Li Banfeng sat in the wooden cabin, quietly reading the evening paper Ma the Fifth had brought back.
The report about Lu Dongliang attending the banquet was already out. According to the article's description, Lu Dongliang was alive and well, in fine form, and capable of challenging He Yuxiu to her face.
Ma the Fifth was very troubled by this. "Yesterday, Daboyins, that private investigator, came looking for me to dig up information about you. He claimed Lu Dongliang was still alive. I'd heard similar talk before and thought it was just rumors, but with the evening paper out today, Lu Dongliang really is alive. Daboyins was very likely hired by him to investigate your whereabouts."
Li Banfeng set down the paper.
He knew for certain that Lu Dongliang was dead. He had just consumed a Golden Origin Pill yesterday; in theory, that pill was part of Lu Dongliang.
Where had the Lu Dongliang in the newspaper come from?
Obviously, someone was impersonating him.
Yet what method had they used to masquerade as Lu Dongliang?
The first thing that came to Li Banfeng's mind was Lu Xiaolan's fake skin. Back when she had disguised herself as He Jiaqing, Li Banfeng hadn't been able to tell any difference from her appearance alone.
While Li Banfeng was still mulling it over, Ma the Fifth offered a reminder. "Brother Li, don't go to Lüshui City again anytime soon."
"If we don't go to Lüshui City, how are we going to move our goods?"
"No need to worry about moving goods for now. Chu the Second came to the village today and cleared out the entire warehouse."
Seeing Ma the Fifth produce several cases of cash, Li Banfeng was delighted. "I told you, you two have real feelings for each other."
Ma the Fifth gave a bitter smile. "She even brought reporters along. This time, I'm completely dragged into it."
"Brought reporters?" Li Banfeng recalled past events. "That's not much different from the mess when you slept with Seventeenth Sister-in-Law."
Ma the Fifth lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. The threads of the situation were basically clear now. "Aside from Third Brother, none of my other family members were actually out to get me. Judging from today's situation, Chu the Second's ties with the press are far from ordinary. Back when Third Brother set a trap to ruin me, it was very likely on Chu the Second's orders. Third Brother thought he had succeeded, and Chu the Second immediately sent reporters to blow the story wide open, driving me out of the Ma family's gates for good. As for how Third Brother ended up, Chu the Second never cared at all."
Li Banfeng didn't quite agree. "I'd wager Chu the Second did care about your third brother—she probably hoped that useless fool would take charge of the Ma family sooner, so he could lose all the family businesses to her."
Ma the Fifth flicked away some ash. "It didn't necessarily have to be my third brother. After I was cast out of the family, Second Sister took over two of my dance halls. One has already been sold to the Chu family, and the other is expected to be sold next month."
"Meaning your second sister is a useless fool as well."
Ma the Fifth nodded. "That's how it looks for now. Chu the Second has been buying up the Ma family's businesses one after another, and now she wants to use my name to create the illusion of an alliance between the Ma and Chu families, using that opening to get her hands on the Lu family's businesses. That woman truly has calculating schemes."
Li Banfeng thought about it, then lit a cigarette as well. "Actually, this is a good thing."
"How so?"
"Keep an eye on supply prices over the next few days, draw up a list, and inform Second Miss Chu to come pick up the goods. The Liu family won't dare offend Second Miss Chu, so they certainly won't dare make an underhanded move. If Second Miss Chu agrees, we won't have to worry about moving our goods anymore."
Ma the Fifth smiled at that. "And if she doesn't agree, I'll spread the word, turning the alliance between the Chu and Ma families into empty talk."
Talking to a clever person took no effort at all.
Still, Ma the Fifth was somewhat worried. "I expect Chu the Second will definitely agree, but it won't be easy to answer to Yufangzhai. We can't very well cut off their supply—that's the He family's business, after all."
The He family.
No matter where one went, these great families could never be avoided.
Li Banfeng stubbed out his cigarette and stood up. "I'll deliver the goods to Yufangzhai."
"Brother Li, Lu Dongliang is alive. You really ought to take my advice and stay away from Lüshui City as much as possible."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I'd like to see for myself just what kind of person this Lu Dongliang is. Besides, there's another matter. I wonder if you know where these newspapers come from. How do they dare report on everything?"
As it turned out, Ma the Fifth actually knew. "Across the entirety of Puluo Province, the press is in the hands of Ling Miaowen."
Ling Miaowen. That name sounded familiar.
"What's his relation to Ling Miaosheng, the one who sells gramophones?"
"Ling Miaowen is Ling Miaosheng's elder brother. Ling Miaosheng also has a younger brother named Ling Miaoying. Each of the three brothers has his own domain. Ling Miaowen runs newspapers, magazines, and all sorts of books; his reach extends into anything related to the written word. On the surface, Ling Miaosheng only runs a gramophone shop, but in reality, most records produced in Puluo Province come from his hands. Pop kings, pop queens, bands, opera troupes—anyone with a bit of fame has dealings with him. Ling Miaoying ostensibly only sells cameras and projectors, but the movies, theaters, and stars of Puluo Province, big and small, are all under his control. Put simply: for the written word, look to Ling Miaowen; for sound, look to Ling Miaosheng; for pictures, look to Ling Miaoying. The three brothers have quite a foundation."
Li Banfeng nodded. "With such a foundation, their cultivation must not be shallow either."
In Puluo Province, without hard strength to back a business, one simply couldn't keep it running.
Ma the Fifth nodded. "The Ling family is a clan of Scrying Cultivators. Rumor has it that none of the three brothers has cultivation below Tier 7. Some people even say they could be considered the fifth great family of Puluo Province."
To build a big business really did require hard strength.
What was Li Banfeng and Ma the Fifth's hard strength like right now?
In terms of cultivation, it all rested on Li Banfeng: a Tier 3 Dwelling Cultivator and a Tier 2 journey cultivator.
Ma the Fifth's cultivation was negligible; he could only borrow the Ma family's reputation to act like a fox borrowing a tiger's might.
With only this much strength, being able to hold onto Lanyang Village was already a stroke of luck.
Was there a shortcut to boosting one's strength?
There actually was, but the side effects were too severe.
"Brother Ma, do you have any means of neutralizing pill poison?"
Ma the Fifth knitted his brows slightly. "That's complicated. Different pills have different methods of neutralization, and pills coming from different pharmacies have different natures of pill poison. That Xuanchi Pill you gave me before was of exceptionally pure quality, so neutralizing it wasn't difficult."
Li Banfeng felt a flicker of excitement. "Tell me, how is it not difficult?"
"Just ride it out over time. After taking the pill, I slept for a day, and didn't take any other pills for the next three days. The pill poison gradually dissipated on its own."
Li Banfeng rubbed his forehead. That was as good as saying nothing.
He couldn't afford to wait out the time. He had to return to the Portable Abode every day, and if he took pills recklessly, the gramophone would definitely find out.
Seeing Li Banfeng remain silent for a while, Ma the Fifth quickly added, "As for other methods of neutralizing pill poison, I'll keep an eye out as best I can. Things like this aren't written in books, but I'll ask around among some friends."
*Keep an eye out as best I can.*
Which was equivalent to total bullshit.
Li Banfeng took out a pill and set it before Ma the Fifth.
Ma the Fifth picked it up to look; the radiant golden glow made his fingertips tremble.
Even a scion of a prominent family would shudder at the sight of this Golden Origin Pill.
"Brother Li, where did this pill come from?"
"A friend gave it to me, and now I'm giving it to you."
Ma the Fifth waved his hands repeatedly. "I can't accept this. Such a treasure can't necessarily be bought even with money."
"I'm not giving it to you for nothing. Find me a way to neutralize the poison in this pill."
Only in the face of tremendous temptation would Ma the Fifth truly take the matter to heart.
Having returned to the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng lay in bed, just about to drift off to sleep, when he suddenly heard the gramophone slowly sing:
"Dearest brother, do not forget me,
I am your beloved Meiniang,
I once sat upon the window of your home,
Chewing on my delicious lover boy."
"The Song of Meiniang."
Wasn't the last line "chewing on betel nut"? How did it turn into "chewing on my lover boy"?
"Did you sing the wrong words, Madam?"
"My oh my~ Husband, this humble maid did not sing it wrong; it is Husband whose memory has failed. This humble maid did eat her fill once a few days ago, but Master hasn't bought groceries in quite some time."
"Buying groceries is easily arranged."
"Lover boys are quite delicious too."
"Wife, you always say such spiteful things."
Li Banfeng placed a hand on the wooden cabinet beneath the gramophone's turntable and lightly scratched it.
The gramophone giggled, puffed out a cloud of steam, and snuggled up against Li Banfeng to sleep.
***
At dawn the next day, Liu Liangyi, the veteran proprietor of the Liu Family Paper Horse Shop, went to the Ma family's grand estate together with Si Wennian, head of the Si family.
The one who received them was the fourth son of the Ma family, Ma Junjiang.
Liu Liangyi first presented a pair of jade ornaments as a courtesy, and then informed Ma Junjiang of how Ma the Fifth had seized Lanyang Village.
Ma Junjiang was quite enraged upon hearing this. "That trouble-making wretch—to think he actually did such a thing!"
Liu Liangyi let out a long sigh. "We had no intention of making things difficult for the Fifth Young Master. Lanyang Village was earned by the Fifth Young Master himself; we only went according to the rules to collect monthly dues. Who could have known my son would be beaten into a cripple, and over a dozen of our fighters would be killed..."
At this point, Liu Liangyi's voice trembled slightly, and old tears nearly streamed down his cheeks.
There was rhetorical craft at work here, but it didn't fool Ma Junjiang's ears.
"Proprietor Liu, I didn't quite catch that just now. Are you saying Junyang severely injured your esteemed son? And harmed a dozen or so of your men? I know Junyang's cultivation—he shouldn't have that kind of ability, should he?"
Liu Liangyi lowered his head and kept silent, while Si Wennian spoke the truth from the side: "The one who injured Changyu was the Chu family's Second Miss. I don't know what sort of relationship she has with the Fifth Young Master for her to be willing to stick her neck out for him like that."
Ma Junjiang asked again, "Are you saying Junyang sought out Second Miss Chu specifically to attack Liu Changyu?"
"Well..."
Ma Junjiang wasn't very good at business, but his worldly experience was far from shallow. Hoping to fool him with rhetoric was out of the question.
Having no other choice, Liu Liangyi recounted the entire sequence of events from start to finish.
Ma Junjiang shook his head upon hearing this. "Elder Liu, I can't help you with this matter. Your son blocked the mountain road looking for trouble and picked a fight right in front of Second Miss Chu. Whatever grudges are involved, you ought to ask Second Miss Chu to clear it up. As for what kind of relationship Junyang has with Second Miss Chu, I have no desire to know. He is no longer part of the Ma family, and whatever he does has nothing to do with us."
With matters put so bluntly, there was no point in pressing further. Ma Junjiang returned the pair of jade ornaments to Liu Liangyi, and both parties parted on unhappy terms.
Once out of the Ma family's front gates, Liu Liangyi gnashed his teeth. "Telling me to ask Chu the Second to clear it up? Does that even sound like human speech? What could anyone ever clear up with that witch?"
Si Wennian consoled him, "Old brother, don't rush. If we can't reason with outsiders, let's go see the Lu family's Second Master. The Lu family is our own people!"
Liu Liangyi wasn't very optimistic. "If the First Master were here, this matter could reach a resolution. But the Second Master..."
"When we see the Second Master in a moment, don't you dare say that!" Si Wennian glared at Liu Liangyi.
In truth, Si Wennian's worry was superfluous; Liu Liangyi wouldn't say the wrong thing in front of Lu Dongjun, because Lu Dongjun didn't see them at all.
Having successfully impersonated Lu Dongliang last time, Lu Dongjun had thought he could smooth over his path forward.
Yet to his surprise, two days ago when he wanted to audit and transfer the Lu family's properties, Monkey Qiu hadn't even let him see the ledgers.
For Qiu Zhiheng to act so brazenly and yet still enjoy the support of everyone throughout the Lu family was utterly intolerable to Lu Dongjun. These past two days, he was just looking for a chance to strike at Monkey Qiu; how could he possibly have the mind to care about the Liu family's mess?
Si Wennian tried to soothe Liu Liangyi. "Second Master Lu is out of sorts today. Let's come back another day to discuss it."
Liu Liangyi gave a cold snort. "Another day? Who knows which year or month that'll be pushed back to!"
Si Wennian frowned. "Old Liu, if you're going to talk like that, I won't bother getting involved with your family's business either."
Liu Liangyi gritted his teeth. "Fine! If none of you will handle it, I'll deal with it myself! Didn't Ma Junjiang say it? Ma Junyang isn't a member of his Ma family. In that case, they can just wait to collect his corpse!"
Chapter 130