Madam Bagworm Moth

A little past nine o'clock, Yu Nan arrived at the Yu Family Stronghold with her people. Old Zhu hurried out to welcome them. Once everyone was inside, Old Zhu brought up Li Qi. "Seventh Master is here?" Yu Nan asked in delight. "Where is he?" "He said he was going into the woods for a stroll. He's been gone for seven or eight hours now." A look of worry crossed Yu Nan's face. She couldn't understand why Li Banfeng dared to wander around the newland alone. Wang Xuejiao spoke up. "Manager, if you're worried, let's head into the woods to look for him." Yu Nan shook her head. "The newland is far too perilous. Rushing in blindly, never mind finding anyone, there's no telling if we'd even make it back alive. Li Qi is a journey cultivator; he knows the way back. Let's wait for now." They waited another two hours. Having traveled for two days straight, the group was overcome with exhaustion and fell asleep one by one. Yu Nan couldn't sleep. As she paced back and forth outside the wooden cabin, she suddenly spotted a middle-aged man in a tailcoat approaching. He tipped his top hat and gave her a courteous bow. "Pardon me, might you be Manager Yu of the Yu Family Cloth Shop?" Yu Nan froze. She didn't recognize this man. The man smiled. "I am Daboyins, private detective." *He's clearly a local, so why take a foreign name?* "A detective?" Yu Nan looked him up and down. "What brings you to my Yu Family Stronghold?" "I'm looking for a man named Li Banfeng." "I don't know anyone by that name. Try asking elsewhere." Yu Nan showed him the door. Daboyins had no intention of leaving. "I've already asked everywhere else. There aren't many strongholds in this newland, and yours is the only one that received a visitor yesterday." Yu Nan kept a smile on her face, but her heart skipped a beat. From the private detective's words, she had gleaned two crucial pieces of information. First: the Li Banfeng he was looking for was very likely Li Qi. Second: he could tell that the Yu Family Stronghold had welcomed a visitor yesterday, which proved he possessed a specialized technique. Having come here, he was already certain Li Banfeng was present. Yu Nan didn't intend to waste more breath on him. "Detective Dabo-whatever, we truly don't know this Li Banfeng. It's late, so if there's nothing else, we won't keep you." Daboyins smiled. "Since you mention it, Manager Yu, I actually do have a small matter. "I'm a rather timid man and don't care much for traveling by night. If you don't mind, might I trouble you for a night's lodging at your esteemed estate?" Yu Nan's smile faded. "I do mind. The Yu Family Stronghold never puts up strangers." Daboyins's smile remained intact. "If lodging isn't an option, that's quite all right. Might you treat me to a cup of tea?" Yu Nan fingered her pipe rod. "The well didn't yield water today. Without water, there's no way to brew tea." Daboyins still refused to leave. "Could I trouble Manager Yu for a cigarette, then?" *Whoosh.* Yu Nan exhaled a stream of smoke. "Tell me, Detective, is this puff enough for you?" The smoke circled Daboyins several times. It was a warning from a Smoke Cultivator. Daboyins put his top hat back on and raised an eyebrow. "Manager Yu, are you resorting to force?" "I am!" The slender woman's cigarette set in her pipe rod flared brightly, scattering flying ash over Daboyins. Daboyins brushed the ash from his coat, wearing a slightly helpless expression. "Manager Yu, this isn't very wise of you." The ash was brushed away just like that. This private detective's cultivation was clearly superior to hers. Yu Nan drew a dagger and aimed it at her own palm. "This is the Yu Family Stronghold, and I am the master of this land!" She didn't draw the dagger to fight the detective, but to shed her own blood. Her claim to be master of this land was no empty warning. Her blood could awaken certain creatures dwelling within this ground—creatures capable of taking Daboyins's life. Having pioneered newlands for many years, Daboyins naturally understood what lay behind her words. In this situation, dragging things out was plainly ill-advised. He held out both hands and pressed down slightly with his palms. "Manager Yu, please don't be angry. I shall take my leave." With that, Daboyins stepped outside the boundary of the Yu Family Stronghold. Yet he didn't go far. He circled the two rows of wooden cabins dozens of times, leaving spiderweb after spiderweb across the surrounding trees. Yu Nan knew these webs were meant for Li Banfeng. Even knowing it did no good. Daboyins was operating outside the stronghold, and beyond its borders, she was no match for him at all. Yu Nan stared nervously into the depths of the forest, wondering when Li Banfeng would return. Before, she had wished desperately to see him at once. Now, she hoped with all her heart that he wouldn't show up. Daboyins sat beneath a tree, pulled out a harmonica, and said to Yu Nan, "There is a special affinity between Li Banfeng and me. I believe this bond has not been severed, and I believe he will surely return tonight." Yu Nan sneered, her voice dripping with mockery. "You don't have a drop of foreign blood in you, so why insist on putting on foreign airs when you speak?" Daboyins smiled faintly. "Manager Yu, a gentleman is not defined by pedigree, nor is poise bound by borders. Do not hope to provoke me with biting words; it won't work on me. "Let me also remind you: Li Banfeng will certainly appear tonight. If he is your sweetheart, you had best wait right here. This may well be the last time you ever see him." With that, Daboyins brought the harmonica to his lips and began to play. The music possessed a unique melodiousness, full of leisurely grace, yet in Yu Nan's ears, it carried nothing but sheer murderous intent. After playing two tunes, Daboyins put the harmonica away, stood up, and gazed out into the distant night, straightening his top hat and tailcoat. He had felt the trembling of his silk strands; he knew someone was drawing near. Yu Nan immediately exhaled a plume of smoke, hoping to locate Li Banfeng and send him a warning. This would come down to their cultivation levels. Daboyins was clearly confident in his own abilities. "Manager Yu, don't make futile attempts. By the time your smoke reaches Li Banfeng's face, his head will likely already be in my hands." Yu Nan glanced at the iron bell hanging before the stronghold gate, intending to strike it and summon her subordinates. Daboyins saw right through her and shook his head. "Don't do anything foolish and pointless. The moment you step outside your stronghold, you and your men are no more significant than ants. "Isn't it good to stay alive? You haven't known him for very long anyway. Wouldn't it be better to just watch quietly and see him off on his final journey?" Yu Nan burned with rage, but Daboyins was speaking the cold truth. A moment later, Li Banfeng's figure emerged from the night. Yu Nan shouted, "Seventh Master, don't come over!" Daboyins shook his head with a chuckle. "Too late. It's already too late." The moment Li Banfeng entered Daboyins's line of sight, only two outcomes remained. First, Li Banfeng would charge toward the stronghold, become snagged in the spiderwebs, and wait to be killed by Daboyins. Second, Li Banfeng would heed Yu Nan's warning, stay away from the stronghold, and be killed directly by Daboyins. At present, Li Banfeng didn't seem to hear Yu Nan's warning at all, rushing straight toward the Yu Family Stronghold. Daboyins stepped forward with a greeting. "From the moment we parted, I sensed we would meet again. I never imagined the moment would come so soon, my friend." Li Banfeng shouted back, "That's right, we're friends!" Daboyins sighed. "I've always felt our affinity ran deep, that it couldn't possibly end like this. I truly hope that in the next world, you'll still remember me, my friend." Li Banfeng called out at the top of his lungs, "Did you hear that? He's my friend!" Daboyins was taken aback. *Who is he talking to?* *Yu Nan?* Daboyins glanced toward Yu Nan, but she was equally bewildered, having no idea what Li Banfeng meant. In his confusion, Daboyins sensed another presence near Li Banfeng. Its position was wildly erratic—sometimes in the trees, sometimes on the ground, and at other times hovering in midair. It possessed immense strength, tearing straight through several of the spiderwebs Daboyins had set up. *What is that thing?* Before he could recover from his astonishment, a massive silhouette coiled down from the trees, blocking Li Banfeng's path to the stronghold. Yu Nan and Daboyins had their vision blocked as well. They couldn't see Li Banfeng at all; they saw only an enormous, emerald-green caterpillar. Daboyins blinked, muttering under his breath, "Madam Bagworm Moth... this is trouble." Li Banfeng had dashed and twisted through the woods, tangling with this creature for an entire night before finally making it back to the stronghold. He shouted loudly, "You heard him! That man is my friend!" The human face on the caterpillar turned back to look at Daboyins. "You're friends?" Daboyins licked his lips. "I... well, no..." Madam Bagworm Moth turned back toward Li Banfeng. "He says you aren't..." Li Banfeng had already whipped out Hanxue, the pendulum. Clicking the screw beneath it, he sent a burst of blood spraying into Madam Bagworm Moth's eyes. It was Joy Cultivator blood from Geng Zhiwei, stored inside the pendulum all this time. Madam Bagworm Moth let out a furious roar, frantically wiping at her eyes with her long antennae. Seizing the chance, Li Banfeng slipped into the Portable Abode and, with all his might, hurled the key two hundred meters away—landing it squarely on the roof of a wooden cabin inside the Yu Family Stronghold. Old Zhu had told him that this was Yu Nan's territory. So long as Yu Nan shed her blood upon the ground, anyone who dared trespass would be torn to pieces. If humans couldn't get in, this bug certainly couldn't either! When Madam Bagworm Moth opened her eyes, she found Li Banfeng had vanished. She turned her face toward Daboyins once more. "Where did he go?" Daboyins couldn't answer. Madam Bagworm Moth had blocked his view, and he hadn't even caught a glimpse of Li Banfeng. Madam Bagworm Moth looked tenderly at Daboyins. "He killed my children. Will you be my child?" Daboyins took two steps back, looking thoroughly alarmed. "He and I... aren't really friends. We don't even know each other..." He had worked as a pioneer in newlands several times; he knew what tier Madam Bagworm Moth belonged to and understood that creatures like this were not to be crossed. "If you don't want to be my child, you can have a child with me instead." Madam Bagworm Moth's cheeks flushed red, her plump body rippling in wave after wave. Aroused by the Joy Cultivator blood, she had fallen for Daboyins. "The two of us... might not be quite suited for each other." Daboyins stepped onto his spider silk, quickening his retreat.