Chapter 105: Auspicious Class Lecture

Ma Wu had just left Jiqing Troupe when he was robbed.

He used some newly gathered herbs to treat his wounds. It must be said that this wealthy young master had a great deal of knowledge, and Li Banfeng had learned a lot from him recently.

Once his injuries slightly improved, Ma Wu bowed deeply to Li Banfeng. "Brother Li, I don't know when I'll be able to repay the favor I owe you. After tonight, I'll move out. I can't let my family's troubles implicate you."

Li Banfeng raised his eyebrows. "We haven't earned enough money yet. Are you leaving now?"

Ma Wu chuckled. "Once I shake off this chaos, I'll come back to Brother Li for great endeavors."

Li Banfeng nodded. "Alright, if you must go, let's divide the money we've earned these past few days."

Ma Wu shook his head. "That's your money. I was working for you."

"Don't be silly. Earning money in Lanyang Village was all thanks to your skills. You deserve your share, every last bit."

Ma Wu shook his head again. "Brother Li, there's no need to give me any money, not a single cent. I can't keep it; it'll be robbed from me sooner or later."

Li Banfeng frowned. "What's your family doing? Who's so ruthless they don't want you to live?"

Ma Wu sighed. "It could be Fourth Brother, or perhaps Eldest Sister and Second Sister. I've lived in the Ma family for over twenty years, but some things I still can't quite grasp."

Li Banfeng's brows furrowed.

He had already provoked the Lu family, become entangled with the He family, and now, if things went wrong, he might offend the Ma family too.

Offended be offended, a burden of many debts is no burden at all. First, he needed to understand the situation. Li Banfeng still felt that Ma Wu was misunderstanding things; this might not be the Ma family's doing.

"Tomorrow, I'll go with you to Jiqing Troupe."

Ma Wu was taken aback. "What would you do at Jiqing Troupe?"

"Cultivate, of course! It's such a good place; I'll go there to improve my skills too."

In Puluo Prefecture, pleasure districts came in many forms: there was the Paramount, the Grand World, and countless dance halls of all sizes.

Compared to these places, troupes were an ancient existence, even older than Puluo Prefecture itself.

At Jiqing Troupe, you wouldn't find fashionable singers or dancers, only a dozen women who sang folk songs to entertain guests. But this troupe was very old; it was said to have gone through dozens of proprietors, and its reputation had never faltered.

Ma Wu went to cultivate with a girl he was familiar with. Although he had passed one level, the basic cultivation of three times a day was essential. To advance to the next level, he needed to cultivate five times a day.

Li Banfeng also found a girl.

Jiqing Troupe had no magnificent Western-style houses or gardens, just a row of bungalows. The girl led Li Banfeng into a room, first asking him to lie on the bed, then massaging his back and legs, and finally asking if he wanted to listen to a song.

If he didn't want to listen to a song, they would go straight to the main business. If he did, he'd have to pay a few extra tips.

Since he was already there, he naturally wanted to hear a song. Li Banfeng asked the girl to sing her best. She picked up her pipa and first sang "Full Moon and Blooming Flowers."

"Floating clouds disperse, the bright moon shines on people..."

Li Banfeng listened carefully to the entire song and found it mediocre. Compared to his wife, it wasn't on the same level at all.

The girl put down her pipa, ready to proceed with the main business, but Li Banfeng said, "Please sing 'Song of the Four Seasons' again."

The girl frowned. "Still singing?"

Li Banfeng took out a hundred Huan Kingdom banknotes and placed them on the table.

This was no small sum at Jiqing Troupe. The girl's face lit up, and she sang "Song of the Four Seasons" again.

When this song finished, Li Banfeng was even less satisfied.

"You're not singing with enough heart. Try 'Longing for Each Other' instead."

The girl cleared her throat and bravely sang two lines: "Spring breeze all night, longing for each other, that longing for each other, profound melodies poured out to you, that, that..."

"Which 'that'?!" Li Banfeng was annoyed. "You can't even remember the lyrics; what kind of song are you singing?"

The girl was stunned for a moment. "Sir, are you really here to listen to songs?"

"If not to listen to songs, what else would I be doing here? I'll sing a line, and you sing a line. You need to learn properly."

Two hours later, Ma Wu finished his cultivation and exited his room.

A waiter came to notify, and Li Banfeng also came out.

The girl Ma Wu had chosen was named Xiao Die. With a gentle expression, she saw him off. "Master Wu, will you be coming again tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'll definitely come."

The girl Li Banfeng had chosen was named Xiao Cui. With a pale green expression, she also saw him off. "Sir, if you come again tomorrow, please also consider other girls."

Xiao Die heard something was off and asked, "Cui'er, why is your voice hoarse? How much noise did you make?"

Xiao Cui didn't know how to answer. "The noise was immense; I never stopped."

Ma Wu glanced back and asked Li Banfeng, "How was that girl named Xiao Cui?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Far from good. She still needs careful practice."

Ma Wu was curious. "Brother Li, when you say 'practice,' what exactly needs practicing?"

"Her voice."

Ma Wu grew even more curious. "Is her voice the key?"

Li Banfeng was also curious. "If her voice isn't the key, what is?"

Ma Wu nodded. "Ah, so Brother Li has different tastes."

The two chatted casually as they walked. When they were still over two hundred meters from the wooden house, Li Banfeng suddenly stopped, moving out of sight of the house's windows.

He sensed danger.

Ma Wu paused, then asked, "Has something happened at home?"

Li Banfeng signaled Ma Wu to be silent, pressed the earring to his ear, and listened carefully to the sounds inside the house.

There were many houses nearby. If he had used a sentient weapon, it would be hard to say what he might hear.

But a magic treasure was different; it knew what Li Banfeng wanted to hear.

There was panting.

There was talking.

And footsteps.

One at the door.

Two on the second floor.

And one in the main hall.

Their cultivation levels weren't very high, and their malice was obvious.

Of course, dealing with Ma Wu as he was now didn't require experts.

These scoundrels hadn't gone to cause trouble at Jiqing Troupe, nor had they ambushed them halfway. Instead, they had come directly to their residence to lie in wait.

They timed it perfectly. How did they know where Ma Wu lived?

Li Banfeng said, "Brother Ma, don't go in yet. I'll go in and take care of something."

Ma Wu stopped Li Banfeng. "Are those people from my family? Brother Li, I can't let this involve you. I'll go to them myself."

With that, Ma Wu started to rush towards the house. Li Banfeng pulled out a pair of shoe covers. "Do you have these?"

The soles of the shoe covers were iron plates.

"Without these, you can't enter the house."

Ma Wu understood Li Banfeng's meaning: Li Banfeng intended to use the sticky clay.

Li Banfeng put on the shoe covers and whispered to Ma Wu, "Find a place to hide for now."

This was Li Banfeng's request to Ma Wu: he had to protect himself and not be a burden to Li Banfeng.

What if Ma Wu hid in a safe place but was still discovered?

There would be no solution then.

To put it bluntly, even if Ma Wu were to die, he should die somewhere far away, so as not to distract Li Banfeng.

Ma Wu immediately went to hide at the noodle shop. This was the smart move; a secluded place might not be safe, but in a crowded area, the other party wouldn't dare to act.

Li Banfeng didn't rashly approach the house. He first entered his portable residence, then threw the key near the wooden house.

The two men guarding the second floor of the wooden house were chatting. One man, wearing a blue short jacket, said, "Don't kill him in a bit. We can't explain things clearly when it comes to wealthy families."

The man in the green cloth vest said, "Whether we kill him or not depends on whether this kid is sensible. We've searched this house for ages, and there's not a single valuable item. If he doesn't hand over anything valuable, how are we supposed to explain it back home?"

"How to explain it is our boss's problem. Why are we worrying about it? You need to prevent him from seeking revenge. He is, after all, the Fifth Young Master."

"What revenge are you talking about? My hand was heavy when I beat him last time; he didn't even dare to look at me. I'm telling you, he's a dog now. If you don't enjoy it now, when will you...?"

There seemed to be a noise outside.

The man in the green cloth vest poked his head out the window and glanced around. "Did you hear a 'ding-a-ling' sound just now?"

"What 'ding-a-ling'?"

"Right outside the window. I heard it..."

"Who's outside the window? Pull your head back and stay away from the window. Could it be an ambush? Why are you always poking your head out?"

Li Banfeng silently exited his portable residence and, utilizing the advantages of his travel cultivation, climbed up the wall to the rooftop.

This time, the man in the green cloth vest indeed heard a sound, and he poked his head out the window again.

The man in the blue short jacket got angry. "What's going on? I told you not to poke your head out, don't let anyone see you!"

"There really is a noise up there, it's definitely from above..." The man in the green cloth vest suddenly stopped speaking.

He had leaned out the window, face tilted upwards, staring at the sky with his mouth open—the angle was perfectly suited.

Li Banfeng dangled upside down from the roof, directly hooked his scythe into the man's mouth, and, following the upper jaw, hooked it into his brain.

The man in the blue short jacket was filled with astonishment and was about to draw his knife.

The Tang Saber was unsheathed a step sooner, slicing through half of his neck.

The man in the blue short jacket fell to the ground, unable to speak, and pounded the floor with his hand, producing three long and two short thumps—a signal to the two men downstairs.

Li Banfeng jumped into the room, opened his portable residence, threw both the man in the blue short jacket and the man in the green cloth vest inside, then waited silently by the bedroom door.

In fact, he could have handled things more cleanly.

In fact, he could have prevented the man in the blue short jacket from making any sound at all.

But he deliberately let the man in the green cloth vest make some noise, precisely so the two men downstairs would hear it.

Footsteps sounded from the stairs. Li Banfeng opened the iron box, poured some sticky clay near the doorway, then jumped out the window again and climbed onto the rooftop.

This was his first time using the sticky clay in actual combat, and he wasn't entirely confident about its range and effectiveness.

After nearly a minute, the bedroom door was pushed open, and two men stood at the entrance, cautiously observing.

The window was open, there were bloodstains on the windowsill and the floor, and their two accomplices were gone. These two men were very nervous.

All four of them had come together, their goal being to severely beat Ma Wu and then rob him of his money.

Ma Wu was only a Level One Pleasure Cultivator, easy prey for them. They had never imagined this job could result in deaths!

The two observed for a long while, but not a single person was visible in the room.

Where were the people hiding?

Under the bed?

The two cautiously entered the room, each holding a dagger, covering each other.

One step, two steps, the sound of the third step abruptly ceased.

They were stuck.

The two were greatly alarmed. One man, wearing a purple cloth shirt, exclaimed, "Boss, what happened?"

The other man, wearing a dark gray Zhongshan suit, said, "Don't move, it's sticky clay."

This man in the Zhongshan suit was the boss.

It was clear that among the four, he was the most experienced and knowledgeable.

Li Banfeng needed to take him out first.

He pulled out the Python revolver Yu Nan had given him, disengaged the safety, lowered himself, aimed at the man in gray, and fired six shots in succession.

Li Banfeng was lucky; three of his six shots hit, and the man in the purple cloth shirt collapsed instantly.

The Tang Saber exclaimed in admiration, "Excellent marksmanship!"

Li Banfeng was also quite surprised; he had aimed at the man in gray, but all three shots hit the man in purple.

The man in gray stared intently at Li Banfeng, seemingly about to unleash a technique. Li Banfeng pulled himself up and returned to the rooftop.

The man in gray was speechless; Li Banfeng wasn't engaging him at all.

What should he do? Not fight Li Banfeng either?

That certainly wouldn't work.

Li Banfeng was reloading on the rooftop. What would he do when Li Banfeng came back to shoot again?

This man in the gray Zhongshan suit only had a second-level cultivation. Standing still and dodging bullets was something he couldn't do.

Before long, Li Banfeng lowered himself again, ready to fire. The man in gray shouted, "Friend, spare my life! We were ordered by the Ma family's eldest young lady to find Fifth Young Master. I'll tell you anything you ask, just let me live."

Li Banfeng asked, "Why does the Ma family's eldest young lady want to ruin Ma Wu like this?"

The man in gray said, "We don't know about that. We just do as we're paid."

Hearing this, Li Banfeng nodded with satisfaction. "You don't know anything, so what's the point of keeping you alive?"

With that, he was about to fire again. The man in gray quickly said, "Wait a moment, there's one more thing I haven't mentioned. Before we came, the Ma family's eldest young lady specifically instructed us to give Fifth Young Master a beating, to steal his money, and to tell him that the old grudge had been settled."

Li Banfeng frowned. "What old grudge has been settled?"

The man in gray said, "Friend, please put the gun down, and we can discuss this. Young Master Ma definitely has a grudge with the eldest young lady. I've heard some things myself, but I don't know if they're true. Why don't you call Young Master Ma here, and we can verify it with him directly?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "That makes sense."

He jumped through the window into the room, spread a piece of cloth on the floor, and told the man in gray, "Take off your shoes, step on this cloth, and walk forward. I'll take you to see Young Master Ma."

"Thank you, brave sir, thank you, brave sir." The man in gray profusely thanked him, quickly removed his shoes, and carefully stepped onto the cloth.

He was overjoyed, believing his life had been spared.

What he planned to do next was to find an opportunity to kill this madman when Li Banfeng wasn't paying attention.

"Brave sir, shall we go find Fifth Young Master now?"

"Yes, right now." Li Banfeng turned around, twisted the key, and opened his portable residence.

The man in gray was ecstatic.

He hadn't expected Li Banfeng to be so gullible, actually daring to turn his back on him.

He raised his dagger and thrust it towards Li Banfeng's back.

Li Banfeng suddenly dodged, swiftly following up with a kick that sent the man in gray flying into the portable residence.

It goes to show that the man in gray truly was a boss; he was self-aware in his actions.

Aside from a pair of leather shoes, he left no other trace, saving Li Banfeng the trouble of cleaning up.