Li Banfeng danced a tune with Madam in the laboratory, left the Pendulum and Mengde behind to assist her, and departed Qiqiu City by way of the newland.
The newland of Qiqiu City originally bordered Wuqin Township. The local spirit of this newland was named Wannianlao. He had harbored great aversion toward Wuqin Township in the past, and later clashed with Qiu Luoye, rarely maintaining much contact with Qiqiu City.
Li Banfeng was actually quite intrigued by this local spirit. As he passed Wannianlao's estate, he strongly considered paying a visit to this formidable Glue Cultivator.
However, today was not the right time; Li Banfeng had urgent business to attend to.
He needed to travel to the City of Fools to see Senior Brother Sun and investigate the background of the Lady of Room Nine.
After learning that Li Banfeng was a Fool cultivator, the Lady of Room Nine had undergone a massive shift in attitude. Still, keeping such an expert Fool cultivator at home left Li Banfeng feeling uneasy; he had to get to the bottom of her origins.
Yet how was he supposed to bring this up with Big Brother Sun?
To ask about this woman without revealing where she was would be quite a challenge.
After trekking through the newland for half a day, Li Banfeng reached the vicinity of Zhengjing Village. Continuing along the mountain path, he was about to arrive at the entrance to the City of Fools.
Li Banfeng slowed his pace. To enter the City of Fools, one had to move at precisely the right speed—neither too fast nor too slow would do.
Reaching an expanse of wild, overgrown reeds and grass, Li Banfeng rested for a moment and wiped his sweat. The entrance to the City of Fools lay within these wild grasses.
It was early winter now, and wild grass should have withered long ago.
But this marshy expanse was special; the wild grass here never withered. After years of growth, it stood taller than Li Banfeng himself.
In the past, Li Banfeng would have used Sever the Path to Forge a Way to stride through. Today, not wanting to expend that effort, he intended to fly straight over using Riding the Wind and Driving the Clouds.
The moment his feet pushed off the ground, a tremor ran through Li Banfeng's calves. He failed to leap into the air and nearly tumbled over.
Danger.
Where was the danger?
The cold wind blew, rustling through the wild grass.
Li Banfeng touched the Qiansi earring and pushed the technique Discerning Spirit Sounds to its peak. Listening amidst the overgrown grass for a good while, he faintly picked up the sound of someone speaking.
The voice was intermittent, and he couldn't make out what was being said.
Li Banfeng used his techniques, Harmony of Steps and Smooth Passage Without Obstacles, to weave through the tall weeds, closing in step by step toward the source of the sound.
After walking about a hundred paces, Li Banfeng faintly made out what the speaker was saying.
"It's right here. It definitely can't be wrong."
It was Du Wenming's voice.
"We've been searching for nearly half a day. You keep saying it's here, but where is the city gate?"
Mister Kongfang!
They were looking for the City of Fools!
Li Banfeng felt thoroughly relieved that he hadn't taken flight just now, nor had he used a technique as conspicuous as Sever the Path to Forge a Way. Otherwise, he most likely would have died at Mister Kongfang's hands.
Of course, another possibility was that he might have unwittingly led Mister Kongfang and Du Wenming into the City of Fools, only to die by their hands inside.
Although the entrance was nearby, if they didn't know the method to open it, entering the city was virtually impossible.
Du Wenming said, "We were still walking too fast just now. Just a little slower. I feel the surroundings shifting."
Not good!
They knew how to enter. They knew the crucial key was speed!
They simply hadn't found the right speed yet.
Why did these two want to go to the City of Fools? Were they after the red lotus, or did they have some other purpose?
Was Senior Brother Sun in the city?
What if he wasn't?
With Mister Kongfang's power, if he entered the City of Fools, the city would suffer utter annihilation.
How could he stop them?
Use the rattle drum again to scare them away?
The same trick rarely worked twice—not to mention that Mister Kongfang was a master of deception himself.
Flee openly, make some noise, and lure them away?
Li Banfeng didn't know Mister Kongfang's pathway, nor did he know how many magical artifacts the two possessed. Whether he could even escape was up in the air.
Even if he managed to draw them off and get away, they would eventually return, all the more certain that this was the entrance to the City of Fools.
While Li Banfeng was still pondering a countermeasure, a faint whistle sounded by his ear.
The companion dwelling had a different perspective from Li Banfeng, and it was warning him.
Li Banfeng hid the key beneath the grass and slipped silently back into the companion dwelling.
He headed straight to Room Five. "Lady, open the window and let me take a look."
A stretch of wild grass appeared on the wall. Room Five's vantage point was considerably higher than Li Banfeng's, offering a much wider view.
Li Banfeng saw Mister Kongfang wearing a bamboo hat, walking toward the exact spot Li Banfeng had just occupied.
Mister Kongfang hadn't spotted him; he merely sensed that someone might have been active here.
Li Banfeng stared nervously at the ground. The key was hidden under a clump of pigweed.
Mister Kongfang looked around, saw no one, and turned back to continue searching for the entrance with Du Wenming.
The image on the wall faded. The Lady of Room Five said, "The window cannot stay open for long. I need to rest a bit."
Li Banfeng pondered how to make Du Wenming and Mister Kongfang leave.
In the past, whenever he hit a snag, he could consult Madam. But Madam wasn't at home; she was in the laboratory.
Ask Hong Ying?
Hong Ying's strategy was simple: charge out and fight.
If he talked it over with the Old Master and took Hong Ying out for a battle, the Old Master might accommodate him when things reached a critical crisis.
Yet what counted as a critical crisis?
Would the Old Master care about the survival of the City of Fools?
Even if he went out with Hong Ying, what were their odds of winning?
Li Banfeng was evenly matched with Du Wenming, but could Hong Ying defeat Mister Kongfang?
In the midst of his racking thoughts, Li Banfeng suddenly remembered someone. He walked to Room Nine and asked, "Mister Kongfang is about to enter the City of Fools. Do you have a way to deal with this?"
The Lady of Room Nine was startled. "Who is Mister Kongfang?"
The red lotus answered, "The Chief of Xuehuapu, one of the fiercest figures in Puluo Province."
Li Banfeng glanced at the red lotus. Why did she refer to Mister Kongfang as the Chief?
The Lady of Room Nine had never heard of Xuehuapu. "Can this man fight? How does he compare to Sun Tiecheng?"
Li Banfeng said, "On par with Senior Brother Sun. The key issue is, we don't know if Senior Brother Sun is in the city right now."
The Lady of Room Nine grew anxious. "Has this Mister Kongfang already entered the city gate, or is he outside?"
"He hasn't seen the gate yet. They haven't mastered the speed."
"Speed... The Fast and Slow Harmonizing Array. He's still using that old trick!" The Lady of Room Nine was frantic.
"They're testing it right now. It won't be long before they figure out the right speed."
The Lady of Room Nine grew even more frantic. "Junior Brother Li, do you know any Fool arrays?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I've seen one once. Senior Brother Sun stuck two branches into the ground—one to guard against adults, one to guard against children."
"That won't work."
That array had been used at Yesong Bridge to help Li Banfeng conceal the covenant deed. Remembering what happened back then, Li Banfeng sighed. "I thought that array was way too slipshod, too."
The Lady of Room Nine said, "I don't mean the array won't work. I mean you can't do it."
Li Banfeng frowned. "How do you know I can't?"
Room Nine explained, "That is the Dazzling Blossoms Confusing the Eyes Array. Sun Tiecheng's placement of those two branches requires real mastery. The depth and positioning are extremely particular; you couldn't learn it without eight or ten years of practice."
"Then come up with one I can learn."
Though anxious, the Lady of Room Nine did not lose her composure. After thinking for five or six minutes, she suddenly cried out, "You're a Traveler cultivator, right?"
"Keep your voice down if you have something to say! Don't make such a racket!" Li Banfeng glanced instinctively toward the main room, thankful that Madam wasn't home.
The Lady of Room Nine said, "There is another array: the Three Gates, Three Openings Array. Only a Traveler cultivator can learn this one."
Li Banfeng didn't quite grasp the logic. "What does a Fool array have to do with a Traveler cultivator?"
"It has everything to do with it! Do you know Parting by Ten Thousand Li?"
"Yes!"
"Then that makes it easy. I'll impart the array to you right now. Study it carefully; an hour or two should be enough."
"What if they get into the city during that hour or two?"
The Lady of Room Nine said, "Chant an incantation to stop them from entering."
"Chant an incantation from inside the house? Does that work?"
"It works! I'll tell you the incantation once; just remember the general meaning. The exact words are: *They definitely won't find it!*"
"Just that one sentence?"
"That one sentence is enough!"
"Fine, I've got it," Li Banfeng replied, feeling that this incantation might actually work. "Let's get back to the array."
"The Three Gates, Three Openings Array means three entrances leading to three exits. Just like using the technique Parting by Ten Thousand Li, it banishes anyone who steps into the array elsewhere."
"How does it banish them?"
"The array's essential principle is identical to Parting by Ten Thousand Li: utilizing the Traveler cultivator's will and footwork to tear open an indescribable rift."
"That's the technique's principle?" What Room Nine described felt unfamiliar to Li Banfeng; Hong Ying's explanation of the technique had been nothing like this.
"Heh heh," the companion dwelling chuckled softly.
Room Nine continued, "Before deploying the array, you first activate the technique Parting by Ten Thousand Li. In that state of disorientation, establish three pivot points around the enemy. The distance between any two points must be no less than ten meters and no more than thirty meters."
Worrying that Li Banfeng might not understand, a stack of paper and a pen floated into the air. The Lady of Room Nine drew diagrams as she explained.
The method was actually very simple: use three pivot points to form a triangle enclosing the enemy. Each of the three sides corresponded to a gate, and each gate corresponded to an exit.
Li Banfeng asked, "How do I set up the pivot points?"
"Find objects like branches or wooden sticks and plant them into the ground. The faster, the better."
Li Banfeng nodded. "That's not hard. First, I'll have someone set a bearing for me."
He prepared to call Luo Zhengnan and arrange a time for Luo Zhengnan to call back. With the phone's directional lock, Li Banfeng could find his bearings.
The Lady of Room Nine said, "You cannot set a bearing. As I just said, you must lay the array during the disorientation."
"Isn't that nonsense? How am I supposed to set up an array while disoriented?" Using Parting by Ten Thousand Li stripped Li Banfeng of all sense of direction. He wouldn't even know which way to run, let alone fulfill specific distance requirements.
"That is the crux of the array! You must use Fool techniques to find your direction."
"How do I fool? Fool myself?"
"Yes, fool yourself! Use whatever Fool techniques you know on yourself. You don't need to distinguish north, south, east, and west; you only need to grasp the general direction, map out the three pivot points, and surround the enemy."
At this point, the Lady of Room Nine's heart was in her throat. For a Fool cultivator to hoodwink themselves required profound skill. Li Qi hadn't been in the pathway long; she feared he lacked such competence.
She was underestimating Li Banfeng.
Back when Li Banfeng was acting as a local spirit in the newland, his cultivation had only been at the Ground Turf tier. When Youtao came to reclaim land, Li Banfeng had used a Fool technique to deceive himself into believing he was indeed a local spirit. Relying on Hong Ying's imposing aura and his own conviction, he had successfully lit the parcel of land.
Yet the difficulty of these two situations was completely different.
Back then, Li Banfeng had already stolen the local spirit's covenant deed and held the status of a local spirit, lacking only the corresponding strength. He firmly believed that he would become a formidable local spirit in the future—an idea deeply ingrained in his mind. Thus, he only needed to use the technique Speaking with Utmost Certainty to blur the timeline, swapping "future" for "present," to successfully trick himself.
This time, however, the difficulty was far greater. Activating Parting by Ten Thousand Li resulted in total disorientation; unless an anchor was established, one's sense of direction could not be regained. That was basic common sense for a Traveler cultivator, an axiom just as deeply rooted in his mind.
To force himself to believe he had a sense of direction when he had none—Li Banfeng could not figure out what technique to apply.
The Lady of Room Nine said, "Whenever I used this technique, I always fooled myself using Going Down the Slope with the Donkey. Just keep moving around the enemy, plant three sticks no matter what, and if one try doesn't work, do it again. A small feat like that is definitely doable."
Li Banfeng turned her words over in his mind dozens of times, then shook his head. "No. The slope doesn't slope smoothly; I simply can't come down it."
"Try building a different slope!"
After pondering for a good while, Li Banfeng shook his head. "No matter how I build it, it doesn't run smooth."
Room Nine thought for a moment, then suggested, "You could try Ironclad Evidence. Establish three pivot points before using Parting by Ten Thousand Li. If you could make them before, you can make them after; the ironclad evidence is right before your eyes."
Li Banfeng pondered for a long time, but still shook his head.
That trick worked for duping others, but not himself. After using Parting by Ten Thousand Li, before and after were fundamentally different. No matter how much ironclad evidence lay before him, he still couldn't cross that mental hurdle, and the Fool technique wouldn't activate.
Room Nine didn't know what to do either. She was frantic, yet dared not rush him.
After pondering for a long time, Li Banfeng asked her, "Will doing this really work?"
"It will! It definitely will! As long as the array is completed, it can send them away."
"And after they're sent away, won't they just come back?"
"The array will send them very far away. Within a day or two, they definitely won't be able to return. If Sun Tiecheng comes back during that time, we can have him alter the position of the city gate. If Sun Tiecheng hasn't returned, we'll evacuate the people in the city—as many as we can take! It doesn't matter if we abandon the city, so long as they can live! Don't let them die a second time..."
Room Nine's voice trembled violently; Li Banfeng missed several of her words.
Yet there was one sentence he heard with utter clarity, and it mirrored his own thoughts exactly: *Don't let them die a second time.*
Li Banfeng went to Room Five and asked the Lady of Room Five to project the scene outside the companion dwelling once more.
Her strength was not yet fully restored, so she could only maintain it for a brief moment. Du Wenming and Mister Kongfang were still probing. Their speed was largely correct; all they lacked was the direction.
If they dialed in their direction just a bit more, they would be able to enter the City of Fools.
With the footwork of a Dancer cultivator, finding a direction was hardly difficult. Time was running out; Li Banfeng had to take a gamble.
He dismantled a chair and detached three chair legs.
Looking for sticks outside on the spot would be inconvenient; he had to prepare them beforehand.
The glove poked its head out of his pocket and tugged at Li Banfeng's sleeve. "Master, you're not planning to rely on blind luck, are you? Our opponents are Mister Kongfang and Du Wenming. If you just go out there trusting to luck, dashing about blindly and bumping straight into Mister Kongfang's hands, your life is forfeit."
Li Banfeng shook his head. Naturally, he wouldn't rely on blind luck.
The glove offered another suggestion: "Forget the array altogether. Why not just find an opening and push him away with Parting by Ten Thousand Li?"
Using Parting by Ten Thousand Li directly seemed easier, but the critical question was: push whom away?
Li Banfeng faced two opponents, Mister Kongfang and Du Wenming. He couldn't even tell directions apart; it was anyone's guess whom he might push, and he might very well fail to push either of them.
Even if he prearranged a bearing with Old Luo and pushed Mister Kongfang away, he would end up flying to Old Luo's side himself—leaving Du Wenming behind, which would be just as disastrous.
He found a length of rope, roughly ten meters long, and tied it to his arm.
The glove thought for a moment. "Master, do you want me to guide you as you run? That could work."
If the glove stayed right beside Li Banfeng, it too would lose its sense of direction. At a distance of ten meters, however, it should be able to maintain its bearings.
Yet the glove was still worried. "I don't run fast enough. I fear we won't have time to set up the array."
Thief cultivators were quick with their hands, but their legs couldn't match a Traveler cultivator's—not to mention the glove had no legs at all.
"Having you lead definitely won't work. We need someone else." Li Banfeng stood in the main room, took a deep breath, and used the technique Body and Shadow Comforting Each Other to summon his shadow.
Locking eyes with the shadow for a moment, Li Banfeng said solemnly, "We are the same. In terms of physique alone, there is no difference between us. But we also have differences. There are many things I can do that you cannot."
The shadow silently looked at Li Banfeng, having no idea what he meant.
Li Banfeng gave an example: "I can speak. That's something you cannot do."
Folding its arms, the shadow looked at Li Banfeng, clearly feeling that "being able to speak" was hardly an impressive accomplishment.
Li Banfeng's feet left the floor as he hovered in the room. "I can fly. You cannot fly either."
The shadow found this strange. Unable to fathom what Li Banfeng was bragging about, it demonstrated a skill of its own: pressing flat against the floor, it slipped under a trunk and came out the other side. The gap between the trunk and the floor was less than two centimeters. The shadow was telling Li Banfeng that there were things Li Banfeng couldn't do either.
Li Banfeng did not deny it. "Indeed, I cannot do that. That proves the two of us are different. When I use the technique Parting by Ten Thousand Li, I lose my sense of direction. But you aren't the one using the technique, so you remain unaffected."
The shadow looked at Li Banfeng. Though expressionless, Li Banfeng sensed its confusion.
Ironclad Evidence combined with Inverting Cause and Effect—the techniques took hold!
Next came the most critical link.
Madam had always told Li Banfeng to practice his techniques until they became second nature, and only now did he truly appreciate her painstaking care.
Whether he could execute Parting by Ten Thousand Li while maintaining Body and Shadow Comforting Each Other was the decisive factor between victory and defeat.
*Go outside and test it.*
*No, if I discover outside that the technique didn't work, it'll be too late.*
*Prepare Parting by Ten Thousand Li at home in advance, then strike the moment I step out!*
Li Banfeng gathered his focus in the main room for a few moments, feeling he was nearly ready.
Striding to the entrance, he pulled open the front door of the companion dwelling, then immediately shut it behind him.
The technique hadn't taken. The fact that he could open the door so effortlessly proved he could still tell his directions.
*Try again.*
Li Banfeng skirted around the table and headed toward the door once more.
No, being able to walk around the table proved his sense of direction was still intact.
Watching from the side, Hong Ying was beside herself with anxiety. "Brother Seven, can your heart settle down or not?"
"It's settled." Though anxious, Li Banfeng's emotions were completely steady.
"Settling down is completely wrong! Have you ever seen a Traveler cultivator whose heart was settled?" Hong Ying wrapped the rope around the shadow. "You're going out to risk your life! You have to kindle the fire in your heart!"
"Kindle it?"
"If there's no fire in your heart, how can your feet charge forward? If you can't charge, why even go out? You might as well stay cooped up at home for the rest of your life!"
Cultivating both Stay-at-Home and Traveler was notoriously difficult, and the hardest part was the state of mind.
Li Banfeng pulled open the door and stepped outside with his shadow.
Du Wenming slid his feet through the wild grass, each step painstakingly slow.
He was testing the direction; he could sense that the entrance was very close.
"What's that sound?" Mister Kongfang looked to his side, as if hearing faint footsteps.
*Thud!*
A muffled sound rang out as Li Banfeng drove the first chair leg into the ground.
Following the sound, Du Wenming rushed over, faintly spotting figures darting through the overgrown marsh.
One person?
No, two!
Du Wenming didn't dare act rashly. Mister Kongfang rapidly closed in on the figures.
*Thud!*
Another sound—the second chair leg sank into the dirt.
Mister Kongfang was stunned. "This array... she's back—"
Before he could finish, another muffled thud sounded. The three pivot points were set.
Before Mister Kongfang could react, his feet suddenly left the ground.
His body floated into midair, completely beyond his control, and in the blink of an eye, he shot off into the distance, vanishing without a trace.
He had been standing directly along the line connecting two pivot points. To be precise, the shadow had deliberately led Li Banfeng to form a connecting line right between Mister Kongfang's feet.
Seeing Mister Kongfang vanish abruptly, Du Wenming had no idea what was happening.
Hiding in the shadows, Li Banfeng fought to keep his body under control, waiting for his sense of direction to return before dealing with Du Wenming.
Du Wenming could feel eyes upon him, but couldn't pinpoint Li Banfeng's location.
After a tense standoff, Du Wenming sensed a killing aura in the air. Deliberately avoiding the direction where Mister Kongfang had vanished, he slid his steps northwest, trying to dash out of the tall grass.
What he never expected was that until the array lost its power, running in any direction was the wrong move.
The instant he crossed the boundary, Du Wenming vanished.
Exhausted, Li Banfeng breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in the wild grass alongside his shadow.
A gust of cold wind swept past, rustling through the tall weeds. Mingled with the wind came intermittent blasts of a steam whistle.
Li Banfeng heard the companion dwelling chuckling.
"Ah Qi, three lines of business have finally been conducted together."
After resting for a short while, Li Banfeng rushed into the City of Fools. Sun Tiecheng wasn't home, nor was Gui Jianchou; no one knew when they would return.
Li Banfeng went to Changsan Shuyu and had the ladies go door to door spreading the word: a formidable enemy was approaching, and everyone had to pack their belongings immediately and prepare to leave the city.
The city was thrown into commotion for a time. Men, women, young, and old scurried back and forth through the streets. The stalls selling scrap cloth, calligraphy, paintings, and breakfast snacks were all packed away, and most of the shops shuttered their doors.
While Li Banfeng was still wondering where he could relocate these people, less than half an hour later, the chaos subsided.
The shops reopened for business, and people once again strolled the streets at leisure.
Li Banfeng looked at Yan Qing'er. "What's going on? Didn't you explain it clearly?"
"We explained it very clearly. You told them to pack their belongings, and they've packed them all."
Li Banfeng stared at the passersby for a moment. An old lady had an awl hidden up her sleeve; an old man had a cleaver tucked into his chest pocket; an older child held a sugar figurine in his left hand and a dagger in his right.
"I told them to pack their things to leave the city, not to go home and arm themselves to the teeth!"
"Manager, we're not leaving the city," Yan Qing'er said, shaking her head. "This is our home. We're not going anywhere."
Li Banfeng said, "Now isn't the time to be stubborn! You have no idea who is coming!"
"Manager, we're all people who have died once before. No matter who comes today, we aren't afraid." Yan Qing'er tucked a pair of awls into her sleeves. "Last time, we were caught unprepared and caught off guard. Today, Master Seven brought us word. We are prepared. Whoever comes, we'll tear a layer of skin off him!"
Li Banfeng looked toward the city gate. "The person coming today is on par with the City Lord. Do you really want to fight him?"
Yan Qing'er bit her lip and offered a faint smile. "Manager, you should leave quickly. You're the hope of our pathway, and you're the City Lord's hope for a lifetime. When this is all over, be sure to come back and see the city. If I'm still alive, I'll sing for you again—and I guarantee I'll sing better than Yan Hong'er or Yan Cui'er!"
"Better than both of them?"
"Mm!" Yan Qing'er nodded vigorously.
Li Banfeng sighed and turned toward the city gate.
Standing by the roadside, Yan Qing'er held back her tears as she watched Li Banfeng's retreating figure.
In this life, she might never see Li Qi again.
Was she close to him?
How many times had they even met?
Was he really that good?
Hadn't he just gifted a few sets of clothes, a few pieces of jewelry, and a few boxes of powder and rouge? Didn't managers of other shuyu gift those things too?
He had also brought food and drink, and flesh and blood; much of the flesh on her body had been pasted on with his help.
He didn't mock them, nor did he look down on them. He had even said he would take them out to roam the world.
If only she had left alongside Yan Hong'er and the others back then.
Once he left, she truly would never see him again.
Watching him walk away, Yan Qing'er wished desperately that she could keep the manager in her eyes forever.
"Gatekeeper, come here," Li Banfeng called as he reached the city gate.
The middle-aged gatekeeper walked over, sized up Li Qi, and turned to leave.
Back then, he had demanded an entrance fee, only to be swindled out of quite a bit of money by Li Qi. Now, whenever he saw Li Qi, he wanted to steer clear.
"Don't guard the gate today. Take your weapons and go wait inside the city."
The gatekeeper was taken aback. "That won't do. I heard fierce characters are coming today. I have to hold the gate."
"It's precisely because fierce characters are coming that I won't let you guard the gate. Get going." Li Banfeng shooed the gatekeeper away, tucked his hands into his sleeves, and squatted down at the city gate like an honest, simple fellow.
He lit a cigarette, took two puffs, and looked back at the men, women, young, and old of the City of Fools.
Spitting out a shred of tobacco, he looked out at the dense fog beyond the city walls.
*Mister Kongfang, Du Wenming—I can't beat both of you on my own, so I'll bring them along to take you on together.*
*Since everyone's ready, come on then. Let's see if you've got the balls.*
Chapter 584