Chu the Second pulled a small knife from the drawer, pierced a hole in the palm of her hand, and twisted the blade's tip inside the wound several times.
Li Banfeng was thoroughly astonished. "Don't you just need some blood? Did you have to be so ruthless on yourself?"
Chu the Second offered a faint smile. "This is called 'agony connecting hearts.' Without bitter pain, how could I reach my dad?"
She took out a pen, dipped it in her own blood, and wrote a letter on a sheet of paper. The message was simple: Chu the Second wanted to meet Chu Shaoqiang tomorrow night at ten o'clock at the stone house by the lake.
Folding the letter, Chu the Second placed it in the palm of her hand, rubbed it for a moment, and then slipped it back into the drawer. Turning to Li Banfeng, she said, "The message has been sent."
Li Banfeng froze. "It's sent just like that? Can your dad receive it?"
Chu the Second was brimming with confidence. "Anyone who truly cherishes me can receive it. My dad receives it every time."
"How come I've never seen you write to me?"
Hearing this, Chu the Second opened the drawer on her right.
Inside lay over a hundred letters, each stained with blood. "These were all written to you."
Li Banfeng blinked. "That's why I was worried your method wouldn't work."
Chu the Second let out a cold snort. "Heartless and unfeeling. You've never cherished me at all."
The following night, Chu the Second brought Li Banfeng to the stone house by the lake. Inside, candlelight flickered; Chu Shaoqiang had indeed arrived.
"You two talk first. I'll take a walk outside." Chu the Second slipped away without a sound. Judging solely by her footsteps, her cultivation had progressed considerably.
Li Banfeng entered the stone house, pulled out a chair, and sat down across the stone table.
Chu Shaoqiang was dressed in an off-white overcoat with the collar pulled up high. Lighting a cigarette, he asked Li Banfeng, "What do you want with me?"
Li Banfeng came straight to the point. "I want to do business with you. A local spirit friend in the newland has half of her covenant deed held in the Inner States. I want to buy that half back."
Chu Shaoqiang choked on his smoke, coughing violently for a good while. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a tin wind-up frog, wound it fully, and placed it outside the stone house.
The tin frog bounded around the lake at breakneck speed, hopped into the water, swam several laps, and finally leaped back to Chu Shaoqiang's side. Only then was Chu Shaoqiang certain no one was eavesdropping nearby.
"Can you just blurt something like that out to my face?" Chu Shaoqiang snapped, irritated.
Li Banfeng also felt he had been too blunt. "Then let me put it a bit more delicately. I want to buy. Are you selling?"
Chu Shaoqiang shook his head repeatedly. "Don't even dream of it. Covenant deeds in the Inner States have never leaked out." As he said "leaked," Chu Shaoqiang lost control and spat out a cluster of soap bubbles.
Li Banfeng smiled. "Ah Qiang, we're doing sincere business here. Show some sincerity."
"Even if one occasionally leaked out, it's not the kind of bu-si-ness you're talking about!"
Exhaling too heavily on "business," he blew out an enormous soap bubble.
Li Banfeng chuckled. "Then tell me, what kind of business is it?"
"I wouldn't know! I've never done this kind of business!" Chu Shaoqiang turned his face away, presenting his back to Li Banfeng as a broad sheet of soap bubbles drifted lazily upward before him.
The peddler's soap was remarkably potent; after all this time, its effects remained unabated.
Li Banfeng knew he had come to the right person. He had thought Chu Shaoqiang could at best point him in the right direction, never expecting that Chu Shaoqiang had actually dealt in covenant deeds before.
"Ah Qiang, let's stop beating around the bush. Just name your price."
Chu Shaoqiang turned back, wiped the soap lather from the corner of his mouth, and asked Li Banfeng, "Why do you want to buy the deed?"
"Didn't I just say? For a friend."
"Is it Meng Yuchun?"
"How did you know?"
Chu Shaoqiang drew a letter from his chest pocket and handed it to Li Banfeng. "Rong Sijiao gave me this."
Li Banfeng unfolded the letter and read. Rong Sijiao had lodged an accusation with the Inner States, claiming that Meng Yuchun was colluding with Li Banfeng to turn the newland into standard land and break free from Inner States control.
"'Such treacherous deeds are appalling to hear of...'" Li Banfeng read a few lines aloud and could not help marveling. Liang Wuchai's assessment of Rong Sijiao had been spot-on; this fellow turned hostile with alarming speed.
"Ah Qiang, why didn't you send the covenant deed to the Inner States?"
Chu Shaoqiang knew that if he claimed to be acting for the stability of Puluo Province, he would likely blow bubbles again. He opted for the honest truth instead. "I originally intended to send it back to the Inner States, but I can't return right now. A plague is raging in both Wujiang City and Wubian City."
Li Banfeng had never heard of either place, but the plague caught his interest. "What kind of plague?"
"Blisters, black with red specks. It isn't instantly fatal once contracted, but it's nearly impossible to eradicate even after multiple treatments. This focus of infection originated from Lühuazi's disciple Critic, who used it to wipe out Desong Cliff. You should know about that, right?"
Li Banfeng looked slightly abstracted, as if lost in thought.
Chu Shaoqiang's brow furrowed. "What are you thinking? You can't possibly think the Inner States are weakened and want to wage war on them, can you?"
Li Banfeng tucked his hands into his sleeves and gave an honest, guileless smile. "How could I ever do something like that?"
Chu Shaoqiang shook his head vigorously. "Don't you dare! Don't even think about it! This epidemic won't bring down the Inner States. The territory of the Inner States isn't what you imagine, nor is the physique of the people there. An epidemic means nothing to them, and the truly prominent figures aren't affected in the slightest. If you make a move against them, the fallout will be catastrophic..."
He spoke at lightning speed, every word taut with tension. Yet he did not blow a single soap bubble, proving he meant every word from the bottom of his heart.
"Li Qi, I've made myself clear. This epidemic isn't fatal to the people of the Inner States; it's just hard to cure. If you truly want to fight a war, leave me out of it."
Li Banfeng smiled. "Who said anything about war? I came to do business with you. Didn't I make that clear, too? What I want is the deed!"
Chu Shaoqiang pondered for a moment. "Meng Yuchun's piece of the covenant deed was once singled out for special attention by the Inner States."
"Why single her out?"
"Because Meng Yuchun harbored deep resentment toward the Inner States. After leaving, she refused to respond to any of the tasks they assigned her. The Inner States might punish her at any time. Securing her deed is extraordinarily difficult."
"Meaning you can't get it?"
"Not that I can't, but the price is exorbitant." Chu Shaoqiang held up two fingers. "Twenty Xuanyun Pills."
"Xuanyun Pills?" Li Banfeng was taken aback. "Trading medicinal pills for a deed?"
Chu Shaoqiang nodded. "The Xuanyun Pill is the most precious pill in the world. If Meng Yuchun hadn't been singled out by the Inner States, thirteen Xuanyun Pills would have been enough to trade for her deed. Four pills for each of the three Inner States overseers guarding the deeds, and the remaining one for me as compensation for my trouble. But because she was flagged, each overseer demands six pills, and given the immense risk I must take, I need at least two pills for my trouble. Put together, that makes twenty."
Under normal circumstances, a local spirit only needed thirteen Xuanyun Pills to redeem their deed. In Li Banfeng's view, that did not seem like an insurmountable amount, meaning plenty of people must have approached Chu Shaoqiang for such deals.
Li Banfeng said, "Had I known you had this channel, I would have used Xuanyun Pills to redeem the deeds for Qiu Luoye and Shui Yongquan back then. It would have saved so much trouble."
Chu Shaoqiang shook his head. "Qiu Luoye and Shui Yongquan were never obedient. The Inner States kept a far closer watch on them than on Meng Yuchun. No amount of pills could buy back their deeds. Besides, as far as I know, Shui Yongquan once spent a fortune to buy two Xuanyun Pills, which virtually bankrupted him. With what he and Qiu Luoye owned, where would they ever find a dozen or twenty Xuanyun Pills to trade?"
Li Banfeng knew Shui Yongquan had spent heavily to purchase Xuanyun Pills, but Shui Yongquan had never mentioned going bankrupt over it. Chu Shaoqiang did not blow any bubbles; he was not lying.
"Are Xuanyun Pills really that expensive?"
Chu Shaoqiang looked at Li Banfeng with open disdain. "You don't even know what Xuanyun Pills cost, yet you sit here trying to negotiate business with me? Let me tell you, there are countless newlands across Puluo Province, but those who can afford to buy back their own deeds can be counted on one hand. The Xuanyun Pill is the most precious pill under heaven. Ordinary precious pills merely substitute for cultivation time. Only the Xuanyun Pill elevates a cultivator's strength by solidifying their foundation."
Li Banfeng could not fathom the distinction between the two.
Chu Shaoqiang offered a brief explanation. "Cultivators down on the ground measure cultivation by time—ten years per tier. Ingesting pills can substitute for that time. But once you reach above the clouds, cultivation can no longer be measured by time. Snake-spot, Xuanchi, Zihuan, Golden Origin—all those pills that substitute for time become completely useless. Only the Xuanyun Pill remains effective. Because the Xuanyun Pill does not replace time; it strengthens one's own foundation. Only by building a rock-solid foundation can you continue walking the path of cultivation. It is an invaluable treasure that no amount of gold can buy."
Li Banfeng did not grasp the concept of a foundation. "How many Xuanyun Pills must one consume to completely solidify their foundation?"
"It varies from person to person. Exactly how many, I wouldn't know. With a physique like mine, I'd probably have to take them for a lifetime, consuming them until my physique matches that of the Inner States royalty, before I could walk the artisan pathway to its very end!"
Royalty? The three-headed people?
"Is the physique of the Inner States royalty that formidable?"
"The royalty's physique is flawless to the absolute extreme. The Inner States doesn't understand pathways, and Puluo Province's medicine powders cannot help them enter one. If they possessed pathways, the royalty would have unified the Inner States long ago, and Puluo Province would have been wiped off the map!"
Realizing he had said too much, Chu Shaoqiang refused to speak another word about the Inner States, no matter what Li Banfeng asked.
After finishing two cigarettes, Chu Shaoqiang stood up. "I've laid out the business for you. Weigh it carefully yourself. I advise you to ask around about the market price of Xuanyun Pills so you're mentally prepared. Three days from now, same time, same place, we'll talk again."
Chu Shaoqiang departed, leaving Li Banfeng sitting silently in the stone house.
Li Banfeng currently had seventeen Xuanyun Pills on hand. Because he had so many, he had never truly treasured them.
Yet thinking back now to the way Madam counted them one by one, he realized how rare and precious the pills were.
Madam was a thrifty keeper of the house; she usually couldn't bear to consume even a single pill. Handing over all seventeen Xuanyun Pills would be equivalent to carving out her heart. No, business couldn't be done this way.
He decided to see if Red Lotus could think of a solution.
Returning to the companion dwelling, Li Banfeng headed into Room Eight and gently stroked Red Lotus. "A-Lian, what's the actual difference between a Xuanyun Pill and an ordinary pill?"
"No difference," Red Lotus replied languidly. "Better ingredients yield better pills. The refining steps are entirely the same."
"That can't be right. Madam told me Xuanyun Pills are far more precious than other pills."
Red Lotus extended a lotus leaf and hooked Li Banfeng's chin. "Then go ask your madam! What are you coming to me for?"
Li Banfeng gave an honest, simple chuckle. "Isn't Madam away from home? That's why I came to you."
The gramophone was indeed not at home, busy conducting experiments in the laboratory.
Red Lotus stretched out two leaves, caressing Li Banfeng's cheeks. "Then ask whatever you want, and be quick about it."
Li Banfeng cut straight to the core of the matter. "The other pills you refine directly translate into cultivation. Why doesn't the Xuanyun Pill do that?"
"Who said my other pills directly translate into cultivation?"
"Does that even need saying? A snake-spot pill yields one day of cultivation, a Xuanchi Pill yields ten days, a Zihuan Pill yields thirty days, and a Golden Origin Pill yields a hundred days. Isn't that obvious?"
Red Lotus pinched Li Banfeng's cheek. "Who told you all this? Did I ever say such a thing?"
Li Banfeng brushed the leaf aside. "That's what everyone in Puluo Province says."
Red Lotus chuckled. "Then do you believe them, or do you believe me? I told you all pills are the same. Why won't you believe me?"
"The other pills you refine are so similar, yet only the Xuanyun Pill is so distinct. Naturally, I thought it was different."
The lotus core emitted a halo of light, and a lotus seed flew into Li Banfeng's hand. "You think this pill isn't special?"
*Crack!* The lotus seed burst open, and two rust pills popped out from inside.
Li Banfeng was terrified. He quickly put the rust pills away and turned to wash his hands with water.
After washing several times, the residue still wouldn't come off. Li Banfeng utilized his "Sit Back and Relax" technique, causing the remaining rust to dissolve into purged water and flow out through his palm.
"Let's not bring up such obscure pills for comparison," Li Banfeng said, rubbing his palm. "What we're talking about right now are pills related to cultivation."
Red Lotus sighed. "They're all the same. Truly, they're all the same. Why won't you believe me?"
"A-Lian, I do believe you. I've always treated you as one of my own." Li Banfeng sat down beside Red Lotus and gently stroked the lotus core. "But when you say rust pills and Xuanyun Pills are the same, I truly don't understand."
"You treat me as one of your own? Once that woman of yours returns, won't I become a shameless hussy again?"
Li Banfeng pursed his lips. "That's not how I think in my heart. In my heart, I still cherish you dearly!"
"If you cherish me so much, take me out for a walk! That woman of yours runs outside whenever she pleases. Why won't you let me leave through the door?"
"It's not that I won't let you leave. We still need to discuss it slowly."
"Every good thing belongs to that shrew! When it comes to me, everything has to be discussed slowly! Come find me after you've finished discussing it, and from now on, go take your problems to that shrew!"
*Rustle!* All the lotus leaves withdrew, and Red Lotus turned into a rigid ornament, utterly motionless.
"Fine, I won't ask you anymore!" Li Banfeng grew a bit annoyed, stood up, and stormed off.
After walking for only a short while, he returned to Room Eight.
Red Lotus was inwardly delighted, but then she saw Li Banfeng scoop her up and carry her straight into Room Nine. Red Lotus sprayed a shower of dewdrops, drenching Li Banfeng.
Room Nine let out a laugh. "Good junior brother, you brought A-Lian back! Sister A-Lian, without you around these past days, I've been bored to death! Come, let's have a good sisterly chat!"
Li Banfeng returned to the main room, sat down by the vanity, and asked Hong Ying, "Yingying, what do you think is the biggest difference between the Xuanyun Pill and other pills?"
Hong Ying turned her face. "Why do you take pills at all?"
"Don't you take pills?"
"I'd never eat those things. Doesn't cultivation depend entirely on oneself?"
How could one even respond to that?
Li Banfeng was stunned for a long while before replying, "You're something else."
Leaving the companion dwelling, Li Banfeng headed to the laboratory in Qiqiu City to find Madam.
Madam was currently inhabiting Zhao Xiaowan's body. Having just finished an experiment, she was drenched in sweat. Li Banfeng hurried over to wipe her clean. "Madam, there's something I want to ask you about the Xuanyun—"
"What happened to the Xuanyun Pills?" Madam took a fright, instantly darting back into the gramophone's body. From the front cabinet, she pulled out the pill box. She counted them carefully one by one—seventeen pills in total. Letting out a long sigh of relief, she put the pills away again.
"Husband, what did you want to ask me just now?"
Li Banfeng ran through the conversation in his mind:
*Madam, give me all the Xuanyun Pills!*
*Husband, what do you need them for?*
*I want to use them to buy a covenant deed for a woman...*
If he put it that way, Madam would surely be heartbroken, and his body would surely be broken.
Was there a better way to phrase it?
"Husband, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing, Madam. Nothing at all!"
"Husband, your humble servant installed some fine parts from the Dark Star Bureau onto the Dark Bridge Cannon. Now the cannon can transport considerably more people."
Li Banfeng's spirits lifted. "How many more?"
The gramophone embraced Li Banfeng. "Take a guess, Husband!"
"Could it be two hundred?"
The gramophone paused. "Husband, previously it was only three to five people. Now you suddenly jump to two hundred—isn't that a bit much?"
"Then how many?"
"Barely... one hundred." She had originally planned to say eighty, but fearing Li Banfeng would be too disappointed, she gritted her teeth and said one hundred.
One hundred was still plenty; perhaps it could be turned into a massive deal.
Li Banfeng embraced Madam and kissed her affectionately twice, then carried both the gramophone and the puppet back home together.
Hong Ying asked Zhao Xiaowan, "Does he prefer this wooden gramophone, or does he prefer that flesh-and-blood body?"
Zhao Xiaowan let out a sob. "He doesn't seem to know the difference."
Hearing this, Hong Ying grew alert. "What exactly can't he tell apart?"
"He can't tell anything apart!"
Xiaowan wiped away her tears, a lingering worry haunting her mind. "Husband isn't in a rush to use the Dark Bridge Cannon, is he? If we truly load a hundred people, I really don't have much confidence."
Li Banfeng was indeed planning to seek out the peddler.
One hundred people wasn't drastically different from two hundred. If he could rescue a batch of people from Santoucha, it was worth trying first. They had suffered far too much; escaping Santoucha even a day earlier would be a windfall for them!
Just as he was about to call Luo Zhengnan to inquire about the peddler's whereabouts, Feng Daiku called him first.
"Master Li, Luo Lijun has gone mad. She demands to see you."
"Why has she gone mad?"
"I didn't ask for details. She carries the plague, so I didn't dare get close to her. She said if she doesn't see you tomorrow, she'll force her way into Puluo Province even if it costs her life."
Li Banfeng hurried to Qishuiyao that very night. Peering through the window into the factory floor, he saw Luo Lijun and Luo Yanjun emerging from the pool, accompanied by a slightly smaller river snail. The three river snails were waving their tentacles in unison, looking extremely irritable.
Feng Daiku prepared to shout across the workshop, but Li Banfeng shook his head. "No need to shout. I'll go inside and see."
"They have the plague..." Feng Daiku tried to stop him, only to see Li Banfeng pass straight through the wall into the factory floor.
Li Banfeng did not fear the plague. He still carried antibodies, and even if they failed, he could dissolve the disease focus upon returning to the companion dwelling.
"Miss Luo, your current condition is..." Li Banfeng could not tell Luo Yanjun and Luo Lijun apart, so he kept his form of address deliberately vague.
"I can't take it anymore! It's an agonizing itch, driving me insane! This plague came from Desong Cliff, created by that foreigner. You definitely know him, so you must have a cure!"
The three river snails shuddered together, revealing clusters of black blisters speckled with red dots.
Li Banfeng said, "Speak slowly first—"
"There's no time to be slow! If this condition isn't resolved today, I'll lead my people and charge out, infecting the whole of Puluo Province!"
Judging by this unreasonable, domineering attitude, this one was Luo Lijun.
A river snail beside her spoke up. "Master Li, our sisters have truly suffered. If this continues, there's no telling what disaster might happen. You might not care if something happens to us, but there are others who haven't fallen ill yet. Those unaffected aren't decent people. If things go on like this, I'm afraid your days won't be easy either."
Speaking in circles—this was Luo Yanjun.
Li Banfeng asked, "Can you speak more clearly? If something happens to you, why won't our days be easy?"
Luo Yanjun tried to explain, but lacked the patience; she was being tormented relentlessly by the plague as well.
The smallest river snail spoke up. "Because we don't like fighting wars! But none of us can withstand this plague, and now we're all collapsing. While it won't kill us, we can't do any work either. The ones who can still work are all the war-lovers, so a war will break out soon. Can you understand now?"
The smallest snail was remarkably blunt, yet Li Banfeng still needed to confirm certain details. "Did the war-lovers not get struck down by the plague?"
Luo Yanjun tapped the little snail with her tentacle, signaling her not to speak recklessly.
Yet the little snail couldn't hold back and kept talking. "The war-lovers are of Royal Blood! They aren't afraid of the plague! Hurry up and get us an antidote. We truly can't endure it any longer!"
Royal Blood.
The three-headed people.
They were actually immune to the plague. What kind of physique did they possess?
"You truly can't endure it?" Li Banfeng raised his brows.
The little snail nodded vigorously. "Truly! I'm not lying to you!"
Luo Yanjun looked toward Luo Lijun. Luo Lijun flicked her tentacles and snapped sharply, "Name your price!"
Having interacted for a while, these sisters had learned how to play the game.
"The price won't be cheap, and success isn't guaranteed."
Luo Lijun barked, "Forget whether it succeeds or not for now—state your price first."
Li Banfeng said, "I want covenant deeds."
"Whose deed?"
"More than one person's."
"How many do you want?"
"That depends on how many people's medicine you want."
The little snail exclaimed in delight, "Is it medicine that can cure the plague? We want ten thousand doses!"
Luo Lijun rammed the little snail aside and scolded fiercely, "Ten thousand doses? Can you produce ten thousand covenant deeds?
"Li Qi, we want enough for three people first. I'll trade three covenant deeds for them. Deal or no deal? Give us your answer by this time tomorrow!"
Li Banfeng nodded, then asked the little snail, "What's your name?"
The little snail answered, "My name is Luo Shaojun."
"Did you come to Puluo Province seeking medicine on the royal family's orders, or of your own accord?"
"We can't even endure it ourselves! Who has the mind to care about the royal family?"
"When you say you can't endure it, is it purely because of the itching?"
"It's an agonizing itch! If you don't believe me, try it yourself!"
"Didn't your Inner States develop any medicine?"
"They did. We take the bitterest medicinal powders, but after two hours, they stop working."
"Does everyone on your side suffer from itching?"
"Not necessarily. Some of them—"
*Smack!*
Luo Lijun swung her tentacle, striking Luo Shaojun's shell. The little snail launched into the air and splashed down into the pool.
Li Banfeng rather liked this little girl, Shaojun; she answered whatever he asked.
"We'll talk tomorrow." Luo Lijun led Luo Yanjun away.
Inside the pool, Luo Yanjun asked, "Sister, if only the three of us are cured of the plague, won't we be unable to explain ourselves once we return?"
Luo Lijun said, "What's the rush? As long as we get our hands on one dose, we'll have ten thousand doses. Do you think our physicians and apothecaries are useless? My shell itches terribly. Scratch it for me."
"Sister, you shouldn't scratch. The more you scratch, the more it itches."
"When I tell you to scratch, just scratch! Stop chattering!"
***
Desong Cliff, Deyuan Village.
Critic was cultivating blood, a tin can set beside him with that wildflower growing inside. He had yet to plant the seeds Li Banfeng had given him earlier.
Li Banfeng asked, "Why haven't you sown the seeds yet?"
"Because I must first cultivate blood that contains antibodies against the diseased organism. Only then can I hope to grow humanoid plants capable of surviving at Desong Cliff." Critic set down his test tube and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "My technique is called Barren of All Grass. Humanoid plants without antibodies cannot survive here. The blood of daolao ghosts possesses sufficient antibodies, but the peddler won't permit them to live here."
"Doesn't your own blood carry sufficient antibodies?"
Critic shook his head. "That won't do. My blood contains far more than mere antibodies. If I mix my blood with the seeds, even I wouldn't know what kind of monstrosity would grow."
Li Banfeng surveyed the dead silence of Desong Cliff. "You need to hurry. If a territory within a hundred li has fewer than a hundred people, it turns into oldland. I feel like this place could turn into oldland at any moment."
"There are still a hundred people left. I calculated it; they can hold on for another dozen days or so." Critic lifted Song Demei's severed head and placed it before Li Banfeng. Aside from the cranium, most of Song Demei's brain matter had turned into mud, yet she was still alive.
"Since you have ample time, let's attend to something else. You unleashed an epidemic in the Inner States. Do you have medicine that can cure the plague within a targeted scope?"
Critic was taken aback. "You want to cure the plague in the Inner States?"
"I said within a targeted scope. For instance, if ten thousand people are infected, can you select three specific individuals to cure?"
Critic pondered for a long time. "It's a bit difficult—unless I handle it personally."
Li Banfeng smiled. "Then I'll trouble you to handle it personally this once."
Critic weighed his options and asked, "Does this count as compensation for helping me acquire the seeds?"
"It doesn't," Li Banfeng said, shaking his head.
"Then why should I do it?"
"Because there is an additional reward." Li Banfeng glanced at Desong Cliff again. "Although this place is standard land, it can no longer gather human vitality for you. I can give you another newland—a newland with an intact covenant deed. While it's still far from becoming standard land, at least you'll see hope."
Chapter 620