In late autumn, Pillow City was steeped in deep drowsiness. Li Banfeng and Old Train had eaten elsewhere first, and once thoroughly sated with food and wine, they entered the city.
The people of Pillow City slept from the Beginning of Summer straight through to the Beginning of Spring of the following year. Although Li Banfeng's level had risen, he still felt a touch of drowsiness upon entering the city.
Old Train disliked Pillow City immensely. "Tell me, how could the people here be so utterly worthless? A person only gets so much time in a lifetime, and they sleep through every bit of it!"
"Sleeping through it isn't necessarily a bad thing; one can live just as well in dreams." Seeing a man asleep on his stomach on the ground, Li Banfeng walked over and helped him onto a nearby reclining chair.
"I've heard that the people of Pillow City dream continuously—today's dream connects to yesterday's, and this year's dream connects to last year's. Look at it the other way around, and it's really no different from us."
"How could there be no difference? They won't ever set foot outside this tiny place their whole lives." Grandpa Train spotted a clock shop by the street, its grandfather clocks and desk clocks of all sizes stopped still.
Old Train stepped inside, wound the clocks, and set their time. "Tell me, what use do the people here have for clocks? They simply—"
"Brother, do you sense danger?"
Old Train froze. Moving to the shop's backyard, he jumped onto the courtyard wall and gazed into the distance.
After looking for a moment, Old Train hopped down and looked Li Banfeng up and down. "What logic is this? Granted, my soul is incomplete, and I haven't practiced the art of Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Calamity much, but there's no way I should be worse at it than you."
Li Banfeng replied modestly, "Cultivation relies on innate talent. Having too many years under one's belt doesn't necessarily make one useful!"
There was indeed danger in Pillow City, but it lay several streets away from the clock shop. If not for Li Banfeng's warning, Old Train truly would not have noticed it.
The danger originated in a large mansion. The mansion's master was named Ye Haolong, who once nearly caused a disaster because he wasn't well-behaved in his sleep.
At this moment, he was trembling all over—not from terror, but from fury.
A slightly balding man stood before him, clad in a greenish-gray cloth robe and rolling a pair of walnuts in his hand, smiling at Ye Haolong.
Pointing a shaking finger at Zhang Gunli, Ye Haolong shouted, "What kind of hero launches a sneak attack? If you have the guts, fight me fair and square!"
Zhang Gunli chuckled. "All right. Let's fight fair and square right now. Come at me!"
Ye Haolong trembled even more violently. "I'm afflicted by your technique! How can you talk about fair and square?"
Zhang Gunli rolled the walnuts in his hand twice. "I won't use any techniques. Feel free to make your move."
Ye Haolong shivered and was about to charge forward when Zhao Lanmeng suddenly burst out of the house and shoved him aside.
"Get out of here!" Covered in wounds from head to toe, Zhao Lanmeng planted himself in front of Zhang Gunli.
Zhang Gunli looked at the two of them. "How about this? The two of you come at me together. Let me see which of you dies by my hand first. I'll take only one life today, and whichever one survives, I'll let walk away!"
Ye Haolong yelled, "Keep your word!"
Zhang Gunli replied, "A gentleman's word is as swift as a whipped steed!"
"Let Master Zhao go, and I'll fight you to the death!" Ye Haolong tried to charge, but Zhao Lanmeng kicked him away.
"Get out of here! He's no gentleman!" Zhao Lanmeng was in no mood to explain to Ye Haolong. He knew Zhang Gunli had come specifically for him; even if Zhang Gunli killed Ye Haolong, there was no way he would spare Zhao Lanmeng.
Zhang Gunli sighed. "Zhao Lanmeng, you aren't just lazy, you're cheap. I offered you a way out, but you won't take it yourself. What use is keeping this useless wretch around? Wouldn't it be fine and dandy to let him die in your place, and then you can collect his corpse?"
Zhao Lanmeng sneered, "I don't think that sounds so fine. How about this instead: you die in my place, and he collects your corpse. What do you think?"
"Refusing the courtesy I gave you, are you?" Zhang Gunli's pupils contracted, murder flashing across his face. "Come on then. I'll let you have the first move once more. Let's see how you plan to kill me!"
"Fine!"
Smack!
Li Banfeng called out a "Fine!" and planted a kick square in Zhang Gunli's face.
Caught completely off guard, Zhang Gunli had half his face kicked crooked, his neck nearly snapped. He spun half a circle on the spot, staggering and stumbling, barely staying on his feet.
Clutching his face, he stared at Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng raised his foot and said, "Give me another free shot, and see how I kill you."
Zhang Gunli scrutinized Li Banfeng's attire—black suit, black shirt, wide-brimmed fedora, blazing fast, and a Travel cultivator. He quickly deduced his identity. "You're Li Qi? It seems there's no bad blood between us!"
Li Banfeng retorted, "Oh, there is. You owe me money and haven't paid it back!"
Zhang Gunli froze. That was a line he used all the time. Anyone who owed him money and failed to repay had never escaped his clutches.
How had those words come out of Li Qi's mouth?
People said Li Qi had lost his mind; it seemed the kid was truly off his rocker.
Zhang Gunli truly didn't take Li Qi seriously. Regardless of how famous Li Qi was, to Zhang Gunli, he was merely a junior.
However, Li Qi's status was special: he was also Prince Pingyuan of the Shang State.
Zhang Gunli had thrown his lot in with the Shang State, so purely in terms of rank, he shouldn't offend someone like Li Qi.
Yet he also knew where Li Qi stood. He was a prince of the Shang State in name, but in truth, he opposed the Shang State at every turn. If Zhang Gunli could kill Li Qi on the spot, the Shang State wouldn't blame him.
On the other hand, if he let Li Qi get away, things would get troublesome should anyone hold him accountable later.
With Zhao Lanmeng and Ye Haolong before him, if Li Qi were added to the mix, could Zhang Gunli finish them all off?
Looking at Zhao Lanmeng's condition, Zhang Gunli felt it wasn't much of a problem. Taking that surprise hit from Li Qi had caught him off guard, but his primary opponent remained Zhao Lanmeng.
Zhao Lanmeng was already heavily wounded. Take him out first, then take out Li Qi; Ye Haolong didn't even count as an opponent, and then the matter would be settled.
Wiping the blood from his face, Zhang Gunli said to Li Qi, "You say I owe you money. First tell me how much. Once we settle the account, I'll pay you back with principal and interest!"
With a clash of the two walnuts in his hand, Zhang Gunli suddenly snapped his gaze to Zhao Lanmeng. He was preparing to unleash a killing move.
Zhao Lanmeng braced himself for a desperate struggle, only to see Zhang Gunli's face contort viciously before the man launched straight into the air and crashed headfirst into the ground.
What kind of move was that?
Zhao Lanmeng noticed the footprint on Zhang Gunli's back and realized the man had been kicked again.
Who kicked him?
Zhang Gunli was wondering the exact same thing.
Another expert had arrived. Could he handle this?
It looked like today would be a vicious battle!
Gritting his teeth, Zhang Gunli scrambled to his feet.
He looked back over his shoulder, his knees went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground once more.
Standing behind him was Old Train.
Ye Haolong didn't recognize Old Train and asked Zhao Lanmeng, "Who is this old man?"
Smack!
Zhao Lanmeng slapped Ye Haolong across the face. "Don't ask!"
Old Train walked up to Zhang Gunli. "You owe my brother money and haven't paid it back, is that right?"
Propping himself up with his hands, Zhang Gunli scuttled backward.
Old Train asked again, "Do you intend to pay it back or not?"
Zhang Gunli nodded repeatedly. "I will! I will!"
"How much will you pay?"
"Whatever amount you say!"
"Then pay with your life!"
Just as Old Train raised a hand, Li Banfeng spoke up: "Brother, since you've run into an old friend, catch up first. Lao Zhang and I will settle our business privately between the two of us."
Li Banfeng looked toward Ye Haolong's mansion.
Zhao Lanmeng had opened two doors and was an established spirit of the land in a primary territory. This was Pillow City, where he held an absolute geographical advantage. No matter how poorly he fought, he shouldn't have been beaten into such a miserable state by Zhang Gunli.
Zhang Gunli had used tricks, and those tricks were hidden inside Ye Haolong's mansion. If it was spiritual artifacts, treasures, mechanisms, or traps, they would be manageable, but if there were other helpers, things would get tricky.
Grandpa Train naturally understood the stakes, but he wasn't certain whether Li Qi could beat Zhang Gunli.
"Old Seven, can you handle him?"
Li Banfeng stared at Zhang Gunli and replied, "Paying what one owes is a law of heaven and earth. We have reason on our side, so what should we fear from him?"
"Fine, then I'll catch up with my old friend." Old Train led Zhao Lanmeng and Ye Haolong into the mansion, leaving only Li Banfeng and Zhang Gunli outside.
Zhang Gunli looked at Li Banfeng, his eyes burning with murderous intent.
Yet he didn't dare prolong the fight. Worried that Old Train might come back out at any moment, he had only a single thought: escape as quickly as possible.
With a clash of the two walnuts, a rain of silver dollars poured down.
This was Zhang Gunli's most vicious technique: Presenting Treasures of Coin. Touching his silver dollars was tantamount to incurring a debt to him, after which loan cultivator techniques would follow in rapid succession, suppressing the opponent until they couldn't strike back.
The silver dollars were dense and blisteringly fast. Anyone fighting Zhang Gunli for the first time without prior preparation would inevitably fall victim to this move.
Li Banfeng had never crossed hands with Zhang Gunli before, so Zhang Gunli felt confident this strike would land.
To his shock, Li Banfeng didn't fall for it at all. The instant the silver dollars left his hands, Li Banfeng vanished into thin air.
Zhang Gunli couldn't comprehend it. How could Li Qi move so fast? He was actually prepared?
Of course Li Banfeng was prepared. He had observed Zhang Gunli's battle with Du Wenming and Ai Yeqing. Back then, Li Banfeng hadn't dared show his face and could only hide in a tree, but circumstances were completely different now.
Zhang Gunli hastily recalled his silver dollars. He needed to focus his senses on tracking Li Banfeng's movements; otherwise, he could easily fall prey to Viewing Flowers from Horseback.
Li Banfeng released Banfeng Two. While Zhang Gunli was still pondering the origins of this shadow, he saw the two of them sprint off in opposite directions.
Could this shadow use Viewing Flowers from Horseback too?
Zhang Gunli couldn't lock onto both Li Banfeng and Banfeng Two at once.
At the critical juncture, Zhang Gunli clicked his walnuts together, and more than a hundred abacuses whistled forth, wrapping around his body in a tight, impenetrable sphere.
This was the proper way to counter Viewing Flowers from Horseback: if I can't lock onto you, don't think you can lock onto me either. As long as line of sight was blocked, Viewing Flowers from Horseback could not take effect.
Zhang Gunli unleashed the silver dollars again, sending them in pursuit of Li Banfeng's true body.
Yet the moment the coins flew out, Zhang Gunli felt a sharp pang of pain in his palm.
His palm had been slashed open by a silver dollar.
This silver dollar wasn't his!
This coin belonged to Li Banfeng, reforged from Du Wenming's pair of sabers and usually kept inside his glove.
When Zhang Gunli cast and recalled his silver dollars earlier, the glove had pulled a trick in the midst of it, slipping in an extra coin for Zhang Gunli to retrieve.
The injury wasn't severe, but Zhang Gunli's focus slipped.
Closing in, Li Banfeng flicked a drop of blood, then used Trampling Across Ten Thousand Rivers to scatter the silver dollars swarming around him.
Zhang Gunli hastily fixed his gaze on Li Banfeng, still guarding against Viewing Flowers from Horseback, when a burst of agonizing pain shot up from beneath his feet.
Li Banfeng's Boundary had pierced right through underfoot.
Under Li Banfeng's control, a Boundary of the fourth layer above the clouds could pass entirely unnoticed by an enemy, yet inflict devastating wounds.
Wounded and flustered, Zhang Gunli scooped up a silver dollar to strike back.
That silver dollar severed Zhang Gunli's index finger cleanly and flew right back into Li Banfeng's hand.
It was Li Banfeng's silver dollar again! Why did he keep picking up this exact coin?
He had plenty of treasures held within those two walnuts—why did he have to rely on silver dollars?
Zhang Gunli realized something was wrong with him. Li Qi wasn't purely a Travel cultivator; the man could wield strange Boundaries and an assortment of inexplicable techniques.
Clicking his walnuts together, over a hundred abacuses blocked Li Banfeng.
Zhang Gunli tried to flee, but a swarm of shadows blocked his escape path ahead.
He tried to break through with his magical treasures, but before the walnuts could meet, Li Banfeng used Sever the Path to Forge a Way to part the abacuses and charged right up to him.
Hard-pressed on all fronts, Zhang Gunli put everything he had into fending off Li Banfeng's true body. Banfeng Three slashed off Zhang Gunli's ear with a sickle, and Banfeng Chou hooked Zhang Gunli's hamstring with a clock pendulum. Zhang Gunli tried to turn his walnuts again, but the pair trembled uncontrollably, refusing to click together no matter what.
Mad cultivator technique: Mad and Overbearing.
The two walnuts had gone mad.
The glove darted past, and the walnuts were gone.
Banfeng Two swung his Tang dao, bringing it down cleanly. Zhang Gunli's right hand dropped from the wrist.
"I give! I yield!" Zhang Gunli wailed. "I surrender! Seventh Master, I've never offended you, never fought you, and never collected a debt from you! There has never been bad blood between us! I am a senior after all, with some reputation in Puluo Province, yet you've beaten me to this state today. I admit defeat, I cower, I'll kowtow and bow to you—I only beg you to spare my life! I attacked Zhao Lanmeng because he owes me money. My money didn't blow in on the wind; I saved it through years of bloodshed. I don't want this debt anymore! I'll burn the promissory note right in front of you! Seventh Master, whatever else you want, just say the word—only spare my life!"
Li Banfeng's heart softened.
What Zhang Gunli said made sense.
The shadows halted one after another. Zhang Gunli slowly got to his feet, burned the note before Li Banfeng's eyes, kowtowed once more to Li Banfeng, and limped away.
He had only made it a dozen meters when Li Banfeng suddenly asked, "Was that Speaking of Woes and Sorrows just now? Where did you learn a Fool cultivator technique?"
Hearing this, Zhang Gunli turned to bolt, but Li Banfeng seized him from behind.
"When the City of Fools was wiped out back then, did you have a hand in it too?"
Zhang Gunli shouted, "No! Sun Tiecheng and I grew up together—there's no way I would touch the City of Fools! That was all Shan Chengjun's doing! It has nothing to do with me!"
"You grew up together, which means you knew the layout of the City of Fools, didn't you?"
Zhang Gunli vehemently denied it, his left hand suddenly clamping around Li Banfeng's wrist.
Li Banfeng started, feeling a sudden chill at his wrist, followed by waves of warmth.
This was a combination technique. Inside Zhang Gunli's left hand lay a silver dollar pressed against Li Banfeng's wrist—the loan cultivator technique Presenting Treasures of Coin, which established that Li Banfeng now owed him money.
Having succeeded with Presenting Treasures of Coin, Zhang Gunli immediately activated another loan cultivator technique, Cracking Bones to Suck the Marrow, beginning to drain Li Banfeng's blood.
Normally, Li Banfeng would have been guarded, but the lingering effects of Speaking of Woes and Sorrows were potent, causing Li Banfeng to slip into a momentary lapse.
Zhang Gunli wanted to draw a bit more blood, both to weaken Li Qi and to heal his own wounds as quickly as possible.
Just one more gulp and he should be able to run.
Just one more gulp and he'd have a chance to strike back.
Just one more gulp and he could cast quite a few more techniques.
Zhang Gunli kept draining blood through his left hand, entirely unaware that his left hand had already been severed, blood spilling all over the ground.
Banfeng Three sighed, "Has he lost his mind? All he knows is sucking blood."
Banfeng Two chuckled, "Lao Jia is mad, so his blood is bound to be mad too. Ordinary people go mad just touching Lao Jia, yet he dared to drink Lao Jia's blood."
Li Banfeng hoisted Zhang Gunli, turned to open the companion dwelling, and threw him inside.
Recalling his Boundaries and shadows, Li Banfeng entered Ye Haolong's mansion.
Inside the courtyard lay two corpses: one a mind cultivator and the other a scholar cultivator, both having cultivation beyond above the clouds.
In the spring, Ye Haolong had managed his business poorly and lost a great deal. Short on cash and desperately needing funds to keep things afloat, he had been visited secretly by these two men. They woke Ye Haolong, posed as friends introduced by Zhao Lanmeng, and came specifically to lend him money.
By rights, having lived to his age and attained cultivation above the clouds, Ye Haolong should have seen through it. If you want to borrow money, you have to beg others; what sense did it make for someone to come knocking unbidden just to hand you cash?
Yet with the scholar cultivator speaking with a silver tongue and the mind cultivator subtly swaying his thoughts, Ye Haolong fell for it. He took the money and signed the note, and in the blink of an eye, Zhang Gunli arrived.
Once Zhang Gunli revealed the interest amount, Ye Haolong was dumbfounded on the spot. Even if he paid with his old life, he couldn't clear the debt.
He truly intended to stake his life and fought Zhang Gunli, but in a single exchange, Zhang Gunli nearly claimed his life.
To save Ye Haolong, Zhao Lanmeng fought bitterly against the three of them and was beaten half to death. Tears streaming down his aged face, Ye Haolong apologized to Zhao Lanmeng, "Master Zhao, I've wronged you!"
"Get lost!" Zhao Lanmeng couldn't be bothered to say more. Ye Haolong turned to leave, but Old Train stopped him.
"Hold on a moment. Zhang Gunli brought two helpers to Pillow City just for you?"
Ye Haolong ground his teeth in rage. "That moneylender's interest is terrifyingly high. They just wanted to seize my estate!"
Li Banfeng smiled.
What little wealth Ye Haolong had wouldn't even count as a single strand of hair to Zhang Gunli.
Besides, if they really wanted to deal with Ye Haolong, those three wouldn't need to go to such elaborate lengths. Any one of them could have killed Ye Haolong before he even knew how he died.
"Let him go." Zhao Lanmeng knew clear as day that the three of them had come for him.
Old Train let Ye Haolong go, and the old man, overcome with shame, scampered into a side room to sleep.
Li Banfeng asked Zhao Lanmeng, "When did you offend Zhang Gunli?"
"Haven't had time to think about it yet."
Such was Zhao Lanmeng's disposition: where thinking wasn't strictly necessary, he never troubled himself.
"You have to think about it," Old Train said, turning the matter over carefully. "What good would killing you do Zhang Gunli? With his cultivation, killing a spirit of the land in primary territory is practically offering his head to the peddler on a platter."
Zhao Lanmeng shook his head; he truly didn't understand the reason behind it.
Old Train looked at Li Banfeng. "Brother, help me clean up these two corpses. They're an eyesore."
"Sure thing. While I'm at it, I'll take a walk through the city to see if Zhang Gunli has any other accomplices." Li Banfeng understood in his heart that Old Train was deliberately hinting for him to deliver the two corpses to the Little Train.
Furthermore, Old Train knew well that they wouldn't get anything out of Zhao Lanmeng; perhaps they could pry some intel from Zhang Gunli instead.
Li Banfeng hauled the two corpses away.
Zhao Lanmeng looked at Old Train. "I've made a fool of myself in front of you."
Old Train shook his head. "I don't like the sound of that. How could this rotten mess of yours be laughable? You could tell it in a teahouse all day and not make a single soul laugh."
Zhao Lanmeng bowed his head. "How did you get out?"
"Old Seven ran off to the Inner States and risked his life to break me out."
"I owe you a favor, and I must repay it."
Old Train nodded. "Now that, I like to hear. Half of my soul is still trapped in Dream-Tethering Tower and can't get out. Can you help me get it back?"
"Dream-Tethering Tower!" Zhao Lanmeng's eyebrows shot up, his eyes widening. "Meng Qian and I have fought for top rank for decades! Though I'm wounded today, to repay your kindness, I will fight her to the death no matter what!"
Old Train said, "There's no rush to do it today. Do you have medicine? Treat your injuries first."
"No!" Zhao Lanmeng sprang up. "I'm an impatient man! We can't delay—we're going to Dream-Tethering Tower right now!"
Since when had Zhao Lanmeng ever been impatient?
Before the matter could even be sorted out, Zhao Lanmeng had already made the bed and pulled back the quilt. "Come on, sleep!"
Old Train flushed. "We're not sleeping under the same quilt, are we?"
Zhao Lanmeng slipped under the quilt first. "I'm the one who should be disgusted by you. If you don't like it, sleep on the floor!"
Old Train lay down on the floor. Influenced by the properties of Pillow City, Old Train drifted into dreamland.
In the dream, Old Train fell into a bottomless pit, scrambling upward against the slick, slimy cavern walls.
Every time he reached the mouth of the pit, he slid back down. After climbing dozens of times, Old Train shouted up at Zhao Lanmeng standing at the edge, "Are you just watching the show? Pull me up!"
Zhao Lanmeng hauled Old Train out of the pit. "So all these years, this is what you've been doing!"
"What's wrong with this? You looking down on me? This is the Inner States' furnace! If it were you in there, you would've been melted to dross long ago!"
"Let's go. To Dream-Tethering Tower."
Zhao Lanmeng guided Old Train through the dreamscape. After traveling for a long time, Zhao Lanmeng couldn't walk any further.
Old Train's dreamscape was filled with bottomless pits, one cavern nestled within another.
"Weren't you trapped in the Inner States? Are the Inner States just full of pits?"
Old Train was troubled by this as well. "All these years, all I ever thought about was crawling out of that furnace. It's become an inner demon."
Zhao Lanmeng puffed out his chest. "I shall deliver you from this sea of suffering!"
He hefted a rock from inside the pit and smashed it hard against the rock wall.
The rock wall suddenly collapsed, revealing to Old Train the sight of the Ninefold City.
"What a fine stone! Where did you get that rock?"
"Never mind the stone, find Dream-Tethering Tower quickly."
"Dream-Tethering Tower isn't in the Ninefold City; it's in the Sevenfold City."
The two sprinted along, but before they could even exit the Ninefold City, Zhao Lanmeng stopped in his tracks again. "This Ninefold City is way too huge."
Old Train said, "Haven't you been to Chaoge before?"
"Never went this deep in."
Helpless, Old Train had no choice but to carry Zhao Lanmeng on his back and run. Passing through the gates of the Ninefold City, there was still the Eightfold City—a vast sea, even larger than the Ninefold City.
Old Train carried Zhao Lanmeng for two steps before Zhao Lanmeng cast a technique, skipping straight over the Eightfold City and landing directly in the Sevenfold City.
"Why didn't you skip the Ninefold City earlier too?"
Zhao Lanmeng yawned. "I was sleepy. Just took a nap."
Old Train dumped Zhao Lanmeng onto the ground and carefully examined the surrounding pavilions and towers.
The Sevenfold City contained seven hundred and seventy-seven towers. If they took a wrong turn, getting back out would be exceedingly difficult.
While Old Train was still trying to identify Dream-Tethering Tower's location, Zhao Lanmeng lay on the ground and said, "Head west first. I smell the scent of dreams."
The two walked two streets west, and Zhao Lanmeng lay on the ground for a while longer. "Now south."
After walking south past two pavilions, Zhao Lanmeng pointed to a tower and said, "Right here!"
He was about to lie down on the ground again, but Old Train hauled him up.
"We're already here, so stop lying around! Can we get in?"
Zhao Lanmeng circled the tower, and at its northeast corner, pulled out a few bricks.
These bricks were loose, and behind them was a hole that appeared to be a hidden entrance.
Old Train praised, "Sharp eyes! Even with my cultivation as an artisan cultivator, I couldn't tell there was a hidden entrance here."
"Of course you couldn't!" Zhao Lanmeng said. "I dug this entrance myself. Took me years."
Old Train asked, "You went all the way to the Inner States to dig it?"
Zhao Lanmeng shook his head. "I dug it in my dream."
Chapter 743