At the Lu Family Mansion, Lu Yuanhai laughed and said, "How ridiculous is it that Ling Miaoying made such a fuss, and in the end, his film was burned to ashes! I laughed for a full hour over this."
Lu Yuanshan didn’t laugh; being older than Lu Yuanhai, he looked further ahead.
"Uncle Qiu, do you think this could be an opportunity?"
Qiu Zhiheng looked at Lu Yuanshan. "Do you also want to make films?"
"Ling Miaoying’s idea is indeed good, making ten films at once—if we can make this happen..."
Madam Duan Shaoxia said from the side, "Yuanshan, have you ever made a film? We mustn’t reach out for something we’re unsure of."
Lu Yuanshan replied, "That’s exactly why I’m consulting with Uncle Qiu, since I’m not sure."
Qiu Zhiheng didn’t speak hastily; he also needed to ponder the matter carefully.
Lu Yuanhai said, "I think it’s doable. It’s all about the actors. If the actors are famous, the film is bound to sell well."
Duan Shaoxia gave Lu Yuanhai a disapproving look. "That’s easy for you to say, but actors are hard to find. The Ling Family has the means; they even managed to hire the Singing Empress. I heard they got seriously involved. Do you have that capability?"
Lu Yuanhai scoffed, "What capability is that? Those so-called Singing Empresses and Leading Actresses, as long as you pay them enough, they’ll do anything. Never mind getting seriously involved; if you asked them to perform from start to finish..."
Lu Yuanshan frowned. "Let’s not talk about these irrelevancies. Let’s discuss serious matters. Ling Miaoying is preparing to reshoot the film. If we can get ours out before him, then this lucrative opportunity will be ours!"
Lu Yuanhai didn’t think a single film could make that much money.
Lu Yuanshan sighed. "It’s tough talking to you. I’m not just talking about this film, but the whole industry! There’s a lot of profit in this industry! It’s just that this is our first time wading into these waters. If the business incurs a loss, losing money is a small matter, but I’m afraid it will harm the Lu Family’s reputation. It will be difficult to get involved in this industry again in the future."
Monkey Qiu understood the stakes involved, but he too was unsure. "Since we’re uncertain, we should find someone with experience to handle this."
Lu Yuanshan thought for a moment and said, "When it comes to someone with experience, the only person I can think of is Ma Wu."
Lu Yuanhai nodded. "He really is cut out for this! I’ve heard he’s made films before, but ordinary cinemas don’t dare to show them, claiming they’re indecent!"
Duan Shaoxia advised from the side, "You guys should stop trying to drag Junyang into this. I’ve heard that if you slip up in the film industry, you could lose everything. Junyang’s foundation isn’t like our family’s; how can he withstand such a gamble?"
Lu Yuanshan said impatiently, "This isn’t dragging him in; this is helping him. We can invest some money, and both our families can benefit."
Qiu Zhiheng nodded. "We’ll put in half the money, and let Ma Wu come up with the rest. If we lose money, our loss won’t be great, and it won’t harm the Lu Family’s reputation. If we make money, we’ll share this lucrative pie together and won’t treat him unfairly."
Lu Yuanshan put on his coat and said, "I’ll go find Ma Wu right now."
...
In Xiaoyao Lodge, Ma Wu and Li Banfeng were discussing the film matter.
"Old Qi, do you think we should agree?"
"Of course, why not? Haven’t you made films before?"
"The films I’ve made are not exactly proper."
"I’ve seen them, and I think they’re quite proper."
Ma Wu was still worried. "The Ling Family has invested heavily in this film. If we release ours before them, Ling Miaoying might resort to deadly measures against us."
"They’ve already resorted to deadly measures," Li Banfeng said. He didn’t recount the events but only described the methods and Techniques commonly used by Ling Miaoying.
Now, he was more concerned with another matter. "Exactly how did this feud between us and the Ling Family start?"
Ma Wu had also pondered this question endlessly, but aside from Lu Xiaolan, he couldn’t come up with any other clues.
Li Banfeng absolutely refused to believe that Ling Miaoying would target him and Ma Wu because of Lu Xiaolan’s beauty. What kind of woman hadn’t Ling Miaoying seen?
"Perhaps it’s because we rose too quickly, and the Ling Family wanted to suppress us early on."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "You’ve said before that the Ling Family is the fifth largest family in Puluo State. Does the fifth largest family have such a narrow mindset? To take deadly measures against two newcomers just starting out? They run newspapers, make records, and produce films—we’ve never been involved in any of these. How could we be so noteworthy as to catch their eye? There’s more to this. They have someone behind them, and we need to find out who that person is!"
This wasn’t the only thing overlooked; there was also a person Li Banfeng had ignored.
As the evening lights began to glow, Li Banfeng went to the Beautiful Voice Record Player Shop.
The storefront was still as small, but small had its advantages.
Since Ling Miaoying’s incident, the Beautiful Voice Record Player Shop had been vandalized over a dozen times. Fortunately, only the entrance hall was damaged; the interior of the shop was too complex for ordinary people to break into, and those capable enough wouldn’t deign to do such a thing.
Behind the battered counter, Ling Miaosheng was dozing as usual. When he saw a customer enter, he lifted his head and revealed a faint smile.
He recognized Li Banfeng. Although Li Banfeng’s appearance had changed somewhat, Ling Miaosheng, as a high-level Peeping Cultivation practitioner, still recognized his old customer.
"Are you here to buy a phonograph or for revenge? If it’s revenge, feel free to start, though I’m afraid there’s not much here for you to smash."
Li Banfeng glanced at the curtain behind Ling Miaosheng. "If I’m not mistaken, all the good stuff is back there, right?"
Ling Miaosheng shook his head slightly. "I can’t let you randomly smash the things back there. That’s my life."
"I’m here to buy a phonograph; I should at least get to see the merchandise."
Ling Miaosheng nodded and led Li Banfeng into the back room.
All the shop assistants who had been responsible for cleaning the various rooms had vanished; no one dared to work for Ling Miaosheng now.
Li Banfeng examined several phonographs and chose a hand-cranked phonograph, preparing to pay for it.
The sound quality of this phonograph was good. Of course, it couldn’t compare to Wife, but the phonograph was made in Amikan Country, and its parts were compatible with Wife.
Ling Miaosheng refused to accept Li Banfeng’s money. "This phonograph is a gift, to express my apologies for before. Rest assured, I’ve checked it carefully; there are no hooks on it."
Li Banfeng turned the crank, and the phonograph played a soothing violin melody.
"May I ask you a few things?"
Ling Miaosheng guessed what Li Banfeng was going to ask and replied directly, "I don’t know much about the matters concerning my eldest brother and third brother. As for them planting hooks in my shop and on the phonographs, I truly don’t know much about that either."
Li Banfeng did not believe him. "You are also a Peeping Cultivation practitioner, and of a very high level. You mean to tell me you couldn’t detect their hooks?"
Ling Miaosheng replied with a bitter smile, "You are right, I am indeed a Peeping Cultivation practitioner. Not to boast, but my cultivation level is higher than that of my eldest and third brothers. However, finding hooks isn’t just about cultivation level; it’s about cunning. With such a large shop and so many phonographs, a single hook is like a needle in a haystack. I really can’t imagine where they would have placed them. Even today, there are still many hooks in the Phonograph Shop that I cannot find. I might never know where they buried them. The only thing I’m aware of is that they were working for some important figure from the Outside Provinces. I’m unclear on what their ultimate goal is or what their next move will be."
Li Banfeng remained silent. Ling Miaosheng personally packed the hand-cranked phonograph and handed it to Li Banfeng.
"You might still not trust me, and that’s alright. If you want to fight, let’s go outside. Just don’t damage my phonographs."
Li Banfeng pulled his top hat lower, picked up the phonograph, and left the Phonograph Shop.
Ling Miaosheng took off his hat, held it to his chest, and bowed as he watched Li Banfeng walk away.
...
Back at Xiaoyao Lodge, Li Banfeng hummed "Night-blooming Jasmine" to the phonograph. There was no sound of any hooks breaking.
Ling Miaosheng was most likely telling the truth. There were no further clues to be found with him. The lead still pointed to Ling Miaoying.
...
"Jiaqing, that friend of yours went to my second brother’s Phonograph Shop today and bought a phonograph."
"Just to buy a phonograph? I doubt he had that kind of leisure," He Jiaqing said with a smile. "He must have gone to question your second brother."
"I also suspect he asked some questions, but my second brother has already cleared out most of the hooks. What they discussed, we’re not sure yet. I plan to ask my second brother."
"You should know your second brother’s temperament—asking him will be pointless. My brother is digging deep. Your second brother never knew much to begin with, and I’m concerned his next step will be to find you."
Ling Miaoying nodded. "It would be best if he came looking for me. I suspect he’s connected to the fire, and this is a good chance to settle things with him."
"No!" He Jiaqing’s tone was firm. "Focus on reshooting the film. We absolutely cannot have any mistakes this time. Replace the lead actor. Find someone else."
Ling Miaoying retorted, "Zhou Changhong is the best actor; you know that too."
"Precisely because he is the best actor, there are other things he needs to do."
...
The next day, the newspaper announced that Ling Family Film Industry had begun reshooting "Blood Blade Detective." Ma Wu frowned and said, "They’re acting fast. I haven’t even finished casting my actors, and they’ve already started filming."
Having visited the set several times, Li Banfeng was fairly familiar with the main actors. After reading the newspaper, he noticed a change in the cast. "Why has the male lead been replaced?"
Ma Wu examined the paper closely. "They replaced Zhou Changhong. He’s a good actor; I could bring him over to my side. It’s just that he’s followed Ling Miaoying for seven or eight years; I’m not sure he’d be willing to defect to me."
Ma Wu immediately sent someone to contact Zhou Changhong but learned that the actor had left Greenwater Bay the day before.
That evening, Ma Wu received information from the Border Defense Envoy: Zhou Changhong had gone to the Outside Provinces.
"He’s not filming here, so why did he run off to the Outside Provinces? " Ma Wu didn’t quite understand. "Is he planning to act in films there?"
He had been with Ling Miaoying for seven or eight years and had left for the Outside Provinces right when Ling Miaoying was eager to reshoot the film.
Li Banfeng said to Ma Wu, "Keep a close watch on his movements at all times and inform me immediately of any news."
Two days later, news arrived.
Ma Wu said, "Zhou Changhong has returned, but he hasn’t accepted any roles. I heard he’s still arranging a Guide Token and will be leaving again in a couple of days."
Li Banfeng ordered, "Keep track of his destination, and get me the same kind of Guide Token. I want to see if he’s really just a messenger, or if he’s that important figure from the Outside Provinces."
PS: Zhou Changhong is the best actor, and that’s no exaggeration.