Li Banfeng and Shen Jingye escorted the hostage out of the restaurant.
Seeing the admiration in the security officers' eyes, Li Banfeng asked, "Little Shen, how does it feel?"
With steady steps and an unruffled smile, Shen Jingye walked toward the squad of officers.
Though frantic with anxiety inside, Shen Jingye wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to put on a show.
Under the gaze of the team, Shen Jingye briefed them on the situation inside the restaurant, handed off the remaining cleanup to Chen Changrui, and urged the driver to get the car ready right away. "Director Li, let's head back to the bureau first to discuss the report."
"What's left to discuss?" Li Qi didn't quite see his point. "Everything that needed to be said has been said. Just work out the wording yourself. Don't be too subtle—make sure everyone can understand it clearly."
Shen Jingye wore a bitter look. "Director Li, we can joke about other matters, but those two things we talked about earlier are no laughing matter. You have to come back to the bureau with me! Director Li! Director Li—"
Li Banfeng had already vanished without a trace. Rubbing his temples, Shen Jingye got into the car, returned to the bureau, and set to work writing the report.
The next morning, Shen Jingye came to Li Qi's office and presented the report he had stayed up all night drafting.
Shen Jingye had penned it himself. He had no desire to submit it to Li Qi for review, but he had no choice—the stakes were far too high. If any slip-up occurred, he couldn't afford to take the blame.
Li Qi read through the report and shook his head repeatedly. "This won't do at all."
Shen Jingye grew tense. "Where's the problem?"
Li Qi said with a solemn expression, "The problem lies in your attitude."
"What's wrong with my attitude?"
"Leaving everything else aside, let's start with the font," Li Qi said, pulling out the official document formatting guidelines. "What font does our body text require? And what font did you use? How could you overlook such a serious issue?"
Shen Jingye shook his head frantically. "Director Li, never mind the font for now—this report is an absolute emergency!"
Li Qi shook his head. "Don't be in such a hurry. Next, let's look at the line spacing. Formal documents require a line spacing between twenty-eight and thirty-two points. Your page is far too dense, which is clearly a problem—"
Shen Jingye was furious, yet he didn't even dare grit his teeth. If Li Qi saw him doing so, he would only double down on correcting his attitude.
Once everything was checked and verified, Shen Jingye personally delivered the report up the chain. After reading it, Du Wenming was visibly shaken as well. "We cannot accept terms like these. Go bring the balancer here. There are matters I need to confirm with him face-to-face."
Shen Jingye hurried to phone Li Qi. "Director Li, Director Du wants to confirm a few matters with you in person."
Li Qi agreed. "Fine. Have him come over to my office."
Click!
Li Qi hung up.
Shen Jingye looked awkwardly at Du Wenming.
Du Wenming frowned. "What are you looking at me for? Call Li Qi over!"
Shen Jingye paused for a moment before saying, "Li Qi... his situation is a bit special..."
At two in the afternoon, Du Wenming and Shen Jingye arrived at Li Banfeng's office.
Shen Jingye made the introductions. Li Qi gestured toward the sofa. "Little Du, have a seat. Little Shen, pour some tea."
Shen Jingye flushed red with anger, but at a juncture like this, he couldn't afford to provoke Li Qi.
Once Shen Jingye finished pouring the tea, Du Wenming glanced at him. "Director Shen, I'd like a few words in private with Director Li."
Shen Jingye's face turned even redder.
One couldn't blame Du Wenming for looking down on him. Given the current circumstances, Shen Jingye was utterly useless here.
Before Shen Jingye stepped out, Du Wenming made a point of emphasizing, "Director Shen, our conversation must remain strictly confidential."
Shen Jingye took the hint and shut down all the surveillance equipment in Li Qi's office.
In truth, it wouldn't have mattered even if he hadn't; those devices were all friends of the projector, and they knew what they should and shouldn't listen to.
Only Du Wenming and Li Qi remained in the room. Du Wenming intended to give this man from Puluo Province a proper lesson.
"Little Li, would you like to know the history of our research into the Inner States and Puluo Province?"
Li Banfeng nodded and fetched paper and pen. He was genuinely interested in this, but had never been able to find any relevant records.
Du Wenming opened with a question: "Do you think we learned about the Inner States first, or Puluo Province?"
Li Banfeng said, "Common sense would suggest Puluo Province. After all, geographically speaking, Puluo Province is closer to the Outer States."
Du Wenming shook his head with a chuckle. "You're mistaken. Our contact with the Inner States began extremely early, whereas our contact with Puluo Province has not been long at all. To us, the Inner States are another civilization existing in the same era as ours, yet following an entirely different trajectory—a highly developed civilization. In the process of our two civilizations interacting and clashing, we discovered that there were many backward populations being enslaved and ruled. Puluo Province was one of them. In fact, the concept of Puluo Province never originally existed in this world. Under the rule of the Inner States, Puluo Province was merely patch after patch of land separated by clear boundaries. Geographically adjacent regions like Lüshui Bay and Yaowang Gully originally had no connection to each other whatsoever. It was only after we carved out passages between the boundaries that they became connected, and only then did the entirety of Puluo Province gain cohesion. Do you understand this truth?"
Li Banfeng fell silent for a moment before asking, "When did you first make contact with the Inner States?"
Du Wenming shook his head. "I cannot disclose the exact time to you. That is classified."
Li Banfeng asked again, "When did you begin making contact with Puluo Province?"
Du Wenming shook his head once more. "That is also classified."
Li Banfeng had intended to jot down some useful notes, but hearing this, he set his pen aside. "If you don't intend to tell me anything, why did you come looking for me?"
Du Wenming frowned slightly. "I am telling you that it was we who brought hope to Puluo Province, and only we can bring Puluo Province a new life. You are a clever man. You need to understand who your friends are and who your enemies are. Puluo Province can only throw off the enslavement of the Inner States by allying with the Outer States. Yet right now, you still haven't figured out where you stand. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Du Wenming gave Li Qi a meaningful look.
Li Qi looked right back at him with an earnest expression.
After staring at each other for a long while, Li Qi asked, "Are you finished?"
Du Wenming was deeply displeased by Li Qi's attitude. "Technically, I didn't need to tell you any of this. The demand to withdraw the Garrison Office is completely unrealistic; we will never agree to it. As for the Three-Headed people detained in Santoucha, I know you once settled a group of them in Qiqiu City. You likely had your eye on their formidable combat prowess, but that group poses a severe threat to us. We will not place a threat into someone else's hands. That is all I can tell you. Do you understand my point now?"
Du Wenming knew his tone had been harsh and that Li Qi might take offense, but he believed this reprimand was necessary. Li Qi had to be made to recognize reality.
Li Banfeng showed no anger. His voice remained exceptionally calm. "You're right. You truly didn't need to say any of this to me. You didn't need to say anything at all. In fact, coming to see me today was completely pointless."
Du Wenming frowned. "I told you all this because I felt there was still hope for you!"
Li Qi laughed. "Whether there's hope for me has nothing to do with you. As for how your side handles those two matters, that has nothing to do with me either. If you don't want to withdraw the Garrison Office, then don't withdraw it. Whether the Inner States go to war with you has nothing to do with me. If you don't want to provide those five thousand people, then don't provide them. How Lühuazi chooses to handle it has nothing to do with me either. I have fulfilled my duty as a balancer. Everything else is your own affair. That's all I have to say. You don't strike me as a particularly clever man, but surely you can grasp a truth this simple?"
Du Wenming gripped his teacup tightly, saying nothing for nearly a minute.
Li Qi kept smiling, simply watching him.
"You're right. None of this concerns you, and talking to you about it was indeed pointless," Du Wenming said, looking at Li Qi as he spoke slowly. "Your concept of power is still not clear enough. When you finally understand, I hope it won't be too late."
With that, Du Wenming rose and left Li Qi's office.
Li Qi took a sip of tea and went back to browsing through the Dark Star Bureau's files.
Shen Jingye was still waiting in the corridor. When he saw Du Wenming emerge, he hurried over.
"Director Du, how did the communication go?"
Du Wenming looked at Shen Jingye and smiled faintly. "Director Shen, it must really be hard on you."
Shen Jingye didn't quite understand. What did he mean, hard on me?
Director Du left. Clearly, the discussion hadn't gone well at all.
To be honest, Shen Jingye didn't care much about the outcome of their talk.
He had reported what needed reporting and arranged the meeting that needed arranging. The matter no longer had anything to do with him.
Shen Jingye hummed a little tune as he returned to his office. Li Qi opened his door and glanced at him, slightly disappointed.
Little Shen, you're getting complacent. I need to find you something to do.
Tangyuan brought over a meeting notice: next Wednesday, the Dark Star Bureau would hold an important conference, and Director Du would be in attendance.
Looking at the notice, Li Qi smiled. "Little Shen, your trouble is here."
That evening, Zhong'er, Tangyuan, and Lightbulb insisted on treating Li Qi to dinner. Li Qi took them out for instant-boiled mutton.
Ever since childhood, Li Banfeng had possessed an obsession with hot pot—the copper vessel with its little central chimney was bound to hold the most delicious food in the world.
Yet to the Li Banfeng of those years, such a delicacy could exist only in his imagination.
Over dinner, the three asked about what had happened that night.
Li Banfeng hesitated over whether to tell them.
Given their current strength, knowing too much would do them no good.
Yet if they knew nothing at all, he worried for their future safety.
"If you receive any missions in the future, be sure to inform me in advance—even if it's a classified operation." That was the only advice Li Banfeng could give them for now.
But Zhong'er raised a pivotal question: "Director Li, will you stay at the Dark Star Bureau forever?"
This little brother always cut straight to the bone.
Seeing Li Banfeng say nothing, Lightbulb hurriedly changed the subject. "If you ask me, we might as well follow Director Li to Puluo Province down the road. I genuinely like Puluo Province."
Tangyuan bit her lip, remaining silent.
Li Banfeng chuckled. "You still want to go to Puluo Province? Haven't you had enough hardship yet?"
Lightbulb grinned. "With Seventh Master looking out for us, how could I suffer?"
Zhong'er said, "Whether Director Li is willing to look after me or not, I must go see Puluo Province for myself, or I'll regret it for the rest of my life."
Li Banfeng was quiet for a moment. He picked up the strainer spoon and scooped a generous portion of meat into Zhong'er's bowl. "Eat first."
Upon returning to his residence, Li Banfeng went up to the second-floor bedroom and opened an urn.
This urn was specially used to hold ghost servants, and inside was Xi Zhaofu.
"Seventh Master, what are your orders?" Xi Zhaofu kept his head bowed, extremely nervous.
Li Qi asked, "How much of your technique do you still have left?"
Xi Zhaofu was a departed soul; compared to when he was alive, his techniques were bound to have deteriorated. In front of Li Qi, he didn't dare hide anything and honestly explained his condition:
"Master, as for how much of my technique remains, I can't put an exact number on it. If we're talking about my skills, it depends on whether I'm impersonating a type of person or a specific individual. If you have me impersonate a general category—say, a farmer, a laborer, a shopkeeper, a street vendor, a highwayman, a beggar, or an underground prostitute—I guarantee not a single flaw will show. But if you want me to impersonate a specific person, I daren't boast. As long as I don't run into someone who knows them well, I can manage sixty to seventy percent of their likeness."
He was speaking candidly; impersonating an entire class of people was far easier than replicating a single individual.
Li Banfeng nodded. "Then I found the right person. First, I need you to impersonate a type of person, and then a specific individual. Sixty to seventy percent is a bit subpar, but fortunately, the one I want you to imitate has no acquaintances in the Outer States."
Xi Zhaofu asked, "Have I seen the person you're referring to?"
Li Banfeng brought out the projector and played a clip. "If I have you disguise yourself as him, how difficult will it be?"
Xi Zhaofu took one look and was instantly terrified out of his wits. "That's... Lühuazi?! I... I wouldn't dare impersonate him!"
"What are you afraid of?"
Xi Zhaofu trembled all over. "Who is Lühuazi? If he ever finds out, he'll scatter my soul to the winds!"
Li Qi offered a word of reassurance. "Don't worry, Lühuazi is a friend of mine. I've already discussed this with him, and he agreed."
Not daring to defy Li Banfeng, Xi Zhaofu studied several key frames carefully, then used his Opera Cultivator techniques to transform into Lühuazi's likeness.
In truth, Lühuazi was not difficult to imitate because his features were exceptionally distinct. As long as one captured those key characteristics, the essential elements of his appearance fell into place.
Yet Xi Zhaofu's abilities were indeed not what they used to be. At first glance, he looked quite convincing, but under close inspection, many details fell short.
Li Banfeng brought over the pendulum's makeup kit and touched up Xi Zhaofu's appearance bit by bit.
This was something the pendulum should have done, but it was currently being reforged. Fortunately, after practicing his painting skills for so long, Li Banfeng had mastered plenty of relevant techniques.
Working late into the night, Li Banfeng had the projector run a comparison.
When it came to visual portrayals, the projector had always been fastidious. After comparing them for ten minutes or so, the projector said, "For a body double, I wouldn't call this performance flawless, but it qualifies as excellent."
Excellent was good enough; perfection was rare in this world anyway.
Li Banfeng produced two grayish-white medicinal pills and placed them into Xi Zhaofu's hands. "You must use these two pills with extreme caution. I'll map out a route for you. Starting tomorrow, we'll rehearse repeatedly. Nothing must go wrong."
A week went by. The higher-ups made no mention of withdrawing the Garrison Office, nor did they bring up the matter of the five thousand people. They were clearly trying to stall and drag things out.
If they didn't bring it up, Li Banfeng didn't press them.
The Dark Star Bureau held a meeting chaired by Shen Jingye, and Du Wenming attended as well.
The conference lasted all the way until seven in the evening. In a rare display, Li Qi didn't cause any trouble during the proceedings.
Not only did he not cause trouble, Li Banfeng even accompanied Shen Jingye to see Du Wenming off to his car.
After seeing Du Wenming off and returning to his office, Li Qi phoned Shen Jingye. "Little Shen, I'd like to treat you to dinner tonight. Would you do me the honor?"
Li Qi never forced anyone. If Shen Jingye agreed, they would dine together; if he refused, Li Qi would simply go to his office, tie him up, and then dine together.
Shen Jingye agreed.
It was rare for Li Qi to extend an olive branch. Though Shen Jingye couldn't be certain whether Li Qi had an ulterior motive, even if he did, it was just a meal—it shouldn't cause too much trouble.
They didn't go far, settling on a nearby restaurant. The meal wasn't extravagant; they booked a private room, ordered a few dishes, and chatted about work as they ate.
Whenever Shen Jingye dealt with Li Qi, his heart remained suspended in his throat. Especially given what had happened with Lühuazi earlier—he was the one who had set Li Qi up, after all, so there was bound to be lingering resentment.
Yet during dinner, Li Qi never brought up the matter. He spoke only of mundane workplace details. As conversation flowed back and forth, both gradually relaxed, and Shen Jingye even began recounting some of his experiences in Puluo Province.
"Back when I went to Puluo Province, conditions weren't nearly as nice as what Tangyuan and the others have now. The Garrison Office sent us out directly to work without letting us reveal our identities. As a result, after barely two days, I offended people from the Qingyun Society. At that time, I—"
Just as he was speaking with great enthusiasm, Shen Jingye's phone rang. It was Du Wenming.
Shen Jingye composed himself before answering. "Director Du, you're looking for me?... You're saying something happened on your end? You want to speak with Director Li? Director Li is right here with me. Director Du, don't panic, I'll put Director Li on the line!"
Du Wenming was trapped inside his office building.
Not only could he not leave, no one in the entire building could get out.
Du Wenming had attended the meeting at the Dark Star Bureau, and on the drive back, a traffic officer signaled for the driver to pull over.
The driver was annoyed. He had driven strictly according to the rules, without a single infraction the entire way. What was the meaning of pulling them over now?
Du Wenming cautioned the driver, "Don't throw a temper. Cooperate properly with their work."
The driver pressed the button to roll down the window. As the glass slid down, the appearance of the traffic officer standing outside suddenly shifted.
The uniform was gone, replaced by tattered rags.
The ticket book in his hand vanished, replaced by an alms bowl.
In the blink of an eye, the figure outside the window turned into a beggar—his face covered in giant sores oozing green pus, wearing a faint smile as though begging for alms.
The driver gasped, "Who are you?!"
The traffic officer outside froze. "What do you mean?"
The driver looked closely. Outside was still the traffic officer, unchanged.
Had he seen wrong? Was it an optical illusion?
The driver sat dazed for a good while. The traffic officer asked a few simple questions, then waved them on.
Along the way, the driver didn't dare say much, assuming his eyes had played tricks on him.
Du Wenming asked, "That person just now seemed a bit off."
Hearing this, the driver blurted out, "He seemed to suddenly turn into a beggar, with suppurating sores all over his face!"
Du Wenming was shocked and immediately ordered the driver to turn around and track down that officer.
Yet when they returned to the intersection, the person was long gone.
Back at the office building, Du Wenming began running a fever. His subordinates also came down with fevers, and the driver broke out in a rash.
This was a major incident, a matter of life and death.
Du Wenming immediately phoned Kang Zhenchang. After arriving, Kang Zhenchang conducted an initial diagnosis and instructed Du Wenming to lock down the building at once, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving without authorization.
"This is a contagion caused by Lühuazi. As for the severity of the infection, further tests are required."
"Doctor Kang, please verify this carefully."
Kang Zhenchang said, "The source of the pathology is confirmed; it is indeed Lühuazi. I dealt with him in Puluo Province for a long time, and there is no way I could mistake his contagion. What you need to do right now is rest in bed, report the incident to the higher-ups immediately, and execute emergency containment so the pathogen doesn't spread."
Report it?
How could he report it?
Too many aspects of the entire incident remained unclear.
Du Wenming immediately called Li Qi, but the call wouldn't go through.
This surely had something to do with Li Qi. That punk was hiding!
He then called Shen Jingye, only to discover that Li Qi was having dinner with Shen Jingye.
Taking the receiver, Li Qi was very polite. "Little Du, looking for me?"
Du Wenming hardly knew where to begin. "Director Li, something has happened on my end. I hope you will cooperate with our investigation."
Du Wenming recounted what had happened.
Li Qi chuckled. Things had reached this point, and the man was still talking about "cooperation."
"Little Du, I can't cooperate with you on this. We made everything crystal clear earlier: your side handles this yourselves. It has nothing to do with me."
With that, Li Qi handed the phone back to Shen Jingye.
Over the line, Du Wenming asked, "Director Shen, what time did you and Li Qi go to the restaurant?"
Shen Jingye replied, "We came right after the meeting adjourned, around seven-twenty. Nothing special, just a simple meal, paid out of our own pockets."
Du Wenming compared the timelines. He had encountered Lühuazi at seven-fifty.
Could this truly have nothing to do with Li Qi?
Impossible. To some degree, it definitely had to involve him.
"Director Shen, keep Li Qi's emotions steady first, and strengthen communication with him as much as possible. Lühuazi has appeared in Yuezhou once again. You must get the full story out of him!"
"Understood." Shen Jingye hung up the phone and fell silent for a moment.
Li Qi asked, "You were just saying you offended the Qingyun Society back then. You haven't finished the story."
"Right, that..." Shen Jingye recalled. "Do you know Han Yaomen, the chief of the Qingyun Society?"
"I do," Li Qi nodded. "He's a ruthless one."
"He truly is vicious!" Shen Jingye agreed. "It was an honest mistake on my part back then, but who knew Han Yaomen would latch on and refuse to let go, insisting on tearing off one of my arms? In the end, having no choice, I revealed my identity, and only then did the matter cool down. In the meantime, I suffered quite a bit!"
Li Qi nodded. "Han Yaomen is definitely capable of that. The Qingyun Society really does play rough!"
Shen Jingye kept chatting along that tangent until the meal ended, never once mentioning what Du Wenming had instructed him to ask.
Li Qi had already explained the cause and effect clearly before: Lühuazi wanted five thousand people delivered within five days.
Now five days had passed, the people hadn't been delivered, and an incident had occurred. What was left to ask?
Du Wenming casually told him to "get the full story," and he was just supposed to do that?
Did he think Li Qi was easy to talk to?
Shen Jingye knew his station and understood his duty. Once dinner was over, they parted ways for home. Until he received more explicit orders, he wouldn't take any action.
At noon the following day, Shen Jingye received an official document. After reviewing it, he immediately relayed its contents to Li Qi: "The five thousand people—the higher-ups agreed. Withdrawing the Garrison Office from Qishuiyao—the higher-ups agreed to that as well."
Li Qi paused. "That fast?"
He was genuinely a little surprised. He hadn't expected the Qishuiyao matter to be resolved in one fell swoop.
Shen Jingye said, "The superiors hope we will contact Lühuazi as soon as possible to explain the situation. Transferring personnel takes time, so they want him not to take radical measures. Furthermore, they hope you will head to Santoucha as soon as possible to deliver the people to Lüshui City. The matter is urgent, so we really must trouble you to make the trip."
Li Qi's expression turned solemn. "This is an inescapable responsibility for a balancer. Go have your people make the proper preparations."
At the He family estate, He Yuxiu was listening to the bookkeeper, Sheng Shanzhou, report the accounts.
Mother Liu had already laid out the bedding for He Yuxiu. Once the accounting report was over, He Yuxiu would drop off to sleep immediately, guaranteed not to suffer insomnia.
After slogging through it for over half an hour, Sheng Shanzhou finally finished reciting. Drowsily, He Yuxiu headed upstairs. She had just crawled into bed when she suddenly heard a sound at the window.
Who is this? Daring to sneak into my room in the dead of night?
Is it that little bastard He Jiaqing again?
He Yuxiu snatched the candlestick from beside the bed and swung it in a strike. After exchanging a couple of blows, she failed to hit her opponent, only to hear the other person shout, "What nerve! Even daring to hit me—do we have no family rules anymore?!"
"Old Seven?" Recognizing the voice, He Yuxiu was utterly astonished.
"When no one else is around, call me Seventh Brother!" Li Qi struck a match and lit the candle.
Seeing Li Qi covered in mud and water, He Yuxiu quickly brought a towel. "Seventh Brother, hurry and dry off. I'll have someone find you a change of clothes."
"No rush for clothes. Have someone get some food, and don't tell anyone I'm here." Li Banfeng had run all the way from the newland, not even having had time to eat.
He Yuxiu told Mother Liu to prepare a late-night snack. Mother Liu asked curiously, "Eldest Miss, didn't you just go to bed?"
He Yuxiu said impatiently, "Stop asking questions! I'm hungry again. Hurry up and prepare it."
Mother Liu prepared a plate of sausage, a plate of roast chicken, a plate of mutton, and a plate of greens. He Yuxiu carried them into the room herself.
Eating as he spoke, Li Qi asked, "Xiur, let me ask you something. What tier is your cultivation really at?"
He Yuxiu gave an innocent grin. "Seventh Brother, as for that, anyone familiar with me knows: I'm an eighth-tier Martial Cultivator."
Li Qi laughed. "Would an eighth-tier Martial Cultivator strike that ruthlessly?"
He Yuxiu felt a little embarrassed. "Wasn't I startled by you just now? In the heat of the moment, I didn't hold back..."
"Really eighth-tier?"
"Would I lie to you?"
"You really didn't lie to me?" Li Qi drew out a feather duster.
He Yuxiu flinched, waving her hands repeatedly. "Don't, Seventh Brother, let's talk this out! Over these years, I haven't neglected my cultivation either. If we're talking about the eighth tier... maybe it's a bit beyond that."
"You certainly know how to be modest," Li Qi scoffed. "You reached the ninth tier long ago, didn't you?"
He Yuxiu lowered her voice. "Word of this can't get out. I don't want to be targeted by the Inner States."
In Puluo Province, once word leaked that a cultivator had reached the ninth tier, they were easily targeted by the Inner States.
Li Banfeng urged her earnestly, "Xiur, it's only a matter of time before they set their sights on you. Hiding like this won't solve anything."
He Yuxiu's eyes lit up. "Do you have a better idea?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "Xiur, do you want to become a local spirit?"
He Yuxiu thought for a moment. "If it means going to the Inner States to be a slave or servant, I can't do that. I'm not cut out for it."
"What if you didn't have to go to the Inner States?"
He Yuxiu looked pleasantly surprised. "There's such a good thing?"
Li Banfeng smiled. "See? That's why they say Seventh Brother dotes on you. A windfall like this really did fall into your lap."
Chapter 527