Pretending to Be Proper

Ma the Fifth escorted the cargo to Lanyang Village, where the three bagworm moths bid him a reluctant farewell, and Ah Qin also had to take her leave. Next, Ma the Fifth had to deliver the goods to Lüshui City. Along this stretch of the road, there was virtually no one to protect him; he had to rely entirely on his own cultivation and experience. Second-tier cultivation was not quite sufficient, but Ma the Fifth was seasoned in experience: he hoisted the Lu family's grand banner. Lanyang Village was Lu family territory, so raising their colors was entirely legitimate. As long as he displayed that banner, ordinary bandits and petty thieves would not dare come near. He made it to Lüshui City without incident. After offloading the cargo, Ma the Fifth bought a newspaper. On page two of the paper, there was another piece of news about Ma the Fifth, still reporting on his grand ambitions unfolding in Lanyang Village. This article offered nothing new, but Ma the Fifth noticed another headline: *Lu Family Suffers Bitter Loss of Lanyang Village: Incompetent Scions Squander Family Legacy.* Who wrote this? Who dared to slap the Lu family's face so directly? The newspaper had unprecedented nerve. Wait a moment. It might not be the newspaper that had the nerve. Ma the Fifth read the two articles in conjunction and began to discern the subtle trickery. Judging from the contents of the reports, the one provoking the Lu family was not the newspaper, but Ma the Fifth himself. Ma the Fifth was flexing his muscles in Lanyang Village, as though he had snatched away the Lu family's ancestral enterprise. Folding up the newspaper, Ma the Fifth had a cup of tea at Yufangzhai. He sat there for twenty minutes, organizing his thoughts. *If Old Seven and I continue to expand our business in Lanyang Village, it's tantamount to forcing the Lu family to turn against us.* *And if something happens to me in Lanyang Village—say, if I end up dead at Lu Xiaolan's hands—the Lu family will be the prime suspect, forced to take the blame.* The intent behind these two articles was insidious! No, he could not allow them to keep spouting such nonsense. This shipment of goods had fetched over seven thousand silver dollars. Ma the Fifth took out two thousand silver dollars and had the shopkeeper of Yufangzhai prepare four lavish gifts, then borrowed another five thousand silver dollars from the shopkeeper, scraping together a total of ten thousand silver dollars, which was promptly crated. In the afternoon, Ma the Fifth took the four lavish gifts and the ten thousand silver dollars and arrived at the Lu family mansion. Upon reaching the estate, Ma the Fifth acted with great humility, stating merely that he had come to pay a visit to Housekeeper Qiu. Monkey Qiu invited Ma the Fifth into the small pavilion, and after learning the purpose of the visit, he immediately went to the main residence to notify the Madame and instructed the two young masters to receive their guest in the main hall. Ma the Fifth feigned embarrassment. "Uncle Qiu, I came today to visit you; I didn't mean to trouble everyone." Monkey Qiu smiled. "Junyang, what sort of talk is that? You came to visit the Lu family, not a mere housekeeper like me." Ma the Fifth naturally understood Monkey Qiu's meaning. His arrival today was precisely to restore face to the Lu family. Four lavish gifts: one for the First Madame Duan Shaoxia, one for Eldest Young Master Lu Yuanshan, one for Second Young Master Lu Yuanhai, and one for Head Housekeeper Qiu Zhiheng. Not a single courtesy was neglected. The ten thousand silver dollars was a gesture of goodwill from Lanyang Village to the Lu family—a public declaration that Lanyang Village was paying dividends to the Lu family, and that this was still Lu family domain. With this move, Ma the Fifth gave the Lu family all the face they could ask for. Lu Yuanshan praised him with a click of his tongue. "Junyang, you're the one who really knows how to rake in money. Even Lanyang Village has turned into a gold mine in your hands. How long has it been since you took it over, and you've already pulled in this much?" Lu Yuanhai chuckled. "Old Fifth, don't go slapping your cheeks just to look plump. If you didn't actually earn this much, don't push yourself too hard. Why don't you take half of it back?" Ma the Fifth sighed. "To tell you two brothers the truth, this money didn't come easily. Your brother earned it with his life on the line. When I, Ma Junyang, was in the direst straits, you two spared Lanyang Village for me, leaving me a lifeline. I could never forget that kindness." Duan Shaoxia laughed. "Kindness? That's taking things too far, far too far! Junyang is such a lovable boy. You must stay for dinner tonight; I won't let you leave no matter what." Hearing this, Monkey Qiu caught Lu Yuanshan's eye with a pointed glance. Face couldn't just stay inside the house; it had to be displayed outside for all to see! Lu Yuanshan hurriedly picked up the thread. "What fun is eating at home? Tonight, at the Paramount, it's on me! Food, drink, and pretty girls to keep us company—we'll make sure Junyang is treated properly!" Lu Yuanhai chimed in, "Old Fifth, there's a singing gala at the Paramount tonight. You're a connoisseur; you have to come along as our VIP guest." Duan Shaoxia frowned. "Don't you go leading Junyang astray." Lu Yuanshan's eyes went wide as he laughed. "Ma, you think we could corrupt him? We grew up together—who doesn't know who? He's far worse than the two of us! If he goes tonight, not even the Song Queen will set foot in anyone else's room." Ma the Fifth waved his hands repeatedly. "Brothers, in front of Auntie, you can't go slandering me like this." The room erupted in laughter and cheerful chatter, bathed in complete harmony. Watching Ma Junyang, Monkey Qiu nodded continuously. This young man was sensible and shrewd; he was destined for great things. That night, Ma Junyang attended the singing gala at the Paramount as an honored guest, and reporters even came to conduct an exclusive interview. These were not reporters from the Ling family, but journalists working for Lu Yuanshan. Even though the Lu family's newspapers didn't sell well, this was a massive scoop. Ma the Fifth delivering dividends in person to the Lu family meant that all the rampant rumors about the Lu family and Lanyang Village crumbled without an attack. …… In his hospital bed, He Jiaqing frowned. Instead of hiding from the Lu family, Ma the Fifth had taken the initiative to make friendly overtures. This caught He Jiaqing somewhat off guard. A man's voice came from by his ear: "How do we counter this?" "Spend money. Go to every newsstand, buy up all of the Lu family's newspapers, and smother the news." "Even if we buy up the evening edition, there'll likely be morning editions tomorrow." "Buy them all. However many they print, we buy. At the very least, this news must not spread through Lüshui City. Keep running stories about Lanyang Village and Lu Maoxian in our papers. Stir up even more trouble—we have to make sure Ma the Fifth threw away those ten thousand silver dollars for nothing." …… Late at night, Ma the Fifth pushed away the girl beside him and stepped out of the room. The girl was tonight's Song Queen. Beautiful and melodious, she was truly a rare gem of womanhood. Yet Ma the Fifth could not summon any enthusiasm. There were certain things this girl didn't know how to do, nor could she ever learn them. He headed to the dance hall wanting to listen to some music, and as chance would have it, Lu Yuanshan and Lu Yuanhai were there too. Lu Yuanshan hailed him. "Junyang, come sit over here! What's wrong? The Song Queen wasn't to your liking?" Ma the Fifth shook his head with a chuckle. "After running around on the road, I'm a bit exhausted. I truly couldn't hold up." Lu Yuanhai laughed. "Old Fifth, are you pulling my leg? You, of all people, couldn't hold up?" While the three were chatting and laughing, a guard stepped forward and whispered a few words into Lu Yuanshan's ear. Lu Yuanshan's eyes went wide. "That really happened?" The guard nodded. "It's the absolute truth." Lu Yuanhai asked from the side, "What happened?" Lu Yuanshan looked at his brother, then at Ma the Fifth. "You might not believe it when I say it, but two of the Ling family's newspaper offices were burned down, and their printing press went up in flames too." Ma the Fifth was stunned. "Who did that?" The Ling family was counted as the fifth-greatest family in Puluo Province. Who would dare burn down their newspaper offices? The guard shook his head. "We don't know who did it yet." Lu Yuanshan wore a look of regret. "Ling Miaowen and I get along fairly well. With something this big happening, shouldn't I head over and take a look?" Lu Yuanhai nodded. "We definitely should. This is huge news. Shouldn't we bring the reporters along to see it too?" Lu Yuanshan slapped his thigh. "Right! If you hadn't mentioned it, I would've forgotten! Old Fifth, let's go together. You can show some goodwill to the Ling family too—you'll inevitably have to deal with them in the future." Ma the Fifth waved his hands. "I won't go. I'm completely unprepared..." Lu Yuanhai laughed. "No need to prepare anything, brother. I'll get it ready for you! It's just a gift, isn't it? As if you need to worry about that!" Watching the two brothers' reactions, Ma the Fifth's stomach churned. The two of them were thrilled! Why on earth were they so excited? When they reached the newspaper office and saw the smoking ruins, Ma the Fifth understood. This was the Lu family's warning strike against the Ling family. The Lu family might have run into trouble, but they certainly hadn't fallen. …… In his hospital bed, He Jiaqing clenched his fists, grinding his teeth. "Savages! To actually strike at a newspaper office... It's savages like them that have ruined Puluo Province." The man's voice sounded by his ear: "How should we handle this now?" "Go back to Lüshui City first and get to the bottom of what happened to the newspaper offices." "If I go back, this parcel can't be held. The Three Paragons of Iron Sheep are dead, and Rong Yeguang is furious. He wants to pull his people out." "Let him pull them out! How much blood and sweat did we pour into the newspapers? Can't you tell which matters more?" "If we pull out now, what about that item?" He Jiaqing let out a long breath. "Hold off for now. That brother of mine won't abandon this estate. We'll take it back after some time." …… Li Banfeng stood beside the newland parcel that Lu Xiaolan had opened, staring in silence. How strange. Why wasn't anyone here? Li Banfeng had just been scheming how to deal with Lu Xiaolan, yet she had simply up and left? What had happened? …… Ma the Fifth hurried back to the newland. Arriving at the ten-li parcel, he searched everywhere for Li Banfeng. Chuanzi said, "Seventh Master went back to his original parcel. He said he wanted to cultivate properly these past couple of days." Ma the Fifth headed to the parcel and waited for nearly half a day before he finally saw Li Banfeng. "Old Seven, something big happened in Lüshui City." "What happened?" Li Banfeng was not particularly interested in affairs in Lüshui City. "The Ling family's newspaper offices were burned down." "An accidental fire?" Li Banfeng had even less interest in that kind of news. "It didn't look like an accident. I went to the scene—it was probably the Lu family's doing. Two newspaper offices and a printing house were all burned to the ground." Li Banfeng froze for a long time, thoughts churning incessantly in his mind. Ma the Fifth said, "I went to the Lu family and delivered ten thousand silver dollars, hoping to clear up the misunderstanding. They invited me to stay the night at the Paramount, and as a result, trouble struck that very evening..." While Ma the Fifth was still recounting the details, Li Banfeng cut him off: "Where did you buy that gramophone?" "What gramophone?" "The gramophone in the council hall—where was it bought?" Ma the Fifth blinked. "At Miaosheng Gramophone Shop. A top-notch gramophone like that can only be found at their place." Li Banfeng's expression went blank. Ma the Fifth said, "Let's put the gramophone aside for now and talk about the Ling family. This whole thing is out of the ordinary..." "It certainly is," Li Banfeng said. "For something this important, we ought to go back to the council hall to talk. We can listen to music while we chat. Go wait for me in the council hall first; I'll be there in a moment." Ma the Fifth could not comprehend Li Banfeng's line of thought, but since Li Banfeng insisted on the council hall, Ma the Fifth went ahead. Li Banfeng returned to the Portable Abode and said to the gramophone, "Darling wife, I found the insider." "Congratulations, Husband! What sort of person is it? Let's have some proper fun with him." "That insider isn't a person." "Husband, don't talk like that in anger." "It's not out of anger. It really isn't a person. Wife, bring your ear close." The gramophone huffed. "Your humble servant doesn't have ears!" Li Banfeng whispered a few words into the horn, and his wife couldn't help but giggle. "Oh, that tickles! Husband, this is fascinating—absolutely fascinating." "Pray tell, wife." "Had this been in the past, your humble servant could at best teach them a mild lesson. But now that my cultivation has recovered considerably, I can give them a real feast." "How big of a feast?" "There is a lethal technique your humble servant hasn't used in ages. Though it takes an enormous toll, I would like to try it." "If the toll is too heavy, don't use it. Your health comes first, wife." "It doesn't matter. For my husband's sake, never mind a mere technique—I would even lay down my life without hesitation." …… Ma the Fifth waited in the council hall for quite a while before Li Banfeng finally showed up, carrying a vinyl record under his arm, and sat down across from him. Ma the Fifth looked around and lowered his voice. "Don't you think there's something fishy about what happened to the Ling family? I suspect it's tied to Lu Xiaolan!" "What's fishy about it? Great families fighting bloody turf wars—doesn't that happen all the time in Puluo Province?" …… Lying in his hospital bed, He Jiaqing was listening to the live broadcast. Hearing Li Banfeng's voice, he smiled. *Banfeng still can't see the true reality of Puluo Province clearly; in this regard, he's far behind Ma the Fifth.* …… Ma the Fifth shook his head repeatedly. "Old Seven, there are too many layers to this. Those reports in the Ling family's newspapers earlier were blatantly aimed at us." …… He Jiaqing nodded to himself. *Ma the Fifth is the smart one after all.* …… Li Banfeng still brushed it aside casually. "I don't want to hear about Lüshui City. I'm sick of listening to it. I've had more than my share of exhaustion these past few days. Let's play a game of chess and listen to some tunes. I don't want to hear you drone on about these irritating matters." "No, wait, Old Seven—" Paying him no mind, Li Banfeng picked up the record and set it onto the gramophone. The cheerful sound of a violin rose up, harmonizing with trombones and trumpets to play a playful dance tune. This was a dance music style unique to Puluo Province, carrying both Western jazz flair and local Puluo rustic flavor. The song was titled "Pretending to Be Proper." "Hypocrite, hypocrite, Why bother being such a hypocrite? If you want to look, if you're dying to see, Then take a good, clear look!" To the jaunty rhythm, Li Banfeng pressed one hand against the fedora on his head and held a feather duster in the other—he actually started dancing! Ma the Fifth was at a loss for words. "Come on, Old Seven, let's just play chess. Why the hell are you dancing?" Li Banfeng laughed. "Come on, dance with me!" …… In his hospital bed, He Jiaqing smiled. *Banfeng is acting crazy again.* In truth, he wasn't crazy, but at times, his behavior was simply beyond comprehension. Why did he insist on listening to this specific song? "Don't go putting on such a solemn front, Don't go pulling such a stern face and scaring people!" The smile vanished abruptly from He Jiaqing's face as he realized something was terribly wrong! There was something inside this singing—a bizarre, eerie power. As the chorus arrived, the vocals suddenly surged with deafening volume, rattling He Jiaqing's skull with a splitting headache. He tried to sever the connection, but failed after several attempts. "Stop it! Stop it now!" The man's voice came from by his ear, sounding exceedingly weak: "I can't stop it... I can't stop it..." "Break the hook!" "I can't break it... I can't break it..." The man's voice vanished, but the singing did not. He Jiaqing clutched his ears as blood erupted from them, streaming down between his fingers. …… Inside the Ling family manor, Ling Miaowen collapsed to the floor, convulsing violently. Two guards rushed forward and helped Ling Miaowen up. "Master, what's wrong?" Ling Miaowen could not speak, blood vomiting continuously from his mouth. "Quick!" shouted a guard. "Call a doctor!" By the time the doctor arrived, Ling Miaowen had long ceased breathing. He was dead. Ling Miaowen, head of the Ling family, controller of the major newspapers throughout Puluo Province, a seventh-tier Scrying Cultivator, was dead. …… "Pretending to be proper, pretending to be proper! Your eyes have long been Glancing over, glancing back, Sneaking peeks without an end!" Inside the council hall, the song "Pretending to Be Proper" played on loop. The volume hadn't changed in the slightest, the melody remaining light and cheerful. The more Li Banfeng listened, the more into the groove he got, and the more vigorous his dance steps became. Ma the Fifth couldn't help himself and joined in dancing alongside Li Banfeng. "Old Seven, if we're going to dance, let's dance—but can you please put down the feather duster?"