No One to Bury

Words didn't sit well between Qiu Luoye and the burly fellow before him. With a sudden kick, Qiu Luoye sent him flying backward. The man took off from the spot, smashed clean through the front gate of the residence, shot out the back, and skimmed along the ground, gouging a trench over a hundred meters long as he skidded. He had thick hide and solid flesh, suffering little real harm. Yet before he could even scramble to his feet, Qiu Luoye was already upon him, stomping straight down. If this stomp from Qiu Daxiang truly landed, no matter how tough the man's hide was, getting back up would be a tall order. Unexpectedly, the fellow proved remarkably agile. Rolling across the dirt, he dodged Qiu Luoye's foot, tilted his face up, and spat a thick gob of sticky phlegm straight at him. Back when his cultivation had still been at the ground-crust stage, Qiu Luoye had roamed the vagrant world. Whenever ruffians brawled, spitting in someone's face was a rather handy trick. Those with real skill could spit straight out; those whose skills weren't up to par could spit into their palms first and smear it over the other's face. It blocked their view and dampened their fighting spirit all at once. Qiu Luoye normally wouldn't fall for such cheap antics, but this man's phlegm was astonishingly sticky. It coated his entire face, gluing his eyes so shut he couldn't force them open. Seeing his chance, the burly fellow leaped up, plastering himself against Qiu Luoye and throwing blows. Qiu Luoye detested this style of fighting most of all. If you wanted to fight, square up and trade punches! What was the point of constantly sticking to someone? He tried several times to shove the man away, putting considerable strength into it, but not only did he fail to push him off, the two ended up glued even tighter together. Shui Yongquan spotted the abnormality. His initial assessment of this man's pathway had been mistaken. Someone so burly, complete with two protruding tusks, looked like a body cultivator, or perhaps a Martial Cultivator. If he were older, he might even be a Strength Cultivator. Judging by his techniques, however, he was actually a Glue Cultivator. The defining trait of this pathway was sticking to people. A Glue Cultivator's sweat, saliva, and even tears were completely adhesive. Once stuck to you, breaking free was near impossible. Clung to until he could bear it no longer, Qiu Luoye unleashed his brute strength and flung the man off. He was thrown off, yes, but he tore away a large patch of flesh and skin from Qiu Luoye's arm with him. Qiu Luoye wasn't afraid of that—he didn't even feel the pain. Scrambling up from the dirt, the man spat another mouthful at Qiu Luoye. Qiu Luoye dodged to the side, only to have the rascal glue himself onto him once more. Qiu Luoye was about to heave him off again when Shui Yongquan couldn't bear to watch any longer. A Glue Cultivator shouldn't be able to strike this fast; producing glue took time. Yet this burly fellow acted with immense speed, adhering at will. That proved his cultivation was above the clouds. Who stood higher between him and Qiu Luoye was hard to tell. Pathways like body cultivators, Martial Cultivators, and Strength Cultivators were at a distinct disadvantage against Glue Cultivators. If Qiu Luoye kept fighting like this, the man wouldn't even need to exert himself. Qiu Luoye would end up flaying his own skin off just by tearing him loose. *Whoosh!* A torrent of water surged across, diminishing the man's stickiness. Seizing the opening, Qiu Luoye shook himself free of the fellow, swung his fists, and unleashed a ferocious barrage of pummeling. Before long, the man cried uncle. "I'm done! Two against one—you bastards don't play fair!" Qiu Luoye glared at Shui Yongquan. "I didn't need your help!" The burly fellow bellowed in fury, "If you've got the guts, wait till I dry off and let's go one-on-one!" Seeing the two on the verge of brawling again, Shui Yongquan stepped forward to mediate: "Friend, your words were a bit aggressive just now, and my brother here doesn't have the mildest temper either. One word led to another and harmony was lost. Truth be told, we only came to ask for directions, nothing more. We'll be neighbors from now on, so we should try to get along." The man barked, "If you say you're neighbors, what directions are you asking for?" Shui Yongquan smiled. "We just moved in." "Just moved in?" The man paused, looking over at Qiu Luoye. "You became the local spirit of the north?" That wasn't wrong, technically. Wiping at his eyes, Qiu Luoye replied, "And what if I did?" The man's face lit up with pleasant surprise. "Did that old hag to the north die, or did she run off?" "Which old hag?" "The old hag from No-One-Buries!" the man laughed. "If you're the local spirit, you must have snatched her territory! I won't have to live next to her anymore. That old woman was utterly detestable." There was a misunderstanding here, but it wasn't something that could be cleared up easily. The man assumed Qiu Luoye had seized the northern territory and become its local spirit. If Qiu Luoye were to say he had brought his own territory along with him, the fellow probably wouldn't understand it anytime soon either. Deciding not to bother explaining for now, Shui Yongquan asked instead, "Just how detestable was this old woman you speak of?" The man looked flabbergasted. "You don't think she's detestable? If she wants a favor from you, she'll call you brother, claim family ties, and talk about friendship, dragging out connections so distant they couldn't be reached with an eight-foot pole just to butter you up. But if you ask her for help, she'll dismiss you with a flat 'no kin, no friends, no ties to hold us back.' That old hag has no shame, and the people under her have none either. A bunch of wretches who won't even have anyone to bury them when they die—just looking at them makes me sick!" Hearing the man describe it like that, Shui Yongquan had a sudden flash of realization. "Brother, this place you're speaking of—is it Wuqin Township?" "Yeah!" The man nodded. "You're already the local spirit and you don't even know what the place is called?" Qiu Luoye shook his head. "My place isn't the same as hers." The man sneered. "Water and soil make the man. Now that you're the local spirit here, you'll turn into the same kind of person sooner or later. You're all a breed with no one to bury you!" Qiu Luoye straightened up. "You itching for another beating?" The man didn't back down. "Come on then! If you've got the balls, don't bring backup." Shui Yongquan urged peace: "All right, both of you. There's a misunderstanding here; we can talk about it later. Daxiang, we've figured things out, so we should head back. Good sir, we haven't asked your esteemed name?" The man replied, "My family name is Wan. I'm called Wan Nianlao." Qiu Luoye's right eye was still stuck shut. "Is this built to last ten thousand years too?" With a wave of his hand, Wan Nianlao dispelled the technique, and Qiu Luoye's eye opened. Not bad; the man was actually quite straightforward and decent about things. Wan Nianlao said to Qiu Luoye, "We had a brawl today. You beat me up, and I peeled off a layer of your skin. We'll call it even. I don't care what grievances you have with that old hag, but from now on, well water doesn't mix with river water—neither of us crosses the other!" Qiu Luoye chuckled. "Hard to say. Any day I'm feeling sour, I might just come over and beat you up to blow off some steam." Wan Nianlao didn't flinch. "You dare show up, and I'll take you on!" Shui Yongquan asked, "Mr. Wan, you must be the local spirit around here?" Wan Nianlao nodded. "And what if I am?" "May I ask, is this territory of yours a newland or an oldland?" "Newland, of course! What kind of birdshit place is an oldland? Look how full of spiritual energy my place is!" Shui Yongquan smiled. "To tell you the truth, walking all the way here, I really didn't spot many living spirits." Wan Nianlao gave a cold snort. "Isn't that just to hide from that unburied lot? Some things you can never guard against completely. You'll understand soon enough." Shui Yongquan cupped his fists in farewell. Walking back, Qiu Luoye still hadn't cooled off. "Old Shui, tell me: when you run into a disgusting pathway like that, how on earth are you supposed to fight them?" "There's no good way," Shui Yongquan replied, shaking his head. "Daxiang, take my advice and stay on good terms with this Wan Nianlao. He isn't a bad person. Glue Cultivators counter close-combatants. As far as I know, among close-combat pathways, only a single one can counter Glue Cultivators; all the other close-combat pathways suffer at their hands." "Only one?" Qiu Luoye pondered. "You mean Oil Cultivators?" Shui Yongquan nodded. "Unfortunately, that pathway is practically extinct." Qiu Luoye said, "One of these days, I'll have Old Seventh ask around in Lüshui City to see if there are any Oil Cultivators left. Even if there aren't, it doesn't matter—I'll have Old Seventh fetch some good oil for me to smear on my body, and then I'll hammer this Wan Nianlao again." "Lüshui City?" Shui Yongquan sneered. "You think Lüshui City is that easy to get to?" Qiu Luoye said, "We've got it figured out now: this was originally the territory of Wuqin Township. Now that we know where we are, shouldn't finding a way be easy?" "Easy how? You're sealed in on all four sides by Boundaries! And before this, you offended the Garrison Commissioners. How are you going to get out now? Expecting the Garrison Commissioner to open the checkpoints for you? Or build you a railway?" Qiu Luoye also realized the gravity of the situation. "There's still Wan Nianlao's newland that connects to the outside. Looks like I'll have to deal with him quite a bit in the future." "Which is why you can't burn bridges with him!" Shui Yongquan sighed. "And even if he's willing to do you a favor, the paths in a newland aren't easy to navigate. Qiu Daxiang, I really shouldn't have come over to your territory to watch the fun. Now even I don't know how to get back." Qiu Luoye grew anxious too. Heading back, he wanted to consult with Li the Seventh on a plan, but he couldn't find him. Li the Seventh was inside the Portable Abode, listening to the old gentleman recount the fruits of his research. "When Qiu Luoye's territory merged over, some memories came back to me. Back when I followed Old Train, it seems I went through similar scenes. But thinking on it closely, the details are still somewhat hazy. Ah Qi, find an opportunity to cross the Boundary once, and I'll take a closer look at the changes here." "Tonight would be a good chance." Li the Seventh had wanted to check out the neighboring lands for a while now. He needed to find out who their neighbors were, and he had to find a way to open an exit for this territory. Late at night, while everyone was asleep, Li Banfeng brought his mechanism and arrived at the western boundary line. When Qiu Luoye's territory had first arrived, villagers had been peeking over from the other side. As long as there was a village, Li Banfeng could gather information in no time. He pulled the mechanism's lever, first letting a muskmelon Hong Ying pass through the Boundary. The muskmelon Hong Ying emerged completely unharmed, so Li Banfeng passed through right after. This mechanism could only be used once a day; even if the Portable Abode couldn't get a clear look, it would have to wait until tomorrow. He walked along the village road for a short while, and on an uphill slope ahead, he saw an old man hauling a cart of coal, struggling to climb the incline. The slope was quite long. The old man hadn't even made it halfway before his strength ran out, and he began sliding backward step by step. "Young man, lend a hand!" The old man waved to Li Banfeng. "Give me a hand, I really can't pull it anymore! I've still got a bit of money on me; once we reach the top, I'll give it all to you. I've got some dry rations too, you can have all of it!" Li Banfeng gave the back of the cart a gentle push. In an instant, the old man felt the burden lift, and he hauled the cart all the way up to the top of the slope. Setting down the cart, the old man sat by the roadside, wiped his sweat, lit his pipe, and didn't spare Li Banfeng another glance. Li Banfeng asked, "What place is this?" The old man said nothing. Thinking he hadn't heard clearly, Li Banfeng asked again, "Old sir, I'm asking for directions. What place is this?" The old man replied expressionlessly, "We're not kin and we're not friends. I don't know where you're from, and in the middle of the night, I don't know your intentions. Go ask someone else." "Fair enough." Li Banfeng nodded. Grabbing the cart shafts, he gave a casual shove. Clattering and banging, the cart rolled all the way down from the top of the slope to the very bottom. The old man was flabbergasted. "Y-You... Young man, how could you do such a thing..." "We're not kin and we're not friends. How did you think I should be?" Tugging down the brim of his hat, Li Banfeng turned and walked away.