After communicating with the vase for more than half an hour, Li Banfeng finally pulled his head out of it.
Comparing the diameter of the vase's mouth to that of his own head, Li Banfeng truly couldn't figure out how his head had gone in, let alone how it had come out.
He tried to communicate with the vase using the technique Discerning Spiritual Sounds. He spoke to it for quite a long while, but didn't receive a single response.
During his breakthrough, Li Banfeng had been certain he heard the vase's voice. Judging from what it had said back then, its ability to express itself was actually pretty good.
Was she refusing to speak now, or could Li Banfeng no longer understand her?
Or had some peculiar situation arisen during the breakthrough process?
Putting the matter of conversation aside for now, Li Banfeng did possess a certain degree of control over the vase. "Madam, can the technique Counting One's Own Treasures be used outside the house as well?"
"It can, but it depends on where it is used. The closer you are to the house, the easier the technique is to perform. Our house is special. If Husband practices diligently, the methods you can display will only grow in number."
Li Banfeng carried the vase out of the companion dwelling, stroked its belly, and said gently, "Let's see you fly."
The vase floated with difficulty above the marshland at an altitude of less than ten centimeters. After holding on for twenty-some seconds, it dropped into the silt.
Li Banfeng picked up the vase and carefully wiped away the mud.
The result wasn't very ideal, but it wasn't for lack of effort on the vase's part. A single doorway separated the inside and outside of the house, and for a homestead cultivator, the potency of their techniques changed drastically across it.
After returning the vase to the room, Li Banfeng went back to Huaxian Manor.
Ma the Fifth sat in the main hall, interrogating the women of the manor one by one. Anyone harboring ulterior motives was taken away for separate reprimand.
Li Banfeng summoned Feng Daiku and asked, "Where did Hua Manchun hide his covenant deed?"
Feng Daiku gasped in pleasant surprise, "Hua Manchun is dead?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "I killed him. His territory belongs to me now."
Feng Daiku was overjoyed, but she truly had no idea where Hua Manchun's covenant deed was hidden.
Now this was troublesome. Hua Manchun had departed this world too hastily and hadn't gotten the chance to divulge the deed's location. Finding the covenant deed in the sprawling Huaxian Manor was no small feat.
Li Banfeng and Feng Daiku split up to search. Feng Daiku was a local spirit of the proper land herself and Hua Manchun's neighbor to boot, so she relied on experience to search for the deed.
Li Banfeng, on the other hand, relied on the glove. Relying on his brisk footsteps and his ability to ride the wind, Li Banfeng flew and ran in turns, scouring Hua Manchun's territory bit by bit.
Yet today the glove wasn't pulling its weight. Ever since leaving the companion dwelling, it had been timid and shrinking back, spending most of the time tucked inside Li Banfeng's pocket, not daring to poke so much as its head out.
Li Banfeng patted the glove. "Brother, what's wrong? Are you sick?"
"I'm not sick, but my heart's uneasy. I felt fine at home, but the moment I stepped outside, all five of my fingers felt unsettled."
After searching for an entire day, neither Li Banfeng nor Feng Daiku found the covenant deed. Ma the Fifth, however, made some headway.
He brought forward a woman named Ah Xi. She looked twenty-seven or twenty-eight, quite pretty, but because she had accidentally brought the wrong soap while serving Hua Manchun as he washed his face, she had provoked Hua Manchun's temper. He expelled her from the mansion and banished her up the mountain to do heavy labor like chopping firewood and carrying water.
Ah Xi recounted a past event to Li Seven and Feng Daiku: "Earlier this year, Miss Feng came to the manor to discuss the boundaries with the Manor Lord. Our Manor Lord seemed to come out on the losing end and told Miss Feng to compensate him."
Feng Daiku remembered the incident and spat in disgust. "Hua Manchun had no shame! Thinking back on it still makes me grind my teeth in rage. He snatched over eighty li of my land, made me redeem the territory with human vitality, and claimed he was the one who suffered a loss! I gave him plenty of human vitality, but he only returned half the territory. As for the other half, he claimed there was still red kudzu growing on it and shamelessly refused to hand it over. Tell me, isn't he disgusting?"
Ma the Fifth said to Ah Xi, "Tell them the rest of the story."
Ah Xi said, "The next day, I went up the mountain to chop firewood and ran into a bear. That bear had a lame leg and wanted to eat me. I ran for over ten li. The bear couldn't run fast, but it kept chasing me. Eventually, I couldn't run any farther, so I took my woodchopping knife and fought it. The bear was too strong and knocked the knife away in one blow. My hand was cut open, bleeding profusely and all sticky. When I looked down to pick up the knife, a feather got stuck to my hand. Once stained with blood, the feather suddenly caught fire. The flame burned so wickedly, like it wanted to engulf my whole body. Terrified, I threw the feather away, and the bear was scared off too."
Feng Daiku asked, "Was that feather from your Manor Lord's fan?"
"It looked familiar to me—it should have been from his fan. Later on, I went up the mountain to see if the feather was still there, but after searching for a long time, I couldn't find it."
Feng Daiku said to Li Banfeng, "That matches up. I agreed to give Hua Manchun human vitality, and he said he didn't want to consume it right then, intending to store it in his local spirit seal, so he told me to bring the human vitality the next day. When I went to find him the second day, I indeed saw his local spirit seal. He must have just retrieved it from wherever the covenant deed was kept."
The sequence of events was very clear: Hua Manchun had gone up the mountain to retrieve the local spirit seal and accidentally dropped a feather, which ended up saving Ah Xi's life.
Li Banfeng and Feng Daiku followed Ah Xi up the mountain and located the spot where she had found the feather. Feng Daiku surveyed the surroundings and deduced several potential locations in the mountain where the deed might be hidden. Li Banfeng searched them with the glove and quickly found the covenant deed.
Hua Manchun's covenant deed was buried beneath the bed of a small river in a mountain ravine. Li Banfeng dug up the deed and the local spirit seal, then took a look through Hua Manchun's past deeds.
Hua Manchun's resounding fame truly had not been mere boast. The deed recorded nineteen wars between local spirits; Hua Manchun had lost five and won the remaining fourteen.
However, all five wars he lost had been to the same person: Lüshui Bow.
No wonder Hua Manchun's gaze had been so tender whenever Lühuazi was mentioned.
Feng Daiku had clashed with Hua Manchun three times and lost every single one, ceding over a thousand fang of territory to him.
Li Banfeng first claimed Hua Manchun's covenant deed under his own name, then established a deed to return all the land Feng Daiku had ceded.
Feng Daiku didn't even know how to thank Li Banfeng. "Young Master Li, it was my own lack of skill that lost that territory in the past, and I didn't dare ask for it back. Today, if you had given me one or two hundred li, I would have thickened my skin and accepted it as reward for pitching in. But giving me all one-thousand-plus fang of land—how could I dare accept this?"
"It was your land to begin with. Why wouldn't you dare take it? If anything happens to Huaxian Manor in the future, I'll still need you and Old Fifth to help keep an eye on things."
This was the first time Li Banfeng had claimed territory in front of others; both Feng Daiku and Ma the Fifth witnessed it.
Li Banfeng wasn't worried about the two leaking the news. If Xuehuapu dared to seek revenge, Li Banfeng would claim every last one that showed up.
Now that both his Homestead and Traveler cultivations were on the second tier above the clouds, Li Banfeng no longer worried about cultivation backlash, so he went ahead and absorbed the human vitality of Huaxian Manor.
The local spirit seal held a substantial store, and it took Li Banfeng ten-some minutes to drain it completely.
Li Banfeng felt thoroughly refreshed. He walked several laps around Huaxian Manor, familiarizing himself with the territory while honing his techniques.
Not only did he need to practice Counting One's Own Treasures and Riding the Wind and Driving Clouds, but Shadow and Form Relying on Each Other also required thorough drilling. What Li Banfeng hoped for most was combining Shadow and Form Relying on Each Other with Fool Cultivator techniques—fighting and deceiving without compromising either. That was the true key to victory.
Yet on second thought, his Homestead and Traveler cultivations were advancing continuously, whereas his Fool cultivation had made no progress. Would this invite a backlash?
Should he pay Senior Brother Sun a visit and learn a couple more techniques?
***
Sun Tiecheng squatted beside the bronze lotus with his hands tucked into his sleeves. "Brother, you didn't do things by the book. We agreed on three Profound Accumulation Pills, yet you only gave two. What's the meaning of this?"
The red lotus's leaves trembled, as if it were speaking. Sun Tiecheng listened for a moment and knitted his brows. "What? You still need supplementary ingredients? Shoots of iron-tendon bamboo? That stuff is on Bitter Mist Mountain—it won't be easy to get!"
As he spoke, Sun Tiecheng glanced toward Gui Jianchou.
Gui Jianchou said hastily, "City Lord Sun, both Profound Accumulation Pills are yours. I don't want any."
"How could that be right!" Sun Tiecheng produced a Profound Accumulation Pill and shoved it to Gui Jianchou. "Ah Gui, this pill is yours. A man's word is his bond. As for Bitter Mist Mountain, I'll have to trouble you to make a trip."
"That won't do!" Gui Jianchou shoved the pill back to Sun Tiecheng. "I truly don't dare go to Bitter Mist Mountain."
"What are you afraid of?"
"Xu Han is guarding Yaowang Gully. If I go up Bitter Mist Mountain, will he let me off?"
"Why are you afraid of him?"
"Why wouldn't I be afraid of him? You should know what he's capable of. If he comes down on me even a little hard, whether I can come back alive is up in the air, and you still want me to fetch some iron-tendon bamboo?"
"So you're not going, eh?" Sun Tiecheng grew angry.
Gui Jianchou shook his head like a rattle drum. "I really can't go. If you're angry, just kill me. One way or another, it's death, and dying by your hand at least lets me die clean."
Sun Tiecheng scratched his head. "That old bastard Xu Han really isn't very clean."
He turned to look at the red lotus. "Does it have to be shoots of iron-tendon bamboo? Won't anything else do?"
The red lotus creaked and murmured as if replying. Gui Jianchou could catch faint sounds, but couldn't make out what the red lotus was actually saying.
Sun Tiecheng looked back at Gui Jianchou. "He won't budge, and you have no room for discussion either?"
Gui Jianchou lowered his head. "Anything else can be negotiated, but I'm definitely not going to Bitter Mist Mountain."
Sun Tiecheng fumed, "If you're not going to Bitter Mist Mountain, then squat right here at home!"
"Fine, I'll squat!" Gui Jianchou squatted on the ground, steady as a rock.
"Don't you get up until I come back!" Sun Tiecheng stormed off in a huff.
"Fine, I won't get up!" Gui Jianchou was a man of backbone. Squatting by the doorway, he refused to stand, quietly watching Sun Tiecheng walk away into the distance.
***
At the foot of Bitter Mist Mountain, crowds bustled about. Dressed in a short coat and carrying an herb basket on his back, Qiu Zhiheng was preparing to head up the mountain to gather herbs.
Qiu Zhiheng's business had grown larger and larger, and he already owned three medicine shops in Yaowang Gully. Gathering medicinal herbs was normally something that wouldn't require his personal attention, but the herb to be gathered today was very special: the blood-skin apricots in the mountain were ripe.
Blood-skin apricots were a specialty medicinal herb of Bitter Mist Mountain. The peel of this apricot was blood red, while the flesh was white; drying the flesh and ingesting it could heal all kinds of internal injuries.
The apricot pits were extremely bitter, and eating them could neutralize poisons. Even the signature poisons of certain Poison Cultivators could be dispelled with the pit of a blood-skin apricot.
The most precious part was the fruit's peel. It could staunch bleeding and replenish blood alike. As long as a person suffering from external trauma and severe blood loss still drew breath, applying the peel to the wound would stop the bleeding, and eating a couple of peels would replenish their blood.
The value of blood-skin apricots far exceeded that of snake-spot chrysanthemums, and they were far rarer, found only deep in the mountains. Low-tier cultivators didn't dare risk it, while high-tier cultivators were unwilling to risk their lives for such a task, leaving the major medicine shops with no choice but to rely on their own experts to venture up the mountain.
Qiu Zhiheng's wife was uneasy. "Zhiheng, if you ask me, you shouldn't go. It's not worth it for a few apricots. Let's look around Lüshui City again; maybe we can still buy a few."
He had already searched all of Lüshui City, and no one was selling blood-skin apricots. If it were merely for the shop's business, Qiu Zhiheng wouldn't be willing to take the risk either. This time, he was harvesting the apricots for Old Yao. Old Yao had shown improvement recently; eating more apricot peels to replenish his blood might just wake him up.
"Go back and mind the medicine shop. I'll definitely be home before dark." Qiu Zhiheng pinched his wife's plump cheek and headed up the mountain with his herb basket.
Bitter Mist Mountain was shrouded in dense fog year-round. Qiu Zhiheng was an eighth-tier Joy Cultivator; before reaching the mountainside, the mist's harm was still within tolerable limits. But once past the mountainside, the mist grew thicker, and Qiu Zhiheng had to use Joy Cultivator techniques to stimulate his blood and detoxify himself.
What was harder to deal with was that beyond five or six meters, everything was a uniform, blinding white; nothing could be seen clearly.
How could one gather herbs in such thick mist? He couldn't even see where the apricot trees were, so where would he find the fruit?
Qiu Zhiheng had a way.
He drew a budding apricot blossom from his bosom. He had purchased this flower; in all of Lüshui City, he had only managed to buy this single stalk.
The blooming period of blood-skin apricots was very brief. While gathering apricots, some people would also pluck a few flower buds to sell to Herb Cultivators in Lüshui City. The Herb Cultivators preserved the blossoms; fresh apricot flowers could be made into top-grade incense, with prices comparable to the fruit itself.
Qiu Zhiheng cut open his palm and dripped some blood onto the apricot blossom. The bud unfurled slowly, and a refreshing fragrance drifted into the distance.
This floral fragrance didn't merely drift with the wind; it drifted with purpose and direction.
A Joy Cultivator technique: Seeking a Mate in Solitude.
Using his own blood, Qiu Zhiheng imparted the apricot blossom with an intense mating instinct. As the pollen drifted, its powerful nature would actively seek out the location of blood-skin apricot trees.
Relying on his sense of smell, Qiu Zhiheng followed the floral scent along the mountain trail for several tens of li.
Approaching a forest, the floral scent grew increasingly potent. Qiu Zhiheng knew he was not far from an apricot tree.
Finding just one tree would make today a success. A single tree bore at least a hundred or so apricots, which would be enough for Old Yao, with some left over for himself in case of emergencies.
Qiu Zhiheng quickened his pace. After walking another few li, he came to a sudden halt. Someone had been tailing him from behind for nearly half an hour.
An eighth-tier Joy Cultivator could hardly find an opponent among ordinary people, but on Bitter Mist Mountain, Qiu Zhiheng had to tread carefully. The heavy toxic mist severely diminished one's combat effectiveness, and different pathways had vastly different resistances to it.
If he encountered a Poison Cultivator, even one of only the sixth tier, Qiu Zhiheng would have to consider his retreat before engaging.
Qiu Zhiheng stopped, and the follower stopped as well. After a brief standoff, the person walked forward anyway.
"Boss Qiu, I've followed you all this way. I originally hoped to ride your coattails to find some good things, but out of pride, I felt too embarrassed to ask."
The man who stepped into view was in his fifties, tall and thin, his face lined with wrinkles, dressed in a satin long gown.
Qiu Zhiheng couldn't recall ever seeing this man, so he asked directly, "How should I address you?"
"Boss Qiu, don't you remember me? My name is Fan Zhongfu. I even bought medicine at your shop yesterday."
Qiu's Medicine Shop received countless customers every day, and Qiu Zhiheng spent most of his time away from the counter. Even if this man had truly bought medicine there, there was no way he would remember him.
Yet since the other party brought it up, Qiu Zhiheng replied courteously nonetheless, "Mr. Fan, a pleasure. What herbs are you gathering up the mountain today? If it's something Qiu knows, I might be able to point you in the right direction."
Fan Zhongfu said, "It's my first time on Bitter Mist Mountain, and I don't know what good herbs are here. Whatever you gather, I'll just follow along. If you find good things and there's plenty to spare, I'll gather a little too. If there really isn't, I wouldn't dare ask you for any—I'll just treat it as broadening my horizons by following you."
This was utter nonsense.
If someone spoke of heading into the fields to learn from an old farmer to broaden their horizons, that would be within reason.
This was Bitter Mist Mountain. Heading up the mountain aimlessly, risking deadly poisoning just to "broaden his horizons"? How could such words fool Qiu Zhiheng?
Qiu Zhiheng put the apricot blossom into his basket and looked at Fan Zhongfu. "Mr. Fan, please speak honestly. Exactly what business do you have with me?"
Fan Zhongfu smiled. "Didn't I already tell you? To learn the craft of herb-gathering from you."
Qiu Zhiheng shook his head. "I'm no longer gathering herbs. I am heading down the mountain right now. Do you have any other business?"
Fan Zhongfu fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Since you're not gathering herbs anymore, let me ask you something else. Do you know someone named Li Seven?"
"I do," Qiu Zhiheng nodded. "What do you want with him?"
Fan Zhongfu said, "Nothing major. I am from Xuehuapu. He has some friction with our settlement. I'd like to ask you: if you sent a message asking him to come to Yaowang Gully, would he come?"
"That depends on why I'm asking him."
"Just tell him it's a matter of life and death." Fan Zhongfu pondered for a moment. "Or better yet, be direct about it. Tell him that if he doesn't come, your life is forfeit, and so are the lives of your entire family."
The corner of Qiu Zhiheng's eye twitched. He prepared to invoke a technique, but before he could exert his power, the technique was interrupted.
The short coat he wore snapped tight all at once, strangling Qiu Zhiheng until he couldn't breathe.
"Don't be foolish." Fan Zhongfu hadn't made a single physical move, yet could manipulate Qiu Zhiheng's clothing at will. This was a high-tier Garment Cultivator. "I don't want to kill you, and I certainly don't want to kill your family. I just want to bring Li Seven here to clear up a few matters. As long as your friendship with Li Seven runs deep enough, as long as you can invite Li Seven to Yaowang Gully, everything between us can be discussed amicably."
Qiu Zhiheng used a Joy Cultivator technique on himself, forcing himself into an excited state. The muscles of his upper body swelled violently, attempting to forcibly tear through the coat.
Yet this short coat made of ordinary fabric now seemed reinforced with bones and sinews of steel; no matter how much force Qiu Zhiheng applied, it did not tear in the slightest.
Fan Zhongfu patted Qiu Zhiheng's cheek. "Chief Steward Qiu, after serving the Lu family for so many years, you ought to have some discernment. When I named Xuehuapu, did you still fail to fathom the depth of these waters? Every extra word I speak to you is already an honor granted. I'm advising you patiently, yet you don't know what's good for you? Your whole family's lives are clutched in my fist. All it takes is a flick of my finger—"
"Are you two here to gather herbs?" A middle-aged man walked up to them and asked, "Does either of you know where the iron-tendon bamboo is?"
The man appeared to be in his fifties, wearing rough homespun clothes, his face covered in dust and sweat, looking every bit the honest, simple-minded rustic.
The man's silent, unheralded appearance made Fan Zhongfu somewhat wary. Chuckling, Fan Zhongfu said, "You're looking for iron-tendon bamboo? I know where it is. Come closer, and I'll tell you."
The man tucked his hands into his sleeves and stepped up to Fan Zhongfu, tilting his ear to listen attentively.
Fan Zhongfu tugged at the man's clothing and pulled out a loose thread. "Your clothes are far too tattered. The fabric is unraveling."
The middle-aged man gave a simple, honest smile. "A fellow like me isn't picky about what he wears. Any clothes will do. It might look a bit ragged, but it's mighty warm to wear—"
The moment the words left his mouth, Fan Zhongfu snapped his wrist.
The clothes on the middle-aged man instantly constricted, collapsing into a fist-sized ball of thread.
The man's entire body was crushed into the ball of thread; a living person was compressed to the size of a fist, blood streaming copiously down the threads.
Holding the ball of thread in his palm, Fan Zhongfu tossed it idly a couple of times and smiled at Qiu Zhiheng. "This technique is called Seamless Heavenly Clothes. This little ball of thread is a seamless heavenly garment. It can pack you in, and it can pack your wife and children in too. As long as the bones, flesh, and internal organs are all crushed to pulp, into a ball just this size, every single one of the hundreds of souls in your medicine shops can fit right inside. If you don't believe me, we can test it out. Chief Steward Qiu, now that things have come to this, you should understand plain enough. If you don't, I can explain it in another way."
Qiu Zhiheng remained silent, still intent on fighting to the death. The disparity between them was immense, and he knew that even if he yielded, Fan Zhongfu would never let him go.
Seeing Qiu Zhiheng still resisting, Fan Zhongfu felt around on Qiu Zhiheng's clothes for a moment and found a loose thread. "Here is a thread from your clothes. The moment I pull this thread, your clothing will tighten up as small as a ball of yarn, squeezing your body right into this wad. Don't worry, you won't die. I'll even leave your head intact so you can see your wife and child one last time. If you do as I say and obediently bring Li Seven here, our business today—"
"You're looking for Li Seven?" The middle-aged man stood behind Fan Zhongfu, hands tucked into his sleeves. "Whatever business you have with him, tell me. I know Li Seven real well!"
Fan Zhongfu looked down at the ball of thread in his hand. It was heavy and still dripping blood.
He looked back at the middle-aged man behind him. The man looked completely unassuming, utterly unharmed.
The middle-aged man was standing right behind him, so who was inside this ball of thread?
Fan Zhongfu couldn't figure it out, so Sun Tiecheng figured it out for him. "If I told you the person in that ball is yourself, would you believe me?"
Chapter 564