Shu Wanjuan mobilized every book in the territory to scour the area for Li Qi's trail.
Li Qi was injured and had left only moments ago; Shu Wanjuan remained certain he could not have gone far.
After meticulous planning and exhausting effort, Shu Wanjuan had aimed to claim this territory, only for Li Qi to swoop in and reap the spoils. Shu Wanjuan could not accept it.
Shan Chengjun walked over. "Old Shu, let's go. Little Train is traveling with him. We won't find him."
Shu Wanjuan asked in disbelief, "How could Little Train possibly be in his hands?"
Shan Chengjun snapped, "What kind of question is that? How the hell should I know? Hurry up and pack everything away. Don't leave behind a single shred of evidence."
Shu Wanjuan ground his teeth. "Why were you frozen stiff just now? What technique hit you?"
Shan Chengjun shook his head. "I honestly don't know what technique that was. I took one step forward, and my body felt as if it had turned to stone. I couldn't move an inch."
Shu Wanjuan said bitterly, "If only you'd broken free a little sooner, Li Qi wouldn't have escaped."
Shan Chengjun chuckled. "If I had broken free any later, Li Qi wouldn't have run at all—he might have taken your life instead."
Shu Wanjuan snorted coldly. "You think far too highly of him. I may have neglected my training over the years, but dealing with him is hardly beyond me."
"You weren't the one putting your life on the line at the front, so it's easy for you to talk!" Shan Chengjun pointed at the scars covering his body. "Take a good look first. Could you have withstood all of this?"
Shu Wanjuan opened his mouth to argue, but Shan Chengjun waved him off. "Save it for when we get back to Blood Tooth Mountain. By my estimate, the Peddler will be here shortly. If you're really not convinced, you can have a nice chat with him."
"The Peddler is really coming?" Shu Wanjuan grew tense.
"He might not, but I'm not taking that gamble." Shan Chengjun coughed twice, his mouth filling with the salty metallic tang of blood. "I'm telling you, if you don't leave now, I'm going without you. If the Peddler shows up, I'm in no condition to fight him like this."
*Clack-a-tink, clack-a-tink!*
The Peddler shook his pellet drum, pushing his handcart along as he hawked his wares, when an alarm clock on the cart suddenly began ringing.
*Brrrring!* The alarm clock hopped over to the Peddler. Its minute and hour hands crossed over each other as it shouted at him, "Come quickly! Come quickly!"
A woman browsing for toilet water happened to spot the alarm clock.
She could not hear it speaking, but she could hear how loud it was.
Being that loud proved it was made with top-notch quality. The woman asked, "How much for this clock?"
The Peddler set the alarm clock aside with a genial smile. "This one isn't for sale."
The woman frowned. "Name a price, cheap or dear. Do you think I can't afford it, or what?"
"It isn't a matter of price. This clock is broken." The Peddler patted the alarm clock. Feeling wronged, the clock started wailing even louder.
The Peddler chuckled. "You see? The clock won't even shut off. It really is broken. I'll be back through here in a few days, and I'll bring you a good one then."
Once the woman was gone, the Peddler glared at the clock. "What are you shouting about?"
"Something happened at home!"
"What happened?"
"Someone's burning down your house!"
Veins bulged on the Peddler's forehead. Pushing his cart, he dashed all the way up onto the clouds.
A column of thick smoke drifted toward the edge of the clouds. From a great distance, the Peddler could already see the glow of flames.
"You little bastard, you really did burn it!" Frantic with worry, the Peddler ran beneath the building clutching a leather bucket. He hurled the bucket into the air, where it instantly expanded to an enormous size, unfurling a cascading waterfall that circled the mansion.
While the bucket fought the fire, the Peddler searched for the culprit.
A woman pushed open a second-floor window and called down to him, "He's lying in the back courtyard. He can barely move."
This woman was the Heavenly Maiden's dwelling spirit, the master Thief Cultivator the Peddler had mentioned.
Paying her no mind, the Peddler went straight to the back courtyard, where he found Li Banfeng lying on the ground.
"Your cultivation is growing terrifyingly fast. Now even I have trouble tracking you down." The Peddler rummaged through his cart for medicinal powders and tended to Li Banfeng's wounds.
Wiping the blood from his face, Li Banfeng smiled. "It wasn't easy for me to find you, either."
The Peddler glanced back at the still-burning building. "Are you saying you had a good reason to burn my house down?"
Li Banfeng looked at the structure. "Your house isn't made of flammable materials. It took me a tremendous amount of effort to get it lit."
The Peddler snapped, "Stop spouting nonsense! How did you get injured like this?"
Li Banfeng smiled with casual ease. "I ran into two fellows in the newland and had a bit of a scrap with them. Nothing to make a fuss over. The reason I sought you out this time is because I know how hard you work peddling your wares every day, so I brought you something nice."
The Peddler asked in surprise, "You brought me something nice? It's rare for you to be so thoughtful. I certainly won't turn it down!"
Li Banfeng pulled out the covenant deed and handed it to him.
The Peddler froze. "Where did you get this?"
"Snagged it from Shan Chengjun and Shu Wanjuan," Li Banfeng said.
Taking the covenant deed, the Peddler looked at the battered, bloodied Li Banfeng and was left speechless for a long time.
Li Banfeng pushed himself upright with effort and glanced upstairs. "I'll apologize to sister-in-law another day. The fire grew a bit out of hand. But it had to be big enough to find you quickly. Carrying an item like this on me, there's no telling how many people would be gunning for my life."
The Peddler held the deed back out to Li Banfeng. "This deed ought to belong to you, and so should this territory."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I have no interest in it, but plenty of others do. This territory is too tempting a prize. You need to find someone suitable to keep it safe. The slightest carelessness will bring about a storm of blood."
The Peddler pondered for a long time before tucking the deed into his cabinet. "You're right. I was careless before. This thing cannot be entrusted to anyone else again. Brother, you've done me an immense favor. Whatever you want as a reward, as long as it's within my power, just name it!"
Li Banfeng stared at the Peddler's cart, looking it up and down for a long while.
The Peddler twitched his nose, realizing he had spoken too boldly.
"Brother, this cart... well, it's really not as much fun as it looks—"
Li Banfeng asked, "Do you have tobacco on your cart?"
The Peddler paused, then asked, "Do you want a brass bowl, a pipe, or rolled paper?"
Li Banfeng thought for a moment. "A pipe, then."
The Peddler retrieved a tobacco pipe and packed the bowl to the brim.
With the pipe between his teeth, Li Banfeng drew on it puff by puff, savoring the flavor.
When Li Banfeng returned to the companion dwelling, the sight of his battered body broke Zhao Xiaowan's heart.
"Precious husband, please lie still and don't move! These wounds are all in critical places!" Zhao Xiaowan gently cleansed his injuries. A phonograph needle sprouted from her fingertip, carefully paring away dead flesh, applying medicinal salve, and stitching the cuts closed, needle by needle.
Hong Ying ground her teeth in rage. "Seven, send people to track down Shan Chengjun's whereabouts! The moment we catch him alone, we'll chop him into ten thousand pieces!"
Hearing that, Li Banfeng perked up. "Yingying, ten thousand pieces is a bit too fine. Two or three hundred chunks will do—just right for chewing and swallowing."
Zhao Xiaowan smacked Hong Ying lightly with her hand. "My husband hasn't even recovered yet, and you're egging him on to cause trouble again! Go see if the Bronze Lotus has finished refining the pills!"
Using Shan Chengjun's blood, the Bronze Lotus had refined two medicinal pills. Mettled in crimson and azure, they were slightly smaller than the pad of a thumb. Zhao Xiaowan examined the pills for a long time, unable to make head or tail of what they were.
"What are these pills called?"
The Bronze Lotus replied, "They are called Crimson-Azure Vitality-Restoring Blood-Marrow Harmonizing Pills."
Hong Ying blinked. "Blood-what pills?"
Jiu'er also found it odd. "Whose pills have a name that long?"
The Bronze Lotus chuckled. "That only shows your lack of experience. These pills are exceptionally precious; hardly anyone has ever consumed them. Without Shan Chengjun's blood, they couldn't have been refined at all."
Zhao Xiaowan said, "Last time you had Shan Chengjun's intestines, so why didn't you refine this sort of pill then?"
The Bronze Lotus swayed its lotus leaves. "I didn't refine them last time because there was no need. Crimson-Azure Pills do not keep well. Once refined, they must be consumed within a single day, or their medicinal potency will dissipate entirely."
Taking both pills, Li Banfeng said, "Then let's not waste them. I'll take them right now."
Zhao Xiaowan stopped him. "Husband, be careful!"
The Bronze Lotus sighed. "General Zhao, why must you guard against me every single day as if I were a thief? Shan Chengjun's flesh and blood soaked into Little Train—wasn't it thanks to me that it was collected? Still, you have a point; it pays to be cautious. It's best to take only one. If you take too many and something goes wrong, you'll have to find a Xuanqing flower."
The Xuanqing flower was an herb specifically used to treat cases where a weakened body could not endure an excess of tonic nourishment. Back then, Li Banfeng had nearly fought Qiu Luoye to the death over that very flower.
Shui Yongquan knew where to find Xuanqing flowers, so procuring one would not be difficult, but one had to consider whether taking that risk was necessary.
Li Banfeng asked, "Is one pill enough?"
The Bronze Lotus said, "In theory, it should be. Even if it falls slightly short in potency, you will simply heal more slowly. Resting at home for a few extra days will make up the difference."
Zhao Xiaowan advised taking only one, but Li Banfeng wanted to know how much slower one pill would be compared to two.
The Bronze Lotus replied, "That depends on your own fortune. It might only be three to five days, or it could be three to five years."
Li Banfeng shook the two pills in his hand. "Since two were refined, I might as well take both. Leaving one behind would be a waste."
"It wouldn't be wasted," the Bronze Lotus said, stretching its leaves and brushing against the wall. "If you only take one, leave the other for Little Train. His injuries are quite severe as well."
Li Banfeng held out both pills. "Give them both to the companion dwelling! I can endure this on my own!"
Zhao Xiaowan urged, "One for my husband, and one for the old master. You both need nourishment, but neither of you should overdo it."
Heeding his wife's counsel, Li Banfeng took one of the pills and went to Room Three. Using Discerning Spiritual Sound to listen closely, he could hear the companion dwelling's sluggish breathing.
"Old master, can you speak?"
"I can..." The voice was so faint it was barely audible.
Li Banfeng brought out a Crimson-Azure Pill. "Can you take this medicine?"
The pill trembled several times in Li Banfeng's hand before finally disappearing. The companion dwelling was exceedingly weak, having to strain just to take a single pill.
After about half an hour, the companion dwelling spoke. "It's good medicine. You can take it too."
Li Banfeng swallowed his pill as well and sat leaning against the wall in Room Three.
Both were heavily injured, and speaking took great effort, but fortunately neither was in a rush, conversing slowly, one sentence at a time.
"Old master, was it Shan Chengjun who hurt you like this?"
The companion dwelling let out a long sigh. "It can only be called an unfortunate coincidence. Suddenly so many carriages appeared, and I have no idea why. Some felt familiar, while others left me with no impression at all. Pulling so many carriages requires immense effort, but my steam pressure just wouldn't build up. When you were fighting Shan Chengjun, I could barely drag them along. I closed all the valves and shoveled coal frantically, trying to build up the steam pressure, but in my haste, the steam drum blew a leak. Once injured, I couldn't recover in time, and that bastard Shan Chengjun sprayed his blood across me, catching me off guard."
Li Qi smiled wryly. "Those carriages appeared right after my advancement. In that sense, I'm the one who harmed you."
The companion dwelling chuckled. "That hardly counts as harm. I think having more carriages is a good thing. I just can't fathom where they came from, nor do I know what kind of people live inside them."
Li Banfeng smiled. "If we can't figure it out, then let's not dwell on it."
"Ah Qi, we have more than thirty-three carriages now. There are two more, but their doors won't open."
Li Banfeng was not worried. "They will open eventually. This is our home, after all."
Learning that Li Banfeng had been injured, Ma the Fifth rushed back to Carefree Dock. Seeing the terrifying wounds across Li Qi's body, he flew into a rage. "I'm taking our men to confront He Jiaqing right now!"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "There's no need to go to him. Just arrange for someone to take two baskets of flower petals and scatter them in front of his film studio. That will settle the matter."
Ma the Fifth did not understand what scattering petals would accomplish—could it really summon the Hundred Flowers God?
Still, since Old Seven had arranged it, Ma the Fifth immediately ordered his men to see to it.
When Shen Rongqing saw the flower petals before the film studio, he quickly contacted He Jiaqing.
At that moment, He Jiaqing was by the bedside tending to the gravely wounded Datou.
Because He Jiaqing's cultivation stood above the clouds, he could not serve as the local deity of these thirteen territories, so he had appointed Datou to take the mantle in his stead.
Datou held more than just this single territory. Even though the covenant deed had been dug up and he had lost the majority of his status, his other territories kept him anchored. Combined with a few Thief Cultivator techniques He Jiaqing applied, Datou's life was narrowly preserved.
Upon receiving Shen Rongqing's message, He Jiaqing's anger flared.
The territory had already been conceded to him—what more did this Hundred Flowers God want? Did he want to take back the Hundred Flowers Sect as well?
Datou was even more furious. "Jiaqing, you don't need to step in for this. Once I'm on the mend, I'll go settle scores with Ma the Fifth myself!"
He Jiaqing shook his head. "Confronting Ma the Fifth is pointless. This matter isn't so simple. Rest up first."
After seeing to Datou, He Jiaqing headed for Kucaizhuang. He sought out Granny Kucai to demand an explanation.
Listening to He Jiaqing's account, Granny Kucai sensed something amiss. "The Hundred Flowers God is not Ai Yeqing. Are you certain Ai Yeqing is behind this?"
He Jiaqing was not certain, but he had to pin this matter firmly on Ai Yeqing.
He brought out several copper coins. "These are the coins he struck me with. I had them specially examined—they are precisely the weapons Ai Yeqing uses most frequently. Ordinary folk might not recognize them, but the Peddler certainly knows his wares. I want to demand an explanation from him: what right did Ai Yeqing have to touch my territory?!"
Granny Kucai looked at He Jiaqing. "You want to demand an explanation from the Peddler?"
"Yes!" He Jiaqing nodded. "For the sake of these thirteen territories, I risked my life in the inner provinces. The Peddler agreed that these thirteen territories would belong to me. Now that my land has been stolen, he ought to—"
"Have you no shame?!" Granny Kucai snapped, cutting He Jiaqing short.
He Jiaqing stared at Granny Kucai in astonishment.
He had come to Kucaizhuang hoping to bring Granny Kucai with him to confront the Peddler.
With someone of Granny Kucai's stature intervening in person, the Peddler would surely have to provide an answer.
Yet He Jiaqing had never expected Granny Kucai to take such an attitude.
"Granny, I am not in the wrong here!"
"Then tell me, whose fault is it?" Granny Kucai set down the bitter herbs in her hands. "Back then, we exhausted every effort to secure the Red Lotus from the Dark Star Bureau and place it in your hands—for what purpose? Because the Peddler had mishandled certain affairs, and Puluo Province needed change! That is why we invested our painstaking efforts into you! Now that you've lost your own territory, you run to the Peddler demanding justice? If you expect the Peddler to grant you justice, what can I possibly expect from you?!"
He Jiaqing fell silent.
Granny Kucai said, "Ai Yeqing stole your territory. However he took it, that is how you must take it back!"
He Jiaqing said, "Ma Junyang is also involved in this, and very likely Li Qi as well."
Granny Kucai said, "Are you afraid? Wasn't Li Qi brought to Puluo Province by your own hand?"
He Jiaqing took up the vegetable basin and helped Granny Kucai pluck bitter herbs, uttering not another word.
The next day, He Jiaqing contacted Duan Shuqun. "Hand the Hundred Flowers Sect back to Zhang Xiuling. Make a grand spectacle of it."
Duan Shuqun did not understand. "Jiaqing, make a grand spectacle over this?"
It was hardly something to boast about.
He Jiaqing said, "A grand spectacle is mandatory. Invite Ma Junyang to serve as witness."
Zhang Xiuling was reinstated as sect master of the Hundred Flowers Sect. Li Qi, Ma the Fifth, and Fatty Qin went together to offer their congratulations.
After the gathering dispersed, the three brothers shared a meal at Carefree Dock. Ma the Fifth poured wine for Li Qi first. "Old Seven, I'm truly in awe of you. Two baskets of flower petals were enough to win back the Hundred Flowers Sect?"
Li Qi merely smiled without speaking. Qin Tianjiu pondered for a long time, unable to make sense of the logic.
Ma the Fifth, however, had guessed a portion of the truth. "That night, when I traded blows with He Jiaqing, quite a few bizarre things happened. Afterward, I gave it some thought. Old Seven, were you helping me from the shadows?"
Li Banfeng nodded.
Ma the Fifth slapped his thigh. "Did you beat He Jiaqing into submission in secret, which is why he's acting so obedient?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "The one he submitted to wasn't me, but the Hundred Flowers God."
Qin Tianjiu asked, "Seventh Brother, there are no outsiders here. Tell me the truth: was the Hundred Flowers God actually you in disguise?"
Li Banfeng shook his head again. "The person impersonating the Hundred Flowers God is someone else, and more than one person, in fact."
"More than one person..." Ma the Fifth thought it over carefully. "The one who stole my leg tendons—was it He Jiaqing or the Hundred Flowers God?"
Li Banfeng said, "I believe it was the Hundred Flowers God."
Ma the Fifth grasped the reasoning. "He made me suffer a loss first, then turned around to deal with He Jiaqing—he was deliberately stirring up trouble on both sides!"
Qin Tianjiu asked, "Was that hoodlum who frequently caused trouble at Carefree Dock also one of the Hundred Flowers God's people?"
"Hard to say," Li Banfeng said, swirling his cup. "He shouldn't be a subordinate of the Hundred Flowers God."
Qin Tianjiu was taken aback. "How can Seventh Brother tell?"
Li Banfeng explained, "Stealing Old Five's leg tendons on the train stirred up trouble in a single stroke, and whether he succeeded or failed, that person was confident he could get away. That is what stirring up trouble looks like. The fellow making trouble at Carefree Dock did so multiple times without escalating things very far, nor had he prepared a proper escape route. If Old Nine had brought more men that day, he might very well have captured him alive. Once captured, everything would have been exposed. The Hundred Flowers God wouldn't take such a massive risk for such negligible gain."
Realization dawned upon Qin Tianjiu. "Seventh Brother is right! That person was an expert. If he truly wanted to cause trouble, he wouldn't resort to hooligan tactics—he would have targeted Fifth Brother directly."
Li Banfeng said, "His actions made no sense; there must be another motive behind it."
With their previous grievances temporarily settled, Ma the Fifth grew more clearheaded. "Old Seven is right. We need to ferret this person out."
Qin Tianjiu raised his wine cup. "Brothers, leave this matter to me."
Li Banfeng stayed at Carefree Dock for two days. Judging that enough time had passed, he headed to Yesong Bridge.
He had ordered a batch of furniture from Xiao Yeci, and Xiao Yeci had indeed finished it. "Benefactor, should these furnishings be delivered to the train station?"
Li Banfeng had custom-ordered furniture sized for train carriages, so Xiao Yeci assumed it was meant for a private train.
"No need. Just deliver everything to my residence."
Before the goods were delivered, Li Banfeng granted his household servants a month of leave.
The housekeeper was somewhat confused. "Lord Seven, you just gave us a month's leave not long ago."
Li Banfeng said, "I felt one month was a bit short, so I'm giving you another. Go to the accounting office to collect your travel expenses and wages."
In Li Banfeng's household, servants on leave received their wages, travel expenses, and an extra sum to bring home and buy nice things for their families.
With the servants sent away, Li Banfeng received the furniture and began moving it inside.
Twenty carriages' worth of furniture seemed like a massive amount, but there were plenty of capable hands in the household. In less than an hour, everything had been moved into the companion dwelling.
Li Banfeng took great care arranging it all, shifting tables, carrying chairs, and setting up folding screens, giving each carriage a distinct layout.
Zhao Xiaowan and Jiu'er went out to the streets and bought pots, pans, bowls, basins, brushes, inkstones, knives, forks, chopsticks, spoons, pillows, mattresses, bed curtains, and drapes—a massive haul of household goods.
Once the furniture and goods were all neatly arranged, Li Banfeng walked through the companion dwelling room by room, feeling increasingly delighted with every step.
He walked back and forth over a hundred times. With each lap, he felt not only pleasure, but also a slight sense of incompleteness.
Room Six lacked a wine flagon, Room Eight lacked a brush rest, Room Sixteen lacked a stool, Room Twenty-Eight lacked a flower vase... Wherever something was missing, Li Banfeng immediately dashed into the street to buy it, running back and forth without growing tired of it in the least.
He kept running until late into the night, when the street shops had closed, yet lying in bed, Li Banfeng still could not fall asleep.
Zhao Xiaowan asked, "Precious husband, do you have something on your mind?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "I have my eye on a tea set, celadon porcelain. It would look exceptionally handsome displayed in our main room."
Zhao Xiaowan yawned. "Precious husband, let's not fuss anymore. Look what hour it is. Hurry and sleep."
"Wife, I truly think it looks wonderful!"
"Whatever my husband fancies is bound to look wonderful. First thing tomorrow morning, we'll go buy it."
The next morning, Li Banfeng woke up before five o'clock, eager to purchase the tea set.
Normally, when he wasn't furnishing a home, he gave it no thought, but once he started, he couldn't let it go. He had spent the entire night obsessing over that tea set.
Rubbing her eyes, Zhao Xiaowan said, "Husband, at this ungodly hour, what porcelain shop would be open? Can't you sleep a bit longer?"
Li Banfeng could not sleep at all, so he called Hong Ying out to spar and practice techniques.
Hong Ying cared little for the house's furnishings; so long as things were usable, she was satisfied.
Yet the moment practicing techniques was mentioned, her drowsiness vanished.
Standing face-to-face in the courtyard, Li Banfeng raised one foot.
Recognizing the stance, Hong Ying smiled. "Practicing Trampling Ten Thousand Rivers? Fine by me; I'm fond of that one too."
Zhao Xiaowan grew worried. "Why practice that? That technique injures people far too easily!"
Hong Ying chuckled. "Xiaowan, don't worry. Even though Seven's cultivation has grown, he can't harm me with Travel Cultivator skills alone."
Zhao Xiaowan snapped, "Who cares if you get hurt? I'm worried you'll hurt my husband!"
Hong Ying took up her stance. "Seven, come at me! I'll let you strike first. If you can hurt me, I'll call it your skill!"
Channelling Kindness in Dwelling, Li Banfeng stomped down with Trampling Ten Thousand Rivers.
The strike was not aimed accurately, landing a fair distance from Hong Ying.
Hong Ying shook her head. "Seven, you're looking down on me too much. Practicing like this takes all the fun out of it; I won't go easy on you like that."
Li Banfeng stepped back a few paces. "Come at me!"
"Alright!" Grinning fiercely, Hong Ying took a step forward, then froze stock-still.
Taken aback, Zhao Xiaowan stepped forward and patted Hong Ying's cheek.
*Thump! Thump!*
The grin remained on Hong Ying's face, but her cheek felt crisp and as hard as stone.
Jiu'er gasped, "Xiaowan, did you tap her spear tip?"
Before she could finish, Hong Ying shuddered, drew a deep breath, and coughed repeatedly.
She could move again. Staring at Li Banfeng in shock, she asked, "Seven, what technique did you just use?"
This was a new technique, the very one Li Banfeng had used to freeze Shan Chengjun in place.
Executing Trampling Ten Thousand Rivers combined with Kindness in Dwelling would freeze an opponent.
The target did not freeze immediately, but rather froze upon taking a step.
The duration of the freeze was not long—by Li Banfeng's estimate, roughly a dozen seconds.
Hong Ying's body had become exceptionally durable just now, so attacking her head-on would likely have yielded little effect.
Yet during those ten-odd seconds, she was completely immobilized, leaving open a vast range of possibilities.
Envious, Hong Ying tugged on Li Banfeng's hand. "Seven, just tell me: how did you use Trampling Ten Thousand Rivers like that?"
Li Banfeng smiled profoundly. "That wasn't Trampling Ten Thousand Rivers. That was a Mad Cultivator art: Entrenching One's Steps."
The name had been made up by Li Banfeng on the spot. The Judge's Brush let out a cold snort: *"Entrenching one's steps" doesn't even mean that.*
Hong Ying could not comprehend the technique, much less what kind of discipline Mad Cultivation was.
The two practiced for the entire morning. Li Banfeng perfected the technique, while Hong Ying remained entirely baffled.
Back inside the companion dwelling, Li Banfeng poured a cup of tea from a celadon teapot, sipping it as he explained to Hong Ying, "If you want to learn Entrenching One's Steps, you must know Dwelling Cultivator arts. It's far too late for you to take up Dwelling Cultivation now."
Hong Ying refused to yield. "What Dwelling Cultivator art? That was clearly Trampling Ten Thousand Rivers! Just teach it to me! Everything I know, I've taught to you!"
Li Banfeng had no idea how to explain it to her. "Drink a cup of tea first, and listen to me take it slowly."
He set down his teacup and reached for the teapot to pour tea for Hong Ying, only to find the teapot gone.
"Where's the teapot?"
Zhao Xiaowan was startled. "What teapot?"
Li Banfeng pointed at the table. "The celadon teapot. It was sitting right here on the table a moment ago."
Zhao Xiaowan remembered. "We haven't bought that tea set yet. I'm going out to the street with Jiu'er to buy it shortly."
"Haven't bought it? Then my teacup just now—" Li Banfeng looked at the table, and the cup he had just been drinking from was gone as well.
Li Banfeng licked his lips; the moisture of the tea still lingered on them.
He looked toward Hong Ying. "I was just drinking tea. Did you see me?"
Hong Ying blinked for a long time. "It... seemed like you were."
Li Banfeng stood frozen in bewilderment. "If there was no teacup, what was I drinking tea with?"
Chapter 797