The Peddler's Pathway

"Qilang, high-tier Craft Cultivators can alter their appearance. That woman you brought back last time had cultivation of that level. "It's a pity she died before she had the chance to display it. Next time, bring back a live one and let me talk things over with her properly. I definitely won't disappoint your expectations. "Qilang? Qilang, what are you doing?" Li Banfeng was reading newspapers. He had spread them across the floor again, searching for news of Tu Shumei. Going back ten years, Tu Shumei had indeed possessed considerable fame. There were reports about her even in the newspapers of Lüshui City, and she had even bought two paper mills from the Ma family. Yet three years ago, Tu Shumei's fortunes had taken a sudden downturn. She sold off her factories one after another. Exactly whom she sold them to and for what price, the newspapers did not record in detail. After all, these were Lüshui City papers, while Tu Shumei was a wealthy merchant of Heishipo. Turning next to the news about Tu Yinghong: A year ago, Tu Yinghong had made her debut at Ling Family Pictures. After starring in several motion pictures in rapid succession, she quickly became a hit film star. By the fourth installment of *Bloodblade Detective*, Tu Yinghong had supplanted Xiao Xiufei as the leading lady, becoming the film queen of Puluo Province. Because *Bloodblade Detective* failed to match *Bloodgun Detective* in attendance, Tu Yinghong's coronation as film queen had not been particularly dazzling. The overall thread of events was clear now: Tu Shumei's businesses had failed in Heishipo, so she liquidated her assets and went to Lüshui City to become a movie queen. But why did she want to become a movie queen? By ordinary logic, as a high-tier Craft Cultivator, even if she left Heishipo, she ought to have relocated elsewhere and continued opening factories. Could it be that she possessed a natural gift for motion pictures? Setting aside her age, Tu Yinghong was indeed a beauty, but Ling Miaoying was never short of beautiful women. According to Ma the Fifth, Tu Yinghong wasn't particularly good at acting, falling short even of Xiao Xiufei, who had started out as a cabaret singer. What, then, had she relied on to become a movie queen? Between the ruin of her businesses and her meteoric rise in Lüshui City, what had she gone through? Li Banfeng had sent Bai Qiusheng to look into the matter, though Bai Qiusheng hadn't quite understood why. In Heishipo, merchants who opened factories were beyond count. Businesses rose and fell as routinely as daily meals. Why bother looking into this one? Still, since it was Seventh Master's command, Bai Qiusheng naturally dared not slack off, and he had actually turned up results. "Seventh Master, Tu Shumei had a bookkeeper named Lü Yuesan who served her for many years. He should know some of the inside story. "After Tu Shumei sold off her family estate, she let him go. Over the years, Lü Yuesan hopped from place to place, but because his hands were dirty, he never lasted long anywhere. "Just two days ago, he was dismissed by another employer and came running to our place looking for work. I brushed him off with a few words and told him to go home and wait for word." "Dirty hands?" "He used bookkeeping tricks to embezzle from his masters." Li Banfeng asked, "He worked as a bookkeeper for so many years and didn't even save a bit of money?" Bai Qiusheng shook his head. "The fellow has a gambling problem. He earns a little at the start of the month, and within half a month, he gambles it away down to the last coin. "Left with nothing to eat for the remaining half of the month, he steals from his master. Once his hands got used to stealing, he'd head right back out to gamble. Who would dare employ someone like that? "Ordinary bookkeepers wouldn't dare blab about their previous masters' affairs, but this fellow has no such scruples. In a moment, I'll slip him a few silver dollars, and I guarantee he'll tell you whatever you ask him." Li Banfeng nodded, and Bai Qiusheng sent someone to fetch Lü Yuesan. Thinking that Night Fragrance was willing to hire him, Lü Yuesan arrived at the newspaper office bursting with joy. Hearing from the office workers that Boss Ye had arrived, Lü Yuesan acted quite smooth. The moment he met Li Banfeng, he called him "Master" with every breath, as if Li Banfeng had already hired him. Li Banfeng didn't beat around the bush and asked directly about Tu Shumei. Hearing this, Lü Yuesan realized they hadn't brought him here for a job, but to question him. He let out a dry laugh. "You shouldn't be asking about this, sir. It goes against the rules of the trade." Bai Qiusheng slipped him five silver dollars and said with a chuckle, "Brother Lü, I won't know a single word you say to Boss Ye, nor will any third party. Speak freely and without fear." With that, Bai Qiusheng stepped out of the room. Lü Yuesan immediately laid out the whole story. "Back when Tu Shumei's business was at its peak, she had two paper mills and five printing plants under her belt, and she traded in porcelain, iron smelting, coal, and ore. Aside from the Four Great Families, the biggest business in Heishipo back then belonged to Boss Tu." "Then how did she fall into ruin?" "She didn't fall into ruin. Her business was booming the whole time. It was just that later on, she bought an item. It cost an enormous sum of money, and it completely drained her fortune." "What kind of item could drain a fortune that vast?" Lü Yuesan looked at Li Banfeng, smiling without a word. He wanted more money. Li Banfeng handed him another ten silver dollars. Taking the money, Lü Yuesan lowered his voice. "Tu Shumei bought a weapon. As for what weapon it was exactly, I don't know." Tu Shumei was a Craft Cultivator. What weapon couldn't she forge herself? What kind of weapon was worth bankrupting herself to buy? Without a doubt, it was that pair of iron rulers! "From whom did she buy the weapon?" "Feng Chongli, a merchant who walks the shadows. Ordinary folk don't know him, but I saw him once!" "Do you know how to contact him?" "He's hard to track down. He has no fixed residence." "Such a major merchant has no fixed residence?" Lü Yuesan raised his brows and fell silent again. Li Banfeng handed him twenty silver dollars. Lü Yuesan raised his brows again, signaling it wasn't enough. Li Banfeng emptied all the silver dollars from his pockets, along with Huan Country notes, and shoved them all into Lü Yuesan's hands. Lü Yuesan thanked him repeatedly, then continued, "He's a merchant with a pathway. Like a peddler, he loves roaming all over." "Like a peddler? What pathway?" "I heard Tu Shumei mention it once. It's supposed to be called a Commerce Cultivator. This pathway cultivates through doing business. The more business one conducts, the higher one's cultivation grows." Commerce Cultivator? Was this the peddler's pathway? Li Banfeng looked at Lü Yuesan. "What else do you know? Name a price, then spill it all." Lü Yuesan asked Li Banfeng for another fifty silver dollars. Li Banfeng nodded in agreement. "You can draw it from the accounts shortly." "Boss Ye, as for where Feng Chongli is, I truly don't know. But Feng Chongli has a younger brother named Feng Xincheng, who opened a grocery store in Ligou of Yaowanggou." Li Banfeng asked, "Are you talking about Feng's Grocery Store?" "Boss Ye, you know the place?" Li Banfeng nodded. "Then there's nothing more for me to say." Li Banfeng asked, "How did you learn all of this?" "There's a story behind it." Lü Yuesan rubbed his hands together, angling for money again. "No matter. Just name your price." Lü Yuesan asked for another fifty silver dollars, then said to Li Banfeng, "When Tu Shumei first met Feng Chongli, she took a fancy to that weapon and paid a deposit on the spot. As her bookkeeper, I naturally knew about the disbursement. "Later, Tu Shumei went around trying to sell her factories, but she couldn't sell them right away. Feng Chongli had other business to attend to, so he refunded her deposit and left Heishipo. "Tu Shumei grew anxious and made inquiries everywhere for Feng Chongli's whereabouts. Boss Tu had run the streets for years, and her intelligence was sharp. She actually managed to find out about Feng Xincheng. "At the time, I went with Tu Shumei to Yaowanggou and tracked down Feng Chongli through Feng Xincheng. During that period, I was the one who helped Boss Tu transfer funds through various banks. Once the deal was done, Boss Tu vanished without a trace, and I was left without a livelihood." Tu Shumei had drained her entire life savings to buy the iron rulers from Feng Chongli, altered her appearance, became a movie queen, and transformed into Tu Yinghong. The process had been explained clearly, but something didn't add up. This was Tu Shumei's greatest secret. Since this bookkeeper knew about it, why hadn't she silenced him permanently? Was this bookkeeper telling the truth or lying? Li Banfeng smiled. "Good. Do you have anything else to say?" Lü Yuesan shook his head. "No more, Boss Ye. Everything you asked about, I've told you all that I know!" Li Banfeng stood up. "What you told me today, including the fact that you met me, must not be spoken to anyone." "Rest assured, sir! My lips are sealed!" "I believe you," Li Banfeng said with a smile, pulling out a sheet of covenant paper. "Still, you must sign a covenant deed." Lü Yuesan was a white lamb who couldn't recognize covenant paper. Having signed plenty of ordinary contracts over the years, he thought nothing of it. Taking the brush, he wrote his name and pressed his thumbprint onto the paper. Li Banfeng instructed him to collect his payment from the accounts. Bai Qiusheng offered a quiet reminder, "Seventh Master, should we do away with this fellow?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "I paid for his information. As long as the news he gave is true, there's no reason to kill him. Besides, I will need to verify many things with him in the future." "I'm afraid he might blab after leaving." Li Banfeng shook his head. "He won't be able to speak of it. And if he truly dares to speak, he can do me one more favor." *** Lü Yuesan returned to his lodgings. Having received more than two hundred silver dollars from Night Fragrance, he counted the coins carefully twice, pondering how to spend his coming days. This was no small sum. It was enough to start a business in Heishipo. Yet Lü Yuesan knew doing business was hard work, and he didn't care to expend that effort. First, he would buy food, then new clothes. He had pawned all his old garments, and the set he was wearing was crawling with lice; it was high time for a change. He would save the rest of the money for later. Once he found a suitable gambling den, he would win back all his lost capital, and he wouldn't have to worry for the rest of his life. Just as he was daydreaming about gambling dens, he heard someone knock at the door. Opening it, he found Ai Chixiang of the Pure Observance Society. Ai Chixiang was a disciple of Elder Tang Peigong of the Pure Observance Society and had once been a figure of great status in Heishipo. However, after Xiao Genzi dumped a bucket of night soil over his head, followed by a severe thrashing in the ring, his standing had dropped considerably. Even after all this time, the foul stench on Ai Chixiang hadn't entirely dissipated. Lü Yuesan wanted to pinch his nose, but didn't quite dare. "Master Ai, what brings you..." Lü Yuesan held his breath, forcing out a greeting. Ai Chixiang said, "I hear you just went to the *Night Fragrance* newspaper office?" Lü Yuesan's heart skipped a beat. How did he know that? With Ai Chixiang's status, he wouldn't bother keeping an eye on a nobody like Lü Yuesan. Evidently, he had been keeping tabs on that Boss Ye for some time. Without hesitating, Lü Yuesan said, "Well, seeing as I have no work, I wanted to find a job at the newspaper office. But they told me they weren't short of bookkeepers, so I didn't get the post." Ai Chixiang nodded. "Whom did you meet at *Night Fragrance*?" "I met their manager, a man named Bai Qiusheng. You know him too, sir; he came out of Heishipo." "You only saw him?" "And a few hired hands downstairs. I didn't bother remembering them." Ai Chixiang frowned. "Speak the truth!" "I am telling the truth! How would I dare deceive you, sir?" Ai Chixiang took out twenty silver dollars and shoved them into Lü Yuesan's hand. "You think I don't know your kind? Who else did you see? Did you see their boss?" Pocketing the silver dollars, Lü Yuesan gave a dry laugh. "Nothing escapes your eyes, Master Ai. I truly did meet their boss for a moment." "That man surnamed Ye?" "Yes, everyone calls him Boss Ye." "What did he want with you?" Lü Yuesan rubbed his hands together. "Well, that... I really can't..." Ai Chixiang took out another twenty silver dollars. Lü Yuesan felt it wasn't quite enough. "Master Ai, this amount... I'm afraid... I'm... I'm..." As he spoke, a sudden fit of coughing seized Lü Yuesan. Startled, Ai Chixiang stepped back two paces. Lü Yuesan coughed violently for a long time until a gurgling sound rattled in his throat, as though he were hacking up phlegm. When he spat it out, it was actually a mouthful of rust-colored water. Horrified, Ai Chixiang spun around and fled. Clutching his chest, Lü Yuesan coughed and wheezed uncontrollably. The agony was so unbearable that he couldn't help pounding on his own chest. *Thump!* A dull sound echoed. His hand shattered, and his chest shattered along with it. Lü Yuesan stared blankly for an instant. Then his body collapsed to the ground, disintegrating into a heap of rusty dross. *** Ai Chixiang ran at a brisk pace all the way to Tang Peigong's manor. "Master, the matter is clear. The intelligence from our scouts was accurate. That man surnamed Ye has indeed arrived in Heishipo. Lü Yuesan saw him at the newspaper office." Worrying that the intelligence might be flawed, Tang Peigong asked, "Did you bring Lü Yuesan here?" "I wanted to bring him, but the fellow seemed to have been poisoned. Yellow water was pouring from his mouth." Tang Peigong nodded. "This man surnamed Ye is Li the Seventh! He's silencing witnesses to cover his tracks. "Fetch the dharma treasure. I will send word to Elder Lu. Are our men ready?" "They've been ready for a long time." Tang Peigong said, "Remember Elder Lu's instructions. Stick to the plan we laid out. Lead our men to pin Li the Seventh down. Under no circumstances must he be allowed to leave Heishipo!" PS: Has Tang Peigong gone mad? What is he trying to do?