Chapter 326: Turning Hands into Clouds

The next day, Ma Wu had basically recovered, and Li Banfeng immediately took him out of the hospital.

Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang exclaimed: "The medical skills of this hospital are truly divine, but the incident that happened last night was a bit unsettling."

Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang had also noticed the fight between Cui Ti and Wan Jinxian in the hospital.

Huo Ling didn't take it to heart: "They can fight their fight; it has nothing to do with us. If they dare to involve Fifth Brother, they can just try."

Ma Wu looked at Huo Ling and couldn't help shaking his head repeatedly.

Shui Yongquan was right back then; Huo Ling was neither suitable to be an assassin nor suitable to be a support.

But Huo Ling liked Green Water City, and Ma Wu couldn't bear to send her back.

Because Huo Ling was a warm person, and she was particularly warm.

Returning to Outside Xiaoyao Wu, Ma Wu recounted what happened: a middle-aged man left a message beside him, and Ma Wu immediately fell ill.

Li Banfeng knew that the middle-aged man Ma Wu mentioned was Cui Ti's senior brother, and he also knew that he was coming for him, and he also knew that this person was one of He Haiqin's subordinates.

But who exactly was this senior brother?

Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang had some impression: "I took a look in the corridor yesterday. That person was covered in blisters, which was disgusting, but looking at his back, it seemed to be Wan Jinxian."

Huo Ling was startled: "Who is Wan Jinxian?"

"The military advisor to Lu Dongjun, the second master of the Lu family. This old thing is extremely insidious. Lu Dongliang often told us to be careful and guard against him."

Li Banfeng listened quietly from the side, combining the conversation between Cui Ti and Wan Jinxian last night, and a clue slowly emerged in his mind.

A very vague clue, seemingly traceable, but also intermittent.

This matter had to be sorted out properly.

Ma Wu's body was still a bit weak, so Li Banfeng told him to rest early. He returned to his Leaving Suishenju and carefully flipped through last year's newspapers.

At Medicine King Gully, the first time Li Banfeng fully understood Puluo Continent was by relying on a pile of old newspapers he bought at the Lu Family Bookstore. Since then, he had developed the habit of saving newspapers.

During the days of the disaster at Sea-Eating Ridge, it was Lu Dongjun's highlight moment. He appeared frequently in newspapers of all sizes, and Li Banfeng found quite a bit of news related to him.

But which person was Wan Jinxian?

Finally, he found it.

In a local newspaper at Sea-Eating Ridge, Li Banfeng saw a report mentioning Wan Jinxian. At that time, he was distributing food to some disaster victims on behalf of Lu Dongjun.

Lu Dongjun achieved a good reputation in the early stages of pest control; he should have used Wan Jinxian's virus, but later the mosquitoes mutated, leading to Lu Dongjun's failure.

But at that time, couldn't Wan Jinxian think of any way?

He definitely could have thought of a way. As long as he manufactured another epidemic, he could curb the number of mosquitoes. Although this method treated the symptoms but not the root cause, it could at least help Lu Dongjun delay for a period of time.

But Wan Jinxian didn't do that, and Lu Dongjun disappeared completely not long after.

Wan Jinxian never intended to help Lu Dongjun with pest control from the beginning. He just tricked Lu Dongjun to Sea-Eating Ridge, first letting Lu Dongjun be infinitely glorious, then letting Lu Dongjun be disgraced.

What was his purpose in doing this?

To be precise, this was not Wan Jinxian's purpose; this was He Haiqin's purpose, and Wan Jinxian was He Haiqin's subordinate.

Li Banfeng spread out the newspapers one by one, specifically looking for news at Sea-Eating Ridge during that period.

After searching for more than half an hour, Li Banfeng saw a key piece of information in the news.

Business.

Business at Sea-Eating Ridge!

After Lu Dongjun achieved results in pest control at First Ridge, he acquired a large amount of business. In the news at that time, there were many photos of Lu Dongjun signing contracts. Many businesses at Sea-Eating Ridge all belonged to Lu Dongjun.

But where did these businesses go later?

Li Banfeng continued to flip through the newspapers and found that these businesses were sold by Lu Dongjun again.

Shen Rongqing, Qian Xiangjun, Duan Shuqun...

Li Banfeng hadn't heard of any of these merchants' names.

Lu Dongjun was like a relay runner, receiving the businesses into his hands and scattering them all out in a short period of time.

What was the reason for this?

Business...

It seemed a big business deal was done at that time.

Who did it?

Seeing Chu Er!

Continuing to flip through the newspapers, Li Banfeng found that before Lu Dongjun went to Sea-Eating Ridge, he also sold many of the Lu family's businesses in Green Water City. The most famous business deal was Lu Dongjun selling the Baile Gate to Seeing Chu Er!

Later, most of these businesses were recovered by Qiu Zhiheng, but some businesses were bought by others.

Who bought them?

Shen Rongqing, Duan Shuqun...

It was this group of people again!

Li Banfeng stared at the newspaper, his thoughts spinning rapidly.

"Hey, husband, why are you so studious today? Come and try this armor; it's a rare sight..."

"Precious wife, let's not talk about the armor for now; sing me a cheerful song."

"Husband, you're in such a good mood today?"

"It's not that I'm in a good mood; it's that I'm about to get sick."

What a big game.

What a big game!

Li Banfeng's brain was about to overload.

Hearing Li Banfeng say he was about to get sick, the Phonograph hurriedly sang "Stars Imprinted."

"A star in the sky shines on my heart, and my heart also imprints a person. When withered, give me nourishment; when lost, give me guidance..."

Accompanied by the violin and piano, the Phonograph's full-of-tenderness singing voice allowed Li Banfeng to calm down quickly and gradually integrate the information.

He Haiqin used Wan Jinxian to trick Lu Dongjun to Sea-Eating Ridge.

During this period, Lu Dongjun was just like a tool, gathering a large sum of business for He Haiqin.

Counting the businesses in these newspapers, and then counting the Ling family, the assets currently in He Haiqin's hands were not inferior to the four great families.

This was the capital he wanted to rebuild Puluo Continent?

Not just that!

In last night's conversation, the two had talked about He Haiqin's matter.

The reason He Haiqin fell ill was because he was harmed by Wan Jinxian.

If Wan Jinxian was just Lu Dongjun's military advisor, it would be reasonable for him to do so.

But if this was under He Haiqin's instruction, the matter would be complicated again.

Li Banfeng had bought three and a half years of newspapers at the Lu Family Bookstore. In these newspapers, Li Banfeng found the news of He Haiqin's serious illness.

It was at this time that Wan Jinxian planted the disease on He Haiqin.

Before He Haiqin fell ill, the focus of the news was mostly concentrated on the struggle between the He and Lu families. From the overall trend, the He family at that time was slightly dominant.

After He Haiqin fell ill, the Lu family became the sole dominant power. In other words, from that time on, He Haiqin had already begun to manipulate the pattern of Puluo Continent.

What about next?

Next, I came.

Li Banfeng spread out the newspapers one by one, from the main room all the way to the seventh room.

The Phonograph sang over and over again, fearing that Li Banfeng would fall ill, but Li Banfeng appeared unusually calm.

The clues were becoming clearer.

After Li Banfeng came to Puluo Continent, waves rose one after another, almost never stopping. After Lu Dongliang died, the Lu family fell into chaos, and taking this opportunity, the Ling family rose.

Was this all within He Haiqin's control?

Not necessarily.

Lu Dongliang's death definitely wasn't within He Haiqin's control; he absolutely wouldn't have expected Lu Dongliang to die at my hands.

But the chaos in the Lu family was inevitably related to him. From the news at that time, in order to compete for the Did Honglian, the Lu and He families had already turned against each other openly.

As for whether it was He Yuxiu or Lu Dongjun who attacked Lu Dongliang, this matter could be put aside for now. As long as the Lu and He families had problems, He Haiqin's purpose was achieved.

Was this the reason he let me bring the Did Honglian back to Puluo Continent?

It indeed made sense in terms of logic.

He Haiqin's identity was too conspicuous. If he brought the Did Honglian back himself, the news would definitely leak out, the He family would be besieged, and he himself couldn't stay out of it; he would most likely become the focus of the siege.

But there was a problem with the process.

He could choose not to bring the Did Honglian back.

He could keep the Did Honglian in the Outer Continent forever.

He had already used the "One Parting Ten Thousand Miles" technique to trap Lu Xiaolan in the He family's old mansion, and he had already pretended to be a victim and successfully lay in the hospital.

He only needed to let people spread the news that the Did Honglian had been snatched by Lu Xiaolan, that Lu Xiaolan had disappeared, and the Lu family would be unable to defend themselves and would fall into a predicament.

And He Haiqin could be in Yuezhou, holding the Did Honglian, refining pills to his heart's content. For him, wasn't this the most perfect result?

Why did he insist on letting me bring the Did Honglian back?

Why must the Did Honglian return to Puluo Continent?

The clues hadn't been completely sorted out yet.

When did He Haiqin start his layout?

Was it after he went to Yuezhou, or did he start when he was in Puluo Continent?

Li Banfeng didn't have newspapers from any earlier than that.

He should have bought more old newspapers at that time; the value of this stuff was too high.

Was there a similar place in Green Water City?

Li Banfeng hugged the Phonograph and acted affectionately for a while. Confirming that Li Banfeng hadn't fallen ill, the Phonograph also felt relieved.

Coming out of the Leaving Suishenju, Li Banfeng asked Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang: "Is there a place in Green Water City that sells old newspapers?"

"Newspapers, this newspaper..." Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang didn't recognize many characters and didn't usually read newspapers, so this matter was difficult for him.

The singer Chu Xuan at Outside Xiaoyao Wu loved reading newspapers and knew where old newspapers were sold.

"On Wansheng Road, behind Ning Shou Restaurant, there is a Lu Family Bookstore. I've been there once; they sell old newspapers."

Li Banfeng knew Ning Shou Restaurant; he had been there to drink.

Li Banfeng was just about to leave when he turned back and asked: "Which bookstore did you say?"

"Lu Family Bookstore."

The one that sold old newspapers at Medicine King Gully was the Lu Family Bookstore.

How come it was still called Lu Family Bookstore when it reached Green Water City?

A chain store?

Li Banfeng soon arrived at the Lu Family Bookstore. The bookstore wasn't big, but it looked familiar. The storefront and sign were exactly the same as the Lu Family Bookstore at Medicine King Gully.

Did chain stores do things so standardly?

Not only was the storefront the same, but the layout inside the bookstore was also exactly the same.

"Are you buying books?" Boss Lu stepped forward to welcome the guest.

Even the boss was exactly the same!

Li Banfeng asked: "Weren't you doing business at Medicine King Gully before?"

The boss's eyes lit up: "You know me? I was indeed at Medicine King Gully before. Later, the business got better and better, so I moved to Green Water City."

So that was the situation.

Li Banfeng nodded: "I want to buy newspapers."

"Please come this way."

"These are the newspapers you want. Check if the dates are correct first." Boss Lu took a stack of newspapers and gave them to Qiu Zhiheng. Qiu Zhiheng paid the money, took the newspapers, and returned to Qiu's Pharmacy.

His wife asked from the side: "Why did you bring so many old newspapers back?"

Qiu Zhiheng said: "I didn't manage the business at Medicine King Gully much before; I have to take a careful look at the situation here."

His wife smiled: "In your half-life, you've experienced so many big storms and waves. Can't you see the situation at Medicine King Gully clearly at a glance?"

Qiu Zhiheng shook his head: "At a glance, one can see a general idea at most. If you miss a glance, the trouble will be big."

Just as they were talking, the medicine delivery person arrived.

His wife smiled: "That little girl who delivers medicine is so likable; I'll go see her."

Qiu Zhiheng asked casually: "Which little girl?"

"Old Xue's family from Sanpu Village at the Outer Gully, named Xue Yingying."

Qiu Zhiheng thought for a while and shook his head: "Has she been here?"

"How could she not have been here? She was the one who delivered the medicine last time. Her nickname is Grass Leaf."

PS: In Chapter 164, Lu Dongjun's Jiangyuan Leather Factory was acquired by Shen Rongqing. Lu Dongjun was unaware of it at the time, but there was a photo of him shaking hands with Shen Rongqing in the newspaper.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 327 =====