Inside the pitch-black, freezing cave, Tangyuan set up a pile of firewood while Lightbulb poured oil over the wood.
"Pour more! This firewood is hard to light!"
Lightbulb was displeased. "Are you burning firewood or burning me? This is my blood, don't you know?"
The fire caught, and the two sat shivering inside the cave.
Tangyuan sighed. "I wonder how things are going on Seventh Master's end."
Lightbulb shook his head. "Food isn't easy to find around here either. I doubt Seventh Master will be back before dawn."
In Santoucha, the wind and snow raged fiercely; it was colder here than anywhere else in Puluo Province. Concerned, Tangyuan walked over to the cave entrance and peered out.
Lightbulb urged her back inside. "Don't get so close to the entrance! Did you forget what Seventh Master warned us? If heavenly light hits you, you're dead!"
Tangyuan and Lightbulb were on Radish Mountain, named so because the mountain resembled half a radish stuck into the ground.
According to the Dark Star Bureau's records, the frequency of heavenly light in the Radish Mountain area of Santoucha was relatively low and its intensity weak, leading quite a few people to settle around it, even forming several villages.
Yet despite the settlements, obtaining food was exceptionally difficult.
Lightbulb had tried knocking on doors. If you asked for directions, water, or a couple sticks of firewood, people were obliging enough. But ask for food—even offering to buy it—and they would slam the door in your face immediately.
Having slipped onto the train early that morning, they had barely eaten anything by nightfall. Both were truly starving.
"I don't even know what I was thinking, listening to you," Lightbulb grumbled. "If we'd just filed an official travel request saying we were coming to Puluo Province on business with Seventh Master, would Director Chen have refused? We could've come legitimately and aboveboard! Why did we have to pull a stunt like this?"
Tangyuan grew angry as well. "How many times do I have to tell you before you understand? Just saying 'business trip' isn't an excuse. How would we write up the objective? What would we be doing in Puluo Province? Going to spy on Seventh Master?"
Lightbulb shook his head. "Make up any excuse! As long as we got to follow Seventh Master out, it would've been fine."
Tangyuan frowned. "And people wonder why your brain never works! You tell the Bureau you're on a business trip, and then you stay in Puluo Province and never return. Do you have any idea what that's called? It's called defecting, understand? Have you considered the consequences? Our families would all be implicated! Did you not think about any of that?"
Lightbulb hung his head. "And they won't be implicated now?"
Tangyuan poked at the fire. "We've already submitted our resignation letters, so we're no longer Dark Star Bureau personnel. Coming to Puluo Province now won't bring down any official punishment!"
Lightbulb scoffed. "We just got poked off the train with a pole, and you're saying there's no punishment?"
Tangyuan tossed aside her fire poker. "How is that the same thing? That was for entering Puluo Province illegally without travel permits. It has nothing to do with anything else! Besides, the conductors didn't know who we were. Even if an investigation is launched, it won't trace back to us!"
Lightbulb still felt somewhat aggrieved. "I just feel like..."
Tangyuan didn't bother explaining further. "Stop feeling like anything! I haven't even blamed you yet. If you'd just waited a bit longer in the baggage compartment and only come out once we reached Santoucha, we wouldn't be stuck in a place like this!"
"I was worried Seventh Master would get off at Santoucha, so in my panic I came to take a look! If I'd known the trip would be this rough, we could've picked another time..."
"I think our timing was just fine. If you regret it, head back to Yuezhou right now, go cry to Director Chen, and you might still save your rice bowl."
Lightbulb shook his head. "I don't regret it. I truly want to follow Seventh Master and make a name for ourselves."
"Then shut your trap!" Tangyuan walked back to the cave entrance, watching the wind and snow outside, her heart aching.
Though she wouldn't yield an inch in argument with Lightbulb, she felt guilty deep down. Coming to Puluo Province to follow Li Qi had been her own choice, but dragging Li Qi into leaping off the train was something she had never anticipated.
In this freezing cold, the thought of Li Qi trudging through the blizzard just to find them food made her heart twist with pain.
***
"Darling husband, should I add more hot water?" The gramophone tested the water temperature in the tub, feeling it was still a touch too cool.
Li Banfeng wasn't picky. He stretched lazily in the bath. "The water temperature is fine. It's just my shoulders—they're still a bit sore."
The gramophone scolded Hong Ying, "I told you to massage his shoulders, and you can't even get that right!"
"I am massaging them..."
"My husband says he's still sore, can't you hear?"
Pouting, Hong Ying resumed kneading Li Banfeng's shoulders. Li Banfeng still felt something was missing. "On such a freezing day, it would be wonderful to have a cup of warm wine."
Hong Ying barked, "Little Jiu'er, go warm some wine for Brother Qi!"
Miss Nine was scrubbing laundry. She stood up, tossed down the washboard, and went off to warm the wine.
Once the wine was warmed, Miss Nine brought it over with a sour face.
Hong Ying snapped, "Who are you moping at all day? Can't take a few words without scowling?"
Two days earlier, the two had fought a duel, and Miss Nine had lost to Hong Ying. Witnessed by the Tang dao, they had signed a covenant deed: for three months, Miss Nine would obey Hong Ying unconditionally without a single word of complaint.
Returning to Room Nine, Miss Nine was sulking when the bronze lotus chuckled, "My, my, playing the obedient little daughter-in-law, aren't we? Don't you feel the slightest bit ashamed?"
Miss Nine fumed, "Isn't it all because of this useless body you made for me? Otherwise, would I have lost to that blockhead Hong Ying?"
The red lotus sighed. "I made a useful body for you earlier, but who told you to dislike it?"
"That was a man's body! You made it just to disgust me!"
"You wanted a woman's body, you wanted it to look pretty, and you wanted it to fight well. Aren't you being too greedy?"
"What if I am greedy? With the friendship between us sisters, shouldn't you take better care of me?"
As the two bickered, Li Banfeng walked into Room Nine wearing a bathrobe.
The red lotus giggled. "Jiu'er, you'd better go wash up. From the look of him, he might be here to consummate the marriage with you."
Startled, Jiu'er actually felt a flicker of fear.
Li Banfeng reassured her, "Jiu'er, I'm not here for you. I'm here for the red lotus."
Jiu'er glanced at the red lotus, then said to Li Banfeng, "Then should I take her to wash up?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Washed or not, it doesn't matter. I'm here to see how Du Wenming's two sabers turned out in the smelting."
Du Wenming had possessed two fine sabers capable of severing a person in half regardless of where they struck.
Li Banfeng had originally intended to keep the pair, but after trying them out, he found them less than ideal to wield.
First, the sabers depended heavily on cultivation. When testing them at the Hundred Demons Workshop, they could indeed slice low-cultivation opponents in two. But against high-cultivation foes, a slash across the chest merely left a large wound at the waist; the damage was comparable to the sickle and inferior to the Tang dao.
That was only natural—whether magic artifact or weapon, performance against different adversaries inevitably hinged on the opponent's cultivation.
The crucial issue, however, was that the pair was far from easy to handle. Their design was highly unusual: poorly suited for thrusting and awkward for standard slashing, they were meant to glide and spin in concert with the body's movement. In essence, the blades were strapped to the hands, following the body's flow.
Such weapons were clearly tailored specifically for Du Wenming and ill-suited for Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng had simply fed them into the red lotus to be reforged from scratch. According to the bronze lotus's estimate, they should be ready to emerge today.
Li Banfeng carried the red lotus to the main chamber. Before the eyes of the whole family, the red lotus produced a lotus seed.
The lotus seed fell into Li Banfeng's palm. The household gathered close, waiting with rapt attention for the seed to burst open.
Crack~
The lotus seed split open, revealing a glittering silver treasure.
It was round and flat, pleasantly heavy in the hand, stamped with the characters "Puluo" on the front and a snowflake on the reverse.
"Isn't that a silver dollar?" Hong Ying exclaimed in delight. "Brother Qi, our red lotus can mint silver dollars!"
Li Banfeng was thrilled as well. Silver dollars were something only the Peddler could mint; now he could produce them too.
He brought the silver coin to his lips, blew across the edge, and held it to his ear.
It rang!
The real deal!
Li Banfeng beamed. "We've struck it rich this time! We have our own silver dollars!"
The Tang dao was equally thrilled. "We won't lack money from now on! We can mint as many as we want!"
Hong Ying nodded. "We'll have to change the design of this silver dollar, though. No more minting snowflakes!"
The Tang dao agreed. "General Hong is right. I think we should mint our lord's portrait on the coin from now on. We'll call this kind of silver dollar the Qi Datou!"
Everyone chimed in with praise: "Qi Datou is great! Let's call it Qi Datou from now on!"
The gramophone asked from the side, "Husband, Du Wenming's pair of sabers should be worth more than a single silver dollar, shouldn't they?"
Li Banfeng smiled. "Certainly more. Those two blades could sell for at least ten thousand silver dollars!"
The room fell silent for a long time.
Li Banfeng walked to the wall, picked up the conductor's iron pole, and, smiling all the while, approached the bronze lotus. "There's definitely more than one silver dollar here. Hua Jiu'er, let's not play around. I'm talking to you seriously."
The bronze lotus said, "There really is only one silver dollar."
Li Banfeng raised the iron pole. "Think carefully again."
The red lotus ducked behind Miss Nine. "Listen to me first! This isn't like an ordinary silver dollar—it's made of silver!"
Li Banfeng's expression turned fierce. "Which silver dollar isn't made of silver?!"
Miss Nine dodged while shouting, "Don't hide behind me! What does this have to do with me?! Ah Qi, that wench Red Lotus is the one cheating you! It has nothing to do with me!"
The red lotus explained, "This silver dollar has weight! It can strike people!"
Li Banfeng chased the red lotus, swinging the pole. "Why on earth would I use a silver dollar to hit people?! I can hit people just fine with a rock!"
Miss Nine clutched her head. "Watch your aim! Don't hit me!"
Circling around Miss Nine, the red lotus fled, shouting, "This silver dollar recognizes its master! After you spend it, it can return to your hand, and while it's in someone else's hands, it can attack them for you! If Xiao Qianshou steals this silver dollar, he'll suffer a massive loss! This silver dollar possesses the exact same trick as those sabers: strike in the right spot, and it can sever things clean at the root!"
Hearing that the silver dollar had been designed specifically to counter Xiao Qianshou, Li Banfeng's anger mostly dissipated. Holding the coin, he sat beside the lotus and asked, "Explain what you mean by 'the right spot.'"
The red lotus said, "For instance, if you have this silver dollar cut a slit in someone's palm, their entire hand will drop off at the wrist."
Li Banfeng asked, "What if it cuts the forearm?"
"That depends on the target's cultivation. If their cultivation is very low, you can sever whatever part you wish. If their cultivation is decent, it can sever the whole arm or just the forearm, depending on the silver dollar's whim and the orders you give it. If the enemy's cultivation is very high and the coin can't cut through the arm, it will find a way to sever their fingers clean off at the knuckle."
Li Banfeng understood what the red lotus meant.
The most prominent trait of Du Wenming's sabers was their ability to sever someone in two, though the actual effect depended on the opponent's cultivation.
This silver dollar retained that severing property, while gaining the ability to select an appropriate target.
Yet if it possessed the ability to choose, that meant the coin possessed spirituality.
Where did this spirituality come from?
The gramophone turned its horn toward the bronze lotus.
The red lotus quickly explained, "The spirituality came with it. I don't consume living spirits, so I couldn't strip it away."
The gramophone was skeptical. "When those sabers were brought back, I examined them personally. They were merely a pair of top-grade weapons with no spirituality inside. Why are you changing your story now?"
The red lotus grew annoyed. "Why would I lie about something like this? Did I supposedly endow the silver dollar with spirituality myself? What good would that do me? I suspect there was an innate spirit inside those sabers—either previously undetected, or dormant and unenlightened at the time. As for its origins, go investigate yourselves! If you truly think it's redundant, go ahead and devour the spirit; that wouldn't be hard for you anyway."
"If I devour the spirit, the silver dollar won't be nearly as useful," the gramophone said, using its stylus to pick up the silver coin and hand it to Li Banfeng. "Husband, the decision is yours."
Li Banfeng held the silver dollar, thought for a moment, and handed it to the glove. "Can you keep an eye on this thing?"
Taking the silver dollar, the glove wagged its index finger at Li Banfeng. "Don't worry, Boss. Can't speak for other things, but this one I can definitely keep an eye on. I'll teach him some manners in a bit."
With the weapon refined, Li Banfeng produced a jar of vanishing cream. "Can you refine this for me?"
The red lotus glanced at it. "This is the Peddler's vanishing cream, used to ward off heavenly light. What do you want to refine it into?"
"Still vanishing cream, but hopefully after refining, the toxicity won't be so severe."
When braving Pork Hock Mountain earlier, the Peddler had given Li Banfeng this jar of vanishing cream. Three people had used it in total: Lu Qianjiao, Che Wushang, and Li Banfeng himself.
At the time, all three had been extremely cautious, not daring to apply much for fear of poisoning.
Given that even cultivators of their level struggled against its toxicity, smearing it onto Lightbulb and Tangyuan would kill them outright.
The red lotus's petals stroked the jar of vanishing cream. "This stuff won't be easy to refine. If you lower its toxicity, you lower its resistance as well, and it might not be able to defend against heavenly light."
The gramophone asked, "Husband, where are those two subordinates of yours?"
Li Banfeng said, "Radish Mountain in Santoucha."
The gramophone pondered. "Your humble servant knows that place. It's one of the few peaceful areas in Santoucha, and quite a few physical cultivators originated there. In that area, the vanishing cream's resistance indeed doesn't need to be so strong."
The red lotus fluttered its petals, in no rush to begin. "Be sure you've thought this through. This isn't something you can afford to gamble on."
While Li Banfeng weighed his options, the gramophone asked again, "Do these two subordinates possess any cultivation?"
"One is near Tier Three, and the other has reached Tier Five."
Ch-ch~
The gramophone chuckled. "I thought they were raw beginners; in that case they certainly wouldn't withstand it. But with that level of cultivation, there won't be any problem. Even if hit by heavenly light once in a while, so long as proper treatment is given, it shouldn't cost their lives. My husband is right—lower resistance won't hurt. Let Red Lotus refine half of the vanishing cream for the two of them, and my husband can keep the remaining half for future use."
Without further questions, the red lotus refined half of the vanishing cream, placed it in a small tin box, and handed it to Li Banfeng.
The gramophone asked, "Darling husband, what brings you to Santoucha this time? You're not planning to clash with the Sinless Army again, are you? If so, Yingying and I will need to prepare for battle right away."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "As long as I don't run into the Sinless Army, I certainly won't fight them. I came this time to look into the origins of physical cultivation. To tell the truth, I really don't know much about this pathway. I don't understand why some can turn into spiders, others into elephants, while some can't transform into anything and end up as three-headed people. There's bound to be plenty of depth to it."
The gramophone said, "I fear not many truly understand the depths of it. Since my husband intends to linger in Santoucha, you must exercise utmost caution."
Li Banfeng took several canned food tins and stepped outside. The gramophone glanced at the red lotus. "A pair of fine sabers refined into a single silver dollar. Sister Red Lotus, it seems you pocketed quite a bit of material yourself, didn't you?"
The red lotus gave a light laugh. "Just some stray scraps and trimmings. Tossing them would be a waste, so I simply took them. Would Sister really squabble with her little sister over such trifles?"
Miss Nine glared at the red lotus. "Just now, when you provoked Ah Qi, why did you hide behind me and nearly get me beaten?"
The red lotus turned its petals toward Miss Nine. "What's gotten into you? If he hits you, hit him back! Since when were you so afraid of him?"
Hong Ying found it strange as well. "Yeah, since when were you afraid of Brother Qi?"
Jiu'er snapped, "Why would I fear him? What cultivation level does he even have? We usually get along peacefully, and I don't want to fall out with him."
Fuming, Jiu'er stomped back to Room Nine. The red lotus sighed. "Can't go back to Room Nine now. I'll stay in the outer room, then."
***
Li Banfeng brought the canned food out to Lightbulb and Tangyuan. Lightbulb wolfed his down, while Tangyuan couldn't bring herself to touch hers.
"What are you waiting for?" Li Banfeng thought Tangyuan wasn't hungry.
"Seventh Master, have you eaten?"
"Of course I have!"
"Seventh Master, you're lying to us. You didn't eat, saving it all for us. How could we swallow this down?"
With Tangyuan saying this, Lightbulb felt thoroughly embarrassed and didn't dare eat anymore.
Li Banfeng frowned. "Where did you pick up all these dramatics? The fact that I can give you food proves I've had my fill. Hurry up and eat. Get some sleep afterward, and we'll keep moving tomorrow morning."
Lightbulb asked, "Where are we going tomorrow?"
"To the Garrison Office, to find someone to take you out of Santoucha."
"Seventh Master, where are you sending us?"
"Back to the Dark Star Bureau, to go back to work honestly."
Tangyuan shook her head. "We're not going back. We're staying with you. We've already submitted our resignation letters to the Dark Star Bureau."
Li Banfeng scoffed. "So what if you submitted letters? It doesn't count with me!"
Tangyuan lowered her head. "Seventh Master, we truly want to follow you and make our way in Puluo Province."
"If you want to follow me, do so legitimately and aboveboard. What's with all this sneaking around?"
Tangyuan shook her head. "If we keep our status in the Outer States, we wouldn't truly be following you aboveboard. If superiors handed down an order telling us to stab you in the back, whose orders would we obey? That's why we had to make a clean break from the Dark Star Bureau!"
Li Banfeng nodded slightly.
In his impression, Tangyuan had always been someone who sought to avoid conflict.
Yet judging by her words today, once she faced conflict head-on, her grasp of it was remarkably sharp.
After resting in the cave for the night, at daybreak the next morning, Li Banfeng handed the vanishing cream to Tangyuan and Lightbulb. Once ready, the three set off down the mountain path toward the village below.
Unlike the situation at Pork Hock Mountain, they saw hardly any three-headed people near Radish Mountain, but quite a few normal people instead.
Before they reached the village, an old woman cried out from the roadside, "Save me, save my life..."
The three looked back to see the old woman call out again, "Kind souls, spare a bite of food. I haven't eaten in two days; I can't hold out much longer."
Tangyuan looked at Lightbulb. Lightbulb ignored her; had he provisions to spare, he would have been willing to lend a hand, but he only had one can left, meant for lunch. Under these circumstances, he truly couldn't help.
Tangyuan had three cans remaining: two saved for Li Qi, and one for herself.
She wanted to give her own can to the old woman, but on second thought, Seventh Master hadn't eaten the night before just to leave them an extra bite; giving it away now felt like letting Seventh Master down.
While she hesitated, Li Banfeng suddenly looked at her. "Tangyuan, give me a can."
Tangyuan let out a breath of relief and quickly handed him a can.
Seventh Master was a good person; she must never forget that.
Li Banfeng pressed the can into the old woman's hands. "Aunty, eat."
Taking the can, the old woman thanked him repeatedly.
Li Banfeng led the other two onward toward the village. Before they had gone far, the old woman caught up from behind.
Her legs were spry, her endurance solid—hardly the state of someone starved for two days.
"Kind folks, where are you headed?"
Li Banfeng pointed toward the village ahead. "We want to rent a room in the village."
"What rent a room here for?"
"We figured this place looked nice and wanted to settle down here."
"Who are you trying to fool?" The old woman smiled. "You want to enter a pathway, don't you? Otherwise, who'd want to settle in Santoucha?"
Tangyuan said, "Old Ma'am, you misunderstand. We didn't come to—"
Li Banfeng waved his hand to silence Tangyuan, then turned to the old woman. "How did you know we want to enter a pathway?"
The old woman smacked her lips. "I don't know anything, can't tell a thing. If you don't trust me, pretend you never met me. But if you do trust me, I can point you down a road."
Li Banfeng grew curious. "What kind of road?"
The old woman lowered her voice. "Do you want a proper pathway, or do you want to grow two extra heads?"
Li Banfeng straightened his face. "Naturally, we want a proper pathway."
The old woman pointed toward the village ahead. "Do you think finding a place to stay in Santoucha is all it takes to become a physical cultivator? Let me tell you, raw beginners like you three, stay in that village for a few days and every single one of you will sprout three heads! You look grown enough and decently dressed, yet you don't understand the rules of the pathways at all? To enter a pathway, you need medicinal powder. Without medicinal powder, what else are you waiting for except turning into a three-headed freak?"
"Entering physical cultivation takes medicinal powder?" Tangyuan's eyes went wide. Before coming to Puluo Province, she had prepared and absorbed plenty of relevant intel.
To become a physical cultivator, one didn't need medicinal powder; one simply went to Santoucha to try one's luck. More than one document in the Dark Star Bureau mentioned this fact.
The old woman waved her hand and turned to leave. "Young lady, I see you just don't believe me. Forget it, consider it unsaid. When you actually sprout three heads, you'll know regret."
Li Banfeng stepped forward to stop the old woman. "Old Ma'am, she's young and doesn't know any better. We truly want to enter the pathway. But as you know, if we had the money to buy medicinal powder, we wouldn't have come to Santoucha!"
The old woman nodded. "Now that's an honest word. Let me tell you, in Santoucha, pathway medicinal powder isn't bought with money; it's earned through sincerity. As long as you find the right connection and meet the founding ancestor of physical cultivation, you can plead for the powder."
Tangyuan was even more baffled. There was a founding ancestor of physical cultivation in Santoucha?
Besides, in Puluo Province, medicinal powder was always bought from the Peddler. Could the ancestor of physical cultivation actually give away powder?
Li Banfeng cupped his fists in salute. "Old Ma'am, please trouble yourself to point us the way."
The old woman sighed deeply. "I was starved for two whole days, and you folks were the only ones who gave me a bite to eat. It must be our destined affinity. Follow me, then."
Li Banfeng thanked her repeatedly and followed the old woman.
Tangyuan felt something was amiss, but saw Lightbulb following right along.
She gave Lightbulb a tug. Lightbulb turned back and whispered, "What did we come here for?"
What did they come for?
To follow Seventh Master!
Lightbulb jerked his head toward Li Banfeng. "Follow Seventh Master, of course!"
Since they were following Seventh Master, trusting him was only natural; the logic held up.
The three followed the old woman for nearly half a day. The old woman sighed. "That little bite of food I ate just now—walking all this way has burned it clean off."
Li Banfeng looked back at Tangyuan. "Give me another can."
The old woman took the can, then let out another sigh. "I have a bite to eat now, but my old man at home is still starving."
Li Banfeng reached into his pocket and touched the glove.
The glove passed the silver dollar to Li Banfeng. "Boss, I had a chat with him just now. The lad's pretty sharp. Tell him first which part you want."
Li Banfeng uttered a single word: "Hand."
The old woman blinked. "Young man, what did you say about a hand?"
Li Banfeng smiled. "My hands are tied with tight funds, and I didn't bring much money. I'll give you a silver dollar, how about that?"
He handed the old woman a silver dollar.
Tangyuan sensed something off and said to Li Banfeng, "This money..."
She felt the money shouldn't be given.
Li Banfeng smiled. "It's fine. I just want to test whether this money works well."
Taking the silver dollar, the old woman looked slightly disappointed. "This little bit really isn't much. If you bought medicinal powder outside, it would cost several hundred silver dollars per person, not counting what you'd spend accumulating affinity beforehand. I found such a wonderful opportunity for you, and you give me only this much? Well, forget it, I won't haggle with you. Since destiny brought us together, whatever you give is a token of goodwill."
The old woman led the three onward. Before long, a young man came into view.
"Over here, over here!" The old woman waved to the young man. "These three want to find the ancestor of physical cultivation. Take them."
Lightbulb lowered his voice. "A cart-relay scam!"
Tangyuan had no idea what a cart-relay scam was. It was a confidence trick popular among rickshaw runners: simply put, Old Zhang would pull a passenger halfway, demand the fare, and pass the passenger off to Old Chen to pull the rest of the way. Midway through, Old Chen would deny any prior arrangement, claiming what came before had nothing to do with him, and extract a second fare from the passenger.
Back in Lanyang Village, Lightbulb had been swindled down to nothing but a pair of boxers, had ended up in a bandit stronghold, and had even served as a bandit chieftain's bride—what kind of spectacle hadn't he seen? A cheap trick like this couldn't possibly fool him!
Yet unexpectedly, it had fooled Li Banfeng.
Leading the two, Li Banfeng bid farewell to the old woman and continued along with the young man.
Sure enough, before they had gone far, the young man demanded money from Li Banfeng.
"I say, you three, I'm not out here doing charity. It's freezing cold. Guiding you like this, shouldn't you at least give a little something for my trouble?"
"Fair enough." Li Banfeng felt his pocket; the silver dollar was already back.
The glove wiped the bloodstains off the coin and handed it back to Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng said to the young man, "My hands are tight on money. I'll give you a silver dollar, how about that?"
"Others who come looking for the ancestor of physical cultivation bring at least eight or ten coins, and you only give one... Fine, for the old lady's sake, it'll do." The young man pocketed the silver dollar and led the three onward.
This time, Tangyuan caught on: Li Banfeng had an entirely different trick up his sleeve.
Lightbulb didn't miss the chance to banter, "Seventh Master, that's two silver dollars already. Seems like a losing deal."
Li Banfeng chuckled. "No loss at all. We made a profit. This silver dollar works wonders."
Out in the snow, an arm had fallen clean off the old woman's body at the shoulder.
Blood poured without stopping as she sprawled on the snowy ground, screaming hoarsely:
"Save me, save my life..."
The wind was fierce, and until the heavy snow buried her, no one ever heard her cries for help.
Chapter 638