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"The sinners of Sinner City—what sins did they actually commit?" Li Banfeng was completely unfamiliar with these terms. Qiu Luoye shook his head. "It's hard to explain clearly. Bottom line is, this bunch isn't good news, and word is they're tangled up with the Outer States." "Tangled up with the Outer States? Were they sent by them?" Li Banfeng was instantly on his guard. If the Outer States had sent them, they couldn't be allowed to set a single foot on the territory. Qiu Luoye said, "The word put out by those Garrison Commissioners in the Outer States is that anyone who shelters runaways from Sinner City is picking a fight with them. Picking a fight doesn't bother me—I'm not scared of any Garrison Commissioner. But these monsters are tough to deal with. I have to strike first. Tell the land clearers to be extra careful these days. Those three-headed freaks are all on the eastern edge of our boundary. Keep our people away from that direction." As Qiu Luoye turned to leave again, Li Banfeng said, "Brother Qiu, let's swap. You stay here and keep an eye on the land clearing, and I'll go check on that bunch. We're at a critical juncture right now. As long as they weren't sent to cause trouble by the Outer or Inner States, let's try not to resort to force." Qiu Luoye waved a hand dismissively. "To me, they look like trouble already! Leaving their lives right here is the safest bet!" Ordinary persuasion would never stop Qiu Luoye, so Li Banfeng switched tactics. "Brother Qiu, hundreds of people clear land every day. How am I supposed to supervise them? Can I collect offerings, or can I send people out to test them?" In truth, Li Banfeng could do all of that, but Qiu Luoye didn't know it. "Brother, I'm not trying to make things hard on you..." Li Banfeng said, "I don't know the first thing about being a local spirit. I'll go talk with the outsiders and get a read on the situation. That's something I can handle properly." Qiu Luoye remained uneasy. "Monsters from Sinner City can all fight. I'm worried something might happen to you. Make them send someone into our territory to talk." "That won't do," Li Banfeng countered, equally cautious. "One might be manageable, but what if a whole mob pours in? I'll go alone. Even if something goes wrong, I have ways to get away." "Old Seven, how about we try a civil approach with them first?" Qiu Luoye intended to write a letter for Li Banfeng to carry, hoping to intimidate the other side a little. Remembering the covenant deeds Qiu Luoye had written for the anomalies, and judging by that literary talent of his, it was better not to write any letters for now. Li Banfeng headed straight to the eastern border of the territory. From far away, he spotted Juanzi waiting by the roadside. She had quite presentable features. After living in Puluo Province for a year and a half, Li Banfeng had seen far too much to find three-headed people hard to accept. A tiger under Qiu Luoye's command was currently negotiating with Juanzi. "Let me tell you, don't be ungrateful! Master Qiu told you to get lost right away. If you don't scram, I won't be polite!" Juanzi replied courteously, "If you won't take us in, that's fine, but could you spare us a little food?" "Where are we supposed to find so much food for you? Get moving right now, don't force me to get rough!" Mengzi lost his temper. "What if you get rough? You think I'm afraid of you?!" Just as both sides were about to clash, the tiger saw Li Banfeng approaching and hastily backed off to the side. Li the Seventh looked at Juanzi, then at Mengzi, and finally at Xiaoshan. "Who's in charge here?" Juanzi said, "I am." Juanzi stood over two meters tall. Finding it strenuous to crane his neck, Li Banfeng pointed to a boulder by the roadside. "Can we sit down and talk?" Juanzi nodded. The moment she sat down, something jabbed her, and she stood right back up. The rock spoke in an old man's voice: "Seventh Master, Master Qiu sent me here to deliver a message. I haven't even had the chance to open my mouth, and this young lady went and sat right on my face. In my younger days, I wouldn't have minded. But now I'm old, and this girl is quite heavy—I can barely bear it." Li Banfeng nodded, sat down facing Juanzi on the ground, and asked directly, "What did you come here to do?" Juanzi replied, "We want to find a place to settle down. We wanted to ask if the local spirit here is willing to take us in." "If you want to settle in newland, can't you just clear the land? What is there to ask?" The three heads looked at one another. The man before them didn't seem to know much about them. Juanzi had heard the boulder address Li Banfeng as Seventh Master, so she followed suit: "Seventh Master, we cannot clear land. Local spirits won't tolerate us." "Why won't they?" "We are sinners, sinners from Sinner City." Juanzi spoke candidly and calmly. It was something they couldn't conceal; the marks on their bodies were too obvious. "What sin did you commit?" Mengzi asked, "You don't know about Sinner City?" Juanzi glared at Mengzi. "Don't interrupt!" Li Banfeng said to Juanzi, "Even if you're in charge, you should let others speak. Where I stand, everyone gets to talk." Juanzi didn't quite understand what he meant by everyone getting to talk. Moreover, this man had a peculiar attitude. He knew nothing about Sinner City, yet looking at three-headed people, he didn't seem to view them as monsters. Juanzi saw a glimmer of hope in Li the Seventh. "Seventh Master, everyone who comes out of Sinner City is tainted with sin. If a local spirit is willing to give us a bite to eat, we are willing to work like beasts of burden. As for clearing land, we would never dare dream of it." "What sin did you actually commit?" "In Sinner City, people are split into two categories. One came from outside to Santoucha, failed to enter the path, and instead of becoming body cultivators, turned into three-headed monsters. Those people are guilty and get sent to Sinner City. The other category was born inside Sinner City. By the rules of Sinner City, three-headed monsters are forbidden from marrying and bearing children, yet some still had babies. Those children were born with only one head, but they were guilty from birth and had to remain in Sinner City. Gradually, they all grew three heads as well, turning into monsters..." "Stop calling them monsters," Li Banfeng said with a slight frown. "It grates on the ears." Juanzi looked at Li Banfeng for a moment. Though she hadn't eaten in days, she found a bit more courage, and her voice grew slightly louder: "In Sinner City, Heavenly Light strikes relentlessly. This year it has been exceptionally vicious. At its least, it comes at least once every three days; at its most, two or three times a day. When Heavenly Light shines upon a person, within a few hours, they burst. You probably haven't seen such a sight, and I don't know how to describe it." Li Banfeng nodded. "I understand. I came very close to seeing it myself." Juanzi went on, "Countless people died in the city, and none of us knew how much longer we could survive. There is a Boundary outside Sinner City that we couldn't cross. Then a benefactor arrived and showed us a path to survival." "Which benefactor?" "That benefactor wouldn't let us disclose his identity. He gave us a map and told us to follow it, saying we would definitely find someone willing to take us in. Seventh Master, we endured so much to make it here; every step we took left blood in our tracks. Please pass word to Master Qiu. If he is willing to take us in, our gratitude will be boundless. If he refuses, that is fine too—we only beg Master Qiu for a mouthful of food, even just a single meal." Li Banfeng fell silent for a moment before asking, "There's one thing I didn't quite catch. When you say 'take you in,' do you mean feeding and housing you every day, supporting you?" Juanzi shook her head repeatedly. "We just want a place to live. We will figure out our own livelihood. If there is anywhere you can use us, whatever you order us to do, we will agree." Li Banfeng looked at Mengzi. "What do you say?" Mengzi kept his head lowered. "What my sister says goes for me too." Li Banfeng glanced at Xiaoshan. "And you?" Xiaoshan spoke in a tiny voice: "I listen to big sister in everything." The three of them speaking in turn felt somewhat familiar to Li Banfeng. "Words alone won't do. You need to do some work." Hearing this, Mengzi grew wary; they had just been burned before. "What do you want us to do?" Li Banfeng pointed toward a distant forest. "First, go fell some trees and put up some houses." Mengzi sneered, "The same old routine again." Li Banfeng frowned. "What routine?" Juanzi bit her lip, looked up, and said, "We agree." They had already been deceived once, so why agree again? Because they had no choice. Having gone without food for days, even if it only bought them a single meal, they would accept hard labor. "Houses alone aren't enough. You have to farm. Do you know how to do farm work?" Mengzi smirked. The trickery was always identical. Juanzi nodded. "We can do farm work too." "From now on, you'll be people of this territory. When trouble comes, you must step forward!" "Whatever Seventh Master commands, we will do." "It's a deal. Wait for me to draft a covenant deed; all of you will have to press your handprints." Li Banfeng turned and left. Mengzi ground his teeth. "What's the point of a covenant deed? He spins his lies so neatly." Juanzi urged him, "As long as we get a bite to eat, say no more." "We should have listened to Auntie Fang. We should just rob them!" "Stop shouting nonsense! The benefactor said we must never do such things!" *** Li Banfeng returned to the Portable Abode, retrieved a large sheet of paper, and drafted a covenant deed. The gramophone spoke from the side: "Precious husband, do you really need such a huge sheet of paper to write a deed?" "Precious wife, if I used small sheets, I'd have to write three thousand of them." "Three thousand?" Hong Ying gasped in astonishment. "Husband, what kind of deed takes three thousand copies?" A puff of steam scalded Hong Ying into a shiver. Li Banfeng offered no explanation; once the deed was written, he left the Portable Abode. The gramophone caught sight of the deed's contents. "Husband brought three thousand permanent residents? Does he truly intend to turn this newland into proper land?" Hong Ying sighed with admiration. "Our husband truly has capabilities!" The gramophone raised a board. "If I don't tear your mouth apart today, it means my household discipline is too lax!" Hong Ying clutched her peach. "If you want to tear my mouth, tear my mouth! Why do you always hit my peach?" "Do you even have a mouth, you wench?!" *** Li Banfeng laid the covenant deed before Juanzi, watching as she pressed her handprint onto it. "Have all your people press their prints as well." Juanzi said, "They all listen to me..." "That won't do. Every single person must press theirs, not one less. All three heads must reach an agreement; if even one head disagrees, that person will not be permitted into the territory." Li Banfeng sat right there, watching as over three thousand people pressed their handprints one by one until the large sheet of paper was packed solid. Confronted with more than three thousand three-headed people standing before them, even the tiger sent by Qiu Luoye trembled. *Seventh Master is truly no ordinary man. How is he not afraid at all?* Li Banfeng genuinely wasn't afraid. What was wrong with three heads? Discussing matters together, brainstorming ideas, chatting, playing cards—wouldn't that be rather nice? Auntie Fang looked at the covenant deed and sighed. "Juanzi, why don't you ever learn?" Juanzi kept her head lowered. "Auntie Fang, say less. Let's get everyone something to eat first." Li Banfeng had already prepared the food: two thousand oranges purchased from the orange orchard. "These are good stuff. One orange for two people will fill you up. Put the food cost for these past few days on my tab—you'll have to pay me back later!" Auntie Fang sneered, "Tricking us into hard labor and still demanding food money from us—he's even harsher than Liangzhenjiao!" Harsh words aside, after starving for so many days, the crowd devoured all two thousand oranges in no time. "Once you're full, get to work!" Li Banfeng marked out an area, directing the three-headed people to build houses and till the soil there. Qiu Luoye was full of anxiety. "Brother, you brought them all inside. Can this really work?" "Rest easy, Brother Qiu. Doesn't this bring life and vitality to our territory?" A guard murmured under his breath, "Do monsters like this even count as people?" Zuo Wugang glared at the guard. "From now on, no one is allowed to call them monsters! Seventh Master hates hearing it!" *** Li Banfeng returned to his own territory via the train station, found Zhang Wanlong, bought several sacks of rapid-crop seeds, and delivered them into Juanzi's hands. "Scatter these seeds, and you'll have a harvest in three days. But you can only use them for one crop, otherwise the soil will suffer. Just endure through this year first; come next spring, you must plant proper seeds." After Li Banfeng left, several three-headed people scoffed. "Talk of next year! Once we finish growing this crop, they'll tell us to get lost." Juanzi said nothing more. She led her people in sowing the seeds, watering, and fertilizing. Three days later, the harvest came in. Juanzi and the others gathered the grain into sacks, found Li Banfeng, and asked, "Seventh Master, how much of this can we take with us?" Every three-headed person was already prepared to be driven out. Li Banfeng looked at the grain. "All of this is yours. Take it back and eat." "Take it back..." Juanzi didn't understand. Li Banfeng pointed toward the wooden cabins. "That is your home. Go home and eat." *Home...* The word was entirely foreign. The crowd of three-headed people stared blankly at Li Banfeng. Mengzi looked toward Auntie Fang, who was left speechless for a long time. Unable to believe this was real, Juanzi asked, "Seventh Master, is there more work for us to do?" Li Banfeng pointed toward the crowds clearing the land. "Go ask them. See if anyone needs hired hands. Earn more money, and remember to pay me back for the seeds and the oranges." With that, Li Banfeng pulled down the brim of his hat and walked away. The three-headed people kept watching his back until he had walked far into the distance. This piece of newland was different. There was plenty of Heavenly Light here, bright and clear, allowing one to see very far away.