Chapter 238: Getting to the Root

At the Lu Family mansion, Lu Lu Yuanhai laughed: "Isn't it funny? Ling Ling Miaoying made such a big stir, and as a result, the movie he filmed was burned to the ground by a fire! I laughed for a whole hour because of this."

Lu Lu Yuanshan didn't laugh. He was older than Lu Lu Yuanhai and saw things more long-term.

"Uncle Qiu, do you think this is an opportunity?"

Qiu Qiu Zhiheng looked at Lu Lu Yuanshan: "Do you want to make movies too?"

"Ling Ling Miaoying's idea is indeed not bad. Ten movies filmed together. If we can pull this off..."

The First Lady, Duan Duan Shaoxia, said from the side: "Lu Yuanshan, have you ever made a movie? We can't just reach out randomly for things we aren't sure about."

Lu Lu Yuanshan said: "It's precisely because I'm not sure that I'm discussing it with Uncle Qiu, isn't it?"

Qiu Qiu Zhiheng didn't rush to speak. He also had to carefully weigh this matter.

Lu Lu Yuanhai said: "I think it can work. This thing all depends on the actors. As long as the actors are famous, the movie will definitely sell well."

Duan Duan Shaoxia rolled her eyes at Lu Lu Yuanhai: "You say it lightly. Actors aren't that easy to find. The Ling family has the ability to invite even a singing queen, and I heard they even turned a fake performance into reality. Do you have that kind of ability?"

Lu Lu Yuanhai sneered: "What kind of ability is this called? Those singing queens and movie queens, as long as the money is enough, they'll do anything. Never mind turning a fake performance into reality, even if you let them do it from start to finish..."

Lu Lu Yuanshan frowned and said: "Stop talking about these useless things. Let's talk about serious business. Ling Ling Miaoying is preparing to reshoot this movie. If we can shoot it before them, this piece of fat meat will be ours!"

"Is it fat?" Lu Lu Yuanhai didn't think a movie could earn much money.

Lu Lu Yuanshan sighed and said: "Talking to you is exhausting. I'm not just talking about this movie, but this whole industry! There's a lot of profit in this industry!"

"It's just that it's our first time wading into the water. If the business fails, losing a little money is a small matter; I'm just afraid of ruining the Lu family's reputation. It will be difficult to intervene in this industry in the future."

Monkey Qiu understood the stakes here, but he didn't have a bottom line in his heart either: "Since we don't have a bottom line, let's find someone who does to do this."

Lu Lu Yuanshan pondered for a while and said: "The only person with a bottom line I can think of is Ma Wu."

Lu Lu Yuanhai nodded: "He really is the right person for this! I heard he filmed movies before, but ordinary cinemas didn't dare to show them, saying they were indecent!"

Duan Duan Shaoxia advised from the side: "Don't always think about pitting Ma Junyang. I heard that in the movie industry, as long as you make one mistake, you'll lose everything. Ma Junyang's foundation isn't as good as ours; how can he withstand this kind of tossing?"

Lu Lu Yuanshan said impatiently: "How is this pitting him? This is helping him. We can give him some money, and both families can benefit."

Qiu Qiu Zhiheng nodded and said: "We'll put up half the money, and let Ma Wu raise the other half himself."

"If we lose money, our loss won't be big, and the Lu family's reputation won't be damaged."

"If we make money, we'll eat the fat meat of this industry together, and we won't treat him unfairly."

Lu Lu Yuanshan put on his clothes and said: "I'll go find Ma Wu right now."

In Xiaoyao Dock, Ma Wu and Li Li Banfeng were discussing the movie.

"Old Seven, do you think we should agree to this?"

"Agree. Why not agree? Haven't you filmed movies before?"

"The movies I filmed weren't very proper."

"I've seen them. I think they were quite proper."

Ma Wu was still a little worried: "The Ling family has invested a lot of capital in this movie. If we snatch it before them, I'm afraid Ling Ling Miaoying will deal us a lethal blow."

"They already dealt a lethal blow." Li Li Banfeng didn't recount the process of the matter; he only recounted the methods and techniques Ling Ling Miaoying was accustomed to using.

Now he was more concerned about another matter: "How exactly did we form a feud with the Ling family?"

Ma Wu had also been thinking about this question, but apart from Lu Lu Xiaolan, he couldn't think of any other clues.

"Because of Lu Lu Xiaolan? Is she worth it?"

If one were to say Ling Ling Miaoying was targeting Li Li Banfeng and Ma Wu because of Lu Lu Xiaolan's beauty, Li Li Banfeng absolutely wouldn't believe it. What kind of woman hadn't Ling Ling Miaoying seen?

"It's also possible that we rose to fame too quickly, and the Ling family wants to suppress us in advance."

"Are we worthy?" Li Li Banfeng shook his head. "You once said that the Ling family is the fifth largest family in Puluo Continent. Does the fifth largest family have such a small capacity? Dealing a lethal blow to two small characters who just started?"

"They run newspapers, records, and movies. We haven't interfered in any of these things. Where did we get such great face to be able to enter their eyes?"

"There's something going on here. They have someone behind them. This person must be investigated clearly!"

This wasn't the only thing that had been overlooked. There was another person Li Li Banfeng had ignored.

As the lights came on, Li Li Banfeng went to the Ling Miaosheng Phonograph Shop.

The storefront was still as small as ever, but small had its advantages.

Since Ling Ling Miaoying had her accident, the Ling Miaosheng Phonograph Shop had been smashed more than a dozen times. Fortunately, they were all in the foyer. The interior of the phonograph shop was too complex; ordinary people didn't have the ability to break in, and those who had the ability didn't bother to do such things.

Behind the dilapidated counter, Ling Ling Miaosheng was dozing off as usual. Seeing a customer come, he raised his head and revealed a trace of a smile.

He recognized Li Li Banfeng. Although Li Li Banfeng's appearance had changed somewhat, as a high-layer Peeping Cultivator, he still recognized this old customer.

"Are you here to buy a phonograph, or to take revenge? If you're here to take revenge, just go ahead. It's a pity there aren't many things I have here that can be smashed."

Li Li Banfeng looked at the curtain behind Ling Ling Miaosheng: "If I remember correctly, the good stuff is all inside, right?"

Ling Ling Miaosheng shook his head slightly: "The things inside can't be let you smash casually. That's my life."

"I'm here to buy a phonograph. You should at least let me see the goods."

Ling Ling Miaosheng nodded and took Li Li Banfeng into the back room.

The shop assistants who were responsible for cleaning in each room were all gone. No one dared to work here at Ling Ling Miaosheng's place.

Li Li Banfeng looked at several phonographs and chose a hand-cranked phonograph, preparing to pay for it.

The tone of this phonograph was not bad. Of course, it couldn't compare to the Lady, but the phonograph was produced in the Outer Amikan Kingdom, and the parts were compatible with the Lady.

Ling Ling Miaosheng didn't take Li Li Banfeng's money: "This phonograph is a gift for you, to express my previous apologies. Don't worry, I checked carefully; there are no hooks on the phonograph."

Li Li Banfeng turned the crank, and the phonograph played a soothing violin piece.

"Can I ask you some things?"

Ling Ling Miaosheng guessed what Li Li Banfeng wanted to ask and answered directly: "I don't know most of the things about my eldest brother and third brother. They buried hooks in my shop and phonographs; actually, I don't know much either."

Li Li Banfeng didn't believe it: "You are also a Peeping Cultivator, and your level is very high. You actually can't see their hooks?"

Ling Ling Miaosheng smiled bitterly: "You're right. I am indeed a Peeping Cultivator. I'm not boasting, but my cultivation is above my eldest brother and third brother. But finding hooks isn't just about cultivation; it's about scheming."

"Such a large shop, so many phonographs. A hook is like a needle. I really can't imagine where they inserted the hooks."

"To this day, there are still quite a few hooks in the phonograph shop, but I can't find them. I may never know where they buried the hooks."

"The only thing I know is that they are working for a big shot. That big shot is currently in the Outer Continent. I don't know what their purpose is, and I don't know what plans they have for the next step."

Li Li Banfeng didn't make a sound. Ling Ling Miaosheng personally packed up the hand-cranked phonograph and handed it to Li Li Banfeng.

"You probably still don't believe me. That doesn't matter. If you want to fight, let's go outside and fight. Don't break my phonographs."

Li Li Banfeng lowered his hat, picked up the phonograph, and left the phonograph shop.

Ling Ling Miaosheng took off his hat, placed it on his chest, bowed, and watched Li Li Banfeng walk away.

Returning to Xiaoyao Dock, Li Li Banfeng hummed a song "Night Fragrance" to the phonograph. There was no sound of hooks breaking on the phonograph.

Ling Ling Miaosheng was likely telling the truth. No more information could be found here. The clue was still with Ling Ling Miaoying.

A big shot in the Outer Continent.

Which big shot could it be?

"He Haiqin, that friend of yours went to my second brother's phonograph shop today and bought a phonograph."

"Just buying a phonograph? I guess he doesn't have this leisure," He He Haiqin laughed. "He must have gone to ask your second brother about things."

"I also suspect he asked some things, but my second brother cleared most of the hooks. What they said, I don't know yet. I plan to go ask my second brother."

"You should know your second brother's temperament. Asking is asking in vain. That brother of mine is getting to the root. Your second brother didn't know much to begin with. I'm worried he'll come looking for you next."

Ling Ling Miaoying nodded: "It would be best if he came looking for me. I suspect the fire incident has something to do with him. This time, it's just right to make a clean break with him."

"No!" He He Haiqin's tone was very firm. "Do the reshooting of the movie well. There absolutely cannot be the slightest mistake in this matter."

"Change the male lead. Find another actor."

"Zhou Zhou Changhong is the best actor. You know this too."

"Just because he is the best actor, there are other things for him to do."

The next day, the newspaper published the news of the Ling Family Film Industry reshooting "Blood Blade Detective." Ma Wu frowned and said: "They move really fast. I haven't even found the actors yet, and they've already started filming."

Li Li Banfeng had been to the filming site several times and was quite familiar with the main actors. After reading the newspaper, he discovered that the actor list had changed: "Why was the male lead changed?"

Ma Wu looked carefully: "They changed Zhou Zhou Changhong. This person is a good actor. I can pull him to my side, but he has followed Ling Ling Miaoying for seven or eight years. I don't know if he's willing to defect to me."

Ma Wu immediately sent someone to contact Zhou Zhou Changhong, but learned that this person had left Green Water Bay yesterday.

Where did he go?

That night, Ma Wu learned the news from the Garrison Commandant: Zhou Zhou Changhong had gone to the Outer Continent.

"He's not filming here, what is he doing running to the Outer Continent?" Ma Wu didn't quite understand. "Could it be that he wants to go to the Outer Continent to act in movies?"

Having followed Ling Ling Miaoying for seven or eight years, he ran to the Outer Continent just when Ling Ling Miaoying was in a hurry to reshoot the movie.

Outer Continent...

Li Li Banfeng said to Ma Wu: "Keep an eye on this person's movements at all times. Tell me as soon as there is news."

Two days later, the news came.

Ma Wu said: "Zhou Zhou Changhong is back, but he didn't take any roles. I heard he is still handling a travel permit, and he's going out again in the next two days."

Li Li Banfeng said: "Watch his destination, and also handle a travel permit for me. I want to see if he is a messenger, or that big shot in the Outer Continent."

PS: Zhou Zhou Changhong is the best actor. This isn't just something said casually.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 239 =====