Winning Half

The Sage held his teacup, gently swirling it in his hand. Waves of Li Banfeng's imposing aura rolled over him, leaving the Sage both surprised and struck by a sense of familiarity. "Have you been on a battlefield?" the Sage asked. "Sort of," Li Banfeng gave a vague answer, feeling no need to be too specific. Besides, this also counted as the truth; whether one had been on a battlefield depended on the exact definition of a battlefield. Logically speaking, the battle between Qiu Luoye and Shui Yongquan was a bona fide battlefield. The Sage asked again, "How old are you this year?" Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "Can't recall. Perhaps about the same as yours." This was half true—Li Banfeng's age couldn't possibly match this Sage's, but he genuinely didn't remember his own age, being an orphan. The Sage's domineering presence was still clashing with Li Banfeng's imposing aura. Unable to contain his curiosity, a disciple wondered just what kind of person could sit as an equal with his master. He lifted his eyes to peer into the room, a slight movement noticed by the Sage. With a wave of the Sage's sleeve, the face of the disciple outside who had raised his eyes contorted violently. The blood vessels across his head bulged abruptly and burst in the blink of an eye. Amid the spurting blood, the disciple breathed his last. Looking at Li Banfeng, the Sage asked, "Do you understand now?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "I don't." "I told him to kneel here, so he must kneel properly. That is my rule. If he doesn't kneel properly, he is disobeying my rule, and he deserves to die. Do you understand now?" Li Banfeng glanced outside and pointed at another disciple. "His posture isn't good either. Look at him—slouching, limp, clearly showing no sincerity. Why don't you kill another one for me to see? Maybe after watching a few more times, I'll understand." The tea rippled again. The Sage was furious, yet had to restrain himself. Li Banfeng took a sip of tea. He was intensely nervous inside, but he couldn't let it show on his face. The Sage set the cup on the table and looked at Li Banfeng. "Do you know who I am?" Li Banfeng countered, "What do you think?" "Do you know that even the peddler dare not casually enter my territory?" The Sage wasn't lying; the peddler indeed rarely came here. Li Banfeng seized the opening. "That's precisely why I came. As his senior brother, I have to reclaim some face for my junior." Even if it was utter nonsense, he had to make it thoroughly convincing. Though bolstered by Hong Ying's aura, if he couldn't bluff the other party, Li Banfeng's situation would turn perilous. The Sage suddenly chuckled, his menacing expression easing. "Do you think you can win that face back?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "I can't. I've lost half, but I didn't lose to you!" Lost half. The Sage was silent for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter, thoroughly agreeing with this statement. "You have a point. You truly didn't lose to me. The condition you raised, I can agree to. Tomorrow night, at this very hour, you take your people and go. In this stockade, however many wish to follow you, you may take. Before ten o'clock, you must set out. Head south, keep walking, until you see a way out. Once you leave, this matter will be put behind us. If in the future you figure out a way to reclaim face, I'll still be waiting for you right here!" Li Banfeng nodded. "A deal's a deal." "To cross paths is fate. I have something else to give you." With a wave of the Sage's hand, a white-robed disciple holding a book box shuffled forward on his knees all the way to Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng took the book box and looked at the white-robed youth. "You walk on your knees quite adeptly; looks like you practice often. But you weren't focused just now—the pace between your two knees was noticeably uneven. I suspect that stems from a lack of respect. Why don't you do a few more laps to show me your sincerity?" Cold sweat poured down the white-robed youth's face as Li Banfeng spoke; he genuinely feared his master would take Li Banfeng's words seriously and claim his life right then and there. The Sage did not make things difficult for the white-robed disciple, merely waving his hand to dismiss him from the wooden cabin. Li Banfeng took the book box and didn't rashly open it. He hefted its weight with his fingers, estimating there were four or five books inside. The Sage said to Li Banfeng, "These are historical records—genuine historical records. Aren't you tempted to open them and take a look?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "Reading isn't urgent. If there happen to be characters I don't recognize, I wouldn't want you laughing at me." These history books absolutely could not be opened in front of the Sage. Li Banfeng claimed to be of a similar age to the Sage. But if he were unfamiliar with historical materials, or couldn't even judge whether these volumes were authentic, it would inevitably expose his ignorance—and the cost of showing weakness was obvious. The Sage smiled. "Even if you don't like reading, you ought to know the price of historical records in Puluo Province. Just these few volumes are enough to fetch a vast fortune. This gift is hardly meager." Li Banfeng voiced his thanks and casually set the book box aside. The Sage stood up. "I have shown enough sincerity. I hope you keep your promise. At ten tomorrow night, I shall come to see how you fare. If you deceive me, I will keep you here forever, and then we'll see who regrets it." With that, the Sage departed. Li Banfeng called after the Sage's retreating back, "No covenant deed?" The Sage chuckled. "A pact between gentlemen has no need for such things." The domineering aura swept over him once more, and Li Banfeng forced himself not to tremble. Was Li Banfeng truly afraid of him? Yes! But did he really have no way to deal with him? Not necessarily. He could keep robbing routes, keep tangling in skirmishes, and turn all of Jianrengang upside down to reap greater benefits. Even if the Sage moved in for the kill, Li Banfeng could flee back to the Portable Abode to take temporary shelter. Yet Li Banfeng decided to leave. Just as he said, he hadn't lost to the Sage, but in this battle, he had already lost half. There were certain things he simply could not change. He also understood one thing: why the peddler rarely came to Jianrengang. Having seen the Sage off, Li Banfeng called Xiao Yeci over. "Have you made up your mind? Are you leaving with me, or staying here?" Xiao Yeci squared her shoulders and puffed her chest out. "Of course I'm following Benefactor! I won't stay here." Li Banfeng confirmed once more, "Leaving the moment I say go, no hesitation?" Xiao Yeci answered earnestly, "When Benefactor says go, I go. Not a shred of hesitation!" Lu Chunying chimed in from the side, "Let my mom change her pants first later—that doesn't count as hesitation, does it?" Li Banfeng answered seriously, "Changing pants doesn't count. Once you've changed, go around the stockade for me and ask how many want to stay and how many want to leave. You must tell me before eight tomorrow night." With Li Banfeng giving the orders, Xiao Yeci naturally dared not slack off. She went door-to-door to ask everyone. She knew these people were unwilling to rob anymore and had no wish to take risks. But she assumed that if they could leave this place, they would agree without hesitation. Yet she was mistaken. She went around asking, but not a single person immediately agreed to leave with Benefactor. Their answers were evasive. "Sister Xiao, I hurt my foot when pushing the cart; I still need to rest for a couple of days." "Madam Xiao, we can't leave these couple of days. As the saying goes, 'before the troops move, grain and fodder must go first.' Even if we go, we have to wait until we harvest the next batch of grain." They didn't want to leave, making every excuse to drag their feet. Upon closer inquiry, there were three main reasons. First, those who had been abducted here had nowhere to go even if they left. Second, those sent here by their families feared that even if they returned home, they would only be sent back again. Third, those who didn't trust Li Banfeng believed he was no match for the Sage and couldn't possibly lead them out alive. In Xiao Yeci's eyes, all three reasons had some merit. But in Li Banfeng's eyes, none of those three reasons was the real crux. The crux was: their days had become livable again. As long as life could somehow go on, they were willing to go on living like this forever. This was within Li Banfeng's expectations. This place was different—different from Yaowanggou, Lüshui City, and Tiemenbao. People who stayed here for long became entirely different from those elsewhere. At eight o'clock the following evening, Li Banfeng set out immediately, without the slightest hesitation or delay. At the stockade gate, Niu Guangda tied his ox to one side, slung a bundle over his back, and fell in behind Li Banfeng. "Benefactor, I went to herd the ox just so I wouldn't draw attention. I'm sticking with you for sure. Wherever you go, I'll go. I don't want to stay here and suffer." Li Banfeng smiled faintly. The lad could still be saved. Along the way, over twenty more followed. They were all young, and they believed Li Banfeng could lead them out. Those who didn't leave stayed behind in the stockade to live their peaceful days. Alas, those days were far from peaceful. Not long after Li Banfeng left, the Sage's disciple arrived. He laid down his demand: seventy percent of Benefactor Stockade's yield had to be handed over to Sage Peak. Whether grain, livestock, or silk, seventy percent across the board. Seventy percent? Wasn't that too high? The stockade's inhabitants had not intended to agree, but this disciple possessed cultivation. After killing several people in succession, the disciple patiently explained to the crowd: "Your Benefactor has already left. No one is protecting you now, and the Sage's patience is wearing thin. If you don't repent now, you truly won't have lives left." Benefactor was gone; aside from him, no one dared challenge the Sage. Why did Benefactor just leave like that? Why couldn't he stay with us? Handing over seventy percent... That works too. The remaining thirty percent was still enough to scrape by. Back in the village, sometimes they couldn't even keep thirty percent of the harvest. Life right now was actually much better. Outside the stockade gates, the Sage watched everything unfolding inside. He watched with his own eyes as the stockade's inhabitants went from attempting resistance, to being angry but afraid to speak out, to ultimately not even daring to feel anger. Soon, another village would emerge here. Such scenes had played out before. They would forget how this village originated; they would hand over even more of their harvest; the Sage's disciples would soon come to lecture, and before long, the Sage would become the most important fixture in their lives. As for that Benefactor, the people here would no longer casually mention him. A young man had just mentioned him, his tone dripping with contempt: "He left just like that, without even looking back. He never intended to take us with him." The Sage gazed south and asked the white-robed disciple, "Do you think he will come back?" The white-robed disciple replied respectfully, "He has already lost to Master. He will never dare return." The Sage shook his head. "I think he will return. And he didn't lose—he won half. To extricate himself from my territory so swiftly, aside from the peddler, only he has done so. On that point alone, he must be considered to have won. As for the remaining half, he did indeed lose, but not to me. He lost to this bunch of wretched trash—irredeemably wretched trash." The Sage continued watching every movement in Benefactor Stockade, finding this place called Jianrengang utterly delightful. Turning his gaze south once more, he said to the white-robed disciple, "Pass word to your Second Senior Brother: this man's identity must be investigated thoroughly."