Li Qi was busy dodging in and out of the teahouse and around the Coachman.
The best strategy one could currently devise against a Gang Xiu was to ensure helpers were nearby.
Above the teahouse, one of Liao Zihui’s high-level Peeping Cultivators was silently observing the two men’s situation.
Given their current speed, an ordinary person passing by wouldn’t even catch a glimpse of them. Even this high-level Peeping Cultivator found it difficult to lock onto either of them.
After much difficulty, he finally locked onto the Coachman. He immediately took out a monocular telescope and pressed it to his eye socket. His eyebrow twitched, and a beam of light shot from the telescope towards the Coachman.
A coin-sized spot of light appeared on the Coachman’s body. When the Peeping Cultivator put away the telescope, the beam disappeared, but the spot remained. This was the mark the Peeping Cultivator had left on the Coachman.
Liao Zihui ordered, "Prepare the Steam Machine Gun!"
Four men carried over a square iron box, about one meter on each side. One brawny man added water to the box, another stoked coal underneath it, and a Fire Cultivator began to preheat it.
Two iron pipes extended from the box, connected to a pair of steam nozzles. Once the steam pressure was adequate, two Peeping Cultivators aimed at the mark on the Coachman, ready to fire.
Liao Zihui called over a Sound Cultivator and instructed, "Send the uninvolved people away."
Positioned atop the roof, the Sound Cultivator folded his upper lip towards his nose. After a brief vibration, he emitted a piercing shriek.
Amidst the shrill sound, ordinary people and lower-level cultivators were struck with intense fear. They quickly fled the vicinity of the teahouse, leaving only Li Banfeng and the Coachman still circling below.
Liao Zihui shouted, "Fire!"
Steam sprayed out. Was it visible? No. The high-temperature, high-pressure steam was colorless and formless. The Steam Machine Gun didn’t need bullets. Upon opening the nozzles, the steam, guided by the mark, blasted directly onto the Coachman.
At first, the Coachman felt nothing unusual, as if something intangible had merely passed through his body.
By the time he realized something was wrong and looked down, he saw that a patch on his chest was already cooked through. The fat had liquefied, and the lean meat could be peeled off in strips.
The Coachman panicked a little. He stared intently at Li Banfeng. If Li Qi had attacked him, he wouldn’t need to worry; the wound would surely heal. But if it wasn’t Li Banfeng, then things were very troublesome. The Coachman kept telling himself that it must have been Li Qi, and that he simply hadn’t seen Li Qi’s methods clearly.
But Liao Zihui shouted clearly from the teahouse, "Don’t resist stubbornly! Surrender immediately, and I’ll spare your life!"
The Steam Machine Gun started up again. Although the Coachman saw the steam nozzles, he couldn’t dodge the jet of steam.
This wasn’t just because he was marked. His own condition had also become problematic, as his physical fitness was visibly deteriorating.
Li Banfeng seized the opportunity and disappeared from the Coachman’s line of sight.
BANG!
The Coachman’s body swayed as he was struck by Passing Glance.
He coughed once; that was the extent of the damage.
The Coachman wanted to chase Li Qi. But on second thought, with the battle already turning against him and Li Qi having suddenly disappeared, he decided he might as well leave. His reasoning was sound and clear. With a burst of speed, the Coachman vanished without a trace.
Li Banfeng let out a sigh of relief, taking advantage of the situation to retreat without needing to say a word.
He looked back at the teahouse. Liao Zihui was smiling at Li Qi.
Li Qi tipped his hat brim low, nodded slightly in thanks, and then vanished into the night.
The journey back was fraught with unease, as Li Banfeng constantly feared someone would suddenly appear and try to force him onto a palanquin.
Being targeted by a Gang Xiu was indeed a life-threatening situation. Only when he reached Xiao Yeci’s residence and returned to his Portable Residence did Li Banfeng feel somewhat at ease.
"My dear, I encountered that Gang Xiu again today."
"Beloved husband, did you sense the danger in advance?"
"I sensed it, but it came so abruptly that I had no chance to escape. And I couldn’t win a head-on confrontation either."
Hong Ying turned and said, "Let me out! I want to see just how strong this Bird Person is."
"Girl, don’t boast," the Phonograph sighed. "With that temper of yours, if you really encountered a Gang Xiu, being lifted five or six times would be considered getting off easy."
Li Banfeng asked, "Can a Gang Xiu keep lifting indefinitely? If they lift someone more than three times, do they keep getting stronger with each subsequent lift?"
"In theory, yes," the Phonograph explained. "But it also depends on whether the Gang Xiu itself can withstand it. Lifting three times, which doubles their combat strength, is already difficult for a Gang Xiu to control.
"Another lift, and their power might increase to three or four times the original. If they’re not careful with their attacks, the Gang Xiu could injure themselves."
The Projector said, "Perhaps we could use this to develop a new combat method. We could let Seventh Guide and the Gang Xiu keep ’competing’ in lifts until the opponent’s combat strength is augmented tens of times over. This might make them too afraid to attack Seventh Guide, fearing self-injury."
The Phonograph’s horn shook repeatedly. "That’s foolishness! If a Gang Xiu’s power stacks too high, they might injure themselves, true. But if beloved husband takes even one hit from such a powered-up state, it would be fatal. That’s a risk we absolutely cannot take!"
Li Banfeng gritted his teeth. "Why is this Local Deity so fixated on me?"
The Phonograph sighed. "Beloved husband, since we’ve offended the Local Deity and clearly can’t handle them, it’s best we avoid further trouble. Let’s leave Bridge Yesong for now."
The Phonograph knew Li Banfeng didn’t want to hide. "Beloved husband, let’s just hide for a while. Once we ascend Above the Clouds, we can figure out a way to deal with him then."