Chapter 88: Tang Sword

Li Banfeng vomited yellow water, then green water, then bitter water, then salty water, until there was nothing left in his stomach. He staggered and struggled to his feet.

The record spun on the platter, and the gramophone hummed softly, "My lord, why fight such a bitter battle?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "If I win, it won't be a bitter fight. My thanks to you, my dear wife, for cleaning the residence. I'll be back shortly."

"Where are you going now, my lord?"

"To buy groceries."

"I'm not hungry today, my lord. Please don't go."

Li Banfeng paused, looking at the gramophone. "Are you worried about me?"

The gramophone retorted playfully, "I adore you every moment, my lord."

Li Banfeng smiled and left the Portable Residence.

The phonograph needle swayed gently, and steam hissed out slowly.

"This one could truly achieve great things."

***

Li Banfeng arrived at the headquarters' main hall and saw that the tea stains on the floor had already dispersed.

Shi Boyu lay motionless on the ground, but Li Banfeng didn't rush forward.

He first retrieved the key; regardless of whether Shi Boyu was dead or alive, Li Banfeng had to get the key back, otherwise he wouldn't be able to leave the headquarters.

After securing the key, Li Banfeng picked up the teapot. From it, the voice of a magical artifact echoed in his ear: "Are you cold? Don't you want to warm up?"

Li Banfeng ignored it, picked up the scissors from the ground, and walked towards Shi Boyu.

He first took out an iron ruler and poked Shi Boyu with it.

Shi Boyu's body trembled slightly; he was still alive, just unconscious.

Li Banfeng immediately opened the Portable Residence and tossed Shi Boyu inside.

The steward who could turn into a ladybug, the prying cultivator with far-hearing abilities, and anyone else suspected of having cultivation—Li Banfeng threw them all into the Portable Residence, then proceeded to the second floor.

He wanted to see if there was anything he desired in the building.

After going through all the bedrooms, Li Banfeng collected over 500,000 in cash.

The headquarters of the esteemed Jiangxiang Gang—how could it only have this much money?

Li Banfeng suspected he hadn't found the right place. Returning to the largest bedroom, he intended to search again when he suddenly heard a voice whispering in his ear: "Since you're here, let's settle this. Let's fight to the death!"

Who!

Li Banfeng was startled. Was someone still hiding in this room?

Had they been hiding here all along, or had they just entered?

If they had just entered, why hadn't I seen them?

If they had been hiding here all along, why hadn't they attacked when I entered the room earlier?

Li Banfeng quickly distanced himself from the source of the sound, holding the iron ruler in one hand, ready to engage the enemy, and the key in the other, ready to retreat.

After waiting for a while, Li Banfeng saw no one, but then a hidden compartment opened on the wall.

A Tang saber, about a meter long, floated out of the hidden compartment and addressed Li Banfeng: "Green long clouds darken the snowy mountains, a lonely city gazes at the Jade Gate Pass. The time for the decisive battle has come; make your move!"

*Clang!*

The Tang saber was drawn from its sheath, its blade pointed at Li Banfeng.

What is this thing?

A magical artifact or a spiritual object?

Given that it can speak so much and recite poetry, it must be a magical artifact.

With such a powerful magical artifact, why didn't Shi Boyu carry it with him?

This saber can fly. If he had used it to fight me just now, I really wouldn't have known how to counter him.

The Tang saber spoke again: "The general himself dances with the long sword, the warrior's cry shakes the nine realms. What are you waiting for?"

Li Banfeng said blankly, "You're a saber, aren't you? Why are you talking about dancing with a sword?"

The Tang saber fell silent for a moment, then replied, "The artistic conception is what matters. Make your move! Today, you and I will stake our lives here!"

"It's our first meeting; there's no need to stake our lives, is there? How about another day?" Li Banfeng seriously negotiated with the Tang saber.

"Why can't we have the decisive battle today?" The Tang saber's blade remained pointed at Li Banfeng.

"I've been poisoned, and the lingering toxins haven't cleared. Even if you defeat me, it wouldn't be a fair victory." Li Banfeng earnestly reasoned with the Tang saber.

"Very well, I shall wait for you until tomorrow!"

*Clang!*

The Tang saber returned to its sheath.

This truly was a reasonable saber.

Li Banfeng put away the Tang saber and was about to look for other things when he suddenly heard footsteps from downstairs.

"What happened? Where's the leader?"

"The leader is in the main hall. He hasn't come out."

"What's with the water on the floor?"

Someone had returned.

Li Banfeng pushed open the window, opened the Portable Residence, and threw the key outside the courtyard wall.

When he emerged from the Portable Residence again, Li Banfeng had already left the headquarters compound.

Taking advantage of no one being around, Li Banfeng staggered to Paifang Street, entered Chuanzi Alley, hid the key in Qin Xiaopang's courtyard, and then entered the Portable Residence.

The lingering toxins hadn't cleared—this was true. Li Banfeng lay in bed, sweating profusely.

Of all the people he brought back, only Shi Boyu was still alive, but his soul had already been devoured by the gramophone. All the corpses were sent by the gramophone to the outer room, to be fed to Honglian.

*Hiss!*

"My lord, why are you carrying this saber?"

Li Banfeng said weakly, "Do you even need to ask? It's a magical artifact."

"My lord, although magical artifacts are good things, you can't just take every one you see. This saber is even more troublesome than that teapot."

As they spoke, the teapot suddenly spoke: "Are you cold? No matter what you say, I insist on warming you up."

The teapot was about to spray water when the gramophone sprayed a cloud of steam, holding the teapot down.

"Oh, my lord, this teapot can't be used. I'll seal it up for now until you think of a countermeasure. My lord, this saber hasn't accepted a master yet, unless you defeat it in a duel."

Li Banfeng scoffed, "A duel is a duel. What do I have to fear from it?"

"Oh, my husband, with your current combat strength, you wouldn't last a single exchange against it. Even a slight mishap could cost you your life, so it's best not to be reckless. I would gladly help you fight it, but if I hit too hard, I'm afraid I'd destroy it. If I hit too lightly, it wouldn't admit defeat. The balance is too difficult to grasp."

No wonder Shi Boyu didn't carry this saber with him; it turned out he hadn't conquered it yet.

Li Banfeng's conjecture was correct; Shi Boyu had indeed not conquered this saber.

As the dignified leader of the Jiangxiang Gang, how could he not possess magical artifacts? He acquired this saber by trading two magical artifacts for it.

As a poison cultivator with insufficient combat strength, Shi Boyu wanted to compensate with a weapon, but he regretted it after acquiring it because the saber was difficult to control.

He had to win against it once for the saber to be used by him, and it wasn't a one-time thing; he would have to fight it again later.

Li Banfeng had no mind to think about these things. He casually tossed the saber under the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

***

The next day, at 1 PM, Luo Zhengnan, head of the Medicine King Hall, arrived at the headquarters of the Second Branch, wearing the Jiangxiang Gang's iconic gray garrison cap.

The Medicine King Hall was the highest institution of the Jiangxiang Gang in Medicine King Gully. However, after Luo Zhengnan took office as its head, his first action was to relocate the main hall from the Inner Gully to the distant suburbs of the Outer Gully.

Initially, many people didn't understand the head's reasoning, but now, seeing the state of the Second Branch, they understood somewhat.

Luo Zhengnan sat on the sofa, lit a match, and lit a cigarette. "I used to tell you all to go for walks in the Outer Gully when you had nothing to do, not to always stay holed up in the Inner Gully. You didn't listen. Now you know the advantages of the Outer Gully, right? Leaving aside other things, just look at our main hall. There are twenty-three households around it, and I know everyone in every family—men, women, and children. As long as a stranger comes, they can't escape my eyes. But you lot, you let strangers infiltrate the headquarters and even get rid of your leader. And you still don't even know what they look like! With so many people in the Inner Gully, where are you going to find them?"

Luo Zhengnan lectured them, while Xiang Guicheng and Sun Xiaoan listened obediently.

In fact, as a hall master, Luo Zhengnan was relatively lenient with his subordinates; if such a major incident had happened under another hall master, people might have already been killed.

"The headquarters can't be left unattended. Guicheng, I recall you've reached the third level of cultivation, haven't you?"

Xiang Guicheng nodded repeatedly. "I reached the third level the year before last."

Luo Zhengnan nodded. "It's logical for a stick-wielder to take over as leader. You'll temporarily assume the position and manage the headquarters. Old Sun, you're the most senior in the Second Branch, and frankly, you should have been promoted long ago."

Sun Xiaoan quickly bowed his head and said, "Hall Master, that you can tolerate this old man is already my good fortune. From now on, I will follow Leader Xiang and entrust my old life to him."

Xiang Guicheng quickly bowed slightly. "Old brother, you're exaggerating."

Luo Zhengnan waved his hand. "Exaggerating what? Why are you taking it seriously? Do you know how many leaders he's outlasted?"

Xiang Guicheng thought carefully and realized it was indeed true. Sun Xiaoan had been a trusted confidant at the Second Branch for over ten years, and three previous leaders had been "sent away" during his tenure. Now, Shi Boyu, after only a few months in office, had also been "sent away" by him.

Xiang Guicheng wouldn't be the fifth, would he?

This old man who loved to smoke shisha looked quite eerie.

Luo Zhengnan stood up. "Find a quieter room, and have a few more people guard the door outside."

Sun Xiaoan, being most familiar with the headquarters, quickly led Luo Zhengnan to the leader's bedroom and arranged personnel outside the door.

Luo Zhengnan entered the bedroom with two subordinates and locked the door. He first took off his hat and tore off the tape on his head, then pulled out the plug beneath the tape, revealing a hole in his skull.

A subordinate brought an antenna. Luo Zhengnan inserted it into the hole, wiggled it a few times to find the right position, and then had his subordinate secure it.

Another subordinate brought a dial, over twenty centimeters in diameter, and inserted it into Luo Zhengnan's spine.

Luo Zhengnan shivered. "Slower, the position isn't quite right!"

The subordinate adjusted the position slightly, and Luo Zhengnan nodded. "Dial!"

The subordinate held the dial and began to dial.

*Whoosh~ Whirrrrr~*

*Whoosh~ Whirrrrr~*

...

The call connected, and a voice came from Luo Zhengnan's ear: "Hello, listener friend, welcome to Afternoon Teahouse! Do you have any interesting news you'd like to share with us?"

Luo Zhengnan glared at his subordinate. "Where the hell did you dial?"

The subordinate said with a helpless expression, "Hall Master, I didn't dial wrong."

Luo Zhengnan pulled the antenna from his head and reinserted it.

With a click, the call disconnected. The subordinate redialed.

*Whoosh~ Whirrrrr~*

This time, it connected.

Xiao Zhenggong was in a meeting at the Dark Star Bureau when his phone suddenly rang.

After seeing the caller ID, Xiao Zhenggong excused himself to Captain Chen, left the meeting, and returned to his office.

"Don't you damn check the time before calling? Didn't I tell you not to contact me during the day unless it's something major!"

Luo Zhengnan's cheek twitched as he struggled to control his tone. "Grandmaster, something has happened in the gang. The leader of our Second Branch is missing, presumably dead."

"So what if he's dead! If a rat dies in the gang tomorrow, do you damn have to find me for that too!"

"Grandmaster, the key is that this incident is strange. Shi Boyu of the Second Branch had only just taken office, and he was just..."

"Your hall's matters, figure out how to solve them yourselves. I told you to find Li Banfeng; have you found him?"

"Not yet. That kid hasn't shown up at all."

Xiao Zhenggong knitted his brows tightly. "I'm telling you, I've already heard whispers. Zhuo Yuling is also looking for Li Banfeng."

Luo Zhengnan was stunned. "No way. When did this happen? We haven't heard anything."

"You damn haven't heard anything! What the hell use are you to me? You're all damn useless!"

The call disconnected.

Luo Zhengnan pulled the antenna from his head and put the plug back in.

"That kid is damn something else. The leader died, and in his mouth, it's just damn equivalent to a dead rat!"

The subordinate pulled the dial from Luo Zhengnan's back. "Hall Master, if you ask me, this matter shouldn't have alarmed the Grandmaster."

"This is because you don't understand the rules!" Luo Zhengnan put on his garrison cap and pondered for a moment. "If I tell him about this, it's a minor matter. If I don't tell him, it'll damn become a major one! I just feel there's some connection between these two matters. Think about it: Chu Yunlong, who was guarding the train station, disappeared without a trace. Three people died at the Second Branch, also without a trace. Plus Geng Zhiwei from Geng Family Pharmacy, it's the same situation. Is it possible that one person did all these things? Is it possible that these incidents were carried out by the person the Hall Master is looking for?"

The subordinates exchanged glances and shook their heads. "Hall Master, our brains aren't good; we can't figure this out. Whoever you say did it, did it."

"Nonsense! What do you mean 'whoever I say did it, did it'? Get a few brothers from the hall and find out about the Lu family. See what they've been up to recently."

The subordinate said, "I heard the Lu family has been looking for Lu Xiaolan recently."

Luo Zhengnan glared at his subordinate. "Do I damn need you to 'hear' about it? It's already been reported in the newspapers! Go see if the Lu family's second mistress has made any moves."

PS: Dear readers, please don't easily insert a dial into your body; phone calls can be quite expensive.