"I did quite a few things back then. I managed to get a good amount of food and medicinal herbs from the local deities in the area, but those herbs were useless against the epidemic."
"The old man I met in the Orange Garden had already figured out it was the Greenwater Beggar spreading the plague."
Upon hearing this, the Tang Sword laughed. "I recognize that old man from the Orange Garden. His cultivation level was already close to Above the Clouds. What he said was indeed correct, but the causality of the situation has been inverted."
"What do you mean?"
"He knew the Greenwater Beggar had killed me and become the Local Deity of Beggar Bay. Afterwards, he inferred the various methods of the Green Flower. Over the years, the cause and effect became deeply embedded in his mind, so recalling it all seemed perfectly logical. However, at the time, even he wouldn’t have known who was spreading the epidemic."
In the face of the epidemic, tens of thousands of people fell ill. At the time, it was simply impossible to discern the source.
Li Banfeng slightly altered his recent experiences and let the Projector convert them into images.
The merchants of Loess Bridge faced rampant chaos in their daily operations. Restaurants made mistakes with dishes, Medicine Shops dispensed the wrong medicine, and factories and mines suffered frequent accidents, leading to merchants leaving one after another.
This chaos arrived very subtly. Since the Local Deity at the time was Deathgate Star, it was easy for people to attribute the problems to bad luck—much like how recent events made Ma Wu quickly think of the Grieving Cultivator.
Deathgate Star used the Dead Water Cultivation Method, only taking without providing any protection. Loess Bridge declined rapidly, soon risking a transformation back into Old Land.
To preserve his own position, Deathgate Star went to attack Medicine King Valley but was killed by Elder Yao.
The Cultivator causing this chaos likely seized that opportunity to steal Deathgate Star’s Contract Book, forcefully taking the position and ascending to Above the Clouds.
But he didn’t succeed because the Coachman had returned one step ahead of him.
When Deathgate Star went to Medicine King Valley, the Coachman had disappeared; it turned out he had returned to vie for the Contract Book of Loess Bridge.
Judging by the Coachman’s current situation, he still doesn’t know that Loess Bridge hides such a ruthless individual capable of creating chaos.
Li Banfeng left the Portable Residence carrying the Tang Sword. The Phonograph continued combing Hong Ying’s hair.
"Ying Ying, the way you’ve applied your rouge isn’t quite right. Let me fix it for you properly."
Hong Ying obediently sat in front of the Phonograph, waiting for it to apply the rouge to her.
Suddenly, the two phonograph needles plunged into Hong Ying’s gun tip, making her shudder with pain.
"What are you doing? Wicked woman!"
"Don’t move. Didn’t I just say I was going to open your eyes for you?"
"You—you’re using an aperture-opening technique? Don’t trick me! If you want to kill me, just kill me! Don’t use your schemes to defile me!"
"If I said don’t move, then don’t move. Are you asking for a beating?"
Hong Ying felt anxious, intense pain throbbing around her face.
A glimmer of light suddenly pierced through, and Hong Ying tensed up.
"Ying Ying, try opening your eyes."
Hong Ying had no eyes, but her vision was restored.
She saw the interior of the Portable Residence: cramped and dim rooms.
She saw her vanity mirror and herself in the mirror.
She saw a body with limbs and flesh—her own—topped with a huge gun tip and a mane of waist-length hair.
She might have looked a bit odd, but Hong Ying liked it. She thought she was beautiful.
She looked at the table, then at the chair, and then at the candles on the candlestick.
Since her battle with Zhao Xiaowan, up until this very day, Hong Ying could finally see things again.
She glanced at the Wine Gourd. "So you’re Gourd Girl?"
The Gourd swayed. "It’s me. Congratulations, sister."
Then she looked at the Month Plate. "And you’re Meng De?"
Meng De bowed politely. "Congratulations, Second Lady."
Hong Ying asked, "Where’s that bitch Red Lotus?"
The Phonograph replied, "She’s in the Ninth Room."
Hong Ying turned her head to look at the Phonograph—at its three Big Horns, its two phonograph needles, and its steaming body.
HMPH~ HMPH HMPH~
Hong Ying made a strange noise, like that of a normal person exhaling through their nose with their mouth closed.
With a gloomy voice, the Phonograph said, "Holding back a laugh, aren’t you, you wretch! Mocking me, are you, you wretch!"
"No, not at all... HAHAHAHA!"
Hong Ying couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Enraged, the Phonograph grabbed a stool, pinned down Hong Ying, yanked down her trousers, and started beating her Peach with a paddle.
Hong Ying didn’t cry out. She took the beating and, astonishingly, even let out a laugh.
The more she laughed, the angrier the Phonograph got, and the harsher the beating became.
After a dozen or so whacks, the Phonograph suddenly stopped. It had heard a noise from the Fifth Room.
The Projector in the Fifth Room was talking to someone rather loudly, and Hong Ying heard it too.
The Phonograph whispered, "That thing has shown up again."
Hong Ying stood up, rubbing her Peach. She pulled up her trousers and said, "What thing? I’ll go take a look."
The Phonograph replied, "Don’t be rash. Listen to what’s going on first. Every room has one of these ’things’; they’ve been in this residence for who knows how many years. They’re rarely seen, and for some reason, the one in the Fifth Room has latched onto the Projector."
"Who cares how many years it’s been here? Let’s drag it out and see! You’re the Lady of this house; are you going to let it act so outrageously?" Hong Ying headed straight to the Fifth Room.
She pushed open the door and saw the Projector screening its previous drama.
Hong Ying, seeing the woman on the wall, lunged to strike with her fist.
The Projector hurriedly shouted, "Lady, calm down! It’s just a movie!"
She really couldn’t. She had never seen a movie in her life. Coupled with the Projector’s high-definition imagery, to Hong Ying, it seemed completely real.