Chapter 307: Who is the Mastermind?
Wifey had no idea what Li Banfeng had said to the house.
Li Banfeng wanted to show her the oil the Pocket Dwelling had stolen back, but when he turned around, he found that all the oil in the third room had vanished.
Did the train take it? Li Banfeng wondered.
He was on the train now. And so, strictly speaking, the oil had not been taken by the train. It was the third room that had transported it away.
Where did the third room send the oil? Is it in the engine car? And where is the engine car?
Ever since Li Banfeng arrived at the Medicine King Gully, stepped onto the Daoist Path, and received that key from the Peddler, the Pocket Dwelling had followed him.
Li Banfeng had never properly questioned where it had come from, nor had he given much thought to what sort of thing it truly was.
Thinking about it now, that was rather strange. A house that could travel with a man was such a peculiar and marvelous thing. Then again, Puluo Province was stuffed full of peculiar and unbelievable things, and Li Banfeng had been far too busy to think about it.
Now, though, it seemed it was time for him to give it some serious thought.
***
The Lu Family's private train was heading toward Blackstone Slope.
It was Lu Chunying's first time sitting in such a luxurious carriage, and she felt somewhat out of place. She sat properly on the sofa, doing her best to maintain the bearing of a young lady from the main family.
Tan Fucheng, on the other hand, could not sit still. He wandered back and forth through the carriage, finding everything fresh and fascinating. "I really am basking in Miss Chunying's favor. With my status, how could I ever have been qualified to step into a carriage like this before?"
Ma Wu had been on the Lu Family's private train before, and the Ma Family had one of their own as well, so he did not find being on this train unusual. What he could not understand was Monkey Qiu.
For the entire journey, Monkey Qiu did not chat, read the newspaper, eat, or smoke. He simply sat there, staring at the scenery outside the window.
What is so nice about the scenery? Ma Wu thought.
Monkey Qiu had spent half his life fighting alongside Lu Dongliang. He should have seen this route so many times that there was nothing left to look at.
Just after the train left Greenwater Bay and entered Yellowstone Bridge territory, it suddenly came to a stop.
Ma Wu froze. A private train had no reason to stop halfway unless it was waiting for another train to pass or taking on water. He looked out the window again, but this place did not seem to be a station.
Monkey Qiu said to the others, "Let's get off and buy something to eat. The meat pies at Yellowstone Bridge are famous for being delicious."
The meat pies at Yellowstone Bridge really were indeed delicious, and there was indeed someone hawking them outside the train.
The four of them got off together. Ma Wu looked around and realized they had stopped in a railway operations yard, not at a proper station.
There are actually people selling food at a railway operations yard? Ma Wu thought. Even if we are buying meat pies, we don't have to all get off, right? This could have been easily handled by a servant.
Ma Wu did not ask further. By now, he could tell that Monkey Qiu had made other arrangements.
Monkey Qiu bought 2.5 kilograms of meat pies, then leaned in and whispered a few words to the vendor. Once the vendor left, he led the others across two sets of tracks and boarded another train.
Only then did Ma Wu understand why Monkey Qiu had chosen to switch trains midway. He was taking precautions in case someone tried to ambush them.
This train was in far worse condition than the Lu Family's private train. It was a freight train, and Monkey Qiu had found them an empty car. No wind or light came through, so the four of them could only sit together in the stuffy darkness, eating meat pies with a single pot of boiled water to wash them down.
After the train started moving, Tan Fucheng finally spoke. "Chief Qiu, who exactly are you guarding against?"
Monkey Qiu smiled faintly. "It's just a precaution. I am not guarding against anyone in particular. This is Miss Chunying's first time going out to negotiate business, so it's better to be careful."
After saying that, Qiu Zhiheng glanced at Lu Chunying.
Lu Chunying gave a slight nod. She approved of his decision, and she could more or less guess the reason as to why he had decided to do this.
Ma Wu, however, was certain that Monkey Qiu had someone in mind. At first, he suspected Lu Maoxian, but the more he thought about it, the less sense it made. The Lu Family's private train was heavily guarded. Would Lu Maoxian really have a chance to make a move there?
But aside from Lu Maoxian, who else would want to hurt Lu Chunying?
Qiu Zhiheng turned to Ma Wu. "Junyang, I heard about what happened in Blue Poplar Village. When you get the chance, tell Li Qi to stop the investigation at Song Zhigang for now. Don't rush and continue investigating."
***
Li Banfeng stretched lazily and sat up in bed.
He had spent three full days inside the Pocket Dwelling without stepping outside. He had to be careful about leaving, because once he went out, there was no telling when he would be able to return.
Last night, he had dreamed of the Outer Provinces. In the dream, he returned to his high school days and relived a string of unpleasant memories, from picking through trash to sleeping under bridges. Because of that, Li Banfeng had ordered Hong Ying to punish Dream Virtue.
Compared with Wifey, Hong Ying was much gentler about such things. She dragged Dream Virtue out of the illustrated calendar, pressed her over her knee, and gave her a spanking on the butt.
As for the fact that Hong Ying had grown four limbs, Li Banfeng accepted it calmly. He was not surprised at all.
After all, Hong Ying was not just a spear. Wifey had said so herself. Hong Ying was a young lady, and a young lady should naturally look like one.
It was not only the spear shaft that had changed. The spearhead looked different too. It had grown longer and broader, with a rounder shape than before. At this rate, Hong Ying would probably grow a face next.
Li Banfeng did not care much about Hong Ying's changes. What truly concerned him was the nightmare.
When he had dreamed of the sea, the Pocket Dwelling had taken him to Oil Lake. Now that he had dreamed of the Outer Provinces, where would it take him next?
Li Banfeng still did not dare bring the key into the house. With the Pocket Dwelling changing in ways he could not fully understand, he had no choice but to adapt for now.
Before entering the Pocket Dwelling, he had recorded footage of the warehouse. He turned on the Film Projector and played that recording again.
The footage was short, only a little over two minutes, but Li Banfeng watched it ten times in a row. Only after the warehouse scene was firmly fixed in his mind did he carefully open the door.
With one foot still inside the doorway and the other outside, Li Banfeng slowly caught the warehouse's familiar dusty smell. Only then did he step out of the Pocket Dwelling and retrieve the key.
As expected, I am still in the warehouse at Freewind Wharf, he thought.
It was just as he had guessed. The Pocket Dwelling's movements were clearly tied to his thoughts. Earlier, he had been thinking of Blackstone Slope, and the Pocket Dwelling had taken him there. This time, he had kept the warehouse fixed in his mind, and when he stepped out, he had returned to the warehouse.
As for why he had ended up at Oil Lake last time, that had been caused by a separate misunderstanding. Now that Li Banfeng understood this trait, he should be able to use it properly and return to the place where he had entered the Pocket Dwelling.
After having a few drinks at Freewind Wharf, Li Banfeng learned from Cao Zhida that Ma Wu had already followed Qiu Zhiheng to Blackstone Slope. Once he left Freewind Wharf, he went to Eastmeadow Teahouse, ordered a pot of tea, and sat there drinking for half an hour.
Before long, a clerk came over and lowered his voice. "Sir, someone upstairs would like to speak with you."
When Li Banfeng reached the second floor, Qin Tianjiu was already waiting in a private room. He quickly rose and invited Li Banfeng to sit.
When nothing was going on, Chubby Qin could usually be found at Eastmeadow Teahouse. Unless something unusual had happened, Li Banfeng only had to wait there for a while before Chubby Qin showed up.
They had not seen each other for some time, and Chubby Qin had grown even thinner. Li Banfeng pulled out a stack of bills and stuffed it into his hand. "Come to Freewind Wharf and find me if you are short on money. If you can't find me, go ask Ma Wu. Don't skimp on food."
Chubby Qin blushed. "Big Bro Qi, I... I'm not short on money..."
"Stop talking nonsense and just take it. Has there been any news about Lu Maoxian recently?"
"There really has!" Chubby Qin nodded and said, "Lu Maoxian invited Monkey Qiu to dinner yesterday. He said it was about what happened in Blue Poplar Village.
"Two of his support hooks went to Blue Poplar Village to stir up trouble, but Lu Maoxian said it had nothing to do with him. He has already kicked those two out from under him.
"He even asked our branch master to come along as a witness. But Monkey Qiu didn't seem to be in Greenwater City, so that dinner never happened."
Lu Maoxian was the Grand Old Master of the Lu Family. If he had truly been behind this, there would have been no need for him to back down before Monkey Qiu. From the look of things, he really might not have known about it beforehand.
Then who was the real mastermind? It definitely had not been Lu Maoxian's chief steward.
Chubby Qin added, "Big Bro Qi, there's something else from the Lu Family. Madam Duan has taken someone in as her son. Did you know about that?"
Li Banfeng nodded and said, "I know about that. It's Zhang Huaiyi, her nephew."
Chubby Qin continued, "Duan Shaoxia has been doing everything she can to raise this godson's status lately. Last night, she even brought him along to a Lu Family banquet!"
That made sense. Zhang Huaiyi was Duan Shaohong's son, which made him Duan Shaoxia's nephew. Compared with Lu Chunying, he was someone Duan Shaoxia could accept much more easily, so it was only natural for her to use this chance to help him build connections within the Lu Family.
Wait... Duan Shaoxia.
Li Banfeng rubbed his forehead as a clue suddenly clicked into place.
Could Duan Shaoxia be the one behind the attack on Blue Poplar Village?
Could she have bribed Lu Maoxian's steward into passing down false orders in Lu Maoxian's name, then used Song Zhigang to stir up trouble in Blue Poplar Village?
If that's true, then I had it wrong. She wasn't trying to deepen the conflict between me and Lu Maoxian. She was trying to turn Monkey Qiu and Lu Maoxian against each other.
Monkey Qiu firmly supported Lu Chunying. If Duan Shaoxia dragged Lu Chunying into the middle of the conflict, she could isolate her in plain sight. Then, if the chance came, she could kill Lu Chunying in secret and pin the blame on Lu Maoxian.
Could such a thing really happen? It was entirely possible. If this scheme succeeded, Duan Shaoxia would not only get rid of Lu Chunying, but also clear the path for Zhang Huaiyi.
How would Monkey Qiu respond? Monkey Qiu did not respond at all. He had gone straight to Blackstone Slope and taken Lu Chunying away to hide. After all that plotting, Duan Shaoxia's entire scheme had come to nothing.
However, this scheme was risky as well. If someone followed the trail from the two support hooks, they would find Lu Maoxian's steward. If they kept digging from there, the trail would eventually lead back to Duan Shaoxia.
Then again, how had Duan Shaoxia bought off Lu Maoxian's steward in the first place? The man was deeply loyal. Could money alone really have been enough to sway him?
There was no need to think too much about that for now. For now, the more important thing was deciding how to respond.
"Chubby, how long have you been a Blank Copper Seal? When can you become a proper Copper Seal?"
Chubby Qin shook his head. "Big Bro Qi, I have only been a Copper Seal for a few months, and I haven't made any major contributions yet. The Silver Seal says I don't have enough seniority, so it will probably be too hard for me to get my own territory right now."
"Seniority is made up of two things. First, you need money. Then, you need experience. Talk to your Silver Seal about it and ask him for a clear price. Once you have the number, tell me."
Li Banfeng knew he had to keep his connection to the Three Heroes Sect alive. It was far too useful to give up.
When Li Banfeng returned to Freewind Wharf, Cao Zhida handed him an invitation. "Madam Duan sent this over. She's holding a banquet at the Tower of Happy Returns tomorrow and wants you to attend."
When Li Banfeng saw the invitation, he was almost certain his guess was right. Naturally, he had no intention of going. If he attended that banquet, he might not come back at all.
Li Banfeng had Cao Zhida send a reply to the person who delivered the invitation. "We have urgent business tomorrow, so we won't be attending."
Cao Zhida rubbed his hands together, looking rather uneasy. "Master Qi, Madam Duan is the Lu Family's main wife. I'm afraid 'urgent business' won't be enough to send her away."
"Send her away?" Li Banfeng looked at him. "Who said we are making excuses? We really do have urgent business. We are going to the new land to activate some plots of land. Call a few trustworthy brothers. We leave tonight."
He had to do what he had promised. Miss Meng was still waiting!
The trouble was that Zuo Wugang, Zhen Jincheng, and Huo Ling had all gone with Ma Wu to Blackstone Slope, leaving Freewind Wharf rather short on proper fighters. Cao Zhida counted and counted, then counted again, before finally looking up at Li Banfeng. "Master Qi, we better bring Little Gen with us. He's good at activating land."
"Of course we are bringing him," Li Banfeng said. "We absolutely have to bring him. And prepare some materials for him too. A man can't activate land on an empty bucket."
***
Little Gen was cultivating in Blue Poplar Village.
His ladle had been broken, so he had made himself a new one, but it never felt quite right in his hand. By now, he had gathered most of the golden juice in the village, so he went back to the new land.
An old man was farming there. When he saw Little Gen, he waved him over. "Little brother, are you a Gold Cultivator? I'm a little short on golden juice here."
Farming in the new land? Little Gen wondered. This must be an Agrarian Cultivator, and a high-level one.
Little Gen walked over with the bucket on his back and gave the old man a ladleful.
The old man examined the golden juice, then shook his head. "Terrible quality."
"Poor?" Little Gen frowned. "What do you mean?"
The old man smiled. "What else could I mean? I said it plainly enough. Poor means poor!"
Author's Note:
PS: Looks like this Agrarian Cultivator is no ordinary farmer!
