"Xing Qiushan, a junior pincher of the Ghost Hand Sect, saw Li Banfeng on Yangting Road," Monkey Qiu repeated.
Lu Dongliang set down his pen and paper, looking at Qiu Zhiheng. "Do you think he's reliable?"
"Judging by his manner, he doesn't appear to be lying. But as to whether the man he saw was truly Li Banfeng, there is no way to confirm it yet."
Lu Dongliang told Monkey Qiu to bring Xing Qiushan inside. This was Xing Qiushan's first time stepping into the Lu family mansion. The entire way in, he hardly dared take a full breath, trembling with fear as he followed Head Butler Qiu into Lu Dongliang's study.
Lu Dongliang looked Xing Qiushan up and down. "Ghost Hand Sect?"
Xing Qiushan nodded and deliberately rolled up his sleeves. "Lord Lu, I—I haven't used my hands for anything while coming here!"
Lu Dongliang laughed. "Why bring that up? As if I'd be worried about you stealing from me."
Xing Qiushan also realized it was an awkward thing to say, but seated before him was one of the most powerful men in Puluo Province, and he had completely forgotten what he was supposed to say.
Lu Dongliang asked, "What time did you see Li Banfeng last night?"
"Last night, around eleven..." Xing Qiushan recounted the entire sequence of events, taking care to emphasize, "Though the man had a beard, his facial features matched Li Banfeng's photograph exactly. Lord Lu, I definitely wouldn't mistake him."
Lu Dongliang gave Xing Qiushan a sidelong look. "You're saying Li Banfeng ran all the way to Lüshui City just to buy three gramophones?"
Xing Qiushan knew such behavior sounded absurd, but it was what he had witnessed with his own eyes. "Lord Lu, if you don't believe me, you can ask the owner of the Miaosheng Gramophone Shop. He was the one who loaded the cart. We trailed him from that very moment."
Lu Dongliang had no intention of going to Ling Miaosheng to verify it. Ling Miaosheng would not readily disclose his customers' information, not even if Lu Dongliang himself stood before him.
In truth, Lu Dongliang was not particularly worried that Xing Qiushan was lying; he simply could not fathom Li Banfeng's motive. "What does he want with gramophones?"
Xing Qiushan shook his head. "That, I wouldn't know. At the time, I wanted to take the gramophones from him, but he wouldn't part with them, so a fight broke out, and then..."
Lu Dongliang slapped his thigh abruptly, cutting Xing Qiushan off, and turned to Qiu Zhiheng. "I forgot one thing. You can't apply common sense to this man's actions—he's mentally ill!"
Qiu Zhiheng was taken aback. "Master, you mean he's a madman?"
Lu Dongliang nodded. "He is a lunatic. No wonder we couldn't find him in Yaowanggou. The bastard slipped right into Lüshui City! I truly never imagined he'd be wandering around right under my nose!"
Qiu Zhiheng remained puzzled. "He doesn't have a travel permit. How did he get from Yaowanggou to Lüshuiwan?"
Lu Dongliang stroked his chin, his brow furrowing slightly.
This indeed made little sense.
Qiu Zhiheng asked, "Could his cultivation be high enough to break through the border line?"
Lu Dongliang looked at Xing Qiushan and asked, "You fought bitterly for over an hour, and out of six men, three died and three were wounded?"
Xing Qiushan nodded.
Lu Dongliang pressed, "You are a junior pincher. What layer of cultivation do you possess?"
"Thief Cultivator, second layer," Xing Qiushan answered, not daring to conceal anything.
"And your men?"
"All from the Ghost Hand Sect. Three at the first layer, two without a layer."
Lu Dongliang shook his head. "If Li Banfeng could bypass the border line, let alone fight for over an hour, that handful of men wouldn't have lasted a single round against him."
After a moment of silence, Lu Dongliang made a hand gesture signaling Xing Qiushan to leave. Monkey Qiu escorted him out the door and instructed the servants to find somewhere to put him for the moment.
As Xing Qiushan walked toward the stairs, he ran into Zhuo Yuling coming up. Seeing the servants bowing to her, Xing Qiushan followed suit and called out, "Madam."
Zhuo Yuling asked casually, "And who might you be?"
She had only asked in passing, never expecting Xing Qiushan to take it so seriously. "I am Xing Qiushan, a junior pincher of the Ghost Hand Sect. I saw Li Banfeng on Yangting Road."
At the mention of Li Banfeng's name, Zhuo Yuling's cheek twitched uncontrollably.
There was news of Li Banfeng.
That meant Lu Dongliang was going to find him.
And if he found Li Banfeng, he would find the Xuansheng Red Lotus, which meant Lu Xiaolan would lose all value to him.
What happened to someone who had lost their usefulness?
She would be turned into a scapegoat and handed over to the He family.
Zhuo Yuling had originally been heading back to her bedroom, but hearing this, she turned toward the study, desperate to learn Lu Dongliang's next move.
Lu Dongliang shot Qiu Zhiheng a stern glance. Qiu Zhiheng stepped out of the study and shouted to the servants, "Hurry and take him away."
The servants immediately escorted Xing Qiushan out of the main residence.
Just as Zhuo Yuling reached the study doorway, Qiu Zhiheng gave her a polite bow and closed the door.
Zhuo Yuling returned to her bedroom in a daze, while inside the study, Lu Dongliang continued discussing countermeasures with Qiu Zhiheng.
"Master, according to Miss Xiaolan, He Jiaqing merely patted her once, and she flew all the way back to the He family ancestral residence without following the railway line. The fact that she could cross the border line mid-flight might mean He Jiaqing used some sort of artifact—an artifact Li Banfeng might know how to use as well."
Lu Dongliang shook his head. "That was not an artifact. It was a technique."
Monkey Qiu froze in disbelief for a long while before shaking his head. "I have never heard of such a technique."
Lu Dongliang looked up. "You haven't heard of it because you aren't familiar with his pathway."
Qiu Zhiheng had actually investigated this matter. "I heard from the He family that He Jiaqing practiced both the civil and martial arts."
Lu Dongliang gave a cold chuckle. "That's complete nonsense."
"Could he be a Food Cultivator, like his father?"
Lu Dongliang shook his head. "Not that either."
Qiu Zhiheng pondered for a long time. "Master, I know at least a bit about the techniques of every pathway. I have never heard of anything like this."
Lu Dongliang said, "That's because your cultivation doesn't match his. The techniques of his realm are naturally beyond your knowledge."
Monkey Qiu found this even harder to believe. "My cultivation doesn't match his? How old is he?"
Qiu Zhiheng was a rare genius—in his forties, a Joy Cultivator of the seventh layer. He Jiaqing was barely in his early twenties; how could his cultivation possibly surpass his own?
Lu Dongliang sighed. "It's all because He Jiaqing obtained the supreme Xuansheng Red Lotus. He claimed he went to Yuezhou to study, but it was actually for the sake of the red lotus. Over those four years, heaven knows how much cultivation he gained from it. Forget you—even the He family might not know what layer he has reached by now."
Qiu Zhiheng still struggled to accept it. "Then why did he return to Puluo Province? Why didn't he stay in the Outer States?"
Lu Dongliang said, "That is likely related to the lotus's price."
"The red lotus has a price too?"
"Every magical artifact under heaven demands a price. I once heard the red lotus is connected to the heavens above. Touch it once, and it sends a signal to the heavens; whoever touches it must be shined upon by heavenly light once. Enduring that light over and over, even He Jiaqing probably couldn't hold out much longer."
*Shined upon by heavenly light!*
Qiu Zhiheng suddenly recalled someone.
Seeing him lost in thought, Lu Dongliang asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Qiu Zhiheng hastily recovered. "I was thinking, if He Jiaqing truly possessed such high cultivation, how could Miss Xiaolan have possibly wounded him?"
Lu Dongliang's gaze turned dark and profound. "That's precisely what makes this strange. I still don't know whether Xiaolan has been telling me the truth."
"Master, dragging things out like this is no solution. Should I invite a master Virtue Cultivator to examine Miss Xiaolan and see if she is lying?"
"If things were that simple, would I have waited until now?" Lu Dongliang's face darkened. "If Xiaolan lies before a high-level Virtue Cultivator, it could very well cost her her life, and we cannot afford to let her die just yet. But if she speaks the truth, wouldn't the secret be exposed? How would we handle that high-level Virtue Cultivator then? Silence him with murder? Imagine how much turmoil that would stir up!"
Monkey Qiu realized he had been thoughtless. After a moment's consideration, he suggested, "Then what if I borrow an artifact from the Garrison Commissioner?"
Lu Dongliang glared at him in irritation. "I told you, it's not that simple. Artifacts from the Outer States cannot be trusted. Those contraptions can record what they hear. If word of this leaks back to the Outer States, the trouble will only be greater!"
Qiu Zhiheng said, "Master, my worry is that the Xuansheng Red Lotus isn't in Puluo Province at all. Miss Xiaolan might have been lying to you all along."
Lu Dongliang chuckled at that. "Little Qiu, in the entire Lu family—even including my own sons and brothers—you are the only one I can trust. I will tell this only to you. Once a journey cultivator reaches a certain layer, they no longer walk merely upon the dirt. I can sense that the red lotus is indeed in Puluo Province. As for its exact location, that remains beyond my sight."
The more Qiu Zhiheng listened, the more baffled he became.
Lu Dongliang offered no further explanation. His thoughts turned to matters of greater urgency. "Why Li Banfeng bought those gramophones doesn't matter, and how he crossed the border line doesn't matter either. The fact that he fought the Ghost Hand Sect to the death over three gramophones proves they are important to him; he certainly won't discard them easily. Carrying three gramophones, he won't be able to move quickly, and he will stand out far too much. He can't carry them all on his own, so he is bound to hire a cart. That is our breakthrough. Call together all the journey cultivators in the family to search every major thoroughfare. Anyone traveling with a gramophone is to be brought in for questioning without exception! Contact the Iron Wheel Gang as well. Offer them a generous reward to gather all their cart drivers. Anyone who transported a gramophone between last night and today must also be brought in for questioning! Even if we have to turn Lüshuiwan upside down, we must find Li Banfeng!"
Qiu Zhiheng considered this for a moment. "Master, if we conduct a citywide search for Li Banfeng, I fear the other great families will grow suspicious."
Lu Dongliang stood up. "I will go negotiate some business with them, keeping them too occupied to cause trouble. You focus on carrying out your task, and bring me word tonight. Once we capture Li Banfeng and secure the Xuansheng Red Lotus, deliver Xiaolan's corpse to the He family at once, and this matter will finally be settled."
Qiu Zhiheng organized the men for the manhunt. As he stepped out the front gates of the mansion, he took another look at Li Banfeng's photograph.
The young man in the photograph looked virtually identical to the youth who had given him food on the train.
He had long suspected they were the same person, yet had clung to a sliver of hope that it was merely a coincidence.
Now that the matter of being shined upon by heavenly light had come up, Li Banfeng's identity was practically certain.
*Little brother, is it truly you?*
*I consider your kindness repaid. I only hope fortune smiles upon you, and you never fall into my hands.*
***
Lu Dongliang returned to the bedroom to change his clothes.
He went to Zhuo Yuling's quarters; dealing with the prominent families required wearing his custom yellow woolen overcoat from Ingrid—that was his routine.
Seeing Zhuo Yuling sitting motionless in the room, he paid her no heed.
Having finished dressing, Lu Dongliang was just about to leave when Zhuo Yuling suddenly spoke. "Master, Xiaolan didn't lie. She never lied. Li Banfeng is still alive."
Lu Dongliang nodded. "I know. She didn't lie."
With that, he walked out of the room.
Down in the garden, Lu Chunying was sprinting around the flower beds. Seeing Lu Dongliang approach, she hurried over to greet him. "Dad, look how fast I can run! This is Wind Rises on Level Ground, right?"
Lu Dongliang shook his head with a fond smile. "Silly girl, it's far too early for Wind Rises on Level Ground. Once I finish my business, I'll take you somewhere to pass the first gate, and then I'll teach you the techniques."
Standing by the bedroom window upstairs, Zhuo Yuling stared down at Lu Dongliang's beaming face, her eyes burning with a surge of fury.
Lu Dongliang had never smiled at Xiaolan like that.
He was about to find Li Banfeng.
And Xiaolan's life would soon be forfeit.
More than a dozen high-level guards watched over Lu Xiaolan's door. Zhuo Yuling had no hope of rescuing her on her own—even with Daboyins's help, it would be impossible.
She needed to find another ally. There was one suitable candidate, but would he be willing to help save Xiaolan?
He wouldn't care about saving Xiaolan, but there was one thing he had always wanted to do.
Fortunately, Qiu Zhiheng had also gone out. With the head butler away, there was still time to make arrangements.
Not long after Lu Dongliang left, Zhuo Yuling departed from the estate as well.
In another bedroom, Xiao Yeci looked out the window with a heart full of trepidation, watching Lu Chunying sprint around the flower beds.
She and Lu Chunying had agreed to escape tonight.
Lu Chunying was training her legs, while Xiao Yeci was gathering her courage.
Chapter 114