Where did Hung 7 Gung go when Gwok Jing was healing his injury?

Just before Gwok Jing was injured by West Poison Au Yeung Fung and Yeung Hong, he had gone with Wong Yung, Chow Bak Tung, and North Beggar Hung 7 Gung to steal delicacies from the kitchen of the Sung imperial palace in Lin-an. When the injured Gwok Jing returned to Kuk Ling Fung's abandoned inn to be healed by Wong Yung, Hung 7 Gung wasn't with them, and the old beggar would not reunite with his students for quite some time afterward.

Where did Hung 7 Gung go during that time? Did he really stay in the imperial kitchen and eat for months? Wasn't he worried about what happened to Gwok Jing and Wong Yung?

He was still injured himself so when they left him in the kitchen he couldn't leave the palace. He hid himself inside the palace. ZBT captured a few of the Jin flunkies and got them to look for him.