Chapter 397: The Act

"Winter comes and the snow stretches endless,

My lord suffers and my heart breaks apart,

My love is true, my heart sincere — does my lord know?

Let me warm my lord's bed with one more chamber."

The phonograph finished its song, then used steam to scald Xiang Xiang Hongying bright red: "You wretched woman, why won't you sing along with me?"

Xiang Xiang Hongying snapped angrily: "I served him the whole night, up and down, up and down, and now I have to sing songs for him too — what do I owe him?"

"You wretched woman, serving your own man — does that wrong you? Sing along with me, sing louder! If you don't sing, it's a hundred military strokes — I'll beat you to death, you wretched woman!"

……

Amid their bickering, Li Banfeng fell into a deep sleep — and slept straight through three days.

Three days later, Li Banfeng woke up, glanced at the calendar card, and asked Meng De: "What time is it now?"

"Mr., it is now a quarter past midnight."

A quarter past midnight — the liveliest hour in Outside Xiaoyao Wu.

The key was still inside Outside Xiaoyao Wu. In the old days, Li Banfeng would have avoided showing himself at this hour.

But now was not the old days.

Li Banfeng was already an eighth-layer Yu Zhaixiu; even if he appeared directly on Outside Xiaoyao Wu's grand dance floor, ordinary people wouldn't notice him.

To be safe, Li Banfeng didn't appear on the dance floor. Before stepping out, he recalled the layout of the backstage behind the grand dance floor — there was a large wardrobe back there. Emerging from inside the wardrobe would make him even less likely to be spotted.

After stepping out, Li Banfeng found things had gone slightly off. He did indeed appear inside a wardrobe — but not the large wardrobe backstage; it was the wardrobe in Jiang Mengting's private dressing room.

Jiang Mengting was changing clothes in the dressing room. She had just performed on stage, singing five songs in a row, and worked up a sweat. This time she was changing thoroughly — nothing was left on her at all.

Li Banfeng said nothing, lowered the brim of his hat, and prepared to pass straight through the wall to leave. Jiang Mengting suddenly called out: "Seventh Master!"

She actually saw me?

As far as Li Banfeng knew, Jiang Mengting shouldn't have had any cultivation — how could she possibly have noticed him?

Actually, Jiang Mengting hadn't noticed Li Banfeng. She'd been listless and distracted lately, seeing Li Qi in everyone. When she was alone, she often muttered "Seventh Master" to herself.

But Li Banfeng didn't know what was going on inside. Since he'd been spotted, he owned up to it openly.

"It's me." Li Banfeng nodded.

Hearing Li Qi's voice, Jiang Mengting gave a start and stared at Li Qi, looking him up and down for a long while.

"Seventh Master... it's really you..."

Li Banfeng raised a finger to his lips, signaling Jiang Mengting to keep quiet.

Jiang Mengting covered her own mouth, nodded hard, and tears spilled from the corners of her eyes.

Li Banfeng was somewhat puzzled. He and Jiang Mengting were acquainted, but he was the boss and she was a singer — beyond that, there didn't seem to be any other connection between them.

Where did all this feeling come from?

Where did it come from? It came from going through life and death together.

Forget all that wind, flowers, snow, and moonlight, all those oaths of eternal devotion — Jiang Mengting had seen far too much of that sort of thing. She'd lost count of the men who knelt and swore they'd marry no one but her.

At the brink of life and death, Seventh Master hadn't abandoned her — this bond of affection she truly could not forget.

Jiang Mengting wiped her tears and threw her arms around Li Banfeng: "Seventh Master, forgive my overstepping — let me hold you for a moment."

Li Banfeng's brow furrowed slightly: "A moment's fine, but put some clothes on first."

While Jiang Mengting was getting dressed, Li Banfeng left the dressing room and hurried to the backstage exit.

The backstage exit was at the side door. Jiang Mengting poked her head out of the dressing room and said in a low voice: "Seventh Master, please be very careful — I don't know what's going on, but lately, after you go out that side door, you can't walk back in."

Once you go out, you can't walk back in...

That's bad!

Li Banfeng hurried out of the backstage. On the dance floor, the guests were dancing.

He first pried the key out from a crack in the floorboards, then heard a firm, low murmur: "Even though the stage curtain has fallen, art still holds its ground."

Li Banfeng had slept for three days — the projector had held its ground here for three days.

"Brother, it was my fault." Li Banfeng tucked the projector into his pocket.

Jiang Mengting had finished changing — a white trench coat, a white hat with a veil hanging from it — and stood at the backstage doorway, beckoning to Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng took Jiang Mengting to a private box and asked: "Where's Ma Wu?"

"Fifth Master is looking for you everywhere. The eldest miss of the He family is looking for you too. The Garrison Office and Three Heroes Gate are all looking for you — the whole Green Water City is talking about what happened to you."

"What are they saying?"

"Some say you killed the Great Boss of Three Heroes Gate, others say you were killed by their Great Boss,

Zhang Xiuling says you may have hit it off with Three Heroes Gate's Great Boss Bao Yingchen, sworn brotherhood as sworn brothers, and both retired from the jianghu together to avoid the turmoil."

"What is she thinking..." Li Banfeng was quite helpless — he couldn't fathom this talented woman's line of reasoning.

"How are things over at Three Heroes Gate? What are you spacing out for? I'm asking you a question!"

Jiang Mengting had been staring at Li Banfeng, somewhat lost: "Ah, Three Heroes Gate — right now the Second Boss Shen Jinzhong is running things, but he's only running things; he can't actually take the Great Boss's seat."

Li Banfeng frowned: "What about Three Heroes Gate's Third Boss Yang Xingbo?"

"Yang Xingbo was killed by He Yuxiu. I heard he died horribly — He Yuxiu had him tortured for a whole day to find you."

Three Heroes Gate had three Jin Yin in total, and two of them were gone — so why couldn't the Second Boss Shen Jinzhong take the seat?

Li Banfeng couldn't understand it.

Jiang Mengting, however, knew a thing or two about Three Heroes Gate's internal strife: "Chu Huaijun put forward a Three Heroes Gate elder to take over as Third Boss."

"Three Heroes Gate has elders too?"

"They're really just Silver Seals with very long tenure. These Silver Seals can't be promoted to Jin Yin, so they become elders.

This elder's name is Dong Kaibin. His cultivation and seniority are both very high — reportedly he joined the gang even earlier than the Second Boss."

The Chu family was still making moves. Chu Huaijun had pushed forward a Dong Kaibin — he still wanted to keep the Three Heroes Gate in his own hands.

If they could recover Bao Yingchen, Chu Huaijun was hoping Bao Yingchen would continue as the head. If they couldn't recover him, he'd let Dong Kaibin and the second-in-command Shen Jinzhong tear into each other.

Bao Yingchen's head was still around. Li Banfeng had deliberately let Hong Lian leave it behind. Although it was a bloody mess, with a little tidying up, it could still be used.

If he handed Bao Yingchen's head over to Shen Jinzhong now, would that help him rise to power?

No, absolutely must not do that.

Doing so would not only fail to help him rise, it would also saddle him with the grave crime of brutally murdering the great Jin Yin. For Shen Jinzhong, he would not only lose his qualification to compete for the great Jin Yin, he might even become a mortal enemy of the Three Heroes Gate.

What should he do now? Is Bao Yingchen's head completely useless?

Li Banfeng thought for a long time, then said to Jiang Mengting, "That story Zhang Xiuling made up about me and Bao Yingchen becoming sworn brothers — where did you read it?"

"Xiuling's Night Talk — it's a magazine Zhang Xiuling publishes. Seventh Master, if you want to read it, I have them all here."

Jiang Mengting brought Li Banfeng a few magazines. Li Banfeng flipped through them roughly.

Don't mention it — Zhang Xiuling's story was written so convincingly, the bloody storms of the jianghu leapt right off the page.

If this got out, Li Banfeng and Bao Yingchen would truly become a tale of enemies becoming fast friends.

Li Banfeng took all the magazines, then said to Jiang Mengting, "I have something to do and must leave. Don't tell anyone that I've come back."

Jiang Mengting blinked her big, sparkling eyes and asked in surprise, "Not even Fifth Master?"

"Not telling him."

Jiang Mengting's heart was pounding fast.

Seventh Master is back, and he won't even tell Fifth Master — only me.

He ran to the backstage of the Free Wanderer's Cove, into my dressing room, just to let me know he was safe?

Am I overthinking this…

Jiang Mengting was still lost in wild thoughts. Li Banfeng stood up, pulled his hat brim low, and left.

Watching Li Banfeng's retreating back, Jiang Mengting's cheeks flushed hot again and again.

Back in the dressing room, the front-desk Zhang Guanshi was nearly frantic: "Young Lady Jiang, it's your turn on stage."

"What song was it again?"

"'Rose, Rose, I Love You' — dozens of guests requested it together."

"Tell the band to push that song back. The next one, I'll sing 'Moon Full, Flowers Fair.'"

"Change it now?" Zhang Guanshi was stunned.

"Hurry up!"

Jiang Mengting changed into a qipao, took up a round fan, and surrounded by her backup dancers, stepped onto the stage. With the qin's accompaniment, she began to sing "Moon Full, Flowers Fair."

"Drifting clouds part ~ the bright moon shines on those who come, reunion and perfection are at their peak tonight. In the shallow pond, mandarin ducks play in the water; red skirts and emerald leaves, twin lotuses bloom as one."

The guests listening below were all wide-eyed.

Why is Jiang Mengting so sweet today?

Her smile is sweet, and her singing is even sweeter.

……

Li Banfeng went to the East Peace Teahouse.

The moment he saw Li Banfeng, Qin Xiaopang dropped straight to his knees in the private room: "Seventh Brother, you're alive — I knew you were alive.

I harmed you, Seventh Brother. There was a traitor among my men — that person was sent by the great head. If anything had happened to you, I wouldn't want to live anymore."

Li Banfeng pulled Qin Xiaopang up and said, "I'll say it one more time: you're not allowed to kneel to anyone. Go arrange a meeting with your second-in-command. I have something to discuss with him. Remember — the location must be absolutely secret."

……

Li Banfeng went to one of his own outer residences. No one looked after this place; it had been left empty all this time.

After hiding the key, Li Banfeng entered Leaving Leaving Suishenju. The pendulum was still repairing Bao Yingchen's head. Li Banfeng patted the pendulum's cheek: "No need to fix it anymore."

The pendulum blushed and said, "Master, is it because you think I'm working too slowly?"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "It's not that you're too slow — something about the situation has changed."

He pulled a seed from his bag, took a little of Bao Yingchen's blood, and sprinkled it on the seed.

He buried the seed in the yard and dripped two drops of medicinal liquid on it. In no time, a cabbage sprouted from the soil.

The cabbage split open, and a cabbage-person crawled out from inside, wearing a jacket and trousers white shading into green. With a dull, blank expression, it stared at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng ate two pieces of cabbage stalk. Beneath the sweet crispness was a unique astringent taste, which made Li Banfeng break out in a sweat. From the inside out, his body gave off the distinctive fishy smell unique to cabbage.

"Move out." Li Banfeng gave the order.

The cabbage-version Bao Yingchen followed Li Banfeng into Leaving Leaving Suishenju.

Could this cabbage-person stand in for the real Bao Yingchen?

Obviously not. Anyone who had ever met Bao Yingchen — not even someone especially close — could spot the flaws.

Li Banfeng turned on the projector and played back the footage of his fight with Bao Yingchen.

Bao Yingchen's clothing and appearance were reproduced in full.

The phonograph looked at the image and, together with the pendulum, helped dress up the cabbage-person. During the process, she stared at the halo in the image for a moment, feeling that the shape was rather hard to make sense of.

"Husband dear, the eighth-layer technique is honed together with the house. Our house is special, and I can't clearly explain the essentials of cultivation either. In the future, Husband should seek more guidance from the old gentleman."

Li Banfeng nodded, wrapped his arms around his wife from behind, and cuddled her for quite a while.

His wife gave a humph and said, "There's the smell of cosmetics and powder on you — I don't know which cheap woman left it there. With so many sisters at home waiting on Husband, is Husband still not satisfied?"

The cosmetics-and-powder smell had been left by Jiang Mengting.

Xiang Xiang Hongying gave a cold snort and said, "No door and no household — what can you two use to serve him? Just flapping your lips, that's all!"

The phonograph looked at the seeds in the bag and chuckled, "Cheap woman, no need to get cocky. A door and a household will come soon enough — every sister will get one!"

Li Banfeng paid no attention to the matter of doors and households. What he was more concerned with right now was Bao Yingchen.

"Can you make him talk?"

His wife had a sound-crafting technique, so making the cabbage person speak was no difficult matter, but she had never heard Bao Yingchen speak — by the time he was brought in, Bao Yingchen could no longer talk.

"Hey, husband, this projector needs some tweaking — from now on it has to be able to record sound."

"Future matters we'll deal with later. Let's settle the matter at hand first. Wife, try to make him say a word."

The phonograph drove its needle into the cabbage person, and the cabbage version of Bao Yingchen spoke: "Brother Li Qi, I'll do whatever you say."

It was an old man's voice, but it didn't sound like Bao Yingchen.

"Make the voice a bit clearer. That old thing had plenty of breath behind it."

His wife adjusted the steam output. After Li Banfeng listened, it was still not quite right.

Although the projector hadn't recorded the sound, he was very sensitive to voices.

"The lower register needs a touch of rasp, the higher register needs more breath, and the pace should be slowed down just a little…"

The phonograph rapped the projector with its needle: "Don't talk to me in that foreign devil's tone!"

Though the tone was off, the projector wasn't wrong. Following his description and adjusting slowly, Bao Yingchen's voice and manner of speaking were gradually restored.

Can this Bao Yingchen be used now?

Not yet — this cabbage person has no spirit.

Li Banfeng sprinkled a drop of blood on the cabbage person and used the Golden House Hides the Beauty technique.

This time the cabbage person had spirit.

"Hey, husband, this thing can get by for a token appearance, but if you really want to fool everyone in the Three Heroes Gate, I doubt it'll work."

Li Banfeng handed a magazine to the phonograph: "I don't need to fool all of them. I just need to make the ones who listen shut the mouths of the ones who don't."

The phonograph finished reading the story in the magazine, thought for a moment, and said: "This sort of thing is actually familiar to me, Your servant. Let's first write out the script, then find those who listen and rehearse the lines properly."

PS: This magazine still has that rouge-and-powder smell on it — it's that slut who seduced our husband!

(End of chapter)