Ding Zhichuan said, "This person’s rank is too low to carry out such a dangerous mission. I’m a bit worried..."
"Don’t worry," Xia Shumin laughed. "If this person sacrifices himself at his post, it will wake up those who are pretending to sleep that much faster."
Luo Zhengnan entered the private room at Xiaoyao Lodge. He had been about to take a train to Hundred Skill Ridge to annihilate the remaining forces of the Jiang Xiang Gang there. Unexpectedly, Li Banfeng summoned him to Xiaoyao Lodge at this very moment.
"Seventh Master, you were looking for me. I was just about to..."
"Come, Old Luo, have a drink," Li Qi gestured with his hand, signaling for him to say no more.
Luo Zhengnan was smart enough to grasp Li Banfeng’s intentions. He quickly opened a bottle of wine and changed the subject. "Seventh Master, what has put you in such good spirits today?"
"I want to do something big. I’m afraid it might scare you," Li Banfeng pointed at the round table and then at his ear. This was his way of asking him to check for "hooks."
Luo Zhengnan got the hint, twisted his ear half a turn, and leaned over the table to listen for a moment.
"What’s the big deal, Seventh Master?" Luo Zhengnan shook his head, indicating that there were no hooks on the table.
Li Banfeng said with a smile, "A debt collector came this morning, insisting that I owed him money and demanded an explanation."
"Who has the guts to seek out Seventh Master and bring bad luck?" Luo Zhengnan rechecked the private room and confirmed that there were indeed no hooks.
"This man has a significant background," Li Banfeng said, staring at the table for a moment. "Get a few more capable brothers. I’ll have a good talk with him."
At dusk, Liao Zihui was getting ready to leave for home after work. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to take out his headphones to listen.
As it turned out, his casual listening made Liao Zihui break out in sweat.
Liao Zihui immediately ordered everyone to stay in the Defense Agency, all hands on deck, with no one allowed to leave.
The entire Defense Agency was dumbfounded. What was going on with this sudden order just as they were about to finish their shift?
Late at night, Li Banfeng arrived near the Defense Agency. Seeing dozens of people patrolling around the Defense Agency, it was clear they were fully prepared.
After Xiaoyao Lodge closed for the night, Li Banfeng entered the private room and took out the hand-cranked phonograph given to him by Ling Miaosheng.
He placed a record on the phonograph’s platter, turned the crank, and music began to play.
"If I didn’t have you, how could I live through the days? My heart would be broken, and I couldn’t get anything done.
If I didn’t have you, how could I live through the days? Since I’m already heartbroken, I can only go looking for trouble..."
The device was somewhat difficult to use. Although he had studied it carefully with his wife, Li Banfeng hadn’t yet fully mastered it. He listened to one song more than ten times, spending an entire hour. Finally, Li Banfeng noticed a slight change in the music’s sound.
Li Banfeng walked around the room with the phonograph, his hand speed consistent, but the music’s tempo varied noticeably.
The hook wasn’t on the table but on the wall near the door.
Li Banfeng placed an empty record on the phonograph, changed to a hard needle, cranked the handle, and carved a record right beside the hook.
After recording, Li Banfeng took the record back to Portable Residence and let his wife play it.
The record contained the conversation between Li Banfeng and Liao Zihui; no other content preceded it.
"He’s really gone all out," Li Banfeng said as he put away the phonograph. "I’ll keep this hook for him, see how long he makes use of it."
As he spoke, the Copper Lotus Flower suddenly bloomed, and among the lotus leaves was an extra lotus seed.
Li Banfeng peeled the lotus seed, carefully placing it in his palm.
The lotus seed exploded, and Gloves slowly unfolded his body.
Supported by his thumb and little finger, Gloves slowly stood up. Tilting his index finger upwards, he said to Li Banfeng, "Boss, I’ve done it!"
Li Banfeng’s lower lip trembled; he said nothing, merely nodding slightly.
"Boss, are you holding back a laugh?" Gloves looked at his own body, then ran over to Hong Ying’s dressing table and looked at himself in the mirror for a moment.
He went over to Red Lotus and asked calmly, "Third Lady, whether you made me a white glove or a black glove, it doesn’t really matter. Even one side black and one side white would be acceptable. But you’ve made me full of black spots, as if I were covered in sores. What do you mean by this?"
Red Lotus couldn’t be bothered with him. After all, it was just a mix of black and white; who could control it that precisely?
Gloves, however, was philosophical. "For a man, looks don’t matter; real skill is key!" he declared. "Old Man, I’m not challenging you today. I’m going to open your gate right in front of you. Watch closely!"
Portable Residence responded, "Good lad. I want to see if you have the ability. If you can really open my door, there will be a handsome reward."
Li Banfeng was very nervous.
"Ah Tao, don’t rush to show off. Take a rest first."
Gloves wouldn’t listen. "I’ve risked my life to learn these skills, all to be of use to our Boss! Boss, take notice!"
Gloves got to the door and felt around the crack for a while.
Everyone in the family watched intently; even Red Lotus, who usually didn’t care about anything, was focused on Gloves.
Gloves found the key spot. His index finger slid across the crack, his middle finger drew a circle at the critical point, and his ring finger gently tapped the door. Then he yelled, "Open!"
The door didn’t open.
Gloves wiggled his index finger and said, "Old Man, you’ve got some tricks. Let me try one more time."
After fumbling for a moment, Gloves shouted again, "Open!"
Still, it didn’t open.
"Old Man, let’s get serious now! Watch closely!"
「An hour later.」
Li Banfeng was applying Snow Cream to his wife; Hong Ying watched, looking annoyed, so his wife applied some to her as well. Old Teapot brewed a pot of good tea and sought out Wine Gourd to trade for wine. Wine Gourd, finding the tea too weak, only gave two ounces of wine in exchange. Projector, extremely excited, seemed to have heard the handgun speak. Clock Pendulum told him it was the sound of the revolver’s cylinder. Red Lotus Leaf rustled; she yawned and wanted to return to Ninth Room for sleep. Gloves was still feeling around the crack of the door, never stopping.
"Old Man, this time I’m really serious!"
"Ah Tao, listen to me..." Even Portable Residence felt a bit sorry for him.
"Old Man, I can do it! I’ll show you my true skills!" Gloves’s voice trembled.
"Open!" Gloves tried once more.
"It’s open," Portable Residence responded and opened the door a crack.
Everyone in the room could tell that Portable Residence had opened the door itself.
Only Gloves couldn’t see it.
Gloves poked his head outside the door and said excitedly, "I did it, Old Man! I really did—"
BANG!
The door slammed shut, knocking Gloves unconscious.
"Ah Qi, find a place for him to get a good sleep," Portable Residence sighed. "This kid..."
The next day at dawn, Liao Zihui sat in his office with bloodshot eyes.
He hadn’t slept all night. No one in the Defense Agency dared to sleep; all were on high alert.
By 9 a.m., Ling Sujun, her eyes red, said, "Chief Envoy, many can’t hold on any longer. Please allow us a half-day off."
Liao Zihui waved his hand. "The more critical the moment, the less we can let down our guard. All personnel continue to stay on alert."
They remained vigilant until dusk when Liao Zihui rubbed his eyes and muttered to himself,
He put on his headset and listened for a while. Soon, another conversation came through.
"Seventh Master, are we still going tonight?"
"Yes. They were on guard last night; they won’t last tonight. We must teach them a lesson this time!"
Liao Zihui put down his headset and smiled.
He called Ling Sujun over. "Withdraw the personnel from outside the building. Bring them all back inside, set up the Boundary and traps. Tonight, we’ll lay a trap and invite him right in!"
Ling Sujun asked groggily, "Chief Envoy, who exactly are we dealing with?"
Liao Zihui smiled. "You’ll find out tonight."
PS: I reckon Ling Sujun won’t find out tonight either.