Qiu Luoye stood in the bathing room, shivering uncontrollably.
He felt cold. That made sense—Sweet Melon’s body was icy and crisp, so it would naturally feel the chill.
Qiu Luoye moved his shoulders and neck. "What kind of poison is this? This body doesn’t even seem like my own."
Li Banfeng also started to shiver. "I’m cold, too. This poison can generate coldness. Take an Antidote first, then soak in hot water."
Li Banfeng handed the Elixir refined by Red Lotus to Qiu Luoye, who shook his head. "I don’t need to take this; you two should have it."
"We have our own," said Li Banfeng as he took out two throat-soothing pills, giving one to Ma Wu and swallowing the other himself.
Seeing this, Qiu Luoye also consumed the Elixir, gazing at the flesh and blood on the ground for a long time.
Li Banfeng had previously thought to cover it with Lime, but the origin of the Lime was hard to explain.
They were now covering it with body grime—a perfectly logical and flawless solution. Qiu Luoye kicked at the flesh again. "Is that bath attendant really dead?"
Li Banfeng replied, "The corpse is here; how could it be fake?"
Ma Wu chimed in, "I saw it with my own eyes; Old Qi blew him up!"
Qiu Luoye looked at Li Banfeng.
"Could the bath attendant have had an accomplice?"
Li Qi was waiting for this moment. "I’ll go and have a look."
Qiu Luoye said, "I’ll go with you."
Ma Wu held back Qiu Luoye. "Big Brother, you’re injured. First, come soak in the hot water with me."
Qiu Luoye immersed himself in the hot water, the chill in his body dissipating somewhat, though his body still felt strange.
Li Banfeng ran to Qiu Luoye’s territory, returned to the Portable Residence, and said to the Phonograph, "Beloved wife, the first hurdle is passed, the medicine is taken, and the second hurdle will be quickly overcome."
The wife picked up the Contract Book; she had three things to do.
First, she used Steam to wash off the bloodstains on the Contract Book, which were Qiu Luoye’s. However, the Contract Book still had a mist maintaining an illusion, making it appear as though the bloodstains were still there.
Now, they had to rely on this illusion to deceive the Inner State.
Second, the wife turned to the back of the Contract Book, which was densely recorded with Qiu Luoye’s life achievements.
Stroke by stroke, the wife changed all instances of Qiu Luoye’s name to Qiu Daxiang.
Third, there was still a Sweet Melon Qiu Luoye within the Portable Residence. The wife used the Phonograph’s needle to prick Sweet Melon Qiu Luoye’s hand and sprinkled the melon’s juice on the iron deed.
From then on, the Contract Book had nothing more to do with Qiu Luoye.
Chuanzi, stationed beside the Border Line, noticed something amiss. The pebbles and fallen leaves near the Border Line instantly turned to ash.
Wuqin Village and Qiu Luoye’s territory were separated by the Border Line.
One of his men asked, "Brother Chuanzi, what’s happened?"
Chuanzi himself didn’t understand. "Don’t ask too much, just keep watch on the road, and don’t let anyone pass!"
Apart from Li Banfeng and his family, nobody knew the inside story.
Qi Qiu City was now split in two: Wuqin Village’s territory belonged to Qiu Luoye, and Qiu Luoye’s former territory belonged to Qiu Daxiang.
But who was Qiu Daxiang?
As far as the Contract Book was concerned, whoever spilled their blood on it became Qiu Daxiang.
Sweet Melon had spilled its juice, so Sweet Melon was Qiu Daxiang.
The Phonograph said to Sweet Melon Qiu Luoye, "You are Qiu Daxiang."
Sweet Melon Qiu Luoye looked at the Phonograph, expressionless.
Seeing Sweet Melon’s expressionless face, Li Banfeng felt uncertain.
The Phonograph said, "Husband, go ahead with it. This Sweet Melon was grown from Qiu Luoye’s blood. As long as the nickname works, it will definitely respond. You must act quickly. The Contract Book can maintain the illusion for a while once it leaves the house, but for no more than two minutes. If things aren’t settled within two minutes, be sure to bring the Contract Book back. Otherwise, the Inner State will see through the deception."
Li Banfeng nodded, took the iron deed and the prepared Paper Contract, along with the remaining Sweet Melon Qiu Luoye, and left the Portable Residence.
Standing in Qiu Luoye’s territory, Li Banfeng unfolded the Paper Contract, on which was written: "Qiu Luoye triumphs over Qiu Daxiang; Qiu Daxiang cedes its entire territory, a land of one hundred miles in all directions, to Qiu Luoye."
Li Banfeng glanced at Sweet Melon Qiu Luoye and asked, "Qiu Daxiang, do you agree?"
Sweet Melon Qiu Luoye nodded, indicating agreement.
Li Banfeng handed the Paper Contract to Sweet Melon Qiu Daxiang. Sweet Melon Qiu Daxiang, holding the Paper Contract, dripped Sweet Melon juice onto the Paper Contract.
Li Banfeng took out a small bottle and sprinkled the remaining blood of Qiu Luoye onto the Paper Contract.
Whether the blending of Qiu Luoye’s blood and Qiu Daxiang’s blood on the same Paper Contract would take effect depended on whether the iron deed reacted.
He turned over the iron deed, but there was no response.
Although the Contract Book was no longer connected to Qiu Luoye, and the current Qiu Luoye was only the Local Deity of Wuqin Village, he was unfamiliar with Wuqin Village. Moreover, its territory was not large enough. Under these circumstances, he had no land of his own to stabilize his status and cultivation level, meaning he couldn’t overcome the third hurdle.