Brothers in Blood

The distribution plan was agreed upon, but before distributing the items, Zhang Gunli's warehouse had to be opened first.

Gui Jianchou and Mu Yuejuan each held a walnut and tapped it twice, but there was no reaction.

After touching it a couple more times, there was still no reaction. Gui Jianchou complained that Mu Yuejuan wasn't strong enough, while Mu Yuejuan complained that Gui Jianchou was inaccurate.

The two grew increasingly impatient, so Mu Yuejuan simply handed her walnut to Gui Jianchou: "The amount to be divided has already been decided, so you can open the door yourself."

Gui Jianchou tried several times, but there was still no response.

Mu Yuejuan looked at He Jiaqing: "Young Master He, are these walnuts real?"

He Jiaqing frowned slightly. "Would I dare to deceive these two seniors?"

Mu Yuejuan gave a cold laugh, "That's hard to say. Back on Sage Peak, the Sage and the Imperial Jade Seal disappeared in the blink of an eye."

He Jiaqing shook his head repeatedly. "This matter really has nothing to do with me. At that time, I was trapped in the cage and had no food or water."

Feng Chongli looked at the walnuts. "Can I try?"

Gui Jianchou handed the walnuts to Feng Chongli. Feng Chongli touched them a few times, and something in his sleeve seemed to sense something.

He held the walnuts with his right hand and inserted his left hand into the space between the two walnuts.

The left hand passed directly through the walnut and then through the palm of the right hand, disappearing without a trace.

After fumbling around for a while, Feng Chongli pulled out a handful of silver dollars from the center of the walnuts. "Gentlemen, the treasury is located between these two walnuts."

Gui Jianchou looked at Mu Yuejuan: "Don't just stand there, touch it too!"

"Pah! Shameless! Who wants to touch you!" Mu Yuejuan spat, but still reached her hand into the middle of the walnut.

There are things inside, lots of things.

The two of them searched repeatedly for more than half an hour, using all sorts of techniques, before they finally managed to empty the warehouse.

Gui Jianchou and Mu Yuejuan didn't care too much about the amount of money; they just let Feng Chongli it, trusting that he wouldn't tamper with such a thing.

There are more than 300 magical artifacts, Spiritual Object, and weapons in total, with varying levels of quality. It all depends on luck and a good eye. The four people take turns choosing, and whatever they pick is up to them.

The remaining pile of pills was divided among the four of them.

There's one thing left that's hard to divide: this warehouse.

The warehouse itself is priceless, as everyone present could see.

Mu Yuejuan said, "I really need a place to store my paintings, give me this warehouse!"

Gui Jianchou refused, saying, "Miss Mu, isn't this inappropriate? Such a wonderful thing, you just give it to me like that?"

Mu Yuejuan's face darkened. "Then who are you going to give it to? Zhang Gunli's soul and body are both yours. You can't be too greedy, can you?"

Gui Jianchou shrugged. "I didn't say this thing had to belong to me."

Feng Chongli paused for a moment and then said, "Seniors, I don't want the silver dollars, magic treasures, Spiritual Object, and weapons I just received. I just want to exchange this warehouse. I wonder if you two would be willing to agree?"

Mu Yuejuan remained silent. Feng Chongli was a repairman, and he had a good eye. He would definitely pick out the best items. But Mu Yuejuan felt that by exchanging them, Feng Chongli was still getting a bargain.

Gui Jianchou didn't say anything either; he shared the same thought as Mu Yuejuan.

He Jiaqing looked at everyone and said, "How about this, I'll take out my share and give it to the two seniors as well."

"This warehouse is for Brother Feng."

Feng Chongli was startled. "Young Master He, I didn't mean to—"

He Jiaqing waved his hand and said, "We can talk about our business later. Seniors, Zhang Gunli has entrusted all his assets to you two. All we want is a storeroom. That's not too much, is it?"

Gui Jianchou nodded.

Mu Yuejuan agreed.

Gui Jianchou had a large number of Ghost Servant who quickly moved all the things away.

Mu Yuejuan has paintings here; she can move everything into the paintings without taking much time.

The two packed their things and left, leaving Feng Chongli behind with two walnuts. He looked at He Jiaqing and said, "Leave me an IOU. I owe you, and I must pay you back."

He Jiaqing shook his head and said, "You don't need to repay me. You helped me get revenge, and this kindness cannot be measured in money."

"Then what should we use to measure it?" Feng Chongli didn't quite understand what He Jiaqing meant.

He Jiaqing smiled and said, "I don't know how to measure this. If you think highly of me or need my help in the future, just let me know. I'll be there whenever you call."

Feng Chongli paused for a moment, then said, "At my age, is it appropriate for me to call you 'brother'?"

He Jiaqing said, "Everyone around me calls each other brothers, regardless of age or kinship."

Feng Chongli looked at He Haisheng and asked, "Does he also call you brother?"

He Haisheng coughed twice and looked away.

This person isn't very good at speaking.

Feng Chongli then looked at Shen Rongqing: "He also calls you brother?"

He Jiaqing was a little embarrassed, but Shen Rongqing was not. "That's right, I also call him brother."

After saying that, Shen Rongqing continued to look for her IOU.

There were many IOUs on the ground, and Shen Rongqing checked them one by one. She didn't know when she would finish looking for them. Apart from herself, no one else present seemed to care about this matter.

"Let me help you look for it." Feng Chongli squatted down and quickly scanned the stacks of IOUs.

Shen Rongqing said, "Thank you, senior. My name is—"

"I know your name, the most talented woman in Pro State. It is my honor to meet you." Feng Chongli glanced at the documents for a moment, then pulled one out from a stack of deeds and handed it to Shen Rongqing.

"Is this the one?"

Shen Rongqing took it and saw that it really was her IOU.

"Thank you, senior." Shen Rongqing felt a little more at ease. She was about to tear up the IOU when Feng Chongli stopped her.

"Young lady, you mustn't tear this up. There's Curse Art on the IOU, and Curse Art might not even be from Zhang Gunli. He's the kind of person who always has a backup plan. If the IOU is destroyed, you might be in danger."

Shen Rongqing was at a loss for what to do. He Jiaqing said to Feng Chongli, "Senior, do you have a way to break this Curse Art?" Feng Chongli certainly had a way. He had previously used the technique of Money and Goods Cleared to burn his own IOU.

"I can indeed do this, but let's make things clear first. Is this something you asked me to do, or something Miss Shen asked me to do?"

"If you asked me to do it, I still owe you a debt. If I could break this Curse Art, how much of that debt would I be able to pay off?"

He Jiaqing was in a dilemma. Feng Chongli only talked about money, showing no regard for face or sentiment.

He Jiaqing gave up a portion of Zhang Gunli's assets in order to win people's hearts, but if Feng Chongli used Shen Rongqing to exchange for He Jiaqing's promise of being even, He Jiaqing would feel that he had lost out big time.

It can't fully offset the debt, but how much can it offset?

After hesitating for a moment, He Jiaqing noticed another serious problem: Shen Rongqing kept her head down and her face remained expressionless.

She was waiting for He Jiaqing to calculate the price, to figure out exactly how much she was worth.

He Jiaqing quickly said, "Senior Feng, Rong Qing and I are as close as brothers. Whatever you say is fine."

Feng Chongli glanced at Shen Rongqing, Shen Rongqing lowered her head and said softly, "Thank you for your trouble, senior."

"Is this what you want me to do?" Feng Chongli asked again.

Shen Rongqing nodded.

Feng Chongli's tone remained flat. "I never do things for free. Even if Miss Shen asks for it herself, I will still accept the money. I will accept one silver dollar from Miss Shen."

Shen Rongqing looked at Feng Chongli in surprise.

He Jiaqing was also surprised. After the initial shock, he quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, senior."

Feng Chongli ignored He Jiaqing and then said to Shen Rongqing, "Do you have a silver dollar? If not, we can discuss it further."

The room was filled with silver dollars; the silver dollars that He Jiaqing used to pay off Feng Chongli's debts were piled up on the floor.

Feng Chongli didn't even glance at those silver dollars; he only looked at Shen Rongqing.

Shen Rongqing's residence was renovated by He Jiaqing, and many of her personal belongings were no longer in the house, including her own savings.

She searched her person for a long time, but only found some loose bills in her pockets.

She stuffed all the banknotes into Feng Chongli. Feng Chongli counted out five hundred yuan of Huan Country Notes and handed the rest to Shen Rongqing.

Shen Rongqing refused to accept the money, but Feng Chongli Orthodox God and said, "Miss Shen, without your risky scheme, it wouldn't have been so easy to plot against Zhang Gunli. Logically speaking, I shouldn't even accept this silver dollar from you."

"But this is a matter between you and Young Master He. I shouldn't have interfered. I offered one silver dollar, and the young lady didn't haggle, so I'll accept that one silver dollar. That's a businessman's duty."

Putting the banknotes into his pocket, Feng Chongli picked up the contract, held it between his index and middle fingers, and handed it over forcefully.

The contract caught fire and burned to ashes.

Shen Rongqing quickly thanked him, but Feng Chongli waved his hand repeatedly, saying, "We're even, you two, goodbye."

Feng Chongli is gone.

Shen Rongqing felt a weight lifted off her shoulders and felt much more at ease.

He Jiaqing said, "Rong Qing, you deserve the most credit this time. Whatever you want, just say the word and I'll grant it."

What do you want?

Shen Rongqing wants Ma Wu right now.

She wanted this man, the man who was willing to risk his life for her.

But these words cannot be said aloud.

"Jiaqing, I know you have a grudge against Li Qi, and I know this matter will eventually affect Ma Junyang."

I only ask one thing of you.

If one day Jun Yang falls into your hands, I hope that for the sake of our brotherhood, you will spare his life.

He Jiaqing nodded and said, "Ma Junyang and I are also on good terms. He helped me a lot today, and I won't forget that kindness. You don't need to think about his matter anymore. Let's talk about how to reward you first."

Shen Rongqing shook her head and said, "I only have this one request. I don't want anything else."

"Really don't want it anymore?" Ma Junyang touched the snail shell.

The Snail Girl trembled twice and said, "No, I don't want it anymore."

Ma Wu chuckled and said, "You said you didn't want it, so don't regret it later."

The Snail Girl retorted, "We'll talk about that later."

In Green Water City, Ma Wu and Shen Rongqing put on a grand show, and even news of his death had already spread.

He wasn't really dead, of course; he was just putting on a show. Now that the storm hadn't died down, Ma Wu came to the Soda Kiln to avoid trouble and also to visit this friend from Inner State.

After fighting for dozens of rounds, Ma Wu became more and more courageous, Snail Girl was somewhat unable to cope. During the truce, Ma Wu asked her a few questions.

"What was the name of the big crucian carp that used to guard this gate?"

The Snail Girl snorted and said, "What do you mean by 'big crucian carp'? You're really rude. His name is Yu Songkai, and he's a person of status among the clansmen."

"Why would someone of status need to guard the gate?"

The Snail Girl shook her antennae and said, "There's more to this than meets the eye, but I don't know what it is."

Ma Wu then asked, "Do you hold a certain status among your clansmen?"

"Of course I have status!" the Snail Girl said proudly. "If I didn't have status, would I dare to make such a big deal with you and give you an entire piece of new land?"

Ma Wu nodded. "Since you are a person of such status, may I ask your name, young lady?"

The Snail Girl was taken aback. "What do you mean by that? My name is Luo Lijun! You're disowning me after you've done your job?"

Ma Wu smiled and said, "Miss, you are not Luo Lijun."

The Snail Girl was a little annoyed. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Ma Wu had great confidence in his judgment. "Appearance, figure, voice, and even your habits in every word and action..."

They all look very much like Luo Lijun.

But you are not her, because the feeling is different, and I will never be wrong about that.

"I don't know what you mean, I'm going back!" The Snail Girl turned to return to the pool, Feng Daiku suddenly appeared and blocked her way.

Ma Wu continued, "Young lady, we don't want to ruin the harmony, but I just want to ask you one thing: where did Luo Lijun go?"

The Snail Girl waved her antennae, ready for battle. "If you want a fight, I'm ready; if you're too scared,..."

"Don't block my way! I am Luo Lijun, and I'll say the same thing a hundred times!"

Ma Wu shook his head and said, "No need for a hundred times, really no need."

"You really don't need to do it a hundred times, three times is enough."

Outside the Soda Kiln, on a desolate wasteland, I felt a deep sense of Gui Jianchou.

An ordinary person would certainly not escape Feng Daiku's notice if they went to the Soda Kiln, but Gui Jianchou was no ordinary person. Having just returned from Green Water City, he went to the Soda Kiln to gather information. Not only did he not get discovered by Feng Daiku, but he also made a great haul.

He had just arrived at the factory and witnessed Ma Wu interrogating the Snail Girl: "Three times, really three times. After three times, she'll answer whatever you ask. Do you think you can do that?"

These words were spoken to a Ghost Servant A'Xiong, who in his previous life was Joy Cultivator at the Cloud Above First Layer and one of Gui Jianchou's fierce generals.

Seeing that A'Xiong remained silent, Gui Jianchou even more dissatisfied. "Tell me, if you were in this situation, how many times would you have to do it?"

A'Xiong lowered his head and said, "That snail, I... I can't do it—"

"You're still being picky! You really don't know the value of money!" Gui Jianchou said angrily. "Look at Ma Junyang,

Look at their methods, look at their techniques, and look at their sense of proportion in advancing and retreating!

I heard he's only at the Earth Skin Fifth Layer of cultivation and is only in his early twenties. What's your cultivation level? How old are you?

How many battles have you been through? If you compare yourself to him, wouldn't you panic?

Over the years, I've spent so much money and bought countless elixirs for you to consume. Tell me, have they been of any use to you?

The other Ghost Servant pointed and whispered among themselves:

"I know A'Xiong is useless."

"How do you know? Have you tried it?"

"Do we even need to try? It's obvious he's not cut out for it."

"After he passed away, his cultivation was damaged, and he is far weaker than when he was alive."

"He wasn't much of a figure when he was alive either; a lot of the things he did were just boasting!"

A'Xiong gritted his teeth. Normally, he wouldn't let any of these bastards get away with it and would beat them to a pulp.

Now that someone has taken advantage of his weakness, he can't say anything.

Gui Jianchou sighed and muttered to himself, "Should I tell Old Sun about this?"

A'Xiong whispered, "Let's just tell him. If the eggs are broken, they're useless."

Gui Jianchou kicked A'Xiong: "Damn it, you're useless at work and have a foul mouth. After this is over, I'll give you a month to win Mu Yuejuan over. If you can't, I'll cut off all your tonic pills from now on!"

A'Xiong looked troubled. "How could someone as ruthless as Mu Yuejuan be easily subdued?"

Gui Jianchou got even angrier. "I accept that Tianluo isn't pretty, but isn't Mu Yuejuan pretty too? Whether she's pretty or not, you can't win her over, so what's the point of me keeping you?"

Yuezhou City, Hengchun Avenue, Yue Mountain Community.

Li Banfeng stood outside the gate of the residential complex and observed the location of apartment 1605 on the sixteenth floor of building five.

A man named Quan Jinfeng lives here. According to Tong Yousan's account, it was this man who gave him the contract to summon Lu Dongjun, and then had him sell it to the Chamomile Wizard Association. For this, Tong Yousan was paid a generous reward.

Li Banfeng had Mi Jian investigate Quan Jinfeng's background. This man came from Pro State, was a seventh-level Artisan Creator, had a legal status in the Huan Kingdom, and had even provided some technical support to the Dark Star Bureau.

With his cultivation level, he must know what consequences that contract would bring. What was his purpose in doing this?

Artisan Creator are those who work in the fields.

He might be a disciple of the Train Grandpa, or one of his Train Grandpa, who wants to use this contract to release Lu Dongjun and thereby reveal the Train Grandpa's coordinates in Inner State.

This is Li Banfeng's speculation, but there are clearly some unreasonable aspects to this speculation.

If the person who rescued Lu Dongjun was indeed the Train Grandpa, and the Train Grandpa maintained some kind of connection with the Outer State, trying to escape through an inside-outside strategy, why didn't he just reveal his location to Quan Jinfeng directly? Why did he have to pass on the coordinates through Lu Dongjun?

Perhaps this is due to the unique nature of the Inner State.

Chu Shaoqiang once gave Li Banfeng a map of Inner State. The location of Inner State cannot be directly described by direction and distance. The map of Inner State can only be used within Inner State.

Based on this, it can be inferred that the Train Grandpa could only send the coordinates out of the Inner State through some kind of medium, and that medium was Lu Dongjun.

But why did the Train Grandpa choose Lu Dongjun?

The arrival of someone like Lu Dongjun in Outer State is bound to cause trouble. If the coordinates fall into the hands of certain special individuals, the Train Grandpa may not be able to be rescued, and it may even lead to a more serious crisis.

All these unreasonable questions need answers, and the answers may lie with Quan Jinfeng.

Of course, Quan Jinfeng may not hold the answers, and there may be traps, so this test must be approached with extreme caution.

Li Banfeng walked around the neighborhood, found a secluded spot, and was about to jump over the fence when he suddenly heard the projector whisper, "Seventh Director, the Simple Phone is ringing."

After leaving the residential area, Li Banfeng answered the phone and heard Ma Wu's voice, "Seventh Brother, something has changed in Inner State. Luo Lijun has been replaced. Inner State may have other plans. You must be careful. It would be best if you could come to the Soda Kiln."

Putting away his phone, Li Banfeng looked up at the residential area.

He didn't go through the fence; instead, he went to Flower Lake Park.

Ma Wu paced back and forth in the factory, feeling uneasy. Feng Daiku him, "Fifth Son, don't worry too much. Li Qi is a smart man, and his cultivation is not low. It won't be so easy for Inner State to touch him."

Ma Wu was still worried. He had just received a message from Shen Rongqing: "Zhang Gunli is a smart man, with ridiculously high cultivation, yet he still fell to He Jiaqing. I'm afraid he might be plotting against someone who wasn't expecting it."

After waiting for a long time, Li Banfeng arrived at the Soda Kiln. Ma Wu first told him about Zhang Gunli: "Shen Rongqing didn't go into much detail, but Zhang Gunli is definitely dead. The Smiling Ghost King was also involved. I heard from Miss Feng that these are all legendary figures from Pro State."

The Smiling Ghost King must be A'Gui, right?

He is now Senior Brother Sun's subordinate. Why would Senior Brother Sun get involved in this?

Need money?

Senior Brother Sun must have many ways to make money.

Lacking magical artifacts?

How useful would Zhang Gunli's magical treasures be to Senior Brother Sun?

Feng Chongli made 800,000 silver dollars selling a pair of Judge's Brush to Li Qi. He had a lot of big businesses and was a native of Snowflake Port. With such a status, why would he need to borrow money from loan sharks?

Li Banfeng had serious doubts about the situation in Snowflake Port.

Put that aside for now. The main purpose of Li Banfeng's visit this time is to Snail Girl.

Ma Wu introduced her, saying, "Her name is Luo Yanjun, and she is Luo Lijun's twin sister."

Li Banfeng stared at Luo Yanjun from front to back several times, but he really couldn't tell the difference between her and Luo Lijun. He also didn't know how Ma Wu could tell them apart.

"Your name is Luo Yanjun?"

"Yes."

Even their voices are exactly the same.

"Why did you take over from Luo Lijun to be the gatekeeper here?"

Luo Yanjun shook her antennae. "Neither my sister nor I are gatekeepers. A new gatekeeper has been assigned to this entrance. He is from the Lower Clan People and has always been inside the gate, never showing his face. Our family is from the Upper Clan People, so we don't need to do things like guarding the gate."

Li Banfeng didn't quite understand. "What are the Upper Clan People?"

Luo Yanjun explained, "Our clan is divided into upper and lower clans. The Luo Family belongs to the upper clan and has a very high status within it. My sister has also made great contributions and her words carry a lot of weight in the clan."

Her words did not answer Li Banfeng's question, but they conveyed a message.

Luo Lijun was not just a simple mouthpiece; Luo Lijun played a significant role in exchanging Xindi for Li Banfeng's guarantee.

Li Banfeng said, "Go on, I'm listening."

Luo Yanjun said, "As for why I was chosen to replace my sister, I don't know either. The imperial court issued a document, so I came."

The document clearly states that I should impersonate my sister. My sister and I grew up together, and this isn't the first time I've impersonated her. Needless to say, I can perfectly mimic her appearance and even her personality.

Once, my older sister made a big mistake, and I took the punishment for her. When I was being beaten, even our own mother couldn't tell the difference, but Ma Junyang actually figured it out—"

Li Banfeng looked at Ma Wu, who was also very curious about this.

Ma Wu asked calmly, "Stop with the nonsense, just tell me why you replaced Luo Lijun?"

"I really don't know," Luo Yanjun shook her head repeatedly. "I haven't seen my sister since I received the document. I suspect she might be locked up."

Li Banfeng: "Your sister is a high-ranking figure in the upper class, how could she be imprisoned?"

Luo Yanjun's communication skills seemed somewhat lacking; she tried her best to explain, "There's more than one important figure in the upper clan, and they want to do different things."

Like my father, at the height of his power, everyone in the clan listened to him, but when he fell from grace, he too was a prisoner.

His words were disjointed and incoherent, as if he was constantly giving irrelevant answers.

Does this girl really have a speech impediment?

She's from a wealthy family and has a high status in the Inner State; she wouldn't be so incompetent as to not be able to explain something clearly.

After carefully analyzing her words, Li Banfeng discovered a lot of information about Inner State.

From the perspective of Outer State and Pro State, the Inner State are a whole, with pure-blooded Inner State at the top and Pro State who go to the Inner State for spiritual practice being enslaved by them.

In reality, even among pure-blooded Inner State people, there are different levels and factions, and there is also struggle and infighting among them.

After a long silence, Li Banfeng said to Ma Wu, "I suspect she's still not telling the truth."

Ma Wu nodded. "That's what I think too. Seventh Brother, why don't you step aside for a moment? I'll ask her more carefully."

Luo Yanjun hurriedly said, "Please don't come again. I'm telling the truth. That's all I can say. I'm not lying to you."

"That's all you can say?" Ma Wu chuckled. "Just from those words, I know there's more to this than meets the eye! Seventh Brother, you don't need to hide it anymore, I'll get started!"

Luo Yanjun shook her antennae and said, "I really don't want to lie to you, and even if I did, it wasn't my intention."

Ma Wu didn't want to waste any more words and was ready to grab his weapon!

"Wait!" Li Qi stopped Ma Wu, then asked Luo Yanjun, "Why did you tell us all this?"

Luo Yanjun pointed her finger at Ma Wu: "For him."

Is this the truth?

Luo Yanjun shook her head.

Ma Wu angrier. What did this mean? Was she clearly telling me that she was lying?

Li Banfeng then asked, "Are there some things you can't say out loud?"

Luo Yanjun raised her head. "You can ask me about things I can't say. I may not be able to answer all your questions, but I can answer some of them."

Ma Wu became increasingly confused, while Li Banfeng understood some of it.

"They have taboos, taboos that we cannot understand for the time being."

Ma Wu understood; this was a taboo against speaking directly, somewhat similar to some of the Curse Art used in Pro State.

Luo Yanjun doesn't have a problem with her ability to express herself; she simply can't express herself.

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment, then asked, "Are you saying all this to ask us for help?"

Luo Yanjun still did not answer the question, but instead talked about her family. "My father became a prisoner. He said he would definitely get justice, but later he died in prison."

P. S.: Luo Yanjun is a smart person, smarter than her sister.