CHAPTER 437: CHAPTER 307: WHO STOLE THE OIL

Li Banfeng drove the carriage to Xiaoyao Lodge, carrying Song Zhigang, two Martial Cultivators, and several other hired hands with cultivation levels.

Ling Miaoying’s adhesive tape was truly effective. Applied to wounds, it not only stopped the bleeding but also temporarily stabilized the injuries. While these men were incapacitated, they were still clinging to life.

At eight in the evening, Li Banfeng drove the carriage to Xiaoyao Lodge. At this hour, the place buzzed with people coming and going, bustling with activity.

Li Banfeng steered the carriage around to the warehouse in the back courtyard of Xiaoyao Lodge. While no one was looking, he had the Projector call for a helper to unload the carriage.

The Projector, having learned from previous mistakes, didn’t dare summon a girl; the girls it summoned always undressed before getting to work.

The film Ling Miaoying had previously recorded was still available. The Projector displayed Ling Miaoying’s image, which helped Li Banfeng move the dozen or so people into the warehouse.

After unloading the carriage, Li Banfeng returned to his room and found the key under the bed. He went back to the warehouse, used the Projector to record a new film segment, then opened the door to the Portable Residence.

The Phonograph roared angrily, "Hey, you madman, where have you been frolicking off to again? Do you even have me in your heart? Do you care about this home? Your heart, heart... You’ve worked hard, husband!"

Seeing Li Banfeng return with more than a dozen people, his wife’s tone immediately softened.

"Husband, come over here and sit."

"Husband, have some hot tea first."

"Husband, why are your clothes so dirty? Little Servant will wash them for you."

"Husband, oh, don’t tickle Little Servant’s armpit! Little Servant is really ticklish..."

The Phonograph used steam to shield Li Banfeng, afraid the Portable Residence would unleash its anger on him.

After a long wait with no reaction from the Portable Residence, the Phonograph curiously asked, "Why is the Residence behaving so well today?"

Li Banfeng sneered, "How could it be anything but well-behaved? If it hadn’t caused trouble, would I have been drifting around for so many days?"

His wife fell silent for a moment. Listening to Li Banfeng’s words, it seemed he also had some understanding of this Residence.

Seeing Li Banfeng’s anger had not subsided, his wife asked with concern, "Oh, husband, what happened these past few days?"

Li Banfeng asked, "Do you know who Lian Bud is?"

HUFF.

"Lian Bud? Is that a person’s name? Little Servant has never heard of it."

Li Banfeng turned his face and asked Hong Ying, "Have you heard of him?"

"I haven’t heard of him either," Hong Ying replied very curtly, a hint of tension in her voice.

Li Banfeng stared at Hong Ying for a moment and asked, "Why are you wearing trousers?"

"I’m a woman; isn’t it appropriate for me to wear trousers?"

"Why have you got an extra red tassel on you?"

"It’s from the Red Tassel Spear, of course. Doesn’t a red tassel on a spear look good?"

Hong Ying hadn’t had a red tassel on her before; she had just attached this one to cover her Conscience and arm.

"What about the black threads in this red tassel?"

These black threads were hair that Hong Ying had grown.

"A red tassel would be too plain if it were only red threads," Hong Ying said, struggling to continue her explanation.

His wife interjected, trying to help Hong Ying, "Husband, pay no mind to that wench; the food is getting cold."

"Wife, don’t rush. Let me ask them a few questions."

Li Banfeng first looked at Song Zhigang and had the Wine Gourd give him a sip of alcohol.

With this sip of alcohol, Song Zhigang revived a bit and could barely speak.

Li Banfeng lit a candle and placed it in front of Song Zhigang. "Old Master Song, I’ve invited you to my home for a talk; that should demonstrate sufficient sincerity. Tell me plainly today, who had you stir up trouble in Blue Poplar Village?"

Song Zhigang gasped, "Seventh Master, it was Old Master Lu who sent me. Everything I said before was true."

Was it truly Lu Maoxian?

It made sense, as Lu Maoxian had indeed caused Li Banfeng considerable trouble. Since Li Banfeng was close to Monkey Qiu, Lu Maoxian making trouble for him aligned with his interests.

But why provoke trouble in Blue Poplar Village?

For Lu Maoxian, Blue Poplar Village held no special value. If he had caused disruptions at Black Stone Slope, sabotaging the business between Li Banfeng and Ma Wu, that would have been more logical.

There had to be another reason.

Li Banfeng further questioned, "Did you actually see Lu Maoxian with your own eyes?"

Song Zhigang said, "What status does Old Master Lu hold? How could he meet me personally? It was these two Supports who approached me and ordered me to retake Blue Poplar Village!"

Li Banfeng glanced at the two Martial Cultivators; they were the Supports Song Zhigang had mentioned.

The one with a crushed throat certainly couldn’t speak, but the one with the broken spine could still make a sound.

Li Banfeng tore off the adhesive tape from his mouth, had the Wine Gourd give him a sip of alcohol, then asked, "Was it Lu Maoxian who sent you two to find Song Zhigang?"

"It wasn’t an order directly from the Old Master. The head butler, Xu Yangbo, gave us the command."

Lu Maoxian’s head butler?

Li Banfeng had little contact with this person, only hearing from Monkey Qiu that he was deeply trusted by Lu Maoxian.

If this wasn’t Lu Maoxian’s own intention, and if this head butler had his own agenda, his motive was clearly to intensify the conflict between Li Banfeng and Lu Maoxian.

What benefit would this bring him?

If he too was acting under instructions, who could be instructing him?

The information Li Banfeng could extract from these people was limited, and he didn’t want to waste more words. "Wife, let’s eat."

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Sir Xie!" his wife exclaimed, eager to start the meal. The Projector discreetly recorded footage nearby.

His wife shouted angrily, "What are you trying to do?"

The Projector shivered and quickly turned its lens away.

His wife hooked the Projector with her phonograph needle, pulled out the previously recorded film, and shredded it. The Projector trembled with distress.

Fortunately, it had recorded more than one segment; it had documented everything it had witnessed over the past few days.

"Each scene is only a little over two minutes long. If it weren’t for the shortage of film, I could’ve recorded more."

Li Banfeng wanted his wife to see Lian Bud’s appearance. The Projector played the scene at the Oil Lake, but the image was just an oily yellow blur, showing nothing.

"How is that possible!" the Projector exclaimed. "I recorded it carefully!"

Li Banfeng guessed the reason. "Lian Bud has a very high status. He doesn’t want you to capture his true likeness. Lian Bud isn’t his real name either."

Annoyed, the Projector played the second clip.

Local Deity Meng Yuchun, her back to Li Banfeng, removed her long robe, revealing the scars on her body.

His wife coughed lightly. "Oh, husband, is this lady Lian Bud? I didn’t see whether her face is large or not, but those peaches are quite substantial—not only big but also white. Husband, you must have had a tough seven days!"

Li Banfeng kicked the Projector. "Stop showing only this! What about the footage of me fighting Strange Monsters on the ridge? Play that!"

The Projector declared loudly, "None of that was recorded!"

Li Banfeng kicked the Projector aside and prepared to give his wife a detailed account of his experiences over the past days.

He had just started talking about the Oil Lake when a shout came from the Gloves in the Third Room: "Master, you wronged me earlier! How could I have stolen the oil? Who knows what stole this oil, but it’s all here!"

Li Banfeng entered the Third Room. Inside, every container capable of holding liquid—bottles, pots, jars, buckets, water tanks—was filled with oil, identical to what he had seen at the Oil Lake.

Li Banfeng looked at the Gloves. "Where did this oil come from?"

The Gloves retorted angrily, "It definitely wasn’t me! How could I carry so much? No matter who took it, you shouldn’t have blamed me!"

Li Banfeng tapped one of the oil-filled bottles and suddenly heard an elderly voice at his ear: "Be careful not to spill it."

"Who?" Li Banfeng exclaimed, readying himself for a fight.

The Phonograph quickly cried out, "Husband, don’t be angry! That’s our Residence speaking!"

The room fell silent instantly.

Previously, only his wife, Hong Ying, and Red Lotus could hear the Portable Residence’s voice because others lacked sufficient status.

But today, everyone heard it; the Portable Residence had changed the way it spoke.

After about ten seconds of silence, Li Banfeng suddenly asked, "Why did you steal the oil?"

"To burn," the Portable Residence replied with a single word.

The Phonograph couldn’t hear this word clearly, nor could Red Lotus, Hong Ying, or the other Magical Treasures. Only Li Banfeng heard it distinctly.

Worried that Li Banfeng was arguing with the Residence, Hong Ying told the Phonograph, "Wicked woman, persuade that madman not to act recklessly! He’s no match for this Residence; he wouldn’t last a single move!"

Before the Phonograph could intervene, Li Banfeng asked again, "Why don’t you burn coal?"

This question stunned his wife.

Burn coal? Why would the Residence need to burn coal? For heating?

The elderly voice spoke again: "Dragging you around every day, that little bit of coal I had burned out long ago."

The Phonograph still couldn’t hear clearly. Not only could she not understand the Residence’s words, but she also couldn’t make out Li Banfeng’s. A low, rumbling noise kept interfering with her hearing.

"Husband, you’d better not..."

Li Banfeng continued questioning the Portable Residence, "Did you take me to the Oil Lake just to steal oil?"

"You were the one who wanted to go to the Oil Lake. I just picked up the oil along the way."

"You always used to follow the key. How did you learn to move on your own now?"

"Because of the rails, HEHEHE!" the Portable Residence laughed.

"When did it get rails?"

The Portable Residence didn’t respond further.

The Phonograph, still unable to make out their conversation, whispered, "Husband, please don’t provoke him anymore. Can’t Little Servant just let you have the machine oil?"

In the Yuezhou Sanatorium, He Jiaqing’s shirt button trembled continuously, but with He Haisheng sitting right beside him, He Jiaqing couldn’t answer.

After lunch, when He Haisheng stepped out for a smoke, He Jiaqing clenched the button and heard Wan Jinxian’s voice:

"Jia Qing, Ling Miaoying is still alive!"

"Alive?" He Jiaqing felt a rush of joy, then a flicker of doubt. "Didn’t the Lu Family announce they had Miaoying’s head?"

"Our spy at Xiaoyao Lodge saw him go to the Xiaoyao Lodge warehouse. It happened last night."

"Xiaoyao Lodge..."

What would Ling Miaoying be doing at Xiaoyao Lodge?

Could it be that Ling Miaoying faked his death and is still secretly monitoring Ma Wu?

He’s truly different from Ling Miaowen, able to hide his schemes so deeply.

I’ll have to be more careful in the future, but for now, this is actually good news.

At least I don’t need to waste more effort on Ma Wu. Now I can focus entirely on dealing with Lu Maoxian.

Before He Jiaqing could respond to Wan Jinxian, a swirl of smoke suddenly drifted before him.

The smoke lingered around He Jiaqing for a long time, and beads of sweat dripped down his face.

"Jia Qing?" He Haisheng’s figure gradually materialized before He Jiaqing. "Are you awake?"

He Jiaqing remained silent for a moment, then slowly opened his eyes. "Third Uncle, I’m awake."

He Haisheng silently gazed at He Jiaqing. Though he was unwilling to believe it, this was the truth.

"Your father didn’t believe you, and I even argued with him. I said his own son would never lie to him. Tell me, just how damn foolish am I?"

He Jiaqing replied calmly, "Third Uncle, may I say something?"

"Speak. I’m listening."

PS: Hong Ying has grown hair, and I dare not imagine what else she’s going to grow next!