"I guess I know him," Light Bulb scratched his scalp. "Back in Blue Poplar Village, I didn’t know him. But after we returned from fighting bandits there, Li Qi went back to Xiaoyao Lodge, and I followed. I wanted to see what he planned to do next. As a result, Li Qi had someone invite me in, saying he wanted me to watch a concert, so I went and watched it from a private room.
"I was quite scared at the time. Li Qi even came into the private room once and said a few words to me."
"What did he say?"
"He said I had it tough and told me not to come again," Light Bulb said, somewhat ashamed, lowering his head. "Chief Envoy, did Li Qi know all along that I was monitoring him?"
Liao Zihui didn’t know how to comment. "Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?"
"I felt embarrassed," Light Bulb’s head sank lower. "Chief Envoy, am I really useless?"
Liao Zihui let out a slight smile and called Chang Hongjiao back to continue singing.
「...」
Inside the Portable Residence, Li Banfeng said to Hong Ying, "Ying Ying, is there a Technique that can kick someone far away with a single kick?"
Hong Ying thought for a moment and said, "That doesn’t sound like a Technique. When I was learning martial arts, I trained a move called ’Horse Kick to the Dan Tian,’ which could kick a person more than two zhang away."
"More than two zhang!" Li Banfeng waved his hand. "I mean, kicked several miles away."
"Several miles?" Hong Ying didn’t quite understand.
Li Banfeng scratched his head. "Maybe even more than that. When I was fighting that man by Loess Bridge, I went to look for him there afterward but never saw him again. Could it be I kicked him beyond Loess Bridge? Moreover, he was sent flying, and I was sent flying too; we flew directly from Loess Bridge to Greenwater Bay."
Hong Ying asked, "Qi Lang, before you used the Technique, could you not tell directions apart?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "I really couldn’t tell before, but for some reason, I was able to distinguish them later."
Hong Ying was delighted. "Qi Lang, you’ve used the Thousand Mile In A Step Technique!"
Li Banfeng had heard descriptions of the Thousand Mile In A Step Technique before, and he thought it sounded similar. Now, with Hong Ying’s confirmation, it seemed settled.
"How did I learn this Technique? I don’t know the essentials, and it’s a Traveling Craftsman Nine-Tier Technique."
"The Thousand Mile In A Step Technique is nowhere near as complicated as Mind Traverse Thousand Mountains, and there are indeed examples of people teaching themselves," Hong Ying said, holding Qi Lang’s hand. "Qi Lang, you’ve mastered a Ninth Layer Technique! This proves you’ve become a Ninth Layer Cultivator. In the future, you’ll surely be able to distinguish between doors and households!"
SMACK!
The Phonograph gave Hong Ying a hard smack. "What does that have to do with doors and households?"
"HISS..." Hong Ying rubbed her Peach, hissing several times. "Shrew, that really stung!"
Li Banfeng explained, "At the time, I might have unintentionally borrowed the Technique from Ying Ying."
The Phonograph said, "Husband, you should check carefully. Did you manage to use the Ninth Layer Technique by yourself, or did you use the Stubbornly Going One’s Own Way Technique to execute a Technique beyond your level?"
Hong Ying also felt Li Banfeng had advanced. "Qi Lang spent several days on Knife Ghost Ridge; his cultivation level should have indeed increased sharply. Of course, to say it increased by a whole First Layer isn’t that easy. However, Qi Lang mentioned the situation on Knife Ghost Ridge had changed. The Knife Labor Ghost can come out even without a thunderstorm, which is obviously more dangerous than before. So, it’s reasonable that Qi Lang moved up a level."
The Phonograph sighed. "How can your body handle such a rapid advancement?"
Hong Ying laughed. "Xiaowan, didn’t Qi Lang say the Technique was borrowed..."
"You dare talk back!" Zhao Xiaowan grabbed Hong Ying and started to beat her.
While being beaten, Hong Ying yelled, "He said it! Why are you hitting me?"
Li Banfeng asked, "Ying Ying, where did the person I kicked end up?"
Hong Ying, rubbing her Peach, said, "That depends on where Qi Lang wanted to send him."
"Anywhere I wished?"
Hong Ying nodded. "So they say, but it’s not that simple to use. The key to the Thousand Mile In A Step Technique lies in the ’departure’ and the ’return.’ ’Departure’ refers to the other person, the one Qi Lang wants to send away. Before sending someone away, wherever Qi Lang is thinking of, that’s where he can send that person. But two things must be clear beforehand. First, you must have a clear mind: the destination must be a familiar place, visualized with perfect clarity down to the smallest detail. The slightest vagueness can lead to mistakes. When I was in the army, I once tried to send an enemy leader to our camp for Xiaowan to handle. During the fight, however, my concentration wavered slightly, and I accidentally sent him into our granary. For this, that shrew beat me a full one hundred and twenty strokes with a cane. Whenever I think about it, I feel so aggrieved..."
At this point, Hong Ying’s voice trembled. The Phonograph was furious. "A hundred and twenty strokes with the military cane, and you think that was excessive? Because you, you wretch, trembled for that one moment, the entire army’s food supplies were burned!"
Hong Ying continued, "Second, you must be clear about the direction. If the direction is unclear, the Technique can still be used. However, it’s uncertain where the enemy will fly, and you won’t know where you’ll end up either."
Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "So, the actual destination can deviate from the imagined one."
Hong Ying shook her head. "It’s not just a deviation. It’s more like it’s completely unrelated. In a moment of urgency, I once used Thousand Mile In A Step on my mother—"