Just who was it that burned down the Geng Family Medicine Shop?
Yu Nan sank into deep thought, but the shop hands harbored no such complications.
They were pumping their fists, roaring at the top of their lungs, and more than a few were already moved to tears.
Wang Xuejiao was the first to weep. "Lao Ba, did you hear? The Geng family's place was burned to the ground, and that bastard Geng Zhiwei was burned to death!
"Lao Ba, your sister had no ability to avenge you, but Heaven opened its eyes! Immortals descended from the skies to take our revenge!"
The crowd around her shouted one after another:
"That wretched Geng Zhiwei did every evil deed under the sun—Heaven was bound to claim his miserable life!"
"He barely laid a hand on us before the Geng Family Medicine Shop went up in flames! What goes around comes around—this is retribution!"
As the crowd grew increasingly worked up, Yu Nan had yet to come up with an answer.
The Geng Family Medicine Shop had been overbearing for years, offending no small number of people, and there were indeed plenty who wished to retaliate against Geng Zhiwei.
Yet the Geng Family Medicine Shop had the backing of the Jiangxiang Gang. How many people truly dared to move against them?
The Four Great Families?
Impossible. They looked down on bit players like the Geng Family Medicine Shop.
The Three Great Gangs?
Equally impossible. They generally avoided entanglements with the Jiangxiang Gang; it was beneath their dignity and offered no profit.
Last night, Li Seven had insisted on staying behind at the old family manor, and now the old manor had burned down. In all likelihood, Li Seven must have crossed paths with Geng Zhiwei.
Could it be that Li Seven charged into the Geng Family Medicine Shop single-handedly and torched the place?
That was even more impossible. The Geng family's head guard, Song Baiming, was certainly no pushover, and he had plenty of elite fighters and fierce warriors under his command. Li Seven alone could never be a match for them.
Or did Li Seven possess a wide network of connections, leading a band of men to burn down the medicine shop and slaughter Geng Zhiwei?
If he had possessed such prowess, he wouldn't have let Qin Xiaopang suffer so much, much less have gone into hiding at the Yu family's old manor.
If this truly had something to do with Li Seven, it would completely upend Yu Nan's understanding of the entire underworld.
The veteran warehouse keeper Zhang Shiquan reminded Yu Nan, "Proprietress, we had best get moving. Now that Geng Zhiwei is dead, the people from the Jiangxiang Gang are bound to make a move. With things blown up this big, they definitely won't let us off!"
The old warehouse keeper was right; that was the pressing business. Yu Nan hurriedly rallied her people to set off, striving to reach the newland before nightfall.
***
After a hot bath and dinner, Li Banfeng slept soundly inside the Portable Abode. He truly couldn't get used to sleeping anywhere else.
When he woke, the bronze lotus had blossomed, revealing four lotus seeds inside.
The first three lotus seeds each burst open to produce two red pills.
Li Banfeng had originally held ten red pills; counting these, he now possessed sixteen. With so many on hand, he hardly treasured them anymore.
Yet according to Yu Nan, this medicinal pill was called a Xuanzhi Pill. A single pill could substitute for ten days of cultivation, valued at one hundred and fifty thousand apiece.
Sixteen pills could sell for 2.4 million. Added to his prior savings, minus his recent expenses, and minus the money spent treating Xiaopang and buying yellow paper, Li Banfeng's total fortune stood at 3,281,122 dollars and eighty-four cents.
This was enough to purchase a house in Yuezhou.
Provided, of course, that he could make it back to Yuezhou.
Could this money buy him a travel permit?
That shouldn't be much of a problem either, so long as he found the right channel.
Was this money Li Banfeng's entire net worth?
Of course not!
When Geng Zhiwei and his two martial cultivators entered the room, they had been carrying a chest of silver dollars and four chests of banknotes.
"Really, coming over was enough—why bring so many gifts...?" Li Banfeng had felt a little bashful.
He opened the chests and took careful inventory.
The chest of silver dollars contained only eight hundred and twelve coins, not particularly many.
Yet converted at the exchange rate of five hundred dollars apiece, that came to four hundred and sixty thousand.
How much cash was in the four banknote chests?
The first chest held eight hundred and sixty thousand, the second held nine hundred and twenty thousand, the third held a bit less at seven hundred and thirty thousand, and the final chest held nine hundred and seventy thousand.
Combined, the four chests held 3.48 million. Any single chest was worth more than that chest of silver dollars.
Li Banfeng truly couldn't fathom why Geng Zhiwei had clutched that chest of silver dollars while handing four chests of banknotes to his subordinates.
Adding 3.48 million to four hundred and sixty thousand yielded 3.94 million.
Combined with his prior savings—ignoring the loose change—the total came to 7.22 million.
Now this was no longer a question of a mere down payment.
Naturally, this included the fifty thousand owed to Old Mr. Yao. Money owed to the Medicine King was something that could never be defaulted on.
"I'm not someone who cares all that much about money," Li Banfeng sighed with emotion.
*Hiss!*
The gramophone vented a puff of steam.
"Still, I can't help feeling that earning money in Puluo Province is far easier than in Yuezhou," Li Banfeng sighed once more.
This time, the gramophone didn't mock him.
This money had indeed come quite easily.
After putting the valuables in order, Li Banfeng stared at the final lotus seed, feeling somewhat nervous.
This lotus seed still hadn't popped open.
Li Banfeng was slightly worried that if it burst too violently, or if some bizarre entity popped out, he might end up getting hurt.
He placed the lotus seed in a corner of the main room and hid himself behind the gramophone.
*Crack, crack, crack—*
After waiting for nearly half an hour, the lotus seed finally split.
It merely cracked open without exploding.
Li Banfeng approached with caution, put on a pair of cotton work gloves, and peeled away the outer shell of the lotus seed, revealing the pill nestled within.
A deep purple medicinal pill—just a single one.
The pill was translucent and crystalline, a fraction larger than a Xuanzhi Pill. From quite a distance away, Li Banfeng could smell an invigorating medicinal fragrance that lifted the spirit.
"What kind of pill is this?" Li Banfeng muttered to himself.
*Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!*
"Oh, my dear Husband," the gramophone suddenly spoke, startling Li Banfeng.
"This pill is a rare treasure. Husband must take good care of it."
"A rare treasure?" Li Banfeng looked toward the gramophone, surprised that she actually recognized pills.
This was wonderful news. If his wife recognized pills, why would he bother seeking someone else to identify them?
"Wife, what is this pill used for?"
"Oh, Husband, this pill has mighty uses, but this humble wife's belly is so very empty that she cannot recall for the moment~"
Belly empty...
Begging for food again.
Just last night you poached three fresh souls, and you're already hungry today?
"Wife, with an appetite like yours, your husband won't be able to afford to keep you~~"
*Whoosh!*
The gramophone gave a cold huff. Striking up the clappers and drums, she began to sing:
"This humble wife follows Husband with all her heart, yet cannot even get a proper bite to eat or drink. This humble wife is sorrowful; this humble wife's lot is bitter indeed~"
"Wife, don't cry just yet. Let's talk about the pill's effects first..."
*Whoosh!*
The gramophone snorted again. "This humble wife is famished and cannot recall. Husband, go find an expert and sell the pill."
Li Banfeng's eyes brightened. "How much could it fetch?"
"Oh, Husband, this humble wife is just so hungry, she cannot recall at all~"
Li Banfeng's face turned livid with exasperation. "All you know is eating! You eat and eat without gaining an ounce of flesh—cold and rock-hard all over, without a shred of how a proper wife should be!"
*Whoosh!*
*Whoosh!*
Droplets of water welled from the horn; the gramophone was weeping.
"Husband mocks this humble wife~ *sniff*. Husband is cruel to this humble wife~ *sniff*!" The gramophone sang and sobbed at once.
Li Banfeng let out a helpless sigh. "At least tell me the name of this pill. Once I trade it for cash, I'll fetch you something delicious."
"Husband isn't short on money at all, *sniff*~ Husband just doesn't want to feed this humble wife, *sniff*~"
Li Banfeng truly couldn't endure the gramophone's ceaseless nagging, so he prepared to head out for a walk.
He picked up the handgun Geng Zhiwei had delivered.
It wasn't a revolver. Li Banfeng had never studied firearms and couldn't name the model. After tugging at the slide for ages, he couldn't manage to chamber a round, nor could he pull the trigger.
What was the point of carrying this around?
Li Banfeng set the handgun aside and drew out the iron spike the martial cultivator had given him.
"This iron spike feels handier after all."
Li Banfeng gave the iron spike two swings. The gramophone could bear it no longer.
*Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!*
She was laughing at Li Banfeng.
"Oh, my dear lord, taking up that weapon—where do you intend to go?"
"Going grocery shopping!" Li Banfeng tossed out casually.
"Grocery shopping? Truly!" The gramophone grew animated, no longer mocking him. "My lord, that weapon in your hand is not called an iron spike; it is an iron ruler, a formidable weapon for both offense and defense."
A long shaft with small branching prongs on either side—this weapon was called an iron ruler.
Li Banfeng stood dazed for a long while before suddenly recalling something. He seemed to have seen the name 'iron ruler' somewhere before.
On television?
Even if he had seen it on TV, he wouldn't have known its name.
In a novel?
Possible. He must have read it in some text...
Li Banfeng remembered. It wasn't a novel; it was a martial arts manual, taken from the home of the old lady's eldest son.
Li Banfeng trotted into the outer room.
Among the martial arts manuals Decai had collected was one introducing exotic weapons.
The manual cataloged various unusual arms, including a dedicated introduction to the iron ruler.
The methods of attack for an iron ruler were relatively simple, relying primarily on thrusts, while the two branching prongs were mainly used for defense.
Descriptions in writing were never quite intuitive. After a few practice thrusts, Li Banfeng felt the iron ruler wasn't very easy to handle, and his gaze shifted toward that pair of crescent forks—crescent blades crisscrossing into forks.
"Wife, what are these things called?"
The gramophone was growing impatient. "Husband, there is no need to bring so many weapons. Hurry out and buy the groceries."
"How can I buy groceries without a weapon?" Li Banfeng grew irritated and chided the gramophone. "Do you think it's easy for me out there amidst storms of swords and hail of bullets? You won't even teach me how to use a weapon! How am I supposed to find you food?"
*Chug, chug, chug—*
A cloud of steam quivered out from the horn.
The gramophone felt a twinge of remorse.
"Husband, pray do not be angry. Your humble servant knows her fault. That pair of weapons is called the Mandarin Duck Axes; they cannot be mastered overnight.
"Husband, let this humble wife teach you the use of this iron ruler first.
"Husband, steady your stance—first, a level thrust of one ruler's length!
"Husband, steady your hands, slow it down. Practicing martial arts requires perseverance and patience.
"Your humble servant simply adores Husband's valor; your humble servant simply adores Husband's tenacity; your humble servant simply adores Husband's commanding grace."
The rhythmic operatic declamation, carried by the steam gramophone's distinct singing cadence, was filled with tenderness in every word.
Li Banfeng felt a warm glow inside. Between him and the gramophone arose an unprecedented sense of trust and resonance as he steadily honed his martial skill under her guidance.
The gramophone didn't notice this resonance, continuing to encourage Li Banfeng:
"Husband possesses fine talent; Husband learns so swiftly; Husband's thrust is true and steady!
"Husband, do not be too hasty—gauge your force carefully.
"Husband, um... please do not exert so much force just yet, and do not point the iron ruler at your humble servant.
"Husband, w-why do you suddenly have another ruler?
"Husband, th-this ruler... don't point this one at your humble servant either..."
Chapter 70