Chapter 923 - 889: Uninvited Guest

Ji Jiajia said, "You do look pretty, but you dress way too plain. A woman has to know how to doll herself up if she wants to grab a man’s heart."

Xiahou Mulan laughed. "Sounds like you’ve got a lot of experience?"

Ji Jiajia said, "I might not have eaten pork, but I’ve sure seen pigs run. Men are all the same. See that girl in the short skirt up ahead? She’s nowhere near as good-looking as you, but she attracts way more attention. Why? Because she’s willing to show some skin."

Xiahou Mulan glanced at Xu Chunliang and saw that he’d also, consciously or not, snuck a couple of looks at the short-skirt girl’s thighs. She secretly sighed to herself that he’d actually be interested in this kind of tacky, cheap type.

Xu Chunliang figured if something like this popped up it’d be a waste not to look. And anyway, that girl in the short skirt wasn’t bad-looking; her top was tiny and tight, and the neckline was cut so low it made you worry those two bunnies might break free of their restraints and bounce right out at any moment.

Not only was Xu Chunliang looking, Fu Xuedong was too. He was also a hot-blooded teenager, with much less self-control than Xu Chunliang. Just one glance and he subconsciously shoved his hand into his pocket—had to press it down, or it’d be embarrassing if his master noticed.

But sharp-eyed Xu Chunliang had already noticed and laughed. "What’s there to look at?"

"I wasn’t... looking!" Fu Xuedong drooped his head.

Xu Chunliang said, "Still claiming you weren’t looking? Your little buddy’s about to bang-bang-knock on the table."

Fu Xuedong’s face flushed bright red; his head was about to burrow under the table. Now he was really mortified—his master really did see everything. "I didn’t..."

Xu Chunliang didn’t want to make the kid too embarrassed, so he promptly changed the subject. "I just got off the phone with your mom."

"Don’t! My grandpa’s sick. I don’t want her worrying."

Xu Chunliang said, "You’re afraid she’ll worry, but you still run away from home? You’ve really got some nerve. You haven’t even graduated high school—what kind of job do you think you’re getting? You go looking for Ji Jiajia instead of me. So what, you’ve never trusted your master from the start?"

Fu Xuedong said, "That’s not it. I was scared you’d chew me out and tell my parents about it."

"Tell me what’s really going on."

Fu Xuedong told Xu Chunliang what had happened. Lately his dad had been in a bad mood, and his mom had gone back to her parents’ place. All the laundry, cooking, and cleaning at home had fallen on him. Last night Fu Guomin got drunk again and vomited all over the place. Fu Xuedong couldn’t stand the sight of him and complained a couple of times. Fu Guomin responded by slapping him across the face—this was the first time in his life his dad had ever hit him.

Fuming, Fu Xuedong ran out. At first he’d wanted to go to his grandpa’s place, but then he thought, he was already this big, he should be able to support himself. Before, when he’d chatted with his senior sister Ji Jiajia, she’d casually mentioned that if he really didn’t want to study anymore, he could go into business with her later. So he came here to throw himself on Ji Jiajia’s mercy.

After listening, Xu Chunliang was torn between laughing and crying. Ji Jiajia couldn’t even take care of herself—how was she supposed to take care of Fu Xuedong? He spoke earnestly. "Xuedong, all you’ve seen is your dad drinking, smoking, and moping lately. Have you actually cared about him? Let me be straight with you: your dad’s been getting a raw deal outside. At a time like this, you running away from home—do you have any idea how hard that hits him?"

Fu Xuedong pressed his lips together. Truth be told, he already regretted his impulsiveness a bit, but his mouth still wouldn’t admit defeat. "He’s a grown man. Even if he gets knocked around, he can’t just sink into it. He should straighten his back and live like a man, otherwise how’s he supposed to set an example for me?"

Xu Chunliang laughed. "That I agree with. Go back and say that to his face."

Xiahou Mulan and Ji Jiajia came back from ordering. Xu Chunliang told Fu Xuedong to start eating first. The kid was starving; at first he was still a bit reserved, but before long he was scarfing it down like a wolf.

Fu Guomin finally called. He apologized to Xu Chunliang, saying his phone had died and he’d just managed to charge it.

Xu Chunliang went outside and chatted with him for a bit, telling him about Fu Xuedong coming to Dongzhou. Fu Guomin was quite surprised. He’d been drunk last night and remembered scolding his son a few times. This morning when he didn’t see the boy, he figured he’d gone to school to review. He never imagined the brat had actually run away from home all the way to Dongzhou.

Xu Chunliang told him not to worry, that he was already keeping an eye on him and would talk the kid into going back in a bit.

As Fu Guomin gradually remembered that he had indeed slapped his son, his regret only deepened. He asked Xu Chunliang to please keep a close watch over the boy; he was heading to the high-speed rail station right now and would personally come to Dongzhou to pick his son up.

Xu Chunliang had originally wanted to talk him through it a bit more, but since Fu Guomin insisted on coming, it was better to wait until he arrived and speak face-to-face. In fact, Xu Chunliang’s plan had been to go to the Capital City the day after tomorrow—not only for intensive training, but also to bring his grandpa back.

In the afternoon, Xu Chunliang took Xiahou Mulan to visit Changshan Hospital and, while he was at it, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with her. Seeing how packed the hospital was with people, Xiahou Mulan felt the outpatient volume here might even be higher than at the Infectious Disease Hospital.

After listening to Gu Houyi’s brief rundown of the hospital’s situation, Xiahou Mulan had already roughly calculated that their profits were far from small. In truth, all industries were facing transformation issues. Holding a large amount of capital, Xiahou Mulan had invested in quite a few medical projects in recent years, but her approach had always been to spread out the investments. She’d never before put money into a general hospital.

Xu Chunliang accompanied Xiahou Mulan on a full tour of the hospital. Xiahou Mulan said, "So you’re the hidden boss behind this place?"

Xu Chunliang said, "My grandpa is. I don’t have any official connection to the hospital."

Xiahou Mulan said, "You really are a pro at riding two boats at once—eating from the big communal pot while keeping your own little stove going on the side. For you it’s the best of both worlds. But if you focused on running this place, growing it bigger and stronger, wouldn’t you make even more?"

Xu Chunliang said, "I don’t have much craving for making money. What I pursue is a sense of achievement."

Xiahou Mulan said, "Versailles."

Xu Chunliang laughed and said, "Your Chinese medicine planting base is making quite a bit too. How come you’ve started doing the digging-holes-in-the-ground business?"

Xiahou Mulan said, "It was all his idea. He said he wanted to look for..." Realizing she’d said too much, Xiahou Mulan immediately stopped talking and looked at a monk walking toward them.

Xu Chunliang recognized that monk. The unexpected visitor before him was Monk Yuanrong, whom he had seen in Canghuang Valley, Yan Hong’s uncle.

Yuanrong was dressed in a gray monk’s robe and wore a bamboo hat for shade. He had come today specifically to find Xu Chunliang, but he hadn’t expected to run into Xiahou Mulan here, and even less that Xiahou Mulan would be together with Xu Chunliang.

Yuanrong came up to them, bowed, and said, "Two benefactors, this humble monk Yuanrong, a monk of Jinguang Temple in Canghuang Valley."

Seeing him appear here and come straight for him, Xu Chunliang figured it must be about Yan Hong.

Yan Hong was dead. His two accomplices had been struck on their acupoints by Xu Chunliang and tossed into the van. When the time came and the points unlocked on their own, they couldn’t get in touch with Yan Hong and knew something had gone wrong. After a bit of discussion, they turned back to look for Yuanrong.

Monk Yuanrong asked carefully and learned it was Xu Chunliang and Hua Zhuyue who had made the move. After weighing it over, he headed straight to Dongzhou to demand the man from Xu Chunliang.

Xiahou Mulan said, "Mr. Yan, it’s you."

Yuanrong said, "Miss Xiahou, the one standing before you now is Monk Yuanrong, not some Mr. Yan. It’s even better that you’re here. A few days ago I wrote a letter to Yan Hong, told him to take my handwritten letter to the Sect Leader for help. I don’t know if you’ve seen Yan Hong?"

Xiahou Mulan of course knew Yan Hong had been killed by Cao Xinwei, but that was something she couldn’t tell him outright. She said coolly, "Yan Hong did come, but my father refused to see him."

Yuanrong’s gaze shifted to Xu Chunliang. "Mr. Xu, is it? Yan Hong is my lay nephew. I know he offended you. I ask that you, as a magnanimous man, not hold a petty grudge, and tell me where he ended up."

Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "Master, did you come to the wrong person? Yan Hong took me to the Mulan Planting Base, and then I let him go. I haven’t seen him since."

Yuanrong sighed and said, "Seems my nephew has already met a violent end. Very well. Since he cannot be seen alive, I ask the two of you to take pity and tell me where his body is. The Yan Family has only this one line of blood left. This poor monk only wishes to lay him to rest."

Xiahou Mulan sighed inwardly. By rights, the old monk’s request wasn’t excessive, but there was no way to tell him the truth about this matter.

Xu Chunliang said, "Master, I really don’t know where he ended up."

Xiahou Mulan said, "After my father turned him away, he left. I don’t know where he went either."

Yuanrong said, "The Sect Leader owes me two lives. By rights, if I ask him, he wouldn’t refuse, unless someone refused to pass the letter on to him."

Xiahou Mulan said, "I can swear to heaven I personally handed that letter to my father."

Yuanrong said, "The Sect Leader wouldn’t be so heartless. Without absolute confidence, I wouldn’t have written that letter. Back then I saved the Sect Leader’s life. He personally promised me he would do three things for me. As long as I asked, no matter how difficult, he would see them done. I’ve already asked him for two; this is the last one."

Xiahou Mulan thought to herself in secret; she hadn’t known Cao Xinwei and him had such a bond.

Yuanrong went on, "This poor monk heard some news: Protector Wu Yuanyi has been expelled from the Sect, and the order came personally from the Sect Leader."

Xiahou Mulan said, "Master Yuanrong, haven’t you already stepped beyond the Three Realms? How come you’re suddenly concerned with Jianghu affairs again?"

Yuanrong said, "Back when we were in the Sect, you were still young. It’s normal you don’t know what went on between us. I can tell you this: Protector Wu and the Sect Leader are sworn brothers, sharing honor and disgrace, fortune and misfortune. Without Wu Yuanyi’s full support, your father would never have risen to the position of Sect Leader. From what I know of the Sect Leader, even if he no longer held that position, he would never issue such an order."

Xiahou Mulan secretly cursed that this was bad. As expected, the visitor came with ill intent. She kept her composure and said, "People change. You don’t understand the Sect as it is now, nor do you understand my father. Wu Yuanyi’s reckless behavior has already endangered the Sect’s safety. It was a decision I made on my father’s behalf."

Yuanrong’s eyes burst forth with a piercing cold light. "Is the Sect Leader now alive or dead?"

Even Xu Chunliang felt the old monk was formidable, able to piece together the truth from incomplete information.

Xiahou Mulan said coldly, "My father is perfectly fine. There’s no need to explain Sect business to you."

Yuanrong said, "I’ll ask one more time: where is Yan Hong’s body?"