Wuming did not care about the two ugly and boorish big men sitting at the adjacent table. After all, everyone was a customer; as long as they minded their own business, they would each go their separate ways once they finished eating.
Right at that moment, the waiter brought over the food, and Wuming immediately began to wolf down his meal. He had to make the most of his time to search for his biological parents and had no reason to meddle in other people's affairs.
Even so, Wuming heard the dark-faced burly man rudely ask, "Waiter, do you know where Yuanshun Temple is?"
"I know, it's right on Rhino Mountain," the waiter answered, evidently terrified.
"How far is Rhino Mountain from here?"
"About a journey of over two hours."
"Then do you know Kaishan Zhenren of Yuanshun Temple?"
"I've only heard of him, never met him. It's just that nowadays Yuanshun Temple has fallen into decline, nowhere near as prosperous with incense as it used to be. Very few people go there to burn incense and worship Buddha," the waiter replied truthfully.
"All right, hurry up and bring over our wine and food. My stomach is starving."
"Right away!" Eager to be rid of them, the waiter hastily acknowledged and hurried away.
Hearing the dark-faced man's questions, Wuming's heart suddenly skipped a beat. How did this dark-faced man know his master's full name? Could he be an acquaintance of his master?
Yet he had never seen his master have such an acquaintance, nor had he ever heard his master mention one. All in all, if they were not friends, they must be enemies.
Besides, his master had always kept a low profile. Ever since Wuming could remember, his master had stayed right in Yuanshun Temple, rarely going out—let alone drawing any attention to himself. Where on earth would enemies come from?
It was clear these two burly men were not locals. Could they be some distant relatives of his master? He felt that was even less likely, because his master had always been entirely alone.
Just as Wuming's mind was racing with wild thoughts, he suddenly heard the dark-faced man say to the white-faced man, "Did you hear that? It seems that old scoundrel Kaishan is indeed hiding deep enough."
"Hehe, no matter how deep he's hiding, now that we know where he is, we have to pay a visit to settle things once and for all. When we go back, we'll have something to report to Old Master Hou," the white-faced man chimed in, full of confidence.
"Mm, what you said is right. Since we've found him, we won't let him off easily. Today we're going to make him pay for sure."
Hearing this dialogue, Wuming's heart grew even more puzzled. Judging from the implication of their words, it was certain that his master had some sort of grudge with this Old Master Hou. If so, what kind of grudge could it be?
No matter what, Wuming felt this matter was truly extraordinary, because it involved his master's very life and could not be ignored under any circumstances.
The storm was gathering, and the wind swept through the tower. Wuming knew very well that it seemed his master was doomed this time.
Regardless of whatever grievances or enmities existed between his master and the two of them, as a disciple he could not just stand by with his arms folded. He had to step in and block them to ensure his master's safety.
At this very moment, Wuming's mind was indeed in complete chaos, completely devoid of any clue.
With no other choice, Wuming could only offer a silent prayer in his heart, hoping that the person these two villains were looking for wasn't his master, but someone else entirely—after all, there were plenty of people in this world with the exact same name.
If things turned out just as Wuming imagined, that would be for the best. Otherwise, the consequences that followed would be utterly unimaginable. It was clear these two villains were no good sorts.
All in all, as long as his master had nothing to do with this matter, everyone would be safe and sound.
Things having reached this point, Wuming dared not lower his guard. He had to keep a close watch on every single move of these two burly men.
Having made up his mind, Wuming slowed down his eating speed, determined to hear what else they had to say. Once he caught any valuable information, he would have to make preparations in advance.
Suddenly, the dark-faced man spoke up loudly without the slightest concealment, "I don't think that old scoundrel Kaishan is anything special. Otherwise, how could Yuanshun Temple have fallen into decline? To tell you the truth, for the Black and White Fiends, eradicating that old scoundrel Kaishan is an absolute piece of cake."
"Big brother is right. As long as we finish this deal, our foundation in front of Old Master Hou will be rock solid from now on," the white-faced man hurriedly chimed in.
Hearing the dialogue between the two villains, Wuming finally realized that they were the renowned Black and White Fiends who terrorized the pugilistic world. As for the "deal" they spoke of, he had no way of knowing the ins and outs of it.
However, Wuming still managed to grasp the underlying secret: the general idea was that as long as the two of them killed his master, they would undoubtedly receive some benefit from Old Master Hou. This showed that assassins were driven purely by profit.
Wuming viewed the matter quite differently. He believed these villains were utterly out of their minds, willing to kill people for others simply for their own personal gain. Did the person being killed not matter at all?
Moreover, Wuming was not clear just how formidable the Black and White Fiends' skills were, nor whether they were truly invincible under heaven.
Yet why had he never heard his master mention such a thing before? At present, he knew next to nothing about the Black and White Fiends.
Furthermore, that Man in Black must be an accomplice of the Black and White Fiends; otherwise, the Black and White Fiends would not have arrived right on schedule.
Before long, the Black and White Fiends finally finished eating and drinking to their heart's content, and even asked for some beef and roast chicken to take with them as provisions for the road.
Once everything was ready, the Black and White Fiends got up and left the inn. It was clear they were heading to Rhino Mountain to commit murder.
So that his master would not come to harm, Wuming hesitated no longer, but quickly pursued the figures of the Black and White Fiends.
When Wuming reached the entrance of the inn and looked out, he saw that the Black and White Fiends had already leaped onto their horses, galloping away at a breakneck speed in the direction of Rhino Mountain.
How could Wuming dare to give up now? He hurriedly exerted his lightness kung fu to follow closely behind.
He had to arrive at Rhino Mountain ahead of the Black and White Fiends; otherwise, his unsuspecting master would be no match for them.
As he pursued them, Wuming suddenly found that the Black and White Fiends ahead were acting far too arrogant. The two of them only cared about galloping wildly all the way, paying no heed whatsoever to pedestrians on the road.
Just at that moment, the Black and White Fiends actually crashed right into an old woman by the roadside.
The old woman instantly lost her footing and stumbled several times, uncontrollably falling into the deep water ditch beside the road. The sight of it was nothing short of horrific!
Frightened out of her wits by this turn of events, the old woman let out a piercing shriek, "Help!"