Bai Wusong was about to take Qiu Luoye to the gang's forbidden grounds when Qiu Luoye said, "Old Seventh, come with us. Think of it as a stroll."
Bai Wusong frowned slightly, looking conflicted.
A gang's forbidden grounds was no place for outsiders.
Li Banfeng waved his hand. "Brother Qiu, you go ahead. I've been running all over the place these past days without a moment to rest. I'd like to take a good breather today."
Qiu Luoye nodded. "Then head back and get some rest. Tomorrow, we brothers will have some fun."
Bai Wusong said, "I'm afraid we won't be back tomorrow. It's quite a trek, and our forbidden grounds are rather large."
Qiu Luoye gave a snort. "Back when I wanted to go, you wouldn't let me. Now that you're begging me to go, I can hardly be bothered. Old Seventh, have some fun at home for a couple of days. I'll do my best to return as early as I can."
Returning to his own manor, Li Banfeng gave the steward and servants a month's leave.
The steward couldn't wrap his head around it. In an entire year, Li Banfeng barely spent a few days here. Now that he had finally returned, he was actually sending them all home.
An elderly maidservant said to the steward, "I haven't even seen what the master looks like, and he's already telling us to leave?"
The steward waved a hand. "I haven't seen much of him either. If you're told to go, just go. Wouldn't it be nice to go home and see your grandson?"
"I worked so hard to find a job like this, and I haven't even collected my wages yet. How could I just—"
The steward frowned. "Who said you wouldn't get your wages? Who said you were being fired? It's just a month's leave to let you visit home. Look at you, scared out of your wits. The master said your pay will be given as usual this month, and on top of that, travel expenses: two silver dollars each! Take it, hurry."
Two silver dollars each for travel expenses!
The maidservant trembled as she held the silver. "What is this for? How could I dare take this?"
The steward urged her, "Take the money, pack your things, and get moving. If you take too long, the master will scold me again."
Before long, everyone in the household had left. Li Banfeng carried out a reclining chair by himself, lay down in the courtyard, and watched the clouds.
It was quite curious. In Green Water City, when Li Banfeng sat in Xiaoyaowu, he could clearly see the Peddler's cloud, which remained fixed in place.
Yet in Qiqiu City, Li Banfeng couldn't see this cloud of the Peddler at all.
What was the reason for that?
Li Banfeng returned to the companion dwelling and came out with Zhao Xiaowan, the two of them carrying a massive cloud together.
This was a cloud Li Banfeng had conjured using his Golden House to House a Beauty technique. Initially, it had not been large, about the size of a sofa. But after his lady pumped some steam into the "cloud," it swelled until it was roughly the size of Li Banfeng's courtyard.
Li Banfeng's courtyard in Qiqiu City was indeed spacious, boasting over a dozen rooms across the main quarters and side wings, along with artificial rockeries, a pavilion, a pond, an attic tower, and a garden.
For such a massive cloud to take shape, it had relied entirely on his lady's power. The crucial problem was that this cloud was painted. How long Li Banfeng's technique could sustain it remained to be seen.
"My lady, wait for me here."
Xiaowan was uneasy. "Husband, I have only heard of the Cloud Gate technique, never seen it. The skies of Puluo Province possess a nameless barrier; clouds are beyond reach. If you cannot hold on, just throw away this fake cloud. Whatever you do, do not push yourself too hard or force your way up toward the clouds!"
Beyond reach?
*I've already been up on the Peddler's cloud before, so how could it be out of reach?*
Li Banfeng flew into the sky carrying the "cloud."
His earlier perception had been accurate: this "cloud" was essentially cotton, and the steam inside was held together entirely by his lady's technique.
Now, as he flew farther and farther away from Xiaowan, her restraint on the steam grew weaker and weaker.
After flying for only a short while, the technique dissolved completely, and the "cloud" began leaking "steam."
Watching the cloud shrink smaller and smaller, Li Banfeng could only press harder to fly upward.
No.
He truly couldn't fly any higher.
Once he reached a certain altitude, Li Banfeng seemed to have hit his limit. Every step higher proved exceptionally arduous.
He knew most of his techniques were rough around the edges, but he had practiced his Ride the Wind and Harness the Clouds technique thoroughly. When searching for White Falcon Commandery, he had flown continuously for days on end.
Why couldn't he fly any higher now?
Was this the limit of the technique?
He persevered for a long time, barely inching up a few more feet. His stamina had drained too severely. When his strength gave out, he plummeted toward the earth.
The steam inside the "cloud" had virtually all leaked away. Li Banfeng lay sprawled across the "cloud," his face ghastly pale, unable to speak for quite a while.
Zhao Xiaowan was beside herself with worry. "Husband, rest quickly. Stop pushing yourself so hard."
Panting heavily for a long time, Li Banfeng asked his lady, "Is there any better flight technique? Teach me a trick or two."
Zhao Xiaowan fed him some water and administered a bit of medicinal powder. "Husband has truly stumped your humble servant. Among flight arts, Ride the Wind and Harness the Clouds is top-tier among the top-tier. A flight technique better than that is something your humble servant truly knows nothing of."
Li Banfeng tickled Xiaowan under the arm. "That doesn't sound right. When I was learning Ride the Wind and Harness the Clouds, you looked down on it quite a bit."
Squirming, Zhao Xiaowan said, "Darling husband, that was only to spite that wench Hong Ying. Your humble servant genuinely knows no better method."
Li Banfeng looked up at the sky, shaking his head repeatedly. "There's still quite a distance to the clouds up there."
Zhao Xiaowan said, "Didn't I tell you? The clouds of Puluo Province cannot be touched."
Li Banfeng didn't believe it. If there was nothing wrong with the technique, then the problem had to lie with him.
He sent his lady back into the companion dwelling and swapped Hong Ying out.
"Yingying, take a look at my Ride the Wind and Harness the Clouds technique. Point out whatever's wrong with it."
"Brother Qi, back when you were floating on the sea, I taught you all the essentials of the technique." To be honest, Hong Ying didn't really care to watch Li Banfeng execute techniques; in her eyes, his techniques were practically child's play.
Yet once Li Banfeng took flight, Hong Ying looked at him with new respect. "Brother Qi, you use this technique well—better than any of your other Travel Cultivator arts."
Li Banfeng landed on the ground and asked, "Then why can't I reach the clouds in the sky?"
Hong Ying chuckled. "Forget about you; in my whole life, I've never touched them, nor have I ever heard of anyone touching them."
"Not even with Parting by Ten Thousand Li?"
Hong Ying shook her head. "Parting by Ten Thousand Li can't reach the clouds either. I've tried. A hundred or so yards away from the clouds, you just can't fly any higher."
If even Parting by Ten Thousand Li couldn't make it, could the clouds truly be untouchable?
Li Banfeng asked Hong Ying, "Do you know nothing of the Cloud Gate technique either?"
Hong Ying shook her head. "I've never heard of such a technique."
His lady and Hong Ying both said the same thing?
Had the Peddler lied to him?
Could the Cloud Gate technique be something far more complex than merely flying into the sky?
Seeing that Li the Seventh remained unconvinced, Hong Ying took him flying personally several times.
The maximum altitude she could reach was roughly the same as his. High in the heavens, there truly seemed to be an invisible barrier preventing them from rising any further.
Hong Ying told Li Banfeng, "The elders of my family once told me that this is the nameless barrier. It cannot be crossed."
His lady had also mentioned a nameless barrier just now. It seemed this was a recognized concept.
"What is the nameless barrier? Where does it come from?"
Hong Ying shook her head. "I can't say for sure. My family just told me that one definitely cannot fly any higher past this point."
The more Li Banfeng thought about it, the more anxious he grew. He flew dozens of times in succession until his face turned blue from exhaustion. Frightened, Hong Ying hastily brought him back into the companion dwelling.
Lying on the bed, Li Banfeng still refused to give up. "My lady, have you ever seen any written records regarding the Cloud Gate technique?"
Zhao Xiaowan thought about it and said, "I've read a few records. There was a tale in *A Thousand Words Over Tea* about a cultivator above the clouds who mastered the Cloud Gate technique and crossed the nameless barrier in the sky. He built a palace atop the clouds and pinched little figurines out of the clouds to help him weave, farm, and tend to his daily needs. Later, because he missed his wife, he leapt down from the clouds and returned home, wanting to bring her up with him. Alas, he could no longer perform the Cloud Gate technique. Though he tried countless methods, he was never able to return to the clouds."
Having heard the tale, Li Banfeng said nothing.
First of all, the story didn't explain how to use the Cloud Gate technique.
Second, a book like *A Thousand Words Over Tea* was hardly different from *Xiaolin Guangji*, a collection of jokes and oddities with which Li Banfeng was familiar; its contents were deeply suspect.
Zhao Xiaowan said, "Husband, the records your humble servant read all came from such books. How could there be an ounce of credibility to them?"
Beside them, Hong Ying chimed in, "I truly haven't heard of the Cloud Gate technique, but I know that story. And what's more, I know what happens next."
Zhao Xiaowan stared blankly. "What next part could there be?"
Hong Ying said with a straight face, "It's recorded in the *Embroidered Frost Collection*. It says that after the cultivator returned to the mortal world, he dallied with his wife for over a month. Then he grew bored, flew back to the skies all on his own, and suddenly six divine maidens appeared in the heavens, whereupon he continued dallying with the divine maidens—"
Zhao Xiaowan pinned Hong Ying down and gave her more than a dozen fierce slaps on the backside. "My husband is discussing serious matters here! Why are you bringing up trash like the *Embroidered Frost Collection*!"
Hong Ying felt wronged, but didn't dare say more.
Miss Ninth spoke up from the side. "The Cloud Gate technique is real. I've seen it."
Zhao Xiaowan's face darkened. "Have you been reading the *Embroidered Frost Collection* too?"
Miss Ninth sneered. "I've never read that sort of book. I saw A'yi use the Cloud Gate technique."
Hong Ying frowned. "You're just listening to that madwoman's ravings, aren't you?"
Miss Ninth said, "A'yi is a bit mad, but this isn't raving. The reason you haven't heard of the Cloud Gate technique is that the era in which it appeared was very peculiar. Back then, the Peddler had just conquered Puluo Province, and you and Zhao Xiaowan had just had your internecine feud. At that time, Zhao Xiaowan probably hadn't been revived yet, and you had been reduced to a deaf and blind invalid. When the Cloud Gate technique circulated, neither of you knew of it."
Hong Ying retorted unconvinced, "Even if I didn't know, Xiaowan gained plenty of knowledge after her revival. Did even she not know?"
Miss Ninth looked at Zhao Xiaowan. "Pardon my bluntness, but General Zhao truly might not know. This technique was created by the Heavenly Maiden. Because it is extraordinarily difficult to master, very few people ever learned it. On top of that, the Heavenly Maiden rarely showed her face, and those who mastered the Cloud Gate technique were unwilling to disclose it, leading many to believe it had been lost to history. Over all these years, how many hundreds and thousands of techniques have been lost in Puluo Province? General Zhao couldn't possibly be intimately familiar with every single one of them, could she?"
Hearing this, Zhao Xiaowan felt a twinge of anger.
Delighted, Li Banfeng said, "Ninth, does that mean you know how to use the Cloud Gate technique?"
Miss Ninth shook her head. "A'yi knows how to use it. I don't."
Li Banfeng said, "Then I'll go learn it from A'yi!"
Zhao Xiaowan held him back. "Husband, A'yi couldn't even teach her own sister. How could she possibly teach you?"
Hong Ying was curious as well. "Little Ninth, why didn't your sister teach you the Cloud Gate technique?"
Miss Ninth said, "She tried, but I couldn't learn it. She claimed I lacked comprehension, but I suspect the essentials she told me were completely wrong."
Hong Ying still didn't understand. "Why would your sister deceive you?"
Miss Ninth explained, "The Cloud Gate technique is rather unique; it's a boundless technique. A'yi has a cloud in the sky where she built a house. She took me up to see it, and there were plenty of good things stored inside. I know where her house is. If I also learned the Cloud Gate technique, it would mean I could go to her house in the clouds whenever I wanted. That's why she refused to teach me the true essentials."
Hong Ying frowned. "Why guard against you? Could you actually steal her things?"
"Of course I could!" Miss Ninth replied with absolute candor. "I've stolen her rouge, jewelry, clothes, shoes, and bellybands. Whenever I see something nice of hers, I want it all."
Hong Ying spat. "Look at your shameless behavior!"
With that, Hong Ying went off to check on her own rouge and clothes.
Li Banfeng said, "Jiu'er, tell me the essentials. Maybe I can learn it."
With his question, the room fell silent.
Zhao Xiaowan and Hong Ying hadn't believed in the Cloud Gate technique at first, but now they believed a little.
Jiu'er didn't hide anything either. She frankly said, "To fly to the clouds, one's mind must focus intently on the heavens. Within one's state of mind, bring forth the nameless thought, seek the nameless path, and obtain the nameless power—only then can you break through the nameless barrier."
The corners of Li Banfeng's eyes twitched. "With all your 'nameless' this and that, how on earth am I supposed to understand?"
Pouting, Jiu'er said, "That's why I said A'yi was deliberately concealing it from me. But the nameless truth she spoke of does have some basis. When I was on the cloud, there truly were unspeakable thoughts in my heart, and an unusable power within my body."
The nameless truth.
Li Banfeng recalled the scenes when he had watched the sunset clouds at Xiaoyaowu.
Every time he grew tired and weary, drifting half-asleep and half-awake, his body would catch fire.
When the Peddler hurried over, he would claim that Li Banfeng had burned down his house.
Perhaps he really had burned it, but Li Banfeng had no memory of it whatsoever.
"Is this the nameless thought? Is this the nameless path?" Li Banfeng muttered to himself. "This nameless truth really does warrant careful study!"
Zhao Xiaowan grew curious as well. "Since the Peddler said so, he probably wouldn't lie to you. Yet this nameless thought... I truly cannot fathom its root."
Jiu'er sighed. "Precisely because it's so hard to grasp, I haven't made any sense of it all these years."
While the household was deep in thought, someone suddenly chuckled. "Pretentious nonsense!"
"Who's that?"
Everyone turned toward the bookshelf. On it lay a newspaper, beneath which lay the Judge's Brush.
Jiu'er flared up. "Who did you just call pretentious nonsense?"
"Hmph!" The Judge's Brush responded with a single word.
Furious, Jiu'er snapped, "Then say something that isn't pretentious! Let's hear it!"
The Judge's Brush replied coolly, "The Way cannot be spoken to three pairs of ears."
Li Banfeng quickly scooped the Judge's Brush into his palms. "Come, let's talk in private."
Carrying the Judge's Brush, he left the companion dwelling.
Zhao Xiaowan was silent for a long moment before asking in a low voice, "What did he mean by 'The Way cannot be spoken to three pairs of ears'?"
Miss Ninth smiled. "Does that even need asking? He just doesn't want to tell us. He doesn't trust us!"
Hong Ying gritted her teeth. "That wretched brush is far too arrogant! He's begging for a beating!"
Standing in the corner, the Tang dao sighed wistfully. "I think the Judge's Brush was probably thoughtless, but with that single remark, he swept away the face of both the Marshal and the General!"
Zhao Xiaowan gritted her teeth. "Where's Glove? Did he follow them out? Have him listen closely to what they're saying!"
Miss Ninth said, "Glove went, but that kid never listens to us. He only listens to Brother Seven."
Zhao Xiaowan grew increasingly incensed. "They're all rebelling! Where's Ji? Where did he go? Have him record it!"
Hong Ying said, "Xiaowan, rather than waiting for him to record it, we might as well go to the Fifth Room to see!"
Lifting her skirts, Zhao Xiaowan headed for the Fifth Room. "That wretched brush is completely out of line! I'd like to see just what tricks he has up his sleeve."
The group gathered around the Fifth Room, staring with bated breath.
The Fifth Room tried several times, but failed to manifest the scene outside.
Hong Ying asked, "What's going on?"
Trembling, the Fifth Room replied, "I don't know what's wrong today, but I just can't see the outside."
Hong Ying snapped in anger, "You can see it normally! Why can't you see it today? You wretched wench, I think you're begging for a beating!"
The Fifth Room was on the verge of tears. It truly wasn't her fault.
"Hmph!" The companion dwelling looked upon the crowd and let out a cold chuckle.
Li Banfeng lay on the reclining chair alongside the Judge's Brush, gazing at the clouds in the sky.
Word by word, the Judge's Brush said to Li Banfeng, "I have a cloud too. Much of my battle prowess resides on that cloud."
Li Banfeng asked, "Why did you put your battle prowess on a cloud?"
The Judge's Brush answered, "A portion had to be left behind; otherwise, one cannot ascend to the fourth tier above the clouds."
"You have cultivation at the fourth tier above the clouds?"
"Hmph!" The Judge's Brush rolled over on the reclining chair and went to sleep.
Li Banfeng quickly shook him awake. "Brother, don't sleep yet! You haven't told me how to get to the clouds!"
"Still remember how you became a local spirit?"
"Which local spirit are you talking about?" Li Banfeng had been quite a few local spirits.
"Your first local spirit."
"Of course I remember. I snatched Mountain Uplifting Master's territory."
The Judge's Brush asked again, "Still remember your first land reclamation?"
"I remember that too. Oil Peach came to reclaim the land. My status wasn't high enough, and I couldn't light up the plot."
"Remember how you lit it up?"
Li Banfeng recalled the scene back then. "You carried me flying, higher and higher, and then suddenly dropped me. You used that trick to terrify me and force out the awe-inspiring presence inside me."
"It wasn't to terrify you; it was to alter your state of mind. Back then, I carried you above the barrier."
Li Banfeng didn't understand.
The Judge's Brush said, "No need to understand. Follow me and fly."
Li Banfeng took flight alongside the Judge's Brush.
Compared to Li Banfeng, the Judge's Brush flew more steadily, though not particularly fast.
After flying for quite some time, Li Banfeng reached his limit. Looking at the Judge's Brush, he said, "How do we fly from here?"
The Judge's Brush said, "Hold on to me."
Clutching the Judge's Brush, Li Banfeng said, "Brother, you can't carry me up every time. You have to find a way for me to do it myself—"
The Judge's Brush carried Li Banfeng upward for only a short distance—by Li Banfeng's estimate, barely over a meter.
"What use is that?"
"Great use. Heh heh," the Judge's Brush gave a pair of chuckles. "Return my principal!"
"What?" Li Banfeng was startled. His eyes went wide at first, but then his eyelids drooped.
The Judge's Brush was demanding his principal back, triggering Li Banfeng's bout of indolence.
Li Banfeng lost the strength to fly, and he lost the will to fly as well. He began plummeting rapidly from the sky.
*I can't just fall like this. Won't I be smashed to pieces?*
*If I don't want to fall to death, I have to fly.*
*But flying is so exhausting.*
*Should I watch myself plunge to death, or grit my teeth and endure the exertion?*
Li Banfeng was deeply conflicted. He truly didn't want to exert himself.
The ground rushed closer and closer, and his dilemma grew increasingly acute. At the moment he forced himself to make a choice, he took flight once more.
He could fly, but he shouldn't use too much effort.
Maintaining a steady upward pace, he had no intention whatsoever of surging forward.
Yet without surging forward, how could he break through the barrier?
Li Banfeng didn't know, and he couldn't be bothered to think about it!
Just follow the Judge's Brush and fly upward. Fly wherever it took him.
Fly wherever...
Li Banfeng saw the clouds. He had flown to the edge of the clouds.
Because his consciousness was slightly hazy and his field of vision rather narrow, certain things weren't clear to him.
Yet he was certain: he had arrived beside the clouds.
Was this the realm above the clouds?
Li Banfeng said to the Judge's Brush, "Can we bring our cloud up now?"
The Judge's Brush said, "What are you waiting for?"
Li Banfeng returned to the companion dwelling, gathered up his lady and the "cloud," and stepped back out into the courtyard.
"My lady, pump some more steam into it."
Zhao Xiaowan inflated the "cloud," and Li Banfeng ascended with it.
Watching Li Banfeng's figure grow smaller and smaller, Zhao Xiaowan's heart hung in her throat.
After a long time, Li Banfeng came back down, with no cloud beside him.
He had placed the cloud in the heavens!
Stunned for a good while, Zhao Xiaowan asked cautiously, "Husband, did it work?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "It worked!"
"You sent the cloud into the sky?"
"Sent it right up!" Li Banfeng nodded earnestly.
Zhao Xiaowan scrutinized the man before her.
When they had first met, this man had known nothing.
To this day, this man had accomplished things she didn't even know were possible.
"Husband, is there truly a Cloud Gate technique?" Zhao Xiaowan still couldn't quite believe it.
Li Banfeng nodded. "There is."
Zhao Xiaowan looked up at the night sky. In the faint distance, an extra patch of cloud really did seem to have appeared.
"Is that your cloud?" A hint of longing colored her voice.
"That's our cloud." Still grappling with drowsiness, Li Banfeng flashed a smug grin.
Zhao Xiaowan kept her gaze on that cloud. "What does it look like up there?"
Li Banfeng thought for a moment, unsure of how to describe it.
"My lady, let me take you up to see!"
He wrapped his arms around Zhao Xiaowan from behind and carried her aloft.
Yingying was right: her husband had truly learned the Ride the Wind and Harness the Clouds technique well. Carrying someone upward didn't even cost him much effort.
She possessed flight arts of her own, so flying was nothing novel to her.
Yet she couldn't resist turning around, hugging Li Banfeng tightly, and resting on his shoulder to take in the scenery.
Li Banfeng felt very proud, and he flew faster and faster.
Beside them, the Judge's Brush said, "This won't do. The state of mind is wrong."
Li Banfeng nodded. "I understand."
Zhao Xiaowan didn't quite understand. "What state of mind?"
Li Banfeng abruptly let his strength drain away, and the two plummeted rapidly.
"What are you doing!" Startled, Zhao Xiaowan hastily vented steam to maintain their flight.
Li Banfeng continuously tickled Xiaowan under her arms. "My lady, don't resist. That ruins the state of mind."
Zhao Xiaowan cried out, "If I don't resist, how long can you hold out? Husband, stop fooling around! We're falling! We're really going to crash!"
Up and down they plunged over a dozen times. The Judge's Brush's breathing was deep and even; he had fallen asleep.
Zhao Xiaowan's gaze turned dazed, her mind in a trance—her state of mind had finally arrived.
No longer resisting, she followed Li Banfeng up and down, flying all the way onto the cloud.
Li Banfeng cautioned, "Our cloud is made of cotton. Don't use too much force."
Zhao Xiaowan nodded. "Husband, you haven't mastered the Golden House to House a Beauty technique. How long can this cloud hold out?"
Li Banfeng said, "I think it can hold for a very long time. Once you reach the cloud, the technique consumes very little. The higher you fly, the less it drains. I placed the cloud in the sky, and it stays there with virtually no consumption at all."
"Virtually no consumption..." Zhao Xiaowan murmured to herself. She seemed to recall something.
The two stepped onto the cloud. Zhao Xiaowan didn't dare exert force, terrified that a single step might rupture it.
Yet after taking two steps across the cloud, the footing felt quite solid.
"Husband, this cotton isn't that soft after all."
"Indeed," Li Banfeng was somewhat surprised as well. "I get it. After I sent the cloud into the sky, it absorbed some power and became sturdier."
Zhao Xiaowan nodded. "Well, your humble servant knows nothing of the Cloud Gate technique anyway. Whatever you say goes."
The two walked slowly across the cloud for a few paces. Li Banfeng repeatedly reminded her, "Careful, my lady. The cotton footing is unsteady; I tumbled several times earlier."
"Your humble servant thinks it's fairly decent—"
Every step Zhao Xiaowan took was steady. Though shrouded in swirling mist, walking on this cloud felt no different from walking on solid ground.
After walking a few more steps, Zhao Xiaowan's vision cleared slightly. Looking around, she said, "Husband, how did our cloud grow so huge?"
Li Banfeng also felt the cloud was much larger than before. In a single glance, he couldn't even see the edges.
He pondered for a moment and offered a reasonable explanation:
"The cloud absorbed the nameless power and underwent a transformation."
Zhao Xiaowan glanced at Li Banfeng.
As he said this, his gaze was exceptionally resolute.
Zhao Xiaowan felt a wave of tension. This was the most unpredictable thing about her husband: no one ever knew whether his mental illness was acting up.
"Husband, what is that ahead?"
"Aren't those just flowers and grass?"
"When were they planted?"
"I suppose when I was painting the cloud, I accidentally painted some flowers and grass. You poured so much steam into the cotton, so of course the plants grew well."
Zhao Xiaowan nodded. "What you say makes sense, Husband."
Walking a few more steps, Zhao Xiaowan could hold back no longer. "Husband, did that house grow out of the cloud too?"
Li Banfeng sighed deeply. "The nameless power is just that miraculous."
"Husband, after you landed earlier, how did you maintain a connection with our cloud?"
Li Banfeng said, "I stuck a wooden stick into our cloud, and after coming down, I stuck another into the ground, using the Hundred Steps Traversal technique to maintain the connection."
Zhao Xiaowan looked at Li Banfeng. "Husband, you planted a wooden stick after you landed?"
Li Banfeng blinked. "I did. Did you not notice, my lady?"
Zhao Xiaowan fell silent for a moment before saying, "Let us assume you did, Husband."
Following a small path bordered by green trees and red blossoms, the two walked all the way up to a house.
It was a three-story Western-style building with gentle lines and no sharp edges. In the moonlight, its grayish-white walls melted into the surrounding mist, making its silhouette difficult to discern.
The pillars before the entrance bore simple carved patterns: a round disc with a square hole in the center.
"Husband, doesn't that carving look a bit familiar?"
"Familiar? I just think it looks quite nice."
Pushing open the front door, the main hall was luxuriously furnished, with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, reflecting upon the intricate parquet floor. Zhao Xiaowan looked at the parquet patterns, then back at the carvings on the pillars outside, finding the two designs remarkably similar.
"Husband, take another look at this—" She wanted to confirm with Li Banfeng, only to find he was already walking away briskly.
"Brother, have you found it?"
"Almost! Found it right now!"
After circling up and down a few times, Li Banfeng pushed open a room on the second floor and broke into a radiant smile. The entire room was filled to the brim with copper coins.
Zhao Xiaowan said, "Darling husband, were these coins also conjured by the nameless power?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "Darling wife, the nameless power is just that elusive. Glove, get to work!"
Chapter 683