Li Banfeng watched the toad. He moved swiftly, disappearing from its line of sight.
If the toad couldn’t lock onto Li Banfeng, it would get hurt due to Passing Glance.
Even if the toad could lock onto Li Banfeng, it would become distracted, giving the person in white a chance to counterattack.
BANG!
The toad’s attention was mostly on the person in white. It failed to lock onto Li Banfeng, and one of its front legs was blasted.
Li Banfeng disappeared from the toad’s line of sight again. As the toad tried to track him, a swarm of character-constructs obstructed its view.
BANG!
Another of its hind legs was blasted.
Though the wounds weren’t severe, they clearly affected the toad’s swimming speed, creating a gap between it and the person in white.
The person in white, still suspended midair, continued writing, which puzzled Li Banfeng.
He had seldom seen techniques from Above the Clouds, but even a random Earth Skin Technique could have severely wounded the toad.
Those wings certainly flew fast; the person in white moved farther and farther from the toad. Annoyed, the toad turned its gaze to the shore, seemingly ready to attack Li Banfeng.
SPURT!
A spear formed from the character for ’War’ struck the toad’s back, drawing some blood.
More character-constructs surrounded the area, each possessing substantial lethal power. Reluctant as it was, the toad found it meaningless to continue the standoff and had no choice but to retreat into the water.
With quick reflexes, Li Banfeng leaped into the air. He caught hold of a ’War’ character-construct and snatched the spear from its grasp.
It was this ’War’ character-construct that had struck the toad. Blood marked its spear, and Li Banfeng quickly collected the few drops into a glass bottle.
The other character-constructs, as if provoked, surged forward to besiege Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng said to Judge’s Pen, "Tell your old master that I am his friend."
"This..." Judge’s Pen appeared to be in a difficult position.
Thousands of character-constructs were closing in on Li Banfeng. He urged impatiently, "Speak up! Now’s not the time to be lazy!"
"Fly!" Judge’s Pen uttered just this one word.
It took Li Banfeng and flew out of the encirclement of character-constructs. After several twists and turns, they landed beside the person in white.
Judge’s Pen spoke to the person in white, saying, "You!"
That was all Judge’s Pen said.
The person in white, however, seemed not to hear and continued to write incessantly on the desk.
Li Banfeng glanced over what was being written. More than half of it consisted of just two characters: one for ’War’ and one for ’Kill.’
The other half comprised two phrases: one was "The blind should feel shame," and the other was "The scholarly must strive."
As a wave of character-constructs closed in again, Judge’s Pen didn’t converse further with the person in white but instead took Li Banfeng and flew directly towards the willow tree.
The entire courtyard was a world of ice and snow, except for this willow tree, full of green leaves, which stood out prominently.
Underneath the tree, Judge’s Pen once more wrote the character for ’Wisdom.’
All the leaves fell from the willow tree in an instant.
The willow leaves scattered in the wind, forming a barrier that blocked all the character-constructs behind them.
When the barrier dispersed, the character-constructs vanished.
Gone along with them were the lake and the person in white above it.
The entire garden returned to silence, as if nothing had ever happened.
Li Banfeng went back to the study room, entered his Portable Residence, and took Judge’s Pen into the Fifth Room.
"Why didn’t you speak to the Erudite Scholar just now?"
Judge’s Pen hovered midair, making no reply.
Li Banfeng continued, "Do you have a conflict with him?"
"HMM!"
"Can he hear you when you speak?"
"No."
Li Banfeng frowned and said, "Do you even want to return to his side?"
"I don’t!" Judge’s Pen’s answer was very direct.
"Then why did you take me to find him?"
"Ink Shop."
Li Banfeng pieced together the sequence of events, gradually clarifying the clues.
"’A Big Toad infiltrated the Local Deity’s residence. To battle this Big Toad, the Local Deity had to expend a vast amount of energy. This created the false impression for the outside world that the Local Deity has fallen into an extremely weakened state. Is that right?’"
Judge’s Pen was silent for a long time, then replied, "Probably."
Its answer aligned with Li Banfeng’s speculation, but it couldn’t provide a more precise one.
Li Banfeng sighed and said, "Actually, it’s not really a false impression. The Local Deity’s situation is indeed dire. If attacked now, I fear the chances of survival are slim."
"Yes." Judge’s Pen’s response this time was very certain.
"Where did that Big Toad come from?"
"Don’t know."
"Do you recognize him?"
"I don’t."
Judge’s Pen didn’t recognize this toad, and it hadn’t known of the toad’s existence before.
It was only after hearing Cui Tiq’s words that it decided to check on the Local Deity’s condition.
Li Banfeng took the Projector to the main room. The Phonograph was already awake, and so was Hong Ying.
The Projector displayed the scene of the toad emerging from the water. Li Banfeng asked the Phonograph, "My dear wife, do you recognize this toad?"
After a long look, the Phonograph answered, "I don’t recognize it!"
Hong Ying said, "Qi Lang, describe that toad to me. Maybe I will recognize it."
The Phonograph slapped Hong Ying. "Wench, what prowess do you claim? You’ve been deaf and blind for so many years; how could you recognize someone I don’t?"
"My dear husband, this person is likely a Reincarnated Body Cultivator, perhaps one who has only recently ascended to Above the Clouds."
...
Li Banfeng had his Portable Residence take him to the station. Once outside, he immediately went to Qiu Luoye’s residence.
The night was deep, and Qiu Luoye was sleeping soundly when Li Banfeng gently woke him. Fortunately, Qiu Luoye wasn’t too grumpy upon awakening.
"Old Qi, what’s the matter?"
Li Banfeng did not show Qiu Luoye the footage from the Projector, as it would expose the Local Deity’s residence at the Ink Shop.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Qiu Luoye, but such an action could potentially bring disaster to the Ink Shop.
Li Banfeng took out a small medicine vial. He poured a drop of the Big Toad’s blood onto a cabbage seed, then added two drops of a special potion made by Zhang Wanlong.
The cabbage began to grow rapidly, reaching over three meters tall within minutes. Then, the cabbage burst open.
A toad emerged from the cabbage. Its body was far smaller than the one in the lake; it had likely reached the growth limit for Cabbage People.
Qiu Luoye stared at the toad for a long time. The Cabbage Person toad hadn’t grown skin yet; its entire body was wrapped in bandages, so its expression was hidden. Despite this, Li Banfeng could clearly sense Qiu Luoye’s tension.
"The toad is only this big?" Qiu Luoye had seen Cabbage People before and knew they were somewhat different from real people.
Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "The actual toad is much larger, about the size of your manor."
"Ge Junma!" Qiu Luoye clenched his teeth and spat out the name.
Li Banfeng said, "This Ge Junma, is he a Body Cultivator?"
"No, he’s not a Body Cultivator!" Qiu Luoye shook his head. "He’s from Inner State, a pureblood!"