A Peerless Talent

Late at night, in Yuezhou Third Hospital. Taking advantage of the empty ward, He Jiaqing slipped a cigarette into the mouth of the "He Jiaqing" lying in the hospital bed. This "He Jiaqing" was actually He Haisheng, who was currently unable to move or speak and was temporarily standing in for him. He Haisheng blew a mouthful of smoke straight into He Jiaqing's face to register his displeasure. He Jiaqing sighed. "Don't be angry, Third Uncle. I've had serious business to handle these past two days. Didn't I send someone over with cigarettes for you? Besides, you can only smoke this one tonight. If the smell gets too strong by tomorrow, I won't be able to explain it to the doctor." He Haisheng took a long drag and puffed another cloud right into He Jiaqing's face. "Still not enough?" He Jiaqing said helplessly. "Fine, I'll let you have one more. The attending physician is definitely going to scold me tomorrow..." While He Haisheng was still smoking, the button on He Jiaqing's chest shifted, and Wan Jinxian's voice reached his ear. "Jiaqing, Tu Yinghong has left the motion picture company. I don't know where she went." He Jiaqing drew a deep breath, fighting to keep his temper under control. Wan Jinxian was a veteran figure in their ranks, and He Jiaqing was reluctant to lose his temper with him. "Old Wan, didn't I tell you to keep an eye on her?" "Jiaqing, I'm old and useless. I only looked away for a second..." Wan Jinxian's voice was laden with self-reproach and regret. He Jiaqing sighed. "All right, don't beat yourself up over it. Even tigers nod off sometimes. Send men out to look for Tu Yinghong first. Also, get someone to placate Xiao Xiufei." Xiao Xiufei was originally the leading lady of *Bloodblade Detective*. But by the third installment, Ling Miaoying had abruptly changed the script, turning Tu Yinghong and Xiao Xiufei into dual female leads. By the fourth film, Tu Yinghong had become the sole female lead, while Xiao Xiufei was demoted to a supporting role. Xiao Xiufei had strongly objected to this, even going on strike at one point, and had only agreed to return to the set after Ling Miaoying placated her repeatedly. Ling Miaoying knew how to soothe her ego, but Wan Jinxian didn't have the first clue. "Jiaqing, I really don't understand this motion picture business. You should find someone else for this. I'll do everything in my power to track down Tu Yinghong. If I can't find her, I'll take whatever punishment you see fit!" "Older brother, don't say that. It's not your fault. I was careless too." After exchanging a few polite words, they cut off the connection. He Jiaqing lit a cigarette, intending to give it to He Haisheng, but ended up putting it in his own mouth and taking a drag. "Third Uncle, why is it so hard to find someone capable?" He Haisheng gave him a resentful look, then stared at the cigarette in his hand. He Jiaqing took another puff and sighed. "If he truly had no other choice, fine. But all he had to do was plant a little illness on Tu Yinghong, and how could she have run away? Such a simple thing, yet he just didn't want to do it. Everyone's the same—protesting their loyalty while harboring their own agendas. Third Uncle, why is it so damn hard to find brothers who will act on your behalf with sincerity?" He Haisheng listened to his complaints while watching him finish off the entire cigarette. He Jiaqing reached to pull out another cigarette, but reconsidered and put the pack away. "Forget it, let's not dwell on this. Sleep, Third Uncle." With bloodshot eyes, He Haisheng glared at He Jiaqing, refusing to close them for a long time. *** He Jiaqing left the hospital and drove to Shanxiu Park. It was a vast park that usually drew plenty of visitors. He Jiaqing slipped into the flowerbeds near the entrance, plucked two peonies in full, brilliant bloom, tucked them into his breast, and immediately set off for the next park. In total, he gathered thirty-six peonies across several parks before driving back to his villa, where he arranged them neatly across a table. From his bedroom, he brought out a breeding box housing a thumb-sized, golden-yellow bee. He set the bee down upon the peonies, and it began harvesting nectar from them one by one. The bee moved with astonishing speed, visiting all thirty-six blossoms in under ten minutes. After waiting half an hour, a white ring appeared around the bee's golden body. He Jiaqing picked up the bee, aimed its stinger directly at the crown of his head, took a deep breath, and thrust it down. Following a brief spasm, the bee died, its body crushed into a paste of mangled flesh. An egg-sized swelling rose on He Jiaqing's head. Slumping onto the sofa, he gazed at the withered peonies on the table. "This batch of seeds isn't great. I'll need to cultivate some new flowers." As he spoke, He Jiaqing grimaced. The bump on his head was throbbing with considerable pain. Once the swelling subsided, He Jiaqing rhythmically squeezed the button on his chest. The mature voice of a woman sounded beside his ear. "Jiaqing, looking for me?" "Sister, I need a favor from you." "Why be so polite with your elder sister?" "I'd like you to take over the Ling family's motion picture business. But I know you've got a heavy workload on your side, and I was worried you might be stretched too thin." "I can manage the workload, but as for the motion picture industry, I don't really know much about it." "It's similar to the leather trade. With your remarkable talent, Sister, you'll pick it up the moment you lay hands on it." "Since you put it that way, I'll give it a try." "I've already prepared the covenant deeds for the motion picture company. I'll arrange for someone to help you take office in three days." "Three days is a bit tight, Jiaqing. I'm still in Haichiling, and I need to delegate my business affairs to someone first." "Make it five days, then. If there's anything you don't understand, come straight to me." *** Li Banfeng bought up every newspaper from the past ten years he could find, hauling an entire wagonload of them back to Xiaoyaowu. Among the pages, he focused on a dozen or so recurring names: Shen Rongqing, Qian Xiangjun, Duan Shuqun, Luo Suxuan, Liu Zexun, Wang Minggeng... In the newspapers, he regularly spotted notices of these individuals acquiring various enterprises. The blurbs were always brief, without the slightest background on who they actually were. Yet by Li Banfeng's estimate, if all these businesses were running actively, those dozen people would easily qualify as major figures in Puluo Province. With the Four Great Families and the Ling family considered the province's first-rate aristocracy, these individuals would easily rank at the upper end of the second tier. So why was the upper second tier completely unheard of? Were they hiding exceptionally well, or was he simply ill-informed? Li Banfeng sought out Ma the Fifth and asked him about Shen Rongqing. Ma the Fifth's eyes filled with reverence. "A virtuoso! A peerless talent, praised as a match for Zhang Xiuling!" Li Banfeng was left dumbfounded for a good while. "Isn't Zhang Xiuling the top boss of the Baihua Sect? She's a scholar too?" "She can wield a blade just as easily as a brush! Haven't you read Zhang Xiuling's works?" "No!" "You have to read them! You absolutely must! Only after reading them will you understand—" "Never mind Zhang Xiuling for now. I'm asking you about Shen Rongqing." "Shen Rongqing is even more brilliant! Books, poetry, songs—she's mastered every single one! If a man could spend just one night with a gifted beauty like that..." "I didn't ask about that! Didn't you just get discharged from the hospital? I'm asking about business. Has Shen Rongqing ever run any businesses?" Ma the Fifth pondered for a moment. "Probably not?" Li Banfeng produced a newspaper. "Shen Rongqing bought a factory from your Ma family right in Heishipo. Did you know about that?" "I think I recall something like that. Back then, I even asked Shen Rongqing for an autographed book. Let me go fetch it for you to see." "No need to look at the book. Since the transaction really happened, that proves Shen Rongqing is a merchant too." "She is not!" Ma the Fifth denied it adamantly. "What do you mean?" "Shen Rongqing couldn't possibly be a merchant. She would never soil herself with the vulgar stench of copper!" Li Banfeng frowned. "Doesn't she eat food? You think she ascended to immortality or something?" Ma the Fifth shook his head. "She probably bought that factory to convert it into a newspaper office, or maybe turned it into a residential courtyard. In any case, she couldn't possibly be a merchant like us." Li Banfeng couldn't fathom Ma the Fifth's sheer worship of Shen Rongqing. Failing to get anything useful out of him, Li Banfeng asked around among other acquaintances, only to receive the exact same verdict: Shen Rongqing was a woman of letters. Shen Rongqing could never be in commerce. *** Li Banfeng secured a travel permit, bought a train ticket, and set off for Heishipo. He read through a collection of Shen Rongqing's poetry. Paying little mind to her literary flair, he concentrated on the biographical introduction. Shen Rongqing's hometown was in Heishipo. Her first poetry collection had also been published in Heishipo. Piecing together information from the newspapers, he found that the vast majority of Shen Rongqing's businesses were located in Heishipo as well. If he wanted to uncover Shen Rongqing's background, starting from Heishipo was indeed the right choice. Once aboard the train, Li Banfeng naturally had no desire to linger in the passenger car. After concealing his key, he retreated into the Portable Abode. The moment he stepped through the door, he caught sight of a long spear thrust into a suit of armor—a rather bizarre spectacle. "Seventh Brother, do I look good?" It turned out Hong Ying had put on the armor. Encased from head to toe, only the radiant red glow of her spear-tip remained visible. "Very nice," Li Banfeng answered offhandedly before moving over to dote on the gramophone. The firelight within the gramophone burned hotter than ever, its three horns fixed intently on Hong Ying. Li Banfeng checked the temperature of the steam and asked his wife, "Do you want one?" The wife was startled. "W-want what?" "A suit of armor, of course!" The gramophone gave a soft laugh. "Oh, Husband, what a jest! Looking like this, how could this humble servant possibly wear armor?" She said as much, yet Li Banfeng detected a trace of envy in her tone. "I can just find a Craft Cultivator to custom-make one for you." The wife fell quiet for a moment, then laughed softly. "Husband is truly wicked, teasing this humble servant again." "I'm being serious. I'm on my way to Heishipo, and there are plenty of skilled Craft Cultivators there." "Say no more, Husband, you'll embarrass this humble servant to death. Speaking of Craft Cultivators, that woman you brought back earlier ought to be ready to come out of the pot by now." Only then did Li Banfeng remember Tu Yinghong. Retrieving her lotus seed from the Red Lotus, he fried out ten Golden Origin Pills. Li Banfeng asked the Red Lotus, "Tu Yinghong and Ling Miaoying were supposed to be about equal in cultivation, so why is there such a huge difference in the pills?" The Red Lotus conveyed an explanation to the gramophone, which passed it along: "Husband, Tu Yinghong's cultivation was actually somewhat higher than Ling Miaoying's. She was already close to the eighth tier." Tu Yinghong looked barely thirty years old. Reaching such heights was truly extraordinary. With cultivation bordering on the eighth tier, why would she run off to become a movie queen? Such behavior was hard to fathom. Could it really have been purely out of love for Ling Miaoying? Li Banfeng glanced toward the projector. "Do you know much about Tu Yinghong?" The projector had mentioned Tu Yinghong before, but now it stammered, "Well... on an artistic level, I do know a bit. But regarding other matters..." The gramophone chimed in from the side, "Husband, do not make things difficult for this motion picture machine. A numinous treasure should not speak of its former master. This touches upon a treasure's conduct, as well as its covenant deeds. It might suffer a backlash because of it." That was indeed reasonable. Li Banfeng dropped the matter, but after weighing its words, the projector took the initiative to add, "Director Seven, Tu Yinghong and Ling Miaoying's affection for each other might not have run that deep. Her coming after you afterward might not have been to avenge Ling Miaoying at all." Li Banfeng was taken aback. "Then what was she looking for me for?" The projector recalled their very first clash with Li Banfeng. "I remember that back then, Tu Yinghong repeatedly brought up her iron rulers. She possessed a pair of exceptionally precious iron rulers. What they were used for, I have no idea, but she seemed to have lost them." Iron rulers? "Lost them?" Li Banfeng pondered for a long while. "If she lost her iron rulers, why would she come looking for me?" Silence descended over the Portable Abode. Every numinous treasure, including his wife, was pondering the reason. The Tang dao glanced at Li Banfeng's pistol—the one the glove had stolen from Ling Miaoying. "Master, I think this matter..." The glove suddenly cut the Tang dao off: "Boss, could it be because you also have a pair of iron rulers?" Li Banfeng nodded. "I do indeed have a pair." He brought his iron rulers over and asked the projector, "Are they the same as Tu Yinghong's?" The projector replied, "I never saw Tu Yinghong's iron rulers, but I believe Brother Glove has a point. Perhaps it was this very pair of weapons that caused Tu Yinghong to misunderstand." Li Banfeng laughed. "Then she died a rather unjust death, didn't she?" The glove wagged its index finger. "Not unjust at all! Anyone who offends the Boss deserves to die!" *** When the train pulled into Heishipo, Li Banfeng stepped onto the platform. The familiar stench of industry gave him a warm sense of kinship. Boarding a local narrow-gauge train, he prepared to pay Shen Rongqing a visit. He wanted to see just how deep the pockets of He Jiaqing's Brotherhood Alliance truly were.