A woman with a slender figure emerged from the Sweet Melon.
Fierce flames flickered relentlessly in the lens of the Projector.
"Her hair was tied up, with only a few strands falling loose. They swayed on her slightly gaunt cheeks with the cold wind. Not gaunt, but angular. From her forehead to her cheekbones, from her cheeks to her jawline, the angles on her face were so pronounced! Her long, sword-like eyebrows guarded her deep-set eyes. Her pitch-black pupils clearly reflected my face, and the slightly raised corners of her eyes pierced my heart. Her tall nose bridge carried an aura of valiance that even men would envy. Her tightly sealed lips were somewhat pale, as if the cold wind had stolen their color. No, it shouldn’t be the cold wind, but coldness—an intrinsic coldness originating from her icy inner being. This coldness didn’t just overlay her lips; it pervaded her strong and beautiful body! From the tension in her shoulders to the resilience of her waist, down to the firmness below... even without the softness and charm a woman should possess, such sharp lines were nevertheless captivating. She is the embodiment of art!"
SMACK!
Gloves slapped down on the Projector.
"Look at you, so pathetic!" Gloves scolded the Projector. "Seeing a beautiful woman, you go on with your pleasantries, but isn’t your mind still thinking about those dirty thoughts!"
The Projector hastily exclaimed, "My heart is not dirty! My heart only holds purity for art! Beautiful lady, please first remove the plain white clothes you wear, and let us be candid together..."
SMACK!
Gloves slapped the Projector over and said to Li Banfeng, "Boss, this Shadow Play Machine is full of pretense and not a word of sincerity. True sincerity needs to be pledged on a Conscience. Don’t be misled by this woman’s beauty—is a beautiful woman guaranteed to have a Conscience? If you come across a woman without a Conscience, the more beautiful she is, the worse it is for you, Boss. I’ll go check out the weight of this woman’s Conscience myself!"
Gloves was about to lunge forward when the Tang Sword stepped in, blocking its path.
"How could you dare make a move on such a beautiful woman? Do you have any loyalty to our Master in your heart?"
"I was looking for a Conscience..."
"Regardless of Conscience or Peach, whether it’s the front door or the back door, it all belongs to our Master. After the Master, it’s my turn. You stand back!"
Gloves retorted angrily, "You tell me to stay back, and I should just do it? Who do you think you are, lecturing me? The Boss hasn’t even spoken yet!"
Gloves and the Tang Sword began to scuffle. Today, the Tang Sword had extraordinary strength, as if it meant business.
"Are you freaking serious about slashing me?!" Gloves got angry. "Boss, for such a Sweet Melon person, Two Blades is slashing at me! Aren’t you going to do something about it?"
Gloves looked over at Li Banfeng, only to find Li Banfeng eating a Sweet Melon.
The Sweet Melon was very sweet, yet also quite astringent, so astringent that Li Banfeng broke out in a cold sweat and even smelled faintly of the unique aroma of Sweet Melon.
Li Banfeng glanced at the Sweet Melon version of Hong Ying and nodded. "This time, we’ve grown something useful!"
Gloves swallowed nervously and said, "Are we going to use it right away when we get back?"
The Projector said excitedly, "I would like to record this great process!"
The Tang Sword declared, "In my opinion, such things shouldn’t be witnessed by those filthy individuals."
Li Banfeng said one word, "Go!"
Sweet Melon Hong Ying, smelling the scent of Sweet Melon on Li Banfeng, followed him into the Portable Residence. The Old Teapot, which was brewing tea, suddenly had its lid fly off, spilling tea everywhere.
"You old thing, what’s all the commotion?" The Wine Gourd, just as it was about to fall asleep, was woken up by the noise from the Teapot.
It looked towards the door and fixed its gaze on Sweet Melon Hong Ying for a moment before sighing, "To think, such a beautiful woman actually exists in this world."
The Clock Pendulum was dumbstruck, Meng De was dumbstruck, and Pulling Strings, who was resting beside the Phonograph, also couldn’t help but sit up and sneak a look.
The Judge’s Pen really wanted to look but was too lazy to open its eyes.
After staring for a long time, everyone turned their attention to the real Hong Ying, who was at her toilette.
Hong Ying held a comb; the hair in her hand had already been pulled out by her, yet she kept brushing persistently.
The Phonograph asked, "Wretch, not going to take a look?"
"I can’t see..." Hong Ying lowered her head and cautiously asked, "Does she look... like me?"
The Phonograph stared at the Sweet Melon for a while. "I don’t think so."
From the distant Ninth Room, Red Lotus’s voice could be heard, "I think she looks quite similar."
Li Banfeng felt as though Red Lotus was speaking, but still couldn’t hear clearly.
"My beloved husband, this Hong Ying seems to lack some Spirit Attribute."
"As my wife says, without Spirit Attribute, it’s no good!" Li Banfeng cut his finger, dripped a drop of blood onto the Sweet Melon, and activated the Golden House Hidden Beauty Skill.
The pale, greenish skin took on a hint more color, and Sweet Melon Hong Ying instantly gained the texture of life.
The Projector couldn’t help but shout, "Art! This is the art I’ve been desperately seeking!"
"Stop babbling nonsense!" snapped Gloves, spitting at the Projector. It quietly moved next to the Sweet Melon, pondering where to start.
Its heart was wracked with internal struggle, now gripped by some philosophical introspection. After thinking for a moment, Gloves decided to start with the Conscience.
With its plan clear in its mind, Gloves flew towards Sweet Melon Hong Ying, only to be met with her gaze.
With just that look, an imposing force washed over it instantly. Gloves went limp, flying quickly into Li Banfeng’s pocket while shivering with fear.
The Phonograph praised, "Now that’s more like it! It’s really alike!"
Sweet Melon Hong Ying glanced at the Projector, who promptly adjusted its focus, temporarily putting aside its pursuit of art.
Sweet Melon Hong Ying then looked at the Tang Sword, who leaned against the wall, speaking calmly, "Your servant is just an ordinary sword."
With a chuckle, the Phonograph said, "Beloved husband, what do you think?"
Li Banfeng nodded and said, "She looks good!"
"Beloved husband, what’s the point of just looking? Why don’t you give her a try right away?"
Li Banfeng waved his hand and replied, "There’s no rush."
"Little Servant is anxious," the Phonograph complained. "Little Servant just wants to see if this wretch is of any use."
Li Banfeng laughed. "She’s obviously useful."
"Then husband, make full use of her." While speaking, the Phonograph teased Zhen Hongying with Steam.
Zhen Hongying felt very conflicted. "You want Qi Lang to use her? What about me? What am I? Zhao Xiaowan, you are deliberately tormenting me."
While speaking, Hong Ying sobbed twice.
"How is this tormenting you?" The Phonograph laughed. "I’m facilitating this for you. Husband, with such a useful Ying Ying, why wait to use her?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "No rush now. Let’s talk about it once we get to the place."
His wife was puzzled. "What place?"
"Wait until we reach Qiu Luoye’s territory, and then we’ll make our big move."
The Phonograph was even more puzzled. "Make a big move? Does the place matter?"
"It matters. We’ll be relying on her from now on!"
"Rely only on her? What about Little Servant..." Upon hearing this, the Phonograph felt a bit jealous.
"Lady, you are not cut out for this. We’ll have to rely on her every day in the future."
"Rely on her every day? Surely not? Husband, are you sick of Little Servant..." The Phonograph felt she might have made a wrong decision.
"Why surely not?" Li Banfeng touched Sweet Melon Hong Ying. "I plan to build a train station in Qiu Luoye’s territory. Look at this girl’s physique; she’ll definitely be great for hauling soil!"
The Portable Residence suddenly quieted down.
Zhen Hongying asked softly, "You said hauling soil? Is that appropriate?"
"Not appropriate?" Li Banfeng looked again at Sweet Melon Hong Ying and seemed to realize something. "Just hauling soil would indeed be underusing such great material. Digging pits and such should also be well within her capabilities. Ying Ying, shed a bit more blood and create a few more Sweet Melons. We really need people right now!"
BANG!
Hong Ying slammed her head into the Phonograph. "Xiaowan, just eat my Soul! I can’t live on! I can’t take it anymore!"
The Phonograph panicked. "Don’t make a fuss now! Talk slowly if you have something to say!"
BANG! BANG!
Hong Ying kept ramming into the Phonograph. "Eat me now! Just eat me, or I’ll kill this madman!"
The Phonograph shrieked, "You wretch! Stop ramming into me! You’ll damage my front cabinet!"
Everyone stepped forward to dissuade Hong Ying, but she was so strong no one could stop her.
The room was in chaos. The Portable Residence burst into laughter. "BWAHAHAHA! Ah Qi, I wasn’t wrong about you. Building a train station is the proper business!"
"It’s always been the proper business!" Li Banfeng didn’t understand what they were fussing about. "What are you all going crazy for?"
After leaving the Portable Residence, Li Banfeng immediately set off towards Qiu Luoye’s territory.
「...」
In Qiu Luoye’s territory, the cleared plots of land now numbered over 3,000.
Looking at the interconnected patches of Heavenly Light, Qiu Luoye couldn’t suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth.
A Ghost Fire flew up to him, and Shui Yongquan said in a hurry, "Qiu Daxiang, there’s trouble brewing."
"Don’t freaking scare me!" Qiu Luoye waved his hand. "I’m busy here! I don’t have time for you!"
"I’m not trying to scare you. I’ve got news. People from Inner State are coming, and they’re coming because of this!"
"Where did you get this news? You’re still in touch with Inner State?" Qiu Luoye glared. "Shui Yongquan, are you just envious because my business is booming, so you’re deliberately trying to throw cold water on it?"
Shui Yongquan sighed. "Believe it or not, that’s your choice. I haven’t even told Old Qi. You’d better tell him yourself. Qiu Daxiang, you guys are playing too wildly. Inner State already knows. What’s the point of desperately clearing land so fast? To become Proper Land, you need 10,000 people living here long-term. Where will you find these 10,000 people? It’s all still up in the air, and you’re taking such a big risk. You better back down now, otherwise, you’ll be too late to even cry!"
Shui Yongquan left.
Qiu Luoye fell into silence.
「...」
Li Banfeng arrived at Qiu Luoye’s territory and saw Qiu Luoye lost in thought. He approached and asked, "Big Brother Qiu, what happened?"
"Old Shui told me that Inner State is watching me closely because of the land reclamation."
Li Banfeng was startled. Shui Yongquan wouldn’t speak nonsense about such a matter. He didn’t expect Inner State to find out so quickly.
"What do you plan to do?"
Qiu Luoye sighed. "What Old Shui said makes sense. Even if all the plots are cleared, without 10,000 people living here long-term, it won’t become Proper Land."
Li Banfeng looked at Qiu Luoye and said, "You’re thinking of slowing down the reclamation work too?"
"Old Qi, this is what I was thinking..." Qiu Luoye looked up at the sky, stared at the interconnected patches of Heavenly Light for a long time, then stood up, shaking off a layer of twigs and dead leaves. "Can you go any faster?"
Li Banfeng smiled. "I can, but aren’t you afraid?"
Qiu Luoye gritted his teeth. "Since they already know, I’ll fight them when they come. You just focus on clearing the land and don’t worry about anything else. We can talk about the 10,000 people later. Let’s first expand the territory. As long as you don’t back down, I’ll fight them to the end!"