Li Banfeng arrived at the port of Xiaodu aboard Tianyi City.
Pineapple sensed something amiss. "Lord Seven, there are a few people on the docks with unusual backgrounds. We can't come ashore rashly."
Through Tianyi City's eyes, Ba Suan spotted their positions. "Their layout is quite meticulous—east, west, south, and north. Not a single passing boat can escape their sight. One moment they're helping unload cargo, the next they're guiding passengers. They look like laborers looking for odd jobs on the docks, but they're all planted spies."
Tianyi City circled around Xiaodu and found no shortage of hidden agents.
One couldn't blame Tie Baisheng and the others for being remiss in defense. Every day, over a hundred serfs fled to Xiaodu through various channels, making a chaotic mix of dragons and snakes inevitable.
In a stretch of sea ten li away from Xiaodu, Li Banfeng picked a spot clear of any vessels, left Tianyi City, and flew toward Xiaodu.
Pineapple piloted Tianyi City behind him. All went smoothly at first, but as Li Banfeng flew past the docks and passed over the factories, a worker toiling in a shipyard seemed to catch sight of his figure.
The worker tilted his head back, gazing up at the sky for quite a while.
Pineapple punched his palm. "Lord Seven was too careless!"
Once Ba Suan learned the details, he didn't think Li Banfeng had been careless at all. "He slipped past so many hidden spies at the port. How could he slip up and leave a trace right over the factories? I reckon Lord Seven did it on purpose."
Pineapple thought it over. "He intentionally wanted people to know his whereabouts?"
Ba Suan fetched a blank sheet of paper, sketched a flowchart, and ran a probability calculation. "Qiao Yi has been too quiet lately. I suspect Lord Seven wants to give him something to occupy his hands."
Pineapple pondered. "Could he make an underhanded move against Lord Seven?"
"Very likely!" Ba Suan arrived at his result. "From a probability standpoint, there's an eighty percent chance."
Pineapple stared at the flowchart for a long time. "Whose country's algorithm is this? How come I've never seen it before?"
Ba Suan took the sheet and explained it in detail. "We stayed on Little Train for too long, and some things have fallen behind the times. I learned this from a mathematics book from the Outer States—"
***
Li Banfeng arrived in the imperial city. Sunflowers stood heavy with god statues. He harvested them, placed one atop his head, and absorbed the human vitality within.
In truth, he could have carried the vitality away to absorb it slowly in a safer place.
Yet at this moment, he simply wanted to stay in Xiaodu to see whether Minister Qiao would come visit him.
Since he had time to kill anyway, Li Banfeng pulled out *Inquiring of Post Stations Amid Floating Clouds* and read while gathering vitality.
"Li Qi went to Xiaodu again?" Qiao Yi's brows knit tight. He flung his writing brush onto the desk, splattering black ink across the official document he had just reviewed.
Nian Shangyou felt a twinge of worry. Qiao Yi normally cared about paperwork above all else; now that he had lost his temper so badly, Nian Shangyou would certainly have to recopy them.
With so many papers stained by ink, how long would he be stuck copying?
Qiao Yi glowered at Nian Shangyou. "How many memorials concerning Xiaodu have come in this month?"
Nian Shangyou tallied them up. "Over eighty."
This was no exaggeration. Serfs from every corner were fleeing to Xiaodu, inflicting losses upon nearly every noble house. The Cabinet received six or seven memorials regarding Xiaodu each day; over half a month, that truly amounted to more than eighty.
The nobles detested Xiaodu, and detested Prince Pingyuan even more. In another month, the Bandit-Subduing Battalion would set out on their expedition. Qiao Yi did not wish to stir up trouble, yet Li Qi had chosen this exact moment to visit Xiaodu—it was like driving a nail into his eye.
Qiao Yi said, "If we were the only ones who knew this news, that would be one thing. What I fear is that word gets out."
Nian Shangyou said, "This is a secret letter sent from Xiaocheng. Before being presented to you, no one had seen it."
Qiao Yi shook his head. "I worry Li Qi deliberately wants the news to spread. Right now is a critical juncture; the last thing we need is him making trouble."
After a prolonged silence, Nian Shangyou looked at Qiao Yi. "My Lord, why don't we simply keep him in Xiaodu for good?"
Qiao Yi picked up the writing brush and wiped its shaft. "You mean... kill him?"
Nian Shangyou nodded slightly. "The army is about to campaign against Puluo Province. Having one less formidable enemy can only do good. Slaying Li Qi would not only settle people's minds but also bolster morale. It truly achieves multiple goals at once."
Having said this, Nian Shangyou studied Qiao Yi's expression intently, feeling his proposal ought to align with Qiao Yi's own thoughts.
Qiao Yi stroked down from the shaft to the brush tip. Ink ran onto his fingers, staining his palm jet-black.
***
Li Banfeng sat in the imperial city, engrossed in *Inquiring of Post Stations Amid Floating Clouds*. Inside was an amusing tale:
*"I planned to go see what lay on the other side of the great mountain. Everyone said there was a village over there, filled with plenty of pretty maidens. Those girls were beautiful and kindhearted; if one took a fancy to me, maybe she'd be willing to become my wife. So I walked in the mountains for days on end, but I never expected the mountain to be so vast. It seems I got lost. It seems I circled through this patch of woods several times. Crossing a mountain is far too hard—could someone lend me a hand?"*
The author was none other than the founder of the Travel Cultivators! A patriarch of the Travel Cultivators had actually gotten lost in the mountains and wandered in circles through the woods!
Li Banfeng chuckled. "If someone like that can be a founder, it's only a matter of time before I establish my own pathway!"
*Whoosh—*
The great hall destroyed by the Fire Cage Colt had never been rebuilt. A chilly wind swept across the ruins, making Li Banfeng shiver.
*It's coming!*
*Qiao Yi, you couldn't hold back after all.*
***
Nian Shangyou had assembled a squad of assassins, waiting only for Qiao Yi's order.
Qiao Yi rubbed the brush in his hands, pulling at the bristles until the tip was nearly bald, yet the order was never given.
Nian Shangyou dared not rush him and could only wait by his side. After waiting for over two hours, Qiao Yi suddenly asked, "Are you a hundred percent certain we can kill Li Qi?"
The question stumped Nian Shangyou. "Lord, in this world, nothing can be promised with absolute certainty. Slaying Li Qi is no easy task. You have crossed paths with him so many times; as for how great our chances of victory are, your subordinate truly cannot say."
Qiao Yi set the brush aside and gazed quietly at Nian Shangyou.
Seeing the mood turn foul, Nian Shangyou hastened to add, "Lord, even if the attempt fails, there is no harm done. Even if we merely wound him, first it deters Li Qi, second it deters the tycoons of Xiaocheng, and third it provides an answer to all parties. There are a hundred benefits and not a single drawback."
"There is harm—immense harm!" Qiao Yi walked over to a basin and washed the ink from his hands. "Regardless of whether we can kill Li Qi, a storm will erupt in Puluo Province. When everyone mobilizes for war, it will work against our grand army."
After making so many preparations, Qiao Yi now claimed he did not want to cause a stir. Nian Shangyou couldn't resist pressing, "Lord, if Li Qi stays in Xiaodu and refuses to leave, I fear a storm will rise in our Great Shang as well."
Qiao Yi dried his hands and rearranged the documents. "A storm in Great Shang, we can find a way to quell. A storm in Puluo Province, no one can quell. If they truly raise hell, not even the peddler could calm it."
Thinking it over carefully, Nian Shangyou realized that was indeed the case.
Qiao Yi handed the documents to Nian Shangyou. "Instruct the spies and scouts to keep a close eye on Xiaocheng's movements, but maintain strict secrecy. Forward the approved documents to their respective ministries, and recopy the ink-stained ones."
***
Li Banfeng absorbed his fill of human vitality in the imperial city, and the sense of danger he had originally detected actually vanished.
*Qiao Yi isn't making a move?*
If Qiao Yi wasn't going to act, Li Banfeng couldn't wait around forever.
He needed to head back and advance: first raise his Dwelling Cultivator pathway to tier 5, then master the Profound Light Evil-Exorcising technique. Once he arrived in Dingye City, sweeping the area with heavenly light would certainly prove immensely useful.
His body could no longer store any surplus human vitality, yet more than half of the statues remained.
This was normal. When advancing from tier 3 to tier 4 above the clouds, Madam had once explained that a tier 3 physique above the clouds could not contain enough human vitality to advance to tier 4; thus, ascending to tier 4 was theoretically impossible without using Cloud Gate techniques to store a portion of the vitality beforehand. The step from tier 4 to tier 5 was bound to be similar.
Li Banfeng returned to Hulu Village, handed the statues to Banfeng Zi along with the key, and told him to wait inside a house on the first floor.
This house was quite unique, with cream-colored plaster walls painted with emerald grapevine motifs, an oak door trimmed in gold, and a round glass window set into the door.
Pushing the door open revealed gleaming, pristine wood-toned floors, a small bed hung with white gauze curtains, a writing desk beside the bed, and a dressing table.
The room was so immaculate that Banfeng Zi felt a bit shy about stepping inside.
From within came a little girl's voice: "Big Brother, come in!"
Banfeng Zi cautiously entered the room and stood motionless by the wall near the doorway.
"Big Brother, sit over here." An invisible force nudged a chair before him.
Banfeng Zi shook his head. "I am covered in grime, so I shall refrain from sitting."
The little girl seemed not to understand. "What's 'covered in grime'?"
Banfeng Zi explained, "It means covered in dust; it would dirty the chair."
The little girl giggled. "It doesn't matter. An elder sister arrived upstairs who's very diligent. If the room gets dirty, we'll just have her clean it."
"Ptui!" A'yu spat from upstairs. "That little wench needs some discipline! In the future, every one of these chores will be dumped on her—"
"Sister! I'm ready!"
"Ready for what?!" A'yu jumped in fright and swiftly hoisted the Heavenly Maiden onto her back.
Her ears hadn't fully recovered, so she hadn't noticed Li Banfeng suddenly appearing inside the second-floor wooden house.
Li Banfeng said, "The human vitality is about enough. I can advance to tier 5."
A'yu eyed Li Banfeng up and down. "It shouldn't be enough. If you held enough human vitality to advance to tier 5, I doubt you'd be standing there talking."
Li Banfeng smiled. "I stored some of the human vitality downstairs. When the advancement reaches the right moment, it won't be too late to bring it up and use it."
"You certainly planned thoroughly." A'yu peered down through the cracks in the floorboards.
"What do you think you're doing?!" the little girl downstairs suddenly shouted, and A'yu hurriedly set the Heavenly Maiden back down.
This was a rule the dwelling had laid down for A'yu: for routine cleaning, she could go into any house she liked, but the Heavenly Maiden could not accompany her and had to stay in this wooden house.
A'yu told Li Banfeng, "To advance to tier 5 above the clouds, by standard practice you should leave half your body on the clouds to store the vitality for you, then piece your body back together when you reach the crux of advancement."
Li Banfeng recalled his advancement to tier 4 above the clouds, which had merely involved taking a few snips from scissors. "Does my body really have to be taken apart?"
A'yu smiled. "No need to be afraid. Splitting in two above the clouds won't cause serious damage to your body. Everyone else who advanced walked this exact path."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I didn't walk that path, and I'm not splitting!"
A'yu sighed. "Fine then. Since you have other means, I won't force you. But mark my words: throughout the advancement, the human vitality must keep up. If you get stuck halfway and run out of vitality, your life will be at risk."
Li Banfeng thought for a moment. "My body is full of vitality right now. If I add double that amount, it should be enough, right?"
A'yu nodded. "That'll certainly be enough!"
"Then let's do it!" Li Banfeng pulled out a pair of scissors and handed them to A'yu.
A'yu looked at the scissors. "What's this for?"
Li Banfeng froze. "You don't use these?"
"What would I use these for?" A'yu set the scissors aside. "Lie down on the bed first."
Li Banfeng felt something wasn't right. "Sister, maybe I should advance another day."
Saying "another day" was just an excuse; in truth, he wanted to find another place to advance.
A'yu sighed. "It seems you don't trust me. Seeing you hold scissors just now reminded me of some Garment Cultivator methods. That pathway's advancement techniques are far too brutal, requiring flesh to be cut open. If you use such methods to reach tier 5 above the clouds, even if you succeed, your physical frame will be terribly weak. Even if A'yi takes you to Dingye City, you won't be able to do anything about the Bandit-Subduing Battalion."
These words weren't wrong.
Li Banfeng asked A'yu, "If I advance with you, how long until I recover?"
A'yu smiled. "After advancing, one hour is plenty."
Li Banfeng repeated the sentence in his mind several times and sensed no danger.
He lay flat on the bed. A'yu touched her fingertip to his forehead, sliding down bit by bit from between his brows to his collarbone.
When she reached his chest, A'yu glanced around.
Banfeng Chou and Banfeng Yin, leading a pack of Earthly Branch shadows, stood in the center of the room.
The glove rested by the pillow, the Tang dao stood planted by the bedside, Mengde hung on the wall, the Judge's Brush lay beside Li Banfeng on the bed, and the projector floated in midair, its lens illuminated.
Upstairs and downstairs, neighbors all around, including the old man in the wooden house—every one of them was watching A'yu.
"What's the meaning of this?" A'yu said, displeased. "Brother, do you trust your sister or not?"
Li Banfeng said with a solemn face, "How could I not trust you? This is an advancement to tier 5 above the clouds—such a rare spectacle surely calls for everyone to come out and broaden their horizons."
"Fine, let them watch." A'yu poked Li Banfeng's chest with a finger.
Li Banfeng felt no pain.
A'yu then lightly pinched his wrist.
Li Banfeng felt a slight ache and soreness, but nothing uncomfortable.
A'yu kneaded and massaged various parts of his body back and forth, explaining from time to time, "The Scry Cultivator method of advancement lies in finding the vital points of the physique and guiding the human vitality through the body in proper order. It's vastly gentler than the Garment Cultivators' method of shearing open flesh."
Two hours later, A'yu rubbed Li Banfeng's knees. "Brother, if it hurts, tell me; there's no need to endure it. Ninety percent of the human vitality has been guided through. You need to replenish another twenty percent to keep the vitality continuous."
Before her voice had even faded, the Li Banfeng on the bed suddenly turned pitch-black.
A'yu gave a start and pinched Banfeng Zi's cheek. "Where did Li Qi go?"
Lying on the bed, Banfeng Zi said, "He will return shortly."
Li Banfeng had used the Heavenly Union technique to swap places with Banfeng Zi and gone downstairs to absorb the human vitality.
A'yu's methods were truly gentle; Li Banfeng hadn't felt any discomfort in his body. Having absorbed twenty percent more vitality, he immediately swapped back onto the bed.
A'yu praised, "Brother, you've truly mastered Body and Shadow Comforting Each Other."
Li Banfeng didn't stand on ceremony either. "Sister, I learn techniques very fast. Teach me the new technique in a moment, and I'll master it in the blink of an eye."
"No rush. Let's finish advancing first. Brother, roll over."
***
Zhao Xiaowan wore a black trench coat, her long hair tied back, standing before the lockers of the campus supermarket.
Passersby, whether young or old, men or women, couldn't help stealing an extra glance as they passed by her—this woman was simply breathtaking.
Zhao Xiaowan whistled, yet the sound seemed to come from afar, diverting the pedestrians' attention.
After observing around the lockers for a good while, Zhao Xiaowan figured out the pattern. "Old Master, this isn't just an artisan technique. We need Second Room to come take a look."
"No hurry with this. Knowing the general idea is enough. We'll have Second Room study it another day. It's about time for us to head to Hulu Village; I'm a bit worried about Old Seven."
Zhao Xiaowan had studied Li Banfeng's jade pendant for several hours.
When Li Banfeng had handed the pendant to Zhao Xiaowan, he had instructed her that as long as she held it in her hand, she could find Hulu Village.
Who would have thought that this jade pendant recognized its master and wouldn't cooperate with Zhao Xiaowan at all?
Returning to the companion dwelling, Zhao Xiaowan brought mechanical tools and applied quite a few artisan techniques, but the pendant still gave no response.
In her frustration, Zhao Xiaowan touched Red Lotus on the barbecue grill. "Fool, this stone is even more stubborn than you."
Red Lotus sighed, "Isn't it roasted enough yet? I'm already well-done."
Hong Ying tossed on two more sticks of firewood. "So you know pain now? You still haven't clearly answered what Xiaowan asked you. What exactly is your relationship with the Heavenly Maiden?"
Red Lotus spread its lotus leaves and rubbed its base. "How many times do I have to say it? I was created by the Heavenly Maiden; our relationship is master and servant. Isn't that clear enough?"
Zhao Xiaowan poured some oil onto the fire, and flames engulfed Red Lotus. "Fool, warm yourself up a bit more. I think you're still not well-done."
As she spoke, Zhao Xiaowan glanced back at Fifth Room. "Are you cold? Want to come down and warm up by the fire too?"
Tears welled in the Fifth Room maiden's eyes as she bit her lip, shaking her head incessantly.
She looked at the jade pendant in Zhao Xiaowan's hand and spoke in a timid voice: "Madam, I have done some research on jade. Perhaps I can lend you a hand."
Fifth Room wasn't lying. Step by step, she helped Zhao Xiaowan understand the pendant's temperament. Combined with delicious food and drinks, plus threats and inducements, they finally persuaded the jade pendant.
Before leaving, Zhao Xiaowan stroked Red Lotus. "Fool, learn from Lady Fifth. If you were this sensible, you could spare yourself a lot of grief."
Hong Ying, oil kettle in hand, sat down beside Red Lotus. "Xiaowan, go on and attend to your business. I'll have a good chat with Red Lotus."
***
Zhao Xiaowan opened the entrance to Hulu Village. A'yun welcomed Zhao Xiaowan into the village, and A'yi led Zhao Xiaowan up onto the clouds.
As the two walked to the front of the house, a middle-aged man's voice suddenly came to Zhao Xiaowan's ears: "The Dwelling Cultivator is advancing! Idlers, do not disturb!"
"Idler?" Zhao Xiaowan chuckled. "Do you know who I am?"
This man came from a sheet-metal house on the first floor. He recognized Zhao Xiaowan. "You are the Dwelling Cultivator's woman. You came here with him before."
"Since you recognize me, you still dare block me?"
The sheet-metal house refused to budge. "You are not the master here!"
Zhao Xiaowan was furious. Though A'yi hadn't heard their exchange clearly, she could guess the gist of it. "Xiaowan, this house's craft is peculiar; we can't use force."
Suppressing her anger, Zhao Xiaowan nodded. "Very well, we'll wait here then. That madman, really—insisting on running outside to advance."
A'yi lowered her voice. "Xiaowan, are you also Old Seven's dwelling spirit?"
What did she mean by *also*?
Who came first?!
Just as Zhao Xiaowan was about to speak, she realized it wasn't an easy question to answer. At present, Zhao Xiaowan truly was not Li Banfeng's dwelling spirit.
A'yi asked again, "Can you help him advance?"
Zhao Xiaowan lowered her head in silence. She didn't know Cloud Gate arts; as for advancements past tier 3 above the clouds, Zhao Xiaowan truly didn't know what to do, and that blockhead Hong Ying was even less to be counted on.
After waiting for about an hour, they suddenly heard a voice say, "Come on in, it's done."
A'yi and Zhao Xiaowan entered the room and saw Li Banfeng lying on the bed with A'yu sitting beside him.
Zhao Xiaowan's face flushed with greenish-purple fury, and she abruptly spat a gramophone horn from her mouth.
A'yi watched in awe. "So *this* is the big horn! No wonder Old Seven is so fond of it. Who wouldn't love this upon seeing it?"
A'yu covered her ears and said, "Zhao Xiaowan, my injuries haven't healed yet—don't bully me too much! I helped your man advance; you can't repay kindness with enmity!"
Zhao Xiaowan swallowed the horn back down, walked over to the bed, and pulled Li Banfeng into her embrace. "My darling husband, you've suffered."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Not at all. A'yu is truly incredible. Just some rubbing and kneading and it was done. Her technique—"
*Hiss!*
A plume of steam scalded Li Banfeng's face beet-red.
"Husband, you *truly* suffered."
Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly. "Suffered! Terribly!"
"Husband, did you actually advance or not?"
A'yu said from the side, "He advanced. In another half an hour, he'll be able to walk, and in an hour he'll be fully recovered."
For an advancement of such high tier to recover so quickly, even Zhao Xiaowan was somewhat astonished.
A'yu hadn't boasted; half an hour later, Li Banfeng truly could walk.
An hour later, his body was restored as before.
Now even Li Banfeng himself could hardly believe it.
"Sister, am I really at tier 5 above the clouds?"
A'yu raised her eyebrows. "If you don't believe me, go outside, take a lap, and see."
"All right!" Li Banfeng stepped out of the room, and returned in the blink of an eye.
A'yu asked, "Isn't it much faster?!"
"Fast!" Li Banfeng nodded vigorously. "Vastly faster than before!"
Zhao Xiaowan was dumbfounded. "Truly that much faster?"
A'yi asked Zhao Xiaowan, "Isn't faster better?"
A'yu thumped her sore lower back. "Pity me, working so hard, and you won't even say a word of thanks."
Li Banfeng was just about to thank her when he suddenly asked, "Which pathway did I just advance?"
A'yu blinked. "Travel Cultivator."
A'yi nodded beside her. "So fast—of course it's Travel Cultivator!"
"So it was Travel Cultivator!" Li Banfeng burst out laughing. He laughed for a good while, then asked A'yu, "Do you know Travel Cultivator arts?"
A'yu shook her head. "I don't know any of those."
Li Banfeng donned his top hat, pulled down the brim, and with cold glints in his eyes, said, "Are you playing me?"
PS: In truth, advancing as a Travel Cultivator isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Chapter 776