The Overlord of Pulu Chapter 64: Give and Take in the Jianghu

Li Banfeng found a few more waterlon seeds stuck to the other weapons and said, "Shopkeeper Yu, I'm not wrong. You really did spend the whole day chopping waterlons," he says.

Yu Nan carefully recalled the fight. Whether the clerks from the Geng Family dicinal Trading House were shot or cut, they bled, yet none of them fell.

Throughout the entire fight, she did not hear the clerks of the Geng Family dicinal Trading House speak a word. She did not even hear a shout.

Are they all waterlons? And the blood was waterlon juice? Why are these waterlons in the form of humans and why are they able to fight? These questions crossed Yu Nan's mind.

Zhang Shiquan, the oldest warehouse keeper in the cloth shop, inhaled a mouthful of dry pipe and speculated, "An Agrarian Cultivator who grinds long enough is fully fledged. At the fifth level, he lords it like a marquis. I'm afraid we ran into one."

An Agrarian Cultivator? Li Banfeng thought.

Aside from knowing that this Daoist Path was arduous, Li Banfeng did not know much about this cultivation.

"What do you an when you say fully fledged?" Li Banfeng asked outright.

The old warehouse keeper said, "It's a saying in this path. Agrarian Cultivation is harsh, so few choose it. If soone makes it to the fifth level, he is considered established, and he can grow all kinds of strange things."

"I've lived a long life, and I've never seen waterlons that can fight. However, I'd bet they were grown from seeds specially made by an Agrarian Cultivator."

Yu Nan paused, then shook her head. "Who do the Geng Family think they are? They can't afford a fifth-level Agrarian Cultivator. I've never heard of one in dicine King Gully."

The old warehouse keeper packed his pipe with tobacco and said, "Boss, Agrarian Cultivators live a hard life. They will work if you pay them. They are not here to wage war. They are just here to sell a few waterlons. If an Agrarian Cultivator has no fields to farm, he will surely venture out to plow new lands. The dicine King Gully has many new lands. So maybe an Agrarian Cultivator ca and bumped into soone from the Geng Family."

What does new land an? Li Banfeng realized that he would always hear so new terms during conversations, but he didn't interrupt. He did not want to interrupt everyone's train of thought.

However, all of them were at a loss and could not think of a way forward. A fifth-level cultivator was an opponent Yu Nan did not even dare to look up to, and none of them knew how to deal with a fully fledged Agrarian Cultivator.

Yu Nan turned her gaze to Li Banfeng and everyone looked at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng blinked. "Why are you all looking at ? I haven't seen an Agrarian Cultivator either."

The old storekeeper smoked his pipe and sighed. "Experts don't explain everything. They tell you a little and expect you to figure out the rest."

On hearing this, everyone kept looking at Li Banfeng, hoping for an answer.

Li Banfeng did not say a thing. He had identified them as waterlons by the distinctive scent left on the blades, but as for dealing with an Agrarian Cultivator, he had neither experience nor a ready plan.

Still, he had experience with powerful foes he could not defeat for now. As an orphan in a welfare ho, he had t too many like them.

"Other than Hundred Fragrances Village, do you have anywhere else to stay?"

The only advice Li Banfeng could give was to run away at once. Yu Nan had just been defeated and she ca back with a group of wounded n. She knew nothing of Geng Zhiwei's thods. And so, staying here would be the sa as throwing their lives away.

The worst part was their mindset. Yu Nan and her followers still clung to the rules of jianghu. With that way of thinking, if they did not run, they would die against a ruthless man like Geng Zhiwei.

"Run?" Wang Xuejiao, Old Eight's elder sister, stood up. "We have co this far. Where can we go? Are we supposed to lose face?"

Thinking that Yu Nan's reasoning was contradictory, Li Banfeng asked, "When you first fled from Inner Gully to Hundred Fragrances Village, you didn't seem to care as much about your reputation?

Yu Nan shook her head. "That was different. Back then, we were guarding against ambushes. But now, they will be attacking us openly."

Li Banfeng still did not understand. "If you know they will attack in the open, why can't you take precautions and guard against that?"

Wang Xuejiao let out a cold laugh. "Trader Li, you do not understand the jianghu. If they co at us in the open with blades and guns, we can prepare and fight. But if we run, the Yu Family's banner would be considered fallen."

Li Banfeng scanned the crowd and said, "If you all die here, won't the Yu Family's banner be considered fallen?"

Wang Xuejiao puffed out her chest and her proud curves lifted. "Of course not! We would have set the Yu Family's banner upright with our lives!"

Li Banfeng said, "If Geng Zhiwei pins your banner to the ground and pisses on it, what can you do?"

Wang Xuejiao snapped, "He wouldn't dare!"

"He would," Li Banfeng said as he swept his eyes over every single person. "And then what? You would all be dead. If you're dead, can you still get up and hit him?"

The logic of the world was simple, yet there were always people who would not understand.

Wang Xuejiao lowered her head and spoke in a small voice. "The jianghu has rules like this."

"Can the dead argue rules with him?" Li Banfeng asked. Wang Xuejiao would not yield, and neither would the others, yet none of them could answer this question.

The old warehouse keeper tapped ash from his pipe and looked at Yu Nan. He understood Li Banfeng's point and the logic behind it. "Boss, let's go. We'll lie low for a while at the newly-ford lands at Mount Jiangyue."

Yu Nan gave a slight nod at that, and the others said no more. They all went back to pack their things. Yu Nan asked Li Banfeng, "Master Qi, co with us. Life in the new land is a little harsh, but Geng Zhiwei won't dare pursue us there."

"What exactly is this new land?" When Li Banfeng did not understand, he asked. He was never afraid to show ignorance.

Yu Nan was used to it. She was not sure whether he truly did not understand or if this was another test.

"New land ans a newly ford tract," she said. "dicine King Gully gets three to five each year, each about the size of two or three villages."

Newly-ford tracts every year? Li Banfeng thought for a mont and shook his head. He still could not make sense of it.

Yu Nan continued explaining, "Imagine two mountains that once stood side by side. After a year, these two mountains suddenly beca far apart from each other and a wide stretch of open ground appeared between them. This is new land. Most newly ford lands are flat, but there are exceptions. So appear as hills, so as gorges, so as bogs, and so even as lakes…"

Li Banfeng's eyes widened. "dicine King Gully grows land on its own?"

Yu Nan nodded. "It's not just dicine King Gully. It happens in many places every year."

Li Banfeng sat down in a chair, took a sip of water, and tried to steady his nerves as his sense of reality was battered once more.

Yu Nan offered a reminder. "Master Qi, pack a few things first. We should set out."

"No rush," Li Banfeng said with a wave. "Go on ahead and take Chubby Qin. I still have so matters to handle here."

***

At two in the morning, Yu Nan led everyone out of Hundred Fragrances Village.

By half past three, Geng Zhiwei brought a hundred or so n and stord into Yu Nan's residence.

They split into two groups. One was made up of living n. So stood behind Geng Zhiwei, shouting with nacing expressions, while the rest surrounded the residence outside, cutting off every path.

The other group stayed silent. Their eyes were vacant and their faces lifeless. They were the "waterlon n" Geng Zhiwei had bought from an Agrarian Cultivator.

The waterlon n also held blades and axes, yet at the mont, they did nothing more than march forward.

A household servant opened a cloth sack, grabbed a handful of brown pellets, and stuffed them into a waterlon man's mouth. These pellets were the fertilizers for the waterlon n and they slled sharp and fishy.

After being fed, the waterlon man raised his machete and took his stance.

Before long, they had fed more than twenty waterlon n.

Two servants then carried over a dozen cut waterlons.These waterlons were very special. They slled very sweet and fishy and seed to be a little different from the normal waterlons.

Geng Zhiwei picked up two slices and crunched them down. Soon his face flushed, and sweat beaded on his skin.

Jia Quansheng and several servants started eating the waterlon as well.

Li Banfeng hid inside the house and saw everything clearly through the crack of a window.

Why are they eating waterlon? Li Banfeng thought. He did not understand why they were eating waterlon, but he soon figured it out.

Geng Zhiwei then shouted, "Kill!"

The waterlon n did not have much intelligence. When Geng Zhiwei ordered them to move, they followed him wherever he went. When he ordered them to kill, it ant they would kill anyone they saw.

However, the waterlon n killed only people and never waterlons. After Geng Zhiwei and his n ate waterlon, they gave off the scent of it from the inside out. The waterlon n would not harm them and would obey their orders.

This was how they distinguished friend from foe.

Using the skills of a Hobound Cultivator, Li Banfeng slipped into the back courtyard without a sound and hid in the woodshed.

A man pushed the door open and stepped into the shed. Li Banfeng sniffed and caught the distinct sweetness of waterlon.

It's a waterlon man, he thought.

Waterlon n filled both the front and back courtyards. Any task that ant taking the first risk was given to them.

If Yu Nan had stayed, every ambush would have turned into a fight with the waterlon n. She still wouldn't be able to touch even a hair of Geng Zhiwei.

Once Yu Nan's side was cut down and worn out, Geng Zhiwei would tell the n around the house to close the net. No one from her side would escape.

Geng Zhiwei ant to wipe them out. He would never let Yu Nan go, and he would not spare Li Banfeng. This was the only thing that Yu Nan had gotten correctly, and it was why Li Banfeng stayed.

Yu Nan had been defeated by Geng Zhiwei and it would soon be Li Banfeng's turn. What should he do?

The logic was simple. If victory was possible, he would fight. If he could not, he would run. Could Li Banfeng beat Geng Zhiwei? If this had been before he advanced in cultivation, the answer would have been no. Now, it was hard to say.

After seeing the waterlon n's traits, Li Banfeng understood Geng Zhiwei's thod. He knew he had a chance to win, but it would depend on how he fought.

Would eating one waterlon a day and staying on guard against Geng Zhiwei work? It would not work, for three reasons.

Firstly, Li Banfeng was not sure whether the waterlons Geng Zhiwei ate were the usual kind.

Secondly, Li Banfeng did not know when Geng Zhiwei would strike, and he could not spend every second of his day eating waterlon.

Third, Geng Zhiwei knew a fifth-level Agrarian Cultivator. If carrot n appeared tomorrow, how would he deal with them?

Therefore, eating waterlon would not actually solve the root issue.

Should I just start fighting with Geng Zhiwei? Li Banfeng thought.

However, fighting directly with Geng Zhiwei would be too difficult as Geng Zhiwei was too well prepared. The odds of winning with a surprise attack were far too low.

Matters in the jianghu had to be settled by its rules. Those rules were about give and take.

Paying a visit to soone's house, albeit uninvited, would be an act of giving. On the other hand, taking soone to a good place, albeit without ever returning from that good place, would be an act of taking. Is this not give and take? Is this not the rule of the jianghu? Li Banfeng thought. As for the rules on open attacks and hidden arrows, he did not yet understand them.

A waterlon man entered the woodshed, spotted Li Banfeng, and lifted its machete to strike.

Li Banfeng grabbed a shovel, ripped open its belly, and plunged his hand inside. He ca up with a fist of red, wet pulp studded with seeds. The waterlon man showed no pain and kept swinging its machete.

As Li Banfeng dodged, he sared the pulp on his face so that he could sll like a waterlon. However, it didn't work! The waterlon man still raised its machete and hacked at him.

It really did not work at all.

During the day, Yu Nan's people were spattered with lon juice while fighting the waterlon n, and the waterlon n still showed no rcy. This ant that it would be useless saring waterlon on one's face. He would have to eat the waterlon so that the scent could emanate from the inside out.

Fortunately, the waterlon man could take hits but was not a very skilled fighter. With Li Banfeng's skills, he could hold it off.

In the midst of the scuffle, Li Banfeng grabbed another handful of pulp and shoved it into his mouth. The waterlon was sweet but harshly astringent. He held it in and forced a swallow.

Still, the waterlon man kept hacking. Shock ran through Li Banfeng as he dodged and thought, already eaten the waterlon. Why is it not working? Did I not eat enough?

Slipping past the machete, he thrust his hand into the wound, grabbed another handful of pulp, and stuffed it into his mouth.

This tastes so bad! Why is it so tangy? Li Banfeng remarked inwardly. It was so tangy that it made him sweat.

The waterlon man sniffed, caught the waterlon scent rising from within him, and froze with its blade midair.

Waterlon n would never hurt waterlons.

Li Banfeng unlocked his Pocket Dwelling with the key, then shoved the key deep into the waterlon man's belly before vanishing into thin air.

anwhile, the waterlon man held its machete and walked out of the woodshed without a sound.