Short one corpse for pill refinement, Li Banfeng felt a profound sense of regret.
He spent a full, earnest minute in regret before setting out to search for the dwelling spirit.
The dwelling spirit was Li Banfeng's most urgent desire—bar none.
With a dwelling spirit, his cultivation as a Dwelling Cultivator could progress. That was the only possible way to bridge the gap between his journey cultivator and Dwelling Cultivator pathways, and a matter that concerned his very life.
Of course, acquiring a dwelling spirit also meant that Li Banfeng would have to reside in this house from then on. Every day he would need to maintain a certain degree of long-distance travel to sustain his journey cultivation, while also remembering to return home in time to preserve his Dwelling Cultivator foundation.
It sounded entirely contradictory, but Li Banfeng believed he could find a way around it.
What did a dwelling spirit look like?
It was probably humanoid, right?
If it was called a spirit, it had to be humanoid.
In the courtyard stood three tile-roofed rooms and a storehouse. That storehouse was the mark room, containing only a pile of firewood—no humanoid creature there.
He went to the eastern room, which held numerous bottles, jars, a pestle, and clay medicine pots.
This had to be Decai's room, filled with tools for brewing poisons.
Was the dwelling spirit here?
Li Banfeng still saw no humanoid creature.
Stepping out of Decai's room, Li Banfeng finally saw a humanoid creature.
"Benefactor, we haven't even properly thanked you yet, you know," Xiao Yeci said, looking at Li Banfeng with cautious reverence.
The sight of him killing earlier had left a lingering terror in her chest.
Behind her was another person: her daughter, Lu Chunying, who timidly poked her head out to steal a glance at him.
"No need to be polite." Li Banfeng had no time to entertain mother and daughter. He skirted around them and headed straight for the central tile-roofed room.
"Benefactor, what are you looking for?" Xiao Yeci hurried after him.
"My wallet. They took it," Li Banfeng brushed her off casually. "They must have robbed plenty of your things, too. Hurry up and look for them, and once you've found them, get moving."
"Benefactor, you really shouldn't barge into that room. There's a dwelling spirit inside, you know."
She knew there was a dwelling spirit in this room?
Li Banfeng did not rush to open the door. Feigning total ignorance, he asked, "What dwelling spirit did you just say?"
"A dwelling spirit is a spirit raised by a Dwelling Cultivator. That old woman was a Dwelling Cultivator—surely Benefactor knows that, right?"
"What is a Dwelling Cultivator? I wouldn't have the faintest idea!" Li Banfeng continued playing dumb, mimicking her cadence.
"A Dwelling Cultivator belongs to a pathway that hunkers down inside a house. Away from the house, this pathway isn't that formidable, but inside their house, they are terrifying!
"Take that old woman just now. At her age, she could fight like that! Benefactor couldn't hurt her, and my words couldn't sway her. In truth, she was probably only tier one, but inside her house, even a tier-two cultivator might not beat her. That was all thanks to the dwelling spirit backing her up, you see."
This woman seemed reasonably experienced. Suppressing his intense curiosity, Li Banfeng kept his expression neutral and asked, "What does a dwelling spirit look like?"
"Oh, that's hard to say. Some look like a water vat, some look like a rice ladle, some look like a roof beam, and some look like an old yellow watchdog at the gate."
Li Banfeng was stunned. "Are there none that look like a human?"
Xiao Yeci thought for a moment. "I've never heard of that, no."
Li Banfeng stared at Xiao Yeci for several seconds. "Have you ever seen a dwelling spirit?"
Xiao Yeci shook her head. "No, never."
"If you haven't seen one, why are you spouting nonsense! You Mouth Cultivators really take things too far!" Li Banfeng had half a mind to ignore her completely.
A blush rose on Xiao Yeci's cheeks. "Benefactor, 'Mouth Cultivator' is an insult! Our pathway is actually called Literary Cultivator.
"Because we possess the lotus-spitting art, people often call us Mouth Cultivators. Everything I just told you, I read in books, honestly!"
Lu Chunying poked her head out from behind her mother. "My mother has read lots of books! She is very learned, and her mouth skills are remarkably tight!"
Li Banfeng replied absently, "Yes, quite tight indeed."
So this woman was a Literary Cultivator. What skills did Literary Cultivators have?
Before Li Banfeng could ask, she took the initiative to explain. "To cultivate our pathway, one must read many books. Only by reading extensively does one know what to say to what kind of person, and how to respond to what kind of situation."
Li Banfeng asked very seriously, "And when you met that old woman, what response did you come up with?"
"Benefactor mocks me," Xiao Yeci said, hanging her head. "My lotus-spitting art is actually quite well practiced, but I had never encountered a Dwelling Cultivator before, nor did I expect that old crone to be entirely impervious to sweet talk or threats.
"Her two sons, on the other hand, were thoroughly swayed by me! If not for that old hag, those two sons would definitely have let me go.
"Her younger son was named Demao—who knows where he's run off to now. He was the one who told me his mother was a Dwelling Cultivator, and that the dwelling spirit was inside her room."
So she had wheedled the information out of Demao. It sounded quite credible, then.
"Did he mention what the old woman's dwelling spirit looks like?"
Xiao Yeci shook her head. "He didn't dare say. He said the dwelling spirit would overhear. He only said it wasn't a very large object."
Not very large?
Li Banfeng thought of the old woman's hairpin, and then of the short knife.
If the dwelling spirit was an object of similar size, could it be carried around?
If it could be carried around, wouldn't the conflict between Dwelling Cultivator and journey cultivator be completely resolved?
"If a dwelling spirit can be carried on one's person, so that even outside the house a Dwelling Cultivator is still protected by it, wouldn't a Dwelling Cultivator be invincible under heaven?"
"Carry a dwelling spirit outside the house? No one would ever dare do such a thing!" Xiao Yeci's eyes went wide. "Benefactor, you truly know nothing about Dwelling Cultivators!
"Most Dwelling Cultivators don't even know what kind of entity a dwelling spirit truly is. How could they dare take one out?"
"What happens if you take it out?"
"Some books say that a dwelling spirit is actually an evil spirit. Inside a Dwelling Cultivator's house, the evil spirit is bound by iron chains. Outside the house, those chains are gone.
"Once the chains are gone, who knows what horrors that evil spirit might commit?
"I've never heard of any Dwelling Cultivator taking a dwelling spirit out. I have heard of dwelling spirits that grew powerful enough to break free of a house, and those evil spirits slaughtered everyone on sight, wiping out several nearby villages!
"That Dwelling Cultivator fled with his family, hiding from place to place for over a year, but in the end, they couldn't escape death. The entire household was slaughtered by the dwelling spirit, down to the last person!"
Li Banfeng smiled. "Good thing it can't be taken outside, then. Otherwise, the next time I run into a Dwelling Cultivator, I wouldn't even know how to deal with them."
Though he said this, a wave of melancholy washed over him. The mutual incompatibility between the Dwelling Cultivator and journey cultivator pathways truly could not be smoothed over so easily.
Regardless, he had to take over the dwelling spirit first.
Before taking it over, though, he had to get this mother and daughter out of the way. Li Banfeng had no desire to let anyone learn his pathways, and even less desire for accidents to occur while claiming the spirit.
Xiao Yeci spoke up again. "Benefactor, Decai mentioned to me that all the goods they stole are kept in the backyard cellar, not inside the house."
The three of them went to the backyard. Xiao Yeci continued, "He said the cellar is right beneath the big stone next to the well."
There was indeed a large stone pier beside the well. Li Banfeng was about to push it aside, but then glanced back at Xiao Yeci.
If I move the stone pier aside, what if she kicks me down into the cellar?
Xiao Yeci blinked, quickly explaining, "Benefactor, I haven't deceived you. I'm telling the complete truth!"
Whether she was telling the truth could not be verified for now, but Li Banfeng was very curious about something else.
Why had he believed her words?
Was this a Mouth Cultivator skill?
Noticing his suspicion, Xiao Yeci hurriedly said, "Benefactor, my lotus-spitting art... sometimes it slips out before I can control it.
"Please don't be suspicious. Tell you what, I'll move this stone aside, and I'll go down and bring the things up!"
The stone pier looked to weigh several hundred jin. Li Banfeng doubted this woman could actually shift it.
Yet Xiao Yeci was brimming with confidence. "We are all people of cultivation; our strength naturally surpasses ordinary folk. Benefactor, you just watch. There's no need for your help."
Li Banfeng stood by and watched. No matter what flowers bloomed from her mouth, he had no intention of lifting a finger.
Xiao Yeci dropped into a deep squat, spread her legs, clenched her glutes, wrapped her arms around the stone pier, and inhaled deeply.
Gritting her silver teeth, her pretty face flushed crimson. Straining with every ounce of strength in her body, she actually managed to heave the stone pier aside.
Sure enough, beneath the stone lay a trapdoor. Panting heavily, Xiao Yeci said, "Benefactor, I'll go down first and check. Chunying, stay up here and don't wander off!"
Li Banfeng did not stand on ceremony either, simply watching Xiao Yeci descend into the cellar. Before long, she climbed back out. "Benefactor, there's quite a lot of stuff down there. I don't know which is yours."
"Don't worry about my things. Grab your own and get back up here!"
Carrying a wicker trunk, Xiao Yeci climbed out of the cellar. "Benefactor, all of our family possessions are right here. What does your wallet look like? I can go back down and fetch it for you."
Li Banfeng lowered his gaze, looking her up and down. "Why are you helping me?"
Xiao Yeci lowered her head. "What a thing to ask, Benefactor... Mother and daughter, we owe you our lives."
"You're doing this out of gratitude?" Li Banfeng did not buy it.
"It is out of gratitude, but... but there is also a favor I wish to ask," Xiao Yeci said, her voice growing smaller and smaller.
Li Banfeng remained expressionless. "What favor?"
"My daughter and I need to go to Ligou in Yaowanggou. We are strangers in an unfamiliar place, and the road ahead is fraught with danger. We would like to beg Benefactor to escort us for a stretch."
"No escort!" Li Banfeng refused flatly. "Ligou isn't far from here, just thirty-odd li. I can draw you a map."
With that, Li Banfeng sketched a simple map on the dirt.
Xiao Yeci looked at the map, then at Li Banfeng, a pleading expression on her face. "This is our first time in Yaowanggou. We've been terrified every step of the way. Benefactor, please escort us a little way. We can pay you!"
"Even money won't do! I must stay here and fight the dwelling spirit to the death! The two of you, hurry up and go!"
Xiao Yeci froze. "Benefactor, you're going to fight the dwelling spirit?"
Li Banfeng straightened his back and puffed out his chest. "What else? Leave this evil spirit here to harm the world?
"Having read so many books, do you still not understand what it means to be a great hero?"
Chapter 47