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Capítulo 65

"Hedong in Shanxi?" the young man asked.

"You forgot? The first time he gave us instructions was to send the body of that old monk from Fengling Temple in Hedong to Foya Temple in Tongguan, wasn't it? That old Taoist priest must have something going on over there." Captain Zhang said, picking up his wine glass, his words already somewhat slurred.

"Hmm, he's probably gone back to Shanxi again." The young man clinked glasses with Captain Zhang and drank it all in one gulp.

Master Xufeng stretched and bent his body, then gracefully landed.

"Did you see anyone?" Youliang asked in a low voice.

Xu Feng nodded and said silently, "It seems this matter has a significant background."

The night was deep, the moonlight hazy, and a flock of wild geese flying north flew across the sky, leaving behind a few cries.

“Let’s go…” Master Xufeng said, putting his arm around Youliang’s waist, leaping over the backyard fence, and heading straight for the Weinan Hotel without saying a word.

Once inside the room, Youliang couldn't help but ask, "Taoist Master, have you seen Captain Zhang?"

Master Xufeng stared directly at Youliang, his expression serious, and said, "Tell me, what exactly happened at Fengling Temple?"

Youliang was taken aback upon hearing this, wondering to himself, "Why is Master Xufeng so eager to ask about Fengling Temple?" On the night his master Yidu was murdered, he had warned him never to tell anyone that he had once been a monk at Fengling Temple, but he had failed to hide it from Master Xufeng...

"Fengling Temple, I'm just a little monk, serving Master Yidu, fetching water, sweeping the floor, wiping the table every day..." Youliang stammered. He was careful not to say anything about the 'Fenghou Tomb'.

"How did Monk Yidu die? Who killed him?" Xu Feng impatiently interrupted Youliang's rambling and asked directly and sternly.

"It was an old Taoist priest who shot Master Yidu. Before he died, Master Yidu told me to run home as soon as possible," he replied, still shaken by the experience.

"Old Taoist priest... could it be Jia Shiming?" Xu Feng was taken aback, thinking that Master Jia possessed unparalleled 'innate qi cultivation,' and normally it would be impossible for him to use firearms to hurt people.

"It wasn't Master Jia, it was Master Fei, I think it was some Shanxi Daluo Palace..." Youliang recalled, this was something Nizi had mentioned to Uncle Weidu when they were at Foya Temple.

"Abbot Fei Ziyun of Daluo Palace in Jiexiu, Shanxi..." Master Xufeng was secretly surprised. It turned out that this matter involved such a wide range of people that even a renowned scholar in the academic world, Master Fei Ziyun of Daluo Palace, was involved.

“Yes, his name is Fei Ziyun, and he’s a one-eyed man,” Youliang chimed in.

"That can't be right. Fei Ziyun of the Great Luo Palace isn't one-eyed. I've met him several times before," Xu Feng said in surprise.

“He’s a one-eyed man; he only recently went blind,” Youliang explained.

"Oh, do you know why Master Fei Ziyun shot and killed the old monk Yidu?" Xu Feng pressed.

"I don't know." Youliang shook his head. His master had instructed him not to tell others, especially since he was a monk and Xufeng was a Taoist, not on the same path.

Xu Feng pondered the conversation he had overheard at the farmhouse. He concluded that the two drinkers were not members of the underworld, but rather secret government officials, though their affiliation remained a mystery. Since working for the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security a few years ago, Xu Feng had heard and seen far too much. He knew some things were too complex to get involved in casually, lest he bring trouble upon himself. He was acting on his abbot's orders; his task was simply to find Master Jia and retrieve the "Essentials of Innate Qi Gong" manual belonging to the Quanzhen Sect. He didn't want to know about the death of the old monk Yidu or his entanglement with Master Fei Ziyun. There were too many secrets in the world; excessive curiosity could shorten one's life, especially when it came to sensitive matters like politics.

As for helping Youliang find his kidnapped sister, it wouldn't hurt to do a good deed on the side, but it's unnecessary to risk a conflict with Jia Shiming.

"Taoist Master, you still haven't told me, is Captain Zhang in that room?" Youliang asked stubbornly.

"Yes," Xu Feng replied absentmindedly.

"Why don't you arrest him?" Youliang asked, puzzled.

"Because I already know where Master Jia is?" Xu Feng sneered.

"Where?" Youliang asked in surprise.

“Fengling Temple in Hedong,” Xu Feng replied.

Chapter Ninety-Five

Early in the morning, Master Xufeng and Youliang checked out of their hotel and left the Weinan Hotel, arriving at Fenglingdu on the south bank of the Yellow River.

A thick fog blanketed the Yellow River, turning it into a white expanse, and the early morning ferry was preparing to set sail.

The boat captain was an elderly man in his fifties. Due to years of exposure to the wind and sun, his face was bronze and covered with deep, long wrinkles.

"Fellow villager, may I ask you something? Is there a ferry at Fengling Ferry at night?" Master Xufeng asked.

The boatman sized up Master Xufeng and, seeing that he was a well-dressed outsider, politely replied, "Fengling Ferry has always been closed at night; this is the first ferry of the morning."

Xu Feng nodded and continued, "Do you drive the early morning ferry every day?"

"It's a monthly rotation; I'll start the night shift tomorrow," the boat captain said.

"A few days ago, on your early morning boat, was there a thin old man carrying a little girl of six or seven years old across the river?" Xu Feng asked, staring at the boat captain.

The boatman thought for a moment, then nodded and replied, "That's right. A few days ago, in the morning, an old man wearing a white sheepskin headscarf led a little girl across the river."

"Is that girl named Nizi?" Youliang couldn't help but interject.

"I don't know about that." The boatman shook his head and turned to untie the mooring rope tied to the shore.

"Was that old man tall and thin, and wearing sunglasses?" Xu Feng quickly asked.

"The old man is tall and thin, but he's not wearing sunglasses," the captain said as he climbed into the cockpit.

Xu Feng pulled You Liang onto the ferry, and with a rumble of the motor, the ferry slowly sailed away from the south bank.

"Youliang, the Daoist Jia Shiming you saw had good eyesight, right?" Xufeng asked, bowing his head.

"Of course it's good. Staring at you in a sinister way can be quite scary," Youliang recalled.

Six years ago, at his senior brother's request, Xu Feng traveled north from Baiyun Temple in Lanzhou to Beijing. There, he met the then-abbot, Master Jin, who later became Jia Shiming. At that time, Jia Shiming wore dark sunglasses and rarely left the Yunji Mountain House in the backyard of Baiyun Temple. The Taoist priests all believed that the abbot was blind and infirm. It wasn't until several years later that his senior brother Xu Feng privately told him that Master Jin's secular name was actually Jia Shiming, and that he could see, but had been feigning blindness for unknown reasons. The fact that a normal person could pretend to be blind for so many years was truly chilling.

"That old man and the little girl are undoubtedly Jia Shiming and Nizi," Master Xufeng said with certainty.

The ferry docked, and Xu Feng and You Liang disembarked. The two went to a small restaurant next to Fengling Ferry and ordered two plates of the famous local snack, "Wenxi Boiled Cakes," and sat down to eat slowly.

Now that they had found Jia Shiming's whereabouts, there was no need to rush. While eating breakfast, Xu Feng pondered how to negotiate with Master Jia Shiming to get back the "Essentials of Innate Qi Cultivation" and the girl Nizi.

Just then, someone called out loudly in the local dialect, "Old Wang, bring me two steamers of hot mutton shumai." As the voice fell, two people walked into the small restaurant. One was a middle-aged man wearing a blue Zhongshan suit, and the other was an old man in a black Taoist robe. He had a youthful face and white hair, and had a very sage-like demeanor. These two were Guo Youcai, the mayor of Fenglingdu Town, and Taoist Master Fei.

Xu Feng glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and immediately recognized Fei Ziyun, the abbot of the Daluo Palace in Jiexiu, Shanxi, and a renowned scholar. Sure enough, there was a layer of white film on his right eyeball, like a glass flower. You Liang was right; he was now a one-eyed man.

Xu Feng lowered his head, slowly tore off the sesame seed cake, picked out the chestnut and crimson filling strands inside, and gently put them into his mouth to chew. The taste was a bit cloying.

"Master Fei..." Upon seeing Master Fei, Youliang's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly tugged at Xufeng's clothes under the table and whispered a warning in a tense voice.

Master Xufeng remained calm and gently soothed Youliang with his palm, gesturing with his eyes for him to keep quiet.

"The shumai is here, Mayor Guo, please enjoy your meal..." The shop owner brought over two steaming trays of mutton shumai and placed them on the table, along with two dishes of Shanxi aged vinegar.

"Master Fei, our Fenglingdu mutton shumai is the most famous traditional delicacy in southern Shanxi," Mayor Guo said with great enthusiasm. "Look at this shumai..."

Each dumpling is shaped like a pomegranate, pure white and translucent, with a generous filling and thin skin, and a delicate fragrance. Legend has it that in the third year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign (1744), a peasant woman named Wang from Fenglingdu opened a shaomai (steamed dumpling) restaurant near Xianyu Kou outside Qianmen in Beijing. On New Year's Eve, Emperor Qianlong returned from a private visit to Tongzhou and ate shaomai at the restaurant. He was astonished by what he tasted. The Fenglingdu shaomai had a soft and fragrant filling, was oily but not greasy, and was pure white and translucent, like a jade pomegranate. Emperor Qianlong praised it highly after eating it, and upon returning to the palace, he personally wrote the three characters "都ック" (Du Yichu, meaning "All at One Place") and ordered a plaque to be made and sent to the shaomai restaurant. From then on, the Fenglingdu shaomai restaurant became famous and a renowned delicacy in Beijing.

Master Fei smiled, picked up a shumai with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and immediately praised it highly, chuckling, "This little shop in Hedong truly lives up to its reputation..."

Mayor Guo also picked up a shumai and stuffed it into his mouth, saying as he ate, "Taoist priest, I wonder when you will return from this trip to the capital?"

Upon hearing this, Master Fei's face immediately turned grim. He sighed deeply and pointed to his blind right eye, saying, "Mayor Guo, this trip to Hedong has been a complete disaster for me."

Mayor Guo hurriedly chimed in, "Sigh, who knew that brat's phlegm would be so toxic? It's made the Taoist priest suffer."

"And that cunning little monk..." Master Fei said through gritted teeth.

With a sharp "crack," Youliang lost his grip on the rice bowl, and it fell to the ground and shattered.

Master Fei turned his head and caught sight of Youliang, and was immediately taken aback...

At this moment, Youliang was wearing a brand-new dark suit and a scarlet tie, looking every bit like a kid from a big city, except that his head was still bald...

Youliang lowered his head timidly, looking away from Master Fei, his body trembling slightly.

Although Master Fei only had one eye, his keen eyesight, typical of martial artists, was immediately filled with suspicion. He silently stood up, walked to Xu Feng and the others' table, and fixed his left eye on You Liang. Suddenly, his arm shot out and grabbed at him…

With a "snap," the two chopsticks in Xu Feng's hand clamped onto Master Fei's wrist in mid-air...

"Professor Fei, please have a seat," Xu Feng said with a slight smile.

Fei Dao was taken aback; the strength of this man's two bamboo chopsticks was truly astonishing! Not only was his wrist burning from being gripped, but the man had also easily neutralized the force of his grasp.

"You are..." Master Fei slowly withdrew his hand and asked in surprise. This person was a complete stranger, so why did he call him Professor Fei?

Xu Feng nodded slightly, took out a business card from his pocket, and said humbly, "Professor Fei, last December, I had the honor of listening to your lecture on the I Ching in Beijing. I benefited greatly and gained a lot. It is truly fate that we meet again in Hedong today."

Professor Fei stared at Master Xu Feng with suspicion, then looked down at the business card. He saw that it was printed with the words "Xu Feng, Chairman of Hong Kong Kowloon Hongyitang Fengshui Affairs Co., Ltd." in gold lettering, and the business card exuded a faint, mysterious aura.

"Mr. Xu, you only listened to one lecture, yet you can recognize me at a glance?" Master Fei asked doubtfully. In fact, he didn't believe the man's words at all. In a remote restaurant in Fenglingdu, Hedong, a Hong Kong businessman who claimed to have listened to his lectures had extraordinary martial arts skills and was accompanied by the missing young monk from Fengling Temple. Who would believe such nonsense?

"I'm truly sorry for the intrusion. I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation, but your voices came through, which is why I dared to confirm that you are Professor Fei, the renowned master of I Ching studies from the mainland. Professor Fei, you have an extremely high reputation in the Hong Kong Feng Shui community. I, Xu, have always wanted to get to know a master like you and learn from you in person, but I haven't had the opportunity until now. It's truly fate that we meet here today," Xu Feng said with a sickeningly flattering tone.

“Heh heh,” Master Fei chuckled coldly to himself, then said, “So who is this child?”

"Oh, his name is Youliang. He is a distant relative of mine. This child has recently suffered a misfortune in his family, with both his parents passing away. I came to the mainland from Hong Kong specifically to take him to study in Hong Kong." Master Xufeng rambled on, whether people believed him or not was up to them.

Master Fei was a little confused. How could things happen by such a coincidence?

"Hey, isn't that the little monk from Fengling Temple?" Mayor Guo walked over and looked him over carefully, then looked at Master Fei with surprise and asked in confusion, "Master, who is this gentleman...?"

Master Fei handed his business card to Mayor Guo.

"Oh my, a Hong Kong businessman," Mayor Guo said, initially quite surprised. In the early 1980s, it was rare to see people from Hong Kong and Macau in this remote town on the east bank of the river. But then he added, "Oh, so he's into feng shui and superstition..."

"Please sit down and let's talk," Xu Feng said politely, without any hesitation.

Master Fei sat down next to Youliang, looking directly at him, and slowly said, "Little monk, where is Guo Ni?"

Xu Feng remained silent, a faint smile on his face.

"Nizi has been captured by Daoist Jia Shiming..." Youliang replied softly.

"Master Jia?" Master Fei was taken aback. He thought to himself, "Master Jia Shiming had an agreement with my master, Song Diweng, that we would work together to find Nizi and unravel the secret of 'Feng Houling'. Could it be that he secretly beat me to it?"

Chapter Ninety-Six of the Main Text

"Where is Master Jia now?" Master Fei asked anxiously.

Youliang shook his head, then glanced at Xufeng with an unnatural look in his eyes.

This naturally did not escape Master Fei's single eye. "Hehe..." he sneered, turned to face Xu Feng and slowly said, "Chairman Xu, you must know where Master Jia is now, right?"

"Of course I know," Xu Feng replied frankly.

"Where?" Master Fei pressed on, refusing to let go.

“Fengling Temple,” Xu Feng said.

Master Fei was taken aback upon hearing this, and he and Mayor Guo exchanged bewildered glances.

"Hehe, Chairman Xu, you're too joking... Besides, you're a businessman from Hong Kong, how would you know about this Taoist priest Jia Shiming in this corner of Hedong? And how could you be so familiar with his whereabouts? Just who are you?" Taoist Fei asked sternly.

"I heard from Youliang that not long ago, his sister was kidnapped by this Taoist priest surnamed Jia. I came to Hedong via Fenglingdu this time because I wanted to find this person and get my child back." Xu Feng said calmly, thinking that since his goal was the Qigong manual, he didn't want to meddle in other people's business. The more chaotic the situation became, the more advantageous it would be for him.