But Ma Wu couldn’t muster any enthusiasm.
He went to the dance floor hoping to listen to some music, just as Lu Yuanshan and Lu Yuanhai were also there.
Lu Yuanshan greeted him, "Junyang, come over and sit. What’s wrong, the Singing Empress not to your liking?"
Ma Wu shook his head and smiled, "I’m a bit tired from all the traveling; I really can’t take it."
Lu Yuanhai laughed, "Old Five, you’re joking with me? Since when can’t you handle something?"
The three were chatting and laughing when a Support came up and whispered a few sentences to Lu Yuanshan.
Lu Yuanshan’s eyes widened, "Is that so?"
The Support nodded, "It’s absolutely true."
Lu Yuanhai asked from the side, "What happened?"
Lu Yuanshan glanced at his brother, and then at Ma Wu. "You might not believe it if I told you, but two of the Ling Family’s newspaper offices and their printing press have been burned down."
Ma Wu was shocked. "Who did it?"
The Support by their side shook his head. "We don’t know who did it yet."
Lu Yuanshan looked regretful. "I have a pretty good relationship with Ling Miaowen. With such a big incident, should I go have a look?"
Lu Yuanhai nodded. "We should have a look. This is big news. Should we take some reporters over to see it together?"
Lu Yuanshan slapped his thigh. "Right, how could I forget? Old Five, let’s go together. You can also show your concern for the Ling Family; you’ll have to deal with them sooner or later."
Ma Wu waved his hand. "I’d rather not go, I’m not prepared..."
Lu Yuanhai laughed, "You don’t need to prepare anything, Brother, I’ll prepare it for you. It’s just a gift, right? No need for you to worry!"
By the time they reached the newspaper office and saw the ruins, Ma Wu understood.
On the sickbed, He Jiaqing clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. "Barbarians, to actually target the newspaper office! It’s these savages who are ruining Puluo State."
A man’s voice came to his ears, "How should we handle it now?"
"You go back to Greenwater City first and find out what happened to the newspaper office."
"I need to go back; we can’t defend this place any longer. The Iron Sheep Trio is dead. Rong Yeguang is very angry and he wants to withdraw his people."
"Let them withdraw. How much effort have we put into that newspaper office? Can’t you tell which is more important?"
"If we withdraw now, what will happen to that thing?"
He Jiaqing exhaled deeply. "Wait. My brother won’t give up this family business so easily. We’ll take it back after some time."
Li Banfeng stood next to the New Land that Lu Xiaolan had opened, silently lost in thought.
Ma Wu rushed back to the New Land and searched everywhere for Li Banfeng within the ten-li plot.
Chuanzi said, "Seventh Master has returned to the original land plot; he said he’s going to focus on his cultivation for the next couple of days."
Ma Wu went to the land plot, waited half a day, and finally met Li Banfeng. "Old Qi, there’s trouble in Greenwater City."
"What happened?" Li Banfeng wasn’t all that interested in the affairs of Greenwater City.
"The Ling Family’s newspaper office was burned."
"A fire?" Li Banfeng was even less interested in such incidents.
"It doesn’t look like a fire. I went to the scene; it must have been done by the Lu Family. Two newspaper offices and a printing press, all burned."
Li Banfeng was stunned for a long time, his thoughts tumbling in his mind.
Ma Wu said, "I delivered ten thousand Ocean Dollars to the Lu Family, hoping to clear up the misunderstanding. They invited me to stay overnight at the Hundred Joy Gate, and then that very night, the incident occurred..."
As Ma Wu continued recounting the event, Li Banfeng interrupted, "Where did you buy the Phonograph?"
"What Phonograph?"
"The Phonograph in the council hall, where did you buy it?"
Ma Wu blinked. "From the Beautiful Voice Phonograph Shop, of course. Such a good Phonograph, only they have it."
Li Banfeng’s expression turned wooden.
Ma Wu said, "Let’s not talk about the Phonograph for now. Let’s talk about the Ling Family’s situation; it’s no small matter..."
"It’s no small matter indeed. Such an important matter should be discussed back at the council hall. Let’s listen to the music and talk it over. You head back to the council hall and wait for me; I’ll be there soon."
Ma Wu couldn’t understand Li Banfeng’s thoughts, but since Li Banfeng insisted on going to the council hall, Ma Wu went.
Li Banfeng returned to his Portable Residence and spoke to the Phonograph, "Beloved wife, I found the traitor."
"Congratulations, husband. What kind of person is it? Let’s have a good time with them."
"The traitor isn’t a person."
"Don’t speak out of anger, husband."
"I’m not speaking out of anger; it really isn’t human. Wife, come closer to hear."
The Phonograph hummed, "Little Servant has no ears!"
Li Banfeng whispered a few words into the horn, and his wife couldn’t help laughing.
"That tickles, husband. This matter is getting interesting, very interesting."
"Please do tell, Wife."
"If it were before, Little Servant would at most punish them a little. But now that my cultivation level has recovered quite a bit, I can give them a good thrashing."
"How good of a thrashing?"
"There’s a killing Technique that Little Servant hasn’t used for a long time. Although it consumes a lot, I want to try it."
"If the consumption is too large, then don’t use it; your health is important, Wife."
"It doesn’t matter. For my husband, let alone a Technique, even this life is worth sacrificing."
Ma Wu had been waiting in the council hall for a long time and finally saw Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng was holding a record and sat opposite Ma Wu.
Ma Wu looked around and lowered his voice, "Don’t you think there’s something fishy about the Ling Family incident? I think it’s related to Lu Xiaolan’s affair!"
"What’s fishy? Feuds between great families are common in Puluo State, aren’t they?"
He Jiaqing was lying in the sickbed listening to the live broadcast and laughed when he heard Li Banfeng’s voice.
Ma Wu kept shaking his head. "Old Qi, there’s a lot to this situation. The news in the Ling Family newspapers previously was clearly targeting us."
Li Banfeng still didn’t take it seriously. "I don’t want to hear about Greenwater City’s affairs; I’m sick of it. These days I’ve been tormented enough. Let’s play chess instead, listen to music. I really don’t want to hear you talk about these annoying matters."
"It’s not that, Old Qi..."
Li Banfeng ignored him, took the record, and placed it on the Phonograph.
Joyous violin sounds started up, accompanied by trombones and trumpets, playing a sprightly dance tune.
This was a unique Puluo State dance music style, with a taste of Western Oceans jazz and the local flavor of Puluo State. The song was called "Pretense."
"Pretense, pretense,
Why must people put on such pretense?
You want to look, you want to see,
Then look carefully and see clearly!"
With the lively rhythm, Li Banfeng held his top hat with one hand and a feather duster with the other as he unexpectedly started dancing.
Ma Wu was speechless. "Alright, Old Qi, let’s just play chess. What are you dancing for?"
Li Banfeng laughed, "Come on, dance with me!"
"Don’t act so prim and proper,
Don’t scare people stiff with such a stern face!"
Coming to the chorus, the volume of the song suddenly increased, causing He Jiaqing’s head to ache unbearably.
He tried to disconnect several times but couldn’t succeed.
"Stop it, stop it now!"
A man’s voice came faintly into his ear, his voice very weak, "Can’t stop it, can’t stop it..."
"Break the hook!"
"Can’t break it, can’t break it..."
The man’s voice disappeared, but the song did not.
He Jiaqing covered his ears, blood spurting from them, streaming down between his fingers.
In the Ling Family Mansion, Ling Miaowen was lying on the ground, convulsing non-stop.
Two Supports rushed over and lifted Ling Miaowen up.
"Family Head, what’s wrong with you?"
Ling Miaowen couldn’t speak, vomiting blood continuously.
"Quick!" a Support shouted, "Call the doctor!"
By the time the doctor arrived, Ling Miaowen had already stopped breathing.
He was dead.
Ling Miaowen, the Family Head of the Ling Family, the controller of all major newspapers in Puluo State, at Seventh Layer Peeping Cultivation, was dead.
"Pretense, pretense,
Your eyes have already,
Sneaked here, sneaked there,
Sneaking peeks continuously without stopping!"
The song "Pretense" played repeatedly in the council hall, its volume unchanged, the tune just as relaxed and cheerful.
The more Li Banfeng listened, the more he felt the vibe, and the more vigorously he danced.
Ma Wu, somewhat carried away, also began to dance along with Li Banfeng. "Old Qi, if we’re going to dance, can we put down the feather duster?"
PS: After a battle of Feng Qing, Ban Feng wins!
"Pretense" sounds very good, especially the version by the Singing Empress Gong Li. Every time Shala hears this tune, she feels like dancing.