Inside a hall capable of holding tens of thousands of people, two rows of towering pillars stretched into the distance. At the far end of the pillars stood an imposing altar, where blazing flames danced, and water vapor and smoke drifted through the expanse.
Two centipedes cast of steel—one blue, one brown—coiled, crawled, and vented great plumes of white steam across the altar. This dance-like motion was a sacrificial ritual offered to the spirits before going into battle.
Throngs of worms filled the hall, greedily devouring coal while watching the rite.
When the ceremony ended, the blue centipede let out a low drone. "Bondsmen, assemble!"
Some of the worms gathered beneath the altar, while others could not bear to pull away from the coal before their mouths.
This was the fullest meal they had ever eaten, and quite likely their last.
Buzz—
With a ferocious roar, the blue centipede spat a cloud of scalding steam that rolled across the entire hall.
In response to its roar, the steam inside the worms resonated, its heat and pressure spiking violently and sending them thrashing and writhing across the ground in agony.
This was the blue centipede's punishment and warning to the bondsmen.
"Vile bondsmen, you are fortunate enough to become warriors today. This is an honor worthy of cherishing for the rest of your lives. Prepare for battle!"
Gears ground as the floodgates rotated, and the exit below the altar slowly parted. Just as the blue centipede was about to issue orders for the second wave of attack, the brown centipede spoke.
"We ought to deploy the bondsmen, commoners, scholars, and high ministers all at once. We should not divide our forces."
The blue centipede countered, "The vanguard was wiped out in the blink of an eye. Clearly an unexpected variable has arisen on the enemy's side. We must probe further. Otherwise, no matter how many soldiers we send, it will be a complete waste."
The brown centipede twitched its antennae, venting steam from between its chelicerae. "You think the Luos still have a chance of turning things around, so you want to buy them time."
"Nonsense!" The blue centipede flared with rage. "I am the commander of this campaign! It is not your place to tell me what to do!"
"I merely fear your private selfish thoughts will derail the battle," said the brown centipede. "The peddler will arrive soon. Once he is here, everything will be too late."
"No need to trouble your mind over it!" snapped the blue centipede. "Just watch me make a river of those bastards' blood!"
Li Banfeng chimed in, "I think a river of blood sounds lovely."
The brown centipede sneered. "A river of blood? Do you even have that kind of skill?"
"How do you know I don't?" the blue centipede barked back in fury.
Li Banfeng said, "Even if you lack the skill to make a river of blood, being drawn and quartered by five horses would be fine as well."
Both centipedes froze for an instant and turned their eyes toward Li Banfeng together.
The blue centipede's body suddenly listed to one side, and in the blink of an eye, its head detached from its torso.
The body was still writhing, yet within a heartbeat, it severed into multiple sections.
Every piece of the remains vanished instantaneously, gone to parts unknown.
Paling with shock, the brown centipede droned in rapid succession, barking urgent orders for everyone to ready themselves for combat.
Worms swarmed from all four directions, sealing off the altar so tightly that not even water could seep through.
The brown centipede cast about, searching for Li Qi's trace, when a sudden stiffness seized its frame. Several of its joints refused to obey.
Hiss—
It saw itself soaring into midair, yet its body remained planted right where it had been.
Its vision grew hazy as it caught sight of the stump at its own neck, blasting steam into the air.
It watched its body splinter into fragments, and alongside its severed head, an invisible force swept it straight into a pitch-black room.
Standing in midair, Li Banfeng released a halo of light from beneath his feet, which rippled outward in all directions.
Wherever the halo touched, the worms carpeting the floor thrashed and rolled, steam pouring profusely from their bodies.
Li Banfeng drew back the halo and swept it over the worms once more.
Some of the worms fell still, but most continued to struggle.
These worms clearly lacked formidable combat prowess, but their vitality was stubbornly resilient.
Plunging into their midst, Li Banfeng unleashed the technique of Treading Ten Thousand Rivers in rapid succession, wiping out large swathes with each stamp of his foot, intent on clearing the vermin away.
Skrrr—crackle, crackle!
The ceiling of the hall cracked open, and a fly plummeted from the second level down into the ground-floor hall.
The fly landed soundlessly before Li Banfeng and flapped its wings. A gust of gale-force wind swept forth, scattering the mist throughout the chamber.
By rough estimate, its wings were over three meters long, heavy as airplane wings yet capable of folding and snapping open against its back with remarkable agility.
Li Banfeng asked, "Are you what they call a commoner?"
The fly gave no answer. It extended its two forelegs and rubbed them briskly over its massive head twice.
Thinking the fly wasn't rubbing hard enough, Li Banfeng waved his hand, dispatching two shadows that twisted the fly's head clean off.
Deprived of its head, the fly crashed about blindly. Wherever its wings lashed, they shredded large clusters of worms.
Slipping behind a stone pillar with Unimpeded Passage, Li Banfeng evaded the thrashing wings, drew out his scythe, and slashed right through the pillar, hacking the fly into a mangled pulp.
Three gigantic longhorn beetles dropped from the second floor. One hovered above while two cordoned him off from the ground, coordinating with seamless tacit understanding. Their combat strength was a significant cut above the fly's.
When Li Banfeng dodged left, a beetle cut off his path; when he retreated, another gave immediate chase; when Li Banfeng vanished from sight, all three beetles detonated simultaneously, their undigested coal spilling across the floor.
Pacing the hall, Li Banfeng pondered silently. Did these Inner States commoners have some special scheme in trickling out to fight in piecemeal fashion?
Glancing toward the altar, he realized the reason.
The commoners possessed far greater combat prowess than the worms known as bondsmen, but they had lost their commanders. With no one directing them, their deployment was completely out of sync.
Once they found a proper rhythm for battle, this fight would not be so easy to handle.
Whoosh!
Two pipes along the hall's walls fractured, and a swarm of ants burst forth from the steam.
Buzz!
The floorboards of the third level parted, and a vast swarm of hornets descended with a whistling roar.
Just as Li Banfeng had anticipated, these Inner States commoners spontaneously organized a coordinated siege. Bringing forth a dozen or so shadows, Li Banfeng engaged them in a chaotic melee inside the hall.
A cloud of dragonflies and mosquitoes swooped downward while large swathes of woodlice scurried amid the ants. More and more "commoners" congregated, numbering in the hundreds, then the thousands. Had they been outside the "hornet nest" on open ground, besieged by this many commoners, Li Banfeng would have surely suffered a setback.
Yet the hall's confined space made it difficult for them to exploit their numerical advantage. Li Banfeng directed his shadows to seize advantageous positions, leaving the floor strewn with corpses within moments.
A woodlouse over a meter long coiled around Li Banfeng's right leg. Just as it opened its jaws to bite down, Li Banfeng swung his blade and cut it down. A dragonfly seized his shoulder and hauled him into midair.
Scores of flying insects lunged from all directions to tear him to pieces. Just as Li Banfeng swapped places with a shadow, the dragonfly's wings snapped off.
Ling Baitao had ripped the dragonfly's wings away, charging into the hall at the head of a band of Baisun Commandery warriors.
Li Banfeng looked up. "Didn't I tell you to count them from the outside? Why did you all come in?"
Ling Baitao chuckled. "We were afraid we might miscount out there. It's much easier to count clearly from the inside!"
***
Inside a prison cell, the apothecary Lang Daoshou crouched beside the bars, listening intently to the commotion outside.
The physician Xie Baheng asked, "Hear anything?"
Lang Daoshou shook his head. "Can't hear a thing. The bondsmen are probably done for."
"No way?" Xie Baheng sounded a bit nervous. "I heard them hollering just a moment ago. Sounded quite spirited."
Lang Daoshou sighed. "What spirited? They were screaming out of sheer terror. Did you honestly think they weren't afraid of dying?"
Xie Baheng shook his head. "It certainly wasn't out of fear. This was their chance to earn merit and change their lot in life."
"Change their lot? Since when has anything ever come so cheap?" Lang Daoshou let out a heavy sigh. "Baisun Commandery has been fought over for so many years, and when has it ever been conquered? It's all a pack of lies to trick them into their graves! And to drag us to our graves along with them!"
The physician Shan Yuzhu spread her shell slightly. "Old Lang, watch what you say."
"We've already reached this damn point, what is there left to watch?" Lang Daoshou swung his mantis-like arms, glaring at Shan Yuzhu and Xie Baheng. "You both know the rules. Once the bondsmen are spent, it's the commoners' turn. Once the commoners are spent, it's the scholars' turn.
"Our turn is right around the corner. If you have any last words, spit them out now. Take too long, and you won't get another chance to open your mouths!"
Xie Baheng did indeed have something to say. "Old Lang, Yuzhu, we've been colleagues for so many years. Now that things have come to this, I have a favor to ask. You have to promise me!"
Shan Yuzhu nodded. "Whatever it is, just say it."
Xie Baheng sighed. "All my life, I've been loyal and devoted to the court. Though I never enlisted in the army, whenever the topic of battle came up, I, Old Xie, never backed down. Now that I truly have to take the field, I only ask one thing of you two. Remember how I fought, how I killed, and how I fell on the battlefield. You must remember every bit of it. When you return and report to the court, don't leave me out under any circumstances. I don't seek grand achievements; I only ask that they don't give my family a hard time, and that Old Xie is left with a good name!"
At his words, two eyes extended from Shan Yuzhu's scallop meat, both rimmed with red. "Old Xie, you ask for this, but we can't help you."
Xie Baheng blinked in surprise. "Yuzhu, what do you mean? You won't even carry a few words back for me?"
Shan Yuzhu sniffled. "You're considered one of the best fighters in our apothecary guild. If even you can't survive, how are we supposed to make it back to Zhaoge alive? Not one of the three of us will escape. We're all going to leave our lives behind right here today!"
Lang Daoshou waved his mantis arm dismissively. "Don't drag me into your talk. If you two want to die, go die by yourselves! Don't involve me! The moment I get on that battlefield, I'm surrendering! I don't care if it's humiliating. So long as I keep this life of mine, I'll do whatever they tell me!"
Xie Baheng glanced toward the other side of the cell and lowered his voice. "Don't talk nonsense! You'll drag us all down with you!"
Lang Daoshou brandished his mantis arm, pointing it straight at Xie Baheng's noggin. "Old Xie, how can you say that with a straight face? Who dragged whom down? Don't you have any decency left in your heart? Yuzhu found us a way out, but you were too cowardly to take it. We finally persuaded you to leave, and what did your shameless hide do? You went running off to the Luo family to express your gratitude!"
Xie Baheng hung his head. "The Luo family treated us generously. Wasn't it only right to say thank you?"
"Bullshit! The Luo family had us working on deciphering that prescription, and we could never crack it. What were you playing at, rushing over to thank them out of the blue? Did you think the Luos were fools who couldn't see through you?"
Shan Yuzhu stepped up to cover Lang Daoshou's mouth. "Old Lang, please, say a few words less."
Lang Daoshou shoved Shan Yuzhu aside. "What difference does it make if I say more or less? We're all stuck in this hole anyway! What's so high and mighty about your Luo family? Aren't you locked up in the exact same dungeon? If we die today, we die together; if we live, we live together! If we surrender, we go out on our knees together; if not, we go out feet first together!"
Lang Daoshou thrust his mantis arm toward Luo Lijun, who shared the same cell.
Luo Lijun shook with outrage, but Luo Yanjun held her back from the side. "Sister, don't let anger cloud your judgment. Let's think of a way through this first."
Outside the cell, a wave of chaos erupted, filled with shouts and battle cries.
Lang Daoshou lowered his voice. "There is no other way. If we want to live, we have to surrender."
The little river snail, Luo Shaojun, piped up, "It's easy for you to talk about surrendering, but your entire family is in the court's grasp! Do you not care about whether they live or die?"
"I can't afford to care anymore," Lang Daoshou said, shaking his mantis shrimp head. "I've thought it through these past few days. It's precisely because I worried about too much that I ended up in this state. Even if we throw our lives away on the battlefield today, our families won't be spared either. Look at how many precedents there are. When a battle is lost, whole families get demoted to bondsmen, and if luck runs out, they might even get melted down and remade, only to end up sent to the battlefield to die anyway. Rather than that, we might as well fight to secure a path of survival for ourselves first!"
Luo Lijun spat. "You spineless waste of space, I can't be bothered to listen to your drivel!"
Luo Lijun's younger sister, Luo Xiujun, spoke up, "I don't think he's talking drivel at all. What he says actually makes a lot of sense!"
Luo Lijun flared up. "What are you trying to do? Don't forget, you aren't like him. You are a high minister, not of his station!"
Another sister, Luo Yujun, wriggled forward until she stood right before Luo Lijun. "What good is being a high minister? In the entire Luo clan, aren't you the only one who counts as a regional lord? Now that you've been thrown in a dungeon yourself, tell me, what benefit did our branch of the family ever enjoy by sticking with yours? When there are good things, we're nowhere to be seen, but when it's time to pay with our lives, you remember us sisters? If someone has to die, go right ahead by yourselves! We sisters have discussed it—we're surrendering right alongside Old Lang and the others!"
"How dare you!" Luo Lijun and Luo Yujun began scuffling, while the others scrambled to pull them apart.
Lang Daoshou continued listening to the noise outside the cell. "It's quieted down out there again. The commoners have probably been wiped out as well!"
Xie Baheng kept dabbing away tears with his antennae. "I, Old Xie, shall fulfill my loyalty to the court today."
Shan Yuzhu whispered, "Don't utter such disheartening words. Perhaps things will still take a turn."
Lang Daoshou said, "I hear footsteps. Someone is coming—likely the warden. Looks like our turn to fight has come."
Luo Shaojun asked, "Are we all deploying together? Aren't the scholars supposed to go first, followed by the high ministers?"
Luo Yanjun said, "Silly girl, there are only this handful of scholars and high ministers who came here. If we deployed separately, it would be no different from marching straight to our deaths."
Luo Yujun said, "Truth be told, we should have deployed together with the commoners, perhaps even accompanied by some bondsmen. Only then would there have been any hope of victory."
Lang Daoshou sighed. "Even if every last one of us attacked together, there wouldn't be a sliver of a chance."
While the others were trading speculations, Luo Lijun remained silent. She was terrified.
First, she feared death—claiming otherwise would be a lie.
Second, she feared that if Luo Yujun and Luo Xiujun surrendered, the entire Luo clan would be dragged down with them.
Luo Yanjun offered a reminder, "Xiujun, Yujun, don't forget: given our identities, even if we surrender, the peddler will never let us off!"
Luo Xiujun refused to give up hope. "Nobody can say for sure. If we die by the peddler's hand, we'll accept it; if we manage to live, we'll have come out ahead!"
The footsteps drew nearer. Lang Daoshou's breath turned ragged, and Xie Baheng clamped his pincers tight.
A figure in a black Western suit appeared before the cell door. It was not the warden.
Luo Shaojun stared blankly for a moment, then cried out, "Young Master Li!"
Who's calling me?
Li Banfeng peered into the cell. A mantis shrimp he didn't recognize.
A crab and a scallop he didn't recognize either.
As for the remaining five river snails, three of them seemed familiar, but they looked nearly identical, making it difficult to tell them apart at a glance. Only one of them was noticeably smaller in size.
"Is that Shaojun?" Li Banfeng asked.
"It's me!" Luo Shaojun was beside herself with joy. "Young Master Li, did you come to rescue us?"
Standing outside the bars, Li Qi pointed at the other snails. "And who are these ladies?"
Luo Yanjun said, "Young Master Li, you don't recognize the three of us anymore? Yujun and Xiujun are our sisters as well."
Luo Lijun said, "Young Master Li, why have you come to our camp?"
From their voices, Li Banfeng identified who they were. Yet he couldn't quite make sense of the current situation. How had these five river snails ended up inside a dungeon cell? Weren't they nobles of the Inner States?
Li Banfeng unlocked the cell. Lang Daoshou roared, "Who are you?!"
Immediately after shouting, Lang Daoshou darted behind Xie Baheng, while Xie Baheng ducked behind Shan Yuzhu.
They did not know Li Banfeng, but one thing was certain: this was definitely not one of their own kin. He had to be someone from Puluo Province.
Shan Yuzhu had some worldly knowledge. Hearing the Luo girls address him as Young Master Li, she ventured carefully, "Might you be Young Master Li Qi?"
Li Banfeng nodded slightly.
Luo Shaojun scurried forward, rubbing her tentacles against Li Banfeng without end. "Brother Seven, save us!"
Luo Yanjun said, "Young Master Li, we have fallen upon hard times."
Luo Lijun was a proud woman who cared deeply about face. She stood to one side in silence. Li Banfeng asked, "What on earth happened?"
Luo Yanjun said, "Young Master Li, this is no place to talk. I don't know how you managed to sneak in, but let's find another place to speak in detail."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I didn't sneak in. I fought my way in. If you have something to say, say it right here."
Fought his way in?
Luo Lijun peered outside the cell. From the moment Li Qi had entered until now, it was true that there had been no disturbance outside.
Luo Yanjun asked, "Young Master Li, did you slaughter everyone in the encampment?"
Li Banfeng glanced around. "You call this place an encampment? They should all be dead, though I didn't kill them alone."
That was entirely true. Once Li Banfeng breached the "hornet nest," Ling Baitao led the islanders to storm inside and fight alongside him.
The battle had been ferocious, catching the Inner States forces completely flat-footed. Every Inner States soldier inside the nest had been wiped out, leaving only this prison cell nestled deep within its recesses, which Li Banfeng had only just discovered.
Ling Baitao called out from down the corridor, "Friend, what's your situation over there?"
Li Qi called back, "My situation is a bit unusual. Give me a moment before you come over."
"We're scavenging some supplies and leaving shortly. Hurry up on your end as well—this hornet nest could be recalled at any moment."
Ling Baitao's footsteps faded into the distance. Luo Shaojun said to Li Banfeng, "Brother Seven, they're right! Our encampment could fly back to Zhaoge at any second. Let's go outside before we talk!"
"Go outside?" Li Banfeng's gaze swept over them. "What do you intend to do once you're out?"
"Surrender!" Luo Yujun replied without hesitation. "Young Master Li, we've heard of your reputation and know you are a man of honor and loyalty. The goodwill between you and our Luo family has never been severed. I beg you to spare our lives!"
Like Luo Shaojun, Luo Yujun lowered her head, meekly brushing her tentacles against Li Banfeng's trouser leg.
Luo Lijun spat curses at her. "Look at that slavish disgrace! You've dragged the Luo name through the mud!"
Luo Xiujun showed no hesitation either, crawling up beside Li Banfeng to rub against his pant leg as well. Luo Yanjun said to Luo Lijun, "Sister, you heard him. Young Master Li said there's no one left alive here."
Luo Lijun spat with venom, "What are you getting at? Are you going to crawl over and rub on him like they are?"
Luo Yanjun grew cross. "What's the point of acting so pure and aloft? Did you rub on Ma Junyang any less back then? Forget pant legs—was there anywhere on him you didn't rub against?
"I'm speaking of serious matters! There's no one alive in this camp. Even if we surrender, Zhaoge might never find out."
Driven to her wit's end, Luo Yanjun was far blunter than usual. Among the three sisters, she was indeed the one who saw the reality of their situation most clearly.
Luo Lijun pondered for a moment, then murmured, "That is indeed true."
Hearing this, Lang Daoshou promptly bustled over to Li Banfeng. "Young Master Li, are you wounded anywhere? Let me dress your injuries with some medicine."
Xie Baheng was not to be outdone, waving his pair of pincers. "Young Master Li, you must not have groomed your hair in a long while. Let me tidy it up for you."
Shan Yuzhu edged forward. "Young Master Li, you have a small pimple on your cheek. Allow me to squeeze it out for you."
Li Banfeng shoved them aside. "Do you truly want to surrender?"
Clinging to a shred of hope, Luo Lijun negotiated, "If you could show consideration for past goodwill and spare our lives without forcing us to surrender..."
Li Banfeng frowned. "Are you dreaming?"
Luo Lijun lowered her head in silence. Luo Yanjun advised, "Sister, stop talking nonsense. Even if Young Master Li let us go and we returned to Zhaoge with an empty camp, do you think they would spare us?"
Li Banfeng swept his eyes over the crowd. "If you wish to surrender, draw up a covenant deed immediately. If you refuse, you will be treated as stubborn enemies resisting to the bitter end—not a single one spared."
"What a ruthless heart you have!" Luo Lijun muttered under her breath.
With a darkened expression, Li Banfeng said, "From the moment you stepped into Puluo Province, you became Puluo Province's mortal enemies. Go look at how many warriors have fallen in Baisun Commandery! You call me ruthless, but whom are they supposed to seek justice from?"
Luo Shaojun said, "Brother Seven, we were forced into this. The plague ruined us..."
"We can talk about the details later," Li Banfeng said coldly. "Without a covenant deed, you will be slain without exception!"
Li Banfeng produced covenant paper. Once the deed was drafted, everyone in the cell signed their names and pressed their blood-stained fingerprints onto it.
Luo Shaojun said, "Brother Seven, our surrender is genuine. You must protect us."
Luo Yanjun added, "According to the rules laid down by the peddler, we are pure-blooded Inner States folk. Once we enter Puluo Province, he slaughters every one of us on sight. If we want to survive, our lives depend entirely on you."
Luo Lijun said, "It is best that word of our surrender does not reach Zhaoge. Otherwise, there will be many matters where we won't be able to assist you."
Li Banfeng asked, "What kind of place is Zhaoge?"
"That is our royal capital!" replied Luo Shaojun.
After a moment of thought, Li Banfeng asked, "Can you assume human form?"
Luo Lijun retracted into her shell. Before long, a voluptuous beauty clad in a teal qipao emerged from within.
In her human form, Luo Lijun let her long hair hang loose. The ink-black tresses framed her rounded cheeks, accentuating her fair complexion.
Luo Yanjun crawled out of her shell next, dressed in a blue qipao. She was somewhat slenderer than Luo Lijun, and two slightly thick strands of hair still adorned her forehead—her antennae.
Both women appeared to be roughly the same age, around twenty-five or twenty-six. When Luo Shaojun transformed, she looked much younger, appearing only sixteen or seventeen, with twin braided pigtails and a student's gown.
Though each had her distinct traits, in terms of features, the three sisters shared many resemblances.
Luo Yujun and Luo Xiujun were peculiar cases. They could also transform, but their heads poked outside their shells while their bodies remained tucked within. Though they too looked twenty-five or twenty-six, their facial features bore little resemblance to the other three.
The three sisters had round faces, whereas this pair had elongated faces.
The three sisters had soft, rounded contours, whereas this pair was all sharp angles.
The Luo clan was vast, with many branches, so a slight divergence in appearance was only natural. Luo Lijun was the first to explain, "We cannot stray too far from our shells, or we will immediately revert to our true forms. My cultivation is slightly higher, so I can venture up to twenty meters from my shell. Yanjun can also manage twenty meters. Shaojun can manage ten, while Yujun and Xiujun can stray at most five meters."
Having said that, Luo Lijun shot a glance at Luo Yujun and Luo Xiujun. "Can't you two come out of your shells before talking?"
Luo Xiujun shook her head. "It isn't proper for us to come out. We aren't wearing any clothes inside."
Luo Lijun frowned. "In a life-or-death crisis, you're still worried about shame?"
Luo Yujun's face flushed crimson. "Aren't we afraid of disgracing the Luo clan's dignity?"
Luo Lijun spat. "Only now do you remember you belong to the Luo clan?"
Lang Daoshou, Xie Baheng, and Shan Yuzhu each took off a piece of clothing and offered it to the sisters. Piecing the garments together, they managed to cover themselves modestly and slipped out of their shells.
Li Banfeng turned his gaze toward Lang Daoshou, Xie Baheng, and Shan Yuzhu. All three hailed from the apothecary workshops and lacked the ability to assume human form, so Li Banfeng had them crawl inside the shells.
Carrying their own shells upon their backs, the five snail maidens followed Li Banfeng out of the cell. Ling Baitao and the islanders were still scavenging supplies inside the hornet nest.
Ling Baitao had clashed with the Inner States countless times and had encountered nests like this on numerous occasions, yet this was the first time he had seen the interior layout of one.
This colossal sphere from the Inner States was a five-story structure. The cell where the Luo sisters had been confined was situated on the fourth floor. Ling Baitao recovered large quantities of coal from the main hall, while others gathered numerous screws, gears, valves, and connecting rods across the various levels.
To Baisun Commandery, every piece of metal was a precious resource. Carrying away everything they could take, the group departed the hornet nest and returned to Baitao Island.
Seeing the five women carrying shells on their backs, Ling Baitao asked, "What are their origins?"
Li Banfeng would have liked to tell the truth, but Luo Lijun was right. If word leaked that the Luo sisters had been captured, the Inner States would be put on guard, and many future plans would be rendered impossible.
"These five are my puppets. What they carry on their backs are the remains of our enemies. I intend to take them back for study."
Ling Baitao nodded. "How do you plan to return? I can see you off."
Li Banfeng asked, "How can you send me off? Do you have a way to cross the Boundary?"
Ling Baitao shook his head. "I cannot cross the Boundary, but Baisun Commandery belongs to the territory of Puluo Province. Naturally, there are paths that bypass the Boundary."
Li Banfeng was taken aback. "Are you referring to the newland?"
Ling Baitao pondered his phrasing. "'Newland' might not be accurate. It should be called the new sea—a perilous expanse of ocean, right up above."
Li Banfeng looked up, watching the fish swimming through midair, then looked at the hornet nest suspended among the schools of fish.
"When I went up earlier, I didn't come into contact with any seawater."
Ling Baitao pointed toward the depths of the peach orchard. "Though this hornet nest can create whirlpools, it cannot touch the seawater either. If you want to touch the waters of the new sea, you must climb that marked peach tree, stand at the very top of the canopy, and slowly step into the ocean current. If you keep traveling in the correct direction across the new sea, you will find the coastline of Puluo Province and be able to set foot upon its soil."
Looking in the direction Ling Baitao pointed, Li Banfeng asked, "What kind of mark does that peach tree have?"
"It bears scars on its trunk. It is the peach tree into which the previous island lord of Baitao Island transformed. Before becoming a peach tree, he sustained over a hundred scars upon his body."
Li Banfeng looked again at the dense peach grove. "You've never allowed anyone from the Inner States to climb that tree?"
Ling Baitao nodded. "As long as we can hold out, we will keep holding on. Even if we cannot win, another friend from the outside world will surely come to our aid."
Li Banfeng stared at the peach grove for a long time. "No wonder there are so many peach trees surrounding that one."
Ling Baitao asked, "Shall I take you there, friend?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. He could not allow people of the Inner States to set foot in the new sea, nor could he allow them to climb that peach tree.
"How long have you been fighting here?"
"I can't recall. We have been in Baisun Commandery for generations upon generations."
"Have you never thought of leaving?" Li Banfeng looked up at the ocean overhead. Ling Baitao knew the way to leave Baisun Commandery, and so did the others.
Ling Baitao stroked the branches and leaves of a peach tree, upon which fresh peaches had just sprouted. "The Great Baitao Gathering is about to begin. Would you like to dance with us?"
Li Banfeng lifted a basket of peaches, seeing off Puluo Province's bravest warriors.
Chapter 660