Blood Capital

The sickle and the wife both hailed from Feng's Grocery Store, so saying they came from the same place was entirely true. *Wheeze—pant—* The gramophone spoke slowly, "Back in the grocery store, I didn't notice you. You shouldn't have possessed sentience back then." The sickle replied, "I don't know what you mean by sentience, but I remember you. I still remember the tunes you sang back then." Li Banfeng was taken aback and asked the wife, "Meaning she already had sentience back in the grocery store?" The gramophone remained silent for a moment before saying, "Oh, Husband, your humble servant wouldn't claim to be all-knowing, but her eyes are quite sharp. Back then, this servant saw many curious things in Feng's Grocery Store. If this sickle truly possessed sentience, there is no way I wouldn't have known. It might indeed have remembered a few things back then, but that could only count as having some spiritual resonance. There are far too many things in this world with spiritual resonance. Things of exquisite craftsmanship have it, and things endowed with natural artistry have it as well. A high-tier Painting Cultivator imparts spiritual resonance to every single painting from their brush, and the film reels recorded by our projector carry spiritual resonance too. Anything with spiritual resonance can hold memories, but spiritual resonance is a far cry from true sentience. This sickle only gained its sentience recently, yet where it came from, your servant cannot fathom." "Wife, you said earlier that she's a naturally born spirit. What exactly is a naturally born spirit?" "A naturally born spirit is an object with spiritual resonance that, nourished by external sentience, attains sentience of its own. Under normal circumstances, naturally born spirits are exceedingly rare. For an object with spiritual resonance to encounter external sentience is already a matter of rare fortune. Even if it happens by chance, if the sentience does not match the nature of the spiritual resonance, not only will it fail to become a naturally born spirit, it might even mutate into a demonic creature due to spiritual conflict." Li Banfeng listened intently. Whenever the wife imparted knowledge, whether in her lilting tone or her posture, it always sent tremors through his heart. The wife continued, "However, inside a Dwelling Cultivator's abode, naturally born spirits aren't quite so rare. Many Dwelling Cultivators' dwelling spirits are nurtured by the house utilizing the earth's sentience. But our house has no foundation, so by all rights it shouldn't be able to give birth to a dwelling spirit. Which brings me to say... Husband, pull out that oil brush first and let your servant catch her breath, won't you?" Li Banfeng shut the rear cabinet of the casing and sat down earnestly beside the gramophone. Tapping out a slow tempo, the gramophone sang softly, "Since it wasn't nurtured by the house, where could this sentience have come from?" Hovering around Li Banfeng, the sickle seemed somewhat uneasy. "Brother Li, could you please stop talking to her about these things? Talking about things concerning me... I don't want to hear it." Feeling uneasy without knowing why she felt uneasy. Able to speak some words, yet unable to express herself clearly. This matched the characteristics of a naturally born spirit. Yet the gramophone still could not put her mind at ease. If this sentience was of dubious origin, it might pose a threat to Li Banfeng's life. Confine the sickle first and investigate slowly? On second thought, the gramophone felt that was ill-advised. The sickle was Husband's customary weapon. If it truly possessed a naturally born spirit, it was a rare and precious treasure. If subjected to harsh interrogation, its disposition might be ruined, which would only harm Husband down the line. She decided to test it a bit more. "Little Sister Sickle, since we are family, we should share the family's meals. Why don't we bestow that man's flesh and blood upon you?" The sickle looked at the peep show operator. Inside the main room of the Portable Abode, when presented with flesh and blood, all magical artifacts felt the urge to feed, and the sickle was no exception. The gramophone offered an encouraging word. "Eat, little sister. This is good stuff. Everyone in this room knows it's good stuff." The sickle flew beside the body and sliced into the flesh. The peep show operator shuddered violently. The sickle made several cuts, wanting to eat, but not knowing how to dig in. The gramophone watched with keen attention. This was indeed a characteristic of a naturally born spirit—there were methods she had yet to learn. Yet could she be naturally crafty, deliberately putting on an act? After weighing the matter back and forth, the gramophone said to Li Banfeng, "Husband, keep this sickle by your side. In daily life, teach her more of our rules so she doesn't act rashly when she shouldn't strike. And in battle, teach her more techniques." Keeping a naturally born spirit by its master's side was the best way to cultivate its temperament. As for combat strength, Li Banfeng was not worried; judging from today's performance, the sickle's combat experience was quite impressive. The gramophone lightly tapped the gourd with her stylus. "Sister, you are more experienced. Put in some extra effort and teach this sickle well—guide her step by step." The gourd understood in its heart: there was no need to teach combat; this sickle was gifted. The gramophone was telling it to stay vigilant and, if necessary, take action against the sickle. Li Banfeng looked at the flayed skin and said to the clock pendulum, "We need to make something good, and there are many places where I'll need your help." The pendulum was clever and understood Li Banfeng's meaning. It gathered scraps of cloth and waste paper, stuffing them into the skin. The gramophone said, "Oh, Husband, are you going to use the Golden House Conceals a Beauty technique? With looks like his, no matter what you do, you won't make a beauty out of him, and whatever you produce won't have much combat strength." This was the difficult aspect of Golden House Conceals a Beauty: whether painting or sculpture, the more handsome or beautiful the creation, the stronger its combat power. Li Banfeng's craftsmanship was lacking, which made Golden House Conceals a Beauty his least proficient technique. Furthermore, this wretched peep show operator was truly hideous. Even with masterful skill, it could never be called handsome. Fortunately, Li Banfeng did not require it to fight. As long as it could exchange a few words, that was enough. As a seventh-tier Dwelling Cultivator, accomplishing this much shouldn't be difficult. After bustling about for over an hour, Li Banfeng exited the Portable Abode and sprinted back to Heishipo. Luo Zhengnan had been frantic with worry. Seeing Li Banfeng safe and sound, his heart finally settled. "Seventh Master, it's all my fault. I didn't think things through properly. You can punish me however you wish!" Li Banfeng waved his hand. "This wasn't your fault. The Jiangxiang Gang had prepared far too thoroughly in advance. In a little while, I'll pay a visit to their branch hall and draw them all out. Help me with a favor: get all those children rescued." ... Late at night, a fortune teller who had yet to pack up his stall at the alley entrance spotted the peep show operator approaching from afar. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Old Mei, where's the carriage?" The peep show operator replied, "The deal went through. Everything's taken care of." "Where's the Branch Master?" "Waiting over at the big warehouse—Warehouse Six, Depot Five. He told all our brothers to bring the little ones and go together." "Go together?" The fortune teller was thoroughly surprised. "Those are the Branch Master's orders." "What about the travel permits?" "Since when is that our concern?" The peep show operator offered no explanation, and the fortune teller dared not dally, hurrying back to the branch hall. Before long, two men came out of the hall and asked the peep show operator, "Did the Branch Master really say all our brothers should go? Do the brothers at every sub-branch have to come along too? Shouldn't we leave at least two behind to watch the place?" The peep show operator shook his head. "How would I know? What kind of status do I have? The Branch Master gave that single order, and I didn't dare ask questions." The men dared not delay and hurried off to muster everyone. Fortunately, there weren't many people in the Heishipo branch to begin with. The peep show operator said, "I rounded up five today. I'll take them to the big warehouse first." With that, the peep show operator left. He was following standard procedure, so no one suspected a thing. Li Banfeng seized the opportunity to bring the skin back into the Portable Abode, sprinkling a fresh splash of blood over it. This was a constraint of the Golden House Conceals a Beauty technique: blood had to be splashed on it inside the abode to maintain its spiritual sentience. A crowd of Jiangxiang Gang disciples gathered the previously abducted children, bound their hands and feet, blindfolded their eyes, gagged their mouths, stuffed them into carriages, and brought them all to the big warehouse. Arriving before the doors of Warehouse Six, Depot Five, they found the peep show operator standing by the entrance, gesturing for them to hurry inside. The Jiangxiang Gang members lifted children from the carriage to unload them, but the peep show operator shook his head. "Leave them by the door for now. Wait for the Branch Master's orders." Everyone filed into the big warehouse together. The peep show operator and Luo Zhengnan closed the warehouse doors tight, securing the latch and the padlock. The peep show operator stopped moving. Its spiritual sentience had run out; its mission was complete. Luo Zhengnan waited by the door for a moment and saw fresh blood seeping out through the door crack. This blood would easily attract attention. He found some soil and spread a layer beneath the door crack to cover the bloody runoff. Then, driving the carriage, he handed the children over to friends to return them home one by one. When Luo Zhengnan returned to the warehouse, Li Banfeng had already settled matters on his end. Everyone from the Heishipo branch hall had been sent on their way, with not even a corpse left behind. Only faint traces of blood remained in the warehouse. Luo Zhengnan said, "Seventh Master, you don't need to worry about this. I'll find someone to clean it up. Pack your things quickly—we need to leave Heishipo as soon as possible. I've asked around; the Garrison Commissioner here was just replaced, and this man has quite a fiery temper. I suspect something big is going to happen in the next day or two." Li Banfeng was already well prepared. "Head to the train station immediately and return to Lüshui City tonight." Luo Zhengnan said, "Seventh Master, if you don't leave, I adamantly refuse to leave." "You must leave. There is urgent business to attend to." Li Banfeng produced a roll of film and handed it to Luo Zhengnan. "Give this roll of film to Ma the Fifth. Make sure to place it directly into his hands, and don't let anyone see it. Tell him this film is for his eyes only. He'll know what to do afterward." Luo Zhengnan stowed the film away safely and hurried off toward Lüshui City. Li Banfeng caught a small train and took a window seat, watching the street scenery outside. Passing by one of the Jiangxiang Gang's sub-branches, he saw it was pitch black inside. It seemed everyone had left, though Li Banfeng wasn't certain if any fish had slipped through the net. Passing by the Garrison Office, Li Banfeng tugged the brim of his hat lower. He knew the Garrison Office was bound to make a move. He would see just how much blood capital the Garrison Commissioner was willing to invest in the Jiangxiang Gang. PS: Blood capital—capital literally made of blood.