CHAPTER 106: CHAPTER 88 TANG SWORD_2

No wonder Shi Boyu didn’t carry the blade on his person; it turns out he hadn’t yet conquered it.

Li Banfeng’s speculation was correct; Shi Boyu indeed hadn’t conquered the blade.

How could the Helm Master of the Jiang Xiang Gang not have a Magical Treasure in hand? He had exchanged two Magical Treasures for this blade.

The combat power of Poison Cultivation was lacking, and Shi Boyu wanted to make up for it with a weapon, but he regretted it after the exchange; the blade was hard to manage.

He must win a battle with it before the blade would serve him, and it wasn’t a permanent solution; he would have to fight with it again in the future.

Li Banfeng had no interest in pondering these matters; he tossed the blade under the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

「The next day, at one in the afternoon.」

Luo Zhengnan, the Hall Master of Medicine King Hall, wearing the characteristic grey cap of the Jiang Xiang Gang, arrived at the helm platform of the Second Helmsman.

The Medicine King Hall was the highest institution of the Jiang Xiang Gang in Medicine King Valley. However, after Luo Zhengnan took office as Hall Master, the first thing he did was to move the main hall out of Li Gou to the outskirts of Waigou.

At first, many didn’t understand the Hall Master’s decision, but now, seeing the situation of the Second Helmsman, they understood somewhat.

Luo Zhengnan sat on the sofa, struck a match, and lit a cigarette. "I always told you all to roam around Waigou when there’s nothing pressing; don’t just hole up in Li Gou. You didn’t listen. Now you realize the benefits of Waigou, right?

"Not to mention anything else, just take our main hall. There are a total of twenty-three families around it. I recognize each and every person—men, women, the elderly, and children. If a stranger shows up, they can’t escape my sight.

"You lot, on the other hand, let strangers infiltrate the helm platform! You even let your Helm Master get taken out, and you don’t even know what the intruders look like! With so many people in Li Gou, where will you even begin to search?"

Luo Zhengnan lectured, and Xiang Guicheng and Sun Xiao’an listened obediently.

In fact, as a Hall Master, Luo Zhengnan was considered good to his subordinates. After such a significant incident, another Hall Master might have already resorted to killing.

"Someone has to take charge of the helm platform. Gui Cheng, I remember you’ve reached the Third Layer of cultivation level, haven’t you?"

Xiang Guicheng nodded repeatedly. "I advanced to the Third Layer the year before last."

Luo Zhengnan nodded. "It’s only logical for a Staff Bearer to succeed as Helm Master. You will act as Helm Master for now and take charge of the helm platform.

"Old Sun, you have the longest tenure in the Second Helmsman; you also should have been promoted by now."

Sun Xiao’an quickly bowed his head. "Hall Master, it is my fortune that you can tolerate an old bone like me. From now on, I will follow Helmsman Xiang and entrust my old life to him."

Xiang Guicheng hurriedly bowed. "Old brother, you overstate things."

Luo Zhengnan waved his hand. "Overstate things? Are you taking it seriously or what? Do you know how many Helm Masters he has outlasted?"

Xiang Guicheng carefully considered and realized it was true. Sun Xiao’an had served as the confidant in the Second Helmsman for over a decade, during which time he had seen off three Helm Masters. Now, within a few months of Shi Boyu’s term, he had been sent off as well.

Xiang Guicheng wouldn’t be the fifth, would he?

This old man who loved to smoke water pipes seemed quite eerie.

Luo Zhengnan stood up. "Find a quiet room, and get some people to guard the door."

Sun Xiao’an, most familiar with the helm platform, quickly led Luo Zhengnan to the Helm Master’s bedroom and arranged guards outside the door.

Luo Zhengnan entered the bedroom with two subordinates and locked the door behind them. He first took off his cap, pulled off the Adhesive Tape from his head, and removed the plug beneath, revealing a hole in his skull.

One subordinate brought a small antenna. Luo Zhengnan inserted it into the hole, stirred it around to find the proper position, and then had his subordinates secure the antenna in place.

The other subordinate brought a dial about twenty centimeters in diameter and connected it to Luo Zhengnan’s spine.

Luo Zhengnan shivered. "Slow down, the position isn’t quite right!"

The subordinate adjusted the position slightly, and Luo Zhengnan nodded. "Dial the number!"

The subordinate grasped the dial and began to turn it.

WHIZZ! RATTLE-RATTLE!

WHIZZ! RATTLE-RATTLE!

...

The phone connected, and Luo Zhengnan heard a voice by his ear. "Dear listener friend, welcome to the ’Afternoon Tea House’ call-in show. Do you have any news or stories you’d like to share with us?"

Luo Zhengnan glared at his subordinate. "Where the hell did you dial?"

The subordinate, with a helpless expression, said, "Hall Master, I didn’t dial the wrong number."

Luo Zhengnan pulled out the antenna and plugged it back in again.

CLICK. The phone call was disconnected, and the subordinate redialed.

WHIZZ! RATTLE-RATTLE!

This time, it connected.

Xiao Zhenggong was in a meeting at the Dark Star Bureau when his mobile phone suddenly rang.

After seeing the caller ID, Xiao Zhenggong excused himself to Captain Chen, left the meeting room, and returned to his own office.

"Don’t you guys ever look at the time before calling? Didn’t I tell you not to contact me during the day unless it’s an emergency!"

Luo Zhengnan’s cheek twitched as he tried hard to control his tone. "Sect Leader, there’s been trouble in the gang. The Helm Master of our Hall Entrance’s Second Helmsman is missing; he’s probably dead."

"If he’s dead, he’s dead! If a rat dies in the gang tomorrow, are you going to bother me with that too?"

"Sect Leader, the key issue is that this death is quite strange. Second Helmsman Shi Boyu had just taken up his position when this happened..."

"Deal with your Hall Entrance’s issues by yourselves. I asked you to find Li Banfeng, have you found him?"

"Not yet, that kid hasn’t shown up at all."

Xiao Zhenggong frowned deeply. "I’m telling you, I’ve already heard rumors. Zhuo Yuling is also looking for Li Banfeng."

Luo Zhengnan was startled. "That can’t be. When did this happen? We haven’t heard a thing."

"You guys haven’t heard shit! What the hell do I keep you around for? You’re all fucking useless!"

The phone call ended.

Luo Zhengnan pulled the antenna out from his head and plugged in the stopper.

This kid really is something else; to him, a Helm Master dying is no different than a bloody rat dying!

The subordinate pulled the dial from Luo Zhengnan’s back. "Hall Master, if you ask me, we shouldn’t have disturbed the Sect Leader with this."

"You don’t understand the rules! By telling him, it’s a small matter. By not telling him, it becomes a big fucking deal!" Luo Zhengnan put on his traveling cap and pondered for a moment.

"I just feel that there’s a connection between these incidents. Think about it. Chu Yunlong, who was guarding the train station, is missing without a trace—neither alive nor dead. Three people from the Second Helmsman are dead, likewise without a trace. Plus, there’s Geng Zhiwei from the Geng Family Medicine Shop; it’s the same situation. Is it possible that one person did all these? Could it be that the one responsible for these is the same person the Hall Master is searching for?"

The subordinates looked at each other, shaking their heads. "Hall Master, our brains don’t work well enough to figure this out. Whoever you say did it, they did it."

"Damn your nonsense! What do you mean ’whoever I say did it, did it’? Go find some brothers from the Hall and inquire about the Lu Family’s recent activities."

The subordinate said, "I heard that the Lu Family has been looking for Lu Xiaolan recently."

Luo Zhengnan gave the subordinate a glare. "Do you need to hear about that? It’s been all over the news! Go and see if the Second Aunt from the Lu Family is up to anything."

PS: Dear readers, don’t go inserting a dial into your body willy-nilly; phone calls can be quite expensive.