Li Banfeng walked a circuit around his domain. He saw that Zhang Wanlong had already established a village; across the three-li territory, crops stretched unbroken and farmhouses stood in neat rows.
Growing so many crops made good sense, but what was the use of building so many farmhouses? Weren't he and Genzi the only two people living here?
Li Banfeng entered the plot and walked along a rural path, seeing many farmers working in the fields and chatting by the roadside.
A man was chopping firewood in his courtyard, while a woman—apparently his wife—was rinsing rice beside him.
Li Banfeng activated his Hundred Flavors Exquisite technique and sniffed the air at the courtyard gate.
A crisp, pungent, and sweet aroma wafted from the couple; they were a pair of radishes.
An old man came toward him driving an oxcart laden with potatoes, giving off the distinctive raw, earthy smell of soil.
As they brushed past each other, the old man smiled at Li Banfeng. Both he and his ox smelled exactly like the potatoes.
By the river, several women were washing clothes with wooden beaters. Some wiped away sweat, some chatted, and others were playing around. To an ordinary onlooker, it was impossible to tell that these women were all summer squashes.
Out in the fields, a youth carrying seven buckets on his back and holding a ladle was busy at work.
What kind of crop had he turned from?
Li Banfeng didn't dare sniff too much. He immediately shut off his Hundred Flavors Exquisite technique and walked over.
"Genzi."
Seeing Li Banfeng, Xiao Genzi beamed with surprise. "Seventh Master, when did you get here?"
"Just arrived, just taking a look around. You've got two more buckets on you—did you advance?" In the past, Genzi had usually carried five buckets on his back.
Genzi nodded. "Seventh Master, my cultivation has reached Tier Three."
"Good work!" Li Banfeng commended him and handed him two Xuanchi Pills. Turning his gaze to the farmers toiling in the fields, he asked, "Did Zhang Wanlong grow all of them?"
Genzi nodded. "Big Brother Zhang is amazing. I've learned a lot of skills from him."
"Why did you two build so many houses?"
"Big Brother Zhang says what he grows are people, so they ought to live like proper human beings!"
Li Banfeng smiled. He figured this was Zhang Wanlong's defensive measure; if anyone invaded the village, telling the true identities of these villagers apart would be nearly impossible, and intruders would surely suffer for it.
After chatting a bit more with Genzi, Li Banfeng prepared to leave, but suddenly turned back. "Genzi, where did you get the buckets on your back?"
Buckets like the ones he carried were not something found just anywhere. In Li Banfeng's recollection, only the peddler had them.
Genzi answered truthfully, "I bought them from the peddler. He was just here two days ago."
The peddler had been here?
Li Banfeng was startled. "He came here to do business?"
Genzi nodded. "The peddler said he visits often. He's friends with the local spirit here."
Li Banfeng shuddered.
The peddler was friends with Lord Mountain-Uprooter?
Did he know Lord Mountain-Uprooter was already gone?
"Did the peddler ask about anything else?"
Genzi thought about it and said, "He didn't ask much about me. He gave me some medicine, saying it was for killing bugs, and told me to pass it on to Big Brother Zhang."
"He knew Zhang Wanlong was here? Why didn't he hand it to Zhang Wanlong himself?"
Genzi said, "The day before the peddler arrived, Big Brother Zhang slipped off to hide somewhere. He didn't seem keen on seeing the peddler. But once he saw the powder the peddler had left, Big Brother Zhang was actually in quite a good mood. He even said he wouldn't need to hide from the peddler anymore."
Li Banfeng recognized the powder. Back at Haichiling, the peddler had given this kind of powder to the villagers for pest control.
From the look of it, the peddler approved of Zhang Wanlong's actions.
Genzi asked, "Seventh Master, are you looking for Big Brother Zhang? I can take you to him. At this hour, he should be at home blending seeds."
Li Banfeng went over to Zhang Wanlong's place, made small talk, and bought two more sacks of seeds from him.
Leaving Zhang Wanlong's plot, Li Banfeng traveled all the way to Bei Wushuang's domain. He first went to the cavern and found the Heavenly Spring Joyous Soil.
When the Portable Abode encountered something it liked, it helped itself. Li Banfeng hoped it would take a generous amount so they could build a few more stations.
After lingering in the cavern for a short while, the glove poked out from Li Banfeng's pocket. "Master, our Old Master ought to have made his move already, but this time he couldn't take much."
"What? Did he finally feel some shame?"
The glove wagged a finger. "Shame? That old thing has never cared about saving face. The real issue is that there isn't much Joyous Soil left here."
"Who said there isn't much? Isn't it everywhere?" Li Banfeng reached out and clutched at the cavern wall, carving a hole straight out.
The surrounding Joyous Soil looked completely intact, but in reality only a paper-thin layer remained on the surface; the inside had been hollowed out clean.
The glove said to Li Banfeng, "Master, you see it yourself. When our Old Master acts, he is extraordinarily thorough. He's stolen almost everything bare, yet leaves the surface looking untouched."
Bei Wushuang was already dead, so who was all this sneaking around even for?
Li Banfeng produced a sack and scraped up all the surface Joyous Soil. Even if it wasn't enough to build a station, he could eat it himself when he got back, which would allow him to shower proper affection on his wife later on.
Once he finished gathering the surface layer of Joyous Soil, the whole cavern expanded outward by several meters. Not a trace of soil remained around them, leaving only dark blue-black rock, scraped completely clean.
Returning to the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng asked directly, "How much did you take this time?"
The Portable Abode snorted coldly. "This old man took nothing."
No sooner had the words fallen than some soil trickled out from Room Three.
The glove scoffed, "The Old Master is always so remarkably high-minded."
Li Banfeng opened Room Three and glanced inside. "Is this soil enough to build a station?"
The Portable Abode made a rough calculation. "Barely enough. Where do you want to build it?"
Li Banfeng intended to build the station in Qiu Luoye's domain, not only to support the current reclamation effort, but also to prepare for future undertakings.
He had opened up numerous plots in Qiu Luoye's territory. He was the master of those lands, and they belonged to him. Aside from Li Banfeng's own personal plots, Qiu Luoye's domain had become one of his most crucial foundations.
What needed consideration now was where exactly to place the station.
The site had to be thoroughly concealed; even in Li Banfeng's absence, ordinary people shouldn't be able to easily approach it.
The Portable Abode offered a suggestion: "Bei Wushuang's dwelling was quite peculiar. You could go have a look and study his construction techniques."
Bei Wushuang had been dead for so long that Pan Dehai was surely gone by now.
Li Banfeng arrived at the desert sandpit. Bei Wushuang's remains had vanished, and the few sand eyes that had previously emerged in the pit were gone as well.
Such a dwelling was indeed well hidden, highly suitable for building a station.
The problem was, how was he supposed to get inside Bei Wushuang's dwelling?
During the battle between Bei Wushuang, Gao Shuxia, and the Hundred-Eyed Fish, Bei Wushuang had used the sounds of his footsteps and howls to create a melody, which was what opened the entrance to his dwelling.
Li Banfeng clearly lacked that capability. Returning to the Portable Abode, he said, "If we want to get inside his dwelling, I'll need my wife's help."
The Portable Abode refused. "I said before: not again."
From the side, the gramophone said, "Husband, why don't I teach you a few methods so you can go test if they work?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Bei Wushuang possessed cultivation above the clouds. Any technique I learn on the spot definitely won't open his door. If you don't come along, Wife, this whole trip will have been for nothing."
After hesitating repeatedly, the Portable Abode finally agreed to Li Banfeng's request. However, the rule remained: the gramophone could not take her combat power outside.
Li Banfeng carried the gramophone into the sandpit. His wife turned her horn, observing all around.
*Wuuu—*
A low hum resonated, sending slight tremors through the yellow sands across the ground. Through the feedback of the sand, she analyzed the subterranean structure.
*Dong, dong—*
The beat of drums sounded; she was imitating Bei Wushuang's footsteps.
*Ta-la-ba-ba—*
The blare of a suona followed closely; she was imitating Bei Wushuang's cries.
After the tune ended, the quicksand on the ground swirled rapidly, and a sand eye slowly reemerged.
"How strange," the gramophone murmured softly. "It shouldn't have been this easy. Why is Bei Wushuang's technique so familiar?"
Li Banfeng asked in surprise, "Isn't Bei Wushuang a Sound Cultivator? Aren't Sound Cultivators' techniques all the same? Haven't you always been familiar with the techniques of Sound Cultivators, Wife?"
"Husband, the Sound Cultivator pathway has its peculiarities. Everyone's voice is different, so their techniques vary. But Bei Wushuang's technique is far too familiar to this servant, yet I truly cannot recall ever knowing such a person."
Bei Wushuang was already dead, and his body hadn't even been brought back, making this hard to investigate.
"Let's go inside his manor to look around. Perhaps we'll find some clues," Li Banfeng said, looking at the sand eye. "Is this the entrance?"
His wife cautioned, "Husband, be careful. There are dozens of entrances inside this sandpit, and most lead to traps and mechanisms. The one this servant opened should lead to his dwelling, but this place of his is bizarre; there's no telling what arrangements await in the main hall."
Heightening his vigilance, Li Banfeng held his wife and entered the sand eye. Sheets of fine sand surged toward his face, nearly pouring into his ears, nose, and mouth.
Li Banfeng used his Severing Paths to Open Roads technique to force back the fine sand. Following the sand eye, he went all the way into the hall.
The hall was pitch-black. Li Banfeng struck a match, getting a general sense of the layout.
It was roughly ten-odd meters long and wide, with a ceiling under two meters high—a fairly spacious yet somewhat oppressive hall.
*Wuu-weng—*
His wife let out another low hum.
A door emerged on each of the surrounding walls.
The gramophone grew even more astonished. "Husband, whoever did this Bei Wushuang study under? His techniques truly resemble this servant's far too closely."
"Don't joke. How could his camel howling bear any resemblance to you, Wife?" Li Banfeng looked around. "Where do these four doors lead?"
"Each of the four doors leads to a room. It does no harm for Husband to open them and look, but take utmost care regarding mechanisms."
Li Banfeng first opened the nearest door. Behind it was a small room packed with a full room of gold bars, along with some scattered silver dollars.
"Vulgar trinkets!" Li Banfeng sneered, hauling the entire room's contents into the Portable Abode.
Opening the second door revealed an exceptionally spacious room. This was Bei Wushuang's bedroom, containing a massive bed. The pale yellow bed curtains and valance felt exquisitely fine to the touch, adorned with intricate paintings that seemed to depict the tale of a camel caravan traveling far to trade.
Li Banfeng didn't examine the curtains closely; he tested the feel of the bed.
This bed was so soft!
Li Banfeng set the gramophone on the bed. "Wife, wouldn't it be quite comfortable sleeping on this?"
The gramophone gave a huff. "Is Husband mocking this servant?"
"I want to take this bed back and set you on it."
The gramophone chuckled softly. Li Banfeng wasn't joking—he actually lifted the bed up.
The bed was too large to fit through the doorway. Seeing that Li Banfeng was in earnest, the gramophone quickly produced mechanical tools and dismantled the bed in just a few motions. Li Banfeng gathered the parts and sent them, along with the bed curtains and valance, back into the house.
Pushing open the third door revealed an empty room. Just as Li Banfeng was about to step inside, he suddenly sensed danger looming.
He didn't enter that room.
If he wasn't mistaken, this room was likely where Bei Wushuang kept his covenant deeds, which meant it was rigged with plenty of traps.
Behind the fourth door lay numerous musical instruments: huqin, pipa, guzheng, yangqin, suona, gongs and drums... as well as a sword.
A sword resting among a pile of musical instruments looked rather out of place.
And considering Bei Wushuang's appearance, a camel hardly seemed suited to a nimble weapon like a sword.
In his arms, his wife suddenly trembled.
She realized why Bei Wushuang's techniques resembled hers—because many of those techniques were things Bei Wushuang had learned from right here!
Seeing his wife trembling in his arms, Li Banfeng asked, "Wife, what's wrong?"
"Husband... this servant loves everything in this room."
His wife liked musical instruments. That was something Li Banfeng had overlooked; had he known sooner, he would have bought more for her.
He entered the room, confirmed there were no traps, and carried all the instruments back into the house.
His wife spoke again: "Husband, that sword... this servant loves it too."
His wife liked swords?
For a gramophone, wouldn't wielding a sword be a bit difficult?
If she liked it, bringing it back was all that mattered. Li Banfeng took the sword back into the Portable Abode as well.
There was also a large wooden cabinet in the room. Li Banfeng opened it, took a look, and beamed.
Inside were covenant deeds.
Not the local spirit's covenant deeds, but deeds for the anomalies of the domain—a whole cabinet full of them.
Li Banfeng gathered up the deeds and brought them all back into the Portable Abode. These anomalies now belonged to him!
After hauling the cabinet into the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng asked, "Did you get a clear look at his dwelling?"
The Portable Abode answered, "You haven't walked through the entire manor yet, but other areas may not be easy to traverse."
The gramophone chimed in, "Indeed, not easy—there are traps in many places."
The Portable Abode said to the gramophone, "Enough. We've learned enough of the construction techniques. Even if I missed anything, you ought to have mastered it by now. Take your man and let's get out first."
The gramophone performed another musical piece, and a sand eye appeared on the ceiling of the hall.
Li Banfeng leapt into the sand eye. Moving upward was more strenuous than descending, but for the footwork of a journey cultivator, it amounted to very little.
Emerging from the sand eye, Li Banfeng returned his wife to the Portable Abode, took a stack of covenant deeds from the cabinet, brought along his assortment of magical treasures, and set off to find the anomalies in Bei Wushuang's domain.
No sooner had Li Banfeng left than the gramophone drew the longsword, pointing it directly at Hong Ying's forehead. "Slut, do you still recognize this sword?"
Dried blood stained the blade, faintly giving off a metallic, coppery reek.
Hong Ying smiled. "I do. That's my sword—the one used to kill you!"
"Slut!" The gramophone's voice trembled slightly. "I'll cut off your head this instant!"
"Come on then," Hong Ying said, thrusting her spearhead forward. "Cut me down, and we'll be square!"
Chapter 407