The Portable Residence had selected the location for the station, which was in a forest on Qiu Luoye’s territory.
Since the station was being constructed underground, the Portable Residence was confident it could remain hidden from the eyes of Qiu Luoye and the strange monsters but needed Li Banfeng’s protection.
Currently, Qiu Luoye had no time for other matters. He had to deal with land development and inspections, and also guard against people from the Inner State, which kept him swamped all day.
While Li Banfeng protected the Portable Residence’s construction of the station, he also contacted Luo Zhengnan, asking him to inform Ma Wu to continue hiring people for land development.
Ma Wu was quite curious about what the scene would be like with over a thousand people developing the New Land.
Ma Wu glanced at the account book; during this period, money had been spent at a torrential pace.
「...」
A beggar covered in sores stood in front of Xiaoyao Lodge’s gate, silently watching the crowd signing up for land development.
Li Qi offered high pay, and in Greenwater City, anyone having a tough life was willing to give it a try.
Those who had been to the New Land didn’t need convincing; they would dare to set out the very same day.
Some had never even been to the New Land yet mustered the courage to follow along.
Green Flower shook the bowl in his hand, pondering Li Qi’s intentions.
The Greenwater Beggar left Xiaoyao Lodge with his begging bowl.
「...」
The station was completed, built in the center of the forest.
Usually, the entrance was invisible, indistinguishable from the surrounding ground.
There were seven old trees around it, all of which had been eaten by insects. However, the degree of the damage varied, and when struck, each tree emitted a different pitch.
Only by playing the tune "Pretense" by knocking on these seven trees could the entrance be opened.
With sufficient security measures in place, Li Banfeng prepared to return to Greenwater City for a visit, to personally continue recruiting people for land development.
Having traveled this route countless times, Li Banfeng could find his way back with his eyes closed. As he crossed Gourd Valley and was about to arrive at Blue Poplar Village, a man sitting on the ground with a bowl in hand called out, "Kind sir passing by, please pity me, I haven’t eaten all day."
Being near Greenwater Bay, Li Banfeng was always very cautious when encountering beggars.
The beggar’s face was relatively smooth, without sores or anything similar. His clothes were tattered, patched together with various colored rags.
He seemed to be at least seventy years old, with sunken lips and apparently only a few teeth remaining. Li Banfeng pulled out a piece of dry food and asked, "Can you eat this?"
"Yes!" the old beggar nodded vigorously.
Li Banfeng handed over the dry food, and the old beggar caught it in his bowl.
As Li Banfeng let go and the dry food was about to fall into the bowl, the old beggar spoke rapidly, "Since you’ve already given it, then..."
His words were too fast and too sudden, catching Li Banfeng off guard.
The Tang Sword suddenly unsheathed and knocked over the beggar’s bowl.
The dry food didn’t fall into the bowl, dropping onto the ground instead.
The beggar reached to pick it up, but the Tang Sword stabbed through the dry food and, with a flick of the blade, flung it aside.
"My lord, be careful! This is a Begging Cultivator!"
Li Banfeng was unfamiliar with this Taoist Sect.
He had only heard that Yuan Showu was a cultivator of this sect and the Local Deity of Beggar Bay.
Yuan Showu was later defeated by Green Flower and lost his territory, which turned into today’s Greenwater Bay.
Li Banfeng activated Golden Gaze Autumn Hair and saw that the man was covered in Ghost Fire.
He was indeed a Local Deity; it was very likely he was Yuan Showu!
To think he had been living right next to Green Flower’s territory all along.
The Tang Sword thrust straight toward the beggar’s brow.
The beggar didn’t dodge but reached out to grab it, chanting quickly, "Please pity me!"
The Tang Sword suddenly retreated, not daring to thrust further.
This wasn’t because the Tang Sword lost its nerve; there was a Technique at play.
The Wine Gourd shouted, "Begging for Pity, Little Brother, you can’t give him anything, or you’ll lose combat power!"
If the beggar got hold of the Tang Sword, it would be as if Li Banfeng had gifted him the blade. Li Banfeng would lose some combat power—not much, but it could trigger other Techniques.
The beggar failed to grasp the Tang Sword and reached for Li Banfeng instead.
Li Banfeng didn’t dare to block and desperately dodged.
Indeed, his choice was correct. If he had chosen to block or counterattack, the beggar might have taken something from him.
Perhaps stealing a trivial item from him, or tearing off a piece of cloth from his clothing.
Once the beggar snatched something, his Technique would succeed.
Seeing Li Banfeng dodge, the beggar tried to grab his clothes. Li Banfeng was quick, always managing to evade him just in time.
Unable to catch Li Banfeng, the beggar suddenly pulled a piece of bamboo from his bosom.
Li Banfeng had thought it might be a blade or a Magical Treasure, but to his surprise, the beggar took the piece of bamboo and, placing it to his lips, began to play.
It was a musical instrument called the chi.
And indeed, the tune the beggar played was quite pleasant; Li Banfeng genuinely found it enjoyable.
The Gourd yelled, "Little Brother, you can’t listen! He’s playing the chi to beg!"
In the midst of speaking, the Tang Sword stabbed towards the bamboo pipe.
If he listened to the entire tune, Li Banfeng would feel compelled to give the beggar something; otherwise, his conscience wouldn’t let him rest.
Food or money would suffice. But once he gave the beggar something, he would be caught by his Technique and similarly lose some combat power.
Li Banfeng didn’t know the exact mechanics, but he knew that bamboo pipe was formidable.
The Tang Sword hesitated, not daring to engage the beggar directly. Li Banfeng picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the bamboo pipe.
Within five meters, he never missed.
The stone hit the bamboo pipe accurately, breaking it.
A Begging Cultivator’s bamboo pipe was specially made and required unique maintenance methods. Normally, a Begging Cultivator carried only one such pipe. Now that it was broken, he had no immediate replacement, rendering his Technique of playing the chi to beg unusable.
Unexpectedly, the beggar tossed the broken bamboo aside and bent down to pick up the stone that had fallen at his feet, muttering, "Since you’ve already given it..."
The Tang Sword swung, aiming for the beggar’s hand. The beggar tried to grab the Tang Sword, which hastily withdrew, and the beggar again reached for the stone.
The Wine Gourd shouted, "Greedy for More, don’t let him get the stone!"
Li Banfeng had not expected that even a stone counted as alms.
Ordinarily, one would have to give a Begging Cultivator something useful for it to count as alms. However, this cultivator’s cultivation level was so high that even if someone spat at him, he could accept it as such.
The Techniques of Begging for Pity and playing the chi to beg both aimed to strip away combat power. They didn’t take much, and the loss wasn’t substantial.
What was truly frightening was that once these Techniques took effect, they would trigger the subsequent Technique of Greedy for More.
This was the Ninth Layer Technique of Begging Cultivators. Once they received alms, they would continue to demand more—perhaps limbs, Internal Organs, or Magical Treasures. If the gap in cultivation level was large enough, they might even demand one’s life, and at that point, refusal was not an option.
The beggar bent down, searching for the stone, and Li Banfeng saw his chance.
Suddenly, his figure vanished from sight.
The beggar frowned, "Passing Glance?"
He didn’t hurry to search for Li Banfeng’s whereabouts but stood still, waiting calmly.
The Technique had succeeded. Li Banfeng, fearing the beggar wasn’t dead, prepared to follow up with Trample Over Thousands of Rivers, but the Tang Sword stopped him.
Li Banfeng was taken aback, only to see that the beggar was still standing, without much change.
CRACK!
A cut appeared on the beggar’s face.
About an inch long, with a bit of blood showing, obviously shallow.
Li Banfeng was surprised. He knew that Cultivators Above the Clouds could withstand Passing Glance, and he hadn’t intended a lethal blow, but he hadn’t expected the Passing Glance Technique to cause such a minor injury.
"Hee hee," the beggar smiled and touched his face. "That hurts quite a bit."
The Gourd whispered, "Thick-skinned."
The Begging Cultivation Technique, Thick-skinned, could convert a fatal injury into a mere cut on the face. Since the skin was extremely thick, this wound caused only limited damage.
This defensive Technique was comparable to Benevolent and Righteous. However, unlike Benevolent and Righteous, which had a limited number of uses, a Begging Cultivator could continuously use the Thick-skinned Technique as long as they had enough physical strength. Its only flaw was the slightly long preparation time.
The beggar had more combat experience than Li Banfeng. Bending down to pick up the stone was a lure for Li Banfeng to attack; he had already prepared his Thick-skinned Technique.
He had assumed Li Banfeng, relying on the ferocity of the Passing Glance Technique, would press his advantage, but he hadn’t expected the Tang Sword to intervene.
The Gourd hurriedly whispered into Li Banfeng’s ear, "Little Brother, whatever you do, don’t run! That stone is still on the ground."
A few seconds had passed since the stone was thrown. Was the beggar’s Technique still effective?
In theory, it should have expired, but the Gourd didn’t dare to bet on it.
"I’m not too familiar with Begging Cultivation; his cultivation level is too high, and it’s hard to say how long the Technique can last. Little Brother, delay a bit longer, try to drag it out for a minute."
Facing such a master, even dragging it out for an extra second could be fatal.
As he pondered, the Tang Sword suddenly returned to Li Banfeng’s pocket, and Li Banfeng took off running.
The beggar didn’t go to pick up the stone but chased after him.
Li Banfeng had made the right wager.
Li Banfeng deduced from this that the Begging Cultivator’s Technique was subject to a strict time limit. The entire process, from the act of giving alms to the deployment of the Technique, had to be completed within a very short time. If the thrown stone wasn’t picked up within a few seconds, its effectiveness as ’alms’ had likely expired.
If he had guessed wrong, the beggar would definitely have picked up the stone. Before he could, Li Banfeng would have turned back to fight him to the death. After all, Li Banfeng was faster, so there was still a chance.
Less than a minute into the run, the beggar stopped the pursuit; he couldn’t catch up.
"Not bad, kid. Even after using Passing Glance, you can still run so fast."
The beggar looked around and felt uneasy about letting Li Banfeng escape.
The beggar returned to his original spot, ready to continue his vigil, when suddenly another beggar with a face full of pustules approached from a distance.
Green Flower!
The beggar quickly stood up and smiled at Green Flower.
Green Flower looked at the beggar’s face. "Are you hurt?"
The beggar shook his head, "No, my face was itchy, and I scratched it myself."
Green Flower’s eyes twitched. "Thick-skinned. You used the Technique, didn’t you? He’s been here, right?" Green Flower smiled.
The beggar pursed his lips. "Someone was here, looked like him, but I’m not sure..."
Green Flower touched the beggar’s cheek, where a patch of bumps had formed.
The beggar shivered. "I really don’t know if that was him!"
Green Flower laughed. "If you let him escape again, I’ll take your life!"