It was late at night at Yuezhou Third Hospital.

While no one was in the ward, He Jiaqing slipped a cigarette into the mouth of the "He Jiaqing" lying on the hospital bed.

This "He Jiaqing" was actually He Haisheng. At this moment, he couldn't move, and he couldn't speak either. For now, his job was simple. He had to lie in bed and pretend to be He Jiaqing.

He Haisheng took a puff, then blew the smoke straight into He Jiaqing's face. This was his way of saying he was not pleased.

He Jiaqing sighed. "Come on, Third Uncle, don't be angry. I really have been busy these past two days. Besides, I did send someone over with cigarettes for you, did I not?

"But this is the only one you can smoke tonight. If the smell is too strong tomorrow, I will have no way to explain it to the doctor."

He Haisheng took another long puff and blew the smoke straight into He Jiaqing's face again.

"Still not enough?" He Jiaqing looked terribly helpless. "Fine, fine. I will let you smoke one more. The attending doctor is definitely going to scold me again tomorrow..."

He Haisheng was still smoking when the button on He Jiaqing's chest suddenly moved. A moment later, Wan Jinxian's voice reached his ear.

"Jiaqing, Tu Yinghong has left the film company. I don't know where she went."

He Jiaqing took a deep breath and did his best to keep his voice steady.

Wan Jinxian was someone who has been with him for a long time. He was a core member and He Jiaqing did not want to lose his temper with him unless he had to.

"Old Wan, did I not tell you to keep an eye on her?"

"Jiaqing, I am old now. I am useless. I only looked away for a moment..." Wan Jinxian's voice was full of guilt and regret.

He Jiaqing sighed. "All right, don't take it too hard. Even a tiger dozes off sometimes. Send people to look for Tu Yinghong first. Also, have someone calm Xiao Xiufei down."

Xiao Xiufei had started out as the female lead of Blood Blade Detective.

Then, during the filming of the third movie, Ling Miaoying suddenly changed the script. Just like that, Tu Yinghong was moved up beside her, and the film now had two female leads.

By the time they reached the fourth movie, things became even worse. Tu Yinghong was the sole female lead, while Xiao Xiufei had been quietly pushed into a supporting role.

Naturally, Xiao Xiufei was not pleased. In fact, she was so unhappy about it that she refused to act at all. Ling Miaoying had to coax her again and again before she finally agreed to return to the set.

Ling Miaoying knew exactly how to handle her. Wan Jinxian, unfortunately, did not.

"Jiaqing, I really don't understand this film business," Wan Jinxian said. "Find someone else for it. I will put all my effort into looking for Tu Yinghong. If I cannot find her, you can punish me however you like."

"Big Broski, please don't say that. It's not your fault. I was careless."

They exchanged a few more polite words, and then the connection ended.

He Jiaqing lit a cigarette. He had meant to put it in He Haisheng's mouth, but somehow, he put it in his own and took a puff.

"Third Uncle," he said after the puff of smoke, "why is it so difficult to find someone useful?"

He Haisheng looked at He Jiaqing with a face full of grievance, then looked at the cigarette in his hand.

He Jiaqing took another puff before sighing. "If Old Wan really had no way to deal with this, I could accept it. But that is not the case, is it? All he has to do is plant a little illness on Tu Yinghong. Just a little one. Once she falls sick, where can she run?

"It is such a simple thing, but he does not want to do it. They are all the same. They talk about loyalty as if they would die for you on the spot, but the moment you need them to do something properly, every one of them has their own little thoughts.

"Third Uncle, why is it so hard to find a brother who will devote his whole heart to working for you?"

He Haisheng lay there listening to He Jiaqing complain, and watched with deep, silent grievance as He Jiaqing smoked the entire cigarette by himself.

He Jiaqing wanted to take out another cigarette. He reached for the cigarette box again. Then he paused, thought about it, and put the box away.

"Forget it. Enough of that." He looked at He Haisheng. "Third Uncle, go to sleep."

He Haisheng stared at him with two bloodshot eyes and absolutely no intention of sleeping.

He Jiaqing left the hospital and headed to Fairhill Park.

Fairhill Park was a big place. During the day, there were always plenty of tourists wandering about. At this hour, though, it was quiet enough for He Jiaqing to slip into the flower bed by the entrance, pluck two peonies blooming at their brightest, and tuck them into his clothes.

Then he went to the next park. By the time he was finished, he had stolen thirty-six peonies.

He Jiaqing drove back to the villa and laid all thirty-six flowers neatly across the table. After that, he went into the bedroom and brought out a small breeding box.

Inside the box was a golden bee about the size of a thumb.

He Jiaqing placed the bee on the peonies, and the little golden thing began moving from flower to flower, gathering nectar one flower at a time.

The bee was frighteningly fast. In less than ten minutes, it had gathered nectar from all thirty-six peonies.

He Jiaqing waited another half hour. Then, on the bee's golden body, a white ring slowly appeared.

He picked up the bee and aimed its stinger at the top of his head. After taking a deep breath, he drove it down.

After that terrible bout of twitching, the bee died. Its little golden body broke apart into a pulpy mess. He Jiaqing was not much better. A lump the size of an egg had swollen on top of his head, and he sat on the sofa, staring at the thirty-six peonies that had all withered on the table.

"This batch of seeds is no good," he muttered. "I will have to grow a new batch of flowers."

He grimaced as he spoke. The lump on his head hurt quite a bit.

Once the swelling had gone down, He Jiaqing pressed the button on his chest in a steady rhythm and a mature woman's voice sounded beside his ear. "Jiaqing, are you looking for me?"

"Big Sis, I need to trouble you with something."

"Why are you being so polite with me?"

"I want you to take over the Ling Family's film business," He Jiaqing said. "But I know you already have a lot to handle, so I was worried you might be too busy."

"I can still manage," the woman said. "It is just that I don't understand the film business very well."

"It is not that different from the tannery business. With your talent, you will pick it up as soon as you try."

"Since you put it that way, I will give it a try."

"I have already prepared the film company's contract for you," He Jiaqing said. "In three days, I will have someone arrange for you to take over."

"Three days is a bit rushed, Jiaqing. I am still in the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs, and I need to hand over the business here to someone first."

"Then five days," He Jiaqing said. "If there is anything you don't understand, come straight to me."

***

Li Banfeng bought nearly ten years' worth of newspapers and had them hauled back to Freewind Wharf in a full carriage.

Among that mountain of old papers, he focused on a dozen or so names: Shen Rongqing, Qian Xiangjun, Duan Shuqun, Luo Suxuan, Liu Zexun, Wang Minggeng...

Every now and then, Li Banfeng found a short little report in the newspapers about one of those people buying a business. The reports were terribly brief and none of them explained who these people were.

However, Li Banfeng did a rough calculation, and the more he calculated, the stranger it felt. If all those businesses were actually running, then these dozen or so people were not small figures at all. In Puluo Province, they would count as important people.

The Four Great Families and the Ling Family were first-rate wealthy houses. These people were not quite at that level, but they were definitely near the top of the second tier.

So why have I never heard of them? Li Banfeng thought. Were they all hiding too well? Or was I simply too ignorant?

Li Banfeng went to Ma Wu and asked him about Shen Rongqing.

The moment Ma Wu heard the name, admiration filled his eyes. "A talented lady[1]! A peerless talented lady! She and Zhang Xiuling are known as the two peerless talented ladies!"

Li Banfeng froze for a long while.

"Is Zhang Xiuling not the boss of the Hundred Flowers Sect?" Li Banfeng asked. "She counts as a talented lady too?"

"She can hold a blade, and she can hold a brush," Ma Wu said. "Have you read anything she wrote?"

"No!"

"Then you must. You really must. Once you read it, you will understand..."

"Leave Zhang Xiuling aside for now," Li Banfeng said. "I am asking about Shen Rongqing."

"Shen Rongqing is even more talented," Ma Wu said. "Books, poems, songs. She can write all of them. If a man could spend just one night with a talented lady like her..."

"I am not asking about that!" Li Banfeng snapped. "Did you not just get out of the hospital? I am asking about business. Has Shen Rongqing ever done business?"

Ma Wu thought about it for a while before saying, "Probably not?"

Li Banfeng pulled out a newspaper. "Shen Rongqing bought a factory from your Ma Family. It was at Blackstone Slope. Do you know about that?"

"I think I remember something like that," Ma Wu said. "Back then, I even asked Shen Rongqing for a signed copy of one of her books. I can show it to you."

"No need for the book," Li Banfeng said. "If this deal really happened, then Shen Rongqing is a merchant too."

"No!" Ma Wu denied it at once, and very firmly too.

"What do you mean?"

"Shen Rongqing cannot be a merchant," Ma Wu said firmly. "She would never let herself be stained by that stink of money."

"Does she not eat? Or have you decided she has already become a goddess?"

Ma Wu shook his head. "Maybe she bought the factory and turned it into a newspaper office. Maybe she turned it into a private residence. Whatever she did with it, she cannot be a businessperson like us."

Li Banfeng could not understand Ma Wu's worship and admiration of Shen Rongqing at all. Since Ma Wu could not give him anything useful, Li Banfeng went to ask around elsewhere. In the end, everyone told him the same thing.

They all said that Shen Rongqing was a talented lady and that Shen Rongqing could not possibly be a businessperson. And so, Li Banfeng got a travel permit, bought a ticket, and went to Blackstone Slope.

Li Banfeng had gone through Shen Rongqing's poetry collection, but he had not paid much attention to the poems. The poems were not the important part. What mattered was the little introduction about Shen Rongqing.

Shen Rongqing's hometown was Blackstone Slope. Her first poetry collection had also been published in Blackstone Slope.

After sorting through the newspaper reports, Li Banfeng found that most of Shen Rongqing's businesses were there as well.

If he wanted to dig into Shen Rongqing's background, Blackstone Slope was the right place to start.

Once Li Banfeng boarded the train, he naturally didn't want to sit around in the carriage. He hid the key properly, then stepped into the Pocket Dwelling. The moment he stepped through the door, he saw a long spear stuck right through a suit of armor. It was a very odd and creepy sight.

"Darling Qi, do I look good?"

It turned out that Hong Ying had put on the armor. Her entire spear body was wrapped up in the armor and all that Li Banfeng could see was the bright red tip of the spear.

"It looks nice," Li Banfeng said, with the sort of praise a man gives when his mind is already elsewhere. Then he went off to cozy up with the Gramophone.

The Gramophone's fire was burning hotter than usual. All three of her horns were fixed on Hong Ying, and they had not moved once.

Li Banfeng felt the heat of the steam and asked, "Wifey, do you want it?"

The Gramophone was startled. "Want? Want what?"

"An armor, of course!"

The Gramophone laughed. "Heyaaaa~ Husband dear, what kind of joke is that? Look at me. How am I supposed to wear armor?"

That was what she said, but Li Banfeng could hear a little envy in the Gramophone's voice.

"I can just find an Artificer Cultivator and have one custom-made for you."

The Gramophone went quiet for a moment, then laughed. "Husband dear~ How wicked of you. Now you are teasing me again."

"I am being serious," Li Banfeng said. "I am going to Blackstone Slope, and there are plenty of skilled Artificer Cultivators there."

"Husband dear, please stop. You will make me die of embarrassment." The Gramophone's voice softened with a shy little laugh. "Speaking of Artificer Cultivators, the Crimson Lotus should be done refining the female Artificer Cultivator you brought back."

Only then did Li Banfeng remember that Tu Yinghong was being refined. He took the lotus seed out of the Crimson Lotus, and ten Golden Essence Pills burst from it.

Li Banfeng stared at the pills. "Tu Yinghong and Ling Miaoying should be about the same in cultivation, right? Then why is there such a huge difference in the number of pills?"

The Crimson Lotus explained it to the Gramophone, and the Gramophone passed the message on. "Husband dear, Tu Yinghong's cultivation is actually a little higher than Ling Miaoying's. She is already close to level eight."

Tu Yinghong looked only about thirty, yet she had already reached this level of cultivation, Li Banfeng thought. That is not easy!

With cultivation close to level eight, why would she run off to become a film star? Li Banfeng wondered. I really don't understand why she did that. Is it really just because of her feelings for Ling Miaoying?

He looked at the Film Projector. "How much do you know about Tu Yinghong?"

The Film Projector had mentioned Tu Yinghong before, but now that Li Banfeng was asking directly, it became hesitant. "Well... if we are talking about her artistic work, I do know a little. As for anything else..."

The Gramophone spoke from the side. "Husband, don't make things difficult for the Film Projector. An enchanted artifact is not supposed to speak of its former master. This concerns both an artifact's code of conduct and the contract itself. If it says too much, it might suffer backlash."

That was indeed true.

Li Banfeng stopped asking.

After a moment of careful thought, the Film Projector spoke on its own. "Director Qi, Tu Yinghong and Ling Miaoying might not be as close as you think. Even if she came looking for you, it might not have been because she wanted to avenge Ling Miaoying."

Li Banfeng paused. "Then why did she come looking for me?"

The Film Projector thought back to the first time it had fought Li Banfeng. "I remember Tu Yinghong mentioning her iron rulers again and again. She has a pair of very precious iron rulers. I don't know what they are used for, but it seems she lost them."

Iron rulers?

"Lost them?" Li Banfeng thought for a long while. "If she lost her iron rulers, why would she come looking for me?"

There was a moment of silence in the Pocket Dwelling. All the enchanted artifact and even the Gramophone were thinking about the reason.

The Tang Saber glanced at Li Banfeng's gun. Remembering that the gun had been stolen from Ling Miaoying, it said, "My lord, this subordinate thinks..."

Suddenly, the Glove interrupted. "Master, could it be because you have a pair of iron rulers too?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "I do."

Li Banfeng brought over his own iron rulers and asked the Film Projector, "Are they the same as Tu Yinghong's?"

"I have never seen Tu Yinghong's iron rulers," the Film Projector replied. "But I think Brother Glove has a point. Perhaps these weapons caused Tu Yinghong to misunderstand."

Li Banfeng smiled. "Then that's quite an unfair death. She really didn't deserve to die."

The Glove wagged its index finger. "Not unfair at all. She offended the master of this house, so she deserved to die!"

***

The train arrived at Blackstone Slope, and Li Banfeng got off.

The familiar smell of smoke, metal, and machinery made him feel strangely at home.

He boarded a train and prepared to first pay Shen Rongqing a visit.

Author's Note:

PS: Li Banfeng wants to see just how much wealth He Jiaqing's Alliance of Brothers really possesses.

1. A talented lady here refers to a woman known for literary, artistic, or intellectual talent ☜