Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 526, 525: The Story of Albert
Feng Xiuhu humbly asked for advice: "If you keep keeping me in suspense, I'll slap you."

Abbott chuckled twice: "Alright, don't be angry. What I mean is, the struggle between the bandits and the factory isn't the reason Black Third Sister wants to kill me; it's just a means for her to achieve her goal."

Feng Xiuhu didn't quite understand for a moment: "Does she need a special reason to kill you? She's a notorious bandit, she kills without blinking an eye, there's no reasoning with her."

Abbott realized that Feng Xiuhu hadn't understood him, so he explained it in a different way: "If you were a bandit, would you want to kill me?"

Feng Xiuhu blurted out, "Of course..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly realized—that's right! Why did the bandits want to kill Abbott? On one side were highway robbers, and on the other was a powerful boss. Normally, the conflict between the two would be limited to bombing the railway and stealing goods.

Honestly, if Feng Xiuhu were a bandit, he must have been blinded by greed to have the intention to kill Abbot—just look at the large number of Divine Guards surrounding Abbot, what's the difference between that and coming here to die?
Once he figured this out, a new question immediately arose in front of Feng Xiuhu: "Wait, how did you know that Hei Sanniang wanted to kill you? It couldn't have been her who told you, could it?"

Abbott narrowed his eyes, his tone becoming more devout and solemn: "A very authoritative source, enough for me to trust unconditionally."

Feng Xiuhu leaned closer curiously: "Just how authoritative are they?"

Abbott nodded slightly: "The Temple."

Feng Xiuhu was taken aback: "The Temple of the Church of War? The one in Taijing?"

Abbott nodded solemnly: "That's right."

Not to mention Feng Xiuhu, even Shunzi felt there was something wrong with what he said and couldn't help but interject, "Someone in Fornas City wanted to kill you, but you didn't even realize it. Instead, the Holy Temple in Taijing found out first and then sent the message to you?"

Abbott nodded again: "That's right, that's how it is."

It's clear that he truly trusts the Church of War unconditionally.

"What kind of logic is this..."

Shunzi muttered softly.

Feng Xiuhu waved his hand, signaling Shunzi not to interrupt. How the news came about was not important; he needed to figure out the cause and effect of the matter first.

He then asked, "So the message from the temple said that it was Hei San Niang who wanted to kill you?"

Abbott shook his head and said, "No, the message was very brief. It only said that someone had planned an assassination attempt against me in an attempt to hinder the church's industrial plans in Yu'ai Prefecture."

"Shortly afterward, the church assigned me additional guards."

He spread his fingers and pointed to the Divine Guards around him.

"The number of people involved also shows that the church believes this assassination poses a significant threat to my life; otherwise, they wouldn't be taking it so seriously."

Feng Xiuhu glanced around and curled his lip, saying, "According to what you're saying, I think it's not Hei Sanniang who wants to kill you—a bunch of bandits probably aren't even a threat."

Abbott seemed to have anticipated Feng Xiuhu's response, and with a smile, he countered, "But what if it's not just a bunch of bandits?"

Feng Xiuhu glanced sideways, waiting for what would happen next.

Abbott smiled slightly: "I'm not one to sit idly by and wait for my doom. I started an investigation in secret the moment I received the news." "Now there is enough evidence to show that Hei San Niang has joined forces with those foolish students in Fallen Cloud City."

Feng Xiuhu had a sudden realization, but he remained outwardly calm: "Student?"

Abbott scoffed and handed Feng Xiuhu a cigar: "They're just students. They call themselves the Self-Reliance Association or some hometown association or something, waving the banner of defending Yu'ai Prefecture, trying to drive us out—it's ridiculous. When will they finally understand that we're here to lead Xuan Kingdom towards civilization?"

Feng Xiuhu waved his hand to refuse the cigar, and took out a cigarette and lit it for himself: "How could a student join forces with bandits? They shouldn't be on the same side."

Abbott shrugged: "Only they themselves probably know the answer to this question, but I'm not surprised. After all, fighting and killing aren't suitable for students, so they need bandits to help them fight."

"Mr. Ma came from the south and must have seen a lot along the way. They incited trouble and used demonstrations to put pressure on the government. To be honest, these petty tricks can't really have much of an impact on me."

"But it wasn't until the government conveyed a request from the Self-Consolidation Association that I realized what they really wanted to do."

The story seemed to have reached a crucial point. Feng Xiuhu looked up and asked, "What are your demands?"

Abbott sneered repeatedly: "As the planner and controller of the Yu'aizhou industrial system, the Self-Consultative Association wants me to go to Fallen Cloud City to attend a face-to-face 'dialogue meeting' to discuss a result that everyone can accept—such as strictly limiting the scope of industrial areas, etc."

Feng Xiuhu laughed: "This is a trap!"

Abbott didn't understand what "Hongmen Banquet" meant, but he could tell that Feng Xiuhu had already understood his meaning.

Abbott slowly exhaled: "If I hadn't received news from the Temple, I might have already gone."

Feng Xiuhu nodded silently: "So, the one who devised the plan behind the scenes was the Self-Consolidate Association, and the one who took action was Hei Sanniang."

Fang Youliu, after hearing the whole story, couldn't help but gasp: "These students are ruthless enough to lure people out and kill them."

Feng Xiuhu remained noncommittal, but in fact he felt that the ruthless one was not the students, but Zhou Xiuqing.

The students were simply being swayed by the Self-Consciousness Association's ideology; they may not have known the true purpose of the plan at all, and may even have thought that they were really going to have a heated debate with foreigners at the meeting.

Only Zhou Xiuqing, a member of the Heroine Society, was motivated by murder from the very beginning.

Feng Xiuhu and Fang Youliu both understood the essence of the matter, but Shunzi had a question: "But is Hei Sanniang really confident that she can ambush and kill you on the way?"

This time, without Feng Xiuhu and Abbott having to speak, Fang Youliu answered his question: "You've fallen into a preconceived notion."

"In the eyes of the Self-Consciousness Association and Black Third Sister, Abbott was unaware that he was about to face a life-threatening situation. Without prior warning, he would not have been on guard, nor would he have been surrounded by so many Divine Guards. Black Third Sister only needed to do what she did best—bury gunpowder under the railway on Abbott's way to Fallen Cloud City for the meeting, and then send him to his death."

These words made Abbott shift his position uncomfortably—as someone who had almost fallen into a death trap, he was still shaken.

"So I think what I did was self-defense."

Abbott said jokingly, "If Black Third Sister wants to kill me, of course I have to fight back—only when she's dead can I sleep peacefully."

(End of this chapter)