Old Teapot served everyone two pots of tea, livening up the atmosphere in the companion dwelling quite a bit.
Mosonov proved the most cooperative, offering a thorough breakdown of the Light Chasing Society.
This organization worshipped light—not as some abstract concept, but as a tangible presence. In the parlance of Puluo Province, it was heavenly light.
Beyond the heavenly light itself, they revered individuals and objects that had been bathed in it.
A person bathed in heavenly light would amass a vast amount of Dao resonance, swiftly acquiring the fundamental prerequisites to enter the Dao. To the Society's members, such people were the blessed of the light.
Objects bathed in heavenly light would likewise harbor massive reserves of dark energy, capable of serving as medicinal primers for cultivators stepping onto a pathway, making them essential materials for becoming dark adepts.
In that respect, it bore some resemblance to Puluo Province.
"Where do your initiation powders come from?"
Mosonov shook his head. "In Ravsha, there are no initiation powders like the ones in Puluo Province."
Li Banfeng didn't understand. "Without powders, how does anyone bathed in heavenly light survive?"
"Hardly anyone survives. In their final moments, they face the light and achieve the full bloom of life. This is the grace bestowed upon them by the light, and it is recorded in our holy scriptures."
"'Full bloom'?" Li Banfeng sneered. "Why don't you just say they explode?"
"Not everyone blooms. After receiving the light's embrace, our Pontiff miraculously survived. Thus, he was destined to be our leader, the Herald of Light guiding us forward."
"Who is this Pontiff?"
"I have seen him—many times. Yet I have never seen his true face. He uses various means to conceal his appearance. He speaks numerous languages, each with perfect fluency, so I could never discern where he truly originates. He is the herald chosen by the light, omniscient and omnipotent. Following him is the greatest honor of my life."
"Omniscient and omnipotent" was pure nonsense. If he truly wielded such power, he wouldn't need to establish a Light Chasing Society to stir up trouble in Puluo Province.
Still, being bathed in heavenly light without initiation powder and managing to survive really was no small feat. At the very least, it proved the man possessed an extraordinary constitution.
"Since you have no powders, how do you determine your pathway?"
Mosonov replied, "We do not have what you call pathways. Under the Pontiff's guidance, we bypassed that rigid, archaic road. What we possess is truly controllable power. After communing with enough of the light's power, we advance our capabilities according to our own will. Though the process is arduous, we are bound by no prerequisites. Every measure of power we obtain stems from our faith and pursuit."
Hong Ying asked the gramophone, "Xiaowan, what is this fellow blabbering on about? Why can't I make sense of a word?"
The gramophone scoffed. "He means their people build up enough Dao resonance, have no initiation powder, and just cultivate however they please. How far they get is entirely down to luck."
Mosonov protested, "It is not luck. It is the guidance of the light."
Hong Ying sneered. "This foreign devil sure knows how to talk shit. 'Guidance of the light'? Back in my day, I saw plenty like him. They were just too broke to afford initiation medicine, so they scrounged up bizarre, unorthodox tricks to brute-force their way into pathway arts. Out of ten such fools, nine accomplished nothing, and plenty threw their lives away in the process."
"This is the light winnowing us..." As he spoke, Mosonov picked at the floor with his fingers, seemingly attempting to ease his awkwardness.
In truth, he wasn't embarrassed at all.
Dipping into his own blood, he was secretly tracing runes onto the floorboards.
Li Banfeng now had a rough understanding of the Light Chasing Society. They were a sect of dark adepts who used no powders, acknowledged no pathway boundaries, and obeyed no pathway laws.
Though their cultivation methods were crude, Li Banfeng didn't look down on them. Their arts had matured over many years; they had surely amassed considerable experience and technique.
Take Dick Chen, for instance: he was a sleep cultivator who possessed no cultivation tier, likely having trained through Ravsha's methods. His single-combat prowess wasn't exceptional, but his sleep cultivator techniques were extraordinary—tremendously potent, remarkably covert, and capable of deciding a battlefield.
Yet Dick Chen was a native of Puluo Province. Why had he chosen the Ravshan path of cultivation?
"How well do you know Dick Chen?"
Mosonov nodded. "He is the bishop of the Puluo Battalion. The believers under him are all people of Puluo Province."
"Why would people from Puluo Province join your organization?"
"They yearn to chase the light, but impoverished backgrounds leave them unable to afford those luxury medicines. At the same time, they refuse to become low-grade mutants. So they chose us. We offer them a chance—a genuinely fair chance, an opportunity to embark on the path of chasing the light."
It sounded convoluted, but the translation was simple:
Some people wanted to become cultivators but couldn't afford initiation powder, yet didn't want to go to Santoucha to become body cultivators. So they settled for this seemingly lower-cost route.
Of course, that wasn't the whole story. Jin Yuankang, the veteran Dwelling Cultivator of Tiemenbao, had also joined the Light Chasing Society. His motives remained unclear for the time being.
"Are the men under you all from Ravsha?"
"Yes. We are known as the Empire Battalion. The flock all hail from the Empire." Mosonov wore a faint look of pride, still secretly tracing runes on the floor.
He had already finished one. Once he completed three runes, the array would activate, granting him an opportunity to strike back.
The others were also surreptitiously scratching out runes; every stroke added a touch more power to the formation.
Li Banfeng asked, "Back in Ravsha, do you live among ordinary folk, or in places like Puluo Province?"
"We come from the Land of Slumber. We are outcasts, unaccepted by secular society." The words seemed to strike a nerve with Mosonov. Gritting his teeth, he lowered his head, an expression of agony on his face.
In reality, his fingers were moving faster beneath the shadows. The second rune was nearly complete.
Li Banfeng said, "How is life in the Land of Slumber?"
Mosonov sighed. "The suffering we endure in the Land of Slumber is beyond what people from other lands could ever imagine."
"So you plan to seize Puluo Province to carve out a decent living environment for yourselves?"
Mosonov didn't deny it. "This is the Pontiff's command, and the shared will of the flock."
Li Banfeng remarked, "You even opened a Conqueror Restaurant. For an eatery, that name practically begs for a beating. Seems you lot haven't been beaten nearly enough."
Mosonov didn't talk back. Li Banfeng could say whatever he pleased; the third rune was already half-drawn. Given just three more minutes, the array would trigger instantly.
Li Banfeng pressed on, "How many other battalions do you have in Puluo Province?"
"One more, known as the Boundless Battalion. People from all over gather there. They deliberately disregard bloodline boundaries, recruiting what they deem elite members."
Boundless Battalion. That brought Boundless Hospital to Li Banfeng's mind.
"Their bishop isn't Critick, is it?"
Mosonov shook his head vigorously. "Not him. That man is bizarre. He named his hospital Boundless, which led some of our flock to seek refuge with him, but none who went to that hospital ever returned."
That sounded entirely in character for Critick. He had evidently conducted a fair bit of research on the Light Chasing Society, anatomical studies included.
Mosonov continued, "The bishop of the Boundless Battalion is named Grub. At present, he operates mainly around Yesong Bridge. His objective there remains unknown."
Mosonov was indeed telling the truth. At this moment, he was doing everything possible to earn Li Seven's trust, because the third rune was almost finished.
Once the array flared to life, he would harness its power to kill Li Seven on the spot, claim this wondrous chamber, and take every rare treasure within it for himself.
With such a prize, he could establish his Empire Battalion as the preeminent force within the Light Chasing Society, elevating himself to the foremost rank among the bishops.
With a stroke more luck, the Xuansheng Red Lotus might even be hidden in this very room. When that happened...
Li Banfeng tipped a teapot and poured tea over the floorboards, washing every rune away.
Mosonov stared blankly at Li Banfeng for a long time, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He wanted to speak, but found no words.
Li Banfeng had asked everything he needed to know. "Madam, time for the feast."
The gramophone hummed in disdain. "These hairy devils reek far too rank and muttony. I've no appetite for them. Yingying, go ahead and eat their souls."
Hong Ying twirled her spearhead. "I'm not eating this garbage. It stinks to high heaven. I wouldn't want Seventh Brother finding me repulsive tonight."
"Bah! Who said my husband was sleeping with you tonight?" The gramophone raised her board as if to strike, but held back from humiliating Hong Ying before outsiders.
"None of you sit idle. Projector, you got the short end of the stick at the last family banquet. This time, eat your fill first."
The projector sighed softly. "This flavor is entirely unartistic..."
The gramophone snapped in irritation, "Eat up, and don't go begging for a thrashing!"
Amid general distaste, the household fell upon their meal. Mosonov attempted to rally his men to fight back, but the old teapot scalded him until he was about seventy percent cooked, leaving him utterly unable to move.
***
Returning to Xiaoyaowu, Li Banfeng sought out Xiao Yeci to ask about Yesong Bridge.
At the mention of her hometown, Xiao Yeci grew animated. "Yesong Bridge is a lovely place, you know! Even though it's just a town, it has such a rich scholarly air, with so many academies and study houses, you know! Summer is just around the corner, too—the absolute best time for the scenery, you know!"
Li Banfeng replied, "Then let's go have a look, you know!"
At the suggestion, Xiao Yeci lowered her head and fell quiet.
Li Banfeng frowned. "What's the matter? What are you afraid of, you know?"
Xiao Yeci offered a dry laugh. "I... I won't be going..."
Lu Chunying understood her mother's reservations. In Yesong Bridge, the two of them had lived through miserable, humiliating days, and Xiao Yeci's reputation there was none too flattering.
Yet the more that was so, the more reason there was to return.
"Mom, I just happen to need to go to Yesong Bridge to look after some business."
"Do we have business in Yesong Bridge?"
"A bit, yes."
"Oh," Xiao Yeci pressed her lips together. "Then you go ahead. I still won't go, hm?"
"Mom, we'd be returning to our hometown with honor and dignity. What's wrong with that?"
No matter how Lu Chunying urged her, Xiao Yeci refused to budge.
Li Banfeng chimed in, advising Lu Chunying, "Don't make things hard on your mother. If she doesn't want to go home with you, she must have her reasons. Hold her down first while I go fetch some rope to tie her up."
Lu Chunying said, "Doesn't tying her up count as making things hard on her?"
"It doesn't count as making things hard. It counts as coercion." Li Banfeng returned with the rope.
Xiao Yeci cried out, "What are you doing! Why are you tying me up! Don't make it so tight! Don't—mmph, mmph..."
Li Banfeng stuffed a cloth into her mouth, ordered his men to buy train tickets, and boarded that very day's train bound for Yesong Bridge.
He Yuxiu was also heading to Yesong Bridge to tend to business, so she traveled along with them. As they chatted on the train, He Yuxiu remarked with some feeling, "Yesong Bridge is quite an interesting place—mountains everywhere, waters everywhere, trees everywhere, bridges everywhere. Little Sister, am I right?"
Xiao Yeci nodded vigorously.
He Yuxiu continued, "Doing business there, however, is dreadfully dull. There are only a handful of merchant families. The rice sellers sell rice for generations; the oil sellers sell oil for generations. Every shop calls itself a century-old establishment, and not a thing changes as the years go by."
Tears welled in Xiao Yeci's eyes as she nodded.
He Yuxiu sighed. "Had I known it was your old home, I would have handed the business over to you and Chunying. I really have no desire to keep operating there, especially the timber trade with your Xiao family. Old Sheng, our bookkeeper, pesters me every day saying we shouldn't touch it anymore. Qiqiu City has lumber in abundance, and Old Seven even gave me an entire forest. I haven't even figured out how to move all that timber yet, so hauling stock all the way from Yesong Bridge really isn't worth the trouble."
Xiao Yeci's tears spilled over.
He Yuxiu frowned. "What are you crying for? Worried about your family's business? Don't be. I was just speaking my mind. For the sake of our sisterly bond, I'll keep muddling through with the trade."
"Mmph, mmph!" Xiao Yeci began wailing aloud.
He Yuxiu asked, "Little Sister, do you have something to say?"
Xiao Yeci nodded frantically. He Yuxiu hastily pulled the cloth from her mouth.
Xiao Yeci gasped for air and shrieked, "Sister Xiu, hurry and untie me! I'm about to wet my pants!"
"Good heavens, why didn't you say so earlier!" He Yuxiu rushed to loosen the ropes. "Old Seven really is ruthless. How could he bind you so tightly? Hold on a moment, Little Sister, just a moment... hold it, hold it in, we're almost... Um, Little Sister, do you have a spare pair of pants?"
***
The train chugged along for three full days before finally pulling into Yesong Bridge.
Stepping onto the platform, Xiao Yeci felt a tremor of dread, yet returning to her ancestral home brought an excitement she could scarcely conceal.
Yesong Bridge was a realm of waterways. In town, reaching different quarters demanded different modes of travel: some spots could be reached by carriage, others by boat, and still others by sedan chair. Exiting the station, Xiao Yeci said, "Benefactor, I know an inn, you know! You can walk there without taking a boat. It's very close, you know."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "We're not staying in an inn, you know. Let's head to the market first to buy some things."
"Buy what?" Xiao Yeci asked, clutching her luggage. "If we're not staying in an inn, are we going to buy bedrolls and sleep in the street?"
"We're going to buy a house, you know!"
"Who buys a house just taking a trip?"
Lu Chunying said, "I think Seventh Brother has the right idea. We've never had a home back in our old town."
He Yuxiu chimed in, "I have an estate here. Let's settle in there first. A proper manor isn't something you can just buy on a whim."
"Staying at Sister Xiu's place first works, but we definitely have to buy a residence." Li Seven had his subordinates stow the luggage, then genuinely took Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying house-hunting.
The town was modest, and grand manors were few. As luck would have it, two were on the market that day: one belonging to the Liang family, and the other to the Xiao family.
Over the past two years, both the Liang and Xiao businesses had languished, forcing them to liquidate a fair portion of their holdings.
Lu Chunying's eye was drawn to the Xiao family estate. "Mom, if I recall correctly, wasn't this compound bought for Eldest Uncle's wedding?"
Xiao Yeci nodded. "Yes, it was, you know!"
Lu Chunying said, "Eldest Uncle hadn't even married yet, but the house was already bought for him. Supposedly, it cost Grandfather six thousand silver dollars. Less than a month later, the two of us were driven from the house. How much money did Grandfather give you back then?"
Xiao Yeci kept her head down. "I... I've forgotten, you know..."
"I seem to recall you mentioning it once. Wasn't it two hundred Huan Country notes? One hundred for each of us."
Xiao Yeci stammered, "After so many years, I can't remember, you know."
Lu Chunying beckoned the broker over and asked the price.
The broker didn't recognize Lu Chunying and had no inkling of her background, but since she inquired, he replied courteously, "Master Xiao is asking seven thousand silver dollars."
"My, the price went up," Lu Chunying smiled. "Bought for six thousand, selling for seven thousand. Fair enough for market rates. I'll write you a check. You can cash it straight at the bank in a moment. I'll take the house."
The broker was taken aback. "Miss, may I ask how to address you?"
"Go tell Master Xiao that Xiao Yeci bought this house!"
"Xiao Yeci?" The broker gasped. "The Xiao family's... that..."
He nearly blurted out the scandal of Xiao Yeci being cast out of the household, but caught himself in time. "You mean the Xiao family's young mistress?"
Xiao Yeci grew tense. He Yuxiu nudged her from the side. "Little Sister, when it's time to hold your head high, don't you dare flinch."
Xiao Yeci took a deep breath, stepped forward, and said, "It is me."
The broker didn't dare utter another word. Taking the check, he had it verified at the bank, but dared not withdraw the funds; instead, he carried the check straight to the Xiao residence.
Upon hearing the manor had sold without the buyer even haggling, the Xiao household was quite pleased. The master of the house, Xiao Jianzhang, asked the buyer's surname and whether they were local.
"A local, and in fact from your own family," the broker gave a dry chuckle. "It was bought by your daughter, Xiao Yeci."
At the name Xiao Yeci, Xiao Jianzhang flew into a rage. "What is she trying to pull?"
Xiao Jianzhang's eldest son, Xiao Yucheng, stepped forward. "Father, don't lose your temper just yet. Yeci is no simple person these days. That girl she took away back then, Lu Chunying, has already entered the Lu family fold. On paper, Yeci is the child's mother!"
"I know that!" Xiao Jianzhang's brows shot up. "No matter what status she claims now, she is still my daughter! If she wishes to pay her respects, I might grant her entry through these doors. But if she dares strut around before me, I will never tolerate it! Tell her I won't sell her this estate! Even if she offers ten thousand silver dollars, I won't sell! Even if I put a torch to it and burn it to ash, I won't sell!"
Xiao Jianzhang's primary wife, Sun Huiqin, said to the broker, "That child Yeci grows more ill-mannered by the year. You tell her she never needs to show her face here again. Hearing her prattle on with all that 'you know, you know'—just like her dead mother. It turns my stomach."
Xiao Yucheng said, "Why must you both do this? If we cross the Lu family, will our days ahead be easy?"
Xiao Jianzhang declared, "We do business with the He family; we never had ties to the Lu family to begin with. No matter who leads the Lu family, no matter who comes today, things will be settled plainly! I am her father; I will not suffer her arrogance!"
***
"He claims he suffered arrogance?" Lu Chunying sneered. "He asked seven thousand, and we paid seven thousand. Who slighted him? What grievance did he suffer?"
The broker didn't dare speak.
Xiao Yeci sighed. "At the end of the day, he simply looks down on me. I'll go see him and say everything I wanted to say back then, you know!"
Lu Yuanxin said, "Madam, do not go. Save those words for later. I'll go make things clear to him about the estate first. He wouldn't take seven thousand; now I'll offer him one thousand and see whether he sells."
Watching from the side, He Yuxiu saw that Lu Yuanxin's temperament was cut from the exact same cloth as Lu Dongjun's. If he were allowed to go, disaster would certainly befall the Xiao family. That one thousand silver dollars wouldn't be buying a house; it would be blood money for a life.
"Yuanxin, don't go either. I'll send someone over." He Yuxiu had no fear of bloodshed, but she didn't want Xiao Yeci to suffer undue anguish. She dispatched her head bookkeeper, Sheng Shanzhou, to the Xiao residence.
Having come on this journey specifically to tend to business, Sheng Shanzhou was warmly received by the entire Xiao household. Once he had inspected the quality and prices of the timber, Sheng Shanzhou shook his head. "Save this lumber for someone else. We don't want it anymore."
Xiao Jianzhang panicked. "Master Sheng, what has happened? If there is any flaw in the wood, please just name it."
"Flaws everywhere." Sheng Shanzhou had long urged He Yuxiu to withdraw from the timber trade in Yesong Bridge; today presented the ideal excuse to sever ties. "Old Xiao, we've known each other for years. Let me offer a few words: broaden your vision, open your mind, and handle your affairs with some sense. Your daughter, Xiao Yeci, arrived alongside our master. The two of them are as close as blood sisters. Your estate sat unsold, and your daughter bought it. You ought to present yourself at her door to express your gratitude. Have you forgotten how you treated her back then? Once you've thanked her, you ought to beg her forgiveness!"
Xiao Jianzhang snapped, "Master Sheng, that is hardly the way of things! I am her father!"
"My, Master Xiao, what an imposing air you put on! You're a father, are you?" Sheng Shanzhou sneered. "With abilities as grand as yours, why waste your breath on me? With seniority as lofty as yours, go be the venerable patriarch of the Lu family! Why bother clinging to this petty business?"
Sheng Shanzhou rose to leave. Xiao Jianzhang hurriedly stepped in front of him. "Master Sheng, I meant no offense to you, I only..."
"Offending her is even worse! Old Xiao, if I were you, I would take the property and land deeds straight to Miss Xiao and gift the estate to her, to see whether this breach can still be mended. If it can, your Xiao family might yet live out their days in peace. If it cannot, from this day forth, not a single prominent family in Puluo Province will do business with you. Go ahead and doubt me if you dare."
Sheng Shanzhou walked out. Xiao Jianzhang sat in the courtyard, eyes glazed, heaving sigh after mournful sigh.
After brooding for over two hours, Xiao Jianzhang finally saw the light.
He instructed his wife, Sun Huiqin, to retrieve the deeds.
Sun Huiqin remained defiant. "Master, that is Yucheng's manor! Why should we hand it over to that wench?"
Xiao Yucheng urged from the side, "Mother, stop stirring up trouble! The estate was meant to be sold anyway, and we truly wronged Yeci back then."
"Who wronged her!" Sun Huiqin shrieked. "She ruined our family's good name! Was it wrong to cast her out?"
Xiao Yucheng sighed. "You know in your heart who truly ruined the family name! Don't you dare bring that up again! Bringing it up now is slapping the Lu family across the face!"
Taking the deeds, Xiao Yucheng thrust them into Xiao Jianzhang's hands. "Father, take them to her."
"You go," Xiao Jianzhang shook his head. "I cannot bow my head before her."
Xiao Yucheng sighed. "It's useless if I go. They might not even accept them."
Just as expected, when Xiao Yucheng delivered the deeds, he wasn't even granted an audience with Xiao Yeci, but was turned away at the threshold.
"Father, Yeci and Chunying said that you and Mother must accompany me to see her together."
"She has truly revolted!" Xiao Jianzhang refused to yield. He reached out to kin and acquaintances, trying to offload the timber through other buyers, but no one dared touch it.
Left with no alternative, Xiao Jianzhang took the deeds, gathered his wife, and went to meet Xiao Yeci.
This time, both Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying showed themselves.
Staying at He Yuxiu's residence, they sat in the parlor playing cards with He Yuxiu, while Xiao Jianzhang, Sun Huiqin, and Xiao Yucheng stood waiting in the courtyard for two full hours.
Lu Chunying looked down at Xiao Jianzhang and finally broke the silence. "Grandfather, the year you drove my mother and me away, I was too young to remember much. But I've heard others say my mother wept for an entire day, yet you couldn't be bothered to spare her a glance. Today, I've had you two elders stand out there for two hours. Isn't that letting you off far too lightly?"
Swallowing his rage, Xiao Jianzhang kept his head bowed. "Back then... I had my difficulties..."
"What difficulties? Let's hear them. Was it my mother who disgraced your Xiao family, or was it me who disgraced your Xiao family?"
Xiao Yucheng tugged at his father's sleeve from behind, cautioning him against speaking rashly.
Xiao Jianzhang let out a long sigh. "Preserving this family estate was no easy task! Everything I did was for this household! Yeci, if you must hate someone, hate only me! As long as you leave the Xiao family's foundation intact, I am willing to bash my head against these stones and die right here!"
With those words, Xiao Jianzhang made as if to smash himself against a boulder. Sun Huiqin and Xiao Yucheng frantically held him back. "Father, you must not! Our family cannot go on without you!"
He Yuxiu lit a cigarette and chuckled. "Don't hold him back, any of you. Let me see whether Old Xiao truly has the backbone to dash his brains out here."
Xiao Jianzhang panicked inwardly, casting desperate glances at his wife and son to signal that they must hold him fast.
While the family wailed dramatically and carried on their performance, Xiao Yeci turned her face and finally spoke: "Father."
"Yeci!" Xiao Jianzhang replied eagerly.
Xiao Yeci said, "I grew up with my mother and only set foot through the Xiao family gates when I was nine. My mother told me to call you Father, but you never once answered, you know. You looked down on my mother, and you looked down on me. What are you coming to me for now, you know?"
Tears glistened in Xiao Jianzhang's eyes. "Everything I did was for the Xiao family."
Xiao Yeci could not fathom it. "Looking down on me was for the Xiao family too? What kind of logic is that, you know?"
Xiao Jianzhang sighed. "Yeci, what happened back then is in the past. I don't even remember it anymore. Why dredge it up now? I only beg you to grant the Xiao family a way to survive. If you truly cannot let go of this grievance, you may deal with me however you wish!"
Xiao Yeci nodded. "Very well. You said it yourself: I may deal with you however I wish."
Xiao Jianzhang glanced back at his wife and son, signaling them to intervene at the crucial moment.
Xiao Yeci opened her purse and drew out a stack of Huan Country notes. "Back when you cast the two of us out, you gave me two hundred dollars. Today, to show my filial devotion, I'll return it tenfold, you know. I'll give you two thousand. You walk away with nothing but the clothes on your back, leave the Xiao family, and make your own living. We'll consider this matter settled, you know."
"I..." Xiao Jianzhang turned his head, signaling his wife and son to rush forward and object.
Sun Huiqin did not stop it.
Xiao Yucheng did not stop it either.
This outcome was entirely acceptable to both of them.
Xiao Jianzhang, however, could not accept it. "Th-this... this won't do! Everything I did was for the Xiao family! The Xiao family cannot do without me!"
Lu Chunying could not hold back a laugh.
He Yuxiu burst out laughing.
Xiao Yeci exhaled a long breath. The knot that had weighed upon her heart for all these years was finally undone.
***
Drifting in a small boat, Li Banfeng watched the scenery glide past on either bank. Yesong Bridge truly was stunning—as picturesque as a scroll painting. Orderly buildings stood in uniform black tiles and whitewashed walls, while distant mountain ridges faded in and out of the mist, their lines spare and poetic. If not for the occasional pedestrian strolling along the stone-paved lanes, one might easily mistake the entire vista for ink and wash brushed across paper.
Reaching the entrance of an alley, Li Banfeng paid the boatman and stepped ashore.
Deep within the lane stood a two-story building. From the clues Li Banfeng had pieced together over the past few days, the bishop of the Light Chasing Society's Boundless Battalion resided right there.
Chapter 489