Having vomited yellow bile, then green bile, bitter water, and salty fluid until his stomach had nothing left to heave, Li Banfeng stumbled and climbed up from the floor.
The record spun on the turntable. The gramophone hummed softly, "Husband, why fight such a bitter battle?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Winning means it wasn't bitter. I must trouble you to clean our dwelling, wife. I'll be back shortly."
"Where are you off to now, Husband?"
"To buy groceries."
"Your humble servant is not hungry today. Please do not go, Husband."
Li Banfeng paused, looking at the gramophone. "Feeling sorry for me?"
The gramophone coaxed tenderly, "Your servant cherishes Husband every moment."
Li Banfeng smiled faintly and left the Portable Abode.
The stylus swayed gently as puffs of steam slowly drifted forth.
"He truly is one destined for great things."
...
Li Banfeng arrived at the sub-branch altar's main hall and saw that the tea across the floor had already receded.
Shi Boyu lay prone on the ground, motionless. Li Banfeng did not rashly approach.
First, he retrieved his key. Whether Shi Boyu was dead or alive, Li Banfeng had to get the key back; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to step out of the sub-branch altar.
Having pocketed the key, Li Banfeng picked up the teapot. In his ear came the artifact's voice: "Are you cold? Do you want to warm up a bit?"
Ignoring it, Li Banfeng gathered the shears from the floor and walked over to Shi Boyu's body.
He first drew the iron ruler and gave Shi Boyu's body a prod.
Shi Boyu's torso twitched slightly. He was still alive, merely unconscious.
Li Banfeng immediately opened the Portable Abode and tossed Shi Boyu's body inside.
There was also the steward who could turn into a ladybug, the Scrying Cultivator with Clairaudience, and anyone else who seemed to possess cultivation—Li Banfeng tossed them all into the Portable Abode, then headed up to the second floor.
He wanted to see if there was anything he wanted inside this building.
Going through the bedrooms one by one, Li Banfeng scavenged over five hundred thousand in cash.
How could the altar of the grand Jiangxiang Gang have only this much money?
Suspecting he hadn't looked in the right place, Li Banfeng returned to the largest bedroom, intending to search it once more. Suddenly, he heard a low murmur right beside his ear: "Since you have come, let us settle this once and for all—a duel to the death!"
Who!
Li Banfeng was startled. Someone was hiding in this room?
Had they been hiding here all along, or had they just entered?
If they just came in, why didn't I see them earlier?
If they had been hiding here the whole time, why didn't they make a move when I first entered the room?
Li Banfeng rapidly backed away from the source of the voice. Gripping the iron ruler in one hand to face the foe, he held the key in the other, ready to retreat.
After waiting a good while, Li Banfeng saw no silhouette of a person; instead, a hidden compartment slid open on the wall.
A meter-long Tang dao floated out of the compartment, declaring to Li Banfeng: "Dark clouds in boundless drifts dim snow-clad peaks; from an isolated keep, one gazes toward the Jade Gate. The hour of decisive battle has come—draw!"
Clang!
The Tang dao unsheathed itself, its edge leveled straight at Li Banfeng.
What was this thing?
A magical artifact or a spiritual object?
Judging by its loquacity and ability to recite poetry, it was likely an artifact.
With such a formidable artifact, why hadn't Shi Boyu carried it on him?
This blade could fly. If Shi Boyu had used it to fight me just now, I really wouldn't have known how to counter it.
The Tang dao spoke again: "The general himself rises to brandish his long sword; the warriors' battle cries shake the nine realms! What are you waiting for?"
Li Banfeng replied with a deadpan expression, "Aren't you a saber? Why are you talking about brandishing swords?"
The Tang dao fell silent for a moment before replying, "As long as the mood is conveyed! Make your move—today you and I shall wager our lives here!"
"It's our first time meeting. There's no need to wager our lives, is there? How about another day?" Li Banfeng negotiated with the Tang dao in all earnestness.
"Why can we not wage our decisive battle today?" The blade of the Tang dao remained aimed squarely at Li Banfeng.
"I was poisoned, and the lingering venom hasn't cleared. Even if you defeat me, it wouldn't be an honorable victory." Li Banfeng reasoned with the Tang dao in all seriousness.
"Very well. I shall wait for you until tomorrow!"
Clang!
The Tang dao slid back into its scabbard.
This truly was a reasonable blade.
Li Banfeng put the Tang dao away. Just as he wanted to look for more things, footsteps suddenly sounded from downstairs.
"What happened? Where's the Branch Master?"
"The Branch Master was in the main hall. He hasn't come out."
"What's with all this water on the floor?"
People had returned.
Li Banfeng pushed open a window, opened the Portable Abode, and threw the key over the courtyard wall.
By the time he emerged from the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng had already cleared the sub-branch altar's compound.
Taking advantage of the empty surroundings, Li Banfeng stumbled all the way to Paifang Street and ducked into Chuanzi Alley. Hiding the key in Qin Xiaopang's yard, he stepped into the Portable Abode.
Lingering poison not yet cleared—that was no lie. Li Banfeng lay in bed, drenched in cold sweat.
Of all the people he had brought back, Shi Boyu was the only one who had still been alive. His soul had now been devoured by the gramophone, and all the corpses had been sent to the outer chamber to feed the Red Lotus.
Chhh—
"Husband, why did you bring this blade back?"
Li Banfeng said listlessly, "Need you ask? It's a magical artifact."
"Husband, while magical artifacts are good things, you cannot simply take every one you lay eyes upon. This blade is even more troublesome than that teapot."
As they spoke, the teapot suddenly piped up: "Are you cold? No matter what you say, I insist on warming you up."
Just as the teapot was about to spew water, the gramophone blasted a jet of steam, pinning it down.
"Aiya, Husband, this teapot cannot be used for now. Your humble servant will seal it away until you think of a way to deal with it.
"Husband, this blade has not yet recognized a master. It will not yield unless you defeat it in a duel."
Li Banfeng scoffed coldly. "A duel is a duel. Why should I fear it?"
"Dear Husband, with your combat prowess today, you wouldn't last a single exchange in its hands. The slightest slip and you could lose your life. It is best not to be reckless.
"Your servant is willing to fight it on your behalf, but if I strike too hard, I fear destroying it, and if I hold back too much, it will refuse to concede. The measure of force is far too difficult to gauge."
No wonder Shi Boyu hadn't carried this blade with him; he hadn't conquered it yet.
Li Banfeng's deduction was spot on—Shi Boyu truly had not conquered this blade.
How could a branch master of the grand Jiangxiang Gang possess no artifacts? He had traded two magical artifacts for this blade.
Poison Cultivators lacked direct combat strength, so Shi Boyu had wanted to compensate with a weapon. Yet as soon as he acquired it, he regretted it; this blade was difficult to master.
One had to defeat it once before it would submit to use, and even then, it was not once-and-for-all—one had to fight it again later.
Li Banfeng didn't have the mental energy to dwell on this. Tossing the blade under the bed, he fell into a deep sleep.
...
The following day at one in the afternoon, Medicine King Hall Master Luo Zhengnan, wearing the Jiangxiang Gang's signature gray flat cap, arrived at the Second Branch's altar.
The Medicine King Hall was the Jiangxiang Gang's supreme authority in Yaowanggou. However, upon taking office, Hall Master Luo Zhengnan's very first act had been moving the main hall out of Ligou to the outer suburbs of Waigou.
Initially, many people didn't understand the Hall Master's reasoning, but seeing the state of the Second Branch now, they somewhat understood.
Luo Zhengnan sat on the sofa, struck a match, and lit a cigarette. "I always told you boys before: when you have nothing to do, spend more time wandering Waigou instead of holing up in Ligou all day. You wouldn't listen. Now do you see why Waigou is better?
"Setting everything else aside, look at our main hall. There are twenty-three households surrounding it. Every family, man, woman, old and young—I know every single one of them. A single stranger shows up, and they can't escape my eyes.
"Look at you fools. A stranger snuck right into your sub-branch altar and made your Branch Master vanish into thin air, and you motherfuckers don't even know what he looks like! There are so many people in Ligou—where the hell are you going to look?"
As Luo Zhengnan reprimanded them, Xiang Guicheng and Sun Xiao'an listened meekly.
Truth be told, as far as hall masters went, Luo Zhengnan treated his subordinates quite well. With something this catastrophic happening, another hall master might have already started killing people.
"Someone has to run the sub-branch altar. Guicheng, if I remember right, you've reached tier three, haven't you?"
Xiang Guicheng nodded repeatedly. "Three years ago, I reached tier three."
Luo Zhengnan nodded. "A cudgelman succeeding as branch master is only natural. You'll serve as acting branch master for now and keep the altar running.
"Old Sun, you have the most seniority in the Second Branch. Frankly, you were due for a promotion long ago."
Sun Xiao'an quickly bowed his head. "Hall Master, that you can tolerate this old bag of bones is already my good fortune. From now on, I'll follow Branch Master Xiang and entrust this old life to him."
Xiang Guicheng hurriedly bowed slightly. "Old brother, you overstate things."
Luo Zhengnan waved his hand. "What 'overstating'? Are you actually taking him seriously? Do you have any idea how many branch masters he's outlived?"
Xiang Guicheng counted carefully in his head, and it was entirely true. Sun Xiao'an had been a counselor in the Second Branch for over a decade. Three branch masters had already been sent to their graves under his watch, and now Shi Boyu, having been in office for barely a few months, had also been seen off by him.
Would Xiang Guicheng be the fifth?
This old man who loved puffing on his water pipe was looking rather eerie.
Luo Zhengnan stood up. "Find a quiet room. Station a few more men outside to keep guard."
Being the most familiar with the sub-branch altar, Sun Xiao'an quickly led Luo Zhengnan to the branch master's bedroom and arranged guards outside the door.
Luo Zhengnan entered the bedroom with two subordinates and locked the door. First, he took off his cap, peeled the adhesive tape off his head, and pulled out the stopper underneath, revealing a hole in his skull.
One subordinate brought over an antenna. Luo Zhengnan inserted the antenna into the hole, stirred it around a few times until he found the right position, and had his subordinate secure it in place.
The other subordinate brought over a rotary dial more than twenty centimeters in diameter and plugged it into Luo Zhengnan's spine.
Luo Zhengnan shuddered. "Slow down, the alignment's slightly off!"
The subordinate adjusted the position slightly. Luo Zhengnan nodded. "Dial!"
The subordinate took hold of the rotary dial and began dialing.
Whew—whirrr-clack-clack-clack—
Whew—whirrr-clack-clack-clack—
...
The call connected. A voice sounded in Luo Zhengnan's ear: "Welcome to Afternoon Teahouse, dear listener! What fresh news would you like to share with us today?"
Luo Zhengnan glared at his subordinate. "Where the fuck did you dial?"
The subordinate replied helplessly, "Hall Master, I didn't misdial."
Luo Zhengnan pulled out the antenna and reinserted it.
With a click, the line disconnected, and the subordinate dialed again.
Whew—whirrr-clack-clack-clack—
This time, it went through.
Xiao Zhenggong was in a meeting at the Dark Star Bureau when his cellphone suddenly rang.
Glancing at the caller ID, Xiao Zhenggong excused himself to Captain Chen, left the conference room, and returned to his office.
"Can't you motherfuckers check the time before calling? Didn't I tell you not to contact me during the day unless it's an emergency!"
Luo Zhengnan's cheek twitched. Reining in his temper, he said in a strained tone, "Sect Master, something has happened in the gang. The Branch Master of the Second Branch under our hall has vanished. He's likely dead."
"If he's dead, then he's fucking dead! If a rat dies in the gang tomorrow, are you going to fucking report that to me too?"
"Sect Master, the crux is how bizarre this is. Shi Boyu only took office in the Second Branch recently, and now he..."
"Handle your hall's own affairs yourselves! I told you to find Li Banfeng—have you found him yet?"
"Not yet. That punk hasn't shown his face."
Xiao Zhenggong furrowed his brows tightly. "Let me tell you, I've already caught wind that Zhuo Yuling is looking for Li Banfeng too."
Luo Zhengnan froze. "That can't be. When did this happen? We haven't heard a thing."
"You motherfuckers never hear a damn thing! What the fuck do I keep you around for? You're a bunch of useless trash!"
The call went dead.
Luo Zhengnan pulled the antenna out of his skull and plugged the hole back up with the stopper.
"This kid really is something else. A branch master died, and to his mouth, it's no different than a dead rat!"
The subordinate unplugged the rotary dial from Luo Zhengnan's back. "Hall Master, if you ask me, this matter shouldn't have disturbed the Sect Master in the first place."
"That's because you don't know the rules! Now that I've told him, it's a small matter; if I hadn't told him, it would've turned into a massive fucking disaster!" Luo Zhengnan put on his flat cap and pondered for a moment before adding, "I just feel there's some connection between these two matters. Think about it: Chu Yunlong, who was watching the train station, disappeared—no body, alive or dead. Three men from the Second Branch are dead, with neither corpses nor living souls found. Add in Geng Zhiwei from the Geng Family Medicine Shop, who vanished the exact same way. Is it possible that all of these were done by one person? Is it possible that all these things were done by the very person the Hall Master is looking for?"
The subordinates looked at one another and shook their heads. "Hall Master, our brains aren't good enough to figure this out. Whoever you say did it, did it."
"Bullshit! What do you mean 'whoever I say did it'? Get a few brothers from the hall over here to sniff around for news on the Lu family. See what moves they've been making lately."
A subordinate said, "I heard the Lu family has been searching all over for Lu Xiaolan lately."
Luo Zhengnan glared at him. "Do I need you to tell me that? It was in the newspapers! Go see if the Lu family's Second Concubine has been making any moves."
Chapter 88