A Way Out

Li Banfeng pushed the gigantic human head, making his way up the hillside. The scene was absurd—so absurd that the Bandit Suppression Army wasn't even sure if a battle was still underway. Following the commands of their generals and colonels, the soldiers strictly maintained their formations, making adjustments at the right moments to encircle Li Banfeng and the giant head. Having closed the encirclement, they prepared to fight, yet looking at this comical human head, quite a few soldiers burst out laughing anyway. "What is that thing?" "Did a human head turn into a big ball, or did a big ball turn into a spirit?" Li Banfeng rather admired these soldiers. When he had first laid eyes on this head, he had been thoroughly terrified, yet these men didn't have a shred of fear or reverence. Not that the Bandit Suppression Army was completely unafraid, but this was a battlefield; they were not only soldiers, but also born of noble blood, so they could not let fear show. More importantly, they had strength in numbers and bolstered one another's courage, and up to this point, they hadn't seen the big head display any aggression. As the head rolled along, when its face turned forward, it saw the soldiers' smiles; when its face turned backward, it looked at Li Banfeng. "They're badmouthing me. I heard them. I'm a truly fair man: those who have helped me, I won't forget; those who have bullied me, I won't forget either." Hearing this, Li Banfeng felt that this head's temperament matched his own quite well. So he asked, "Senior, how should I address you?" The head answered, "My name is Tou Youlu. There's a saying, 'driven to the end of the road with nowhere to turn'—*zoutou wulu*. But a man like me can find a path wherever I go, so I named myself Tou Youlu. They think I'm uneducated and just picked a name blindly, and they even laugh at me. I hate people laughing at me most of all." Tou Youlu rolled another turn on the ground, then abruptly closed his eyes. *Bang! Bang!* Repeated blasts rang out all around. A dozen or so soldiers who had mocked Tou Youlu instantly exploded into minced meat. Shielded by the Thousand-Man Strength Array, these soldiers possessed extraordinarily tough physiques, yet Tou Youlu had slaughtered them just like that, by sheer brute force. The key was that Li Banfeng didn't even know what technique Tou Youlu had used. Was it Viewing Flowers from Horseback? Logically, there seemed to be a flaw. Normal Viewing Flowers from Horseback made enemies unable to see oneself; Tou Youlu closing his eyes made him unable to see the enemies. If techniques could be used like that, things would be awfully simple. Only after over a dozen soldiers were blown to death did the Bandit Suppression Battalion enter full combat readiness. Li Banfeng and Tou Youlu were climbing the slope—an uphill assault. Against an uphill attack, there were far too many counter-strategies: logs, rolling boulders, and bows and arrows were all excellent choices. Empowered by the Thousand-Man Strength Array, these seemingly ordinary means of attack unleashed astounding destructive power. Li Banfeng had trouble dodging them himself; Tou Youlu stayed glued to the ground, rolling left and right, clearly running out of room to maneuver. Tou Youlu said to Li Banfeng, "Do you feel like I'm a bit of a burden?" Li Banfeng recalled the scene of their first meeting. "I think you definitely have other ways to move. You don't necessarily have to roll on the ground. You're so handsome, and this slope is so hard—don't go scratching your face." Tou Youlu stopped rolling, balancing on the severed stump of his neck upon the slope. "You've got discerning eyes. You know I'm handsome. Actually, you're pretty handsome yourself." Li Banfeng pointed behind him. "Let's discuss that in a bit! First, let's dodge this log!" A log slid down the slope toward Tou Youlu. Paying it no heed, Tou Youlu continued speaking to Li Banfeng: "Never mind that I have no hands and feet—I really am handsome. And not only am I handsome, I can also fly." The moment the words left his mouth, just as the rolling log was about to slam into the back of Tou Youlu's head, he raised an eyebrow and flew. It wasn't he who flew, but the rolling log—it flew up and hurtled toward the Bandit Suppression Army on the hillside. The log carried immense momentum, crushing several soldiers to death on the spot. The Bandit Suppression Army counterattacked at once. Over a hundred soldiers surged out of the camp, assumed their battle formation, and surrounded Li Banfeng and Tou Youlu. These hundred-plus soldiers were meant to distract Li Banfeng and Tou Youlu, while other soldiers readied their techniques, preparing to send them on their way. Tou Youlu paid no attention to the hundred-odd soldiers. He continued explaining his flying to Li Banfeng: "I really can fly, I'm not lying to you—" *Pfft!* A soldier's spear stabbed into the back of Tou Youlu's head. Tou Youlu raised both eyebrows together and turned his gaze back toward that soldier. He used his technique again, but still hadn't taken flight himself. Instead, the hundred-plus soldiers around him flew into the air. Tou Youlu looked back, his eyes brimming with reason. "When others are on the ground and I'm in the sky, that counts as me flying." The soldiers were airborne, frantically trying to figure out how to land. Tou Youlu continued, "If I stay on the ground and they go under it, that counts as me flying too." *Crash! Bang!* Over a hundred soldiers slammed down violently, cratering the ground in shallow pits, every last one smashed to paste. Li Banfeng's eyes widened. "Is this Riding the Wind and Driving Clouds?" Tou Youlu was delighted. "You know this move too? It's very handy for killing people." "Is that a killing technique?" Li Banfeng reflected on his original intention when learning this technique. "Isn't this technique meant for flying?" Tou Youlu sniffled. "What you're saying makes no sense. If it were meant for flying, why wouldn't it be called *Flying* on the Wind?" That was true! What he said made a lot of sense! Li Banfeng pushed Tou Youlu, continuing up the hillside. Everywhere they passed, enemy soldiers took off into the air one after another. The liftoff process was arduous; judging by his expression, Tou Youlu was expending no small amount of effort. The landing process, however, was far easier, because from the moment their feet left the earth, the soldiers lost their positions in the Thousand-Man Strength Array; tumbling to the ground, their bones shattered and their flesh turned to pulp. Tou Youlu was going head-to-head against the Thousand-Man Strength Array, using no tricks whatsoever, relying purely on raw power. The Bandit Suppression Army's offensive grew denser and denser. Tou Youlu no longer rolled on the ground; he flew, skimming just above the earth. The severed stump beneath his neck was less than ten centimeters off the ground, but he truly was flying. Driven by currents of air, sand, gravel, and dust from the ground gathered beneath his neck, squirming up and down in clumps; without a close look, one might have thought legs had sprouted beneath his neck. A hail of arrows flew toward Tou Youlu. Tou Youlu stared fixedly at the arrows without dodging. A ball of flame enveloped the air, reducing the arrows to ash mid-flight. Tou Youlu flew slowly up the slope; wherever his gaze converged, arrows and rolling logs were burned away entirely. Li Banfeng asked, "Senior, you know Fire Cultivator techniques as well?" Tou Youlu glanced sideways at Li Banfeng. "I'm a Travel Cultivator. I don't know Fire Cultivator techniques. This technique is called Holding a Torch on a Night Journey—it's a Travel Cultivator technique." A Travel Cultivator technique that could conjure fire? Tou Youlu explained, "Back in the day, when I traveled at night, I could never see the road clearly. Once I took a wrong turn, I'd get lost. I dread getting lost more than anything—once I ran into a briar patch and couldn't get out for days. "To keep from getting lost, I had to hold a torch whenever I traveled at night. But holding a torch was also troublesome, because I have no hands. "I once stuck a torch into my ear, but when I rolled on the ground, the torch would often jab deep into my ear canal. It hurt quite a lot." Li Banfeng thought carefully about it. "Senior, did you ever consider sticking the torch into your nostril?" Tou Youlu swayed gently, indicating a nod. "I tried that too. But with the torch in my nostril, it always ended up burning my lips. "So I thought of a way to have the best of both worlds: since I can't hold a torch, I just make the other side light up themselves. And wouldn't you know it, it's quite effective." Tou Youlu focused his gaze on a group of soldiers in front of him. The soldiers felt waves of burning pain across their bodies, but relying on the protection of the Thousand-Man Strength Array, they stood their ground without budging. The Thousand-Man Strength Array could indeed withstand fire and water, but Tou Youlu simply used sheer brute force. Seeing smoke slowly billow from these soldiers, followed by licking flames until they were reduced to ash, the surrounding troops grew terrified. A squad of soldiers took the initiative to attack, closing in to besiege Tou Youlu, but Tou Youlu launched them straight up into the air on the spot, smashing them into minced meat. A group of soldiers used Shared Script and Common Regulation against Tou Youlu: "Military camp grounds: unauthorized persons halt!" The potent might of the technique brought Tou Youlu to an abrupt stop. Li Banfeng wasn't affected much; he didn't consider himself an unauthorized loafer, so he easily broke free of the technique. Yet this phrase packed a devastating punch against Tou Youlu; he tried to break free twice, but failed. In Li Banfeng's ear, A'yu's voice suddenly sounded: "Push Tou Youlu two steps to the left!" A'yu was nearby. When so many people used the same technique together, gaps appeared where the techniques interlaced, and A'yu had spotted where the gap was. Taking two steps over, Tou Youlu broke free of the technique, muttering under his breath, "Calling who an idle loafer? So what if I'm idle? Did I eat your family's rice?" Every soldier who had exerted the Scholar Cultivator technique was detonated into a blossom of blood by Tou Youlu. Having blown them up, Tou Youlu said with immense satisfaction, "I, for one, hold grudges just like that." "Be careful, war chariots are charging down!" Li Banfeng heard A'yu's voice again, crystal clear. Had this vicious woman hooked a line on him? With A'yu offering directions from the shadows and Li Banfeng providing support at his side, they broke through many techniques along the way, gradually drawing closer to A'yi. Trapped, A'yi was exceedingly thrilled. She hurled her final bundle of explosives at the enemy. With a deafening boom, a swath of enemy soldiers swayed. Taking advantage of the opening, Tou Youlu used his Riding the Wind and Driving Clouds technique, intending to make this host of enemies take flight, but they were too numerous to lift off immediately. Without a word or gesture, Li Banfeng flicked a drop of blood; an invisible halo spread beneath the enemies' feet. The soldiers felt a scalding sensation beneath the soles of their feet and instinctively lifted their soles ever so slightly. And once lifted, they could never put them back down. A swath of soldiers flew into midair. Tou Youlu wanted to slam them down, but he had run out of strength; using his techniques while muscling through the array had taken too heavy a toll over the climb. Even if he couldn't smash them down, it didn't matter. A'yu had a machine gun, and Li Banfeng still had explosives. Two packs of explosives detonated in the air; mangled corpses rained down like a storm. When the gunsmoke cleared, A'yi burst out of the encirclement with a face full of joy. Li Banfeng scooped up A'yi and shouted, "Down the hill!" Going down the hill wouldn't be easy; the slope was crawling with enemy troops. Tou Youlu asked Li Banfeng, "Do you know how to use Sever the Path to Forge a Way?" Li Banfeng charged in front, using Sever the Path to Forge a Way to scatter the enemy. After charging several dozen meters, enemy troops who had regained their footing blocked the path. Li Banfeng's technique could no longer hold out, and he was even slashed once by a Bandit Suppression soldier. Catching up from behind, Tou Youlu sighed heavily. "Even though we're friends, I have to be blunt: you've been practicing Sever the Path to Forge a Way all wrong. You haven't grasped the essentials at all." Li Banfeng humbled himself to seek instruction. Through *Asking After the Posthouse in the Floating Clouds*, Li Banfeng had sequentially learned the essentials of Trampling Ten Thousand Rivers, Viewing Flowers from Horseback, and Riding the Wind and Driving Clouds, achieving qualitative leaps in his techniques. Now that the Patriarch of Travel Cultivators was instructing him in person, this was an invaluable opportunity; he had to master the essentials of Sever the Path to Forge a Way. Tou Youlu said, "Sever the Path to Forge a Way is my favorite technique. You must study carefully!" With that, he lay sideways on the ground and went rolling down the hillside. At first, one could still catch glimpses of his face now and then. Before long, Tou Youlu spun faster and faster, so fast that the ground smoked. Like a fiery cannonball, he crashed straight into the enemy troops. The front rank of enemies was instantly pulverized into minced meat, splattering everywhere along with grass, wood, sand, and stone. The rear ranks had their vision obstructed; those who held firm in the formation were shattered directly, while those who fled saved their lives. Charging all the way to the foot of the hill, Tou Youlu spat out a mouthful of dirt and sand, and asked Li Banfeng, "Friend, did you learn it?" Li Banfeng looked back. "I just want to know—how would you use Sever the Path to Forge a Way going uphill?" "Going uphill is simply too hard!" Tou Youlu sighed with lamentation, then quickly led Li Banfeng and A'yi to make a run for it. The three ran together toward the entrance of Hulu Village. The Bandit Suppression Battalion pursued closely behind. Both Li Banfeng and A'yi were severely injured, and Tou Youlu was exhausted. Qiu Elephant shouted by the roadside, "Brother, go quickly! Leave the rest to your big brother!" Tears welled in A'yi's eyes as she said, "Wifey, I didn't dote on you in vain!" As soon as the three left, the pursuers arrived. Qiu Luoye enlarged his form, swinging his long trunk, and roared at the crowd, "Who wants to come die?!" The Bandit Suppression Army didn't banter with him; holding their formation, they charged straight forward. "Hold on!" Sun Tiecheng tucked both hands into his sleeves and called out to them, "Get your formation set before fighting us, lest you say we bullied you!" This man looked remarkably honest, and his words made good sense. They certainly had to set their formation; without it, they couldn't fight against the people of Puluo Province. There were ready-made markings on the ground; looking at the markings, each took their place in the formation. A vice general suddenly remembered something: this was the Difeng Battalion, not the Qingrui Battalion—why would they ever need to look at markings to form up? Yet none of the soldiers realized this. The Bandit Suppression Battalion had three encampments, and no matter which one learned the array, at the beginning they all had to watch the markings for positioning. Although they could form up without markings, with markings they formed up more accurately. Everyone felt it was only natural, and not a single one realized that they were simply being led by the nose down the slope. Where had these markings come from? By the time the vice general came to his senses, it was too late. The ramp had been built, the donkey had walked down—several hundred people from Hulu Village rushed out clutching machine guns and explosives. The vice general ordered an adjustment to the formation, but the soldiers couldn't adjust. The markings were right beneath their feet; if they weren't stepping on the markings, they kept feeling like they were in the wrong spot. Once the two sides engaged, it was too late to adjust anyway. A'yun, driving a tank, had already rammed into the Bandit Suppression Battalion's formation. Shouldering a machine gun, A'yi laughed aloud. "Big Sis, our Big Bro does have real skill after all!" "That useless waste is only good for this one time!" A'yu took out a powder compact, patted some powder onto her face, and followed Sun Tiecheng onto the battlefield. Hong Ying was searching for her powder compact as well. Zhao Xiaowan stepped out of the companion dwelling and gave Hong Ying a swat: "Powder your face later! Go slay enemies with my husband first!" Li Banfeng stood beside the companion dwelling, gripping the iron door's handle and pressing down on the hat atop his head, charging into the enemy formation amid billowing steam. *** In Chaoge, Qiao Yi led his troops to corner Old Train, Lian Buda, and He Jiaqing from all sides. He Jiaqing was gravely wounded, his hand tightly clutching a lotus leaf. The first leaf had been given to Old Train. This was the second one; rushing before the Great Crucible shifted, He Jiaqing had stubbornly plucked this leaf off. But having plucked the leaf, how were they to carry it out? Qiao Yi had gone completely mad. Who knew how many first-tier weapons had been mobilized across all of Chaoge; having just fled to Sevenfold City, Old Train felt it was nearly impossible to take another step. Lian Buda said anxiously, "What do we do now?" He Jiaqing clutched the lotus leaf tightly. This leaf was far too precious; even if he had to lay down his life here today, he would not surrender it. Lian Buda didn't want to fall into the hands of the Inner States. Smearing oil all over his body, he ground his teeth. "If push comes to shove, we'll just have to fight it out with them!" Old Train shook his head. "Don't panic. I know another place to go." The two followed Old Train onto a covered corridor. Such corridors were common in Sevenfold City, used to connect the various pavilions. Legend had it that Sevenfold City held seven hundred and seventy-seven pavilions, each pavilion its own world; once a person took a wrong turn, they could never come out. Old Train threaded between the corridors for ten-odd minutes, gradually shaking off the pursuers. Yet Lian Buda had grown dizzy from the turns. "Eighteen Wheels, I have no idea how to get out now. I'll be counting entirely on you to lead the way in a bit." Old Train shook his head. "We can't get out right now. We have to stay here for a while first." Stepping down from the corridor, Old Train approached a pavilion, walked a circle around it, and lay on the ground. At the pavilion's northeast corner, he spotted a hole. "Come, follow me." Eighteen Wheels curled up his body and wriggled into the hole. He Jiaqing followed him inside. Lian Buda had gained weight lately and got stuck at the entrance; squeezing out quite a bit of grease, he finally slid into the hole with great difficulty. The hole was pitch-black. Following Old Train, the two crawled for a long time before finally reaching an open area. When they stood up and stretched their limbs, a train roared past right before their eyes. This train didn't burn coal or oil; it ran on electricity. Both Lian Buda and He Jiaqing had been to the Outer States. Seeing this electric train, both froze in astonishment. "Eighteen Wheels, did we make it to the Outer States?" Lian Buda looked down and examined the style of the rails; it truly was from the Outer States. Old Train shook his head. "This isn't the Outer States. This is the dream of someone from the Outer States." He Jiaqing pondered a moment. "Senior, have we arrived at the Dream-Tethering Tower?" Old Train nodded. Lian Buda chuckled. "You sly old bastard! How did you know there was a hole in the Dream-Tethering Tower? Are you two-timing with Meng Qian?" "Don't talk nonsense!" Old Train waved a hand. "I saw that hole in a dream." Zhao Lanmeng hadn't bragged after all: he had said he dug a tunnel into the Dream-Tethering Tower, and there truly was such a tunnel. It was just that Old Train found it odd: Meng Qian already knew about the tunnel's existence, so why hadn't she plugged the hole? He Jiaqing was still uneasy. "Won't Qiao Yi lead his men in pursuit right into the Dream-Tethering Tower?" Old Train chuckled, "Hehehe, let him chase! This place is massive—let's see how many years he can keep chasing!" The laughter echoed within the Dream-Tethering Tower, and Meng Qian awoke with a start from a nightmare. *** Qiao Yi searched everywhere but failed to find the thieves who had stolen the lotus leaves. Just as he was seething with fury, a military dispatch arrived from Dingye City. Qingrui Battalion ambushed; lost over 46,000 soldiers. Difeng Battalion ambushed; lost over 18,000 soldiers. Qiao Yi's body swayed, feeling unable to keep his footing. Leaning on Vice Minister of War Que Yuhan beside him, he asked the messenger, "How is the Cuihuo Battalion?" "The Cuihuo Battalion was not attacked." Que Yuhan let out a long breath and said to Qiao Yi, "My Lord, fortunately the Cuihuo Battalion was preserved." Expressionless, Qiao Yi stood in the night wind, not uttering a word. The Bandit Suppression Battalion he had painstakingly forged numbered a hundred thousand in total. The Difeng Battalion had over twenty thousand men, and was beaten down to only remnants; they were the elite of the Bandit Suppression Battalion. The Qingrui Battalion had over fifty thousand men, and had likewise been reduced to mere remnants; though not elites, they were members of the imperial clan. In a single battle, over sixty thousand royals were lost. They had not died in Puluo Province, but right here in Dingye City, on the soil of Great Shang. Qiao Yi's mind went blank. The wind blew bitter and cold, and amid the howling gusts, there seemed to be wronged souls wailing in anguish. It shouldn't be called 'seemed to be'—right beside him, a ghost sat crying. Who knew how many such ghosts there were in Chaoge? Qiao Yi instructed Que Yuhan to contact Nian Shangyou as quickly as possible and have him return to Chaoge. For some reason, brought to such a state, the first person Qiao Yi thought of was actually Nian Shangyou. Nian Shangyou refused to return to Chaoge. In his reply to Qiao Yi, he claimed to be locked in a bitter struggle around Haocheng. It wasn't quite a bitter struggle, but the battle was indeed exceptionally fierce. Nian Shangyou had Lu Tangsheng dispatch a hundred Rot-fin Rays to besiege Xuyi City. A Rot-fin looked like a ray half-rotted away, but in fact they were a race of Inner States people; they lived on land year-round, yet could also fight upon entering the sea. Unlike other naval soldiers, the Rot-fins attacked enemies with poison. Their rotted dorsal fins bore virulent venomous branches, and with over a hundred Rot-fin Rays releasing venom together, they poisoned Xuyi City until it was overturned. Xuyi City lost its mobility. Nian Shangyou directly led his troops into the city, clashing violently with Ma the Fifth and the others on the main thoroughfare. This battle was truly brutal. Ma the Fifth, Yu Yuxiu, and Qin Tianjiu were all formidable experts above the clouds, while Ba Suan and Pineapple were reclusive masters. Failing twice to take the position by storm, Nian Shangyou went ahead and brought out two first-tier weapons from Lu Tangsheng's private collection. Lu Tangsheng's heart ached. "Brother Nian, I fought in the army for most of my life, and this is all the property I have!" Nian Shangyou lowered his voice: "I just received word: Chaoge has run into trouble, and Dingye City has run into trouble too. Lord Qiao has suffered defeat after defeat—whether we can secure a victory now rests entirely on us." Lu Tangsheng thought carefully. Nian Shangyou was Lord Qiao's favored confidant; following his lead should be the right call. He personally brought the two first-tier weapons into Xuyi City. The first weapon was a nine-eyed musket. Such a thing was rare in the Shang State; gunpowder was very difficult to ignite in the Inner States, and the Shang State generally did not bring such outdated firearms onto the battlefield. Ma the Fifth was still wondering what use this musket had when Lu Tangsheng loaded a bullet and fired a shot straight at him. *Bang!* The gunshot wasn't loud, and the power of the bullet seemed modest as well. Carrying talismans on his person, Ma the Fifth didn't intend to dodge, planning to withstand it head-on. Pineapple shoved Ma the Fifth aside, dodging the bullet. Pineapple was able to perceive a clue: the bullet fired from the musket seemed to be a living creature! Lu Tangsheng fired another shot. Ma the Fifth dodged again, and the bullet struck the keel waterwheel. The bullet abruptly burst open inside the keel waterwheel. Around a hundred plump worms clung to the waterwheel, chewing ravenously. They gnawed with manic excitement; with every bite, they sucked vigorously. This was their instinct—when eating meat, they never forgot to drink blood. Yet after gnawing for a while, the worms gradually lost their strength: the keel waterwheel had no meat at all. The waterwheel drew up water from the pond, spraying the water and the worms directly onto Nian Shangyou and Lu Tangsheng's bodies! These worms burrowed straight into flesh. Picking off worms, Nian Shangyou roared angrily at Lu Tangsheng: "You useless waste! Even with a first-tier weapon, you managed such a catastrophic blunder!" It wasn't just the two of them infested with worms; the soldiers behind them were also afflicted. Seeing his opening, Ma the Fifth shouted to the crowd, "Charge with me! Drive them out of Xuyi City!"