Huan Wuchang drew out a folding fan, snapped it open, and gave it two gentle waves before his chest.
A draft of cold wind swept past. The fat-bellied CRT television vanished, replaced by a landscape scroll.
The picture frame resting atop the television disappeared as well, replaced by a painting of a graceful beauty.
The sofa became a wooden armchair, the wardrobe turned into a tall cupboard, and the scent of old furniture drifted away, yielding to the delicate fragrance of agarwood.
The entire room transformed from a dilapidated apartment in an old city district into a grand mansion of Puluo Province. It looked older, yet it had lost its previous suffocating gloom.
Huan Wuchang glanced at Li Banfeng. "Much easier on the eyes now, wouldn't you say?"
Could this be what the place really looked like?
Li Banfeng swept his gaze around the room, then shook his head. "It is still an illusion."
Huan Wuchang was somewhat surprised. People capable of seeing through his illusions were rare indeed. "I heard from Old Mother Ku that you are a Travel Cultivator, but there is something unusual about those eyes of yours. Do you also cultivate another path?"
Li Banfeng did not answer. He merely offered an evaluation: "What is false remains false in the end."
"The true and the false—must you draw such a sharp line between them?" Huan Wuchang smiled. "Back when you were in Yuezhou, staring at that private booth in the underground karaoke parlor, didn't you believe that was real too?"
While carrying out an assignment for the Dark Star Bureau, Li Banfeng had visited an underground karaoke club. One private booth there had been extraordinarily perilous, and he hadn't dared enter.
Naturally, he remembered the incident. "Back then, I truly believed it was real. If not for your warning, Senior, I might very well have walked right inside. What was the origin of that booth, anyway?"
Huan Wuchang said, "That was a path carved open by the Great Smelter—a path leading to the Outer States."
Li Banfeng thought back to Lu Dongjun. The man had claimed to have fled the Great Smelter, summoned by the Chamomile Society, crawling right out from the large screen in that underground karaoke parlor to emerge directly in Yuezhou.
Lu Dongjun had also claimed back then that the one who rescued him from the Great Smelter was Old Train. The companion dwelling had suspected a conspiracy behind it all, but Li Banfeng had never imagined that this conspiracy was orchestrated by the Great Smelter itself.
"The Great Smelter possesses such power?"
Huan Wuchang chuckled. "You think the Great Smelter is merely a vessel for housing souls? Then you have grossly underestimated that treasure. Across the eleven provinces and three thousand states, the Shang State stands proudly above the rest, and the Great Smelter is one of its cornerstones.
"Many of the Shang State's methods originate from the Great Smelter, including their unique crafts and weaponry. Now that the Great Smelter has suffered a devastating blow, the very foundation of the Shang State is damaged, and their situation is dire indeed."
Recalling the Shang State's grim predicament, Li Banfeng felt a flicker of satisfaction.
Yet thinking about the aftermath of the booth incident, he also felt a pang of concern.
There had been no follow-up to that matter; the karaoke parlor had simply been sealed off and left alone.
"Senior, does that path still exist today?"
Huan Wuchang shook his head. "That path threatened the very survival of the Outer States. How could I leave it open? I blocked it, though not by my strength alone. Several friends from the Outer States lent a hand. You should know Lin Fojiao; he is one of my friends."
Li Banfeng was deeply curious about Huan Wuchang's identity. The man had appeared in Yuezhou and in Santoucha. He associated with Mister Kongfang and seemed to handle business for him, yet he was also friends with Lin Fojiao and assisted the Outer States.
And now he was here in Kucaizhuang, holding a high standing within the Brotherhood Alliance. Whose side was this man truly on?
Huan Wuchang saw through Li Banfeng's doubts. "You need not worry. The peddler and I are friends. I was the one who founded the path of the Illusion Cultivators. Back then, we could be considered the closest of companions."
"So you are the founding ancestor of the Illusion Cultivators. Forgive my disrespect!" Li Banfeng cupped his hands again. "Setting aside the past, let us talk about the present. Do you and the peddler still get along well?"
The peddler had possessed far too many close friends back then, and quite a few of them were mortal enemies now.
Huan Wuchang chuckled. "That is a rather direct question, but I understand what you mean. Quite a few founding ancestors of various paths had a falling out with the peddler. Shu Wanjuan and Shan Chengjun are among them.
"There are also those whose friendship with him never changed. Xu Han, the founding ancestor of the Metal Cultivators, has always remained on excellent terms with the peddler.
"And then there are people like me. My friendship with the peddler has grown a bit distant, but there is no enmity between us. If I go to Puluo Province, the peddler won't stop me, but if I wish to do certain things there, I must pay my respects and inform him first."
Li Banfeng decided to be even more direct: "You became a leader of the Brotherhood Alliance. Does that count as a grudge with the peddler?"
Huan Wuchang folded his fan and turned it into a teapot, pouring some tea for Li Banfeng. "Young brother, you underestimate the breadth of the peddler's mind. The peddler has never come down hard on the Brotherhood Alliance.
"As long as they do not break Puluo Province's rules or harm its interests, the peddler never interferes with what the Brotherhood Alliance does.
"Besides, I am not the leader of the Brotherhood Alliance. The Alliance's supreme chief is the Heavenly Maiden; that has always been the Brotherhood Alliance's unchanging rule. It is only because of her special circumstances that I occasionally help manage a few affairs on her behalf.
"I am indeed a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, and my standing within it is hardly low. But that standing depends entirely on where you speak of it. Once I step foot into Puluo Province, that identity ceases to count. There, I am merely an honest, dutiful businessman."
Li Banfeng was taken aback. "An identity can be defined like that?"
Huan Wuchang nodded. "I have always defined it this way."
"Isn't Kucaizhuang part of Puluo Province?"
"This Kucaizhuang right before your eyes truly is not in Puluo Province!" Huan Wuchang pointed out the window. "The cars, the traffic lights, the telephone poles—those are all real."
He reached out and flicked the light switch, and the ceiling pendant light in the living room flickered on. "This Kucaizhuang is in the Outer States. You won't find it on ordinary maps, but you could find a confidential map in the Dark Star Bureau's archives to see for yourself.
"This is a real, existing territory. Only because I am currently in the Outer States do I count as a member of the Brotherhood Alliance. When it comes to identities, we must keep things clear and separate."
Li Banfeng understood Huan Wuchang's definition of identity, and asked, "Aside from being a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, what other standing do you have in the Outer States?"
"I am a friend to the Outer States!" Huan Wuchang gave an exceedingly vague concept. "In Puluo Province, quite a few people are friends with the Outer States. Lin Fojiao is one, and Song Qianhun is another."
Li Banfeng nudged up the brim of his hat. Huan Wuchang's words were evasive. Although Song Qianhun and Lin Fojiao both spent time in the Outer States, their situations were entirely different.
Song Qianhun's ties to the Outer States were genuinely extraordinary. Not only him, but his daughter, his ghost servants, and his pants were all intricately connected to the Outer States.
Lin Fojiao, however, was exceptional. His relationship with the Outer States was delicate; describing him as half-friend, half-foe was far more accurate.
"Senior, is your standing in the Outer States closer to Lin Fojiao's, or to Song Qianhun's?"
Huan Wuchang turned the teapot back into a folding fan. "A bit closer than Lin Fojiao, a bit more distant than Song Qianhun. Unlike Lin Fojiao, I do not turn a blind eye to affairs in the Outer States, but neither do I intervene directly the way Song Qianhun does."
Li Banfeng said, "Please elaborate, Senior."
Huan Wuchang cited an example: "A rotten apple appeared in the Dark Star Bureau—that Vice Director Wang. He was bought off by the Shang State to act as a mole, responsible for many deaths and countless disgusting deeds.
"I wanted to get rid of him all along, but I could not make a move myself, so I could only drop you a few hints. Unfortunately, you didn't catch on while in Yuezhou. Only after reaching Santoucha did you finally help me eliminate him."
Li Banfeng had indeed dealt with Vice Director Wang later on, but the matter shouldn't have required such convoluted maneuvering.
"To deal with such scum, did you truly need to borrow my blade?"
Huan Wuchang shook his head. "I cannot act directly, or it would cause unnecessary conflict and misunderstandings in the Outer States. I still have many businesses to run here. If I meddle in matters I shouldn't, my path ahead will become difficult."
Li Banfeng remained silent.
Huan Wuchang said, "Do you think I am somewhat spineless?"
Li Banfeng offered no direct judgment. "Everyone has their own measure for how they handle things."
Huan Wuchang chuckled. "No need to put it so diplomatically. Back then, Shan Chengjun told me to my face that I was a spineless coward who loved dodging trouble.
"If it had been just that, I wouldn't have cared, but he went so far as to claim my spine was softer than Che Wushang's! That truly infuriated me at the time!
"Yet angry as I was, I did not argue with him. I truly am someone who avoids trouble, and I admit to that.
"When I followed the peddler into battle, I constantly steered clear of all those messes. When they fought over troops, I stayed out of it. When they fought over provisions, I stayed out of it too.
"When they plotted underhanded schemes against the City of Fools, I refused to take part, though I did not inform the peddler either.
"Once the Sage was driven away, Shan Chengjun told the peddler to become emperor. The peddler refused. Shan Chengjun was thrilled and said he would become emperor instead. I didn't agree, but I didn't object either. I wasn't going to be emperor anyway, so I didn't care who took the throne.
"But the peddler would not have it. He beat Shan Chengjun and drove him off, declaring that Puluo Province could have no emperor.
"His intentions were noble, but people are not all the same. The ruthless are different from the kind-hearted, and the clever are different from the simple-minded.
"There will always be people who want to be masters, which means someone is destined to be a servant. No one can change that. So I came up with an idea for the peddler: I would construct an illusion for them, allowing every one of them to be masters."
Li Banfeng understood. "In plain terms, just like Meng Qian, you'd build a Dream-Tethering Tower where everything exists in dreams."
Huan Wuchang waved his hand repeatedly. "The Dream Cultivators' approach doesn't work. When a person is asleep, they can accomplish nothing. Where do the expenses for food, drink, and basic needs come from?
"Going to the Dream-Tethering Tower requires money. Those without wealth can never have a good dream. That is the fatal flaw of the Dream Cultivators. It isn't just the Dream-Tethering Tower either; even in Pillow City, where one can enjoy three seasons of pleasant dreams, one still has to toil desperately during the remaining season just to earn a meal.
"My method differs from the Dream Cultivators. Outside the illusion, the clever direct the simple-minded in their labor. Inside the illusion, the simple-minded believe themselves to be clever, believing themselves to be masters as well. Both sides are satisfied. Wouldn't you call that the best of both worlds?"
Li Banfeng said nothing.
Huan Wuchang gave a self-deprecating smile. "It seems you disagree with me. That's fine. The peddler also felt back then that it wasn't the best of both worlds. He forbade me from doing it, so I dropped it.
"It wasn't worth offending the peddler over such a thing. I couldn't be like those foolish people who were beaten and driven away by him."
Li Banfeng thought about the circumstances surrounding the Dream-Tethering Tower. "Was Meng Qian driven off to the Inner States because she charged money and offended the peddler?"
Huan Wuchang shook his head. "Meng Qian is of the younger generation; I don't know much about her affairs. But her being driven away by the peddler certainly wasn't over charging money.
"As long as her prices were clearly marked and transactions were consensual, the peddler would surely have tolerated her. But from what I know, while Meng Qian was in Puluo Province, she used dreams to lure many unwitting people into the Dream-Tethering Tower. That violated the peddler's rules.
"By contrast, Zhao Lanmeng is far more sensible. People come and go freely in Pillow City, and he never interferes. Far from making things difficult for him, the peddler has looked after him quite a bit."
Li Banfeng recalled the peddler's pet phrase: "Losses and gains, neither side owes a debt—that is the foundation."
Huan Wuchang nodded. "In Puluo Province, so long as things are done by mutual consent, the peddler never makes trouble. Old Mother Ku has never bowed to the peddler, keeping even the Bitter Cultivators' medicinal powder strictly in her own hands, yet the peddler still tolerates Kucaizhuang.
"Enter Kucaizhuang, eat a bowl of rice mixed with sand, and you have stepped through the doors of the Bitter Cultivators. Old Mother Ku also wishes to spread her rules across Puluo Province, but she has never forced anyone."
"What exactly is Granny Ku's rule?" Li Banfeng had never quite grasped this.
"The interdependence of fortune and bitterness!" Huan Wuchang explained. "As much bitterness as you endure, that much fortune you shall enjoy. I have always approved of Old Mother Ku's doctrine. For Puluo Province, it offers an honorable path forward, but the people of Puluo Province cannot learn it."
"Why can't they?"
"Because clever people are too few!" Huan Wuchang waved his fan, and the scene outside the window shifted into a construction site where a group of laborers toiled under harsh conditions.
Huan Wuchang pointed at one of the workers. "This young man works with all his might—he can endure hardship. After toiling hard through the day, he amasses quite a bit of fortune, yet he has no idea how to use it.
"When he returns home at night, he eats good food, drinks good liquor, and settles down for a sweet dream, squandering every bit of that fortune."
Li Banfeng stared blankly for a long moment. "Senior, perhaps I misheard. Working hard all day to earn one's food and drink and get a good night's rest—that counts as squandering?"
Huan Wuchang sighed. "Which is why I say they do not understand the law of the interdependence of fortune and bitterness."
He waved his fan again, and the scenery outside changed once more. Li Banfeng saw the Bitter Cultivators toiling away in Kucaizhuang. They endured immense suffering, yet not a single bit of sweetness was in sight.
Huan Wuchang said, "Old Mother Ku established a rule for them: first endure suffering here to accumulate fortune, and let Old Mother Ku keep it safe for them. When the right opportunity arrives, Old Mother Ku will use that fortune on their behalf where it truly counts."
Li Banfeng frowned. "Whose fortune is it?"
Huan Wuchang blinked, assuming Li Banfeng hadn't understood. "It is their own fortune, of course, but they aren't clever enough to know how to allocate it."
Li Banfeng said, "Regardless of whether they are clever or not, it remains their own fortune. Is that not true?"
Huan Wuchang fell silent for a moment, then chuckled. "The peddler once said the exact same thing to me. Every path has its own rules, and I cannot say who is right and who is wrong. But I believe Old Mother Ku is right, which is why I often come stay in Kucaizhuang for a while to save up some fortune for myself."
With another wave of his folding fan, the view outside reverted to the desolate street. "Young brother, you didn't come looking for me today just to argue over right and wrong, did you?"
Li Banfeng said, "I came to inquire about something. Do you know where the Shang State's Great Totem is located, Senior?"
Huan Wuchang tapped the fan against his palm several times. "Why did you seek me out for this?"
Li Banfeng replied, "I guessed."
"Guessed so accurately?" Huan Wuchang flicked his folding fan, and the room snapped back to the old, dingy apartment. A stifling, oppressive atmosphere instantly descended over the living room—Huan Wuchang's warning to Li Banfeng.
*Huan Wuchang—the Inconstant Illusionist.* The moniker truly suited him. In the span of a single sentence, his demeanor could flip completely.
Li Banfeng's face remained impassive. "I have spent so much time in the Dark Star Bureau and dealt with the Heavenly Maiden on numerous occasions. Guessing my way to you is only natural."
The moment the words left his mouth, the room shifted once more. The furniture and decorations vanished, and the living room transformed into the stairwell of the Dark Star Bureau building. The wall became a heavy iron door inscribed with the words *Cell No. 6*.
Inside Huan Wuchang's own home, Li Banfeng had unleashed Traversing a Thousand Mountains in Mind—his direct response to Huan Wuchang.
"Have you forgotten whose territory this is?" Huan Wuchang's face turned livid, deeply displeased by Li Banfeng's insolence.
The two men locked eyes in silence, the air in the room growing heavier by the second.
When the technique of Traversing a Thousand Mountains in Mind faded, the picture frame atop the television shattered abruptly. Photographs fluttered out from within, circling along the four walls.
The faces in the photos lost their smiles, their eyes fixing straight upon Li Banfeng.
"I do not know the location of the Great Totem. Go ask someone else. Take care, I will not see you out!" Huan Wuchang snapped his fan shut, and his figure melted away from the reclining chair.
Li Banfeng picked up his teacup, drained the tea in one gulp, pulled down the brim of his hat, and rose to leave the apartment.
A long while passed before Huan Wuchang reappeared, clearing away the tea set from the coffee table.
"What an insolent junior!" Huan Wuchang muttered, still fuming, unable to let another matter rest. "Who could have leaked my whereabouts to him? This must be thoroughly investigated. I shouldn't have let him walk away just now!"
Just as he finished packing up the tea set, Li Banfeng's voice rang out: "Senior, I haven't left."
Huan Wuchang was thoroughly shocked!
He glanced around in every direction, but saw no sign of Li Banfeng anywhere.
"Show yourself!" Huan Wuchang's fingertips nervously stroked the ribs of his fan.
"Senior, I am right in front of you."
The voice indeed came from right before his eyes, yet Huan Wuchang could see nothing.
"What do you want? Do you intend to fight me?" Huan Wuchang flicked his fan open.
Li Banfeng still did not reveal himself. "You offered me guidance twice in the past, Senior, and I am genuinely grateful. But regarding the whereabouts of the Great Totem, I must have an answer."
Huan Wuchang tapped the fan's frame. One by one, the furnishings in the room vanished—the cupboards disappeared, the coffee table disappeared, and the sofa and television vanished completely. Even a layer of plaster peeled away from the walls, leaving behind bare, exposed brick.
The entire apartment had been stripped bare, yet Huan Wuchang still could not see Li Banfeng.
This filled Huan Wuchang with intense apprehension. He had no idea what kind of concealment method Li Banfeng was using.
After a long silence, Huan Wuchang finally spoke: "I once asked a friend to investigate the Great Totem in the Shang State. I have only heard a few rumors, and I cannot verify whether they are true or false."
"Please tell me, Senior."
Huan Wuchang said, "Rumor has it that the Great Totem was constructed in Chaoge, but was later damaged by the peddler, leaving less than ten percent of its function intact. It was subsequently transported to Yindu."
"What place is Yindu?"
Huan Wuchang explained, "Yindu was the ancient capital of the Shang State. After the Shang State relocated its capital to Chaoge, Yindu's whereabouts became lost to history. However, its location can still be found on some of the Shang State's early maps."
With that, Huan Wuchang walked into the bedroom and emerged carrying an iron box. "These are maps I have collected over many years. All of them mark the location of Yindu, but when I sent people to investigate following these maps, none could find it. If you can find an Orientation Chart, perhaps you might locate Yindu."
"Many thanks, Senior."
Li Banfeng revealed himself before Huan Wuchang, took the iron box, and walked out of the apartment building.
Huan Wuchang waved his folding fan, conjuring a handkerchief, and wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
Chapter 800