"If you can't praise someone properly, then don't bother," Yue Hai chuckled. He understood the meaning of scheming and had merely been teasing earlier.
However, he quickly thought of another issue. "But if it really is Xiaoyue's father, Brother Li, what do you plan to do?"
"We'll deal with it when the time comes," Li Chonglou said, turning away directly.
"Where are we going?"
"Let's go get Black Saber and the others first."
After Old San dropped them off near the Little Saber Society, Li Chonglou asked Old San to pick up Black Saber and the other two. Their meeting point was naturally the inn.
Not long after the two returned to the inn, Old San and the three from Black Saber returned to the room.
"How are things?"
Black Saber sighed. "Boss, we've basically got a clear picture of the situation and found a breakthrough, but the problem seems a bit complicated."
"Tell me about it first."
Black Saber nodded and then recounted the results of their investigation over the past two days. The root of the conflict between the Little Saber Society and the residents of Feng Town lay in every aspect of their daily lives. To put it bluntly, the Little Saber Society controlled the residents' food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and even their beliefs.
To the north of Feng Town stood a temple. It didn't worship any Buddhist or divine deities, but rather a leader of the Little Saber Society. Legend had it that Feng Town had once faced a disaster that threatened to wipe it out, and it was this leader who emerged and turned the tide, allowing the residents of Feng Town to overcome the crisis.
Thus, anything approved by the Little Saber Society was also approved by the majority of Feng Town's residents, almost as if it had become their custom. Therefore, the source of the rumors could only be resolved by starting with the Little Saber Society.
The breakthrough Black Saber mentioned was a turning point that had only occurred in recent decades. Fifty years ago, Feng Town experienced a widespread plague. Even the people from the Upper Capital General Bureau were helpless against it. Finally, a physician from a prominent family in Feng Town, after three days and three nights of work, with his hair turning white overnight, developed an antidote using an ancestral secret formula, saving Feng Town from crisis once again.
"Besides the Little Saber Society, only this elder holds sufficient status among the residents. If he speaks out, he can still stabilize a portion of the residents."
"However, that's also where the trouble lies. He has no good feelings towards us outsiders and doesn't even want to talk to us."
Li Chonglou couldn't help but frown upon hearing this. "Have you found out the reason?"
Black Saber nodded and said, "We've found out a bit about that. It seems to be related to a disappearance case from a year ago."
This time, Li Chonglou didn't need to ask. Black Saber continued, "This disappearance case doesn't seem to have occurred only in Feng Town. According to some elders, the origin was in the Upper Capital, and Feng Town was merely caught up in it."
"At that time, some outsiders came, and the person who received them was precisely that elder's family member. Afterwards, the elder's grandson went missing."
"After this incident, the elder's daughter-in-law became erratic, and he blamed the outsiders for everything. That's why..."
Li Chonglou immediately understood, his eyes narrowing slightly. Black Saber continued to narrate his investigation results, which mainly touched upon the police station but with little progress. Although the police station still held some influence, according to their investigation, the police station only dealt with matters objectively and not with individuals. While they might play a role in dispelling rumors, that would be the extent of it.
The room fell silent for a moment. Seeing Li Chonglou in deep thought, they dared not interrupt and silently sat by, awaiting Li Chonglou's next instructions.
Li Chonglou summarized the events of the past few days. The biggest obstacle in their trip to Feng Town was actually the town's residents. Sun Corporation wanted more than just to dispel the rumors; Sun Zhong's intention was to have his company truly establish a foothold in Feng Town. From this perspective, whether the rumors were dispelled or not wasn't the core issue. The core issue was to make the town's residents accept its existence. The involvement of the Little Saber Society was because they were currently the true masters of Feng Town.
With this in mind, Li Chonglou slowly spoke, "The police station can currently be considered neutral. We can ignore them for now. To complete the mission, who do you think we should approach first?" Li Chonglou threw the question back to the group.
Yue Hai stroked his chin thoughtfully. "The rumors originated from the Little Saber Society, so naturally, we should start with them."
Black Saber shook his head and retorted, "Although I don't understand strategy much, I feel we should start with the elder."
"Why?" Yue Hai looked at Black Saber with confusion.
"I just feel that approaching the elder could also be effective, and it's simpler than dealing with the Little Saber Society. Think about it, the Little Saber Society has been established here for so many years. It wouldn't be a short matter to confront them. But if we approach the elder, we only need to face one person."
At this moment, Sen Lang also spoke, "Boss is right. The Little Saber Society is, after all, a gang. Although the rumors originated from them, if we can achieve the same effect, why not choose something relatively simpler?"
Yue Hai paused, then thought it made sense. Thus, they all looked at Li Chonglou.
"Not bad, the direction is correct," Li Chonglou said with a smile. "However, the thinking is a bit superficial."
Li Chonglou stood up. "Although Feng Town is currently managed by the Little Saber Society, if we look at it from another angle, the Little Saber Society's existence is also due to Feng Town's existence. As an old saying goes, water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."
"If we were to confront the Little Saber Society directly from the beginning, it would be very easy for them to rally the residents against us, and then we would be facing two enemies."
"But if we first resolve the issue with the residents and gain some support from them, and then confront the Little Saber Society, we would at least have reinforcements and wouldn't be fighting alone."
Yue Hai and the others suddenly understood. Sen Lang and his brother cast looks of admiration towards Li Chonglou.
"As expected of Brother Li, we only thought of the first level, and Brother Li has already considered the fifth level! Awesome!" Sen Bao gave a thumbs up, earning a roll of Li Chonglou's eyes.
"There's no time to delay, let's go see that elder first." It was only around three in the afternoon, and there was still a long time before dark. Li Chonglou decided to go and see the elder's situation.
Afterwards, led by Black Saber, they arrived at the entrance of a residential building. They were still several hundred meters away from the elder's home, but since the elder was resistant to outsiders, Li Chonglou naturally asked Old San to park the car over here first.