Guan Huodong thought he had gravely wounded Li Banfeng, but in fact the one that fell to the ground was a shadow; the real Li Banfeng had already circled behind him.
Had it been anyone else in this place today, once Li Banfeng got behind them, they could only wait for death.
Yet Guan Huodong was special. His cultivation pathway was unique, and he was extraordinarily familiar with this terrain. He knew Li Banfeng's position, and could also anticipate his intent.
Li Qi was behind him, roughly a meter away, holding a gold coin in his hand—this was likely Li Qi's weapon.
Guan Huodong had followed the Boss for a long time and knew a great deal. In particular, as a Scrying Cultivator, he had seen what the marks looked like.
He knew the mark within his own body was a copper coin, and he knew that the token inside him was very similar in shape to a copper coin.
So where did this gold coin in Li Qi's hand come from?
No need to overthink it; this thing was almost certainly a token.
Li Qi held the token in his hand, and Guan Huodong had the mark in his body. This laid the situation bare: Li Qi held Guan Huodong's life in his grip.
Guan Huodong did not panic. He sidestepped behind a fisherman, using the fisherman to block Li Qi's line of sight.
For the token to take effect, one's gaze had to remain fixed upon the target. This was the fundamental condition for manipulating a token: only when the gaze was sufficiently focused and the token could sense it could the mark be used to inflict severe harm upon the target.
This was Guan Huodong's judgment of the tactical situation, and it also reflected the disparity in their experience. Guan Huodong had roamed the Underground City for decades—
Pfft!
Li Banfeng touched Gold Coin lightly, and Guan Huodong coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The mark moved?
This sensation was all too familiar. Guan Huodong had once suffered the Boss's punishment; the instant the mark stirred, a heart-tearing, lung-splitting agony struck. It was this exact feeling!
His line of sight had been blocked, and Li Qi did not meet the conditions for controlling the gold coin—how could he still manipulate the token?
There was one thing he didn't know: the token in Li Banfeng's hand was different. Under Li Banfeng's training, Gold Coin only cared about doing the job, not following the rules. Whomever it was told to strike, it struck, paying no heed to prerequisites whatsoever.
Caught between the two, the fisherman jumped in fright and looked back at Guan Huodong.
He didn't know this man, only sensing that someone had spat something against his back.
"What did you just spit all over me?" The fisherman felt a warm wetness on his back.
Guan Huodong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled. "Nothing. Just saw how handsome you are and wanted to give you a little treat."
The fisherman felt disgusted and hurried away into the distance. Step by step, unhurriedly, Guan Huodong boarded a fishing boat, putting distance between himself and Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng's Gold Coin lost resonance with the copper coin inside Guan Huodong's body. Guan Huodong stood on the fishing boat, waiting for Li Banfeng to give chase.
Tan Jinxiao lowered his voice. "Seventh Master, be extra careful. He's skilled with traps."
Li Banfeng was in no rush to pursue. He sensed danger; Tan Jinxiao was right, there truly were traps around this fishing boat.
Guan Huodong was on the boat, and Li Banfeng was below. After staring at each other for a moment, the boat owner approached from the distance. Taking in Li Banfeng's attire, he asked, "Boss, need a boat?"
Tan Jinxiao told the boat owner, "Step aside and keep your distance!"
The boat owner took offense. "This is my boat! Why should I steer clear?"
Li Banfeng took out two banknotes. "I do need a boat. Here's a deposit first."
Taking the cash, the boat owner's anger turned to delight. "Hold on a moment, boss, let me tidy the boat up first!"
The boat owner climbed back aboard and looked at Guan Huodong. "My boat's been hired by that gentleman over there. If you want a boat, find someone else."
Guan Huodong chuckled. "I want to charter your boat too, and I'll pay higher. Charter it to me instead!"
The boat owner waved his hand. "No can do. I've already taken his deposit. That's not how business is done."
While the two were talking, Li Banfeng's figure suddenly vanished.
Guan Huodong nodded to the boat owner. "Fine, I'll find another."
He hopped off the boat and gave chase. A Scrying Cultivator's footsteps were not slow; by Li Banfeng's observation, Guan Huodong was even a bit faster than a Martial Cultivator above the clouds.
Though faster than a Martial Cultivator, he still could not compare to a Travel Cultivator. Li Banfeng quickly opened up the distance between them, yet Viewing Flowers from Horseback did not take effect; he never broke free of Guan Huodong's gaze.
This was Guan Huodong's territory, filled everywhere with his hooks. So long as Li Banfeng remained in the Sea Market, Guan Huodong knew his whereabouts at every moment.
Li Banfeng stopped running and turned back to walk toward Guan Huodong.
Guan Huodong turned and waded into the sea, bending down to pull up half a fishing net.
If Li Qi approached, Guan Huodong would catch him with the net, beneath which lay hidden mechanisms.
If Li Qi did not approach, Guan Huodong would keep tracking his position, waiting for an opportunity to launch an ambush.
Li Banfeng stood by the shore, neither stepping into the water nor walking away. He tilted the brim of his hat and gazed at Guan Huodong.
Beside them, Tan Jinxiao cleared his throat, preparing to spit phlegm.
Guan Huodong grew slightly nervous. Two against one, he would surely lose his life.
Li Banfeng signaled Tan Jinxiao to hold back for now.
Tan Jinxiao lowered his voice. "Seventh Master, now is no time to play by the rules of honor. This is Guan Huodong's domain, and his methods are everywhere. In this place, you might not be able to see him, but he can definitely see you. You can't ambush him, while he can ambush you at will. A Scrying Cultivator's physique is quite tough as well. Relying on you alone, I'm afraid you might not beat him."
Li Banfeng didn't want Tan Jinxiao to step in not because he insisted on dueling Guan Huodong one-on-one, but because he didn't want to cause too big a commotion.
Watching from a distance, Xiao Yeci wondered, "What is Benefactor doing? Why does he keep staring at that fisherman?"
Liangcai said affectionately, "He stares at the fisherman because deep in his heart, there lies a longing for fish."
Liangwu thought for a moment and said, "You mean he wants to buy fish? I remember Seventh Master dislikes eating fish."
This battle was truly bizarre. The beach was bustling, crowded with people everywhere, yet aside from Tan Jinxiao, not a soul could tell that these two were engaged in a fight to the death.
Guan Huodong saw through Li Banfeng's thoughts: Li Banfeng did not want to disturb the fishermen and farmers present, especially the farmers, for whom the soil exchange was a vital affair determining their entire year's harvest, and absolutely could not be disrupted.
Guan Huodong took advantage of precisely this, unhurriedly maneuvering and playing cat-and-mouse with Li Banfeng.
A boatman called out to Guan Huodong, "Hey fisherman, pull your net in! You can't cast nets here; don't go tangling up my boat!"
Guan Huodong chuckled and looked at the boatman. "Aren't I just about to pull it in?"
In the blink of an eye, Li Banfeng was gone again.
Guan Huodong didn't panic at all; he knew Li Banfeng was right above his head.
This was the Scrying Cultivator technique: Illuminating the Obscure and Discerning the Minute.
Li Banfeng had left the ground and was flying along the cavern ceiling. He cast the faintest trace of a shadow upon the water's surface, but even that minute trace could not escape Guan Huodong's eyes.
Guan Huodong made no sign, biding his time until Li Banfeng flew directly overhead.
Once overhead, Li Banfeng touched Gold Coin in his hand, preparing to trigger the mark inside Guan Huodong.
Guan Huodong moved a step ahead, ducking into the seawater and putting distance between himself and Li Banfeng once more.
He always acted a step ahead—did he possess a means of peering into someone's heart?
Li Banfeng's deduction was spot-on. During his first visit to Miaosheng Gramophone Shop, Ling Miaosheng had heard the song in Li Qi's heart.
This was the Scrying Cultivator technique: Discerning the Inner from the Outer. Guan Huodong could grasp Li Banfeng's thoughts to a certain extent.
Just as Li Banfeng was contemplating whether to continue fighting in the water or temporarily retreat to the shore, Guan Huodong seized the chance to yank the fishing net from the water and cast it into the air, ensnaring Li Banfeng directly and dragging him, net and all, down into the water.
A nearby fisherman called out, "What are you netting there?"
"A bat!" Guan Huodong laughed. "There was a huge bat in the cavern just now!"
The fisherman grew excited too. "How big a bat? Did it hit a hundred jin? How come I didn't see it earlier!"
Bats were considered rare treasures in the Sea Market of the Underground City. The bigger the size, the finer the quality; if one caught a bat weighing over a hundred jin and fetched a good price for it, one wouldn't need to put out to sea for years without worrying about food or drink.
Guan Huodong looked at the water and smiled. "Let me haul it up and see. It should be around a hundred jin."
Beside him, Li Banfeng said, "I reckon not. Looks like your net came up empty!"
Guan Huodong froze. The fishing net had clearly trapped him just now—how had he managed to break free again?
Anyone else would have thought the Travel Cultivator was simply fast, and the net really had missed.
But what kind of eyesight did Guan Huodong possess? Li Banfeng had entered the net; he had seen it with absolute clarity. When dragging him into the water, he could even clearly see Li Banfeng's features. Guan Huodong genuinely could not fathom how Li Banfeng had slipped out of the net.
Now the situation was perilous; Li Banfeng was standing very close to him.
Guan Huodong shouted, "Seems it really slipped the net! I'm going in after it!"
With that, Guan Huodong dived straight into the water.
"I'll go take a look too!" Li Banfeng followed him into the water, pursuing closely behind.
The boatman stood dazed for a moment, also wanting to dive in and take a look, when suddenly someone shouted, "Pack up your gear, board the boat!"
Reluctantly, the boatman walked toward his boat, glancing back once more only to find the seawater tinged with red.
Was that bat wounded?
The one wounded wasn't a bat, but Guan Huodong. Li Banfeng flicked Gold Coin, and Guan Huodong spat up another mouthful of blood.
Fleeing like this was certainly no solution. Guan Huodong led Li Banfeng toward a patch of reefs, beneath which lay a tangle of fishing lines and hooks.
Guan Huodong waited beside the reef, waiting for Li Banfeng to take the bait.
Naturally, such traps posed no challenge to Li Banfeng. Using Sever the Path to Forge a Way, he swept the fishing lines and hooks to both flanks.
The traps around the reef were not limited to these; around Guan Huodong was another formation array. The moment Li Banfeng stepped into it, a whirlpool would drag him straight down to the seabed.
Just a single step away from the array, Li Banfeng halted.
A terrible premonition crept over Guan Huodong.
Li Banfeng rubbed Gold Coin in his hand, and Guan Huodong threw up another mouthful of blood.
The whole trouble lay in this damned gold coin.
Forced to abandon the reef, Guan Huodong swam to the surface. Li Banfeng pursued unhurriedly, keeping his distance and never closing in too tight.
Ahead on the sandbar lay a pitfall trap. Guan Huodong stood beside the pit, but Li Banfeng refused to step into it and merely kept rubbing Gold Coin.
Enduring the excruciating pain, Guan Huodong's footing turned unsteady. He led Li Banfeng aboard a derelict old ship.
This vessel was quite large, its deck broad and spacious.
Guan Huodong stood at the bow, his right hand behind his back, lightly pinching a section of mooring rope.
There was clearly a mechanism hidden within that rope; Li Banfeng wouldn't approach recklessly. Standing on the deck, he touched Gold Coin once again.
Clutching his chest, Guan Huodong sprayed another mouthful of blood across the deck.
Blood seeped down through the cracks between the wooden planks. Guan Huodong neither fled nor hid, simply standing right in front of Li Banfeng.
Had he given up in despair?
No!
Li Banfeng sensed mortal peril incoming. With a loud crack, the deck beneath his feet abruptly shattered.
He had thought the trap lay in the rope, but now it seemed the rope was merely a feint; the real trap was beneath Li Banfeng's feet.
Beneath Li Banfeng lay a formation array, one triggered by Guan Huodong's blood.
Li Banfeng possessed the skill Riding the Wind and Charioting the Clouds; even if the deck gave way, logically he should have been able to take flight.
Yet after struggling for a moment, Li Banfeng still plunged below the deck. Looking down, he saw a human face beneath him—bald-headed, red-eyed, its cavernous maw agape—which swallowed Li Banfeng whole in a single gulp.
This was a Food Cultivator formation array: Devouring the Eight Desolations.
Guan Huodong rarely deployed this array, because resetting it cost an immense price.
Now Li Qi had been devoured by the array, and he certainly wouldn't break free anytime soon, yet Guan Huodong's heart remained suspended in anxiety.
At the very instant Li Banfeng fell beneath the deck, Guan Huodong noticed something.
Li Banfeng the man had fallen in, but the shadow didn't seem to have fallen with him.
Had his eyes played tricks on him?
For a Scrying Cultivator to say his eyes played tricks was like a Martial Cultivator claiming he didn't know how to wield a blade. Li Qi's shadow had definitely altered just now.
The several times Li Qi had fallen into traps and still managed to escape smoothly must also have been related to that shadow.
Mid-thought, Li Qi suddenly flew up from beside the ship's gunwale.
Scrying Cultivators were truly difficult adversaries; they were impervious to sneak attacks and always managed to seize the initiative.
On high alert, Guan Huodong first identified Li Banfeng's position, then deduced his intent, yanking the rope in his hand a step ahead.
The rope had not been a feint after all.
A gale whipped up at the bow, turning into three razor blades that slashed toward Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng used his Carefree and Unfettered skill to shift his vital points, dodging two of the blades. One blade proved impossible to evade and severed Li Banfeng's right hand.
Overjoyed, Guan Huodong leaped forward, scooped up Li Banfeng's severed hand, and snatched Gold Coin from it.
This Gold Coin had been Guan Huodong's tormentor, and now it was finally in his grasp. With this gold coin...
Wait, this wasn't Gold Coin. This was a silver dollar!
The hand was wrong too—why was it so pitch-black?
This was the shadow's hand?!
Li Banfeng flew from the gunwale onto the deck, a one-handed shadow standing beside him.
The shadow rolled its shoulder, and the severed arm slowly grew back out, only slightly faded in color.
Guan Huodong paled in terror. He finally realized just how vast the gulf between them truly was.
He hurled away the severed hand and the silver dollar, turning to flee for his life.
The severed arm grew four limbs and a head, transforming into a foot-tall miniature Li Banfeng, and kicked Guan Huodong viciously!
Bang!
Guan Huodong's sternum shattered, and he collapsed to the deck.
Though little more than a foot tall, this miniature Banfeng's Treading Ten Thousand Rivers kick packed tremendous force.
Guan Huodong looked around. There were still several traps on this vessel, including a Fire Cultivator trap right beside the cabin.
Did he still have the strength to trigger it?
Hard!
Guan Huodong was too heavily injured.
No matter how hard, he had to try once. He couldn't just wait here to die. As long as he acted quickly enough, there was still—
Whoosh!
The silver dollar slashed across Guan Huodong's throat.
Ordinarily, given Guan Huodong's level of cultivation, a silver dollar wouldn't have been able to slice through his neck.
Yet Guan Huodong was far too badly wounded. Half his neck was severed, leaving only a few sinews dangling his head so that it flopped against his chest.
Li Banfeng stepped onto the deck and had just propped Guan Huodong up when he heard an old boatman shout from below: "Hey boss, don't go on that ship! This old vessel is haunted, taken plenty of lives!"
"Thanks for the warning! My friend had too much to drink and went wandering around blindly. I'm bringing him down right now." Supporting Guan Huodong, Li Banfeng disembarked, while the clock pendulum quickly sucked up the blood on Guan Huodong so nothing looked amiss.
After exchanging a few casual words with the old boatman, Li Banfeng found an out-of-the-way corner and sent Guan Huodong into the companion dwelling.
Entering the companion dwelling alongside Guan Huodong were the various artifacts. While the soul lingered, the gramophone hurried to have her meal, while the projector kept adjusting its camera angle beside them.
The gramophone was displeased. "I'm having my meal here, what are you filming? Does this household have no rules anymore?"
The projector explained, "Madam, I am not filming you, I am filming this man. Director Seven said this person still has a use."
The gramophone didn't finish off the soul completely, leaving some for the clock pendulum. "Sister, come over and eat."
This was a soul from above the clouds, a genuinely fine thing, vastly superior to Zhu Yugui's from before.
The clock pendulum felt a bit ashamed, but the gramophone smiled. "Hurry and eat. We're all family here; your elder sister genuinely treats you well."
Having captured several angles, the projector turned and went to the Fifth Room.
A wilderness appeared upon the wall, and the Fifth Room maiden, holding a bouquet of fresh flowers, walked up to the projector.
"Beautiful maiden, I need your help." On the opposite wall, the projector displayed an image—a recording of the life-and-death clash between Li Banfeng and Guan Huodong. Because both moved at blistering speeds, the projector had been panning to keep up, leaving the footage somewhat shaky.
The Fifth Room maiden produced a notebook, meticulously recording Guan Huodong's physical characteristics. After watching the entire fight, the Fifth Room maiden and the projector used the footage to reconstruct the nuances of Guan Huodong's movements.
After ten-odd minutes, the projector's lens flickered. Under a dazzling halo of light, the lines of a man's body were gradually traced into shape.
First the outline, next the shading, and finally the colors.
Standing by the doorway, the clock pendulum peered into the room with curiosity. "Madam, why is he going to all this trouble?"
In the pendulum's impression, the projector could effortlessly produce a person's image in the blink of an eye.
Yet right now, he was as though painting an exquisite oil painting, every stroke executed with immense caution.
The clock pendulum was versed in Western painting techniques, so she knew how exceedingly difficult such an oil painting was. From the side, the gramophone chimed in, "Watch carefully. That is no painting—that is real."
"Real?" The pendulum froze for a moment, then understood what the gramophone meant.
What the projector was drawing was indeed no flat picture on a canvas; he was drawing a human being, a flesh-and-blood person of startling realism.
The gramophone said, "I told you before: the projector's cultivation pathway is inscrutable. He can make newspapers, he can make flower vases, and they are all real. And now, he can make a living person."
This person's appearance, build, and attire were identical in every detail to Guan Huodong's.
What happened next was even more incredible: the projector's halo shone upon this "Guan Huodong," and "Guan Huodong's" legs began to move slowly.
The real Guan Huodong was lying in the Main Room, while the family members were having their meal.
The Guan Huodong created by the projector was already able to move.
Even the red lotus drifted over to the door of the Fifth Room, quietly observing the projector's technique.
The projector's craftsmanship fell far short of the red lotus's; in her eyes, this Guan Huodong had countless flaws.
Yet the projector's technique still astonished her.
After several attempts, "Guan Huodong" finally took a step forward.
The gramophone cheered for the projector.
Yet the Fifth Room maiden was still not quite satisfied. "His movements are too stiff. He needs more polishing."
The clock pendulum felt even more regretful. Had she known earlier that the projector possessed such ability, she never would have gone to the red lotus for this.
The gramophone grazed the pendulum's cheek with her stylus. "If anything comes up in the future, try not to turn to outsiders."
……
Li Banfeng slipped into the hold of the old ship and, after a great deal of effort, rescued Banfeng Three from the formation array.
Because it was a Food Cultivator array, Banfeng Three was covered in gastric acid. Feeling thoroughly disgusted, he went to the water's edge and washed himself for a long time.
Then there was Banfeng Two in the net, who had been soaked in seawater all this time. After climbing out of the net, Banfeng Two shivered in the cold wind for quite a while.
Recalling all his shadows, Li Banfeng found Tan Jinxiao. "Hire a boat. Let's go out onto the sea and have a look."
Tan Jinxiao glanced around. "Where did Guan Huodong go?"
"He'll be here shortly. He's one of us now."
"Guan Huodong is one of us?" Tan Jinxiao stared at Li Banfeng, thinking he was joking.
"There were misunderstandings between you before, but they've been resolved. Get along well with each other from now on." Li Banfeng pushed up the brim of his hat, gazing into the depths of the open sea.
He patted the glove and touched the Judge's Brush, lowering his voice: "So this is the sea! Let's go out together and broaden our horizons."
"Hmph!" The Judge's Brush was rather dismissive, uttering five words: "Nothing rare about it."
Li Banfeng chided, "Even this isn't rare? Have you ever seen an ocean this vast?"
"Master, I've seen the sea," the glove said, wagging its index finger. "Puluo Province has an ocean. Huge!"
……
"Shooting this sequence out at sea is going to be very costly." Duan Shuqun checked the ledger. The production underway, *Blood-Bladed Detective Nine*, was about to exceed its budget again.
He Jiaqing, however, was open-minded about it. "The budget can be adjusted. Spending a bit more is fine."
Duan Shuqun felt it unnecessary to shoot on the open sea: "The Outer States have composite technology. We can just shoot in the studio, and after processing it in post-production, it looks identical to filming on the sea. I got hold of two reels of film; we can take a look."
He Jiaqing shook his head. "No need to watch. I know of those composite techniques you mention, and I don't want to use such deceptive tricks."
Duan Shuqun didn't think of it as deceit: "Everything in shadow plays is fake anyway. The fighting and killing are fake, so why must the sea view be real? Li Qi's film company churns out movies nonstop. When theaters schedule screenings, out of every ten shadow plays, at least six are theirs. Their films have low production costs, yet they rake in a fortune at the box office."
He Jiaqing set down the newspaper in his hand and patiently explained to Duan Shuqun, "I produce shadow plays not merely to make money; I want to create art that stands the test of time. I will not deceive my audience with fake scenery."
Shen Rongqing nodded repeatedly. "On this point, I agree with Jiaqing."
Since He Jiaqing had made up his mind, Duan Shuqun didn't press the matter further.
With the shadow play settled, He Jiaqing turned to Big Head: "That batch of medicinal ingredients we discussed earlier—how is the purchasing coming along?"
Big Head shook his head. "Progress hasn't been smooth. I heard Santoucha has seen a lot of turmoil, so sources of supply are somewhat hard to find."
He Jiaqing had asked Big Head to procure a batch of medicinal ingredients for amassing Dao karmic affinity, but so far Big Head had acquired less than thirty percent.
"What kind of turmoil could happen in Santoucha?" He Jiaqing flipped through the newspaper back and forth, but found no related news.
Shen Rongqing said, "I'll host a banquet tonight and invite a few friends from the Garrison Office to dinner, to see if we can dig up any information."
He Jiaqing nodded. When Shen Rongqing wasn't throwing tantrums, she remained as capable as ever.
The butler walked into the parlor and said to He Jiaqing, "Boss Peng is here."
"Show him in at once!" He Jiaqing rose and tidied his clothes. Boss Peng was a newly made acquaintance who had offered him substantial assistance in business.
Before long, the butler escorted Boss Peng into the parlor.
This Boss Peng was in his forties, with slicked-back, pomaded hair, wearing an angled-lapel long gown and holding a tobacco pipe. His speech and bearing strongly resembled those of an old-school merchant from Puluo Province.
Shen Rongqing, Duan Shuqun, and Zou Guoming had never met this Boss Peng before, and felt somewhat constrained in their conversation.
Boss Peng was quite affable, however: "No need to stand on ceremony, everyone. Since you are Jiaqing's friends, you are naturally friends of Peng."
As he spoke, Boss Peng smoothed back his hair.
Ding-a-ling—
He Jiaqing faintly caught a faint chiming sound.
"Rongqing, Shuqun, Guoming, go attend to your respective tasks. Boss Peng and I need to speak in private."
Duan Shuqun glanced at Shen Rongqing. This wasn't what had been agreed upon beforehand.
He Jiaqing had told them earlier that they would talk business with Boss Peng together today, and each had prepared accordingly. Why was he dismissing them right after meeting?
Big Head asked no questions and thought nothing of it, getting up and leaving. Shen Rongqing and Duan Shuqun followed him out.
With only He Jiaqing and Boss Peng left in the hall, He Jiaqing cupped his hands in greeting. "Senior Kong, to what do I owe the honor of your visit? Please forgive this junior's lack of hospitality."
The person seated before him was not Boss Peng, but Mister Kongfang.
The disguise used this time was masterful. Mister Kongfang still wore a bamboo conical hat, yet He Jiaqing had not seen through it at all. Just now, when Mister Kongfang smoothed his hair, he had intentionally jingled the copper coins hanging from the hat as a cue for He Jiaqing.
He Jiaqing personally poured tea for Mister Kongfang. Mister Kongfang waved his hand. "No need for formalities. I came today to do business with you as well."
"Senior flatters me. Back then, I wished to be of service to you, Senior, but alas, my learning was shallow. Far from helping you, I only caused a good deal of trouble. Thinking back on it now, I still feel deeply ashamed."
This was referring to their earlier joint research into the Boundary. At the time, Mister Kongfang felt He Jiaqing acted too conspicuously and took the initiative to terminate their cooperation.
Mister Kongfang took a sip of tea and smiled. "Jiaqing, since you have ambitions to dominate an entire domain, you must possess the magnanimity to harbor no grudges. If you bear ill will over such trifles, how will you accomplish great things in the future?"
He Jiaqing shook his head repeatedly. "Senior misunderstands me. I have never harbored any resentment toward you, Senior. That you have come to seek me out is my great honor. Whatever instructions you have, Senior, this junior will certainly carry them out with all my strength."
Mister Kongfang set down his teacup. "Do you know that something has happened in Santoucha?"
"I've heard some wind of it, but don't know the details yet."
"For some unknown reason, Li Qi went to Santoucha. From Luobo Mountain to the Underground City, he has turned the place completely upside down. You are Li Qi's friend; I would like to ask your help in calming this matter down."
So the trouble in Santoucha was caused by Banfeng?
He Jiaqing pondered for a moment. "Senior wishes for me to talk to Li Qi and persuade him to leave Santoucha?"
Mister Kongfang said, "I'm afraid he won't be easily persuaded. Besides, I hear there are plenty of misunderstandings between you and Li Qi as well."
He Jiaqing nodded. "Our misunderstandings run quite deep. If words won't convince him, does Senior mean you want me to drive him out of Santoucha?"
Mister Kongfang gave a slight smile. "Do you have the ability?"
"This junior wouldn't dare boast, but Senior certainly possesses the ability. If you truly wish to drive Li Qi from Santoucha, I imagine it wouldn't take much effort at all."
Mister Kongfang sighed. "Matters are not so simple. If I want to drive him away, I would have to fight him, yet I cannot use heavy hands. Li Qi holds standing in both Puluo Province and the Outer States. If his life were left behind in Santoucha, I would end up offending quite a few people."
He Jiaqing chuckled. "So Senior's meaning is to have me do the dirty work of offending people?"
Mister Kongfang shook his head. "I'm not asking you to go to Santoucha to deal with Li Qi. As far as I know, most of Li Qi's businesses rely on Ma Junyang to run. If something happens to Ma Junyang, Li Qi will definitely have to return."
He Jiaqing said, "Senior wants me to take out Ma the Fifth?"
Mister Kongfang nodded. "Originally, I intended to take action myself. But given my status today, if I kill Ma the Fifth directly, I'm afraid the peddler won't agree. That is why I want to entrust this task to you."
He Jiaqing sighed. "This is very difficult for me as well."
"I certainly won't have you do it for nothing. Weren't you looking for medicinal ingredients to amass Dao karmic affinity? I have already brought some to you. If that isn't enough, just say the word—you can have as much as you want."
Chapter 649