As for shipping out the goods, naturally, they couldn’t go to the Song Family; Ma Wu had his own channels.
Li Banfeng followed Ma Wu to the village entrance. Night had fallen, the steamroller had already been shut off, and several workers were preparing to finish for the day.
A worker spotted Ma Wu and, while the others weren’t paying attention, quietly walked over.
"Young Master Wu, were you looking for me?" This worker was named Qin Haichuan, whom Ma Wu called Xiao Chuanzi.
Ma Wu nodded. He took out a locked wooden box from his bosom and handed it to Xiao Chuanzi. "Take this to the Shopkeeper of the Imperial Workshop. If the job is done well, I’ll reward you with 20,000."
Li Banfeng whispered from the side, "Don’t wait until the job is done. Give him 10,000 as a down payment; I have it all ready."
Ma Wu’s face lit up with pleasure at this. He accepted the 10,000 and handed it to Xiao Chuan.
Xiao Chuan thanked him profusely. Seizing the moment while unnoticed, he took the box and hurriedly left the village.
On the way back, Ma Wu expressed his gratitude to Li Banfeng, "I also wanted to give Xiao Chuan some down payment just now, but unfortunately, my pockets were light."
Li Banfeng then took out 20,000 in cash and stuffed it into Ma Wu’s hands. "Take this money, go and cultivate."
Ma Wu tried to return it to Li Banfeng. "How could this be okay? I take a salary from you and have eaten your Elixirs; I can’t spend more of your money."
"It’s not a gift—it’s a loan. Write me an IOU tomorrow, and after you make money, we can split the profits. How will you court a lady without money?"
Ma Wu accepted the money, his expression showing a hint of excitement. He said in a low voice, "Then I won’t be returning tonight."
Li Banfeng nodded. "Be cautious of the people of the Song family, and also your own family."
Ma Wu said, "After we sell the Beads and cut out the middlemen’s share, we might make around 2,000,000. Brother Li, do you have any plans?"
"Any plans? Just keep earning! How much money is this anyway?"
Ma Wu nodded and said, "For the expenses of the next business deal, we’ll still need to prepare in advance."
"Other matters are easily handled, but you’ll have to figure out the stinky fish on your own." Li Banfeng glanced back at the village entrance and asked, "Is that person operating the steamroller reliable?"
Ma Wu nodded. "Reliable. That road was built by my family, and I’m pretty close to Xiao Chuanzi."
Li Banfeng asked again, "Can I borrow the steamroller to drive it myself?"
Ma Wu blinked. "Brother Li, that’s a bit..."
"What’s wrong with driving it a bit? It’s not like I’ll break it."
Ma Wu didn’t know if Li Banfeng was joking or serious but agreed for the time being, "Alright, I’ll talk to them about it another day."
At a fork in the road, Ma Wu pointed to a path to the east and said, "Brother Li, up ahead is the Ji Qing Group. The place might not be the best, but there are a few good girls. Shall we go together?"
Li Banfeng’s eyebrows twitched upward. "I’m not a Lust Cultivator, why would I go with you?"
Ma Wu pursed his lips. "It’s not like only Lust Cultivators go there."
Li Banfeng asked again, "As a Traveling Cultivator, can I take a girl with me everywhere I go?"
Ma Wu pondered for a while. "That you cannot..."
"If I can’t roam around, I can’t cultivate, and if I can’t cultivate, what use is a girl?"
Li Banfeng turned and walked away.
Ma Wu shivered a bit in the wind.
...
In the Lu Family Mansion, Lu Dongliang’s face was ashen as he looked at Zhuo Yuling.
"We’ve searched Medicine King Valley for so many days, where is Li Banfeng? Xiao Lan keeps saying that Li Banfeng has the Copper Lotus Flower, but even after nearly turning over the whole Medicine King Valley, has anyone even seen this Li Banfeng?"
Zhuo Yuling bowed her head slightly, her tone even. "I heard Xiao Lan say that Li Banfeng is very cunning—maybe he’s hidden himself too well. Let’s keep looking for another couple of days..."
"Cunning? So now he’s cunning? Didn’t you say his life was worth less than a cockroach’s? And now you’re telling me about his cunning?"
Zhuo Yuling lightly bit her lip, tears streaming down. "Master, you really don’t think highly of us mother and daughter. Whatever we say, you never take it as the truth."
Lu Dongliang threw on a woolen coat specially tailored in Ingrid Country, then rose and walked away. Wearing this coat meant he had matters to discuss with important people. Pressure from the He Family was mounting. The Outside Provinces were still awaiting an explanation for the derailment of train 1160.
With no news of the Mysterious Red Life Lotus, Lu Dongliang had offended the He Family and gained nothing. Now, he genuinely regretted believing Zhuo Yuling and Lu Xiaolan.
"I’m trying to discuss important matters, and all she does is stand there crying! What good are tears?!"
Lu Dongliang left, and Zhuo Yuling’s frown deepened.
Da Boyins had yet to find any news of Li Banfeng.
Zhuo Yuling walked over to Lu Xiaolan’s dwelling to take a look.
As per Lu Dongliang’s instructions, nobody was allowed to visit Lu Xiaolan.
However, the Chief Custodian tasked with guarding the door, Zuo Wugang, did not stop her.
Zuo Wugang wasn’t a stickler for rules. With the master away and Zhuo Yuling being Lu Xiaolan’s biological mother, he simply turned a blind eye.
Zhuo Yuling approached Lu Xiaolan. Upon seeing several scars on her wrist, her face turned pale. "Xiao Lan, what are you trying to do?"
Lu Xiaolan looked stunned. "Mom, I haven’t done anything..."
Zhuo Yuling’s body trembled slightly.
...
Late at night, Lu Dongliang returned to the mansion. He didn’t want to sleep in the master bedroom. Today’s negotiations had gone poorly, and he didn’t want to hear more nagging from his principal wife or complaints from Zhuo Yuling.
He intended to just find a random room to rest for the night, but upon entering, he discovered Xiao Yeci reading under the lamp.
Noticing Lu Dongliang, Xiao Yeci quickly got up and paid her respects, "Master, you’ve arrived."
She was trying hard to control her usual way of speaking.
Lu Dongliang had forgotten that Xiao Yeci was staying in this guest room. He meant to leave immediately but took a closer look at Xiao Yeci and decided to pull up a chair and sit down.