Qiu Luoye smiled. "Brother, that question is redundant. Since the matter has been decided, when have I, your big brother, ever been ambiguous?"
"Good!" Ma Wu had someone prepare food and drinks, and the three of them began to eat and drink.
Qiu Luoye was a brave man, but at this juncture, it was impossible for him not to feel tense. While drinking and eating, Qiu Luoye wasn’t very talkative. After they had almost finished, Qiu Luoye soaked in the pool. He drank more than a dozen jars of wine; the potency of the wine hit him hard, and the steam from the pool also billowed upwards.
Li Banfeng said to Qiu Luoye, "Big Brother, I need some of your blood."
"Go on!" Qiu Luoye slit his palm, squeezing out fresh blood, which Li Banfeng caught with a small bottle.
After collecting the blood, Li Banfeng said to Qiu Luoye, "In a moment, I’ll go dig up the Contract Book. It’s time to get serious!"
"Bring it on!" Qiu Luoye picked up a jar of wine and gulped it down. It was clear that he was still a bit flustered. Ma Wu quickly instructed someone to bring more wine. Li Banfeng asked Ma Wu to keep drinking with Qiu Luoye and specifically reminded him that the bathhouse masseur would arrive in another two hours.
Ma Wu checked his pocket watch, nodded, and ordered his underlings, "Clean up the scrubbing room, and don’t let me see a speck of dust or mud!"
The servant, understanding the order, hurriedly arranged a sack of prepared mud inside the bathhouse.
Li Banfeng left the bathhouse, found a Quiet Place, and sprinkled half of the blood from the small bottle on the Sweet Melon seeds; the other half remained sealed in the bottle. It took nearly two hours to grow two Sweet Melon Qiu Luoyes. Creating Sweet Melon People took much longer than Cabbage People, but they were also much more refined. Li Banfeng brought the two Sweet Melon Qiu Luoyes into the Portable Residence, had Clock Pendulum dress one of them up, and had Phonograph inject Steam into the Sweet Melon People to ensure they could make simple responses.
Li Banfeng kept one Sweet Melon Qiu Luoye in the Portable Residence for his wife’s use. He brought the other Qiu Luoye into the bathhouse and coughed.
Hearing the cough, Ma Wu, who was nearly ready as well, hurriedly said to Qiu Luoye, "Big Brother Qiu, let’s go for a scrub!"
Qiu Luoye waved his hand. "No need to scrub. I didn’t like getting scrubbed when I was younger. Their strength isn’t enough, and it makes me uncomfortable."
Ma Wu replied, "This masseur is really strong. Let’s go take a look first."
The two went to the scrubbing room, where the bathhouse masseur waited with a beaming smile. Qiu Luoye stared at the masseur for a moment. The man was tall and sturdy with thick eyebrows and large eyes. Qiu Luoye couldn’t help but praise, "This man looks quite handsome!"
This was Sweet Melon Qiu Luoye, disguised by Blood-Thirsty.
Qiu Luoye lay down on the bed, and the Sweet Melon Qiu Luoye took a towel and began to scrub him. After just one pass, Qiu Luoye nodded continuously. "This strength is good, just right!"
As Qiu Luoye was being scrubbed, Li Banfeng ran like the wind towards the mountain. Old Hu was waiting at the residence and immediately took Li Banfeng to where the Contract Book was buried. The Contract Book was buried on the hillside. Li Banfeng dug it up, sent Old Hu away, and promptly brought it back to the Portable Residence.
His wife took the Contract Book and enveloped it in a ball of mist. This was to create an illusion.
"Husband," she said, "Inner State must be watching Qiu Luoye’s Contract Book closely. Now that it’s been dug up, Inner State should be able to see it. If Little Servant can deceive them even temporarily, that’s for the best. Now we can only hope that Qiu Luoye’s Soul-Separation happens quickly."
The digging of the Contract Book would cause the Local Deity to lose cultivation level, and the Soul would leave the body, equivalent to dying once more. However, this process takes time; some Local Deities might undergo Soul-Separation within an hour, while others might not for three to five days.
"Husband," she cautioned, "the duration of Soul-Separation depends on the bond between the Local Deity and their territory. The deeper the bond, the quicker the Soul-Separation. Please pay close attention, for the critical moment comes after the Soul-Separation."
Li Banfeng quickly returned to the bathhouse. Qiu Luoye didn’t have deep ties with Wuqin Village but felt a profound connection to his territory. Li Banfeng estimated that Soul-Separation might take up to an hour or two. Of course, even if Qiu Luoye didn’t undergo Soul-Separation within one or two days, Li Banfeng still had to be ready, because once it began, there wasn’t a moment to spare.
Li Banfeng arrived back at the bathhouse to find Qiu Luoye lying comfortably on the bed, still enjoying the scrub. The Sweet Melon Qiu Luoye was scrubbing vigorously, working on his back, when SWOOSH, a chunk of flesh fell from Qiu Luoye’s body.
"What fell off?" Qiu Luoye was startled.
Ma Wu, feigning composure, chuckled. "Just a piece of grime that got scrubbed off."
"Such a large piece of grime!" Qiu Luoye was skeptical and wanted a closer look.
Li Banfeng entered the scrubbing room, distracting Qiu Luoye. "Big Brother Qiu, how long has it been since you’ve had a scrub? Isn’t a bit of grime normal? Masseur, use more strength, scrub all the grime off."
Despite speaking calmly, Li Banfeng’s heart was in his throat.
The Sweet Melon Person, regardless of what was being scrubbed off, continued scrubbing forcefully, and pieces of Qiu Luoye’s flesh fell one after another. While Li Banfeng kept Qiu Luoye engaged in conversation, Ma Wu silently readied the sack of plaster.
Qiu Luoye lay on the bed, feeling something was off about his body. "Old Qi, is this bath attendant’s touch too rough?" As he spoke, another large chunk of flesh was scrubbed off by the Sweet Melon Person. Qiu Luoye felt something was also off with his face. He grabbed at it and nearly tore the flesh from his face.
"Big Brother Qiu, do you think his touch is too strong?" Li Banfeng pushed the bath attendant. "Can’t you be gentler?"
The Sweet Melon Person stumbled and fell onto Qiu Luoye.
CLANG!
It was already a miracle the bed could withstand Qiu Luoye; two Qiu Luoyes stacked on top was too much. The bed collapsed!
SPLAT! Qiu Luoye fell to the ground, all his flesh peeling off, his eyeballs even popping out. In an instant, complete darkness enveloped Qiu Luoye’s vision. His Soul had left his body.
Li Banfeng quickly used the Body Masonry Technique to attach the Sweet Melon Person’s body to Qiu Luoye. Ma Wu, meanwhile, was scattering plaster on the ground from the sack.
Qiu Luoye shouted, "Old Qi, what’s happening? Why can’t I see anything!"
Li Banfeng replied, "I can’t see either! Someone’s used poison! Old Five, where are you?"
Ma Wu, still scattering plaster, heard Li Qi calling him and hurriedly replied, "I’ve got the bath attendant! He’s an assassin! I’m fighting him!"
THUMP!
Ma Wu accidentally slipped on Qiu Luoye’s fallen flesh and fell hard. He clenched his teeth and grunted in pain.
Qiu Luoye panicked. "Old Five, don’t fight him head-on! Hide first, I’ll take him on!"
Qiu Luoye truly wanted to fight, but he couldn’t move; his Soul had just been attached to the Sweet Melon body and wasn’t accustomed to it yet. He thought he really had been poisoned. It had been many years since he had suffered from poison, and he wondered what kind could be so potent. But then, a thought struck him as odd: why could Ma Wu move, but he himself couldn’t?
Li Banfeng shouted, "Old Five, hold him! I’m coming!"
BANG!
Li Banfeng used the Trample Over Thousands of Rivers Technique to crush the flesh that had peeled off Qiu Luoye into pulp. He then picked up the sack from the ground and scattered the plaster into the pulped flesh.
Hearing the sounds of fighting nearby, Qiu Luoye grew more frantic. "You two go first, don’t worry about me! I’ll fight him!"
No sooner had he spoken than Qiu Luoye stood up with the Sweet Melon body. Li Banfeng was surprised; Qiu Luoye had recovered too quickly!
Qiu Luoye stood in place, his eyes gradually opening. His vision cleared from blurry to sharp; Qiu Luoye could see again. Scanning his surroundings, he saw the pulped flesh scattered everywhere, mixed with plaster, its original form unrecognizable.
Li Banfeng and Ma Wu had prepared quite an act, but now that Qiu Luoye could see, there was no need to continue the performance.
Qiu Luoye asked, "Where did that bath attendant go?"
"I blew him up with Passing Glance," Li Banfeng said, pointing to the mess on the ground. "There’s the evidence."
Qiu Luoye asked, "Is this his corpse?"
Ma Wu nodded. "Yes, this is his corpse." The witness was also present.
Qiu Luoye moved his body, still feeling something wasn’t quite right. "My body... why does it feel so stiff?"
Li Banfeng said, "We were poisoned! I feel stiff all over too!"
Ma Wu added, "We were all poisoned just now."
Qiu Luoye blinked. "What kind of poison did he use? Why was I the only one who couldn’t move just a moment ago?"
Li Banfeng said, "You’re seriously injured. It’s good enough that you’re recovering now."
Qiu Luoye looked at Li Qi; that statement seemed reasonable. After a moment’s thought, Qiu Luoye stepped forward and stomped on the pulped flesh. "And I actually praised him for being handsome! Who the hell sent him to harm us!"
Li Banfeng thought.
Seeing Qiu Luoye’s state, Li Banfeng knew they had cleared the first hurdle.
The first trial was passed!