"Hall Master Pei, how many years has it been since we last saw each other!" Luo Zhengnan said as he walked into the parlor.
"Hall Master Luo, this is on me. Over the past few years, there have been too many messy matters at my hall, so I never got around to paying you a visit."
"What visit? Aren't you scolding me with such talk? When did we two brothers ever become so distant?"
Pei Yuzeng, the hall master of the Jiangxiang Gang's Qingyancheng Hall, was known to everyone who was truly familiar with him by the moniker Pei Yikou—One-Mouthful Pei.
He had a burly build, regular features, an amicable face, and a gentle manner of speaking, giving people an immediate sense of warmth, as if meeting an old friend.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, both men took their seats.
Pei Yuzeng turned to the main topic. "Brother Luo, I came here this time because there is an urgent matter I must discuss with you."
Luo Zhengnan promptly dismissed his subordinates and led Pei Yuzeng into the study. "Brother Pei, what is it?"
"Something terrible has happened in our gang. In the Outer States, the Gang Leader crossed paths with a mortal enemy."
Luo Zhengnan was taken aback. "Which mortal enemy?"
*Whoosh!*
Pei Yuzeng suddenly spewed a blast of fierce flame.
Caught completely off guard, Luo Zhengnan was instantly reduced to a heap of ashes.
Pei Yuzeng untied his outer coat, swept it through the room, and gathered every speck of bone ash. The room was left spotless, without a trace remaining.
Pei Yikou, killing without leaving ash behind—this was his signature technique.
There was nothing complex about this technique at all; plainly put, it relied on three tricks.
First, there was no warning. From the day he entered the pathway to the present, Pei Yuzeng had trained bitterly in this single move. Before striking, not an expression showed on his face, nor did his body make any move. He might be speaking, he might be eating, or the two might even be standing side by side in an outhouse taking a piss; then, without the slightest warning, out came that mouthful of fire, sending the victim straight to the afterlife.
Second, the flames were ferocious. Either he did not strike, or once he did, he was certain to burn his target into ash. Any tier-five Fire Cultivator could breathe fire, but only Pei Yuzeng had honed this move to the absolute pinnacle.
Third, he left no loose ends. Aside from the person he meant to kill, Pei Yuzeng damaged nothing else. Just like now: not a single book in the study was harmed, not half a scorch mark was left on the walls, and even the scent of smoke had been drawn away by his coat.
The room remained exactly as it had looked when he entered; aside from one less Luo Zhengnan, nothing at all had changed.
This was taking a simple method to the utmost limit. Yet, while such a trick might work on strangers, wouldn't acquaintances be more on guard?
Luo Zhengnan counted as an acquaintance. Why had he fallen for it as well?
Pei Yuzeng had ways of making people lower their guard. There were his decades of experience, as well as the aid of various magical items on his person. Before striking, he would make meticulous arrangements, deliberating repeatedly over every word and every gesture while accounting for every unexpected factor.
Yet what if he met an exceptional circumstance? What if someone simply refused to see him, or saw him but wouldn't speak, kept a distance of more than ten meters, and kept a crowd of guards around? What would he do then?
In such a situation, Pei Yuzeng would not strike at all. That was the main reason he had never failed.
Coming to find Luo Zhengnan today, Pei Yuzeng had already been prepared not to strike, for he knew Luo Zhengnan was an exceedingly cautious man.
Yet he hadn't expected things to proceed so smoothly. Pei Yuzeng draped his coat back on, stepped out of the study, and walked straight toward the front gate.
The staff-bearer Sun Xingbing came forward and said, "Hall Master Pei, you're leaving already?"
Pei Yuzeng gave a sigh. "I had a bit of a disagreement with your Hall Master Luo. Well, it's all gang business. Help me talk some sense into your hall master later, so we don't spoil our harmony over this."
His tone was pitched just right, without arousing the slightest suspicion in Sun Xingbing.
Sun Xingbing was indeed worried that harmony would be spoiled. Seeing that Hall Master Luo was unwilling to see the guest off, he saw Pei Yuzeng out on his master's behalf.
Up on the rooftop terrace, Luo Zhengnan silently watched Pei Yuzeng's retreating figure.
Hadn't he been burned to death? Why was he still standing here?
Luo Zhengnan had not burned to death. What had been incinerated was a puppet hidden in his room, crafted from bone and flesh.
The puppet could walk, move, and speak, but in terms of looks, it had a few subtle differences from Luo Zhengnan.
There were two reasons he had dared to bring it out just now. First, when his subordinates saw a visitor arrive, they all stood deferentially in the parlor, not daring to stare at him.
Second, Pei Yuzeng had not seen him for many years and could not notice those subtle differences between the puppet and Luo Zhengnan.
At that moment, an antenna was plugged into Luo Zhengnan's head, tracking the bone ash on Pei Yuzeng's body.
Before long, Luo Zhengnan heard sounds over the transmission.
"Gang Leader, the deed is done."
"Well done. A generous reward awaits you."
Pei Yuzeng was speaking with Xiao Zhenggong.
*It really was Xiao Zhenggong who wanted me dead!*
This grudge had to be repaid, but he could no longer stay in the Jiangxiang Gang.
Where could he go?
Luo Zhengnan actually thought of one place. He couldn't say it was completely safe, but at the very least, it was secluded enough.
The main question was whether that place would take him in.
***
Li Banfeng arrived at Qiu's Medicine Shop, giving Qiu Zhiheng quite a fright. "Old Seven, why are you back?"
It wasn't time for their shift change yet.
Li Banfeng said, "Brother Qiu, we don't need to stay on the mountain anymore. Someone is watching Old Yao's home for him."
"Who?"
"Someone beyond our imagination. Brother Qiu, go visit Old Yao every now and then, and take the chance to get acquainted with that expert." Li Banfeng gave a rough account of what had happened, though he did not mention Old Xu's true identity. Whether Qiu Zhiheng could form a connection with Old Xu would depend on his own fortune.
That night, Li Banfeng stayed at the medicine shop. At dawn the next day, the shop assistant Ding Youming brought back news: "Luo Zhengnan has gone missing! The Jiangxiang Gang folk are searching for him like mad!"
Qiu Zhiheng stared in disbelief. "How could Luo Zhengnan go missing?"
Luo Zhengnan handled affairs with such seasoned shrewdness and had lived in Yaowanggou for so many years; very few people here could get the better of him.
Qiu Zhiheng sent men out to dig for further news. By the afternoon, the report was essentially confirmed.
Pei Yuzeng, the hall master of the Jiangxiang Gang's Qingyancheng Hall, had visited last night. He met with Luo Zhengnan once, and after that, there was no further trace of Luo Zhengnan.
"Pei Yuzeng, Pei Yikou, who kills without leaving ash behind." Qiu Zhiheng had heard of his reputation. "Old Seven, the Jiangxiang Gang sent someone to assassinate Luo Zhengnan."
Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "Why kill Luo Zhengnan? Does it have something to do with Old Yao?
"Could Old Yao's dwelling being leaked also be tied to the Jiangxiang Gang?"
Qiu Zhiheng lit a cigarette and sighed softly. "I can't make head or tail of this for the time being. It wasn't easy for the Jiangxiang Gang to produce someone with a bit of human decency, and now he's gone just like that.
"Old Seven, be extra careful during this period. I'm worried the Jiangxiang Gang might be coming for us."
"I'm preparing to leave Yaowanggou. Take good care of yourself as well."
A few days later, Li Banfeng arranged a travel permit and train ticket for Xiao Genzi, sending him back to Lüshui City on his own.
Genzi had been carrying that bucket everywhere. Worried he might get into conflicts with other passengers, Li Banfeng specifically bought him a private compartment.
Inside his compartment, Genzi was blending his night soil when someone caught the whiff and pushed the door straight open.
Seeing this, Genzi hurriedly put the bucket away, sat casually on his seat, and asked, "Is there something you need?"
The man who entered had a long face, small eyes, and gaunt cheeks. Carrying a briefcase, he looked at Xiao Genzi and said, "You were blending night soil just now, weren't you?"
Genzi shook his head repeatedly. "What night soil would I have here? You've got the wrong place. Go check next door."
The man chuckled. "Your bucket is still sitting right there; how could I have the wrong place? Don't worry, I'm here to talk business with you."
"Talk business with me?" Xiao Genzi blinked. "What kind of business?"
The man looked at Xiao Genzi's bucket. "I want to buy a bucket."
"You want to buy this?" Xiao Genzi suspected his own ears.
"Twenty thousand for one bucket. If you think that's not enough, we can negotiate the price." The man stated his offer.
Genzi frowned. "What do you plan to use this for?"
One shouldn't underestimate this bucket of night soil; a single ladleful could take a life.
"Rest assured, it's definitely not for anything wicked," the man said with a smile. "My name is Zhang Wanlong, and I'm a Farm Cultivator. If this deal goes through, we can do even bigger business in the future."
"You're a Farm Cultivator?" Xiao Genzi looked Zhang Wanlong up and down. He wore a grey-and-white checkered suit, looking nothing like a peasant.
"You don't believe me?" Zhang Wanlong produced a flowerpot from his briefcase. The pot was tiny, a good two circles smaller than a palm. He tossed a seed into the pot, poured a little water over it, and in less than five minutes, the seed sprouted, shot up, grew leaves, and bloomed, growing into a jasmine plant just like that.
He had expected Genzi to be astonished, but to his surprise, Genzi's expression was utterly calm.
Genzi was someone who had seen the world; he had traveled with a grandmaster of the Farm Cultivator pathway! What did a parlor trick like this amount to?
"Brother, it's not that I don't believe you, but this trick of yours doesn't prove you're a Farm Cultivator."
Zhang Wanlong was taken aback. "How so? Could another pathway possess such a skill?"
"Of course there is: Herb Cultivators! A Herb Cultivator can make it grow even faster than you did!"
Zhang Wanlong gave a thumbs-up. "Brother, knowing about Herb Cultivators proves your wide experience. The Herb Cultivator pathway is one of the origins of the Farm Cultivator pathway, and our ancestral master came from the Herb Cultivators himself. The two truly are hard to tell apart. Take a look at this trick, then!"
As he spoke, Zhang Wanlong let two drops of a medicinal liquid fall onto the jasmine. Ten-odd minutes later, on the branch where the liquid had fallen, a sunflower blossomed.
A sunflower blooming on a jasmine branch was certainly not something a Herb Cultivator could achieve.
Yet the truly marvelous display came after: the sunflower's large blossom turned toward the train window, and a mouth suddenly sprouted across the bloom, giggling twice. The voice sounded like that of a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old maiden in the prime of her youth.
Genzi nodded in admiration. "Fine skill! Brother Zhang, we can do this deal!"
***
Deep within the mountains, inside Old Yao's house, Old Xu sighed softly and murmured to himself:
"When destiny arrives, no one can stop it. Whether he learns goodness or you learn wicked ways, let it depend on your own fortunes."
***
Li Banfeng traveled through the newland, following Old Yao's map all the way to Tiemenbao.
The journey through the newland was not particularly arduous. Old Yao's map helped him bypass most dangers, and the occasional strange entities he encountered posed no threat to him.
Yet Li Banfeng did not grow careless. Fighting strange entities in the newland was a contest of far more than brute force; with peculiar beings like the Devotion-Claiming Elder and the Opera-Beckoning Matron, the slightest misstep would land one in their trap.
Upon reaching Tiemenbao, Li Banfeng emerged from Peach Blossom Lake. Seeing no one around, he hurried back into the Portable Abode to put on his clothes.
His visit to Tiemenbao this time had no other purpose: he needed to withdraw some money to pay back the glove, and along the way, check on the fort's conditions.
Li Banfeng had also altered his attire, dressing as a vegetable farmer and carrying two baskets of greens on a shoulder pole as he entered Tiemenbao.
When he reached the gate, the gatekeeper stopped him and asked, "Are you here to sell greens?"
Li Banfeng nodded.
"Have you paid the deposit?"
Not bad; the rule established back then was being carried out. Anyone doing business in Tiemenbao had to put down a deposit. Those who passed off poor goods as quality or played tricks to swindle people would forfeit their deposit and be barred from entering the fort ever again.
Li Banfeng pretended ignorance. "This is my first time here. I never heard of having to pay a deposit to do business."
"If you haven't heard, you're hearing it now. Without paying the deposit, you can't sell here."
Li Banfeng set down the vegetable baskets. "Then I won't sell. I'll just go inside to see if business is good."
That was fine, so the guard let him in.
Li Banfeng entered the fort. Tiemenbao was his favorite place; every street and alley, every blade of grass and tree, he never tired of looking at.
Quite a few changes had taken place in the fort. Free from the fort lord's extortion, the Dwelling Cultivators were living well. Many families had renovated their houses, and some had even expanded their properties.
Of course, some things remained unchanged. A woman buying finished garments kept driving the price down. The Dwelling Cultivator Li Zhijuan was a skilled seamstress and made her living by this craft; even though the price was driven down until almost no profit remained, Li Zhijuan still agreed.
The reason was simple: she always did business with this woman, had grown used to it, and didn't want to spoil their harmony.
This was the flaw of Dwelling Cultivators—they were terrible at negotiating with people.
The transaction had been butchered to such an extent, yet she was still fretting over harmony!
Li Banfeng stepped forward, intending to teach the woman buying the clothes a lesson, when he suddenly heard someone call out, "Honored sir, fine sorghum liquor, come take a look!"
Li Banfeng turned his head and froze for a good while.
Luo Zhengnan held up a jar of sorghum liquor and said, "Fort Lord, I've been waiting for you for days."
Chapter 350