"My dear brother," Liao Zihui coughed for a moment, "well, today you came just in time. My subordinates, before you arrived, happened to discover some clues."
Li Banfeng turned his head and said, "Wow, such a coincidence."
"Yes!"
"Shen Jingye asked you to investigate this for a month. You always said you couldn't find anything, yet today there are suddenly clues."
"Yes! Isn't it a coincidence?"
Liao Zihui had been investigating Du Wenming for a long time and had already discovered Du Wenming's whereabouts.
But the reason he hadn't made it public was because Liao Zihui was aware of Du Wenming's strength.
In Puluo State, there aren't that many advanced weapons and equipment, nor such a rich combat system. To capture a Cultivator Above the Clouds, Liao Zihui would have to pay a considerable price. If he couldn't capture him, the responsibility would fall entirely on the Defense Agency, which originally belonged to the Dark Star Bureau.
"Li Qi, my dear brother, the clues I have are yet to be verified. Due to the emergency situation, I'm telling you first, but you'd better not leak it out. Last night, someone saw Du Wenming near Zhengjing Village."
Zhengjing Village?
Li Banfeng had no time for idle talk with Liao Zihui, he hurriedly ran to Zhengjing Village.
Shui Yongquan had been downgraded to a Wounded Demon Fiend, making this territory ownerless. What does Du Wenming intend to do here?
Looking for a territory to steady his cultivation level?
Is he really so impulsive? Doesn't he even ask whose territory Zhengjing Village belongs to?
Through him, perhaps I can gather information about the Peddler, or at least about Mr. Kong Fang.
Upon reaching Zhengjing Village, Li Banfeng quickly found the clues based on the information provided by Liao Zihui.
Du Wenming had been active in the wilderness over seventy miles from Zhengjing Village since yesterday and hadn't changed locations much.
What does he intend to do around here?
Li Banfeng hid atop a banyan tree, using its lush aerial roots, silently observing Du Wenming's subordinates.
Du Wenming tiptoed, leaping back and forth in the clearing of the forest, his dance movements and posture exceedingly graceful.
It turns out he not only performs the Puppet Dance but is also quite good at ballet.
But why is he dancing here? Is this supposed to be cultivation?
Li Banfeng was not unfamiliar with this woodland. In the past, if one traveled through it at a consistent speed, neither too fast nor too slow, they could reach Fool's City.
But after the previous young master of Fool's City, Gu Rusong, was killed, Sun Tiecheng changed the entrance to Fool's City, and this forest could no longer reach Fool's City.
Is Du Wenming here trying to find Fool's City?
He does indeed have considerable cultivation, but actively seeking Fool's City doesn't seem very wise.
Relying on the stealth characteristic of Home Cultivation, Li Banfeng stayed in the tree for a few minutes, and Du Wenming never noticed.
When he felt the timing was right, Li Banfeng decided it was time to act.
A gust of mountain wind blew, rustling the leaves with a swish.
The cold wind was quite chilly, causing Li Banfeng's body to suddenly tremble uncontrollably, making the branches and leaves of the banyan tree shake as well.
This mountain wind was indeed strong; otherwise, Li Banfeng would have been exposed.
Why did he suddenly shiver?
There is danger.
Someone else is lurking nearby, and Li Banfeng hasn't discovered them yet.
He squatted on the tree branch, quietly watching Du Wenming.
After squatting for a while, he sensed the spirit attribute of the banyan tree.
Are you thirsty?
It hasn't rained in a long time, causing the banyan tree to feel dry.
Li Banfeng took out a teapot, controlling the water temperature, and sprinkled some tea water on the banyan tree's roots.
The banyan tree was deeply grateful, and each leaf adjusted its angle as much as possible to let the shadows cover the spot where Li Qi was.
After waiting for over two minutes, Du Wenming, while dancing, slipped and fell backwards onto the ground.
There was no water on the ground, only some raised tree roots.
Du Wenming clearly wasn't tripped by the roots; a Cultivator Above the Clouds wouldn't make such a rookie mistake.
He stepped on something, something like roller skates.
How could there be roller skates in the New Land?
No, it's not roller skates; it's an abacus.
The abacus flew up, its frame shattered, swiftly darting towards Du Wenming's forehead.
Du Wenming lay on the ground, unable to get up, swinging his body left and right, barely dodging the abacus frame.
The frame lodged into the ground, and a set of rods again thrust towards Du Wenming.
Du Wenming continued to sway on the ground, but this time it wasn't easy to dodge; many rods pierced through Du Wenming's clothes, and some struck through his skin.
The rods were eventually dodged, but next came the abacus beads.
Five below, two above, seven beads on one rod.
The abacus had a total of twenty-two rods, and over a hundred beads shot out in various directions, almost sealing all escape angles.
What made matters worse was that Du Wenming couldn't dodge now; he was pinned to the ground by the rods.
In desperation, Du Wenming kicked off his shoes. These dance shoes were magical treasures, helping him catch half of the beads.
Du Wenming forcefully broke free from the ground rods, relying on his physical control to dodge thirty percent of the beads.
The remaining twenty percent of the beads were unavoidable, so Du Wenming steadfastly endured.
Beads struck into his body, spraying blood, causing Du Wenming to stagger. It was clear that the physique of a Dance Cultivator wasn't very robust.
Over thirty blood holes were punched into his body, and that wasn't all. The abacus beads in Du Wenming's body moved chaotically, severely damaging his bones and internal organs.
Du Wenming struggled to rise, standing on one foot, spinning forcefully like a spinning top, turning a hundred circles from left to right and a hundred circles from right to left.
Through this spinning, Du Wenming became like a centrifuge, forcibly expelling the abacus beads from his body.