On the twelfth day, Li Banfeng arrived at Meng Yuchun's domain with the group.
Heavy rain had fallen the previous night, flooding Cao Zhida's tent. He seemed to have caught a chill, speaking to Li Banfeng with a thick nasal twang: "Looks to me like those hunters really didn't get any sweet deal. Who'd want to be a landlord in a godforsaken place like this?"
Li Banfeng said, "Let me tell you, once the land is successfully reclaimed, you have to come by often to look after it. You aren't allowed to let the land fall into neglect. That's the local god's rule, and it'll be written into the covenant deed."
Cao Zhida made a bitter face. "Seventh Master, isn't that putting people on the spot? How about we just surrender directly and count the reclamation as a failure?"
"You can't surrender when reclaiming land here. You have to fight to the bitter end—until one side drops dead."
The hunters all panicked. "That won't do! If we're outmatched, we're outmatched. We can't go throwing our lives away!"
Li Banfeng nodded. "I'll talk it over with the local god. That rule is indeed a bit unreasonable."
When they reached Li Banfeng's parcel of land, the big toad was inspecting the sentry posts of the mountain wolves and golden eagles. Li Banfeng was very satisfied and slipped five pills to the toad. "As long as you perform your duties diligently, you'll get one each month. This is your advance deposit."
The big toad puffed out its chest and held its head high. "With Seventh Master's word, not a single mosquito will manage to fly into your domain!"
Buzz—
Right as it spoke, a mosquito actually flew up before them.
The big toad shot out its tongue and swallowed the mosquito on the spot.
With dozens of people suddenly arriving in the territory, Meng Yuchun soon rushed over.
Unlike other local gods, she didn't arrive in the form of a will-o'-the-wisp; she manifested her true body directly before the crowd.
The bunch of hunters stared dumbfounded.
Where did this beauty come from?
Was she an anomaly?
If anomalies all looked like this, they could create legends like Fifth Master's too.
Meng Yuchun wanted to say she was the local god, but local gods did not readily reveal themselves before mortals.
Fearing she might frighten the hunters, Li Banfeng introduced her on her behalf: "This young lady is an envoy sent by the local god."
An envoy?
Reclaiming land here had envoys?
This was the first time they had ever seen such a thing.
Since Seventh Master said she was an envoy, the hunters naturally didn't doubt it. They crowded forward, eagerly introducing themselves.
"Big Sister, I might not be good at much else, but when it comes to land reclamation, I'm definitely top-notch. In Lanyang Village, if I call myself second in reclaiming land, nobody dares call themselves first."
"Don't listen to his bull! The number one land reclaimer in Lanyang Village is our Fifth Master, and right under Fifth Master has to be me!"
"Those guys are just blowing smoke. Let me say something serious: I've worked in land reclamation for over a dozen years, and I've never once slipped up."
Cao Zhida shouted, "What do you think you're doing? You can't even show one part of real skill, yet you brag up to twelve! Aren't you embarrassed?"
The hunters were indignant inside, but none dared talk back to Cao Zhida.
Cao Zhida stepped forward, cupping his fists. "Young lady, when it comes to reclaiming land, I can be considered an expert. However large an area you think is fitting, just say the word."
Meng Yuchun said delighted, "Would ten li do?"
Cao Zhida patted his chest. "Leave it all to me."
The hunters were scared out of their wits, retreating into the distance.
Ten li of land?
Wasn't this seeking death?
Even Li Banfeng was stunned.
"What do you mean, leave it to you?" Li Banfeng yanked Cao Zhida back and said to Meng Yuchun, "We can't clear ten li. At most, we can clear a one-li parcel."
"Only one li?" Meng Yuchun was very disappointed.
Cao Zhida said to Li Banfeng, "Seventh Master, the local god went through the trouble of sending an envoy. We should just follow her arrangements. It's called adapting to local customs."
Li Banfeng stared at Cao Zhida, brow furrowed.
What was wrong with Old Cao?
Meng Yuchun was indeed very good-looking, but Cao Zhida had once been a guard of the Lu family; he had seen plenty of beautiful women and shouldn't have fallen into such a pathetic state.
Li Banfeng pulled Meng Yuchun aside and lowered his voice. "I brought these people, so they must follow my arrangements. At most, they can clear a one-li parcel."
Meng Yuchun pondered for a moment. "Fine, then. One li per person..."
"Not one li per person—one li total!"
"Over fifty people clearing only one li in total!" Meng Yuchun refused to agree. "Li the Seventh, are you playing with me?"
Li Banfeng wasn't toying with Meng Yuchun. These hunters had been hired and didn't know one another well, and he couldn't be sure of their cultivation levels. Reclaiming a one-li parcel first was to test their mettle.
Meng Yuchun asked, "Clearing it the way you want, who's going to be the landlord?"
Li Banfeng said, "That depends on who's most capable, who can shoulder the responsibility of this land. The rest won't come for nothing either—I won't shortchange them on their reclamation pay. If anyone truly has the skill to reclaim a parcel on their own, we'll arrange it then."
Meng Yuchun reluctantly agreed, but Cao Zhida wouldn't have it. No matter what, he insisted on clearing a parcel by himself.
Meng Yuchun was willing, and Cao Zhida was willing, so Li Banfeng could say no more.
Just like before, all formalities were kept simple. Meng Yuchun drew the boundary and commenced the trial on the spot.
After three days of slaughter, both parcels were successfully reclaimed.
These fifty-odd hunters basically all had experience in land reclamation, so clearing a single li was not difficult.
Cao Zhida truly had it rough: he had fought a bloody battle alone for three days and sustained quite a few injuries.
Meng Yuchun showed considerable appreciation for Cao Zhida and praised him, "Out of this whole group, you have the greatest skill."
Those words caused trouble.
Cao Zhida thumped his chest. "Young lady, give me three more li of land! I'll show you my real skill!"
Li Banfeng seized Cao Zhida. "Are you mad?"
Cao Zhida looked at Li Banfeng calmly. "Seventh Master, I usually listen to you in everything. Just grant me this once today, let me gain some face in front of Miss Meng!"
Li Banfeng said, "You want face over your own life?"
"I don't care about it," Cao Zhida shook his head. "As long as I can accompany Miss Meng from now on, I'd gladly throw my life away right here!"
Cao Zhida was set on clearing more land; no one could talk him out of it.
The big toad hopped over and said to Li Banfeng, "Seventh Master, I'm afraid this fellow has eaten sweet snot."
Li Banfeng snapped, "Nonsense! Snot is clearly salty!"
"I'm not talking about that kind of snot. It's a type of roaming anomaly, called a Love Woe Slug in books."
"A roaming anomaly? One not subject to the local god's control?"
Ribbit!
The toad puffed out its jowls. "Seventh Master is quite right. Roaming anomalies aren't bound by the local god, and none of them are low in tier. The Love Woe Slug is formed from the coalesced souls of several Emotion Cultivators stuck together. Having spent many years in the newland, these souls lost the appearance of ghosts and took on bodies like slugs, specifically burrowing into the nostrils of those in love. Brother Cao genuinely has feelings for Miss Meng, and having caught the sweet snot, things have gotten completely out of hand."
Li Banfeng looked toward Meng Yuchun. "Doesn't she know about this kind of roaming anomaly?"
"Ribbit. As far as I know, when she was human, she rarely came to the newland, and she's been a local god for less than a year. Sweet snot is usually very rare, so she really might not recognize it. Besides, someone afflicted with sweet snot shows no symptoms other than falling too deeply in love, making it hard for ordinary people to tell. It was only hearing Brother Cao speak with such a nasal stuffiness that made me suspect he'd fallen victim."
"Is this thing fatal?"
"Depends on the person. Brother Cao has feelings, but Miss Meng does not. Even if we stop him from reclaiming land, he'll still end up dying of lovesickness in the future."
Cao Zhida's eyes never once left Meng Yuchun. Li Banfeng asked the toad, "Can he still be saved?"
"Since Seventh Master asks, I'm willing to give it a try. Whether it succeeds depends on his own luck. Can Seventh Master find a way to put him to sleep first?"
Putting Old Cao to sleep wouldn't be easy. He had fought for three days in the newland without closing his eyes, yet he remained extraordinarily high-spirited.
Li Banfeng dismissed everyone and took out Ling Miaoying's music box.
Winding it up, Li Banfeng adjusted the figurine on the turntable so its face pointed toward Cao Zhida.
This was how the wife had taught Li Banfeng to use it.
Li Banfeng flipped the switch. The figurine remained still toward Cao Zhida for a moment, having locked onto its target, and then began slowly spinning on the turntable.
A soothing piano tune drifted toward Cao Zhida, and after a short while, Cao Zhida fell asleep.
Li Banfeng put away the music box. The toad hopped over to Cao Zhida, faced his nose, and extended its tongue.
A long tongue squirmed over Old Cao's nose, its tip gradually bifurcating and standing erect like a pair of antennae.
The antennae rubbed around the opening of the nostril for a moment, and another pair of antennae reached out from inside the nose.
It was the slug!
It really was that roaming anomaly.
The slug wriggled outward bit by bit. Throughout the entire process, the big toad didn't make a sound.
Once the slug had crawled more than halfway out, the big toad curled its tongue, snagged the slug, and dragged it out of Cao Zhida's nose.
Did that count as success?
Not yet.
Old Cao had been saved, but now the big toad was in danger.
The Love Woe Slug was extraordinarily adept at parasitism, capable of burrowing into the big toad's nostrils in the blink of an eye.
The big toad had prepared in advance; with a flick of its tongue, it flung the slug onto the ground.
Had he not heard the toad explain the slug's nature, Li Banfeng might well have crushed it to death with a kick of Treading Ten Thousand Rivers.
Yet if he had actually stomped on it like that, the slug might not have died; as an amalgamation of Emotion Cultivators' souls, it would very likely scatter into several smaller slugs to plague other living spirits.
Li Banfeng had made special preparations for this.
The moment the slug hit the ground, it sensed a woman standing before it.
The woman's eyes rippled with affection, her face filled with tender warmth and sweetness as she gazed upon the slug on the ground.
Without hesitation, the slug lunged toward the woman, leaping up and shooting straight into her nostril.
Li Banfeng gave the big toad a pill as a reward and signaled for it to leave quickly.
The toad immediately hopped into the distance, while Li Banfeng took the projector and returned to the Portable Abode.
The woman had been an image projected by the projector.
When the projector's lens shut off, the projection vanished, and the slug fell to the floor with a splat.
The wife pinned the slug with her stylus, bound it with steam, and sang delightfully, "A Love Woe Slug! Now this is a fine thing!"
Two styluses swung up and down, swiftly dismembering the Love Woe Slug. Six Emotion Cultivator souls, male and female, crying out in varying pitches, entered the horn one after another.
As the steam dispersed, a clump of slime remained on the ground. Li Banfeng brought over the Red Lotus. "Eat up."
The Red Lotus showed no aversion at all, cleaning up the slime completely.
Li Banfeng sighed, "You really aren't a picky eater."
Whoosh—
The wife sang, "Of course she isn't picky! This thing is exceedingly rare. Husband, you mustn't let her eat it all. I left some spirituality inside just now—she must be made to forge a spiritual item from it!"
A spiritual item.
What would be suitable to forge?
Li Banfeng took inventory of his weapons.
The scythe couldn't be casually reforged; it was extremely handy.
The shovel was also very handy, so reforging it was out of the question for now.
What other weapon would be suitable?
Li Banfeng scanned the room. The glove was clutching the Tang dao, trembling in fear.
Li Banfeng wouldn't reforge a dharma treasure just for this bit of snot.
There was a pair of weapons that Li Banfeng had never found handy to use.
The Mandarin Duck Axes. This pair of weapons was far too complicated. Li Banfeng placed them before the bronze lotus. After sulking for a long time in grievance, the bronze lotus finally accepted the Mandarin Duck Axes.
When the lotus heart bloomed, Li Banfeng discovered that the lotus seed from Ling Miaoying had fully ripened.
He peeled the seed open and waited a moment. Six Golden Origin Pills popped out.
Their prior communication had been effective after all; at least what came out this time were indeed Golden Origin Pills.
"A-Lian, isn't this number a bit on the small side?"
Chapter 309