Chapter 164: This Madman

Li Banfeng was exasperated by Pan Dehai. "Old Pan, if I give you the prescription today, can you guarantee that the insect plague will be cured?"

Pan Dehai sighed deeply and said, "How and where to use this prescription still requires careful planning."

"No way!" Li Banfeng knew this old fox had more tricks up his sleeve. "There's no time for careful planning. Find the medicinal ingredients, prepare the medicine, kill the insects—as fast as possible!"

"Currently, Mount Toudao is rife with conflicts, making the allocation of medicinal ingredients inconvenient. We must wait for the turmoil in Mount Toudao to subside before discussing it further."

Mount Toudao was the transportation hub for Mount Haichi. Normally, the allocation of medicinal ingredients indeed had to pass through Mount Toudao.

But Pan Dehai had special methods. Why wasn't he using them?

"Why aren't you allocating medicinal ingredients from Xindi? The local land gods should help you."

Pan Dehai shook his head and said, "This is an internal matter of Mount Haichi; we shouldn't trouble outsiders."

What kind of talk was that?

"Didn't you just talk about united resistance? Didn't you previously want to draw the insect plague elsewhere? Why are you suddenly unwilling to trouble others now?"

Pan Dehai still shook his head. "That was a last resort then, to unite everyone's efforts. Now that we have a countermeasure, it's only right to plan carefully."

In reality, Pan Dehai's thinking was very clear and not contradictory at all.

Spreading the insect plague and dragging everyone else into it was something he was very willing to do.

But letting other local land gods interfere in Mount Haichi was something he was unwilling to do.

The insect plague needed to be cured, but only if it didn't shake his position in Mount Haichi.

Li Banfeng understood his intentions. "If you're so self-preserving, then I can't give you the prescription."

Pan Dehai's face darkened. "Young man, what did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly."

Li Banfeng repeated, "I'm not giving you this prescription."

"If you don't give me the prescription, how will you help with the disaster relief?"

"I'll go find the peddler. He'll definitely have a way to transport the medicinal ingredients. If you don't want to cure the plague, I'll find someone else to help you."

Pan Dehai stared at Li Banfeng and slowly said, "Do you believe I can prevent you from leaving Mount Haichi? Do you believe I can keep you in Laobing Village?"

Li Banfeng remained expressionless. "I believe you. Go ahead."

"You're incredibly arrogant." Pan Dehai was angry.

The wine gourd was also very nervous.

What was wrong with this young man? Was he crazy?

Why did he keep provoking the local land god?

She kept rubbing against Li Banfeng, but he paid her no mind.

He really was crazy.

Facing him was the most powerful entity in Mount Haichi. If Li Banfeng even said one soft word...

If he actually said a soft word, he would be dead.

Pan Dehai was best at exploiting others' humility, guilt, and cowardice.

The wine gourd suddenly realized this and stopped rubbing haphazardly against Li Banfeng.

This was the correct way to deal with Pan Dehai.

This young man might be crazy, but he wasn't wrong.

Pan Dehai slowly calmed down.

Although angry, he hadn't lost his composure.

With the cultivation level of the young man invisible, he truly didn't know what level this young man was at.

He could have tested him; in fact, a single glance from him could have rendered Li Banfeng unconscious, but he didn't do so.

This person was sent by Old Yao, and judging by his tone, he had a good relationship with the peddler.

Offending Old Yao for him wasn't worth it, and offending the peddler was even less so.

After much consideration, Pan Dehai nodded and said, "Alright, I'll allocate medicinal ingredients from Xindi and begin treating the insects immediately."

"Draw up a written agreement." Li Banfeng took out paper and a pen.

Old Pan glanced at the white paper on the table, unable to suppress his anger, and roared, "This is a contract paper!"

"It is a contract paper," Li Banfeng nodded. "Are you planning to go back on your word?"

This contract paper was refined from Liu Liangyi's contract. Although it originated from Honglian, its level might not be sufficient.

Whether it was sufficient or not, he would use it first and see.

Pan Dehai was speechless. He signed the contract, pressed his handprint, and then asked Li Banfeng, "It wasn't easy for you to come all this way. I plan to give you a magic artifact as a reward."

Li Banfeng didn't want a magic artifact, but before he could speak, Pan Dehai had already taken it out.

He produced a folding fan with red ribs and a white surface, over a foot long, emitting a faint ink scent.

Pan Dehai told Li Banfeng, "This fan has followed me for many years, imbued with the aura of sacred virtue. When held, it's an excellent weapon for both offense and defense. After three exchanges, it can subdue enemies with the aura of sacred virtue, sharply reducing their combat power."

To put it simply, it was the most common method used by virtue cultivators: making opponents feel guilt and remorse, causing them to hesitate in their actions.

Quite an interesting magic artifact.

"How much is 'sharply reducing'?"

"It depends on the enemy's level and your own cultivation. More importantly, it depends on the depth of your virtue. It's not something that can be explained in a few words; you'll need to comprehend it yourself."

The "depth of your virtue" referred to the height of your moral standing.

"What's the cost of this magic artifact?" Li Banfeng hadn't forgotten that.

"You'll need to cultivate with this treasure fan, meditating on the concept of sacred virtue for at least three hours every day."

Meditate?

Staring blankly at a fan for three hours every day?

The cost wasn't significant, nor did it conflict with his home cultivation, but Li Banfeng felt some resistance. However, this wasn't the main point.

Having presented the magic artifact, Pan Dehai bade farewell and left. "Go back and tell Old Yao that I appreciate this favor."

Li Banfeng did not leave Mount Haichi; he still didn't trust Pan Dehai.

He returned to his portable residence and retrieved ten doses of insect medicine.

The phonograph smelled an unfamiliar aura and asked, "Oh, dear husband, what did you bring back?"

The folding fan unfolded its surface and bowed to the phonograph, saying, "I am the fan of the virtuous one. Greetings, madam."

Hearing the voice of a young man, the phonograph snorted coldly, "Seems quite well-mannered, but the voice is a bit muffled."

The folding fan was startled and cleared its throat, saying, "It's been cold these past two days; I must have caught a chill."

"A chill? It truly seems like a chill, your voice is so nasal." The lady smiled.

She was reminding Li Banfeng that the folding fan's voice had an echo.

Why would it have an echo?

Because there was another secret within the fan's ribs.

Just as Old Yao had said, Pan Dehai's magic artifacts might have a recording function. This folding fan had something else embedded within it, which Li Banfeng couldn't distinguish, but it couldn't escape the lady's ears.

The fan was very nervous and quickly changed the subject, saying, "My master's residence truly has a unique charm."

"It's not bad, is it?" Li Banfeng chuckled. "Let me show you around elsewhere."

"Excellent." The fan quickly agreed; it was eager to gather more information.

The phonograph let out a chiding sound and said, "Husband, are you still showing him around elsewhere?"

She was worried that Li Banfeng hadn't understood her hint.

Li Banfeng seemed to have genuinely not understood.

He took the fan to the outer room. "What do you think?"

"Wondrous, truly wondrous! The layout is so exquisite. What is the name of your esteemed residence, master?"

"Don't ask about the name. Quickly, greet the second madam."

Li Banfeng brought the fan close to Honglian, and Honglian slowly opened her petals.

"What level of magic artifact is this?" The folding fan was extremely surprised, wishing it could record every detail of Honglian.

Li Banfeng smiled. "You'll know in a moment. Ah Lian, refine him."

Refine him?

Before the fan could understand Li Banfeng's meaning, a whirlwind had already started in the lotus heart.

To "refine" meant to reforge.

By the time the fan realized, it was too late. "Master, why do you treat me this way? I only wished to serve you! Why do you treat me like this!"

The fan was drawn into the lotus heart, and its wails abruptly ceased.

A layer of white mist seeped from the gourd's body, even more than the sweat from before.

This madman, truly a madman...

The phonograph chuckled, "Don't be afraid, little sister. Our man is just like that; sometimes even I can't figure him out."

Li Banfeng touched the gourd, wiped away her sweat, and left his portable residence with the medicine powder.

He handed the medicine powder to Niu Fuzhi, who thanked him profusely.

"Benefactor, what do you wish for? Anything we have, just name it!"

Li Banfeng said, "There is indeed something I'd like your help with. You mentioned earlier that there's a Mitang Village still selling wine. I'd like to go check it out."

He didn't want to buy wine; he wasn't short of it.

He wanted to see if that village could still hold on.

If Old Pan refused to help with the disaster relief, he would find a way to help himself.

If Lu Dongjun's efforts really bore fruit, that would be even better. No matter who it was, this disaster needed to end as soon as possible.

Lu Dongjun arrived at the Jiangyuan Tannery. This tannery was originally property of the Ma family but had unfortunately gone bankrupt during the insect plague and now belonged to Lu Dongjun.

Lu Dongjun still disguised himself as a supporter and entered the tannery manager's office.

The manager sat behind his desk, a spring-wound phonograph playing "Peaceful Spring."

"The fine night is like day, the new moon like a hook, joyous sounds swell across the land..."

It was a very auspicious song, but there was no joy on the manager's face.

The tannery had only been open for two days, and with the insect plague returning, the manager was considering whether to halt operations.

Seeing someone push open the door and walk in, the manager was displeased and asked, "Who are you? What do you want? So impolite!"

Lu Dongjun approached the manager. "I'm one of Master Er's men. Master Er sent me to collect a debt."

"Collect a debt?" The manager was stunned for a long moment.

Lu Dongjun was also prepared, knowing that he couldn't collect money just by talking. He produced a document and handed it to the manager. "This is a handwritten order from our Master Er."

It was indeed written by Lu Dongjun himself. The manager took it, casually glanced at it, and handed the order back to Lu Dongjun.

"I don't know where you got this order, but I don't think Master Er of the Lu family would write something like this."

Lu Dongjun's eyes widened. "Are you saying this order of mine is fake?"

The manager chuckled, "What if it's real? This factory already belongs to the Shen family. Why are you here collecting a debt with Lu Dongjun's order?"

"Belongs to the Shen family? Which Shen family?"

The manager frowned. "Is that something you should be asking? You're here to swindle money, and you haven't even bothered to get your facts straight beforehand. At least read the newspaper more often."

With that, the manager casually tossed a newspaper to Lu Dongjun.

On the second page of the newspaper was a piece of news: Lu Dongjun had sold the Jiangyuan Tannery to Shen Rongqing, accompanied by a photo of the two shaking hands.

Shen Rongqing was a woman in her twenties, very beautiful, but Lu Dongjun had never met her.

Where did this photo come from?

When did I ever shake hands with this woman?

When did I sell the factory to her?

I had given orders to sell only shares, not the entire factory!

"Where's the contract? Where's the contract for your purchase of the factory?" Lu Dongjun glared at the tannery manager.

The manager's face fell. "If you're going to make a living, have some sense. You've been exposed, so why are you still throwing a tantrum? Before I call someone to beat you up, get out of here and don't come back..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Dongjun stepped forward and grabbed the manager's neck. "I asked you, where is the contract?"

The manager couldn't speak; he was a person without cultivation.

Lu Dongjun tried his best to restrain himself, but he couldn't control the strength in his hand and ended up strangling the manager to death.

"A thousand mountains vying for beauty, a hundred rivers competing to flow, colored candles burning brightly, a tranquil melody playing..."

The phonograph's song continued as Lu Dongjun tossed the manager aside, pondering where the contract might be.

The contract wasn't in the factory at all.

In the manager's office, there was a hidden compartment. Lu Dongjun found over one hundred and sixty silver dollars inside.

This was Lu Dongjun's entire haul from this trip.

Lu Dongjun threw the silver dollars onto the ground, scattering them everywhere.

After a moment, he lowered his head and picked them up again.

He didn't have much cash on him, and he couldn't withdraw money from the bank with checks. Lu Dongjun had never imagined he would be short on money.

He pocketed the silver dollars and left the Jiangyuan Tannery.

Half an hour later, He Jiaqing, lying in his hospital bed, received news that the manager of the Jiangyuan Tannery was dead.

Having heard the sounds of a struggle from the scene, He Jiaqing determined the identity of the assailant.

The nurse had been sitting by the bed, making He Jiaqing feel a bit awkward.

Why was this auntie constantly staring at him today?

He almost forgot, she was about to wipe him down. She seemed to quite enjoy the process.

He Jiaqing suddenly opened his eyes wide, and the nurse abruptly fainted.

He sat up and whispered, "Tell my father that Lu Dongjun has been found."

"What about the people from the other families?"

"No need to mind them. The only one who truly wants Lu Dongjun's life is my father."