Revenge

Shen Rongqing buried her face in Ma Wu's arms and burst into tears.

Ma Wu held Shen Rongqing in his arms, as if he were using his own body to support the entire sky for Shen Rongqing.

Actually, he is not alone.

Huo Ling, Aqin, Zuo Wugang, and Tan Fucheng were all outside, but the one who truly drove away the White Clothes was the Insect Cultivator Lu Yuanxin.

In order to deal with Lu Dongchun, Lu Yuanxin trained the clothes borers to the extreme, making them numerous, with huge appetites, sharp teeth, and resistance to poison.

That White Clothes was a high-ranking clothing repairman, yet even he couldn't resist Lu Yuanxin's clothes-moth-like charm.

These people can only wait outside the teahouse now, Li Banfeng has given orders that they are not allowed to go in and cause trouble.

While others could wait patiently, Huo Ling and Aqin felt incredibly distressed.

They came here to rescue a fox spirit for Fifth Son's sake!

"Ling'er, you have sharp ears, listen to what they're saying!"

By the light of the charcoal fire in the Tea Furnace, Huo Ling heard Ma Wu repeating the same sentence. "I'm here, everything's alright."

"He's here, everything's alright..."

Seeing the White Clothes fly back, Li Banfeng breathed a sigh of relief.

The White Clothes were put on Zhong Huaien and carried him away from the alley.

Whether Zhong Huaien is dead or alive is another matter, but the clothes are still here.

As long as this garment is available, there will definitely be no shortage of messengers.

That evening, Shen Rongqing did not return to the film company, nor did Ma Wu return to Carefree Dock. The two quietly left the teahouse and went to the Peace Mansion, where they returned to their original rooms.

They slept for one night, but in reality, they didn't sleep at all.

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

Ma Wu shook his head and said, "I didn't know you were in danger. I was passing by the Lotus Pond Teahouse and saw the lights were on, so I thought I'd go up and try my luck to see if I could run into you."

Do you know who owns the Lotus Pond Teahouse?

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

"You know I am, yet you still..." Shen Rongqing, the most talented woman in Pro State, didn't know how to express herself accurately at this moment.

"No need to say anything," Ma Wu shook his head and hugged Shen Rongqing tightly. "It doesn't matter. For you, nothing else matters."

Shen Rongqing buried her head in Ma Wu and asked softly, "What level of cultivation do you have? How were you able to defeat that cultivator in clothes?"

This is a crucial issue.

Ma Wu secretly used Joy Cultivation Technique to try his best to control his heartbeat and his thoughts, and calmly replied, "No matter what level of cultivation I have, you are my woman and I am your man, that's enough."

He had rehearsed the lines many times and was confident that he delivered them movingly enough.

But after a long silence, Shen Rongqing finally left Ma Wu's embrace.

She put on her clothes and said to Ma Wu, "Get a good night's sleep, and then forget about me."

It wasn't that she didn't believe Ma Wu's words, but she knew her own position and identity.

She cannot be with Ma Wu.

Watching Shen Rongqing leave the room, Ma Wu wiped away his sweat.

This talented woman is really hard to deal with. The incident happened so suddenly, Seventh Brother didn't let me make any preparations in advance. What if I get exposed?

As dawn broke, Shen Rongqing returned to the film company, sat in her office for a while in a daze, and then contacted He Jiaqing.

"Jiaqing, Zhong Huaien sent men to kill me last night. This must be an order from the Emperor."

He Jiaqing, disguised as a street cleaner, was sweeping the road when he heard about this and felt extremely overwhelmed.

"How did things get to this point?"

"Jiaqing, I mean he's going to kill me!"

Before He Jiaqing could speak, Shen Rongqing ended the call.

He Jiaqing, holding a broom, realized he had said the wrong thing; he hadn't immediately shown concern for Shen Rongqing's safety.

"Capable people don't listen, and obedient people aren't capable. Why can't we find someone who is capable, resourceful, and willing to work diligently for us? Why can't we find someone like that...?"

"What are you muttering about!" a cleaning lady nearby shouted at He Jiaqing. "Aren't you here to work? What are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and sweep the floor!"

"Okay." He Jiaqing sniffled.

There were a lot of cars on this road, so he had to set up the equipment quickly. He endured it in order to catch the morning rush hour.

Li Banfeng returned to Carefree Dock and found Luo ZhengNan.

Li Banfeng set up the feud between He Jiaqing and the Sage.

But is this grudge just going to be handed over like that?

That won't work.

Since arriving in Pro State, the first person to disgust Li Banfeng was Jiang Xiang Gang.

Besides Jiang Xiang Gang, many other people had disgusted Li Banfeng, and Li Banfeng sent them all away.

But the time I was most disgusted was when I was Bastard Slope under the sage.

Unfortunately, the Sage and Jiang Xiang Gang ended up together.

Kidnapping children, sending them to Bastard Slope, training them to be contemptible, and enslaving them to the saints.

These two disgusting people got together and did disgusting things.

Now it's time to make them suffer.

But this requires Luo ZhengNan's help.

Li Banfeng never asked people to do things for free; he first gave Luo ZhengNan five hundred silver dollars.

"This is the reward for this battle. Next, there are some important things we need to do together. First, tell me what you want: business or territory?"

Luo ZhengNan looked at Li Qi. He knew that he couldn't fully trust him yet, and he knew that Li Qi still had reservations and suspicions about him. But after hesitating for a long time, he finally said what he wanted:

"Seventh Master, I don't want money or territory, I want revenge."

Some people just click with you.

Even his thoughts are the same as yours.

"The person who killed you was named Pei Yuzeng?"

Luo ZhengNan nodded and said, "The Hall Master of Green Smoke City."

Are you familiar with Green Smoke City?

"I've been there a few times. I know Jiang Xiang Gang's gang's branches and divisions well. He doesn't have many people with cultivation under him, and almost none of them are worth mentioning. But the Hall Master Pei Yuzeng, is not someone to be trifled with."

This person is a fifth-level Fire Cultivator. Seventh Master might not think his cultivation level is high, but this person is hard to fathom.

If the timing is right, killing him is not difficult at all; if the timing is wrong, even getting close to him is not easy.

To kill Pei Yuzeng, you can't do it in his territory. His territory is huge, with many people; no one knows where he'll appear, or where he'll strike.

The Chu family, the Ma family, and the Hundred Flowers Gate all sent assassins to kill him, all of whom attempted to assassinate him within his own territory. However, they all failed, and the assassins were instead killed by Pei Yuzeng's fire breath. Therefore, we must choose the right opportunity.

"What kind of timing is appropriate?"

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

"The sooner the better."

"Thank you, Seventh Master!" Luo ZhengNan stood up and bowed deeply to Li Banfeng.

He circled a number on the calendar. "Today is the 2nd. If Seventh Master is willing to help me, we can set off tomorrow and take the train to Green Smoke City on the 5th, which is the day they deliver the goods."

What kind of goods should we deliver?

"Child, the situation in Green Smoke City is special. Human trafficking is rampant. Elsewhere it's called child abduction, but here it's called child kidnapping."

Jiang Xiang Gang's gang of human traffickers dared to abduct people in the street, and if they resisted, they even dared to injure them in the street.

They locked the kidnapped children in the church, waiting for their families to ransom them. Those who could afford it could redeem their children; those who couldn't, their children would never return.

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "That's something only bandits would do."

Luo ZhengNan nodded and said, "You're right. What Jiang Xiang Gang did in Green Smoke City was no different from bandits, and even worse."

This is mainly because the situation in Green Smoke City is somewhat unique; in that place, it's the elderly and infirm who take care of the children.

"Where were those children who couldn't be redeemed sent?"

"The goods were transported by train to Bastard Slope. Pei Yuzeng called this 'delivery,' delivering goods to the sage."

"By train?" Li Banfeng exclaimed in surprise. "Is the Guanfang Envoy?"

Luo ZhengNan said, "This is Pei Yuzeng's skill. He has someone looking after him at the station, and he was able to send these children out by freight train. Whether it was someone from Outer State or Bastard Slope who was looking after him, we don't know."

However, Pei Yuzeng had to personally handle the delivery. He would have each shipyard pack the children into boxes and send them to a warehouse east of the station.

He personally escorted the children to the station, and he could only bring a maximum of ten subordinates with him.

This was a rule set for him by the train station, and apart from his closest confidants, few knew the inside story. This was the perfect opportunity to kill him.

The most valuable quality of a smart person is that they can use any means to simplify complex problems.

Li Banfeng lowered his hat brim and said, "Get ready, we'll set off tomorrow."

On Sage Peak, the dying Zhong Huaien was carried into the Sage Mansion.

The sage emerged from his bedroom.

He looked at Zhong Huaien, who was covered in wounds, and then at his White Clothes, which were riddled with holes.

"What happened?"

The White Clothes cannot speak. Despite Zhong Huaien's low cultivation level, he must speak first in front of his master because of his high status.

Zhong Huaien said with difficulty, "Master, I was ambushed by a Travel Cultivator. I fought hard, but I was no match for him."

Travel Cultivator?

"Is it He Jiaqing again?"

Zhong Huaien didn't dare to speak easily, as he hadn't seen the attacker's face clearly.

The sage looked at the White Clothes and said, "Speak!"

How do you say "White Clothes"?

He said he came up with an idea to go back and ambush Shen Rongqing, but the ambush failed, and his junior brother was also killed in the process.

If he had told the truth, he would not have been able to leave the mansion alive.

Fortunately, he had prepared beforehand and changed the way he presented the matter. "Master, when we went to meet Shen Rongqing, Junior Brother asked why He Jiaqing wasn't there. Isn't that guy too arrogant?"

Shen Rongqing said we weren't qualified to see He Jiaqing. My junior brother was furious and said a few harsh words, so we left. Unexpectedly, we were ambushed by a Travel Cultivator and an Insect Cultivator on the way.

That's perfectly true; it's all the truth, but some facts have been overlooked.

Insect Cultivator is the nemesis of clothing repair; the hole in the White Clothes was indeed left by clothes borers.

The sage remained silent for a while before saying to Zhong Huaien and the White Clothes, "Go and heal your injuries first. Once you've recovered, take your men to Outer State, contact Xiao Zhengong, and kill He Jiaqing at all costs."

The White Clothes mustered his courage and said, "Master, Senior Brother Xiao might not listen to me."

"Just say this is my order, and let's see if he dares to disobey!"

The White Clothes dared not speak.

Xiao Zhengong's mind is hard to fathom. Even if he doesn't openly disobey orders, he just drags his feet and doesn't do it. What can you do?

In Green Smoke City, a faint smoke perpetually lingers in the air.

This is also an industrial city, but its urban layout is completely different from that of Black Stone Slope.

Black Stone Slope is heavily reliant on manufacturing, with numerous factories throughout the city. Residents' homes are built near these factories, and most workers also live within the factories.

However, Green Smoke City focuses on smelting, and the smelting factories are all located near the mines. No one wants to live near the mines, which has created Green Smoke City's unique north-south division.

The south side of the city is the urban area, and all the residences are built in the south side of the city.

The area north of the city is a mining area, filled with mine shafts and factories. Workers work in the mining area during the day and return to the city at night.

This raises a question: if the worker's workplace is far from home, who will take care of the children?

With their meager income, it's unrealistic to hire someone to look after them.

If the elderly cannot be relied upon, the only option is to entrust the child to the neighbors, who will then help take care of the younger child as they grow older.

This situation gave human traffickers many opportunities.

As soon as night fell, Pei Yuzeng personally led ten trusted men to the warehouse.

Several shipyards had already sent their children over, but two shipyards hadn't arrived yet. Pei Yuzeng checked his Pocket Watch; there was still enough time, so he decided to wait for them.

He inspected each box one by one, instructing his men, "Make two more holes in this box, so it doesn't suffocate on the way."

A crying sound came from inside a box. Pei Yuzeng frowned and said, "Sew his mouth shut for me, or he'll try to poison my eyes when we get to the station."

This wasn't just a bluff; his men really went to get needles, and they actually sewed up the mouths of any crying children.

A burly man brought a needle and thread, opened the box, and knew that sewing mouths was his specialty.

Li Banfeng took the needle and thread from the burly man's hand, threaded it from Pei Yuzeng's lower lip to his upper lip, and sewed his mouth shut by pulling the thread back and forth several times.

Pei Yuzeng startled; Li Banfeng's movements were too fast for him to react.

He tried to breathe fire, but before he could open his mouth, he discovered that Li Banfeng had vanished.

Pei Yuzeng forcefully pulled the needle and thread from his mouth and shouted, "Who goes there?"

"An enemy." Luo ZhengNan slowly walked towards Pei Yuzeng from the warehouse entrance.

Pei Yuzeng was stunned.

Wasn't Luo ZhengNan dead?

Pei Yuzeng personally burned him to death and collected his ashes.

How did he survive?

Who was that person who just disappeared?

Luo ZhengNan looked at Pei Yuzeng, eager to see if Pei Yuzeng could still breathe fire, and eager to see if there really wasn't a single warning sign.

Pei Yuzeng really wanted to breathe fire; he could have done it without any warning, but unfortunately, he didn't have the chance.

His forehead swelled up, and his cheeks, chest, stomach, and limbs swelled up one after another.

Bang! With a muffled thud, Pei Yuzeng into a bloody mess.

Bang! Bang!

With a series of muffled thuds, nine of the ten henchmen were blown to pieces.

Travel Cultivator skills, Ride a Horse and Admire Flowers.

The last Jiang Xiang Gang disciple, the burly man who had just opened the box, stood there trembling. He knew that Li Banfeng was right behind him.

Li Banfeng asked, "Where did these children come from?"

"I... I don't know."

Luo ZhengNan sighed, "If only you knew, you might still be spared."

"Hall Master Luo, I... I have no grudge against you..."

"But you and I have a grudge." Li Banfeng smiled behind the burly man.

"Grandpa, I haven't offended you, I've never seen you before..." The burly man didn't dare to turn around. He was so frightened that he cried, even more pitifully than the child in the box.

The child peeked out from the box he had just opened.

Li Banfeng gestured to Luo ZhengNan to cover the child's eyes.

Luo ZhengNan covered the child's eyes. "Come on, uncle has some candy. Tell uncle where you live?"

As they spoke, the burly man's crying ceased.

PS: Luo ZhengNan's revenge has been taken, but Li Qi's revenge has only just begun.