Chapter 463: The Founding of the Tao Sect

Li Banfeng stared at the calculation cultivator before him, remaining silent for a long time.

He recalled a remark the coachman had made to him back in Yaowanggou: "You look down on my trade, thinking it's disgraceful to pull a cart, but I look down on you reckless types; I think your lives are worthless."

The coachman genuinely disliked taking risks, yet his cultivation was at the 'cloud' level, whereas the calculation cultivator before him was only at the 'ground' level.

Li Banfeng simply couldn't fathom why the coachman would flee from a 'ground' level cultivator. No matter how cautious he was, he should have at least put up a fight!

He was convinced the calculation cultivator was lying. "I want to know the full story," he stated. "Why did the coachman run?"

The calculation cultivator replied, "Because I told him that if he didn't leave Huangtu Bridge, I would turn this entire territory into 'Old Earth'."

Li Banfeng raised the brim of his hat with his right hand, revealing his eyes from the shadows. He looked at the calculation cultivator and said, "You might as well try. Let's see if I can take your life before you do anything else."

The calculation cultivator replied, "Taking my life would be pointless. The people from North Bridge are waiting at the station, and they possess artifacts. They would know immediately if I were to die. Upon learning of my demise, they would immediately board a train. As soon as they leave the Huangtu Bridge territory, Huangtu Bridge will turn into 'Old Earth'."

"So what if it changes?" Li Banfeng retorted. "The coachman already gave you the land. Why would he still care if it becomes 'Old Earth'? He's lost everything anyway, so why wouldn't he dare to fight you?"

"It's different," the calculation cultivator said, raising an iron tablet in his hand. "Seventh Master, you must have seen this before. It's called a 'Danbook Iron Tablet.' There was originally a pair; I have one, and the other is still with the coachman. The coachman's carriage is unique, intrinsically linked to Huangtu Bridge. No matter who becomes the local deity of Huangtu Bridge, as long as one of these deeds is on his carriage, the coachman can maintain his position and standing in Huangtu Bridge. As long as Huangtu Bridge doesn't become 'Old Earth,' the coachman's standing won't diminish. However, there are also rules concerning that carriage: if the coachman returns to Huangtu Bridge, he must immediately remove the deed from the vehicle and bury it in the ground. If the deed is unearthed, it must be immediately returned to the carriage, and the coachman must then instantly depart Huangtu Bridge. Even a slight delay would cause him to lose his standing."

Li Banfeng considered how much the coachman valued his Western-style carriage.

His Western-style carriage was never out of his sight. Was it because the carriage allowed him to maintain his standing?

Outside Huangtu Bridge, he always kept the carriage with him. Was that because it contained the deed?

Outside Huangtu Bridge, he always kept the carriage with him simply because he could grab the deed and escape at any moment?

Had the coachman always been contemplating escape?

"Even if what you say is true," Li Banfeng argued, "the coachman didn't need to rush and dig up his deed. He could have stalled you for a bit longer, waited for me to arrive, and then we could have figured something out."

The pancake seller nodded. "I had already calculated this," he said. "If we'd stalled for too long, things might have changed by the time you arrived. That's why I had to force the coachman to leave quickly. I had already pinpointed the approximate location where the coachman buried the deed. He entered Huangtu Bridge from the New Lands, and the deed must be buried immediately upon entering Huangtu Bridge. The burial location for the deed is very particular: it must be secure, concealed, and at the right depth. Considering the coachman's speed and his limited time, I calculated three possible sites where he could have buried it. I've already sent people to guard those three locations, and I told the coachman this to his face. If my calculations were correct, the coachman would have to find his deed immediately and then leave Huangtu Bridge. Otherwise, once I unearthed it, it would be too late for him to go. And if I had miscalculated, then I would simply have the North Bridge people board the train immediately and see if the coachman could still hold his ground."

Li Banfeng frowned. "You calculated all of this?" he asked.

The calculation cultivator nodded. "I spent over a decade calculating this single matter," he replied.

Over a decade of planning—no wonder it was so meticulously arranged.

"This deed in your hand," Li Banfeng began, "did the coachman dig it up himself and then give it to you? He wouldn't be that ridiculous, would he?"

The calculation cultivator shook his head. "This isn't the coachman's deed; it's the Harbinger of Misfortune's. I unearthed it myself after countless calculations."

Li Banfeng scoffed. "I honestly don't believe that. If you already calculated the locations of both deeds, why didn't you just dig up the coachman's deed directly? Why are you still setting up this elaborate scheme with me?"

The calculation cultivator tucked the deed into his robe and calmly looked at Li Banfeng. "Seventh Master," he began, "if I had done that, would you have spared me? If the coachman had truly lost his standing, wouldn't he have fought me to the death? My cultivation is still at the 'ground' level, not yet 'cloud.' I have no desire to fight any of you to the death; I wouldn't win. From start to finish, all I wanted was to force the coachman away. I calculated this thoroughly, and I simply don't do anything I shouldn't. For instance, when you first came to North Bridge and ate my jianbing guozi, I didn't poison it. The chances of poison incapacitating you were low, and I didn't want to arouse your suspicion, much less create an irreconcilable feud. I stole coal from you twice. Rest assured, I will compensate you double for the coal, the carriage fees, and the business profits. I will ensure you don't suffer the slightest loss."

What a rational individual.

His rationality left Li Banfeng unable to find fault.

Yet even so, Li Banfeng still didn't trust him.

He went to Miss Qin's courtyard and brought Ma Wu out.

The calculation cultivator exclaimed, "Seventh Master's subordinates are truly formidable. Had I arrived a moment later, my daughter would have been compromised by Fifth Master."

Ma Wu cupped his fists. "I haven't yet asked your esteemed name, senior?" he inquired.

The calculation cultivator replied, "My surname is Qin, and my name is Qin Bulou."

The name was unusual, but Ma Wu admired it greatly. "Elder Qin, your meticulousness truly lives up to your name," he said.

Li Banfeng and Ma Wu then left North Bridge.

On the way, Ma Wu remarked, "I overheard your conversation outside. I think Old Mr. Qin is a good man, far more dependable than that coachman."

Li Banfeng didn't respond. "Brother," he said, "head back to the mine first. Be careful on your way."

At the crossroads, Li Banfeng hurried to South Bridge, quickly locating the entrance to the New Lands.

The entrance to these New Lands was merely a single mountain path. The coachman was a 'cloud' level traveling cultivator, so Li Banfeng had no idea if he had truly fled, or how far he might have gone.

After pursuing him for over a hundred *li*, Li Banfeng found the coachman squatting on the ground, rolling and smoking hand-rolled tobacco.

Li Banfeng's cheek twitched for a moment; he hadn't expected the coachman to actually be gone.

"Big Brother, what are you doing out here?"

The coachman didn't look up, knowing Li Qi had arrived and feeling a bit awkward. "Well, Lao Qi," he muttered, "I left in such a hurry, didn't even get to say goodbye. That pancake seller must have told you everything, right? That's just how it is; I truly had no choice."

"What do you mean, 'no choice'?" Li Banfeng pressed.

The coachman took a drag from his hand-rolled tobacco, exhaling smoke. "It's not for myself," he mumbled. "I'm not afraid of losing my standing. I'm doing it for Huangtu Bridge. I can't let Huangtu Bridge turn into 'Old Earth.' That's the territory my master bequeathed to me. I've failed him..."

Li Banfeng cut him off. "If you come back with me now," he said, "I'll take you to that pancake seller. I guarantee I won't let Huangtu Bridge become 'Old Earth'; I won't give him the chance. Do you dare to fight him?"

"Of course, I dare!" the coachman exclaimed, taking another drag from his smoke, his words full of bravado. But he didn't stand up. "However, if I go back, I'd have to bury the deed. There are only a few spots where it can be buried, and that pancake seller has calculated all of them. He's very accurate. If he were to dig up the deed..."

"I'll have someone watch the deed for you, to prevent anyone else from digging it up," Li Banfeng said. "Do you trust me?"

"I trust you, absolutely. But this matter, we need to think about it long-term. The territory must be preserved, and the deed must be preserved too. If I stay in Huangtu Bridge indefinitely, I fear it won't work. So about this... Lao Qi, don't rush! Let's discuss it further!"

Li Banfeng turned and walked away without a backward glance.

Upon reaching North Bridge, Li Banfeng approached the pancake stall. "Make me a pancake," he said to Qin Bulou, "with a crispy wrap."

Qin Bulou swiftly prepared the pancake and handed it to Li Banfeng. "Seventh Master, you're back?" he asked.

Li Banfeng nodded. "Calculate it yourself," he challenged. "Why did I come back?"

"You came back to do business with me."

"Why couldn't I have come back to settle accounts?"

Qin Bulou set down his spatula. "Truthfully, I was quite worried," he admitted. "The probability of you returning to settle accounts with me was rather high, because your temperament is unique. Many things about you can't be calculated by conventional means, and even if attempted, the results aren't accurate."

Li Banfeng ate the pancake in a few quick bites. "First," he said, "let's find a place to talk."

The pancake seller led Li Banfeng back to his home, which also served as Miss Qin's residence. Miss Qin stepped forward to greet them. "Are you Seventh Master?" she asked.

Li Banfeng nodded.

"I've brewed a jar of wine," Miss Qin said, handing it to Li Banfeng, "and I'd like you to give it to Fifth Master for me. Please tell him I don't wish to bother him, but only ask that when he next comes, he removes the 'root of affection' from my eyes."

The most notable characteristic of affection cultivation techniques was their elusive nature. Li Banfeng asked Miss Qin, "Can you discern the 'root of affection'?"

Miss Qin shook her head. "I can't discern it, but I can deduce it," she explained. "Fifth Master and I were complete strangers, and I am not a brazen woman. Yet, in just a few words, I almost completely surrendered to him. There must have been some other technique at play. I can guard against things like love potions and powders, and I've seen many techniques from thought cultivators and literary cultivators. The only thing I might not be able to defend against is the 'root of affection'."

Li Banfeng smiled but offered no reply. He then turned to Qin Bulou. "Huangtu Bridge has coal and mines," he said. "With the cunning of you and your daughter, it shouldn't be difficult to operate. Why do you insist on coming to me?"

Qin Bulou replied, "Seventh Master, you know well Huangtu Bridge's reputation. Even if we conduct our business honestly from now on, the prominent families won't invest their capital here; they'll even try to trip us up at every turn. If Seventh Master isn't willing to help us, Huangtu Bridge will never have a chance to recover."

He had calculated correctly again. Without needing anyone else to act, Li Banfeng was already prepared to hinder him.

"Your ruined reputation is your own creation; you can't blame anyone else for that."

Miss Qin, standing nearby, interjected, "Seventh Master, if we hadn't acted this way, Huangtu Bridge would have been ruined."

Li Banfeng frowned. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

Qin Bulou addressed Li Banfeng. "Seventh Master," he said, "you just remarked that my daughter and I are cunning. We take that as a compliment from you, and we accept it. I sought the position of local deity simply to ascend to the 'cloud' level. Given that cunning, tell me then, why wouldn't I simply go to the New Lands and secure a local deity position there? The local deities of the New Lands have long been detached from the mortal realm, making them easier targets for manipulation. Yet why did I choose to struggle so fiercely against the Harbinger of Misfortune and the Western-style coachman here in Huangtu Bridge? Both of them possess cultivation levels far beyond merely the 'cloud' tier."

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "Are you doing this to absorb the 'qi' of true land after ascending to the 'cloud' level?" he asked.

Qin Bulou shook his head. "Seventh Master," he said, "when the Harbinger of Misfortune was here, Huangtu Bridge already had very little 'qi' left. Even places teeming with strange creatures might not have less 'qi' than here. Not only is the 'qi' weak here, but its fortune was also squandered by the Harbinger of Misfortune. If I were only thinking of myself, I wouldn't choose this place even once in a hundred tries. However, our family has lived in Huangtu Bridge for generations; this is our home. I wanted to drive away the Harbinger of Misfortune, but I couldn't defeat him through direct confrontation. So, I had no choice but to accelerate Huangtu Bridge's decline, pushing it closer to 'Old Earth' to force the Harbinger of Misfortune to leave."

Li Banfeng looked at the father and daughter. "Are you telling the truth?" he asked.

Qin Bulou replied, "The people who remained in North Bridge are all native Huangtu Bridge residents. Seventh Master, if you don't believe me, you can verify it with each one. No matter how perfectly a lie is crafted, it will certainly reveal flaws when passed through multiple mouths. I am also willing to sign a deed. Should there be even half a false word, I am willing to accept punishment."

"A deed will certainly be drawn up," Li Banfeng said, pulling out a contract paper. "I can manage this territory of Huangtu Bridge, but the profits generated must be at my disposal."

Qin Bulou nodded. "Naturally," he agreed. "We only ask that Seventh Master allows us, the local inhabitants, to earn a living."

"Don't worry, you won't suffer any losses. But in addition to that, you must promise me three things. The first, and most crucial, is this: Neizhou has always coveted a 'True Land,' and now that the coachman is gone, Neizhou is likely to seize the opportunity. Huangtu Bridge is Prozhou's territory, and it must never be surrendered to Neizhou."

Qin Bulou replied, "Seventh Master, to be frank, my cultivation has long reached the tenth level. If I wished to advance, I could simply shed my physical form and go to Neizhou. However, my knees are too stiff; they simply won't bend. As long as I live, I will never bow to Neizhou!"

Li Banfeng noted this clause in the deed. "Secondly," he continued, "you were able to send all those North Bridge people to the station and even arrange their travel permits, which indicates you have some influence with the Border Guard Commissioner. Running a business inevitably involves dealings with other states, but in matters of great importance, you must clearly distinguish between internal and external loyalties."

Qin Bulou nodded. "North Bridge has its own rules," he said. "I'll present them to Seventh Master shortly. All interactions with the Border Guard Office adhere to these regulations. If anything seems improper, please feel free to correct me."

"Thirdly," Li Banfeng stated, "I must be informed about your new Taoist sect."

Qin Bulou froze, while Miss Qin, standing nearby, bit her lip. She hadn't expected Li Banfeng to guess that her father was creating a new Taoist sect.

Li Banfeng knew this put them in a difficult position, but if they were to cooperate, clarity was essential. "This new Taoist sect is your own unique creation, and it pertains to cultivation," he said. "Ordinarily, I shouldn't inquire. However, your sect is too unusual. Should a rift form between us in the future, I fear I would suffer a great disadvantage. I must take some precautions beforehand."

Qin Bulou was silent for a moment, then finally spoke the truth. "I am indeed creating a Taoist sect," he confessed. "The core of this sect is the single most significant thing I've accomplished since I began cultivating."

Li Banfeng mused, "You are a calculation cultivator, so naturally, the thing you do most is arithmetic."

Qin Bulou asked, "Is calculation for getting it wrong, or for getting it right?"

What a question to ask.

"Calculation is naturally meant for accuracy."

Qin Bulou gave a bitter smile. "But the most frequent thing I've done in my life is to calculate incorrectly," he admitted. "For a single problem, calculating it wrong ten times might not even lead to one correct answer."

Li Banfeng paused, a little taken aback. Such a situation was, in fact, quite normal.

While studying, he too had been troubled by solving problems. Getting a single problem right was genuinely difficult, and making mistakes and restarting mid-way was an entirely normal occurrence.

For someone like Qin Bulou, who dealt with advanced calculations, the probability of error would naturally be higher.

Qin Bulou sighed. "The path of calculation cultivation is truly arduous," he lamented. "My entire life has been a torment of arithmetic. From the most basic arithmetic when I started, I constantly made mistakes. Even at this age, when tackling complex problems, errors are relentless. Making mistakes is a constant companion. Usually, a mistake is just a mistake, but in a life-or-death situation, one miscalculation means doom. Sometimes, I even wake up in a cold sweat from nightmares about it. Then it occurred to me: getting it right is difficult, but getting it wrong is much easier. Why shouldn't I cultivate by getting things wrong? It sounds absurd, but that's exactly what I did. I deliberately calculated incorrectly to see what results it would produce, and what kind of changes would occur if a mistake compounded another mistake. Deliberately calculating wrong felt like mocking arithmetic, which goes against Taoist principles. But it was quite satisfying to do! As time went on, my cultivation in calculation didn't show much improvement, but another form of cultivation began to take shape."

"Stop!" Li Banfeng exclaimed, raising a hand. "Calculating incorrectly can also be considered cultivation?"

"Yes!" Qin Bulou said with pride. "Seventh Master, when you made your first shipment, you found the railway tracks broken. Did it never occur to you why a *repaired* track would break again?"

Li Banfeng recalled that he hadn't given it much thought at the time. "This old railway has been derelict for so many years," he mused. "It's repaired, then it breaks, then it's repaired again. Isn't that just logical?"

Qin Bulou explained, "Most errors occur within what is considered 'reasonable.' You thought it was reasonable, and the railway workers thought it was reasonable too. The less people guarded against mistakes, the more opportunities arose for my new Taoist sect. The railway tracks broke not because I tampered with them afterward, but because the workers were negligent during repairs. It passed a test with an empty carriage, but when a train loaded with coal passed over, the tracks couldn't bear the weight and snapped on the spot. After the train overturned, everyone panicked and rushed to find help, but no one remained to guard the scene. This was a mistake compounding a mistake. While everyone was occupied with the tracks, I seized the chance to steal the coal. The second time you shipped goods, I used the same method. Your workers made mistakes again while repairing the train. They were so accustomed to errors that they took no precautions. The train suffered continuous malfunctions along the way, and they rushed to fix it and keep going, never pausing to consider the underlying reasons. I exploited this very opportunity to steal both the carriages and the coal."

Li Banfeng mentally replayed the entire sequence of events. "Making people make mistakes, and then letting those mistakes compound—are these your two techniques?" he asked.

Qin Bulou shook his head. "The Taoist sect isn't fully formed yet, so it's not truly a technique; it's merely a means. I call this path 'Error Cultivation'."

Error Cultivation.

This was precisely the 'Chaotic Cultivation' Li Banfeng had previously considered.

What was the key to Qin Bulou creating this unique Taoist path?

Was it his talent?

Was it his wisdom?

Perhaps neither.

He chose what he was most familiar with, most loathed, and most deeply understood as his means of cultivation, becoming profoundly obsessed with it. Perhaps *that* was the true key to creating this new Taoist sect.

"But how did you apply your techniques to us?" Li Banfeng asked. "Before the first shipment, we should have had no contact. You couldn't have just calculated a formation and cast a spell, could you?"

Qin Bulou shook his head. "There *was* contact, Seventh Master, you simply overlooked it. Your workers needed to eat, and in Huangtu Bridge, the only functional area is North Bridge. All their ingredients were purchased from me. The technique was placed within the ingredients."

"You poisoned the food?"

"It wasn't poison. The ingredients were all good, but they contained subtle, invisible influences. Take this jar of pickles, for example: the precise amounts of coarse and fine salt used, and the exact number of days it was pickled, all play a role. Once someone eats the pickles from this jar, they become prone to making mistakes—frequent yet hard-to-notice errors. And after making a mistake, their irritation can lead them to compound it even further."

Li Banfeng scrutinized the pickle jar. "Your pancakes also employ similar methods, don't they?" he asked. "The coachman ate three or four in a row; if it were poison, he'd surely have noticed. But he'd never encountered your 'Error Cultivation' technique before."

Qin Bulou smiled. "Seventh Master is right; the coachman did fall victim to my methods. However, his cultivation was too high for him to be significantly affected."

"Why did you embed your techniques in food?"

"Because when I was young, I was a cook and dreamed of becoming a culinary cultivator. I saved my money and went to the peddler to buy some medicinal powder. That day, the peddler had a few too many drinks; his hand slipped, and he gave me calculation cultivation powder instead. Poor me, a cook who ended up doing arithmetic my entire life."

The peddler could make *that* kind of mistake?

Did he deliberately intend to give Qin Bulou the calculation cultivation powder?

Did he deliberately mean to give the powder to the right person?

What Qin Bulou said still needed verification. However, if he was telling the truth, he would indeed be a suitable partner.

Li Banfeng reviewed the rules governing interactions between North Bridge and the Border Guard Office, made a few minor adjustments, and incorporated them into the deed.

He stayed in North Bridge for an entire day, investigating thoroughly and visiting various places, finally finalizing the contract with Qin Bulou.

Two days later, Qin Bulou personally led a team, driving a small train loaded with twenty cars of coal to the foot of the mountain.

"Fifth Master," he announced, "this is the first batch of coal. There are three more batches, which will be delivered in full in a few days."

Ma Wu smiled. "Your sincerity is enough; there's no need to quibble over minor details," he said. "Today, please join us for a simple meal on the mountain, Elder Qin. Tomorrow, I will call upon your home to first help Miss Qin resolve the 'root of affection,' and then to sample your culinary skills."

Qin Bulou chuckled. "Fifth Master, your generosity is immense. This old man humbly accepts."

Talking to Qin Bulou, Ma Wu felt a profound sense of clarity.

During the meal, Qin Bulou, not seeing Li Qi, inquired, "Is Seventh Master still in Huangtu Bridge?"

Ma Wu replied, "It seems he went into town to unwind."

Where in Huangtu Bridge could one possibly go to unwind? Qin Bulou couldn't imagine.

Li Banfeng was indeed in town, engaged in combat with Chu Shaoqiang inside an abandoned hotel.

Chu Shaoqiang flicked his gray overcoat, unleashing a flurry of javelins. Li Banfeng swiftly dodged them.

The javelins were dense, continuous, and left no gaps, completely denying Li Banfeng any chance to get close.

Li Banfeng activated his "Intention Travels a Thousand Mountains" technique, altering Chu Shaoqiang's surroundings by transforming the floor beneath his feet into a tightrope.

Chu Shaoqiang struggled to maintain his balance on the tightrope. Li Banfeng leaped onto the wire, swung his sickle, and struck him down.

"Director Qi, a very exciting bout!" the projector exclaimed.

Li Banfeng sat silently beside the projector.

The Chu Shaoqiang from moments ago was merely an image generated by the projector; they were conducting a simulated exercise under specific rules.

The exercise's outcome was always Li Banfeng's victory, but a real battle would present a very different scenario.

In real combat, Chu Shaoqiang rarely used javelins. His arsenal of weapons was bizarre and endless, not something that could be countered merely by dodging. Furthermore, Li Banfeng conjuring this tightrope might not severely impact Chu Shaoqiang. In a real battle, Chu Shaoqiang would most likely stand firmly on the tightrope and calmly fight Li Banfeng.

If not a tightrope, then what else could he conjure?

He was able to conjure this tightrope because Li Banfeng had been staring at the steel wire outside the window for quite some time earlier. During combat, with no time for thought or preparation, the environments Li Banfeng could conjure were extremely limited.

Given his current strength, even if he managed to seize the initiative against Chu Shaoqiang, Li Banfeng would struggle to find a winning strategy. Moreover, Chu Shaoqiang was under orders from Neizhou to locate a 'True Land' for them. His earlier warning to Qin Bulou wasn't an empty threat; Li Banfeng genuinely worried Chu Shaoqiang would come to Huangtu Bridge.

Why had the peddler let him go then?

And why had he been given a piece of lard to eat?

After a brief rest, Li Banfeng asked the projector, "What's the secret to turning imagined things into reality?"

"The trick is to meticulously depict every external detail," the projector explained. "I can only create an exterior; things on an intrinsic level require more refinement in the script."

Intrinsic...

Li Banfeng was intimately familiar with his wife's intrinsic qualities. Could he attempt to manifest her in combat?

But this would violate the technique's principle: "Intention Travels a Thousand Mountains" was meant to alter the combat environment, not to summon external aid. Even if Li Banfeng could manifest his wife, she would merely be a static representation, unable to exert any combat power.

The concept of 'intrinsic' seemed quite insightful.

Li Banfeng rose. "Let's try again," he said.

The projector generated an image of Chu Shaoqiang. Li Banfeng's initial tactic had been to directly conjure the combat environment of his portable residence.

He was extremely familiar with his portable residence, so conjuring it shouldn't be difficult.

But what would be the use of conjuring it?

Would the portable residence be considered a dangerous place for an enemy?

It was indeed very dangerous.

However, the danger of the portable residence primarily stemmed from his wife and various family members, as well as his own increased combat prowess within the house. This had no connection to the basic environment of the room itself.

Conjuring the portable residence as a tactic seemed unfeasible. The only tactics he could currently conceive still involved combat locations like mountain ravines, cliffs, and swamps—places where a traveling cultivator's advantages could be exploited.

While Li Banfeng was still adjusting his strategy, Chu Shaoqiang made his move.

He extended his hands, and two gloves detached, transforming into a pair of giant palms over two meters tall. They clapped towards Li Banfeng from left and right.

Li Banfeng didn't dodge, knowing Chu Shaoqiang would surely have a follow-up move.

Scythe in his left hand, Tang saber in his right, he jabbed the two gloves, preventing them from nearing him.

Chu Shaoqiang walked between the two gloves. He untied his necktie and casually left it suspended in mid-air.

The necktie coiled and folded in the air, transforming into a black butterfly. With dust between its wings, it fluttered towards Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng removed his top hat, trapped the black butterfly, and with a gentle wave, as if performing a trick, the butterfly instantly vanished.

Chu Shaoqiang clapped his hands softly. "Well handled," he murmured.

The projector said, "Director Qi, this is..."

Li Banfeng lowered his palm, signaling the projector not to be alarmed.

This wasn't an image generated by the projector; the real Chu Shaoqiang had suddenly appeared.

Why had Chu Shaoqiang come to Huangtu Bridge? How could he find him so easily? Had he just arrived, or had he already laid an ambush?

A series of questions swirled through his mind. The answers held the key to whether he could escape the hotel unharmed and then, with Qin Bulou and his group, devise a way to defend Huangtu Bridge.

The two men stared at each other for a moment. Chu Shaoqiang cleared his throat, wiping rose-scented foam from his lips. "Don't be nervous," he told Li Banfeng. "I'm not here to cause trouble today. I have a message for you: Neizhou will be sending someone to Huangtu Bridge in the coming days. Given your current strength, my advice is to leave immediately and not get involved in this conflict."

Li Banfeng frowned. "You came to deliver a message to me? Since when did we have such a good relationship?"

Chu Shaoqiang had his excuse ready. "My daughter is very fond of you," he began, "and I'm very keen to facilitate your marriage. Consider this the beginning of our reconciliation."

As he spoke the word "marriage," his breath was a little heavy, and Chu Shaoqiang exhaled a shimmering, colorful soap bubble.

Li Banfeng seemed to grasp the purpose of that piece of Western soap. "Since you're already here," he said, "you might as well tell me which master Neizhou intends to send to Huangtu Bridge. That way, I can prepare in advance."

Chu Shaoqiang replied, "Your Taoist senior, Lu Dongliang."

"Who?" Li Banfeng asked again.

"Lu Dongliang, the former head of the Lu family."

Li Banfeng's face remained impassive, though his nose twitched slightly.