When Xiao Yeci saw Li Banfeng, she would usually greet him with, "Benefactor."
Sometimes she would call him Seventh Master, but basically never Seventh Brother, because Lu Chunying always called him Seventh Brother.
Today, calling him "Seventh Brother" with every breath made it obvious something was wrong.
Li Banfeng played along and asked, "Why do you insist on treating me to a meal?"
"I just..." Xiao Yeci's cheeks flushed crimson. "...wanted to be with Seventh Brother, together..."
"Don't be nervous. Sit down and take your time." Li Banfeng turned on the gramophone and put on a soothing violin tune.
Xiao Yeci steadied her thoughts and spoke word by word. "Seventh Brother, I've been thinking about you nonstop these past two days. When I open my eyes, it's you; when I close my eyes, it's you..."
Were these words Xiao Yeci would ever say?
"You miss me that much?" Li Seven chuckled. The violin music from the gramophone drifted slightly out of tune.
This was the gramophone Ling Miaosheng had gifted to Li Banfeng. Originally a hand-cranked model, his wife had modified it into a clockwork gramophone, making it far less troublesome to use.
The pitch shift proved that Xiao Yeci had a hook on her.
Xiao Yeci lowered her head. "For a woman to say such things, I've truly discarded all shame...
"Seventh Brother, I know you won't marry me as your wife, but couldn't you treat me a little differently from other women?"
Li Seven was intrigued. "Differently how?"
Xiao Yeci stammered, "Even if... if you just let me be your lover, I would be so happy. Whatever you want, Seventh Brother, I'll give it to you."
Xiao Yeci dropped hint after hint that these were not words she should ever say, yet she said them nonetheless.
She was being coerced.
What leverage could be used to coerce Xiao Yeci?
It could only be Lu Chunying.
What had happened to Lu Chunying? Was she kidnapped?
That should have been extraordinarily difficult, shouldn't it?
Lu Chunying was the head of the Lu family. With her current strength, who could abduct her so easily?
Li Banfeng sighed. "Yeci, we're all our own people here. Speaking like that is treating me like a stranger. It's just a meal. I'll have the kitchen prepare it immediately. We'll eat right here at Xiaoyaowu. We'll have a few drinks over dinner, and once you've had plenty to drink, we'll get down to business."
Xiao Yeci trembled in embarrassment from head to toe. "Seventh Brother, could we not eat at Xiaoyaowu...?"
Li Banfeng paused. "What's wrong with Xiaoyaowu?"
Xiao Yeci kept her head lowered. "Too many people know me here. I'm... truly embarrassed."
Not at Xiaoyaowu—that proved the enemy had designated a location and set an ambush.
"Then you pick a place."
"I'd like to go to the Conqueror Restaurant. The sunset glow there is so beautiful, and the stir-fried pork strips are delicious."
Conqueror Restaurant was a newly opened establishment run by Westerners, serving Western cuisine.
Did Western cuisine serve stir-fried pork strips?
She spoke of the evening glow—*xia*—and fried pork strips—*duan*.
She had to be referring to Duan Shaoxia.
Had Duan Shaoxia abducted Lu Chunying?
Did she have the ability to pull that off?
This matter was definitely connected to Duan Shaoxia, but what stance Duan Shaoxia actually held was hard to say.
"All right, Conqueror Restaurant it is. Wait for me to change my clothes and get ready." Li Banfeng left the room, casually taking the record off the gramophone.
Returning to the companion dwelling, Li Banfeng handed the record to his wife. After quickly listening through it once, she relayed a crucial piece of information to Li Banfeng:
"'Yeci, as long as you lure Li Seven out, I will immediately have them send Chunying back. From then on, Chunying is your daughter alone and has nothing to do with me anymore. Don't you dare do anything foolish, and don't blab any foolish words. If I hear you say a single out-of-line word to Li Seven, Chunying's life is forfeit.'"
Just as Li Banfeng had anticipated, Lu Chunying had been taken.
Lu Chunying had weathered storms of blood and blades alongside Li Banfeng, yet she had actually been abducted by this woman.
The enemy had serious backing; Li Banfeng needed to make extra preparations.
His wife said, "Precious husband, the quality of this hook is rather ordinary. With Qiansi, we can trace it back."
Li Banfeng was taken aback. "The Qiansi earring can do that?"
"She's only recently learned it. You can let her try. Bring her over to your humble servant."
Li Banfeng took out the earring and handed it to his wife. She carefully described the characteristics of the hook: "From the sound of the hook, you can discern where it points. Listen closely two more times, and you should be able to make out its rough direction."
While his wife instructed Qiansi, Li Banfeng took out cabbage seeds. Once he had grown the cabbage person, Li Banfeng emerged from the companion dwelling and found Ma the Fifth, telling him to muster their men immediately.
***
Twenty minutes later, Li Banfeng returned to the private room.
Xiao Yeci looked at Li Banfeng. "Seventh Brother, are we really going?"
Li Banfeng nodded, a profound smile on his face.
Xiao Yeci was terribly nervous. After hesitating for a long time, she still led Li Banfeng out the door.
Reaching the roadside, Xiao Yeci hailed a rickshaw, and the two rode toward the Conqueror Restaurant.
Entering a private dining room, Xiao Yeci handed the menu to Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng sat quietly, that profound smile remaining on his face.
Seeing that Li Banfeng hadn't uttered a word, Xiao Yeci whispered, "Then I'll order."
Once the dishes were ordered, a server came in to collect the menu. Though dressed in men's clothes, Xiao Yeci knew this was Duan Shaoxia.
Duan Shaoxia glanced first at Xiao Yeci, then at Li Banfeng, before stepping out of the room.
"The food will be served soon!" Xiao Yeci glanced at Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng's smile remained as profound as ever.
Arriving in the main hall of the restaurant, Duan Shaoxia told the cook, "The dishes are ordered."
The cook nodded, crossed through the kitchen to the backyard, and entered a room. "Bishop Mosonov, the dishes are ordered."
A blond, blue-eyed, middle-aged man turned around. "Our battle is about to begin. Remember, we only need people who can talk. Everything else is of no consequence. If Li Seven can speak but can no longer walk, it will be all the more advantageous for us. Set out, my warriors! The Holy Light watches over you!"
Under his command were fifty-six men, all Westerners, each assigned a specific role and duty. Fifty went to the private room to seize Li Seven. Of the remaining six, five were responsible for protecting the bishop, while one used the hook to keep monitoring Xiao Yeci and Duan Shaoxia.
Daboynes had not been assigned any task. Equally awkward was Xiao Manli.
Mosonov did not speak to either of them. Sensing that lingering there was inappropriate, Daboynes took the initiative to ask, "I shall patrol outside the restaurant to prevent any uninvolved parties from disrupting our operation."
Mosonov nodded. "Very good. Report to me immediately the moment you have news. Manli, go with Daboy."
Daboynes and Xiao Manli left the restaurant together. Walking down the street, Daboynes lowered his voice. "Did you leak the news to Bishop Mosonov?"
Xiao Manli did not deny it. "He happened to bring men to Lüshui City. Once I learned of it, I immediately sought him out. As a member of the Light Chasing Society, this is my bounden duty."
Daboynes said, "Now I finally understand why your reputation is so wretched. You haven't the slightest grasp of credibility. Cooperating with you was the stupidest decision I've ever made!"
Xiao Manli argued, "Our opponent is a powerhouse of Puluo Province. Relying on just the two of us, it would be impossible to accomplish this task."
Daboynes sneered. "Why can't you be a little more honest? You were worried I would hoard the Red Lotus for myself. You were worried you wouldn't reap any benefits!"
Xiao Manli felt no shame. "Shouldn't I be worried? Shouldn't I receive the reward that belongs to me?"
Daboynes shook his head with a bitter laugh. "Eldest Miss Xiao, you won't get anything now. Once the item falls into the hands of those foreign devils, it won't have the slightest thing to do with us anymore."
"You call them foreign devils?" Xiao Manli was astonished. "Spider Bin, you really are a pragmatic man. Why did you join the Light Chasing Society in the first place?"
"What do you think? And why did you? For faith? For their culture? Isn't it all for profit? Thanks to your foolish actions, now we walk away with nothing!"
Xiao Manli felt a twinge of regret as well. "He is a bishop. Since he made promises, he will have to honor part of them. I imagine we can at least earn some pills."
Daboynes was not at all optimistic. "Those promises weren't made to us—they were for his own men! That bastard Mosonov never viewed us as human beings in the first place. He won't give us a damn thing..."
Mid-sentence, Daboynes cut himself off. The tiny spiders he had placed outside had sensed something.
"Since we aren't getting anything, I don't see why we should shoulder much responsibility either." Daboynes quickly slipped into an adjacent alley, and Xiao Manli hurried after him.
"What on earth happened?"
Daboynes did not answer, offering only a prayer for Mosonov: "May the Holy Light watch over him."
***
On the street leading to the Conqueror Restaurant, He Yuxiu marched forward at the head of dozens of men.
From the other side of the street, Chu Huaiyuan approached with dozens of men of her own.
The He family members all wore white short tunics, while the Chu family members wore grey Western suits.
Ma the Fifth had arrived earlier than both of them; his men were clad in black Zhongshan suits.
The owner of Conqueror Restaurant stood by the entrance, wanting to step forward and ask what was going on. Before he could speak a word, He Yuxiu grabbed him by the hair, snapped his neck, and tossed him onto the roadside.
***
In the private room, Li Seven smiled at Xiao Yeci. Xiao Yeci fidgeted uneasily, rubbing her hands together now and then. "Seventh Brother, if you don't like it here, let's leave."
Li Seven said nothing, which only heightened Xiao Yeci's anxiety.
She wasn't sure if Li Seven had understood her hints, nor was she sure whether he had made adequate preparations.
*Squish!*
Li Seven's body suddenly began to sink, plunging into the wooden floorboards.
Xiao Yeci gasped in terror and shouted, "Benefactor, run!"
A mud pool had appeared on the floor, of unknown depth and leading to who knew where. Li Seven remained in his seated posture, sinking rapidly.
A Mud Cultivator had made a move.
Xiao Yeci lunged forward to pull Li Seven out, but a Westerner burst straight through the room's wall, pinning Xiao Yeci down with sheer brute strength.
Over a dozen Westerners rushed through the doorway, swiftly severing Li Seven's hands and feet. This was the bishop's order: they only needed someone who could talk; nothing else mattered.
Another dozen or so Westerners hauled in an iron locker and stuffed Li Seven inside.
Xiao Yeci trembled all over, tears streaming incessantly.
Duan Shaoxia had told her that Li Seven would understand the situation and would certainly have a way to deal with it, yet in her wildest dreams she had never imagined such an outcome.
She struggled to rise, prepared to fight to the death, only to be held firmly to the floor by two Westerners.
In the restaurant's backyard, Bishop Mosonov was brewing tea with several of his subordinates. As he arranged the tea set, he reflected with emotion:
"Puluo Province's culture is repulsive, but their beverages are truly astonishing.
"Tea in particular—this ancient Eastern beverage—displays an elegance in its details. Take the temperature of the water, for example. Green tea like this is not suitable for boiling-hot water; otherwise, the flavor is severely ruined. The people of Puluo Province call that overcooking the heat.
"However, if the water temperature drops below eighty-five degrees, the fragrance of the tea leaves cannot be fully drawn out. Thus, the optimal temperature is between eighty-five and ninety degrees."
A subordinate asked, "Bishop, do you need a thermometer to measure the water temperature?"
Mosonov smiled and shook his head. "Of course not. What we need is judgment—judgment based on common sense.
"Much like boiling water: it hisses and makes a loud noise, but does that mean its temperature is high? Common sense tells us that the sound of water and its temperature are two entirely different things.
"By the same logic, many have told you that Puluo Province is powerful, but reputation and true capability are likewise two different things. As individuals, they may possess remarkable combat ability, but when confronted by meticulous tactics and organized teamwork, they are completely vulnerable.
"Take this widely celebrated Li Seven and the rabble under his command, for instance. No matter how resounding their reputation, their actual strength is as pathetic as street thugs.
"The entire Puluo Province is just as pathetic. Leaving such fine land to this rabble amounts to sacrilege. When the time comes, this soil will ultimately belong to us.
"Now that time draws near. Just like this kettle of water, boiled to this moment, the heat is just right. Hand me the kettle."
Li Banfeng handed the kettle to Mosonov.
Mosonov froze for a moment. Instead of taking the kettle, he looked up at Li Banfeng beside him.
Holding the kettle, Li Banfeng asked, "Do you want this water or not?"
"Who... who are you..."
"Since I already brought it over, you might as well take it." Li Banfeng dumped the entire kettle of boiling water over Mosonov's head.
Mosonov let out an ear-piercing, bloodcurdling shriek. He whipped his head around toward his six subordinates, only to discover that they were standing in place with their severed heads resting beside their feet.
Hadn't they said Li Seven's limbs were severed and he was stuffed into a locker?
The Westerners who had stormed into the private room certainly thought so. One Westerner sealed the iron locker with an incantation and instructed those outside the room, "Deliver this man to the bishop at once. Stay on high alert; he might still try to escape."
Outside the door, He Yuxiu asked, "Where is your bishop? If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to deliver him?"
The Westerner was stunned for a moment. Then he saw He Yuxiu toss in a blond, severed head.
"I asked him just now, and he said he didn't know. Do you know?"
While the group of Westerners was still in a daze, He Yuxiu picked up a porcelain plate and cleanly sliced off half the Westerner's skull.
Another Westerner charged toward He Yuxiu, only to suddenly collapse limp to the floor—he had been struck by Ma the Fifth's technique, his blood vessels rupturing from within.
Chu the Second was besieged by two Westerners. She took a small knife and carved a gash across her own face; instantly, a gash opened on the face of each Westerner.
Chu the Second's cut was less than an inch long, but the gashes on the two Westerners' faces stretched nearly half a foot, splitting open from their cheeks all the way to the back of their heads.
A nearby Westerner was scared out of his wits, his footing wobbling. Tan Fucheng pulled up a chair and said, "Don't be afraid. Have a seat first. Do you know where our young mistress is?"
The Westerner remained silent. Tan Fucheng rested a finger against the Westerner's eye socket. "Not talking? Then I'll just have to claim something nice from you."
Lu Yuanxin pulled a centipede out from the back of another Westerner's head, then helped Xiao Yeci up from the ground.
Xiao Yeci rushed toward the iron locker in tears. Pushing the door open, she saw Li Seven inside with his limbs severed.
"Benefactor! Oh, Benefactor!" Xiao Yeci wished she could bash her head against the locker and die on the spot.
He Yuxiu watched for a moment, then shoved Xiao Yeci aside. "Stop wailing! That's a cabbage!"
This was the cabbage person crafted by Li Banfeng and sculpted by his wife. Under normal circumstances, even He Yuxiu wouldn't have seen through it.
Now that it had been hacked to pieces, however, He Yuxiu spotted the flaws in its wounds.
Chu the Second wiped the bloody fluid from her face. "Where on earth did Seventh Brother go?"
***
Guided by the Qiansi earring, Li Banfeng had traced the hook in reverse, tracking it all the way to the restaurant's backyard.
The shrill screams from the backyard alerted everyone. Li Banfeng grabbed Mosonov by the hair and shoved the right side of his face against the rough wall, sprinting forward.
The abrasive surface quickly ground away the flesh of Mosonov's face, exposing bare bone. Mosonov's screams grew louder and louder. Li Banfeng reminded him, "The volume of your voice affects my mood. The louder you scream, the more suffering you'll endure."
Mosonov didn't dare make another sound. Li Banfeng asked, "Where is Lu Chunying?"
Mosonov said, "Unless you let me go, I will never tell you."
"Letting you go is a bit difficult, but I can flip you over!" Li Banfeng slammed the left side of Mosonov's face against the wall and resumed grinding.
***
At the Garrison Office, Liao Zihui was preparing to clock out when he suddenly received an urgent dispatch from Xia Shumin: "Chief Garrison Officer, disaster has struck! Bishop Mosonov of Ravsha and his retinue clashed with Li Seven and his followers at the Conqueror Restaurant. People have already died in the fighting!"
Liao Zihui said in shock, "How could such a thing happen?"
Xia Shumin said, "The cause of the incident requires further investigation. Chief Officer, if we don't stop Li Seven immediately, Mosonov and his entire party may very well be wiped out. This could trigger a severe international dispute!"
Liao Zihui sighed. "We must treat this matter with the utmost seriousness. Assemble all deputy chief officers and gather the core personnel from every department. Convene an emergency meeting at once to deliberate our response."
*What? A meeting?*
Xia Shumin wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him.
The secretary, Ling Sujun, asked, "Quite a few deputy chief officers are away on official travel. Should we consult their opinions via emergency communication equipment?"
Liao Zihui smacked his lips. "Relying on communications equipment never conveys the finer nuances thoroughly. Notify all personnel on business trips to return to the Garrison Office as soon as possible."
*What? Wait for people on business trips to return?*
Xia Shumin couldn't make head or tail of Liao Zihui's maneuver.
"Chief Officer, the clash at the restaurant is still ongoing. Shouldn't we take some emergency measures?"
Liao Zihui nodded. "Indeed, we need some emergency measures. Draft a report immediately. The wording must be rigorous. At the same time, keep track of the latest developments in the clash and submit the news to our superiors as soon as possible."
Speechless, Xia Shumin went off to write his report.
Liao Zihui opened the second drawer of his desk and pulled out a file.
"The Light Chasing Society... setting your sights on Puluo Province. I was just wondering how to deal with you, and here you go delivering yourselves to death.
"Of all people to pick, you had to pick Li Seven. This saves me a great deal of trouble."
***
Mosonov's face had been ground completely flat, leaving nothing but bare bone. He agreed to reveal Lu Chunying's whereabouts, but on the condition that he lead the way in person, and only Li Seven could accompany him.
This was clearly a trap. He Yuxiu shook her head repeatedly, gesturing for Li Seven not to go. Xiao Yeci wanted to go herself, but Duan Shaoxia stopped her.
Duan Shaoxia stepped up to Mosonov and gently caressed his skeletal cheek. "Back then, you promised you would help me find my child."
As their eyes met, a blood-red thread surfaced in Mosonov's eye.
He clutched Duan Shaoxia's hand. "Beautiful lady, as long as I live, the promise I made will certainly be fulfilled. Can you keep me alive?"
"I will definitely keep you alive. I will protect you with my very life. Tell me where Lu Chunying is, and I will trade her for your life."
Mosonov hesitated. If he were in normal condition, he might have resisted Duan Shaoxia's technique.
Right now, he was far from normal; he had only half a breath left in him.
The two stared into each other's eyes for two full minutes. Duan Shaoxia leaned down and heard Mosonov's whisper.
Duan Shaoxia straightened up. "Lu Chunying is at a residence on Anxuan Road."
Li Banfeng couldn't quite discern where Duan Shaoxia's loyalties lay, and Duan Shaoxia offered no explanation.
Tan Fucheng and Lu Yuanxin led a contingent of men to the address Duan Shaoxia provided and brought Lu Chunying back.
Lu Chunying wasn't frightened; rather, she felt guilty. "Seventh Brother, I was careless and got captured by these foreign devils."
Lu Chunying truly had been careless this time. Learning that Xiao Yeci was being threatened by Xiao Manli, Lu Chunying had originally intended to eliminate Xiao Manli, only for guards under Duan Shaoxia's command to suddenly arrive at her door, catching her off guard.
Anxious to quell the matter, Lu Chunying had taken two subordinates along to see Duan Shaoxia. Who could have known that those two guards were secretly members of the Light Chasing Society? They led Lu Chunying into an ambush, capturing her along with her men alive.
When Lu Chunying failed to return, Xiao Yeci grew frantic. She rushed to the Lu family mansion to look for Duan Shaoxia, unaware that Duan Shaoxia was already under the Light Chasing Society's surveillance and could barely protect herself.
Fortunately, Madam Duan had sharp wits. She secretly instructed Xiao Yeci to accept Xiao Manli's terms and lure Li Seven out.
Xiao Yeci had refused at first, unwilling to harm Li Seven.
Duan Shaoxia, however, possessed great confidence, believing Li Seven would have a way to handle it.
Xiao Yeci felt that even if she sought out Li Seven, she had to explain everything clearly first. Yet once she reached Xiaoyaowu, she realized she had a hook planted on her. Unable to speak openly, she could only drop hints to let Li Seven grasp the general situation.
Duan Shaoxia's judgment had proved correct: Li Seven indeed had a countermeasure, wiping out over fifty members of the Light Chasing Society in one fell swoop.
But where had Xiao Manli gone?
While the others were clearing the scene, Li Banfeng and He Yuxiu found a quiet corner and asked Xiao Yeci, "What is your relationship with Xiao Manli?"
Xiao Yeci replied, "She is my older sister."
Having said that much, Xiao Yeci hesitated to continue.
He Yuxiu said, "Sister, go on. There are no outsiders here."
Xiao Yeci kept her head down. "I don't care about myself, but I'm afraid someone will refuse to recognize Nannan's status again."
He Yuxiu laughed. "Sister, status isn't something recognized by others—it's earned by yourself! If anyone dares wag their tongue about Chunying, we'll tear their mouth open. Let's see who dares bare their fangs after that."
This was hard truth. Xiao Yeci understood it well enough, and her voice gained some confidence.
"I'm from Yesong Bridge. Back in Yesong Bridge, our Xiao family's circumstances were considered quite well-off.
"Xiao Manli was the eldest daughter of our generation. She was betrothed to the Yang family early on, just waiting for the auspicious date to marry over.
"That year, she fell gravely ill and remained bedridden in her courtyard for nearly a year. After she recovered, an extra child appeared in the household."
He Yuxiu chuckled. "You scholar-types sure talk in circles. She clearly gave birth to a child, yet you call it an illness. That child was Chunying, wasn't it?"
Xiao Yeci nodded. "The child was indeed Chunying. By then, rumors had already spread saying the eldest young master of the Lu family, Lu Dongliang, had slept with my sister. My mother was terrified the Yang family would break off the engagement, so she wanted to abandon the baby."
He Yuxiu shook her head. "I doubt they'd have dared. That was Lu Dongliang's seed. If Lu Dongliang chose not to pursue it, that would be the end of it; but if he took offense, your Xiao family would be ruined. He was ruthless and cruel—would you dare wager against that?"
Xiao Yeci shook her head. "We didn't dare wager. My father pondered it for two days, then placed the child in my room to look after for the time being. I was only eleven at the time, born of a concubine, and my mother had died young. Whatever my father told me to do, I agreed. Who could have imagined that they..."
He Yuxiu had already guessed the outcome. "They pinned the child on you."
Xiao Yeci sighed. "At first they were discreet about it. Two years later, they forced me to acknowledge the child as mine. Two years after that, my father claimed I had disgraced the family's honor and cast both me and the child out."
He Yuxiu sighed. "Your father saw the opening. He calculated that Lu Dongliang would no longer look into the matter, so he simply threw the trouble out the door."
Xiao Yeci said, "Fortunately, I knew how to read and write. By doing clerical work and copying manuscripts for others, I managed to raise Chunying. But I really am not..."
Beside them, Lu Chunying interjected, "You are my real mother. Sister Xiu is right: whoever dares talk nonsense, we'll tear their mouth open. Do it a few times and they'll shut up."
Xiao Yeci lowered her head and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "But Manli, she..."
Li Banfeng sighed. "No need to agonize over this. From what I see, this Miss Xiao Manli seems like a reasonable person. I'll find an opportunity to have a chat with her and offer a bit of persuasion. She should listen."
He Yuxiu said, "The key is, where is she right now?"
Zuo Wugang entered the room. "Seventh Master, those foreign devils are all locked in the kitchen. How should we deal with them?"
Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "Return to Xiaoyaowu and wait for me first. I'll have a brief chat with them."
The crowd departed from the Conqueror Restaurant, and Li Banfeng sent the group of Westerners straight into the companion dwelling.
"I have a few matters to discuss with you all. Let's start with the Light Chasing Society."
The Westerners kept their heads down in silence. Summoning his remaining strength, Mosonov said, "We are citizens of Ravsha. Before you harm me, you had better consider the consequences carefully.
"Release us at once and go to the Lüshui City Garrison Office to confess your crimes. There may still be room to salvage this!"
Hong Ying rose to her feet. "What nonsense is this bird-brain spouting?"
The gramophone sang out: "He's complaining that we haven't treated our guests properly! Old Teapot, is the tea prepared?"
The teapot chuckled. "The water has just come to a boil. Just right to warm our guests up!"
Chapter 488