Hall Master Luo, Do You Want to Hide for the Rest of Your Life?

Luo Zhengnan had sharp eyes. While the Dwelling Cultivators in Tiemenbao hadn't recognized Li Banfeng, he had recognized him immediately. Li Banfeng knew about Luo Zhengnan's disappearance. According to Qiu Zhiheng's speculation, the man should have died at the hands of Pei Yikou. Yet who would have thought he would turn up in Tiemenbao? Since Luo Zhengnan wasn't dead, what had he come to Tiemenbao for? "Hall Master Luo, what brings you here?" Li Banfeng raised his guard. "Fort Lord, could we find a suitable place to talk?" Li Banfeng took Luo Zhengnan to his own residence. Before leaving previously, Li Banfeng had left the house in Wu Yongchao's care. Dwelling Cultivators were meticulous in their work, and the place had been swept spotless. Yet Luo Zhengnan was also an observant man; he could tell no one had lived in this house for quite some time. The table in the parlor was bare. The teapot, wine cups, fruit trays, and other items typically kept on hand for guests had all been packed away. "Fort Lord, have you been away on a long trip recently?" Li Banfeng did not answer. "Don't fret about my affairs. Let's talk about yours first. What did you come to Tiemenbao for?" This Fort Lord spoke as straightforwardly as ever. Accustomed to it, Luo Zhengnan did not beat around the bush either: "I've come to seek refuge with you." *Seek refuge with me?* This was strange. "Do we have that deep of an acquaintance?" Luo Zhengnan shook his head. "Our acquaintance isn't deep; we've only done that one piece of business together. The reason I came to you boils down to two points. First, I dare not seek out the people I'm close to, because others anticipate that I'll go to them. Second, judging by our previous deal, you are a man of your word. I trust you." "Your standing in the Jiangxiang Gang isn't low. Now you suddenly claim you want to turn to me—you need to make the circumstances clear." "To tell you the truth, the gang turned against me. I only managed to escape Yaowanggou by faking my death. I don't know the reason behind it either, but I give you my word that I never did anything to betray the gang. If you are willing to take me in, I will serve you from now on. I won't spout nonsense about laying down my life ten thousand times over—that's all drivel. I can only promise to serve you to the best of my ability. If you aren't willing to take me in, I'll get up and leave immediately without causing you a shred of trouble. I ask only one thing: do not leak my whereabouts." Speaking with a smart person saved words; whatever needed considering, he had already considered on your behalf. Luo Zhengnan was indeed an intelligent man. Probably no one in the Jiangxiang Gang would ever guess he had come to Tiemenbao. Yet after pondering for a long time, Li Banfeng shook his head. "I can take you in, but Tiemenbao cannot." Luo Zhengnan was taken aback. "Fort Lord, I don't understand what you mean." Just as Li Banfeng was considering how to explain, he saw Wu Yongchao rush in in a fluster. "Who are you people? What are you trying to do? You... Fort Lord, you're back?" Wu Yongchao looked at Li Banfeng in embarrassment. Li Banfeng nodded slightly, gesturing for Wu Yongchao to return later. Wu Yongchao didn't catch the hint, so Li Banfeng had to speak plainly: "Brother, go wait at home. I'll come find you in a bit." Once Wu Yongchao was gone, Li Banfeng said to Luo Zhengnan, "You see how it is. The people living in Tiemenbao are honest folk. Relying on their cultivation, they can protect themselves, but they cannot protect you. And I don't want to bring disaster down on them." Luo Zhengnan sighed. "Then please, Fort Lord, point me in a direction." "I have two paths here. The first: outside Tiemenbao lies Feiying Mountain, which you should have heard of. There used to be a band of bandits on Feiying Mountain, but I wiped them all out. While that mountain nominally still has a stronghold, it is actually my territory now. I can hand Feiying Mountain over to you. Once you take it over, you can run whatever business you like. The cut of the profits is negotiable—just give whatever you deem appropriate. But you'd best not play bandit king, or we'll easily fall out with each other." Li Banfeng was genuinely trying to find a way out for Luo Zhengnan, if for no other reason than his conduct when Yaowanggou was in dire straits. Such a man was worth Li Banfeng extending a helping hand. Luo Zhengnan thought it over for a moment and felt this was indeed a respectable way out. However, recruiting followers on Feiying Mountain was not something done overnight. Although faking his death had been carried out very discreetly, Luo Zhengnan never relied on blind luck. If the Jiangxiang Gang discovered he was still alive and Feiying Mountain lacked men and strength, what would he use to hold them off? "Fort Lord, I'd like to hear the other path." "Go to Lüshui City." Luo Zhengnan doubted his own ears. "I'm trying to avoid disaster. Do you really think Lüshui City is suitable?" On this matter, Li Banfeng had the most authority to speak. Back then, to escape the Lu family's manhunt, he too had fled from Yaowanggou to Lüshui City. As it turned out, he had made the right choice. "Hall Master Luo, if the Jiangxiang Gang sets their sights on Tiemenbao, they can find you very easily, because Tiemenbao is only so big. But even if the Jiangxiang Gang knows you're in Lüshui City, they'll have a hard time tracking you down, because Lüshui City is simply too vast. Once you reach Lüshui City, there will be friends of mine looking after you. You know best what caliber the Jiangxiang Gang amounts to; Lüshui City isn't a place where they can run wild. Do you think this path is suitable?" Luo Zhengnan acted prudently, and going to Lüshui City gave him some pause. Li Banfeng knew Luo Zhengnan had his own thoughts, so he merely reminded him: "Do you want to hide for a while, or do you want to hide for the rest of your life?" If he wanted to hide forever, Feiying Mountain was the best choice. But what if he still hoped to make something of himself in this life? Luo Zhengnan asked Li Banfeng, "Once I get to Lüshui City, whose door should I pay respects to?" "How many days will it take you to reach Lüshui City at your fastest?" "Two days is plenty." This speed was certainly not slow, given that Luo Zhengnan didn't dare take the train and had to walk through the newland. Li Banfeng said, "Set out today immediately. After arriving in Lüshui City, find a place to stay first. Then go drink tea at Quanjian Teahouse every morning at ten o'clock. Within three days, someone will naturally come looking for you." This was extremely dangerous for Luo Zhengnan. If this Fort Lord wanted to sell him out, he could simply inform the Jiangxiang Gang to seize him at the teahouse. Li Banfeng understood Luo Zhengnan's misgivings. "Hall Master Luo, think this over carefully. If you don't trust me, you are entirely free not to keep the appointment, and I will act as though I never saw you." Luo Zhengnan pondered for a good while before saying, "I do trust you, but wouldn't it be best if we could..." Li Banfeng pulled a stack of covenant paper from his breast. "Wouldn't it be best if we drew up a covenant deed?" Talking to a clever man really saved effort; the two of them always thought along the same lines. ... After writing out the covenant deed and settling the details, Luo Zhengnan departed from Tiemenbao. Li Banfeng summoned Wu Yongchao. Wu Yongchao said with an ashamed expression, "Fort Lord, regarding your house, I didn't arrange for anyone to guard it normally. I wanted to save some wages." There were many places in Tiemenbao that required wages. The steam floodgate at the entrance had Craft Cultivators hired to maintain it, which required wages. The former fort lord's grand compound stored Li Banfeng's six hundred thousand silver dollars, which also required dedicated guards. There also had to be people on patrol duty and gathering intelligence outside the fort on ordinary days, which also required wages. These wages were pooled together by the households, and Wu Yongchao felt embarrassed to ask everyone for more. As for the Fort Lord's money, he hadn't touched a single silver coin; for many matters, he had even paid out of his own pocket. Li Banfeng went to the compound, sent the others away, and took out the glove. Staring at the room full of silver coins, the glove rubbed its five fingers together in excitement for a long time. Li Banfeng said, "Principal plus interest, calculate the amount first." "Why calculate with the master? However much Master gives, that's how much I'll take." Li Banfeng smiled and let the glove take four hundred and fifty thousand. The glove repeatedly thanked him and happily gathered up the money. "Master, if you come across any good things in the future, just go ahead and buy them boldly! If you're short on cash, just come to me." Li Banfeng nodded. "And if they won't sell, you can help me 'borrow' it again." "That's easy enough! If we say borrow, then we—wait, Master, why did you just add the word 'again'?" "Did I? Must have just slipped out." Some things were exceptionally interesting. Ling Miaoying had lost his pistol, and Tu Yinghong had lost her iron ruler, almost at the same time. The pistol was stolen by the glove, but what about the iron ruler? Why did Tu Yinghong insist on going to Xiaoyaowu to look for her iron ruler? Why had two iron rails suddenly appeared in the Portable Abode, sending Li Banfeng straight to Heishipo? Wasn't thinking about this exceptionally interesting? The remaining one hundred and fifty thousand silver dollars, Li Banfeng still left in Wu Yongchao's safekeeping. "Take a portion of the money and open a shop. When people in the fort have goods to sell, our shop will buy them. When outsiders come to buy goods, they must also buy from the shop. Fix the prices firmly; don't let outsiders arbitrarily manipulate them. The profits from the shop will be used to pay wages. If there's any surplus money left, handle it as you see fit." Wu Yongchao was a bit apprehensive; he had never handled such a large business before. "Just try running it first. It doesn't matter if you lose a little at the beginning; you'll gradually learn how to make money." ... Disguised as a cleaner, He Jiaqing took advantage of collecting trash to detach a suction cup from the base of a trash can. Just as he put the suction cup away, the button on his chest began to vibrate. He Jiaqing did not respond immediately. He first left the subway station, found a nearby hotel, took a room, and reestablished contact with the other party. "Jiaqing, the matter with the movie—I didn't handle it well." The planting of fake emotion roots through Bloodblade Detective had been exposed by Ma the Fifth, and reports had been published across all the newspapers under Ma the Fifth's control. Did Ma the Fifth have proof? No. Yet this matter did not require proof. People wouldn't take risks for the sake of a movie. Even if what Ma the Fifth said was mere rumor, most people would not go to theaters to watch Bloodblade Detective anymore. Yet people would eventually forget certain things. Bloodblade Detective merely needed to change its title and the shadowplay company's name, and filming could still continue. Yet Shen Rongqing had locked horns with Ma the Fifth, mobilizing her own newspapers to wage a war of words against him. Such was the habit of literati: they excelled at crusading against others with pen and ink, but couldn't stand being condemned in kind. The "emotion root incident," which should have cooled down, suddenly flared up again, thrusting the Ling family's shadowplay company into the teeth of the storm once more. Shen Rongqing was deeply ashamed and had made a point to apologize to He Jiaqing. Had Ling Miaoying done this, He Jiaqing would have flared up long ago. However, he knew Shen Rongqing's temperament well. This woman was fiercely competitive; taking a hard stance with her would not work, so she could only be coaxed gently. "This is not Elder Sister's fault. It is only because Ma the Fifth bullies people too terribly." "Jiaqing, how do you plan to deal with Ma Junyang?" He Jiaqing was about to speak, but the words turned over in his mouth and he shifted his phrasing: "How does Elder Sister want to deal with him?" This was out of respect for Shen Rongqing. This woman was different from other subordinates; He Jiaqing had to respect her thoughts. "I don't want to kill him, but from now on, he must never be allowed to oppose us!" He Jiaqing agreed and gave Shen Rongqing free rein to handle the matter. Luo Zhengnan unplugged the antenna from his head, put it back into its box, found a plug to stop up his skull, and carefully reflected on the contents of the conversation between the two. So Bloodblade Detective was a shadowplay run by He Jiaqing. What was he running shadowplays for? Just for a bit of ticket money? Some time ago, the radio kept reporting about emotion roots appearing in shadowplays—was that his doing as well? Now he wants to deal with Ma the Fifth? Who was the woman on the line with him? This was quite interesting... Thinking of this, Luo Zhengnan gave a self-mocking laugh. What did whether it was interesting or not have to do with him? Previously, for the sake of the Jiangxiang Gang, Luo Zhengnan had continually investigated He Jiaqing. Now, he wasn't even a member of the Jiangxiang Gang anymore. And who knew what sort of figure that person in Lüshui City was? If he wasn't willing to take me in either, where else could I go? Sighing and lamenting, Luo Zhengnan didn't sleep a wink all night. The next day, he went to Quanjian Teahouse. The teahouse was rather out of the way, quiet and desolate, with hardly any business. Having sat there from ten o'clock until just ten thirty, Li Banfeng sat down across from Luo Zhengnan. Luo Zhengnan's eyes went wide. He had never expected that the person meeting him would actually be the Fort Lord. He couldn't understand how the Fort Lord of Tiemenbao had also arrived in Lüshui City. "Let's go. To Xiaoyaowu." Luo Zhengnan was bewildered, but dared not ask too much, following Li Banfeng out of the teahouse. As they walked along the street, Luo Zhengnan thought to himself: wasn't Xiaoyaowu Ma Junyang's business? No, the radio had said that this wasn't Ma Junyang's business alone. "Fort Lord, you're... Seventh Master?" This man truly was smart. Li Banfeng pulled down the brim of his hat and said, "In Lüshui City, don't call me Fort Lord." Countless thoughts churned in his mind, making Luo Zhengnan feel dizzy. Li Seven was the Fort Lord? How was that possible? When the two reached Xiaoyaowu, a cleaner at the entrance was sweeping fallen leaves. Luo Zhengnan's cheek twitched as though shocked by electricity, and his tumbling thoughts were cut short. Li Banfeng prepared a room for Luo Zhengnan in the rear building. Once they reached the room, Luo Zhengnan said to Li Banfeng, "Seventh Master, that sweeper just now—there was something on his broom." Li Banfeng's brow furrowed, and he asked, "Are you talking about a hook?" Luo Zhengnan nodded.