Upon their meeting, Xie Juncong cupped his fists and saluted, "Boss Ling, what instructions do you have for me?"
He wasn’t afraid of being questioned for such matters. Xie Juncong had been through this many times. Without evidence, he would definitely not admit guilt. If Ling Miaoying decided to be harsh, Xie Juncong was also prepared to handle it.
But unexpectedly, Ling Miaoying was truly there to deliver a letter.
Xie Juncong took the letter, unfolded it to read, and beads of sweat uncontrollably appeared on his forehead.
With his experience and cultivation level, things that could make him sweat were rare indeed.
Though Ling Miaoying was very curious about what was written in the letter, she saw Xie Juncong first invite her to sit down, then respectfully bow to her. "Boss Ling, we took the wrong business and have offended you. The films we stole have already been burned as instructed by our employer. We have delayed your affairs and are willing to compensate with money—please name your price."
Even Ling Miaoying was puzzled now.
"Let’s consider the matter of the film closed. This time, I came to ask who the employer behind this business is."
Xie Juncong’s face looked terrible. He did not want to speak, as it went against the rules of the Ghost Hand Sect.
But after hesitating for a long time, he still said, "It’s Old Master Lu, Lu Maoxian."
「...」
"Lu Maoxian?" When He Jiaqing received the news, he was quite annoyed. "Why is this old ghost troubling us?"
Ling Miaoying said, "Our relationship with Old Master Lu has always been good, but several recent incidents have been baffling. A few days ago, he contracted several writers to publish articles in the newspaper, hinting that some shadow plays had ill intentions. I went to inquire about the situation, and Lu Maoxian said he was referring to others, and it had nothing to do with us. After some time, many theaters canceled our films. When I went to ask, it turned out to be Lu Maoxian causing trouble from behind the scenes."
He Jiaqing frowned and said, "Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?"
Ling Miaoying replied, "Jiaqing, you haven’t been in contact with me these days, and you also didn’t let me contact you first, so I had no chance to say."
"Lu Maoxian has always wanted to be the Lu Family’s Head. We’ve helped him quite a bit in the past, so why would he trouble us now?" He Jiaqing also found it hard to understand.
Ling Miaoying did not answer; she also didn’t understand.
After pondering for a moment, He Jiaqing laughed, "This old fox, he’s decided to make *us* his business."
Ling Miaoying asked, "What do you mean by that?"
He Jiaqing said, "The Lu Brothers have been schemed against, and it definitely involves Lu Maoxian. But with just Lu Maoxian alone, it would be hard to succeed. He must have found a backer who gave him a hand, but this backer wouldn’t help him for nothing. They must have demanded a reward, and that reward is on us."
Ling Miaoying inquired, "Who is this backer?"
He Jiaqing said indifferently, "The backer is a big shot. The incident with Green Flower is likely connected to this backer of his. Lu Maoxian, this old bone, needs a good beating. He caused me to lose a hand before, and now he’s troubling us again. This time we need to hit him hard and in the face. Then we’ll see how he deals with it, and we can find out who the backer is."
「...」
In two days, it would be the first of July. Lu Maoxian had booked the Drunken Immortal Building, inviting many members from the various branches of the Lu Family.
After three rounds of wine, Lu Maoxian arranged a performance to liven things up.
He had Zhang Huaiyi’s father—Zhang Bochu—led in front of everyone with a rope and paraded him around.
After everyone had a look, two Support then made Zhang Bochu kneel at Lu Maoxian’s feet.
Lu Maoxian looked at Zhang Bochu benevolently and smilingly asked, "You thought to reach for the Lu Family?"
Zhang Bochu cried, "No, I wouldn’t dare." His speech was slurred; his teeth had all been knocked out.
Lu Maoxian then asked, "Your son wants to be the head of my Lu Family?"
"I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare..." Zhang Bochu was crying foolishly.
Lu Maoxian patted Zhang Bochu’s face, smiling as he said, "Take your wife and son and get out of Greenwater City by the end of today, or I’ll see to it your entire family is sent off together, nice and neat."
As his voice fell, the Drunken Immortal Building erupted in cheers.
"Old Master Lu is so domineering!"
"The prestige of our Lu Family is all thanks to the Old Master upholding it!"
"You, Zhang! Take your family and scram! As long as our Old Master is around, don’t even think about touching a single hair of the Lu Family!"
Zhang Bochu was thrown out of the Drunken Immortal Building, tumbling and crawling his way back home.
Lu Maoxian continued eating and drinking. After the banquet, he even invited a few of Greenwater City’s famous actors to come and sing in turns.
After three acts, Lu Maoxian was not quite satisfied and called the Troupe Master to have him change to a few more lively acts.
The Troupe Master and his crew were busy changing the acts backstage when an invisible wall trapped everyone there.
The Troupe Master panicked, not knowing what had happened, thinking they had offended Old Master Lu by changing the acts too slowly.
A bit later, a few men wearing white shirts and grey vests unfolded a screen on the stage, and a shadow play suddenly started projecting on it.
Lu Maoxian was taken aback and sent a Support to ask the Troupe Master what was going on.
The Lu Family members didn’t know what had happened and thought it was arranged by Old Master Lu.
The shadow play cut straight to the chase; it started with a beautiful girl.
The girl had a Conscience, and she boldly displayed it on the screen.
The Lu Family members watched with relish, exclaiming as they did, "Our Old Master is quite fashionable, even keeping up with ’Blood Gun Detective’! How did he know we love this?"
After a while, Lu Maoxian also appeared on the screen.
The Lu Family members exclaimed, "Our Old Master is extraordinary! He’s even starring in a movie himself!"
A little while later, Lu Maoxian appeared on screen, patting the girl’s Conscience as he went into battle.
The Lu Family members were shocked for a moment, then continued to exclaim, "Is this for real? Our Old Master is still going strong! At his age, to still have such stamina!"
After a short while, Lu Maoxian wiped off his sweat and ended his campaign.
The Lu Family members pondered for a moment, then continued to praise, "Our Old Master is truly domineering! Even at his age, and though it might be a bit short, it’s still a display of dominance!"
Someone nearby asked, "Are you saying the duration was short?"
"Not just the duration... well, whatever it is, it’s just pure dominance!"
Lu Maoxian gritted his teeth but didn’t dare to move.
Ling Miaoying stood behind him and whispered, "Old Master Lu, how did you like today’s play?"
Lu Maoxian replied, "You want to kill me? If we really fight to the death here, you might not get the chance."
With so many Lu Family members present and Lu Maoxian’s cultivation level at the Seventh Layer, Ling Miaoying might have had the initial advantage, but she still might not have been able to kill Lu Maoxian.
Ling Miaoying chuckled and said, "Old Master, it’s not worth fighting to the death over such a trifle. Isn’t it just a shadow play? Why get so worked up? If you’re not satisfied with the play, I have plenty more exciting material. Tomorrow, I’ll edit a movie for you and send it to the cinema. How about calling it ’Old and Vigorous Lu Maoxian’? Do you think that’s appropriate?"
PS: In February, with the support of all dear readers, ’Lord of Puluo’ reached LV3 and stormed into the top sixty of the monthly ticket list.
Shala doesn’t understand operations; Shala only knows how to write and nothing else. Dear readers have taken care of Shala, casting vote after vote, pushing Shala up. Shala sincerely thanks all dear readers for their support.
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