Chapter 49

After the destitute scholar recited the poem, the inn fell silent as if no one dared to speak.

Originally, everyone's attention was focused on Huo Sijie, the red-haired Ouyang Qing, and Su Peng, among others. The scholar did not seem to be a martial artist and was thus overlooked. However, no one expected him to suddenly chime in with a poem that, to those with a basic understanding of literature, clearly mocked monks.

The poem, however, was somewhat peculiar, as it did not seem to be a general commentary and lacked universality. Instead, it seemed to specifically target a group or an individual. It sounded somewhat incoherent at first, but upon closer examination, it seemed to hint at a hidden story.

Everyone in the inn was quietly savoring the meaning of the poem, temporarily forgetting to speak, which made the inn fall silent.

Su Peng was the first to react. He felt that the poem was not just a mockery of monks but seemed to be inspired by something. He bowed and asked, "Sir, this poem seems to have a deeper meaning and a specific target. I wonder if you are alluding to something?"

"Hehe, I am just a scholar. What could I be alluding to? I just heard you talking about martial arts matters and was reminded of a story I heard in my youth, which inspired me to write this poem," the destitute scholar shook his head and smiled, but Su Peng sensed that his smile had a deeper meaning.

"Gentlemen, I am not a martial artist, so I won't talk about these things with you. After I finish these small dishes, I will go back to my room and sleep. Most of the people here are waiting for the ferry. From the weather, I can tell that there will be a heavy rain tomorrow, and the boat will not depart. We can wait until the day after tomorrow and board the boat together."

The scholar bowed to everyone and said this.

Su Peng couldn't help but look at the scholar a few more times. He had no idea how the scholar knew about the heavy rain tomorrow. Was he an expert in meteorology? Although knowledge of astronomy and geography was part of a scholar's expertise, this man's certainty was somewhat unusual.

"Who do you think you are? Can you predict the weather?" Someone from Huo Sijie's table finally reacted, realizing that the scholar's poem was mocking monks. A female martial artist shouted at the scholar, feeling that he had contradicted Huo Shaoye's words.

The destitute scholar had excellent self-control. He just shook his head and smiled, then returned to his self-indulgent drinking, ignoring everyone else.

Su Peng, however, felt that the destitute scholar wouldn't speak without reason. He thought for a moment. Tomorrow was a rest day, and he could log in early. If it really rained as the scholar predicted, he could log out and take a day off to handle some real-life matters.

"Let's see if the scholar's words come true and check the weather tomorrow," Su Peng bowed and said. Since the scholar claimed not to be a martial artist and didn't want to cause trouble, Su Peng didn't disturb him and continued eating.

After eating for about half an hour, Su Peng felt he had tasted enough of the seafood and settled the bill, then went upstairs.

Once in his room, Su Peng logged out of the game.

...

The next day, Su Peng came out early, around five in the morning, and went to the internet cafe alone to log in to the game.

As soon as he logged in, Su Peng noticed that it was pitch black outside, and heavy rain was pouring down. He went downstairs and saw a notice in the inn's lobby stating that there would be heavy rain all day, and the merchant ship would depart a day later.

"Indeed, his words came true," Su Peng thought, and he had a higher opinion of the destitute scholar.

Since they couldn't depart, Su Peng decided to take a day off. He returned to his room on the second floor, logged out of the game, and checked the time, which was only a little past six.

He went to the dining hall, had breakfast, and met Sun Shijia and Ji Ming. Ji Ming didn't plan to go out today, while Sun Shijia was going to visit his girlfriend.

"Let's go to Shi Qianjun's place to hand in the ring later," Su Peng said to Sun Shijia, who nodded in agreement.

After breakfast, Su Peng and Sun Shijia went to Shi Qianjun's place. There were no issues, and they left the ring and went out together.

At the company building, Su Peng called a taxi and asked it to drive to the apartment he had long-term rented.

Inside the apartment, Su Peng found a pile of newspapers in the mailbox, which he had subscribed to, the Zhonghai Daily. He took them all out.

Back in his room, Su Peng turned on his computer, entered encryption mode, and accessed a rarely known network relay station, sending a few messages. He then loaded a program, and the computer started running automatically. Su Peng began flipping through the newspapers.

The newspapers contained no valuable news, mostly about "models competing to attend the Hai Tian Feast," "woman killed after helping a pregnant woman home," "netizens from the north and south argue over whether to peel peaches," and "lawyer Gou Tianyi claims that raping a bar girl has little social harm." Su Peng glanced at them and moved on.

As he quickly flipped through the newspapers, a headline caught his eye.

Su Peng's pupils suddenly contracted, and his hand stopped flipping.

He pulled out a newspaper and saw the headline: "Former internet cafe owner brutally murdered in his shop, suspected to be killed by an arrow through the head, possibly a revenge attack by a gangster creditor."

Below the headline was a large photo of a short, fat man lying on the floor of what looked like a bathroom, with a conical wound in the back of his head, and white and red brain matter oozing out.

Su Peng's gaze froze as he recognized the man. The man's build and the clothes he was wearing clearly indicated that this was someone Su Peng had worked with briefly...

Fu Kang!

"Fu Kang is dead?" Su Peng felt as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer. It wasn't because he and Fu Kang were close, but a sense of fear washed over him. For a moment, Su Peng saw Xiao Lin die in front of him, saw the image of Xiao Lin spitting out his heart...

...

...

Su Peng didn't have much trouble finding the internet cafe Fu Kang had run.

He found it through the newspaper. The news article had the names of the writer and photographer. Su Peng called the Zhonghai Daily's main office, gave the article's name, and told the journalist that he was Fu Kang's classmate and wanted to confirm if the person in the news was his classmate. The journalist verified some basic information and found nothing suspicious. Su Peng then asked to see his classmate's mother and easily got the address of the internet cafe Fu Kang had run.

He took a taxi, and after about thirty minutes, Su Peng arrived at the address, which was the internet cafe where Fu Kang had died, as reported in the newspaper.

Su Peng looked around downstairs for a while before recognizing the building. Looking at the dilapidated buildings near the old factory, Su Peng thought, "It's a miracle this internet cafe makes any money. Does anyone even come here?"

He walked up the old building and found that the doors to the second and third floors, where the internet cafe was located, were unlocked. He went inside.

Inside, the internet cafe was almost empty, with chairs, tables, and computers that were in such poor condition that it was hard to believe the place was still in business. However, the door was still open, and a woman in her fifties, looking thin and frail, was sitting inside, her eyes lifeless, with a black armband on her arm, indicating the death of a relative.

"Hello, may I ask..." Su Peng asked the woman, who looked extremely depressed. Before he could finish, she shook her head and said, "We're not in business anymore."

"I'm not here to use the internet. I..." Su Peng started to explain, but the woman suddenly looked up, her eyes wide and frantic, and screamed, "Aren't you going to leave us alone? My son is dead, and you still won't leave us alone?"

Su Peng was taken aback and was about to speak when a teenager, around seventeen or eighteen, suddenly rushed out from the back room, holding a bat and shouting, "Auntie! Those guys are back? I'll beat them to death!"

"What's going on?" Su Peng frowned, thinking there might be a misunderstanding. He suddenly remembered the news report mentioning "suspected to be a revenge attack by a gangster creditor." Could they have misunderstood something?

Thinking this, Su Peng raised his hands and said, "Don't misunderstand, I'm a friend of Fu Kang. I saw the news in the newspaper and came to see what happened."

"Who the hell are you trying to fool?" the burly teenager shouted, making a move to charge at Su Peng. At that moment, a woman with a black armband rushed out from the back room and grabbed the teenager, saying, "Huzi! Don't hit anyone!"

...

...

After some explanation, Su Peng managed to avoid a pointless fight.

The old woman he had seen earlier turned out to be Fu Kang's mother, the woman was Fu Kang's wife, and the burly teenager was Fu Kang's brother-in-law.

Fu Kang was indeed dead. His mother, shocked by her son's death, had become somewhat neurotic and was taken to the back room to rest. Fu Kang's widow and brother-in-law received Su Peng.

"I am a former colleague of Fu Kang. Although it might seem a bit insensitive, could you tell me in detail what happened? I have connections in the police force, and if you provide more details, I might be able to help you," Su Peng said to Fu Kang's widow, a slightly plump but fair-skinned woman.

The woman's eyes had been red and swollen since Su Peng met her, and they turned red again when she heard his words.

"Sister! Don't cry. Just tell us what happened! If this brother can help, it might bring some clarity to your husband's death," the teenager, Huzi, said to Fu Kang's widow.

The woman nodded and began to tell Su Peng...

...

...

This is the third update, 11,000 words!

I've made up for the chapter I owed from the day before. As always, I won't let you down.

Please support me with recommendations, collections, and votes for the Three Rivers!

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