Who Are They Really Coming For?

Li Banfeng arrived at Zhengjing Village and found Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye to discuss borrowing some help. Shui Yongquan fell silent for a moment before saying, "Li the Seventh, I haven't been to proper land in many years, and there are probably things I truly don't understand anymore. But I still want to say this: if you try to go head-to-head with the Garrison Commissioner, I'm afraid it won't work." Li Banfeng shook his head. "The time has come. This time, we have to play hardball with them." Shui Yongquan said helplessly, "You have your own ideas, but as for lending you people, allow me to consider it further. We already sent Huo Ling and Ah Qin over earlier, and my heart is still on edge..." Beside them, Qiu Luoye gave a snort. "What are you on edge about? Huo Ling and Ah Qin are both my people!" Shui Yongquan said, "They had to use my technique to go to proper land." Qiu Luoye sneered, "What, are you afraid someone will trace the technique back to you?" Shui Yongquan sighed. "Lüshui City is Lü Huazi's territory. If we keep sending people there, aren't you worried he'll attack us?" "Worried about what? Do you really think he can attack us?" Qiu Luoye was calm, not speaking in anger. "This is our doorstep. Let him try." Shui Yongquan sighed, "You're always too reckless." Qiu Luoye chuckled. "And your way is cautious? Could you be more cautious than those local spirits next to Lüshuiwan? "They're cautious all right. Every time Lü Huazi comes, they back down. I heard one local spirit was beaten out of seventy percent of his territory, leaving less than thirty percent, and who knows how long he can hold out. "Plenty of people have cleared wilderness around Lüshuiwan, but none of that newland ever turned into proper land. As soon as a plot is nearly reclaimed, Lü Huazi snatches it away. "My arithmetic isn't great, so I don't know just how big seventy percent of a territory is. We've been lucky because our land is a bit farther from Lü Huazi. But once he's taken all the surrounding territory and reaches his hands out to us, do you think being cautious will save you from a beating?" Shui Yongquan shook his head. "He couldn't possibly reach this far. By the time he actually stretches his hand over, our place will probably have turned into proper land. It won't be too late to measure ourselves against him then." Qiu Luoye scoffed. "With courage like yours, you still expect this place to become proper land? Don't you feel embarrassed even saying that?" Shui Yongquan frowned. "Do you have any idea how much human vitality Lüshui City has? Do you know how high Lü Huazi's cultivation is? If he finds out you're sending anomalies into his territory, do you know what the consequences will be?" Qiu Luoye turned his face and looked earnestly at Shui Yongquan. "I know. Lü Huazi's cultivation is far above yours and mine. If you're scared, you can cower in the newland for the rest of your life. If you're not, then let's fight for it this once! "Li the Seventh, I'll send you men, and they'll all be skilled fighters! If Old Shui here doesn't dare help you, I'll find someone else who will. Isn't it just a matter of concealing their identities? We have plenty of ways! "First, let's talk price. How many people can you bring to clear the land?" Regardless of their past grievances, Li Banfeng still admired Qiu Luoye's straightforwardness. Li Banfeng held up a hand. "Five hundred people." With his businesses running smoothly in every location, finding five hundred people to clear land was no great difficulty given Li Banfeng's resources today. Qiu Luoye slammed a fist into the ground, making the earth shudder several times. "Splendid! Let's go pick our people!" Shui Yongquan pursed his lips. "Five hundred people... that really is a lot..." Of course it was. Before Li Banfeng's arrival, no one had ever succeeded in clearing land here under Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye; the two of them would practically fight over a single homesteader. They had achieved their cultivation of the second tier above the clouds relying on the vitality gathered from numerous anomalies. Originally, they had given up all hope of land reclamation, but now hope had arrived. Ever since they met, Li Banfeng had arranged groups of workers one after another to clear dozens of plots across both Shui Yongquan's and Qiu Luoye's territories. And now, he was bringing in a massive haul. Qiu Luoye smiled. "Old Shui, drooling now? A fat piece of meat like this sitting right in front of you—do you want a bite? "If you want a bite, you have to pull your weight! Brother Li the Seventh came to us to get things done. You know what getting things done means? "Bring out some real goods! Stop singing the same damned tired tune all the time!" Shui Yongquan gritted his teeth. "Fine, then! Let's do it!" Qiu Luoye did not mince around; he called over six capable fighters for Li Banfeng. One was the headless woman, Duan Wuchou. She was female, her figure and attire identical to any normal woman's, except she had no head. She usually spoke through her belly button and was a tier six nightmare cultivator. Another was the two-headed woman, Liang Wucai. She was also female with a normal figure, but she had two heads. The heads were distinguished by name: one was called Liang Wu, and the other Liang Cai, and when they had nothing better to do, they often bickered and squabbled with each other. Shui Yongquan looked at Duan Wuchou and Liang Wucai and rubbed his forehead. "Couldn't you two just even things out between yourselves? Elephant Qiu, you pick people like this—how am I supposed to conceal their identities?" Besides these two, there was Bai Shoulian, a tier six body cultivator. True to his name, the man had over a hundred arms. Guan Bafang, a tier six Scrying Cultivator, was a man with sixteen eyes. Chi Liuhe, a tier six food cultivator, was a woman even fatter than Qiu Luoye. The last one was the Street-Scolding Crone, an old acquaintance who needed no introduction. Shui Yongquan bellowed in fury, "Elephant Qiu, you motherfucker, are you looking for trouble on purpose?! How in the world am I supposed to bring people like this into Lüshui City?!" Except for the Street-Scolding Crone, the remaining five presented severe technical difficulties for Shui Yongquan. Qiu Luoye said, "Old Shui, five hundred homesteaders don't come cheap. Brother Li the Seventh asked for ruthless fighters. How could ruthless fighters look neat and normal? Figure something out." To earn more homesteaders, Shui Yongquan went all out, using his Technique of a Hundred Streams and a Hundred Transformations to forcibly alter the appearances of the five. Employing the technique took time. As Shui Yongquan cast it, he gave repeated instructions: "If you find the technique failing to conceal your appearance, drink water immediately and wash your body with water! As long as you have enough water, the technique will be restored!" Both of them had invested heavily and taken substantial risks. Li Banfeng immediately hurried back to Lüshui City to gather the homesteaders. His greatest concern right now was time. According to Shan Baowen, Chu Huaijun would make his move within a few days. He hadn't known whether the reinforcements from the newland would make it in time. Once the six helpers from the newland arrived, Li Banfeng finally felt at ease. The two-headed Liang Wucai, the food cultivator Chi Liuhe, and the body cultivator Bai Shoulian were sent first to Lu Chunying's residence to set up defenses. The Street-Scolding Crone, the Scrying Cultivator Guan Bafang, and the nightmare cultivator Duan Wuchou were placed under Luo Zhengnan's command, tasked with monitoring movements at the Chu family estate and transmitting information. Shen Rongqing and Zhang Xiuling were also ready to provide support at a moment's notice. Li Banfeng remained at Xiaoyaowu, managing business while continuing to recruit people. He made a trip back to his own territory, hoping to invite Zhang Wanlong over as well. Even if the Garrison Commissioner tore off all pretenses of civility, Li Banfeng was prepared to see this through to the bitter end. However, Zhang Wanlong politely declined. "Seventh Master, I truly want to help you, but I'm just a farmer. Fighting really isn't my forte. I have two sacks of fine seeds here, plus some medicinal liquids; you can have them all. That's the extent of what I can do, so please don't make it difficult for me." That Zhang Wanlong was willing to go this far already satisfied Li Banfeng. Farm Cultivators were indeed ill-suited for battlefield clashes. Moreover, Zhang Wanlong was not a journey cultivator. Walking from Li Banfeng's territory to Lüshui City would take quite some time; by the time he arrived, Chu Huaijun would likely have already struck. Li Banfeng did not take Zhang Wanlong's seeds and medicinal liquid for nothing; on the spot, he had Zhang Wanlong tally up the price and paid him in silver dollars. Back in Lüshui City, Li Banfeng continued monitoring Chu Huaijun's movements. Yet Chu Huaijun remained remarkably patient, making no moves whatsoever. Could Shan Baowen's information have been mistaken? Or was the person they wanted to eliminate not among those three? Li Banfeng worried this was Chu Huaijun's stalling tactic. Once things slowed down, vigilance would inevitably slacken, and the slightest lapse could cause all their prior preparations to go down the drain. Yet the Chu family simply did not move. Late into the night, Xiaoyaowu had just closed its doors. Li Banfeng was contemplating his next move, wondering if he should strike directly at the Chu family's gates. On second thought, he realized that doing so would be utterly foolish. His side had made thorough preparations and held the initiative; now they just needed to wait for the enemy to come knocking, yet he was growing impatient. The wife said I was impetuous, and she really wasn't wrong. I'll go find the wife shortly, grease her gears, vent some steam, and then think of a countermeasure. Just as Li Banfeng was about to return to the Portable Abode, Qin Xiaopang suddenly arrived at Xiaoyaowu. Li Banfeng frowned. "Why did you come straight here? Weren't we supposed to meet at the teahouse? If your first chief's men are watching you, things will get messy." Xiaopang shook his head. "Seventh Brother, there's no time to worry about that. The second chief told me to bring you word: the first chief assembled over fifty skilled fighters and set out from Yangjiaoyuan two hours ago." Li Banfeng's brow twitched. Now he understood why the Chu family hadn't moved. The Chu family never intended to get their own hands dirty; they had Sanying Gate do the deed for them. And Sanying Gate had actually made a move—was it solely for that pair of judge's brushes? Yangjiaoyuan was in a remote spot, not far from Lu Chunying's residence. Sanying Gate certainly knew how to pick a staging ground. Fine. Once they reach Lu Chunying's estate, not one of those fifty-odd men will escape. Wait. From Yangjiaoyuan to Lu Chunying's residence didn't take two hours. If fighting had broken out at Lu Chunying's, word should have reached me by now. Why hasn't there been any stir? "Did your gold seal lead the men there and then hold off on attacking?" Qin Xiaopang shook his head. "How could they do that? With all those men assembled, if they don't strike immediately, are they supposed to wait around for word to leak?" Li Banfeng fell silent for a moment, a cold sweat breaking out all over his body. They weren't heading for Lu Chunying's estate. The one they were after was not He Yuxiu, not Lu Chunying, nor Ma the Fifth. Li Banfeng said to Qin Xiaopang, "Old Nine, go find your second chief at once. Ask him if he wants to be the first chief. If he does, tell him to seize your first chief's seat tonight." Xiaopang froze. "Seventh Brother, you mean tonight?" "Right now." Xiaopang dared not delay and turned to leave. Li Banfeng called after him, "Don't take the front door—go out through the back! No matter who you run into along the way, steer clear, ignore them, and get to your second chief as fast as you can!" Xiaopang fled through the back door. Li Banfeng summoned Cao Zhida. "How many people are still in Xiaoyaowu?" Cao Zhida calculated, "No guests stayed overnight, so it's just our own people. Seventeen guards, three resident singers, over thirty backup and escort dancers, around ten musicians in the band, and counting accountants, cooks, and odd-job workers, close to a hundred people." "Get them out of here. Every last one." Cao Zhida glanced at the mantle clock. "Leave? Leave now? It's past midnight." "Leave! Immediately!" Once they were sent away, Li Banfeng planned to hide in the Portable Abode. Cao Zhida dared not ask questions and was about to gather the people when Li Banfeng called him back. He was estimating the distance from Yangjiaoyuan to Xiaoyaowu. It was too late. These people couldn't get away. By the time all hundred of them were rounded up, the moment they stepped outside, they would run smack into Sanying Gate's men. Sanying Gate had a prominent reputation, but at the end of the day, they were a gang of outlaws. They would slaughter everyone, then raze Xiaoyaowu to the ground. And then? Would I hide inside the Portable Abode? Li Banfeng muttered under his breath, "One way or another, they're coming. What does it matter where they go?!" Cao Zhida asked in bewilderment, "Who's coming?" Li Banfeng spoke again: "They can't leave." "We're... we're not leaving again?" "We're not leaving," Li Banfeng stood up. "Gather everyone into the main ballroom. Stay inside, and nobody wanders off." Cao Zhida hurried off to comply. Li Banfeng took out the circuit board, installed the battery, connected the antenna, attached the rotary dial, and contacted Luo Zhengnan. "Tell Ma the Fifth that Sanying Gate is almost at Xiaoyaowu." Luo Zhengnan's head buzzed. "Seventh Master, they're coming for you! Run, quickly!" "I'm not leaving. I'll hold them off here. Have Ma the Fifth bring our men immediately—bring everyone we have. "Tell Shen Rongqing and Zhang Xiuling that Sanying Gate is about to change their first chief, and have them come serve as witnesses. "Keep someone watching Chu Huaijun's doorstep. The moment he shows his face, send word immediately." Cao Zhida returned to report, "Seventh Master, everyone is assembled. They're all in the main ballroom." Li Banfeng nodded, gripped his dagger, and headed for the main ballroom. Cao Zhida froze. "Seventh Master, what are you going to do?" "Draw blood!" Clutching the dagger, Li Banfeng scanned every single person in the ballroom. P.S. Seventh Master had truly lost his mind; Jiang Mengting even wet her pants. He really was about to draw blood.