Chapter 264: All Are Brothers

"Haiqin, who told you about this?"

He Haiqin replied with a blank expression: "The news came from the Lu family."

He Yuxiu waved her hand: "You actually believe the Lu family's rumors? This is clearly an attempt to sow discord!"

He Haiqin looked at He Yuxiu: "The Lu family wouldn't fabricate something out of thin air. I must get to the bottom of this."

He Yuxiu pinched her chin, thinking for a long while: "First, send the third brother to Yuezhou to check. Jiaqing has been raised under my eyes—he's an honest boy. How could he possibly deceive you?"

"No need for the third brother!" He Haiqin stood up. "I've already bought train tickets. I'm going to Waizhou myself—I'll see if the man lying in that hospital is really him!"

"Haiqin, don't act rashly. You're the head of the He family. If you go to Waizhou, it'll cause a huge uproar!"

The uproar indeed grew massive.

He Yuxiu couldn't stop He Haiqin.

The next day, He Haiqin boarded the train to Waizhou.

…

In Zhengjing Village, everything was in chaos: the third installment of "Blood Spear Detective" was about to wrap filming. Ma Wu led the crew scouting locations and shooting key scenes, while Li Banfeng went to Lüshu City to handle promotion and ticket sales.

Cinemas across the land waited anxiously; Li Banfeng didn't even need to reach out—reporters from major newspapers came knocking on his door on their own.

He couldn't show his face, so he left everything to his subordinates; the buzz was clear from the newspapers—coverage of "Blood Spear Detective" filled over half the front pages.

Besides "Blood Spear Detective," another major piece of news emerged.

The eldest son of the He family was reportedly seen in Puluozhou.

This news didn't appear in every paper: the Ling family's newspapers said nothing, while the Lu family's papers screamed it across headlines.

Li Banfeng carefully read the article: it claimed He Jiaqing had impersonated the famous actor Zhou Changhong and was exposed by an acquaintance in Lüshu City.

Who was this acquaintance?

He set the question aside for now. Li Banfeng put down the newspaper, a chill crawling up his spine.

He'd boarded the train to Wuqinxiang originally to track Zhou Changhong and uncover the mastermind behind the Ling family.

Now it seemed clear: the Zhou Changhong back then was He Jiaqing.

What if I'd actually gotten off at Wuqinxiang?

Back then, Zhou Changhong had seemingly used a Foolish Cultivator technique on me—I'd been tormented by doubt nearly the entire train ride.

There are only two surviving disciples of the Foolish Cultivator lineage. Could He Jiaqing be the other one?

Did he lure me off at Wuqinxiang to strike at me?

Was he trying to reclaim the Bronze Lotus?

If I refused to give it to him, would he kill me?

Even if I gave it to him, would he spare me?

Life or death—truly, life or death.

Fortunately, I broke the trap with the Judge's Pen and got off at Jianren Gang.

Li Banfeng drank a cup of wine, letting his nerves gradually settle, then browsed the related news.

There were many reports about He Jiaqing—why had his return caused such a commotion?

After reading other articles, Li Banfeng noticed the pattern.

In the Lu family's newspapers, the commentary focused on one point: that He Jiaqing had been injured by Lu Xiaolan was a complete lie—the Lu family had been falsely accused.

To outsiders, the Lu family had now cleared its name.

To insiders, whether they were innocent or not didn't matter—the real issue was that the Xuan Sheng Hong Lian had nothing to do with the Lu family anymore.

From all the signs, the Xuan Sheng Hong Lian was still in He Jiaqing's hands; Lu Xiaolan had become the scapegoat.

Who could possibly know the Xuan Sheng Hong Lian was in my possession?

The He family's eldest son draws too much attention—that may be one reason he couldn't personally bring the Lotus back to Puluozhou.

Are there other reasons?

Possibly, but they're not visible yet.

There was another crucial piece of news: He Haiqin had gone to Waizhou.

Jiaqing, your father's coming to see you. Treat him well—he's your good brother, after all.

Li Banfeng set the newspaper aside and picked up the oil can.

His wife shuddered: "Oh my, husband, what day is this? Why are you suddenly oiling the machine?"

Li Banfeng grinned foolishly: "Today's a great day. A very special day!"

"Oh no no no, husband, let me prepare first! Don't rush to oil the brush—I haven't…!"

Her voice grew hoarse as steam hissed sharply.

Xiang Hongying jolted awake, shouting: "What's going on? Has the enemy broken in?"

Changji gritted his teeth: "In—in they came!"

…

In the Lu family mansion, Lu Yuanhai roared: "He Jiaqing, that bastard! He set up this whole scheme and turned our house upside down! Tomorrow I'll have the press publish even more articles—I'll see how the He family dares to stand in Puluozhou after this!"

Lu Yuanshan stayed silent.

Monkey Qiu asked: "Is this news really from Old Master's side?"

Lu Yuanhai said: "How could it be fake? Old Master's steward told me—he personally recognized He Jiaqing!"

Monkey Qiu lit a cigarette, his expression grim: "Why would Old Master leak this information?"

Lu Yuanhai blinked: "Uncle Qiu, you think this news is fake?"

Qiu Zhiheng shook his head, saying nothing.

Lu Yuanshan said: "Regardless of whether the news is true or false, Old Master shouldn't have revealed it.

The He family has always been at odds with us precisely because of the Xuan Sheng Hong Lian—they've always suspected it's with Xiaolan, or even with us.

This situation benefits Old Master: we're tied down by the He family's suspicions, giving him room to sabotage us from behind.

Now that He Jiaqing's return is exposed, our suspicion is cleared—Old Master loses his chance to turn the tide."

Lu Yuanhai suddenly understood: "So you're saying Old Master leaked the news for another purpose."

Lu Yuanshan looked at Monkey Qiu.

Monkey Qiu remained silent for a long while—he couldn't fathom what Lu Mao was thinking.

…

Lu Mao himself didn't want to expose this, but he had no choice—it was the Saint's command.

The white-robed youth said: "Brother, Master made it clear: He Jiaqing is extremely dangerous. He must never be allowed to remain in Puluozhou. The more people who know about him, the better. We cannot tolerate him stirring trouble in the shadows."

Lu Mao nodded: "I'll follow Master's orders."

…

In the Three Hospitals of Yuezhou, Zhou Changhong, lying in bed, sensed someone beside him and suddenly opened his eyes.

He thought it was Xiao Zhenggong—but the figure standing there was He Jiaqing.

Zhou Changhong exhaled deeply, then tensed again.

He'd confided everything to Xiao Zhenggong—did He Jiaqing know?

He Jiaqing lowered his voice: "Brother, you've suffered these past days. Here are your train ticket and travel permit. When you get back, hide for a few months at Miaoying's place. Don't show your face for now. Once the storm passes, I'll have Miaoying buy you a house in Lüshu City."

Zhou Changhong waved his hands: "Brothers don't need to say such things."

Behind He Jiaqing stood another man—Zhou Changhong recognized him: Zhu Junlong, manager of the Chashan Hotel.

"Changhong, stay at Junlong's tonight. He'll take you to the station tomorrow."

He Jiaqing had prepared casual clothes for Zhou Changhong, who immediately changed and left the hospital with Zhu Junlong.

Not long after they left, Datou entered the room.

"You're just letting him go?" Datou meant Zhou Changhong.

He Jiaqing smiled bitterly: "He's my brother. If a brother wrongs me, I bear it myself—but I'll never betray a brother."

…

Zhou Changhong followed Zhu Junlong to the hotel, where he was placed in a suite.

Having impersonated He Jiaqing for so long, Zhou Changhong was exhausted. Zhu Junlong had meant to give him some final instructions, but Zhou Changhong yawned, crawled under the covers, and fell into a deep sleep.

At two in the morning, Zhou Changhong opened his eyes.

He felt drowsy, as if he needed the restroom—and along the way, he carefully noted the position of every surveillance camera.

One in the bedroom, one in the living room, one by the door.

With his cultivation, evading these three cameras wouldn't be hard—but he needed preparation.

The bathroom had no cameras—perfect for preparation.

He took a disposable toothbrush cup, filled it with water.

He sliced his finger with a disposable razor and squeezed blood into the cup.

The blood dispersed evenly in the water. Zhou Changhong drank half, leaving the other half in the bathroom.

He returned to bed and slept again.

Ten minutes later, the remaining half of the blood-water rapidly evaporated, becoming a thin mist that filled the entire suite.

A hallucination appeared within the suite.

Externally, nothing seemed amiss—Zhou Changhong still slept in bed.

But in truth, Zhou Changhong had left the room. His appearance and attire had changed drastically: from a tall, handsome middle-aged man, he became a petite young woman.

He took the elevator to the first floor, where the hotel lobby attendant was dozing off.

Zhou Changhong walked calmly out of the hotel entrance, picked up a flyer from the ground, and hailed a taxi.

After getting in, he told the driver to take him to Eagle Mountain Apartments.

He had no money and no phone; when he got out, he handed the flyer to the driver.

To the driver's eyes, he had received a hundred-yuan bill.

These days, few people paid with cash; the driver was just thinking how to give change when Zhou Changhong said generously, "Keep the change."

The driver thanked him repeatedly and drove off.

Zhou Changhong entered the apartment building, reached Room 208, and unlocked the keypad lock.

This was the escape route he had left for himself.

Xiao Zheng had warned Zhou Changhong that as soon as He Jiaqing returned, he must notify Xiao Zheng immediately, or He Jiaqing would kill him to silence him.

With both He Jiaqing and Xiao Zheng standing before him, who would Zhou Changhong believe?

He trusted no one—he trusted only himself now.

He had travel permits, train tickets, and a completely new identity, unknown even to He Jiaqing.

After returning to Puluozhou, he planned to vanish completely; his lifetime savings were enough to sustain his luxurious lifestyle.

He had bought this apartment; all necessities were in place, but he had rarely stayed here.

The bed was covered in dust; Zhou Changhong brushed at it a few times, only to find more dust rising with each swipe.

Strange—where had this dust come from?

It didn't seem to come from the bed—it came from his hands.

Zhou Changhong looked at his palm and saw his right hand splitting along its lines, thick clouds of dust gushing out from the cracks.

Zhou Changhong was horrified; his legs buckled and he fell to the floor.

As he fell, he realized his legs had split open too—no blood, only endless dust pouring from the wounds.

He tried to scream, but as soon as he opened his mouth, dust surged out through his throat.

Half an hour later, the apartment held nothing but dust—not even his clothes remained.

…

In a hospital ward in Yuezhou, Old Wan checked the time and said to He Jiaqing, "He should be having his episode soon."

He Jiaqing said, "Can you clean it up completely?"

"Don't worry," said Wan Jinxian, glancing at the vase beside the bed. "Nothing will be left."

"I'd like to see what my fellow disciple looks like."

PS: Zhou Changhong's clothes were given to him by He Jiaqing.

(End of Chapter)