Blue Poplar Village, Dreamspring Garden.

Ma Wu led his men into the dance hall and had them dismantle the gramophone. Once it was removed, he handed it over to Li Banfeng to deal with.

Little Chuan’s heart ached as he watched.

This gramophone was a masterpiece from the Miao Sound Gramophone Shop. Craftsmanship of this level was extremely rare in Puluo Province.

“Master Wu, without the gramophone, how can this still be called a dance hall?” Little Chuan protested. “Are people supposed to dance in silence?”

Ma Wu turned and glanced toward a corner of the hall. “Isn’t the band already practicing?”

He had recently put together a small band in Blue Poplar Village. They had violins and brass horns that could play Western music, as well as a yangqin[1] and a pipa for traditional tunes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Prrrraaa~

The trumpet suddenly cracked and sputtered.

Little Chuan shook his head repeatedly. “Master Wu, can anyone actually listen to this?”

“Not many people here even know how to dance anyway. Just make do with it,” Ma Wu said calmly. “Go to Greenwater City and find Chief Steward Qiu. Tell him to keep an eye on his gramophone. The Ling Family has planted a hook.”

***

At the Paramount Club, Lu Yuanhai arrived with several men and began dismantling the gramophones.

Yang Yanzheng grew anxious. “Second Young Master, what are you doing?”

“Those gramophones are far too noisy,” Lu Yuanhai replied. “They are unpleasant to listen to. From now on, everything will be replaced with live bands.”

The grand dance hall had never used gramophones in the first place. The space was simply too large, and a gramophone could not produce enough sound to fill it.

Lu Yuanhai ordered his men to remove the gramophones from both the circular halls and the famed singers’ private rooms.

Yang Yanzheng hurried forward, desperately trying to stop him. “Second Young Master, perhaps you should discuss this with the Second Miss first.”

“There’s no need to discuss it,” Lu Yuanhai replied. “I have already hired the bands for you.”

“The circular halls might manage, but the singing queen rooms[2]are different.”

“What’s so special about them?”

Yang Yanzheng panicked. “You come to the Paramount Club often, don’t you? The Singing Queens perform alone in the Singing Queen rooms. When she performs alone, she… she has to do her work. If she’s doing that while a band is playing right beside her, does that really make sense?”

Lu Yuanhai laughed. “Why wouldn’t it be appropriate? I will show you in a moment. With a band playing beside you, the mood is better and you have more energy.”

No matter what Yang Yanzheng said, it was useless. This was Monkey Qiu’s order.

Monkey Qiu stood in the main hall of the residence, staring at the gramophone placed inside.

When the incident with Lu Dongliang occurred, the gramophone was still playing when Monkey Qiu arrived. The song drifting through the room was Lu Dongliang’s favorite, “Dream Lover.”

When He Yuxiu confronted Lu Dongjun at Qianyue Restaurant, Lu Dongjun had disguised himself as Lu Dongliang and attended the banquet there. Music had been playing in the restaurant as well, and the song was He Yuxiu’s favorite, “Blossoms Under the Full Moon.”

These were things Monkey Qiu had personally witnessed. There was another matter he had only heard about.

When Lu Dongjun killed the manager at Jiangyuan Tannery and accidentally exposed himself, music had also been playing in the manager’s office. The song was “Spring of Peace.”

More than half of the gramophones in Puluo Province came from the Miao Sound Gramophone Shop. It now seemed that every gramophone from that shop had a hook planted inside it.

All of it was under the Ling Family’s control.

Lu Dongliang and Lu Dongjun had most likely both died at the hands of the Ling Family.

How exactly had the Ling Family risen to power? How had businesses like newspapers, music halls, and film gradually fallen into their hands?

Lu Dongliang might have known the answers to these questions, but Monkey Qiu had never paid them much attention.

For now, however, there was one piece of good news. Ling Miaowen was dead.

Who had taken him out? The Hundred Flowers Sect? Did Zhang Xiuling really have that kind of ability?

The He Family and the Ling Family had not been getting along in their dealings at the Ridge of Bottomless Stomachs. Could it have been the He Family?

It was possible. In Puluo Province, aside from the Lu Family, only the He Family had the ability to kill Ling Miaowen without making a sound.

For the time being, the cause of Ling Miaowen’s death could be set aside. What mattered now was seizing control of the newspaper business as quickly as possible. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Monkey Qiu ordered his men to dismantle the gramophone.

At this moment, the lady of the house, Duan Shaoxia, came down the stairs and sighed. “Dongliang used to love listening to music. If he saw the gramophone gone, he would certainly scold you.”

Monkey Qiu bowed slightly. “No matter how the Master might scold me, I will accept it. But this thing must leave the house.”

Duan Shaoxia chuckled softly. “I was only teasing you, and you took it so seriously. How could the Master possibly keep something this troublesome in the house?”

“This time we truly owe that child Junyang for bringing us the message. If he hadn’t warned us, who knows how much trouble this family might have suffered.

“Junyang is a good boy. Making a little money in a miserable place like Blue Poplar Village cannot be easy for him. I have also heard he still owes Imperial Workshop Hall quite a large sum. Most likely he borrowed the money just to scrape together those ten thousand silver dollars for us.

“Zhiheng, I am only a woman and should not interfere in business matters. But today I will shamelessly ask you for a favor. In the future, stop taking commissions from Junyang.”

Monkey Qiu nodded immediately. “I will do as Madam says.”

“And find some time and invite Junyang over for a meal,” Madam Duan said as she reached out and carefully straightened Qiu Zhiheng’s collar. Then, she turned and walked back upstairs.

The gesture felt a little strange, almost improper, as though it crossed a line. Qiu Zhiheng stood there in a daze with his face flushing red. What’s wrong with me? How could I…?

Qiu Zhiheng rubbed his forehead, trying to push the thought aside. His mind drifted back to Ma Wu, and he gave a faint nod.

Ma Wu really is a good kid. I should treat him to a meal one of these days. It would be nice if that young fellow came along as well.

***

Li Banfeng sat inside the Pocket Dwelling, enjoying the breeze beside the gramophone.

Two windmill-powered gramophones had been dismantled. One was refined by the Crimson Lotus and given to Wifey, allowing her to gain the function of a fan. The other remained unrefined and was simply placed inside the Pocket Dwelling.

“Wifey, what’s the point of keeping this thing?”

“It still has its uses. I have already removed the hooks from it. Husband, you can take it outside and let it handle matters in my place.”

“It’s just an ordinary gramophone. What could it possibly do?”

“I left a bit of spirit essence in it. It can help you clean up the remaining hooks in the domain. Use the record I engraved previously. Though ninety percent of the record’s power has already been used up and it’s no longer strong enough to kill anyone, it can still remove hooks.

“Husband, you only need to push the gramophone, play that record, and walk once around the territory. It will remove every hook along the way.

“But this gramophone must rest for three days after a song is played. If you want to remove more hooks, you will have to walk faster.”

“Walk faster? That’s… quite difficult!”

Li Banfeng was about to say that walking faster would be easy, but the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back.

Using a single record to kill an enemy outright was one of the gramophone’s deadliest moves. However, Li Banfeng still had no idea how that move actually worked.

“Wifey, what exactly is the secret behind that killing move of yours? Can you tell me?”

“Heyaaa~ Husband dear~ We are husband and wife. What could I possibly hide from you? The secret is simple. Carve a good record, follow the hooks back to their source, and then give the other party a hard stab.”

“Did it kill him?”

“Let your little wifey have a sniff first.”

The needle wandered across the record. After sniffing for a moment, the gramophone sang, “One is dead. One is still alive~”

“You can even smell that?”

“There’s a scent of blood on the record.”

Li Banfeng held the record and sniffed it for a long time, but he couldn’t smell anything at all.

“Wifey, if you want to use that technique again, how long will it take?”

“Your little wifey needs time to recover. Back when my body was still whole and strong, two or three months would have been enough. Now it’s hard to say. It all depends on what Husband is capable of doing.”

What I am capable of doing?

Li Banfeng froze. Does Wifey really need me that much? If I serve her well enough, will she recover faster? Was what I did before not enough? Do I need to learn some peculiar tricks from Ma Wu? Perhaps I should heat the machine oil first?

“Wifey, you want me to…” Li Banfeng asked nervously.

“Heyaaaaaaaaaa~ Husband dear~ You need to get groceries~ I can only recover fast if I east well.”

“O..kay.”

“Husband, what’s wrong? Why do you sound so weak?”

“I’m fine, really… Wifey, teach me that technique.”

“Don’t rush, Husband. You can’t learn it yet. Once your cultivation reaches the proper level, I will teach you.”

One is dead. One is still alive. Who is the one still alive? Li Banfeng wondered.

***

At Yuezhou Third Hospital, medical staff crowded the ward.

There were bloodstains on He Jiaqing’s hospital bed, yet no one knew where the blood had come from.

The Dark Star Bureau received the report and sent Blockhead to investigate.

Blockhead asked the attending physician about it, and he replied, “He Jiaqing’s vital signs showed abnormalities last night. There were also bloodstains on the bed. As for where it came from… we have no idea.”

“You said his vital signs were abnormal. Could the medical equipment have been interfered with?”

“That possibility cannot be ruled out,” the attending physician replied. “But I have full confidence in the reliability of our machines.”

Blockhead nodded. “I will report this to the Bureau.”

After the medical staff dispersed, Blockhead remained in the ward for a moment.

He Jiaqing had been lying there the entire time. Then, quite suddenly, his eyes opened. His pupils slid slowly toward the park outside the window.

Blockhead said nothing at all. He simply turned around and walked quietly out of the hospital.

***

Late that night, Blockhead arrived at Flower Lake Park. He walked behind the Western-style building and slowly approached a woman who seemed to be crying.

Then, quite suddenly, the ground beneath him gave way.

Plop!

Blockhead dropped straight into the water.

He did not dive toward the bottom of the lake. After confirming his direction, he swam straight south.

A combatant, a Martial Cultivator, possessed astonishing strength. Blockhead cut through the water with powerful strokes and reached the shore in no time.

He sat down by the bank, panting heavily. This was not his first time coming ashore like this. He Jiaqing had taught him the method before.

Sitting by the bank, he looked around. Darkness stretched in every direction, silent and desolate. In the distance, a faint campfire flickered.

Blockhead followed the firelight and walked toward it.

He Jiaqing sat beside the fire, smiling. “Thank you. You helped cover things up for me today.”

Blockhead shook his head.

“I’m afraid it won’t stay a secret for long,” he said. “The hospital has already called the Bureau and reported your condition to Captain Chen. That man has been watching you for quite some time. And there’s a high chance that he will bring a healer to examine you.”

“A healer?” He Jiaqing raised an eyebrow. “You mean a Medicine Cultivator? What level?”

“Considering how much attention they are paying to you, the one they send probably won’t be below the sixth level.”

“The sixth level?” He Jiaqing chuckled softly. “That’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“You better be careful,” Blockhead said. “I am worried the healer might bring a forbidden item.”

“A forbidden item? You mean an enchanted artifact? That still depends on what level the artifact is.”

“It won’t be low. Just be careful.”

He Jiaqing let out a long sigh. “Looks like I’ll really have to fall ill for a while.”

Blockhead remained silent for a long time before finally saying, “You should go back to Puluo Province. You can’t keep hiding things like this forever.”

He Jiaqing shook his head. “I can’t leave yet. There are still unfinished matters here.”

“What matters?”

“I want the people who deserve dignity to live with dignity. People like you.”

“I am doing fine,” Blockhead said, lowering his head. “The Bureau treats me well. I am…different, but they have never discriminated against me.”

“Why would they discriminate against you?”

“I am not the same as normal people,” Blockhead said at last. “I had once killed someone during a mission. I didn’t mean to, but I just… couldn’t control myself.”

“People like me are accidents waiting to happen. A menace. A danger to everyone around us. People like me should be eliminated. But the Bureau didn’t abandon me. They gave me a way out. What more could I ask for?”

He Jiaqing frowned. “Is that what the Bureau taught you?”

Blockhead looked at him. “Isn’t it true?”

“No.” He Jiaqing shook his head. “You are not a menace. You are not some hidden danger waiting to explode. And you are certainly not a threat. You are one of the elites of this world.”

He Jiaqing continued, “You struggle to control your power because your talent is extraordinary. That talent was just never properly trained or guided. You deserve respect. You deserve dignity. You don’t need anyone to pity you and grant you a way out. And that’s exactly what I intend to change.”

Blockhead said nothing.

He Jiaqing smiled. “You look exhausted. Haven’t been sleeping well these past few days?”

“My wife’s workplace is quite far away. I have to wake up early every day to drive her there.”

He Jiaqing thought for a moment.

“I heard that the hotel will be allocating staff housing in a few days,” he said. “It’s very close to the hotel. Tell your wife to pick a good unit.”

Blockhead’s eyes lit up. “How big are the apartments?”

“About one hundred and twenty square meters. Three bedrooms and a living room. You should move there. Your child hasn’t finished elementary school yet, right? I heard the school nearby is quite good.”

The light in Blockhead’s eyes slowly faded. “My child’s school district isn’t there…”

“The hotel will take care of that,” He Jiaqing said. “If they can arrange middle school placement, I am sure a placement in a good elementary school will be even easier.”

He Jiaqing stood up and continued, “Come on. Let’s walk around for a bit. I am not too familiar with this place either.”

Staff housing. Three bedrooms and a living room. Even the elementary school placement can be arranged.

Blockhead was not stupid. He knew He Jiaqing was helping him.

He looked up at He Jiaqing. “I… I can’t keep doing this. I already owe you too much.”

“Don’t talk about owing anything,” He Jiaqing said, pulling him to his feet. “Brothers don’t say things like that. I see you as a brother. I just want you to live with some dignity.”

Brother…

At Blockhead’s age, the word felt strangely unfamiliar.

“Well, I…”

He Jiaqing suddenly pointed to his ear. “From now on, could you speak a little louder? I have gone deaf in one ear. Completely deaf. It can’t be healed anymore.”

***

After arranging Ling Miaowen’s funeral, Ling Miaosheng returned to the gramophone shop. Holding a feather duster, he went from one gramophone to the next, carefully cleaning each one.

He had already received word. From now on, business at the shop would likely dwindle away. And before long, the Lu Family might come knocking on his door.

Ling Miaoying, the third brother of the Ling Family, arrived.

“Second Brother, what do you plan to do next?” he asked.

“My plan?” Ling Miaosheng let out a cold laugh. “Does it even matter? When you and Eldest Brother made decisions, when did you ever ask me?”

“Well, I am asking you now. With Eldest Brother gone, our Ling Family will suffer from now on.”

Ling Miaosheng sighed. “I told you not to hang baited hooks on my gramophones, but you wouldn’t listen. Now this whole business of mine is finished. What’s wrong with doing honest business? What were you trying to achieve by stirring up all this trouble?”

Ling Miaoying’s expression darkened. “Second Brother, say that with a clear conscience. If we brothers had always played it straight, we would have starved on the streets long ago.

“Eldest Brother is dead. Soon it will be our turn. If you want to stay honest, then sit here and wait to die. But if you change your mind, come find me at the main residence.”

PS: Ling Miaosheng has met Li Banfeng.

1. A traditional Chinese string instrument played by striking the metal strings with small bamboo mallets.Musicians would hold two thin bamboo beaters and tap the string quickly. ☜

2. Mentioned in Chapter 143 ☜

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep