I Dreamed of You

Lu Dongchun was Lu Maoxian's daughter. Monkey Qiu was in his early forties, and Lu Dongchun was two years his senior, but in appearance, she looked like a woman in her twenties. With delicate skin and exquisite features, she was a rare beauty. Wearing a dark Western-style gown and holding a parasol, she waited quietly outside the Lu estate gates. She made no racket, voiced no complaints, and had not even brought a single attendant. Why a woman so pretty and well-mannered had provoked Duan Shaoxia to the point that the Lu family's mistress loathed her so intensely was anyone's guess. "I will not see her! Tell her to leave!" Duan Shaoxia still refused to let Lu Dongchun through the doors. Monkey Qiu said, "Madam, she is here to find people to avenge the Old Master." Duan Shaoxia gritted her teeth. "She has the gall to come to me? She should count her blessings that I haven't gone to settle scores with them!" Monkey Qiu shook his head. "Madam, this is the family rule." Duan Shaoxia's face darkened considerably. She understood the rules of a great clan. If Lu Maoxian had been wounded by someone from the Lu family, the various branches would pay him no mind and leave him to sink or swim on his own. However, if Lu Maoxian was injured by an outsider, as long as his injuries were severe enough, the culprit's identity was known, and he formally called for vengeance, every branch of the Lu family had to answer. If any branch failed to answer, they would be ostracized by the clan. This applied especially to the main Lu branch, who ought to set an example at such a time. Whether they genuinely put their backs into it was another matter, but their presence was mandatory. After a moment's thought, Duan Shaoxia said to Monkey Qiu, "Zhiheng, Yuanhai is in his current state, and Huaiyi hasn't yet entered our household. As a woman, I don't possess the skill to fight on the front lines. "I leave this matter to you. You must take utmost care. Just show up at Lu Maoxian's to keep up appearances. If something happens to you as well, our household won't be able to carry on." Qiu Zhiheng nodded. "Miss Dongchun is still outside the gate. We should invite her in and speak to her face-to-face." "No!" Duan Shaoxia waved her hand repeatedly. "Entertain her in your pavilion. I have no wish to see her. Just looking at her makes my scalp tingle!" Qiu Zhiheng went outside and personally welcomed Lu Dongchun into his pavilion. Lu Dongchun rarely left home, and the servant in the pavilion was new and unfamiliar with her. Seeing a guest arrive, the servant quickly brewed tea. Lu Dongchun picked up the teacup, took a sip, and asked, "Zhiheng, does Sister-in-law not want to see me?" Monkey Qiu nodded. "It doesn't matter if she doesn't want to see me, but I need a straight answer. Regarding my father's matter, are you going to help or not?" "We are," Monkey Qiu replied crisply. "Once you have settled on a date and place, send word, and I will go in person." "You?" Lu Dongchun blinked. Her crystal-clear eyes reflected Monkey Qiu's face. "Will you be counting as the outer family, or the inner family?" "Does that matter?" "It matters. This is my father's instruction. In seeking vengeance against the Ling family this time, inner and outer must be strictly distinguished!" If the Old Master of the Lu family wanted to distinguish between inner and outer, the rules this time were different. The inner family referred to the Lu bloodline. The outer family referred to the various factions sheltered under the Lu family's wing. The Mind Cultivator Si Wennian and the Service Cultivator Tan Fucheng from before were both outer family. Yet Monkey Qiu's situation was somewhat special. If he went representing the inner family, he would have to bring along at least one Lu family member; even if that family member didn't lift a finger and only watched from the sidelines, it would still make things proper and justified. If he went representing the outer family, that would save a lot of trouble, but it would be equivalent to Lu Dongliang's main branch sending no one, failing to resolve the actual issue. Without hesitation, Monkey Qiu replied, "The inner family." "Good!" Lu Dongchun picked up her cup and took another sip. "When the time comes, make sure we see someone of the inner family." Monkey Qiu raised his tea to see his guest off. Lu Dongchun stood up and took her leave. No matter how her body moved, Lu Dongchun's pupils never shifted; her gaze remained fixed on Monkey. Monkey Qiu saw Lu Dongchun out the door. When the servant came over to clear the tea, he discovered that Lu Dongchun's teacup was still full to the brim. That shouldn't be—he had clearly seen her take two sips just now. While the servant was still bewildered, Monkey Qiu instructed, "If you see her come again in the future, don't serve tea." *** Ma the Fifth was currently preparing the premiere of Bloodgun Detective IV. Halfway through setting up the cinema, a throng of reporters barged in. Ma the Fifth was about to have Cao Zhida take some men and send them away, only to find that these were no ordinary journalists; they moved with remarkable agility. They had come looking for trouble. A man and a woman entered the cinema along with the reporters, heading straight toward Ma the Fifth. Who were they? Ling Miaoying and the movie queen Tu Yinghong? Why had the two of them come? This was no longer something the subordinates could handle. Ma the Fifth personally went up to greet them, with Zuo Wugang following closely behind. Ling Miaoying pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled the smoke right into Ma the Fifth's face. "Boss Ma, business is booming, I see!" Ma the Fifth didn't get angry. He also lit a cigarette and said, "Boss Ling, you are too kind. Mine is just small-time fooling around; it's hardly worth mentioning before you." "No need to be modest. I admire you—admire you from the bottom of my heart. I came today because I want to discuss a collaboration. "I have a few new films about to start shooting. If you think well enough of me, come over to my studio to look over my scripts and give some ideas. Let's make some proper motion pictures and make money together." Ling Miaoying's intention was glaringly obvious: he wanted to take over Ma the Fifth's business. In the past, Ma the Fifth had the backing of the Lu family, but now the Lu family's main branch had fallen, and Lu Maoxian was severely wounded. Even if Lu Maoxian hadn't been injured, he would never have looked after Ma the Fifth. Ma the Fifth no longer had a patron; now was the optimal time to swallow him whole. If he could take this chance to get rid of Li the Seventh as well and get his hands on that object, he might never have to heed He Jiaqing's whims again in the future. Ma the Fifth lowered his head and smiled. "Boss Ling, you joke. How could my little shoestring operation catch your discerning eye?" Ling Miaoying stared at Ma the Fifth. "I only want to know whether you agree or not." Ma the Fifth shook his head slightly. "I think it's best we each go our own way." Pinching his cigarette, Ling Miaoying rolled it between his fingertips. "So that's a no." Sensing something was amiss, Zuo Wugang immediately stepped in front of Ma the Fifth to shield him. Ling Miaoying smiled placidly. "It's just talking business, why make a big fuss? If the Fifth Young Master is unwilling, we'll simply take our leave." Words aside, Ling Miaoying had no intention of leaving. He didn't plan to kill Ma the Fifth, but he had to teach him a lesson. While Ma the Fifth wasn't paying attention, Tu Yinghong prepared to strike and kill Zuo Wugang. She reached her right hand into her red dress, just about to draw her weapon, when Ling Miaoying suddenly reached out and stopped her. What was happening? Everything had been agreed upon before they came; why was Ling Miaoying suddenly changing his mind? He hadn't changed his mind—he had seen someone arrive. Only after quite a while did Tu Yinghong realize another person was standing beside the two of them. The man wore a black suit and a fedora, the brim pulled low, making his face almost completely invisible. "Boss Ling, lend me a smoke." At some point, Li Banfeng had taken Ling Miaoying's iron cigarette case. He pulled out a cigarette, held it between his lips, lit it, and handed the case back to Ling Miaoying. Cold sweat broke out on Ling Miaoying. With so much trouble befalling the Lu family, Li Banfeng had long anticipated that Ling Miaoying would pull a move like this and had prepared in advance. "I just overheard you talking about business. Boss Ling, do you have some lucrative trick up your sleeve? Tell me about it; let's make some money together." Ling Miaoying was silent for a moment, then gave Li Banfeng a smile. "Seventh Master, your screenings are packed to the brim every time, whereas I can't even dream of sixty percent capacity. When it comes to making money, I should be looking to you for pointers." Li Banfeng replied modestly, "Pointers might be putting it too strongly, but we can find a place and have a good chat." Ling Miaoying glanced at the cinema's setup. "You two are quite busy today. Let's talk another day." He led the flock of reporters out of the cinema. Wiping away his sweat, Zuo Wugang said, "Not a single one of those people just now was easy to deal with!" He was right; those so-called reporters were all ruthless fighters under Ling Miaoying. Ma the Fifth gritted his teeth. "With the Lu family down, I didn't expect Ling Miaoying to be so arrogant. He really has a completely different temperament from his brother." "Backers are never dependable in the end," Li Banfeng said calmly. As a tier six journey cultivator combined with a tier five Dwelling Cultivator, he knew he could depend on himself now. Leaving the premiere arrangements for Ma the Fifth to continue handling, Li Banfeng returned to the Portable Abode. This excursion had yielded a handsome harvest. Ling Miaoying was a tier seven Scrying Cultivator. Although Li Banfeng had the property of being easily overlooked, along with speed far beyond the ordinary, slipping past Ling Miaoying's gaze was by no means an easy feat. Managing to take the cigarette case from Ling Miaoying was all thanks to the yarn glove. Of course, once the glove made a move, it wouldn't just take a cigarette case—it had also stolen Ling Miaoying's pistol. Li Banfeng had seen this handgun before. When he encountered Ling Miaoying on the train platform back then, this gun had nearly crippled him. "It can even swallow a handgun this large?" Li Banfeng gained a newfound appreciation for the glove's capacity. The wife also had some knowledge of firearms. Prodding the pistol with her stylus, she observed it for a moment and said, "This gun is a spiritual object. As long as a bullet fires, it will inevitably strike the enemy. If it hits a vital spot, cultivators below tier three are certain to die, and those above tier three will still be injured—the lower their cultivation, the graver the wound." A fine item indeed! The glove spat out a wallet as well, also belonging to Ling Miaoying. Li Banfeng opened the wallet and looked inside: dozens of Huan Country notes. "Not bad! You've performed a great service today!" Li Banfeng praised the glove, pulled out all the banknotes from the wallet, and stuffed them into the glove as a reward. Having pocketed the banknotes, the glove said with heartfelt sincerity, "Thank you, Master!" Li Banfeng continued examining the handgun. The glove went into Room Three to rest. *** Ling Miaoying returned to his motion picture company, his heart still unsettled from the fright. Sitting beside Ling Miaoying, Tu Yinghong asked, "Who was that man in the fedora?" "Li the Seventh. A very difficult man to deal with." Tu Yinghong said, "Earlier you said the one we were going to deal with was Ma the Fifth. How did this Li the Seventh suddenly pop up?" "Ma the Fifth only handles the business. The one truly calling the shots is him." "His moves were incredibly fast." "He's a journey cultivator. I've fought him before; he's even faster than before." Ling Miaoying pondered whether to report this matter to He Jiaqing. He reached toward the button on his chest, only to suddenly feel something missing inside his clothes. "Where is my gun? Where's my gun?!" Ling Miaoying turned pale with fright. This spiritual object was of immense value and vitally important to him. Seeing that Ling Miaoying had lost something, Tu Yinghong subconsciously felt along her dress. "Oh no! My iron rulers are gone!" Ling Miaoying's eyes went wide. "Without the iron rulers, doesn't that mean the building can't be moved?" Tu Yinghong gritted her teeth. "It must have been stolen by that Li the Seventh! We have to get them back no matter what!" *** Inside Room Three of the Portable Abode. Seeing that there were no other magic treasures in the room, the glove silently spat out a pair of iron rulers. For a pair of iron rulers so large, it had truly been an ordeal for the glove to swallow them down! "Hehehe!" The glove chuckled under its breath. You lunatic, you actually thought that handgun was something special. This pair of weapons is the real treasure. Even though I don't know how to use them yet, these things are worth countless times more than that handgun. He placed the iron rulers on the floor, getting ready to examine them closely. The moment the iron rulers touched the floor, they suddenly melted and seeped rapidly into the ground, vanishing in the blink of an eye. The glove cried out in dismay, "My precious—" Li Banfeng shoved open the door and snapped, "What are you shouting about? What precious?" The glove hesitated for a long while, aching with heartache almost to tears, and replied in a trembling voice, "My precious Master... I was just sleeping, and I dreamed of you."