The business deal fell through, and the man with a grim face walked out of the shop.
A dice cup chuckled lightly from his pocket: "Your underwear is going to the auction; let's see where you'll hide your face."
The man gritted his teeth and said, "If worse comes to worst, I'll just snatch the underwear back!"
The dice cup laughed even louder: "Go ahead, try to snatch it! A local deity fighting with the Outside Provinces villagers over a pair of underwear—if that gets out, it'll be history!"
The man grew angrier as he walked, then suddenly changed direction and approached Li Qi.
Li Qi sensed a flood of malice approaching. When the man got close, he asked, "Did you hear everything?"
Li Qi nodded: "I heard it. Is this underwear yours?"
The man was surprised. How did Li Qi know whose underwear it was? Had he received some information? Could the story have already leaked?
Li Qi had received no information; it was purely a guess.
He knew the man in front of him—it was the local deity of Iron Gate Fort, Song Qianhun.
As a local deity, the fact that he insisted on buying a pair of underwear was peculiar.
Earlier, Gloves had said it was a personal item of a Nightmare Cultivator, so Li Banfeng naturally associated it with Song Qianhun.
Song Qianhun took out the dice cup and said, "Let's not beat around the bush; this underwear is mine. Let's have a bet here. If I win, you can't tell anyone about this. If you win..."
Li Banfeng shook his head repeatedly: "Senior, there's no need to bet. I assure you I won't tell anyone about this. I just want to ask, how did this underwear end up in Rock Tower Village?"
An autumn breeze blew through, bringing chills.
Song Qianhun was the supreme deity of Rock Tower Village, and his mood wasn't great.
Li Banfeng raised his eyebrows: "Forget it; I won't ask about it anymore."
Li Banfeng left.
Song Qianhun stood where he was, feeling a surge of frustration.
"I can't let this underwear be brought to the banquet; whatever happens, I need to stop it," Song Qianhun murmured to himself.
The dice cup said, "Stop worrying about your underwear and don't forget the real matter."
...
Li Banfeng gave a ticket to Jin Shunying and returned alone to the Dark Star Bureau.
Shen Jingye came proactively to Li Banfeng's office. He knew the ceasefire document for the Inner State had arrived, so he didn't put on airs before Li Qi, directly expressing his gratitude, and even planned to treat Li Qi to dinner that evening.
Li Qi wasn't in the mood for chit-chat: "Little Shen, I have something urgent to deal with. Let's talk another day."
After seeing Shen Jingye off, Li Banfeng called in Dumpling: "Do you have any information on Rock Tower Village?"
When it comes to gathering information, Dumpling is truly skilled. In less than an hour, she delivered the information to Li Banfeng.
"Bureau Chief Li, Rock Tower Village is also known as the Spirit Market, because its unique location is very attractive to Lost Souls. It's one of the largest gathering spots for spiritualists, with many going there each year to participate in the capture and trade of lost souls."
Li Qi flipped through the information and asked: "Do these spiritualists all have legal identities?"
Dumpling shook her head: "Most of them don't have legal identities, and their transactions are illegal."
"But from what the materials show, the bureau hasn't really taken much action against Rock Tower Village."
Dumpling adjusted her glasses and lowered her voice: "Bureau Chief Li, I can't explain this well."
Li Qi understood Dumpling's hint: "It's like with the Cultural Palace situation, the bureau actually condones it?"
Dumpling subtly answered: "Autonomous dark energy entities, which you often refer to as Resentful Spirits, are quite dangerous but difficult to capture. Some methods can be appropriately utilized."
In translation, it means that Evil Ghosts are hard to catch, but having someone else capture them and hunt Ghost Servants is an effective way to control the number of Resentful Spirits, so they generally don't stop it.
This information was particularly vital for Li Banfeng. If the Dark Star Bureau had strict control and intervention over Rock Tower Village, the next night's operation would face many obstacles. As long as the bureau remained permissive, Li Banfeng could eliminate many unexpected interferences.
He spent the day studying files, gaining a comprehensive understanding of Rock Tower Village's overall structure, key figures, and the "Grand Feast" process details.
The next evening at eleven, Li Banfeng and Jin Shunying arrived at Rock Tower Village and went to a dance hall at the village entrance.
In the late 80s and 90s, dance halls were all the rage, but now in Yuezhou City, such venues are hard to find. However, Rock Tower Village still retained one.
Nobody came here to dance anymore, and the nature of this dance hall was pretty much the same as that of the Cultural Palace.
Li Banfeng arrived at the dance hall entrance, presented his ticket, and the ticket inspector placed the wooden card on a tray. The pattern on the tray was a budding flower, which bloomed upon contact with the wooden card, proving that the ticket was genuine.
This ticket inspection method was quite slow; upon entering the dance hall, there were only about thirty people actually attending the Grand Feast.
Most of the booths in the dance hall were empty. Li Banfeng chose a seat in the middle towards the back, which was shrouded in the shadows under the dim lights, making it easy for others to overlook him.
Meanwhile, Jin Shunying sat in a relatively conspicuous seat at the front. Her task was to place bids.
According to Li Banfeng's plan, if Shui Yongquan appeared at the feast, Jin Shunying was to ensure she won the bid for Shui Yongquan, and Li Banfeng would cover the expenses.
After rescuing Shui Yongquan, they would then consider dealing with the Ferry Gang. Based on the information at hand, Li Banfeng had no idea how many people the Ferry Gang had brought, nor could he confirm their true intentions.