Silent and Subtle Nourishment

Blue Poplar Village, Dream Spring Garden.

Ma Wu and his men dismantled the record player in the dance hall and handed it over to Li Banfeng for disposal.

Little Chuanzi felt sorry for him.

This is a masterpiece from Wonderful Sound Phonograph Store; such excellent Work Method is extremely rare to find in Pro State.

"Fifth Master, without the record player, what kind of dance hall is this? Are we just going to dance around like that?"

Ma Wu turned to look at a corner of the dance floor. "Isn't the band practicing right now?"

He assembled a small band in Blue Poplar Village, with violins, horns, and instruments that could play Western music, as well as dulcimer, pipa, and folk music.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Flap flap

The smaller account popped up.

Chuanzi shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Fifth Master, is this even audible?"

"There aren't many people who can dance to begin with, so just make do with it," Ma Wu said, taking it easy. "Go to Green Water City and find Steward Qiu. Tell him to keep an eye on the record player; the Ling family has something on it."

At the Bai Le Men, Lu Yuanhai his men to dismantle the record player. Yang Yanzheng exclaimed anxiously, "Second Young Master, what are you doing?"

Lu Yuanhai, "The record player has too much static, it's not pleasant to listen to. We'll switch to a band from now on."

There was no record player in the large dance hall; the space was too big, and the noise from a record player wouldn't be enough.

Lu Yuanhai ordered the phonographs in the Waltz Hall and the Famous Courtesan Room to be removed.

Yang Yanzheng tried his best to dissuade him. "Second Young Master, you should discuss this matter with the Second Miss."

"No need to discuss it, I've already hired the band for you."

"The Waltz Hall is tolerable, but the 'Famous Courtesan Room' is... well, it's special."

"How is it special?"

Yang Yanzheng grew anxious. "You often come to the Bai Le Men, the Famous Courtesan Room' is where the Song Queen performs alone."

"If she's performing solo, she has to do other things too. Is it appropriate for her to have other things to do while also leading a band?"

Lu Yuanhai laughed and said, "Why wouldn't it be suitable? I'll show you in a bit. There'll be a band playing, it'll be romantic and energetic."

No matter what Yang Yanzheng said, it was no use; this was Monkey Qiu's order.

Monkey Qiu stood in the mansion's hall, looking at the record player inside.

When Lu Dongliang had his accident, when Monkey Qiu arrived, the record player was still playing a song, Lu Dongliang's favorite, "Dream Lover".

He Yuxiu confronted Lu Dongjun at the Thousand Delights Pavilion. Lu Dongjun, disguised as Lu Dongliang, went to the Thousand Delights Pavilion for a banquet. Thousand Delights Pavilion was playing music, including He Yuxiu's favorite song, "Full Moon and Blooming Flowers".

This is something that Monkey Qiu witnessed firsthand.

There was another thing he had heard.

Lu Dongjun killed the manager at Jiangyuan Leather Factory, but his actions went unnoticed. At the time, music was playing in the manager's office, specifically the song "Spring of Great Peace".

In Pro State, most of the record players are made by Wonderful Sound Phonograph Store.

The record players coming out of their house all seemed to have hooks.

All of these matters were under the control of the Ling family.

Lu Dongliang and Lu Dongjun were likely killed by the Ling family.

How exactly did the Ling family rise to power?

How did the newspaper, music and dance, and movie businesses all fall into the hands of the Ling family?

Lu Dongliang might know about these things, but Monkey Qiu really hadn't paid any attention to them.

But there is some good news.

Ling Miaowen is dead.

Who killed him?

Hundred Flowers Gate?

Does Zhang Xiuling have the ability?

The He Family and the Ling family are not on good terms in their business dealings at Sea Eat Ridge. Could it be that the He Family is behind it?

Possibly.

In Pro State, only the Lu Family and the He Family could kill Ling Miaowen silently.

Regardless of the cause of Ling Miaowen's death, Lu Yuanshan must seize the newspaper business as soon as possible; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Monkey Qiu ordered his men to dismantle the record player. Madam Duan Shaoxia came down the stairs and sighed, "Dongliang used to love listening to music. If he sees that the record player is gone, he'll definitely scold you."

Monkey Qiu bowed and said, "I've heard everything you say, Master, but this thing cannot be kept."

Duan Shaoxia chuckled and said, "I was just joking with you, but you took it seriously. How could the master possibly keep such a menace?"

We were so grateful to Jun Yang for delivering the message; otherwise, we might have suffered even greater losses in terms of supplies.

Jun Yang is a good kid. It's not easy for him to earn a few coins in that run-down place, Blue Poplar Village.

I heard he still owes Yu Fangzhai a lot of money, probably to scrape together that 10,000 silver dollars for us.

"Zhiheng, I'm a woman, I shouldn't be involved in business matters. But I'm shamelessly begging you today, please don't accept any more Bonus Money from Jun Yang."

Monkey Qiu nodded and said, "I will do as Madam says."

"Call Jun Yang over for a meal when you have time." As she spoke, Madam Duan straightened Qiu Zhiheng's collar and turned to go upstairs.

This action is a bit strange, a bit out of line.

Qiu Zhiheng was stunned for a moment, then his cheeks flushed.

What's wrong?

How could I...

Qiu Zhiheng rubbed his forehead, trying to distract himself.

He thought of Ma Wu again and nodded slightly.

Ma Wu is indeed a good kid; I should definitely treat him to a meal sometime.

It would be great if that young man could come too.

Li Banfeng sat in his Portable Abode, enjoying the breeze next to the record player.

Two windmill record players were dismantled. One of them was refined by Red Lotus and given to her Wife, Wife developed a fan function.

The other record player was not refined and remained in the Portable Abode.

"Wife, what's the point of keeping this?"

"It's useful. I've already removed the hooks. You can take this with you when you go out and do some things for Little Slave."

"It's just a regular record player, what can it do?"

"I left a bit of my spirit on this record player; it can help my husband clean up the mess. The record I burned before used up ninety percent of its magic power, so I can't kill anyone anymore, but it's enough to remove the hook."

My dear husband, all you have to do is push this record player around your property, put on that old record, and walk around the area. You'll be able to remove all the hooks.

But after singing one song, the record player needs to rest for three days. If my husband wants to pick a few more hooks, he'll have to hurry.

"Walk faster, this... is quite difficult!"

Li Banfeng wanted to say that it was easy, but he quickly swallowed the words back.

One of her killer moves was to use a record to kill the enemy directly.

But Li Banfeng still hasn't figured out the principle behind this killer move.

"My Wife, what is the secret behind your deadly move? Can you tell me?"

"Hey, my husband, we're husband and wife, there's nothing between us that can't be said. The secret to this method is to burn a good record, follow the hook back to find it, and stab the enemy in the back."

"Did you stab him to death?"

"Let the Little Slave smell it first." The needle moved across the record, the record player smelled it for a moment, and then sang. "One is dead, and one is alive."

"You can smell that?"

"The record smells of blood."

Li Banfeng held the record and smelled it for a long time, but couldn't detect any scent.

"My Wife, how long will it take if we want to use this technique again?"

"I need to let my Little Slave recover for a while. Back when Little Slave was in good health, two or three months would have been enough, but now it's hard to say. It depends on how my husband does it."

Watch my tricks?

Li Banfeng was taken aback. Was it that his Wife needed him most? Would taking good care of Wife make his skills recover faster? Weren't the previous methods enough? Should he learn some special techniques from Ma Wu? Like, heating the Machine Oil a little more?

"My Wife, what method do you want...?" Li Banfeng asked nervously.

"Hey, my husband, you need to buy groceries. The better Little Slave eat, the faster I'll recover."

"Good."

"My lord, what's wrong? Why do you sound so weak?"

"I'm fine, really... Wife, please teach me this technique."

"Don't be in a hurry, my lord. You can't learn this technique yet. Little Slave 'll teach you when your skills have improved."

One died, and another is still alive.

Who is the one who is still alive?

At Yuezhou Third Hospital, the wards were packed with medical staff.

There was bloodstain on He Jiaqing's hospital bed, but the source of the bloodstain is still unknown.

The Dark Star Bureau received the message and sent Big Head over to take a look.

Big Head asked the attending physician, who replied, "He Jiaqing's vital signs were abnormal last night, and there was blood on the bed. The cause is unknown."

"You mentioned abnormal vital signs; is it possible that the medical equipment is being interfered with?"

"I can't rule out that possibility, but I'm confident in the reliability of the equipment."

Big Head nodded. "I will report this to the bureau."

After the medical staff left, Big Head stayed in the ward for a while.

He Jiaqing, who had been sleeping soundly in his hospital bed, suddenly opened his eyes and turned his gaze toward the park.

Big Head didn't say anything and silently left the hospital.

Late at night, Big Head arrived at Flower Lake Park, walked behind the Western-style building, and walked step by step toward the woman who was crying.

The ground sank, Big Head submerged into the water.

He didn't go to the bottom of the lake; he checked the direction and swam south.

The fighter (Wu Xiu) was incredibly fit. He quickly swam to shore, sat down, and gasped for breath.

This wasn't his first time getting ashore; He Jiaqing had taught him the methods before.

Sitting on the shore, looking around, all I could see was darkness and desolation.

There was a campfire in the distance, Big Head followed the light toward it.

He Jiaqing sat by the fire and laughed, "Thank you for covering for me today."

Big Head shook his head. "I'm afraid it can't be covered up anymore. The hospital called the bureau and told Team Leader Chen about your situation."

He's been watching you for a long time and might have a doctor check on your condition.

"A healer? You mean Medicine Cultivator? What level?"

"Given how much importance they place on you, I estimate that the number of people coming will be no less than six."

"I'm not afraid of the sixth floor."

"You'd better be careful. I'm worried that the doctor might bring forbidden items."

"Forbidden items, aren't they just magical artifacts? But it depends on what level of magical artifact they are."

"The level won't be low, so be extra careful."

He Jiaqing sighed and said, "It seems I really am going to fall ill."

After Big Head silence, Da Tou advised He Jiaqing, "You should go back to Pro State. This can't go on forever."

He Jiaqing shook his head. "I can't leave yet, I still have things to take care of."

"What is it?"

"I want people who deserve dignity to live with dignity, just like you."

"I'm fine," Big Head said, bowing his head. "The bureau has been very good to me. I'm a special person, and the bureau has never discriminated against me."

Why should we discriminate against you?

"I'm different. I'm not a normal person. I accidentally killed someone at work before. I didn't mean it, but I couldn't control myself."

People like me are a hidden danger, a menace, a threat to the world. People like me should be eliminated, but the department didn't abandon me, didn't give up on me, and gave me a way out. What more could I ask for?

He Jiaqing frowned and said, "Is this how the bureau taught you?"

Big Head looked at He Jiaqing: "Isn't that right?"

"No!" He Jiaqing shook his head and said, "You are not a menace, not a hidden danger, and not a threat. You are an elite of this world."

The reason you can't control your power is because your talent is too great, and your talent hasn't been properly nurtured and guided.

You deserve respect and dignity; you don't need others to give you a way out. That's what I'm here to do.

Big Head didn't say anything.

He Jiaqing laughed, "You look so haggard, you haven't been sleeping well these past few days, have you?"

"My wife's workplace is a bit far, so I have to get up early every day to drive her to work."

He Jiaqing pondered for a moment and said, "I heard that the hotel is going to assign dormitories in a couple of days. It's very close to the hotel, so let your wife pick a good spot."

Big Head's eyes lit up. "How big is the dormitory?"

"Around 120 yuan, three bedrooms and one living room, you should all move there. Your child hasn't graduated from elementary school yet, but I heard that the elementary school nearby is quite good."

Big Head's eyes dimmed again. "My child's school district isn't there..."

"The hotel can help with the school district. They can handle junior high, and elementary school is even easier," He Jiaqing said, standing up. "Let's go, let's take a look around. I'm not too familiar with this area."

Dormitories were assigned, with three bedrooms and one living room.

They even solved the problem of finding a place for primary school students.

Big Head isn't stupid.

He knew that He Jiaqing was helping him.

He looked up at He Jiaqing and said, "I... I can't... I owe you too much."

"Don't talk about owing each other anything. We're brothers, let's not talk about these things," He Jiaqing pulled Big Head. "I treat you like a brother, and I just want you to live with some dignity."

Brother...

At his age, the term "Big Head" felt somewhat unfamiliar to him.

"Well, I..."

He Jiaqing pointed to his ear. "Could you speak louder in the future? I've lost hearing in one ear, completely deaf, and it's irreversible."

After handling Ling Miaowen's funeral arrangements, Ling Miaosheng returned to the record store, picked up Feather Duster, and cleaned each record player one by one.

He had already received some of the news: his record player shop would have little business in the future, and the Lu Family would likely come knocking on his door soon.

"Second brother, what are your plans for handling this matter next?" The third brother Ling Miaoying, arrived.

"What do I plan to do?" Ling Miaosheng sneered. "Does it matter what I plan to do? When have you and your brother ever asked me about your plans?"

"Now that I've come to ask you, isn't it? With our eldest brother gone, our Ling family is doomed."

Ling Miaosheng sighed and said, "I told you not to hang anything on my record player, but you wouldn't listen. Now my business is completely ruined."

"What's wrong with us doing business honestly and straightforwardly? What exactly are you trying to achieve by causing all this trouble?"

Ling Miaoying darkened as she said, "Second brother, speak from your conscience. If we brothers had always been honest and law-abiding, we would have starved to death on the streets long ago."

"My older brother's gone, soon it'll be our turn. If you want to behave yourself, we'll just wait here to die. If you change your mind, come find me at the mansion!"

PS: Ling Miaosheng has met Li Banfeng.