Chapter 826: Chapter 831: Hongmen Master (Part 3)
"I’m just curious and wanted to ask." Wu Zhaofeng said, "In my mind, the best archer in the world is none other than the god of archery, Zhang Zhongfeng. But considering your age, you can’t possibly be him."
Ling Chen grinned, "I wouldn’t have guessed you have some insight."
Upon hearing this, Wu Zhaofeng’s eyes narrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "Does that mean I’m right, and Zhang Zhongfeng is your master?"
"No. My archery skills were indeed taught by Zhang Zhongfeng, but he is not my master; he is my fourth brother."
"Fourth brother?" Wu Zhaofeng muttered to himself, and whether he thought of something, his face suddenly changed, and he said with surprise, "Could it be... you are one of the Eight Peculiar Men?"
"That’s correct." Ling Chen nodded with a smile.
"I see." With that, Wu Zhaofeng took a step forward to stand in front of Ling Chen. Seeing him approach, Ling Chen unconsciously took two steps back, adopting a defensive posture, his gaze wary of the other.
"No need to be nervous." Wu Zhaofeng said, "I’m not here to fight you." As he finished speaking, before Ling Chen could respond, Wu Zhaofeng suddenly cupped his hands and bowed to Ling Chen.
Seeing Wu Zhaofeng’s actions, Ling Chen was slightly taken aback and asked, puzzled, "Mr. Wu, what are you doing?"
"Mr. Ling, a moment ago, I didn’t know your connection to the Eight Peculiar Men. I apologize if I was disrespectful, and please don’t take it to heart."
Upon hearing this, Ling Chen became even more confused. From Wu Zhaofeng’s tone, it seemed like he was acquainted with members of the Eight Peculiar Men. However, in all the time he’d been with them, Qiu Yong and the others had never mentioned Wu Zhaofeng’s name to him.
Seeing Ling Chen’s confused look, Wu Zhaofeng seemed to understand his thoughts and said, "Mr. Ling, my acquaintance with the Eight Peculiar Men is from many years ago, so you probably wouldn’t have heard of it. Come, please, let’s discuss it slowly." With that, Wu Zhaofeng turned to his subordinates and said, "Take them to get their wounds treated and brew a good pot of tea."
Following Wu Zhaofeng to the back hall, Ling Chen and Qin Genglong sat on the sofa and asked, "Mr. Wu, do you know my eldest brother and the others?"
Wu Zhaofeng nodded, "You could say I know them, but it’s been so long they might not even remember me. Here’s what happened..." Wu Zhaofeng then recounted the events from those years.
After listening, Ling Chen finally understood that Wu Zhaofeng and the Eight Peculiar Men shared such a past.
This matter dates back to more than a decade ago, when the Eight Peculiar Men were not the same eight people they are today. After all, Xia Yue, Ling Chen, Yang Chen, and Wei Jiahao were all still young, just children over ten years ago, unlikely to have any connection to the Eight Peculiar Men.
At that time, out of the Eight Peculiar Men, only Qiu Yong, Xu Ming, Zhang Zhongfeng, and another man who has since died were present. Besides them, there were four others, all collectively known as the Eight Peculiar Men.
In Wu Zhaofeng’s words, he was a member of Hongmen back then. Later, due to causing trouble outside and attracting the retaliation of other factions, Hongmen didn’t want to get involved in this mess, so they heartlessly expelled Wu Zhaofeng, leaving him to fend for himself.
Without Hongmen’s protection, Wu Zhaofeng found himself in dire straits, frequently pursued and nearly killed by his enemies. Until one day, after being relentlessly hunted for a month, Wu Zhaofeng was utterly exhausted, with wounds all over his body. Just as he sought a safe haven to rest, he was discovered by his enemies, who set up an ambush and trapped him.
At the time, Wu Zhaofeng’s strength had not yet reached the Earthly List level, and with injuries, he was no match for the numerous foes.
In such a situation, Wu Zhaofeng was filled with despair, deciding to give up resisting and quietly await his end. But just then, Qiu Yong and others, passing by, happened to stumble upon the scene.
As the saying goes, ’A sense of justice demanded action,’ Qiu Yong and the others did not stand idly by as Wu Zhaofeng faced death but chose to intervene, rescuing him from his enemies. Wu Zhaofeng was incredibly grateful at the time, determined to repay the life-saving kindness. But Qiu Yong dismissed it, telling him not to worry about it.
Since then, Wu Zhaofeng had never seen Qiu Yong again, let alone had the chance to repay him.
Ling Chen understood that for someone like Wu Zhaofeng, who held onto tradition, the concept of gratitude was significant. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have changed his attitude so dramatically, treating him as an honored guest.
"Mr. Ling, I owe my life to your eldest brother’s intervention back then. Unfortunately, as so many years have passed, I’ve never really had the chance to repay him."
"Mr. Wu, I know my eldest brother’s character well. He’s not the type to help others for the sake of repayment, so you needn’t worry too much about it."
"That’s not right." Wu Zhaofeng waved his hand and said, "A grace must be repaid; that’s the rule passed down by the elders. Mr. Ling, I wonder if you could help me find a way to meet your eldest brother?"
Ling Chen replied with a wry smile, "Mr. Wu, as you can see, we’re currently imprisoned in Yan City Prison. It’s not a matter of going out; we can’t even meet anyone. Unless we can get out of here, otherwise, it’s not just you, even I can’t see my brother."
"That might be a bit troublesome." Wu Zhaofeng said with a frown, "Yu Peng is a cunning person and won’t easily let us go. To get out of here, there’s only one way."
"What way?" Ling Chen asked with interest.
Wu Zhaofeng lowered his voice and cautiously uttered two words, "Escape plan."
Hearing the words ’escape plan,’ Ling Chen’s eyes brightened immediately. However, he did not show his inner thoughts on his face, instead putting on a troubled expression and saying, "Mr. Wu, I’ve heard that Yan City Prison is heavily guarded with many checkpoints. How could we possibly escape?"
"If it were others, their chances would be slim, but if it’s me, though I can’t guarantee a hundred percent success, I’m more than fifty percent confident."
"Really?" Ling Chen asked, half in doubt, "Mr. Wu, why?"
"Well... Mr. Ling, since you’re Qiu Yong’s brother, I won’t hide it from you. To be honest, if you want to survive in Yan City Prison, you have to do some things that aren’t well-received. There’s no other way; the prison is like this. If you don’t find a way to stand your ground, someone will eventually cause you trouble. So, I made some secret dealings with Yu Peng."
"What kind of dealings?"
"I act as his ears, helping him gather intelligence about the prison. For instance, if someone is plotting a plan to break out, I must report it to Yu Peng. After the matter is settled, Yu Peng will give me some benefits as a reward."
Tsk, tsk!
Ling Chen suddenly understood. The other day, while casually chatting with Tang Guolun, Tang mentioned that Qingyang Society and Hongmen had Yu Peng’s mole. Unexpectedly, that informant turned out to be Wu Zhaofeng.