Chapter 121: Also a Person from Those Years

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“Uh... all right!”

Chen Hao was rendered speechless. He had no idea what Old Master Fang was thinking, but it was none of his concern. He and Old Master Fang were merely strangers who had crossed paths by chance. Most likely, after today, they would never have anything to do with each other again. They were nothing more than passing figures in one another’s lives.

As for asking Old Master Fang for advice on martial arts, Chen Hao could forget about that. For one thing, given Old Master Fang’s temperament, Chen Hao doubted he would agree to teach him. For another, Old Master Fang practiced Plum-Blossom Hand, which had little in common with the martial art passed down through Chen Hao’s family. Even if Chen Hao learned it, it would not be of much help to him. Besides, he had not yet fully mastered his own family’s martial art. Where would he find the time to study another?

Some might point out that Chen Hao had learned other martial arts as a child. That was true, but it had been deliberate on the part of his father, Chen Ding’an. Before Chen Hao began studying profound martial arts, his father wanted him to gain a basic understanding of the theories and techniques behind most martial arts.

The Chen family’s martial art was relatively abstruse, and its nine forms encompassed nearly every major type of martial art in the world. It was a form of introductory education. Much like how students study every subject from primary school through junior high before choosing a specialization in high school, Chen Hao had spent years learning the fundamentals before deciding which branch best suited him for deeper study.

Therefore, it was impossible for Chen Hao to study Old Master Fang’s Plum-Blossom Hand. No matter how extraordinary the technique was, he would never do so.

Chen Hao was even considering leaving the medical room when the doctor spoke again, seemingly talking to himself.

“Come to think of it, Old Fang really is an interesting man. The things that have happened to him could fill an entire book. He possesses such remarkable martial arts skills, yet he chose to work as a parking-lot security guard at this hotel.

“I’ve heard that Old Fang was among the earliest people to arrive in Kestall. He wasn’t originally from here, either. Like us, he was transferred here from elsewhere. I simply can’t understand it. As far as I know, everyone in the first group to come to Kestall was considered a pioneer and credited with opening up this region. They should all hold high positions. So why has Old Fang remained a security guard all these years?”

The doctor’s muttering caught Chen Hao’s attention.

“Oh? You said Old Master Fang was one of the earliest people to come to Kestall? When was that, roughly?”

The doctor thought for a moment.

“I’m not sure of the exact date, since I wasn’t among the first arrivals. But if I remember correctly, it must have been more than a decade ago. Was it fifteen years ago? Or sixteen?”

“Are you sure it was more than a decade ago?” Chen Hao asked again.

The doctor nodded.

“I don’t know the precise date, but it was definitely over ten years ago. In fact, you could ask almost any hotel employee and they would be able to answer you, because the hotel has kept those records.

“Once development of Kestall began, our hotel was built soon afterward. That much is certain. We originally thought the country planned to develop Kestall’s tourism industry, but although all the necessary infrastructure was completed, tourism never took off, and no one promoted the place. The scenery here is actually quite beautiful... Ah! I’m only saying this casually. Don’t take it to heart.”

From the doctor’s expression, Chen Hao could tell that he had realized he had let something slip—something he should not have said. Every employee at the hotel had been repeatedly instructed never to tell tourists that Kestall possessed any value as a tourist destination. The purpose was to prevent more and more people from coming here out of curiosity. If word also spread that there were mysterious structures deep in Kestall’s great forest, visitors would arrive in an endless stream.

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By then, if an accident like the one two days earlier occurred, the consequences would be unimaginable.

In truth, the best way to prevent people from all over the country from coming to Kestall as tourists would have been not to build an airport here in the first place. However, although Kestall was inconvenient for tourists to reach, researchers visited from time to time. The airport had been built for them.

Those people came from every corner of the country and even from abroad, so there was no way to stop them at the source. Besides, no tourist accidents had occurred over the years, so no further measures had been taken.

Chen Hao had learned something important from the doctor. Old Master Fang was very likely one of the people who had arrived in Kestall with his father’s group in the earliest days. According to his father, an unforeseen disaster had occurred that year, resulting in a tremendous number of deaths. Only a handful of people had survived.

Chen Shaotian had also told Chen Hao that most of those people had later joined Phantom Corporation. That made Old Master Fang an exception. Chen Hao simply did not know whether his father was aware of Old Master Fang’s existence. If he was, why had he never mentioned him?

Now that Chen Hao knew Old Master Fang had been among the first to arrive in Kestall, should he try to speak with him? Perhaps the old man knew something Chen Hao desperately wanted to learn—especially what had happened back then, and whether it was connected to the fragments of memory in his mind.

Did Old Master Fang know Gu Mengyan’s parents? Did he know the true circumstances of their deaths?

If he did, Chen Hao could seek his permission and bring Gu Mengyan to him. The old man could tell her everything himself, sparing her the danger of venturing into Kestall’s forest.

Lost in thought, Chen Hao did not notice that the burly man had been watching him. The man had no particular interest in these matters and had merely treated the doctor’s account as an amusing story. But Chen Hao’s sudden silence aroused his suspicions.

Why would this brat, whose relationship with Dong Xin was so unclear, be interested in such things? What had brought him here? What was his connection to Dong Xin? Was it work?

The burly man knew that Dong Xin often came to Kestall on business. He himself had come here for the same reason. After making inquiries and learning that Dong Xin had recently arrived in Kestall, he had followed her here.

He had originally planned to wait beside Dong Xin’s car until she appeared. But when he reached the parking lot, her car was nowhere in its space. Instead, he saw this brat driving it in, while Dong Xin was nowhere to be found. That was how the conflict between them had begun.

Of course, the main reason was that Chen Hao was simply too attractive. Although he was not as tall as the burly man, he was still well over six feet. With his handsome, sunny appearance and refined clothes, he was practically a teenage girl’s worst enemy.

The burly man knew that attacking him without warning had been somewhat inappropriate, but he had been in a foul mood all day.

First, the plane to Kestall had nearly failed to take off. Before he could board, airport security personnel had subjected everyone to a thorough inspection, checking everything from the passengers themselves to their luggage and backpacks. The whole process made it seem as though they were hunting drug smugglers.

That alone would have been bad enough. But after every passenger had been searched, someone suddenly announced that the flight had been canceled.

What kind of joke was that? He had finally learned that Dong Xin was coming to Kestall and had rushed here without stopping. He had bought his ticket and passed security, only to be told that the flight was canceled?

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The burly man had exploded on the spot. Along with the other passengers, he had demanded an explanation from the airport staff. Why had a perfectly good flight suddenly been canceled?

The weather at the airport, in Kestall, and in every city along the route had been clear. There was neither rain nor fog. So why cancel the flight?

The airport staff could only apologize repeatedly and stammer without offering any explanation. Whatever the reason, however, they refused to let the plane take off.

In the end, the burly man grew too impatient to wait any longer. He called his father, and only through his father’s connections was the flight eventually allowed to proceed.

But it was not the large Boeing passenger jet everyone else had been scheduled to take. Instead, the airport arranged for a small helicopter to carry him to Kestall.

The helicopter was unbelievably uncomfortable. At nearly six and a half feet tall, he had been crammed into its narrow cabin, unable even to stretch out his legs. The noise had been deafening, leaving his ears ringing throughout the entire journey. Even after he landed, the ringing had not gone away.

And the helicopter had been freezing. It was still autumn, and because of his excellent physical constitution, the burly man had boarded wearing only a short-sleeved shirt. But a small helicopter was nothing like a Boeing jet. Even with the windows tightly shut, icy wind continued to pour inside.

A man as powerfully built as he was had still been frozen stiff. When he finally got off the helicopter, he had nearly collapsed from a violent shiver and landed on his backside.

That should have been the end of it. All he needed to do was hail a taxi and check into the hotel where Dong Xin was staying.

But for some reason, every taxi in the city seemed to have vanished that day. The enormous airport did not have a single cab, and ride-hailing services were out of the question. It was as though the place had been cursed.

In the end, the burly man followed a three-wheeled vehicle to the hotel. The vehicle was packed with ducks, so the smell can easily be imagined...

All these misfortunes had left him thoroughly irritated by the time he encountered Chen Hao. That was what had led to their confrontation.

Now, seeing Chen Hao’s puzzled expression, the burly man spoke.

“Boy, what exactly did you come to Kestall for?”

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