Little Fatty looked at Baldy’s corpse. His skull was gone, brain matter spilling everywhere, and he felt a bit nauseated. "Brother Li," he said, "why are you so ruthless? Always aiming for the skull?"
Li Banfeng explained, "I’m soft-hearted, so I can’t bear to hit their vital spots. The skull is tough; it can take a beating. If I hit them somewhere else, I’m afraid they’ll feel too much pain."
Qin Xiaopang felt his comprehension wasn’t enough to understand Li Qi’s thoughts. He looked toward the two women lying in the forest. Cao Ye was crying, and Oil Peach’s condition was unknown.
Oil Peach was still alive. After Cao Ye gave her two medicinal pills, Oil Peach was gradually able to move again.
She couldn’t believe the scene before her eyes was real.
Oil Peach asked Cao Ye, but Cao Ye couldn’t explain clearly. She had been too frightened and hadn’t really seen the fighting.
Not only were they unclear, but Little Fatty was also confused.
The entire battle had lasted too briefly. Gold-rimmed Glasses’s group of six had vanished in the blink of an eye, and Little Fatty hadn’t had time to process what happened.
Other than one Body Cultivator with intrinsic armor, Little Fatty had no impression of the others’ techniques because Li Banfeng hadn’t given them a chance to act.
Little Fatty had always thought the man with the gold-rimmed glasses was the most sinister person he had ever seen. Looking at Li Banfeng now, Little Fatty wasn’t so sure if Gold-rimmed Glasses even qualified as sinister.
Baldy and his three henchmen had stolen many Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums, totaling one hundred seventy-six plants. This included thirty-eight of Oil Peach’s and sixty-one of Cao Ye’s.
Oil Peach and Cao Ye were immensely grateful to have survived. They didn’t expect to get their flowers back, but Li Banfeng returned them anyway.
Li Banfeng and Little Fatty split the remaining seventy-seven plants and Old Smoker’s ninety-one.
Qin Xiaopang stared blankly at Old Smoker’s corpse.
Old Smoker had saved his life; otherwise, Little Fatty would have undoubtedly died at Hu Gaizi’s hands. Regardless of Old Smoker’s motives at the time, the life-saving deed was undeniable, and Little Fatty didn’t want him left exposed in the wilderness.
Li Banfeng handed Little Fatty a shovel. "Hurry up. We should be leaving the mountain."
While Little Fatty was digging, Li Banfeng carefully searched the corpses of Baldy and his henchmen.
Baldy had over a thousand yuan on him, and his followers each had between three to five hundred yuan. In total, it was over two thousand two hundred yuan.
Since Oil Peach and Cao Ye had suffered losses, Li Banfeng gave each of them three hundred yuan as consolation. The rest of the money, eight hundred yuan each, was evenly split between Li Banfeng and Little Fatty.
Baldy’s knife was a fine weapon, which Li Banfeng kept. The three followers’ weapons were ordinary, so Li Banfeng let the others pick from them.
As for what Gold-rimmed Glasses and Hu Gaizi might have on them, that would have to wait until they returned to the Portable Residence. Li Banfeng had taken down these two by himself and decided to keep their belongings.
After Little Fatty buried Old Smoker, he carried Oil Peach, and the four of them headed down the mountain.
Walking along the mountain path, the stench of blood from Oil Peach was so strong it made Little Fatty wrinkle his nose repeatedly.
"You don’t seem like a Body Cultivator," Little Fatty said, questioning Oil Peach’s Taoist Sect. "Body Cultivators can take a beating. How did they manage to injure you so badly?"
Cao Ye knew the truth but remained silent. A Cultivator’s Taoist Sect was a confidential matter.
Unexpectedly, Oil Peach didn’t hide it. She chuckled, "I’m a Lust Cultivator. Since we’d only just met, I didn’t tell you the truth."
"So, a Lust Cultivator," Little Fatty sighed. "Looks like those bastards got off easy."
Little Fatty guessed that after falling into Baldy’s group’s hands, Oil Peach had likely suffered more than just a beating.
"They didn’t get off easy with me; they were saving me for their boss," Oil Peach said with a bitter smile. "It would’ve been better if they had dared to touch me. Standing up, I can’t beat them. But lying down? None of them would’ve survived."
Li Banfeng snickered. "You’re badly injured, yet your tongue is still so sharp."
"You think I’m boasting? My skills aren’t just talk. Aren’t you a Lust Cultivator too? How about we have a little contest?" Oil Peach suggested, giving Li Banfeng an ambiguous look.
Li Banfeng looked at Qin Xiaopang. "I’m taken."
Qin Xiaopang glanced at Cao Ye. "I’m a Food Cultivator. I can eat a lot."
Oil Peach sighed and looked at Li Banfeng. "You’ve been collecting chrysanthemums all the way, don’t you want to try something different? I think flat is better than round."
Cao Ye blushed from her cheeks to the base of her neck.
Just as Li Banfeng was about to speak, he saw Qin Xiaopang earnestly explaining to Cao Ye, "I really am a Food Cultivator! I can eat a lot! I’ll treat you both to a meal later, and then I’ll eat to show you."
The four of them walked to the foot of the mountain. Oil Peach took out her pocket watch; it was eight o’clock.
After traveling over twenty li up and down the mountain, Li Banfeng sensed that his basic Traveling Cultivator cultivation was more than sufficient. In fact, he had a considerable surplus.
Kuwu Mountain was a perilous place. According to Li Banfeng’s senses, one li walked here was equivalent to three to five li in Ligou Town. Not only was his basic Traveling Cultivator cultivation now ample, but he had likely also accumulated an extra two days of time.
In Li Banfeng’s memory, dangerous places seemed to have a special significance for him.
The poisonous fog made Li Banfeng’s head spin, and he couldn’t recall it at the moment.
After a night’s sleep in the residence, his Home Cultivation requirements were also met.
If he couldn’t remember, he wouldn’t dwell on it. The priority now was to exchange the Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums for cash and buy a train ticket back to Yuezhou.
As for how exactly to make the exchange, Li Banfeng was still thinking it through.