Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 608 Reunion of old friends

At dusk, a light drizzle began to fall.

After a busy day, Di Bujuan finally had time to sit down and have a proper meal.

But this meal consisted of nothing more than a few steamed white buns, a bowl of thin porridge, and a few lightly salty side dishes.

“Sigh…” Looking at the food on the table, Di Bujuan, who was sitting alone at the table, first sighed.

But after sighing, he obediently picked up his spoon and chopsticks and began to eat slowly and carefully.

It's not hard to tell that Lao Di's stomach problems have flared up again.

However, this is nothing new. Those with good memories should recall that Chief Di's stomach ailment had already flared up once during the Seven Heroes Gathering. And to be honest, his illness wasn't entirely caused by "Zhang Baoguo" and "Old Immortal Xudong"—he had already developed the condition long before that.

The daily busyness of the gang, irregular meals, frequent social engagements, and the pressure from his sister-in-law's occasional annoyances and troubles... all these accumulated over time had already overwhelmed Di Bujuan's digestive system.

To relieve this pressure, he resorted to "wine, women, wealth, and anger" even more frequently to numb himself, which led to a further deterioration of the situation.

Of course, he wasn't always having an attack of the disease, or always in the "acute phase."

A while ago, after successfully becoming the head of the Four Gates and Three Gangs, Di Bujuan's condition improved for a period of time because he was in a good mood.

During that period, the reputation and power of the Canal Gang in the martial arts world reached a new peak since its establishment. Moreover, Di Bujuan himself was highly praised by his fellow martial arts practitioners for his "meritorious service" in several major events in the martial arts world, and his popularity was unparalleled.

But just like most people's lives, once you reach a peak, what awaits you is inevitably a downhill slope.

The "True Hero Token" that ended up in Chief Di's hands after the Battle of the Heroes was the skis he used to go downhill.

Now, this "True Hero Token" was originally given to Wen Yuzhai by Zai Qianqiu. Later, Wen Yuzhai gave it to the Three-Character King. The Three-Character King did not keep it for long before it was snatched away by Wu Mingzi. Finally, Wu Mingzi ostensibly gave it as a reward, but in reality, he used it as bait to hand it over to "Shadowless Poison Master", namely Ruan Qingpao.

After Ruan Qingpao's death, the True Hero Token, along with some of his secrets, was obtained by the Canal Gang.

And that's where the trouble started.

Take the matter of "the Shadowless Poison Master eventually falling into the hands of the Canal Gang" for example. Although many people know this, it doesn't really matter. After all, the Canal Gang captured this person through their own abilities, and he was also a heretic. You can kill or torture him as you please.

However, what if the news that "the Poison Master was in possession of a True Hero Token when he was captured" were to spread?
As the saying goes, "The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is bustling, all for gain..." This principle also applies to the martial arts world.

If you act chivalrously today and kill a villain, you might earn some praise, or no one might care about you at all. But if rumors spread that this villain possessed a priceless treasure, within a few days, a group of "righteous people" will surely come looking for you.

These "heroes" are basically the kind of people who spout "benevolence, righteousness, morality" and "propriety, integrity, and shame" the moment they open their mouths, and each of them has a face that looks like they are ready to die for justice at any time.

After exchanging a few words with you, they usually move on to the next stage, which is to "intentionally or unintentionally boast about some of their past achievements" and "use their seniority to intimidate you in their words."

Then they'll turn the conversation to you, praising you for doing a good job on that previous task, but the tone... makes it sound like you only achieved something under their guidance.

Once all this groundwork is laid, these "heroes" will show their true colors.

Let's be frank, the "thing" is with you now, isn't it? Things obtained from bad people are either ill-gotten gains or obtained through illegitimate means. If you take it for yourself, don't you become a bad person too?

Here's what we'll do: give me the item. I'm a universally acknowledged hero in the martial arts world, fair and just, as everyone can see. I'll keep it safe and handle it properly, so you won't be gossiped about, right?
What? You don't want to hand it over? What does that mean? Are you a bad person too?

Ladies and gentlemen, at this point, you've probably already guessed who I'm going to mention next...

Indeed, Jiang Shouzheng is a representative figure of this type of "hero" in the book, known in the martial arts world as "the most upright and just".

This guy was invited by Xiao Zhun to be a witness at the "Sword Debate Conference" along with Chief Di and Master Wang of Wudang, which shows that his status in the martial arts world is not low. So he really dared to come and challenge Chief Di.

Of course, Di Bujuan, being a powerful figure in his own right, was not the kind of small fry in the martial arts world who could be easily manipulated by Jiang Shouzhen. He knew very well that this Jiang fellow did not really expect to trick him out of the True Hero Token. He was just taking a chance and wanted to test the waters and see what benefits he could gain.

So in the end, Chief Di entertained this grandson for a few days, talked a lot of nonsense with him, gave him some gold and silver gifts, and then sent him away.

However, this is just the beginning...

Most of you have probably had experience dealing with people like Jiang Shouzheng in your lives. He might be your classmate, colleague, boss, or relative. In any case, while dealing with this kind of person isn't particularly difficult, it's certainly not an easy task either. To put it bluntly, the pressure of such social interactions is directly proportional to your level of aversion and blood pressure.

And Jiang Shouzhen is not the only one like him in the martial arts world...

Thus, during that period, Chief Di was subjected to "intensive" treatment very frequently.

But that wasn't the end of it. He had an even bigger worry in his mind: who had leaked the news that the True Hero Token was in his hands?

There are certainly more than one people who know about this, but the most suspicious one is undoubtedly Wu Mingzi. Wu Mingzi and the forces behind him will also consider the possibility that "Ruan Qingpao has confessed all the secrets under the interrogation of the Cao Gang".

The intention behind their release of this information, and the actions they might take against the Canal Gang, are extremely dangerous just to think about.

All of these factors increased Di Bujuan's pressure, and unsurprisingly, his stomach ailment relapsed.

Seeing a doctor is useless; they just tell him to take medicine, rest, eat a light diet, and keep a happy mood... Isn't that obvious? If he could do all that, would he still relapse?

After some time, his stomach finally recovered a bit, but then trouble struck again at Shaoshi Mountain.

Fellow practitioners in the martial world can't find the Hunyuan Star Gate's mountain gate, or even a single person... so they can only ask you, the head of the four sects and three gangs.

This wave, if we were to use a metaphor, would be like "the booster added to the back of the skis that Detective Dee was stepping on on the downhill slope of life."

After this wave of "intensity" was over, Di Bujuan didn't care whether his fellow practitioners thought he was really sick or faking it. In any case, he was now completely "lying down" in public. If asked, he would say he was sick, lying in bed drinking porridge, and couldn't receive guests. If you asked about the Hunyuan Star Gate, his disciples could also answer—"I don't know."

Of course, those close to Lao Di knew that he wasn't faking it.

As we mentioned earlier, Di Bujuan is a man with strong desires and abilities. He never hides his thirst for wine, women, wealth, and power. But now... even in this deserted corner, he is eating such plain food alone in a cold and quiet manner. He hasn't touched wine or women for a long time, which shows that he is really seriously ill.

If gastroscopy had existed back then, and he were to have a check-up now, he would basically be diagnosed with stage II or earlier stomach cancer.

Fortunately, no...

So in the last days of his life, Di Bujuan never once thought that he didn't have much time left. He just thought that his old stomach problems had relapsed, only this time they were a little more serious than before, and that he would get better after resting for a while.

dong dong...

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

He was deliberately facing Di Bujuan, who was sitting by the door. He immediately put down his chopsticks and raised his head warily.

At this moment, he already knew that the people standing outside the door were not servants or disciples of the manor, nor were they his relatives.

But after thinking for two seconds, he still replied in a casual tone, "Go in."

He didn't ask "who" because he didn't want the other party to know that he was on guard. That way, if a conflict suddenly broke out, he might be able to gain the upper hand.

However, Di Bujuan did not move the moment the door opened.

The smiling, familiar-looking beggar at the door was enough to make Di Bujuan freeze on the spot.

"Long time no see..." Lin Dong greeted Di Bujuan as he swaggered into the house and plopped down on the table. "Heh... Now, I should call you Old Di, right?"

"You..." Di Bujuan had recovered somewhat after a few seconds, so he asked in a deep voice, "How did you get in?"

"They came in through the main gate, of course. Could they have fought their way in?" Lin Dong laughed.

His answer did not actually dispel Di Bujuan's doubts, because even if Lin Dong was let in by someone, a disciple should have come to inform him before he came to see Di Bujuan.

"Don't think about it. Old Hu told me to come directly to you." Lin Dong saw the confusion on his face and revealed his thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Di Bujuan understood: indeed, Hu Wenzhi also knew Lin Dong, and was aware of the friendship between Di Bujuan and Lin Dong, so he made this decision.

"Heh..." Having figured it out, Di Bujuan relaxed, chuckled dryly, and continued, "So many years have passed, and you're still the same... You just show up and start eating and drinking for free as soon as you sit down..."

As he finished speaking, Lin Dong picked up a bowl of white porridge from the table and gulped down half of it in two mouthfuls.

"Hey!" Upon hearing this, Lin Dong immediately wiped his mouth with his hand, and said with a crooked face, "I'm an old friend of decades, and I've come all this way to see you. What's wrong with having a bowl of your porridge to soothe my throat?"

Hearing this, Di Bujuan felt a mix of emotions. In his youth, he didn't seem to consider Lin Dong a friend, but Lin Dong didn't seem to think so, and even took their friendship for granted.

Meanwhile, after finishing his previous sentence, Lin Dong seemed to remember something and glanced at the dishes on the table, saying, "Speaking of which, are you really sick? This whole table of food... you've eaten even more plainly than I, a beggar. Are you alright?"

"Heh..." Di Bujuan gave a wry smile this time. He didn't answer Lin Dong's question, but instead asked, "How about I tell the kitchen to make you some good ones?"

"No need for that." Lin Dong waved his hand. "I have some business to discuss with you today, and I have to leave after I finish talking."

"What the hell?" Upon hearing this, Di Bujuan frowned and his tone rose. "Weren't you a beggar? And you quit being the leader of the Beggars' Sect a long time ago. How could you possibly have 'official business'?"

"Tsk..." Lin Dong clicked his tongue when he heard this, then habitually squatted down on the chair and said, "Old Di, Old Di...you underestimate me, don't you?" He paused, "Let me tell you...today I'm here to see you on behalf of the True Hero Hall."