A'yi pulled a cart full of stones, fuming as she walked ahead.
Li Banfeng pushed the cart, fuming as he trailed behind.
A'yi snapped in irritation, "Do you have any idea how much blood and sweat I poured into getting into Bo Province's Ninefold Gate?"
Li Banfeng shot back, equally annoyed, "And why did you pour so much blood and sweat into getting into Bo Province's Ninefold Gate in the first place?"
"To get seed soil!"
"Haven't you already got some?"
"I haven't got enough!"
"Then when were you planning to stop?"
"Once I gathered enough to build an altar, I would've stopped!"
"And when were you planning to build this altar?"
"You need stones from an altar to build an altar!"
"Don't you have stones right now?"
"Who knows if these stones can produce soil?"
"Out of all these stones, not a single one can produce soil?"
A'yi retorted stubbornly, "What if none of them can? Shouldn't we have gone a few more times and gathered stones from every section to be sure?"
Li Banfeng was just as unyielding. "How could there be so many 'what ifs'?"
Hauling the stones, the two argued the entire way back to Hulutou.
Once the cart was unloaded, A'yi was still shaken by the close call. "We barely made it out back there! Before you go crazy, could you at least talk it over with me beforehand?"
Li Banfeng looked completely baffled. "If I talked it over with you beforehand, would it still be called going crazy?"
A'yi fumed, "I told you already—Mad Cultivators are supposed to release and restrain their madness at will! In an affair this momentous, did you really think you ought to go crazy?"
Li Banfeng looked beyond baffled. "If you don't dare go crazy over momentous affairs, how can you call yourself a Mad Cultivator?"
A'yi fell silent. She couldn't outargue him. "Forget it, stop spouting nonsense. Let's get down to business. I don't even know which of these stones is actually usable."
The altar had been massive, and it was entirely reduced to ruins, with rocks blasted in every direction. The flatbed cart A'yi had scrounged up on short notice could haul back only a limited load, so she had picked these stones from various spots.
Li Banfeng picked up a rock and asked, "Can you make seed soil?"
A'yi shook her head repeatedly. "You're crazy beyond hope."
"He said no!" Li Banfeng set the stone down and picked up another. "Can you make seed soil?"
This one said no as well.
After testing over a dozen in a row, Li Banfeng sensed that one stone was quite peculiar. The others had been shattered into sharp, irregular pieces, but this one was relatively smooth and rounded.
Holding the stone, he asked, "Can you make seed soil?"
The stone's voice was faint. Li Banfeng pressed his ear to it, listened for a good while, then looked up at A'yi. "He says he doesn't know how to make seed soil. He says he's a first-class weapon."
"What?" A'yi stared blankly for a second. "He really said that to you?"
Li Banfeng communicated with the stone once more. "He said it. He's definitely a first-class weapon."
Before the words had completely left his mouth, the stone split apart into a bloody maw and lunged straight for Li Banfeng's head.
It moved with such blinding speed that it was a blur of afterimages in A'yi's eyes.
Li Banfeng was a Travel Cultivator of the third cloud layer, so he was naturally faster. With a flick of his arm, he hurled the stone far into the distance.
The stone landed beside a pine tree. Opening its mouth, it swallowed the pine tree in a few gulps, extended two branches for arms, grew two trunks for legs, sprouted a treetop for a head, and produced two pinecones for eyes.
Transforming from a rock into a humanoid shape took only the blink of an eye. The stone monster spat a glob of pine resin onto Li Banfeng's feet, pinning him in place, then leaped forward and clamped its jaws onto his neck.
"My neck is broken! It's broken! Help!" Banfeng Two let out a bloodcurdling shriek. The instant the jaws struck, Li Banfeng had swapped places with Banfeng Two.
Li Banfeng immediately unleashed Five-Horse Dismemberment, ripping the stone monster's limbs to shreds, though the monster's core body remained undamaged.
Such was the caliber of a first-class weapon; this stone monster could both dish out punishment and take a beating.
Li Banfeng and the stone monster traded blows for several rounds before A'yi shouted at the creature, "Stop fighting! You're on my turf now—who are you putting on this bullshit show for?"
The stone monster rattled off a speech to Li Banfeng, and Li Banfeng translated it faithfully to A'yi: "He says guarding the altar is his duty. As long as the altar stands, he'll fight us to the bitter end!"
A'yi said, "The altar is already gone!"
The stone monster spoke again, and Li Banfeng translated once more: "He says he wants to avenge the altar. If he can take even one more enemy down with him, his lifelong mission won't have been in vain!"
A'yi let out a scoffing laugh. "Fine by me! Men and women, young and old of the village, come out and have a look! Let's see just how many enemies he can take down!"
At A'yi's command, someone spread the word, and villagers gathered from all around to watch the spectacle.
Seeing itself surrounded, the stone monster showed no fear. Hovering in midair, it exchanged a few words with Li Banfeng and braced for a vicious battle.
Li Banfeng said, "This stone really has guts. He says killing one breaks even, killing two is a profit, and today he's going to slaughter this place until not a single chicken or dog remains."
A'yi burst into roaring laughter, and the villagers laughed along with her.
For some inexplicable reason, Li Banfeng felt like laughing too.
Nearby was a cornfield. The stone monster plunged into the field and devoured half a mu of corn.
Corn stalks became its limbs, corn leaves became its blades, and stroking a two-foot-long beard of corn silk, the stone monster charged straight at the crowd of villagers.
An hour later, Uncle A'gen was playing the lusheng, A'long was strumming the yueqin, and the stone monster was linking arms with the villagers, dancing merrily.
A'yi beckoned the stone monster over and offered it a cup of liquor. After downing the drink, the stone monster was eager to get back to dancing, but A'yi blocked its way.
"Old Seven, it seemed like he said something just now. What did he say?"
Li Banfeng said, "He says he will never yield!"
A'yi shook her head. "I don't care whether he yields or not. Ask him if any of these stones can actually generate soil!"
Li Banfeng said, "I already asked those stones. They all said they can't."
A'yi gritted her teeth. "I don't believe it!"
Li Banfeng frowned. "Can stones lie?"
A'yi continued to grit her teeth. "I don't believe you!"
Li Banfeng snapped angrily, "Then why are you bothering to ask me?"
A'yi glared at the stone monster and demanded, "You must know which stone can generate soil. Are you going to talk or not?"
The stone monster had Li Banfeng relay its reply: "He says he will never talk!"
A'yi flared up. "Then lock him up! Play music right into his ears and forbid him from coming out to dance!"
What kind of punishment was this supposed to be?
Li Banfeng found it impossible to fathom, but he could be certain of one thing: this stone had fallen under some kind of Mad Cultivation technique, one he had never encountered before.
The stone monster was locked inside the dungeon. Uncle A'gen and A'long played tunes outside the dungeon door, while A'yun led the village girls in song before the entrance.
After holding out for a little over an hour, the stone monster finally spoke to Li Banfeng.
"He says he won't give away which stones make soil, but he wants to catch up with some old friends."
A'yi ordered the stone monster released.
Emerging from the dungeon, the stone monster rummaged through the pile of rocks for a bit, picked out three stones, and set them aside.
A'yi asked the stone monster, "Are these all your old friends?"
Without another word, the stone monster hurried back to dance with A'yun.
All three stones cried foul, insisting they couldn't produce soil either.
A'yi carried the three stones back to her quarters and began examining them together with Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng suggested, "How about I go back to the altar and haul more stones back? I can go alone; they might not spot me."
A'yi shook her head. "Too late. We're already back in Puluo Province."
Startled, Li Banfeng glanced out the window at the stone creature. "Can that first-class weapon be brought into Puluo Province as well?"
There was a first-class weapon in Boundless City—Jiang Ling'er.
Boundless City never dared cross the boundary, and the Boundary would never permit a first-class weapon to pass through.
A'yi inspected the stones closely. "Outside the village, no. Inside the village, yes."
Her words were difficult to parse, and A'yi offered no further explanation. Regardless, she truly had brought a first-class weapon into Puluo Province, which sparked a thought in Li Banfeng's mind.
"Purely in terms of transport capability, which is stronger—Hulu Village or the little train?"
A'yi smiled. "You'd have to ask the little train about that!"
Li Banfeng probed gently, "Do you know where the little train is?"
A'yi looked at Li Banfeng with a mischievous grin. "Right behind you."
Li Banfeng deliberately glanced over his shoulder. "Is it really behind me?"
A'yi leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "I wasn't sure before, but I saw it clearly just now. Before detonating the explosives, you pulled out a key."
"I moved that fast and you still caught it?" Li Banfeng had indeed drawn the key to escape the blast.
"I can't speak for other things, but I could never mistake that key, because Old Train and I made it together." A'yi retrieved two pairs of pliers from a cabinet and handed them to Li Banfeng. "The little train seems to be having some trouble. These are the pliers used back then to build and repair the little train. Take them back; they'll come in handy now."
Li Banfeng took the pliers. A'yi then produced a jade bracelet.
"Give this to A'yu. She's all grown up, yet I never gave her anything nice. Consider this my way of making it up to her."
Li Banfeng took the bracelet. "Who is A'yu?"
"A'yu is my younger sister. Back then, she was sent into the little train by the peddler. After all these years, she should be awake by now. I just don't know if she's willing to see you."
"Do you feel you owe her?"
A'yi put down the stone in her hand, her expression tangled with mixed emotions. "I wasn't good to her. Growing up, I was never good to her. By the time I wanted to treat her well, she was already gone. I did see her in a dream the other day. I even asked her what she wanted, telling her I'd give her whatever she asked for—mountains of gold and silver without hesitation. That was from the heart."
Li Banfeng sighed. "Actually, she doesn't want mountains of gold or silver. All she wants is for you to teach her more Mad Cultivation techniques."
"Really?" A'yi looked at Li Banfeng with tender affection.
Li Banfeng nodded. "Really."
The two stared at each other for a moment before A'yi spat at him. "I was talking about my sister!"
Li Banfeng tipped the brim of his hat and continued gazing at her with deep affection. "Actually, I am your sister."
A'yi couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"You don't believe me?" Li Banfeng's figure abruptly vanished as he used his key to return to the companion dwelling.
Moments later, a halo of light appeared beneath A'yi's feet, and Lady Nine suddenly materialized before her.
Using his bridal chamber linking skill, Li Banfeng had swapped Lady Nine out into the room.
A'yi looked at Lady Nine in astonishment. "You really are my sister?"
Li Banfeng was actually standing quietly in the corner of the room, completely unnoticed by A'yi.
Lady Nine seemed reluctant to see A'yi. She turned to leave, yet had no idea where to go.
A'yi caught Lady Nine's hand and said gently, "Why didn't you tell your sister sooner? I missed you so much, never dreaming I had already met you."
Jiu'er frowned. "What nonsense are you babbling? I only just came out—when did you meet me?"
A'yi stared at Jiu'er for a long time. "It's my fault too for not looking closely enough. Even dressed in men's clothes, I should have recognized you."
"When did I ever dress in men's clothes? Talking to you is exhausting!" Jiu'er's eyes were turning faintly red, but unwilling to let A'yi see, she deliberately looked away.
"Yu'er, stop talking out of anger. Come, sit down." A'yi guided Jiu'er to sit beside her.
Jiu'er turned her head away. "Who's Yu'er? My name is Jiu'er. Don't get it wrong."
"Jiu'er?" A'yi froze, her face abruptly darkening. "Girl, did you become someone's concubine?"
Jiu'er flinched. "How did you kn— What nonsense are you talking about?"
"You call yourself Jiu'er—did you become someone's ninth concubine?" A'yi's expression grew even grimmer.
"So what if I'm the ninth?" Since A'yi had already figured it out, Jiu'er cast shame aside and stiffened her neck. "Being someone's concubine is still better than you! At your age, you can't even get married!"
"Bah!" A'yi spat at Jiu'er. "You have the nerve to say that? I might not be married off, but I can take a wife! You went and became someone's ninth—have you no sense of shame?"
"You spit on me?" Jiu'er wiped her face. "A woman taking a wife? Which of us should be ashamed?"
The two sisters fell into a violent brawl.
Li Banfeng was powerless to stop them, and A'yi and Jiu'er fought the entire night, reducing the newly built building to complete ruins.
With nowhere left to sleep, Qiu Luoye pitched a tent elsewhere and let out a long sigh. "If only I could dream of Qiqiu City tonight... or even the newlands would do."
***
In the newlands, the local spirit Chen Zuixiang slowly materialized. Holding a flagon of wine, he took a sip straight from the spout, then looked at the spider before him. "You've come to seek shelter under me?"
The spider was the size of a water buffalo. It arched its eight legs, flattened itself against the ground, and pressed its head to the dirt to show submission to the local spirit.
Chen Zuixiang asked, "What layer is your cultivation?"
The spider scratched a "Three" into the dirt with its front leg.
Chen Zuixiang looked unimpressed. "Your cultivation isn't high, and you can't even speak. Truth be told, I'm not keen on taking in someone like you."
The spider spat out a silk cocoon roughly the size of a pumpkin. When split open, it was packed with silver dollars.
Chen Zuixiang looked down. "Where did this money come from?"
The spider crouched on the ground and performed a kowtow, as if gesturing that it had saved the funds up.
Chen Zuixiang grew stern. "How could a strange creature come across so much cash? This money definitely didn't come from an honest source!"
The spider held up the cocoon with its front claws, kowtowing ceaselessly.
Chen Zuixiang flicked his sleeve, and the cocoon flew up into the air, vanishing from sight.
"Money of dubious origin isn't something I ought to accept. But seeing how pitiful you are today, I'll make an exception just this once. You'll have to give me an explanation for this later on."
With the bribe accepted, the creature was considered taken in. Overjoyed, the spider continued to kowtow in gratitude.
"Whatever you do under my roof, rules must be followed. I'll go fetch a covenant deed for you." Chen Zuixiang turned to leave, but after taking only two steps, he felt something sticky slap against his face.
He had walked right into a spiderweb.
Where had a spiderweb come from?
Before revealing himself, Chen Zuixiang had checked the area thoroughly; there hadn't been a single cobweb around.
He could never have imagined that this web had been secretly spun while the spider was conversing with him, woven from start to finish without Chen Zuixiang noticing in the slightest.
"What are you trying to do? You dare—" Chen Zuixiang got only halfway through his sentence before a wad of spider silk plugged his mouth.
He tried to spit the silk out, but it adhered firmly to his throat and tongue, impossible to dislodge.
He tried to use the wine in calculations to dissolve the thread, but even after expending every drop, the silk remained completely unharmed.
He couldn't fathom just how terrifyingly high this spider's cultivation truly was.
The spider transformed into human form—it was He Jiaqing.
He Jiaqing had stolen a technique from a Metamorphic Physical Cultivator and made a few modifications of his own.
He had once looked down on the arts of Physical Cultivators, but today his perspective had shifted. Certain Physical Cultivator techniques were exceptionally handy.
He Jiaqing wound several strands of web around Chen Zuixiang and pulled taut; beads of blood immediately seeped through Chen Zuixiang's skin.
"I have a few questions for you. The other local spirits who carried soil and received enfeoffment alongside you—what are their names, and what doctrines do they belong to?" Having said this, He Jiaqing loosened the web plugging Chen Zuixiang's mouth.
Chen Zuixiang glared at He Jiaqing, cold light gleaming in his eyes. He refused to speak.
He wasn't afraid. This was his territory.
He Jiaqing chuckled. "Do you think that on your own turf, I wouldn't dare kill you?"
Chen Zuixiang indeed thought exactly that.
"I can't kill you, but someone else can." He Jiaqing waved a hand, and Datou walked out from behind him, blade in hand.
He Jiaqing's cultivation stood beyond the clouds. By the peddler's rules, he was forbidden from killing Chen Zuixiang on this territory.
Datou's cultivation was still at the ground level. If Datou killed Chen Zuixiang on this land, it would not count as a breach of the peddler's rules.
Yet wouldn't the peddler investigate such an act?
Datou was He Jiaqing's subordinate. If He Jiaqing took part in the affair, even without striking the blow himself, he could still be held accountable by the peddler.
However, this enterprise was tacitly approved by the peddler, and there were details the peddler had no intention of looking into too closely.
Chen Zuixiang still struggled to break free of the web, but a strand of spider silk wrapped around his neck.
He Jiaqing hopped onto the web and swung twice. "I'll loosen the terms a bit. Tell me their names first, and I'll let you go. If you still refuse to cooperate, I'll take half your life first. Just half."
***
Qiao Yi opened his eyes, lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Xie Gong urged gently, "Elder Brother, eat something. You haven't had a bite in three days."
Zhu Jin chimed in, "Brother, if you keep refusing to eat, you'll end up starving the two of us to death."
If Qiao Yi didn't eat, neither Xie Gong nor Zhu Jin dared touch a morsel.
Qiao Yi coughed twice and asked, "The scoundrel who blew up the altar—have they been identified?"
Xie Gong said in a low voice, "The Ministry of Justice has people investigating, but there are no leads so far."
Qiao Yi's chest flared with sharp pain from coughing. He pressed on, "How many days are needed to repair the altar?"
Zhu Jin replied, "While you were asleep just now, Brother, I happened to look over the memorial from the Ministry of Works. A full restoration to its original state will take three years. If construction methods are simplified, one year will suffice."
Qiao Yi waved a weak hand. "Simplify it!"
Xie Gong cautioned, "Elder Brother, be prudent. The altar concerns the rites, and matters of ritual must not be taken lightly or simplified without care."
Qiao Yi covered his mouth and coughed up a mouthful of blood. "If this grievance goes unavenged, I am no man! Have the Ministry of Justice deploy more men! If they fail to uncover that villain's identity within three days, every official from the Minister of Justice on down will be stripped of office and investigated!"
Xie Gong tried to soothe him. "Calm your anger, Elder Brother. In my view, we shouldn't rush to pressure the Ministry of Justice. Let us consider the cause and effect of this whole affair. For a scoundrel to infiltrate Bo City, enter the Ninefold Gate, destroy the altar, and still make a clean getaway—how many people in this world possess such audacity, and how many have such capability?"
Qiao Yi dabbed the blood from his lips with a handkerchief. After pondering for a moment, he said slowly, "Could it be that the ringleader himself came in person?"
The ringleader he referred to was the peddler.
Zhu Jin nodded. "I think it's him! No one else would dare do such a thing. Brother, you were focusing on the grand strategy, intending to bring order through chaos—letting them descend into turmoil until he was utterly exhausted, at which point we'd wipe out that motley rabble in one fell swoop. Who would've thought he'd destroy our altar instead? Now our momentum is gone—"
*Pfft!*
Qiao Yi coughed up another mouthful of blood.
Zhu Jin hastened to appease him, "Brother, don't get angry! I don't think this happened because the peddler's skills were so overwhelming. Rather, an inside traitor must have emerged at the altar; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to come and go so smoothly!"
An inside traitor?
The overseer of the altar was Yang Yuezhe, a trusted confidant Qiao Yi had promoted against all opposition. And now he was talking about an inside traitor?
Qiao Yi coughed violently, the metallic taste of blood rising in his throat once more.
Xie Gong motioned for Zhu Jin to shut his mouth. "Elder Brother, let's not dwell too much on past causes. We must consider the consequences. The lands newly created that day—"
He could only speak half his thought, because Xie Gong had only deduced half of it.
Zhu Jin still hadn't caught on. "What about the lands created that day?"
Qiao Yi struggled to sit up in bed. "Not good! Send Shu Wanjuan to the newlands! Quickly—they're about to meet foul play!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Qiao Yi blacked out and slumped limply onto the mattress.
Zhu Jin was still bewildered. "Who's about to meet foul play?"
Panicked, Xie Gong moved to summon the imperial physician.
Zhu Jin said, "Second Brother, why don't we hold off on calling the physician and call the cook first?"
Xie Gong was stunned. "What are you calling the cook for?"
Zhu Jin said, "While he's passed out, let's grab a bite to eat, the two of us."
***
*Clack-a-tink, clack-a-tang!*
Li Banfeng pushed open the window casement and saw the peddler entering Hulu Village. Today, the rattle drum's cadence was slightly off, and the pushcart wobbled unevenly.
"Scented soap, vanishing cream, foreign matches, paraffin candles, steel shovels—"
*Clatter!*
The cart hit a bump, and a good number of goods spilled onto the dirt.
The peddler bent down to gather them, and Li Banfeng stepped over to help.
A'yun arrived with a young woman to buy vanishing cream. The girl was named A'mi, and Li Banfeng recognized her.
A'mi had been abandoned by her parents, her younger brother had been locked up after a brawl, and her grandfather was a chronic gambler drowning in debt. When she first arrived in Hulu Village, she washed her face in tears all day long, crying until she was unrecognizable.
Now she had laid those burdens down; her complexion had improved, her figure had filled out, and she had blossomed into a charming young woman.
Some villagers came to buy vanishing cream, while others came for fur coat linings. Business was fairly brisk today, yet the peddler seemed to push his cart with visible strain.
A'yi came downstairs, took one look at the wheel, and said, "Where did you get that wheel? It's in dreadful shape."
The peddler patted the cart. "Isn't that why I came to see you? Fix it up properly for me."
A'yi examined it. "This broken wheel isn't worth patching up. I'll just fit a new one for you!"
The peddler nodded. "Name your price for labor and materials. I won't short you a copper."
"Talking about money just creates distance between us! What kind of friendship do we share? But let me tell you, this won't be fixed in an hour or two. You'll have to leave the cart here for a few days."
A'yi wheeled the cart inside the building. The peddler followed her in and asked, "You've been up to big things lately, haven't you?"
"No!" A'yi shook her head.
"Really not?"
"I wasn't the one who blew it up!" A'yi shook her head again.
The peddler turned his gaze to Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng offered the peddler a cigarette. "I blew it up."
The peddler took the cigarette. "To help A'yi build a path all the way to Bo City, I expended quite a lot of effort. With that blast of yours, you blew that path clean apart."
The peddler asked, "How was that a gain? Newlands and the Boundary are Puluo Province's two vital concerns, and that path was tied directly to the newlands."
Li Banfeng said, "Newlands and the Boundary are indeed important, but there's something even more important."
"What would that be?"
"Capital," Li Banfeng said. "We can't let the Inner States come doing business in Puluo Province whenever they please. They need to learn what capital truly means, and they need to know just how much it hurts when they take a loss."
The peddler smiled, rolled a cigarette, and handed it to Li Banfeng.
P.S. The peddler wasn't just giving him a cigarette; he had something good in store for Li Banfeng as well.
Chapter 712