The Devotion-Claiming Elder

Mengde had gained the upper hand in the argument, and Li Banfeng sensed a shift in the technique. The old man was still patiently reasoning, and he truly managed to spin a justification: "Regardless of whether she was an Injured Demon Fiend, that woman was going to take your master's life. I saved your master, so this devotion definitely counts." Mengde was struck speechless again, and Li Banfeng's right leg, which had just loosened slightly, began to slip out of his control once more. "What more do you have to say?" The old man raised his dagger once again. Li Banfeng asked, "How did you know that woman was going to take my life?" The old man replied, "She teased and provoked you without cause or reason; naturally, she harbored ill intentions!" Mengde seized upon the flaw: "That isn't necessarily true! Perhaps the woman took a fancy to my master and was sincerely throwing herself into his arms!" The old man shook his head. "Such an argument is utterly absurd!" Li Banfeng said, "Why call it absurd? How could you possibly know what was in that woman's heart? Could she be your accomplice?" Li Banfeng had hit the mark yet again—the woman truly was the old man's accomplice. The old man's arm trembled violently; the backlash this time was extraordinarily severe. Mengde seized the opportunity and unleashed a furious barrage: "You shameless, brazen scoundrel! Conspiring with a shameless hussy, using vile tricks to seduce my master! "My master is full of upright righteousness and remained unmoved, yet you play the thief crying 'stop thief,' staging your own farce, and still dare speak of devotion, still dare demand compensation! "Low-down tricks like yours are only fit for begging scraps in the gutter! How dare you stir up trouble and play the rogue here? You've lived to a ripe old age in vain, truly not even knowing how to write the words 'vile and shameless'!" This thorough scolding left the old man gaping in stunned silence, unable to utter a single word. Li Banfeng felt the restraint on his legs lift by seventy or eighty percent. He only had to wait for the right moment to retrieve his key. He couldn't rush. Grandpa Train had warned Li Banfeng that the small motion of retrieving his key would attract the attention of others. The old man hadn't noticed Li Banfeng; he was still trying to reason with Mengde. *How strange. The one he wants to control is me, so why does he keep reasoning with Mengde?* *Could it be that this reasoning isn't meant for my ears?* *Then whom else could he be reasoning with?* After a moment of silence, the old man suddenly spoke: "Setting aside whether I saved him or not, I still offered him three devotions!" What did that even mean? The old man said, "I treated him to a fine show. Does that not count as a devotion?" *That counts too?!* *You can even play it like that?* The old man had indeed put on a performance, and Li Banfeng had indeed watched it. Yet Li Banfeng hadn't wanted to watch it. Apparently, whether he wanted to or not, simply having watched it meant he owed the old man. Li Banfeng couldn't think of a counter, but Mengde remained remarkably composed. Composedly, she unfastened the lapel of her robe. *What is she doing? Has she picked up bad habits from the projector?* Mengde slid her qipao down a little, revealing a pair of fragrant shoulders. The old man was taken aback as well. "What is the meaning of this?" Mengde smiled. "Did you see it? Is my show pleasing to the eye?" The old man barked in anger, "I never asked for this! This does not count as payment!" Mengde scoffed. "If you didn't want it, you shouldn't have looked! You looked, so that means you accepted it!" A Virtue Cultivator actually countered his pathway! Furious and exasperated, the old man trembled all over. The restraint on Li Banfeng's legs vanished completely. He immediately produced his key, unlocked the Portable Abode, and grabbed Mengde, bolting toward the house. "Stop right there!" The old man reached out to seize Li Banfeng, but Li Banfeng capitalized on the momentum with a forward lunge, dragging the old man right inside with him. The interior was dim, lit only by a faint flicker of candlelight. Next to the candle stood a mirror, where a long spear was grooming itself in the reflection. A spear... putting on makeup... This scene plunged the old man into deep contemplation. From behind, a sudden clatter of gongs and drums resounded, followed by a crisp, operatic singing voice: "Aiya, you slut! You're clearly blind, so what are you looking in the mirror for?" "I love looking in the mirror because I'm beautiful." "Where are you beautiful?" "My face and my waist are both lovely—far better than that hideous phantom look of yours." The old man looked behind him: a gramophone was bickering with a long spear. Gritting his teeth, the old man muttered, "In all my years of living, today I have truly encountered demonic freaks!" Following the sound, Hong Ying turned her face toward him. "Who are you calling a demonic freak?" The old man turned to Li Banfeng. "Demonic freak, is this your lair?" Li Banfeng froze. "You're calling *me* a demonic freak?" The old man reached into his right pocket, drew out a handful of wild fruits, and prepared to fling them to the floor. Suddenly, a plume of steam bound his right hand, preventing him from casting the fruits down. "Aiya, Husband, you've brought back a Devotion-Claiming Elder." Li Banfeng stared blankly. "What is a Devotion-Claiming Elder?" The gramophone said, "A kind of roaming anomaly in the newland. It gives three devotions and demands three payments in return. This creature's tier isn't low at all! This is our home—if those wild fruits had hit the floor, it would have counted as us accepting his goods, and wouldn't we have received another of his devotions?" The old man moved to reach into his pocket with his left hand, but an imposing pressure descended, startling him into a shiver. With a sharp whoosh, his left hand fell to the floor. "Who... My hand!" The old man had no idea why his hand had dropped off. Hong Ying still sat before the mirror, grooming herself as though she hadn't moved an inch. The gramophone snorted. "You slut, taking one of his hands counts as a devotion too." "Is that so?" Hong Ying set down the rouge and picked up an eyebrow pencil. Whoosh! With another swift sound, both of the old man's legs were severed clean at the knees. The old man tried to speak. One hand plus two legs made three devotions—he could now demand compensation. Unfortunately, he could no longer speak. Hong Ying drew a stroke across her face with the eyebrow pencil, and a gaping hole appeared in the old man's throat. Now the Devotion-Claiming Elder was completely silenced. The gramophone fumed, "You slut, don't kill him! I haven't eaten yet!" Hong Ying continued drawing her eyebrows. "The soul is yours; just give me some flesh and blood to eat." "Aiyoh, you slut, didn't you claim you never touched mortal fare?" "It's different now," Hong Ying giggled. "I'm a proper young lady with a front door and a back entrance. It just so happens that these past few days are that special time of the month, so I need to eat something to replenish my qi and blood." "Special time, my foot!" The gramophone sneered. "Why don't you go give birth to a baby then?" "Soon enough! When the time comes, I'll have a wicked shrew like you babysit for me!" The gramophone was somewhat annoyed, but Red Lotus, far off in Room Seven, was even angrier. *Hong Ying, you slut, wasn't eating souls enough for you? Why must you eat flesh and blood?!* Having finished drawing her eyebrows, Hong Ying asked tenderly, "Seventh Brother, do you think I look pretty? "Seventh Brother, I'm talking to you. "Seventh Brother, where are you?" Li Banfeng was behind the gramophone. The gramophone giggled. "Aiya, Husband, don't stroke this humble servant's belly! It tickles terribly!" "Let your husband feel and see if my wife has put on some weight." "Husband, why do you always hope this humble servant gets fat?" "Whether a household thrives or not all depends on whether the wife is plump!" Hong Ying's body shuddered, her loose hair trembling along with it. The Devotion-Claiming Elder broke his right hand free from the steam and dipped his fingers in his own blood, trying to write on the floor. With a flash of Hong Ying's form, his right hand was severed as well. "Wicked shrew, eat up quickly so he doesn't cause any more trouble." Hong Ying sat before the mirror holding a comb, crossly combing her hair. The gramophone suppressed a chuckle and said, "Husband, stop fooling around for a moment. Let us attend to business first." Although the wife and Hong Ying dealt with the matter casually, neither underestimated the Devotion-Claiming Elder in the slightest. Using the broken bone of his arm, the Devotion-Claiming Elder continued writing on the floor. The wife bound him with steam and began slurping up his soul. Li Banfeng found it hard to comprehend. "Why is he writing?" Slurping the soul as she sang, the wife chanted: "Devotion-Claiming Elder, Devotion-Claiming Elder, chanting the scripture before collecting the debt." "What does that mean?" "It's an old ballad about the habits of the Devotion-Claiming Elder. Before demanding compensation, it must make the rules crystal clear; without stating them clearly, it cannot make a move." "That's the Devotion-Claiming Elder's habit?" "Not just a habit—it's a law. Not only the Devotion-Claiming Elder, but all Service Cultivators observe this law. "A Devotion-Claiming Elder is transformed from a high-tier Service Cultivator. Judging by the quality of this soul, this Devotion-Claiming Elder should be at tier eight." "What kind of pathway is the Service Cultivator?" "A pathway that cultivates exclusively through devotions. For each devotion given, one payment is claimed. "Corrupted by the newland, a Devotion-Claiming Elder is a special case: it must offer at least three devotions before it can claim compensation, otherwise it suffers a backlash to its cultivation. "Such a creature is exceedingly rare in the newland. How did Husband encounter it?" "He brought a woman to deceive me, but I didn't fall for it. Then he moved a rock for me to sit on, gave me a tree branch to use as a walking stick, and conjured a gust of wind to wipe my sweat, claiming those counted as three..." The Devotion-Claiming Elder struggled violently. Li Banfeng warned, "Be careful, wife, this old thing is very fast." "His strikes aren't necessarily fast, but his footwork is swift indeed—though that depends on who he's up against. That is a Service Cultivator technique called Debt-Collecting Pursuit. Anyone who accepts his devotions will be relentlessly pursued by him. "Husband, for you to maneuver around him for so long, your footwork isn't slow either!" *Uh...* Li Banfeng quickly changed the subject. "Wife, look, what words is he writing?" "Nothing worth seeing. It's just writing down his rules again. These rules don't strictly have to be chanted aloud; writing them down works just as well." "Written down for whom to see? If we don't look, wouldn't his technique fail?" "They're not written for us. When Service Cultivators chant their scriptures, they chant for themselves. They have to understand it clearly in their own minds for the technique to take effect. As for the reason behind it, this humble servant can't explain it clearly either. I only know that this pathway tests one's heart and mind severely." The gramophone finished consuming the soul. Hong Ying took some flesh and blood from the Devotion-Claiming Elder and smeared it onto the tip of her spear. After the application, the spearhead appeared all the more rosy and lustrous. She wanted to ask Li Qi if she looked pretty, but heard him fooling around with the gramophone again. Judging by the gramophone's giggles, it sounded like Li Qi was still rubbing the gramophone's belly. After Hong Ying finished eating, the clock pendulum and the earrings rushed up together. The Tang dao was not to be outdone, snatching a piece of flesh before scurrying away. The Judge's Brush let out a grunt; it wanted to eat, yet was too lazy to move. The liquor gourd and the old teapot each shared a mouthful. The gramophone took some fresh blood and poured it over the adhesive tape; the tape, more than half of which had been depleted, began to regenerate rapidly, soon growing back into a full roll. The projector let out a long sigh: "Why must you all be so cruel!" It projected a young woman who carved off a piece of meat on its behalf and placed it into the film compartment. The glove shook its head repeatedly. "I truly cannot bear to watch this." It slipped into Room Three, shut the door, and, while no one was watching, spat out a piece of meat, trembling with excitement: "This is the best cut! Those lunatics don't know a thing!" Hong Ying sat quietly for a moment, suddenly sensing a change in her body. Her conscience was growing, her peaches were growing, and her cultivation was recovering as well. "No wonder you're all so gluttonous! Eating flesh and blood inside this house truly is a different story!" Hong Ying lunged forward to scramble alongside the rest of them. Li Banfeng carved off a slice of meat and saved it for Mengde. "You rendered great service in this battle. When Hong Ying struck you earlier, her hand was a bit heavy. Don't hold a grudge." Clutching her peaches with an aggrieved look, Mengde said, "Master didn't even offer to rub them for me." "Hoo-yah!" the gramophone snapped in fury. "You slut, do you want another beating? Go hang yourself back on the wall!" The family ate and drank their fill, leaving little of the Devotion-Claiming Elder behind. Li Banfeng carried the Red Lotus over and set it beside the elder's remains. "Eat." The Red Lotus quivered for a moment, then unfurled its petals, seemingly saying something to the gramophone. The gramophone said impatiently, "Understood. With less flesh and blood, there will naturally be fewer pills. No one will blame you." The Red Lotus was deeply annoyed. Li Banfeng frowned. "If you won't eat it, forget it. I'll save it for their next meal." The Red Lotus hesitated no longer, drawing in the Devotion-Claiming Elder until not a single drop of blood remained. The gramophone cautioned, "Husband, the origins of this Devotion-Claiming Elder are still unknown. In this humble servant's memory, one doesn't encounter such things without cause. Husband must be extra careful." He truly did need to be careful. First the slug, now the Devotion-Claiming Elder—where were all these high-tier roaming anomalies coming from? Besides, this matter hadn't been swept clean yet. Li Banfeng asked the projector, "Did you remember what the Devotion-Claiming Elder looked like?"