HCB Chapter 204 Searching for the Holy Maiden
Chapter 204 Searching for the Holy Maiden
Chapter 204 Searching for the Holy Maiden
They were currently in the heart of the city center, but there were still several restaurants nearby. Instead of directly using their tokens to enter the Chen family's residence, they chose to find a place to eat at one of the nearby restaurants.
Hua Wushang sighed, "Sigh, after traveling for so long, we've finally found a place to eat. What were we eating at the inn before? They were awful."
Wu Fen looked at Hua Wushang with a doting expression. Although Hua Wushang didn't notice, Chen Feng did. Wu Fen actually liked Hua Wushang quite a bit, but he didn't show it.
They ordered several dishes.
"What are you doing?" Suddenly, some people came in.
The innkeeper was in a panic.
What are those people doing? They're searching the boss's valuables and demanding he pay the rent. The boss says he's already paid the rent, so why are they coming to collect it again?
"They said it was perfectly justified to collect protection money."
Seeing that this wasn't the first time this had happened, the boss quickly took out the money and gave it to them. After receiving the money, the people left with smiles on their faces.
Chen Feng saw them go to the next shop.
Chen Feng was very surprised and asked the boss why they had to pay.
"Besides rent, we also have to pay protection money," the boss said bitterly. "I don't know what's wrong lately, but Luoyang isn't as peaceful as it used to be."
What if you don't hand it in?
"How could we dare not pay? Last time, one shop owner didn't pay, and he was immediately removed from the register in Luoyang. His entire shop was confiscated, and in the end, he left this place, and his family was ruined."
"Our priest used to be very good, and he hasn't changed since. I don't know how things turned out like this." Chen Feng listened to the boss's explanation. It turned out that since the city family had some trouble, Luoyang City was no longer the same Luoyang City. It was no longer as peaceful. They not only had to pay rent, but also protection money.
Originally, they only needed to collect rent in Luoyang City, but now they inexplicably come to collect protection money every few days. If they don't pay, they beat them. Moreover, they say that no one will care even if they report it to higher authorities, because this is where the Chen family is the most powerful.
"You can report this to the Chen family. Why would they come and take your money for no reason?" Chengfeng asked in surprise.
"It's not that no one has tried to tell the Chen family; some people who were acquainted with the Chen family did so but were beaten up instead. After that, no one dared to sue the Chen family anymore, and nobody knows why."
"Oh, when did this start?" Chen Feng asked.
"It's been like this ever since our Holy Maiden returned." Chen Feng discovered that things had turned out this way when He Fei came back. It turned out that someone in the Chen family wanted to take action and wanted the position of priest. He couldn't stop them, so they threatened the priest, using He Fei as leverage several times.
Hua Wushang said angrily, "How can this be?" She was very angry, but there was nothing she could do, as she didn't understand the Chen family.
It seems we need to speed things up, given how much they're looting right now.
After finishing their meal, they entered the Chen family compound. Using their tokens, they entered quickly without any hindrance. Chen Feng immediately said he wanted to find some of Teacher Chen's belongings, so they were taken to Teacher Chen's former residence.
Chen Feng said it might take him a few days to find the item, so they stayed inside for many days.
The guards saw that they did indeed look like students, so they settled them there and didn't ask any further questions.
As soon as Chen Feng entered, he found a guard living nearby and asked, "Where can we get something to eat? We haven't eaten since we came back from our journey."
So the guards led them to a place where there were few people, and it was probably past mealtime. After they got their food, they sat down at a table.
"Hey, we collected quite a lot today. Sigh, that's really good. We have money to use again. I wonder if the elders will give us some more pocket money."
Chen Feng saw several guards around him eating and looking very happy. He heard that they had a lot of money on them and that the elders would give them money. So he asked the guards how they made money. He said he wanted to make money too and asked if they could give him some tips.
"We all make money by following the elders. You can join us if you want, but the elders aren't easy to fool. You have to really go and recruit them."
What are you collecting?
"We're collecting rent."
"How will you collect it?"
"So every day, I'd pay a big amount on the first day, and then pay a small amount every day after that."
"What do you mean by this? Didn't we pay the rent on the first day? What are we supposed to pay for later?"
"Protection fees, huh?" the guard said impatiently.
"Why are you still collecting protection money? Isn't that illegal? It's a national regulation."
"Heh, our elders have already said so. They're the ones who dare to come and rebel against us."
"Isn't the priesthood the most important? How come the elders are the most important?"
The guard immediately lowered his voice, "Our elder is the highest, but don't let the priests hear this, or you'll be in big trouble."
Chen Feng thought to himself, "What kind of strange thing is this?" So he said, "Where is your Holy Maiden? Didn't she come back a few days ago?"
"The Holy Maiden, isn't she right here in her own courtyard?"
Chen Feng said he had heard that the Holy Maiden was very beautiful, so he was curious and gave the guard some money. The guard was not very surprised and did not suspect him anymore. He told him the location of the Holy Maiden, but told him that the place where the Holy Maiden was located was under strict guard and not ordinary people could enter.
"However, there is one place where you might encounter the Holy Maiden. It's a sea of flowers, and the Holy Maiden loves to go there. There are many beautiful flowers there, and the guards aren't very strict. You might catch a glimpse of the Holy Maiden's face." The guard told him a very simple method.
They decided they had to go to this sea of flowers to wait for the Holy Maiden, since they probably couldn't get into the Holy Maiden's usual residence, so this was the only way to get in.
Alright, we only have three days, so we'll have to stay there for the next two days. If we don't meet the Holy Maiden by the last day, we'll have to find another opportunity. With that, the three of them returned to their current lodging.
It's nice to stay here. I just wander around every day. Although I haven't figured out everything yet, there aren't any major problems.
Chen Feng told them that they needed to familiarize themselves with the route here, otherwise it would be difficult for them to escape once they were discovered.
So these past few days they've all divided up the work. The others investigated why the elders held the most power in the courtyard, yet the high priest was suppressed. The matter of the Holy Maiden was left to Chen Feng, who waited for her in the sea of flowers every day.
Hua Wushang and Wu Fen were wandering around inside when they suddenly came to a place heavily guarded by soldiers. Although they didn't go in, they were stopped at the outside.