"Haiqin, who told you this?"
He Haiqin said expressionlessly, "This is news from the Lu Family."
He Yuxiu waved her hand. "You believe news from the Lu Family? It’s clearly meant to sow discord!"
He Haiqin looked at He Yuxiu. "The Lu Family wouldn’t fabricate things out of thin air. I must investigate this thoroughly."
He Yuxiu, pinching her chin, pondered for a long while. "Let the third brother go to Yuezhou to check first. I’ve watched Jiaqing grow up; he’s an honest kid. How could he possibly deceive you?"
"There’s no need for the third brother to go!" He Haiqin stood up. "I’ve already got someone to buy train tickets. I’ll go to the Outside Provinces myself to see if the person lying in the hospital is really him."
"Haiqin, you mustn’t act recklessly. You’re the Head of the He Family. If you go to the Outside Provinces, think of the commotion it would cause!"
And a commotion it really caused.
He Yuxiu couldn’t stop He Haiqin.
The next day, He Haiqin boarded a train to the Outside Provinces.
「...」
Zhengjing Village was bustling. "Blood Gun Detective" was about to wrap up its third installment. Ma Wu led the crew around to scout locations and film key scenes, while Li Banfeng went to Greenwater City to prepare for publicity and ticket sales.
Cinemas everywhere were eagerly awaiting. Li Banfeng didn’t need to make an effort; journalists from major newspapers were coming to him voluntarily.
Since it was inconvenient for him to appear in public, he let his subordinates handle everything. The popularity was evident from all the major newspapers, as "Blood Gun Detective" news occupied much of the front page.
Besides "Blood Gun Detective," there was another significant piece of news.
The He Family Eldest Son was allegedly spotted in Puluo State.
Not every newspaper carried this news. The Ling Family’s newspapers didn’t mention a word, while the Lu Family’s newspapers featured it prominently.
Li Banfeng read the news carefully. The gist was that He Jiaqing was impersonating the famous movie star Zhou Changhong and was exposed by an acquaintance in Greenwater City.
Leaving that question aside for the moment, Li Banfeng put down the newspaper, a chill running down his spine.
Li Banfeng had a drink, slowly calming his emotions before continuing to browse the related news.
There was quite a bit of news related to He Jiaqing.
After reading the other news, Li Banfeng detected a clue.
In the newspapers of the Lu Family, the commentary mainly aimed to clarify one thing: that He Jiaqing feigning his injury by Lu Xiaolan was nothing but a ploy, and that the Lu Family was unjustly blamed.
To outsiders, the Lu Family seemed to have cleared their name.
To those in the know, whether one was wronged or not didn’t matter. What truly mattered was that the Mysterious Red Life Lotus was no longer associated with the Lu Family.
From various indications, the Mysterious Red Life Lotus was still in He Jiaqing’s possession, and Lu Xiaolan had become a scapegoat.
Apart from that, there was another key piece of news: He Haiqin had gone to the Outside Provinces.
Li Banfeng put the newspaper aside and casually picked up the Oil Pot.
The wife shivered. "Hey husband, what day is it today that you suddenly want to oil up?"
Li Banfeng said with a naive smile, "Today’s a good day, especially good!"
"Hey, hey, hey, husband, let your Little Servant get ready first. Don’t rush to apply the oil. Your Little Servant isn’t ready yet..."
In the midst of a hoarse voice, Steam hissed rapidly.
Hong Ying woke from her sleep and yelled, "What’s the matter, has the enemy broken through?"
The Phonograph gritted its teeth and said, "In! They’re in!"
「...」
In the Lu Family Mansion, Lu Yuanhai cursed loudly, "He Jiaqing, that bastard! He orchestrated this plot and threw our family into chaos! I’ll get the newspapers to publish a few more articles tomorrow. I want to see how the He Family can continue to hold their ground in Puluo State!"
Lu Yuanshan remained silent.
Monkey Qiu asked, "Is this news really coming from the old master?"
Lu Yuanhai said, "Could there be any doubt? My Granduncle’s steward told me; my Granduncle recognized He Jiaqing with his own eyes!"
Monkey Qiu lit a cigarette, his expression grave. "Why does the old master want to spread the news?"
Lu Yuanhai was surprised. "Uncle Qiu, do you suspect the news is false?"
Qiu Zhiheng shook his head without a word.
Lu Yuanshan said, "Regardless of whether the news is true or false, Granduncle shouldn’t have spoken out. The He Family has always been at odds with us because of the Mysterious Red Life Lotus. They’ve always suspected that the Mysterious Red Life Lotus was with Xiaolan, or even in our hands.
"This situation was to Granduncle’s advantage; with us constrained by the He Family, he had the opportunity to trip us up from behind. Now that He Jiaqing’s matter has been disclosed and our suspicion cleared, Granduncle loses his chance to turn the tables."
Lu Yuanhai had an epiphany. "According to you, Granduncle spreading the news means he might have an ulterior motive."
Lu Yuanshan looked towards Monkey Qiu.
Monkey Qiu remained silent for a long time, unable to discern what exactly Lu Maoxian was thinking.
「...」
Lu Maoxian himself didn’t want to reveal the matter either, but he had no choice; it was the order of a Saint.
The young man in white said, "Senior Brother, Master made it very clear that He Jiaqing is extremely dangerous, and he must not be allowed to get a foothold in Puluo State in the future. The more people know about him, the better, and we absolutely cannot tolerate his causing trouble in secret."
Lu Maoxian nodded. "I’ll follow Master’s instructions."
「...」
In Yuezhou Sanatorium, Zhou Changhong, lying on the hospital bed, sensed someone beside him and suddenly opened his eyes.
He thought it was Xiao Zhenggong who had come, but to his surprise, it was He Jiaqing standing by his side.
Zhou Changhong let out a sigh of relief but then grew tense again.
He Jiaqing spoke in a hushed tone, "Brother, you’ve had a hard time these days. Here’s the ticket back to Puluo State and a Guide Token. After you return, go to Miaoying’s and hide out for a few months. Try not to show your face these next few days, and after the dust settles, I’ll have Miaoying get you another mansion in Greenwater City."
Zhou Changhong waved his hands repeatedly. "Why talk about such things among brothers?"
There was another person standing behind He Jiaqing; Zhou Changhong recognized him as Zhu Junlong, the manager of the Tea Mountain Hotel.
"Changhong, you’ll stay at Junlong’s tonight, and he will take you to the train station tomorrow."
He Jiaqing had prepared a set of casual clothes for Zhou Changhong, who immediately changed into them and left the hospital with Zhu Junlong.
Not long after they left, Big Head entered the hospital room.
"You just let him go like that?" Big Head was referring to Zhou Changhong.
He Jiaqing let out a bitter laugh. "What can I do when he’s my brother? If my brother does me wrong, I’ll take it upon myself, but I absolutely can’t do wrong by my brother."
「...」
Zhou Changhong followed Zhu Junlong to the hotel, where Zhu Junlong arranged a suite for him.
Having impersonated He Jiaqing for such a long time, Zhou Changhong was exhausted. Zhu Junlong wanted to give a few more words of caution, but Zhou Changhong yawned, went straight under the covers, and fell into a deep sleep.
Around two in the morning, Zhou Changhong opened his eyes.
Groggy, he seemed to need the restroom. Along the way, he carefully observed the position of every surveillance camera.
There was one in the bedroom, one in the living room, and one by the door.
With his cultivation level, avoiding these three cameras wasn’t too difficult, but some preparation was necessary.
There were no cameras in the bathroom, making it a suitable place to prepare.
He took out a disposable cup and filled it with water.
He used a disposable razor to cut his finger and squeezed the blood into the cup.
The blood spread evenly in the clean water. Zhou Changhong drank half of it, leaving the other half behind in the bathroom.
He returned to bed and continued to sleep.
After ten minutes, the remaining blood water rapidly evaporated, becoming a thin mist that filled the entire suite.
An Illusionary Realm appeared within the suite.
From the outside, it looked as if nothing had happened in the room and Zhou Changhong was still sleeping in bed.
But in reality, Zhou Changhong had already left the room. His clothes and appearance had undergone a drastic change from a tall and handsome middle-aged man to a petite young woman.
Taking the elevator down to the first floor, the hotel lobby staff were dozing off.
Zhou Changhong casually exited the hotel’s main entrance, picking up a flyer from the ground and hailing a taxi.
After getting into the car, he asked the driver to take him to Eagle Mountain Apartment.
He had no money on him, nor a cell phone. When getting out of the taxi, he handed the flyer to the driver.
In the driver’s eyes, it turned into a hundred-yuan bill.
These days, people who paid with cash were rare, and as the driver was figuring out how to give change, Zhou Changhong generously said, "Keep the change."
The driver thanked him profusely and drove away.
Zhou Changhong entered the apartment building, arriving at room 208 and opening the password lock.
The bed was covered in dust. Zhou Changhong patted it a few times, only to find that the more he patted, the more dust there was.
Zhou Changhong looked at his palm and saw that his right hand had split along the palm lines, sending clouds of dust pouring out of the crack.
Shocked, Zhou Changhong’s legs gave way and he collapsed to the floor.
As he fell, he saw that his leg had also split open. There was no blood in the wound, only countless grains of dust.
He tried to shout, but as he opened his mouth, dust billowed out from his throat.
Half an hour later, only dust remained in the apartment; not even clothes were left.
「...」
In the Yuezhou Sanatorium hospital room, Old Wan checked the time and said to He Jiaqing, "It’s about time for his attack."
He Jiaqing said, "You can clean it up thoroughly, right?"
"Don’t worry, nothing will be left behind." Wan Jinxian looked towards the vase beside the hospital bed.
"I’m actually curious to see what my fellow disciple looks like."
PS: The clothes Zhou Changhong was wearing were provided by He Jiaqing.