Li Banfeng stared at Bai Qiusheng in shock.
Everyone stared at Li Banfeng in shock.
Beside them, the girl covered her chest in shock.
*How did I end up here?*
Li Banfeng's first reaction was that someone had taken the key and brought him to Heishipo.
He searched all over the factory floor, but saw no sign of it.
"Who has been here today?" In his agitation, his words came out rushed and slurred. The key was one of the things he cared about most.
"Quite a few people..." Bai Qiusheng, completely bewildered, had no idea how to answer. Only after Li Banfeng managed to compose himself slightly did he understand what was being asked.
"Seventh Master, let's find somewhere private to talk."
In the building in the rear courtyard, Li Banfeng's room had been kept for him and was cleaned regularly.
Once inside, Bai Qiusheng said, "Seventh Master, everyone who came to the newspaper office today was someone we know. Even the photography model is an acquaintance—she's worked with us several times."
"No one returned from out of town?"
"No one, Seventh Master. I've been in the workshop shooting photos all day long. I can swear to that."
Li Banfeng couldn't make sense of it. If no outsiders had come, who had brought the key here?
Could it be that the key hadn't been brought over at all?
Was the key still back in Xiaoyaowu?
Then how had the Portable Abode arrived here?
Didn't the Portable Abode always follow the key?
*Go back into the Portable Abode to see if something went wrong?*
Li Banfeng sent Bai Qiusheng away. He was just about to return to the Portable Abode when he groped around in his trouser pocket for a good while, only to grab empty air.
*I really am frantic—my brain isn't even working.*
Without the key, how could he go back to the Portable Abode?
Li Banfeng did his best to stay calm, mulling over the possibilities.
There were only two places the key could be: either someone had brought it to Heishipo, or it was still back in Xiaoyaowu.
He called Bai Qiusheng back in. "Get me a travel permit and buy a train ticket. I need to get back to Lüshui City immediately!"
Bai Qiusheng was taken aback. "Buy a train ticket right now?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "As fast as possible."
Bai Qiusheng did not dare delay and rushed off to have someone handle it.
Li Banfeng added another instruction: "Make a list of everyone who set foot in the newspaper office today. Not a single person can be left out."
***
At seven in the evening, nearly a hundred people from the Lu family's inner and outer families gathered at Lu Maoxian's residence, preparing to avenge him.
Monkey Qiu looked over the crowd, his brows faintly furrowed.
That so many had answered Lu Maoxian's call was within his expectations; after all, Lu Maoxian was currently riding high, and that was simply the Lu family's custom.
However, gathering everyone at the Lu estate was beyond what he had anticipated.
Under standard practice, several prominent figures of the inner family would remain at the mansion to direct operations and make decisions, while everyone else carried out assigned tasks according to their division of labor.
Now that everyone had congregated at the estate in such a massive display, were they not worried about leaking word?
It seemed the old bastard didn't just want vengeance—he wanted to raise his own banner.
For external affairs, one answered to the Garrison; for internal affairs, one looked to the banner. Lu Maoxian intended to plant the Lu family banner firmly in his own branch.
If Monkey Qiu hadn't brought Lu Chunying today, the main lineage of the Lu family wouldn't have had a single representative present, and Lu Maoxian truly would have succeeded!
Yet even with Lu Chunying here, would Lu Maoxian acknowledge her?
Lu Maoxian's eldest son, Lu Dongtang, stood in the center of the main hall, surveying the crowd with the air of a clan head.
Today was about avenging his father, so it was only natural for him to project the authority of a host, and the other branches said nothing against it.
Lu Dongtang's gaze settled upon Lu Chunying, and he asked pointedly, "Who is this girl?"
His younger brother, Lu Donghui, spoke from the side. "That's Big Brother's daughter, Lu Chunying."
Lu Dongtang recognized Lu Chunying. She was the biological daughter acknowledged by Lu Dongliang, and she had met everyone in the family before. His question was solely meant to embarrass her.
"A girl born of a wild woman has the gall to show her face here? Has the head family run out of people?" Lu Dongtang sneered.
Monkey Qiu frowned. Before he could speak, Lu Chunying looked Lu Dongtang dead in the eye and fired back, "We are here today to avenge your father. My presence gives your father face—it's not your place to point fingers at me."
Lu Dongtang's brows shot up. "Who do you think you're talking to?"
"You!" Lu Chunying showed not a flicker of fear. "My even bothering to speak to you is doing you a favor!"
Enraged, Lu Dongtang took a step forward, only to suddenly feel his veins throbbing violently, accompanied by a wave of dizziness.
*Did I get that angry?*
*Surely not?*
Sensing something amiss, Lu Dongtang looked up and found Qiu Zhiheng watching him with cold eyes.
"What is the meaning of this? Using techniques on me?" Lu Dongtang gritted his teeth, glaring at Monkey Qiu.
Qiu Zhiheng lit a cigarette and said calmly, "Chunying is a young mistress of the head family. Mind your manners when you speak to her."
Lu Dongtang swallowed his fury. When it came to cultivation and methods, he was no match for Monkey Qiu.
Turning away, he fixed his gaze on Lu Yuanxin.
Lu Yuanxin was Lu Dongjun's son. Because of everything his father had done, Lu Yuanxin's position in the Lu family was utterly wretched; he had not only lost all his family property, but his standing was now worse than that of an outer family affiliate.
Lu Dongtang stared at him. "You came too? Who told you to come?"
With head bowed and face flushed red, Lu Yuanxin mumbled, "Aunt Dongchun told me to come..."
Lu Dongtang sneered, "She tells you to come, and you actually show up? You really have the fucking nerve, don't you?"
Lu Yuanxin shrank in humiliation.
Before Lu Dongjun's downfall, Lu Yuanxin had been a proper young master of the Lu family. Blessed with outstanding talent and an abundant supply of pills, he had reached Tier Three as a Bug Cultivator in his early twenties—a genuine young talent.
In reputation and real ability alike, Lu Yuanxin had never lagged behind his peers. Though he had fallen on hard times, he had come tonight for the sake of the family, only to suffer such humiliation.
Just as Lu Yuanxin turned to leave, he heard Lu Chunying say to Lu Dongtang, "Did you call us here tonight to avenge your father, or to puff yourself up? If you look down on us, we can simply leave!"
Lu Dongtang's brows shot up again. Every word out of this girl's mouth felt like a slap across his face.
In truth, Lu Chunying was not wrong. Lu Dongtang had put on this grandiose posture precisely to assert his dominance, but now that his face was being ground into the dirt, he marched straight toward her.
Monkey Qiu stubbed out his cigarette and watched Lu Dongtang in silence.
Just as hands were about to be thrown, Lu Dongchun walked down the stairs. "Brother, Father wants you to go up."
Full of resentment, Lu Dongtang headed upstairs and entered Lu Maoxian's bedroom.
Lu Maoxian looked in decent health. His injuries had healed fifty or sixty percent, though his right hand had yet to regrow.
He was old and did not want to risk venturing to Santoucha, choosing instead to find another way later on.
"Dongtang, I heard the girl from the head family is here?"
Lu Dongtang fumed, "Just a bratty girl—God knows where Lu Dongliang picked up that bastard seed."
"Lu Chunying," Lu Maoxian recalled her. "I thought Monkey Qiu would bring Zhang Huaiyi, but he brought this girl instead. Don't waste your breath bickering with her. Quarreling in a setting like this brings us no advantage, win or lose."
Lu Dongtang said, "Father, that wretched brat is completely out of line. The spawn of some wild woman..."
Lu Maoxian glared at him. "Are you listening to what I say?"
Lu Dongtang didn't dare say another word. Lu Maoxian asked, "Did Tan Fucheng come?"
"He's here."
"He rarely shows his face in public. Are you sure you didn't mistake him for someone else?"
Lu Dongtang replied, "Some of our men have seen him before. He's standing right beside Ma the Fifth. There's no mistaking him."
Lu Maoxian sighed. "That bastard ambushed me back then, yet today he dares step foot into my house. Looks like Monkey Qiu ordered him here to bolster that girl's standing. And Ma the Fifth is quite someone too. Lu Chunying has considerable backing behind her."
Lu Dongtang lowered his voice. "Rather than leaving behind future trouble, why don't we just get rid of her..."
"It must be done, but without haste," Lu Maoxian said calmly. "We made such a massive show tonight so we could use Ling Miaoying to plant our banner. If we take Lu Chunying's head, the blame must fall on Ling Miaoying. If we can avenge my grievances and dig up the roots of the head family in one stroke, our banner will be firmly planted. Do you understand?"
***
Lu Dongtang returned to the main hall and addressed the crowd: "We invited you all here today for the Lu family banner, and for the Lu family's honor! My father is the most senior generation in the Lu family, yet he was ambushed by that mongrel, the third son of the Ling family. Tonight, this debt must be collected!"
Lu Dongtang's cousin Lu Donggen said, "The debt must be collected, but we need to be clear on the facts first. I've heard about Old Three Ling's methods. If we strike him on his own turf, I'm afraid we won't have the upper hand."
Lu Dongtang said, "Fret not, everyone. We won't make our move on his turf. Tonight, he is hosting the Garrison Commissioner for dinner at Yuelai Restaurant. Once the banquet breaks up, we'll take him out on the road. This is my father's affair, so naturally our household will spearhead the assault. We trouble everyone here to provide support: lock down every road and intersection so he cannot escape. Tonight, that bastard's life stays here!"
The atmosphere in the hall grew heated, and emotions ran high. Tan Fucheng lowered his voice: "Fifth Master, look at this. It's turned into a bloody theater performance. Can anything get done like this? The old man really is going all out just to plant his banner!"
Ma the Fifth smiled faintly and said nothing.
His mind was on something else entirely.
*Where did Old Seven go?*
Before setting off tonight, he had looked everywhere for Li Banfeng, but hadn't found him.
Perhaps it was for the best. Given the current mess, it was better that Old Seven didn't wade into these muddy waters.
***
In Heishipo, Li Banfeng was pacing in frantic circles. Bai Qiusheng had compiled the list: everyone who had come to the newspaper office today was an acquaintance, and none had arrived from out of town.
They had searched the entire newspaper office several times, but found no trace of the key.
Li Banfeng could only place his hopes on the key still being back in Xiaoyaowu.
Past eight o'clock, Xiao Chuanzi came running over, panting for breath. "Seventh Master, there's an express train heading to Lüshuiwan tonight."
Delight flashed across Li Banfeng's face. "Great! Are there tickets?"
Xiao Chuanzi shook his head. "It's not a passenger train; it's a freight train carrying coal. And it doesn't go to Lüshui City—it only stops at the depot on the border of Lüshuiwan."
"That works too. What time does it depart?"
"Five in the afternoon."
"Five in the after..." Li Banfeng snapped in fury. "It fucking left hours ago! Why are you even telling me this?"
Xiao Chuanzi replied helplessly, "Seventh Master, you told me to find a train for today, and this was the only one today."
*Departed at five in the afternoon.*
*Maybe there's still time!*
Li Banfeng rose to leave. Xiao Chuanzi asked, "Seventh Master, I got the cost of the projector down to two thousand. Want me to bring it over for you to see?"
"No time. Lower it some more—bring it down to fifteen hundred."
With that, Li Banfeng dashed out of the newspaper office, bolting into the night at full speed.
***
At Yuezhou Third Hospital, a button on He Jiaqing's chest vibrated.
Taking advantage of He Haisheng's absence, He Jiaqing pinched the button, and Wan Jinxian's voice reached his ear:
"Jiaqing, I caught wind of something. The Lu family is going after Ling Miaoying for revenge tonight."
This was within He Jiaqing's expectations. "It's fine. As long as Ling Miaoying stays hidden, the Lu family won't find him."
"Ling Miaoying isn't hiding. He's hosting the Garrison Commissioner for dinner at Yuelai Restaurant."
He Jiaqing frowned. "What is he meeting the Garrison Commissioner for?"
Before Wan Jinxian could explain, He Jiaqing caught the scent of smoke.
He Haisheng had returned.
He Jiaqing severed the connection immediately.
He Haisheng stepped into the ward. He had originally intended only to glance at He Jiaqing before heading to the hotel to rest.
He stood beside the hospital bed for a moment, and noticed that one of the buttons on He Jiaqing's shirt was slightly loose.
Chapter 294