"I have no doubt about that," Li Banfeng said, motioning for Cui Tiq to button up his clothes. "I want to ask about the deeper reasons."
First, Cui Tiq wrote a prescription for the patient and then had a nurse take them to get the medicine.
Whether or not the medicine was obtained didn’t matter. The lesion on the patient had already been consumed by Cui Tiq. He just wanted to send the nurse and patient away.
Only two people remained in the consultation room. Cui Tiq locked the door and said to Li Banfeng, "I came here to do business."
"What kind of business?"
"The same kind of business as last time—fishing in troubled waters."
Li Banfeng was very interested. "Which fish are you planning to catch this time?"
After a moment of silence, Cui Tiq said, "What if I said the fish was you? Would you attack me right away?"
Li Banfeng blinked. "Have you considered changing your target?"
Cui Tiq explained, "You know me. I’ve never wanted to make you an enemy; our friendship is profound. But this matter is out of my control. My Grandmaster knows Lu Dongliang is near Zhengjing Village. He wants to capitalize on the conflict between you and Lu Dongliang to gain some benefits."
"Why would your Grandmaster set his sights on me and Lu Dongliang? Can’t he find other troubled waters to fish in?"
Cui Tiq said, "Because he despises you, and he despises Lu Dongliang as well. As far as I know, there’s an old grudge between him and Lu Dongliang."
This was not surprising. As the former top figure of Greenwater City, Lu Dongliang must have had interactions with Green Flower.
Li Banfeng said, "Maybe the conflict between Lu Dongliang and me isn’t that deep. Perhaps some things can be resolved. Your Grandmaster might find no fish to catch with me."
Cui Tiq nodded. "The Grandmaster has also considered this. If there are signs of reconciliation between you two, I will have to spread a plague in Zhengjing Village and then frame Lu Dongliang for it."
Li Banfeng didn’t quite understand. "If a plague breaks out, it will clearly be your doing, or Green Flower’s. How could it possibly be blamed on Lu Dongliang?"
Looking at Li Banfeng, Cui Tiq said, "My friend, I truly cherish our friendship. Some things I shouldn’t tell you, yet today I still am. You know too little about Disease Cultivation and not much about plagues. Coughs and fevers are a form of plague, as are blisters and pustules. But you may not have seen that body explosions can also result from a plague. Imagine hundreds or thousands of people turned into minced meat in a short time, and I rapidly withdraw the disease focus. When you see such a scene, what would you think happened?
"I imagine you’d believe that a high-level Traveling Cultivator used Trample Over Thousands of Rivers or Passing Glance to commit a massacre here. Lu Dongliang is a high-level Traveling Cultivator. Do you think you wouldn’t suspect him?"
Li Banfeng lifted the brim of his hat. "You’re not really planning to do this, are you?"
Cui Tiq shook his head. "If the target were a city, it might be worth the risk. But to make a move in a village in the New Land? If it were exposed, I’d not only offend the Local Deity but also make an enemy of you. I really don’t think it’s worth it.
"However, this isn’t for me to decide. If Lu Dongliang makes his move, I must seize some benefits from the battle between you. If Lu Dongliang delays making his move, then I’ll have to act. Even if I don’t, the Grandmaster himself might come here to act in my place. You wouldn’t want to meet him, would you?"
Li Banfeng dipped the brim of his hat lower. "It seems there’s not much for us to discuss."
"We can discuss," Cui Tiq said, taking out three Mud People he had bought from a peddler in the village. "You’re in the village, I’m in the village, and Lu Dongliang is in the village too. Suppose you and Lu Dongliang meet somewhere in the village. For some reason, you’re unwilling to fight within the village, so you lure Lu Dongliang outside, to a place far from it. You’re both high-level Traveling Cultivators. As a Disease Cultivator, it would be difficult for me to keep up with you, so I’d ultimately miss the battle. Do you think that explanation is plausible?"
As he spoke, Cui Tiq positioned two of the Mud People at a distance, with the third one shown earnestly trying to catch up from behind.
Li Banfeng frowned. "Not fighting in Zhengjing Village... it seems I wouldn’t have the advantage."
Cui Tiq shook his head. "Fighting in Zhengjing Village won’t necessarily give you an advantage. The Local Deity here is Shui Yongquan. He’s your friend; I’m very clear on that point. If you want to defeat Lu Dongliang, you must rely on Shui Yongquan’s power. Leave Zhengjing Village, but don’t leave Shui Yongquan’s territory. You can still receive his help, and you won’t have to smash your beloved Zhengjing Village to bits. Why not do it?"
Li Banfeng placed the Mud Person representing Lu Dongliang back in its original spot. "If I want to leave and he refuses, insisting on fighting me in the village, I can’t just abandon the village."
"I can help you," Cui Tiq said, stroking the Mud Person representing himself. It quickly became coated with a layer of dark green pus. "I imagine that while Lu Dongliang is dealing with you, he wouldn’t want to face a Disease Cultivator as well."
The two reached an agreement, and Li Banfeng left the clinic.
He didn’t return to Zhengjing Village but to his own territory—the first li of territory he had carved out in Shui Yongquan’s domain.
The wooden cabin was still there. It was regularly maintained, so the interior was quite tidy.
Li Banfeng sent everyone away, pricked his palm, and sprinkled blood on the ground.