Bloodgun Detective

Li Banfeng lay in the Portable Abode for the better part of a day before finally recovering. Throughout it all, the gramophone held him tight. This was the reason Li Banfeng had returned to the Portable Abode; he knew that once his episode flared up, he was very likely to lose control completely. He possessed a dual Level Five cultivation. If he went on a rampage, not a single living soul in the entire inn would survive. Fortunately, his wife was still able to keep him in check. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he calmly asked the gramophone, "My wife, there's a technique where you shove someone and they go flying—the user can fly, and so can other people. What is that technique called?" Li Banfeng's speech was slurred and somewhat disordered. His wife gently consoled him, "Husband, why do you ask?" "It's the method of my enemy. I'm going to seek revenge against him!" Li Banfeng rose to leave, only to be pulled back into an embrace by the gramophone. "Husband, you cannot go." "Why can't I!" Li Banfeng truly wanted to return to the Outer States right now and demand clear answers. Hong Ying let out a cold sneer. "What you described just now is the Level Nine technique of a journey cultivator: Parting Across Ten Thousand Li. If your enemy is a Level Nine journey cultivator, with your current cultivation, how could you possibly be his match? Going there would be nothing short of throwing your life away." A Level Nine technique. He Jiaqing was at Level Nine. With Level Nine cultivation, Lu Xiaolan could never have injured him. Then why did he tell me to make that phone call? And why did he fly onto the bed in my dorm room? Just to drag me into the mud? What good would dragging me in do him? The bronze lotus. The bronze lotus was hidden in the campus supermarket, locked behind my facial scan. He wanted me to safekeep the bronze lotus for him. He had me make that phone call to him, and it was precisely because of that call that Lu Xiaolan hooked into my mobile phone. To save herself, Lu Xiaolan had to reach out to me and draw me to Puluo Province. And she wanted the bronze lotus as well, which meant she used my hands to carry the bronze lotus back to Puluo Province. He calculated that I would bring the bronze lotus to the He family residence. How could he know I would definitely be able to best Lu Xiaolan? Why did he have so much confidence in me? What if I couldn't beat Lu Xiaolan? Wouldn't the lotus have fallen into her hands? What if Lu Xiaolan successfully escaped and I was trapped in the He family ancestral residence, unable to get out? What if I starved or suffocated to death in there? After pondering for a while, Li Banfeng understood. He Jiaqing didn't know whether I could best Lu Xiaolan. To him, that didn't matter. Whether Lu Xiaolan or I lived or died was irrelevant to him; the only thing that mattered was that the Red Lotus had been brought back to Puluo Province. But why did he have to rely on my hands to bring it back? Back then, I was just a white lamb with no cultivation. He had Level Nine cultivation. Why didn't he bring back such an important item himself? Li Banfeng still couldn't fathom He Jiaqing's true intentions, but the subsequent events were beginning to make sense. The most important among them was the matter of the Ling family. A family of such lofty status had relentlessly targeted him. Viewed solely from the Ling family's perspective, none of it made sense. But if He Jiaqing was the one pulling the strings behind the Ling family, things became much clearer. He wanted to take back the Xuansheng Red Lotus. First he had me bring it here, and now he wanted to reclaim it himself. What on earth was he planning? Li Banfeng brought the Red Lotus to the main chamber and spoke in a gentle, coaxing voice: "A-Lian, let me ask you something. What plan do you and He Jiaqing have? Why couldn't the two of you return to Puluo Province together?" The Red Lotus made no movement. Li Banfeng turned his head and asked the gramophone, "My wife, did A-Lian speak?" *Hiss, hiss—* "Weiya, Husband, that slut didn't say a word. But your humble servant would like to ask: just who is this He Jiaqing?" "Weiya, my wife, He Jiaqing is a good friend of mine. Back then, he said I was his only good friend. Now I've found out he seems to have set up a whole game to scheme against me. You have no idea what it feels like to be played by your good friend!" *Hiss, hiss—* The gramophone fell silent for a long moment, offering no reply. Hong Ying snapped angrily, "Heartless rogue, if you have something to say, just say it straight! Don't make veiled jabs at us!" Li Banfeng ignored Hong Ying and continued stroking the Red Lotus. "Don't want to talk, huh? That's fine. We have plenty of time. If you won't say it today, sooner or later you'll have to spill!" After resting in the residence for half a day, Li Banfeng's mood improved. He had to pull himself together. Being plotted against was bad enough; letting it eat away at him in misery would only make him lose out entirely. He couldn't stay miserable. He had to smile; he had to go find some fun. Li Banfeng strolled around Guangming Town, treating the walk as cultivation practice. Arriving at the town center, Li Banfeng spotted a large crowd gathered before a Western-style building. Thinking there was some kind of promotional sale going on, he walked over to take a closer look, only to discover that the crowd was buying movie tickets. Guangming Town had a cinema, but why were there so many people here to watch movies? A single ticket cost five Huan Country notes. Given the spending level in Puluo Province, that was hardly cheap. Even in Lüshui City, watching a movie was a relatively luxurious expense for ordinary households. So many people had shown up today that it rivaled the Spring Festival release season in Yuezhou City. Li Banfeng stepped closer and saw two posters hanging outside the cinema entrance. Movie posters in Puluo Province differed from those in the Outer States. There were no large photographs; instead, they featured distinctive Puluo-style painted illustrations. On one poster, the back of a man was depicted walking alone in the wind, a short blade clutched in his hand. Before him lay a pool of blood, while several grim-faced figures seemed to be conferring over some sinister plot. On the right side of the poster, four large characters were written: *Bloodblade Detective*. Li Banfeng looked at the other poster. It also depicted a man walking alone, this time amidst a bed of flowers. Standing among the blooms were several women, their cheeks flushed with a soft blush as they cast fervent gazes toward him. In the center of the poster, four large characters read: *Bloodgun Detective*. *Bloodblade Detective* was produced by Ling Family Pictures. Li Banfeng had once been to their filming set and had even torched their film reels. Back on the train, Zhou Changhong had mentioned that the film was going to wrap production as quickly as possible. At the time, Li Banfeng had thought it was merely Zhou Changhong's ploy to lure him into disembarking at Wuqin Township. Now it seemed Zhou Changhong had been telling the truth! A grand cinematic series totaling ten installments had truly wrapped up that fast? The other film, *Bloodgun Detective*, was clearly made by Ma the Fifth. Ma the Fifth moved fast; in such a brief window of time, he had managed to rush out a movie. Good work on Ma the Fifth's part. This movie was bound to give Ling Miaoying a headache, and He Jiaqing, lurking behind Ling Miaoying, would be just as frustrated. But just how frustrated would they be? He had to see for himself! After all, Li Banfeng had invested in Ma the Fifth's movie! To make a proper comparison, Li Banfeng called Xiao Yeci and the rest of the group over and bought two tickets for every single person. First, they would watch the Ling family's *Bloodblade Detective*. The cinema was quite large, featuring two floors. The tickets Li Banfeng bought were all for the upper level, so the group sat together side by side. Before the screening began, a vendor selling melon seeds came around, and Li Banfeng bought a packet for everyone. A moment later, a soda vendor arrived. Li Banfeng told everyone, "Pick whatever flavor you like—it's on me." Some chose orange, while others chose cantaloupe. Knowing the local customs, Xiao Yeci reminded the rest, "Listen to me, everyone. Once you finish your soda, don't go throwing the bottles away. You get money back when you return them." After waiting a while longer, the cinema was roughly sixty percent full. Two attendants drew the curtains on both sides and put out all the gas lamps. A young man carried two large cans of film into the projection room, and the movie began. *Bloodblade Detective* had a runtime of one hour and eight minutes. It told the story of Detective Liang Chunjie, who, while investigating a homicide, encountered endless obstruction from Lü Guina, the leader of a mysterious organization. Following a series of fierce confrontations, he gradually uncovered the truth. The male lead was played by the movie star Sheng Xijun; Zhou Changhong indeed had not taken part. The female lead was still Xiao Xiufei. In this film, the dynamic between Xiao Xiufei and the male lead appeared ambiguous on the surface but was fiercely adversarial underneath, with their interactions portrayed with great subtlety. Within the film industry of Puluo Province, Ling Miaoying was the undisputed leading figure. Both the boundaries and the pacing of the film were handled with consummate skill. The ending of the movie did not reveal the true culprit. Detective Liang Chunjie walked into a trap and was surrounded by members of the mysterious organization, his fate left hanging in the balance, leaving the audience craving more. This was Ling Miaoying's calculated arrangement—a cliffhanger left for the second installment. As far as Li Banfeng was concerned, he quite enjoyed the movie. However, the audience around them voiced some dissatisfaction. One viewer remarked, "What kind of movie is this? The ending wasn't even cleared up; it makes no sense at all." Another viewer replied, "Didn't we come to see Xiao Xiufei? Everyone said her performance this time had a lot of depth." "What depth? The whole film through, all we got to see was her back. Didn't see anything else!" "This installment shows her back; the next one will show the front!" "Watch the next one? I don't think it's worth it." "They were free tickets anyway. Just come and watch; why be so fussy?" Hearing this, Li Banfeng couldn't stay calm. He turned around to the viewer behind him. "Your tickets were free?" The viewer looked astonished. "You don't mean to say you actually bought yours?" "I really did buy them!" Li Banfeng felt rather annoyed. Weren't they taking advantage of an out-of-towner? A person sitting nearby urged, "Brother, don't get mad. These tickets aren't handed out completely free. Is this your first time watching a movie here? You have to watch three movies in this cinema within a month, and only by using the ticket stubs can you redeem one ticket for *Bloodblade Detective*. That's a new rule the cinema only rolled out this month." Li Banfeng understood now. *Bloodblade Detective* had actually become a promotional giveaway for the cinema. Or perhaps it was a special marketing strategy. "Watch three movies to exchange for one ticket—can you only exchange for *Bloodblade Detective*?" "You can exchange for other movies too, but not *Bloodgun Detective*. That film is special. If you want to see it, you must buy a ticket!" The movie Ma the Fifth shot was that special? Still, having bought so many tickets, it would be a waste not to redeem them. Li Banfeng asked again, "Aside from *Bloodgun Detective*, what other good movies are there?" The viewer shook his head. "I wouldn't know." "Didn't you watch three movies? Wasn't your ticket redeemed that way?" The viewer nodded. "I did watch three movies, but I only watched *Bloodgun Detective*." "Only *Bloodgun Detective*? You watched it three times?" The viewer wore a deadpan, serious expression. "Three times is hardly enough! I'm going to watch it again in a bit!" Li Banfeng froze for a second, then bought another round of sodas for the group, waiting for the next screening to begin. Half an hour later, *Bloodgun Detective* started. The audience in the cinema had doubled. The hall was packed to capacity, with people even standing! In this film produced by Ma the Fifth, the male protagonist was named Song Chunjie. While solving a homicide, he was obstructed by Zhang Guina, the leader of a mysterious organization. In order to uncover the truth, Song Chunjie chose to use his gun to conquer Zhang Guina. Just like that, the top leader of the mysterious organization submitted. But the second-in-command refused to yield and commenced a new round of struggle with Song Chunjie. After the second-in-command was conquered, the third-in-command arrived... The imagery and plot grew increasingly explicit. "Good heavens, they're doing it for real—" Her face blushing bright red, Xiao Yeci didn't dare look any further and covered her eyes with her hands. Lu Chunying said, "Mom, if you don't want to watch, then don't watch, but cover your own eyes! Don't cover mine!" Niu Guangda was thoroughly thrilled. This was his very first time watching a movie. He whispered to the companion beside him, "Folks from Lüshuiwan sure have guts." Fang Lianfu nodded in agreement. "Guts, big guts!" Nearby, an elderly man cursed furiously, "Indecency! An absolute insult to public decency!" A young man beside him quickly tried to soothe him, "Old Sir, calm down. You got plenty angry during yesterday's screening, and you felt sick the moment you got home." ... "Watching this rubbish makes a person sick!" Old Master He Cunshou of the He family shook his head in disgust as he stared at the screen. "Filming such filthy things directly onto the screen... Tell me, how did the Fifth Brother of the Ma family become so depraved!" Beside him, He Yuxiu whispered to He Haiqin, "Our uncle is truly furious. He was fuming mad when he watched it last time, and he was even angrier the time before that." He Haiqin nodded. "He was angriest during the very first screening. Our uncle was so outraged that halfway through, he almost got up and walked out!" *Bloodgun Detective* became a runaway hit, yet Ma the Fifth had only filmed one installment. He had no desire to film a second. At the banquet table, Ma the Fifth looked at Lu Yuanshan and Lu Yuanhai with a solemn expression. "Brothers, the three of us made this movie together as partners. I can't be the only one shouldering this reputation!"