Chapter 199: The Pretender

Ma Wu escorted the cargo to Blue Poplar Village. The three bagworm moths said their reluctant farewells, and Qin also had to leave.

Next, Ma Wu would deliver the cargo to Greenwater City. On this stretch of the journey, almost no one could protect him. He had to rely entirely on his own cultivation and experience.

Ma Wu was only a level-two cultivator and not particularly strong, but he was very experienced. He raised the Lu Family's main banner.

Blue Poplar Village belonged to the Lu Family, so there was nothing wrong with Ma Wu raising their banner. As long as the banner was raised, ordinary bandits and petty thieves would not dare approach.

The journey to Greenwater City went smoothly. After delivering the goods, Ma Wu stopped to buy a newspaper.

On the second page of the paper, there was still news about Ma Wu. It reported how he was supposedly accomplishing great things in Blue Poplar Village.

That report contained nothing new, but another article caught Ma Wu's attention.

"The Lu Family Loses Blue Poplar Village; Incompetent Heirs Ruin Family Legacy."

Who wrote this? Who would dare slap the Lu Family in the face like this, right out in the open? This newspaper has some serious nerves. Wait a moment,

Ma Wu muttered inwardly.

The one with the nerve might not be the newspaper at all.

Ma Wu read the two articles together and began to sense something suspicious. At first glance, it seemed the newspaper was provoking the Lu Family. But the more he read, the clearer it became.

The newspaper was not provoking the Lu Family. It was making it look as though Ma Wu was.

In the report, Ma Wu was described as making grand moves in Blue Poplar Village, as though he were quietly swallowing the Lu Family's business for himself.

Ma Wu folded the newspaper, went to the Imperial Workshop Hall, and poured himself a cup of tea. He sat there for twenty minutes, slowly sorting through the matter.

If Old Qi and I keep expanding our business in Blue Poplar Village

, he thought,

that would be the same as forcing the Lu Family to fall out with us.

And if something happened to me in Blue Poplar Village... Suppose I died at Lu Xiaolan's hands. Then the Lu Family would become the prime suspect. Whether they liked it or not, the blame would land squarely on their heads.

The intent behind those two news reports is vicious! No. I can't let them spread such nonsense unchecked.

This shipment had brought in more than seven thousand silver dollars. Ma Wu counted out two thousand and asked the shopkeeper of the Imperial Workshop Hall to prepare four generous gifts. Then he borrowed another five thousand from the shopkeeper.

That gave him ten thousand in total, which he packed into a box immediately.

That afternoon, Ma Wu brought the four generous gifts and a box containing ten thousand silver dollars to the Lu Family's main residence. When he arrived, he behaved with great humility and said only that he had come to pay a visit to Steward Qiu.

Monkey Qiu invited Ma Wu into a small building. After learning the reason for his visit, he immediately went to the main residence to inform the madam and ask the two young masters to come and receive the guest.

Ma Wu felt a little embarrassed. "Uncle Qiu, I came today to visit you, not to cause you trouble."

Monkey Qiu smiled. "Junyang, what are you saying? You came to visit the Lu Family, not this old steward."

Ma Wu naturally understood what Monkey Qiu meant. He had come precisely to help the Lu Family save face.

Four generous gifts had been prepared: one for Madam Duan Shaoxia of the Lu Family, one for the eldest young master Lu Yuanshan, one for the second young master Lu Yuanhai, and one for the chief steward Qiu Zhiheng. Each gift was presented with full courtesy.

The ten thousand silver dollars were Blue Poplar Village's token of goodwill to the Lu Family. It was a clear signal to everyone: Blue Poplar Village was paying tribute to the Lu Family, and this was still the Lu Family's territory.

With this move, Ma Wu had shown the Lu Family plenty of respect.

Lu Yuanshan exclaimed in admiration, "Junyang, you really do know how to make money! Blue Poplar Village has turned into a gold mine in your hands. You have only taken it over for a short while, and you have already earned this much?"

Lu Yuanhai burst out laughing. "Old Wu, don't go puffing yourself up just to save face. If you didn't make that much money, there's no need to force it. I say you might as well take half of it back."

Ma Wu sighed. "Truth be told, this money didn't come easily. I risked my life to earn it. When I, Ma Junyang, was down on my luck, the two of you left Blue Poplar Village in my care and gave me a chance to make a living. I'll never forget that kindness."

Duan Shaoxia laughed. "Kindness? Listen to him! You're making it sound far too serious. Junyang, you are simply a fine young man, that's all. And since you are here tonight, you are staying for dinner. There's no arguing about it."

Hearing this, Monkey Qiu shot Lu Yuanshan a meaningful look.

Ma Wu's show of respect couldn't just be acknowledged behind closed doors. If the Lu Family was going to accept it, they had to make it visible to everyone outside.

Lu Yuanshan immediately caught on. "What's the fun of eating at home? Tonight we are going to the Paramount Club. My treat. We will eat, drink, and have a few girls keep us company. We will make sure Junyang is properly entertained."

Lu Yuanhai followed up, "Old Wu, there's a big song gala at the Paramount Club tonight. You are the real connoisseur in that department, so you must come as our honored guest."

Duan Shaoxia frowned. "Don't lead Junyang astray."

Lu Yuanshan burst out laughing and widened his eyes. "Mother, you think we are the ones corrupting him? We all grew up together. Who here doesn't know the truth? Compared to him, the two of us look downright innocent. If he shows up tonight, those singing girls won't even bother knocking on anyone else's door."

Ma Wu flapped his hands hurriedly, as though trying to shoo away a swarm of flies. "Brothers, you can't slander me like that in front of Auntie."

Everyone chatted and laughed, and the atmosphere grew warm and harmonious.

Monkey Qiu looked at Ma Junyang and nodded to himself again and again.

This boy knows how things should be done. Surely, he would accomplish something great in the future.

That night, Ma Junyang attended the Paramount Club's song gala as an honored guest. Reporters even came to interview him.

They were not reporters from the Ling Family, but from Lu Yuanshan's newspaper. The Lu Family's paper might not sell particularly well, but this was major news.

After all, Ma Wu had personally gone to the Lu Family to present the dividend payment. That alone was enough to put an end to the many rumors surrounding the Lu Family and Blue Poplar Village.

***

He Jiaqing frowned as he lay on the hospital bed.

Ma Wu had not tried to avoid the Lu Family. On the contrary, he had taken the initiative to show goodwill. That caught He Jiaqing completely by surprise.

A man's voice sounded beside his ear. "How should we handle this?"

"Spend some money. Go to every newspaper stand and buy up all the Lu Family's papers. Keep the news from spreading."

"Even if we buy up the evening papers, there will still be morning papers tomorrow."

"Then buy those too. However many copies he prints, we buy them all. At the very least, this news must not spread through Greenwater City.

"Meanwhile, our own papers will keep publishing stories about Blue Poplar Village and Lu Maoxian. Stir things up even more. Let's make sure that Ma Wu's ten thousand silver dollars are wasted."

***

Late that night, Ma Wu pushed the girl beside him aside and walked out of the room.

The girl was the Singing Queen of the evening. She was beautiful and sang wonderfully. Yet Ma Wu had no interest in her. There were some things a girl simply could not do, no matter how hard she tried to learn.

He went to the dance hall to listen to some music and happened to run into Lu Yuanshan and Lu Yuanhai there.

Lu Yuanshan waved him over. "Junyang, come sit with us. What's wrong? The Singing Queen not to your liking?"

Ma Wu smiled and shook his head. "I've been running around all day. I'm a little worn out. Tonight I really don't have the stamina."

Lu Yuanhai laughed. "Old Wu, you must be joking. Since when have you ever run out of stamina?"

The three were still laughing and trading knowing looks when a support hook stepped forward and whispered a few words into Lu Yuanshan's ear.

Lu Yuanshan's eyes widened. "That really happened?"

The support hook nodded. "Absolutely."

Lu Yuanhai leaned in from the side. "What happened?"

Lu Yuanshan glanced at his younger brother, then at Ma Wu. "You probably won't believe this. Two of the Ling Family's newspaper offices were burned down, along with their printing press."

Ma Wu was startled. "Who did it?"

The Ling Family was considered the fifth great family of Puluo Province. Who would dare burn down their newspaper offices?

The support hook shook his head beside them. "No one knows who did it yet."

Lu Yuanshan frowned slightly, looking troubled. "I am on pretty good terms with Ling Miaowen. With something this big happening, shouldn't I go take a look?"

Lu Yuanhai nodded. "We should go take a look. This is big news. Should we bring some reporters along as well?"

Lu Yuanshan slapped his thigh. "Right! If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. Old Wu, come with us. You should show the Ling Family some goodwill too. We will probably have dealings with them in the future."

Ma Wu waved his hand. "I won't go. I didn't prepare anything."

Lu Yuanhai laughed. "You don't need to prepare anything, brother. I will take care of it for you. It's only a gift. What's there to worry about?"

Watching the two brothers' reaction, Ma Wu felt a surge of unease.

These two brothers are too excited! Why are they so excited?

When they arrived at the newspaper office and saw nothing but ruins, Ma Wu finally understood.

This was the Lu Family sending a warning to the Ling Family. The Lu Family had run into trouble, but they had not fallen.

***

Lying on the hospital bed, He Jiaqing clenched his fists until the knuckles turned white.

"Savages," he spat through gritted teeth. "They actually dared to attack a newspaper office. It's people like those savages who have ruined Puluo Province."

A man's voice sounded in his ears. "What should we do now?"

"Go back to Greenwater City first," He Jiaqing said. "We need to investigate what happened at the newspaper offices."

"If I go back, we won't be able to hold this place anymore. The Three Heroes of Iron Goat are dead, and Rong Yeguang is furious. He plans to pull his men out."

"Let him take his men back if he wants," He Jiaqing said coldly. "Do you have any idea how much effort we put into those newspaper offices? Can't you tell which matter matters more?"

"But if we leave now, what about that item?"

He Jiaqing let out a long breath. "Wait a little longer. My brother won't abandon the family business. Give it some time. We will take it back."

***

Li Banfeng stood beside the New Land Lu Xiaolan had activated, staring silently into the distance.

How strange. Why isn't anyone here?

He had still been thinking about how to deal with Lu Xiaolan, yet she was already gone. What happened?

***

Ma Wu hurried back to the New Land. When he reached the five-kilometer plot, he searched everywhere for Li Banfeng.

Little Chuan said, "Master Qi has gone back to his own plot of land. He said he wants to cultivate properly for the next couple of days."

Ma Wu went there and waited for half a day before he finally saw Li Banfeng.

"Old Qi, something happened in Greenwater City."

"What happened?" Li Banfeng asked, though he had little interest in anything that happened in Greenwater City.

"The Ling Family's newspaper offices were burned down."

"A fire?" Li Banfeng sounded even less interested.

"It didn't look like an accident," Ma Wu said. "I went to see it myself. It was probably the Lu Family. Two newspaper offices and a printing press were all burned down."

Li Banfeng stood stunned for a long while as thoughts churned through his mind.

Ma Wu said, "I gave the Lu Family ten thousand silver dollars. I originally meant to clear up the misunderstanding. They invited me to stay the night at the Paramount Club, and that very night the incident happened..."

Ma Wu was still explaining what had happened when Li Banfeng suddenly cut him off. "Where did you buy the gramophone?"

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Ma Wu stared at him. "What gramophone?"

"The gramophone in the meeting hall. Where did you buy it?"

Ma Wu blinked. "From the Wonderful Sound Gramophone Shop. A gramophone that good can only be bought there."

Li Banfeng's expression went blank.

Ma Wu said, "Let's forget the gramophone for now. We should talk about the Ling Family. This matter is unusual..."

"It certainly is unusual," Li Banfeng replied. "Since it's such an important matter, we should discuss it in the meeting hall. We can listen to some music while we talk. Go back there and wait for me first. I will be there shortly."

Ma Wu could not make sense of Li Banfeng's thinking. Still, since Li Banfeng insisted, he went to the meeting hall.

Li Banfeng, however, returned to the Pocket Dwelling. Looking at the Gramophone wifey, he said quietly, "My dear wifey, I have found the mole."

"Congratulations, husband," the Gramophone said. "What kind of person is it? Let's have some fun with him."

"That mole isn't human."

"Husband, don't say such angry things."

"I am not angry," Li Banfeng said. "It really isn't human. Wifey, come closer. I'll whisper it to you."

The Gramophone gave a little snort. "This little wifey doesn't have ears!"

As Li Banfeng leaned toward the horn and whispered a few words, his wife burst into laughter. "That tickles so much, husband. This matter is interesting, very interesting."

"Please explain it in detail, wifey."

"If this happened to me back then, this wifey could at most punish them a little," the Gramophone said. "But now that my cultivation has recovered quite a bit, I can give them a proper feast."

"How big a feast?"

"There's a killing move I haven't used in a long time," the Gramophone said. "It takes a great deal of power, but I would like to try it."

"If the cost is too great, then don't use it," Li Banfeng said. "Your health is more important, wifey."

"It's fine," she replied softly. "For you, husband, I would risk my life. It doesn't matter to me if I use this ability."

***

Ma Wu waited in the meeting hall for a long time before Li Banfeng finally appeared.

Li Banfeng walked in with a record tucked under his arm and sat down across from him.

Ma Wu glanced around, then lowered his voice. "Don't you think the Ling Family incident is suspicious? I have a feeling it's connected to what happened with Lu Xiaolan."

Li Banfeng shrugged. "What's weird about it? Clashes between great families happen all the time in Puluo Province, don't they?"

***

He Jiaqing lay on the hospital bed, listening to the live broadcast. When Li Banfeng's voice came through, a smile slowly spread across his face.

Banfeng still can't see the situation in Puluo Province clearly

, he thought.

In that regard, he's far inferior to Ma Wu.

***

Ma Wu shook his head repeatedly. "Old Qi, there's more going on here than it seems. The news the Ling Family published in their newspapers earlier was clearly aimed at us."

***

He Jiaqing nodded and thought, Ma Wu is indeed the smarter one.

***

Li Banfeng still did not take it seriously.

"I don't want to hear about Greenwater City," he said impatiently. "I am sick of hearing about it. I have had enough trouble these past few days. Let's play some chess and listen to music. I don't want to hear you go on about those bothersome matters."

"But, Old Qi..."

Li Banfeng ignored him. He took the record and placed it on the gramophone.

A cheerful violin melody burst out, joined by the trombone and trumpet, playing a lively dance tune.

This kind of dance music was unique to Puluo Province. It carried a touch of Western jazz but still sounded distinctly Puluo. The song was called "The Pretender."

「 Fake and phony, fake and phony,

Why pretend so much in life?

If you want to look, if you insist,

Then look well and see it right! ♪」

Following the lively rhythm, Li Banfeng pressed down the fedora on his head with one hand and waved a feather duster with the other. He actually started dancing to the music.

Ma Wu was completely speechless. "Alright, Old Qi. Let's just play chess. Why are you dancing?"

Li Banfeng burst out laughing. "Come on! Dance with me!"

***

He Jiaqing smiled as he lay on his hospital bed. Banfeng had gone mad again. Truth be told, Li Banfeng was not mad. It was just that his actions were at times impossible for others to understand.

Why does he insist on listening to this song?

He Jiaqing wondered.

「 Don't act so serious, don't be that way,

Don't put on that stiff face and scare us away! ♪」

His smile suddenly vanished. He Jiaqing realized something was wrong. There was something hidden in the singing, a strange and unsettling power.

When the chorus arrived, the singing suddenly grew louder, shaking He Jiaqing until his head felt as if it were about to split apart.

He tried to cut off the connection, but no matter how many times he tried, he failed.

"Stop it! Make it stop!"

A man's voice sounded beside his ear, extremely weak. "I can't stop it... I can't stop it..."

"Break the hook!"

"I can't break it... I can't break it..."

The man's voice vanished, but the singing continued.

He Jiaqing clamped his hands over his ears as blood burst from both ears, running through the gaps between his fingers.

***

In the Ling Family residence, Ling Miaowen collapsed on the ground, convulsing nonstop.

Two support hooks stepped forward and helped Ling Miaowen up.

"Master, what's wrong with you?"

Ling Miaowen couldn't speak. Blood kept pouring from his mouth.

"Quick!" a support hook shouted. "Call a doctor!"

By the time the doctor arrived, Ling Miaowen had already stopped breathing.

He was dead.

Ling Miaowen, head of the Ling Family, controller of the major newspaper offices of Puluo Province, a seventh-level Spycraft Cultivator, was dead.

***

「 Serious pretender, serious pretender,

Your wandering eyes give you away.

Sliding here, sliding there,

Sneaking glances all day! ♪」

Inside the meeting hall, the song "The Pretender" kept playing on repeat. The volume never changed, and the melody remained light and cheerful.

The more Li Banfeng listened, the more he felt the rhythm, and the more energetic his dancing became.

Before long, Ma Wu could not help himself and began dancing along with him.

"Old Qi," he said, "if we're going to dance, then let's dance. But can you at least put the feather duster down?"

Author's Note:

P.S. The first battle between Banfeng and Jiaqing: Banfeng wins!

"The Pretender" is a wonderful song, especially the version sung by Best Actress Gong Li.[1] Every time Salagus hears it, he feels like dancing.

1. Listen to the song

here

. ☜