Chapter 306: Who Stole the Oil

Li Banfeng drove his carriage to Xiaoyaowu, carrying Song Zhigang, two martial practitioners, and several cultivated thugs. Ling Miaoying's tape was indeed effective. When applied to wounds, it not only stopped bleeding but also temporarily managed the injuries. Although the individuals couldn't move, they were still barely alive.

At 8 PM, Li Banfeng arrived at Xiaoyaowu with his carriage. The place was bustling with people at this hour. Li Banfeng drove his carriage around to the storeroom in Xiaoyaowu's backyard. Unnoticed, he had the Projector summon a helper to unload the vehicle. Having learned its lesson, the Projector didn't dare summon a girl; the girls it summoned always stripped before starting work.

The film Ling Miaoying had previously recorded was still available. The Projector displayed Ling Miaoying's image, helping Li Banfeng move the dozen or so individuals into the warehouse. After unloading, Li Banfeng returned to his room, found the key under his bed, and then went back to the warehouse. He recorded a short video with the Projector, opened the door, and entered the Portable Dwelling.

The Phonograph angrily exclaimed, "Hey, madman! Where have you been gallivanting off to? Do you still think of me? Do you still think of this home? You've... you've worked hard, my dear husband!" Upon seeing Li Banfeng return with over a dozen people, the wife's tone immediately softened.

"Husband, come sit here. First, have a cup of hot tea. Husband, your clothes are so muddy; I'll wash them for you. Oh, husband, please don't tickle me under the arm, I'm really sensitive there…"

The Phonograph shielded Li Banfeng with steam, fearing the Dwelling would lash out at him. After waiting for a long time without any reaction from the Dwelling, the Phonograph curiously asked, "Why is the Dwelling so quiet today?" Li Banfeng sneered, "What good would it do to be well-behaved? If it hadn't caused trouble, would I have been drifting outside for so many days?"

The wife fell silent for a moment. From Li Banfeng's words, it seemed he had some understanding of the Dwelling as well. Seeing Li Banfeng's anger hadn't subsided, the wife asked with concern, "Dear husband, what have you been through these past few days?"

Li Banfeng asked, "Do you know someone called 'Not-So-Big-Face'?" "'Not-So-Big-Face'? Is that a person's name? I've never heard of it." Li Banfeng turned and asked Hong Ying, "Have you heard of him?" "I haven't either," Hong Ying replied, her bluntness betraying a hint of nervousness.

Li Banfeng stared at Hong Ying for a moment and asked, "Why are you wearing trousers?" "As a young woman, shouldn't I be wearing trousers?" "Why do you have an extra red tassel on you?" "It's from a red-tasseled spear. Spears have red tassels; doesn't it look good?" Hong Ying didn't originally have a red tassel on her. This one had just been put there to cover her conscience and arm. "Why are there black threads in your red tassel?" These black threads were Hong Ying's newly grown hair. "If red tassels were only made of red thread, they'd be too boring." Hong Ying was running out of excuses.

The wife, standing nearby, interjected to help Hong Ying: "Husband, ignore that wretched woman; the food is getting cold." "Wife, don't rush. Let me ask them a few questions first."

Li Banfeng first looked at Song Zhigang, then had the Wine Gourd give him a mouthful of wine. With that sip of wine, Song Zhigang regained some strength and could barely speak. Li Banfeng lit a candle and placed it in front of Song Zhigang. "Elder Song," he said, "I've invited you into my home to speak. That should show enough sincerity. Today, tell me clearly: who sent you to cause trouble in Lanyang Village?" Song Zhigang gasped, "Seventh Master, it was Old Master Lu who sent me. Everything I said before was true."

Was it truly Lu Maoxian? Lu Maoxian had indeed caused Li Banfeng considerable trouble. Given Li Banfeng's close ties with Monkey Qiu, it would be in Lu Maoxian's interest to cause him difficulties. But why cause trouble specifically in Lanyang Village? Lanyang Village held no particular value for Lu Maoxian. It would be far more logical for him to cause trouble at Blackrock Slope, thereby disrupting Li Banfeng and Ma Wu's business. There was another reason behind this.

Li Banfeng asked again, "Did you see Lu Maoxian personally?" Song Zhigang replied, "Given Old Master Lu's status, he wouldn't meet me personally. These two 'enforcers' came to me and told me to reclaim Lanyang Village!" Li Banfeng looked at the two martial practitioners; they were the 'enforcers' Song Zhigang had mentioned. The one with the broken throat certainly couldn't speak, but the one with the broken spine could still make a sound.

Li Banfeng tore the tape from his mouth, had the Wine Gourd give him some wine, and asked, "Did Lu Maoxian send the two of you to find Song Zhigang?" "It wasn't Old Master himself who gave the order; it was the head butler, Xu Yangbo." Lu Maoxian's head butler? Li Banfeng had no personal contact with him, only having heard from Monkey Qiu that this man was deeply trusted by Lu Maoxian. If this wasn't Lu Maoxian's personal directive, and if the head butler harbored other intentions, his aim was clearly to escalate the conflict between Li Banfeng and Lu Maoxian. What benefit would that bring him? If he, too, was acting on someone else's orders, then who would be directing him?

The information these individuals could provide was limited, and Li Banfeng didn't wish to waste more words. "Wife, let's eat." "Thank you for your kindness, dear husband!" The wife eagerly began to eat, while the Projector quietly recorded the scene beside them. The wife angrily snapped, "What do you think you're doing?" The Projector flinched and quickly turned its lens away. The wife hooked the Projector with her stylus, pulled out the previously recorded film, and shredded it into tiny pieces. The Projector trembled with distress. Fortunately, it had recorded more than one segment, documenting everything it had seen and heard over the past few days.

"Each scene is only a little over two minutes. If we had more film, I could have recorded a lot more." Li Banfeng wanted to show his wife what Not-So-Big-Face looked like, so the Projector displayed the scene from the oil lake. However, the screen was a uniform oily yellow, showing nothing at all. "How is that possible!" the Projector exclaimed. "I recorded it carefully!" Li Banfeng deduced the reason: "'Not-So-Big-Face' possesses a very high status. He doesn't want you to capture his true appearance, and 'Not-So-Big-Face' isn't his real name."

In its frustration, the Projector opened the second piece of footage. Meng Yuchun, the Local God, turned his back to Li Banfeng, removed his long gown, and displayed the scars on his body. The wife let out a soft cough. "Dear husband," she said, "is this young lady 'Not-So-Big-Face'? I couldn't see how big her face was, but her 'peaches' are certainly quite large, and not just large, but also very fair. My husband, you've truly had a strenuous seven days!"

Li Banfeng kicked the Projector. "Don't just show this! Show how I battled the strange monsters on the land!" The Projector's voice rang out clearly, "None of those things were recorded!" Li Banfeng kicked the Projector away, ready to thoroughly recount his experiences of the past few days to his wife.

Just as he was recounting his time at the oil lake, he suddenly heard Glove's shout from the Third Chamber: "Master, you wronged me earlier! I didn't steal this oil! Who knows what stole all this oil, but it's all right here!" Li Banfeng entered the Third Chamber and saw that every container imaginable—bottles, jars, urns, barrels, water vats—anything that could hold liquid, was filled with oil, identical to what he had seen at the oil lake. Li Banfeng looked at Glove and asked, "Where did all this oil come from?" Glove angrily retorted, "It certainly wasn't me! How could I possibly carry this much? No matter who took it, you shouldn't have accused me!"

Li Banfeng touched one of the oil-filled bottles when suddenly an ancient voice whispered in his ear, "Be careful, don't spill it." "Who?" Li Banfeng exclaimed, bracing for a fight. The Phonograph quickly cried out, "Husband, don't be angry! That's our Dwelling speaking!" The room instantly fell silent. Previously, no one except the wife, Hong Ying, and Hong Lian could hear the Portable Dwelling's voice, as others' status was not high enough. But today, everyone heard it; the Portable Dwelling had changed its method of communication.

After about ten seconds of silence, Li Banfeng suddenly asked, "Why did you steal the oil?" "To burn," the Portable Dwelling replied with a single word. The Phonograph couldn't hear this word clearly, nor could Hong Lian, Hong Ying, or any of the magical artifacts. Only Li Banfeng heard it distinctly. Concerned that Li Banfeng was arguing with the Dwelling, Hong Ying told the Phonograph, "You wicked woman, tell that madman not to act recklessly! He's no match for this Dwelling; he wouldn't last a single move!"

Before the Phonograph could offer further advice, Li Banfeng asked, "Why don't you burn coal?" This question stunned the wife. Burn coal? Why would the Dwelling need to burn coal? For warmth? The ancient voice spoke again: "Constantly traveling with you, that bit of coal was burned up long ago." The Phonograph still couldn't hear clearly. Not only could it not discern the Dwelling's words, but it couldn't even make out Li Banfeng's. A low hum of noise constantly interfered with its hearing. "Husband, you still shouldn't..."

Li Banfeng continued, asking the Portable Dwelling, "Did you take me to the oil lake just to steal oil?" "You were the one who wanted to go to the oil lake; I merely picked up the oil along the way." "Before, you always followed the key. How did you learn to move independently now?" "Because there are tracks, heh heh heh!" The Portable Dwelling chuckled. "When did these tracks appear?" The Portable Dwelling offered no further response.

The Phonograph, unable to clearly hear their conversation, lowered its voice and urged, "Dear husband, don't provoke it any further. Won't it be enough if I let you apply the lubricating oil?"

At Yuezhou Third Hospital, the button on He Jiaqing's chest continuously vibrated, but with He Haisheng sitting right beside him, He Jiaqing couldn't answer it. After lunch, when He Haisheng went out for a smoke, He Jiaqing clutched the button and heard Wan Jinxian's voice: "Jiaqing, Ling Miaoying is still alive!"

"Alive?" He Jiaqing felt a surge of joy, quickly followed by doubt. "Didn't the Lu family announce that they had Miaoying's head?" "Our spy in Xiaoyaowu saw him go to the warehouse there just last night." "Xiaoyaowu..." What was Ling Miaoying doing at Xiaoyaowu? Could it be that Ling Miaoying merely faked his death and is still secretly monitoring Ma Wu? He was, after all, different from Ling Miaowen; he could hide his intentions so deeply. More precautions would be needed in the future, but for now, it was a positive development. At least I won't have to worry too much about Ma Wu for now. I can now focus on dealing with Lu Maoxian.

Before He Jiaqing could respond to Wan Jinxian, a wisp of smoke suddenly drifted before him. The smoke lingered around He Jiaqing for a long time, and beads of sweat began to fall from his brow. "Jiaqing?" He Haisheng's form slowly materialized before He Jiaqing. "Are you awake?" He Jiaqing remained silent for a moment before slowly opening his eyes. "Third Uncle," he said, "I'm awake." He Haisheng quietly watched He Jiaqing. Though he was reluctant to believe it, it was the truth. "Big Brother didn't believe you, and I even argued with him, insisting his own son would never lie to him. How incredibly foolish of me, wouldn't you say?" As he spoke, He Haisheng continuously gritted his teeth. He Jiaqing calmly said, "Third Uncle, may I say something?" "Speak, I'm listening."

(End of Chapter)