As they spoke, the Silk-pulling Earrings trembled. "Master, I hear footsteps."
Li Banfeng looked at Meng Yuchun. "Does anyone else know where you live?"
"Three sisters I’m close with occasionally come over for drinks. They never enter my rooms. Besides them and you, no one else knows my place. Stay here and don’t move."
Meng Yuchun flew down the stone cliff alone. After a moment, three women approached, carrying wine jars and various dishes.
One woman, dressed in red with a slender waist, curtsied to Meng Yuchun and said with a smile, "This is newly brewed Hundred Flowers Wine, specially brought for you to taste, sister."
This woman was named Red Butterfly.
Behind her was a woman in yellow, similar in appearance and figure to Red Butterfly, named Yellow Butterfly.
Standing at the very back was a plump girl with a round face and full figure, wearing a green, shaggy cloak. Her name was Xiao Die.
It seemed Xiao Die had not yet transformed into a butterfly.
Meng Yuchun said to the three, "Sisters, I have something to attend to today. Let’s get together another day."
The three women looked somewhat disappointed. Meng Yuchun chatted with them briefly, saw them off, and then returned to the top of the cliff.
Li Banfeng watched their retreating figures and asked in a low voice, "Are those three always together?"
Meng Yuchun nodded. "They’re almost inseparable."
Li Banfeng asked, "Have you heard of the Playful Matron?"
"The playful what?" Meng Yuchun was utterly confused.
Just as the Big Toad had described, Meng Yuchun was purely a Home Cultivator. She hadn’t frequented the New Land much before reaching the Tenth Layer, and her knowledge of Wandering Monsters was hardly better than Li Banfeng’s.
「...」
After lunch, Li Banfeng carried a man into the Portable Residence.
The man wore a long robe, the embroidery on it faded. It looked like an Official Robe, but from which dynasty was unclear.
He clutched a writing brush, its white tip stained with ink. Seeing this, the Phonograph exclaimed joyfully, "That’s a Scrivener, a fine prize indeed! My Lord, you cherish these the most..."
The cheerful music of gongs and drums stopped abruptly, and its singing voice turned sorrowful. "Alas, My Lord, why have you brought back a corpse? Don’t you cherish this lowly one anymore?"
Hong Ying burst out laughing. "If you won’t eat it, I will! I’ll eat it and make you green with envy, you vile woman!"
A wave of power surged, and Hong Ying rushed forward to feast.
After finishing her meal, Hong Ying returned to sit silently before the mirror. The changes in her body were becoming more apparent; her once gaunt frame now showed a hint of fullness.
The Phonograph murmured, "That wench is transforming into a human so quickly. Why is she so fortunate? I don’t even know if this is truly fortune..."
The other Magical Treasures scrambled to share the remains. Li Banfeng consoled the Phonograph, "Once this business is done, my lady, I’ll bring you back some live ones."
The Phonograph shook its horn-shaped mouthpiece and suddenly blasted steam, pushing back the crowd of Magical Treasures.
"That’s enough. Leave the rest for Red Lotus."
Li Banfeng moved Red Lotus over. Its petals bloomed, revealing a fully ripe Lotus Seed at its heart.
He plucked the Lotus Seed. It burst open instantly, and a pair of Mandarin Duck Axes landed in his palm.
Li Banfeng squatted beside Red Lotus. "Ah Lian, trying to trick me again?"
SST...
"Alas, My Lord, you’ve wronged that wench," the Phonograph said. "These Mandarin Duck Axes have a sweet scent. My Lord, sniff them carefully."
Li Banfeng used the Hundred Flavors Delicate Skill to sniff for a moment. Indeed, there was a faint sweetness.
"Let me smell too!" Hong Ying sniffed beside him for a long while. Though deaf and blind for many years, her nose was particularly sharp, yet she detected no sweetness.
Li Banfeng sniffed again.
"My lady, how is this Magical Treasure used?"
"This thing lacks sufficient Spirit Attribute; it can’t be considered a Magical Treasure, a Spiritual Object at best. It’s a pair of Mandarin Duck Axes, one male and one female. My Lord, the one in your left hand is male, the one in your right is female. If the male axe strikes a woman, its wielder will become infatuated with her. If she then appears within a mile, the male axe will sense her. The same applies if the female axe strikes a man: its wielder will become infatuated with him, and the female axe will sense him if he is nearby."
Li Banfeng nodded. "It’s a useful item. Let’s call them the Male-Female Axes!"
The Phonograph chirped, "My Lord, wouldn’t it be better to call them the Male-Female Halberd?"
"My lady has such literary grace!" Li Banfeng collected the Male-Female Halberd and, taking the Projector, left the Portable Residence.
「...」
At ten o’clock at night, Xiao Die, having eaten her fill of leaves, climbed down from the tree and strolled lazily through the deep forest.
Li Banfeng and Meng Yuchun trailed not far behind. Relying on the easily overlooked nature of Home Cultivation, Xiao Die never noticed them.
After walking for over an hour, Xiao Die seemed hungry again and climbed another tree to gnaw on leaves.
Li Banfeng hid at the bottom of a slope and said to Meng Yuchun, "Didn’t you say they’re inseparable? Why haven’t we seen the other two women?"
Meng Yuchun replied, "Xiao Die’s habits are different from theirs; they can’t always be together. Yellow Butterfly and Red Butterfly both feed on nectar, so they rarely separate."
Li Banfeng’s assessment was correct: Xiao Die had not yet transformed into a butterfly.
After the battles with Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye, Li Banfeng had learned a crucial detail: a Local Deity’s residence was their lifeline, as it housed their Contract Book. If unearthed, this would pose a severe threat to the Local Deity. Thus, both Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye had defended their residences vigorously.
What exactly that threat entailed was still unknown, but Li Banfeng knew the best way to deal with a Local Deity was to target their residence.
Weng Fangqu, the Playful Matron, the Scrivener, the Love Sorrow Slug... these uncommon Wandering Monsters had consecutively arrived in Meng Yuchun’s territory. They certainly weren’t here to confront Meng Yuchun head-on; the Scrivener had already proven with his life that they couldn’t overcome a Local Deity. Their purpose was to investigate Meng Yuchun’s residence.
The Love Sorrow Slug had parasitized Cao Zhida. Cao Zhida’s relentless pursuit of Meng Yuchun had offered a chance of finding her residence. But he failed and died at Li Banfeng’s hands.
The Scrivener successfully located Meng Yuchun’s residence but failed to escape, dying at her hands.
Weng Fangqu and the Playful Matron, working together—one to fight, the other to deceive—had the highest chance of success.
Apart from Li Banfeng, only three people knew of Meng Yuchun’s residence: Red Butterfly, Yellow Butterfly, and Xiao Die. Because Xiao Die hadn’t transformed into a butterfly, her habits differed from the other two, meaning she spent more time alone. This made her the most likely target for the Playful Matron to impersonate. Li Banfeng locked his sights on her.
Meng Yuchun whispered, "It might not be one of my sisters. That Playful-whatever-her-name-is lady could also be one of your subordinates."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "If it truly is the Playful Matron, she definitely isn’t one of my people. All my subordinates are men."
"Can’t she disguise herself as a man?"
"No."
Li Banfeng took out the Projector and displayed an image of Weng Fangqu.
After about fifteen minutes, Xiao Die climbed down from the tree and slowly approached "Weng Fangqu," whispering, "I’ve succeeded."
PS: What should we do next? Capture the Playful Matron and torture her severely?