Ma Wu said, "Old Qi is tired. He said he needs a good two days’ sleep."
Qiu Luoye, holding a pumpkin, said, "I owe Old Qi too much. I don’t even know what I can use to repay him in the future."
Ma Wu laughed. "Big Brother Qiu, don’t think so far ahead. Eat well and get some sleep yourself. Restore your health before worrying about the future."
...
Inside the Portable Residence, Li Banfeng was not sleeping; he was taking an art class.
Today, his art teacher was not the Blood-Thirsty Pendulum, but Hong Ying.
Hong Ying came from a prestigious family and had received a good education since she was young. She dabbled in the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, especially excelling in painting.
Unlike the Western Painting Technique of the Clock Pendulum, Hong Ying had learned ink and wash painting. She measured the dimensions of the paper with her hands and quickly drew a Beauty Painting. The beauty was bending over to pick flowers. Her appearance was delicate and beautiful, her figure graceful and lithe, though her clothing was not very elegant.
After taking a look, the Phonograph asked, "Hussy, aren’t you ashamed of painting such things?"
"Tch!" Hong Ying spat. "You’re the one to talk about shame? Haven’t you thought about what you looked like last night?"
The Phonograph sang softly to a slow rhythm, "What happened last night? What’s wrong with being close to my own husband?"
Hong Ying ignored the Phonograph, hung the painting on the wall, and said to Li Banfeng, "Qi Lang, what do you think of this painting?"
Li Banfeng snorted coldly. "I can’t even be bothered to glance at such indecent paintings."
"Well then, do me the favor of glancing at it!" Hong Ying pointed at the painting. "This is the door! This is the household! Only these two spots, how could you not tell them apart?"
Li Banfeng explained, "I had a few too many drinks last night; I honestly didn’t know that was you. I thought that was my wife. My wife is not divided like that."
"You crazy bastard! So you take what you want and then deny it, is that it? I’ve suffered for nothing, huh!?"
While he was still arguing with Hong Ying on the surface, Li Banfeng’s mind was pondering other matters.
He got past the first obstacle using the Foolish Cultivation Technique.
He got past the second obstacle using an elixir from Red Lotus.
He got past the third obstacle thanks to a seed from Zhang Wanlong.
These people seemed to have no dealings with each other, yet, by using their means, Li Banfeng had resolved what seemed to be an insolvable predicament, a trap laid by the Inner State.
Taking advantage of a quiet moment from Hong Ying, the Phonograph extended its horn to Li Banfeng’s ear and asked in a lowered voice, "Husband, where did you learn the Body Masonry Technique from?"
Li Banfeng didn’t lie to his wife. "I learned it in Fool’s City."
"Fool’s City?" His wife felt something was amiss. "Husband, this technique doesn’t seem like it comes from Foolish Cultivation."
"Where do you think the technique comes from then?"
"Little Servant doesn’t know the specifics of techniques, so I dare not guess." As she spoke, the Phonograph’s voice grew softer. "Husband, would you be willing to teach this technique to Little Servant?"
Li Banfeng smiled. "Of course, I’m willing to teach it if my own wife wants to learn."
The Phonograph sent the others away, and only the two of them were left in the main room. Li Banfeng taught the essentials of the technique to the Phonograph.
"When I first started to learn the Body Masonry Technique, I treated it as a method for the soul to possess a body. But once I truly understood the mechanics, I realized I had it backward.
"The technique isn’t about attaching the soul to the body; it’s about adhering the body to the soul. There are two key points: one is stacking, and the other is splicing.
"Stacking is done from the inside out, while splicing requires patching from all sides. The critical point is realism; the joining of flesh and blood must be seamless and exact."
After listening, the Phonograph found it confusing. "Husband, this sounds like a Glue Cultivation technique."
"A Glue Cultivation technique?" Li Banfeng had heard Qiu Luoye mention Glue Cultivation before, but he knew very little about this Taoist Sect’s techniques.
The Phonograph added, "Husband, you haven’t joined the Glue Cultivation Taoist Sect, so how could you learn their technique?"
"I certainly couldn’t have learned it on my own." He pulled out a box of Paste from his bosom. "I got this from Fool’s City. It’s all thanks to this stuff for sticking the flesh together."
The Phonograph took the Paste with its needle, brought it to its horn to smell, and scoffed, "It has a scent of cosmetics. I wonder which fox spirit gave it to you!"
Li Banfeng exclaimed, "My wife has a keen nose! That woman’s cosmetics are indeed very strong!"
The Phonograph sprayed Li Banfeng’s face full of Steam. "You shameless madman! You go out to charm women and do so brazenly?"
Li Banfeng smiled, didn’t bother to argue, and taught his wife how to use the Paste.
After leaving the Portable Residence, Li Banfeng checked on Qiu Luoye’s condition and discussed business matters with Ma Wu.
Ma Wu sighed. "This is the Back Three-Land, and business isn’t easy in the surrounding territories. If we want to develop Qi Qiu City, we need to put in more effort."
Li Banfeng looked east. "That’s the Ink Shop, right? Is business good there?"
Ma Wu, unsure how to respond, said, "The Ink Shop is the Way of Painting’s territory, and Shen Rongqing comes from there. If you understand their temperament, business can be done. If not, nothing can be accomplished."
"What is the temperament of those learned people?"
Ma Wu shook his head. "I can’t grasp it, and I can’t explain it either. I visited the Ink Shop twice as a kid, and I didn’t want to stay there for a moment longer.
"Old Qi, let’s focus our efforts elsewhere. It would be best to avoid too much contact with the people from the Ink Shop."
"Qi Qiu City will have to become a signature landmark of Puluo State. How can we not interact with our neighbors?"
Lu Chunying, who was nearby, suggested, "Brother Seven, my mother also wants to take me to the Ink Shop. Why don’t we go together for a visit?"
Li Banfeng looked at Xiao Yeci. "Then let’s go explore!"
Xiao Yeci looked at He Yuxiu. "Sister, are you coming?"
He Yuxiu repeatedly shook her head. "What would I do there, look for trouble?"
The next morning, Li Banfeng, along with Xiao Yeci, Lu Chunying, Lu Yuanxin, Tan Fucheng, and others, boarded the train bound for the Ink Shop.
Upon arriving and disembarking at the station, Li Banfeng felt very strange.
This place was unlike a normal train station. The floors and columns were made of wood, painted with red lacquer. The platform roof had distinct ridges and was embedded with glazed tiles. If not for the train behind him, Li Banfeng would have thought he had arrived at a wealthy family’s gallery.
CHUGGA, CHUGGA.
The train left, and Li Banfeng felt the entire platform shake.
At the station exit, a man in a cyan long shirt, his hair combed slickly back, politely inquired, "Please wait, may I see your credentials?"
Li Banfeng was taken aback. "Credentials for what?"
After a moment of thought, Xiao Yeci took out the train tickets and presented them with both hands.
The man accepted the tickets, checked them, and finding no errors, he extended his right hand towards the gate, saying, "Please go ahead!"
This was a ticket inspector.
Tan Fucheng humphed. "Making a fuss, calling it credentials just to check a ticket."
Lu Yuanxin reminded him quietly, "Big Brother Tan, remember our status."
After leaving the station, Xiao Yeci kept reminding Lu Chunying, "Nannan, show that you are well-mannered and cultured. We can’t let others laugh at us."
Tan Fucheng hailed a Rickshaw Puller. The puller looked at the group and asked, "There are many roads ahead. May I ask which one you wish to take?"
Tan Fucheng replied, "Head towards the inn."
"There are dozens of inns in the Ink Shop. May I ask to which one you are headed?"
"Well, that..." Tan Fucheng didn’t know how to respond. He had pulled rickshaws himself, and hailing one shouldn’t be this complicated.
Li Banfeng faintly heard a sigh. "Home."