Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 22 The Priest Goes to the Meeting Alone

Yesterday, Hollis Wu sent his speculation back to the Upper City District in the form of a secret letter. His direct superior, Bishop Konate Chen, confirmed Hollis Wu's speculation.

After Konate Chen received the news that the Lord God Church in various parts of the kingdom had swiftly closed down the mental hospitals in major cities, the news was passed back to the royal capital. Although the president did not show anger, he immediately issued a new decree restricting the city governments from privately approving the construction of new churches. They had to submit an application letter to the royal capital and obtain the court's approval before they could allocate land for construction.

This was undoubtedly the President's revenge, and this action was supported by all the major temples, led by the Xijun Temple.

In his reply to Hollis Wu, Konate Chen wrote: "The Temple needs a counterattack to consolidate their position. This counterattack is more about form than effect. They feel it is meaningful, but it is meaningless to the Church. Just like the death of Luo Mengzhang, the Temple feels that they have shown courage to draw their swords, but the disappearance of a priest is not worthy of the God of Mist's gaze."

Hollis Wu was a rigorous person. In the secret letter, he also expressed his suspicion about Feng Xiuhu - he was not sure whether Feng Xiuhu was telling the truth, so he did not rule out the possibility that Feng Xiuhu and the temple assassins had colluded to kill Luo Mengzhang.

Hollis Wu planned to pay more attention to Feng Xiuhu in the coming days, but he didn't expect Feng Xiuhu to act faster than him.

At noon, the deacon came to report that Yu Duanhun, the chief priest of the Fengyu Niangniang Temple in Gangkou District, was looking for him, and his expression showed that he had bad intentions.

Two gods cannot enter the same temple. This is the rule.

Hollis Wu dressed neatly and called the Semm guard officer, but thinking of Luo Mengzhang's fate, he was still worried, so he called a few more Divine Guards, and then the group walked out of the church.

Compared to the large number of troops here, only Yu Duanhun came to the temple.

He was standing under the tree across the street, hands behind his back, motionless.

But when he saw a large group of people coming out from the opposite side, Yu Duanhun couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

He came to the meeting alone just to negotiate, but didn't intend to actually fight.

With a calm expression on his face, Yu Duanhun bowed to Hollis Wu and said, "Father Hollis, I have long admired you."

Hollis Wu touched his chest and nodded in return: "Greetings to you, Chief Priest Yu."

The foreigner was very polite and didn't look like he was here to fight. Yu Duanhun felt a little relieved and began to show off: "Speaking of which, I should first congratulate the priest on his entry into the church."

Hollis Wu smiled politely, "I'm flattered that the High Priest has this intention."

Yu Duanhun changed the subject: "You haven't even sorted out your own affairs yet, but you're already rushing to cause trouble for the temple. Isn't your attitude a bit too hasty, Father?"

Home affairs?
Hollis Wu was startled, sensing a hidden meaning in Yu Duan Hun's words, so he tentatively asked, "The church knows everything about the church, so the high priest came here just to use this to criticize me?"

Yu Duanhun waved his hand and smiled, "I don't intend to knock, I just want an explanation."

Hollis Wu was secretly furious: "You're still asking me for an explanation?"

Yu Duanhun was also stunned: "You won't even give an explanation? Isn't your church a little too arrogant?"

"We are outrageous!?"

Hollis Wu almost shouted, and the Seim guard officer behind him clenched his fist and raised his hand, and the Divine Guards pressed down on the hilts of their swords.

Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Yu Duanhun took a step back and took a defensive stance, shouting sternly, "Holis Wu! Do you still have any shame? You stole the money from the Goddess of Wind and Rain and you still want to attack the temple chief priest in the street!"

Many people in Fancheng believed in the Goddess of Wind and Rain, and Yu Duanhun shouted so clearly on purpose in order to attract passers-by on the street and make Hollis Wu afraid.

Hollis Wu stopped the person behind him, making sure to maintain the moral high ground first: "You are slandering! It was clearly the temple that started it! And now you're running to the church door to throw dirty water!"

Someone was already watching from a distance. Yu Duanhun raised his voice again, "You dare to rob the money but not admit it? Feng Xiaohu has put all the money he collected as tribute on the head of the Goddess of Wind and Rain! Would he dare to do this without your instructions?"

Hollis Wu, who had only been working for two days, was stunned: "I have never seen what the offering silver looks like!"

There seems to be a misunderstanding.

Hollis Wu raised his hand to signal both sides to calm down, then sent word to the Divine Guards, arranging for a deacon to go find Feng Xiuhu and inquire about what exactly was going on. ...

At the gate of the house on Bibo Street, Shunzi and his brothers squatted in a row under the eaves, each munching on the bread in their hands.

Today, Boss Yuan changed his temper. Even though Feng Xiuhu was riding on his neck, he actually held his anger in his stomach. Not long ago, he sat across the street for a while and then angrily led his people away. I don’t know what he meant.

Just as he finished eating the bread, a rickshaw stopped in front of Shunzi and a butler in a priest's robe jumped out.

Shunzi quickly stood up and was about to go to greet him when he heard Feng Xiuhu's voice from inside the door: "What a rare guest! Why are you here?"

It turned out that Feng Xiuhu, who had eaten and drunk his fill, was taking a walk out. The woman in the cheongsam followed closely behind him, sobbing as she walked - Feng Xiuhu said that she was an important hostage and was not allowed to leave his sight, otherwise he would kill her.

The deacon who came was actually an acquaintance of Feng Xiuhu, Mike, Qian Guangtong.

Mike really didn't want to come, but after searching around, he was the one who was most familiar with Feng Xiuhu, so the task fell on him.

Mike forced a smile and said, "The Reverend Father is looking for..."

Before he could finish his words, Feng Xiuhu interrupted him: "No, how did you know I moved?"

Mike smiled apologetically, "I went to the village building and asked for directions, but I didn't see anyone. Luckily, the driver said he saw you there, so he brought me here."

Feng Xiuhu put his arm around Mike's shoulders and led him inside: "Since you're here, I'll show you around. Once you've gotten acquainted with the area, come here often."

Mike wanted to refuse but he didn't have the courage, so he went into the house reluctantly.

This was also Feng Xiuhu's first time visiting the place, and he was very nervous all the way, much less calm than Mike, who was from the upper city.

Back in the main hall, Feng Xiuhu asked the housekeeper to make tea.

The butler's robe was intimidating enough, so the butler agreed obediently and turned to leave.

Feng Xiuhu turned around and saw the cheongsam woman standing next to him. He was startled: "Why are you standing up again?"

The woman didn't even dare to argue. She wiped her tears and walked back to the wall and knelt down.

The atmosphere in this house was extremely strange. Mike couldn't figure out what was going on but he didn't dare to say anything, so he couldn't help but feel very nervous.

He wanted to convey the message quickly and stay away from Feng Xiuhu.

"The Reverend Father says..."

He opened his mouth again, but was interrupted again.

But this time it was not Feng Xiu Hu who interrupted him, but the noise outside.

The shouts and sounds of killing came suddenly, and it seemed that a fight had suddenly broken out outside the house.

Feng Xiuhu seemed not to hear. He looked at Mike and asked, "What were you about to say?"

Mike opened his mouth and forced himself to look away: "I said, the priest asked you to..."

"Feng Xiaohu!"

A loud shout rang out in the yard, frightening Mike.

"If I don't chop you off today, you won't be named Yuan!"

(End of this chapter)