"But I didn’t expect he had so many ruthless people under him. I couldn’t beat them. If it weren’t for the fact that I could withstand it because I ate well, I definitely would have died at their hands."
Ma Wu frowned and said, "Why didn’t you tell us about this?"
Little Fatty shook his head, "I really couldn’t bring myself to say it. I can’t just say I found a ghost bride, and now my bride is missing. Asking my two brothers to help me find her means offending someone as ruthless as An Zongding, and I just... "
Ma Wu frowned, "What’s wrong with a ghost bride? A bride is a bride, no matter what she is, she’s still your bride. Why do you care about this?"
In this matter, Little Fatty indeed made a mistake. Ma Wu never really cared about this sort of thing.
Ma Wu was very angry that his brother’s bride had been disturbed, "Who the hell is this An Zongding? I’ve never even heard of this bird person."
Li Banfeng said, "The Great Gold Seal of the Three Heroes Gang, Shen Jinzhong, he definitely knows what An Zongding is about,
Shen Jinzhong knows why Old Ninth is missing, but he won’t tell us, and even made up a bunch of lies to fool us.
Old Five, you go back to Greenwater City, pull Shen Jinzhong out directly, and ask him what An Zongding is all about. If he still won’t say, the Gold Seal of the Three Heroes Gang should be replaced!"
Ma Wu nodded, "As soon as I find out what An Zongding’s deal is, I’m going to kill that bastard right away."
Li Banfeng shook his head, "Don’t be in such a rush to take him out, wait for my news. This guy might be connected to the Ferry Gang. I’ll check their background more when I’m in the Outside Provinces."
Ma Wu said, "What about Old Ninth’s bride?"
Qin Tianjiu lowered his head, not daring to speak, feeling very anxious inside.
Li Banfeng looked at Qin Tianjiu and scolded, "You bastard, I’ve told you countless times to speak up if something happens, but you just don’t listen. You deserve all this trouble and suffering. Don’t worry about your bride; I’ve already found her."
Little Fatty’s face was full of surprise, "Brother Seven, really? Where did you find her?"
Li Banfeng said, "In the Outside Provinces. In a couple of days, I’ll have Old Luo bring her back to you. This is a big deal, with many acquaintances involved. You should focus on getting your health back up; we brothers have to fight a tough battle."
...
Qin Tianjiu ate something and went to sleep, while Li Banfeng gave Ma Wu some instructions, and he had to return to the Outside Provinces as well.
Ma Wu reluctantly said to Li Qi, "You came back and didn’t even have a proper meal. At least take something to eat on the way."
Li Qi was indeed hungry. That’s how Hai Chi Ridge was; you stay for two hours, and you already feel hungry.
"Then I’ll eat something!"
"What do you want to eat? I’ll have the cook make it fresh for you."
Li Banfeng waved his hand, "No need to go through all that trouble. I want to eat guokui, the fresh meat stuffed kind. The guokui from Hai Chi Ridge is the most authentic. I’ve been craving it ever since I was in the Outside Provinces."
Ma Wu nodded, "The guokui from Hai Chi Ridge is good; I like it too."
He ordered twenty guokui to be bought for Li Banfeng to take, to which Li Banfeng frowned, "Carrying these many pan-cakes, I can’t finish them all."
Ma Wu said, "Eat as many as you can; just don’t go hungry on the road."
Li Banfeng accepted the guokui and reminded, "Just a reminder, be careful about the Ferry Gang. They might come looking for you."
Ma Wu was more worried about Li Banfeng, "You’re alone in the Outside Provinces, so be extra careful. If you sense anything amiss, come back immediately!"
After they exchanged a few words, Li Banfeng quickly headed for Iron Gate Fort. Following Elder Yao’s map to New Land, it would take a normal person over ten days, but Li Banfeng got there in half a day thanks to his swift pace.
Upon reaching the new land at Iron Gate Fort, there were ten guokui left. Li Banfeng stored the guokui in the Portable Residence, and over an hour later, he emerged from the lake and returned to Flower Lake Park.
Back at the residence, Luo Zhengnan was waiting at home. Li Banfeng handed over the green-robed girl Feng Yuqiu to Luo Zhengnan, "Old Luo, can you see this girl?"
Not every Taoist Sect can see Lost Souls. While Luo Zhengnan’s perception power was strong, it took him quite a bit of effort to finally see the silhouette of this green-robed girl.
Li Banfeng handed the Contract Book to Luo Zhengnan, "Old Luo, head over to Hai Chi Ridge and hand this girl over to Qin Tianjiu. Meanwhile, help me gather some information on An Zongding."
Upon mention of An Zongding, Luo Zhengnan indeed had some impression, "He seems to be a merchant. I’ll get more details when I return to Puluo State."
Li Banfeng said, "I sent Ma Wu to find the Three Heroes Gang, also for this matter. Keep an eye on Shen Jinzhong’s movements. If he dares to turn against us, help Ma Wu teach that bird person a lesson."
Luo Zhengnan agreed and, taking the green-robed girl, returned to Puluo State that very night.
At 11:58 PM, Li Banfeng, bringing along his Magical Treasure and Weapon, headed to the Cultural Palace.
Today was the day he had arranged to meet with Yin Si Niang, which was also the day the Ferry Gang was delivering goods to Yin Si Niang.
In the private room, Yin Si Niang said, "I heard they’ll have the Boat Master personally deliver the goods tonight, but I can’t say for certain if he really will."
"Where will he deliver it to?"
"Just here to me."
Li Banfeng laughed, "You’re running this place, and he delivers goods to you. It’s almost like how a supermarket works."
Yin Si Niang sighed, "I’m not running a supermarket, just a stall in one. At the Cultural Palace, I have to pay the snack vendors a fee, and I’m the one who foots the Red Money."
Li Banfeng said, "If you don’t want to pay the Red Money, just change the location for receiving goods."
Yin Si Niang shook her head, "That won’t work. If the goods have issues at a different location, where would I go to reason it out? How could I possibly go up against the Ferry Gang?"
She couldn’t compete with the Ferry Gang, so could the snack vendors?
The Lost Souls had already been bought by Li Banfeng, leaving Yin Si Niang with no other business, so the two of them sat in the private room chatting idly.