In a vast pine forest, Li Banfeng sat on the back of a woodlouse, traveling slowly through the pines.
A woodlouse, also known as a pill bug or sowbug, was a multi-legged critter common to damp places.
This woodlouse was huge; its back was over two meters long and more than a meter wide, capable of carrying passengers as well as luggage.
Not only was it huge, it was also intelligent. This woodlouse could speak and was an honest old fellow. To carry Li Banfeng through this red pine forest, he had charged only fifty Huan Country notes.
Li Banfeng was straightforward and generous as well, handing him a hundred directly.
He was merely curious: once this woodlouse earned money, where did he spend it?
"Young lad, you don't understand. We have our own village. In our village, there's food, lodging, and even a bazaar. There are plenty of places to spend money, cough, cough, cough..."
The weather was freezing cold and the wind bit sharply, making the old woodlouse cough from the chill.
Given the old fellow's advanced age, sitting on his back made Li Banfeng feel a bit guilty.
It wasn't that he was too lazy to walk those steps; the old woodlouse had told him that carrying Li Banfeng along this route would keep him safe, whereas if Li Banfeng walked it on his own, he would run into huge trouble.
The liquor gourd confirmed the woodlouse's claim. "This is an iron-skinned pill bug. I saw one elsewhere when I was young. Within the newland, iron-skinned pill bugs are a rare, benevolent kind. Near their dwellings, all sorts of creatures will give them some face."
"Big Sister, aren't you still young right now?" Li Banfeng stroked the liquor gourd.
"Your tongue really is sweeter than honey." The liquor gourd puffed out a mist of liquor.
As Li Banfeng was chatting with the liquor gourd, the old woodlouse asked, "Young man, who were you just talking to?"
The woodlouse couldn't hear the liquor gourd's voice. Li Banfeng casually explained, "I'm the kind of person who likes talking to myself."
"I have a daughter who has the same trouble. The village doctor said she had hysteria, and she got better after taking three doses of medicine. Come see our doctor some other day. An ailment like this needs to be treated early, and it can be cured."
"Your village even has a doctor?"
"Why wouldn't we? Superb medical skills, handsome looks—a first-rate good girl!"
What kind of creature was this girl?
After walking for a full eight hours, the woodlouse made it through the red pine forest. Just as he said, they encountered no trouble along the way.
Jumping down from the woodlouse's back, Li Banfeng gave him another fifty, making it one hundred and fifty in total.
The old fellow felt bad taking it and repeatedly declined, but Li Banfeng insisted on giving it.
The old man sighed. "Young lad, you're a good person. Ahead lies the Golden Shrimp Pool. Did you come to fish for shrimp?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "What's so good about those shrimp?"
"Those shrimp are alive in the pool, but the moment you haul them out, they die. Two hours after dying, they turn into gold.
"In the past, quite a few people came to catch shrimp, but then Mount Xueya suddenly sprang up, and hardly anyone dared to come anymore.
"If you want to catch shrimp, don't be greedy. When you catch small shrimp, you must release them. Catch a dozen or so at most, and whatever you do, don't piss off the Shrimp King. That Shrimp King is over a hundred chi long. One hook drags a person into the pool, and it chews down even the bone fragments."
Li Banfeng voiced his thanks, turned, and left.
The old woodlouse continued waiting for business at the edge of the forest.
A centipede crawled onto the woodlouse's back, holding a silver dollar curled in its antennae, and handed it to the woodlouse.
The old fellow tested the silver dollar's purity with his antennae and said to the centipede, "Brother, that's too much money; I can't break it."
The centipede laughed. "Keep it for now. It's not my first time doing business with you anyway. Saves me the trouble of paying every single day."
The woodlouse carried the centipede into the red pine forest, chatting and laughing along the way.
Li Banfeng brushed the snowflakes off his clothes and arrived at the cliff edge.
Caves densely covered the cliff face, even more densely clustered than the bug holes on Li Banfeng's body.
According to the markings on the map, counting from the bottom up to the seventh row, and from left to right to the sixth cave, that was the one he was heading to.
The cliff was difficult to climb, so Li Banfeng decided to rest for a day and enter the cave tomorrow.
He took out a Golden Origin Pill and swallowed it together with a Blue Leaf Pill, then sat quietly beneath the cliff.
After ten-odd minutes, Li Banfeng's body sank into numbness.
He wasn't afraid of numbness; the Tang dao, the pendulum, the liquor gourd, and the Thread-Hook Earring were all by his side.
However, he hadn't dared to return to the Portable Abode to take the medicine.
The wife's breathing had been somewhat uneven last night. Deductions based on an ordinary person's sleeping patterns suggested she seemed about to wake up.
By taking this pill, according to Li Banfeng's calculations, he would advance to the third tier of journey cultivator.
Next, he would face a difficult hurdle: he had to master the third-tier journey cultivator technique, Treading Ten Thousand Rivers.
***
In Toudaoling of Haichiling, households across the city were busy cleaning with brooms, mops, and rags.
Wiping away dust and dumping garbage were secondary; the main targets of this cleanup were mosquito corpses.
Mosquito corpses littered all of Toudaoling. Even after being swept up at night, another layer piled up by the following morning.
Lu Dongjun had once said that there was no need to pay mind to the mosquito corpses.
Yet the common folk of Toudaoling never tired of it. Whenever they saw mosquito corpses, they gathered them up into piles and torched them, believing that only this would eradicate the scourge once and for all.
Moreover, the process brought immense satisfaction.
As for Lu Dongjun's other words, naturally, they had to be obeyed.
When Lu Dongjun told them to line up at the train station for food rations, they dutifully went to the station and lined up properly, not a single soul scrambling or looting.
When Lu Dongjun told them to make fine clothes for the New Year, everyone with a bit of spare cash went to the Lu family fabric store to buy cloth, quite literally buying out the largest fabric store in Haichiling.
When Lu Dongjun prepared to open factories, people prepared parcels of land for him, others helped arrange machinery, and countless people waited to work in the factories.
When Lu Dongjun wanted to do more business, the local gangs and factions gathered up all the businesses that had fallen into ruin during the insect plague and sold them to him at low prices.
This was submitting pledges of allegiance to Lu Dongjun.
All the local gangs wanted to throw their lot in with Lu Dongjun.
Lu Dongjun was now the god of Haichiling.
Because he had wiped out the mosquitoes of Toudaoling!
Ever since he scattered medicated white rice at Shiweitian Restaurant, before long, Toudaoling's mosquitoes had become extinct!
Late at night, smelling heavily of liquor, Lu Dongjun returned to the courtyard residence. After drinking a cup of tea, he asked Wan Jinxian, "Old Wan, when do we take action in Erdaoling?"
Wan Jinxian handed a list to Lu Dongjun.
"Master, there's no rush on this. We haven't even begun managing the businesses in Toudaoling yet.
"I've selected these dozen or so shops for you. Please have a look first."
Lu Dongjun shoved the list aside. "Don't bother me with these trivial trifles. I already told the accounting office that all business matters are left to you.
"Let me tell you, pay close attention to Erdaoling! Tonight, I already settled terms with the Outer States. Within five days, the mosquitoes of Erdaoling must be eradicated!"
Wan Jinxian nodded. "Rest assured on that matter, Master. However, I heard that both the He family and the Ma family have sent people to Haichiling. I worry they've come to reap the fruits of our labor."
"Let them come," Lu Dongjun sneered. "Let's see if anyone in Haichiling even pays them any mind!"
"Quite a few people from Sanying Gate and the Qingyun Association have arrived as well."
Lu Dongjun spat. "Let them come! Let every fucking one of them come! I'll take them all on, one by one!"
"The eldest brother of the Chu family is here. He didn't come looking for trouble; he came to talk business with you. Since we've acquired quite a few businesses, he wants a slice of the pie."
Lu Dongjun chuckled. "Wants to get rich together with us? Fine, count him in. Eldest Chu has always been a sensible man. It's just his younger sister who acts far too reckless!"
"The Baihua Sect and the Jiangxiang Gang also want to talk business with you..."
"Talk! They can all talk! As long as they're sensible, they'll all get a bite of meat with me.
"There's just one condition: for any business I bought, I'll sell them shares at triple the price—shares only, and at least three times the cost! If they don't want to buy, to hell with them!
"If they want to open new businesses in Haichiling, that's fine too, but they have to give me half the shares. If they don't want to, then they open today, and their shop gets smashed tomorrow! Anyone who doesn't like it can damn well try me!"
Wan Jinxian lowered his head. "Master, I follow your lead."
Lu Dongjun shook his head. "No need to run to me for every little thing. I'm already swamped dealing with those reporters every single day. Old Wan, I'm leaving these matters to you to handle!"
***
Outside the courtyard residence, He Haisheng bought an evening paper from a newsboy.
In Haichiling's local newspaper, the entire front page was dominated by Lu Dongjun, and the second and third pages were filled with news about him as well.
He Haisheng glanced at the layout of the residence, pulled up the collar of his woolen overcoat, and vanished silently into the night.
***
In the Lu family mansion, Monkey Qiu was also reading a newspaper. News of Haichiling had already reached Lüshuiwan.
The eldest young master of the Lu family, Lu Yuanshan, asked, "Uncle Qiu, shouldn't we pay a visit to Haichiling?"
Qiu Zhiheng shook his head. "We can't go. Now is not yet the time."
Lu Yuanhai said, "If we don't go now, we might lose all our businesses in Haichiling."
Qiu Zhiheng put down the newspaper. "The businesses are already lost. Those shop managers in Haichiling have handed their account books over to Lu Dongjun."
Lu Yuanshan exchanged a glance with Lu Yuanhai. It seemed Qiu Zhiheng had quite a few informants in Haichiling as well.
Yet Qiu Zhiheng was not worried about the present situation. "We aren't the only ones who lost businesses. The He family, the Ma family, and the Chu family all suffered heavy losses. Let's wait and see who loses their patience first."
Lu Yuanshan brought up another matter: "The grand chief of Sanying Gate sent me an invitation again. Should I go or not?"
Qiu Zhiheng nodded. "Go, but don't agree to anything. Talk things over slowly with him, and wait until the situation in Haichiling resolves before doing anything else."
***
At Yuezhou Third Hospital, He Jiaqing sat up in his hospital bed.
Beside his ear, a man's voice was whispering, "Lu Dongjun is in the limelight right now. He has completely taken Toudaoling, buying businesses low and selling high, making a fortune hand over fist."
With a calm expression, He Jiaqing then asked, "What about Erdaoling?"
"Quite a few families in Erdaoling have also come to pay homage to Lu Dongjun."
"What's the use of paying homage? What about their family properties?"
"None of the properties have been handed over."
He Jiaqing frowned. "Coming empty-handed to pay homage without handing over their properties is pure nonsense. These people play these petty games day in and day out—every last one of them is a blight on Puluo Province!
"Can Erdaoling still be taken?"
"Doubtful. Forget Erdaoling; not even Toudaoling can hold out."
"If it can't hold out, then stop holding out," He Jiaqing ordered. "Tell Old Wan: close the net."
Chapter 157