Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 259 Meeting the Second Master

Among the Nine Gates, Er Yuehong and Buddha have the best relationship.

This is common knowledge.

Back then, when the Great Purge was inevitable, Er Yuehong came to Beijing at the invitation of the Buddha.

As for the Crescent Hotel... those who know, know.

The Crescent Moon Hotel has been a long-standing success in Beijing, with a complex web of influence and connections, further enhanced by the network of relationships left behind by the late Master Fo.

In the small city of Beijing, it would be incredibly easy for Xinyue Hotel to keep someone alive under "his" pressure.

After all, "he" was no longer as glorious as he once was, and with the changing of power, he was no longer quite capable of threatening the Crescent Hotel.

Er Yuehong stayed at the New Moon Hotel, something Hu Ming had anticipated.

After exchanging a familiar greeting with the greeter at the door and giving a perfunctory reply to the waiter, Xie Yuchen led Hu Ming to a room on the third floor.

Those familiar with the Crescent Hotel know that this house has not changed owners for over twenty years.

What's even stranger is that the owner of the house hasn't even left the house in over twenty years!

It's just weird.

Knowing the way inside, Xie Yuchen opened the door and silently gestured for Hu Ming to enter.

Watching Hu Ming enter the room, Xie Yuchen showed no intention of going in.

After closing the door, Xie Yuchen leaned against the wall, contemplating life.

Just then, his phone rang.

Xie Yuchen seemed to have anticipated this, so he turned on his phone, answered the call, and held it to his ear.

"Hey?"

"Hmm? Yes, Uncle Ming has arrived in Beijing and just went into the teacher's room."

"Yes, I didn't go in. Although I was very curious, I figured my master wouldn't allow me to overhear their conversation."

"Why does Master value Hu Ming so much? I do know a little about it..."

“I’ve seen a photo that the teacher always carried with him. It was a photo of a woman, the one you called ‘the girl’.”

"They look so alike! They're incredibly alike! Uncle Ming and Master's wife are practically identical, especially their eyes—they're so similar!"

Xie Yuchen closed his eyes and murmured into his phone.

Xie Yuchen understood the situation the moment he saw Hu Ming.

Why is Er Yuehong so attached to a mere disciple? Why do the older generation of the Nine Gates always have such complicated expressions when they talk about Hu Ming?

Even the Buddha, who was originally planning to imprison Xiao Ge, did not intend to harm Hu Ming, probably partly because of this!
Hu Ming's face, apart from his distinct masculine features, resembled his mother even more than Er Yuehong's three sons!

Er Yuehong, as everyone in the Nine Gates knows, is a devoted lover.

She was exceptionally beautiful, powerful, and deeply devoted.

He was devoted to only one woman his entire life, and for her, Er Yuehong was willing to do anything at any cost.

If there are still good men in this world, men who are devoted to one person for life, then that person must be Er Yuehong.

"In fact, Father, if it weren't for the discrepancy in the timing, I would even suspect that Hu Ming was actually the posthumous child of my teacher's wife before she passed away."

Finally, Xie Yuchen couldn't help but guess.

But he also knew that it was just wild guessing.

Hu Ming's age is no secret; he's only in his thirties or forties. But the girl has been gone for far more than forty years.

And his parents are still alive; this is probably just a coincidence. Xie Yuchen hung up the phone, glanced at the closed door, and turned to leave.

Now, Xie Yuchen is the head of the Xie family, and he has countless things to do.

Inside the room, there was silence, a deathly stillness.

Hu Ming, extremely uncompromising, lit a cigarette and leaned against the door frame in silence.

Before me stood an old man with white hair and beard, a hunched and thin frame, who was about to be buried.

Her eyes were cloudy, her face was covered with age spots, and her wrinkled face showed no trace of her former beauty.

At this moment, Hu Ming's heart was in turmoil.

Because he saw the photograph in Er Yuehong's hand, of a woman who looked remarkably like him.

Everything is clear.

Some things are just too much of a coincidence.

If Hu Ming didn't firmly believe he was his parents' biological child, he would have seriously doubted whether he was that girl's son.
Although the timeline doesn't match up, perhaps he's a blood relative of the girl? After all, the girl not only looks like him, but also bears some resemblance to his father!

"You're growing up, getting older and older, and you're becoming more and more like a little girl..."

"As people get older, they can't help but reminisce about the past and the people they met. In my life, I can say that I have not wronged anyone and there is nothing I can't let go of."

"But the only one is that girl. More than half a century has passed, and I still can't forget her face or her smile."

"Everything, the day the girl left me, feels like it happened yesterday. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is the scene of her closing her eyes in my arms."

Er Yuehong looked away, staring blankly at Hu Ming, and murmured to herself.

Although he was speaking to Hu Ming, Hu Ming knew he was only talking to himself…

“I haven’t seen my daughter’s three sons all these years. They’re grown up and have their own lives. They shouldn’t be dragged down by an old man like me who’s stuck in the past.”

"But you, Hu Ming, I was watching you closely during those years you spent in Beijing."

"During the more than twenty years you were gone, I thought of you every single moment. Now, seeing you again is like seeing my beloved girl alive again; I would die without regrets."

As if making his final arrangements, Er Yuehong looked at Hu Ming with cloudy eyes and a dazed expression.

Hu Ming frowned slightly upon hearing this. He remembered that the girl was bought by Er Yuehong!

"It's just a coincidence. I don't know your wife, and we have absolutely no relationship."

"You know, it's said that the girl only has one father, and I just happen to look like her. Or... maybe my father and the others are related to her in some way!"

Seeing this, Hu Ming couldn't help but offer a reminder.

"I know that the world is full of coincidences and accidents."

"In the vast sea of ​​people, some similar flowers will always suddenly appear. That boy from the Wu family and Qi Yu from back then, you and my girl are just similar flowers."

“I know, I know everything, but when I first met you, you were a young man, with a remarkably similar appearance to the girl, and you were full of talent. No matter what, I couldn’t convince myself to leave.”

"I'm sorry, Hu Ming, you deserved a better life, instead of being dragged down by me."

"The Nine Gates now is just a big quagmire, a quagmire that you can't get out of once you're in. It's my fault."

Er Yuehong closed her eyes and sighed with regret.

"If you came to see me to express your guilt and self-blame, then there's no need. Although the Nine Gates are troublesome, I enjoy an exciting life. This kind of life is not bad! Besides... before I even met you, I already had connections with the Huo family!"

"My disappearance for those twenty-three years was my own problem, which needs time to resolve, not because of 'his' threats."

"Besides, I no longer have any power that can threaten me, you should know that..."

(End of this chapter)