The Overlord of Puluo

He Yuxiu sat silently in the room, smoking one cigarette after another. Outside, over a hundred people were waiting for her order, but she no longer knew who she should strike first.

He Yuxiu thought it over again and again. In the end, she decided to start with the Chu Family.

"That bastard Chu Huaijun. The He Family has never treated him badly, and now he picks this moment to put a knife in my back. I will go to his house this instant and ask that turtle bastard to his face why he wants to wag his tail for the Outer Provinces!"

Ma Wu hurried to stop her. "Big Sis Yuxiu, you don't need to ask him. Anyone with eyes can see what is going on. Ever since the head of the Chu Family died, the Chu Family has barely managed to keep its place among the Four Great Families. As for Chu Huaijun, his reputation is not even as good as Chu Huaiyuan's."

He Yuxiu nodded. "That is true. At least that girl can get things done. She has more backbone than that bastard Chu Huaijun!"

Ma Wu said, "The Chu Family has finally found a chance to turn its fortunes around. Do you think Chu Huaijun would not go all in? If you go now, the Border Controller and the Chu Family will strike from both sides. The He Family will be finished!"

"You think I am afraid of them?" He Yuxiu snapped. "Let them all come at once! I would like to see just how much they are capable of!"

"Big Sis Yuxiu, calm down first," Ma Wu said quickly. "We still don't know what my father is planning. He has been waiting for a chance to turn things around too!"

"Old Ma..." He Yuxiu sat back down on the bed. "Old Ma wants to stab me too? That bastard wants to put a knife in me too?"

Lu Chunying's face grew grave.

She remembered something Lu Dongliang had once said. "This is the root of Puluo Province."

What exactly was the root of Puluo Province? Lu Chunying could not quite put it into words yet, but she was beginning to understand.

Ma Wu frowned. "Big Sis Yuxiu, take Madam Yan and hide in the New Land for a couple of days."

"Why should I hide?" He Yuxiu snapped. "What have we done? The Jiangxiang Gang lost a few halls. What does that have to do with us?"

Ma Wu could not make sense of it either. "Would the Outer Provinces really go this far just for the Jiangxiang Gang?"

Lu Chunying said, "Should we not ask the Border Controller? We need to know why they are doing this."

"I asked!" He Yuxiu's temper flared up again. "I asked them so many times I lost count, and those turtle bastards would not say a word."

Ma Wu tried to sort through the matter in his head. He sorted and sorted, but not one useful thread came loose. If only Old Qi were here. At least they would have someone to discuss this with.

"Big Sis Yuxiu, hide in the New Land for now. I will find out what this is really about!" Ma Wu said and left the He Family's main residence. He hired a carriage, and went straight to the newspaper office.

He told the editor to write an article at once. The headline was to be: The Jiangxiang Gang's Crimes Are Too Many to Record. Why Does the Border Control Office Protect Such Villains?

The newspaper office was a little scared. They didn't really dare to publish anything against the Border Control Office.

However, Ma Wu told the editor not to be afraid. He promised that this month's payment would be doubled, and he would also arrange a support hook to keep the newspaper office safe.

The next day, the daily paper went out. Ma Wu made a round of the newspaper stalls and soon found that the article did not hit hard enough.

Back when he had first taken over the newspaper business from the Lu Family, Ma Wu had fought Ling Miaoying back and forth for control of the market.

Now that Ling Miaoying was dead and the business had been handed over to Shen Rongqing, Ma Wu found himself somewhat outmatched.

Shen Rongqing was still finding her feet in the film business, but newspapers were another matter. Newspapers were her true trade. She controlled roughly sixty percent of the business at the major newspaper carts.

For this matter, Ma Wu would have to ask her for help. So he went straight to the film company.

Shen Rongqing did not want to see him. However, after thinking it over again and again, she agreed to see him.

When they met, Shen Rongqing lowered her head. "Junyang, did I not tell you to forget me?"

"I want to forget you, but I cannot."

"We cannot be together..."

"I know you have your reasons. We can talk about everything else later. Right now, I need your help."

When Shen Rongqing heard that Ma Junyang had come to ask for help, she looked up. "What do you need help with?"

"The Jiangxiang Gang is a pack of disgusting cockroaches, and now someone is protecting these animals. There must be justice for this.

"We should use the backbone of scholars and the power of our pens to seek justice for everyone they have harmed."

"Junyang, tell me everything from the beginning."

***

He Jiaqing was at the hotel when he received a message from Shen Rongqing. "Jiaqing, the Border Controller is openly protecting the Jiangxiang Gang, and now he has touched your family's business. Should an article about this be published in the newspaper?"

He Jiaqing had far too many things to handle. If Shen Rongqing hadn't mentioned it, he really would have forgotten about the newspapers.

"Write it. Bring in our best writers and have them put everything they have into it. I want this in the papers, in the magazines, and in the films!"

***

At the Dark Star Bureau, Xiao Zhenggong read through the report once, then looked up at Director Shen Jingye. "He Jiaqing exploded?"

Shen Jingye nodded. "He resisted arrest. We had no choice but to kill him on the spot."

Xiao Zhenggong did not quite believe it and asked, "Are you sure that was He Jiaqing?"

"The DNA comparison is here. It is in the report. Take a look."

"I don't trust that sort of thing," Xiao Zhenggong said as he rose to his feet. "I want to see He Jiaqing's corpse with my own eyes."

Xiao Zhenggong was just about to leave when a glow lit up around the room.

It was a boundary line. It was just like the boundary lines along Puluo Province's regional borders.

Xiao Zhenggong turned to Shen Jingye.

Shen Jingye rose to his feet. "Zhenggong, you have already used the Balancer Seal. From this moment on, you have to follow the Bureau's arrangements. For now, you stay here.

"And one more thing. The Border Control Office has already made a move in Puluo Province. Every asset under the He Family's name has been frozen.

"We have done what we were supposed to do. Now it is your turn. Here is the list. Read it first."

Xiao Zhenggong took the list and saw that five locations were written on it.

"What's the meaning of this?"

Shen Jingye said, "From now on, these five Jiangxiang Gang halls will take orders directly from the Border Control Office. Of course, on paper, they will still belong to the Jiangxiang Gang. Whatever they do will also be recorded under the Jiangxiang Gang's name."

Xiao Zhenggong's brow twitched. "So you take the profit, and I take the blame?"

"Zhenggong, mind your words," Shen Jingye said as he looked at Xiao Zhenggong with a smile. "I warned you not to use the Balancer Seal lightly, but you have already used it.

"We are not taking over these halls to take anything from you. We are doing this so we can better balance our relationship with every side in Puluo Province. At the root of it, this serves both our interests. It is a choice that benefits both sides."

Xiao Zhenggong looked at Shen Jingye with cold eyes.

Shen Jingye handed him a pen. "If there is no problem, sign the appointment contract. Tomorrow, the Border Controller will send over the new Hall Masters."

***

At the Dark Star Bureau, in the Law Enforcement Division office, Qin Minghui sat staring blankly at a newspaper.

Chen Changrui walked over. "Chuunibyou, why are you still here? Aren't you going home?"

Then Chen Changrui saw the newspaper in Qin Minghui's hands and froze. This was not a newspaper from the Outer Provinces. It was from Puluo Province.

"Chuunibyou, where did you get that paper? This sort of thing cannot just be..."

Qin Minghui did not answer. Instead, he asked Chen Changrui a question.

"Captain, what is the Jiangxiang Gang?"

"The Jiangxiang Gang is a gang in Puluo Province," Chen Changrui said.

Qin Minghui stared at Chen Changrui with a very serious expression and asked, "So it is a gang that murders, burns, cheats, kidnaps children, and commits every wicked thing under the sun? And the mission we carried out at the hospital was to protect that gang?"

Chen Changrui thought for a moment. "When you first joined the team, you said you wanted to protect everything important in this world. Some things cannot be judged only by what they look like on the surface. This gang is very important to us. What we are doing is also a kind of protection."

"This is not what I want to protect," Qin Minghui said. He folded the newspaper away and left the office with a cold expression.

***

Inside the Pocket Dwelling, Li Banfeng peeled open three lotus seeds.

The three lotus seeds had come from three different sources: the remains of the Mountain-Uprooting Lord and a pack of aberrant creatures, the corpse of the Star of Misfortune, and the corpse of Lin Dexing.

The refinement of this batch of pills had certainly taken its time, but by Li Banfeng's estimate, a full yield of Golden Essence Pills would be enough to get him to the tenth level.

The moment the lotus seeds cracked open, Li Banfeng became nervous. He could smell this strange fragrance.

It was not the scent of Golden Essence Pills. What came out of the lotus seeds was a Profound Essence Pill.

The very same kind of Profound Essence Pill that had nearly killed Wifey.

The three Profound Essence Pills filled the room with a strange fragrance.

Aside from the Judge's Brush, which was too lazy to move, every enchanted artifact in the room turned its attention to those three pills. However, it seemed like all they could do was look.

Hong Ying was different. She felt tempted to take the pills as these pills were something she could eat.

"Wretch! What do you think you are doing?" the Gramophone snapped. "You have already eaten so much flesh and blood, and now you want the pills too?"

Hong Ying gave a cold snort and went on combing her hair in front of the mirror.

The Gramophone stored the pills in her front cabinet. "Husband dear, you cannot eat these pills yet. Let this little wifey keep them for you."

Li Banfeng did not care at all. "Why keep them? Just eat them. Just make sure you check the quality first. Don't take too much again."

"My precious husband loves me with all his heart, and I serve my precious husband with all my heart. We husband and wife are such a loving pair. The wretches in this room shall die of envy there!"

Hong Ying painted a mouth on her spearhead and secretly spat at the Gramophone.

The Gramophone continued singing, "Precious husband, these three pills are of no use now. These three pills must wait their day. This little wifey shall keep them for you, and wash your scent away before you go too."

A cloud of steam wrapped around Li Banfeng and washed away the medicinal fragrance from his clothes.

Li Banfeng looked toward the illustrated calendar. "Dream Virtue, how long have I been home?"

"Thirteen hours and twenty-eight minutes."

It was over thirteen hours, which meant that his luck had increased slightly.

The key was on the train, and the Pocket Dwelling was traveling with the train. Li Banfeng was traveling with the Pocket Dwelling, so his Wanderlust Cultivator training had not been neglected either.

By Li Banfeng's estimate, the train should be arriving soon. He left the Pocket Dwelling, tidied up his things in the compartment, and got off the train with Luo Zhengnan.

Blackstone Slope was Li Banfeng's favorite city. He liked its customs, but more than that, he liked the grit in its people.

After taking over Lu Maoxian's business, Li Banfeng had become one of the strongest figures in Blackstone Slope. Even so, this was not the time to call on that influence.

Yu Nan had once said that the Jiangxiang Gang was a dog. This description was not quite accurate. It would be more accurate to describe the Jiangxiang Gang as a mad dog.

Among all the major gangs in Puluo Province, the Jiangxiang Gang was the most despised. Even so, very few great families or major gangs would be willing to make a move against it. The reason was that once this mad dog sank its teeth into someone, it would never let go and trouble would be endless.

In Blackstone Slope, Li Banfeng was known as Boss Ye. If he acted under that name, every business he owned in Blackstone Slope would be exposed to danger. And so, the better identity was Benefactor. If he used the identity Benefactor, he would have nothing to worry about.

Li Banfeng bought a newspaper in front of the station. News about the Jiangxiang Gang, large and small, filled the entire front page. He skimmed it roughly, then went straight to the hall with Luo Zhengnan.

Newspaper attention was a good thing. From now on, these cockroaches would find it much harder to hide in the dark.

However, it also brought Li Banfeng some trouble. The bigger the commotion became, the more guarded the Jiangxiang Gang would be.

Fortunately, the hall at Blackstone Slope would not be difficult to deal with.

The people of Blackstone Slope had backbone, and the Jiangxiang Gang had never found it easy to do business there. The hall had only three branches under it, and each branch had no more than three to five men.

All together, there were barely more than a dozen of them. They were only just keeping the Jiangxiang Gang's banner standing. Li Banfeng made a rough estimate and determined that it would take less than half a day to take that banner down.

However, when they were about to arrive at the hall, Luo Zhengnan realized that something was wrong. More than a dozen fortune-tellers had appeared outside the entrance, offering palm readings, face readings, and all manner of predictions.

Using fortune-telling and face reading to cheat people out of money was one of the Jiangxiang Gang's main businesses.

However, with this many fortune-tellers gathered near the hall, they were not simply there to scam a few passersby. Luo Zhengnan knew how this worked. This was their way of doing recruitment.

The hall at Blackstone Slope was trying to expand. That was something new.

Li Banfeng had just wiped out two halls. By all rights, the other halls should have been keeping their heads down and watching every step.

So why was this hall making such a show of itself?

And in Blackstone Slope, of all places.

How did they dare act so openly here?

This was out of the ordinary. Luo Zhengnan advised Li Banfeng to hold off for now and find out what was going on first.

Li Banfeng went to the newspaper office and asked Bai Qiusheng to look into it.

Bai Qiusheng ran Night-Blooming Jasmine, which was a proper newspaper in its own right. With the Jiangxiang Gang all over the news lately, he had gathered quite a bit of information.

"Master Qi, the Jiangxiang Gang's hall at the Blackstone Slope has received support from the Outer Provinces, and they have grown arrogant lately. Flower snatching had almost disappeared in Blackstone Slope, but recently, it seems to have started happening again."

Flower snatching was a slang that meant child abduction.

Luo Zhengnan tried to persuade Li Banfeng. "Master Qi, if the Border Controller has stepped in, then we should stop here. In Puluo Province, no matter what happens, we cannot offend the Border Controller."

Li Banfeng pulled the brim of his hat lower. "You go back to Greenwater City and wait for my word. I don't care who interferes today. These bastards are not walking away alive."