Chapter 404: This Trick Works

At seven in the morning, an old man in his seventies ran naked at full speed in front of Xiaoyao Wu.

Li Banfeng ran alongside the old man, with a projector filming in sync.

"Isn't this Ghost Hand Sect? Master Xie Juncong?" Li Banfeng introduced him thoroughly, his voice loud and clear.

Xie Juncong let out a dry laugh. "Seventh Master, didn't expect to meet you here."

"Master Xie Juncong, you're running off so fast—do you have something urgent?"

"Nothing urgent, just stretching my limbs."

"Master Xie Juncong, you're wearing so little—is it because it's hot today?"

"You're not wrong—it really is hot today!"

"Master Xie Juncong, are you heading home? I'll hire a carriage to see you off?"

"No need to be so polite—I'll walk back just fine!"

Li Banfeng truly wanted to see him off—straight back to his hometown.

This was the second time the old thief had stolen his way into Li Banfeng's territory.

But the Glove kept pleading with Li Banfeng: "Boss, don't kill him yet—I still have things I need to draw out from him."

"Besides, his cultivation base isn't low. If you fight him directly, you might not gain the upper hand."

Li Banfeng smiled. "With you here, you think I can't beat him?"

The Glove looked slightly ashamed. "Boss, I'm just a magic treasure—this body of mine is utterly unfit for combat. In skill, he's no match for me; in sheer grit, I truly can't match him.

This old bastard won't dare come back to Xiaoyao Wu again. Today, just humor me—let it slide."

Li Banfeng agreed to the Glove's request and temporarily let Xie Juncong go. He extracted a photo from the footage and sent it directly to the newspaper office.

That evening, Li Banfeng prepared some gifts and went to Fuyongzhai with Ma Wu.

Fuyongzhai was a villa complex built on Linglong Mountain east of Lüshuicheng; from halfway up the slope to the summit, over half the hillside belonged to Fuyongzhai, with over a hundred buildings—mansions, pavilions, towers—all together. Li Haoyun's wealth was plain to see.

Li Banfeng couldn't quite figure out Li Haoyun's identity—was he a merchant or a gang leader?

Ma Wu couldn't answer either.

In Puluozhou, the line between the two was never clear—every gang had businesses, and every businessman had ties to gangs.

Li Haoyun met them at the foot of the mountain. Even from afar, Ma Junyang saw two women standing beside Li Haoyun and turned to Li Banfeng. "Seventh, those two women are Li Haoyun's wives. Don't ask about them during dinner."

Li Banfeng frowned. "Why would I ask about someone else's wife?"

Ma Wu said, "There's something behind it. Li Haoyun's wives didn't come from good families. People joke about it with him—he flips out when he hears it."

As they drew closer, they exchanged pleasantries, and Li Haoyun led them up the mountain path to the Litchi Garden.

The Litchi Garden was a large estate, but the path was truly terrible—among all of Fuyongzhai, it was one of the most secluded spots.

In the garden stood a large mansion, the rest of the land planted entirely with litchi trees—too bad it wasn't litchi season.

The guests and host sat in the main hall, chatting idly, when a subordinate came to speak with Li Haoyun, who excused himself briefly.

Ma Wu seized the moment to tell Li Banfeng: "Being invited to the Litchi Garden proves Li Haoyun treats us as top-tier guests. Don't ask about the garden's origins—there's something there too."

Li Banfeng naturally wouldn't ask about a garden's history, but according to Ma Wu's description, Li Haoyun had too many rules—and Li Banfeng found it irritating.

If Li Haoyun were truly that pretentious, Li Banfeng would've left right then—but when Li Haoyun returned and resumed casual conversation, Li Banfeng realized he was quite relaxed, not nearly as rigid as described.

Maybe he's just hiding deep—might explode at any moment.

Soon, the food and wine arrived—extremely lavish.

Li Haoyun summoned several women to brew wine, serve dishes, and attend to them meticulously.

Ma Wu had seen this scene many times, but cultivation couldn't wait—he'd already started manipulating his Qi after two cups.

Li Banfeng had no interest in the woman beside him and didn't want to talk much with Li Haoyun.

Seeing Li Banfeng's coolness, Li Haoyun smiled. "Seventh Master, do you think my business is dirty, and thus look down on me?"

Li Banfeng smiled faintly. "That depends on what kind of business you do."

Li Haoyun glanced at the girl beside him. "The girls at Fuyongzhai come and go freely. Those who want to earn money here, I take. Those who want to leave, I don't stop them—I even give them travel money. I think my business is clean."

Li Banfeng nodded slightly—if done this way, the business had no flaw.

Li Haoyun continued: "To be honest, my parents ran this business. They passed away early and left me the family trade. Back then, the business disgusted me, so I switched careers."

Ma Wu was stunned—Li Haoyun had voluntarily revealed his past. He truly didn't treat Li Qi as an outsider.

Li Banfeng asked: "What did you switch to?"

Li Haoyun smiled. "I went into trade. I sold off my parents' business and opened a shop selling antiques and calligraphy—lost money.

Then I sold cloth and dyes—lost money.

Then I sold rice, flour, and oil—still lost money.

With the last of my money, I came up this mountain to plant litchi trees. To this day, I still keep the Litchi Garden—right here."

So this was why he didn't want anyone asking about the Litchi Garden?

"But selling litchi isn't shameful, is it?"

"It's not shameful—but I lost money selling litchi too. Lost everything except the litchi trees—even my meals were gone.

I'm Li Haoyun. Back then, everyone called me 'Litchi Yun.' A few times, fine. But when they kept mocking me like that, I got angry."

So that was why he disliked questions about the Litchi Garden.

Li Banfeng smiled. "After losing money on litchi, did you switch to anything else?"

Li Haoyun shook his head. "I wanted to, but I had no money left. I still had two maids who'd served me since childhood. I gave them my last savings to return home—they refused.

They sold their bodies to raise capital for me. I dared not spend that money—I couldn't afford another loss, and I couldn't bear to lose again. So I took up the old trade again—this very business.

When I rise again, my first act will be to marry those two maids as my wives. Others may whisper about their low origins—I can't control what they say behind my back. But if they say it to my face, I'll flip my lid.

You can look down on me—but don't look down on my wives. That's my only flaw."

As he spoke, Li Haoyun smiled and raised his cup.

Li Banfeng raised his cup in return and drained it in one gulp.

This was Li Banfeng's first drink.

The atmosphere instantly eased. Li Banfeng asked: "Master Li, if you're skilled in this business, why did you switch careers in the first place?"

Li Haoyun sighed. "Seventh Master, you don't know—my parents' business was different from mine. Theirs wasn't clean at all. The girls they had were bought from human traffickers.

Once bought, a girl was theirs for life. When useful, they made money from her. When useless, they sold her to someone else.

If a girl obeyed, they persuaded her. If she resisted, they beat her into submission. Twelve whips hung in the house—each one stained with blood.

One girl was especially stubborn. Even half-dead, she refused to yield. But my mother had a trick—she had top-grade healing medicine.

She'd apply the medicine, then serve her meals, bring her tea, even help her to the latrine.

After some days, the girl recovered. Do you know what happened?"

"She saw my mother as her savior. Whatever my mother said, she obeyed. She told everyone my mother had saved her life.

But how could she forget who had beaten her to near death?"

"Seventh Master, this trick works—works brilliantly. So many people have been fooled this way, willingly, gladly. Isn't that infuriating?"

Ma Wu was stunned—he realized Li Haoyun's words carried hidden meaning.

Li Banfeng lifted his cup and drank it down again.

…

The next evening, Liao Zihui came to Xiaoyao Wu, leaving his driver and bodyguards downstairs, entering the private room alone.

They sat down. Liao Zihui spread his hands. "I came in a hurry, didn't bring gifts. Don't take offense."

Ma Wu smiled. "No need to be so formal."

Li Qi nodded. "I actually do take offense."

Liao Zihui froze. "Are you upset I was impolite?"

Li Qi countered: "Do you think it's not impolite?"

Liao Zihui smiled. "If you put it that way, I did bring you a gift."

"Then show it."

Liao Zihui pulled out a document. "From today on, the toll fees for your men's operations revert to the original rate."

Ma Wu was delighted—the biggest obstacle in business was gone.

He was about to raise his cup in toast when Li Banfeng stopped him.

"Director Liao, what kind of gift is this?"

Liao Zihui stared, stunned for a long moment.

He'd wanted to change his strategy toward Li Qi, made a concession—but never expected this reaction.

"Reverting to the original rate—aren't you satisfied?" Liao Zihui's smile vanished.

Li Banfeng smiled. "Original rate? That's still the old price. What advantage did we gain?"

Liao Zihui frowned. "The rate you were given before wasn't the original."

Li Banfeng remained calm. "That proves you were wrong before."

"Do we have to go over every past incident?"

"Let's count them. My math is good—I'll count well."

Liao Zihui's cheek twitched. "I don't want to revisit the past. I came with sincerity—I truly want to settle this."

Li Banfeng remained calm. "If you think settling this costs you too much, we can leave it unsettled."

Ma Wu didn't dare speak—the atmosphere was suffocating.

Liao Zihui took a deep breath. "What do you want?"

Li Banfeng said: "Cut the transport fee in half."

Liao Zihui laughed and said, "Do you think this is even possible?"

Li Banfeng also smiled: "I think it's quite possible."

Liao Zihui fell silent for a long time, then shook his head: "You're putting me in an impossible position—I can't do this."

Li Banfeng spoke with solemn gravity: "When facing difficulties, you must not retreat. You must harness your initiative. Unless you try, how will you know you can't do it?"

Liao Zihui gritted his teeth, stood up, and left.

The sound of a steam automobile starting echoed outside the window—Liao Zihui had gone.

Ma Wu knew he couldn't talk Li Banfeng out of it, but couldn't help saying: "Old Seven, this might really be too much for him. Cutting freight costs in half—he definitely doesn't have the authority to decide that."

Li Banfeng shook his head: "If he had to slash freight costs across all of Pulu Province by half, he truly couldn't do it. But cutting them in half for just our company—he should have the ability."

Ma Wu sighed: "How will we ever get along with them from now on?"

Li Banfeng smiled: "He'll have to learn to adapt. This is only the beginning."

(End of Chapter)