bodyguard against fate

Chapter 25 A Misadventure

Lingfeng Temple is more than 70 kilometers away from Leping Town. According to the plan, Wu Meng and Feng Weida were to arrive at Lingfeng Temple early to pay, inspect the goods, and complete the formalities, making preparations before He Xiuli arrived. Then, the abbot and his disciples would directly hold the ceremony to invite and deliver the Guanyin statue, and consecrate it at the same time. Therefore, Wu Meng and Feng Weida had set off ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, it rained heavily all night, and the shortest route to Lingfeng Temple was blocked by mudslides, forcing them to change their route.

Around nine o'clock, Wu Renxing drove out of the city with He Yong and He Xiuli. Not long after, he received a call from Feng Weida suggesting that they change their route. "That suits me perfectly," Wu Renxing thought to himself.

Wu Renxing knew He Xiuli was a Buddhist and deliberately instigated this pilgrimage. He just hadn't expected He Yong to come as well. Since killing one was the same as killing two, he decided to stick to the original plan: have Zhang Hao and his men ambush them en route, kill them, stuff the bodies into the car, push it off a cliff, stage a car accident, and then burn it to destroy the evidence. When the police investigated afterward, their first thought was that it had just rained, making the mountain roads slippery, a natural accident. Of course, the biggest flaw in this logic was: why didn't Wu Renxing, the driver, die? His original plan was to have Feng Weida drive. Even if the police suspected him, an investigation would reveal that Feng Weida was mentally ill, and regardless of whether Feng Weida lived or died, he would still be held responsible. However, He Xiuli arranged for Feng Weida and Wu Meng to ride together in order to bring them together. Wu Renxing initially wanted to object on the spot, but then he thought that Feng Weida might ruin his plans like the previous two times. He Xiuli's arrangement was fine. He could deal with He Xiuli and her father first, then call Feng Weida over and deal with them together. All he had to do was distract Wu Meng and tell her afterwards that He Xiuli had been in a car accident. Even Wu Meng could become his witness, a perfect closed loop!

I'm a genius at murder and breaking the law!

With the plan in place, Wu Renxing deliberately drove towards Qiaotou Village, only to receive a message from the assassin: "Half an hour late." Wu Renxing was furious. These people were so unreliable! They were going to be late for murder and robbery? Did they own the underworld? But no matter how angry he was, there was nothing he could do. First, of course, he had paid money; if he had to do it himself, wouldn't that money have been wasted? Second, this time it was a father and daughter. Even if Wu Renxing wanted to act, he would have to think carefully about whether he could kill them silently. If anything went wrong, he would be finished. So, to be on the safe side, he decided to wait for the assassin.

"This doesn't seem to be the way to Lingfeng Temple." Finally, He Xiuli realized the problem.

"There's a mudslide going on, so we have to take a rather long detour," Wu Renxing said.

He Xiuli checked her phone's navigation: "You've taken a really long detour, haven't you?"

Wu Renxing quickly tried to justify himself: "I'm not familiar with the roads. I must have taken the wrong turn at that fork in the road. Wait a minute, I'll re-navigate."

Wu Renxing knew he was running out of time. If he followed the navigation and turned back towards Lingfeng Temple, his entire plan would be ruined. Fortunately, he had already reached Qiaotou Village. He had to stall He Xiuli no matter what. In this emergency, Wu Renxing came up with an idea: his car had broken down and he couldn't start it no matter what he did.

"What's wrong?" He Xiuli asked.

"The battery might be old!" Wu Renxing said. "I'll go down and take a look."

Wu Renxing pretended to get out of the car to check, and He Xiuli didn't suspect anything. After a short while, Wu Renxing came back. "I fixed it and it can barely drive back. We drove for too long just now, so we need to let the battery rest. We haven't eaten breakfast yet, so why don't we grab a bite here and rest before continuing our journey?"

Wu Renxing saw a farmhouse restaurant by the roadside.

Although He Xiuli can drive, she knows nothing about car repair and can only agree with whatever Wu Renxing says.

"He's a hopeless case, good for nothing!" He Yong went to Lingfeng Temple this time to help his daughter find a husband and see if she could get rid of Wu Renxing, that good-for-nothing. Wu Renxing has failed at crucial moments more than once or twice.

There was only one restaurant at the entrance of the village, and it wasn't open yet. He Xiuli and her group were the first and only customers.

"What would you like to eat?"

The waitress was burly and thick-shouldered. She handed over a menu and spoke in a muffled voice, just like the shrewish Sun Erniang.

"I'm not hungry, I'll just eat something." He Xiuli was preoccupied and had a poor appetite.

"Then I'll order," Wu Renxing said, taking the menu. "What are your specialties?"

"Stewed chicken in a clay pot, steamed lake fish!"

"One of each, please." Wu Renxing thought the prices weren't too expensive.

"It's all meat, you can't eat it, can you?" He Xiuli said.

"I was thinking of giving Dad a little nourishment," He Yong said, his fracture still not healed and his arm wrapped in bandages. Wu Renxing continued to order, "Let's have two more stir-fried seasonal vegetables, that'll make four dishes and a soup."

"There are three guests at table number two. Plenty of rice, all you can eat!" Sun Erniang called out to the kitchen, then took the menu and left.

"Why order so much? We can't eat it all," He Xiuli said.

"Since we're already here, we definitely have to try the local specialties, right, Dad?" Wu Renxing said.

"If you're so capable, spend what you earn yourself. What's with being so generous with your wife's money?" He Yong said discontentedly.

"Dad," He Xiuli quickly smoothed things over when she saw Wu Renxing choking, "Renxing is right. We don't usually get to eat these farm-style specialties, so it's a good opportunity to try them. If we can't finish, we can pack it up!"

Ever since Chen Ergou said Wu Meng resembled the Black Widow, the rumor that Wu Meng was a widow spread like wildfire. Those working in finance often have a tough, unyielding nature, frequently offending people. As the saying goes, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down; when someone is down, everyone kicks them while they're down. The widow's reputation spread incredibly fast and loudly, infuriating Wu Meng so much that she never wanted to see Chen Ergou again. She even specifically instructed the gatekeeper to kick him out on sight. Before this trip, she also made a pact with Feng Weida: if she saw Chen Ergou, Feng Weida would lose his salary for the month. Feng Weida, having no other choice, prioritized his girlfriend over his friend and could do nothing to help.

"When did your brother die?" Feng Weida deliberately brought up the very thing he didn't want to hear.

"You're deliberately trying to disgust me, aren't you? Don't you know what's going on?" Wu Meng said angrily.

"I know, but that's what everyone says—" As the saying goes, public opinion can be powerful, and Feng Weida didn't really know Wu Meng.

"How did I even know that damned Chen Ergou?"

"Ergou is actually quite pitiful," Feng Weida said.

"He's pitiful? Is he as pitiful as me? I'm a virgin who hasn't married yet, and now even matchmakers are trying to set me up with divorced men!" Wu Meng was still angry.

"Then why aren't you married yet?"

"Why should I tell you? Are we that close?" Wu Meng retorted, as if she were about to explode.

Feng Weida quickly shut up. He had only struck up a conversation with Wu Meng to avoid an awkward situation on the way, but clearly, it hadn't been very effective.

After a while, Wu Meng slowly spoke.

Zhang Hao is my ex-boyfriend.

"Um?"

Feng Weida never imagined that the entertainment industry was so chaotic!