Li Banfeng waited before the gates of the City of Fools for most of the day, but saw neither Mister Kongfang nor Du Wenming, nor did he catch sight of Sun Tiecheng.
The people in the city were still fully prepared for battle, without the slightest slackening. Though their daily conduct was rather absurd, when it came to matters of survival, the Fool cultivators did not mess around.
Li Banfeng clicked open his pocket watch. It was already late into the night.
He was considering whether to return to the companion dwelling.
If he stayed home for a while, he could accumulate a bit of luck using the technique of Living and Working in Peace and Contentment.
Besides, Madam had been in the laboratory for a long time, and Li Banfeng felt somewhat uneasy. He wondered if he could find a way to bring Madam back.
Yet no one knew when Mister Kongfang might arrive. Until Sun Tiecheng returned, Li Banfeng had to remain in the City of Fools. To bring Madam back, he would still need the Old Master's help—would the old man accommodate him on this?
*Hoooot, hoooot—*
Li Banfeng suddenly heard two blasts of a steam whistle.
At this hour, the companion dwelling should have long been asleep; moments ago, Li Banfeng had still heard his deep snoring.
For him to blow his whistle and raise an alarm all of a sudden, what had he seen?
Had someone arrived?
Li Banfeng looked into the dense fog in the distance. The mist was thick and hazy, with no sign of anyone.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the faint outline of a figure passing right before him. Li Banfeng turned his head to look again, only to find that a man had already stepped through the city gate.
He had just walked right in—under Li Banfeng's very nose—and Li Banfeng hadn't noticed a thing.
"Halt!" Li Banfeng called out.
The man froze for a moment. He hadn't expected the gatekeeper to notice him.
The people around the city gate also heard Li Banfeng's shout. Anywhere else, people would have been startled out of their wits—how could the enemy have reached the gates without warning?
Yet the veteran Fool cultivators of the City of Fools remained utterly calm. An old man went on buying groceries, a child went on buying candy, and several loafers leaned against the base of the wall, continuing to shoot the breeze.
The man turned around, smiling at Li Banfeng. "You calling me?"
Li Banfeng examined the man's appearance closely. He looked over seventy years old, definitely weighed under seventy jin, and stood seemingly less than one point three meters tall. He had thin eyebrows, narrow eyes, high cheekbones, thin lips, pointed teeth, and a goatee.
"What are you here for?" Li Banfeng answered casually, his tone sounding as if he had known the old man for years.
In truth, Li Banfeng was tense inside. The Qiansi earring had been monitoring their surroundings constantly, the Tang dao and sickle were guarding either flank, and the projector stood watch on the battlement. Even though Li Banfeng occasionally drifted in thought, he had never let down his guard.
Yet this old man had walked right past his eyes, and Li Banfeng hadn't even noticed him.
What sort of method was this? Was this old man an expert Homestead Cultivator?
Even the technique of Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Calamity taught by the Coachman hadn't triggered. Just how high was this old man's cultivation?
Seeing Li Banfeng so calm, the old man also tightened his guard. With a chuckle, he said, "I came to visit an old friend."
"Who is your friend?" Li Banfeng asked with complete sincerity, without any technique or scheming behind it.
Yet the old man did not see it that way. This was the City of Fools, where every move had to be treated with utmost caution. He looked at Li Banfeng and said, word by word, "City Lord Sun is my old friend."
Li Banfeng followed the lead and asked, "Have you seen City Lord Sun?"
What did that mean?
The old man scrutinized Li Banfeng from head to toe. "It's been many years since we last met, and I don't know what City Lord Sun looks like these days. But could a city lord truly be standing guard at the city gate in person?"
This was also the truth. The old man indeed hadn't seen Sun Tiecheng in many years, and he had mistaken the person before him for Sun Tiecheng.
If Sun Tiecheng had noticed him slipping through the gate, that made total sense.
Li Banfeng played along and continued, "How could this be called standing guard? Hearing that an old friend was coming, I came out in person to welcome my guest."
The old man looked at Li Banfeng. "You knew an old friend was coming?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "Not only did I know, the entire city knew."
The old man cast a glance into the City of Fools. The common folk inside were still strolling around as if nothing were amiss, but the old man could tell that they were all armed with weapons.
Li Banfeng called out again, "Qing'er, a guest has arrived! Treat him to fine food and drink!"
Yan Qing'er had already been waiting near the gate. Hearing the Manager's call, she hurried over, extending a welcoming hand. "Honored guest, please come inside!"
The owner of a tavern in the city stepped outside and called, "Honored guest, have you eaten yet? Our dishes are cheap and hearty!"
The keeper of an inn nearby shouted, "Honored guest, do you have a place to stay? We happen to have vacated an upper room today!"
Yan Qing'er chimed in, "Honored guest, come listen to a song at our shuyu first. I'll have the tavern send over wine and dishes, and you can stay the night with us."
The shops throughout the city all emerged to drum up business:
"Honored guest, come take a look in our shop! Calligraphy and paintings by famous masters, all genuine articles!"
"Honored guest, we have oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, pots, bowls, ladles, and basins—everything under the sun, high quality and low price!"
"Honored guest, try our pickles! If they don't taste good, they're free of charge!"
"Honored guest, take a look at my elixir pills, guaranteed to cure a hundred ailments!"
"Honored guest, let me teach you a magic trick! If you want to learn, give a small tip; if not, just enjoy the show!"
...
Wave after wave of dizziness washed over the old man. He forgot what he had come to the City of Fools to do.
Right... he had come to visit an old friend.
He was here as a guest.
Weren't they all calling him "honored guest"? They weren't wrong.
Entering the city to be a guest—there was really nothing wrong with that.
"Honored guest, I can burn off moles!"
"Honored guest, I can scoop out corns!"
Amidst the surging chorus of calls, the old man stumbled groggily toward the city.
He genuinely hadn't expected the City of Fools to be fully mobilized for war today. Despite his formidable cultivation, if he truly stepped inside, getting back out would be exceedingly difficult.
In his daze, the old man suddenly froze in his tracks beneath the archway of the city gate.
He was, after all, a grandmaster of a pathway. Though his mind was slipping out of his control, a remaining shred of consciousness was still fiercely resisting.
He couldn't enter. If he went inside and listened to those hawking cries a few more times, his life would be forfeit.
Yet what could he use to resist right now?
Li Banfeng had already moved behind him, preparing to strike. In a one-on-one duel, Li Banfeng would certainly be no match for him, but in the old man's current state, he might not even withstand an ordinary move from Li Banfeng.
Near the gate, more and more people gathered, their shouts growing ever denser.
The old man took a deep breath and suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha—!"
The laughter was shrill and agonizing, drilling through the eardrums straight into the brain.
Yan Qing'er's cheeks twitched violently. She held it back for a moment, but in the end failed to suppress it and erupted into wild laughter along with the old man.
The few loafers shooting the breeze beneath the city gate had been the first to prepare for battle. Gripping various weapons, they too couldn't hold back, laughing so hard they gasped for breath.
The shopkeepers, clerks, and patrons from every shop clutched their bellies, laughing uncontrollably.
Li Banfeng wanted to launch a surprise attack with Treading Ten Thousand Rivers. Halfway through extending his right leg, his toes shook uncontrollably, his chest and belly spasmed, and laughter threatened to burst from him as well.
He couldn't laugh. Whatever happened, he mustn't laugh! Once he started, he wouldn't be able to stop.
Pinching his own cheeks, he forced himself not to laugh, intending to have the Tang dao and the sickle ambush the old man.
The sickle and the Tang dao were both trembling. They were laughing too, their blades shaking wildly out of control.
Li Banfeng pulled off the Qiansi earring. Not only did she amplify the old man's laughter, she kept laughing right into Li Banfeng's ear.
The old man turned his head. Still laughing, he said to Li Banfeng, "City Lord Sun, you went straight for the kill the moment we met! To think that after all these years, you're still as vicious as ever! Today I'm staking my old life right here. Even if I laugh myself to death, I'll take you along with me!"
The old man's laughter grew louder, and Li Banfeng saw blood trickling from the corners of his mouth.
Evidently, the technique the old man was using inflicted immense damage on himself as well.
Stall him a bit longer, and once he couldn't hold out, strike to take his life.
The idea was sound, but executing it was far from easy. The old man's laughter tugged relentlessly at Li Banfeng's nerves, forcing a laugh out of him.
The instant a trace of a smile appeared on Li Banfeng's face, the old man's laughter abruptly ceased. Shifting his footing, he surged right up to Li Banfeng.
On his right hand was a strange ring tipped with a sharp spike.
Seeing the spike about to plunge into his throat, Li Banfeng found himself unable to dodge under the lingering sway of the laughter.
*Thump!*
A sharp pain tore through Li Banfeng's chest, banishing all urge to laugh in an instant.
The glove had given Li Banfeng's chest a vicious twist, and that twist saved his life.
Li Banfeng dodged swiftly, evading the old man's ring. His figure vanished in the blink of an eye, and using Viewing Flowers from Horseback, he detonated an impact that sent the old man spitting a mouthful of blood.
"You're not Sun Tiecheng?" The old man wiped the blood from his mouth. He knew Sun Tiecheng wasn't a Traveler cultivator.
"You have my disciple on you?" The old man sensed the glove and was about to pursue Li Banfeng.
With the laughter broken, the crowd in the City of Fools stopped laughing as well. Yan Qing'er hurried to patch up the cover story: "Honored guest, our city lord is waiting for you inside the city."
Others echoed her, "Honored guest, please step inside! Come see our wares first!"
The rising and falling cries flooded into the old man's ears once again. Gritting his teeth, he endured the pain of his injuries and burst into loud laughter once more.
This technique was truly formidable. The shrill laughter not only disrupted the Fool techniques around the city gate, but also forced Li Banfeng out of hiding as he waited for a chance to ambush him.
This time, the old man was truly putting his life on the line. Even if he couldn't defeat the whole city of Fool cultivators, he was determined to kill this gatekeeper. This gatekeeper was truly loathsome; without him, the old man would definitely have slipped into the city, and might already have gotten his hands on what he came for.
With an extra surge of effort from the old man, the volume of his laughter swelled further. Li Banfeng could no longer hold it in, joining the crowd in laughing along.
Laughing all the while, the old man raised his right hand, the ring slicing past Li Banfeng's throat again and again.
Li Banfeng dodged while laughing, each evasion agonizingly difficult.
"Heheheh—"
A low chuckle drifted over, throwing the old man's shrill laughter into disarray.
The old man was startled. Looking into the distance, he saw a man wearing a pale smiling face stepping forward from the dense mist.
The Smiling Ghost King, Gui Jianchou?
Alarmed, the old man cut off his laughter, spun on his heel, and bolted.
The laughter vanished from Li Banfeng, and he gave chase.
Gui Jianchou gave chase as well, shouting at the old man, "Xiao Qianshou, I knew you weren't dead! What did you come to the City of Fools for? What good treasure caught your eye?"
Xiao Qianshou looked back. "Old ghost, I heard you became Sun Tiecheng's lapdog! I didn't believe it at first, but seeing it with my own eyes today, I know it's true!"
Gui Jianchou replied, "It's a long story. Don't rush off, I'll tell you all about it nice and slow."
"What do I have to say to you? Whether you're a Pekingese or a pug, what does that have to do with me?" Xiao Qianshou truly dared not wear himself down against Gui Jianchou. Gui Jianchou's arrival meant Sun Tiecheng was somewhere nearby.
After running for a short while, Xiao Qianshou suddenly picked up his pace, his figure pulling further and further away.
Behind the old man, Gui Jianchou chuckled several times: "Heheheh."
Xiao Qianshou clutched his chest, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.
Though heavily wounded, Xiao Qianshou didn't slow his feet, sprinting on at full tilt. Li Banfeng could barely keep up with the old man, but Gui Jianchou couldn't.
He signaled for Li Banfeng to break off the pursuit and return to the city at once.
Li Banfeng truly didn't want to turn back, but on his own, he couldn't beat the old man either.
Returning to the city gate, Li Banfeng asked Gui Jianchou, "Where is Senior Brother Sun?"
"He went to modify the entrance to the city gates. Let's head to the mansion and wait for him."
"Who was that just now?"
Gui Jianchou said, "The patriarch of Thief Cultivators, Xiao Qianshou."
The patriarch of Thief Cultivators? So he had come to steal something.
"When he entered the city gate, I didn't even notice him. I thought he was a Homestead Cultivator."
Gui Jianchou shook his head. "That's a Thief technique, Hiding from Shadows and Concealing the Form. It's completely different from the methods of a Homestead Cultivator."
"When he laughs, everyone else has to laugh with him—is that a Thief technique too?"
Gui Jianchou shook his head again. "That's not a Thief technique, that's a technique of the Smile pathway. Xiao Qianshou is an expert Smile Cultivator, though in terms of Smile cultivation alone, I'm not much inferior to him."
"There's a Smile pathway too?"
"Of course. It wasn't a small pathway back in the day. Many people fond of laughter studied it, and there was even a Smile Cultivator Gang once. It's just that this pathway is hard to cultivate. The gang had too few high-level practitioners, so it couldn't sustain itself and eventually disbanded. Once the gang broke up, Smile Cultivators dwindled, but the pathway has always remained. The Smile technique Xiao Qianshou used just now is called Universal Celebration. It's formidable—even if the enemy had thousands of troops and horses, anyone who hears his laughter would have to laugh along. The only drawback is that it causes too much self-harm. When executing the technique, the internal organs all suffer damage, and one's own body becomes extremely clumsy. That's why, unless pushed to the absolute brink, Smile Cultivators never resort to this method."
Talking as they walked, they reached the mansion. After a short wait, Sun Tiecheng returned.
"Seventh, what happened here? Everyone in the city is clutching weapons like they're heading off to war."
"We were about to go to war!" Li Banfeng recounted the events that had transpired.
Gui Jianchou let out a long breath. "Good thing Seventh was here. Otherwise, the City of Fools would have suffered another disaster."
Sun Tiecheng sneered. "Don't tell me you don't want the City of Fools to suffer?"
Gui Jianchou laughed. "Everything depends on the timing. We're on the same side now."
Sun Tiecheng turned to Li Banfeng. "Seventh, that Three Gates, Three Openings Array at the entrance—did you lay that down?"
Since Senior Brother Sun had spoken the array's name aloud, Li Banfeng had no reason to hide it. "I set it up. I learned it from a master who didn't disclose her name."
Gui Jianchou blinked. "Was this master male or female?"
Li Banfeng answered honestly, "Female."
Gui Jianchou stopped smiling. "Old Sun, if she comes, you have to explain things clearly to her. I really am on your side now."
Sun Tiecheng paid Gui Jianchou no heed. Li Banfeng asked, "Senior Brother Sun, do you know that senior?"
After a long silence, Sun Tiecheng answered, "The Three Gates, Three Openings Array was created by my daughter."
His daughter?
The Lady of Room Nine was Sun Tiecheng's daughter?
With a conflicted expression, Sun Tiecheng asked in a low voice, "Is she... still alive?"
Li Banfeng didn't know how to describe it. "You can't really call her alive, but she isn't dead either."
"Then she's just like me," Sun Tiecheng sighed heavily. "Seventh, next time you see her, pass a message for me. If she doesn't hate me so much anymore, tell her to come back and visit."
Gui Jianchou added from the side, "Seventh, pass a message for me too. Tell her I really am on her side now."
Li Banfeng asked Sun Tiecheng, "Senior Brother, why does she hate you?"
"Because..." Sun Tiecheng gave a bitter smile. "What's the use of talking about it? You'd only laugh at me anyway. Just take a message to her. If she doesn't want to come back, don't force her. She has a terrible temper. If you piss her off, you'll be in danger too."
Gui Jianchou nodded repeatedly. "Her temper really is awful, but we're all on the same side. We can talk things out."
Sun Tiecheng asked Gui Jianchou, "What kind of person is this Mister Kongfang anyway? I only know he's the second-in-command of Xuehuapu, but I've never seen him."
Gui Jianchou said, "Not having seen him is a blessing. More than half the people who've laid eyes on him are dead. We've had quite a few old acquaintances die by his hand. Today, Seventh kept Kongfang from entering the city and held off Xiao Qianshou—he's performed a great service, you have to reward him!"
"Reward him? Of course I will. Ah Gui, go inform everyone in the city first. Tell them there's no need to fight for now, and have them go home and get some sleep. Double their silver dollars for this month."
Gui Jianchou hurried off with his ghost servants to see to the task, leaving only Sun Tiecheng and Li Banfeng in the mansion.
Sun Tiecheng unbuttoned his jacket. His chest and back were covered in wounds.
Li Banfeng said in shock, "Senior Brother, who did this?"
Sun Tiecheng laughed. "One person could never pull this off! When has your senior brother ever feared anyone? But with so many people, it became hard to hold them off. Those bastards heard the red lotus was in my hands, and they all came after me."
Li Banfeng looked at the wounds covering Sun Tiecheng, remaining silent for a long time.
Some things he had understood long ago, and normally he shouldn't have brought them up to his face, but this time Li Banfeng couldn't hold back: "Senior Brother, are you taking the blades for me?"
He had taken the red lotus into his own hands while letting word spread far and wide. Now, whether in Puluo Province or the Outer States, everyone believed the red lotus was in Sun Tiecheng's hands. No one suspected Li Qi, and no one suspected Li Banfeng anymore.
Sun Tiecheng laughed. "What nonsense are you babbling? You don't have the red lotus, so why would I be taking blades for you? You helped me guard the city today, which proves the City of Fools is in your heart, and that makes me very glad. But you're not allowed to do this next time. I don't know what Mister Kongfang is capable of, but I know Xiao Qianshou well. That old dog is damn hard to deal with. It's pure luck you kept your life. You're the sole seedling of our pathway. Even if the City of Fools is wiped out, nothing must happen to you. Got it?"
Li Banfeng stayed silent. Sun Tiecheng knitted his brows. "You brat, you never listen to a word I say! And that matter about my daughter—make sure you remember that too."
"Don't worry. The words you asked me to deliver, I will certainly deliver."
"Delivering the message isn't what matters. What matters is that she has a terrible temper! If you see her turn hostile, run immediately. She's a Traveler cultivator too, and you might not even outrun her!"
The two talked for a while. Sun Tiecheng said, "Stay in the city tonight. It's likely not peaceful outside."
Li Banfeng truly wanted to stay in the city for the night, but Madam was still waiting in the laboratory.
"Senior Brother, I have urgent matters outside. If you hadn't returned tonight, I definitely would have kept watch at the gate. But since you're back, I ought to get going."
"Alright then, go tend to your business. Once my injuries heal, I'll teach you techniques." Sun Tiecheng walked Li Banfeng outside the city. Passing the gate, the man who originally kept watch came up to complain to Sun Tiecheng.
"City Lord, this man told me I can't guard the gate! He stole my job!"
Sun Tiecheng frowned. "Can you blame anyone else for that? You managed to lose money while watching a gate—is there anything you can do right? Every time I think about it, it gives me a headache!"
The gatekeeper hung his head. "I've been doing it for so many years anyway. If there's no merit, there's at least the hardship."
Sun Tiecheng waved a hand. "Fine, go squat over there!"
The man grinned and happily squatted by the main gate.
Sun Tiecheng said to Li Banfeng, "This fellow has no cunning, can't make a living doing any business, just an honest man. He's quite a bit like how I used to be. Giving him this chore at least ensures he has a bite to eat."
When A Chun and A Se carried messages to Li Banfeng, Li Banfeng had also learned some of Sun Tiecheng's past through the mouth of the fake Zhang Gunli.
The two talked all the way outside the city. Sun Tiecheng shared the new entrance with Li Banfeng. As he departed, Li Banfeng cautioned repeatedly, "Mister Kongfang will definitely return. He has Du Wenming with him, an Above-the-Clouds Dance Cultivator who won't be easy to deal with either, and others from Xuehuapu might rush over as well. You must stay on guard."
Sun Tiecheng nodded. Once Li Qi left, he inspected a wide area around the entrance.
He saw neither Mister Kongfang nor Du Wenming, nor did he find the slightest trace.
Where had the array sent those two?
***
Green Water City, Paramount.
Mister Kongfang was drinking wine in a private box.
He wore neither a bamboo hat nor his coin-patterned changshan. With his hair slicked back and wearing spectacles, he looked every bit the despondent scholar, holding a wine cup and listening to the music as he poured and drank alone.
The Three Gates, Three Openings Array had transported him to Green Water City. Frankly, this place wasn't far—from the newland of Lanyang Village, one could walk straight to the overgrown marshland.
Yet he was in no hurry to return.
Ever since discovering the Three Gates, Three Openings Array, he had lost much of his desire to go to the City of Fools. He had pondered it over and over: on his own, he could not defeat the father and daughter pair.
As for Du Wenming's whereabouts, he had no intention of searching for him for now, nor would he necessarily concern himself with it in the future.
He had saved Du Wenming several times; he had no desire to be dragged down by him.
Sitting in the private box, having had a couple of drinks, Mister Kongfang believed no one could recognize his face, for it was concealed beneath layers of disguise.
Yet he noticed a subtle shift in the oil painting inside the box. It turned out an acquaintance had tracked him down.
"Come out," Mister Kongfang said, picking up another cup from the table and pouring some wine.
The oil painting depicted a woman plucking flowers. Placing a mountain chrysanthemum into her flower basket, she stepped out of the frame and sat opposite Mister Kongfang.
This woman was Hundred Flowers Danqing, Mu Yuejuan. Although she held high status in Puluo Province, she bowed respectfully before Mister Kongfang nonetheless.
Mister Kongfang stared at the oil painting for another moment, then took yet another wine cup from the table and poured another drink. "You come out as well."
He Jiaqing rose from the clusters of flowers. First bowing to Mister Kongfang, he then stepped out of the frame and sat down beside Mu Yuejuan.
Raising his wine cup, Mister Kongfang asked, "Are you looking for me?"
Mu Yuejuan did not speak. He Jiaqing was the first to open his mouth: "We have an urgent matter we wish to discuss with Senior."
Mister Kongfang smiled. "It had best be an urgent matter. My mood isn't great today."
Before coming here, Mu Yuejuan had warned He Jiaqing that meeting Mister Kongfang demanded extreme caution.
He Jiaqing, however, was brimming with confidence. "Senior, we came to you to discuss a business venture—the business of initiation powder."
Mister Kongfang chuckled. "You're truly tired of living. Do you know who I am?"
He Jiaqing said, "You are the chief of Xuehuapu."
"Nonsense," Mister Kongfang said, his smile fading. "The chief of Xuehuapu is the Peddler. I am merely a subordinate of the Peddler. Initiation powder is our chief's line of work. For you to dare speak to me of initiation powder business—tell me, haven't you lived long enough?"
As he spoke, the wine cup swirled gently in Mister Kongfang's hand.
Mu Yuejuan was terrified, but He Jiaqing remained unperturbed. "Senior, your wager with the Peddler expires this year. Yet Xuehuapu's sign is on the verge of being smashed to pieces. When the day comes and the Peddler claims he won the bet, you won't have a leg to stand on."
Mister Kongfang tapped his fingertip against the rim of the cup and asked, "How did you know about this?"
He Jiaqing smiled, not answering Kongfang's question directly. Instead, he countered, "What you want is the pathway. Is winning or losing a wager truly that important? Rather than being subject to others, wouldn't it be better for us to seize the powder ourselves? You've been searching everywhere for the City of Fools—isn't it precisely to find the method for refining the powder?"
The wine cup rotated in Mister Kongfang's hand. Mu Yuejuan genuinely feared that a copper coin or something similar might fly out of it at any second.
Yet Mister Kongfang seemed to harbor no killing intent. He took a sip of wine, a slight smile appearing on his face. "Go on."
He Jiaqing drew a jade bracelet from his sleeve and hung it on the handle of the private box's door, effectively setting a magical array across the doorway:
"Senior, I've spent some time researching the creation of the powder. The red lotus can only accomplish the first step: extracting the iron rebar from within the bamboo. Even without the red lotus, I can perform this step myself. The true key to making the powder lies in the second step. This second step determines the powder's properties and transformations. To decipher the second step, we must locate a certain person."
As he spoke, He Jiaqing handed Mister Kongfang a photograph.
Mister Kongfang looked at the photo. "An Outer Stater?"
He Jiaqing nodded. "A university professor from the Outer States."
Mister Kongfang looked more closely. "I've seen this man. He has dealings with my subordinates."
He Jiaqing said, "If we can find this man, we can find the crucial step for the second process."
Mister Kongfang smiled once more. "We'll talk after I find that subordinate of mine."
***
Rain poured in torrents. Du Wenming had walked across the wilderness for an entire day. As an Outer Stater who hadn't spent much time in Puluo Province, many regions remained unfamiliar to him, and the place before his eyes was utterly alien.
Ahead stood the faint silhouette of a complex of buildings. Exhausted, Du Wenming picked up his pace. Upon drawing near, he discovered it was an ancient manor.
Judging by the state of disrepair, the manor had been abandoned for years. Yet whether the stone steps before the entrance or the pathways within, all were swept spotlessly clean.
Did someone still live here?
Du Wenming entered the manor. He knew doing so was risky, but he needed help. At the very least, he needed to know where this place was—he had no desire to remain trapped in this wasteland forever.
Entering the front courtyard, Du Wenming found many of the architectural features strangely familiar.
Had he been here before?
Reaching the first garden, Du Wenming recalled certain classified dossiers.
Stepping into the main courtyard, Du Wenming finally remembered where he was.
Prince Chun's Manor. The Prince Chun's Manor upon Wuyouping.
He had seen photographs of Prince Chun's Manor in several classified dossiers on Puluo Province, and he found the actual items corresponding to many iconic fixtures from those photographs right here.
He had actually been cast away to Wuyouping! This place was very close to Jianrengang, and Daogui Ridge was right in Jianrengang.
Fortunately, the daolao ghosts could not leave Jianrengang for the time being, so Wuyouping was still relatively safe.
According to the dossiers, the soul of Prince Chun had lingered in the manor all along. If he could obtain his aid, he should be able to find a way out of Wuyouping.
Du Wenming searched room by room for any trace of Prince Chun. As he reached the east wing of the main courtyard, he heard a faint scratching friction.
Entering to look, he saw a wind-up gramophone. The needle had already passed the end of the record, and the disc on the turntable was spinning idly. The scratching sound came from the spindle bearings of the turntable.
Someone had wound up the gramophone, and the spring mechanism had not yet run down, proving that person hadn't gone far.
A flicker of joy rose in Du Wenming's heart. Where could that person be?
*Hoo! Hoo!*
Du Wenming heard heavy panting. Looking back, he saw a humanoid creature sprawled on the ground at the east wing's doorway, head raised, seemingly watching him.
The creature had neither eyebrows nor eyes, but its face bore a terrifyingly enormous maw. Its limbs were stubby and swollen, coated in sticky pus.
A daolao ghost?
Had the daolao ghosts walked out of Jianrengang?
*Hoo, hiss—*
Chittering hisses rose one after another. Du Wenming glided swiftly back into the courtyard, ready to flee, only to find hundreds of daolao ghosts densely packed across the entire main courtyard, barring every exit.
He was an Above-the-Clouds Dance Cultivator. He firmly believed he had the power to break his way out of the manor.
Yet he did not know how many more daolao ghosts lurked outside the courtyard.
"Friend, don't do anything foolish." The blond-haired, blue-eyed Critic walked over from the rear garden. "Introduce yourself first, then explain your purpose in coming here. If you haven't lied to me, I might consider sparing your life."
PS: Wuyouping is a very special place, somewhat similar to Kucaizhuang.
Chapter 585