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A man can see without his eyes, but he cannot see without his heart.
Hua Manlou learned this truth after his sense of sight was taken away from him at a young age. But he's for...
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"Now, my new friend, please, come in and join our conversation."
The doors opened, revealing a sheepish-looking constable behind its doors. "Ah, I didn't hear anything, okay?" he said, running his hand against his hair.
Hua Manlou closed the doors behind him, a gentle smile on his face remaining. "So, it seems that you're not the only one who likes to eavesdrop, Lu Xiaofeng," he teased the both of them.
"Not leaving after listening is called being stupid!" Lu Xiaofeng said over his shoulder, at which the three men laughed whole-heartedly, sharing the light jokes between them.
However, as their laughter died down, the doors burst open. This time, a frantic servant was the one to burst through. "Young Master, something terrible has happened!" the servant exclaimed, the lantern in his hand shaking. "Your father and Chief Jiang have fainted!"
"What?"
Immediately, Hua Manlou followed the servant, hot in his heels as he lead them to the gathering room. He had seen them both within the hour! What on earth had happened to them?
Upon their arrival, Hua Ruling was sitting in horror at the table. Hua Manlou could sense his own father, but did not sense Chief Jiang's presence, even as he turned to face all areas of the room. Where was she? Had she gone missing?
An endless stream of thoughts and worry flooded his mind, but regrettably, he had to remove his focus from the chief. "Father, what happened?"
"It's him," he said dejectedly. "It really is him. He's arrived, and that thing is gone now, too."
"Uncle Hua, what thing has disappeared?" asked Lu Xiaofeng.
Hua Ruling leaned forward against the table for a moment, wringing a hand against the table. "It is one of my family's most precious items," he answered. "When I sent everyone back to their rooms, my heart wasn't at ease, so I looked for it. And it really has disappeared!"
Lu Xiaofeng paused for a moment, raising a hand to his lips. "So, you're saying when everyone was chasing me, this item went missing?" he asked, walking around the room, taking a note of everyone in the room. Only Long Fei and Chief Jiang were missing among the martial artists.
Did she really fall faint?
That would truly break Hua Manlou's heart if that were the case. "But, I still don't get it," he continued. "Where exactly did you go? What exactly went missing?"
The lead monk of Shaolin, standing beside Hua Ruling, leaned down to the man, lowering his voice ever so slightly. "Hero Hua, you aren't talking about... that thing, are you?"
Sighing, Hua Ruling nodded sadly, and even the hardened monk seemed to lose hope. "Amitabha," the monk murmured, counting the beads on his neck as he refocused and calmed his mind. "Resolve our sins, we must. I am truly sorry, Hero Hua."
