Chapter 329: What Does Truly Foolproof Mean

Li Banfeng was preparing to leave for Yaowanggou to visit Manager Feng at Fengji General Store.

Bai Qiusheng was having people prepare travel permits and train tickets when he suddenly heard a report: "Mr. Ai from the Pure Guard Society is here to discuss business."

The mention of the Pure Guard Society made Li Banfeng feel a wave of nausea. Bai Qiusheng asked in surprise, "Ai Chixiang? What business could they possibly have with us?"

Yuwen Qi said, "Why don't we just kick them out? We already have a grudge against them."

Li Banfeng took out the contract paper from his pocket and saw small specks of rust.

This meant that Lü Yuesan was already dead.

"It's fine to talk to them," Li Banfeng said calmly. "First, let's find out exactly what they want."

Bai Qiusheng went to discuss business, but returned shortly after.

"Seventh Master, they want to take over our projection machine business! The brand, the techniques, the factory—they want it all."

Yuwen Qi gritted his teeth and said, "These despicable scoundrels! They see us making money and just want to get their hands on it. Old Bai, I'll go out with you and curse these sons of bitches to death."

"Cursing them is useless. Ai Chixiang brought a lot of people and surrounded our newspaper office. Yue Qingsong is also here, saying that if we don't agree, they'll resort to force."

Hearing that Yue Qingsong had arrived, Yuwen Qi fell silent.

Yue Qingsong was Wu Decheng's disciple, a Level Four Poison Cultivator. Neither Yuwen Qi nor Bai Qiusheng was his match.

But with Li Qi here, they weren't afraid. Although they didn't know Seventh Master's cultivation level, dealing with a single Yue Qingsong should be no problem.

The two looked at Li Banfeng, who was talking to himself.

"I arrive, and they want to take over my business. Is this a coincidence? This certainly isn't a coincidence. They're coming for me. How did they know I arrived? Did they find out through Lü Yuesan? That's unlikely. Lü Yuesan just left a short while ago; their actions shouldn't be this fast. They must have known I was coming earlier. As soon as I returned to the newspaper office, they knew. There's an inside mole in the newspaper office. A mole isn't surprising. When a business grows, all sorts of people get involved..."

Yuwen Qi said, "Seventh Master, what's wrong? Please don't be like this. If something happens, we'll figure it out together. Don't scare us."

Li Banfeng waved his hand, signaling not to disturb him, and continued to talk to himself:

"They know I'm in Heishipo, and they still dare to take over my business? What's the purpose of this? To kill me? Does Tang Peigong have that ability? Just with these few from the Pure Guard Society? The head of the Pure Guard Society is the Saint, and after the Saint comes Lu Maoxian. Is it the Saint who wants to deal with me, or Lu Maoxian? If the Saint wanted to deal with me, he wouldn't send just these few people. He's suffered losses from me at Jianren Hill before. It must be Lu Maoxian's idea."

But if Lu Maoxian wants to deal with me, why choose Heishipo? Are these few useless people in Heishipo enough? Are they here to deal with me?

Li Banfeng continued talking to himself, making Bai Qiusheng and Yuwen Qi extremely anxious.

"Don't worry," Li Banfeng returned to normal. "Keep talking to them, take your time, and see what they really want."

In Lu Maoxian's study, a bamboo scroll fell to the floor.

The head butler, Xu Yangbo, picked up the bamboo scroll and brought it to Lu Maoxian's bedroom.

Lu Maoxian's face was pale. After having his 'root of worries' severed, his injuries had not fully healed.

Taking the bamboo book, Lu Maoxian saw a faint halo on the scroll.

He used an engraving knife to carve a character, 'Read', onto the scroll.

The character 'Read' vanished instantly, and a line of text appeared on one of the bamboo slips: "Li Qi has arrived at Heishipo."

Before having his 'root of worries' severed, Lu Maoxian had issued orders to Pure Guard Societies in various locations: as soon as they received any information about Li Qi's movements, they were to find a way to delay him and immediately report the news.

The Pure Guard Society had many capable operatives, but Lu Maoxian never expected that the first to send news would be Tang Peigong.

Li Qi actually reached Heishipo?

Lu Maoxian was also somewhat surprised.

Was it really Li Qi?

Among their group, Ma Wu was the one who frequently went to Heishipo for business. Why would Li Qi go to Heishipo?

Li Qi's movements were extremely difficult to track. Was Tang Peigong lying to claim credit?

Lu Maoxian replied with the engraving knife: "Is the news confirmed?"

A line of text appeared on the bamboo scroll: "Absolutely true."

Although Tang Peigong wasn't particularly capable, he wouldn't dare lie to me.

Lu Maoxian pondered for a moment, then responded: "Delay him."

Putting away the bamboo scroll, Lu Maoxian immediately called for the butler: "Have someone investigate the movements of Lu Chunying, Ma Wu, and Tan Fucheng."

The butler left immediately, and soon, news arrived:

"Lu Chunying is at her own residence, and Zuo Wugang with two attendants are also there."

This was within Lu Maoxian's expectations. After Qiu Zhiheng left, Ma Wu had arranged for attendants to take turns protecting Lu Chunying. Today was Zuo Wugang's turn.

The butler continued, "Ma Wu was seriously ill a few days ago. He's still weak and recovering at Xiaoyaowu."

"Ma Wu is ill?"

The butler nodded, "It was an acute illness; he almost lost his life."

No wonder Li Qi went to Heishipo. It turned out Ma Wu was just recovering from a serious illness and couldn't leave his home.

A hint of joy appeared on Lu Maoxian's face, and he then asked, "What about Tan Fucheng?"

"Tan Fucheng is managing business in his own territory."

An opportunity!

A once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity!

But was it really Li Qi in Heishipo?

Lu Maoxian still couldn't feel at ease. He had the butler bring the bamboo scroll again and carved four characters on it: "Is the news confirmed?"

The response from the other side was still "Absolutely true."

Lu Maoxian responded: "Delay him until dawn!"

The butler, standing by, said, "Master, Li Qi is in Heishipo, quite far from here. We should be worrying about Zuo Wugang."

Lu Maoxian shook his head and said, "Zuo Wugang is not difficult to deal with. He has excellent martial arts but lacks decisiveness in critical moments. As long as the situation changes a bit, he's useless! Li Qi is the one who appears and disappears mysteriously; he's the one who truly causes trouble. What has he done to the Pure Guard Society in Heishipo? He's a wandering cultivator. If he really runs back, things will get complicated. We must keep him delayed in Heishipo and send more people to delay Tan Fucheng as well, to ensure everything is foolproof."

Hearing this, the butler said, "Master makes sense. Shall I arrange the personnel then?"

Lu Maoxian nodded. "Personnel must be well-arranged, and the message must be prepared. Once Lu Chunying's head is taken, immediately spread the news and pin it on Duan Shaoxia."

The butler quickly made arrangements. When everything was almost ready, the butler took out a letter and handed it to a sweeping servant.

The servant didn't ask any questions. When no one was looking, he ran off to the main Lu family residence.

Lu Chunying was at home, checking accounts.

She was intelligent and eager to learn, but learning to manage a large family was not something that could be achieved overnight.

Qiu Zhiheng was gone, Ma Wu was very busy with business and had been recovering from illness for the past few days, so no one was there to teach her. Some matters she simply couldn't figure out on her own.

She invited her cousin, Lu Yuanxin, to her home.

Lu Yuanxin was Lu Dongjun's son. Due to being implicated by Lu Dongjun, he was currently in the worst situation among his peers in the Lu family.

Earlier, at Lu Maoxian's home, Lu Chunying had stood up for Lu Yuanxin, and he was very grateful to her. Today, being invited again to be her teacher, Lu Yuanxin was very respectful towards Lu Chunying and taught very diligently.

Although Lu Yuanxin had lost his family's property, he was still a young master from a prominent family with extensive knowledge and experience. Lu Chunying truly learned a lot from him.

In the evening, a heavy rain began to fall. Lu Yuanxin was preparing to go home, but Lu Chunying urged him to stay: "Brother, stay for dinner. You can avoid the rain too."

Lu Yuanxin looked uneasy and said, "I wouldn't dare impose. I should head back now."

"It's just a simple meal, no need to be polite." Xiao Yeci personally cooked a few dishes.

Lu Chunying didn't have many formalities either. She brought a few attendants to eat at the same table with them.

Ever since Lu Dongjun's incident, Lu Yuanxin had endured many cold stares. This rare courtesy from the main family made Lu Yuanxin very grateful.

Halfway through the meal, they suddenly heard a knock at the door.

This was strange.

Lu Chunying's residence wasn't large, but it did have doorkeepers and patrolling attendants.

Visitors would naturally be announced. What did knocking on the door imply?

This meant something was wrong; the doorkeepers and guards might have been incapacitated.

Zuo Wugang told everyone to stay still. Cao Zhida went to the door to open it, and Zhen Jincheng took up an ambush position by the window.

This was their unspoken understanding of many years: after opening the door, Cao Zhida would react first, Zuo Wugang would control the situation, and Zhen Jincheng would guard against sneak attacks while also considering an escape route.

After opening the door, Cao Zhida froze at the doorway and didn't react.

Zuo Wugang grew very tense and quickly went to the door to provide support.

When he reached the doorway, he also froze.

"Madam..."

Standing outside the door was Duan Shaoxia. She had no attendants, no retinue, was drenched by the heavy rain, and had come alone to Lu Chunying's residence.

Zuo Wugang looked at Lu Chunying.

In Zuo Wugang's impression, Duan Shaoxia was just a naive lamb.

If a fight was necessary, he wouldn't consider old ties, but only if Lu Chunying also had no reservations.

Duan Shaoxia also looked at Lu Chunying and smiled slightly: "With such heavy rain, are you just going to leave me standing at the door?"

Lu Chunying bowed her head in salute and invited Duan Shaoxia into the house.

Duan Shaoxia glanced around and saw Lu Yuanxin: "Yuanxin is here too?"

Lu Yuanxin bowed slightly, keeping his distance from Duan Shaoxia.

He didn't know if Duan Shaoxia had cultivation, but seeing her arrive alone at Lu Chunying's residence, with the outside doorkeepers and attendants having not reacted, he knew she was definitely not ordinary.

Duan Shaoxia then looked at Xiao Yeci: "Sister, do you have any hot soup? Please give me a bowl; I'm quite cold."

Xiao Yeci nodded, "I'll get you some soup. I also have clothes here, you can change into something dry."

Lu Chunying tugged at Xiao Yeci's sleeve, signaling her to avoid Duan Shaoxia's gaze at all costs.

Duan Shaoxia said to Lu Chunying, "I'm here to save you. Do you believe me?"

Lu Chunying was startled, then asked, "You came alone to save me?"

Duan Shaoxia smiled, "If I brought people, some things would be hard to explain. Chunying, do you want to fight, or do you want to escape?"

"What do you mean by 'escape,' and what do you mean by 'fight'?"

Duan Shaoxia said with a grave tone, "To fight means fighting this one battle. To escape means escaping for a lifetime!"

At the *Night Jasmine* Newspaper Office in Heishipo.

Bai Qiusheng was still negotiating with Ai Chixiang. They had talked for several hours without any results.

Bai Qiusheng stated that the film projection machine business was not for sale. Ai Chixiang then threatened, "Let me tell you this: if you don't want to sell, this business won't be able to operate in Heishipo in the future."

Bai Qiusheng replied that he couldn't make the decision on this matter.

Ai Chixiang chuckled, "If you can't decide, then ask your boss, right? I know he's here."

His bluff was called, and Bai Qiusheng started to sweat.

Ai Chixiang threatened again, "Make it clear to your Boss Ye: we came to him to discuss business, which is giving him enough respect. If he doesn't agree, he'll bear all the consequences himself!"

Despite the threats, Ai Chixiang never made a move.

Yuwen Qi didn't know how to respond and quickly went to the backyard to inform Li Qi.

Li Banfeng found the situation increasingly strange.

All talk, no action.

They're not here to deal with me; they're trying to tie me down!

What's the purpose of tying me down?

Is this Lu Maoxian's order?

Li Banfeng continued talking to himself, and Yuwen Qi's face turned pale with fright.

"Seventh Master, perhaps you should..."

"You go and keep an eye on Bai Qiusheng's side. It's probably nothing serious."

After sending Yuwen Qi away, Li Banfeng returned to his portable residence and continued to talk to himself: "What is Lu Maoxian's true intention in trying to tie me down? I haven't had much direct contact with him, so I don't really know what kind of person he is."

The others were familiar with Li Banfeng's temperament; it was best not to disturb him when he was talking to himself.

The Projector had just arrived and thought Li Banfeng was asking them something, so it proactively answered: "Director Seven, I'm quite familiar with Lu Maoxian's character. He's still robust in old age, truly robust!"

The Glove slapped the Projector: "You really don't understand the rules. Don't always interrupt when the master is thinking."

Li Banfeng was quite interested and asked the Projector, "What do you mean by 'robust in old age'?"

The Projector showed a short clip: "This is what I recorded from Lu Maoxian's house back then, using Ling Miaoying's hook. Most of the film isn't with me, only this small segment. Director Seven, look, three girls together! Isn't that robust in old age?"

Li Banfeng watched, mesmerized.

The Phonograph scoffed, "Short, truly short. What a shame for those three lovely girls. I say, husband, why are you looking so closely? That old man is far inferior to you."

Li Banfeng asked the Projector, "Is this Lu Maoxian's home?"

The Projector said, "Yes, there's a hook in his bedroom!"

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment and said, "Play this video ten times."

"Ten times?" The Phonograph said in astonishment, "Husband, what's wrong with you? Is it that good to watch?"

Li Banfeng shook his head, "There's nothing good to see, but I don't understand what Lu Maoxian is doing, so I need to ask someone who knows."

"Oh, husband, who are you going to ask?"

"Lu Maoxian himself. Isn't he the one doing this?"

The Phonograph was confused.

Li Banfeng meticulously watched the film, examining every detail in the room.

In his bedroom, Lu Maoxian took a pill to keep his body in the best possible condition.

Everyone in the household who could fight had been sent out.

One group was to tie down Tan Fucheng, another to monitor Ma Wu, and the most crucial group was to take Lu Chunying's head.

Tang Peigong had just sent news that Li Banfeng was still being delayed in Heishipo.

It was too late for him to return now.

According to Lu Maoxian's estimate, Zuo Wugang and his group of subordinates, even fighting with their lives, could at most hold out for about ten minutes.

In such a short time, neither Li Qi, Ma Wu, nor Tan Fucheng could possibly arrive as reinforcements.

As soon as Lu Chunying died, the news would immediately be released and blamed on Duan Shaoxia.

Everyone knew Duan Shaoxia harbored resentment towards Lu Chunying, making it impossible for her to clear her name in this matter.

By killing the main family's daughter, Lu Maoxian could justifiably expel Duan Shaoxia from the Lu family, or even have her killed, which would be considered reasonable.

At that time, Lu Maoxian would legitimately become the head of the Lu family.

After that, he would concentrate on dealing with He Jiaqing and avenge himself!

This revenge *must* be exacted! Thinking of it made Lu Maoxian grit his teeth in hatred!

Although He Jiaqing had used a disguise, Lu Maoxian was certain that He Jiaqing was responsible for this.

He had once considered gathering the entire Lu family to seek revenge on He Jiaqing.

But how would he explain it? That He Jiaqing, who was far away in another state, had come back and castrated him? Who would believe that?

He told the Saint's disciple about the matter, but the Saint found him useless and instead sent a white-robed disciple to scold him.

This revenge could only be carried out by himself. Once he became the head of the Lu family, he would openly reveal the matter. Regardless of whether He Jiaqing admitted it or not, he would use the full strength of the Lu family to completely wipe out the He family. From then on, Pro Province would be his domain.

"Foolproof, completely foolproof!" Lu Maoxian couldn't help but laugh aloud.

A Tang saber suddenly pierced through Lu Maoxian's chest.

Someone whispered in his ear:

"Tell me, what exactly is 'foolproof'?"