Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

"Yang Yanzheng is the manager for the Chu Family's Second Miss. Over two months ago, he came to Blue Poplar Village and asked me to gather information about you. Once he heard you'd acquired money, he told me to place two bricks by the old well at the village outskirts. He said someone would then come to handle matters, and afterward, I'd be rewarded—thirty Ocean Dollars each time.

"A couple of days ago, he visited me again. He gave me the promised reward money, as agreed, and told me to continue, saying the rewards would increase. That's when I started monitoring your movements.

"The people who robbed you were sent by Yang Yanzheng. They were outsiders, unfamiliar with this area, so I was responsible for guiding them and identifying you.

"If anything went wrong, I was to report back to Yang Yanzheng immediately. That was the extent of my involvement. I've never personally harmed you, nor did I ever intend to. I've told you everything I know, Young Master Wu, and you, sir... please, spare my life."

Landlord Wei knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

He truly had revealed everything he knew.

In his eyes, Li Banfeng was like a devil. No matter what he hid in his heart, Li Banfeng seemed to see right through it.

Only now did Ma Wu realize why the people who came to rob him were always different, yet they could always recognize and find him.

It turned out Landlord Wei had been guiding them all along.

Ma Wu asked Landlord Wei, "Why does Yang Yanzheng want to harm me? I don't even know this person."

Landlord Wei shook his head. "I wouldn't know about that. I'm just someone who carries out orders."

Li Banfeng nodded. "That's also true. Is there anything else you haven't told us?"

Landlord Wei cried, "I've told you everything! I haven't hidden a single thing!"

Li Banfeng believed he was telling the truth. He turned to Ma Wu. "Brother Ma, could you please step outside for a moment? I have a few words I'd like to discuss with Boss Wei alone."

Upon hearing this, Landlord Wei howled in despair.

He didn't want to be alone with Li Banfeng, not even for a moment.

Ma Wu also guessed what Li Banfeng intended to do.

Seeing Landlord Wei crying like this, Ma Wu actually felt a twinge of compassion.

Just as Landlord Wei himself had said, he was merely paid to do a job; he wasn't the main culprit, nor had he ever truly laid a hand on Ma Wu.

"Brother Li, if you ask me, this matter..." Ma Wu began.

Li Banfeng ignored Ma Wu and asked Landlord Wei, "You knew Ma Wu was already sleeping in a hovel. Why did you still inform Yang Yanzheng? Why did you let him send people to rob Ma Wu? You wouldn't even spare his last bit of food money?"

Weeping, Landlord Wei said, "I was just greedy for that money. I saw Young Master Wu selling scraps, and I just wanted to earn that extra reward."

Li Banfeng asked again, "Ma Wu saved your life. Have you forgotten that?"

"That... that I already repaid with the rent. That's a separate matter," he replied.

Upon hearing this, Ma Wu's compassion vanished.

"Brother Li, I'm going for a walk. I'll be back in an hour," Ma Wu said.

"No need for an hour." Li Banfeng looked at Landlord Wei with a fleeting smile. "Since Landlord Wei is being so cooperative, a few minutes should be enough for our chat."

Landlord Wei shrieked, "Ma Wu, you can't leave! Let's clear this up right here, right now! I have plenty of connections in the underworld. If you dare touch me today, you definitely won't make it out of this door alive!"

A few days ago, when Landlord Wei and Yu Mazai had their violent dispute, indeed, many people had fought by his side.

Could he also be a member of a Gang?

The Landlord Gang?

Ma Wu sneered. "Boss Wei, do you really think I don't understand how things work? Those 'friends' of yours are just thugs. They'll do anything for money, regardless of who's paying."

After saying this, Ma Wu left.

Li Banfeng patted Landlord Wei's face. "Now, it's just the two of us."

「...」

Twenty minutes later, Ma Wu returned to the wooden cabin. He saw Li Banfeng covering the spot where the Glue Mud had been with a red carpet. Landlord Wei was nowhere to be seen.

Ma Wu helped Li Banfeng clean the living room. They started talking about Landlord Wei.

Ma Wu asked, "Now that Landlord Wei is gone, will we still live here?"

"Of course, we will!" Li Banfeng sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette. "Landlord Wei has gone on a long trip; it's uncertain when he'll be back. In the meantime, it's unlikely anyone will come looking for him. We're merely without a rent collector."

Ma Wu thought about it and realized that made sense.

Li Banfeng continued, "There's one thing I still don't understand, though. For a wasteland duel, can someone find a substitute?"

"You mean having someone take his place in a duel?" Ma Wu shook his head. "If it's in the Clear Sky Arena, a daytime duel, then finding a substitute is possible. But not in the Huntian Venue. That's a duel to the death, and only the challenged individual can participate."

"That's odd." Li Banfeng frowned. "Landlord Wei possessed no remarkable skills. How could Yu Mazai have possibly lost to him?"

Was Yu Mazai just too weak?

During the brawl, Yu Mazai hadn't appeared weak at all.

Could there be another reason?

Unable to come up with an answer immediately, they set the question aside for now.

After discussing Landlord Wei, they turned to the matter of Yang Yanzheng.

Li Banfeng asked Ma Wu, "Yang Yanzheng must be acting on his master's orders to harm you. Do you know the Chu Family's Second Miss? I read about her in the newspaper; it said she was accused of attempting to murder her husband."

Ma Wu pondered for a long while. "The Chu Family's Second Miss, Chu Huaiyuan... I know her, but we don't have any enmity. We've just had some friction in business matters."

"Tell me more about this friction." Li Banfeng took a sip of tea, clearly interested.

Ma Wu said, "It's nothing major. During the New Year festivities this year, Greenwater Bay held fifteen consecutive singing contests, from the first to the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year. A Singing Empress was crowned at each event. Among the fifteen, Jiang Mengting, Xu Qiulan, and Xiao Xiufei garnered the most popularity.

"I own two dance halls. I invited the most popular one, Jiang Mengting, and signed a three-year contract with her to perform at my two venues in rotation."