"Ge Junma, a pure Inner State person," Li Banfeng asked Qiu Luoye, "Are all Inner State people toads?"
Qiu Luoye shook his head. "There are chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, and also those that look like humans."
"So you mean, they are Body Cultivation practitioners?"
Qiu Luoye shook his head again. "I don’t know what Taoist Sect they belong to, nor do I know his cultivation level. Ge Junma can read, and he has used Word Worth a Thousand Gold. He might be a Literature Cultivator."
"So, you are saying he was born a toad?"
Qiu Luoye could not answer. He had seen Inner State people, but his understanding of them was limited. As Meng Yuchun had said, they were merely livestock in the Inner State, and nobody cared to spend much time talking about livestock.
Li Banfeng had used the Trample Over Thousands of Rivers Technique to crush the cabbage toad into a pulp, and some clues in his mind had begun to clear.
"Big Brother Qiu, can Inner State people come to Puluo State at will?"
Qiu Luoye shook his head. "According to the rules, they cannot."
"Is it because there’s a boundary between the two states? Then how is Chu Shaoqiang able to come out?"
"It’s not just about boundaries," Qiu Luoye said as he drew a circle on the ground and rubbed out a gap on it. "In the Inner State, there are some fixed channels. Each channel can only let out one or two people each year, but these people are the lapdogs of the Inner State or those designated to become Local Deities. Pure Inner State people would be killed if they came to Puluo State."
Li Banfeng was taken aback. "Who would kill them?"
Qiu Luoye shook his head. "I am not sure. It’s said to be the ruthless ones of Puluo State, but this rule is true; pure Inner State people never dare to come to Puluo State. I also cannot understand why Ge Junma would come."
With limited time at the stop, Li Banfeng needed to quickly return to his Portable Residence.
Qiu Luoye said, "Brother, I’ll go with you. Ge Junma, that bastard, has made me suffer quite a bit, and I’m itching for revenge!"
Li Banfeng looked at Qiu Luoye’s condition; he was covered in bandages, still stained with blood.
"Big Brother Qiu, you’ll have plenty of chances for revenge. You should focus on recovering your strength first."
Qiu Luoye said, "I am indeed not in good shape right now. Take my group of junior disciples with you; they can fight!"
Li Banfeng shook his head.
Li Banfeng returned to the Portable Residence and spoke to the Judge’s Pen, "Ah Bi, we’re going to Murong Gui’s place later. You need to explain the situation to him clearly. I’m here to help him, and only by joining forces with me can we get rid of that toad."
"HMM..." the Judge’s Pen hummed listlessly.
"HMM!" The Portable Residence also hummed, full of mockery.
Li Banfeng glared at the Judge’s Pen. "What are you humming about? We’re dealing with serious matters here!"
The Judge’s Pen slowly said, "We’ll see."
「」
After leaving the Portable Residence, Li Banfeng made his way to Sand Goose House.
Xiao Yeci was still reading in the study room, having not returned to the inn the entire night.
Tan Fucheng continued his research into the Hundred Family Surnames. Reportedly, he had made new discoveries, which had caused him to cry three times this morning. This wasn’t the first time he had cried; he had also wept the night before. He accidentally sneezed while reading and sprayed some saliva on the book. Feeling that this was disrespectful to the book, he slapped himself over a dozen times and almost cut off one of his fingers.
Li Banfeng took the key and went straight to Willow Garden.
As he walked, Li Banfeng kept pondering one thing.
Li Banfeng remembered what Qiu Luoye had said.
Upon reaching Willow Garden, Li Banfeng took out his portable phone, connected the battery, plugged in the antenna, and contacted Luo Zhengnan. "Old Luo, take a trip to Pants Belt Pit and find the Peddler. Tell him people from the Inner State have gone to the Ink Shop."
As soon as he heard about people from the Inner State, Old Luo was startled and hurried to procure a Guide Token. That very day, he boarded a train.
Li Banfeng went to the side of a willow tree and, making sure no one was around, had the Judge’s Pen write the character for "Wisdom" on the ground.
The willow sprouted leaves, and catkins fluttered. Li Banfeng once again entered Murong Gui’s residence.
On the frozen lake surface, Murong Gui was still at his desk writing, filling one scroll and then replacing it with a new one.
Li Banfeng sent the Judge’s Pen forward to negotiate. It flew to Murong Gui’s side and declared, "It’s me."
Murong Gui’s brush paused. He looked up, silently observing the Judge’s Pen.
Seeing that the two seemed to be on agreeable terms, Li Banfeng walked over to Murong Gui.
The characters Murong Gui was writing today differed slightly from those of last night. Apart from "Kill" and "War," there were phrases such as "The blind should feel shame," "The literate should exert effort," and one more sentence: "All people should practice literature."
Li Banfeng asked, "What do these three sentences mean?"
Murong Gui did not answer.
Li Banfeng didn’t dwell on these three sentences and quickly got to the point. "That toad is a purebred from the Inner State. He’s here to steal your territory. I’ve come to seek an alliance with you to kill him. Do you know when he usually appears?"
Murong Gui looked up at Li Banfeng.
In the silence, Murong Gui’s pupils contracted, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Li Banfeng sensed the malice and quickly retreated from the lake’s surface. This time, the malice was very clear; it emanated from Murong Gui.
The characters on the paper stood up one by one, flying towards Li Banfeng. Their speed was so swift that even a Seventh Layer Traveling Cultivator like Li Banfeng found it somewhat difficult to fend them off.
"Ah Bi, how did you communicate with your old Boss? Isn’t he supremely intelligent? Can’t he guess the meaning in three sentences and see through someone’s heart in five? I came with good intentions. Can’t he guess that?"
The Judge’s Pen sighed. "No need to guess anymore. Let’s beat him up."
It seemed Murong Gui’s state was amiss. Apart from writing characters, he seemed incapable of any other response.
Dodging the assault of characters, Li Banfeng tried to observe Murong Gui’s condition further when, with a BOOM, the ice cracked, and Ge Junma emerged from the bottom of the lake.
While Murong Gui was struggling with Li Banfeng, he failed to manifest his Wings in time. He relied on written characters to support his body and desk on the ice. Even so, his brush didn’t stop. He was continuously writing.
To buy Murong Gui time, Li Banfeng once again employed Passing Glance.
But this time, the Big Toad didn’t fall for it. He wrote a dozen "Eye" characters on himself, and these "Eye" characters transformed into actual eyes, opening on his cheeks, front legs, hind legs, and back, taking turns to watch Li Banfeng.
Facing such unrelenting watchfulness, Li Banfeng had a set routine. He pulled out Ling Miaoying’s pistol from his robes and began aiming for the eyes.
BANG! BANG!
Two of the six bullets fired. The pistol’s power wouldn’t fatally injure Ge Junma, but if Li Banfeng could make him blink, his technique would succeed.
Ge Junma did blink. Li Banfeng briefly disappeared from his sight, and an explosion blasted a hole in the toad’s back.
Li Banfeng had thought this would create a chance for Murong Gui to strike back. Instead, Murong Gui didn’t attack Ge Junma but wrote several dozen "Forbid" characters that flew toward Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng knew the potency of the "Forbid" character. He had once been attacked by Scholar Guo with twelve "Forbid" characters, rendering all his Weapons and Magical Treasures unusable.
He was carefully dodging the characters when Ge Junma charged, spitting a blob of viscous mucus at Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng dodged swiftly. The mucus landed on a nearby tree, and a trunk thick enough for two people to encircle dissolved into a pile of sludge in an instant.
Li Banfeng had intended to fight Ge Junma two-on-one with Murong Gui’s help, but now it had become a one-on-two situation.
With the toad blocking his path and characters encircling him, Li Banfeng was ready to use his key.
Ge Junma extended his tongue, about to capture Li Banfeng, when hundreds of characters pounced onto the toad’s back, tearing off a chunk of flesh.
The Big Toad, writhing in intense pain, turned to retaliate against Murong Gui.
Li Banfeng seized the opportunity to attack but was repelled by another barrage of characters.
The ink in the inkstone was drying up. Murong Gui grabbed the Ink Block and hastily ground more ink. Li Banfeng quickly closed in, hoping Ah Bi could make another attempt to awaken Murong Gui.
Murong Gui swiftly moved his brush, filling the entire scroll in the blink of an eye.
The entire scroll filled with only one character: "Kill." As these characters whirled about, they drove back Li Banfeng and also forced Ge Junma to retreat.
Ge Junma leaped back into the lake. Before long, the lake surface froze over again.
Murong Gui returned to the icy surface and continued writing.
The recent battle had been intense, leaving Murong Gui visibly agitated. Now he only wrote three characters: "Kill," "Battle," and "Forbid."
Li Banfeng stood nearby, watching Murong Gui with a sense of helplessness. He didn’t know how to communicate with him but was aware that taking even one step closer would trigger an attack.
Li Banfeng had no choice but to leave Willow Garden.
PS: It seems he can only wait for the Peddler.