Just after nine o’clock, Yu Nan led her people to Yu Family Village.
Old Zhu hurried out to meet them. Once everyone had entered Yu Family Village, he updated her on Li Qi.
"Seventh Master has arrived?" Yu Nan asked in delight. "Where is he now?"
"He said he wanted to take a walk in the woods and has been gone for seven or eight hours now."
Yu Nan looked concerned. She couldn’t understand why Li Banfeng would dare to wander alone in the New Land.
Wang Xuejiao said, "Manager, if you’re worried, we can go look for him in the woods."
Yu Nan shook her head. "The New Land is too dangerous. Going in rashly... it’s questionable if we’d even come back alive, let alone find him. Li Qi is a Traveling Cultivator; he knows the way back. Let’s wait a bit longer."
After waiting another two hours, everyone, having traveled continuously for two days, succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep.
Unable to sleep, Yu Nan was pacing outside the wooden house when a middle-aged man in a tailcoat suddenly approached. He took off his top hat and bowed respectfully to her.
"Excuse me, are you Manager Yu from Yu Family Cloth Store?"
Yu Nan was taken aback. She didn’t recognize the man.
The man smiled. "I am the private detective, Da Boyins."
"Detective?" Yu Nan looked him up and down. "What brings you to Yu Family Village?"
"I’m looking for someone named Li Banfeng."
"I don’t know this person. You should ask elsewhere," Yu Nan said, asking him to leave.
Da Boyins had no intention of leaving. "I’ve asked everywhere else. There aren’t many villages in this part of the New Land. Only yours had visitors yesterday."
Yu Nan maintained a smile, but her heart suddenly hammered in her chest.
From the private detective’s words, Yu Nan gleaned two key pieces of information. First, the Li Banfeng he was searching for was very likely Li Qi. Second, his ability to deduce that visitors had come to Yu Family Village yesterday proved he possessed some special Technique. He had come here, already convinced Li Banfeng was present.
Yu Nan didn’t want to waste more words. "Detective Da Bo-something, we truly don’t know anyone named Li Banfeng. It’s getting late, and if there’s nothing else, we won’t keep you."
Da Boyins chuckled. "Since Manager Yu mentioned it, I do have a small matter. I’m a timid man, not very brave about walking in the dark. Manager Yu, if you don’t mind, could I possibly stay the night at your esteemed place?"
Yu Nan’s smile vanished. "I do mind. Yu Family Village never accommodates outsiders."
Da Boyins’s smile remained. "If lodging isn’t possible, could I trouble you for a cup of tea then?"
Yu Nan clutched her tobacco pipe. "The well is dry today. No water means no tea."
Da Boyins was still reluctant to leave. "Then, could I ask Manager Yu for a smoke? That should be acceptable, right?"
Yu Nan slowly blew out a mouthful of smoke. "Detective, is this enough for you?"
The smoke swirled around Da Boyins several times.
This was a warning from a Smoke Cultivator.
Da Boyins put on his top hat and raised his eyebrows. "Manager Yu, are you looking for a fight?"
"Yes!" The lady’s cigarette inserted in her pipe glowed brighter, and flecks of ash drifted onto Da Boyins.
Da Boyins brushed the ash off his clothes, his expression somewhat helpless. "Manager Yu, this isn’t very wise of you."
The ash was easily brushed aside.
This private detective’s cultivation level was clearly higher than Yu Nan’s.
Yu Nan drew a dagger, pointing it at her own palm. "This is Yu Family Village, and I am the master of this place!"
She drew the dagger not to fight the private detective, but to make herself bleed.
She was the master of this land, and this was no mere warning. Her blood could awaken certain beings on this land, beings capable of taking Da Boyins’s life.
Da Boyins, having spent years as a Pioneer in the New Land, naturally understood the implications. Under these circumstances, he obviously couldn’t continue to press the issue.
He held out his hands, palms pressing down slightly. "Manager Yu, please don’t be angry. I will take my leave."
With that, Da Boyins withdrew from the bounds of Yu Family Village.
But he didn’t go far. He circled the two rows of wooden houses in Yu Family Village dozens of times, leaving one spiderweb after another on the surrounding trees.
Yu Nan nervously peered into the depths of the forest. She had no idea when Li Banfeng would return.
Da Boyins sat under a tree, pulled out a harmonica, and said to Yu Nan, "I share a special connection with Li Banfeng. I believe that bond hasn’t been broken. I believe he will definitely return tonight."
Yu Nan scoffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You’re clearly not of Foreign Devil stock, so why insist on affecting their accent when you speak?"
Da Boyins smiled. "Manager Yu, gentlemanliness isn’t defined by lineage, and grace knows no borders. Don’t try to enrage me with your caustic words; they’re useless against me.
"I must also remind you that Li Banfeng will definitely appear tonight. If he’s your beloved, you should wait for him here. Perhaps this will be the last time you see him."
After speaking, Da Boyins began to play his harmonica.
The music had a unique, leisurely melody, but all Yu Nan could hear now was an overwhelming killing intent.
After playing two pieces, Da Boyins put away his harmonica, stood up, and gazed into the distant night, straightening his top hat and tailcoat.
He felt the vibration of a spider thread; he knew someone was approaching.
Yu Nan immediately exhaled a cloud of smoke, intending to find Li Banfeng’s location and warn him.
It all depended on their respective cultivation levels.
Da Boyins was clearly very confident in his own. "Manager Yu, don’t make a futile attempt. By the time your smoke drifts onto Li Banfeng’s face, his head will likely already be in my hands."
Yu Nan glanced at the Iron Bell by the village gate, wondering if she should ring it to summon her subordinates.
Da Boyins saw her intention and shook his head. "Don’t do anything foolish. Once you leave your village, you and your subordinates are as insignificant as ants.
"Isn’t it good to be alive? You haven’t known him for very long, after all. Just watch quietly and see him off on his final journey. Wouldn’t that be for the best?"
Yu Nan seethed with anger, but what Da Boyins said was undeniably true.
A moment later, Li Banfeng’s figure appeared in the night. Yu Nan shouted, "Seventh Master, don’t come over!"
Da Boyins shook his head and chuckled. "Too late. It’s already too late."
Once Li Banfeng entered Da Boyins’s line of sight, only two outcomes were possible.
First, Li Banfeng could rush towards Yu Family Village, get caught in the spiderwebs, and await death at Da Boyins’s hands.
Second, Li Banfeng could heed Yu Nan’s warning, avoid Yu Family Village, and be killed directly by Da Boyins.
Li Banfeng, however, seemed not to have heard Yu Nan’s warning and rushed straight towards Yu Family Village.
Da Boyins stepped forward with a greeting. "From the moment we parted, I sensed we would meet again. I just didn’t expect it to be so soon, my friend."
Li Banfeng responded loudly, "Yes, we are friends!"
Da Boyins sighed. "I’ve always felt our connection was profound, certainly not ending here. I sincerely hope that in the next world, you’ll still remember me, my friend."
Li Banfeng shouted again, "Did you hear that? He is my friend!"
Da Boyins looked towards Yu Nan, who was equally baffled; she didn’t understand Li Banfeng’s meaning.
Amidst his confusion, Da Boyins sensed another presence around Li Banfeng.
The location of this entity was erratic—sometimes in the trees, sometimes on the ground, and at other times, drifting in mid-air. This entity was very strong; some of the spiderwebs Da Boyins had laid were torn apart.
To their astonishment, a huge figure uncoiled from the trees, blocking Li Banfeng’s path to Yu Family Village.
Yu Nan and Da Boyins’s view was obstructed. They could no longer see Li Banfeng, only an enormous, emerald-green worm.
"Straw Moth Lady..." Da Boyins blinked and muttered. "This is trouble."
Li Banfeng dodged and weaved, tangling with this worm for an entire night, before finally managing to run back into Yu Family Village.
He shouted, "You all heard it! That man is my friend!"
The human-like face on the worm turned and glanced at Da Boyins. "You two are friends?"
Da Boyins licked his lips. "I, well, not really..."
The Straw Moth Lady turned her face towards Li Banfeng. "He says you aren’t..."
Li Banfeng had already drawn his Blood-Thirsty Pendulum. He tapped the screw at its base, and a splatter of blood sprayed onto the Straw Moth Lady’s eyes.
This was Lust Cultivation blood from Geng Zhiwei, which had always been stored in the pendulum.
The Straw Moth Lady roared in anger, frantically wiping her eyes with her slender tentacles.
Seizing the opportunity, Li Banfeng entered his Portable Residence and, with all his might, threw the key two hundred meters away, landing it on the roof of a wooden house inside Yu Family Village.
Old Zhu had said this was Yu Nan’s domain. As long as Yu Nan dripped her blood within Yu Family Village, any unauthorized intruder would be torn to shreds.
When the Straw Moth Lady opened her eyes again, Li Banfeng had vanished.
She turned her face once more towards Da Boyins. "Where did he go?"
Da Boyins couldn’t answer. His view had been blocked by the Straw Moth Lady; he hadn’t even seen Li Banfeng disappear.
The Straw Moth Lady looked at Da Boyins tenderly. "He killed my children. Will you be my child instead?"
Da Boyins retreated two steps, his expression tense. "I’m not really friends with him; we barely even know each other..."
He had been a Pioneer in the New Land several times. He knew what tier of existence this Straw Moth Lady was; such beings were not to be trifled with.
"If you don’t want to be my child, you can have a child with me." The Straw Moth Lady’s cheeks flushed slightly, her plump body rippling in successive waves.
Influenced by the Lust Cultivation blood, she had fallen for Da Boyins.
"We might not be... quite suitable," Da Boyins said, stepping onto his own spider silk to quicken his retreat.
PS: Esteemed readers, the Lust Cultivation blood is ready, and so is Shala.