Pancake Village

Passing through several villages in a row, Li Banfeng never once used the medicine. Old Yao's medicine was meant to save people, but these villages were either empty or inhabited only by those who survived by eating human flesh. Deserted villages needed no saving. As for those surviving on human flesh, if they merely scavenged corpses, Li Banfeng could spare their lives; if they hunted innocent people, Li Banfeng saved them in a different way. He would sever their hands and feet and toss them into the Portable Abode for his wife to save their souls. As for whether the remaining parts had any culinary value, that depended on Red Lotus's mood. Red Lotus had little interest in corpses devoid of cultivation. Although Haichiling was reputed to be a gathering place for Food Cultivators, there were not nearly as many cultivated people as one might imagine. Yet this land was truly peculiar. Every two hours, Li Banfeng had to return to the Portable Abode to grab a bite to eat. Some unknown power held sway over this territory, making people easily succumb to ravenous hunger. This was Sandaoling, the most secluded corner of Haichiling and the place hardest hit by the insect blight. Almost entirely forgotten by the world, it was here that Li Banfeng saw for the first time in his life what it meant for nine out of ten homes to be deserted, and for the starved dead to litter the fields. It was entirely different from the famines depicted in television and film. This was a suffocating dread and terror. "Good thing I'm a lunatic, or you would've scared me out of my wits," Li Banfeng said, patting a man's head and asking earnestly, "Weren't you afraid when you boiled your wife?" This man had tied his wife up, preparing to boil her alive, only to be caught red-handed by Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng had set the wife free and was now giving the man a stern lesson. The man wept. "I had no choice! I'm just so hungry..." "Boiling her alive? How could you bring yourself to do it? You could have at least stabbed her first! I'll give you a quick death!" Li Banfeng tossed him into the Portable Abode and continued searching the village. By nightfall, he had found nothing. Returning to the house, he devoured six entire cans of food. At this rate of consumption, even his own stockpile might not last. The wife had eaten her fill today. Seeing Li Banfeng return with the liquor gourd, she called out warmly, "Oh my, little sister, our whole family ate our fill today. Are you hungry? I saved two fresh souls just for you." The liquor gourd hopped over beside the wife and replied, "Thank you for your kindness, Elder Sister, but I do not eat souls." "What about flesh and blood? That wretched Red Lotus is a picky eater and left behind a whole pile of good parts that she refused to touch. Why don't you have a taste?" "I can eat a bit of flesh and blood, but I followed our little brother today and saw quite a lot of gore. It made me a bit nauseated. Perhaps another day." "Oh my, little sister, you go out risking your life with my husband, yet you won't take a single bite or sip. Your elder sister truly doesn't know what you fancy. Since you're a magical artifact, you must have a cost, right?" Hearing this, Li Banfeng's cheek twitched. There was something he had overlooked. Every magical artifact in the world exacted a price, yet ever since the liquor gourd came into his possession, Li Banfeng had never given the matter any thought. If not for his wife's reminder, who knew how long it would have taken him to remember. The gourd replied, "Of course there is a cost. I only fear Elder Sister will laugh at me if I speak of it. I am terribly fond of liquor, never getting enough to drink all year round, and what I fear most is letting my body grow cold. "Yet I can only produce one jin of liquor a day, and that jin must be saved for our little brother. When I have no liquor to drink, I must find a place to keep warm. "If there is no warm place, I can only huddle against our little brother for warmth. If it's inconvenient for him, I'll huddle against Elder Sister. That is my cost." Hearing this, Li Banfeng had a sudden realization. Aside from that night when she drank with his wife, the liquor gourd stayed by his side the rest of the time, clinging to him exceptionally closely. Such a price was hardly steep. Li Banfeng was quite satisfied. The wife sneered, "Bah! Shameless hussy, knowing no modesty. If my husband and I share a bed tonight, are you going to snuggle up for warmth too?" "I'll just rub against the side; it won't get in the way." "Bah! The more you speak, the more shameless you get!" Li Banfeng felt a bit bashful himself. He leaned close to the gramophone. "Wife, are we truly sharing a bed tonight?" "Oh my, Husband, this humble servant was only joking earlier. My body is inconvenient today. Husband, go rest in the outer room." Inconvenient? Where could she be inconvenient? "Is my wife low on machine oil?" "Oh my, Husband, this servant is not low on oil, not at all. Husband, rest early. Go to sleep quickly, Husband... Husband~" The wife's voice was overwhelmingly sweet. Li Banfeng slept in the third room for the night. At daybreak the next morning, he resumed his search through Sandaoling. Only the gramophone and Red Lotus were left in the house. From the outer room, Red Lotus called to the gramophone, "Did you see through her?" *Hiss, hiss...* "I did. Not only did I see her cost, but I also saw her pathway." "Tell me." The gramophone gave a cold huff. "You must have seen it too, so why ask me? "That madman is suspicious by nature, yet he hasn't the slightest doubt about that gourd. That is her cost. She can touch others' thoughts and make them believe in her. When she was alive, she must have been a Mind Cultivator." Red Lotus was silent for a long while before remarking, "That madman has peculiar thoughts and naturally counters Mind Cultivators. If the gourd truly were a Mind Cultivator, she shouldn't be able to control his thoughts." *Hiss, hiss...* "It isn't control; it's a touch. This gourd is different from ordinary Mind Cultivators. She doesn't use force; she uses a soft touch. Once she serves that madman until he's completely comfortable, he naturally won't harbor any doubts toward her." Red Lotus expressed some concern. "This matter is rather tricky to handle. Why didn't you expose her in front of that madman?" "What's the rush? If we expose her now, how can we probe what she's really after? "Rest assured. Aside from you and me, someone else already suspects her. That person is from her own sect and will help the madman stay on guard against her." Red Lotus sneered. "What does it matter whether I rest assured or not? It's not like I want to be his wife." *Hiss, hiss...* "Say whatever you like. In the end, aren't you still living under the same roof with him?" Before long, the sound of the door opening came from outside. Li Banfeng had returned to look for canned food. "Oh my, Husband, have you arrived in Haichiling? Eating like this, our family's provisions won't hold out." They truly wouldn't hold out. Li Banfeng needed to finish his business in Haichiling as quickly as possible. Walking from dawn until dusk, Li Banfeng still saw no proper villages. As he reached a crossroads, a pungent, spicy odor drifted into his nostrils. Someone was releasing poison! Li Banfeng retreated swiftly, scanning his surroundings with care. Danger struck from behind. Instead of turning around in haste, Li Banfeng first drew his Tang dao and thrust it backward. A cry of pain came from behind. Li Banfeng spun around immediately and stomped his foot down hard. *Smack!* The technique of Treading Ten Thousand Rivers. It failed. The pebbles on the ground did not shatter; Li Banfeng's execution of the technique had been unsuccessful. This technique failed often. From the time he learned it until now, Li Banfeng had only managed to perform it twice in the newland, and both times were under circumstances where his legs felt exceptionally heavy. Standing behind him was a middle-aged man in his fifties holding a spiked club, pointing it at Li Banfeng as he barked, "Who are you?" Li Banfeng recalled his Tang dao and looked at the man. "I should be asking you. Who are you? Another one looking to eat human meat? Do you want an arm or a leg?" "Eat meat?" The man flew into a rage. "You man-eating beast!" With that, the man charged forward, swinging his spiked club. Judging by the sound of the wind alone, that spiked club weighed a hundred jin or so. The man's shoulder had been slashed by the Tang dao, yet it did not impair his performance in the least. One swing came faster than the next, forcing Li Banfeng to retreat step by step. After maneuvering for a moment, Li Banfeng stole a step, closing in on the man. Pressing the sickle against the man's chest, he barked, "Who on earth are you?" The man neither dodged nor retreated, lunging directly toward the blade while swinging his spiked club straight for Li Banfeng's head. Such a formidable physique and such a reckless fighting style made it almost certain that he was a Food Cultivator. Judging by his combat strength, this man was at least Tier 3. Li Banfeng pulled the sickle back. He had not struck to kill. From the few words exchanged just now, he could deduce there was a misunderstanding between them. "I came to deliver medicine." Those few short words brought the middle-aged man to a dead stop. He froze for a moment, then looked at Li Banfeng with great excitement. "Did Second Master send you?" "Which Second Master?" Li Banfeng looked completely baffled. "Second Master of the Lu family!" Lu Dongjun? Li Banfeng recalled some news from the papers. Lu Dongjun had come to Haichiling to treat the insect blight, and it seemed he had achieved some measure of success. *Then what did I come here for?* Li Banfeng shook his head. "It wasn't Second Master of the Lu family who sent me. Another expert sent me, though his identity is inconvenient to disclose." The middle-aged man was sorely disappointed. "If it's not medicine from Second Master of the Lu family, it probably won't be of much use." "Whether it works or not, why don't you try it first? I came all this way, after all." Having traveled through immense hardship to reach Haichiling only to be met with cold indifference, Li Banfeng felt a bit awkward. "Trying it works too." The middle-aged man sized Li Banfeng up, then simply agreed. He just agreed like that. Li Banfeng thought this man was truly simple and honest—so honest that it made Li Banfeng slightly suspicious. "Follow me." The middle-aged man led Li Banfeng into a village. At the entrance, three men stood in full battle readiness: one held an iron hammer, one held a Guan Dao, and another held an axe. None of their weapons were light. "Put your weapons down. He's here to deliver medicine." "Is it Second Master's medicine?" All three men grew excited. Li Banfeng furrowed his brow. "It's not Second Master, it's Seventh Master. Hurry and clear the way." The three men looked at one another. The man with the spiked club said, "He really is here to deliver medicine." "Delivering medicine... all right then." The three men cleared the path. *Are they all this simple and honest?* Li Banfeng entered the village and saw cooking smoke, something he had not seen in a long time. Someone in this village was actually cooking food; Li Banfeng caught the aroma of rice. The middle-aged man asked, "Have you eaten? Have a bite of food first." Li Banfeng truly was hungry. He entered the man's home and saw a burly middle-aged figure bring over a basin of food and set it before him. "Is this your younger brother?" Li Banfeng asked offhandedly. The man looked displeased. "What kind of talk is that? This is my wife!" Li Banfeng took another look at the middle-aged figure. The woman glared at Li Banfeng and retreated into the inner room. It went to show that women truly weren't suited to being Food Cultivators—this mistress of the house seemed to have grown a mustache. The man introduced himself, "I'm called Niu Fuzhi. Blessed with fortune and full of ambition. How should I address you?" "I'm called Li Seven." Niu Fuzhi looked at him with disdain. "Such a rustic name. One look and it's clear you've never studied. Your medicine probably isn't very effective either." Li Banfeng wanted to say that he was also called Li Furong—would that name sound cultured enough? Still, there was no need to bicker over it. The food basin was covered with a mesh screen, beneath which sat gleaming white rice that stirred Li Banfeng's appetite. He sniffed it; aside from the fragrance of rice, there was no strange odor. Sensing with seeking good fortune and avoiding calamity for a moment, he detected no danger either. Lifting the mesh screen, Li Banfeng ate with peace of mind. He had to eat fast, as some mosquitoes would not even spare cooked rice. After eating eight liang of rice, knowing how hard-won this grain was, Li Banfeng was too embarrassed to eat any more. Setting down his bowl and chopsticks, Li Banfeng asked, "Where did you get this rice?" "Grew it." Grew it? "At this time of year, you can still grow rice?" Niu Fuzhi said, "We have Tillage Cultivators. Even in this season, we can grow grain. We just can't keep these mosquitoes off it. You've eaten your fill, right? Take out the medicine and let's test it!" "Where are we testing it?" "In the fields! We're about to harvest the rice." Li Banfeng pondered for a moment and said, "The ones releasing poison in the farmland earlier—was that you?" Niu Fuzhi replied, "How was that releasing poison? That was medicine to smoke out mosquitoes! We've tried plenty of medicines already."