Sun Tiecheng somehow used a Technique to spread the news of Gu Rusong’s death throughout the entire city.
Constant wails were heard throughout Fool’s City.
Sun Tiecheng said to Tang Changfa, "Ah Fa, go take a look outside, see if there’s anyone who isn’t crying!"
Tang Changfa walked towards the back hall but was abruptly pulled back by Yan Qing’er. "Brother Fa, the door is that way."
Tang Changfa turned and headed for the main door, only to be grabbed by Li Qi. "You’ve lost your eyes and still want to look? I’ll take a look instead."
Li Qi made a round through Fool’s City. The breakfast vendors were crying, the cloth sellers were crying, the teahouse owners were crying, and even the street performers were crying.
Amidst the sobbing, a cloud of dust hovered above Fool’s City, trying to regather but continuously dispersing until it finally turned into nothing more.
When he returned to Changsan Book Residence, Li Banfeng told Sun Tiecheng, "Everyone in the city is crying!"
Sun Tiecheng nodded. "Good that they are all crying. If everyone’s crying, then he’s truly dead. But we must beware of Inner State’s lingering moves."
"Everyone in the city crying means he’s truly dead?" Li Banfeng asked.
Sun Tiecheng answered, "If the whole city is crying, with so many witnesses, isn’t that Ironclad Evidence as Firm as a Mountain?"
Gu Rusong, Sun Tiecheng’s elder Disciple, brought Li Qi to Fool’s City, thinking that once Li Qi entered his territory, he wouldn’t be able to live or escape.
Gu Rusong thought he held all the cards, yet never expected it would end like this.
Sun Tiecheng was still in sorrow, while Tang Changfa sat beside Li Qi, consoling, "City Lord, the eldest son has passed away. Please hold back your grief; isn’t our Shopkeeper still here?"
Li Qi replied to Tang Changfa, "You’re speaking too soon. I’m not the City Lord yet. Wait until something happens to our City Lord Sun, then you can call me City Lord without it being too late!"
Tang Changfa was terrified and hurriedly ran to Yan Hong’er to apologize. "City Lord, listen to me! My eyes are gone now; I really can’t see clearly..."
Yan Hong’er pushed Tang Changfa. "Don’t say these kinds of things to me..."
Sun Tiecheng stepped forward and kicked Tang Changfa. "You gouged out your own eyes, why did you use so much force? It’s completely ruined now, beyond repair!"
Tang Changfa sighed. "I truly didn’t want to hurt the eldest son. I only used a heavy hand intending to drive him away; I didn’t expect him to be Greedy for More!"
Sun Tiecheng said to Li Banfeng, "And you! You killed your senior brother, that’s one thing, but you could have at least left the body behind. Changfa might have been able to use it for something. Instead, you turned him to ashes."
Li Qi refused to take the blame. "You’re blaming me for this? You were the one who turned him to ash!"
Sun Tiecheng angrily retorted, "Dare to talk back? Where’s my knife?"
Yan Hong’er sobbed beside them. "City Lord, let’s not talk about the knife right now. The eldest son just left like that. In the future, for both major and minor matters in our Taoist Sect, we’ll still need to rely on our Shopkeeper to help share your burdens."
Sun Tiecheng glanced at Li Qi and snorted.
There were two things that truly worried Li Banfeng.
The first thing was, He Jiaqing wasn’t Sun Tiecheng’s Disciple, so why would he know the Foolish Cultivation Technique?
"Big Brother Sun, Thief Cultivation can steal other people’s Techniques; that’s right, isn’t it?"
Sun Tiecheng nodded. "That Technique is called Clever Hand Emptiness."
"After stealing a Technique, does it belong to them forever?"
Sun Tiecheng waved his hand. "What kind of powerful Technique would that be? Clever Hand Emptiness is a Cloud Top First Layer Technique. With the Cloud Top First Layer, one can only steal one Technique. Each advancement allows for stealing one additional Technique.
"A stolen Technique disappears after being used a few times. The higher the Technique’s tier, the fewer times it can be used.
"For example, a stolen First Layer Technique might be usable nine times, but a stolen Ninth Layer Technique perhaps only once. If you want to use it again, you have to steal it anew."
Li Banfeng was shocked.
The Cloud Top First Layer can only steal one Technique, and each advancement allows for stealing an additional one.
In the battle against Chu Shaoqiang, He Jiaqing successively used Water Cultivation Technique, Fire Cultivation Technique, and Feng Cultivation Technique. This was not Li Banfeng’s blind guess; it was ascertained on the scene by Chu Shaoqiang.
Having stolen three Techniques simultaneously proved that He Jiaqing was at least of the Cloud Top Third Layer!
Li Banfeng said to Sun Tiecheng, "He Jiaqing stole the Foolish Cultivation Technique from Gu Rusong. I don’t know how much he knows about Fool’s City."
Sun Tiecheng stayed silent, while Li Banfeng felt even more concerned about another matter.
Sun Tiecheng also considered that. "From Inner State’s side, I estimate Gu Rusong has spilled all he could. The entrance to Fool’s City might need to be altered.
"Gu Rusong learned two Techniques from me: one is Words Carved in Stone, and the other is Holding Others’ Strengths and Weaknesses. Fool’s Thousand Concerns he learned by himself; it’s only half-baked. I don’t know what Technique He Jiaqing stole from him."
Li Qi sighed. "This half-baked Technique... I think it’s not much use. If we’re going to learn a Technique, we should master it fully. If it’s neither one thing nor the other, in critical moments, we don’t even know if we can rely on it.
"Take ’Easing Down the Slope,’ for example. I still don’t get what the ’slope’ means, let alone the ’donkey’."
Sun Tiecheng sighed. "This ’donkey’... Why are you always so greedy? Every time you visit, you manage to wheedle a Technique out of me. Fine, I’ll teach you the Technique, but not for nothing.
"Inner State might come looking for us these days, and I’ll need to focus on dealing with them. So, I’m giving you one year: find yourself a junior brother and bring him back.
"It can’t just be anyone; this person must pass the examination to count."
Li Qi frowned. "That’s not so easy; your examination is really too difficult. Why don’t you lower the criteria a bit?"
Sun Tiecheng snorted. "The criteria can’t be lowered. I’d rather have no one than take in garbage.
"You just mentioned that Thief Cultivator, the one called He Jiaqing... what’s he like?"