Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 496 495 Chen Dejin Missing

Feng Xiuhu and Liu Weisen were dressed smartly and carried little luggage, so they were allowed to pass by the patrol officers at the city gate.

Liu Weisen knew the way and led Feng Xiuhu through the streets and alleys.

Feng Xiuhu didn't let Shunzi come along, and Liu Weisen didn't understand Feng Xiuhu's intention. So, on the way, he asked, "Why not let Brother Ye come along? If we get into a conflict with someone later, at least we'll feel more at ease with him there."

Feng Xiuhu didn't like hearing this: "With me here, what are you afraid of?"

After traveling together for several days, Liu Weisen felt he had figured out Feng Xiuhu's personality—the man was crude and unreliable, and there was no point in asking him anything, so he simply stopped talking about it.

What Liu Weisen didn't know was that Feng Xiuhu actually had his own plans.

The reason Shunzi wasn't allowed to follow was because he was too conspicuous.

Feng Xiuhu didn't even tell Shunzi many things—mainly because Shunzi's mind wasn't suited to thinking about these things, and saying more would only make things more likely to go wrong.

What exactly happened?

That requires starting from the beginning.

As soon as Feng Xiuhu and his group arrived in Zhenqiu City, the Marriage Temple came knocking on their door. Although the "Feast at Hongmen" was mentioned lightly, it had already sounded an alarm in Feng Xiuhu's mind.

The Temple of Marriage could easily discover their whereabouts and even find out their residence. So, from the moment he learned that Cheng Zhuiyi was a cultivator from the Temple of Marriage, Feng Xiuhu realized that he had been unknowingly being watched.

This is the main reason why Feng Xiuhu chose to join Liu Weisen's treasure hunting team.

Master Feng is a man who refuses to suffer losses.

Although he didn't know why the Temple of Marriage was targeting him, the deed was done, and Feng Xiuhu had to return the favor. The Temple of Marriage wanted to keep an eye on him, so he would infiltrate the treasure hunting team to hide and then go back to see what the Temple of Marriage was up to.

There were some things Liu Weisen didn't know, but Feng Xiuhu did—the reason the treasure map suddenly appeared was because the Marriage Temple was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Therefore, it is easy to draw a conclusion.

Chen Dejin has already made contact with the marriage temple.

As for why the Marriage Temple took the initiative to approach Feng Xiuhu, Feng Xiuhu had already considered the worst possibility—that Xu Liansheng had betrayed them, and the Marriage Temple had learned that the secret of the Heroines Society had been exposed, so they came to silence them.

But it's too early to talk about these things now. Liu Weisen doesn't know Feng Xiuhu's considerations. He just wants to see Chen Dejin as soon as possible.

Liu Weisen stopped outside a small courtyard enclosed by an earthen wall in the west of the city.

"arrive?"

Feng Xiuhu asked.

Liu Weisen was slightly out of breath. He pointed to the courtyard gate not far ahead and said, "This is it."

Feng Xiuhu looked up and saw someone coming out of the door.

He quickly called out, "Hey! You surnamed Chen!"

The man glanced back at them, then turned and walked away.

"Not polite!"

Feng Xiuhu said angrily, but when he turned to look at Liu Weisen, he saw that Liu Weisen's face was solemn.

"He is not Chen Dejin."

Liu Weisen said in a low voice.

That's it.

Feng Xiuhu realized what was happening and turned his gaze to the open courtyard gate—someone had arrived before them.

Liu Weisen dared not delay any longer, straightened up by supporting himself on his knees, and strode towards the courtyard.

Feng Xiuhu followed, and the two rushed into the courtyard, where they were immediately stunned.

"Wow, this is quite lively." Feng Xiuhu subconsciously muttered.

Several groups of people were standing in the courtyard; some were whispering to each other, while others were looking around.

Feng Xiuhu asked Liu Weisen, "Which one is Chen Dejin?"

Before Liu Weisen could reply, someone in the crowd chimed in with a laugh: "Another group is coming—don't even think about it, Chen Dejin isn't here."

Liu Weisen pursed his lips tightly. He refused to believe it and left Feng Xiuhu behind, walking quickly toward the simple tile-roofed house.

Before long, Liu Weisen walked out looking dejected. Seeing his dejected appearance, Feng Xiuhu knew what was going on.

Feng Xiuhu then turned to the person who had spoken earlier and asked, "Where is Chen Dejin?"

The man rolled his eyes: "I fucking want to know too."

The man had a bad attitude, and Feng Xiuhu pretended to argue with him.

Liu Weisen pulled Feng Xiuhu away, saying, "Even if he knew, he wouldn't tell us. Let's not waste our time."

Liu Weisen planned to ask the surrounding residents for information.

The two left the courtyard and happened to see a woman from the opposite house leaning against the door watching the commotion.

Liu Weisen quickly stepped forward and politely asked, "Auntie, do you know where Chen Dejin went?"

The woman sized up Liu Weisen and said, "I don't know how many people have asked me about Chen Dejin these past two days, but I don't tell just anyone."

After saying that, she casually adjusted her waistband—the money bag under her clothes clattered.

Liu Weisen understood immediately and quickly took out a silver plate and handed it over.

The woman skillfully tucked the clothes into her sleeves and finally spoke: "I don't know where Chen Dejin went, but the last time I saw him was half a month ago. I saw him coming out of the house with a young girl, and I haven't seen him since."

"Not long after that day, rumors of a treasure for restoring the kingdom began to circulate from somewhere. In the past few days, people have been coming to him one after another, but none of them have found it."

Liu Weisen was greatly disappointed—the money was indeed not well spent.

Feng Xiuhu suddenly asked, "Did you know about the treasure before this?"

The woman couldn't help but sneer: "How could we not know? Old Man Chen has been talking about treasure hunting all his life, it's gotten to the point where everyone's obsessed. Who in the neighborhood doesn't know about it? But we've never actually seen him find any treasure, so everyone just treats it as a joke and nobody takes it seriously."

……

The clue is broken.

Liu Weisen wandered aimlessly down the street, with Feng Xiuhu beside him.

Feng Xiuhu said, "Chen Dejin's father never deliberately hid the treasure hunt, but the neighbors never took it seriously, so the news was not widely spread."

"Until recently, someone accidentally learned about the Chen family's affairs and took the initiative to approach Chen Dejin. Chen Dejin's sudden public sale of the treasure map must be related to this person."

Liu Weisen nodded absentmindedly in agreement: "What you said makes sense, but we don't even know who this person is, so where are we supposed to look for him?"

Feng Xiuhu countered, "Do you believe me?"

Liu Weisen couldn't help but smile wryly: "Mr. Ma, what are you saying? If I didn't believe you, how could I feel at ease traveling with you all this way?"

Feng Xiuhu nodded and said, "Then I'll try to think of a way for you. I can't guarantee I'll find one, but it's better than you being helpless. But let's get this straight: you have to listen to me, don't ask any questions, and just do what I tell you to do."

Liu Weisen quickly agreed: "As long as Chen Dejin can be found, I will follow Mr. Ma's instructions."

Feng Xiuhu nodded in satisfaction and snapped his fingers: "Let's go to the Fengyu Temple."

No matter how renowned Liu the philanthropist was, all his methods remained confined to the secular world.

Feng Xiuhu, on the other hand, had connections that stretched from the lowest level to the lowest, including the lowest-ranking officials in the capital, and even reached the side of Xi Jun.

(End of this chapter)