Chapter Fifty-Two: The Choice

Watching Ma Wenwen’s unusual behavior, Le Dong felt a sudden pang of unease and hurriedly tried to reassure him.

“How could it be otherwise? Master Fan and Master Zhou are so formidable—they’ve faced countless storms and challenges. Remember at the villa, how fierce Old Master Hu was? Yet they still managed to subdue him. There’s definitely nothing to worry about. Don’t overthink it!” He forced confidence into his voice.

“You don’t understand,” Ma Wenwen gave a bitter smile, which looked especially sorrowful beneath the bandages. “When Master came back this time, something was very wrong—very… very urgent.

“Usually, he’s bold and decisive, but that kind of urgency is grounded in confidence. This time was different. I could feel his breath was unstable, his steps unsteady, and even his voice carried exhaustion.

“Even Uncle Zhou was like that. Though he tried to hide it better, I could smell it—the heavy scent of blood and an ominous aura. Not from others, but from themselves.”

Le Dong suddenly remembered the dried blood at the corners of Fan Biao’s and Zhou Fan’s mouths in the villa, and their pale, tired faces.

At the time, the situation was chaotic. He noticed it but was distracted by the vault incident and never pursued it further.

Now, with Ma Wenwen’s revelation, a chill crept up his spine.

Ma Wenwen continued, his voice trembling slightly, as if confirming Le Dong’s fears:

“Also… Master came back early partly because I called for help, but mostly… I feel like he was running for his life! As if something terrifying was chasing him, forcing him to rush back desperately!”

He took a deep breath. “You don’t know—Master usually spends at least a month at Da Dan’s place, sometimes several months if it’s complicated.

“But this time, from when I got hurt to when he came back, it was only a few days. It’s unbelievably fast—totally illogical!”

Le Dong’s heart sank. Ma Wenwen’s words were like puzzle pieces, gradually assembling the mystery in his mind.

Fan Biao and Zhou Fan’s hurried return, their injured bodies, their unusual urgency, and the dramatic change after seeing the photo in the vault—all pointed to a grim conclusion.

“There’s more…” Ma Wenwen lowered his voice to a secretive hush, tense as if sharing forbidden knowledge. “Though I can’t see, my hearing is still good.

“I overheard Master and Uncle Zhou whispering in the next room. Though I couldn’t catch it all, I caught fragments… ‘Can’t suppress it,’ ‘even if we risk everything…,’ ‘must act quickly…’ Do you think this is something trivial? How could I not worry?” His hand clenched tightly on his knee, knuckles whitening with the strain.

Le Dong’s mind reeled.

“Can’t suppress it? Risk everything?”

He recalled their pale faces after seeing the photo in the vault and felt compelled to tell Ma Wenwen something.

“Actually… the spirit of Old Master Hu has latched onto us because of that batch of gold. Then Master Fan went to investigate the vault and discovered something very important…”

“What was it?” Ma Wenwen suddenly lifted his head, his face beneath the bandages turning urgently toward Le Dong.

“An old envelope containing a note and a photo,” Le Dong recalled. “The note had eight characters written with a brush: ‘Choose longevity without wealth, choose wealth without longevity,’ and a smaller line beneath: ‘Keeping you safe for life is already a great hardship.’”

Ma Wenwen’s body stiffened noticeably as he repeated the words quietly.

“And the photo? What was in the photo?” Unable to find clues, he pressed for details.

“It was an old black-and-white group photo of four men wearing clothes from decades ago. Their faces were unclear.

“The background… was a mountain,” Le Dong described with effort, “that mountain was very strange—extremely steep, and the shape of its peak… looked remarkably like a gigantic human face!”

“Face Mountain?!” Ma Wenwen gasped. Though he couldn’t see, his body tensed as if struck by electricity. His hand on the sofa clenched so tightly his nails nearly pierced the fabric.

He drew a sharp breath and muttered, “How could the villa’s gold be connected to Master’s Da Dan?”

Le Dong was startled by his intense reaction, frozen unsure how to respond.

Seeing Ma Wenwen’s rigid profile, he recalled Fan Biao’s words in the car about “going to find those old folks on the mountain,” and tried to reassure him.

“You… you shouldn’t worry too much. I heard Master Fan say he’s going to find ‘those old guys on the mountain.’ Since he has allies, it probably won’t be as bad as you think, right?”

Ma Wenwen remained silent, like a statue wrapped in bandages.

The deep, unyielding worry and fear didn’t abate even with the mention of “allies.”

After a long silence, so long that Le Dong thought he wouldn’t speak again, Ma Wenwen suddenly asked in an unusually calm, resolute voice:

“Le Dong, can you drive?”

The question caught Le Dong off guard. He blinked and replied instinctively, “Yeah, why?”

Ma Wenwen groped for support on the armrest, then suddenly stood up, facing Le Dong with unwavering determination.

“I’m going to find my Master!”

“What?!” Le Dong was utterly stunned, thinking he’d misheard. “You want to find Master Fan? Are you kidding? Your eyes aren’t healed yet; you’re barely able to walk. How would you even go? And what good would you do if you went? You’d only make things worse!”

He waved his hands frantically, convinced Ma Wenwen’s idea was absurd.

“I have to go!” Ma Wenwen’s voice rose sharply, tinged with stubborn obsession. “Master raised me and taught me everything—he’s my whole world!

“I can feel it—this time, what he’s facing is extremely dangerous. He… he might not come back. I can’t just wait here doing nothing. Even if I’m blind, I’ll crawl if I have to!”

His voice broke with a choked edge, raw and naked with deep affection for Fan Biao and the desperate fear of losing him.

Le Dong looked at his passionate expression, his feelings mixed.

On one hand, he understood Ma Wenwen’s devotion; on the other, reason told him it was madness, reckless and perilous.

He pleaded earnestly, “Master Ma, I understand how you feel, but… if we go out, Old Master Hu’s spirit will find us immediately. Cai Kun and I—we’re just ordinary people. We only feel safe because of that Zhong Kui statue holding the evil at bay! Leaving here would be suicide!

“Besides, before Master left, he said your eyes can’t leave the statue’s protection. Shouldn’t we just stay put, quietly?”

“Then we bring the Zhong Kui statue with us!” Ma Wenwen said without hesitation.

“Bring it?!” Le Dong’s eyes nearly popped out. “How… how do you carry it? Besides, that’s your Master’s sacred statue. If we move it casually, won’t that—” He pointed at the statue, which looked even more imposing amidst the incense smoke, thinking Ma Wenwen was crazy.

“It’s fine. Since Master said my eyes can’t leave it and that it keeps the old ghost away, taking it means we’ll be safe on the road!” Ma Wenwen’s mind was clear, as if he’d already planned the strategy. “Once I meet my Master, I’ll explain everything!”

Hearing Le Dong still silent, he reverted to his usual rebellious tone, irritated:

“Seriously, are you willing to stay hiding here forever? And if something really happens to my Master, how long do you think this statue can hold out?

“Even if it lasts, is it for me, for you, or for Cai Kun? Or are the three of us supposed to live under its protection forever?”

He stood up, feeling for the sofa, and reasoned patiently:

“This can’t work. In the end, Old Master Hu’s threat will still hang over us.

“And since the Hu family gold is connected to my Master’s Da Dan, will you just wait for them to risk their lives, unsure if they survive?

“Don’t you want to get rid of this problem once and for all and live in peace? You’re ordinary people, but maybe you can still help—like that time at Cai Kun’s apartment, when we worked together to draw out the spirit, right?”

His words came fast, each one striking Le Dong’s heart like a hammer.

He had to admit, Le Dong was stumped.