Li Banfeng calmly looked at the Hunter. "Speak up. Are you Lin Li?"
The Hunter couldn’t answer.
On Bloody Fang Mountain, lying incurred punishment. With so many rocks on the ground, if the Hunter claimed he wasn’t Lin Li, he would very likely be seriously injured by the stones. Even if he weren’t injured, it would give Li Banfeng an opening for a stealth attack.
After a pause, the Hunter asked Li Banfeng, "How did you figure it out?"
Li Banfeng didn’t answer; he didn’t want to explain too much.
The name Lin Li Blood Fang Monster was quite a mouthful. So much so that after repeating it a couple of times, even Li Banfeng would get tongue-tied. Considering even Li Banfeng got tongue-tied, how difficult must it have been for the Hunter, who wasn’t articulate to begin with?
It was perfectly normal to shorten Lin Li Blood Fang Monster to simply Blood Fang Monster. Li Banfeng always referred to it as the Blood Fang Monster.
But the Hunter didn’t do that. Although he wasn’t articulate and it was difficult for him to say, he would sometimes say Blood Fang Monster and other times insist on saying the full Lin Li Blood Fang Monster.
When asked about the monsters on the mountain, he claimed there was only the Lin Li Blood Fang Monster. When talking about the monster’s range of activity, he said the Blood Fang Monster couldn’t come down the mountain, but he never said Lin Li couldn’t.
What he said was true, but he differentiated Lin Li from the Blood Fang Monster.
Traveling Cultivators, who wandered far and wide, needed to be extremely cautious with every step. Naturally, Li Banfeng wouldn’t overlook such an anomaly.
Seeing that Li Banfeng didn’t respond, the Lin Li creature asked another question, "We’ve had a rare encounter, and it’s inevitable that only one of us will survive. Can we speak truthfully before we fight? You know I’m Lin Li, so why did you still let me be your guide?"
Li Banfeng remained silent.
Lin Li asked again, "You clearly knew I wanted to kill you, so why did you still follow me?"
This time, Li Banfeng answered, "If I didn’t follow you, how could I avoid the Blood Fang Monster?"
It was Lin Li himself who said he needed to avoid the Blood Fang Monster; that was the truth. And throughout their journey, he had indeed avoided the Blood Fang Monster.
Why Lin Li needed to avoid the Blood Fang Monster wasn’t entirely clear, but Li Banfeng had a general idea. He would verify the accuracy of his guess later.
Lin Li laughed. "Do you think avoiding the Blood Fang Monster means you’ll survive? Do you know why I brought you to this place?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "I know. Because this isn’t an easy place to escape from."
Wild grasses grew all around, and the ground was covered with rocks; indeed, it was not an easy terrain from which to escape.
Lin Li looked at Li Banfeng. "I know you’re a Traveling Cultivator. Do you think your footwork is so incredible? Go on, try to run."
Li Banfeng didn’t rush to run. Instead, he looked at Lin Li and countered, "Why do you need to avoid the Blood Fang Monster? Is it because it always steals your food and you can’t beat it? Below Bloody Fang Mountain, you claimed to be a hunter; that wasn’t a lie. You indeed are a hunter, and your prey is me. But why did you advise me not to go up the mountain? Were you planning to wait until I left Bloody Fang Mountain before making your move? Are you afraid your prey would be stolen? Are you that afraid of the Blood Fang Monster? He’s at the Fifth Layer of cultivation; you’re clearly not his match. At most, you’re at the Fourth Layer—or could it be you haven’t even reached that?"
A cold glint flashed in Lin Li’s eyes; that remark had hit a sore spot.
Li Banfeng then asked, "Bloody Fang Mountain is territory for both of you, so why does the Blood Fang Monster always bully you?"
Lin Li gritted his teeth, enraged by Li Banfeng. "You don’t need to play this divide-and-conquer trick; it’s useless!"
"Useless, you say? I think it’s quite useful. You’re not that much weaker than the Blood Fang Monster, are you? If you found an ally, you could kill him."
Lin Li gnashed his teeth. "Shut your mouth!"
Li Banfeng continued, "Don’t you want to kill him? You definitely do! Do you think, with my help, we could kill him?"
"Shut up!" The extremely furious Lin Li was ready to kill Li Banfeng on the spot. No matter how much he hated the Blood Fang Monster, he wouldn’t be swayed by the provocations of a stranger, even though everything said was true.
Li Banfeng pressed on, "Kill the Blood Fang Monster, and Bloody Fang Mountain will be your territory alone!"
"Shut up!"
"It’s not easy to find an ally; you should treasure this opportunity."
"Shut up!"
"An ally is right before your eyes, and I too wish to kill the Blood Fang Monster."
"I told you to shut up!"
"I’m a good person; I can help you!"
"I told you..."
BANG!
Just as Lin Li charged at Li Banfeng, a rock suddenly exploded, shrapnel carving several gashes on his body.
He truly wasn’t going to fall for Li Banfeng’s attempt to sow discord. He was fully focused on waiting for an opportunity to make his move. What he hadn’t realized was that Li Banfeng wasn’t employing that particular stratagem at all. He hadn’t anticipated Li Banfeng would suddenly lie.
"I can help you." This was a lie.
This was the first step of the tactic: lie! After speaking a string of truths, Li Banfeng suddenly uttered a lie, leaving Lin Li completely unguarded.
"I truly want to help you; I’ve never thought of killing you!" Li Banfeng blurted out another lie.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
This lie starkly contrasted with Li Banfeng’s true intentions, causing the rocks to explode with extreme intensity, injuring them both.
"I really want to be friends with you; I have never harbored any thoughts of harming you!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Dust flew, and rocks continued to shatter. Lin Li curled up on the ground, clutching his head.
Lin Li couldn’t comprehend Li Banfeng’s thoughts, assuming he was aiming for mutual destruction.
Bloody Fang Mountain was Lin Li’s territory; Lin Li knew how to avoid the exploding rocks, so he wasn’t seriously injured. But through the smoke and dust, he saw that Li Banfeng wasn’t seriously hurt either.
Enraged, Lin Li was about to get up when he suddenly noticed an intoxicating aroma of alcohol. Where was the scent coming from? It seemed to be emanating from himself.
This was the second step of the tactic: sprinkling alcohol. While the rocks were exploding, alcohol was sprinkled on Lin Li. However, this was difficult to execute, as Li Banfeng also had to dodge the rocks and had no opportunity to do it himself. But he didn’t need to. The Wine Gourd possessed great Spiritual Wisdom and knew exactly what to do and when. While Li Banfeng was dodging the debris, the alcohol had already been sprinkled.
The Wine Gourd called out, "Young Bro, set the fire!"
Li Banfeng struck a match on his trousers and threw it onto Lin Li.
Flames engulfed his body, and Lin Li let out a scream of agony. He rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the fire, but to no avail. This was the Medicine King’s Medicinal Liquor; it wasn’t so easily put out.
Before he could find a way to douse the flames, the Tang Sword was already unsheathed, stabbing into Lin Li’s chest.
Bearing the intense pain, Lin Li retrieved the longbow from his back, quickly nocked an arrow, and aimed to shoot Li Banfeng.
The Clock Pendulum darted forward, sliced through the bowstring, then slashed at Lin Li’s neck and began to vigorously suck his blood.
The third step of the tactic: bring out all the weapons. Every available weapon was brought into play!
Li Banfeng threw his Sickle, hooking it into Lin Li’s skull. He then took out a shovel, about to throw it, when he felt his wrist ensnared.
It was wild grass. A stalk of wild grass, as tall as a person, extended its stem and coiled tightly around Li Banfeng’s wrist.
Li Banfeng switched the shovel to his left hand and cut the wild grass, but then two more plants entangled his legs. All around, a large amount of wild grass began to grow frantically towards Li Banfeng.
Lin Li was fighting back.
"Grass Cultivation!" the Wine Gourd shouted, then sprinkled some of its liquor onto the wild grass covering Li Banfeng. "Set fire!" the Wine Gourd reminded him again.
Li Banfeng was genuinely worried he might burn himself, but the Wine Gourd was precise. The flames only burned away the grass on Li Banfeng without harming him in the slightest.
Meanwhile, a large patch of green grass enveloped Lin Li, finally extinguishing the flames on his body. A tendril of grass wound around the Tang Sword, yanking it free.
Lin Li no longer wanted to fight back; he wanted to run.
The Sickle was pulled out, as was the Clock Pendulum.
Despite being drained of a large amount of blood, stabbed in the chest, with a hole in his skull, and his body covered in burns, the grievously injured Lin Li could still use his Technique. A mass of wild grass enveloped him like a mummy, allowing him to move swiftly through the undergrowth.
He had to find the Blood Fang Monster. He was terrified of the Blood Fang Monster and hated him deeply. But now, the Blood Fang Monster was the only one who could save him.
RUSTLE... The grass leaves wrapped around Lin Li began to loosen. He could no longer sustain his Mana. He could barely withstand the burns and blade wounds, but the Sickle was poisoned; he couldn’t hold out any longer. It was the deadly Blue Leaf Poplar, its poison further refined by the Copper Lotus Flower. It was truly remarkable that Lin Li had lasted this long.
The Tang Sword rushed forward, landing another blow on Lin Li’s throat.
Seizing the opportunity, the Clock Pendulum moved in to fully absorb the blood.
The Wine Gourd laughed in praise. "Good wine, what good wine!"
The Magical Treasure Elder Yao had given him was truly excellent; the Wine Gourd had played a crucial role in this battle!
Looking at the Wine Gourd, Li Banfeng became somewhat lost in thought.
Feeling Li Banfeng’s prolonged stare, the Wine Gourd grew somewhat warm. "Young Bro, don’t keep staring at your sister like that."
Li Banfeng smiled. "Sister, you’re so splendid, can’t I even look?"
"How dare you flirt with me at your age?" The Wine Gourd sprayed a mist of liquor over Li Banfeng’s face, seemingly a bit angry.
Li Banfeng patted the Wine Gourd. "Bloody Fang Mountain is my witness; I truly admire you, Sister."
The rocks remained still, proving Li Banfeng was telling the truth.
The Wine Gourd chuckled several times.
Li Banfeng took Lin Li’s corpse back to his Portable Residence. The battle had caused quite a commotion. Before the Blood Fang Monster could come after him, Li Banfeng hurried down the mountain.
Reaching the foot of the mountain, Li Banfeng muttered, "I didn’t kill Lin Li."
BANG!
A rock immediately exploded.
Li Banfeng shouted towards Bloody Fang Mountain, "I am a good person!"
Bloody Fang Mountain gave no response.
Li Banfeng shouted again, "My wife is a good person too!"
Bloody Fang Mountain still showed no reaction.
Li Banfeng yelled once more, "Everyone in my family is a good person!"
No rocks exploded.
Li Banfeng shouted once again, "I think he is not a good person!"
A gentle breeze passed, and the mountains were silent.
Li Banfeng was very satisfied with this result. He took off his top hat, brushed off the rock fragments and dust, then put it back on and strode into the night.
PS: So who exactly is that person? Why isn’t he a good person?