Li Banfeng stared fixedly at the table, repeating word by word, "Teapot. Celadon teapot. Filled with tea, complete with teacups—a celadon teapot!"
Zhao Xiaowan didn't dare stop Li Banfeng, so she could only whisper to Hong Ying, "Did you really see my husband drinking tea just now?"
Hong Ying rubbed her cheeks, rubbed her eyes, bit her finger, and scratched at the spearhead nestled in her hair.
Zhao Xiaowan snapped, "I asked you a question. Did you see it or not?"
Hong Ying whispered, "I think I did..."
A moment ago, her head had been entirely filled with that Trampling Countless Rivers move that could freeze someone in place; she hadn't paid any attention at all to tea drinking.
Li Banfeng lingered beside the table for more than half an hour without budging. More and more bloodshot veins crept across his eyes, making his expression look increasingly eerie.
The Old Teapot sighed. "Old Seven, isn't it just having a cup of tea? I have plenty of tea here—drink as much as your heart desires! Stop this nonsense; you're frightening everyone in the house..."
No matter who tried to persuade him, Li Banfeng couldn't take it in.
He firmly believed he had just poured tea from a celadon teapot and drunk it from a celadon cup.
He was convinced he had mastered the All Wishes Fulfilled technique and successfully conjured a tea set out of thin air in the main room.
The Bronze Lotus said, "Ah Qi, your talent truly is remarkable, but isn't this rushing things a bit too much? You've only been learning for a few days, yet you want to master the hardest technique in the Dwelling Cultivator lineage? Besides, have you earnestly studied the foundational techniques I taught you before?"
Li Banfeng said, "I studied them thoroughly. The first foundation is Counting One's Own Treasures—does that even need to be said?"
The Bronze Lotus replied, "That doesn't need to be said; you truly did master Counting One's Own Treasures well."
Li Banfeng continued, "The second foundation is Live in Peace and Work Happily. Before, my understanding was too shallow; this technique isn't as simple as lounging at home hoarding good fortune. Only when life has something to strive toward can one truly live in peace and work happily. A sense of purpose isn't easy to define, and the technique is indeed difficult to cultivate, but I've already discovered the knack."
The Bronze Lotus was somewhat astonished. This madman's comprehension truly was extraordinary.
"Still, you definitely can't bypass Hiding a Beauty in a Golden House, can you?" The Bronze Lotus chuckled. "How about I show you Zuo Wugang's portrait again?"
"Stop bringing that up just to choke me!" Li Banfeng handed his notebook to the Bronze Lotus. "Look at the effort I put in. The charming beauties in these notes pulled a massive weight against Shu Wanjuan."
The Bronze Lotus extended a lotus leaf, flipping through the notebook page by page. Every page described a character with distinctive traits.
In terms of prose, not all of it could be called good; barely thirty percent of the notebook could be considered top-tier.
Yet the effort poured into it was undeniable.
When she came across the description of Zhao Xiaowan, the Bronze Lotus was deeply captivated. Li Banfeng had devoted a full twenty pages to Zhao Xiaowan. Between the lines, every word brimmed with genuine feeling and deep affection. After reading just a few pages, the Bronze Lotus's leaves trembled.
"Why can't that shameless scoundrel write something this wonderful..."
Nearby, Hong Ying asked the Bronze Lotus, "Who's that shameless scoundrel?"
The Bronze Lotus gave a huff. "I'm talking about you!"
Hong Ying patted the lotus core. "Let me look inside your heart-apertures... there's no trace of me there. Were you really talking about me?"
"I was talking about you," the Bronze Lotus said, turning the page of the notebook with her lotus leaf. "Past Zhao Xiaowan's page, it should be your turn. Let's see what Li Qi wrote about you."
The next page read:
*There is a maiden, Bronze Lotus:*
*Her form is a lotus, her substance bronze, her heart as venomous as vipers and scorpions.*
*Lotus leaves are her surface, layered green waves concealing killing intent.*
*The lotus heart is her core, golden stamens tinged with azure hiding cruelty.*
*Pink petals powder her face, brimming with a thousand shades of charm.*
*Seven apertures suspend the heart, dormant with ten thousand years of resentful malice!*
*When flowers and leaves unfold, a whole body of flesh and blood turns to fine nectar.*
*When lotus seeds are born, half a lifetime's cultivation transforms into a golden pill!*
Hong Ying studied it carefully for a moment, then touched the lotus heart again. "Is this really talking about me?"
The Bronze Lotus tossed the notebook aside and pointed a leaf at Li Banfeng, cursing, "You heartless, mad scoundrel! To think I taught you so many techniques! Calling me the most venomous woman in the world—from now on, don't ask me about anything! And if you want medicinal pills, don't come looking to me ever again!"
Li Banfeng ignored the Bronze Lotus, staring at the table, continuing to envision the teapot.
In his state of rapt concentration, he truly did catch sight of a teapot's silhouette. Li Banfeng burst into loud laughter, snatching the teapot straight from Jiu'er's hands. "Wahahaha, the technique worked!"
Jiu'er said timidly, "Ah Qi, I just bought that teapot."
Seeing Li Banfeng so obsessively fixated, Jiu'er had feared something might go wrong, so she had bought a tea set from the street and intended to sneak it into the main room while he wasn't looking.
She hadn't expected Li Banfeng to snatch it before she could even set it down.
"Bought?" Li Banfeng was sorely disappointed, hanging his head as he stepped out of the companion dwelling.
Madam chided, "Jiu'er, really, why tell him you bought it? If you had said it appeared out of thin air, he would have believed you!"
Jiu'er looked aggrieved. "If it really appeared out of thin air, I wouldn't have said a word—it came straight out of my hands! If I lied to him and he asks later, how could I explain myself?"
Madam was deeply worried. "Seeing him so frustrated, I fear trouble will brew."
In truth, Li Banfeng wasn't that angry. Yesong Bridge was his territory, and after taking a stroll down the street, his mood improved considerably.
The Bronze Lotus had once explained that the essential principle of All Wishes Fulfilled was that whatever you wished for would come to pass.
Li Banfeng had thought about that celadon tea set for a whole day and night. It was likely because his longing had been so intense that the technique had succeeded before.
Now that Jiu'er had bought the tea set, Li Banfeng was no longer pining for it. To continue practicing the All Wishes Fulfilled technique, he needed to fixate on a different object.
Li Banfeng was browsing the street for something he liked. Ahead lay a newly opened curios shop; he was about to head inside to take a look when he received a phone call from Luo Shaojun at Qishuiyao.
"Brother Seven, Sister Lijun gathered intel in Chaoge: Qiao Yi is about to make a ruthless move against the Imperial Envoy."
Critic still hadn't returned from Chaoge; Li Banfeng had nearly forgotten about this.
He contacted Pineapple via the hook, telling Pineapple and Ba Suan to bring Tianyi City to Qishuiyao.
Li Banfeng rode Tianyi City to the State of Shang. As before, Tianyi City did not dock; twenty li from shore, Li Banfeng flew toward Chaoge on his own.
As soon as he flew above the port, Li Banfeng noticed something was amiss. Over half the patrol warships were gone, and less than thirty percent of the coastal garrison remained.
At first glance, Chaoge appeared utterly desolate.
Viewing it again with the Golden Eyes of Keen Detail, however, Chaoge was livelier than ever.
Desolate, because not a living soul was in sight. Walking from the First Ring City to the Third Ring City, Li Banfeng did not encounter a single living human aside from the soldiers guarding the city gates.
Lively, because dead souls were everywhere. Some were spacing out by the roadside, some were singing opera on rooftops, and a few young maidens peered into wells as mirrors, earnestly dressing up and applying makeup.
In front of a mansion lay a corpse, surrounded by a crowd of dead souls looking on. They fiddled with the body, curious and somewhat covetous, and some souls even tried to squeeze their way into the corpse.
Li Banfeng walked up, pulled out the whip Prince Chun had given him, and cracked it in midair.
*Crack!*
At the sound of the whip, the crowd of souls scattered in all directions. Only a blond-haired, blue-eyed man remained, still crouched beside the corpse, engrossed in his research.
This man was no ghost; he was Critic.
Seeing Li Banfeng, he wasn't surprised at all. He pointed at the corpse and said, "This person is very special."
Li Banfeng crouched down beside him and looked. It was the corpse of a three-headed person, and all three heads were female.
"What's so special about her?"
Critic said, "On the third day after the plague broke out, this woman died. She was a member of the royal family; everyone in her family perished on that same day, and she was the one who held out until the very end, so she left a very deep impression on me. A tremendous number of people died that day, and her corpse wasn't disposed of promptly. Yet two days later, I saw her in the Ninth Ring City."
Li Banfeng felt this wasn't an issue worth dwelling on. "The souls of those tainted by dark energy all go to the Great Smelter; you should know that."
Critic shook his head. "What I saw wasn't her dead soul, but a relatively complete person. Of course, that isn't particularly rare in Chaoge either. To a certain extent, the Great Smelter can bring the dead back to life, and it does so according to the wishes of certain people, reviving them in a designated manner."
Li Banfeng said, "Like the localized deities—giving them new flesh and blood so they can be reborn."
Critic nodded. "Yes. From what my investigations have uncovered over this period, the scope of resurrection encompasses not only localized deities, but also highly decorated generals, nobles with special bloodlines, and even enemies of particular value. Any of them can potentially be resurrected; the final say rests with the court—or to be precise, in Qiao Yi's hands. Take this woman: her lineage was exceedingly noble, and she had a special relationship with Qiao Yi, so Qiao Yi granted her an opportunity for resurrection. He even specifically instructed me not to harm her again, and I agreed."
Li Banfeng glanced at the woman's corpse. "Judging by the current state of things, it seems you didn't honor your agreement with Qiao Yi."
Critic's expression grew displeased. "Others might not understand me, but you should know that I am a man of my word. Whatever I promise, I will unfailingly keep. I didn't harm this woman; I even took measures to boost her resistance to the plague. Yet she died nonetheless. I believe you should know the reason behind it."
"How could I possibly know?" Li Banfeng was completely baffled. "I don't even know this woman!"
Critic explained, "The cause doesn't lie with this woman, but with the Great Smelter. The Great Smelter was sabotaged—you had a hand in that, didn't you?"
That was an awkward question to answer. Li Banfeng hadn't directly taken part in sabotaging the Great Smelter, but his assault on the Bandit-Subduing Battalion at the time had indeed created favorable conditions for its destruction.
Critic continued, "To be exact, this woman was never truly resurrected. What I saw back then was likely just a walking corpse. You could interpret it as possession by a ghost, or as a living corpse. After some time, her soul left her body once more, and Qiao Yi's repeated attempts to revive her failed. Qiao Yi believes this is my fault, which is obviously absurd. The fundamental reason this woman cannot be resurrected is that the damaged Great Smelter has lost its ability to bring people back to life. For the entirety of Great Shang, this is a catastrophic blow."
Hearing this grave news, Li Banfeng's mood brightened considerably.
"It seems the harvest from this operation exceeded expectations. It's time for you to return to Puluo Province to collect your reward."
Hearing this, Critic was somewhat moved. "My friend, did you come specifically to take me back? I thought you were only here to investigate Chaoge."
Li Banfeng said, "Out of our friendship, I advise you to leave Chaoge with me immediately."
"I'm not leaving," Critic shook his head. "Because I've already received the most bountiful reward."
"What reward?"
Critic stood up and looked around. "Chaoge is my reward. Here, I have stepped into the palace of my dreams."
Li Banfeng knew what Critic's dream was.
His dream had indeed made monumental progress here.
"Qiao Yi wants to kill you. I've received definitive intel. There's still time to leave now."
Critic smiled. "I am well aware of that. Qiao Yi is a terrifying man; perhaps tomorrow he will take my life. But what does that matter? Isn't it wonderful that I leave my dream in the State of Shang? Would you rather I bring my dream to Puluo Province?"
These words actually left Li Banfeng speechless.
After a long silence, Li Banfeng found a reason: "You've finished your work in Chaoge. The people here are almost wiped out; staying here any longer serves no purpose."
"It does serve a purpose!" Critic disagreed. "There is a form of life that continues to thrive in Chaoge. They too contracted the plague and exhibited the corresponding symptoms, but they did not die; after some time, they fully recovered."
Li Banfeng thought for a moment. "What form of life are you talking about?"
"Living weapons! Weapons modified from living beings by the State of Shang," Critic looked toward the courtyard of the mansion. "Inside this courtyard sits a first-class weapon, placed here by Qiao Yi to protect this woman. I conducted several experiments on that first-class weapon, and my foci couldn't kill it. I don't know what kind of lifeform these weapons actually are, but this is undeniably a subject worthy of research. If I succeed, I will achieve a breakthrough whose value is no less significant than the accomplishments we achieved together."
Li Banfeng took a deep breath. "There's something I've been meaning to discuss with you. Could you perhaps choose a different dream?"
Just as Critic was about to speak, a scholar, a commoner, and a bondservant approached the mansion.
Critic used his foci to interfere with their vision, preventing them from seeing him.
Li Banfeng didn't need to go through such trouble; if he didn't want them to see him, they certainly wouldn't.
The scholar walked forward, pointed at the woman's corpse, and looked at the commoner.
The commoner waved to the bondservant.
The bondservant lifted the corpse onto his back, the commoner followed behind carrying a whip, and the scholar strolled beside them with his hands behind his back.
Critic turned to Li Banfeng. "One person doing the labor, one supervising, and one waiting to reap the fruits. Even if one day only three people remain in Chaoge, this state of affairs won't change in the slightest. If you want me to change my dream, it's not entirely out of the question, but you'll have to convince me. Tell me: is there a better way to solve this problem?"
Li Banfeng didn't feel like convincing Critic right now.
He pulled his hat brim down, bowed slightly, and offered a salute. "Farewell, my friend."
Critic took off his hat and returned the bow. "I hope to see you again, my friend."
***
After leaving the State of Shang, Li Banfeng felt a wave of exhaustion. He suspected he might have been infected by a focus.
This wasn't anything to fear; activating the Sit Back and Relax technique and sleeping in a room would suffice.
Li Banfeng slept for a full day and night, yet upon waking, he still felt lethargic.
He showed no symptoms of illness, but there were signs of a Dwelling Cultivator backlash.
"That shouldn't be!" Li Banfeng carefully sensed his own cultivation. "It feels pretty balanced to me."
In the newland, during that brutal battle against Shan Chengjun and Shu Wanjuan, every step had walked the razor's edge between life and death. From that sheer peril alone, his Travel Cultivator cultivation had surged considerably.
However, over this period, his Live in Peace and Work Happily technique had progressed by leaps and bounds, increasing his Dwelling Cultivator cultivation significantly as well. The two sides were in balance, with no gap between them.
Why would there be a backlash?
Zhao Xiaowan couldn't make sense of it either, and turned a tender, affectionate gaze toward the Bronze Lotus.
The Bronze Lotus snapped, "I'm the most venomous woman in the world—what are you looking at me for?"
Zhao Xiaowan gently stroked the lotus heart. "Sister, back in the beginning, it was just the two of us in this household. Do you still not know what kind of temperament my husband has? He's habitually mischievous and just scribbled a few nonsensical lines—are you really holding it against him? That page of absurdities was just a joke from start to finish; not a single word came from his heart."
The Bronze Lotus hooked Zhao Xiaowan's chin with a lotus leaf. "If it didn't come from his heart, why did he write about you so beautifully?"
Zhao Xiaowan stroked the lotus leaf gently. "Sister, you are a celestial being, while my husband wields a mortal pen. How could a mortal pen ever capture the dazzling beauty of someone from the heavens?"
These words softened the lotus heart after all, and the Bronze Lotus offered a hint: "When there are many residences, one must invest more thought and effort. I'm not saying the rain and dew must fall equally on all, but one cannot leave places unattended forever."
Zhao Xiaowan understood immediately. "Husband, let's go visit Ling'er."
After sleeping for two days at the Yucui Brothel, Li Banfeng regained some vigor, but still hadn't fully recovered.
He then headed to his dwelling in Hulu Village, only to find A'yu busily shuffling two sets of mahjong tiles with great enthusiasm.
Li Banfeng said, "In a bit, I'll call A'yi and Qiu Luoye up here. The four of us can play together."
A'yu waved her hand. "Don't cause trouble, I'm attending to serious business."
"What serious business requires mahjong?"
A'yu shuffled the tiles for over an hour before drawing the One of Bamboos. After examining it for a moment, she said to Li Banfeng, "A disciple in my lineage has died twice and returned to life twice. This is rather unusual."
Li Banfeng was astonished. "You know what happens to the disciples of your lineage?"
A'yu said, "Only the broad strokes. Normally, I don't pay much attention to everyday matters, but this person is just too unique. Resurrecting twice—she must have defected to the Inner Province and visited the Great Smelter. But how great a contribution could she have made for the Inner Province to grant her two chances at resurrection?"
Had the Great Smelter truly resurrected her disciple?
Li Banfeng asked, "Did that disciple of yours genuinely come back to life, or did she become a living corpse?"
A'yu rubbed the mahjong tile several times with her fingers. "She definitely came back to life; she carries vital energy."
"When was the second resurrection?"
A'yu calculated the days. "Just within the past two or three days."
Two or three days?
Li Banfeng shook his head repeatedly. "Then this has nothing to do with the Great Smelter."
"How do you know that?"
"I just came back from the Inner Province. The Great Smelter has already lost the ability to resurrect anyone."
"The Peddler is truly ruthless—to actually destroy the Great Smelter!" A'yu exclaimed in sighs, then formed a new speculation. "My disciple is unquestionably alive. Aside from the Great Smelter, where else could bring her back? Could she have gone to the Great Totem?"
Li Banfeng was very intrigued by the Great Totem. "Can the Great Totem bring people back to life as well?"
A'yu toyed with her hair. "It can, but if one out of a hundred people who go there manages to revive, that's already a blessing from fate. For someone to be resurrected twice in a row sounds like a joke."
A one percent chance occurring twice in a row to the same person meant a probability of one in ten thousand.
"Is the probability of resurrection by the Great Totem really that low?"
A'yu shook her head. "It's not strictly that the chances are low; it's mainly that the Great Totem doesn't work properly—it's been broken for a very long time. But if that thing has been repaired, all bets are off."
"How so?"
Speaking of the Great Totem, A'yu looked somewhat tense. "The Great Totem is an artifact from Wansheng Province, and it arrived damaged. Once repaired, it won't just bring the dead back to life; it's said to be capable of producing things far more terrifying than first-class weapons. What exactly those things are, I can't say for sure right now."
Li Banfeng grew even more concerned about the Great Totem. "Sister, do you know where the Great Totem is located?"
"I truly don't know that. I looked into it before; the State of Shang has always hidden the Great Totem very deeply."
The Great Totem, resurrection, and a Peep Cultivator... Li Banfeng was reminded of someone.
"Sister, is this disciple of your lineage surnamed Lu?"
A'yu shook her head. "I can't say for sure. There are countless disciples in my lineage; detecting life and death is already the limit of my abilities. Where would I see their names?"
"You can at least tell whether they're male or female, right?"
She looked again at the One of Bamboos in her hand. "Should be female."
Li Banfeng immediately rose to his feet and, braving his fatigue, returned to Green Water City.
***
Green Water City, Yuanzhu Ward.
In an abandoned courtyard, Qin Tianjiu located the living corpse who had stirred up trouble at Xiaoyao Dock.
The courtyard had lain derelict for many years, the buildings collapsed into ruins. The living corpse had built a makeshift shelter out of bricks and curled up inside to nurse his injuries.
Qin Tianjiu had battered him severely, and upon seeing Qin Tianjiu, he refused to speak.
Yet when Qin Tianjiu brought Ma the Fifth over, the living corpse finally spoke.
"Seven... totem... Seven... totem..."
Ma the Fifth couldn't understand what he meant, but the voice sounded somewhat familiar.
The living corpse spoke again: "You've come to see me, and you won't even invite me for a cup of wine?"
These words were spoken very clearly, and Ma the Fifth immediately recognized the man's identity: "Are you Yuan Youshang?"
The other man didn't reply, but trembled uncontrollably. That name struck a deep chord within him.
Ma the Fifth hadn't misheard; this man was indeed Yuan Youshang.
Yet how had he ended up as a living corpse?
"Brother Yuan, did you come to Xiaoyao Dock specifically to find me?"
"I wanted to go to your place for a drink... I have something urgent to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Seven... totem... Seven... totem..."
Once again, Ma the Fifth couldn't understand.
Chubby Qin asked, "Could he be trying to see Brother Seven?"
Ma the Fifth thought about it. Yuan Youshang hadn't seemed to have much contact with Li Qi.
Regardless, Yuan Youshang was Ma the Fifth's friend. He first brought Yuan Youshang back to Xiaoyao Dock, then immediately contacted Li Qi.
As it happened, Li Qi had just returned to Green Water City, so Ma the Fifth quickly explained the situation.
Li Banfeng went to see Yuan Youshang, but Yuan Youshang showed no improvement.
He could manage a few relatively complete sentences, but whenever the conversation turned to critical matters, his mouth failed him.
He repeatedly muttered the words "seven" and "totem." Li Banfeng seemed to grasp his meaning: "When you say 'totem,' do you mean the Great Totem?"
"Mm!" Yuan Youshang nodded vigorously.
"Has the Great Totem been repaired?"
Yuan Youshang shuddered violently, as if recalling an utterly terrifying memory.
Shrinking into the corner of the wall, he whispered, "Seventy percent... seventy percent..."
Li Banfeng shuddered as well. He had no idea what functions the Great Totem possessed, but that "seventy percent" sent a piercing chill down his spine.
P.S.: Just where on earth is the Great Totem?
Chapter 798