Qiu Luoye wanted to keep some of his old subordinates, including an Old Hu that often followed him around, and a Stone that was placed in front of his door.
"Back when I fought that battle with Old Shui, that damn Old Shui tricked me! He didn’t face me directly; instead, he took his men and attacked my home," Qiu Luoye declared.
"There were quite a few people guarding my house, but they all got scared pissless when they saw Old Shui. Only Old Hu and Stone, those few, dared to fight them.
"They are truly loyal to me. Now that I’ve become a Proper Land’s Local Deity, I don’t want to part with them."
Li Banfeng knew quite a few Local Deities, but as far as Elder Yao’s situation was concerned, there were no Strange Monsters following him.
Medicine King Valley, formerly known as Bitter Medicine Pass, was the territory Elder Yao had always guarded. It’s very possible he had never experienced the transition from New Land to Proper Land.
Whether Local Deities of other Proper Lands had Strange Monsters by their sides or not, Li Banfeng was not sure, and neither was Qiu Luoye.
Fortunately, Xiao Yeci found some books with similar records.
"When transitioning from New Land to Proper Land, if Strange Monsters want to follow, they need to become Covenant Guardian Spirits."
Qiu Luoye nodded, seemingly understanding. "That means I have to give them new names. This isn’t difficult. First, tell me how to write the three characters for ’Covenant Guardian Spirit.’ Give me a month, and I’m sure I can teach them!"
Xiao Yeci was a bit afraid of Qiu Luoye. She glanced furtively at Li Banfeng, unsure if this Local Deity was joking.
Li Banfeng’s expression was serious; he knew Big Brother Qiu was discussing the matter earnestly. "Miss Xiao, you need to explain this carefully. Just changing their names doesn’t seem enough, does it?"
Xiao Yeci nodded. "Just changing the name definitely won’t do. A Covenant Guardian Spirit can only operate within a fixed territory, and this territory has to be demarcated by the Local Deity. Once a New Land becomes a Proper Land, this place can be called a Secret Realm or a Forbidden Land. All over Puluo State, there are similar places. Such places often hide the Local Deity’s Contract Book, and the Covenant Guardian Spirits operate only within the Secret Realms. Their task is to help the Local Deity protect the Contract Book."
After thinking for a long time, Qiu Luoye understood Xiao Yeci’s meaning. "So, my Contract Book needs someone to watch over it, and this task is just right for my few old comrades. This is easy to handle; I don’t even need to pick a place. Tomorrow, I’ll demarcate ten miles of land next to my home, let my old comrades stay there, and I’ll have peace of mind handing over the Contract Book to them."
Li Banfeng felt that something about the situation wasn’t quite right, but he couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was.
Xiao Yecai said to Qiu Luoye, "Many people must know where your home is, right?"
Qiu Luoye glared. "What are you trying to do?"
Xiao Yecai quickly shook her head. "Please don’t misunderstand, I don’t mean any harm! According to the records in the books, after transitioning from New Land to Proper Land, the location of the Contract Book can be changed once. That means digging it up and reburying it somewhere else. Don’t you want to switch to a different location?"
Then, both Li Banfeng and Qiu Luoye understood where the problem lay.
Too many people knew Qiu Luoye’s residence.
In a New Land, with its vast territory and sparse population, Strange Monsters, though they possessed Spiritual Wisdom, didn’t have minds as complex as humans, and rarely did anyone dare to target a Contract Book.
But once it became a Proper Land, ranging from a small town to a large city, the population would increase dozens of times. If Qiu Luoye’s residence location got out, there would likely be a queue of people coming to dig up his Contract Book. It indeed needed to be relocated.
Qiu Luoye scratched his head. "I’ll have to think carefully about this. What kind of place can be a Forbidden Land?"
Xiao Yeci said, "From what I’ve read in the books, there can be more than one Forbidden Land, you know. Some Local Deities have created over a dozen Forbidden Lands within their territories, and nobody knows where they’ve hidden their Contract Book."
This gave Qiu Luoye an even bigger headache. "This is too troublesome. I heard Elder Yao’s residence is deep in the mountains. Quite a few people know where he lives. I’ll do like him: find a mountain, build a house, and just stay there with my old brothers."
Xiao Yeci added, "After you’ve chosen a place, you have to sign a Contract Book with the Covenant Guardian Spirits, and they can never leave the Forbidden Land afterward."
Old Hu was a bit dissatisfied. "We’re not allowed to go out for our whole lives? Can’t we take turns on watch, change shifts, and go down the mountain to live a little?"
Xiao Yeci shook her head. "That might be difficult. One doesn’t see tigers roaming freely in any Proper Land, you know."
Indeed, in the territories of Proper Lands, no Strange Monsters wandered freely.
Qiu Luoye nodded. "This young lady is right. Once this becomes a Proper Land, you all can’t go out wandering about. Stay with me at home. With me around, you won’t feel too bored."
Old Hu agreed quite readily. "I’m willing to follow Master Qiu. Not going down the mountain is fine by me."
Xiao Yeci spoke softly, "Please think this through. Once you become a Covenant Guardian Spirit, that’s for life. You can’t even be a Wandering Monster then."
Old Hu swished his tail. "What’s so great about being a Wandering Monster? I’ll just stick with Master Qiu."
Stone didn’t speak.
Qiu Luoye looked at Stone. "What’s the matter? You don’t want to follow me anymore?"
Stone replied honestly, "If it were before, following Master Qiu would be quite good. But after that young lady sat on me just now, my heart’s a bit... unsettled."
As he spoke, a blush rose on Stone’s surface.
BANG!
Qiu Luoye kicked Stone. "Oil Peach sat on your face, and now your heart’s all stirred up? Scram! I’m not keeping you. Go claim some cultivation level from my place later and find your own way!"
Apart from dealing with the Contract Book and Covenant Guardian Spirits, Qiu Luoye also had to meticulously measure the land to ensure the Hundred Miles of Land was sufficient. Some Strange Monsters completely lacking Spiritual Wisdom also had to be sent away quickly; after becoming a Proper Land, these creatures might undergo mutations and become calamities.
Li Banfeng looked at Xiao Yecai. "Where did you read about these things?"
Xiao Yecai replied, "They’re in the libraries of both the Lu Family and the He Family. Sister Yuxiu is very kind; I can read all their family books. The information in these books is very useful. It’s just that the records are somewhat fragmented. One needs to read carefully and take notes to piece things together."
Li Banfeng inwardly praised her.
Qiu Luoye asked, "Old Qi, is she your sweetheart?"
Xiao Yecai’s face suddenly flushed red.
Qiu Luoye burst into laughter. "What’s there to be bashful about? Following our Old Qi, you won’t be at a loss. Old Qi, this sweetheart is good, much better than the previous one."
Recalling Chu Er, Qiu Luoye shook his head. "That sweetheart was no good. In front of others, she acted all prim and proper, but when she saw Old Qi, all she knew was how to throw a tantrum. This one’s better: good-looking, speaks softly and gently, and even knows how to read. Old Qi, you probably don’t realize, but people who can read know a lot of characters. You really have to cherish this one."
Stone expressed his agreement. "Miss, come sit with me."
"Scram!" Qiu Luoye kicked Stone away and hurried off to attend to serious matters.
The major clans all lent their support. The land was being cleared faster and faster, and not much uncultivated wasteland remained. Qiu Luoye wasn’t good with numbers, so He Yuxiu found a Math Cultivator to help him. After repeated measurements, counting by square miles, they discovered Qiu Luoye’s territory was short of 10,000 plots.
"All these years fighting with neighboring Local Deities, I made a good profit. But it all went down the drain after that one fight with Old Shui," Qiu Luoye said, looking at the account book, a headache coming on.
Indeed, he had won many battles over the years, but he wasn’t good with calculations. The plots he won weren’t large. On the other hand, the 900 plots he lost to Shui Yongquan were substantial.
"If it’s not 10,000 plots, can it still become a Proper Land?" Qiu Luoye turned to Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng looked at Xiao Yeci.
Xiao Yecai shook her head. "I daren’t say for sure. The books say it needs 10,000 plots."
Li Banfeng returned to the Portable Residence. He had previously verified with his wife that everything Xiao Yecai said was accurate.
This time, his wife wasn’t certain either. "Oh, my dear husband, the transformation from New Land to Proper Land is quite rare. Little Servant doesn’t know too much about it. I’ve heard of it being done with just 8,000 plots, and I’ve also heard of instances where 9,000 plots weren’t enough. It’s best to be cautious. Besides, we can’t even find 10,000 people right now, so let Qiu Luoye use this time to acquire a few more plots."
「...」
"Where do I get them?" Qiu Luoye was at a loss. "The neighboring territories haven’t provoked me. Why would I rob their land?"
Hot-tempered as he was, Qiu Luoye didn’t oppress others.
Li Banfeng said, "How about discussing it with Big Brother Shui to see if he can spare some plots for us?"
Qiu Luoye shook his head. "How could I even bring myself to ask? I was the one who lost the battle. He did me a favor by not digging up my Contract Book. How could I have the face to ask for the territory back?"
"You’re so modest, so thin-skinned—aren’t you something!" A Ghost Fire drifted in front of Qiu Luoye, and Shui Yongquan’s figure emerged from within it.
Qiu Luoye was startled. "How did you get here?"
"If I hadn’t come, where would you get the territory from?" Shui Yongquan took a marked map from his bosom.
Shui Yongquan said, "Qiu Daxiang, I took thirty miles of territory from you, and today I’ll return thirty miles to you. However, I can’t return the original plots. The original land has Zhengjing Village and many other cleared plots of territory that I cannot give you. I can return these other plots to you instead. Is that acceptable?"
Qiu Luoye didn’t look at the map. He looked at Shui Yongquan. "Old Shui, why are you helping me?"
Shui Yongquan smiled. "Old Elephant, you’ve got spirit, you’ve got guts! You’re about to become a Local Deity of a Proper Land. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t envious. But envy aside, I’m hoping you make it. Someday, when someone asks me if I’ve seen a New Land become a Proper Land, I can say I have, right next to my place! That Local Deity is my brother, Qiu Daxiang!"
Qiu Luoye stuttered, "O-Old Shui, I don’t know what to, to say..."
"Then don’t say anything!" Shui Yongquan produced a Contract Book, slashed his palm, and sprinkled his blood on it. "Come on, brother."
「...」
One month later, the last plot of land Shui Yongquan allocated to Qiu Luoye, which was also the last uncultivated plot in Qiu Luoye’s territory, was cleared.
This plot was supposed to be given to Ma Wu, but Qiu Luoye, after careful consideration, decided that since all the territories were being cleared today, many people would come to watch. Ma Wu’s method of clearing land was too unconventional and not suitable for others to see, so the task was given to He Yuxiu instead.
A square-mile plot of territory posed no difficulty for He Yuxiu. By noon, the land reclamation was successful. Above, a faint Heavenly Light shone down.
He Yuxiu stepped out of the plot, stood next to Li Qi, and said, "Old Qi, I’ve been through many land reclamations, but this is the first time I’ve seen such beautiful Heavenly Light."
This Heavenly Light was indeed beautiful. It wasn’t like a lamp in the night sky but more like a glimmer of dawn, especially since the surrounding sky was already bright.
Li Banfeng was beaming with joy. The urgent matter now was the 10,000 people.
"This is tough," Li Banfeng sighed softly. "Old Five is offering high prices to attract people, but still, not many are willing to come live here. So far, we’ve only gathered just over 2,000. Even with Juanzi and her people, that’s only a little over 5,000 in total—barely half of what we need."
He Yuxiu made a subtle joke. "I’m in good shape. Why don’t we start tonight and you and I can make the rest of them?"
Li Banfeng was astounded. "Make 5,000?"
He Yuxiu laughed. "No rush, we can take it slow. Oil Peach is also in good shape, and Yecai is great with children. We sisters can have them for you."
Li Banfeng looked up at the bright sky and laughed out loud.
Shui Yongquan stood beside Qiu Luoye, both of them laughing as well.
Ma Wu was laughing, Lu Chunying was laughing, and Chu Er was laughing. Everyone watching the sky shared in the laughter.
Juanzi, leading all the Three-Headed People, gazed at the sky. Xiao Shan said softly, "Sister, our home is lit up."
Xiao Yecai nodded beside them. "Yes, it’s so bright."
Oil Peach touched Xiao Yecai’s hand. "Yes, why is it so bright?"
Qiu Luoye blinked. "Isn’t it a bit too bright?"
A blinding light assaulted them, and Qiu Luoye’s territory shone like broad daylight.
Shui Yongquan shouted in alarm, "Not good! Heavenly Light! Hide quickly!"