Sabotage

Late at night, Li Banfeng sat in Room Five, enjoying moving pictures together with the projector. After editing, the plot flowed more smoothly, the characters were richer and more fleshed out, and the frequent frame drops had significantly improved. The female lead in the feature film was becoming more and more lifelike. Li Banfeng praised, "To take a story on paper and conceive such a complete motion picture—your skill has improved tremendously. It seems you found yourself a good teacher." The projector blinked its lens and said, "It is all thanks to Director Seven's skillful guidance." Li Banfeng shook his head. "Don't flatter me; I don't deserve that credit. When it comes to making moving pictures, I don't even possess a tenth of your skill. Are you truly unwilling to introduce that teacher to me?" The projector answered resolutely, "You mean that young lady? She really is just a figment of my own imagination." Li Banfeng looked at the projector. The projector said calmly, "Director Seven, I am utterly loyal to you. That has never changed." Regarding what had happened before, the projector might still harbor some resentment, but it would not deceive Li Banfeng over that. In its eyes, this woman truly was a figment of its own imagination. What on earth was she trying to do? Whatever her aim might be, Li Banfeng had already instructed the wife that under no circumstances must this woman harm the projector. As the film drew to its close, Li Banfeng noticed a vase on the female lead's table that looked very familiar. "This vase is..." "Director Seven, that vase belongs to our household. I borrowed it as a prop." This was the vase that the glove had reported missing. What kind of technique was this? "Director Seven, the newspapers from Heishipo are wonderful. They're practically natural scripts." Li Banfeng rose. "I'll go buy some more." *** Li Banfeng stepped out of the newspaper office. Just as he was about to head out to buy newspapers, he saw a rickshaw parked at the entrance. Rickshaws were rarely seen in Heishipo; people usually traveled by light rail. The stocky coachman stood up and said, "Sir, where are you headed? I can take you... It's you?" The coachman recognized Li Banfeng. "Little brother, you came to Heishipo?" Li Banfeng nodded. "Elder brother, how come you're pulling a cart here?" "Business is good here, little brother! You work at this newspaper office? That's the way! I told you back then—finding a job is nothing to be ashamed of, and it's far better than risking your neck for a living. Do you know the shopkeeper of this newspaper office?" Li Banfeng smiled. "At a newspaper office, people don't usually call him a shopkeeper." "Right, around here they all call him the boss. The boss's name is Li the Seventh, and I came to find him." Li Banfeng nodded. "Then you've found the right person." The coachman looked Li Banfeng up and down. Taking in his Western suit, he said in pleasant surprise, "You're Li the Seventh?" Li Banfeng gave a slight nod. The coachman beamed with delight. "Brother, quick, get in! Your big brother will give you a ride!" "Where to?" "To Huangtuqiao!" "Ride in this cart?" "This cart is faster than a train! Your brother's got fire wheels under his feet!" *** Li Banfeng and Ma the Fifth took the train to Huangtuqiao. Stepping out of the train station and seeing the deserted streets, Li Banfeng sighed, "Business won't be easy to run here." Ma the Fifth knew business in Huangtuqiao wouldn't be easy, but he truly wanted to give it a try. Even a newland could be turned into Qiqiu City; Huangtuqiao might not be beyond saving either. The coachman was waiting at the intersection with his rickshaw. From a distance, he called out a greeting to Li Banfeng: "Brother, you're here! Who might this friend be?" Ma the Fifth introduced himself. The coachman nodded. "So it's Brother Ma the Fifth! Long heard of your great name! Please, step into the cart, both of you. I'll take you around for a tour." In the past, the great families also had individuals who came into contact with local spirits, but that was restricted to core family members. Ever since getting to know Li the Seventh, Ma the Fifth had met quite a few local spirits. Exchanging fraternal pleasantries in daily life was one thing, but today a local spirit was actually offering to pull the rickshaw himself—how could Ma the Fifth dare ride in his cart? "You are being far too polite. We can just walk." The coachman was displeased. "What's this? Looking down on your elder brother? Think I'm shabby just because I pull a cart?" Ma the Fifth shook his head repeatedly. "I'm only worried about tiring you out." "Walking slowly along with you is what would tire me out! Hurry up and get in." Li Banfeng and Ma the Fifth sat in the rickshaw as the coachman took them on a tour around the town. Huangtuqiao was rich in coal and yellow clay. The Meisha River wound around the town, spanned by over a dozen bridges of various sizes. The four largest bridges—East, West, South, and North—divided the entire town into four districts. Not every part of Huangtuqiao was sparsely populated. East Bridge, West Bridge, and South Bridge were relatively desolate, but North Bridge had quite a few residents, and one could occasionally see people setting up stalls to do business. Ma the Fifth asked, "What do these people live on?" The coachman said, "There are several coal pits nearby where they work. It doesn't make big money, but it's enough to scrape by." Ma the Fifth asked again, "Are all of Huangtuqiao's coal mines held in their hands?" The coachman shook his head. "How many mines could they possibly have? Not even a tenth! If you two want to do coal business, I'll take you there. Sprawling mountains of mines will belong to you brothers." The coachman pulled them all the way toward West Bridge. Leaving the town and arriving at the edge of Huangtuqiao, they finally saw the mining hills. The area was indeed vast. When Ma the Fifth saw the mining hills, it was as if he were looking at mountains of gold; both his eyes lit up. The coachman continued introducing from the side: "Look at these shafts, rails, and ore cars—they're all right here ready to use..." *Clatter!* An ore car fell completely apart. Looking a bit embarrassed, the coachman said, "A minor issue. Repair it a bit, and it'll work fine." Li Banfeng didn't understand coal mining, but Ma the Fifth was an expert. "Old Seven, this elder brother didn't lie to us. This is a fine mine. Even though most of the equipment here is broken, we can call over our Craft Cultivators to fix things up. We can open for business in less than half a month." Li Banfeng asked, "Why start with coal mining?" Ma the Fifth said, "First, coal makes money. Second, coal requires many hands. Such a massive mining area can accommodate three to five thousand workers. Once the workers arrive, their food, clothing, shelter, and transport will all need to be provided. The town's businesses will gradually flourish, and Huangtuqiao will see signs of life." Ma the Fifth was full of confidence, but Li Banfeng felt some concern: "If the coal business is so straightforward, why hasn't anyone else done it?" Ma the Fifth shook his head and smiled. "Not just anyone can do this business. Ordinary people emptying their pockets can only open a small coal pit. Managing an entire mining mountain requires tremendous upfront investment. We only dare to entertain this plan because we possess the capital." Li the Seventh and Ma the Fifth indeed possessed substantial financial power, but the Four Great Families were certainly not lacking in wealth either. Why hadn't they set up business in Huangtuqiao? Li Banfeng remembered Qiu Zhiheng once saying that doing business in Huangtuqiao involved endless trouble. Ma the Fifth had also looked into the inside story: "Huangtuqiao has too few people, so recruiting locally is out of the question. Hiring from outside means shouldering room, board, and travel expenses, making operating costs somewhat higher than elsewhere. On top of that, I've heard the local merchants of Huangtuqiao are tough to deal with and constantly trip up outsiders." As he spoke, Ma the Fifth glanced at the coachman. The coachman waved his hand. "Nothing tough about them! Aren't they just those few small coal pits at North Bridge? Leave this to me. If anyone dares stir up trouble, I'll send them straight on their way. Brothers, go all out and do your work!" Ma the Fifth wanted to proceed, but Li Banfeng first settled the terms with the coachman: "Except for the areas that currently have owners, all of Huangtuqiao's territory will be under our management from now on." The coachman patted his chest. "Even the owned areas belong to you! I'll drive them all away!" Li Banfeng waved his hand. "We won't covet land that already has an owner. We are doing honest business." With both sides agreed, they established a covenant deed. Backed by the local spirit, Ma the Fifth was confident and immediately took the train to Heishipo to recruit workers. Mining was arduous work, and going all the way to Huangtuqiao made recruitment especially difficult. Ma the Fifth doubled the wages, but after three days, he had only managed to hire a little over two hundred men. Two hundred was still workable to get the mine running. Ma the Fifth was optimistic: "Old Seven, running a coal mine is straightforward. Once it gets rolling, we can just leave our subordinates in charge. I still need to head back to Qiqiu City—that's our most critical ground." Once the miners were in place, they went down into the shafts to dig coal. Meanwhile, Ma the Fifth brought along Craft Cultivators and purchased equipment and materials from outside, restoring the railway between the mines and the station. This wasn't a railway operated by the Outer States; it was a light rail line for hauling coal, so the craftsmanship didn't require extreme precision. A few rotted sections were repaired and put to use. Once the railway was restored, the first batch of coal was extracted. Ma the Fifth had already arranged buyers in Lüshui City, sealing their very first deal. Costs were slightly high, but thanks to the agreement between Li the Seventh and Liao Zihui, they enjoyed advantages on freight rates, leaving plenty of room for profit. Watching the first trainload of coal roll out from the mines, Ma the Fifth was in high spirits. Less than a li past the mines, a problem occurred on the tracks, and the ore cars derailed. On an old railway long neglected, an occasional breakdown was to be expected. Fortunately, there were no casualties. Ma the Fifth ordered his men to investigate the cause and carry out repairs through the night. That very night, the railway was repaired—only for all sixteen cars of coal to be stolen. This was so preposterous that Ma the Fifth could hardly believe it: "Sixteen cars of coal—how could they possibly be stolen? Even if you let them haul it off right in front of you, they shouldn't be able to move that much!" The train driver said, "I don't know what kind of contraption they used, but in the blink of an eye, the coal was unloaded, and in another blink, the people were gone too." Ma the Fifth frowned. "Could this be those folks from North Bridge causing trouble?" Li Banfeng didn't care about the sixteen cars of coal; what concerned him was the method used. To haul away sixteen whole cars of coal in an instant, the culprit had to possess a high-grade magical treasure. Anyone possessing such a high-grade treasure was certainly no ordinary character. It seemed they had underestimated these coal bosses. The coachman comforted them from the side: "Brother Ma the Fifth, this is my fault. I should have escorted the train the entire way. I didn't think things through." Ma the Fifth didn't complain. When starting a business, running into setbacks was normal. He first went to the station; they were waiting to ship tonight, so he had to give them an explanation, and Lüshui City was waiting to receive the goods, so they needed an explanation as well. Once everything was handled, Ma the Fifth returned to the mines to continue digging coal, while Li Banfeng stepped up security to prevent anyone from striking at the mine itself. That night, an incident indeed occurred at the mines. It didn't happen at the shafts, but in the living quarters. The sheds were torched, leaving the workers with nowhere to sleep for the night. Ma the Fifth rushed with men to fight the fire. When he returned to inspect the site, the ore cars had been smashed, the locomotive's steam dome had been chiseled open with leaks, and its connecting rods had been broken in two. Xiao Chuan spat in hatred, "These bastards specifically strike where it hurts!" The steam dome and connecting rods were specialized components, neither easy to replace nor simple to repair. Worse still, this time the perpetrator had struck right under Li Banfeng's nose. Despite having cultivation at dual eighth-tier, Li Banfeng hadn't detected a trace of them. Where had the coachman gone? He was a local spirit, a cultivator above the clouds. If even he hadn't noticed anything, the culprit's background had to be formidable beyond measure! Why would such a powerful adversary set their sights on a coal mine like this? While Chuanzi was contacting people to repair the train, the foreman came rushing over in a panic. He said to Ma the Fifth, "The ledger is gone." The foreman's ledger recorded each worker's output. Without it, wages couldn't be calculated. These workers had been hired from Heishipo; how could they tolerate being wronged like this? They crowded around Ma the Fifth, demanding an explanation. One worker grew agitated and stepped forward, shoving Ma the Fifth. Ma the Fifth didn't take offense, but he was furious: "This is so damn bizarre. Could there be Mourning Cultivators here too? And high-tier ones at that!" Li Banfeng shook his head. "This wasn't done by Mourning Cultivators." He had fought Mourning Cultivators in Yaowanggou and was well acquainted with their ways. Ma the Fifth asked, "Then which pathway did this?" "I can't tell which pathway it is, but I can feel someone vicious is sabotaging us." Yet if they were that ruthless, why merely sabotage? Why not strike a fatal blow directly? For the moment, Li Banfeng couldn't make sense of it. As he pondered, the Tang dao at his waist began to tremble continuously.