Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 272 Strong Medicine
Although Old Mrs. Huo changed her strategy and sent Huo Xiuxiu, the beautiful young lady, to visit.

But Hu Ming remained unmoved and didn't say anything.

They even ignored the exorbitant price offered by Old Mrs. Huo.

From then on, Hu Ming stayed quietly at the New Moon Hotel for about half a month.

When the mood strikes, he would often invite Yin Nanfeng to visit various scenic spots and historical sites in Beijing.

Every now and then, I'd meet up with Hu Bayi and Fatty.

Huo Xiuxiu, who would occasionally come to "bother" Hu Ming, was a welcome addition to his otherwise mundane life.

After all, Old Mrs. Huo never gave up.

She has been searching for her daughter for over twenty years, so she has that much patience.

Huo Xiuxiu became their personal messenger.

During the past two weeks, Yin Nanfeng repeatedly tried to persuade Hu Ming to reveal the secret to eternal youth.

Hu Ming suddenly realized that among the Nine Gates, when had he become such a sought-after figure?
Everyone wants to get something from him.

It's worth mentioning that as Yin Nanfeng became more familiar with Hu Ming, he grew bolder and bolder.

Entering Hu Ming's room uninvited every morning, sipping red wine and admiring Hu Ming's "handsome man emerging from the bath," seems to have become a habit?
In her words, since we've already seen it once, why bother with all this?
There's only the first time and countless times for anything...

That statement is absolutely right.

啧!
In response, Hu Ming could only say that one shouldn't be too handsome.

……

Two weeks later, the day that many people were either saddened or looking forward to has finally arrived.

"Girl, don't worry, I'm coming soon to see you. You must have been very lonely down there all these years, right? Don't worry, I'll be here to keep you company soon."

"You know what? Later I found a child who looked just like you, it's just a pity he was a boy..."

"So many years have passed, and that child has finally come back to me. He stayed by my side until I died."

"I, Er Yuehong, have been a tomb raider for a long time, and I have done a lot of evil deeds. It is incredibly lucky that I had that child by my side before I died."

"It's a pity that I haven't been able to perform on stage even once in all these years..."

On the bed, Er Yuehong's consciousness was already blurred, immersed in her own world, looking at the photo in her hand and muttering to herself.

With one hand flailing wildly in the air, in his dying moments, he seemed to see the figure of the person he had longed for for more than half a century.

Hu Ming knew very well that this meant that Er Yuehong's life had come to an end.

This is just a brief resurgence; before long, the Second Master, who was once famous throughout Changsha, will be gone forever.

Too bad it's a boy? Tsk!
After closing the door and leaving someone to take care of Er Yuehong, Jiangnan lit a cigarette, leaned against the railing, and sighed wistfully.

Although he asked himself if he had any feelings for Er Yuehong.

But now that this nominal "master" is about to pass away, I still feel somewhat uneasy.

After all, in the past two weeks, Er Yuehong had treated him even better than her own son.

Hu Ming wasn't a heartless person, so he was naturally moved.

"If you were a girl, you'd probably be Second Master's wife by now, right?"
"Uncle Ming, don't be too sad. Second Master is already doing very well. In your line of work, not everyone is like you and the old man. It's already a rare thing to die peacefully in one's old age."

Yin Nanfeng stayed by Hu Ming's side, patted Hu Ming's shoulder, and comforted him.

"Alas, Nanfeng, how long has it been since he last performed a 'Farewell My Concubine' on stage?"

Hu Ming remained silent for a moment, then changed the subject and asked, “I heard from my elders that ever since Second Master came to the New Moon Hotel, he has kept his beloved opera costumes locked in a trunk and has never performed on stage in more than half a century.”

"To be precise, after his wife was buried in Changsha, the Second Master never touched a costume again."

Yin Nanfeng's voice was slightly low. Over the years, she had come to regard Er Yuehong as her elder.

Now, Er Yuehong's last wish cannot be fulfilled, and she is also somewhat saddened.

"Is that so? Then I'll grant him this last wish. Wait for me!"

Hu Ming paused for a moment, then quickly returned to his room under Yin Nanfeng's puzzled gaze.

Not long after, Hu Ming returned again.

She was holding a bunch of wrapped medicinal herbs and an ancient prescription from Shirley Yang's maternal grandfather.

"Find someone to prepare this medicine as soon as possible, so that he will have enough time to fulfill his wish."

Hu Ming handed the things to Yin Nanfeng.

"This is?"

"The potent medicine of the Mountain Moving lineage, using his remaining little time to gain an afternoon of clarity and strength."

"This is enough time for him to fulfill his last wish, let him leave this world with peace of mind."

Hu Ming said in a deep voice.

"...And the price? Nothing in this world comes without a price."

"I said I'd trade the remaining time for an afternoon!"

"I understand. If Second Master were conscious, he would probably agree. For someone like him, spending his time in a daze is ultimately meaningless."

"Slowly, go find the master to prepare the medicine, and be quick!"

"And... go and invite the old man to come and hear Second Master's final performance of Farewell My Concubine!"

Yin Nanfeng gave a wry smile, took a deep breath to stop worrying, and instructed Sheng Shengman beside him.

"With Second Master gone, another living fossil has left us, and the Nine Gates are about to be thrown into chaos again."

"Those idiots of your generation are probably going to get even more outrageous in the future."

The core generation of the Nine Gates. Some died back then, and others changed careers.

But the rest were all reckless fools who weren't afraid of death.

Now that one of the old guys above them is gone, it would be a miracle if they didn't become even more unruly.

"If it's going to rain, if a mother wants to remarry, if someone wants to die, can you stop them?"

"How they act recklessly and cause trouble is none of my business, nor yours."

Hu Ming scoffed dismissively. The Nine Gates? Apart from a few individuals, they've rotted to the bone.

Otherwise, many years later, the more mature Wu Xie wouldn't have planned to bury the Nine Gates and the Wang family together.

For him, it didn't matter what the Nine Gates were like.

For Yin Nanfeng, the Crescent Hotel had a close relationship with the Nine Gates.

But ultimately they are two separate entities, and whether Jiumen is prosperous or declining, it doesn't have a significant impact on Xinyue Hotel's business.

The most important auctions at the Crescent Hotel are not just about auctioning antiques.

Besides, does the world lose its antiques just because the Nine Gates are gone?
(End of this chapter)