Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 524 523 Men's Taboos

When the manager saw this, he chuckled softly, "Keep your eyes peeled and don't look around. That's a branch you could never reach in eight lifetimes."

He thought Feng Xiuhu was deliberately trying to get close to him.

Feng Xiuhu didn't take it seriously and followed up on the manager's words by asking, "What's her background?"

The steward glanced around and whispered, "It's alright to tell you, it'll put an end to your filthy thoughts. That's Shen Morou, the daughter of the Shen family. Her father is Shen Tiankuo, the commander of the Great Xuan Army. Their camp is right next to Fornas City."

Feng Xiuhu nodded knowingly. He had never heard of the name before and thought he might have misjudged it.

As the group walked through the corridor and entered the hall, it was as if they had entered a different world. A magnificent and opulent scene came into view, and all the noise was blocked out by the heavy solid wood doors.

People were moving around in the hall, but it didn't feel crowded. Instead, the intrusion of Feng Xiuhu and his group attracted a lot of attention—mainly because Shunzi was too conspicuous.

Whether it was a foreigner in Western-style clothing, a nobleman in a mandarin jacket, or a lady in a cheongsam, they all turned their gazes toward them, then smiled and whispered among themselves.

The manager, with a fawning smile, bowed to the people and then led them further inside, instructing them in an even lower voice: "Don't look around, don't touch anything, and don't talk nonsense."

Feng Xiuhu sneered: "So many rules. Anyone who didn't know better would think we were going to see the emperor."

Mr. Feng has traveled to many places, but this is the first time he has ever encountered such a restrictive situation.

The steward explained it this way: "In Fornas, Mr. Abbott is no different from the emperor."

Shunzi said with dissatisfaction, "If he were the emperor, where would the government office stand? This is Daxuan, how can a foreigner be allowed to step on the head of the government office?"

They then walked through the hall into an empty corridor. The steward turned around and glared at Shunzi: "You can't let anyone else hear this—I'll just say it like this: if Mr. Abbott took all the factories in Fornas City, do you think the President would chop off Mr. Abbott's head or the Mayor's head?"

The answer was obvious, and Shunzi was speechless.

After turning a corner, a figure suddenly appeared in the corridor ahead.

Fang Youliu subconsciously stopped in his tracks, and Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi's expressions also changed—the long line of people standing against the wall were clearly the Holy Guards of the War Church.

Judging from the number of people, it is at least two squads of the Divine Guard.

The steward failed to notice the change in the expressions of the three people behind him. He went up to the guard and said, "This is the winner of tonight's arena."

The guard's gaze locked onto Shunzi, and after a quick look, he turned to the two people beside him: "Who are they?"

The foreman opened his mouth slightly: "Uh... fellow worker."

"A coworker?"

The guard looked them over again—apart from Fang Youliu, Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi's clothes didn't match those of "workers".

Suspicion arose in his heart, and he beckoned the Divine Guards to come forward and search him.

After a thorough search, all of their belongings were taken from them, but there appeared to be no weapons.

Just as the Divine Guards were about to return the items to them, the officer from before suddenly spoke up: "Wait."

He strode forward and grabbed Feng Xiuhu's wrist—he was holding a lighter in his hand.

The guard said in a deep voice, "Spread out your hand and let me see."

Feng Xiuhu objected: "Do you even understand what I'm doing?"

The guard narrowed his eyes, his hand slowly resting on his waist: "This is a magical artifact, isn't it? I sense the mark of 'wrath'—hand it over!"

Feng Xiuhu, who was already quite unhappy, finally lost his patience and said with a stern face, "Have I been too polite to you?"

Fang Youliu sighed.

Before Feng Xiuhu's cane even hit the ground, dense vines burst forth from both sides of the wall, binding all the Divine Guards tightly.

The remaining guard's expression changed drastically, and he immediately drew his pistol and pointed it at Feng Xiuhu's forehead.

But just as he raised his arm, Shunzi caught it in mid-air with one hand, rendering him unable to move.

Shunzi took the pistol from the guard and twisted it into a pretzel right in front of him. Fang Youliu raised his hands and explained with a wry smile, "Let's make this clear first, we really aren't here to cause trouble."

However, judging from the current situation, this explanation seems somewhat weak and unconvincing.

The guard tried to put up a last stand, reaching for the saw blade slung across his back, but as soon as his hand touched the handle, he dared not move.

The sharp axe blade was pressed against the tip of his nose, and the chilling sharpness sent shivers down the guard's spine.

He didn't even see how the axe appeared.

Feng Xiuhu gripped the axe handle, his tone unfriendly: "Do you realize your mistake now?"

The guard swallowed hard: "Perhaps I'm seeing things..."

Before he could finish speaking, Feng Xiuhu interrupted him: "Do you know how serious it is to steal a man's lighter?"

"what?"

The guard was taken aback.

Shunzi and Fang Youliu also glanced at them sideways.

Feng Xiuhu asked in surprise, "Am I the only one who knows this?"

Shunzi was confused, but unconditionally sided with Feng Xiuhu, so he scolded the guard: "What right do you have to take my brother's lighter? That's my brother's lifeline!"

Feng Xiuhu tried to salvage the situation: "It's not that bad."

Fang Youliu regretted it; he shouldn't have come today.

The steward, huddled against the wall, trembling with fear, saw the guard standing there dumbfounded, unsure of what to say. He mustered his courage, stepped forward, and said with a forced smile, "It turns out it was all a misunderstanding. The foreigner was unaware of your rules, sir, and thus inadvertently broke the taboo. Now that we've cleared things up, sir, please be lenient."

As he spoke, he kept giving the guards meaningful glances.

The guard finally came to his senses and stammered, "I really didn't know that the Xuan Kingdom had such a... custom?"

Feng Xiuhu muttered as he put down the axe: "Alright, I'll forgive you this time—what's next?"

The guard looked at the guards tied to the wall behind him, hesitated for a moment but still didn't dare to let Feng Xiuhu untie them.

The steward whispered, "It's time to go see Master Albert."

He regretted it as soon as he said it—he now didn't know whether letting these three meet Abbott was a good thing or a bad thing.

The guard's eyes unconsciously glanced towards the door behind him.

Feng Xiuhu pushed aside the guard and went straight up to knock on the door.

Bang bang bang!
Shortly afterward, the door was opened from the inside.

He looked at Feng Xiuhu with displeasure: "Who is so rude..."

Feng Xiuhu couldn't help but laugh—it turned out to be an acquaintance.

I met Yan Huaizheng, the director of the Police Department, just yesterday.

When Yan Huaizheng saw Feng Xiuhu clearly, a look of doubt appeared in his eyes—Feng Xiuhu looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

Feng Xiuhu saw through his confusion and complained familiarly, "Look at you, Director Yan has forgotten me so quickly?"

Yan Huaizheng subconsciously replied politely, "Oh dear, look at my memory! And you are...?"

Feng Xiuhu grasped his hand and shook it: "Go over there and think about it slowly. I don't have time to argue with you right now."

After saying that, Master Feng pushed open the door and strode inside.

(End of this chapter)