The Hanxue Pendulum

Li Banfeng hacked the pendulum into Rong Jin'an's head. Rong Jin'an lay on the ground, his body twitching violently. Li Banfeng had known all along that he wasn't dead. Although Rong Jin'an had feigned it convincingly, Li Banfeng could still sense danger radiating from him. The reason he had brought him back to the Portable Abode was to please the dwelling spirit. Not that she could strictly be called a dwelling spirit; Li Banfeng still didn't know her name. For now, he would just call her Lady Wife. She had complained that the food was never fresh, which made Li Banfeng feel thoroughly ashamed. Chhh-chhh~ The gramophone stirred. Clang-clatter~ The gramophone had been waiting for a long time: "Husband~~ You truly cherish this humble servant, bringing back such fresh delicacies." Li Banfeng nodded. "Please dine, Lady Wife." "My thanks, Husband~" A cloud of steam enveloped Rong Jin'an, making his body tremble even more violently. Slurp~ Slurp~ Li Banfeng thought he heard the sound of someone slurping noodles, though he had no idea what the gramophone was actually slurping. Only Rong Jin'an knew. At this moment, the gramophone was devouring his soul strand by strand, a sensation akin to someone carving away his flesh slice by slice with a knife. He wanted a quick release, yet death wouldn't come so swiftly. In his excruciating agony, Rong Jin'an unexpectedly thought of Qin Xiaopang, who had likewise wished for death yet could not die. While his lady was slurping up the soul, Li Banfeng continued observing Rong Jin'an's wound. Why wasn't the wound bleeding? After watching for a moment, Li Banfeng understood: the wound was bleeding, but the instant blood seeped out, the pendulum swallowed it, leaving not a trace of blood to be seen. The pendulum sucked blood. Using a blood-sucking dagger along with Luo Yuni's pendulum, the bronze lotus had refined a blood-sucking pendulum. Li Banfeng glanced at the bronze lotus. "Why bother with such a redundant effort?" The bronze lotus made no sound. Li Banfeng yanked the pendulum out of Rong Jin'an's skull. Having drunk its fill of fresh blood, the pendulum had shifted from bright silver to reddish-bronze. Li Banfeng touched it, but felt nothing remarkable. At the bottom of the pendulum was a small screw used to adjust its length. Seeing that the screw had reached the very tip and seemed about to fall off at any moment, Li Banfeng gave it a couple of twists with his fingers. With that twist, golden grease gushed out from the pendulum, spraying mostly onto the floor, with some splattering across the gramophone. His lady, who had been slurping up the soul, stopped at once. She swallowed the remaining half of the soul in one gulp, tapped out a slow beat, and sang softly, "Husband, do you know how difficult it is to clean up grease all over the floor?" The sung verse was gentle, yet carried a hint of murderous intent. Hearing this, Li Banfeng picked up the mop in the room and began mopping the floor. The gramophone sang again: "Husband, may I ask how this humble servant's filthy body shall be cleansed?" Hearing this, Li Banfeng wiped down the gramophone's casing with the mop. "Husband, is it proper to clean this humble servant with a mop?" The murderous intent in her singing grew even heavier. Li Banfeng dropped the mop, grabbed a handkerchief, and gingerly wiped his lady clean. The gramophone continued singing: "Husband, that slut Honglian forged you a weapon, yet did not tell you how to use it. That is having no regard for you whatsoever. If you do not teach her a lesson, where then is the family discipline?" Li Banfeng looked back at the bronze lotus and barked, "What you did was wrong!" The bronze lotus opened its petals, looking thoroughly ashamed, swallowed Rong Jin'an's corpse, and closed its petals again. "She knows she was wrong!" Li Banfeng said as he continued wiping the casing. "You have worked hard, Husband. Petty household chores should be left to this humble servant." Her anger appeased, a puff of steam drifted over, and the grease on the floor and casing vanished, settling into a nearby bucket along with the steam. Once everything was clean, the gramophone spoke again: "Husband, bring that weapon here and let this humble servant hear what she has to say." Say? Could the pendulum speak? Li Banfeng set the pendulum beside the gramophone. The gramophone and the pendulum seemed to converse, but Li Banfeng couldn't hear a thing. Before long, a burst of steam heated the pendulum glowing red. Tapping out a steady rhythm, the gramophone sharply reprimanded the pendulum: "What a wretched slut! When asked a question, answer properly! How dare you talk back!" The pendulum truly was speaking to the gramophone; Li Banfeng simply couldn't hear it. After a few more minutes, the gramophone slowly sang: "Husband, put this slut away. From now on, call her Hanxue." Hanxue? Did that name carry any special meaning? "She can suck blood?" Li Banfeng didn't quite understand. "Then how is that any different from the dagger before?" Clang-clatter~ The gramophone replied, "She can suck blood, and she can also spray people. Having sucked the blood of an Oil Cultivator, she can spray oil; suck the blood of a Smoke Cultivator, and she can spray smoke." "What if she sucks the blood of a Wine Cultivator?" "She can spray wine." "What if she sucks the blood of a Food Cultivator?" "She can spray blood." "What's the use of spraying blood?" "The uses are vast indeed. The blood of a Food Cultivator heals wounds; the blood of a Dwelling Cultivator expels toxins; the blood of a Journey Cultivator makes one nimble on their feet; and the blood of a Joy Cultivator allows Husband to gallop without restraint between the bed curtains~~ Hu-ya~~" Li Banfeng suddenly realized that the Hanxue Pendulum couldn't just spray enemies—it could also spray its wielder. A fine weapon—truly a fine weapon! Li Banfeng hastily put the pendulum away. He wanted to ask a few more questions, but the gramophone's flame extinguished, and silence returned. Sleep after eating her fill; his lady led a very orderly life. Li Banfeng was also somewhat tired. Lying on the bed, he stretched out in comfort. This trip to the old lady's house had yielded a bountiful harvest! The only problem was that he still didn't know the red pill's purpose. Ask his lady? She was already asleep. He should have asked that Mouth Cultivator earlier; she was well-read and bound to have some understanding of pills. What was her name again? ... Xiao Yeci and her daughter, Lu Chunying, stood at the entrance of the He family ancestral residence, hesitating to go inside. In such a massive compound, the courtyard was completely deserted, without even a gatekeeper. The Western-style mansion was pitch-black, and there was no telling if anyone was inside. Xiao Yeci said to Lu Chunying, "Nannan, don't be scared. Stay close to Mama." Lu Chunying thought for a moment and said, "Mama, I still believe what that man said. We shouldn't go in." "If we don't go here, where else can we go? Didn't we come to Yaowanggou just to find your sister? We don't have much money left. If this drags on any longer, we'll end up sleeping on the streets!" After lingering before the gate for a moment, they resolved to head into the residence. "Nannan, follow Mama, don't be afraid. Your sister wrote a letter asking us to come. What is there to fear!" Just as they stepped past the iron-picket gate, a faint light appeared in the pitch-black Western-style house. The light came from the second floor—a single candle flame. Skinny as a twig, Lu Xiaolan held a candle and stood by the second-floor window, waving at the mother and daughter. "Come, come~" Lu Xiaolan did not know who these two were. She didn't know them, she had never written them a letter, she didn't know she had a younger sister separated from her for years, and she didn't know why this mother and daughter had come to the He family ancestral residence. Aside from Li Banfeng, she couldn't contact anyone. But none of that mattered. As long as someone came, that was enough. As long as someone came to take her place as a scapegoat. "Come, come~" Lu Xiaolan called out anxiously. Xiao Yeci seemed to hear Lu Xiaolan's voice, yet couldn't be certain whether it came from her. "Nannan, is that person your sister?" Lu Chunying shook her head. "She doesn't look like it to me." Xiao Yeci thought for a moment and asked again, "Didn't you say you've never seen your sister?" "I haven't," Lu Chunying said, shivering as she looked at the emaciated Lu Xiaolan. "But I just feel like she doesn't." Xiao Yeci pursed her lips. "If she doesn't look like her, then let's leave. It's so late; we shouldn't disturb folks." "Then where do we go?" Lu Chunying was also at a loss. "Are we really going to sleep on the streets?" Xiao Yeci pondered for a long time. "Isn't there still Head Butler Qiu? Let's go consult him about finding a place to stay." Lu Chunying felt troubled. "We don't even know what kind of person Head Butler Qiu is. Why would he acknowledge me?" Xiao Yeci swallowed hard as she looked at Lu Xiaolan in the Western house. "You don't know what kind of person Lu Xiaolan is either. Let's try our luck with Head Butler Qiu." As they spoke, Lu Xiaolan pounded hard on the windowpane, seeming to urge them to come inside quickly. "Let's hurry and go." Xiao Yeci grabbed Lu Chunying's hand and swiftly fled the He family ancestral residence.