Juanzi controlled the body, wiping down the wounds on Mengzi and Xiaoshan.
There was only one body. Aside from the cuts on their faces, the rest of the injuries belonged to all three of them, and wiping them hurt just the same.
Mengzi felt awful. "Our people just aren't united. Liangzhenjiao bullied us like that, and yet people were standing by watching, not even daring to lift a hand."
Juanzi sighed. "The local spirit showed mercy; otherwise, who knows how many of us would have died."
Mengzi made no sound.
Nearby, another three-headed person sat down beside Juanzi. The one in charge in the middle was an old woman, flanked by a middle-aged woman on the left and a young girl on the right.
"Juanzi, that local spirit showed no mercy. He struck hard just now." The old woman was named Ma Huifang, usually called Auntie Fang by those around her.
All three of her heads were female, a rarity among three-headed people. When they arrived at Wuqin Township, Juanzi had gathered people like her together, hoping to settle them there, but this old woman had refused to go. Her understanding of certain matters was clearly far more experienced than Juanzi's.
Juanzi felt Ma Huifang was mistaken. "Auntie Fang, earlier, that local spirit held the upper hand and suddenly stopped. That was him going easy on us."
Ma Huifang shook her head. "Earlier, about fifty of us were fighting him alone, and he could still hold the upper hand. What if another fifty joined in? What if another hundred? Do you think he could hold out?"
Juanzi still disagreed. "Auntie Fang, I've spent time on the outside before too. Local spirits aren't loners; they have subordinates of their own!"
"I know they have subordinates, but what caliber are they? First or second layer of ground-crust, at most third to fifth layer. Any higher, and most become roaming anomalies—how many are willing to follow a local spirit? Even if he called out every last person under him, could they hold us back?"
Juanzi froze for a moment. "Auntie Fang, what do you mean by that...?"
"Either way, having come to this pass, it's time to stake our lives on a fight. You saw it just now—pushed to the brink by Liangzhenjiao, we dared to strike back too. Even though we didn't win, we scared Liangzhenjiao half to death. If fifty people could frighten a local spirit, then if three thousand swarmed him together, we could beat a local spirit to death."
Juanzi knitted her brows tight. "That won't do! We shouldn't do that kind of thing!"
Auntie Fang frowned. "Then what kind of thing do you think we should do? We've walked honestly all this way. How badly have we been played, deceived, and bullied? We care about others and follow every rule, yet now that we're about to starve to death, does anyone care about us?"
Juanzi shook her head. "I promised our benefactor that after escaping, we'd keep following the map, and someone would surely take us in."
"But we have to live long enough to reach that place! Just yesterday, several more people couldn't walk anymore and waited by the roadside. They claimed they were resting their feet, but that's just waiting to starve to death!"
Juanzi fell silent.
The middle-aged Auntie Fang on the left spoke up. "Juanzi, if you ask me, we follow the map, keep looking for a suitable place, and find some food along the way. The two won't get in each other's way."
Juanzi understood what finding food meant—robbing. "How wouldn't they get in each other's way? I don't understand."
The young Auntie Fang said, "We go to the next place first and ask if they're willing to take us in. If they are, we won't say another word; we'll treat them as our benefactor and live an honest life with them. If they aren't willing, fine, we demand something from them—at least some grain. Even a big shot like Pan Dehai gave us food, so this little request of ours isn't unreasonable. But if they won't even give food, and insult us like that bird-person in Wuqin Township, or cheat us like that bird-person Liangzhenjiao, then we can't be polite anymore! We fight if we have to fight, and rob if we have to rob! Juanzi, you've made your way outside before; you know how hard it is to find a way to live! If we keep being honest folks, we're truly finished!"
Juanzi lowered her head in silence.
Mengzi chimed in beside her, "Sister, I think Auntie Fang has a point. We need to get a bit ruthless."
Juanzi shook her head. "The Garrison Commissioners are pursuing us from behind. If we get into a fight with a local spirit and end up caught between enemies front and rear, won't our three thousand people be completely wiped out?"
The elderly Auntie Fang shook her head repeatedly. "Child, if that really happened, it'd almost be a blessing—at least we'd die quick! We're already finished as it is; dying by the blade is better than starving to death!"
The middle-aged Auntie Fang said, "Juanzi, since we've walked out of Sinner City, if we want to keep living, our mindset has to change."
***
"Chu the Second's mindset has changed. She's changed so much I almost don't recognize her."
Walking on the road to Zhengjing Village, Ma the Fifth was casually chatting with Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng scoffed. "How much could she change?"
"You'll know once you see her. She's truly different from before."
"I don't want to see her," Li Banfeng waved his hand, then turned to call out to Zuo Wugang, "Have the folks behind keep up. This marshy ground is hard going."
Over seven thousand plots of Qiu Luoye's territory had been cleared. Ma the Fifth had experienced land reclamation before, but clearing an entire hundred li of land into a single unified territory was something he had never witnessed in his life.
Not just him—even if his father Ma Chunting were here, he wouldn't have dared imagine it.
"Old Seven, I still can't believe it's real. You're truly mad. You actually pulled this off. Back then, even with the Lu and Chu families joining hands, they couldn't even clear a ten-li expanse."
Li Banfeng said, "That's why I can't figure it out either. We pulled this off thirty percent by our own means and seventy percent thanks to Qiu Luoye looking out for us. But given the strength of the Chu and Lu families back then, why wouldn't the local spirit let them clear this land? If they cleared it, the two families would definitely have been able to build it up. For the local spirit, there were a hundred benefits and not a single downside. Why couldn't they let it pass, and instead insisted on getting Chu Shaoqiang killed?"
Ma the Fifth lowered his voice. "I only just heard my Fourth Brother mention this recently. There seems to be more to the story. Chu Shaoqiang's death wasn't solely due to the land-clearing trials; it seems the Garrison Commissioner had a hand in it too."
Li Banfeng's cheek twitched. "The Garrison Commissioners meddle enough in proper land, and the fuckers still can't rest when it comes to newland. There's nowhere those bird-people won't stick their hands."
"Let's not talk about the Garrison Commissioners for now, Old Seven. Last night I kept thinking about this land and couldn't sleep a wink. Say, if this place really becomes proper land, what kind of business do you want to run?"
Li Banfeng chuckled. "We're the first batch of landowners. Whatever we want to run, we run."
Ma the Fifth said, "I specifically asked around about that. The first batch of landowners is something special. The rule about shedding blood for protection is still valid. With that blessing, no one will dare give you trouble in business down the line."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Give *us* trouble. The business belongs to both of us."
"Old Seven, you fought for this land all by yourself. I wouldn't dare..."
"Without you backing me in business, what capital would I have had to fight with? Better to think about the future—to what heights can we build this territory of ours?"
Ma the Fifth's voice shook slightly. "I don't know what good fortune I accumulated in past lives to meet you in this one. Old Seven, I... I feel that within our lifetime, we ought to be able to build it into another Yaowanggou."
"That won't do. It has to be more bustling than Yaowanggou."
"If we really push ourselves, maybe we can become a Black Rock Slope."
"Black Rock Slope is still lacking."
"Don't tell me you want to turn it into Lüshui City?"
"That depends on what we brothers are capable of!"
Ma the Fifth was thrilled, yet the deeper they ventured into newland, the clearer the practical problems became.
Qiu Luoye's territory was not shallow land; it bordered no proper land anywhere.
An island of proper land appearing right in the middle of surrounding newland—what kind of situation was that?
It was a situation Ma the Fifth couldn't fathom, and currently nothing of the sort existed in all of Puluo Province.
Would people truly trek across mountains and rivers just to live in a city deep within newland?
Dispiriting thoughts could wait for later; after all, the land clearance was not yet finished, and the matter of ten thousand residents was further from settled.
Arriving at Qiu Luoye's territory, Chu the Second came out to meet them. The one-li and three-li plots had both been cleared successfully, and Chu the Second was preparing to clear a five-li plot. Clearing five li of wasteland required a tremendous amount of preparation. Chu the Second was covered in dust and grime; Li the Seventh barely recognized her, though Ma the Fifth found the sight quite pleasing.
"Second Miss, you've had it rough."
"Fifth Young Master, you're too polite," Chu the Second smiled, then turned to Li Banfeng. "Seventh Brother, it's been a long time."
"Yeah," Li Banfeng answered, already preparing to leave immediately.
Behind him, Chu the Second called out, "I have a few words I'd like to say to you in private."
Li Banfeng nodded. "Take your time talking."
Ma the Fifth caught Li Banfeng. "Old Seven, Second Miss wants to talk to *you*."
Helpless, Li Banfeng followed Chu the Second to a quiet spot and asked, "What do you want?"
Chu the Second bowed her head in a shy smile, then slowly looked up, rolling her eyes upward toward Li Banfeng. "Left without a word, just dumping me all by myself in Kucaizhuang?"
Li Banfeng said in shock, "You went to Kucaizhuang to cultivate! I'm not an ascetic cultivator; what would I stay there for?"
"Because of you, I took who knows how many beatings from Granny Ku! How are we going to settle this debt?"
"Go settle it with Granny Ku! Why bring it to me?"
"You heartless bastard!" Chu the Second lunged forward and began grappling with Li Banfeng.
Hearing the racket, Ma the Fifth walked over. Chu the Second hastily pulled back her hands and said with a bashful smile, "Seventh Brother, you're too impatient."
Impatient?
What in the world had they been doing?
Li Banfeng smoothed out his clothes and looked at Ma the Fifth. "You said she changed? Where exactly did she change?"
Ma the Fifth didn't understand what Li Banfeng meant. Chu the Second had changed so dramatically, yet Li Banfeng couldn't see it at all.
Li Banfeng didn't care to spare Chu the Second another glance and turned to leave.
Chu the Second trailed behind him, speaking in a soft, gentle voice. "Seventh Brother, your Second Aunt asked me to pass along a message. She said you haven't visited her in a long time."
"More fucking nonsense. Where would I get a Second Aunt..." Li Banfeng suddenly froze in his tracks. His attitude toward Chu the Second softened considerably. "Uh, well, Second Miss, could you pass a message to Second Aunt for me? Tell her that once I finish this busy spell..."
Chu the Second shook her head. "Whatever you want to say, you'd best tell her yourself. Second Aunt often tells me that what is owed must be repaid."
Li Banfeng gave a hearty laugh. "The old lady is being too distant. I'm her own nephew—what's a little owing between family?"
Chu the Second added, "Second Aunt also often says another thing. She says you're a person who lacks tempering, and you'd better not wait for her to come out and drag you back herself."
A chill ran down Li Banfeng's spine. Just as he was pondering how to get Chu the Second to send a word to Granny Ku, he noticed Qiu Luoye walking over.
Qiu Luoye looked at Chu the Second, then asked Li Banfeng, "Is this your sweetheart?"
"How embarrassing!" Flushing red, Chu the Second turned and walked away.
Li Banfeng was genuinely curious how she managed to put on such an act.
Qiu Luoye said to Li Banfeng, "Brother, trouble's brewing. Ever heard of Sinner City?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. He truly had never heard of it.
Qiu Luoye said, "Sinner City is Santoucha's territory, inhabited entirely by monsters. A pack of monsters escaped from Sinner City.
"Those monsters have arrived beside our territory and are looking to make trouble for us. I'll go handle it. If we can talk it through, we talk; if not, we fight. Please look after the land clearance; I won't have time for it over the next couple days."
Qiu Luoye turned to go, but Li Banfeng stopped him. "Brother Qiu, don't rush off just yet. If you go, I'm afraid things will only take a turn for the worse."
Chapter 418