Chapter 333: Not Enough

Li Banfeng and Ma Wu took the train to Heishipo.

In the past, riding the train never bored Li Banfeng; when he felt bored, he'd return to Suishenju to play with his wife.

Today, even if he wanted to return, he couldn't—the key wasn't on him.

Fortunately, Ma Wu was thoughtful; before boarding, he bought a stack of newspapers and magazines, and they read them all the way, while Li Banfeng listened to Gloves pant the entire journey.

What exactly was he panting about? What had Gloves done to become so exhausted?

Not only Gloves panted, but Ma Wu did too, his face slick with beads of sweat.

"Old Five, what's wrong with you?"

Ma Wu wiped his sweat and said, "I think I'm about to ascend."

Li Banfeng smiled: "With the way you sleep, you should've ascended long ago. When we get to Heishipo, rest for two days."

"Can't rest," Ma Wu shook his head. "I need to take over all of Lu Maoxian's businesses—he's the big shot in Heishipo, with countless deals under his control."

"Why the rush? This is a business the Lu family gave us—why worry someone else will snatch it?"

Lu Maoxian had conspired against the Zong family; according to clan law, he should've been expelled and all his assets reclaimed by the clan. To repay Li Qi and Ma Wu, Lu Chunying handed over all of Heishipo's businesses to them.

Ma Wu shook his head: "You don't understand—the Qingshou Society might actually come to seize it. When one of their disciples dies, they claim the assets, especially since Lu Maoxian was their Elder."

So it was the Qingshou Society that wanted to seize it.

Li Banfeng frowned slightly: "We haven't even finished negotiating the last deal, and now a new one's appeared."

Ma Wu blinked: "What deal with them?"

Li Banfeng said: "They want to take over our projector business."

Ma Wu laughed: "What are they thinking?"

Li Banfeng didn't laugh.

Behind the Qingshou Society stood the Sage.

Now that Lu Maoxian was dead, would the Sage act?

…

Jianren Gang, Shengxian Peak, the Sage's residence.

The white-robed youth reported Lu Maoxian's death.

The breathing inside the room ceased abruptly. The Sage asked: "Do you know who did it?"

"Lu Maoxian sent assassins to kill Lu Chunying in his bid for clan leadership—this matter is inseparable from Lu Chunying."

"Lu Chunying killed Lu Maoxian, then immediately launched a public outcry demanding an explanation from him—does that make sense?"

"Perhaps Lu Chunying did it deliberately to mislead others."

"Both sides were at each other's throats, and the affair had already reached the outer provinces—yet you still speak of misdirection?"

The white-robed youth pondered long, unsure how to respond.

Logically, this matter was indeed flawed.

Slap!

Two sharp slaps echoed in the room; a woman clutched her peach and hurried out, flustered.

The Sage spoke slowly: "Someone took advantage of the chaos."

"Who?"

"Who else could it be?"

His tone was calm, but his anger was clear.

He meant He Jiaqing.

The white-robed disciple said: "Master, previously He Jiaqing ambushed Lu Maoxian but didn't kill him."

He Jiaqing had merely castrated Lu Maoxian, who had wept and complained for a long time—but at the time, He Jiaqing had indeed not killed him.

The Sage sneered: "Back then, He Jiaqing dared not kill Lu Maoxian because he was intimidated by Lüshui Gai.

Now, taking advantage of the Lu family's internal chaos, He Jiaqing struck again, killing Lu Maoxian off-guard and framing Lu Chunying.

When he sets his mind to something, he sees it through—in this, I actually admire He Jiaqing."

The white-robed disciple paused, then asked: "If he's such a capable man, why not recruit him into your service, Master?"

The Sage smiled: "This man has boundless ambition; even if I brought him in, I couldn't control him. But I can use him as bait to eliminate him.

Find a way to contact him, and get him to come to Puluo Province."

…

Li Banfeng arrived at Heishipo and returned to his lodging to find the key.

The key was under the bed; Li Banfeng quickly returned to Suishenju.

Inside, his wife wasn't angry—he'd told her he'd be away for several days.

Suishenju wasn't angry either.

Li Banfeng had barely sat on the bed when Gloves arrived, panting: "Master, now that we're home, I won't hide it anymore—good things must be brought out."

"What good thing?"

"Master, look!" Gloves spat out a one-foot-square box, sealed with an iron lock.

Li Banfeng simply couldn't comprehend how large Gloves' capacity was.

"You panted all the way because you were overstuffed?"

"Not overstuffed—too heavy!" As he spoke, Gloves picked up a hairpin from the table.

Hong Ying snapped: "What are you doing? That's mine!"

"Just borrowing it—I'll buy you a whole box tomorrow!"

Hong Ying snapped: "A whole box? Do you have money for it?"

"I do—I brought money back for the Master!" Gloves inserted the hairpin into the lock, twisted twice, and the lock clicked open.

The box was filled with gold bars—every inch packed.

Gloves drew his thumb to his chest, bowed low: "Master, this is my offering to you—please inspect it."

Li Banfeng picked up a gold bar; though small in size, it was heavy—no wonder Gloves was exhausted.

"Where did these gold bars come from?"

Gloves straightened: "I took them from that old man's house—right under his bed!"

The old man?

Lu Maoxian?

"How did you know he had gold under his bed? And the box wasn't even opened."

Gloves replied humbly: "If I couldn't smell gold when I encountered it, how could I possibly keep eating at your table?"

Li Banfeng laughed: "You panted all the way just to carry this box of gold?"

Gloves' index finger trembled as he nodded: "Wealth must not be displayed openly—I couldn't risk exposing it outside, lest it bring trouble upon you, Master."

Li Banfeng laughed: "Good! Reward granted—this box of gold is yours!"

Gloves froze for a moment: "Master… you mean all of it is mine?"

Li Banfeng nodded: "All of it."

"That can't be—it's my offering to you!"

"Why not? It's my reward to you."

Gloves still felt uneasy: "I'll keep half—Master, you must have at least half."

Li Banfeng smiled: "Half is what you earned with your skill; the other half is my gift to you. So the entire box still belongs to you."

The phonograph chimed in: "Hey, husband, what use is so much gold to him? He has nowhere to spend it!"

Li Banfeng laughed: "Wife, you don't understand. You must own what you love—but you don't necessarily have to use it.

Just having it, clutched in your hand, brings comfort!"

Hearing this, Gloves raised his middle finger and stared fixedly at Li Banfeng.

Some things, not everyone can comprehend.

But Gloves' nature—Li Banfeng actually understood it.

Li Banfeng closed the lid and solemnly handed the box of gold to Gloves.

Gloves swallowed the box, stood on his thumb and pinky, let his index and ring fingers hang down, straightened his posture, and stared earnestly at Li Banfeng.

He felt Li Banfeng towered impossibly high—he had to stand perfectly upright just to look up.

"Master, I—"

"Don't point your middle finger at me!" Li Banfeng swung the feather duster and knocked Gloves flat to the ground.

Gloves quickly switched to his index finger and ran off alone to the Fifth Chamber, happily counting his gold.

…

Ma Wu had finalized the accounts and taken control of one of Lu Maoxian's coal mines—the progress was smooth; the Qingshou Society never showed up to cause trouble.

With his ascent imminent, Ma Wu dared not overexert himself; he left the remaining businesses to his subordinates and returned to the inn to rest.

Heishipo remained calm. Seizing the opportunity, Li Banfeng uncovered the full history of Shumei Paper Mill.

The newspaper reports were true—the mill had indeed been sold by Tu Shumei to the He family. But why had it ended up in Shen Rongqing's hands?

Researching newspapers was grueling—it required piecing together seemingly unrelated fragments. From the timeline of news reports, Li Banfeng finally found a clue.

Shortly after acquiring the mill, He Haiqin fell ill.

The conflict between the He and Lu families had been fierce, centered on Lüshuicheng.

The He family's business empire had grown too vast; after He Haiqin's illness, many ventures were neglected, turning profits into losses.

At He Haiqin's instruction, the He family sold off a large batch of assets, including Shumei Paper Mill.

The paper mill was sold to Shen Rongqing.

What about the other industries?

Qian Xiangjun, Duan Shuqun, Luo Suxuan…

Familiar names reappeared in every news report.

When linked to He Haiqin's illness, the whole picture became clear.

He Jiaqing used Wan Jinxian to bring down He Haiqin, not only shifting the balance of power in Puluozhou but also making himself a fortune.

First he schemed against the He family, then against the Lu family; if you roughly calculated the value of these assets, He Jiaqing might already be Puluozhou's top figure in wealth.

But why didn't he return to Puluozhou?

Why not expose the truth and come back to take his rightful place as boss?

Because that boss is fake.

The economic lifeline is held by the Waizhou, the cultivation lifeline is clutched by the Neizhou—if He Jiaqing returned now, he'd be no different from He Haiqin or Lu Dongliang, merely at their mercy.

What will he do next?

Li Banfeng began muttering to himself:

"Soon or late, he will come for me.

Right now, if I tried to fight him head-on, I couldn't match him.

He'll use 'Parting for Ten Thousand Li' to prove he's reached the Ninth Layer.

In cultivation base and assets, I'm no match for him.

The Red Lotus in my hands has clearly disrupted his plan.

But what exactly is his plan? Still unclear.

Keep investigating?

Every clue is before me, but each one is too hard to trace to its source—He Jiaqing's scheme is too vast.

Don't rush. Right now, there's something more urgent."

Having tasted success once, Li Banfeng recalled the appearance of Feng's General Store and prepared to head straight for Yaowang Gou.

After thinking for over ten minutes, Li Banfeng was certain every detail was crystal clear.

He gave his wife proper instructions, equipped himself with magic treasures, and stepped out the door.

Outside, he realized he was still at Yelai Xiang Newspaper Office—in his own room.

What's going on?

Did it fail?

Was I not clear enough in my thoughts?

Li Banfeng returned to Suishenju and thought through it again, meticulously.

Not only did he think—he murmured a few phrases: "Yaowang Gou, Li Gou…"

After muttering, Li Banfeng moved to leave again—when suddenly, a withered voice echoed at his ear: "You can't go."

"Why can't I go?"

"Too far."

"Yaowang Gou is that far?"

"It's just two railway tracks—what do you expect?"

Li Banfeng pressed quickly: "How can I bring the key in?"

Suishenju gave no reply.

It seemed he didn't want to say.

"Not enough," Li Banfeng muttered, touching his glove.

The glove startled: "What's not enough? You mean gold?"

Li Banfeng smiled: "I mean two railway tracks aren't enough."

PS: Some things, never speak aloud.

(End of Chapter)