Li Banfeng followed Ma Wu across the newly built road and stopped before a stretch of ruins.
The site had only just been demolished. Broken bricks and scattered rubble still covered the ground, untouched since the work began.
By now, a row of iron bars had been set up around the periter, with guards posted to keep out anyone who had nothing to do with the fight.
"This is a rule of the Song Family. It’s called sealing the field. Before a bloodcall, they shut the entire area down. The Song Family picks the site a day ahead of ti, and once it’s sealed, no one is allowed to enter or pull any tricks."
Li Banfeng was taken aback. This was far more formal than he had expected.
Through the iron fence, Li Banfeng spotted Song Jiasen, the head of the Song Family.
Song Jiasen wore a short, front-clasping blue cotton jacket. Behind him stood his two sons, Song Zhigang and Song Zhiyi, and further back were two or three dozen guards.
The crowd of onlookers grew larger. At ten o'clock sharp, Song Jiasen gave the order, "Beat the drum."
Dong, dong, dong~
The drumbeats burst through the air, loud enough to rattle teeth. The two main fighters hired for the bloodcall match marched into the arena with heavy, deliberate steps.
They were called “main fighters,” but in truth they were simply the bruisers each side had paid for. They were picked like prize livestock and pushed forward to do the smashing.
At Skygreen Field, the dayti fight with wagers followed a very simple rule. The two sides staked their wishes on the outco, and whoever won had the right to make the other obey. Since the real quarrelers often had no desire to get their own noses broken, they simply hired soone else to take the blows for them.
The ones who started today’s bloodcall were the owners of two inns who had gotten into a business dispute. One of them sent out a tall, burly man who stood nearly one ter ninety. He was solidly built, and it was obvious from the way he carried himself that he had trained in martial arts.
The other inn chose a middle-aged man who looked rather skinny. Judging by his physique, he was clearly at a disadvantage, which only ant he was very likely a high-level cultivator.
Before the fight began, both sides announced their nas and stated the reason for the match.
The middle-aged man spoke first. “Today, I have co to this field for a bloodcall to seek justice for Liuyuan Inn. Everyone knows an inn is a place for travelers to stay. "Blue Poplar Village barely gets any visitors as it is, and keeping an inn running out here is already hard enough. As innkeepers, it is our job to keep the rooms clean and serve generous food and wine to whoever walks through our doors.
“But that Huaxuan Inn across the way decided otherwise. They went and hired a handful of girls, squeezed them into outfits so skimpy they could make a monk blush, and planted them right at the door to flutter their eyes at every passing soul. Tell , is that what an inn should be doing? They are dragging the good na of our Blue Poplar Village straight through the mud.”
“I did not show up here today for a few coins. I ca to defend the na of our Blue Poplar Village and to see that Liuyuan Inn gets the justice it deserves.”
The man spoke well and the crowd could not help themselves, and a handful of them let out loud, approving shouts.
The tall, burly man was not good with words. He let out a cold snort. “What are you yapping for? Just fight.”
Everyone craned their necks, eager for the show to start. After three rounds of the drum, the two fighters moved in and the match officially began.
Five or six long minutes ticked past, and the fight was going nowhere. Half of the crowd wanting so excitent left.
It was boring. Neither of them had any cultivation. Two inns fighting over business was never interesting to begin with.
The two main fighters flung a punch here and a kick there, which was no difference from any ordinary street brawl. Scenes like this were far too common in Blue Poplar Village.
The burly man, built like a mountain, naturally held the upper hand.
The middle-aged man, thin as a reed, survived only by clinging to his scraps of experience, and even that barely kept him in the fight.
Watching the middle-aged man flail about, Li Banfeng leaned toward Ma Wu and asked, “Why would they send soone like him to a bloodcall? He can talk, sure, but he can’t fight. There is no chance he’ll win.”
“Who knows…” Ma Wu was not watching the fight at all. His eyes kept roaming over the crowd instead, searching for soone he could recruit for their next trip to the new land.
Another two minutes crawled by.
Suddenly, an accident happened. The burly man landed a heavy punch, and the middle-aged man lurched backward, staggering like a drunk and nearly toppling over. He stumbled all the way to a half-collapsed brick wall before he managed to catch himself.
The burly man seized his mont and lunged forward, only to bring his foot down on a loose, broken brick.
The brick suddenly crumbled beneath him. The wall gave out at the sa ti, and the whole ss of falling bricks ca crashing down right on top of the burly man.
The burly man was badly injured and could hardly stay upright. The middle-aged man sprang to his feet and sent him tumbling with a sharp kick, then stepped in to add two more for good asure. The burly man broke instantly and begged for rcy on the spot.
The fight was over.
Song Jiasen rose to his feet and shouted, “That’s the end of this call! Beat the drum, Liuyuan Inn wins!”
The dull bloodcall ended just like that. One side burst into cheers, the other sagged in defeat, and the spectators drifted away in twos and threes.
Li Banfeng did not leave with them. He stayed where he was, staring at the ground for a long mont.
One step on a brick, and the whole wall collapsed. Sothing about that was not right.
***
Qiu Zhiheng stood in front of the main residence, staring blankly into space.
Zuo Wugang, captain of the guards, shifted uneasily nearby. He kept glancing at Qiu Zhiheng, looking as though he wanted to speak but could not quite find the words.
A man in a blue long coat ca running over, shouting at the top of his lungs. “News, we have news!”
Zuo Wugang’s face lit up with joy. “There’s news?”
“Yes!” the man said, nodding so hard it looked like his head might co loose. “Soone saw Li Banfeng at the Paramount Club last night. He had a gramophone with him, and he looked exactly like the man in the photo. This ti the information is absolutely reliable…”
So it was news about Li Banfeng. Qiu Zhiheng still said nothing. Zuo Wugang stepped forward instead and kicked the man flat onto the ground, then set about beating him without a mont’s hesitation.
“Li Banfeng? Li Banfeng again? Why the fuck would you be looking for Li Banfeng?” Zuo Wugang bellowed. “What good would finding him do now? Did I not tell you to look for Master Lu? To hell with Li Banfeng!”
The man in the long coat froze. “I… well… yesterday you… uh… did you not tell us to find Li Banfeng…”
“I am telling you now to find Master Lu. Did you fucking hear what I said? If you heard, then move!”
Zuo Wugang gave him two more kicks before the man scrambled away.
“He is going to look for Master Lu now. He is going!” Zuo Wugang said, trying to reassure Monkey Qiu while looking rather awkward.
Ever since the incident at the Lu family residence, the person caught in the most awkward position, from the top of the household to the bottom, was Zuo Wugang, the large support hook in charge of the guards.
He had been through the whole thing yet seen nothing at all, and he had been of no use whatsoever.
Lu Dongliang had been missing for an entire night, and now no one knew whether he was alive or dead. The Lu Family, the most prestigious family in all of Puluo Province, now looked as though it might crumble in a single night.
According to Lu Dongjun, Lu Dongliang had been injured by He Yuxiu.
Yet from what Qiu Zhiheng knew, Lu Dongliang’s cultivation far outmatched He Yuxiu’s, and the fight had taken place inside the Lu family’s main residence. By all logic, he should never have lost to her.
Even if Lu Dongliang had been careless and let He Yuxiu win by sheer accident, he would still have found so way to slip off unhard. At the very least, he could have hidden sowhere instead of disappearing without a single trace.
Could sothing bad truly have happened to Master Lu?
Qiu Zhiheng had sent people to the He family to investigate, but there had been no response.
To be honest, what Monkey Qiu cared about most right now was not the He family, but Lu Dongjun.
Why had Lu Dongjun shown up at the residence last night? Who sent him?
Qiu Zhiheng had tried asking Zuo Wugang, but all he got was a shake of the head and a long sigh. “Chief Qiu, this is Master Lu’s family matter. How would I ever dare to ask?”
Qiu Zhiheng did not bla Zuo Wugang. He simply felt he had been careless himself.
He blad himself, yet he did not panic. Qiu Zhiheng could still clearly assess the situation before him.
Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying were missing, but that was not a serious concern.
Zhuo Yuling and Lu Xiaolan were also missing. That matter was more urgent, but not critical yet.
The real nightmare was Lu Dongjun. If he reached Lu Dongliang before anyone else, the consequences would be unimaginable.
***
Despite leading his n through every street, stall, and smoky back alley of Greenwater City, Lu Dongjun could not find any signs of Lu Dongliang.
Still, the way Lu Dongjun stomped about made his thoughts plain as day, and the people around him quickly picked up on his true intention.
Wan Jinxian, the adviser at Lu Dongjun’s side, reminded him, “Second Master, the search for the Eldest Master is sothing you can simply order us to handle. What matters now is guarding against the He family’s attack.”
“A household cannot go a single day without a master. Soone must step up and take responsibility for the family now.”
This suggestion fit perfectly with what Lu Dongjun already wanted.
Take responsibility for the family, and seize the position of family head first.
Lu Dongjun ordered, “Send word to the elders and our peers. Tell them to gather at the Lu Family's main residence for a eting.”
Wan Jinxian reminded again, “Are you sure the Lu Family's main residence is the right place for this eting?”
“How is it not suitable?” Lu Dongjun asked. Important family etings had always been held in the main residence;
that rule had never changed. He truly didn’t understand what Wan Jinxian ant.
Wan Jinxian spoke more plainly. “The Eldest Madam[1] is still in the main residence. And don’t forget about Monkey Qiu.”
Suddenly, it dawned upon Lu Dongjun that the Lu Family's main residence was Lu Dongliang’s ho.
If he tried to assert authority in Lu Dongliang's own ho, he might not even have as much power as his sister-in-law, not to ntion the chief steward.
“Send word for everyone to et at my residence. Tell them it’s urgent. Anyone in Greenwater City is to arrive before noon.”
Lu Dongjun headed back to his residence to prepare for the eting at noon.
He had waited a long ti for this day. Though he still hadn’t found Lu Dongliang and felt a lingering unease, as long as the family mbers obeyed him, stopped searching for Lu Dongliang, and focused on dealing with the He family, his first move would be complete.
The second step, of course, was to find Lu Dongliang, get rid of him, and pin the bla squarely on the He Family.
The third step was to unite the Lu Family against the He Family, destroy their shared enemy, and let the victories pave the way for Lu Dongjun to claim both the rit and the seat of family head.
Lu Dongjun had run through these three steps countless tis in his mind, and was fully confident.
However, when noon arrived, the very first step of his plan ran into trouble. None of the Lu family elders or anyone of his generation showed up.
No one gave Lu Dongjun any respect and not a single person ca to his residence for the eting.
Instead, two elders went to the Lu Family's main residence to visit Lu Dongliang’s sons.
Lu Dongjun’s cheek twitched violently.
Even with sothing having happened to Lu Dongliang, the family’s attitude toward Lu Dongjun had not changed at all. No one looked up to him.
Even if they found Lu Dongliang’s corpse tomorrow, the position of family head would still be unlikely to fall to Lu Dongjun.
***
Li Banfeng had spent the past few days rumbling around on the road roller and was in unusually high spirits. He planned to catch up on sleep that afternoon, then head to the new land again that night to retrieve the gluey clay he had missed earlier.
When he stepped into the Pocket Dwelling, he discovered the bronze lotus in full bloom. Two lotus seeds lay upon its core: one fully matured and ready for harvest and the other still being refined.
As soon as Li Banfeng removed the lotus seed, the petals snapped shut. After half an hour of waiting, the remaining lotus seed finally burst open.
This ti, what burst out was not a asly one or two pills but a whole lot of them! A total of thirty-eight!
The golden beads glowed with a bold, buttery shine. Every bead was plump and round, and there were so many of them he could not fit the lot into a single palm.
“What kind of pill is this?”
Pop… crackle… pop…
The gramophone sang in response, "Heyyaaaaaa~ Husband dear~ These are Golden Essence Pills. Taking one will grant you a hundred days of cultivation. With a whole handful, my dear husband could build himself a fine livelihood."
A single pill worth a hundred days of cultivation? There is no way I would ever sell sothing this marvelous. Of course I have to keep it for myself! I just need to make sure my wifey never finds out.
A Hobound Cultivator normally could not improve his cultivation through pills. If the gramophone caught him taking one, it might expose the fact that he was a Wanderlust Cultivator as well.
Li Banfeng grew excited. “Where did these pills co from? Were they made using Lu Dongliang?”
Pop… crackle… pop…
“It is far too early to turn Lu Dongliang into pills. These were made from that insect.”
Insect? Madam Bagworm Moth!
Li Banfeng gathered the shining pills into his hands and handed them to the gramophone.
His wifey had contributed most of the effort in killing Madam Bagworm Moth, so the right to divide the pills clearly belonged to her. Li Banfeng knew that as plainly as he knew his own na.
Pop… crackle… pop…
Wifey laughed. “Good husband, pills of this quality may be rare, but this little wifey does not care about them.”
Li Banfeng could not quite make sense of it.
Thirty-eight Golden Essence Pills. Each one worth a hundred days of cultivation. If he gobbled them all up, he could jump a whole level just like that.
And even these were not good enough for the gramophone?
A curl of steam wrapped itself around Li Banfeng. “Husband dear, you treat this little wifey so tenderly that my heart sotis feels uneasy, as if I’m in your debt.”
“Uneasy?” Li Banfeng chuckled. “It’s your stomach that’s uneasy. You haven’t had a proper dish these last two days. You must be hungry again.”
“This little wifey is not hungry. This little wifey does not want any food at all.”
Li Banfeng froze for a mont. What’s wrong with my wifey? Why is her appetite still so poor? Could Lu Dongliang alone really have filled her so full?
Li Banfeng asked again, “If you don’t want food, then I’ll go find a few more gramophones and get so replacent parts?”
“This little wifey does not want replacent parts.”
“Then what do you want? A bit of oil for lubrication?”
“This little wifey does not want oil.”
She wants nothing? Li Banfeng thought. Then there's nothing I can do.
Feeling happy that he had nothing to do, Li Banfeng flopped back onto the bed. “Wifey, I’ll take a nap first. Tonight I’ll head to the new land and see if I can find sothing fresh for you.”
“This little wifey wants no fresh things. This little wifey only wants you.”
Li Banfeng patted the gramophone’s turntable and nodded. “I like hearing that.”
“This little wifey is not rely saying it. This wife truly wants you.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The rapid percussion showed that his wifey was growing impatient. The forceful rhythm showed she was very serious.
“Well, um… let’s wait until your body recovers first…” Li Banfeng suddenly bolted upright and sprinted for the door. He no longer trusted wifey’s current state of mind.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“No more waiting! This little wifey wants you right now!”
Whoosh!
A sudden burst of steam swept over him from the face forward, coiled around his body, and pulled him straight toward the horn.
This crazy woman is going to eat ! Li Banfeng yelled inwardly.
However, no matter how he struggled, it did nothing.
The powerful surge of steam pulled with such force that half of Li Banfeng’s body was dragged into the gramophone’s central horn.
“Murdering your own husband… wicked woman… murdering your husband is a grave cri, a grave cri…” Li Banfeng yelped.
He clawed at the rim, kicked wildly, twisted this way and that, and even attempted a rather undignified wiggle. After several minutes of sweaty, futile struggling, he gave up.
The situation was not as bad as he had imagined.
The steam was not as hot as he imagined.
The inside of his wifey felt rather warm…
***
Half an hour later, Li Banfeng finally wriggled free of the horn with his hair scorched into crisp little curls and each one puffing steam like a line of offended kettles.
“Wifey, shouldn’t you explain yourself? I treat you like a treasure, and you go and boil
alive? Honestly, how could you?”
Pop… crackle… pop…
The gramophone stayed perfectly still for a long, mont… and then, without warning, burst into song as if it had been holding its breath the whole ti.
「 When autumn cos and lotus fragrance drifts,
A maiden nightly dreams of ho,
embroidering mandarin ducks,
But once she wakes, no parents greet her,
Only moonlight spilling through her window! ??」
That’s The Song of Four Seasons… Why is she singing it now? Wifey never sings that lightly. Could it be… sothing’s happened?
Pop… crackle… pop…
Wifey’s altered version followed:
「 This little wife, with a foolish heart,
Holds a love that will never part.
The bond of husband and wife runs long and true,
An arrow bound for ho that none can stop,
And for my husband, I added a chamber. ??」
Add another room? Li Banfeng thought. He glanced around the main room of the Pocket Dwelling. There were exactly three doors…
One door was the main entrance that led back to the outside world. The other two opened into the outer room and the third room. No new door had popped up or sprouted from the wall.
After thinking it over, Li Banfeng stepped into the outer room. At the very end of it, a door waited for him.
He pushed the door open and discovered a room exactly like the one he had co from, only this one sat there completely empty.
More rooms were certainly a pleasant surprise, but that wasn’t the issue at hand.
The important thing was not the room itself. A new room ant he had risen one whole level in Hobound Cultivation.
He was now a level-three Hobound Cultivator.
Level three!
Li Banfeng was so thrilled he nearly bounced off the floor.
For now, he no longer had to worry about his Hobound cultivation being squashed by his Wanderlust cultivation, nor tremble at the thought of another cultivation backlash.
Cultivation backlash… Li Banfeng rubbed his forehead. Brilliant. Now I have a whole new problem to worry about.
His Wanderlust Cultivation was still stuck at level one, while his Hobound Cultivation had already reached level three!
The Peddler had explained it quite plainly. The gap between two cultivation paths must never reach three levels.
If they differed by one level, everything stayed calm and steady.
If they differed by two, a backlash would happen.
A difference of three levels could already put his life in danger. Anything beyond three did not rely threaten him. It guaranteed his death.
In earlier days, Li Banfeng used to worry that he would never level up in his Hobound Cultivation and that it would end up dragging his Wanderlust Cultivation down with it. He had always assud this was a problem ant for decades in the future.
It was nothing like what he had expected. The Hobound Cultivation he thought would take its ti had surged far ahead instead, leaving his Wanderlust Cultivation hopelessly behind.
Li Banfeng walked back to the main room, sat on the edge of the bed, and quietly studied the gramophone.
The gramophone sang in a slow, lilting tune, "Husband dear~ Your cultivation has soared upward again. Why does joy not grace your face?"
“I am delighted,” Li Banfeng said with a faint smile. “Wifey, does a level-three Hobound Cultivator get any techniques?”
“Of course. I spoke of the technique monts ago. Its na is An Arrow Bound for Ho. All level-three hobound cultivators know this technique. If they desire to return ho, no ordinary soul can stand in their way.
"Husband dear~ What is wrong with your legs?
“Husband dear, why do they quiver again and again?”
Li Banfeng’s legs were trembling.
They twitched as if ready to bolt, eager to sprint at full speed.
His Hobound Cultivation had overtaken his Wanderlust Cultivation, triggering a backlash so strong his legs were slipping out of his control.
Author's Note:
PS: Li Banfeng underestimated the cultivation backlash. For soone cultivating two Daoist Paths at once, this is the most difficult obstacle to overco.
1. Wife of Eldest Master Lu Dongliang ??
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