In a second room, Li Banfeng and the Tang Sword each leaned against a wall, standing in opposition.
The Tang Sword spoke first, "The day of the decisive battle has finally arrived."
Li Banfeng’s expression was ice-cold. "What is meant to come will always come; such is fate."
The Tang Sword swayed slightly in agreement. "Money is easy to obtain, true friends are hard to find. Today, to fight against the world’s number one Sword Immortal, I would die a hundred times without regret."
Li Banfeng’s gaze was piercing, apparently moved by the Tang Sword’s words. "It’s a pity you are not a sword."
The Tang Sword unsheathed. "But I have Sword Qi in me!"
The two faced off in silence for a while before the Tang Sword asked again, "Why haven’t you drawn your sword yet?"
Li Banfeng replied, "Because I have Sword Intent in my heart."
"ARGH!"
The Tang Sword trembled, cried out in pain, and fell to the ground. "My lord, I have been injured by your Sword Intent and now I’m too weak to continue fighting. From now on, I wish to follow you, my lord, in all your endeavors."
Li Banfeng was very disappointed. "How many times have I told you not to be so quick to admit defeat? You should seriously fight my Sword Intent!"
The Tang Sword explained, "I have already engaged you seriously, my lord, but I simply could not withstand it!"
Li Banfeng was not satisfied with the explanation. "You didn’t even recite a verse of poetry, and you call that trying your best?"
The Tang Sword hastily defended, "Reciting poetry isn’t that important; what matters is reaching the right state of mind."
Li Banfeng was ready for another round when suddenly the Phonograph called out, "Hey husband, with this beautiful morning light, don’t play around at home. Go buy groceries quickly."
Li Banfeng returned to the main room and stared in astonishment at the Phonograph, feeling that his wife was being somewhat unreasonable.
Just yesterday, Li Banfeng had brought back five Swallowthorn Pearls, each containing Resentful Spirits—the fewest had six, and the most had nineteen.
The Phonograph had consumed them all, and now she was asking Li Banfeng to go buy groceries.
"My lady, although I also like you to be a bit plump, shouldn’t we control our diet somewhat..."
"My lord doesn’t care about his little servant!" the Phonograph cried out, spraying Steam all over the room.
The Lotus Flower closed the door of the second room while the Tang Sword shrank into a corner, not daring to move.
Li Banfeng, his body flushed from the scalding Steam, left the Portable Residence.
Today he was to go to the New Land.
Ma Wu had discovered a large lump of Glue Mud in the New Land. He hadn’t brought a metal pot last night and couldn’t bring it back. Setting out early this morning, he was eager to claim this treasure.
「...」
In Medicine King Valley, Yitang Village, within a large mansion, Detective Da Boyins sat opposite Zhuo Yuling.
In the vast courtyard, with its three sections and three entrances, only the two of them were present.
"Lady, what’s so urgent that you called me here? I am in the middle of searching for clues about Li Banfeng."
Zhuo Yuling shook her head. "Put Li Banfeng’s matters aside for now. The situation is dire; my daughter needs saving immediately."
Da Boyins fell silent for a moment before saying, "As far as I know, Lu Xiaolan has been rescued by the Lu Family’s Head Steward, Qiu Zhiheng, and is currently in the Lu Family mansion."
Zhuo Yuling nodded. "Which is exactly why I want you to save her."
Da Boyins laughed after another moment of silence. "Lady, please don’t make such jokes. Are you trying to make me an enemy of the Lu Family?"
Zhuo Yuling’s eyes reddened. "She’s my only child. You’re the only one I can rely on now. As long as you can rescue her, I will agree to any conditions."
Da Boyins sighed. "Do you think I would believe you? Think about it, have you ever told me the truth in your life?"
Zhuo Yuling suddenly clenched Da Boyins’ hand. "At least I was sincere that night. I gave everything to you that night. Don’t you believe me?"
Da Boyins looked into her eyes.
Her eyes held a tear that never fell, filled with a unique stubbornness and persistence, as well as a unique helplessness and pity.
Da Boyins pushed Zhuo Yuling’s hand away, smiling. "Lady, let’s talk about something practical. If I save your daughter, how much money can you give me? Don’t even mention the ten thousand Ocean Dollars from before; the situation has changed. That amount is far from enough."
Zhuo Yuling wiped her tears. "One hundred thousand. I’ll give you one hundred thousand."
"Not enough."
"Two hundred thousand."
Da Boyins was silent for a moment and then said, "Two hundred thousand Ocean Dollars, three round-trip Guide Tokens to the Outside Provinces, and two round-trip Guide Tokens to the Inner State, no time limit."
Zhuo Yuling frowned. "Guide Tokens to the Outside Provinces are easy enough to arrange, but those to the Inner State are really..."
Da Boyins smiled. "I’m only asking for two. Can’t you get them? With this attitude, I’m afraid your daughter won’t be saved."
Zhuo Yuling bit her lip. "The Ocean Dollars can be delivered within three days. The Guide Tokens to the Outside Provinces in at most five days. For the Inner State’s Guide Tokens, I need to ask around first..."
Da Boyins sighed again. "You better ask around quickly. I’ve already heard many rumors in Medicine King Valley. Many people are saying that Li Banfeng is dead—that after arriving in Medicine King Valley, he died at the hands of Lu Xiaolan. If these words reach Lu Dongliang’s ears, you know what the consequences will be."
These rumors had already reached Lu Dongliang’s ears.
Some of them had even made it into the newspapers.
Zhuo Yuling didn’t know where these rumors originated, but they were spreading throughout Puluo State, and many people believed that Li Banfeng had long since died at the hands of Lu Xiaolan.
「...」
In Yuezhou Sanatorium, on a sickbed.
The comatose He Jiaqing, realizing there was no one around, could not help but reveal a slight smile.
「...」
Li Banfeng wiped the spiderwebs off his face, surveying his surroundings.
There were two things most unbearable when moving through the jungle.
One was being chased by mosquitoes and bugs.
The other was spiderwebs clinging to the face.
Ma Wu, whose face was also covered in spiderwebs, said, "Spiderwebs alone are fine. Just make sure not to touch a spider. The spiders of the New Land—it’s hard to say how toxic they are."
Li Banfeng asked, "Do you remember this place? How far are we from the Glue Mud you mentioned?"
Ma Wu nodded. "I remember the area. If we head north for another ten li or so, we should get there. It’s not hard to find the Glue Mud, but the deposit is quite large. The difficulty lies in how to bring it back. If the Song Family discovers it, we’ll be in trouble."
The Song Family was indeed a curious existence.
They didn’t know much about the New Land, but they firmly controlled its resources. If it weren’t for Ma Wu having special channels, all prey obtained from the New Land would have a large share of its profits extorted by the Song Family.
Li Banfeng lamented, "No matter what business you do, you can’t avoid the Song Family. Is the Song Family really as solid as an iron plate?"
Ma Wu shook his head. "Brother Li, the Song Family isn’t an iron plate; they’re much harder than that because they have other forces backing them. To my knowledge, the highest-level Cultivator in the Song Family is their Family Head, Song Jiason. Song Jiason is a Third Layer Martial Cultivator. Cultivators at this level are quite powerful, but still not enough to guard all of Blue Poplar Village."
Li Banfeng asked, "Is his family powerful then?"
Ma Wu shook his head. "Although some can accumulate time through special encounters, for ordinary people, cultivation ultimately depends on years of practice. The Song family, from top to bottom, lacks talent. Song Jiason swallowed loads of tonics, and even in his early fifties, he only reached the Third Layer of cultivation. His two sons, Song Zhigang in his early thirties and Song Zhiyi in his late twenties, are still at the First Layer."
"So, it’s his subordinates who are formidable?"
Ma Wu said with a disdainful tone, "He only has one Fourth Layer expert under him, and that person can’t even be fully considered his subordinate—more like a hired hand. Greenwater City is right before our eyes. How many people who have reached the Third Layer of cultivation would be willing to settle in this impoverished, remote place?"
"Then on what exactly does the Song Family rely?"
"The Song Family has backers above them. Their backers are the Liu Family. Above the Liu Family is the Si Family, and above them is the Lu Family, one of the Four Great Families. More than eighty percent of the Song Family’s annual income is handed over to these layers of families above them. Relying on these connections, the Song Family has laid down deep roots and can firmly control Blue Poplar Village."
After resting for a moment, the two set off again when they suddenly heard someone say, "Brother, watch your step."
Both replied at the same time, "What about our step..."
After responding, Li Banfeng and Ma Wu looked at each other in dismay.
Li Banfeng raised his head and saw a huge Insect Cocoon slowly descending from a tree.
In a flash, Li Banfeng thought of his most terrifying experience in the New Land of Jiangyue Mountain.
"Run!" Li Banfeng pulled Ma Wu and sprinted away, as bursts of shouts came from behind:
"Don’t leave! Did I guess right?"
"If I guessed right, you should stay and play with me."
"If I guessed wrong, then it’s your turn to guess."
Three voices followed one after another, and Li Banfeng ran faster and faster.
Struggling to keep up, Ma Wu asked, "What is that thing?"
Li Banfeng replied, "Bagworm Moths!"
"Bagworm Moths? What is that..." Ma Wu had read about them in books but couldn’t recall at the moment.
The description in the books didn’t quite match what they had just seen.
They hadn’t run for long when a large willow tree up ahead began to shake violently. Li Banfeng knew that big trouble was about to ensue.
"Take a detour!"
While Li Banfeng was still looking for a way, a plump, vibrant green figure had already landed on the ground from the tree.
"This, this, this is the Straw Moth Lady? The inescapable Straw Moth Lady?" Ma Wu remembered the description from the book.
This green caterpillar’s appearance almost perfectly matched the book’s description.
In an instant, Li Banfeng fell into despair.
"Run! Run faster!" Li Banfeng and Ma Wu legged it, with the large green caterpillar chasing closely behind.
"Don’t run, just stay. My children like you, and I like you too."
Li Banfeng found the Straw Moth Lady to be a very peculiar creature. He had only seen two, and both Straw Moth Ladies looked the same, were shaped the same, talked the same way, said the same things, and even their voices were exactly alike.
"Stop running. If you don’t want to play with my children, then play with me. I have many more tricks."
After running for a long while, Li Banfeng saw a fork in the road. According to his judgment, taking the left path would lead them back to Blue Poplar Village.
He had just taken one step toward the left when a clump of insect silk blocked the way.
The situation was exactly like the one he had experienced before: the Straw Moth Lady was not in a hurry to kill. She allowed her prey to run, but not to leave the New Land.
Ma Wu could run no longer; his body, weakened by Lust Cultivation, left him coughing and panting.
Li Banfeng dragged Ma Wu along as they ran desperately, with the Straw Moth Lady following leisurely behind. "Don’t run. Are you abandoning me like this, disregarding our past affection?"
As Li Banfeng continued to run, the Straw Moth Lady called out from behind, "Remember how we frolicked in the woods for an entire day? You killed three of my children, and I didn’t blame you. Have you forgotten me so soon?"
Li Banfeng’s head was buzzing.
The Straw Moth Lady sighed. "You truly are heartless. Your friend is unlike you; he loved me for three whole days, and I bore him many children."