Li Banfeng chopped the Clock Pendulum into Rong Jin’an’s head.
Rong Jin’an lay on the ground, his body convulsing violently.
Li Banfeng had known Rong Jin’an wasn’t dead. Although Rong Jin’an played dead convincingly, Li Banfeng could still sense the danger emanating from him.
The reason he brought him back to the Portable Residence was to please the House Spirit.
His wife had complained that the food was never fresh, and Li Banfeng felt very ashamed.
HISS... HISS...
The Phonograph started to move.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The Phonograph had been waiting for a long time. "My lord, you truly cherish your Little Servant, bringing back such fresh and rare delicacies."
Li Banfeng nodded. "Please, wife, have your meal."
"Thank you, my lord."
A cloud of steam enveloped Rong Jin’an, causing his body to tremble even more violently.
SLURP. SLURP.
Li Banfeng thought he heard the sound of slurping, unsure of what the Phonograph was consuming.
Only Rong Jin’an knew.
At that moment, the Phonograph was devouring his soul bit by bit. The sensation was like being skinned alive, piece by piece with a knife.
He wished for a swift end, but he couldn’t die just yet.
Amidst the extreme agony, Rong Jin’an found himself thinking of Qin Xiaopang, who also wished for death but couldn’t die.
While the wife was Soul Sucking, Li Banfeng continued to examine Rong Jin’an’s wound.
After a moment, Li Banfeng understood. The wound *was* bleeding, but as the blood flowed out, it was immediately consumed by the Clock Pendulum, rendering it invisible.
Using a blood-sucking knife, combined with Luo Yuni’s Clock Pendulum, had resulted in a blood-sucking Clock Pendulum.
Li Banfeng looked at the Copper Lotus Flower.
The Copper Lotus Flower remained silent.
Li Banfeng pulled the Clock Pendulum out of Rong Jin’an’s skull.
The Clock Pendulum, now saturated with fresh blood, had turned from shiny silver to red copper. Li Banfeng touched it but didn’t feel anything particularly notable.
At the bottom of the Clock Pendulum was a small screw used for adjusting its length. Li Banfeng noticed the screw had reached the end of the Clock Pendulum and seemed about to fall off, so he twisted it a couple of times with his hand.
With this twist, golden grease burst from the Clock Pendulum. Most of it sprayed onto the floor, and some splattered onto the Phonograph.
The wife, who was in the middle of Soul Sucking, immediately stopped.
She swallowed the remaining half of the soul, then, tapping a slow rhythm, sang softly, "My husband, do you know that all this grease on the floor will be difficult to clean?"
Her lyrics were gentle but carried a hint of murderous intent.
Upon hearing this, Li Banfeng picked up the mop in the room and began mopping the floor.
The Phonograph sang again, "My husband, may I ask how your Little Servant is to clean herself, covered in this grime?"
Hearing this, Li Banfeng started scrubbing the Phonograph’s casing with the mop.
"My husband, is it proper to clean your Little Servant with a mop?"
The murderous intent in the lyrics grew stronger.
Li Banfeng dropped the mop, took a handkerchief, and began to carefully wipe his wife down.
The Phonograph continued, "My husband, that despicable Red Lotus crafted a weapon for you, yet she never taught you how to use it. This is disrespect towards you! If you do not admonish her, where is the family discipline?"
Li Banfeng turned to look at the Copper Lotus Flower and shouted angrily, "What you did was not right!"
The petals of the Copper Lotus Flower opened, revealing a remorseful look. It swallowed Rong Jin’an’s corpse before closing its petals again.
"She knows her mistake!" Li Banfeng said, continuing to wipe the casing.
"My husband, you’ve worked hard. Homemaking chores are trivial; let your Little Servant handle them." The wife wasn’t angry anymore. A cloud of steam floated over. The grease on the floor and the casing vanished without a trace, drawn by the steam into a nearby bucket.
After everything was clean, the Phonograph spoke again, "My husband, bring that weapon over so your Little Servant can hear what she has to say."
Li Banfeng placed the Clock Pendulum next to the Phonograph.
The Phonograph and the Clock Pendulum appeared to be communicating, but Li Banfeng couldn’t hear anything.
After a short while, a cloud of steam enveloped the Clock Pendulum, heating it until it glowed red-hot.
With a steady rhythm, the Phonograph sternly scolded the Clock Pendulum, "You vile wench! When questioned, answer properly. How dare you talk back!"
The Clock Pendulum really was speaking to the Phonograph, but Li Banfeng simply couldn’t hear it.
A few minutes later, the Phonograph sang slowly, "My husband, please put away this despicable creature. Henceforth, we shall call her Blood-Thirsty."
"Can it suck blood?" Li Banfeng didn’t quite understand. "How is that different from the previous Short Knife?"
CLANG, CLANG, the Phonograph responded. "She can suck blood and also spray it. For example, after sucking the blood of an Oil Cultivator, she can spray oil. After sucking the blood of a Smoke Cultivator, she can spray smoke."
"What about the blood of an Alcohol Cultivator?"
"She can spray alcohol."
"What about the blood of a Food Cultivator?"
"She can spray blood."
"What’s the use of spraying blood?"
"That’s actually very useful. The blood of Food Cultivators can heal wounds. The blood of Home Cultivators can remove toxins. The blood of Traveling Cultivators can make one’s legs nimble. And the blood of Lust Cultivators can let my husband gallop unrestrained in bed—HUH YA!"
Li Banfeng suddenly realized that this Blood-Thirsty Pendulum could spray not only others but also himself.
Li Banfeng hurriedly stowed away the Blood-Thirsty Pendulum. He wanted to ask more, but the Phonograph’s flame went out, and its voice fell silent.
Eat, then sleep. The wife maintained a very regular routine.
Li Banfeng also felt somewhat tired. He lay down on the bed and stretched languidly.
Xiao Yeci and her daughter Lu Chunying stood in front of the He Family Old House, hesitating to enter.
It was such a large mansion, yet the courtyard was eerily empty, with not even a gatekeeper in sight.
The Western-style house was pitch black; it was unclear whether anyone was inside. Xiao Yeci said to Lu Chunying, "Nannan, don’t be afraid. Follow Mom."
Lu Chunying thought for a moment and said, "Mom, I still believe what that person said. We shouldn’t go in there."
"If we don’t go in there, where else can we go? We came all the way to Medicine King Valley to find your sister, didn’t we? We don’t have much money left. If we keep delaying, I’m afraid we’ll end up sleeping on the streets!"
The two lingered in front of the door for a while, then steeled their resolve to enter the mansion grounds.
"Nannan, follow Mom. Don’t be afraid. It was your sister who wrote and asked us to come. What do we have to be afraid of?"
Just as they passed through the fence gate, a faint light appeared in the dark, Western-style house.
The light came from the second floor; it was a flickering candle.
The emaciated Lu Xiaolan, holding a candle, stood by the second-floor window, waving to the mother and daughter.
"Come on, come on!"
"Come on, come on!" Lu Xiaolan called out anxiously.
Xiao Yeci seemed to hear Lu Xiaolan’s voice but wasn’t sure if it truly came from her.
"Nannan, is that person... your sister?"
"She doesn’t look much like her," Lu Chunying said, shaking her head.
Xiao Yeci thought for a moment, then asked again, "Didn’t you say you’ve never seen your sister?"
"I haven’t," Lu Chunying replied. She looked at the gaunt Lu Xiaolan and shivered. "But I just feel that she doesn’t look like her."
Xiao Yeci pursed her lips. "Since she doesn’t look like her, let’s leave. It’s late, and it’s not right to disturb others."
"Where shall we go then?" Lu Chunying was also a bit lost. "Are we really going to sleep on the streets?"
After thinking for a long time, Xiao Yeci said, "Don’t we still have Steward Qiu? Let’s go find him and discuss where to go."
Lu Chunying felt uneasy. "But who exactly is Steward Qiu? We don’t know him. Why would he recognize me?"
Xiao Yeci looked at Lu Xiaolan in the Western-style house and swallowed nervously. "You don’t know who Lu Xiaolan is either. Let’s go try our luck with Steward Qiu."
As they spoke, Lu Xiaolan was forcefully tapping on the window, seemingly urging them to come inside quickly.
"Let’s go," Xiao Yeci said, tugging Lu Chunying’s hand. They hurriedly left the He Family Old House.
PS: Dear readers, have a pleasant weekend!