Chapter 355: Revenge

Shen Rongqing wept loudly, her face buried in Ma Wu's embrace. Ma Wu held her, seemingly propping up her entire world with his sole presence.

In reality, he wasn't alone. Huoling, Aqin, Zuo Wugang, and Tan Fucheng were all outside. The one who truly drove away the White Robe cultivator was Lu Yuanxin, an insect cultivator. To combat Lu Dongchun, Lu Yuanxin had perfected his clothes-eating worms to an extreme degree. They were numerous, voracious, sharp-toothed, and even poison-resistant. Even that White Robe cultivator, a high-level robe cultivator, couldn't withstand Lu Yuanxin's clothes-eating worms.

These individuals could only wait outside the teahouse; Li Banfeng had ordered them not to interfere. While others simply waited, Huoling and Aqin felt particularly uneasy. For Wulang, they had rushed over to save a foxy seductress!

"Ling'er, your ears are sharp. Listen, what are they saying?"

Using the charcoal fire from the teahouse stove, Huoling heard Ma Wu repeating only one phrase: "I'm here. It's alright now."

"He's here. It's alright now..."

Seeing the White Robe fly back, Li Banfeng breathed a sigh of relief. The White Robe enveloped Zhong Huai'en and carried him flying out of the alley. Regardless of whether Zhong Huai'en was dead or alive, the robe was still there. As long as the robe remained, there would be no shortage of messengers.

That night, Shen Rongqing didn't return to the Opera Company, nor did Ma Wu go back to Xiaoyao Dock. The two quietly left the teahouse, went to Heping Building, and even requested their old room. They stayed for a night, but in reality, they didn't sleep at all.

At dawn, Shen Rongqing gently touched Ma Wu's cheek and softly asked, "How did you know I was in danger at the teahouse?"

Ma Wu shook his head and replied, "I didn't know you were in danger. I was passing by Hetang Teahouse, saw the lights on, and just wanted to go up and see, to try my luck and see if I might run into you."

"Do you know whose business Hetang Teahouse is?"

"I know," Ma Wu calmly nodded. "It's the Ling family's business. The Ling family is my adversary, and you're helping them with their business."

"You knew I was... yet you still..." Shen Rongqing, the foremost talented woman of Puro Province, found herself unable to accurately express her thoughts at that moment.

"No need to say more," Ma Wu shook his head, holding Shen Rongqing tightly. "It's not important. For you, nothing else matters."

Shen Rongqing buried her head in Ma Wu's embrace and softly asked, "What level of cultivation are you, and how were you able to defeat that Robe cultivator?" This was a crucial question. Ma Wu subtly used his Huanxiu technique, diligently suppressing his heartbeat and controlling his thoughts, calmly replying, "No matter my cultivation level, you are my woman, and I am your man. That's all that matters."

He had rehearsed this line many times and was confident it sounded sufficiently moving. But after a long silence, Shen Rongqing still left Ma Wu's embrace. She put on her clothes and told Ma Wu, "Get some good sleep, and then forget me." It wasn't that she didn't believe Ma Wu, but she knew her position and identity. She couldn't be with Ma Wu.

Watching Shen Rongqing leave the room, Ma Wu wiped away his sweat. "This talented woman is really difficult to deal with," he thought. "The incident was so sudden, and Old Seven didn't let me prepare in advance. What if I had been exposed?"

At daybreak, Shen Rongqing returned to the Opera Company, sat in her office lost in thought for a while, then contacted He Jiaqing. "Jiaqing, last night Zhong Huai'en sent someone to kill me. This must be the Saint's order."

He Jiaqing, disguised as a cleaner sweeping the street, felt overwhelmed upon hearing this. "How did things come to this point?"

"Jiaqing, I'm telling you, he tried to kill me!" Before He Jiaqing could speak, Shen Rongqing cut off the communication.

He Jiaqing, holding his broom, realized he had said the wrong thing; he hadn't prioritized Shen Rongqing's safety. "Capable people are disobedient, and obedient people are incapable. Why can't I find someone who is capable, resourceful, and also willing to work diligently for you? Why can't I find..."

"What are you muttering about?!" an auntie cleaner next to him yelled at He Jiaqing. "Are you here to work? Why are you daydreaming? Hurry up and sweep!"

"Alright," He Jiaqing sniffled. This stretch of road had a lot of traffic, so he had to quickly set up his equipment. To catch the morning rush hour, he endured it.

Li Banfeng returned to Xiaoyao Dock and found Luo Zheng'nan. Li Banfeng had settled the score between He Jiaqing and the Saint for them. But was he just going to hand over this feud? That wouldn't do.

Since arriving in Puro Province, the first group to disgust Li Banfeng was the Jiangxiang Gang. Besides the Jiangxiang Gang, many others had disgusted Li Banfeng, and he had dealt with all of them. But the most repulsive experience had been with the Scoundrel Post, under the Saint's command. And as it happened, the Saint and the Jiangxiang Gang were working together. They abducted children, sent them to the Scoundrel Post, trained them into scoundrels, and made them slaves for the Saint. These two repulsive groups had joined forces to commit repulsive acts. Now it was time to make them suffer. But this required Luo Zheng'nan's help.

Li Banfeng never asked anyone to do something for nothing; he first gave Luo Zheng'nan five hundred silver dollars. "This is the reward for this battle. Next, there are some big things we need to do together. First, tell me what you want. Business or territory?"

Luo Zheng'nan looked at Li Qi. He knew that there wasn't complete trust yet, and that Li Qi still harbored caution and suspicion towards him. But after a long hesitation, he stated what he desired: "Seventh Master, I don't want money or territory. I want revenge."

Some people just click with you like that. Even his thoughts aligned with yours.

"The person who killed you, his name is Pei Yuzeng?"

Luo Zheng'nan nodded, "The hall master of Qingyan City."

"Are you familiar with Qingyan City?"

"I've been there a few times. I know all the Jiangxiang Gang's halls and branch offices. He doesn't have many skilled subordinates, almost none who are truly capable. However, Hall Master Pei Yuzeng is not easy to deal with. This man is a fifth-level fire cultivator. Seventh Master might not consider his cultivation level high, but he's unpredictable. If the timing is right, killing him won't be difficult at all. But if the timing isn't right, it's hard to even get close to him. To kill Pei Yuzeng, it can't be at his hall. His hall is large and has many people. No one knows where he might appear or where he might make his move. The Chu family, the Ma family, and the Hundred Flowers Sect all sent assassins to kill him, all within his hall. The result was that they failed to kill him, and the assassins were instead burned to death by Pei Yuzeng's flames. So, we must choose the right moment."

"What kind of timing would be considered suitable?"

"That depends on when Seventh Master is willing to help me get this revenge."

"The sooner, the better."

"Thank you, Seventh Master!" Luo Zheng'nan stood up and bowed deeply to Li Banfeng. He circled a date on a calendar. "Today is the second. If Seventh Master is willing to help me, we'll depart tomorrow. We can reach Qingyan City by train on the fifth, which is precisely their delivery day."

"Delivering what goods?"

"Children. The situation in Qingyan City is peculiar; child traffickers are rampant. In other places, it's called 'kidnapping children,' but there, they call it 'abducting children.' The Jiangxiang Gang's child traffickers dare to snatch people in broad daylight, and if met with resistance, they even dare to injure people openly. They imprison the abducted children in their halls, waiting for families to ransom them. Those who can afford the ransom can take their children back; for those who cannot, the children are never seen again."

Li Banfeng frowned, "This is something only bandits would do."

Luo Zheng'nan nodded, "You are right. What the Jiangxiang Gang does in Qingyan City is no different from what bandits do, even worse. This is mainly because Qingyan City's situation is somewhat unique; in that place, children are looked after by the elderly and the infirm."

"Where are the children who can't be ransomed sent?"

"They are sent by train to the Scoundrel Post. Pei Yuzeng calls this 'delivery' – delivering goods to the Saint."

"By train?" Li Banfeng was startled. "Don't the customs officials care?"

Luo Zheng'nan explained, "That's Pei Yuzeng's capability. Someone at the station takes care of him, allowing him to transport these children via freight train. It's unknown whether it's people from outside the province or from the Scoundrel Post itself who are helping him. However, Pei Yuzeng must personally oversee these deliveries. He has all the branch offices pack the children into boxes and send them to a warehouse east of the station. He personally escorts these children to the station, and he's allowed to bring a maximum of ten subordinates. This is a rule set by the station for him. Few people, besides his trusted aides, know the details of this arrangement. This is the best opportunity to kill him."

The most valuable trait of a smart person is their ability to use all means to simplify complex problems.

Li Banfeng pulled down the brim of his hat and said, "Get ready. We leave tomorrow."

On Sage Peak, the dying Zhong Huai'en was carried into the Saint's mansion. The Saint emerged from his bedroom. He looked at the severely injured Zhong Huai'en and the White Robe, riddled with holes, on his body.

"What happened?"

The White Robe could not speak. Despite Zhong Huai'en's inferior cultivation, he had to be the first to reply in front of his master because of his high status. Zhong Huai'en struggled to speak, "Master, I was ambushed by a Traveler Cultivator. Your disciple fought valiantly but could not defeat him."

"A Traveler Cultivator? Was it He Jiaqing again?"

Zhong Huai'en didn't dare to speak readily; he hadn't seen the ambusher's face clearly. The Saint looked at the White Robe and commanded, "You speak!"

What should the White Robe say? Should he say he came up with the idea to ambush Shen Rongqing, failed, and lost his junior brother in the process? If he spoke the truth, he wouldn't leave the mansion alive. Fortunately, he had prepared beforehand and recounted the events in a different way: "Master, we went to meet Shen Rongqing. Junior Brother asked why He Jiaqing didn't show up, wondering if he was too arrogant. Shen Rongqing said we weren't qualified to meet He Jiaqing. Junior Brother, in a fit of anger, spoke a few harsh words, and then we left. Unexpectedly, halfway there, we were ambushed by a Traveler Cultivator and an Insect Cultivator."

There was nothing wrong with what he said; it was all true, only a part of the facts had been omitted. Insect cultivators were the bane of robe cultivators, and the holes in the White Robe were indeed left by clothes-eating worms.

The Saint remained silent for a long while, then told Zhong Huai'en and the White Robe, "You two go and recuperate first. Once your injuries have healed, take people to another province, contact Xiao Zhenggong, and eliminate He Jiaqing at all costs."

The White Robe, emboldened, said, "Master, Senior Brother Xiao might not listen to me."

"Just tell him it's my order. Let's see if he dares to defy it!"

The White Robe dared not speak. Xiao Zhenggong's intentions were inscrutable. Even if he didn't openly defy the order, what could be done if he simply procrastinated and didn't act?

Qingyan City. A faint haze of smoke always hung in the city's air. It was also an industrial city, yet its urban layout was completely different from Blackrock Slope. Blackrock Slope focused on manufacturing, with numerous factories throughout the city. Residents' homes were built near these factories, and most workers lived within the factory compounds. Qingyan City, however, specialized in metallurgy. Smelting factories were located near the mines, and no one wanted to live near the mines. This created Qingyan City's unique north-south divide. The southern part was the urban district, where all residential buildings were constructed. The northern part was the mining district, filled with mineshafts and factories. Workers spent their days in the mining district and returned to the urban area to live at night.

This presented a problem: if a worker's workplace was far from home, who would look after their children? With their meager income, hiring someone to care for them was unrealistic. If the elderly couldn't be relied upon either, children could only be entrusted to nearby neighbors, who would then help care for the younger ones once the older children grew up a bit. In this situation, child traffickers found many opportunities.

Just as night fell, Pei Yuzeng personally arrived at the warehouse with ten trusted subordinates. A few branch offices had already delivered children, but two more hadn't arrived yet. Pei Yuzeng checked his pocket watch, saw he still had enough time, and decided to wait for them. He inspected each box one by one, instructing his subordinates, "Cut two more holes in this box, so they don't suffocate on the way."

Crying sounds emanated from one of the boxes. Pei Yuzeng frowned, "Sew his mouth shut for me. Don't let him cause trouble at the station later." This wasn't an empty threat; his subordinates actually went to get needles. Any child who cried out truly had their mouth sewn shut.

A brawny man brought needles and thread, opened a box. He was most skilled at sewing mouths. Li Banfeng took the needle and thread from the brawny man's hand, pierced Pei Yuzeng's lower lip through to his upper lip, threaded it through, and made several passes, sewing his mouth shut.

Pei Yuzeng was startled. Li Banfeng's movements were too fast for him to react. He tried to breathe fire, but his mouth wouldn't open. Then he realized Li Banfeng's figure had vanished. Pei Yuzeng frantically tore off the threads from his mouth and shouted, "Who are you?"

"An enemy." Luo Zheng'nan slowly walked from the warehouse entrance toward Pei Yuzeng.

Pei Yuzeng was stunned. Wasn't Luo Zheng'nan dead? Pei Yuzeng had personally burned him to death and even collected his ashes. How was he alive? And who was the person who had just vanished?

Luo Zheng'nan looked at Pei Yuzeng. He really wanted to see if Pei Yuzeng could still breathe fire, if there truly was no warning sign at all. Pei Yuzeng desperately wanted to breathe fire, and he truly could do so without any warning, but he no longer had the chance. His forehead swelled, followed by his cheeks, chest, stomach, and limbs.

*Bang!* With a muffled sound, Pei Yuzeng exploded into a bloody mess.

*Bang! Bang!*

Consecutive muffled thuds, and nine of the ten subordinates successively exploded into bloody flesh. Traveler Cultivation Technique: "Casual Glance."

The sole remaining Jiangxiang Gang disciple, the brawny man who had opened the box, stood trembling, knowing Li Banfeng was right behind him. Li Banfeng asked, "Where did these children come from?"

"I, I don't know."

Luo Zheng'nan sighed, "It would have been so much better if you knew. If you did, you might have been able to keep your life."

"Hall Master Luo, I, I have no grievance with you..."

"But you have a grievance with me," Li Banfeng said, smiling behind the brawny man.

"G-great master, I haven't offended you, I've never seen you..." The brawny man dared not turn around, crying hysterically, even more miserably than the children in the boxes.

From the box he had just opened, a child cautiously peeked out. Li Banfeng motioned for Luo Zheng'nan to cover the child's eyes. Luo Zheng'nan covered the child's eyes and said, "Come here, uncle has candy. Tell uncle where your home is?"

As he spoke, the brawny man's cries ceased.