Chapter Forty-Four Ashes

  Hiroshi Wada opened his eyes to find everyone's face wet, and not only was his head and face drenched, but his clothes were also icy cold inside. He felt a wave of confusion, he had just felt a bit tired, closed his eyes to rest for a while, how did he really fall asleep? He quietly reached back to touch the small camera on his waist, and suddenly let out a sigh of relief.

  His subtle movement was seen by Gu Longfei, who burst into laughter in his heart. If he hadn't held it back with great effort, he would have laughed out loud. This cunning Eastern devil is now at ease, but when he goes back and finds that it's just an empty camera, his expression will be priceless!

  What was originally a good birthday party was disrupted by this matter, and everyone's enthusiasm had dropped to freezing point. Huamanlou saw Feng Xiaotian's mind was elsewhere, knowing it was time to bid farewell, so he took Wú Shuāng, Wú Duì brothers and Gǔ Lóng Fēi, and left. As he was leaving, he called Feng Xiaotian aside, quietly reminding him to beware of Hirota Yoshiie and his son, being cautious of their ulterior motives.

  If it were in the past, Feng Xiaotian would have disagreed and even said that this sworn brother was being overly cautious. However, after experiencing a narrow escape earlier, where someone had drugged everyone at the table, he couldn't help but feel more vigilant. After all, his family was keeping something that affected the lives of thousands of people. So, he nodded in agreement with Hua Manlou, taking his words seriously and treating them as a matter of importance. From now on, given what had happened tonight, everyone was a suspect, and he would no longer trust anyone easily!

  On the way back, Huamanlou was also puzzled by what had just happened and asked Gulongfei to guess who might be secretly sabotaging them. Could it be Guotian Yangyi and his son, taking advantage of everyone's unpreparedness, quietly tampering with their food or drink?

  Gu Longfei listened and found that Hua Manlou was indeed not simple, worthy of being Mocheng Ding's trusted subordinate. Moreover, at this time, he discovered that his ability seemed to be no lower than Mocheng Ding's. He had guessed the unreliability of Hirota Yoshiaki and others immediately! Gu Longfei saw Hirota Kōichi's anesthetic and the spy camera that took pictures later because he had discovered Hirota Kōichi's conspiracy beforehand and did not drink the wine with the anesthetic, so he was able to see through his trick! And Hua Manlou, based on observation and her own judgment, guessed this matter **not off by much**, really can't be underestimated!

  However, he didn't want to tell Hua Manlou the truth about what had happened. He wanted to go back and develop the film first, check the contents shot by Hiroichi Kouta, confirm that it was indeed the 'Missouri' plan that countless pairs of eyes were staring at, then make several copies of the plan and give one to Murong Ding! Xiao Cheng had told him before that Murong Ding was ruthless and unscrupulous in his methods, but when faced with national and ethnic righteousness, he was unwavering. So giving the plan to him might really have an immeasurable impact on their compatriots who were suffering a great disaster! As for Hua Manlou, although he was Murong Ding's subordinate, Gu Longfei didn't know much about him and didn't dare trust him too much, so he said: "Hua, I've also been poisoned by the anesthetic, my head is foggy and I couldn't guess who did it! But I think that Hiroichi Kouta father and son are also involved in this!"

  "Haha, don't worry about it, we'll investigate this matter slowly and the truth will come to light eventually! By the way, you're now my deputy, let's go to the gang together and meet the brothers!"

  Gu Long was shocked, earlier when Hua Man Lou introduced himself to Feng Xiao Tian, he said he was the vice leader of the Small Knife Society, thinking it was just a temporary measure to make Feng Xiao Tian believe and accept him quickly. Unexpectedly, Hua Man Lou took it seriously, now actually treating himself as his deputy, so he hastily shook his head: "Hua Leader, how can you take jesting words seriously? What virtue or ability do I have, that I can undertake your vice leadership?"

  Hua Manlou tilted her head, gazing at him with a slanted glance, and smiled: "Are you dissatisfied that the Small Knife Society's pond is too small to hold this true dragon?" His original plan was to let Gu Longfei establish contact with Feng Xiaotian first, then get familiar with his family, and take the opportunity to investigate the whereabouts of the 'Missouri' plan! But unexpectedly, someone secretly attacked from behind, knocking everyone out with anesthetic, making the atmosphere awkward and tense. Where was there still a chance to interact with Feng Xiaotian? The current remedy is to let Gu Longfei truly become the vice-leader of the Small Knife Society in order to continue interacting with Feng Xiaotian!

  "I didn't mean it that way, with my ability, I really can't bear the weight of this responsibility, I'm afraid of messing up your big deal!" He couldn't even handle his own affairs, how could he have the leisure to do this?

  Hua Manlou saw him repeatedly declining, thinking that he was a person favored by Murong Ding, so he also stopped hiding and expressed his own thoughts. He said that he was old and there was no one to inherit the leadership of the gang, and the small knife skill that had been passed down for several generations could not be lost in his hands. He hoped that Gu Longfei would agree to become the deputy leader of the gang and make the small knife skill flourish and continue! When he said this, he didn't care about Hua Wushuang and Hua Wu Dui brothers being present. He had already seen that if the two brothers were fighting or competing in strength, they could hold their own for a while, but when it came to handling gang affairs, they would find it difficult to cope!

  Gulon flew a glance at the two brothers, finding that they were both full of shame, as if they also felt that their abilities were too poor to share the burden for their father and felt apologetic. Gulon didn't want the brothers to be embarrassed, so he reluctantly agreed, saying: "Since Mr. Hua thinks highly of me, I will do my best, but if there's anything improper, please instruct me!"

  Hua Manlou saw that he had agreed to become his deputy, and said with joy: "Nothing, nothing, after you officially enter the gang, I will slowly tell you about the gang's affairs! Let's go, we'll go to the gang now, open the fragrant hall, and welcome the ancient master into the meeting!"

  The dragon hesitated for a moment, then said: "Master Hua, since I have promised you this matter, I will never go back on my word. There is no need to rush at the moment. For now, I still have some things to take care of. Once I am free, I will immediately go to the gang and take over as vice-gang leader. What do you think?"

  Hua Manlou looked at him and saw that Gu Long was sincere, his eyes calm and composed, obviously not pretending to be busy, so he nodded and said: "Alright, you go ahead and attend to your business first, just remember that I'll be waiting for your arrival in the gang!"

  "Dragon Flying hastily said: 'I don't dare!'"

  Hua Wushuang and Hua Wudui had a good impression of Gu Longfei since they first met, and now that he agreed to join the Xiao Dao Hui, they were even more delighted. They pulled on his sleeves from both sides, saying: "Big Brother Gu, you must come early, we're looking forward to it every day!"

  。。。。。。

  After parting with Gu Longfei and Hua Manlou, it was already midnight. The sky was starless and moonless, and the surroundings were pitch black. Despite this, he still didn't want to take the main road, fearing that he would encounter patrolling Japanese soldiers and add unnecessary trouble. He walked through narrow alleys, fortunately, he was familiar with the area and didn't get lost.

  After walking for a while, I slowly approached the Huanhai Road. From afar, I saw a patch of bright light and felt slightly relieved in my heart! The people living on this street mostly make a living by working for Japanese or other foreigners, so the conditions here are better than elsewhere, such as having streetlights along the road.

  Jiulong Fei walked closer, and suddenly a pungent smell of burnt offerings wafted into his nostrils. He felt a slight sense of discomfort in his heart. Who was burning something at this late hour? Didn't they fear the dry wind would cause a fire? As he approached his home, the foul odor grew thicker, and a thread of unease rose up in his mind. Quickening his pace, he took three steps for every two, hurrying towards his house in a small run.

  When he arrived home, he was immediately stunned by the scene in front of him: a fire truck was parked on the road in front of his house, and several people were pulling hoses, aiming at his house, pouring water non-stop! It turned out that his house had been burned down by a big fire, leaving only a pile of ruins and ashes.

  Kung Fu Master Flying was standing under the street lamp, this row of houses were all intact and undamaged, only his own house was on fire. He couldn't help but feel a surge of madness in his heart. Before he left home, he had extinguished the charcoal fire in the stove and hadn't left any embers behind. The reason for the fire at home was absolutely not caused by him, it must have been someone who set the fire!

  He went forward and asked a firefighter, "What's the cause of the fire?" The man in yellow firefighting gear looked at him impatiently and said, "How would I know what caused the fire? We just received an order to put out the fire wherever it is. Who cares about the reason? That's for the police department! Ugh, what bad luck. On such a cold day, can't even get a good night's sleep!" He muttered a few more sentences and then ignored Gu Longfei.

  Jiulong Fei's face turned red with rage upon hearing these words, and he almost punched the person. What kind of people were these firefighters? Not only did they speak rudely, but they also lacked any sympathy! However, he restrained himself, as arguing with such people would be pointless and unpleasant.

  He crouched to one side, his mind in a mess. Who was this arsonist and what was their purpose? He didn't seem to have any sworn enemies, and even if he had some minor conflicts with someone, it wouldn't be enough to lead to burning down the house! It seemed that the only person who could do such a thing was Murong Ding!

  But Murong Ding had just assigned himself a task, going to Feng Xiaotian's house to steal the 'Missouri' plan. Now, Murong Ding didn't know that he had already succeeded and that he still had use for him, so why would he come to burn his own house? What benefit would he gain from doing this? But apart from him, who else would come to burn down his own house?