The Opera-Beckoning Matron

The projector played the image of the Devotion-Claiming Elder. Li Banfeng studied it closely and couldn't spot the slightest flaw. The gramophone asked, "Darling husband, why did you project that old man again?" "He has an accomplice who excels at disguise. When she posed as the local god, I couldn't tell real from fake at all." The gramophone looked toward the projector. "Did you record it?" The projector replied, "Only a little. That woman tried to seduce Director Seven, but failed. I thought it was boring, so I didn't record what came after." Li Banfeng said, "Short is fine, as long as you can produce the likeness." The projector was troubled. "Well... I'm afraid I really can't produce a proper likeness for that one." "Why not?" The projector displayed the footage of the fake Meng Yuchun. It truly wasn't long, only twenty-odd seconds. But that wasn't the main issue. The main issue was that the fake Meng Yuchun had faced Li Banfeng head-on the entire time. The projector could only produce a flat image, not a three-dimensional figure; he had no idea what she looked like from other angles. Li Banfeng said to the wife, "That's the one. She looks identical to the local god Meng Yuchun. She's probably a high-tier Opera Cultivator." The wife had the projector replay it several times, then said to Li Banfeng, "This appears to be an Opera-Beckoning Matron." "What's an Opera-Beckoning Matron?" "If she really is an Opera-Beckoning Matron, then things get interesting." The wife asked the projector, "How long could you hold out before a tier-six Opera Cultivator?" The projector answered, "From a distance, two or three minutes. Up close, maybe only ten-odd seconds." ... Li Banfeng arrived at Meng Yuchun's territory. A few hunters were gathered around her, discussing clearing land. Seeing Li Banfeng, Meng Yuchun greeted him warmly: "Li Seven, want to clear another plot? You can pick the size yourself!" Li Banfeng smiled and gave a perfunctory reply. "Another day, maybe." Clear land? How could Li Banfeng be in the mood for that? He was already planning to lead his people away from this territory. Seeing that Li Seven was about to leave, Meng Yuchun stepped forward to stop him. "Let me take you somewhere so we can talk." Li Banfeng paused. "Where are you taking me?" "A good place. Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Meng Yuchun reached out to pull Li Banfeng's arm, but he swiftly dodged aside. Meng Yuchun blinked, not understanding why Li Banfeng was so wary. Li Banfeng asked abruptly, "How big was the plot I cleared in your territory?" Meng Yuchun said in surprise, "Three li across. Don't tell me you forgot?" "What tribute did I use?" "Half a chicken. Tasted pretty good, too." This was the real Meng Yuchun. Many people knew about the three-li plot, but nobody else knew about the half chicken. "Where do you want to take me?" "A place nobody else knows about." Meng Yuchun led Li Banfeng into a cave. The cavern was narrow but remarkably tall; looking up, it had to be over a hundred meters high. After weaving through the caverns for a long while, layers of green flame erupted from Meng Yuchun's body. Her upper torso remained human, while her lower half transformed into ghostly fire. She said to Li Banfeng, "Don't be afraid. I'll take you up." Dead spirits were nothing to be afraid of; local gods were all departed spirits, as Li Banfeng well knew. Meng Yuchun embraced Li Banfeng and flew up the stone wall, stopping seventy to eighty meters above the ground before entering a cavity carved into the cliff face. Li Banfeng asked, "What is this place?" "This is my home." Meng Yuchun set Li Banfeng down. "Keep your voice down. Don't provoke my dwelling spirit." Li Banfeng's heart tightened. "Wasn't your dwelling spirit flayed and swallowed alive in the Inner States?" "After coming to the newland, I found another dwelling spirit. Her temper isn't great, and I'm afraid she might hurt you." Li Banfeng stood at the cave entrance, refusing to take another step inward. Unless strictly necessary, he was unwilling to casually enter a Dwelling Cultivator's home. "Whatever it is, say it here." Meng Yuchun said, "I think someone's watching me. And that person seems to be one of your men." One of my men? Li Banfeng chuckled. "You're good-looking. They stare at you every day—what's so strange about that?" "We're not talking about the same thing. Last night, I killed a roaming anomaly near my dwelling. My dwelling spirit told me it was a Knife-and-Brush Scribe. She said it's an exceptionally rare roaming anomaly. For something like that to appear in my territory means someone sent it. Someone might be trying to harm me." Just as Li Banfeng had deduced, rare roaming anomalies appearing one after another meant they were targeting Meng Yuchun. "What does that Knife-and-Brush Scribe look like? Hand it over to me so I can study it first." "Forget the Knife-and-Brush Scribe for now. I need to find out who's trying to harm me!" Li Banfeng was currently investigating this very matter. "That depends on who you've offended recently." "I haven't seen a single living soul recently, except for you people." "You suspect me?" Li Banfeng lowered the brim of his hat, ready to leave the cave at once. Meng Yuchun shook her head. "I trust you, or I wouldn't have brought you to my dwelling. I've been a local god for so long without meeting a soul. Originally, there was no hope of ever making something of myself in this life, but the heavens took pity on me and let me meet you. I sincerely want to be your friend. But if someone among your men truly intends to harm me, and I strike hard against them, don't turn on me when the time comes." Wasn't that a joke? His men were all destitute hunters; none of them had the power to harm her. Li Banfeng said with a smile, "This definitely isn't my men's doing. I can help you investigate, but not for free. We can negotiate a price. If you agree, we get to work right away. If you don't, I'll take my people home immediately. I don't want to fall out with you, and I certainly don't want to get dragged into your mess." Meng Yuchun nodded. "Fine. As long as it's a price I can afford, everything's negotiable." Li Banfeng said, "First give me the Knife-and-Brush Scribe's corpse, then go set some traps. After that, we'll talk price." As they spoke, the Thread-Hook Earring quivered. "Master, footsteps." Li Banfeng looked at Meng Yuchun. "Does anyone else know where you live?" "Only three sisters I'm close with. They drop by occasionally for a few cups of wine, but they never enter my house. Aside from them and you, no one else knows my dwelling. Stay here for now and don't move." Meng Yuchun flew down the cliff face alone. After a moment, three women approached carrying wine jars and various dishes. One woman wore red, her waist slender. She bowed to Meng Yuchun and said with a beaming smile, "This is freshly brewed Hundred Flowers Wine, brought specially for Elder Sister to taste." This woman was named Hongdie. Behind her was a woman dressed in yellow, similar in appearance and figure to Hongdie, named Huangdie. Standing at the rear was a plump girl with a round face and a voluptuous figure, wearing a green fur cloak. Her name was Xiaodie. Xiaodie seemed not to have metamorphosed into a butterfly yet. Meng Yuchun said to the three, "Little sisters, I have business today. Let's gather another day." The three women looked a bit disappointed. Meng Yuchun chatted with them for a few moments, saw them off, and returned to the cliff face. Watching their retreating backs, Li Banfeng asked in a low voice, "Are the three of them always together?" Meng Yuchun nodded. "Practically inseparable." Inseparable? Unlikely. People said butterflies loved flowers, but whoever heard of caterpillars loving flowers? Li Banfeng asked, "Have you ever heard of an Opera-Beckoning Matron?" "An opera-what matron?" Meng Yuchun was utterly baffled. Consistent with the giant toad's description, Meng Yuchun was a pure Dwelling Cultivator. Before reaching tier ten, she had barely set foot in the newlands, so her understanding of roaming anomalies was hardly better than Li Banfeng's. ... After lunch, Li Banfeng carried a man on his shoulder into the Portable Abode. The man was clad in a long robe whose embroidery had already faded. It looked like an official's robe, though of which dynasty was impossible to tell. In his hand, he held a writing brush, its white tip stained with a bit of ink. Seeing this, the wife rejoiced, "It's a Knife-and-Brush Scribe! What a fine thing! Husband, you dote on me most—" The lively gongs and drums stopped abruptly, and her singing turned desolate: "Oh, husband! Why did you bring back a corpse? Do you no longer cherish your humble slave?" Hong Ying laughed aloud. "If you can't eat it, I will! Eat your heart out, you wicked shrew!" A surge of might rippled out, and Hong Ying rushed forward to gorge herself. When she finished, Hong Ying returned to sit silently before the mirror. The transformation of her body grew increasingly distinct; the spear shaft, originally gaunt and withered, now displayed a touch of fullness. The gramophone muttered under her breath, "That slut really is about to turn into a human. Why does she get all the good luck? Though who knows if it really is luck..." The other magical treasures scrambled forward to share the meal. Li Banfeng consoled the wife, "Once this business is concluded, I'll catch some living ones for you." The wife swayed her horn and violently vented steam, driving back the horde of magical treasures. "That's enough eating. Save the rest for Red Lotus." More than half of the Knife-and-Brush Scribe remained, and she was already saving it for Red Lotus? The wife was being exceptionally considerate toward Red Lotus today. Li Banfeng brought Red Lotus over. The petals blossomed, revealing a fully ripe lotus seed at the flower's center. Li Banfeng plucked the lotus seed, which burst open an instant later. A pair of Mandarin Duck Axes fell into his palm. No wonder the wife was so considerate; Red Lotus had come bearing sincerity today. Yet these seemed no different from the previous Mandarin Duck Axes. Li Banfeng squatted beside Red Lotus and said, "A-Lian, trying to fool me again?" Chhh, chhh— "Oh, husband! You've wronged this little tramp. These Mandarin Duck Axes carry a sweet scent. Smell them closely, husband." Li Banfeng used his Hundred Flavors Exquisite technique to sniff for a moment. Sure enough, there was a faint sweet aroma. "Let me smell too!" Hong Ying sniffed beside him for a long time. Having been blind and deaf for so many years, her nose was exceptionally sharp, yet she couldn't detect any sweetness at all. Li Banfeng twitched his nose. Hundred Flavors Exquisite wasn't just keen olfaction; it seemed to possess other functions as well. "Wife, how is this magical treasure used?" "This thing lacks sufficient spirituality, so it cannot be called a magical treasure—at most a spiritual item. The pair of Mandarin Duck Axes consists of one male and one female. The one in your left hand is male, husband, and the one in your right is female. If the male axe strikes a woman, it will take a fancy to her. Whenever that woman comes within one li, the male axe will sense it. If the female axe strikes a man, it is the same." Li Banfeng nodded. "A useful item indeed. Let's call them the Sire-Dam Axes!" "Oh, husband, wouldn't 'Male-Female Axes' sound a bit nicer?" "What exquisite elegance, Wife!" Li Banfeng stowed the Male-Female Axes, took the projector, and left the Portable Abode. ... At ten at night, Xiaodie finished eating her fill of leaves, crawled down from a tree, and leisurely strolled through the deep woods. Li Banfeng and Meng Yuchun tailed her not far behind. Thanks to a Dwelling Cultivator's inherent trait of being easily overlooked, Xiaodie never noticed them. After wandering for over an hour, Xiaodie seemed to get hungry again and climbed another tree to munch on leaves. Hiding beneath an earthen slope, Li Banfeng said to Meng Yuchun, "Didn't you say they were inseparable? Why haven't we seen the other two women?" Meng Yuchun replied, "Xiaodie has different habits from them, so they can't be together every moment. Huangdie and Hongdie both feed on flower nectar, and they rarely separate." Li Banfeng's deduction was correct: Xiaodie hadn't metamorphosed into a butterfly yet. Having witnessed the battle between Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye, Li Banfeng knew a crucial detail: a local god's dwelling was their lifeblood. Hidden inside the dwelling was their covenant deed; if it were unearthed, it would pose a grave threat to the local god. That was why both Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye guarded their dwellings so vigilantly. What sort of threat it was remained unknown for now, but Li Banfeng knew that the best way to deal with a local god was to strike at their dwelling. The Devotion-Claiming Elder, the Opera-Beckoning Matron, the Knife-and-Brush Scribe, the Love Woe Slug... Rare roaming anomalies arriving one after another in Meng Yuchun's territory certainly weren't here to fight her head-on. The Knife-and-Brush Scribe had proven with his life that they couldn't overpower a local god. Their objective was to discover Meng Yuchun's dwelling. The Love Woe Slug had parasitized Cao Zhida; Cao Zhida had persistently pestered Meng Yuchun, which gave him a chance of finding her dwelling. Yet he had failed and died by Li Banfeng's hand. The Knife-and-Brush Scribe had successfully found Meng Yuchun's dwelling, but had failed to escape, dying at Meng Yuchun's hands. The Devotion-Claiming Elder and the Opera-Beckoning Matron teamed up—one to fight, one to deceive—giving them the highest chance of success. Now the Devotion-Claiming Elder was dead, but the Opera-Beckoning Matron likely didn't know that yet and in all probability wouldn't stop. Aside from Li Banfeng, only three people knew Meng Yuchun's dwelling: Hongdie, Huangdie, and Xiaodie. Because Xiaodie had not yet metamorphosed into a butterfly, her habits differed from the other two women. She spent more time alone, making her the most likely candidate for the Opera-Beckoning Matron to impersonate. Li Banfeng had locked onto her as his target. Meng Yuchun whispered, "It might not be one of my sisters. That opera-whatever matron could also be one of your men." Li Banfeng shook his head. "If it really is an Opera-Beckoning Matron, it definitely won't be one of my men. My men are all male." "Can't she disguise herself as a man?" "No." Li Banfeng took out the projector and displayed the image of the Devotion-Claiming Elder. After waiting ten-odd minutes, Xiaodie climbed down from the tree and walked slowly over to the "Devotion-Claiming Elder," saying in a hushed voice, "I got it."