Roads to the City of Fools

Li Banfeng had officially become an initiate of the Mad Cultivator pathway. Now, he was running business across four separate doors. Truth be told, he felt entirely out of his depth. He had never heard of anyone possessing cultivation from four distinct pathways simultaneously. If one of them suffered a backlash, Li Banfeng wouldn't even know how to handle it. "Big Sister, I'll be honest with you—I already carry quite a few pathways on me. If I had known our pathway required rubbing that powder into my skin, I would have thought it over very carefully. A cultivation backlash is no easy thing to deal with." A'yi asked, "You're around the third or fourth tier above the clouds, aren't you? Once you've reached that level, there's no need to worry." Li Banfeng was pleasantly surprised. "Once I reach this level, there won't be any backlash?" A'yi replied with a radiant smile, "Set your mind at ease, Big Brother. There will definitely be a backlash." "Big Sister, I'm not hoping for a—" "Don't worry. Our pathway is very gentle. Cultivators above the clouds are tough as nails; even if you suffer a backlash, it won't cost you your life." "This pathway is gentle?" Li Banfeng let out a bitter laugh. "Is the consequence of the backlash going mad?" "Going mad is a good thing! The madder we get, the higher our cultivation grows, so there's nothing to fear from a backlash. "Big Brother, no matter what happens to us in the future, we never need to worry. The core maxim of our pathway is: never force yourself to do what you don't want to do, and never hesitate to do what you want to do. Master those two lines, and you'll lay down an unbreakable foundation for the pathway." "Just those two lines?" "Don't underestimate them. In our entire pathway, there might not be a single person who has truly comprehended them." "Not a single one?" Li Banfeng looked at A'yi. A'yi nodded earnestly. "Including me, the founding ancestor of the pathway—not one. You don't grasp the difficulty because you haven't realized the profound depth of those words yet. "By right, you ought to stay in the village for eight or ten years, but you insist on leaving, and now you have only three days. "Talented as you are, there's no telling how much you can comprehend in three days. "This was your own decision. I never meddle in other people's affairs. How your cultivation unfolds in the days to come will depend entirely on your fortune." *** Early the next morning, Li Banfeng followed A'yi to Gourd Belly. Living inside Gourd Belly were the people who had signed covenant deeds. These people were divided among three separate villages. The first was called the Village of Non-Enlightenment. Upon entering the Village of Non-Enlightenment, Li Banfeng saw a young woman around twenty years old sitting by her doorstep, wiping away tears. A'yi introduced the young woman to Li Banfeng. Her name was A'mi. She had grown up in the countryside. Her father went to work in the city, made some money, and found another woman to live with. When her mother received the news, she remarried, abandoning A'mi and her younger brother to their elderly grandfather. The grandfather went out gambling, had his legs broken, and was left bedridden, requiring hefty medical expenses. The younger brother got into a brawl, was sentenced to three years in prison, and had yet to be released, while their family was saddled with massive compensation claims. All of this had fallen entirely upon her shoulders. She worked three jobs all by herself, pouring every penny she earned into paying off debts. She couldn't even bring herself to buy a new twenty-yuan shirt. Yet no matter how she scrimped and saved, she couldn't fill such a bottomless pit. A friend had recommended a job that made quick money. Just as she made up her mind to take it, A'yun brought her to Gourd Village. To find a place where she could break free from everything on the outside was her good fortune. After living in Gourd Waist for half a month, the time came to decide whether to stay or leave. According to the rules of Gourd Village, she had two choices: either remain in Gourd Village to cultivate properly, or leave Gourd Village and never return. A'mi chose to stay. She truly couldn't bear to return and face that life. Yet in the year and more she had lived here, she wept at least once every single day. She couldn't let go of her worries. Neither her grandfather nor her brother could be put from her mind. Seeing the village chief arrive, A'mi quickly wiped her tears, bowed her head, and stood respectfully by the door. A'yi's face darkened, and she scolded A'mi, "Useless girl! You do nothing but weep all day long. If you keep crying like this, how do you expect the fields to yield a harvest?" A'mi didn't dare utter a sound. From behind Li Banfeng, a shadow poked its head out. With great effort, he reeled the shadow back in and earnestly consulted A'yi, "What does her crying have to do with the harvest in the fields?" A'yi glared at Li Banfeng. "Isn't it obvious? Crying like that every day, her tears are bound to flow into the fields." Li Banfeng still didn't understand. "Even if tears flow into the fields, what does that have to do with the harvest?" "It has everything to do with it! Tears are pure saltwater! If you irrigate the soil with saltwater, how can the crops grow? Look at the fields in Gourd Head—they yield bountiful harvests all year round. Then look at her plot. How much grain can she even gather in a year?" *That can't be right, can it?* "How much grain you gather in a year ought to depend on the methods of a Plow cultivator, shouldn't it?" A'yi shook her head. "What Plow cultivators? There are only Mad cultivators here." "Mad cultivation can influence crop growth?" "Of course it can. That is one of our pathway's three supreme arts, called Abundant Harvest. Though, Big Brother, your cultivation is still shallow right now; you probably won't be able to learn it yet." Many of the Mad Cultivator techniques defied Li Banfeng's comprehension, but this young woman, A'mi, was indeed facing starvation. She worked diligently, yet her fields constantly had poor yields, and her rice crock was already empty. "Anyway, she hasn't entered the pathway, so I shouldn't be bothering with her. Let her cry herself to death right here!" A'yi turned on her heel and strode off. The Village Chief's Wife pushed a cart into the courtyard while the coast was clear, setting a sack of sweet potatoes beside A'mi's wall. A'mi frantically waved her hands. "Uncle, please don't give me any more food. The village chief will scold you again." The Village Chief's Wife smiled gently. "Child, keep it and eat. When the village chief scolds me, it's out of affection. She can't bear to let you starve either." Before long, A'mu arrived carrying two baskets of fish on a shoulder pole. He left two fish for A'mi before continuing on to deliver the rest to other households. The more A'yi watched, the angrier she grew. "The Village of Non-Enlightenment is the most useless of all! Every one of them has to rely on others to feed them! They can't even let go of the trivial rubbish in their heads, yet they talk about cultivation! We never should have kept them in Gourd Village in the first place! Our pathway has no room for such good-for-nothings!" Li Banfeng had assumed that everyone who entered Gourd Belly had already taken up the Mad Cultivator pathway, but the reality was quite different. The Village of Non-Enlightenment held over five hundred villagers. Some had just arrived, while others had stayed in the village for over a decade. None of them were qualified to receive the Mad Cultivator powder, because they all had burdens weighing on their minds, burdens they could not let go. Walking along the village path of Non-Enlightenment, Li Banfeng constantly heard soft sobbing. What color were these cries? Did they carry guilt or helplessness? Perhaps not even the projector could tell. Seeing that the village chief had walked far off, A'mi sat back down in the courtyard and began to weep quietly again. Li Banfeng suddenly appeared at the courtyard gate. A'mi hurriedly stood up and wiped her tears. She had heard the village chief address this man as Big Brother, so she knew he was no ordinary figure. But holding back tears was no easy task; A'mi took a sharp breath, her whole body shivering. Li Banfeng asked, "Missing your brother and grandfather?" A'mi nodded. "When you were by their side, were they living well?" Hearing that, A'mi felt even more miserable. With tear-filled eyes, she whispered, "No." Li Banfeng nodded, bluntly inverting cause and effect. "It was precisely because you were by their side that they had it so rough." A'mi froze. Li Banfeng's words were quite upsetting. Li Banfeng added, "Now that you aren't by their side, they'll be living very well." A'mi's face drained of color; those words were even more infuriating. She wanted to argue back, but she was tongue-tied and didn't know what to say. By the time she thought of an answer, Li Banfeng had already walked far away. A'mi was so angry she wanted to cry, but no matter how hard she tried, the tears wouldn't come. *What's there to cry about? Aren't they living just fine without me?* A'mi drew a basin of water and washed her face. Both of her eyes were heavily swollen, looking rather unsightly. *So what if it's ugly? Today I'm eating someone else's sweet potato, tomorrow someone else's salted fish—I've basically turned into a beggar anyway. Who has time to care about looking pretty?* The more A'mi thought about it, the more unsettled she felt. She remembered that the village chief had gifted her a box of cosmetic powder last month. She brought it out and dusted some over her face. She seemed to have applied too much; her face was a bit overly pale. *White is fine, so long as it looks presentable.* Shouldering her hoe, A'mi headed out to work in the fields. *Applying makeup just to do farm work... If anyone sees me, will they think I've gone mad?* *If I'm mad, then so be it! As long as my heart feels at ease, who cares!* *** At dawn the next day, Li Banfeng went to the second village—the Village of Enlightenment. At the village entrance, two men were playing chess. One of the men lacked skill. Having lost a game, he nagged his opponent for another round. The man sitting opposite laughed. "I'm not trying to take advantage of you. The way you're badgering me right now is exactly how I used to pester my dad to play chess with me." "Do you still miss your dad?" "I do. I still think of him from time to time." "Do you want to see him?" "No. In this lifetime, I will never see him again." The two resumed their game. The Village of Enlightenment held over two hundred villagers. All of them had originally come from the Village of Non-Enlightenment. Because they had laid down the burdens in their hearts and attained a measure of comprehension, they had received the powder and begun true cultivation, though their levels varied considerably. Each person's cultivation could be judged by the crops in their fields. Some households had generous surpluses, while others grew just enough to scrape by, yet none of them required charity from others. Li Banfeng took a walk around the farmland. This confirmed a fact: the vigor of the crops truly was tied to the cultivation of a Mad cultivator. Yet there was one mystery Li Banfeng hadn't solved. In the Village of Enlightenment, he saw only young and middle-aged people; the oldest was around fifty. He didn't spot a single elderly person. There were quite a few elderly folk in the Village of Non-Enlightenment. Could it be that none of them had entered the Village of Enlightenment? Or did those elderly people grow younger upon attaining enlightenment? "Big Sister, does our pathway possess techniques that alter age?" A'yi smiled. "Our pathway has every technique under the sun." Li Banfeng bowed deeply. "Big Sister, I wish to learn that." A'yi's smile vanished, her expression turning dead serious. "Big Brother, that is one of our pathway's three greatest arts. Do you truly wish to learn it?" "I truly do!" "Have you laid down every burden in your heart?" "Every single one." "Big Brother, your cultivation is still shallow. I'm afraid you won't be able to learn it!" *Fobbing me off with that line again?* "Big Sister, teach me the essentials first, and I will cultivate slowly later on," Li Banfeng insisted. A'yi first instructed Li Banfeng to sit in meditation. "I will impart the essentials to you right now, so listen closely. First, cast all immediate matters from your mind. Then, unburden your heart of every care. Amid the empty spirit of your thoughts, perceive the flow of the years; when your state of mind is clear and lucid, comprehend the shifting vicissitudes of time." Li Banfeng sat for over an hour, allowing his thoughts to settle into utter stillness. "Big Sister, I have cast off the trivialities in my heart and perceived the shifting of the years and vicissitudes." "Good! I knew you possessed such comprehension! Our pathway's techniques place supreme demands upon one's state of mind. Now, recite the technique's name aloud with me: Mad Cultivator Art—I Want Eternal Youth and Immortality!" "I Want—" Li Banfeng paused in thought for a moment, then turned his gaze toward A'yi. "Big Sister, did you just make this technique up on the spot?" "Nonsense! With that state of mind of yours, how could you ever learn the technique?" A'yi fumed. "I told you, this is one of our pathway's three greatest arts! Is that any attitude to take? Accusing me of making it up on the spot—I made it up last night!" *** On the third day, Li Banfeng accompanied A'yi to the third settlement, the Village of Thorough Enlightenment. There were fewer than a hundred villagers here, and they were holding a grand feast. Young men had set up a ring and were wrestling upon the platform, while young women wore flower garlands, dancing beside the ring. Li Banfeng asked A'yi, "What occasion are they celebrating?" A'yun whispered with utmost secrecy, "Whatever you do, don't tell anyone else: A'chai's old sow gave birth to a litter of twelve piglets!" Li Banfeng was stunned. "Is that worth getting this excited over?" "Then you tell me, what is worth being happy about?" Li Banfeng was somewhat dismissive. "There are plenty of things to be happy about. What do a few piglets count for?" A'yi smiled, put on a flower wreath, and joined the girls in dancing. Though no one could tell her exact age, she looked just as youthful as those maidens. In the entire Village of Thorough Enlightenment, everyone was remarkably young. Their cultivation had reached a certain stage, and before long, they would leave Gourd Belly to live in Gourd Head. Li Banfeng sat to the side, watching the festivities. He truly couldn't fathom the sense in so many people celebrating twelve piglets. Fearing that Li Qi might find it dull, A'yun brought over a jar of wine, intending to share a drink with him. But after wandering around with the wine jar for quite a while, she couldn't find him anywhere. "Have you seen Li Qi?" A'mu pointed toward the ring. "Over there. He's won six bouts in a row. He's quite a fighter!" Li Banfeng was wrestling upon the platform. If he won, he drank; if he lost, he drank all the same. He had no idea how many bouts he had won, nor how much wine he had consumed. *** The next day at noon, Li Banfeng woke up. He drank a bowl of yellow wine to cure his hangover, then followed A'yi back to Gourd Head. Today was the day he would depart the village. Leaving alongside him was Zhang Peiwen. A'yi permitted Zhang Peiwen to leave the village. "I am a fair person. If I make an exception for Li Qi, I must make an exception for you. Both of you may go." As an initiate of the Mad Cultivator pathway, Li Banfeng had A'yi's trust, and she made no demands of him. Zhang Peiwen, however, was not a cultivator. He was required to sign another covenant deed guaranteeing that once outside, he would not breathe a single word about Gourd Village. Li Banfeng asked A'yi, "Do you trust him that much?" A'yi shook her head. "I don't trust him, but I trust my covenant paper. If they break the covenant, they will suffer severe punishment. Before they can utter a single detail about Gourd Village, they will lose their lives. "My covenant paper also lets them evade interrogation. Even if they run into a Virtue cultivator, not a single word of truth can be dragged out of them." *No wonder the Dark Star Bureau interrogated so many survivors before and couldn't get any straight answers.* A covenant paper capable of evading a Virtue cultivator was something he had truly never heard of before. A'yi explained, "This is one of our pathway's three supreme arts, called Words Become Reality. The essentials of the technique lie in..." "Hold on. Earlier there was Slaying Foolish Bastards, Abundant Harvest, and I Want Eternal Youth and Immortality. Now there's Words Become Reality. Why are there four among the three supreme arts?" A'yi counted on her fingers twice, then said with an earnest expression, "This is one of our pathway's four supreme arts: Words Become Reality—" Zhang Peiwen held the covenant deed, still hesitating over whether to sign. "They said that once you leave Gourd Village, you can never come back. Is that true?" Li Banfeng nodded. "It's true. The village chief is a woman of her word. Though she might be a bit shaky on numbers above three." Zhang Peiwen hung his head. "It's just as well not to come back. Who would want to come to a place like this? It's crawling with lunatics. All I think about every day is going home." Despite saying that, he never put his name on the deed. Li Banfeng asked, "Can you tell me who that taxi driver actually was?" "Him..." Zhang Peiwen hesitated. "Don't worry, I won't make trouble for him. If you tell me inside the village, it counts as village business. I won't bring it up on the outside." The logic was sound, and Zhang Peiwen agreed. Lowering his voice, he said, "He was my high school classmate. I got into university, but because of his family circumstances, he dropped out. "Two months ago, he recognized me on the street. We chatted for a bit, and he learned that my current life is... a little unusual. "We talked a bit longer, so I got home about fifteen minutes late. My mom searched everywhere for me and nearly called the police. "After that, we never contacted each other again. Later, on the day I went to buy medicine for my mom, right as I stepped out of the pharmacy, I happened to run into him by the curb. "He pulled over, rolled down the window, and said to me, 'Look behind you—there's good stuff.' "I looked behind me and saw two pretty girls. "As I hesitated over whether to go, he told me, 'Go on, quick! That's a good place. Once you get there, don't ever come back.'" *What a clever taxi driver. He must have visited Gourd Village before.* Zhang Peiwen picked up the pen, his hand trembling slightly. "I don't know whether this is a good place or not, but I... I have to go home." Before his pen could touch the paper, Li Banfeng slipped the deed away. He produced the other covenant deed—the one A'yun had given him: *Outsider So-and-so voluntarily enters Gourd Village, resides within Gourd Village for half a month, and determines his own destination thereafter.* "Sign this one. Go stay in Gourd Waist for half a month first." Zhang Peiwen's hand continued to shake. "I can't—" "You can." "My mom is sick. She needs me to take care of her." "She isn't sick. Those pills she takes aren't meant to treat any illness." "Without me, she won't survive." "Rest assured, she will survive, because she can't bear to die." Pen in hand, Zhang Peiwen looked at Li Banfeng. "Really?" "Really." Having tormented himself here for over a dozen days, Zhang Peiwen finally signed the covenant deed, pressed his bloody thumbprint onto it, and followed A'yun toward Gourd Waist. A'yi chuckled. "That kid kept loitering around and refusing to sign the covenant just to stall for time. I have no idea what good he thought dragging it out would do." Li Banfeng understood Zhang Peiwen's state of mind all too well. "He wanted to find an excuse for himself—an excuse to stay here indefinitely. That way, he could tell himself it wasn't his decision, that he hadn't abandoned his mother, but that his hands were tied." A'yi sighed. "Look at how much he loves the village! Then look at you, in such a rush to leave." "Big Sister, if I don't leave now, I won't be able to bear leaving at all." Li Banfeng stood atop the twenty-six-story building, looking out over the panoramic view of the village. A'yi unfastened a jade pendant from her neck and placed it around Li Banfeng's, smiling. "I know you have things to do on the outside, but be sure to remember the road back." "Big Sister, there is only one Gourd Village. Just how many roads lead into it?" Li Banfeng hadn't forgotten his original purpose in coming here. A'yi pondered carefully. "I've lost count of how many roads I built. Perhaps even more than the roads leading into the City of Fools." His earlier deduction had been correct. The nature of Gourd Village truly mirrored that of the City of Fools. "Big Sister, were you the one who built the roads to the City of Fools?" "It was me," A'yi admitted. "I built many roads leading into the City of Fools, but normally only one road is open; all the others are blocked. As for which road stays open, Sun Tiecheng decides." *A'yi knows Sun Tiecheng too!* *A'yi has a connection to the City of Fools!* Thinking back to what Ninth Girl had said, even the companion dwelling hadn't known the origin of Gourd Village, yet Jiu'er knew. Jiu'er was Sun Tiecheng's daughter, which proved that Jiu'er and A'yi were old acquaintances as well. "In other words, Gourd Village is just like the City of Fools—it has many roads, and which one is passable is up to you, Big Sister?" "Not quite," A'yi shook her head. "I made a key for Gourd Village. As long as you have the key, you can open the door into the village." Li Banfeng touched the jade pendant on his chest. "This is the key?" A'yi nodded. "I trust you, which is why I gave the key to you." "How does one use it?" "Letting go of the burdens in your heart is probably beyond you, but if you can cast off the immediate matters before your eyes and wish to come back for a few days, this key can help you open the village gates." Li Banfeng bowed deeply and asked, "Big Sister, to build so many roads for Gourd Village, did you use one of our pathway's five supreme arts? I would dearly love to learn it." A'yi shook her head. "That is not our pathway's technique; it is a craft cultivator technique. You cannot learn it. "Among the world's hundred pathways, Mad cultivators and Fool cultivators belong to the most unique category. Such pathways can accommodate others, yet other pathways can hardly tolerate one another. "When we sparred earlier, I noticed you have a talent for the Arrow cultivator pathway. But you had best not practice Arrow cultivation alongside the rest, nor take up any other pathways. The barriers between pathways are absolute, and the bitter fruit of a backlash is not easily borne. Take care of yourself, Big Brother." A'yi led Li Banfeng out of Gourd Village. Arriving at the end of the mountain trail, she offered a sweet smile and began to sing a mountain ballad: *"Dearest brother, oh~ the rhododendrons bloom upon the hill,* *Dearest brother, walk a little slower~ pluck another blossom for your sister, oh,* *Standing upon the petals, oh~ your sister awaits your return,* *Dearest brother, return early~ do not wait until the flowers fade away—"* A'yi's singing drifted into the distance, and the surrounding scenery gradually grew faint. Once her song faded entirely, the scenery of Gourd Village vanished along with it. Li Banfeng found himself back in front of the cinema. This stretch of road remained cordoned off, with Dark Star Bureau agents still keeping watch nearby. Before the agents noticed him, Li Banfeng slipped away from the street, returned to his residence, and stepped into the companion dwelling. Resting in the room for a while, Li Banfeng realized his understanding of Mad cultivation remained murky. A'yi's state of being was simply too abstract; he couldn't tell which of her words were genuine truth and which were pure madness. Li Banfeng headed to Room Nine. "Jiu'er, you knew A'yi before, didn't you?" "Yes, she's my sworn sister." "What kind of person is she?" "For as long as I can remember, she's been crazy. Back then, she was obsessed with founding her own pathway. Once she had her pathway, she wanted to contest Sun Tiecheng for the title of number one pathway under heaven, so the two of them were always fighting." "Isn't Sun Tiecheng your father?" "He is," Ninth Girl replied, reluctant to bring up her father, and continued talking about A'yi. "After she was defeated by Sun Tiecheng, she left Puluo Province and built Gourd Village. "I stayed in Gourd Village for a time, but the people there were too crazy. I truly couldn't take it, so I moved back out. "Later, I heard my mother say that when she was pregnant, she ate the wrong thing, which was why A'yi was born a lunatic—" "Wait a moment!" Li Banfeng interrupted Ninth Girl. "If your mother ate the wrong thing, why would A'yi turn into a lunatic?" "Because my mother gave birth to her." Li Banfeng sorted through his thoughts and asked again, "Weren't you born from your mother too?" "Yeah!" "The two of you were born from the same mother, so why is she your sworn sister?" Jiu'er explained, "She said our bond was deep, so we ought to swear an oath of sisterhood. So I became sworn sisters with her. She's the Second Sister, and I'm the Third Sister." "Who's the Eldest Sister?" "My mother." Li Banfeng was struck speechless for a long time. Jiu'er added helpfully, "We wanted Sun Tiecheng to be the Eldest Brother, but he refused." The shadow rose from beneath his feet and sat side by side with Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng let out a heavy sigh. "How on earth did Brother Sun survive all those years?" The shadow sighed as well, looking at Li Banfeng. "I always thought you were crazy, but honestly, you're a pretty decent guy." Leaving Room Nine, Li Banfeng felt his mind spinning. Seeing his stumbling footsteps, Hong Ying stepped forward to support him. "Seventh Master, are you hurt?" The companion dwelling offered a few comforting words: "Ah Qi, matters of the Mad Cultivator pathway cannot be judged by common sense. Don't take it to heart." The scythe chimed in, "He has to take it to heart! Ah Qi is already a Mad cultivator now; he has to cultivate by their rules." The projector gave it some careful thought. "Director Qi, if you achieve great success in Mad cultivation, will you swear an oath of brotherhood with our mistress?" Hong Ying kicked the projector. "You wretch! Can't you watch your mouth?" Li Banfeng chuckled bitterly. "What good is watching one's mouth? Things have already come to this..." No words of comfort could console him. In a daze, Li Banfeng went to Qiqiu City. By the time he reached the laboratory, his wife's experiment was nearly complete. "Husband, what's wrong? You look utterly out of sorts." "Wife, I went to a bizarre place and met a bizarre person. She swore sisterhood with her own sister, and their Eldest Sister is her biological mother..." Li Banfeng rambled incoherently. The gramophone embraced Li Banfeng. "Husband, what on earth happened to you? Don't fret, tell this humble servant slowly." "Wife, if one day I go mad, what will you do?" The gramophone chuckled softly. "So what if you go mad? Even mad, you'll still be my mad man, and this humble servant will cherish you all the same. "'My sweet darling, suddenly before my eyes, my breath catches short, my heart stirred for you, praying my lord might notice, returning a strand of yearning—'" The lady sang that melody, *Sweetheart*. Lying in his wife's embrace, Li Banfeng looked up at her, and the gloom covering his face gradually dispersed. "Husband, this humble servant promised to give you a fine gift, and it is almost finished." Transferring her presence into the puppet, the lady wheeled a piece of equipment over. Li Banfeng examined the apparatus; its overall shape somewhat resembled a cannon. "What is this used for? It wouldn't happen to be like the magnetic resonance cannon, would it?" "Not quite. This device ought to be able to bridge a passage across the Boundary, though whether it will work remains hard to say."