Speaking Honestly

Portable Abode cascading record player, steam billows out, sipping blissful vapor.

On the second floor of the wooden house, Li Banfeng was holding a mop and miserably wiping away the blood.

This blood is really hard to wipe off. Of the four people, only the eldest brother was sensible and didn't leave any bloodstains. That's why someone like him could become the eldest brother; he has a sense of responsibility.

After wiping away the blood, Li Banfeng still had to deal with the leather shoes.

The leather shoes were firmly stuck to the floor, and even a knife couldn't pry them off. With no other option, Li Banfeng had to cut off the uppers, leaving only the two soles, and then find some odds and ends to cover them up.

According to Ma Wu, the clay will dry in a day and a night, and then we can do something about it after it dries.

Just as he finished tidying up, he heard someone knocking on the door. Li Banfeng went downstairs and found it was Wei Landlord.

"What are you doing here? The rent isn't due yet."

Wei Landlord said, "Didn't I tell you two that you don't need to pay me rent if you live here? I just heard a gunshot and came to check if you were alright."

Li Banfeng asked in surprise, "You heard gunshots too? I was just asleep and was woken up. I thought I was dreaming. Who fired that shot?"

"I thought it was your house! Alright, I'm relieved you're all alright. Where's Young Master Ma?"

"The Ji Qing Class is off having fun."

"It's alright, see you later."

Wei Landlord has left.

Li Banfeng stood at the door, staring at Wei Landlord's back for a moment.

The gunshots were fired half an hour ago.

He arrived at that moment.

About ten minutes later, Ma Wu returned. "Brother Li, how did it go?"

Li Banfeng said calmly, "The matter has been resolved."

"Who are those people?"

"He went somewhere else and probably won't be back anytime soon," Li Banfeng said rather cryptically.

"Brother Li, did you ask who sent them?"

"We asked, and the leader said that it was the Ma Family's Eldest Daughter who sent them."

"Big sister," Ma Wu pursed his lips, "I really didn't expect it to be her."

Li Banfeng said, "Don't misunderstand. What I just said was that the leader said that the Ma Family's Eldest Daughter personally sent them. We still don't know who sent them."

Ma Wu was taken aback. "Brother Li, are you saying he lied?"

"I'm not sure either. I don't know how your wealthy families handle these kinds of things, but I think that given these people's status, they would never be able to see your eldest sister."

Li Banfeng didn't believe the gray-clad man was telling the truth. Everything the gray-clad man said was just a delaying tactic. As for the so-called feud between the Ma Family's Eldest Daughter and Ma Wu, it was most likely something he made up on the spot.

After Li Banfeng reminded him, Ma Wu also thought about it a step further.

He was a man of wide-ranging connections, never putting on airs like a rich young master, and often interacting with people from the martial arts world.

But his eldest sister is not this kind of person. She is a serious lady. How could she go to meet these people in person?

Ma Wu couldn't understand the ins and outs of the matter, Li Banfeng reminded him:

"Think carefully, who have you had a feud with?"

"A grudge?" Ma Wu thought carefully. "Leaving aside trivial matters, I don't think I have any deep-seated hatred with my brothers and sisters."

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "Don't keep thinking about your brothers and sisters. They may not want to kill you. You can't inherit the family business anyway, so killing you wouldn't do any good."

Ma Wu rubbed his forehead, his thoughts becoming clearer.

Li Banfeng is right. He had always suspected his family, but they really didn't need to drive him to his death.

Given Ma Wu's current predicament, continuing to pressure him will be of no use to his brothers and sisters.

"But you say I've made enemies with outsiders, which I don't seem to have done..."

Li Banfeng said with a wry smile, "Then this matter is difficult to handle. I think we can ask Wei Landlord. He heard the commotion and came to see me half an hour later."

He lives less than two minutes away; we can call out to him from outside and he can hear us from inside.

"He really cares about us. He should have come much earlier. If he were afraid of trouble, he wouldn't have come at all. But he dared to show up half an hour later. It's more like he came to scout ahead."

Ma Wu's eyes flashed, and he nodded repeatedly, saying, "Brother Li is right. I'll go find him and ask him for clarification."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Brother Ma, if you just go to him like this, I'm afraid you won't get anything out of him."

"Wei Landlord is a smart man; he's definitely on guard now. Although he didn't seem very strong during the chaotic battle that day, the fact that he survived the Wilderness Contest. You might even fall victim to his ambush."

Ma Wu knew that Li Banfeng's words made sense, but he couldn't think of a solution for the time being.

Li Banfeng offered a word of advice. "Setting bait and hunting are your forte. As for what kind of bait to use, that depends on what Wei Landlord wants."

Ma Wu thought for a moment and then had an idea.

Late at night, Wei Landlord sat silently on a deckchair, clutching a revolver.

Staggering footsteps came from outside the door, followed by urgent knocking.

Wei Landlord put his hand on the trigger. "Who is it?!"

Ma Wu's voice came through. "It's me, save me..."

His voice was very weak. The Wei Landlord, carrying a pistol, opened the door a crack and saw Ma Wu, covered in wounds, standing in front of the door, about to fall.

Wei Landlord quickly steadied Ma Wu, casually holstered his pistol, and helped Ma Wu into the bedroom. "Fifth Young Master, what happened?"

Ma Wu sighed, "I've been tricked again. I just made a little money these past two days, and then it was all stolen."

Wei Landlord smacked his lips and said, "Who did this? Are they trying to kill us? Where's the landlord who lives with you? I'll go get him."

Ma Wu shook his head and said, "Don't go looking for him yet, something's fishy about this."

"What's so strange about it?" Wei Landlord's cheeks twitched, and his hand unconsciously went back to the pistol.

Ma Wu, panting, said, "I've always been puzzled by this. Why is it that as soon as I made money, someone came to rob me?"

Wei Landlord's eyes widened. "Fifth Young Master, are you saying that the person you lived with sold you out?"

"I didn't suspect him at first. Tonight, I went to Ji Qing Class with him to have some fun, but he said he wasn't feeling well and left first."

He was full of energy when he went there, but he was a mess when he got to the Ji Qing Class. Don't you think there's something fishy going on here?

Wei Landlord sighed and said, "Fifth Young Master, I think you should be more cautious about this matter. This friend of yours helped you when you were in trouble, and we can't act without a conscience."

Ma Wu nodded and said, "I will never forget the kindness I owe him, but if he is trying to scheme against me, I will never let him off the hook. Boss Wei, do you have any weapons? Lend me one so I can go back and ask him for an explanation."

Wei Landlord stopped Ma Wu, saying, "You're not going to ask questions, you're going to risk your life. If he doesn't have bad intentions, you're wronging an innocent person. If he has malicious intent, do you think you'll come back alive?"

"Alright, Fifth Young Master, don't be impulsive. I'll go with you. We can reason with each other and discuss the matter. You saved my life, so when it comes to fighting, I won't hesitate."

Ma Wu led Wei Landlord, out the door and stormed into the wooden house where he and Li Banfeng lived. Once inside the living room, Ma Wu shouted, "Boss Wei is here. Let's get this straight."

Li Banfeng came down the stairs and nodded, saying, "Yes, we need to make things clear."

Wei Landlord turned pale, realizing something was wrong.

His feet were stuck and he couldn't move.

But Ma Wu moved freely.

There was clay on the floor, Ma Wu was wearing iron shoe covers.

Looking left and right at Li Banfeng and Ma Wu, Wei Landlord felt a surge of panic.

"What are you two doing?"

Li Banfeng smiled and said, "Nothing much, just wanted to invite Mr. Wei for a cup of tea. Also, there are a few things I'd like to ask Mr. Wei for some pointers on."

"Let's talk this out. Why did you try to ambush me?" Wei Landlord reached for the pistol at his waist.

Li Banfeng pointed his gun at Boss Wei first. "Pro State, bullets Zi Time unreliable, do you want to take a gamble?"

Wei Landlord didn't dare to move again.

Because Li Banfeng was House Cultivator, he had always been overlooked, and it was only today that he noticed Li Banfeng's appearance.

Li Banfeng always wears a top hat, and he always pulls the brim down very low.

He wasn't wearing a hat today.

His features seem familiar.

I think I've seen it in a photo before.

While he was pondering, Ma Wu spoke up, "Boss Wei, from the first day I came to Blue Poplar Village, I rented a house from you, right?"

Wei Landlord nodded. "That's right. You asked for a room back then, and I charged you eight hundred yuan a month. There were two rooms in that house, so that price wasn't expensive."

Later, when you couldn't pay the rent, I kicked you out, Mr. Ma. We need to get this straight. You can't blame me for being unfair. Renting out this place to run a business is my livelihood; you can't blame me.

Ma Wu shook his head and said, "I'm not blaming you, but there's something I don't understand. I paid you a month's rent on my first day at your house, and two days later I was robbed. After that, you came to see me and even gave me some wound medicine. Is that true?"

Wei Landlord nodded and said, "Yes, you're the tenant and I'm the landlord, we have a good relationship!"

Ma Wu nodded. "A month later, I paid the rent, and within three days I was robbed again, right?"

Wei Landlord frowned and said, "I didn't rob you, so how can you blame it on me? Besides, in the days before you were robbed, did you only encounter me and not anyone else?"

As expected, Wei Landlord was right. Ma Wu had encountered many people before he was robbed. If Li Banfeng hadn't reminded him, he would never have suspected Wei Landlord.

But now that suspicion has been raised, some coincidences must be connected.

"After the second month, I couldn't pay the rent, so you kicked me out. I went to collect scraps under the overpass and earned about a hundred yuan, barely enough to eat."

I ran into you at the noodle shop that day and we chatted for a bit. Because I had nowhere to stay, you made fun of me. I even said I'd rent from you again next month. But a few days later, I got robbed, and I don't even have money for food anymore. What do you say about this?

Wei Landlord shook his head and sighed, "Fifth Young Master, this is just a coincidence. Perhaps our fates are incompatible. You're unlucky to have met me, but it's not my fault, is it?"

Every time you went to the Song family to ship goods, you met with members of the Song family and made a lot of money. After making money, you were robbed. Why don't you suspect the Song family?

This question really stumped Ma Wu.

Li Banfeng chimed in from the side, "You also knew he was shipping goods to the Song family?"

Wei Landlord said, "This is the rule of Blue Poplar Village. When you go hunting in Xindi, you have to deliver the goods to the Song family."

Li Banfeng then asked, "You also know that he went hunting in Xindi?"

Wei Landlord said, "In Blue Poplar Village, the only place where we can make a living is Xindi. Otherwise, how else can we earn money?"

The Wei Landlord, covered up the matter.

But Wei Landlord's heart was in his throat.

Upon hearing this, Li Banfeng said to Ma Wu, "What he said makes a lot of sense."

Ma Wu said, "That makes a lot of sense. How should we deal with him?"

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "Since what you said makes so much sense, let's just kill him."

Ma Wu was stunned. Wei Landlord's eyes widened as he said, "I've explained everything clearly, and you still want to kill me?"

Li Banfeng looked bewildered and said, "Does explaining things clearly mean we don't have to kill anyone? What kind of logic is that?"

"This, this is the truth!" Wei Landlord was momentarily at a loss for words.

Ma Wu also felt that Li Banfeng was not quite normal.

But Li Banfeng felt that he was perfectly normal.

"Boss Wei, back when Ma Wu rented your house, someone robbed him of the money, and he couldn't pay the rent. Did he explain this to you clearly?"

Wei Landlord nodded. "It's clear now."

Li Banfeng continued, "Now that he's made it clear, why haven't you rented the house to him yet?"

Wei Landlord glared at him and said, "I already said I rent out this house to make money. He has no money, so why should I rent it to him?"

"Yes, that makes sense. I invited you here to question you, but you haven't said a single useful word. Why shouldn't I kill you?" Li Banfeng pulled back the hammer of his revolver.

"Whether what you're saying makes sense or not, whether you can explain it clearly or not, what you're saying has no value to us. It's like renting a house without paying rent; reasoning won't save your life."

Wei Landlord panicked; he realized that Li Banfeng wasn't crazy.

"Bosses, this... this matter... you can't ask me, he... he has to ask Ma Family's Eldest Daughter." Wei Landlord changed his words.

"You mean my eldest sister?" Ma Wu looked at Li Banfeng, which was completely consistent with what the man in gray had said.

Since their accounts are consistent, what he said must be true.

Li Banfeng opened fire immediately.

Click~

The shot didn't fire; Wei Landlord was very lucky.

Whoosh~

Wei Landlord was so scared he wet himself.

His face was deathly pale as he looked at Li Banfeng and said, "I'll talk, I'll talk! It's not the Ma Family's Eldest Daughter, it's the Fourth Young Master!"

Ma Wu was startled by something.

Is that my fourth brother?

How could we forget about the fourth brother...?

The fourth brother was never valued in the Lineage.

Ma Wu rubbed his forehead. He could see things clearly in other situations, but when it came to things at home, he couldn't understand them.

Click~

Li Banfeng fired another shot.

Wei Landlord was really lucky; the gun hadn't even been fired yet.

He knelt down with a thud, his knees sticking to the floor.

"Gentlemen, I'll tell you the truth, I'll tell you the whole truth! Yang Yanzheng asked me to gather information about you!"

Ma Wu was taken aback. "Who is Yang Yanzheng?"

Li Banfeng smiled.

Ma Wu asked, "Do you know Yang Yanzheng?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I don't know him, but this sounds like the truth."

PS: Yang Yanzheng is the person who delivers packages for You Tao.

Li Banfeng stared at the monthly ticket rankings, clutching the record player, his eyes bloodshot.

I want to kill! I want to charge!

Dear readers, let's cheer for Ban Feng! Let's charge forward with Ban Feng!