Newland and Oldland

A torrential downpour cascaded from the heavens, dousing the blaze at the warehouse. The warehouse had suffered considerable damage. Li Banfeng checked on Zuo Wugang's injuries. Zuo Wugang waved his hand. "It's nothing serious. I have a way to purge the poison. It's just that if those bastards from Iron Sheep Mountain come back tonight, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold them off." "No need to hold them off. With me here, the local spirit will watch over us. You mentioned Iron Sheep Mountain just now—what's their background?" "Mountain bandits from the oldland. Their chief is Rong Yeguang. I heard that he was a sixth-tier body cultivator in the past, though I can't say what tier he's reached by now. Even a lowlife like Du Shuping is already sixth-tier." "Sixth-tier? And he's a bandit?" Li Banfeng did not quite understand. With sixth-tier cultivation, what couldn't someone do instead of being a petty bandit? "The oldland is different. It's a great place to strike it rich." "And what kind of place is this oldland?" "How should I put it... It's not much different from the newland. In short, it's a place with few people, and wherever there are few people, wealth can be made. But the means of making money there are different from the newland. It's just..." Zuo Wugang had limited eloquence, and poisoned as he was, he could not hold out much longer. Li Banfeng told him to head back and rest first. He then went to the edge of the newland, dragged the half-dead Wang Qi and Du Shuping along, and stepped into the Portable Abode. "My goodness, Husband! You're finally back from buying groceries!" the gramophone chirped excitedly, tears of emotion streaming from its horn. "What groceries?" Du Shuping stared at the gramophone in shock. He had no idea what kind of place this was, nor did he know where this gramophone had come from. "Don't you worry about the groceries," Li Banfeng consoled Du Shuping. "First, tell me: who sent you to cause trouble on my territory?" Before Du Shuping could speak, Wang Qi beat him to it. "Young brother, you are a man of virtue. By all rights, we shouldn't reveal this when you ask. But we've fallen into your hands, and we only want a chance to live. If we tell the truth, can you let us go?" Sitting upright before the two of them, Li Banfeng said with a solemn expression, "That depends on whether you show sincerity." Wang Qi nodded earnestly and explained their origins. "We are goodmen from Iron Sheep Mountain. We were acting on the orders of our chief, Rong Yeguang, to join forces with the newly enlisted chief scout and raid your territory." Li Banfeng kicked Wang Qi. "Speak the common tongue." He had indeed learned some underworld cant from Yu Nan, but Wang Qi's cant was so dense that Li Banfeng could not follow it. The gramophone could wait no longer. "'Joining forces' means joining the gang, 'raiding' means robbery, and a 'scout' is someone who specializes in gathering intelligence. Husband, whatever you don't understand, your humble servant can translate for you. Please, ask away!" His wife was eager. So eager that her tears flowed like a river. Li Banfeng asked, "Who is your chief scout?" Having just taken a kick, Wang Qi did not dare speak rashly. Seeing that Li Banfeng could not understand thieves' cant, Du Shuping expressed it as plainly as possible: "The Lu family's fallen heiress, Lu Xiaolan." Lu Xiaolan had gone up into the mountains to become a bandit? That was something Li Banfeng had never expected. "I have no grievance or grudge against your chief. Why did you make a move against us?" Wang Qi shook his head. "I don't know that. We all obey the chief's orders. Whatever he tells us to do, we do." "Your chief-whatever scout, Lu Xiaolan—she planted a mole on my territory. Do you know who it is?" "We don't know that, nor are we supposed to ask. Whenever the chief scout tells us to strike, that's when we stage the raid." "Where is this Iron Sheep Mountain of yours?" "In the oldland." "What sort of place is the oldland?" "Just like the newland. A place that sees no light." The gramophone urged, "Husband, the newland and the oldland are different. Your humble servant will explain it to you slowly in a bit. Keep asking your questions for now." Li Banfeng asked again, "How far is Iron Sheep Mountain from here?" "That depends on whether you know the route. If you don't know the way, it's a thousand li away. If you know the way, it's only a single day's journey. Young brother, so long as you grant the two of us a way to live, I'll draw the path for you." As expected of a sixth-tier Literary Cultivator, Du Shuping knew very well how to negotiate. Li Banfeng did not fall for it. He stopped asking about the route. If he pursued that line of questioning, the man would surely haggle without end. Instead, he asked about the conditions on Iron Sheep Mountain: "How many men are there in your mountain stronghold?" "Sixty-six men. Don't look down on the small headcount; every single one of them has cultivation. "Young brother, the jianghu is a single road. No matter what path we walk, anyone on the road is a brother. Today my brother and I have fallen into your hands, and we accept our defeat. We've told you everything we know, so you shouldn't break your word either. Give us a way out." "There is a way. First, keep my wife company for a meal. Once you're done eating, you can be on your way." "A meal? Where is the food?" Du Shuping had a look of complete bewilderment. *Hiss, hiss—* His wife chuckled. "You are the food!" Two phonograph needles plunged into the brains of Du Shuping and Wang Qi. The two men glared furiously at Li Banfeng, their bodies shuddering uncontrollably. *** Half an hour later, his wife finished dining. Li Banfeng dragged the corpses over to the Red Lotus. "Eat." The Red Lotus sighed inwardly: *To eat mere leftovers, I still have to wait on your pleasure.* Yet she dared not voice any complaints. A sixth-tier cultivator and a fifth-tier cultivator were rare culinary ingredients indeed. Spreading her petals and leaves, the Red Lotus drew the two cultivators into her lotus core. Li Banfeng asked the gramophone, "What exactly is the oldland?" "When a newland flourishes with human vitality, it becomes proper land. When a proper land loses its human vitality, it becomes oldland." Li Banfeng was stunned for a long while. "A newland can only become proper land once its human vitality flourishes? Doesn't it become proper land right after it's reclaimed?" "Far from it! Far from it! Reclaiming land is merely exposing it to Heavenly Light. A hundred li of land, bathed entirely in Heavenly Light, with ten thousand people remaining permanently—only then has it reached its fruition, and only then is it a proper land..." His wife explained in detail: under a single local spirit, the entire hundred li of territory belonging to it had to be successfully reclaimed, and it had to maintain a permanent population of over ten thousand. Only then could it be considered a proper land. Was it that complicated? Wasn't Lanyang Village an exception? Li Banfeng's understanding had not been like that at all. "Lanyang Village has constantly been encroached upon by various great families, yet they've continually reclaimed land toward the newland. Their territory hasn't shrunk; its area remains about the same as it was originally." "It's different, it's different! Husband, go take a look at the parts of Lanyang Village near the newland—does anyone live there?" "People do live there, just not many. There are no houses, only people putting up shacks. Supposedly, it's because anomalies from the newland often come out to harm people, so most dare not dwell there." "That's precisely the reason! Those areas aren't considered proper land; they're merely reclaimed newland. As for true proper land, anomalies from the newland cannot enter. If they do, it counts as seizing territory on proper land, and the local spirit of a proper land would never spare them." The local spirit of a proper land? "Does Lü Huazi count as the local spirit of a proper land?" "Yes, Husband. The tier of a proper land's local spirit is higher than that of a newland's local spirit. But if a proper land lacks human vitality for years on end, it turns into oldland. The tier of an oldland's local spirit drops down, becoming not much different from that of a newland." With human vitality, a local spirit's tier rose. Without human vitality, a local spirit's tier fell. No wonder Qiu Daxiang cared so much about land reclaimers. It was directly tied to their tier advancements. No wonder local spirits did not allow a single person to reclaim too much newland; otherwise, if all the land were occupied by one person, it could never meet the standard of ten thousand permanent residents. Yet this also served as a reminder to Li Banfeng: in the future, he could no longer allow the various families to meddle in Lanyang Village as they pleased. Newly reclaimed land was not proper land. This concerned the very future survival of Lanyang Village. "But since population determines a local spirit's tier, why is there a trial during land reclamation? Wouldn't more reclaimers bring more human vitality?" "My goodness, Husband, that isn't how it works! Just because there are many reclaimers doesn't mean there will be many people on the land. If an incompetent person goes to reclaim land, at most he brings his household along. Food is hard to come by in the newland, and there are anomalies harassing them. In a few years, when they can no longer make a living and move away, the land will fall waste. Yet because the reclamation succeeded and the master is still around, new people cannot be allowed to reclaim it again. Wouldn't the local spirit suffer a tremendous loss? To reclaim land, one must possess real skill, know how to manage, and be able to fight. Only such a person can turn newland into proper land, and only such a person will be accepted by the local spirit." "Then if the population on proper land drops below ten thousand, does it turn into oldland? And once an oldland gains ten thousand people, does it turn back into proper land?" *Hiss, hiss—* The gramophone laughed. "Husband, suppose a hundred-li radius has exactly ten thousand people. If one leaves today, it turns from proper land to oldland, and if one arrives tomorrow, it turns from oldland to proper land—wouldn't the local spirit be tossed around to death? Ten thousand is a major threshold. Surpassing ten thousand qualifies it as proper land. But within a hundred-li radius, only if the population falls below one hundred will it become oldland." Fewer than one hundred... Li Banfeng suddenly thought of a place. "Kucaizhuang definitely spans more than a hundred li, yet there aren't even a hundred people there. Does that place count as oldland?" "Kucaizhuang... Granny Bitter's territory... Granny Bitter... who was she again? She isn't a local spirit, so what is she? Kucaizhuang, Granny Bitter... Hee-hee-hee..." Not good! His wife was about to lose her mind! "Let's not talk about Kucaizhuang. There is no Kucaizhuang. Let's talk about something else. Is there anything else you want to eat, Wife? I'll go out and buy groceries..." Having consumed the Profound Accumulation Pill, though his wife had nearly lost her life, her condition had improved substantially once she recovered. Even so, Granny Bitter could not be brought up lightly. Just what kind of figure was Granny Bitter? While his wife's mental state remained relatively stable, Li Banfeng coaxed her to sleep. Leaving the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng headed to his parcel of land. Setting up an altar table, he summoned Shui Yongquan. "The matter has been investigated. It was done by that band of land reclaimers. Their leader is Lu Xiaolan, the chief scout of Iron Sheep Mountain." "Iron Sheep Mountain, that bandit den in the oldland," Shui Yongquan stroked his beard. "I'll speak with Qiu Daxiang first and make him understand the reasoning behind this. If people from his territory dare come here again to run wild, kill every single one we see from now on, without showing any mercy." "There's one more matter I must trouble Shopkeeper Shui with. How does one get to Iron Sheep Mountain?" Shui Yongquan started. "Brother Li Qi, what are you planning to do? Do you intend to attack their mountain stronghold?" "Can't their stronghold be attacked? They're the ones who made a move first." Shui Yongquan signaled for Li Banfeng to calm down. "What did you do to offend Iron Sheep Mountain?" "I've never offended Iron Sheep Mountain. I only learned their name today." "Investigate the causes and consequences of this first, and then we'll discuss these bandits." "Can't I investigate while fighting them?" Shui Yongquan did not know how to respond. "Brother Li Qi, those are bandits! Bandits of renown in the jianghu! Not some street ruffians! Let's take care of the matter right before our eyes first!" "Is there a difference between bandits and ruffians?" "What do you think?" Shui Yongquan departed in a huff. Li Banfeng wore a blank expression. Was the difference really that big? Even if there was a difference, they had already attacked his home. Couldn't he strike back? Still, Shui Yongquan had a point: the immediate matters indeed had to be handled. First, he had to ferret out the mole. Then, he would eliminate Lu Xiaolan and her gang. *** Lying in a hospital bed, He Jiaqing stared at the ceiling, his gaze somewhat unfocused. "The Three Paragons of Iron Sheep died just like that? That brother of mine is rather ruthless! I underestimated him before, and he actually outcalculated me!" A voice answered beside his ear: "There must be an accounting for this. How should I explain it to Rong Yeguang?" "Explain what? Give him some money as compensation." "Iron Sheep Mountain isn't short on money." "If they aren't short on money, then don't give any! We save ourselves the expense! And tell Rong Yeguang that if he wants to wash his hands clean and legitimize his status, he has to pay a price!" The person on the other end sighed, then asked, "Do you still want to listen to the scrying feed?" "Of course. Whenever there's any movement from him, play it for me. That brother of mine is no ordinary man; I'm missing him more and more. Furthermore, don't enter their territory again for now, but keep the delivery route blocked off. If Ma the Fifth escorts the goods with that bagworm moth every day, let him. The moment he slacks off for a single day, hijack his goods. Let's see how long he can hold out. Remind our people to be exceptionally cautious when speaking with Lu Xiaolan. She's a suspicious person—don't let her see through our identities."