The Sage

Li Banfeng returned to the Portable Abode and told his wife about the meeting arranged for ten days later. After pondering for a good while, the wife said, "Husband, this humble servant thinks you had better not meet him." Li Banfeng shook his head. "If I don't meet him, how am I going to get out?" In a solemn tone, the wife replied, "Precious Husband, let us think of another way." The Red Lotus hissed softly, seemingly agreeing with the gramophone's words. Hong Ying gave a cold snort. "You should know what kind of caliber someone who has a broken-cocoon pupa at their disposal possesses. As for what skill you yourself have, you ought to have some measure in your own heart. Still, ten days is indeed quite a long time to give you." Li Banfeng was also curious: why would the other party give him ten days? Returning to Benefactor Stockade, Li Banfeng ordered the guards to step up their vigilance. He suspected the Sage might take advantage of those ten days to strike without warning and catch them unprepared. In truth, he had a similar plan of his own, wanting to give the Sage a surprise. When the next day arrived, the Sage did not appear, nor did his disciples. Instead, several dozen people came seeking refuge at Benefactor Stockade. Their backgrounds and reasons were much the same as the others: none of them could endure Mount Shengxian's exploitation and the bullying by the Sage's disciples any longer. Among them, one woman had suffered the worst. She was a Tillage Cultivator in her early twenties named Dong Qiaoqin. She was an outsider to the region; at thirteen, she had entered the Tillage Cultivator pathway, and at fifteen, she was kidnapped and trafficked into Jingde Village, sold to a household to be a bride. At sixteen, the marriage was consummated, and the couple went on to have a son and a daughter. Although she was only a Tier One Tillage Cultivator, Dong Qiaoqin was adept at farming, sericulture, and raising livestock and poultry, so their life had been fairly content. When she turned twenty, her husband defied a disciple of the Sage. Together with their son and daughter, he was beaten to death right in the village. That day, she happened to be off buying silkworm seedlings in a neighboring village, narrowly escaping with her life. Upon returning to the village and receiving the tragic news that her family had been utterly destroyed, Dong Qiaoqin nearly took her own life. From then on, the villagers' attitude toward her changed. The issue did not lie in her "taking her own life"; it lay in the word "nearly." In the eyes of the Jingde villagers, Dong Qiaoqin ought to have died; she should have died alongside her husband and children. The fact that she didn't die proved there was something fishy going on. Her husband's family, in particular, insisted that Dong Qiaoqin was in cahoots with the Sage's disciple and had deliberately brought about her husband's death. Not daring to confront the Sage's disciple, they vented all their fury onto Dong Qiaoqin. For two whole years, Dong Qiaoqin's belongings and property were plundered clean, and she endured countless indignities and beatings. First her in-laws beat her, then the villagers of Jingde Village beat her, followed by villagers from surrounding hamlets, and even the Sage's disciples came over to beat her. Why did the Sage's disciple beat her as well? Because he felt that far from gaining any benefit, his reputation had been ruined by her, so this score had to be settled. Just half a month ago, Dong Qiaoqin was mobbed by the villagers; what little grain she had left at home was looted, and she was beaten so severely that she couldn't leave her bed for days. With life truly impossible to go on, Dong Qiaoqin fled into the mountain forests to seek refuge at Benefactor Stockade. Xiao Yeci took immense pity on this unfortunate woman and even cleared a bed in her own room so they could live together. Dong Qiaoqin was indeed a capable woman. Once settled in, she picked a plot of land at the edge of the mountain forest, scattered a pouch of rapid-crop seeds, and began farming. The plot was not small. Although Dong Qiaoqin possessed techniques, she could not manage it all alone, so Xiao Yeci gathered quite a few stockade members to tend the field with her. Every one of these people had suffered hardship in the villages; farm work came naturally to them. This pouch of rapid-crop was extraordinarily special, much faster than the seeds in Haichiling: planted on the first day, heading on the second, harvested for grain on the third—and the yield was remarkably good. Xiao Yeci was delighted and rewarded Dong Qiaoqin with thirty silver dollars. As a vital member of the stockade, Xiao Yeci felt this was something she ought to do. Taking the thirty silver dollars, Dong Qiaoqin went to other villages and bought back quite a few fowl and livestock. Raising chickens, feeding ducks, herding cattle and sheep—in another three days, chicken coops, duck pens, and livestock sheds had all been built. Dong Qiaoqin then went to the villages to buy more silkworm seedlings, harvested mulberry leaves, erected a silkworm shed, and led the women of the stockade in raising silkworms. "This is a good thing, really a good thing..." Xiao Yeci repeatedly reminded herself that it was good, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that something about it wasn't right. Dong Qiaoqin also felt aggrieved. "Sister Xiao, where did I go wrong?" Xiao Yeci couldn't put it into words. She went to find Li Banfeng. "Benefactor, I can't shake the feeling that something isn't right with this Miss Dong, but I just can't say what it is." Li Banfeng nodded. "I know she isn't right." "Was she sent by the Sage? Did she make up everything that happened to her to deceive us?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "I went to Jingde Village to investigate. Everything that happened to her is real." Xiao Yeci hesitated, murmuring after a moment, "Then... if it's all true, it just proves I was being overly suspicious." Li Banfeng shook his head again. "You weren't overly suspicious. It is very likely that the Sage sent her." Xiao Yeci looked utterly baffled. "Then I don't understand at all." Li Banfeng gave a wry smile. "I don't understand either. She suffered so much, so why would she still work for the Sage?" Xiao Yeci said, "Let's just drive her away. Benefactor, if it's inconvenient for you to act, leave this to me." Li Banfeng sighed. "What can you do? If you drive Dong Qiaoqin away, what will you tell the others? "Tell them that growing grain is wrong? Tell them that looting grain is the proper path?" Xiao Yeci was speechless. Li Banfeng looked at Xiao Yeci. "In this stockade, aside from me, everyone has suffered more than you and your daughter, haven't they?" "That's true. They've all been here longer than us." "Why do you think there are so many villages here?" "I... I don't know..." "Did the Sage come first, or did these villages come first?" "I don't know..." "They've suffered so much, yet as long as life remains remotely bearable, they can forget every hardship they endured. Why do you suppose that is?" "I... still don't know..." Xiao Yeci truly did not know, but she knew Li Banfeng was right. Everyone in the stockade now wanted nothing more than to live a quiet, settled life; if they were told to go out raiding again, they would certainly refuse. Li Banfeng tugged the brim of his hat down and stood up. "Tomorrow, I am going to meet the Sage. Talk it over with your daughter beforehand: if I find a way out, are the two of you willing to leave?" Xiao Yeci remained silent. Li Banfeng left the stockade, found a secluded spot, and entered the Portable Abode. "Husband, tomorrow is the appointed day. Are you truly going to meet that Sage?" Li Banfeng was silent for a moment. Instead of answering, he turned to another matter. "Wife, does Hong Ying count as my dwelling spirit?" The wife was a bit displeased, but she knew better than to throw a tantrum at a time like this. "Husband called out her name to her face, and the slut answered to her face. Naturally, she counts as Husband's dwelling spirit." Li Banfeng asked further, "Does the technique of Sprawling Compound work on her?" Hong Ying's voice turned chilly. "Heartless cad, wicked wench, what are you two plotting now? Let me make this crystal clear: don't even think of scheming against me! This old lady isn't buying any of your nonsense!" Li Banfeng said, "I have no desire to scheme against you. I only want to borrow something from you." "What do you want to borrow? You want to borrow my techniques?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "I have no desire to borrow techniques—at least not for now. Against that Sage, techniques alone are useless. "I want to borrow some of your imposing aura." The gramophone pondered a moment and said, "Husband wishes to intimidate that Sage?" Hong Ying sneered, "So you want to play the fox borrowing the tiger's terror. Madman, think carefully. If the Sage sees through your bluff, do you think you'll come back alive?" Li Banfeng said, "Then lend me enough aura so that he has no way to see through it." Chhh—chhh— "It is indeed a way," the gramophone said, turning its horn toward Hong Ying. "Listen to Husband. Bring out all the imposing might you had on the battlefield." "Wicked wench! When the madman loses his mind, you lose yours right along with him! Do you have any idea how much risk this carries? If that lunatic shows the slightest hint of cowardice, his life is forfeit! "The best course right now is to hide and not meet him! The madman was never an upright gentleman to begin with, so why care so much about a mere verbal agreement?!" "Hide and not meet him?" Li Banfeng asked. "Hide where? Hide until when? This is his domain. Won't I fall into his hands sooner or later?" Li Banfeng was right. As long as he did not leave Jianrengang, his life would remain clutched in the Sage's grip. Having made up its mind, the gramophone wrapped Hong Ying in steam. "The matter is settled." Hong Ying snapped furiously, "You say it's settled and it's settled? Why should I agree to your terms?!" The gramophone said, "We have known each other for so many years; you ought to know my temperament. If you help me, I naturally will not treat you poorly. "As for the matters between us, as long as you do not wish to speak of them, I can stop pressing you—provided you help my husband this once with all your heart." ... The next day, sixty-four disciples from the Peak of the Sages carried a grand palanquin down the mountain. Along the way, past every village, all the villagers knelt at the village entrance a full hour in advance to welcome him. Not a single person dared to rise until long after the Sage had departed; they remained kneeling for yet another hour to express their reverence for the Sage. At ten o'clock at night, the palanquin arrived at Benefactor Stockade. Hearing that the Sage was arriving in person, everyone in Benefactor Stockade hid away inside the caves, leaving only Xiao Yeci and her daughter, who summoned their courage to remain in the stockade. Li Banfeng sat inside the wooden cabin, brewing tea. The white-robed disciple was the first to enter the cabin. He said to Li Banfeng, "Master is waiting outside the door. He says for you to go out and speak." Li Banfeng shook his head. "That won't do. Tell him to come in and give his report." The white-robed disciple relayed the words faithfully. The Sage gave a light chuckle and stepped down from the palanquin. The moment his feet touched the ground, every disciple in his entourage dropped to their knees, their foreheads pressed firmly against the earth. Had Li Banfeng not previously issued a strict order forbidding kneeling, a great mass of people in Benefactor Stockade would likely have prostrated themselves as well. The Sage entered the cabin and sat across from Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng poured a cup of tea, lifted it, and drank it himself. The Sage smiled. Judging by his appearance, the man seemed to be in his forties, also wearing a dome-shaped skullcap. His cheeks were lean, his complexion fair, and he wore a mustache that drooped in an eight-character shape. One could tell he was a person of immense status, yet he was completely different from what Li Banfeng had imagined a Sage would look like. The Sage asked Li Banfeng, "Did I make myself clear?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "You haven't said anything yet." "You are a clever man. Without me saying a word, you should have already seen through it." Li Banfeng did not deny it. "I suppose I have." The Sage gave a slight nod. "Since you've seen through it, I'll ask you only one question: do you want to leave?" Li Banfeng nodded. "I do." The Sage took a teacup and poured himself a cup of tea. "Then this will be simple. Leave tonight. I will allow you to depart, on the condition that you never return." Holding his teacup, Li Banfeng said, "Not enough." "Not enough?" The Sage wondered if he had misheard. "What do you want?" "I want to take some people with me. Anyone who wants to follow me, I will take them along." The Sage shook his head. "There is no precedent for that." Li Banfeng replied calmly, "Then I must trouble you to set a precedent." "You still haven't understood." A surge of domineering force rippled out from the Sage, shaking the entire wooden cabin several times. Lu Chunying, hiding far away, nearly wet herself. Xiao Yeci already had, though she was too embarrassed to say. The disciples kneeling outside trembled like winnowing baskets. Li Banfeng did not tremble. He very much wanted to tremble, but he held it in check. He raised his head slightly, his gaze locked firmly upon the Sage. An imposing aura surged forth, meeting the Sage's domineering presence on equal terms. Li Banfeng took a leisurely sip of his tea. "I think I understand quite clearly." The Sage's brow furrowed deeply, the half-cup of tea remaining in his cup rippling faintly.