Chapter 257: Blood Spear Detective

Li Banfeng lay in his personal dwelling for half a day before finally recovering.

During that time, the phonograph held him tightly.

This was why Li Banfeng returned to his personal dwelling—he knew that after an episode, he might lose all control.

He was at the Double Fifth Layer cultivation base; if he unleashed his full power, not a single soul would remain alive in the entire inn—luckily, his wife could still restrain him.

He sat on the edge of the bed and calmly asked the phonograph: "Wife, there's a technique where you push someone and they fly away—you can fly too, and so can they. What's this technique called?"

Li Banfeng's speech was unclear and jumbled; his wife gently soothed him: "Husband, why are you asking this?"

"That's my enemy's technique—I'm going to find him and take revenge!" Li Banfeng rose to leave, but the phonograph seized him in a tight embrace.

"Husband, you must not go."

"Why can't I go?" Li Banfeng now desperately wanted to return to Waizhou and get answers.

Hong Ying sneered: "What you just described is the Ninth Layer Traveler technique, Ten Thousand Li Apart."

"If your enemy is a Ninth Layer Traveler, how could you possibly be his match with your current cultivation base? Going would just be suicide."

Ninth Layer technique.

He Jiaqing is at the Ninth Layer.

With his Ninth Layer cultivation base, he could never have been injured by Lu Xiaolan.

Then why did he have me call him?

And why did he appear on my dorm bed?

Just to drag me into this?

What benefit would dragging me in give him?

Copper Lotus.

The Copper Lotus is hidden in the campus supermarket, concealed using my face.

He wants me to hold onto the Copper Lotus for him.

He had me call him—and because of that call, Lu Xiaolan planted a hook on my phone.

To save herself, Lu Xiaolan will inevitably contact me and lure me to Puluo State.

And she still wants the Copper Lotus—so she's using me to bring it back to Puluo State.

He counted on me taking the Copper Lotus to the He family manor.

How did he know I could definitely defeat Lu Xiaolan?

Why is he so confident in me?

What if I couldn't defeat Lu Xiaolan?

Wouldn't the Lotus then fall into Lu Xiaolan's hands?

What if Lu Xiaolan escapes successfully and I'm trapped in the He family manor, unable to leave? What if I'm left to die there, slowly starved or suffocated?

After a moment's thought, Li Banfeng understood.

He Jiaqing doesn't know whether I can defeat Lu Xiaolan.

But it doesn't matter to him.

Whether I live or Lu Xiaolan dies, it's all the same to him—the crucial thing is that the Crimson Lotus has already been brought back to Puluo State.

Then why did he use me to bring it back?

Back then, I was still a greenhorn.

He has Ninth Layer cultivation—why didn't he bring such an important item back himself?

Li Banfeng still couldn't fathom He Jiaqing's intentions, but some subsequent events had become clearer.

The most important of these was the Ling family matter.

The Ling family holds such high status, yet they've been targeting me relentlessly. From the Ling family's perspective alone, this makes no sense—but if the Ling family is backed by He Jiaqing, everything suddenly becomes clear.

He wants to retrieve the Xuan Sheng Crimson Lotus.

He had me bring it back before, and now he wants to retrieve it himself—what's his true intention here?

Li Banfeng brought the Crimson Lotus into the main chamber and spoke softly: "Ah Lian, I have a question for you: What plan do you and He Jiaqing have? Why can't you return to Puluo State together?"

The Crimson Lotus remained silent.

Li Banfeng turned to the phonograph: "Wife, has Ah Lian spoken at all?"

Chit-chit~

"Hey, husband, this bitch hasn't said a word—but this little servant would like to ask: Who exactly is He Jiaqing?"

"Hey, wife, He Jiaqing is my best friend—he said back then that I was the only friend he had."

"Now I realize he's been setting me up. You don't know how it feels to be betrayed by a best friend!"

Chit-chit~

The phonograph fell silent for a long while.

Hong Ying snapped: "Unfaithful husband, if you have something to say, say it plainly—don't hint and insult like this!"

Li Banfeng ignored Hong Ying and continued stroking the Crimson Lotus: "Won't speak, huh? Fine. We've got plenty of time. If you won't talk today, you'll talk eventually."

After resting half a day in the manor, Li Banfeng's mood improved.

He had to make himself feel better.

Being tricked was painful enough—letting this make him suffer further would be like losing everything twice over.

He couldn't dwell on it—he had to smile, had to find something fun to do.

Li Banfeng wandered around Guangming Town, treating it as cultivation practice.

At the town center, he saw a crowd gathered before a Western-style building—he thought something was being sold on promotion, but when he got closer, he realized they were buying movie tickets.

Guangming Town had a cinema—but why so many people here to watch a movie?

A movie ticket cost five Huan Kingdom notes; by Puluo State's consumption standards, that wasn't cheap—even in Lüshui City, watching a movie was a luxury for ordinary families.

Today's turnout rivaled the Spring Festival rush in Yuezhou City.

Li Banfeng stepped closer and saw two posters hanging outside the cinema.

Puluo State's movie posters differed from those in Waizhou—they didn't feature large photographs, but instead used Puluo State's distinctive painted posters.

One poster depicted a man's back, holding a short blade, walking alone through the wind; ahead of him lay a trail of blood, and several grim-faced figures seemed to be plotting something sinister.

To the right of the poster were four large characters: "Blood Blade Detective."

Li Banfeng turned to the other poster: it showed a man walking alone among flowers, with several women standing among the blooms, their faces flushed, gazing at him with eager eyes.

Centered on the poster were four large characters: "Blood Spear Detective."

"Blood Blade Detective" was produced by Ling Family Cinema—Li Banfeng had once visited the filming site and burned the film reels.

Zhou Changhong had mentioned on the train that this film needed to be wrapped up quickly; Li Banfeng had assumed it was just Zhou Changhong's trick to lure him off at Wuqin Village.

Now it seemed Zhou Changhong had been telling the truth.

Ten films in total—were they really wrapped up this fast?

The other film, "Blood Spear Detective," was clearly made by Ma Wu—Ma Wu was fast; in such a short time, he'd actually finished a whole movie.

Ma Wu did well—this movie would make Ling Miaoying suffer, and He Jiaqing behind her would suffer too.

But how much would they suffer?

That needed to be seen.

Ma Wu's movie was funded by Li Banfeng!

He had to compare them—he called Xiao Yeci and the others out, and bought each of them two tickets.

First, they watched Ling Family's "Blood Blade Detective."

The cinema was large, with two floors; Li Banfeng's tickets were all upstairs. The group sat together. Before the film began, a vendor selling peanuts arrived, and Li Banfeng bought each person a bag.

After a while, a vendor selling soda came by. Li Banfeng told the group: "Pick whatever flavor you like."

Some chose orange, others chose honeydew. Xiao Yeci, knowing the rules, warned the others: "Listen up—after you drink the soda, don't throw the bottles away. You get your deposit back."

After waiting a while longer, the cinema was about sixty percent full. Two attendants pulled the curtains shut and extinguished all the gas lamps. A young boy carried two large boxes of film reels into the projection room—the movie began.

"Blood Blade Detective" lasted one hour and eight minutes, telling the story of detective Liang Chunjie, who, while investigating a murder, faced relentless obstruction from the mysterious organization's leader, Lü Guina, gradually uncovering the truth through intense struggle.

The male lead was played by star Sheng Xijun—Zhou Changhong did not appear.

The female lead was still Xiao Xiufei; in this film, her relationship with the male lead appeared ambiguous but was in fact adversarial, portrayed with great subtlety.

In Puluo State's film industry, Ling Miaoying was the top figure—her control over pacing and boundaries was impeccable.

The film's ending did not reveal the true killer—the detective Liang Chunjie fell into a trap, surrounded by members of the mysterious organization, his fate unknown, leaving viewers wanting more.

This was Ling Miaoying's design—to create suspense for the sequel.

As for Li Banfeng, he still enjoyed this film.

But some in the audience were dissatisfied.

One viewer said: "What kind of movie is this? The ending makes no sense—it's confusing."

Another said: "It's just to see Xiao Xiufei—they say her performance this time was deeply nuanced."

"What nuance? All you saw was her back the whole time—nothing else!"

"This one showed her back—the next one will show her front!"

"Watch the next one? I don't think it's worth it."

"It's free tickets anyway—just come watch. Why complain so much?"

Hearing this, Li Banfeng grew agitated. He turned to the viewers behind him: "Your tickets were free?"

The viewer stared, astonished: "You bought yours?"

"I paid for mine!" Li Banfeng was furious—was this how they treated outsiders?

A man beside him urged, "Brother, don't get angry—this ticket isn't free. You've never watched a movie here before, have you?"

Within a month, you must have watched three films at this theater and used the stubs to exchange for a ticket to 'Blood Blade Detective'—this is the theater's new rule this month."

Li Banfeng understood.

The film 'Blood Blade Detective' had become a promotional giveaway.

Or perhaps it was a special marketing tactic.

"Watch three movies, exchange for one ticket—can you only exchange for 'Blood Blade Detective'?"

"You can exchange for other films too, but not 'Blood Spear Detective'—that one's special; you must buy a ticket to see it!"

Is Ma Wu's film really that special?

But I've bought so many tickets—it'd be a waste not to exchange them.

Li Banfeng asked again, "Besides 'Blood Spear Detective,' what other good films are there?"

The audience member shook his head. "I don't know."

"You've seen three films, haven't you? Didn't you get this ticket through exchange?"

The audience member nodded. "I watched three films—but I only watched 'Blood Spear Detective.'"

"You only watched 'Blood Spear Detective'? Three times?"

The audience member looked serious. "Three times isn't enough! I'll have to watch it again after this!"

Li Banfeng sat stunned for a moment, then bought everyone more soda, waiting for the next film to start.

Half an hour later, 'Blood Spear Detective' began.

The theater's audience had doubled—full house, with standing tickets too!

In Ma Wu's film, the male lead was Song Chunjie, who encountered resistance from the mysterious organization's leader, Zhang Guina, while investigating a murder case.

To uncover the truth, Song Chunjie chose to use his gun—and conquered Zhang Guina.

The organization's top leader had thus submitted, but the second-in-command refused, launching a new round of conflict with Song Chunjie.

After the second-in-command was conquered, the third-in-command appeared…

The visuals and plot grew increasingly explicit.

"Oh my god, they're serious~" Xiao Ye Ci blushed, unable to look further, covering her eyes with her hands.

Lu Chunying said, "Mom, if you don't want to watch, cover your own eyes—not mine."

Niu Guangda was thrilled—it was his first movie. He told his companion beside him, "The people of Green Water Bay really have guts."

Fang Lianfu nodded. "Yes, they do!"

An elderly man nearby cursed, "Decadent! A disgrace to public morals!"

A young man nearby quickly urged: "Sir, calm down—you got angry at yesterday's screening too, and you were still upset when you got home."

…

"This movie is unbearable to watch!" He Cunshou, the elder of the He family, shook his head in anger as he watched. "They actually film this kind of thing—how has Ma Wu become so corrupt!"

He Yuxiu whispered to He Haiqin, "Uncle's really angry—he was furious at the last screening, and even angrier at the one before that."

He Haiqin nodded. "He was angriest during the first screening—he nearly walked out halfway through!"

'Blood Spear Detective' was a huge hit, but Ma Wu only made one film.

He didn't want to make a second.

At the dinner table, Ma Wu looked at Lu Yuan Shan and Lu Yuan Hai, his expression grave: "Brothers, this movie was made by all three of us—this reputation can't fall on me alone!"

PS: This movie is so good, I even want to watch it.

(End of Chapter)