Principal and Interest

Li Banfeng escorted Lu Dongjun to the third room. That evening, no one in the family disturbed the old man, and the old man and Lu Dongjun chatted for a long time.

The next morning, the old man woke Li Banfeng up. "Seventh Brother, let's talk."

Li Qi entered the third room but did not see Lu Dongjun.

The old man said, "He's still in our family. There are some things we can't let him know, some things we can't let him remember, but there are some things we still need him for."

"What is it?"

"He has a mark hidden on him, very well hidden."

Li Qi murmured, "A very deep mark—Grandpa, how did you find it?"

The Portable Abode said, "This is not a big deal. The important thing is that this is a mark of the Inner State. Once we arrive in the Inner State, we can take out a map of the Inner State and use this mark to find a certain location."

The reason I kept Lu Dongjun alive until now is because I think this mark is very important. Seventh Brother, who do you think left this mark?

Li Banfeng said, "I think it was that expert who released him from Inner State."

"Seventh Brother, who do you think that expert is?"

Li Banfeng said, "I think that expert is the Train Grandpa."

Portable Abode Shenju said, "You also think it's him?"

"I went to Inner State once, not by myself, but in a dream."

When Li Banfeng said that, Portable Abode did have some recollection of it. Li Banfeng had been in a daze in Black Stone Slope, spending three days wandering around on buses, and just wouldn't go home.

"I knew it back then," said the Portable Abode. "You met the Old Train in Inner State."

Li Banfeng nodded. "He rescued me from Inner State, from the crack in the dream. Lu Dongjun also crawled out from the crack. The method is too similar, so I think it must be the Train Grandpa."

"It's him, you think it's him too—" Portable Abode trembled slightly, and all thirteen rooms shook. "If this mark really was left by the Old Train, as long as we can get into the Inner State, we can rescue him."

Li Banfeng said, "I promised the Train Grandpa that I would find a way to rescue him from Inner State in the future. I am planning to investigate this matter, starting with that karaoke bar in the Underground City."

"What are you looking for at the karaoke bar?"

"There's a ruthless guy in that karaoke bar. I suspect he's connected to Lu Dongjun, but Lu Dongjun has never mentioned him."

This person likely possesses a crucial clue—a clue related to the Train Grandpa. Through him, we might be able to find the entrance to the Inner State.

Just as Li Banfeng was about to get up, he heard Portable Abode call out, "Seventh Brother, don't go."

"What's wrong?"

"When you went to the Underground City, I went with you. Although we were complete strangers, I could tell from his methods that he was a ruthless person. You can't afford to mess with him right now. I also asked Lu Dongjun, but he knew nothing about this person. It's not too late to go find him after we know a little more about him."

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment and said, "I'll go investigate the Wizard Association first. They summoned Lu Dongjun with a contract. This is definitely not a coincidence. There may be something going on behind the scenes arranged by Train Grandpa."

A handsome man and a man named Jun—it sounds like a coincidence, but upon closer examination...

There are many hidden secrets here.

The old man from the Train Grandpa discovered Lu Dongjun in Inner State. In the kiln, he saw Lu Dongjun's strength, lent Lu Dongjun some power, and gave Lu Dongjun a test.

Lu Dongjun passed the test, escaped from the kiln, and fled to a relatively safe place.

Meanwhile, the Train Grandpa made a series of arrangements through his helpers in Outer State, allowing them to summon Lu Dongjun through a special ceremony.

Lu Dongjun carries the coordinates of the Train Grandpa's location, which is an effective way to rescue the Train Grandpa.

Of course, the above ideas are entirely based on Li Banfeng's deduction. To verify whether the deduction is true, we need to start by investigating the Chamomile Wizard Association.

Just as Li Banfeng was about to head to the Dark Star Bureau, Portable Abode again. "This could be an arrangement made by Old Train, but it could also be an arrangement made by Inner State. They might be fishing, Seventh Brother, you must not fall for it."

"Grandpa, what's wrong with you? Why are you so hesitant? Don't you want to save the Old Train anymore?"

"I want to, more than anyone else, but I can't risk you're killed trying to save the Old Train."

Li Banfeng chuckled, "You care about me that much?"

"I care about you, just like I care about Old Train," Portable Abode suddenly laughed. "I don't know what you care about. The Peddler made a mistake and gave me to you as compensation. I can't figure out where our friendship comes from."

After sitting in silence for a moment, Li Banfeng and Portable Abode smiled at the same time.

After laughing, Li Banfeng went to the Dark Star Bureau.

The matter needs to be investigated, but we also need to take some precautions.

The members of the Chamomile Wizard Association remained in custody. Li Banfeng asked them several questions, most of which were irrelevant, but one question was crucial, "Where did you get the contracts for summoning the dead?"

After spending so many days at the Dark Star Bureau, Chairman Cheliviko had calmed down considerably. He was no longer resistant to interrogation and answered Li Banfeng's questions truthfully, "I've answered this question before. This contract was transferred to me by another wizarding association in our country."

According to him, this matter seems to be very big, and it seems to involve multiple forces from different countries.

But Li Banfeng didn't think so. He noticed that Cheliviko was intentionally omitting some details. "Does 'transfer' mean 'buy'?"

Cheliviko nodded.

Li Banfeng was not satisfied with this answer, "You'd better be more specific. Was this item bought from Lafusha Country or Huan Kingdom?"

After a moment's hesitation, Cheliviko said, "It's in the Huan Kingdom."

"Was it bought from the Lavsha People, or from the Huan Kingdom?"

Cheliviko lowered his head and said, "He is from the Huan Kingdom."

His explanation made the situation much clearer.

Cheliviko quickly emphasized, "But he is indeed a member of another wizarding association, and he has presented the association's badge, which proves his identity."

Li Banfeng said, "They only presented a badge, without any introduction from anyone else, and without showing any other evidence?"

Cheliviko remained silent; Li Banfeng was indeed right.

Li Banfeng had someone bring paper and pen and handed them to Cheliviko: "Write down that person's name. If you can't write, then we'll have to find another place to talk for a while longer."

Cheliviko could write the Chinese character Huan Kingdom, and he wrote down the man's name.

This man's name is Tong Yousan, a name that doesn't sound like someone from Outer State.

Li Banfeng put away his notebook, returned to his office, and called Shen Jingye over.

Shen Jingye entered the office excitedly. "Director Li, have we found that high-level fighter?"

"It's not that easy to find them." Li Banfeng gestured for Shen Jingye to sit down first. "Little Shen, what do you plan to do with those people from the Chamomile Association?"

"They should be handed over to the judicial authorities. They endanger public safety and must not be let off lightly."

Li Banfeng was fairly satisfied with this approach.

"Where are the people who provided them with the contracts?"

Shen Jingye shook his head and said, "I don't think it's necessary to trace this matter further. There are far too many of these contracts on the market. The cheapest one I've seen only sells for sixteen yuan."

Some people might take this home and study it carefully, while others might buy it just for fun. It's no different from those fortune tellers, divination masters, or feng shui masters' manuals on the market. If we were to take this too seriously, we don't know how many people we would have to arrest.

Shen Jingye well that the contract came from the Black Market, but he simply didn't want to investigate further.

His approach was correct. If these people are to be punished as they deserve, the situation should not be escalated. This is to prevent the matter from being smoothed over and left unresolved.

Li Banfeng understood Shen Jingye's thoughts. "I only investigate matters, I won't arrest people easily. This contract is genuine, not one of those random things on the market. Perhaps we can find the whereabouts of the deceased from this."

Right now, everything depends on Li Qi to find the missing souls. Shen Jingye naturally has to take every request Li Qi makes seriously. "Director Li, you don't need to investigate this matter personally. I'll ask Mi Jian to go. Isn't that person called Tong Yousan? I estimate that he can be found in half a day."

Many people thought that Shen Jingye didn't care much about things on the front lines, but he was very familiar with the characteristics of most of the members of the Public Security Team.

Among the Public Security Team, besides Big Head, Mi Jian knew the most about the Black Market. It only took her half a day to find out Tong Yousan's identity. "He runs a bookstore on South Entrance Pedestrian Street in Jiacheng District. He often deals in contracts and other such things in private. He has a certain reputation in the Black Market."

Li Banfeng asked, "Is he related to the Lavsha People?"

Candied Fruit smiled slightly, revealing a dimple on her left cheek. "Whether it matters or not depends on where the guest comes from. If the guest is from Lafusha Country, then he is a member of the Lafsa Wizard Association and can speak fluent Lafsa language."

If a guest comes from Ingrid, then he is a member of the Royal Ingrid Mage Order, possessing a badge and certificate, and fluent in Ingrid.

Li Banfeng laughed, "What a talent! I'll go meet him."

Mijian took Li Banfeng to Three Friends Bookstore. The bookstore owner, Tong Yousan, was organizing the bookshelves and didn't pay much attention to the two customers.

The two walked to the third bookshelf, and Mijian casually picked up a book called "Medieval Dark Magic," flipped through a couple of pages, and...

He said to Li Banfeng, "This book is meaningless; you can't find anything of substance in it."

Tong Yousan looked at the two men, walked closer, and asked, "What real thing would you two like to see?"

"What do you think?" Mi Jian waved the book "Medieval Dark Magic" around. "We came all this way, we certainly didn't come here to read this stuff that's just for kids."

Tong Yousan laughed, "This stuff is just for fooling kids; who would take it seriously?"

The candied fruit vendor lowered his voice and said, "Boss Tong, we're experts. We've come here to buy some genuine products."

Tong Yousan seemed not to understand. "My book is an authentic copy. Isn't an authentic book the same as a genuine product?"

Honey frowned. "That's no fun talking like that!"

Tong Yousan looked completely bewildered. "What exactly do you mean? I have quite a few books here. If you don't find this one interesting, you can look at another one."

The candied fruit was unhappy and was about to take a hard line.

Li Banfeng bought the book "Medieval Dark Magic" and left the bookstore with some candied fruit.

Back in the car, Mi Jian felt a little ashamed. It was her first time going on a mission alone with Director Li, and she had messed it up. "This guy usually does business openly, I don't know why he's so wary today."

Li Banfeng was quite satisfied with today's result. "It's good that he was wary; it proves he's not an ordinary person."

In the evening, after the bookstore closed, Tong Yousan sat behind the counter, smoking one cigarette after another.

His wife came over and made him a cup of tea. "Why don't we hide for a while?"

"Where can we hide?" Tong Yousan sighed. "As long as we're still within the Huan Kingdom's territory, we can't escape the Dark Star Bureau no matter where we go. If we don't move now, we might be fine, but if we do, we'll be arrested in the blink of an eye."

The daughter-in-law sighed, "We still have our Travel Permit, so why don't we just go back to Pro State?"

"What should we say?" Tong Yousan gave a bitter smile. "How are we going to repay the money Zhang Gunli?"

"We've made quite a bit of money these past few years. We borrowed 500,000 silver dollars from him back then, so isn't it enough to pay him back 1 million, including interest?"

"One million?" Tong Yousan shook his head repeatedly. "You don't know how he calculates interest. One million wouldn't even cover the interest with him!"

Li Banfeng stood by the wall of the bookstore, quietly listening to the conversation inside.

It turns out he's from Pro State.

Who is Zhang Gunli? How much of the 500,000 silver dollars owed to him should be paid back?

"No matter how much you have, it's useless!" Feng Chongli sighed. "That bastard Zhang Gunli can make a mountain of gold out of a single yuan."

Mu Yuejuan took a painting and gave it to Feng Chongli: "Nine out and thirteen back, he also has to follow the rules. I put a lot of effort into this painting, it's worth some money, take it to pay off the debt."

"Thank you for your kindness," Feng Chongli returned the painting to Mu Yuejuan, "My debt is too large, and the interest from Zhang Gunli is too high. This painting is just a drop in the ocean and is of little use."

Mu Yuejuan touched Feng Chongli's cheek. "I meant well, but you don't appreciate it. If we hadn't gone through a long journey together and developed some feelings for each other, I wouldn't care whether you live or die."

Feng Chongli was taken aback. "You and I have feelings for each other?"

"Otherwise what?" Mu Yuejuan pinched Feng Chongli's nose. "You're not exactly strong, you can't last more than a few rounds in battle. If it weren't for our feelings for each other, what else would I have for you?"

"If I could say I used to be attracted to Snowflake Port's status, I really can't understand how Snowflake Port has become so poor. How could a wealthy businessman like you be reduced to this state, having to borrow money from Zhang Gunli?"

Feng Chongli sighed and said, "Don't tell me you don't understand; there are some things even I don't understand. Ever since I came to Snowflake Port, I haven't had a good time!"

"Why don't you find someone else to back you up?"

Feng Chongli shook his head and said, "It's going to be difficult. Snowflake Port is not a place you can just leave whenever you want. It's almost time for Zhang Gunli to collect the debt again. I need to work hard to raise funds these next few days, at least to cover the interest. If I really can't cover it, I'll have to think of another way. I don't know where that bastard Zhang Gunli has gone."

Mu Yuejuan smiled and said, "I can give you an idea, but it depends on whether you want to avoid him or find him."

Feng Chongli chuckled, "Why would I want to look for him?"

"You really want to find me?" At 7:11 p. m., in a private room at the Peace Mansion, Zhang Gunli looked at Shen Rongqing across from him.

Shen Rongqing nodded. "I've thought it over. I'll borrow eight-tenths of your combat power for two days."

Zhang Gunli rubbed the walnuts in his hand. "May I ask, what is your purpose in borrowing combat power?"

Shen Rongqing took a sip of tea, looked up and said, "You probably shouldn't be asking this."

"Yes, I shouldn't have asked. If it were anyone else, I really wouldn't have asked," Zhang Gunli, twirling the walnuts twice. "There are some things you might not believe. In your eyes, I might just be an ordinary, common person, but I enjoy reading your books, and I admire your talent. When it comes to this kind of thing, I wanted to give you a few more pointers."

If you encounter an enemy, you'd better find an assassin. If you can't find a suitable candidate, I can point you in the right direction.

Shen Rongqing shook his head and said, "No assassin dares to take on the task of killing the person I want to kill."

"Could you please give me your name?"

Shen Rongqing said, "The Fifth Young Master of the Ma family, Ma Junyang."

Zhang Gunli rubbed the walnuts for a while, then sighed and said, "This person is indeed difficult to deal with. He has too much power. The people you can afford to hire don't dare to lay a hand on him, and the people who can lay a hand on him are probably too expensive for you to afford."

Shen Rongqing said, "So I have to do this myself."

Zhang Gunli placed the walnuts on the table. "You'd better think this through. Borrowing eight levels of cultivation for two days is a debt that won't be easy to repay."

Shen Rongqing said, "If you don't pay me back, I'll give myself to you. You can do whatever you want with me."

Seeing that Shen Rongqing was determined, Zhang Gunli said no more, "Which sect do you want to borrow?"

"Wenxiu".

"Just combat strength, or also techniques?"

"We need both combat strength and technique."

"The money needs to arrive today, or should we schedule another time?"

"The money will arrive today."

"Okay!" Zhang Gunli took out the IOU from his pocket. "Please put your fingerprint on it."

Shen Rongqing looked at the amount on the IOU. Although she was mentally prepared, she still couldn't help but shudder.

Zhang Gunli's demands are truly outrageous; if Shen Rongqing were to pay in cash, she definitely couldn't afford it.

If she can't repay with money, what else can she use? She can only use herself.

Zhang Gunli concluded with a reminder: "It's not too late to regret it now!"

"No regrets!" Shen Rongqing pricked her fingertip with a needle and pressed her fingerprint on the IOU.

Zhang Gunli held the IOU in his hand, and layers of mist rose from it, surrounding Shen Rongqing.

"Miss Shen, from now on you are at the eighth level of cultivation. In two days, your cultivation will be fully in place. Tell me a place, and I'll come to collect my debts from you."

Shen Rongqing said, "We agreed to meet at my place, you should know that."

"Miss Shen, when I come to find you, you'd better wait for me at home. If you owe me money, even if you're only half a day late, the interest will be calculated differently. Don't even think about hiding from me; I can find you no matter where you are."

That night, Ma Wu was tidying up the accounts at Carefree Dock when Zuo Wugang in. "Fifth Master, Miss Shen has come to see you."

Ma Wu was pleased, then his face lit up with joy. "Please come in quickly."

Shen Rongqing entered the house and greeted the young master with clasped hands, "It's been a long time. How have you been, Fifth Young Master?"

Ma Wu quickly returned the greeting. "Thanks to your blessing, young lady, I am doing well, but I miss you day and night."

Shen Rongqing's cheeks flushed slightly. "Did you really miss me?"

"Really?" Ma Wu looked at Shen Rongqing with deep affection.

This is a test for Ma Wu, who prefers to be straightforward, but with Shen Rongqing, he must learn to be more tactful.

The previous few pleasantries were all playful, but now that the two were looking at each other, Shen Rongqing was moved, and Ma Wu was keeping up with her.

"Fifth Young Master, I cooked some Lotus Seed at home. It's really lonely eating alone," Shen Rongqing said, extending an invitation.

Ma Wu put down the account book. "If you're willing, young lady, please grant me a bowl tonight."

Shen Rongqing grabbed Ma Wu's hand.

Ma Wu followed Shen Rongqing and left Carefree Dock.

When they arrived at Shen Rongqing's residence, there were no servants, so she prepared Lotus Seed and served Ma Wu a bowl.

Ma Wu took a spoonful and thought it tasted good. Just as he was about to take a second spoonful, Shen Rongqing hugged him from behind:

"Jun Yang, I want you."

"Rong Qing, I want you too."

Their cheeks touched, and a bloodshot appeared in Ma Wu's eyes.

The seeds of love have already been sown, ready to be planted at any time.

It's easy to get hooked on Ma Wu, but not easy to get intoxicated by him.

She suddenly contacted me in the dead of night; there must be a reason for it.

"Jun Yang, we've known each other for so long, do you trust me?" Shen Rongqing kissed Ma Wu's cheek.

"Trustworthy." Ma Wu nodded slightly.

Shen Rongqing hugged Ma Wu tightly. "Since you trust me, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Ma Wu nodded. "Okay, let's discuss it slowly."

He looked out the window.

Below the window is Shen Rongqing's garden.

Zuo Wugang sat quietly in the garden, watching the lights on the second floor.

Two days later, after Ma Chunting had dinner and taken a pill, he had just returned to his room to rest when Ma Junjiang rushed into the bedroom in a panic. "Father, something happened to Fifth Brother. Someone saw his body outside the city."

Ma Chunting remained silent for a moment, then said blankly, "I knew he'd end up like this sooner or later. Was that corpse really his?"

Ma Junjiang said, "I was just about to go take a look."

"Go ahead," Ma Chunting lay back on the bed, "Collect his body; after all, he was a member of the Ma family."

He Yuxiu was overseeing the land reclamation when her accountant Sheng Shanzhou, brought news. "Miss, Ma Wu is dead." He Yuxiu was stunned. "Who did it?"

"I heard it's related to Shen Rongqing."

"That bitch has gone mad!" He Yuxiu immediately set off for Green Water City.

The cook said, "Miss He, we can't do without you for this land reclamation!"

"Let's leave it for now. Fifth Brother is in trouble; we can't just ignore it! Have we told Seventh Brother about this?"

Sheng Shanzhou, "This is something we shouldn't be telling Seventh Master. We don't even know if those people in Carefree Dock have told Seventh Master."

"Is that really Ma Wu?" Bai Le Men Chu Er looked at Yang Yanzheng with a doubtful expression.

Yang Yanzheng said, "We'll wait for the Ma family to perform an autopsy; it's probably true."

"Does Li Qi know about this?"

"He's Outer State; he probably hasn't received the news yet."

Chu Er stood up and said, "Let's take our people and go take a look."

"No way! How could something have happened to the Fifth Young Master!"

"Mom, don't go yet. We don't know what's going on. I'll go with Brother Xin to check on things first."

"Of course I'm going! Fifth Young Master is our friend! What if our Benefactor finds out? Has anyone told Benefactor?"

Li Banfeng was chatting with Tong Yousan at the Three Friends Bookstore: "Did you really get that contract from Lafusha Country?"

Tong Yousan stubbornly insisted, "He really is from Lafusha Country, without a doubt."

Have you ever been to Lafusha Country?

"I've been there. I studied in Lafusha Country, and I speak Lafsha Language fluently. If you don't believe me, you can ask a Lafsa person."

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "That's right. I was wondering why you said that so aptly. Are you Yan Xiu?"

Tong Yousan's psychological defenses were about to be breached. The projector whispered to Li Banfeng, "That Simple Phone is ringing. We'll talk later." Li Banfeng went out and answered Luo ZhengNan's call.

"Seventh Master, I just received the news. Fifth Master is in trouble, and his body is outside the city."

Li Qi's head was buzzing.

He didn't go to Three Friends Bookstore again, but instead went straight to Flower Lake Park. When he got to the lake, Li Banfeng lost his footing.

I almost fell.

Ma Wu got into trouble.

The body was outside the city.

Li Banfeng felt like he wasn't fully awake and didn't know where he had this nightmare from.

He had just jumped into the lake when the projector said, "Seventh Director, that Simple Phone is ringing again."

Li Banfeng returned to the lake and answered the phone.

"Seventh Brother, it's me."

Li Banfeng blinked, wiped his face, and left Flower Lake Park while listening to the phone call.

Tong Yousan thought the guest had left, and had just caught his breath when he saw that the man, covered in water, had returned.

Where did you go?

Li Banfeng said casually, "It's nothing. I was just a little sleepy, so I went to wash my face. Let's continue. Are you really Yan Xiu?"

"How could you possibly talk about cultivating this Daoist sect? Are you joking?"

"So which sect do you belong to? When did you join? Was it when you were studying abroad in Lafusha Country? Is Lafusha Country also called a sect?"

Zhang Gunli arrived at Shen Rongqing, rubbed some walnuts together, and looked at his Pocket Watch.

Shen Rongqing definitely doesn't have the money to pay back, and Zhang Gunli doesn't plan to ask her for the money either.

He spoke the truth: he admired Shen Rongqing and her talent. Having such a woman by his side was not bad.

Would Shen Rongqing agree?

Zhang Gunli didn't mind Shen Rongqing's resistance; the more she resisted, the more he liked it. He admired the stubbornness inherent in scholars.

At 7:11, Zhang Gunli entered the room.

Shen Rongqing sat silently in the living room, her expression blank.

Zhang Gunli produced an IOU: "Miss Shen, it's time."

Shen Rongqing nodded.

"I've heard about Ma Wu's situation. Since you've already taken care of things, you probably have no regrets."

"Yes, I have no regrets." Shen Rongqing looked up at Zhang Gunli.

Zhang Gunli asked, "You know the amount owed. Have you prepared the money?"

"Ready." He Jiaqing walked down the stairs from the second floor.

A cloud of mist swirled in the hall for a moment, then transformed into He Haisheng, blocking the doorway.

Zhang Gunli chuckled, "Young Master He, what are you trying to do?"

To be honest, Zhang Gunli was caught off guard; Shen Rongqing's performance was too convincing.

But it seems he doesn't need to be on guard.

"Let's talk this over," He Jiaqing lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled smoke. "I borrowed your life back then, and I repaid you on time, with interest. I didn't shortchange you, did I?"

Zhang Gunli nodded. "No less, we even gave you more."

He Jiaqing added, "I've been addressing you as 'senior' and doing business with you in a proper manner. Have I been lacking in courtesy?"

"Your manners are impeccable, and you certainly know the rules."

He Jiaqing took another drag of his cigarette. "Since I followed the rules and owed you nothing, how can you sell my information to Mu Yuejuan? What kind of logic is that?"

Zhang Gunli smiled and said, "This is indeed a difficult principle to explain, but I don't need to explain it to you. It's just the two of you, uncle and nephew, why should you try to reason with me?"

"If we don't reason, this matter will be much easier to handle." Feng Chongli pushed open the door and entered the living room.

Zhang Gunli was startled; he hadn't expected Feng Chongli to be there as well.

He Jiaqing said with a smile, "It's time we settled the accounts, including principal and interest."

PS: Zhang Gunli messed with the wrong person.