the pocket of your Liu the Great Philanthropist. It's not even a sure thing yet, and you dare to use it as a condition?"

Upon hearing this, those around him began to whisper among themselves, finding it reasonable and logical.

The manager could also see that the one who could stand up for the strong man in front of him was the scoundrel who had been stirring up trouble.

He then freed one hand, pulled Feng Xiuhu close, and whispered in his ear, "Please put this brother at ease and listen to some secrets I have to tell you. Do not let any outsiders hear them."

The crowd was packed around, and many onlookers were straining their ears to eavesdrop.

The steward looked around, then pulled Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi to the wall and had the guards of the mansion form a human wall before revealing his thoughts.

"Although the treasure map in my master's possession is a rubbing, it is absolutely authentic."

Feng Xiuhu chuckled: "I thought it was no big deal—real maps aren't just something that Liu Dashanren's family has, so this isn't much of an advantage."

The steward cupped his hands and said, "I can tell you're quite perceptive, brother. Since you know there's more than one genuine map, you must also know the riddle poem on it. What are your thoughts on this poem, brother?"

Feng Xiuhu glared and said, "What are you talking about? Even if I knew, would I tell you?"

The steward couldn't help but chuckle, but didn't reveal the truth: "To tell you the truth, my master has already figured out the riddle in the poem. As for the mountain bandit king's treasure, if not absolutely certain, then at least half of it is in his pocket."

Feng Xiuhu became truly interested and eagerly asked, "Tell me quickly, what is the answer to the riddle?"

The steward smiled and shook his head: "What you're saying is ridiculous. Not to mention that the answer is only in the master's heart, even if I knew—would I tell you?"

He returned to what Feng Xiuhu had just said.

Feng Xiuhu was about to get angry when the steward quickly calmed him down: "Don't worry, don't worry. As long as you two are willing to lend my master a hand and follow the group to Fallen Cloud City, once the treasure appears, the truth will be revealed, and there will be no more confusion."

"Fallen Cloud City?"

The place name Feng Xiuhu sounds familiar.

Shunzi reminded him, "Yu'ai Prefecture, Fang Youliu said that our next stop is there."

Feng Xiuhu suddenly realized: "Does that mean the bandit king buried the treasure in Falling Cloud City?"

The steward shook his head: "I don't know about that, but in my master's plan, we do have to go to Fallen Cloud City first, and the time is quite tight. We'll set off tonight."

Feng Xiuhu lowered his head in thought: "It's on the way..."

Seeing that he was considering it, the steward quickly pressed on, "Don't worry, gentlemen. We'll take good care of you along the way. If you don't need anything, feel free to rest and think of it as a trip to relax and enjoy the scenery. If there's anything we can do to help, with this strong man's skills, it'll be a piece of cake. What's the difference between this money and finding it for free?"

These were secondary; the only thing that truly moved Feng Xiuhu was the riddle poem.

If you said you hadn't seen it, that would be fine, but the problem is that Feng Xiuhu not only saw it, but Liu Dashanren also knew the answer to the riddle. The answer seemed to be right in front of him, and Feng Xiuhu felt an itch in his heart like a cat scratching.

While Feng Xiuhu was pondering, the steward thought he was still hesitating, so he added, "How about this, since there are two of you, in addition to the wages promised to the brave warrior, I'll take the liberty of paying you as well—how about two silver plates per day?"

Before Feng Xiuhu could speak, Shunzi objected, saying urgently, "How can my elder brother have less than me? What kind of talk is that—then I'll only take two silver plates!"

Feng Xiuhu slapped him on the back of the head: "If you can't speak properly, then shut up."

After saying that, he looked at the steward and said, "We agree to this, but we have a brother waiting at home, and we need to inform him."

The steward nodded: "You two may proceed as you see fit. The group will assemble at the east gate before sunset today, and will depart immediately upon arrival."

After bidding farewell to the steward, Feng Xiuhu and his companion hurried back.

When they returned to the hotel, Fang Youliu still hadn't come back.

Fearing he wouldn't be able to wait, Feng Xiuhu wrote a note and sent it to the newspaper office through the hotel staff.

The letter explained that they had joined Liu Dashanren's treasure-hunting team and, because it was along the same route, decided to travel with the team to Fallen Cloud City.

As the sun began to set, the messenger returned, but Fang Youliu was not with him.

"What about others?"

The messenger replied, "Mr. Fang Liu asked me to pass on a message, saying that the newspaper is very busy, and he has been appreciated by the editor-in-chief and cannot refuse, so he plans to stay and help out for a few days. Mr. Fang Liu has arranged to meet you two at the car dealership in Duoyun City in half a month."

Shunzi couldn't help but scold, "He's actually working now! He really doesn't know what's important."

Feng Xiuhu didn't care much. Although Fang Youliu was a soft-hearted person who disliked trouble, he was quite capable, so there was no need to worry about him too much.

Having received the reply, Feng Xiuhu told Shunzi to prepare to leave. After packing their luggage, the two left the hotel and went to the East Gate.

Since Fang Youliu was missing, they had no car to ride in, so they didn't bring all their belongings and instead traveled light.

Everything else was fine, but the most important thing for Shunzi was the whole box of gold vouchers. He was still worried about leaving them in the car with Fang Youliu. In the end, Feng Xiuhu suggested that Shunzi clear out a suitcase, put all the gold vouchers in it, and then the two of them went to Ruifu Bank on their way to the East Gate to exchange all the gold vouchers for receipts for safekeeping.

After all that work, it was almost time.

When the two finally arrived at the East Gate, a large crowd had already gathered there. Upon asking, they learned that they were all members of Liu Dashan's treasure-hunting team.

Shunzi was astonished. He had thought the treasure-hunting team would have no more than ten people at most, but upon seeing this, he roughly counted—there were probably no fewer than fifty.

To avoid blocking the road, these people lined both sides of the street, sitting or standing, in small groups.

Their clothing varied, and their identities were also different. Some were cart drivers or porters, some were dressed as hunters, and many others carried weapons.

Looking to the side, a row of handcarts were parked by the roadside, piled with various items and tools.

At the very front was a horse-drawn carriage, which, while not particularly luxurious, was not something an ordinary family could afford.

At noon, the steward was standing by the carriage. He glanced up and saw Feng Xiuhu and his companion, and quickly waved to them.

As the two approached, the steward greeted them with a smile, saying, "Gentlemen, please come with me to greet the master. We will depart shortly."

Feng Xiuhu looked at the carriage, quite surprised: "Did the great philanthropist Liu also personally go out to search for treasure?"

That's quite strange. Logically speaking, these gentlemen who form treasure-hunting teams should only be responsible for providing the money and then waiting for news at home.

Otherwise, venturing out into the mountains and valleys would inevitably involve hardship.

As soon as he finished speaking, a man stepped down from the carriage.

"I feel uneasy if you don't come with me. It's just that the journey is a bit bumpy, but I can handle it."

(End of this chapter)