Chapter 53: A Chance Encounter

  Master Hui-chung took the mother and son to a small inn, first letting them have a full meal, then arranging for the mother and son to rest in a guest room. As the sky gradually darkened, Master Hui-chung disguised himself. He was seen wearing a short shirt, lightly dressed, changing into a night-traveling outfit, leaping out of the small inn's back window, disappearing into the darkness.

  Master Hui Chong agreed to help the widow bury her husband, but he didn't have much money on him. What he had to do tonight was to rob from the rich and give to the poor.

  Hui Chong Master had already found out that the most overbearing person in Cangmen City was Yuan Baihu Bang's former leader, and the current head of Cangmen City Security Command, Feng Renhao. This Feng Renhao was involved in both good and evil, oppressing citizens, and doing all sorts of wicked things. The people of Cangmen City called him "Du Gui Zi" (Poison Ghost Son). Because he knew the eighteen moves of the Ghost River, had surrendered to the Northern Warlord government, and was extremely ruthless and poisonous, he was known as "Du Gui Zi".

  Hui Chong Master secretly thought, "That Mysterious Yuan Sheng's hand is indeed a decent martial artist, he must be unwilling to associate with Feng Renhe and has destroyed the Qing She Gang. I heard that Feng Renhe is currently practicing an even more toxic martial art called Wu Liang Tui Shou, this time at the Feng manor, we must be careful."

  Master Hui Chong took advantage of the night, exerted his light skill, and jumped over the wall of the Feng family's mansion, entering the courtyard of Feng Renhe. What a magnificent and luxurious residence, comparable to the Jia Mansion in "Dream of Red Mansions". The walls around the courtyard were built with watchtowers, where guards were stationed on duty, holding guns and patrolling at night, making the entire Feng Mansion eerie and frightening.

  Master Hui Chong displayed his superior lightness skill of "Floating Shadow", passing through houses and eaves, evading the patrolling household guards, and drifting towards a place with bright lights. This "Floating Shadow" lightness skill was a unique superior technique of Biyuan Temple, and in the entire temple, only two people knew it - one was Master Hui Chong himself, and the other was Geng Yuan, who had secretly watched Master Hui Chong practice and learned it.

  Master Hui Chong poked the window paper with his fingertips and saw Feng Renhe sitting in a taishi chair, chatting with several of his wives. A woman who looked like a mother was holding a child over one year old, and another maid-like girl was teasing the one-year-old boy with laughter. The mother holding the child, although not as luxurious as Feng Renhe's wife, was also very fashionable.

  "Wu Ma, put Xiaobao down on the ground and let him take a couple of steps. It's so funny to see little kids walk. Let me take a look." Xiang Renshou sat in his armchair, smiling as he gestured to Wu Ma, wanting to see if the one-year-old boy could walk.

  "Come on, come on, Master wants to see Young Master walk. Let's have Young Master show you how he walks." Wu Mama put the boy down on the ground, trying to get him to stand steady, but no matter what, the boy just couldn't stand still and could only crawl around all over the place. "Young Master, Mama is here! Crawl over here, crawl over here!" The boy indeed crawled towards Wu Mama, who happily picked him up and held him above her head, laughing hehehe.

  "Ah!" Master Hui Chong, hiding outside the window, almost shouted out loud. "Isn't this Duan Hongde, the son of Hunyuan Saint Handan? How did he become the young master of Feng Renqiu? This is truly a case of 'treading on iron shoes without searching for it'. Now that I've found the lost Duan Hongde, I must take him away and not betray the trust of Duan Qian."

  The sound of conversation continued inside the house.

  "Wu Ma, look at you so happy, don't drop Xiao Bao and hurt him. Come, bring him over to me, let me see if the green snake pattern on his back has grown." Seated next to Feng Renhe at a table, and slightly older but with an air of authority, Master Hui Chong guessed that she was probably Feng Renhe's original wife.

  The big wife wanted to see it, and other wives also echoed in unison, wanting to see if the green snake pattern on the boy's back had grown or not.

  After the ladies had finished chattering and watching, Feng Renhe spoke up: "Bring Little Treasure over here, I also want to take a look."

  "Master, look, isn't he much bigger than when the young master first came?" Wu Ma lifted up the boy's clothes and exposed his back for Feng Renhe to see.

  "What's that? Just arrived, that was when I was a kid. Don't let me hear you say it again!" Feng Renhao corrected Wu Ma sternly for the two words "just arrived".

  "Yes, yes, sir. Look at me, I've said the wrong thing again. It won't happen next time, it won't." As she spoke, Wu Ma pulled down the boy's clothes to cover his back.

  At this time, a servant came in to report to Feng Renhe that Vice Master Cui was seeking an audience.

  Chui Vice Master? Who is Chui Vice Master? Master Hui Cong immediately became interested and wanted to hear the whole story.

  Feng Renhao waved his hand, and the big and small Ta, Ya Tou, servants, as well as Wu Ma holding a child, all turned to the back hall. The front hall was left with only two guards standing at the door.

  As Fang Renhao said "please", a large man with a black mask, wearing a black cloak and dressed in black clothes walked into the hall. Fang Renhao made a "please sit" gesture to him, and the man sat down on the chair where the madam had just been sitting.

  Hui Chong Master took a closer look and it was that black-cloaked figure who had kidnapped Duan Hongde in the forest.

  "Chui Ni, it's so hot, why are you still wearing a veil and a cloak every day? Quickly take them off!" Feng Renhao said to the person in black clothes who had just entered.

  "Big brother, things haven't completely ended yet. I still can't take off my veil and cloak, or the remnants of the Green Snake Gang will recognize me. From now on, I'll never be able to rest in peace again." said Cui Ni, the black-cloaked figure.

  Hui Chong Master heard clearly, this dark-clothed man with a hood, was actually the famous martial arts master in Jianghu, Gui Jiezi Cui Ni. His specialty was the Empty-Hand Technique.

  He only listened to Feng Renhe continue speaking.

  "Hey, what's so scary? The Green Snake Gang has been wiped out, everyone has seen the King of Hell, can the dead rise up to avenge you? You're thinking too much. Besides, you're now the deputy leader of the White Tiger Gang, it's your heyday, covering your face with a veil, how are people supposed to look at you, think of you? Listen to me, take it off and get some fresh air."

  "Boss, you should know that when we were counting the bodies of the Green Snake Gang, Duan Ke's body was not found!" Cui Ni said.

  "What? Could it be that Huanyuan Sheng's life-saving technique didn't work?" Master Hui Chong said, hearing from outside the window with some disbelief.

  "Weren't there over twenty corpses that were burned beyond recognition? Maybe this Jie is among them." said Feng Renhe.

  "There is such a possibility, but it's just one possibility. Moreover, the Green Snake Gang's branch in Bayin Town still has a protector named Cheng Kun, whom we haven't eliminated yet. Before the Green Snake Gang was destroyed, Duan Ke sent him to Gansu on business. What did he go to do? Does he pose a threat to us? When will he return? We know nothing about it. I've had someone keep an eye on Bayin Town for a long time, but we haven't found any trace of him. This guy should be our biggest hidden danger." Cui Ni said.

  "Isn't it just a guardian deity? There's nothing to be afraid of. Besides, when the big tree falls, won't the monkeys scatter? I reckon he's already found another way to make a living." said Feng Renhao.