Wu Decheng wiped the night soil from his face and stared quietly at Boss Ye.
His goal today was to kill this man named Ye—to win credit with Lu Maoxian, reclaim the reputation Tang Peigong had thrown away, and seize Tang's standing within the Pure Observance Society for himself.
They had lost in the arena, but it did not seem too late to kill Boss Ye right now.
Beside him, the fourth-layer Poison Cultivator Yue Qingsong reminded him, "Master, the other disciples have arrived as well. We can strike at any moment."
Wu Decheng clenched his fists, but in the end he regained his composure. He had someone carry the injured disciples and left the arena.
He had just decided to kill Boss Ye, so why had he changed his mind so quickly?
Wu Decheng was a veteran of the martial world; he could read the situation clearly.
He did not care about people pointing fingers. *The victor is king, the vanquished a bandit*—he understood that principle well enough.
Yet Wu Decheng knew it would be difficult to kill Boss Ye now.
His earlier intention to kill him had been premised on the assumption that Boss Ye would let his guard down.
As it turned out, not only had Boss Ye not let his guard down, he had even laid a trap to plot against him.
Neither of those two gaunt men on the stage was someone to be trifled with.
Boss Ye appeared to have brought no guards, but in reality, guards were very likely concealed within the crowd.
Entangling himself here any longer would bring no advantage, so Wu Decheng retreated decisively.
Watching them scurry away, Li Banfeng pulled down the brim of his hat and smiled.
A breeze swept past. Li Banfeng's smile vanished. Gathering his people, he turned and left immediately.
The stench in this place was overwhelming, thoroughly unfriendly to his Hundred Flavors Exquisite technique.
The fighters had left, and the spectators had dispersed.
Only a few sweepers remained, silently fretting.
"Do we still keep this stage?"
"Air it out for a couple of days. A couple of days and it'll be fine."
...
Back at the newspaper office, Bai Qiusheng was busy hurrying his draft, while Ma the Fifth was busy printing newspapers.
Once the evening edition had been distributed, Li Banfeng had food and wine bought and set out several tables in the factory.
To be fair, the factory cafeteria was rather spacious and had a pleasant atmosphere. Today was mainly a celebration for the three who had taken the stage.
Looking sheepish, Xiao Genzi said, "I didn't help much. It was mostly the two elder sisters' doing."
Li Banfeng said approvingly, "Genzi, put that bucket down first. All three of you share top credit today. Eat your fill, drink your fill, enjoy yourselves to the fullest, and there'll be red envelopes for all of you in a bit."
Ah Qin glanced at Ma the Fifth and lowered her head. "I don't want a red envelope."
The Street-Scolding Crone spat. "Shameless creature! If you don't want a red envelope, what do you want? You think relying on whatever a man gives you will keep your belly full?"
Ah Qin snapped back angrily, "You old hag, why do you have to speak so foully! Today is a great day, and I'm in no mood to bicker with you!"
It truly was a good day. Everyone ate and drank to their hearts' content, and it wasn't until past two in the morning that they finally went off to sleep.
More than an hour later, as four in the morning approached, a scent drifted into Li Banfeng's room.
Here he was.
He had known he would come tonight.
He had known he wouldn't accept this lying down.
He had suffered such a massive loss of face; Li Banfeng had known he wouldn't be able to bear it.
Xiao Genzi flinging that ladleful at him on the stage had been precisely to guard against this!
Standing by the doorway, Li Banfeng quietly opened the Portable Abode.
Wu Decheng walked silently up the stairs, looked around for a moment, and came to Li Banfeng's door.
Pushing the door open, he found the room pitch-black. Wu Decheng vaguely made out some mist.
Strange. Why would there be mist inside this room?
Wu Decheng's heart tightened. Just as he was about to retreat out the door, a sudden searing pain shot through his calf—something sharp had hooked into his leg bone.
Wu Decheng tried to break free, but the other party's strength far exceeded his own. Amid his struggles, he was dragged bodily into the room.
*Clang!*
The door slammed shut.
*Scritch—*
Li Banfeng struck a match and lit a cigarette.
He casually lit the candle beside him as well.
By the candlelight, Wu Decheng clearly saw the room's furnishings.
A very small room with a bed and a gramophone.
The gramophone's needle was hooked into Wu Decheng's leg bone, and with a sudden yank, pulled him flat onto the ground.
Sitting on the bed, Li Banfeng looked at Wu Decheng quietly. "The arena match is over. Why have you come looking for me?"
Gritting his teeth, Wu Decheng said, "Treacherous and deceitful! A shameless scoundrel like you deserves to die!"
"Tell me then, how exactly was I treacherous?"
"What did you and I agree upon back then?"
"It was stated clearly back then. In a three-bout arena match, you wanted to win the opening bout, let me win the second, and tie the third. I refused. I said I had to win the opening bout, and you agreed to yield it to me. Wasn't that how it went?"
Wu Decheng said, "I already yielded the opening bout to you!"
"Right, you gave me the opening bout, so I should win the second bout, and the third should be a draw. What's wrong with that?"
"Nonsense! If I yielded the opening bout to you, the second bout should have been yielded to me!"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "That wasn't what I thought. You can only blame yourself for not making it clear."
"It was plain as day! Did that even need to be spelled out?"
Li Banfeng chuckled. "You're someone who just hates spelling things out. For the first bout, you deliberately didn't make clear whether it was a verbal arena match or a martial arena match, taking advantage of me being an outsider who didn't know the rules. With Tang Peigong, I imagine you didn't explain the fine details to him either. He made a fool of himself outside the cinema and was desperate to save face, so you kept things vague and led him straight into your trap. You used my hands to give him a brutal beating. Once he lost face, you intended to win the prestige back in the second bout. Isn't that how it went?"
Wu Decheng sneered. "What if it was? I didn't make you suffer for it!"
Li Banfeng continued, "Come the second bout, you still didn't make clear whether it was to the death or just for victory. You brought ruthless killers to strike fatal blows, hoping to catch me off guard, wipe us out, and take my life. Wasn't that your plan?"
"Don't slander me!" Wu Decheng was still unwilling to admit it.
Li Banfeng smiled. "You've already ended up here, and you still can't speak honestly? To tell you the truth, I had the exact same idea. If you hadn't run fast today, your corpse would already be lying in the street."
Wu Decheng fell silent.
Carrying the teapot, Li Banfeng walked over. "Cat got your tongue? Mouth dry? Want a cup of tea?"
Wu Decheng suddenly sprang up, intending to fight Li Banfeng with his life on the line.
The gramophone needle was still hooked in his leg.
He was trying to fight in close quarters.
And this was a Dwelling Cultivator's home.
How could he possibly have a chance to strike?
Li Banfeng didn't even rise from the bed; raising a foot, he kicked him sprawling to the ground.
Wu Decheng struggled to his feet again, his right hand fumbling inside his robes, seemingly trying to draw a weapon.
Drawing his scythe, Li Banfeng struck first, carving several gashes across him. As the venom seeped in, Wu Decheng was rendered immobile.
The gramophone praised him, "Husband is valiant! Handling this old wretch didn't even require your humble servant to lift a hand."
The old teapot said, "This foul knave is still unruly. Treat him to a sip of hot tea to warm him up."
Li Banfeng poured some tea onto Wu Decheng.
Wu Decheng cried out instantly in agony.
The old wretch's cultivation was by no means low, but even he could not endure this.
Wait, something wasn't right. It wasn't just a matter of cultivation—the tea from the teapot seemed even hotter than before.
Was this old teapot still cultivating?
He would have to have a good chat with it another day.
Looking at Wu Decheng, Li Banfeng said, "I have a few questions for you. Answer truthfully, and perhaps I'll spare your life. First, tell me: why did your Pure Observance Society target *Bloodgun Detective*? It's just a movie—how did it offend you?"
Panting for breath, Wu Decheng took a while before saying, "Because that moving picture corrupts public morals..."
Before he could finish, Li Banfeng poured another splash of tea over him. "Morals? Just for that, you went and smashed up the cinema?"
Wu Decheng yelled, "I'm telling the truth! It was Elder Lu's order!"
"Elder Lu? Lu Maoxian? You're an elder, he's an elder, and Tang Peigong is an elder. What right does he have to give you orders?"
"Not all elders hold the same standing. Elder Lu is a Grand Elder; his status is above ours, and Tang Peigong's status is above mine."
"How many elders does the Pure Observance Society have?"
"I don't know the total number either. Usually, each place has two elders, one civil and one martial, and a civil elder's status is generally higher than a martial elder's. Some small places might only have one elder. A major place like Lüshui City has three elders, all of whom are Grand Elders, and among them, Lu Maoxian holds the highest status."
"So Lu Maoxian is the leader of the Pure Observance Society?"
Wu Decheng shook his head. "The leader of the Pure Observance Society is the sage."
Li Banfeng wrinkled his nose—not just from the smell on Wu Decheng, but because the word *sage* also carried a very foul stench.
"Which sage are you talking about? The one from Jianrengang?"
Wu Decheng said, "I have never seen the sage. I've been in the Pure Observance Society for twenty-one years, and I have never once seen the sage."
Even with his status, he had never laid eyes on the sage.
That a sage was so elusive reminded Li Banfeng of the scene on the Peak of the Sages, where crowds of people knelt on the ground waiting to see the Sage.
Li Banfeng asked a few more questions about Heishipo and the Pure Observance Society, and Wu Decheng answered them all truthfully.
The Pure Observance Society and Heishipo were Lu Maoxian's most important assets. Heishipo in particular: nearly half of the factories and mines here were in Lu Maoxian's grip, which was the main reason he could stand toe-to-toe with the two young masters of the Lu family.
However, the residents of Heishipo were very peculiar. In Wu Decheng's words, they were uncivilized, and the area was one of the fiercest and roughest in all of Puluo Province.
Moreover, cultivators of impressive cultivation lay hidden among the populace. If pushed too far, things could easily spiral out of control. Because of this, when resolving disputes in Heishipo, the Pure Observance Society typically resorted to open, legitimate methods like arena matches; underhanded tactics like the ones Wu Decheng employed were actually rare.
Wu Decheng looked at Li Banfeng and pleaded, "A gentleman's word is his bond! I've told you everything you asked. Let me go! Tang Peigong is already a cripple. From now on, I will be in charge of Heishi City! You can screen whatever movies you want, print whatever newspapers you want, and the entire book and newspaper business in Heishi City will be yours! What do you say?"
As the words left his mouth, Li Banfeng seemed genuinely tempted.
He sat back down on the bed, the corners of his mouth curving upward, a smile spreading across his face.
Wu Decheng had used a technique.
The gramophone was furious. Scalding steam blasted over Wu Decheng, raising blisters all over his body.
Li Banfeng held the gramophone back, then suddenly began to speak.
"I think this old gentleman isn't so bad. Let's let him go."
"Yeah, he said it himself—the book and newspaper business in Heishi City will belong to us. That's quite a profitable trade."
"When you can spare someone, spare them. Just let him go. You like Heishipo anyway; staying here in the future and having someone look out for us wouldn't be bad at all, would it?"
Li Banfeng engaged in an in-depth debate with himself, leaving Wu Decheng dumbfounded.
Frightened, the gramophone looked at Li Banfeng and asked, "Husband, what has happened to you? Were you harmed by this old knave?"
"No!" Even while holding the debate with himself, Li Banfeng could still talk to his wife.
Once the debate reached a conclusion, Li Banfeng walked over to Wu Decheng. "I've thought it through. I've decided not to let you go after all. Heishipo truly is a fine place, and without you wretched scoundrels, it will become even better! Wife, dine!"
The moment his voice fell, the gramophone gave a sinister smile and began her meal.
Wu Decheng screamed for a while before gradually falling silent.
Having devoured the soul, the wife asked Li Banfeng whether to keep the spirituality.
Li Banfeng felt sickened just looking at people from the Pure Observance Society and had not planned to keep the spirituality, when the clock pendulum, Hanxue, suddenly spoke up:
"Master, he is a high-layer Mind Cultivator after all. It would be a waste to throw it away. Why not give it to me?"
Li Banfeng was taken aback. He knew the pendulum could drink blood, but when had she learned to consume spirituality?
The wife laughed. "Well, aren't you a cheeky wench! Following Husband around, has your cultivation improved?"
The pendulum answered respectfully, "To tell Madam the truth, things are indeed a bit different from before. I seem to have recovered a few techniques. I hope Madam will grant me some guidance another day."
The pendulum spoke pleasingly, and the gramophone liked it. Using a puff of steam, she delivered the spirituality over to the pendulum. "You cheeky wench, lucky you!"
The remaining corpse could not go to waste, so Li Banfeng brought the Red Lotus over.
The Red Lotus had waited a long time, several layers of dew having formed on her.
Yet when she smelled the odor on Wu Decheng, the Red Lotus felt rather disgusted, reluctant to open her petals.
The gramophone was exasperated. "You wench, you're getting picky now? This man's cultivation isn't low at all—good stuff like this doesn't come by every day!"
Li Banfeng snorted. "If you won't eat, then starve!"
After hesitating for a moment, the Red Lotus devoured the corpse after all.
Ripples of halos shimmered as the Red Lotus refined the pill. Li Banfeng wanted to spend some intimate time with his wife, and finding the Red Lotus an eyesore in the room, casually tossed her into the second room.
In the second room, the Red Lotus spat two drops of dew and continued refining the corpse.
After a short while, the Red Lotus suddenly shivered.
In the second room, there faintly seemed to be a thought—what kind of thought, she couldn't quite tell.
PS: How could someone else's thought be inside the Portable Abode? This is way too terrifying!
Chapter 272