Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Uninvited Guest

  Feng Xiaotian's ancestors were extremely successful Huizhou merchants, who later moved to Hankou and saw that the place was surrounded by water on all sides, with lakes intersecting each other. They thought the feng shui here was excellent, so they bought land and built a large mansion in the city. It has been passed down for generations, flourishing without decline, until Feng Xiaotian's generation, although not very prosperous, but the foundation left by his ancestors is still largely intact.

  Hua Manlou brought Huā Wúshuāng and Huā Wúduì, and they stood in front of the main gate of Feng Xiāo Tiān. At this time, the sky was slightly dark, already at dusk, the big red lanterns hanging on the porch emitted a faint red glow, shining on the two stone lions standing proudly in front of the door, making the stone lions appear even more majestic and powerful!

  Hua Wushuang and Hua Wudui, the two brothers, had originally heard that they were going to Fengxiu Tian's mansion, but they shook their heads and refused to go. As they spoke, they retreated backwards! Hua Manlou saw this and a flame of anger rose up in his heart. Although the real Hua Manlou - Wushuang and Wudui's father - had been killed by him, after many days of living together, he had developed some feelings for the two brothers. Usually, the two brothers were strange in nature, with the older one liking traditional clothing and the younger one having a fondness for Western-style clothes. However, seeing that they practiced martial arts diligently and were obedient at home, fake Hua Manlou tolerated them. But these two brothers had some kind of problem, refusing to meet strangers or go out, staying at home all day like a big daughter.

  After moving into the Flower House, Jia Baoyu saw that his two brothers were so shy and introverted, he wanted to change them. Firstly, he had killed their father, although it was out of necessity, he wanted to make up for it in this aspect to show his inner unease; secondly, seeing the large family business of the Flower House, how could these brothers support it in the future? Unfortunately, he used a lot of effort but achieved little. Just now, Gu Longfeng had been persuading them with kind words for a long time before they reluctantly agreed to go out. It seems that Gu Longfeng can get along well with them, and in the future, let Gu Longfeng slowly change them!

  Murong Ding felt a sharp pain in his wound and couldn't bear it, so he left with Tang Ao. As they were about to leave, their eyes met with Hua Manlou's for a moment, and seeing him nod, Murong knew that he understood what he meant - to find a way to make Gu Longfei gain Feng Xiaotian's complete trust before leaving in the carriage.

  The flowers were in full bloom as they approached Feng Xiaotian's gate, which was tightly closed. It seemed that he hadn't invited any guests today. Hua Manlou felt secretly delighted, thinking it was for the better. With fewer people around, it would be easier to introduce Gu Longfei to him. At this moment, with just a few of them present, Feng Xiaotian would naturally treat them with courtesy due to his own reputation. Thus, they walked forward and Hua Manlou raised his fist, knocking loudly on the gate.

  Kung Lung saw that on the large gate, there were copper nails as big as fists, shining brightly in the dim light. He guessed that Feng Xiaotian was definitely not an ordinary wealthy man, because before coming here, Hua Manlou and Mocheng Ding had not mentioned much about Feng Xiaotian's family background. They thought that saying too much would affect Kung Lung's performance and judgment, everything was waiting for him to observe and adapt!

  The gate creaked open slowly, and an old man with white hair stood at the side of the door. Seeing so many people standing outside, he blinked his eyes and asked: "You... who are you looking for?"

  Hua Man Lou burst into loud laughter, took a step forward, and gently patted the old man's arm, saying: "Old Master Feng, you don't recognize me? I'm your young master's brother, Hua Man Lou!"

  He said in a low and slow tone, "Today is the young master's birthday, he said not to invite guests, how did you come?" After finishing speaking, he still stood in the middle of the gate, without letting them enter.

  The flowers are full of buildings, and they don't get angry. They said loudly: "Old man, I'm not a guest, I'm the younger brother of your family's young master!" While speaking, he gently squeezed forward, squeezing the old man to one side, turned his head and waved to everyone, and walked in.

  The old man was squeezed to one side, watching them file in, and didn't shout loudly, but muttered to himself: "What brothers, I think nowadays nothing can be relied on, hum, you come and go, it's all about cheating and stealing..."

  Jiulong Fei saw Hua Manlou and the old man's appearance, and couldn't help but curiously ask: "Hua Bangzhu, who is this old man? Why do you call him Feng Lao Yezi? Is he a relative of Feng Xiaotian?" At first, he thought it was Feng Xiaotian's father, but immediately denied his own idea. How could Feng Xiaotian let his own father come to guard the gate?

  Hua Manlou laughed and said, "This old man's ancestors were not originally surnamed Feng, but they had been following the Feng family for a long time. Later, the Feng family saw that they were loyal and honest, so they let them change their surname to Feng as well. This old man is one of their descendants, only he has grown older and become somewhat senile. Feng Xiaotian originally wanted him to rest and enjoy his twilight years, but this old Feng insisted on guarding the gate, saying that most people who come here are thieves, and he wants to protect the Feng family's gate, not letting anyone steal even a single grain of rice! It's hilarious, isn't it? I've been here over a hundred times, and every time he doesn't let me in. I don't care about him, so I just force my way in!"

  A dragonfly flew into his heart and suddenly he remembered, the purpose of coming here was to act as a thief. It seems that this old man's appearance is old, but in fact, there are some clever tricks inside.

  Hua Manlou was familiar with the place and walked into the courtyard, borrowing the light from the lanterns in the yard to make his way through the alley. He headed straight for the main hall in the center of the small courtyard, where he saw a faint light coming from inside and heard the muffled sound of people talking. Just as they arrived at the door, it swung open. The light from inside spilled out, illuminating the person who opened the door - a man in his mid-twenties with an air of elegance about him and sparkling eyes. He was taken aback when he saw Hua Manlou, but quickly regained his composure and smiled: "Uncle Hua, you've arrived! I didn't receive any prior notice, so I wasn't able to come out and greet you. Please, come on in!"

  Hua Manlou burst out laughing: "Yao Mountain, Uncle Hua came uninvited, but he's an unwelcome guest!"

  The young man smiled and said: "What's Uncle Hua saying? Hurry up and invite us in, our wine has just been poured and we haven't had a chance to drink it yet?"

  At this time, a woman's voice also came out: "Big brother, who is coming?"

  Jade Dragon heard this voice, felt a bit familiar, didn't know where he had heard it before, so followed behind Hua Manlou's back, walked into the house, a wave of hot air rushed forward, instantly driving away the cold air on his body.

  In the center of the house, an eight-immortal table was set up, with steaming hot dishes on it, and countless bowls and plates emitting fragrance. Just as the young man said, it seemed that their banquet had just been set up and they hadn't had time to eat yet. Hua Manlou and his group burst in.

  A man stood up from the main seat, clasped his fists together and said loudly: "Hua Dage, you've arrived! Sorry for not welcoming you properly, please take a seat!" They were familiar with each other and close, so they just exchanged simple pleasantries. Hua Manlou was also straightforward and invited everyone to sit down together.

  Jiulong Fei doesn't need an introduction, it's clear who is Fengxiang Tian. He looks about the same age as Huaman Lou, but without his Jianghu aura, instead having a scholarly appearance, wearing all white western attire and glasses, looking gentle and refined, appearing several years younger than his actual age.

  To his left sat the young man who had opened the door, also dressed in Western attire, with slicked-back hair and symmetrical facial features. His eyes sparkled under the light of the room. Gu Longfei's heart skipped a beat when he saw the girl sitting to Feng Xiaotian's right. No wonder the voice sounded familiar earlier - it was the woman whose purse had been snatched on the street that day, and whom he and Will had coincidentally bumped into while rushing forward to retrieve her purse. At the time, she had introduced herself as Feng Ling, but he had never expected her to be Feng Xiaotian's daughter!

  Feng Ling just saw Gu Longfei, and at first, she didn't recognize him. After a moment of stunned silence, she finally realized who he was. Although she was very curious about how this man could be with Hua PoPo, with her father and other elders present, she didn't dare to speak up. Instead, she just smiled warmly at Gu Longfei. Gu Longfei saw her expression and knew that she had also recognized him, so he responded with a smile.

  Feng Xiao Tian didn't usually pay much attention to birthdays and hadn't planned on inviting guests, but he had casually opened up his home for a banquet. Unexpectedly, his sworn brother arrived, and with a joyful heart, he said: "Hua Da Ge, come, let me introduce you to a friend - this is my old classmate from Beiping, his name is Hiroki Noguchi!" As he spoke, he pointed to the person sitting across from him.

  Huā Mǎn Lóu had long known that a Japanese person had come to Feng Xiāo Tiān's home, and also knew the purpose of this Japanese person's visit. However, he still wanted to observe his behavior in front of everyone, so he intentionally furrowed his brow and said: "He is a Japanese?"

  Feng Xiaotian smiled and said, "Right, he's Japanese! But he's different from other Japanese people. He's not only a pacifist among the Japanese, but also joined the anti-war alliance. Recently, he secretly joined the high-level ** and became a senior staff member! He recently came to Hankou on official business representing the ** Staff Department, coinciding with my birthday, so he came to celebrate!"

  Kouhei Hirota, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, looked like a Chinese man at first glance. However, as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, the difference in tone was noticeable. He stood up with a smile on his face and bowed to Huamanlou, Gulongfei, and others, saying: "Please take care of me!"

  He was not very tall, but he had a sturdy build and a gentle face that always showed humility. When Hua Manlou said he was Japanese, he didn't show even the slightest dissatisfaction or anger. His calmness made Gu Longfei secretly wary - this person was either truly dissatisfied with Japan's militarism or hiding his ambition! Gu Longfei had also dealt with Japanese people before and knew many of them, but someone like him who was so calm and collected was rare to see or hear, definitely not an ordinary person. Just from this point alone, it could be judged that Murong Ding's words were not a lie!