The Overlord of Puluo

Bao Yingchen, the Boss of the Three Heroes Sect, held the pair of Judge’s Brush in his hands and ran his fingers over them again and again.

Third Boss Yang Xingbo stared at the Judge’s Brushes for a moment, then shook his head. “Big Brother, I don’t mean to dampen your spirits, but to me, they just look like a rather unwieldy pair of weapons.”

Bao Yingchen gripped the Judge’s Brushes and channeled some energy into them. The brushes, which had originally just been less than half a meter long, instantly extended to more than two meters.

The pair of Judge’s Brushes had become two solid iron spears. Although Bao Yingchen was already over sixty, he wielded them with vigorous movements, and his attacks were fierce and sharp.

Yang Xingbo praised him. “Big Brother, impressive skill! But to be honest, these weapons still aren’t all that remarkable.”

Bao Yingchen withdrew his energy, and the Judge’s Brushes shrank back to their original size. “Third Brother, you really think these brushes aren’t good?”

Yang Xingbo shook his head. “Respectfully, you have seen plenty of weapons that can grow and shrink. So what exactly makes these so valuable? Chu Huaijun’s father, Chu Shaoqiang, is an Artificer Cultivator. Their family must have heaps of weapons like this lying around. If Chu Huaijun thinks he can win you over with something like this, then I must say, he is not that sincere.”

Bao Yingchen smiled and tucked the Judge’s Brushes back into their case. “Xingbo, I think he has shown plenty of sincerity. These brushes are treasures. Chu Huaijun might not have been able to explain what they do, but I can feel it. There is something special about them.

“Chu Huaijun has swallowed his pride for years, and now he has finally found a chance to turn things around. If we lend him a hand, we will be doing what the Border Control Office wants, which will help secure the Three Heroes Sect’s position. Why shouldn’t we?”

Yang Xingbo smiled and said, “Big Bro, I will do whatever you say.”

Bao Yingchen said, “You can’t just be listening to me. We must also listen to Chu Huaijun. He sent us such a fine gift, so our returning gift cannot be shabby. As for what we should give him, we will see what the Border Control Office wants us to give.”

Yang Xingbo responded, “My guess is that they want someone’s head.”

Bao Yingchen nodded. “Whose head do you think they want?”

Yang Xingbo thought for a moment. “He Yuxiu obviously. I heard that madwoman is back at Greenwater City. She’s like a thorn in the eyes of the Border Control Office now.”

Bao Yingchen shook his head. “She has courage but no sense. She’s just a fierce woman. She is already leading the He Family to its doom. She should have died at the hands of the Border Control Office long ago. She only survived because she was lucky. There is no need for us to concern ourselves with someone like her.”

“There’s also that girl Lu Chunying. She kept meddling in matters related to the Paramount Club and it caused Chu Huaijun to be in a rather awkward position with the Border Control Office.”

Bao Yingchen shook his head, “She’s just a little girl with no experience whatsoever. How big of a wave can she stir? Besides, she’s Lu Dongliang’s bastard child by some woman outside the family. With a background like hers, she has no right to stay in the Lu Family.”

Yang Xingbo thought again. “That leaves the Ma Family. Ma Chunting is old and no longer sees things clearly, but his son, Ma Junyang, is no lightweight.”

Bao Yingchen gave a cold laugh. “I don’t know how much he weighs, but he certainly doesn’t eat much. He nearly starved to death in Blue Poplar Village.

“That boy won’t be strutting about for much longer. He thinks that knowing how to spot a good business opportunity is enough to carve out a place for himself in Puluo Province. He has suffered far too little and dreamed far too much.”

Yang Xingbo thought and thought, but at last he could only shake his head. “Big Bro, I can’t think of anyone else.”

“Neither can I. This is a bit hard to figure out,” Bao Yingchen said as he rose to his feet. “Why is He Yuxiu still alive? Why is Lu Chunying still in the Lu Family? Why didn’t Ma Wu starve to death in Blue Poplar Village? We had better think very carefully about whose head the Border Control Office really wants.”

***

Inside the Pocket Dwelling, Li Banfeng asked the Judge’s Brush with great seriousness, “Do you have any other relatives?”

After making him wait for more than ten minutes, the Judge’s Brush finally replied with a single sound. “Hmph.”

Based on this sound, he should be saying...

In the end, Li Banfeng couldn’t figure it out.

The Gramophone offered her own advice. “Heyaaa~ Husband dear, who cares whether those brushes are related to our wretched brush? Since Old Luo has already found out about them, we might as well get our hands on them first.

“If they are really as useful as the Judge’s Brush we already have, then we will have gained a pair of priceless treasures.”

Li Banfeng nodded. “That’s what I was thinking too. It’s just that the items belong to the Boss of the Three Heroes Sect. I am afraid it won’t be easy to get our hands on them.”

”Husband dear, you are thinking too highly of the Three Heroes Sect. This sect does have a solid foundation, but the cultivation level of those three bosses might not be all that high. You are a level-seven cultivator and you run two businesses[2]. You can even put up a fight against someone at level eight. There is no reason to be afraid of him.”

Li Banfeng gnawed at a fingernail. ”That’s true. I run two businesses. I don’t have to be afraid of him.”

”Husband dear, the real trick is in choosing the right moment. It’s not hard dealing with the Golden Seal of the sect. However, it will be hard dealing with the entire Three Heroes Sect.”

Wifey’s right. Finding the proper opportunity won’t be easy, but it doesn’t matter if I don’t ever find the right opportunity. If I manage to get my hands on those Judge’s Brushes, I’ll count myself lucky. If I don’t, I haven’t lost anything.

At that moment, there were many more important matters at hand. For example, Ma Wu was hosting a guest at the outer residence. Normally, they would host guests at Freewind Wharf, but this guest was so special that he could not easily show himself in public.

”Old Qi, the friend we are meeting today is Shan Baowen. He’s from the Border Control Office. In the past, he was the reason we could get a travel permit from the Border Control Office in under an hour whenever we sent someone there. He’s come to see me today, and it’s definitely about money. If he asks for a high price, don’t let it bother you too much.”

”This is money well spent. You don’t have to discuss this with me,” Li Banfeng said. He sat down in the corner of the room as he wanted to test the man’s cultivation level.

Soon, the guest arrived. He looked to be around forty-seven or forty-eight, with an average build that was slightly on the lean side. He wore glasses and had the refined air of a well-mannered gentleman.

Ma Wu stood up to greet him, while Li Qi remained seated.

If Shan Baowen noticed Li Qi, it would mean his cultivation was not to be underestimated, and Ma Wu would introduce them at once. However, Shan Baowen did not notice Li Qi at all, which meant that his cultivation wasn’t high. In fact, he might be a Bleater.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries before sitting down. Shan Baowen wiped the sweat from his brow and said, ”I was in such a rush getting here that I didn’t even have time to stop for a drink of water.”

Ma Wu quickly poured him a cup of tea. ”Brother Baowen, when my man went to you for a travel permit yesterday, you said you had something to tell me. I was so worried that I couldn’t sleep at all last night.”

”It’s nothing serious.” Shan Baowen smiled. ”My son opened a factory, but the business failed. He lost a fair amount of money and was too frightened to tell me. I only found out yesterday, when the debt collectors came knocking.

”That boy simply isn’t cut out for business. I gave him a scolding, and instead of listening, he talked back. Young people these days have plenty of temper but very little ability. It made my blood boil.”

Ma Wu laughed. ”Brother Baowen, I wouldn’t say that. Business skills are something you learn through experience. Let him suffer a few more losses, and sooner or later, he will find his footing.”

Shan Baowen shook his head and said, ”It still depends on his talent. He is around your age, but he is much worse at doing business than you.”

”You are too kind. How much does he owe?”

”I feel really embarrassed to ask you for the money. The factory has only been open for two months, and he has already lost five hundred silver dollars.”

”That’s hardly a problem!” Ma Wu grinned. ”I will pay for it. Just consider it as me paying for this little brother’s tuition!”

”Oh... I feel so bad...”

”Don’t be courteous with me!”

After a little more polite back-and-forth, Shan Baowen lowered his voice. ”Yesterday, I went to deliver some documents to our Commissioner[1] and happened to see him meeting with someone. Can you guess who it was?”

Ma Wu shook his head. ”I wouldn’t have a clue.”

”Chu Huaijun, the head of the Chu Family. I was only passing through, but I overheard a few words of their conversation. They are planning to get rid of someone, and it sounds like they will make their move in the next few days.”

Ma Wu’s expression changed. ”Who are they after?”

”I don’t know. I only passed by once, and that was all I managed to hear.”

Ma Wu rubbed his chin and frowned.

Shan Baowen stood up. ”Junyang, I have still got some business to take care of, so I should get going.”

Ma Wu immediately stood up and prepared five hundred silver dollars for him. He did not dare escort Shan Baowen all the way to the door, so he only walked him to the stairway landing before saying goodbye.

Back in the room, Li Banfeng asked Ma Wu, ”Do you think that man told us everything he knew?”

Ma Wu thought for a moment. ”I think so. He’s greedy. If he knew anything more, he would have found a way to squeeze another payment out of me. Shan Baowen is a local from Puluo and doesn’t hold any real official rank. Even so, he’s already the highest-ranking person at the Border Control Office that we can buy off. Liao Zihui wants Chu Huaijun to get rid of someone. Who could it be?”

Li Banfeng looked at him. ”What do you think?”

”If it isn’t He Yuxiu, then it must be Lu Chunying. It would be best to have them hide in the New Land for a while.”

Li Banfeng lit a cigarette. ”Could they be after you?”

Ma Wu thought about it. ”Surely not. Apart from the newspaper office business, I have never actually provoked the Border Control Office.”

”But you are helping He Yuxiu and Lu Chunying now and both their family businesses now depend heavily on you.”

Ma Wu pursed his lips, and his cheek twitched. Old Qi has a point. They really could be after me!

”Old Qi, you should leave at once and lie low in the New Land. I will take care of a few business matters, then come find you as soon as I can,” Ma Wu instructed. ”If I can’t escape, keep a close eye on our business. Whatever happens, you must take care of it. As long as we still have the businesses, we will have a foundation to depend on and you can find a chance to avenge me later on.”

Li Banfeng laughed. ”Who says you will be the one who won’t get away? Why couldn’t it be Chu Huaijun?”

Ma Wu was stunned and instinctively responded, ”Of course it will be me. How could it possibly be him?”

Suddenly, he realized something and asked, ”You want to take down Chu Huaijun? He has the Border Control Office backing him. Who knows how powerful he’s become by now?”

Li Banfeng lit a cigarette. ”No matter how powerful he is, we already know he’s about to make a move, and we know who his targets might be. Our chance has come. We can’t let him off.”

Ma Wu shook his head. ”It’s still hard to tell who he might target.”

Li Banfeng said, ”The target might be He Yuxiu, Lu Chunying, or you. No matter what, Chu Huaijun must be targeting one of the three of you. You might as well gather in one place.

”Move into Lu Chunying’s house immediately, and bring Qin, Huo Ling, and Old Zuo with you. I will recruit another group to activate the land in Properfolk Village and I will also speak to Shui Yongquan and bring a few skilled fighters over from the New Land.

”We will gather all our strength in one place. No matter how many men Chu Huaijun sends this time, we won’t let a single one escape. If he comes in person, we will deal with him too. If the Border Control Office gets involved, we will deal with them along with him.”

”Even the Border Control Office...” Ma Wu muttered. He could tell that Old Qi was about to go on another madness episode, so he tried to reason with him. ”Let’s think this through again. I still feel we are being too rash. If I gather with the others in one place and a fight breaks out, won’t we be giving them the chance to wipe us all out at once?”

Li Banfeng shook his head. ”They can’t wipe us out at once. If they could, they would have done it already. They don’t have a ladle big enough to scoop us all up.”

”At the very least, let Lu Chunying hide in Properfolk Village,” Ma Wu said. ”Her cultivation is too low, and she can’t fight. If she stays, she will only become a burden.”

Li Banfeng shook his head again. ”If we do that, we will be walking straight into their trap. We will be lining ourselves up for them to pick off one by one!”

”But it would still be safer,” Ma Wu argued.

”If safety is all that matters, then you should hide in Properfolk Village too. You are not much of a fighter yourself. But once you hide, will Qin, Huo Ling, and Old Zuo still give it everything they have? Who would they be risking their lives for?

”If Lu Chunying hides, who will Tan Fucheng, Lu Yuanxin, and the others be fighting for? If all of us hide, He Yuxiu will be left to face them alone. Once she falls, the Border Control Office will simply move onto its next target. With one filthy trick, they will keep every one of our lives clutched in their hands.

”If you are willing to live like that, then go to Properfolk Village right now. If you are not, pack your things and move into Lu Chunying’s house.”

Ma Wu took a puff from his cigarette, lifted his head, and said, ”Old Qi, I will do as you say.”

Author’s Note:

PS: A fierce battle is about to happen.

1. Senior title overseeing the Border Control Office ☜

2. First mentioned in Chapter 372 ☜