An old farmer claimed that Xiao Genzi's night soil was inferior in quality.
Xiao Genzi was displeased.
"Old man, don't look down on this little spoonful. Spread it evenly, and it can fertilize an entire mu of land.
"If you think that's still not enough, I can give you this whole bucket.
"But when you toss around claims that the quality is inferior, that rubs me the wrong way. Do you even know what pathway I belong to?"
The old man chuckled. "What pathway could you possibly belong to? From your getup, you're naturally a Gold Cultivator."
Xiao Genzi froze. Gold Cultivators were exceedingly rare, yet this old man had actually recognized him.
"Since you know I'm a Gold Cultivator, why are you still saying my quality is inferior?"
"Inferior is inferior. Your night soil doesn't even have any scent." As he spoke, the old man reached out and touched the night soil in the ladle.
Xiao Genzi quickly pulled the ladle back. "Old master, you can't touch that! Once it gets on you, it's not easy to wash off."
The old man had already touched it. Xiao Genzi hastily looked for medicinal powder to help him wash his hands.
The old man waved his hand. "Don't bother. Sniff it yourself. Is there any smell?"
Xiao Genzi smelled the old man's hand, and sure enough, there was not the slightest odor.
Had he brought the wrong night soil? Or did this old man possess other tricks?
It was impossible to mistake the night soil. Xiao Genzi grew a little frightened.
The old man set down his hoe and asked with a beaming smile, "What tier is your cultivation?"
"That's none of your business." Xiao Genzi took two steps back.
The old man said, "Seeing as you're carrying five buckets on your back, could you possibly be at tier five?"
Xiao Genzi puffed out his chest. "That's right, I am tier five!"
He certainly was not tier five. Last time he met the peddler, he had bought ten buckets. He strapped five onto his back first, while the other five were simply too heavy to carry all at once, so he had set them aside as spares for the time being.
The old man shook his head. "If you really were at tier five, then this quality is far too wretched. A tier-five Gold Cultivator's night soil, sprinkled casually, can turn a living person into festering mud."
The old man waved his hand, and one of the buckets on Xiao Genzi's back vanished.
In his astonishment, Xiao Genzi watched as the old man drew a small spoon from his robes, gave the bucket two stirs, scooped out a spoonful, and flicked it onto a nearby rock.
With a continuous sizzling hiss, the rock instantly melted into sludge.
Genzi was terrified out of his wits, nearly dropping his buckets to the ground.
Holding the small spoon, the old man smiled and asked, "Tell the truth. What tier are you really?"
Struggling to maintain his bravado, Genzi insisted, "I'm tier five!"
"Bragging without a shred of restraint!" The old man snapped in annoyance. "With night soil like yours, it barely reaches tier three!"
It reaches tier three?
Genzi was a tier-two Gold Cultivator. Concocting tier-three night soil was something he normally would have taken a bit of pride in.
Yet now was not the time for pride; he had no idea what this old man's background was.
"There are still people left in the pathway, and an ambitious one at that," the old man chuckled. "Concocting night soil can't rely purely on painstaking effort. There are tricks to the trade. Put down your buckets first and take a look at my craftsmanship."
***
Li Banfeng took Cao Zhida to Lanyang Village, searching all around for Xiao Genzi.
Many people in Lanyang Village knew Genzi. They all said he had headed out with his buckets on his back to cultivate, but none could say where he had actually gone, nor did anyone care to watch him cultivate.
Land reclamation couldn't rely solely on Xiao Genzi alone, so Li Banfeng had Cao Zhida recruit a group of land reclaimers in Lanyang Village.
Lanyang Village was home to many hunters, quite a few of whom had engaged in the business of land reclamation before. Li the Seventh paid generously, so plenty of people signed up. However, the rules had to be made clear: after reclaiming the land, one had to become its landlord.
Cao Zhida said, "Seventh Master, this is reclaiming land for you; you should be the landlord. You're paying them top dollar—why spoil them?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "The local spirit here has different rules. The land reclaimer must become the landlord."
Cao Zhida paused in surprise. "There's actually such a rule? Doesn't that just hand those hunters a massive windfall?"
"Windfall or not, we'll see."
The next day, Xiao Genzi did not return. That was common enough; when Genzi went out to cultivate, he would sometimes vanish for days and nights on end.
Li Banfeng led over fifty people toward the newland. Back then, it had taken him less than a day to run back, but that was because he was a tier-six journey cultivator.
These people had nowhere near that pace; they had quite a trek ahead of them.
***
He Haisheng stepped off the train and casually bought a newspaper at the station.
The headline blared: *Lu Family Private Train Attacked; Eleven Guards Killed in Action.*
Who had the gall to attack the Lu family's private train?
This wasn't just directed against the Lu family. Making a move on the train meant offending the Garrison Commissioner as well.
He Haisheng gave it a quick skim, hailed a rickshaw at the station exit, and headed for the He Family Manor.
He Haiqin was gnawing on a braised pork knuckle in the dining room. Hearing that He Haisheng was back, he hurried out to greet him in the main hall. "Old Third, why are you back? Didn't I tell you to keep watch over Jiaqing?"
He Haisheng glanced around. He Haiqin understood what he meant and led He Haisheng into the study.
"What happened?"
He Haisheng lowered his voice. "Brother, something's not right with Jiaqing."
He Haiqin was startled. "What is it? Are those doctors in the Outer States not treating him properly? Did Jiaqing's injuries worsen again?"
"Brother, I'm not talking about his injuries," He Haisheng let out a long sigh. "I think he's hiding something from you."
He Haiqin remained calm and composed. "Hiding what from me?"
"I found this in Jiaqing's hospital room." He Haisheng produced a wooden box.
He Haiqin took the wooden box, broke the seal on it, and opened the lid. A rich medicinal fragrance wafted out.
"Golden Origin Pills?" He Haiqin examined the quality of the pills.
He Haisheng said, "Top-grade Golden Origin Pills. Exactly thirty of them. Where do you think he got these?"
Looking at the pills, He Haiqin remarked, "I'd guess they were refined from the Red Lotus."
"Wasn't the Red Lotus brought back to Puluo Province? Whether it was by his friend Li Banfeng or his fiancée Lu Xiaolan, it was brought back nonetheless. It's not in Jiaqing's hands, so how could these pills turn up in the hospital?"
He Haiqin placed the pills back in the box and asked, "Where did you find them?"
"The bathroom. That day, I really couldn't resist craving a cigarette, so I lit one in the ward's bathroom. Mingled with the smoke, I caught the scent of medicine. On the wall behind the toilet, I found a hidden compartment and saw these pills.
"That hidden compartment had to have been opened by Jiaqing, and the pills were definitely hidden by him. Brother, you were right before—Jiaqing really is hiding something from us."
He Haiqin was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled.
In that smile was a long-absent sense of relief.
He Haisheng blinked. "Brother, what are you laughing at?"
He Haiqin laughed and sighed. "If he truly wanted to hide them, you wouldn't have found them at all."
"What do you mean by that?"
"If he could fool all of Puluo Province, could he not fool you? He deliberately placed those pills in the bathroom because he wanted you to find them, and he wanted you to bring them to me." He Haiqin put away the medicine box, returned to the dining room, and went back to gnawing on his pork knuckle.
His appetite was remarkably good. He even pulled out a chair for He Haisheng. "Don't just stand there watching—sit down and eat with your brother!"
He Haisheng ate two pieces of beef, shaking his head. "Brother, I still don't understand."
He Haiqin laughed. "You don't need to understand. Just hurry back to the Outer States and keep an eye on my son for me. That's enough."
He Haisheng kept him company for a while before heading off to his room to rest.
Having eaten and drunk his fill, He Haiqin also returned to his room. He opened the pill box and muttered to himself, "Scheming though you may be, you still know enough to show filial piety to your old man. I didn't raise you for nothing."
He wanted to take one of the pills, yet hesitated.
Forget it. Tomorrow he would find a Medicine Cultivator to check for toxicity.
***
He Haisheng returned to Yuezhou, arrived at the Third Hospital, and sat by the hospital bed, silently gazing at He Jiaqing lying there.
He leaned down and whispered into He Jiaqing's ear:
"Third Uncle, lie here for me a few more days. Once I'm done with my business, I'll let you go."
***
Inside the Portable Abode, Hong Ying was preening before the mirror.
She suddenly turned her face toward the gramophone. "Xiaowan, do you think my eyes look alluring?"
*Whoosh-ch-ch-ch—*
The gramophone burst out laughing. "What eyes could you possibly have? That's obviously just rouge you painted on!"
"So what if it's painted on? Doesn't it look good? I have a face now. Even if you wanted to paint one, you've got nowhere to put it!"
These days, Hong Ying's spear tip had grown increasingly rounded. It was no longer as icy cold as before and even held a slight flush of color. If one didn't look closely, it really did bear some resemblance to a human face.
The gramophone huffed coldly. "What's the rush? Try a few more times, and I can do it too!"
Hong Ying chuckled. "How many times have you tried already? You've learned plenty of useless tricks, yet you can't even sprout a single strand of hair."
The gramophone didn't care much. "What's the use of growing so much hair?"
"How can you say it's useless?" Hong Ying combed through it meticulously with a comb. "Without a head of hair like this, how could I look like a woman?"
The glove lowered its voice and said to the Tang dao, "A spear combing hair in front of a mirror... just how terrifying is that?"
Hong Ying kicked out, sending the glove flying into the wall.
The Tang dao backed away a few paces and gave two dry chuckles. "General Hong's hair is beautiful. This subordinate thinks it's exceedingly lovely!"
Comb in hand, Hong Ying said to the gramophone, "Let me tell you, I don't just have hair on my head—I have it elsewhere too!"
The gramophone sneered. "What? Did you grow a beard?"
"Vicious shrew, keep that venomous tongue wagging. In a couple of days, when I seduce your man away, let's see if your heart aches!"
"Slut, you'd better have the skill for it first."
"Why wouldn't I? I have everything now. In a couple of days when I grow a mouth, I'll be able to eat, drink, piss, and shit! A living, breathing belle—wouldn't that be a hundred times better than a machine like you?"
"Let's see just how capable you are! I'll tear that face of yours to shreds right now!"
A cloud of steam surged forward, scalding the spearhead bright red.
Refusing to back down, Hong Ying lunged forward and brawled with the gramophone.
Li Banfeng pushed open the door and stepped inside. The gramophone quickly twisted its stylus, letting go of Hong Ying's hair, and cooed in a sweet, tender voice: "Oh, husband, you're back!"
"I'm back!" Li Banfeng embraced the gramophone, being affectionate for a moment.
Hong Ying also stepped forward to greet Li Banfeng, but he sidestepped her and lay down on the bed.
No matter how drastically Hong Ying changed, Li Banfeng acted as if he hadn't noticed at all. That was something Hong Ying simply couldn't fathom.
Warm steam enveloped Li Banfeng. The gramophone asked with concern, "Precious husband, was the trek through the newland tiring?"
"Not particularly tiring, it's just..." Li Banfeng didn't quite know where to begin.
A one-day journey had taken ten days, and they still hadn't arrived.
At night, the group made camp in the wild. Li Banfeng found an opportunity to slip back into the Portable Abode. Traveling with people who weren't journey cultivators was sheer torture for him.
"Husband, the newland doesn't distinguish between day and night. Staying there too long makes people lose track of time, and certain monsters will seize the chance to do harm.
"Take Mengde along with you. Look at him from time to time as a reminder so you don't forget to come home, at least."
"Carry a calendar poster on me?" Li Banfeng looked at Mengde's dimensions, still feeling it would be inconvenient.
"No matter. Your servant will modify it for you, husband."
"What does Madame want to modify?" Mengde trembled in terror.
"Don't be afraid. It won't hurt at all." A cloud of steam enveloped the calendar poster. Amidst the swirling steam, the calendar poster began to twist and deform.
Mengde let out a shrill wail: "Madame, spare me! This is too terrifying!"
"Insolent wench, keep crying and I'll tear your mouth apart!" The gramophone worked on the modification for half an hour, fusing Mengde and Li Banfeng's pocket watch into one.
"Husband, open it and have a look."
Li Banfeng pressed the pocket watch open and found Mengde shivering on the watch face.
"Husband, try pulling the watch crown."
Li Banfeng pulled the crown, and the pocket watch expanded in all directions, turning back into a calendar poster.
"Wife, how did you do that?" Li Banfeng was astounded.
*Whoosh, whoosh—*
The gramophone laughed. "Husband, it's just a little trick your servant recently learned."
"That doesn't seem like a little trick. Isn't this a Craft Cultivator technique?" Li Banfeng was certain Qin Haichuan couldn't pull this off.
"Oh, husband, your servant has learned quite a few tricks. Some of them might actually come in handy for you."
Hong Ying scoffed, muttering under her breath, "Show-off. The thing you want to learn the most is still out of reach, isn't it?"
Chapter 308