The preparations for the reclamation were in order. Li Banfeng and Ma the Fifth made their respective camps. Ma the Fifth slept beside the plot for the night, while Li Banfeng placed his key inside his tent and returned to the Portable Abode to sleep—just as they had done these past days.
By the following afternoon, exactly twenty-two hours had passed since Li Banfeng spilled his blood. In two more hours, the trial of land reclamation would begin.
By the rules, the two of them had to enter the grounds ahead of time.
Ma the Fifth pointed at the plot's teal boundary line. "Brother Li, once we step into the plot, we can't come out for three whole days. If you have any business left outside, get it done right away."
There was nothing that truly needed doing. Their food was plentiful enough, their drinking water barely adequate, and Li Banfeng had plenty of supplies stashed away in the Portable Abode.
The only thing left to settle was finding a suitable place for Ma the Fifth to go.
"Brother, head straight south to the Orange Grove and camp there to rest. The oranges there are edible. Don't do anything other than eating oranges, and whatever you do, don't spoil anything in the grove. After three days, come back here to find me. If the reclamation succeeds, the two of us will tidy this place up. If it fails, we'll look for another opportunity."
Ma the Fifth froze. "Brother Li, what do you mean by that? You want to clear this land all by yourself?"
Li Banfeng indeed intended to reclaim the land alone.
If entering the Portable Abode did not count as crossing the plot's boundary, then land reclamation would become exceptionally simple for him. Keeping Ma the Fifth around would only turn into a liability.
"Brother, I have methods to deal with those anomalies. Don't forget that I was able to escape Madam Bagworm Moth back then. It's best if I stay here and succeed, but even if I fail, I won't be able to reclaim any land within a hundred li of here again. But you haven't taken part in this; you haven't spilled blood, and you haven't defended the land. You'll still have another chance later."
Li Banfeng was speaking the truth. He genuinely liked this plot near the Orange Grove. If reclamation failed, leaving Ma the Fifth uninvolved would preserve a sliver of hope.
With Li Banfeng putting it this way, Ma the Fifth could hardly refuse. He gave repeated reminders: "Brother Li, once you enter the plot, hide yourself first. If you see anomalies, try not to fight them. That was how Daboyins advised my family when we reclaimed land back then. In a piece of land one li across, there are plenty of hiding spots. Every fight you avoid is a win. And speaking of Madam Bagworm Moth, I have to caution you again: if Madam Bagworm Moth shows up, under no circumstances should you prolong the fight. They aren't sent by the local spirit to test you; they're roaming anomalies—wandering freaks. Crossing paths with them is just sheer bad luck."
Li Banfeng asked, "If I run into a roaming anomaly and cross the boundary, does it still count as a failed reclamation?"
"Crossing the boundary counts as failure no matter what." Ma the Fifth knew this was quite unfair, but such were the rules of the newland.
Ma the Fifth left all his equipment to Li Banfeng. "I'll give you all my food and water, and all these weapons and artifacts too. I can just go eat oranges in the Orange Grove."
Li Banfeng knew Ma the Fifth was looking out for him, but he had no need for these items. "Take your weapons with you, and take your artifacts too. There might be bad people in the Orange Grove. And remember what I said: once you're there, eat your fill of oranges, but under no circumstances should you spoil anything."
Keeping Li Banfeng's instructions in mind, Ma the Fifth headed south.
Li Banfeng stepped into the plot and quietly waited for the trial to begin.
At four o'clock, the exact hour Li Banfeng had spilled his blood the day before arrived.
A ball of green fire slowly emerged in the pitch-black sky, seemingly gazing down at Li Banfeng.
This was the local spirit.
*Is he going to attack me personally?*
It was only a plot of land one li across; there shouldn't be any need for a grand display of force. Even so, Li Banfeng tightened his grip on his key, remaining on guard.
After two minutes, the green fire vanished.
The local spirit had no intention of clashing with Li Banfeng. Given his status and standing, it was beneath him to act directly.
He had merely come to take a look and confirm whether someone had truly come to reclaim the land.
It was not until ten at night that the first anomaly arrived to challenge the reclamation.
*Snap!*
Treading on dead leaves and dry twigs, the anomaly walked out from the forest. It moved on all fours, stood over three meters tall, and possessed a massive head and a rounded body, with a crest of stiff bristles trailing behind its neck and a pair of pale, gleaming tusks jutting from its jaws.
It was a wild boar. Aside from its massive size, it seemed to have no other notable traits.
The boar stepped slowly into the plot, staying wary of any ambush from the reclaimer. It walked from the plot's edge all the way to the altar table, but saw no sign of anyone.
"Damn it, another sleight-of-hand trickster! Hey, did you come to clear the land or what? If you're here to reclaim, come out and show your face! I'm just following orders. If we can fight, we'll go a couple of rounds. If we can't, we'll have a few drinks—I won't give you a hard time."
The wild boar could speak human tongue. Hearing how polite its words sounded, if one really went out to meet it and share a drink, would they turn swords into plowshares and even make a friend in the newland?
Wishful thinking. The boar hadn't come to make friends; it had come to kill.
It had received the local spirit's bounty, dispatched specifically to kill reclaimers. For slaying one reclaimer, the local spirit would reward it with three months of cultivation progress. If it forced the reclaimer to leave the plot or slaughtered all the reclaimers to cause the reclamation to fail, the local spirit would bestow an additional year's worth of cultivation.
Land reclamation was a trial—not only of the reclaimers, but also of the creatures in the newland willing to risk their lives.
"I'm telling you, if you don't come out right now, I'm going to lose my temper! If I have to hunt you down, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
The boar walked from the altar table to another boundary, yet still saw not a single silhouette.
It grew angry.
Its strength lay in raw brawling and slaughter; matching wits and maneuvering were not its forte.
"Not coming out, huh? Fine. I'll wait right here! Try not making a single sound! The slightest peep won't escape my ears, and when that happens, even crying won't save you!"
The boar sprawled on the ground, waiting for the reclaimer to show himself.
In this biting freeze, let's see who breaks first!
In a reclamation trial, the boar had that kind of perseverance!
...
Li Banfeng sat by the edge of the bed with a quilt wrapped around him.
The wife brewed a cup of tea and delivered it into Li Banfeng's hands.
Sipping his tea, Li Banfeng complained to his wife, "Do you have any idea how cold it is outside? If it weren't to buy groceries for you, I wouldn't even want to step out the door. Look at how frozen I've been these past few days."
*Clang-clang-clang~*
"Husband has worked hard. In a little while, your servant will brew a bowl of hot soup for you to drink."
"Later you'll also have to boil a basin of bathwater for me, give me a good wash, warm up a pot of hot wine, and heat up a couple more side dishes. What's the point of just a bowl of soup?"
"Husband, everything else is easy enough, but please put off the bath for a bit. Water at home isn't all that plentiful."
Having traveled through the newland for so many days, Li Banfeng had yet to replenish their water supply. The remaining two barrels were barely enough to drink, and since his wife was a steam gramophone, she consumed quite a bit of water herself.
Wait a little longer. As long as the reclamation succeeded, a well could be dug in the newland, and they would be able to replenish their water.
If the reclamation failed, he would have no choice but to head to the Orange Grove and ask the old man for some water to drink.
He wondered whether Ma the Fifth had reached the Orange Grove yet.
...
A distance of thirty li was not far for a first-tier cultivator. Having walked more than twenty li, Ma the Fifth could already faintly make out the tall orange trees in the distance.
In his mind, he rehearsed Li Banfeng's instructions: once he reached the Orange Grove, he must never break the rules, and in all things exercise moderation.
While he was pondering, a cry for help suddenly reached his ears: "Passing gentleman, please, lend me a hand!"
Ma the Fifth's ear twitched, but his feet did not pause.
He was a Joy Cultivator. Many assumed that a man practicing Joy Cultivation would cherish women all the more tenderly. But that was a mistake; Joy Cultivation was not about tenderness and protective chivalry. Quite the contrary—men who practiced Joy Cultivation were, in fact, not inclined to treasure women.
This was the newland. No one could say for sure what might crop up here; it was best not to meddle in other people's business.
"Kind gentleman, save me, I beg of you!"
The cry for help came once more. Just as Ma the Fifth was about to quicken his pace, he felt a sudden pang of guilt sprout in his heart.
A woman stranded out in this wilderness—if he left her to die without lifting a finger, would he regret it for the rest of his life?
"Just pull me out, that's all. I'll walk the rest of the way on my own; I definitely won't be a burden to you."
Listen to her voice—one could tell at once that she wasn't a bad person.
Ma the Fifth turned his head and, amidst a tangle of brambles, spotted the woman calling for help.
The woman was dressed in red, with a yellow silk ribbon tied around her waist.
Her legs were snared by a cluster of thorns that coiled tightly from her ankles up to her knees, steadily creeping higher up her body.
The woman's hands pulled desperately at the thorns, blood trickling down the sharp barbs onto the teal vines.
Emerald snake vine—an anomaly that was hard to tell whether it was snake or vine.
Normally, this vine clung motionlessly to trees. Even if someone ripped it down and hacked at it on the ground with a knife, it still wouldn't budge.
Yet sometimes, without warning, it would suddenly move. Whether beast or living person, so long as it had flesh and blood, the emerald snake vine would lash out and constrict, grinding the flesh to pulp before drinking it completely dry.
The emerald snake vine was notoriously tricky to deal with. The thorns on its body were venomous, and the vines were exceedingly tough. If he rushed forward to tear at it, Ma the Fifth was very likely to end up entangled right alongside her.
This particular emerald snake vine was exceptionally thick, striking fear into Ma the Fifth's heart. But looking at the woman's pitiful, tear-streaked face, he couldn't bring himself to turn a blind eye.
*I must save her. Fate made me cross paths with her—this must be affinity.*
Ma the Fifth cast a charm technique at the emerald snake vine.
As a first-tier cultivator, his charm technique was hardly formidable, but against an emerald snake vine, it was more than enough.
In terms of raw strength alone, an emerald snake vine was equivalent to a third-tier Martial Cultivator. But when it came to intellect, the vine was exceedingly primitive.
With a single glance from Ma the Fifth, the emerald snake vine instantly developed an affection for him, releasing the woman to chase after him instead.
Ma the Fifth shouted to the woman, "Run!"
The woman struggled to her feet and limped away.
Watching the woman's retreating figure, Ma the Fifth felt a deep reluctance to part.
She was so beautiful.
Even though Ma the Fifth hadn't seen her face clearly, he knew she was beautiful.
Yet by the time Ma the Fifth gathered his wits, he found the emerald snake vine had vanished.
The creature could burrow underground.
To be precise, its root system had been underground all along, and right now it was using that vast network to slowly encircle him.
Ma the Fifth did not dare run blindly; a single misstep would land him in the vine's constricting grasp.
*This thing isn't smart! It's not smart!* Ma the Fifth repeatedly reminded himself.
*There will be signs before it breaks through the soil. As long as I spot the signs...*
He couldn't see any signs.
He was not a journey cultivator; he possessed no keen perception for imminent danger.
The emerald snake vine was about to burst from the soil behind him, and he was completely oblivious.
Suddenly, the woman in red ran back. Grabbing Ma the Fifth, she limped forward, sprinting with all her might.
Ma the Fifth asked in astonishment, "Why did you come back?"
With her back to Ma the Fifth, her gentle voice carried a touch of resolve: "I came back to save you!"
"I don't need you to save me!"
"You saved me, so I must save you. This is destiny and affinity."
Destiny and affinity.
Ma the Fifth felt his heart pounding wildly.
To expect a Joy Cultivator to learn how to truly, sincerely love someone was utterly absurd.
Yet Ma the Fifth felt that he had fallen in love with the woman before him.
The emerald snake vine was not fast, nor could it venture beyond the reach of its root system. Ma the Fifth and the woman had long since outrun it.
Yet Ma the Fifth continued to run alongside her, wishing he could run like this for the rest of his life.
...
The colossal wild boar had been charging back and forth across the plot.
It was thoroughly irritated. It had heard a few faint sounds and searched the entire night, yet had never managed to find any sign of the reclaimer.
It even began to suspect there was no reclaimer on this land at all.
*The local spirit tricked me.*
*No, I can't call it a trick.*
*He's testing me!*
*If I can see through the fact that there's no reclaimer here, he'll surely appreciate me and bestow a handsome reward!*
The boar was about to leave the plot, but the instant it reached the boundary line, it caught a scent.
The scent of a human—an extremely fresh scent.
The scent was not far, less than a hundred meters away.
Following the scent, the boar searched until it finally found the trace Li Banfeng had left behind.
Not long ago, Li Banfeng had taken a leak right here before returning to the Portable Abode; the lingering scent was indeed fresh.
*There really is a reclaimer!*
*I was too careless!*
*Where is he?*
The boar examined the surrounding tracks. Li Banfeng's footprints vanished abruptly. With no trees inside the plot, climbing a tree was out of the question, which meant he had burrowed into the ground!
*This reclaimer knows how to burrow into the earth!*
Right where the footprints disappeared, the wild boar began digging furiously.
Chapter 145