"Behind Xiaoyaowu lies a stretch of warehouses. Most of the storehouses have fallen into disrepair over the years and are now abandoned. I heard Ma the Fifth planned to build a restaurant there, but construction has yet to begin.
"The spies under my command have spotted Ling Miaoying there more than once. At first, I assumed he went there to deal with Li Seven, but now it seems he visits those warehouses quite often. This leaves me no choice but to suspect that Ling Miaoying and Li Seven might be in league with each other."
As he spoke, Wan Jinxian kept his eyes fixed on Tu Yinghong's reaction. If Tu Yinghong jumped up to defend Ling Miaoying, it would prove there were genuine feelings between them.
Yet Tu Yinghong remained exceptionally calm, verifying He Jiaqing's conjecture: Tu Yinghong repeatedly made moves against Xiaoyaowu solely for the sake of that item.
Tu Yinghong lit a cigarette and looked at Wan Jinxian. "What is the point of telling me this? I don't believe Miaoying is colluding with Li Seven. I would love to confront him and get a straight answer, but I can't even step out of this building."
"You indeed cannot step out, because I cannot let you leave. I merely came to inform you of the matter." With that, Wan Jinxian turned and walked away.
Tu Yinghong sat in the room, sinking into deep thought.
*Is Ling Miaoying truly still alive?*
*Why would he collude with Li Seven?*
*Could it be for my iron rulers?*
*Could he have been deceiving me all along?*
*Did he team up with Li Seven to swindle me?*
Ling Miaoying had shown interest in the iron rulers on more than one occasion. The motion picture building's ability to move relied entirely on that pair of iron rulers.
Yet Tu Yinghong had never allowed him to touch them. They were treasures she had paid an exorbitant price to obtain.
When she encountered Li Seven at the cinema, the pair of iron rulers went missing.
Later, when she and Ling Miaoying went to Xiaoyaowu in search of Li Seven, both men vanished at the same time.
*Li Seven took my iron rulers, and Ling Miaoying knows how to use them. They might have reached some kind of agreement, intending to use my iron rulers to accomplish something.*
*What do they want to do?*
*What could possibly be worth Ling Miaoying abandoning his family business and even choosing to fake his own death?*
*Could they have uncovered the origin of the iron rulers?*
The more Tu Yinghong thought about it, the more anxious she became.
She drew a cloth pouch from beneath her skirt and rummaged through it for a moment, pulling out an iron elbow guard.
After the elbow guard came knee guards, followed by pauldrons, an iron helm, a breastplate...
She pulled out over a dozen pieces in succession and assembled them together into a complete suit of armor.
Tu Yinghong had not donned this armor in a very long time, for it was immensely heavy.
Yet today, she had to wear it. The moment had come to put her life on the line.
She could part with anything else, but that pair of iron rulers absolutely could not be lost!
From the cloth pouch, she produced a hairpin.
This was a Scrying Cultivator's spiritual artifact. To deal with Ling Miaoying, she had to possess this item.
Next, she withdrew a fishing net from the pouch—a piece prepared specifically for Li Seven.
Opening the hidden compartments along her sleeves, she began stuffing various blades and magical tools into them, one after another.
Once all her weapons and spiritual artifacts were in order, Tu Yinghong quietly left her room.
Standing in the corridor, she could clearly see the guards stationed outside the main entrance.
Those guards alone could never hope to stop Tu Yinghong. The building had more than one exit, and some were known only to her.
However, ever since that outsider from the Outer States had arrived, none of the exits could be found.
Now that the outsider was gone, shouldn't his spells have dissolved as well?
Tu Yinghong gazed out the window, turning over the words Wan Jinxian had just spoken.
*Wan Jinxian must have his own designs in telling me this.*
*He wants to get to the bottom of the matter between Ling Miaoying and Li Seven, but he doesn't want to get dragged into it himself, so he wants me to strike in his place?*
*In other words, I'm being used by him...*
Tu Yinghong was suspicious of Wan Jinxian's motives, yet she had no choice.
No matter what price she had to pay, she had to retrieve the iron rulers.
As she pondered, Tu Yinghong ran her hands along the wall of the corridor and soon found a secret door.
*Found it! I actually found it!*
*Wan Jinxian truly intends to let me out on purpose!*
*Yet he certainly never imagined that once I leave, he will never be able to find me again.*
Tu Yinghong slipped into the secret door. With a tap against her breastplate, a sheer gauze robe draped over her body.
Beneath the veil of the gauze, her figure grew gradually translucent. A minute later, she had vanished completely.
***
Outside the motion picture building, Wan Jinxian gripped a blind cane, standing motionless.
This blind cane was a Scrying Cultivator's spiritual artifact. Through it, Wan Jinxian distinctly heard Tu Yinghong's footsteps.
Tu Yinghong emerged from a storm drain outside the motion picture building. Wan Jinxian could not see her, but he could determine the direction she was taking by the sound of her steps.
Beside him, an old lady picking through trash stared at Wan Jinxian for a long while.
*This man clearly isn't blind. Why must he hold a blind cane?*
Wan Jinxian offered the old woman a smile, reached into his pocket, pulled out a one-hundred-yuan Huan Country note, and thrust it into her hands.
The old lady was taken aback. She wanted to say she wasn't a beggar.
Yet a hundred yuan was no small sum to her. Even if someone treated her like a beggar, she desperately wanted to keep the money.
She showered Wan Jinxian with thanks, but Wan Jinxian had already walked far into the distance.
Holding the Huan Country note, the old lady examined it carefully several times over.
It was genuine currency.
Luck was on her side today.
She tucked the money carefully into her pocket and resumed picking through the garbage.
The dust in the trash heap was heavy, and the old lady inadvertently coughed twice.
Once she started coughing, it didn't stop.
Her throat itched terribly, her chest felt suffocated, and a single light breath made her whole body shudder.
The old lady slumped beside the garbage heap, clutching her chest as she coughed uncontrollably.
She coughed until a salty taste filled the back of her throat, coughed until bloody fluid dribbled incessantly from the corners of her mouth.
*What is happening?*
*Am I sick?*
*How did I suddenly fall ill?*
*Wasn't everything fine today? Someone even gave me a hundred yuan. Wasn't that wonderful?*
*Now that I have money, I can eat something nice today...*
The old lady collapsed into the garbage heap. After a bout of violent coughing, she breathed her last.
***
At one in the morning, Li Banfeng shuddered inside the warehouse.
Danger was closing in—the technique of seeking good fortune and avoiding calamity was sounding an alarm.
He knew Tu Yinghong would launch a night raid. He had slept in the Portable Abode during the morning, gathered intelligence in Lüshui City throughout the afternoon to complete his cultivation as a journey cultivator, and had been keeping watch inside the warehouse ever since night fell.
The bait had been cast; he knew Tu Yinghong would surely come.
He had expected to wait a few more days, never imagining she would arrive this very night.
*Did she really come to avenge Ling Miaoying?*
*Are their feelings truly that deep?*
After inspecting every one of his magical treasures and blades, Li Banfeng gave a low reminder: "Everyone, you've taken in plenty of nourishment lately, and your abilities have all grown. Tonight, end this swiftly and decisively. None of you are to drag your feet."
The gramophone had warned Li Banfeng never to fall into a stalemate with a Craft Cultivator.
There was a saying on the battlefield: *a Craft Cultivator has a hundred blades.*
What Craft Cultivators feared most was being caught off guard, as their adaptability was poor.
Yet once they found their footing and traded blows move by move, a Craft Cultivator's fine weapons were endless. With every moment the battle dragged on, Li Banfeng would face an added measure of peril.
The projector chimed in, "Director Seven, Tu Yinghong is no ordinary foe. To be safe, we should call more helpers."
The glove smacked the projector's casing. "Are you out of your mind? There are spies in Xiaoyaowu, and we haven't rooted them out yet. We cannot afford to leak word right now, or we'll suffer immensely."
Tonight, the glove was remarkably zealous.
It had no choice but to be zealous; if Tu Yinghong were not slain quickly, its theft of the iron rulers would likely come to light.
Less than ten minutes later, the earring spoke beside his ear: "Master, there are footsteps."
Li Banfeng pressed his palm downward, signaling for all the magical treasures to fall silent.
The footsteps drew nearer, coming to a halt outside the door.
Tu Yinghong's hairpin sensed something as well; outside the door, she observed footprints.
There was someone inside this warehouse.
How many people?
If there was only one, it depended on whether it was Li Seven or Ling Miaoying.
Tu Yinghong was thoroughly familiar with all of Ling Miaoying's combat methods, including the weapons and spiritual artifacts he carried. She was confident she could capture Ling Miaoying alive.
If it was Li Seven, she had to brace herself for a bitter struggle. A journey cultivator struck fast; she could not allow him to overwhelm her in a single rush. She had to drag out the battle and prevent Li Seven from escaping.
If both were present, it would prove Ling Miaoying and Li Seven were truly in league.
In that scenario, Tu Yinghong would choose to retreat. Fighting one against two, she would have virtually no chance of victory.
Tu Yinghong listened intently before the door, yet the hairpin could not discern how many people were inside the room.
Why couldn't it tell?
According to Tu Yinghong's judgment, there ought to be only Ling Miaoying in the building.
Ling Miaoying was a seventh-tier Scrying Cultivator. He must have heard the commotion, concealed his breath, and put up his guard, making it impossible for the hairpin to detect him.
This was within Tu Yinghong's expectations.
No matter what precautions Ling Miaoying took, Tu Yinghong was certain he could not escape her grasp.
First, Tu Yinghong tugged at the lapel of her robe, rendering herself invisible.
Next, she withdrew a wooden puppet from her left sleeve.
The puppet unfurled its curled body and stood on the ground, standing roughly as tall as Tu Yinghong herself.
How could such a large puppet fit inside a sleeve?
Such was the craft of a high-tier Craft Cultivator.
According to Tu Yinghong's tactic, she would have the puppet push open the door, and Ling Miaoying would attack the puppet at the first opportunity.
Taking advantage of that opening, Tu Yinghong would seize Ling Miaoying alive on the spot.
With preparations complete, the puppet reached out to push open the door.
The instant its hand made contact with the doorboard, a booming roar erupted. The doorboard shattered, and the puppet burst apart with it. A shower of splintered wood crashed straight into Tu Yinghong.
Tu Yinghong was startled, assuming Ling Miaoying had fired his gun.
Ling Miaoying's handgun possessed immense power, but Tu Yinghong had donned heavy armor this time. Although her movements were somewhat sluggish, she could withstand Ling Miaoying's bullets.
*Strange, this doesn't feel like bullets. It feels like buckshot.*
Countless stones, dirt, and sand flew straight at her, clattering noisily against the armor.
Tu Yinghong was shocked. *This is a journey cultivator's Treading Ten Thousand Rivers!*
The person inside was not Ling Miaoying—it was Li Seven!
He was a journey cultivator; how could he possibly elude the scrying of her hairpin?
Tu Yinghong never could have anticipated that Li Banfeng was also a high-tier Dwelling Cultivator, possessing the trait of being overlooked. Under adequate preparation, he could evade a Scrying Cultivator's spiritual artifact of an equivalent tier.
She had to change tactics!
Tu Yinghong had also prepared specific measures for Li Seven. The best means of handling a journey cultivator was to pin down his footing.
Now, it was up to the fishing net!
As long as she successfully cast the fishing net over Li Seven, her strategy would be seventy percent accomplished.
The current problem was how to throw the net.
Li Banfeng gave Tu Yinghong no room to catch her breath.
Although he could not see Tu Yinghong, Li Banfeng pinpointed her position through the impact of the sand and stone.
Fixing his gaze on Tu Yinghong, he charged swiftly out of the warehouse.
Tu Yinghong locked her eyes on Li Banfeng, not daring to let her concentration waver in the slightest, dreading that Li Banfeng might employ Viewing Flowers on a Galloping Horse.
Li Banfeng swung his sickle, hacking horizontally and slashing vertically, shredding the invisibility robe on Tu Yinghong's body to ribbons.
Tu Yinghong was exposed, and the Tang dao seized the opportunity to slash down at her back.
The heavy armor she wore embodied a tremendous amount of Tu Yinghong's painstaking effort. In the past, the Tang dao not only would have failed to cut through the armor, but might even have cracked its own blade.
Yet the Tang dao was no longer what it once was. Having consumed so many fine delicacies alongside Li Banfeng, its tier had long surpassed its former state. With a single strike, it carved a gash over half a foot long through the armor.
The armor cracked open, yet Tu Yinghong did not panic. The Tang dao became wedged within the fissure, unable to exert full force, inflicting only a superficial flesh wound upon her.
The Tang dao wrenched its blade free and delivered a second slash toward the very same spot, only to find that the wound carved into the armor earlier had vanished.
*The armor actually healed?*
The Tang dao gave it no further thought, hacking down with a second strike immediately.
The fissure was once again half a foot long. As the Tang dao pulled away, the clock pendulum struck immediately in its wake, chopping into Tu Yinghong before the armor could mend.
The armor closed shut, clamping down savagely on Hanxue.
Enduring the agonizing pain, the pendulum began sucking blood.
Tu Yinghong had no leisure to attend to such a minor wound.
At this moment, Li Banfeng's figure flickered back and forth before her eyes. With the slightest lapse in vigilance, Tu Yinghong could lose her life to Viewing Flowers on a Galloping Horse.
Yet so long as she guarded against Viewing Flowers on a Galloping Horse, Tu Yinghong had no fear of Li Seven's other techniques. Even if Li Banfeng unleashed Treading Ten Thousand Rivers once more, this armor could certainly withstand it.
The most pressing task right now was trapping Li Seven with the fishing net.
Keeping her eyes fixed on Li Banfeng, Tu Yinghong fumbled through her sleeve for the net.
*Where is the net?*
After feeling around for ages, Tu Yinghong discovered the fishing net was gone.
*Did Li Seven steal it again?*
*Is he a journey cultivator or a Thief Cultivator?!*
While Tu Yinghong was searching for the net, the liquor gourd flew into the air, spewing a mist of liquor toward her.
Li Banfeng struck a match and flicked it out with a finger, wanting to see whether Tu Yinghong's armor could withstand flames.
Tu Yinghong truly did withstand it.
She whipped a cloak from her sleeve, which bounced the flames right back at Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng dodged the fire, closed in with Half-Step, and shredded the cloak with his sickle.
The old teapot soared in midair, splashing tea water toward Tu Yinghong.
A porcelain vase flew out of Tu Yinghong's sleeve, drawing every drop of tea water inside until nothing remained.
Li Banfeng used Half-Step once more, attempting to slip out of Tu Yinghong's field of view.
Tu Yinghong's hairpin constantly scryed Li Banfeng's movements, helping her keep her gaze firmly locked onto him.
The porcelain vase vented a wave of scorching heat at Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng dodged out of the way, and the heatwave drifted onto the warehouse behind him, instantly setting it ablaze.
The porcelain vase hovered in the air, its heatwave blanketing an area of dozens of meters, leaving Li Banfeng with nowhere to hide.
Yet Li Banfeng had no fear of this move. He was thoroughly accustomed to being scalded by his wife. Visualizing the form of a steam train, he relied on the technique of Benevolent Dwelling Heart to endure the blast head-on.
He weathered the strike, but Li Banfeng had lost the initiative.
Long spears, short blades, meteor hammers—dozens of weapons flew out from Tu Yinghong's sleeves, swarming around Li Banfeng in a siege.
Tu Yinghong pulled a sewing box from her sleeve, and more than a dozen spools of thread shuttled across the ground. The moment Li Banfeng was tripped up even once, he would be struck and injured by the surrounding blades.
The battle sank into a stalemate, tilting gradually in Tu Yinghong's favor.
Li Banfeng showed no panic, leaping and darting among the silk threads while continuing to evade the blades around him.
Tu Yinghong dared not show the slightest carelessness either, keeping her gaze locked onto Li Banfeng from start to finish.
From a distance, Wan Jinxian observed the battle, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile.
Li Banfeng had fallen into a disadvantage.
Tu Yinghong had also nearly exhausted her means.
No matter who won or lost, he would be the one reaping the spoils.
Tonight, he was certain to capture Li Seven. Capturing him was equivalent to obtaining the Red Lotus.
He Jiaqing kept saying the Red Lotus would soon be in hand, but Wan Jinxian was unwilling to wait any longer.
Perhaps the Red Lotus was no longer so vital to He Jiaqing, but to Wan Jinxian, it was of paramount importance. He was hardly young, yet his cultivation remained stuck at the seventh tier.
Just as the battle reached its fiercest pitch, Tu Yinghong, who held the upper hand, suddenly found her vision blurring.
The cause of the blurriness was excessive blood loss.
Hanxue, wedged inside the armor, had been sucking blood continuously. Because it caused virtually no pain, Tu Yinghong had overlooked it.
She wanted to pull the pendulum free, but it was clamped tight inside the armor. This suit of armor could heal itself, but it could not split open on its own.
*I must end this fight quickly!*
Tu Yinghong prepared to unleash every last blade she had left when she suddenly heard Li Seven let out a series of resonant cries: "Hoo-ya-ya-ya!"
The hairpin atop Tu Yinghong's head snapped.
Li Banfeng's shouts dealt immense harm to a Scrying Cultivator's spiritual artifacts.
Tu Yinghong, whose vision was already blurred, now lost the hairpin and could no longer keep pace with Li Seven's movements.
In a daze, Li Seven suddenly vanished.
*Damn it, Viewing Flowers on a Galloping Horse!*
Tu Yinghong was horrified, but it was already too late. Her skull abruptly burst open, and brain matter and fresh blood splattered in all directions.
Wan Jinxian froze, not expecting Li Seven to be the ultimate victor.
It was all the better that he won; it saved him the trouble of having to wrest his captive from Tu Yinghong's hands.
Wan Jinxian observed the situation. Tu Yinghong had scattered fine weapons across the ground, and Li Seven would surely go to gather them. That would be the optimal moment to capture Li Seven alive.
To his astonishment, Li Seven did not pick up the weapons. Instead, he hoisted Tu Yinghong's corpse onto his shoulder and suddenly took flight.
Wan Jinxian frowned, realizing the problem.
He had leaked malice just now, and Li Seven had sensed it.
A journey cultivator was swift on his feet, but Wan Jinxian was not slow either. He drove a nail into his heel—a magical treasure refined from the soul of an eighth-tier journey cultivator, more than sufficient to allow him to catch up with Li Seven.
After chasing for several dozen meters, Li Seven was gone.
Where did he go?
Not even a shadow remained. How could he possibly run that fast?
Chapter 322