The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 534 A Midnight Encounter

Hongyun Restaurant's first evening service was a resounding success, and the chef's skill in making sesame cakes would at least be considered at the level of an executive chef in a magazine by today's standards.

The key is that these signature dishes from various cuisines, which have stood the test of time, brought a tremendous sensory experience to the gourmets of this seaside town hundreds of years in advance.

There were twenty tables in the main hall and eight private rooms upstairs. The tables were turned over twice, and all the ingredients were sold out. Finally, all the guests were seen off.

Even though Shaobing had reached the first-rate level, was agile and quick, and could even flip four pans at the same time, he was still panting heavily in the end.

However, Hongyun Restaurant has made a name for itself since its opening. Today's special offer will inevitably bring a large number of customers, but it is unlikely to be so popular in the future. It can only rely on a steady stream of customers, since the market in this small city is limited.

Otherwise, if he were this busy every day, he probably would have to quit making pancakes. Hobbies and professions are two different things. He is indeed a food lover, but he is also a soldier who kills without hesitation on the battlefield. If he were to face the stove every day, he would probably lose his passion very quickly.

The Hongyun Restaurant quickly fell silent, and Wu Chengyu also sent the remaining Beiwei Army soldiers into the city in batches to rent a few houses, which did not attract much attention.

Meanwhile, at Guiyun Manor, Feng Mofeng had already returned home with the three children, and the discussion about Hongyun Restaurant had just begun.

Qu Lingfeng's right hand was in a sling in front of his chest and he couldn't move it for a while. When Qu Yun saw her father injured, she was initially sad and almost cried. But when she learned that her father had taken the initiative to go to the door to fight and had been injured by a palm strike, she felt a little disgusted.

The girl was actually very filial, but in her opinion, it was her father's own fault. Besides, these injuries were nothing to Qu Lingfeng. The girl knew right from wrong and did not hold any resentment towards A-Ku because of them.

Huang Rong and Lu Guanying's eyes sparkled. They knew very well how powerful Qu Lingfeng was. If it weren't for his severed Achilles tendon and physical defects that prevented him from mastering martial arts, just based on his status as the senior disciple of Peach Blossom Island, the current Feng Mofeng would have a hard time catching up with him.

Even with his formidable skills, Qu Lingfeng was still defeated by Mo Ku. This greatly enhanced Mo Ku's status in their hearts, especially Huang Rong, who received a gift from Mo Ku and truly regarded her as her idol.

At this moment, Qu Lingfeng had no idea that he had become a stepping stone for elevating Mo Ku's status in the hearts of the three little ones. His right hand was injured, making it inconvenient for him to eat, but it did not stop him from drinking with his left hand, especially since he was in a great mood at the moment.

"Junior Brother did a great job, that's really inspiring. You've redeemed the face I lost yesterday. How can a disciple of Peach Blossom Island lose to a disciple of the Northern Beggar? I disgraced Master, but thankfully you stepped in and suppressed that woman."

Feng Mofeng remained calm and silently shook his head: "Skillful adaptation within a small space, using the unorthodox to respond to the real, is the style that Peach Blossom Island is most adept at."

You all know how skilled Senior Beggar Hong is in his fighting style—it's incredibly fierce and unstoppable. I'm a few years older than this Lady Mo, and despite using my strengths to overcome her weaknesses, I only managed to win by half a move; in reality, I've already lost.

When I returned to Guiyun Manor, I learned that my senior brother was injured because he didn't know that the heroine Mo was born with superhuman strength. However, when we fought, she never relied on her arm strength to catch me off guard; she was always competing in moves.

With innate superhuman strength combined with the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, if it were a true life-or-death struggle, I would inevitably lose. Senior Brother, please don't praise me anymore; I don't deserve it.

Lu Chengfeng continued, "She admitted to losing to you by one move, so you don't need to belittle yourself. But does she really say that the matter of us expelling the Beggars' Sect branch back then is over and there will be no further grudges? Do you believe her?"

Feng Mofeng pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I believe it. Senior Hong Qigong's reputation as the Northern Beggar Hero is renowned throughout the world, and even my master greatly admires his character."

As his disciple, Mo Ku struck me as upright and honest, without any hint of the underworld or evil. I would certainly believe anything he said.

Huang Rong chimed in, "Three senior brothers, this Sister Mo is really kind. Look at the gloves she gave me. I just tested them with Guan Ying's knife, and they're truly impervious to blades and spears. They're a treasure! How could she possibly be a bad person?"

Lu Chengfeng and the others had differing opinions on Huang Rong's words. In general, they felt that the girl was still unaware of the dangers of the world, but they were convinced by Feng Mofeng's approval of Mo Ku.

Lu Chengfeng shook his head, took a deep breath, and was full of doubt: "If that's the case, then this old lady from the Beggars' Sect didn't come here for what happened back then. She lost to you and simply said to let the matter drop, just to put our minds at ease."

But the more this was the case, the less I understood. Given her status in the Beggars' Sect, why would she suddenly come to Gushan? Logically speaking, apart from our Peach Blossom Island faction, there really wasn't anyone in Gushan that would warrant the Beggars' Sect's attention.

Feng Mofeng looked at the gloves in Huang Rong's hand and recalled the expression on A-Ku's face when he looked at Huang Rong. A flash of inspiration struck him.

“Rong’er, what do you think of Mo Ku? I’m not saying she gave you any treasures or how powerful she is, but rather what your feelings are towards her.”

Huang Rong is still young and not the extremely shrewd woman in the original story, but she is intelligent. She blinked her big eyes and answered.

"They were very friendly, as if they had met me before and treated me like family."

Feng Mofeng clapped his hands and said, "That's right. Mo Ku seems to really treat Rong'er as family. Her eyes can't hide anything, and she doesn't bother to hide it."

This is strange. Rong'er has never met her before, and this Mo Ku has no connection with my Peach Blossom Island. I don't know why she's like this. Senior brothers, I suddenly remembered that Mo Ku mentioned two people. One is Hong Niangzi. Her name has become famous throughout the world over the years. She led a righteous army against the Jin Kingdom single-handedly, and her power grew stronger and stronger. The Jin Kingdom couldn't do anything to her even with the full strength of the country.

Even his mentor, when he occasionally mentioned this person, said he admired him. There are very few people in the world who can meet his standards, let alone a junior.

But this Red Maiden has always been elusive. The Jin Kingdom has offered a reward of ten thousand taels of gold for her head, yet they still don't know what she looks like. But when Mo Ku talks about her, her eyes show not only admiration but also closeness. Could it be that she is very familiar with this Red Maiden?

However, let's leave aside for now what the relationship between this Red Maiden and her is, and the Red Maiden has absolutely no connection with our Peach Blossom Island.

Most importantly, the second person she mentioned said that the restaurant was a family business, owned by her husband, but her husband never showed up.

Looking back now, when Mo Ku gave Rong'er the gift, he seemed to glance upstairs intentionally or unintentionally, but unfortunately I didn't realize it at the time.

Now it seems her husband is likely watching from upstairs. Could Mo Ku's sudden appearance at Gushan be related to him?

Qu Lingfeng and Lu Chengfeng exchanged a glance. They absolutely agreed with Feng Mofeng's judgment, but they still couldn't figure it out. The only thing they were sure of now was that Mo Ku's appearance at Gushan had nothing to do with the Beggars' Sect.

“We didn’t even hear that Mo Ku was married, so how would we know who this person is? However, as Junior Brother just said, Gu Shan has nothing special about it except for the Peach Blossom Island lineage. They might be after our Peach Blossom Island. In any case, everyone should be careful.”

After their discussion came to nothing, the group dispersed to rest. Huang Rong slept alone in her boudoir, having spent a long time thinking about Mo Ku's charm and admiring her even more. Gradually, she fell asleep without realizing it.

Around midnight, apart from the night patrol guards, there was no movement at Guiyun Manor. However, Huang Rong heard a piercing suona horn sound in her sleep.

Under Huang Yaoshi's tutelage, Huang Rong became proficient in music. The more proficient she was, the more she found it difficult to tolerate noisy melodies. As if her defenses were about to crumble, she was awakened by the sound of the suona. She was a bit grumpy when she woke up, and seeing the deep night outside the window, she became even more annoyed.

The little girl couldn't sleep anymore. She heard the suona playing outside and got angry. She got dressed and went out, but still couldn't see the person playing the suona.

She had no experience in the martial arts world, and found the sound of the suona horn annoying, wanting only to stop it immediately. However, she didn't realize that the sound of the suona horn hadn't disturbed anyone else in Guiyun Manor except herself.

Despite how unpleasant the sound was, Huang Rong unconsciously followed the suona music step by step, as if the sound possessed some kind of magic, causing her to forget about looking for others and subconsciously chase after it alone.

She didn't realize that the sound seemed to be constantly changing direction, causing her to turn around and around in Guiyun Manor, but she managed to avoid all the night patrol guards and leave Guiyun Manor alone without anyone noticing.

She followed the sound of the suona horn step by step until she arrived near a small hill west of Gushan City. The hill was not high, and the weather was nice tonight, though it was a little chilly.

Under a sky full of stars, a bonfire suddenly appeared before them. The suona music had stopped, and Huang Rong was only a few steps away from the bonfire.

A barbecue grill sat on the fire, and a strikingly handsome young man sat beside it. He had just put down his suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument) and was turning over the grilled meat, sprinkling on some seasonings. A wonderful aroma filled the air and slowly drifted into the night.

After the suona music stopped, Huang Rong finally came to her senses. She was wondering what had happened and unconsciously thought she was dreaming.

She didn't seem to care much about the stunningly handsome young man in front of her. It seemed that Huang Rong's aesthetic preferences had always leaned towards the kind of honest and sincere man with thick eyebrows and big eyes like Guo Jing. Handsome men like Yang Kang and Ouyang Ke had never caught her eye.

So, no matter how handsome the young man was, Huang Rong didn't pay him any mind. But the enticing aroma of meat made the little girl's nostrils flare and her mouth water.

Anyone who loves late-night snacks knows that sometimes you might not actually be hungry at night, but the smell of barbecue always makes your mouth water, and Huang Rong was no exception.

The little girl still felt more like she was dreaming, which lessened her fear. Instead, she was drawn closer step by step by the aroma of the meat.

The person grilling meat was Wu Chengyu. He had already confirmed that he had no talent for music. Even though he wasn't tone-deaf, he had practiced the suona all the way, but he still couldn't play it in tune, and he thought it sounded terrible.

But there was little hope in terms of musicality. However, the power contained in the sound was a very sophisticated martial art. He incorporated the Transmission of Sound and Soul Searching Technique of the Free and Unfettered Sect, the Soul Transfer Technique and Ghost Prison Yin Wind Roar from the Nine Yin Manual, as well as the ultrasonic waves unique to the Talking Technique into the sound of the suona.

In addition, Huang Rong was in a daze in the middle of the night and was soon drawn here by the suggestive effect of the suona sound.

Huang Rong ran straight to the barbecue grill and took a deep breath: "Dried tangerine peel, cardamom, amomum villosum, perilla leaves, dried ginger, galangal, nutmeg, and some other things I really can't smell. Big brother, the meat you grill smells so good."

(End of this chapter)