Not Enough

Li Banfeng and Ma the Fifth took the train to Heishipo. In the past when taking the train, Li Banfeng never felt bored; if he ever got bored, he would just go back into the Portable Abode to spend time playing with the wife. Today, even if he wanted to go back, he couldn't—the key wasn't on him. Fortunately, Ma the Fifth was thoughtful. Before boarding the train, he had bought a stack of newspapers and magazines. The two read them the whole way, while Li Banfeng listened to the glove panting the whole way. What in the world was it panting about? What had the glove been doing to get this exhausted? Not only was the glove panting, but Ma the Fifth was panting too, his face slick with beads of cold sweat. "Fifth, what's wrong with you?" Ma the Fifth wiped his sweat and said, "I think I'm about to advance." Li Banfeng chuckled. "With the way you sleep, you should've advanced ages ago. Once we get to Heishipo, lie down and rest for a couple of days first." "Can't lie down," Ma the Fifth shook his head. "We have to take over all of Lu Maoxian's businesses as soon as possible. He was the big boss in Heishipo, with tons of ventures in his hands." "What's the rush? These businesses were given to us by the Lu family. Are you afraid someone will snatch them away?" Lu Maoxian had plotted against the head family. By the family law, he was supposed to be expunged from the clan register, with all his property reclaimed by the main household. To repay Li the Seventh and Ma the Fifth, Lu Chunying gave all the Heishipo businesses to them. Ma the Fifth shook his head. "You don't understand. The Pure Observance Society really might come and snatch them. When disciples of the Pure Observance Society die, they take over their estates, not to mention that Lu Maoxian was an elder of the Pure Observance Society." So it was the Pure Observance Society looking to snatch them. Li Banfeng frowned slightly. "The business from last time hasn't even finished negotiating, and now in the blink of an eye there's new business." Ma the Fifth was taken aback. "What business are you negotiating with them?" Li Banfeng said, "They want to take over our projector business." Ma the Fifth laughed. "What are they thinking?" Li Banfeng didn't laugh. Behind the Pure Observance Society was the Sage. With Lu Maoxian dead, would the Sage intervene? *** Jianrengang, Peak of the Sages, the Sage's residence. The white-robed youth reported the news of Lu Maoxian's death. The panting inside the room came to an abrupt stop. The Sage asked, "Is it known who did it?" "Lu Maoxian sent assassins after Lu Chunying to fight for the position of family head. This matter cannot be separated from Lu Chunying." "Lu Chunying killed Lu Maoxian, and then turned around to make a grand display of confronting Lu Maoxian for an explanation—do you think that sounds reasonable?" "Perhaps Lu Chunying did it intentionally to pull the wool over people's eyes." "Both sides had already reached a life-or-death struggle, and the matter has even alarmed the Outer States. Yet you still talk about pulling the wool over people's eyes?" The white-robed youth pondered for a long time, unsure how to respond. In terms of logic, there truly was a flaw in this. *Smack!* Two slapping sounds came from inside the room, and a woman clutching her backside scurried out in a fluster. The Sage said slowly, "Someone took advantage of the chaos to strike." "Who?" "Who else could it be?" Though his tone was calm, one could hear that the Sage was angry. He was referring to He Jiaqing. The white-robed disciple said, "Master, when He Jiaqing ambushed Lu Maoxian before, he didn't take his life." He Jiaqing had only castrated Lu Maoxian, about which Lu Maoxian had wept and complained for a long time, but back then He Jiaqing indeed hadn't killed him. The Sage sneered. "Back then, He Jiaqing didn't dare kill Lu Maoxian because he was intimidated by the Lüshui Beggar. Now, taking advantage of the Lu family's internal strife, He Jiaqing struck again, catching Lu Maoxian off guard and pinning the blame on Lu Chunying. Whatever he sets out to do, he sees it through—on that point, I actually quite admire He Jiaqing." The white-robed disciple weighed his words for a moment and asked the Sage, "Since he is a capable person, why not recruit him under Master's banner to serve Master?" The Sage chuckled. "This man's ambition is immense. Even if recruited, he would be difficult to tame. However, we can use that as bait to eliminate him. Find a way to contact him and have him pay a visit to Puluo Province." *** Upon arriving at Heishipo, Li Banfeng first went back to his lodgings to look for the key. The key was right under the bed. Li Banfeng hurried back into the Portable Abode. When he entered the house, the wife wasn't angry; Li Banfeng had told her beforehand that he would stay outside for several days this time before returning. The Portable Abode wasn't angry either. Just as Li Banfeng sat down on the bed, he suddenly saw the glove come before him, panting heavily. "Master, now that we're back home, I won't hide or tuck anything away anymore. It's time to bring out the good stuff." "What good stuff?" "Master, take a look!" The glove spat out a box one foot square, with an iron padlock hanging from it! Li Banfeng truly couldn't fathom just how much capacity this single glove had. "You were panting the whole way because you were stuffed full?" "Not stuffed—it was too heavy!" As it spoke, the glove picked up a hairpin from the table. Hong Ying snapped in fury, "What are you doing? That's mine!" "Just borrowing it for a second! Tomorrow I'll have the master buy you a whole box of them!" Hong Ying fumed, "What do you mean a whole box? Are you paying for it?" "I am! I brought money back for Master!" Holding the hairpin, the glove poked it into the keyhole and jiggled it twice. The lock clicked open. Inside the box lay gold bars, packed full of gold bars. The glove tucked its thumb against its front and bowed low in salutation. "Master, this is my tribute to you. Please inspect it." Li Banfeng picked up a gold bar. Though not especially large in size, its weight was substantial—no wonder the glove had been exhausted to such a state. "Where did these gold bars come from?" The glove straightened its body. "Taken from that old man's house! Right under his bed!" The old man? Lu Maoxian? "How did you know there was gold under his bed? Besides, this box wasn't even opened." The glove replied modestly, "If I couldn't even sniff out gold when I came across it, how could I dare earn my keep under you, Master?" Li Banfeng laughed. "You worked yourself to exhaustion the entire way just to lug this box of gold?" The glove's index finger bobbed in a nod. "As the saying goes, one must never reveal wealth. I couldn't casually bring it out outside, for fear of bringing trouble upon you, Master." Li Banfeng smiled. "Good! You deserve a reward. This box of gold is yours!" The fingers froze for a long while. "Master, you mean all of it is mine?" Li Banfeng nodded. "All yours." "That won't do! This is my tribute to you." "Why wouldn't it? It's my reward to you." The glove still felt uneasy. "I'll keep half then. Master, no matter what, I must leave half for you." Li Banfeng chuckled. "One half you earned with your own ability, and the other half is a gift from me. So all in all, this whole box of gold still belongs to you." From the side, the gramophone chimed in, "Oh, Husband, what's the use of giving him so much gold? He has nowhere to spend it anyway!" Li Banfeng smiled. "Wife, that's where you don't understand. Something you love, you must have, but you don't necessarily have to use it. As long as you have it and hold it in your grip, you feel contented in your heart!" Hearing these words, the glove raised its middle finger upright and stared at Li Banfeng. Some things, not just anyone could understand. But the glove's temperament, Li Banfeng actually understood. Li Banfeng closed the box lid and handed the box of gold to the glove with great solemnity. The glove swallowed the box back down. Standing on the floor on its thumb and pinky, with its index and ring fingers hanging limp, it stood straight and gazed earnestly at Li Banfeng. It felt that today Li Banfeng was extraordinarily tall and magnificent—one had to stand bolt upright just to look up at him. "Master, I..." "Don't point your middle finger at me!" Li Banfeng swung the feather duster and smacked the glove to the floor. The glove hastily switched its head to the index finger and scampered off to Room Five alone, happily counting its gold. *** Ma the Fifth checked the accounts and took over a coal mine under Lu Maoxian. Things progressed very smoothly; surprisingly, the Pure Observance Society didn't come looking for trouble. With advancement imminent, Ma the Fifth didn't dare overexert himself. He left the remaining businesses for his subordinates to handle and returned to the newspaper office to rest. With Heishipo calm and peaceful, Li Banfeng seized the opportunity to thoroughly investigate the ins and outs of the Shumei Paper Mill. The news in the papers was true: this paper mill had indeed been sold by Tu Shumei to the He family. But why did it end up in Shen Rongqing's hands? Digging through old newspapers was exhausting work. It required piecing together seemingly unrelated reports. Following the timeline of the news, Li Banfeng finally found a lead. Not long after acquiring the paper mill, He Haiqin fell ill. At that time, the struggle between the He and Lu families was fierce, and the focus of their contention centered on Lüshui City. The He family's business ventures had spread too wide. After He Haiqin fell ill, many businesses suffered from neglect, losing money instead of turning a profit. Back then, under He Haiqin's instructions, the He family sold off a large batch of assets. The Shumei Paper Mill was one of them. This paper mill had been sold to Shen Rongqing. What about the other properties? Qian Xiangjun, Duan Shuqun, Luo Suxuan... Familiar names appeared once again across various news reports. Connecting this with the cause of He Haiqin's illness, the sequence of events became clear. He Jiaqing had used Wan Jinxian to take down He Haiqin, which not only transformed the situation in Puluo Province, but also made him a colossal fortune. First he plotted against the He family, then he plotted against the Lu family. Roughly calculating these assets, in terms of sheer wealth alone, He Jiaqing might already be the number one figure in Puluo Province. Yet why didn't he return to Puluo Province? Why didn't he lay everything out in the open and return to be the legitimate top boss? Because such a top boss would be an illusion. The economic lifeline was held by the Outer States, while the cultivation lifeline was gripped by the Inner States. If He Jiaqing returned now, he would be no different from He Haiqin and Lu Dongliang—he would only be toyed with and manipulated by others. What would he do next? Li Banfeng began muttering to himself: "Sooner or later, he'll make a move on me after all. If I were to fight him head-on right now, I truly wouldn't stand a chance. He can use Parting Across Ten Thousand Li, which proves he has reached at least the ninth tier. Be it cultivation or assets, I can't match him in either. The Red Lotus is in my hands, which clearly disrupted his plans. What his plan truly is, I still can't see clearly. Keep digging? Clues are everywhere before me, but tracing any single one to its roots is extraordinarily difficult. He Jiaqing's web is just too vast. I can't rush. Right now, there's a more pressing matter." Having tasted the benefits once, Li Banfeng recalled the appearance of Feng's Grocery Store, preparing to head straight for Yaowanggou. He focused his thoughts for over ten minutes until he confirmed every single detail was crystal clear. After coordinating with the wife and equipping all his magical artifacts, he stepped out the door. After stepping out, he found himself still in the Night Fragrance Newspaper Office, still inside his own room. What was going on? It didn't work? Did I not visualize it clearly enough just now? Li Banfeng returned to the Portable Abode and went over it again with meticulous care. Not only did he visualize it, he even murmured a few words: "Yaowanggou, Ligou..." After murmuring this, Li Banfeng was about to step out the door again when an aged voice suddenly sounded by his ear: "Can't go!" "Why can't I go?" "Too far!" "Yaowanggou is considered far?" "With just two measly rails, what more do you expect?" Li Banfeng seized the moment to ask, "How can I bring the key inside?" The Portable Abode gave no response. Evidently, it didn't want to talk about this. "Not enough, huh..." Li Banfeng stroked the glove. The glove started. "What's not enough? Are you talking about the gold?" Li Banfeng smiled. "I mean two rails aren't enough."