The Overlord of Puluo

Standing before the ruins of the Elysian Melody Dancehall, Shi Boyu, the master of the second branch of the Medicine King Hall of Jiangxiang Gang, remained silent for a long time.

The Elysian Melody Dancehall had exploded!

Someone had blown up the Elysian Melody Dancehall!

That was the Jiangxiang Gang's business. It had been the second branch's most profitable venture. Just yesterday, it had been perfectly fine, and now it lay in ruins after the explosion.

Not only was the dancehall gone, but Wind Watcher Du Hongxi and the manager of the dancehall, Zhou Yujuan, were missing. It was uncertain as to whether they were dead or alive.

Who did this? Was that person insane? Who would dare blow up the Jiangxiang Gang's dancehall and kill their people? What did he take the Jiangxiang Gang for? Shi Boyu's thoughts churned in anger.

Shi Boyu had once served as a Redstaff Enforcer under the Third Branch of the Greenwater Hall. After earning great merit, he was promoted to master of the second branch of the Medicine King Hall, yet he had been in office for less than two months when this disaster struck.

It started to rain, and Shi Boyu's mood sank to its lowest point.

Xiang Guicheng, the third-level Martial Cultivator and also the Redstaff Enforcer of the second branch, glared at the ruins and spat through clenched teeth. "Who's the bastard that did this? Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we'll find that worthless scum!"

Several of Xiang Guicheng's men, also known as the Redstaff Crewmates, chimed in at once. "It must have been Nanny Butch[1]! We'll rip out her heart and liver, peel her skin, and tear out her tendons!" "Killing her alone will not be enough. We will drag the whole Yu Family Cloth Shop down with her. Wind Watcher Du, if your spirit can hear us, wait for us. We will avenge you."

Xiang Guicheng could barely control his anger, while the Redstaff Crewmates burnt with fury. In contrast, Branch Master Shi Boyu remained silent, though his cheeks twitched faintly.

Zhong Desong, a second-level Ascetic Cultivator and the Virtuous Adept of the second branch, stood quietly to the side.

The role of a Virtuous Adept was to recommend capable men, and at this moment, he was already thinking about who would become the next Wind Watcher.

One of the Redstaff Crewmate suddenly stepped forward and said to Xiang Guicheng, "Big Bro Xiang, I saw that bastard Qin Tianjiu[2] yesterday. He was eating at the Prosperity Bun Shop, sitting there with a smug look on his face and acting all proud of himself."

Xiang Guicheng frowned. "Qin Tianjiu? Which one?"

Another Redstaff Crewmate quickly reminded him, "That fat guy with the surname Qin. The one who started all that trouble with the Geng Family Medicinal Trading House!"

"Goddamn it!" Xiang Guicheng spat his half-smoked cigarette to the ground and faced Branch Master Shi Boyu. "Branch Master Shi, say the word and I'll have my men drag that fat bastard right now! I'll tear out his tendons and skin him alive!"

Before Shi Boyu could answer, the Heartkeeper Sun Xiao'an spoke from the side. "Brother Xiang, calm down for now. The branch master is upset enough already. We can talk about this later."

Xiang Guicheng shouted back, "What good is being upset? We must avenge Brother Du first!"

Sun Xiao'an shook his head. "Brother Xiang, we have not even found Wind Watcher Du's body. We cannot say for sure that he is dead. Talking about avenging his death when he might be alive is not the right thing to do."

Xiang Guicheng scowled. "I don't have time for your word games. Fine! Let's not talk about Old Du! Let's just talk about the dancehall! Someone must pay for what they did to the dancehall, right?"

Sun Xiao'an nodded. "Of course! We must get revenge for our dancehall, but the problem is we do not know who we should take our revenge on."

"Who else could it be?!" Xiang Guicheng barked. "It has to be that fat bastard Qin and that Nanshag Butch! That Fatty Qin is already swaggering around the bun shop like he runs the town. He's making it clear he doesn't fear the Jiangxiang Gang!"

Sun Xiao'an took a slow puff from his water pipe and gave a cold laugh. "Brother Xiang, if Yu Nan really had that kind of ability, she wouldn't have left Inner Gully and not dared to come back. As for why Qin Tianjiu's back, we should look into it before drawing conclusions."

Xiang Guicheng's eyes bulged as he glared and asked, "And how long is that going to take?"

Sun Xiao'an flicked the ash from his pipe and said calmly, "That depends on what the branch master decides."

Xiang Guicheng fell silent.

Then Sun Xiao'an turned to Shi Boyu and advised, "Branch Master Shi, we need to handle this matter carefully. You should head back to the branch hall and wait for news. I expect that the Hall Master will soon send someone to question us."

Shi Boyu nodded, got into the carriage, and returned to the branch hall, with Sun Xiao'an accompanying him.

The Heartkeeper's duty was to serve as the branch master's trusted adviser.

After arriving at the branch hall and sending the others away, Shi Boyu said to Sun Xiao'an, "I thought Xiang Guicheng and Du Hongxi weren't that close. Yet judging from today, they seem to share quite a deep bond."

Sun Xiao'an packed some tobacco into his water pipe, shook his head with a faint smile, and said, "Branch Master Shi, you've only just taken over, so it's natural that you might not be familiar with everyone's temperament.

"At the start of the year, Xiang Guicheng asked Du Hongxi to lend him three hundred thousand, but Du Hongxi only gave him one hundred thousand. Xiang Guicheng then brought his men to encircle Du Hongxi at the dancehall, and Du Hongxi survived only because of his ghost servants.

"Then, just last month, Xiang Guicheng got drunk, went to the dancehall, and ended up sleeping with Zhou Yujuan. Because he slept with Zhou Yujuan, Du Hongxi fought him for an entire day and night. Do you really think those two could be close?"

Shi Boyu frowned. "Then what about today's incident?"

"There's something odd about all of this," Sun Xiao'an said with a frown. "Ever since the disaster at the Geng Family Medicinal Trading House, I have felt that something was off. We might have offended someone we shouldn't have. Now that Qin Tianjiu's back, it's gotten even stranger."

"How is it odd?"

"Branch Master Shi, think about it. We have only just stepped into the matter between the Geng Family and the Yu Family. Actually, we have not really intervened yet;

we have only begun to investigate. We have not even drawn our knives, yet someone has already blown up our dancehall. Would any normal person do this? Even our Hall Master wouldn't act with such ruthlessness!"

Shi Boyu tapped the sofa armrest lightly as he said, "How about we bring Qin Tianjiu in for questioning?"

Sun Xiao'an quickly shook his head. "We can't do that. We can't capture him. If we take him in now, we might be walking straight into a trap. I have already sent men to investigate, and we should have news by today."

***