The cost of the Profound Light Purges Evil technique was rather steep, so Li Banfeng was in no rush to test it.
Hong Ying's advice was: "Seventh Brother, let's stop here. Half-knowing it is plenty. Having a technique to support your foundation so your cultivation doesn't collapse is enough, and it'll keep you from letting the technique fly without realizing it and losing your cultivation for nothing."
Zhao Xiaowan disagreed. "If the technique isn't fully mastered, his cultivation won't truly be stable in the end."
Li Banfeng also felt he should master it fully. "Every technique up on the cloud is exceedingly precious—how could I settle for half-baked? Besides, the key to the companion dwelling is the very foundation of our lives. If it's truly lost, risking a bit of cultivation to blast that thief isn't a bad trade."
He asked the Copper Lotus, "If I can burst forth profound light from my body, does that count as mastering the technique?"
The Copper Lotus replied, "Just bursting it forth isn't enough. The key is whether it can pursue the spiritual imprint. As long as the profound light can track down the imprint, you won't need to worry about the technique from then on. The moment the item is lost, whoever stole it, the profound light will chase down and strike that very person."
Li Banfeng visualized the process of unleashing the technique in his mind, then nodded to Zhao Xiaowan. "I've learned it."
Zhao Xiaowan didn't know whether Li Banfeng had truly mastered it, but the technique was indeed extraordinary, and she didn't want him testing it casually either.
Li Banfeng got out of bed and paced back and forth. "Time for the important business next."
Zhao Xiaowan thought Li Banfeng was going to buy furniture. She glanced at Mengde. "Husband, it's still early. The furniture shops aren't even open yet."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Put that on the back burner for now. There's something even more important. It's time for me to learn the Dwelling Cultivator tier-six technique."
Zhao Xiaowan was taken aback. "Husband, you're rushing things far too much!"
"Didn't you say it yourself, Wife? Without a technique for support, one's cultivation isn't stable." Li Banfeng squatted before the Copper Lotus. "Teach me the All Wishes Fulfilled technique too."
"Husband, that technique can't be learned!" Zhao Xiaowan fretted.
Even the Copper Lotus worried on his behalf. "Don't treat this like child's play. If you end up half-baking both techniques and your cultivation framework collapses later on, you won't even have anywhere to cry."
"Who says it's half-baked? My mastery of Profound Light Purges Evil is thoroughly polished. In a moment, I'll leave a spiritual imprint on you and see who dares steal you away." Li Banfeng picked up a dagger, genuinely preparing to prick his finger.
The Copper Lotus hurriedly blocked Li Banfeng with its lotus leaves. "Seventh Brother, why go to such lengths? Let's skip the spiritual imprint. I can't go anywhere outside this house anyway. I'll teach you All Wishes Fulfilled right this instant.
"To learn All Wishes Fulfilled, you must master three techniques well: first, the Dwelling Cultivator Pillar technique, Counting One's Family Treasures; second, the ground level tier-seven technique, Living and Working in Peace; and third, the ground level tier-four technique, Golden House Hides a Beauty. Once you get those three techniques into decent shape, you can learn All Wishes Fulfilled—whatever you wish for, you shall receive."
Li Banfeng pondered. "No need to master Sit Back and Relax? Before learning All Wishes Fulfilled, shouldn't one first display the poise of the master of the house?"
The Copper Lotus sighed. "I also think the poise of the master of the house is exceedingly important, but as it happens, All Wishes Fulfilled has nothing to do with Sit Back and Relax. I've told you everything you need to know. Go practice the techniques yourself."
Li Banfeng said, "You haven't told me the essentials of All Wishes Fulfilled yet."
The Copper Lotus said, "Didn't I already say it? Whatever you wish for, you shall receive."
Li Banfeng stared blankly. "That's the essential?"
The Copper Lotus swayed its leaves. "This essential is simple and clear enough that even Hong Ying understands."
Hong Ying snapped in fury, "What? Looking down on me, are you?"
Li Banfeng pondered for quite a while. "For Counting One's Family Treasures, I suppose I've already practiced it into decent shape, right?"
"You have!" the Copper Lotus affirmed. "If nothing else, if it's just to learn All Wishes Fulfilled, you don't need to practice Counting One's Family Treasures any further."
Li Banfeng lifted his head with confidence. "What about Golden House Hides a Beauty?"
The Copper Lotus replied, "What do you think? Back then, you were thinking of Meng Qian, yet when you raised your hand you drew Zuo Wugang. That painting hasn't even been thrown out yet. Want to go take another look?"
Li Banfeng's confidence deflated. "How am I supposed to practice Living and Working in Peace? Stay cooped up at home every day?"
The Copper Lotus sighed. "Don't ask me how to practice a technique you've already learned. Your Daoist lineage is too peculiar, and you carry Travel Cultivation on you. Staying home every day certainly won't do. I have no idea how to help you either."
"If you won't help, forget it. I'm going to buy furniture!"
Li Banfeng got up to leave, but after a second thought, walked toward the third chamber.
If he pushed the door open to exit now, he would still end up right back in the companion dwelling, because the key was on his own person.
To leave, he had to use Broadening the Bridal Chamber. The third chamber held the richest spirituality, and when Li Banfeng was in the third chamber, he could use the technique with the greatest proficiency.
In less than a minute, Li Banfeng pushed open the door and arrived in A'yu's room.
A'yu had just stepped out of the bath tub and hurriedly grabbed her clothes to cover herself. "Little Brother, could you knock before entering a room?"
Li Banfeng said, "I came in using Broadening the Bridal Chamber. Until I open the door, I don't even know if the technique worked. Older Sister, let me ask you something: if I leave a spiritual imprint on an object and gain an awareness of it, once the object is lost, can I use Profound Light Purges Evil just by focusing my mind?"
A'yu shook her head. "No need to focus your mind. The technique discharges on its own."
Her explanation was identical to the Copper Lotus's.
Li Banfeng asked again, "If I don't want the profound light to go out, can I hold it back myself?"
A'yu chuckled. "That, I wouldn't know. In all the years I spent with the Heavenly Maiden, every time I saw her use Profound Light Purges Evil, the technique unleashed itself. I've never seen her recall it. That bit of cultivation was nothing to her anyway."
Seeing that Li Banfeng had come prepared, A'yu didn't bother hiding that Profound Light Purges Evil cost cultivation.
Li Banfeng smiled faintly. "As expected of the Heavenly Maiden. Not even caring about cultivation—what immense capital she possessed."
The old woman upstairs grew furious. "This wretched minx! Banking on having a bit of seniority, she talks so insolently! She doesn't have the master of the house in her eyes at all!"
The young girl downstairs chimed in, "Better give her a beating. I think she just hasn't been beaten enough."
A'yu rolled her eyes toward downstairs and held her tongue.
Li Banfeng asked again, "Can a spiritual imprint only be left on objects?"
A'yu laughed. "What else? Were you thinking of leaving it on a person? That stuff is useless on people."
The woman next door sighed softly. "Sister, however you lie to others is none of our business, but when speaking with our master, you'd better put your conscience front and center."
A'yu looked at the wall, chuckling. "Where else would a conscience be if not right in the middle?"
Whoosh!
A gust of swift wind blew past, sweeping aside the clothes A'yu was using to cover herself.
A'yu hurriedly covered up. "What are you doing? Bullying a weak woman like me?"
Since the woman next door had given such a hint, Li Banfeng naturally wasn't about to miss the opportunity. He looked right at the center of her chest—her conscience—and saw a red mark the size of a peach pit.
A'yu glared at him. "What are you staring at? It's not like you don't have a wife! Go home and look at hers!"
Li Banfeng gave a slight nod, stood up, and said, "I'll go home to look at my wife then. Take care of yourself."
Leaving the residence and hopping down from the cloud, Li Banfeng took out the key.
On the key was the spiritual imprint he had left, dabbed with blood from his fingertip—wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, looking like a tadpole.
If you hid the tadpole's tail, did it look like a peach pit?
Not particularly.
Still, this was the spiritual imprint Li Banfeng had left; after all, his habits differed from the Heavenly Maiden's.
If the mark on A'yu wasn't a birthmark or a scar, but the Heavenly Maiden's spiritual imprint, what was the Heavenly Maiden's purpose in leaving an imprint on A'yu?
If one day A'yu was stolen, so the Heavenly Maiden could track down the culprit?
In this world, there probably wasn't a thief who could steal A'yu away. It seemed the Profound Light Purges Evil technique wasn't so simple; this spiritual imprint definitely had other uses.
***
Li Banfeng went to visit A'yi and fool around for a bit. A'yi had caught Qiu Luoye on Hulu Village's newlands, so she had been in high spirits these past two days.
The three ate together. Qiu Luoye kept casting meaningful glances at Li Banfeng from time to time. Li Banfeng naturally understood Big Brother Qiu's intentions, and while chatting, drank a few extra cups with A'yi.
Seeing the wine jar empty, Qiu Luoye stood up. "I'll go fetch another jar of wine."
A'yi said, "Sweetheart, there's no need for you to do that. I'll have them bring some over."
"What kind of swill do they drink? Now that my brother is here, how could we drink that? You two keep eating. I'll be back in a jiffy."
With Qiu Luoye off to get wine, Li Banfeng asked A'yi, "Have you made any seed soil recently?"
"Of course! At least once a month!" A'yi pulled out a map. "Look, these are all lands newly added to Hulu Village. Nearly double what was here when you first came."
A'yi had truly put in the work. Li Banfeng studied the map closely; the sheer amount of newlands in Hulu Village was indeed astonishing.
"Brother, let me tell you, we have to stockpile land while we still can. Later on, someone won't let me amass land anymore!"
Hearing this, Li Banfeng flared up. "Who won't let you?"
Looking wronged, A'yi said, "The Peddler."
Li Banfeng nodded. "Then you'd better listen to him!"
A'yi grunted in assent. "What else can I do if I don't listen? We can't beat him in a fight anyway. The Peddler said half the seed soil made from now on has to be sent to Puluo Province. Puluo Province already has so many newlands, yet he's still eyeing the little scraps and broth I've got."
What she had was hardly mere scraps and broth. To secure this seed soil, the Peddler had put in tremendous effort, so he certainly couldn't let Hulu Village reap all the benefits.
A'yi also disclosed a secret to Li Banfeng. "A couple of days ago, the Peddler came looking for me, asking me to bring that foreigner named Cui back from Chaoge City. I went, but I never imagined Chaoge would turn into that."
"Turn into what?"
"Let me put it this way: walking three to five li down a street, you could count the living people you saw on one hand. That foreign devil is utterly ruthless!"
Li Banfeng knew very well that Critick had been waiting for this day. With a stage where he could unleash his full abilities, he must have been ecstatic.
"Did you bring Critick back to Daogui Ridge?"
A'yi shook her head. "He refused to go back. I heard Qiao Yi tried to drive him out several times, but he just wouldn't leave. He said he was living great, and he even tattooed five words on his chest: 'I Love Chaoge City.'"
Li Banfeng sighed. "Another day I'll find a way to drag him back. If the day comes when Qiao Yi truly turns on him, it'll be too late for Critick to leave."
A'yi said, "My father came to see me a few days ago and brought you up specifically. He wants you to go back to the City of Fools to have a look. The Peddler kept his word—he really did replenish the flesh and blood for the City of Fools."
Li Banfeng smiled. "That's wonderful news. I definitely have to go back. I'll need to bring Tang Changfa, Yan Cui'er, and Yan Hong'er along too. They've accomplished plenty of meritorious deeds; they can't be left out of such an important event."
"I'd like to go back and see it too..." A'yi's expression was somewhat complicated—a look rarely seen on her.
After drinking two more cups of wine, A'yi suddenly laughed. "I was just speaking off the cuff. What difference would going back make anyway? Won't the City of Fools still be the same old place?"
The same old place?
Li Banfeng felt the City of Fools would undergo a massive change. "If everyone has real flesh and blood, they won't be any different from living humans. There are over ten thousand people in the City of Fools. As long as they all turn into living humans, the City of Fools ought to transform into proper land."
A'yi shook her head. "It's not that simple. For oldland to become proper land, scraping together ten thousand people isn't enough. Those ten thousand people must truly settle down in the City of Fools and live proper lives—with homes, livelihoods, and something to strive for. What was that phrase again? It's called... called..."
Li Banfeng supplied, "Living and working in peace."
"Right, living and working in peace! That's such a wonderful phrase!" A'yi looked at Li Banfeng with open admiration. "Only after those ten thousand-odd people live and work in peace for several years will there be any hope of it turning back into proper land."
Well-fed and drunk, Li Banfeng prepared to head to Yesong Bridge. He needed to buy furniture, and Yesong Bridge had the finest timber.
A'yi instructed A'yun to send Li Banfeng off to Yesong Bridge, then called out to A'long, "Quick, bring my wife back so he can bid his brother farewell."
Li Banfeng looked downstairs. A crowd of people were carrying a massive net containing Qiu Luoye, hauling him into the village chief's small building.
Having originally planned to use fetching wine as an excuse to escape Hulu Village, Qiu Luoye had failed.
A'yi called out excitedly, "And that dowry piece! Bring him along too!"
Another group carried a net, hauling "White Crane" Bai Wusong into the building as well.
"And that handmaid! Bring him in too!"
Two people hauled a net, bringing in Bai Wusong's disciple, Bai Xinsheng.
Bai Wusong and Bai Xinsheng had come to rescue Qiu Luoye. The two had snuck into Hulu Village a couple of days prior and agreed to get Qiu Luoye out today, but near the exit, all three walked straight into a trap A'yi had prepared in advance.
A'yi looked at Bai Wusong. "How did you get into the village?"
Bai Wusong turned his head away, keeping silent.
Entering Hulu Village was indeed no easy feat, but back in the day, Bai Wusong had plunged headlong across boundaries. As long as he caught a glimpse of their tracks, he could find a way in.
Seeing him keep his mouth shut, A'yi didn't press the matter. "All of you reflect on your misdeeds in here! No untying the ropes tonight!"
Once A'yi left, Bai Wusong looked at Qiu Luoye. "Sect Master Qiu, do not worry. I will certainly get you out."
Qiu Luoye said with a desolate expression, "Sect Master Bai, have we completely ruined the White Crane Gang's reputation?"
Bai Wusong was at a loss for words.
Bai Wusong's disciple, Bai Xinsheng, shook his head. "Sect Master Qiu, it's not just that. The other gangs in Santoucha already know about this. They say we haven't just thrown away the White Crane Gang's face—we've thrown away the face of all Body Cultivators!"
Qiu Luoye took a deep breath. "Once we get out, I will go to our gang's forbidden grounds and end my own life."
Bai Wusong said, "Sect Master Qiu, how can you be so short-sighted? We shall simply cultivate for some time in the forbidden grounds. Next time we clash, we certainly won't need to fear this broad."
***
Li Banfeng arrived at Yesong Bridge and searched the streets for furniture shops. In truth, he had quite a few businesses in Yesong Bridge as well, but when it came to making furniture, the shops run by Xiao Yeci were undeniably the best.
Entering Ciyun Furniture Shop, Li Banfeng took a liking to a desk. Just as he was about to ask someone for the price, familiar voices drifted in from the entrance.
"Why are you being so polite with me, ya? I'll just have it sent to your home, ya!"
"That won't do. Business is business. If you don't take money, I won't take the furniture."
Li Banfeng looked back and recognized both of them: one was Xiao Yeci, and the other was Chu Huaiyuan.
This shop belonged to Xiao Yeci, so her being here was hardly surprising, but what was Chu the Second doing here?
When the two walked past Li Banfeng, they didn't notice him at all.
Chu the Second eyed a set of cabinets and a sofa set. "Look at this craftsmanship. In the entirety of Puluo Province, your family's work is practically one of a kind!"
Xiao Yeci was a bit embarrassed. "Second Young Mistress flatters me, ya. I only know how to run this little business; I really don't understand anything else, ya! I'll have someone deliver the furniture to you in a bit."
Chu the Second eyed a folding screen. "No rush. Let me pick a couple more pieces."
Li Banfeng spoke up: "There are plenty of furniture shops in Green Water City. Why do you have to come all the way here to buy, ya?"
Chu the Second replied, "You've come to Yesong Bridge, and yet you don't know the reputation of Ciyun Furniture?"
Li Banfeng said, "Even if it's famous, buying furniture hardly requires the two of you to come in person, ya!"
Xiao Yeci was startled. Knowing Chu the Second's temper, those words might rub her the wrong way.
Sure enough, Chu the Second turned around, head tilted down and eyes rolling upward: "Where this lady goes, since when is it your place to—Brother Qi, why are you here too?"
Li Banfeng said, "Make yourself clear, ya! Can I boss you around or can't I, ya?"
Chu the Second nodded repeatedly. "Brother Qi can boss me around, however you like."
"Why did the two of you come to Yesong Bridge, ya?"
The two women exchanged glances.
Li Banfeng tipped up the brim of his hat and looked at them.
Xiao Yeci couldn't hold out. "Benefactor, let's talk in the back parlor, ya."
In the back parlor, Xiao Yeci and Chu the Second explained the circumstances.
A rain of flower petals had fallen in the Hundred Flowers Garden, and Zhang Xiuling was convinced the God of a Hundred Flowers was about to descend. She had approached Ma the Fifth to seize the Hundred Flowers Sect back from He Jiaqing, and Ma the Fifth had agreed.
Chu Huaiyuan said, "If Ma Junyang and He Jiaqing were squaring off on their own account, I'd bring the Chu family and fight He Jiaqing to the death. Just for the sake of our friendship with you, Brother Qi, I'd stand on Ma Junyang's side. But Ma Junyang is sticking his neck out for Zhang Xiuling, so it's awkward for me to get involved. Zhang Xiuling and I are only casual acquaintances; if I risk my neck for this, I wouldn't even be able to justify it to the Chu family."
Xiao Yeci said, "Earlier there were rumors saying He Jiaqing severed Fifth Young Master's leg tendons, but when I went to visit Fifth Young Master, his legs looked fine, so I didn't dare pry, ya."
Li Banfeng asked, "What about Lu Chunying? Did she come to Yesong Bridge to hide too?"
Xiao Yeci shook her head. "It's not easy for her to hide, ya. Duan Shaoxia has deep ties with Zhang Xiuling and wants to back Zhang Xiuling up—and she's the First Madam of the Lu family! If Chunying left at a time like this, wouldn't that be pulling the rug out from under Duan Shaoxia?"
Chu the Second said, "If it were anyone else, fine, but Sister Xiu is caught in the middle. If things truly get bloody, Sister Xiu will definitely side with He Jiaqing—he's her nephew after all. Just a while ago we were all fighting side by side in the Inner States, and now suddenly everyone's at each other's throats. Seeing that neither side was right, Miss Xiao and I hid away in Yesong Bridge."
Xiao Yeci said, "Benefactor, we know we shouldn't have hidden, ya. We'll take the train back to Green Water City tonight."
Chu the Second nodded. "Now that Brother Qi has stepped in, there's nothing more to say. No matter the reason, we'll go back, rally our people, and fight He Jiaqing to the end."
Chu Huaiyuan truly never minced around. Back then, to save Li Qi, she had even fought the Customs General Bureau, and Customs Chief Inspector Xia Shumin had died by her hand.
Yet Li Banfeng wouldn't let her fight. "You can't go back to Green Water City, ya. Stay put and keep hiding here honestly, ya. Call Lu Chunying back here too. If Yesong Bridge gets unsafe to hide in, go hide in Qiqiu City, ya."
Li Banfeng's attitude surprised Xiao Yeci, but Chu Huaiyuan, having clawed her way through the Chu family for so long, understood his intentions: "Brother Qi, you don't want to blow this out of proportion?"
"Things are supposed to blow up, ya! The God of a Hundred Flowers has appeared, so we definitely have to give due respect, ya! Wouldn't you say so, ya?" Li Banfeng patted the Judge's Brush.
The Judge's Brush said nothing. Xiao Yeci and Chu the Second nodded together. "Yes, ya! Yes, ya! We'll listen to Brother Qi, ya!"
The two told Li Banfeng about Ma Junyang's recent actions. Li Banfeng understood immediately upon hearing it—wrecking premises, snatching business, forcing the opponent to bare their teeth: this was the old-school brawling style of Puluo Province's older generation.
Li Banfeng had Xiao Yeci custom-make a set of furniture suitable for a train and deliver it to his residence. Xiao Yeci refused to accept payment, so Li Banfeng simply left a check behind.
Leaving the furniture shop, Li Banfeng immediately hurried toward Green Water City. On the road, Li Banfeng asked the Judge's Brush, "What's the deal with that God of a Hundred Flowers, ya?"
The Judge's Brush said, "That's not me."
"I know it's not you, ya! Guess who it could be, ya?"
"I can't guess! And stop constantly saying 'ya'!" The Judge's Brush held it in for a long time before uttering a whole sentence. "They must not be allowed to fight. Someone is stirring up trouble on purpose."
Li Banfeng said, "They must fight, ya! If they don't fight, this God of a Hundred Flowers won't come out, ya!"
***
Returning to Xiaoyaowu, Li Banfeng found Ma the Fifth.
The moment he saw Li Qi, Ma the Fifth almost broke into tears. He shooed away Feng Daiku, Huo Ling, A'qin, and the rest, wanting nothing more than to have a proper talk with Li Qi.
"I was so terrified He Jiaqing had harmed you! If anything happened to you, even if I was smashed to smithereens, I would kill He Jiaqing!"
Li Banfeng examined Ma the Fifth's legs closely. "You still don't seem to walk too smoothly."
Ma the Fifth sighed. "He Jiaqing extracted my leg tendons. He didn't pull the main tendon, only the inner fibers. Only He Jiaqing possesses such skill.
"Later, Mu Yuejuan brought the tendons back to me, and Miss Feng reattached them for me. Otherwise, I would never have walked again in this lifetime."
Ma the Fifth also mentioned the earlier trouble someone had stirred up at Xiaoyaowu: "Old Nine was poisoned because of it. Fortunately, he's tough as nails and pulled through."
"Did He Jiaqing do that too? What on earth was he trying to achieve by provoking us like that?" Li Banfeng couldn't quite figure it out.
Ma the Fifth had been racking his brains over this recently as well. "At first, I thought he was seeking revenge for old scores, which was why I worried he had harmed you.
"Then I figured he might want to use my leg tendons to blackmail me. After all, we hold the railway in our hands, and He Jiaqing's mouth must be watering looking at it.
"Then after the incident in the Hundred Flowers Garden, I thought he might be knocking us down a peg over Zhang Xiuling's business. I reckon this rain of petals was just a drama staged by Zhang Xiuling herself; she's long planned to take the Hundred Flowers Sect back."
Li Banfeng felt all three theories fell short.
"We can puzzle out the reasons later. Let's first figure out what his next move will be."
Ma the Fifth had already made preparations. "I reckon he'll come to Xiaoyaowu to find me soon. I've set up ample ambushes here waiting for him."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Not necessarily Xiaoyaowu. He Jiaqing acts with profit above all else. In his eyes, the most valuable thing you hold isn't in Xiaoyaowu."
Ma the Fifth pondered for a moment, then gasped in sudden realization: "Could he be going after my territory?"
Li Banfeng said, "A territory over ninety percent reclaimed—tell me, who wouldn't want that?"
Ma the Fifth panicked slightly. "I'll take men over right away—"
"Don't be so quick to bring men," Li Banfeng said, rolling his wrists. "It's been a while since I did some land reclamation. It'll be a good time to stroll around your territory."
Chapter 793