Neither Owes the Other

Li Banfeng was locked in fierce combat, leading over twenty thousand daolao ghosts against the fifty thousand men of Qiao Yi's Bandit-Subduing Army. In individual combat prowess, the Totem Army soldiers within the Bandit-Subduing Army had the advantage. In collective strength, backed by the Thousand-Man Strength Formation, the Bandit-Subduing Army held an even greater edge. Even in sheer numbers, the Bandit-Subduing Army enjoyed overwhelming superiority. No matter how the battle was fought, the daolao ghosts seemed to have no chance of winning. Yet the battle had ground to a genuine stalemate—because any soldier of the Bandit-Subduing Army wounded by a daolao ghost would, upon coming into contact with Lühuazi's pus, transform into a daolao ghost within moments. The first to turn into daolao ghosts were none other than the Bandit-Subduing Army's vanguard. To slaughter the daolao ghosts, over ten thousand vanguard soldiers had burrowed underground on Qiao Yi's orders. Now that the daolao ghosts had burrowed out, they had to follow suit. But every single one of those soldiers bore wounds. Even a tiny scratch counted as an injury, and as long as they were injured, they were infected with daolao venom. Clever as he was, Lühuazi naturally grasped the tide of the battlefield. He sprayed his pus over the vanguard first. The instant even a speck of pus touched them, the diseased foci interacted with the daolao venom, and before long, all ten thousand soldiers had transformed into three-headed daolao ghosts. The physique of a three-headed daolao ghost was vastly more formidable than that of an ordinary daolao ghost. At first, these beasts attacked friend and foe alike, butchering anyone in sight. But after a while, they began to respond to Li Banfeng's roars and could manage a crude coordination with the other daolao ghosts. Now the situation shifted drastically. The number of daolao ghosts surged while the Bandit-Subduing Army's ranks plummeted, leveling the playing field in numbers. On the Bandit-Subduing Army's side, their individual and formation advantages remained intact, yet every soldier who fell would turn into a daolao ghost in the blink of an eye. If they kept fighting like this, the army faced incalculable losses. Qiao Yi stood stunned for a long time, not only because of the battle before him, but also because of the pestilence raging inside his own body. His skin grew burning hot, mucus poured from his nose, his vision blurred, and the taste of foul, bloody pus rose in his throat. He Jiaqing urged from his side, "My lord, we must march swiftly; it is unwise to fight any longer!" Qiao Yi snapped to his senses. He Jiaqing was right. If they continued fighting here, the entire Bandit-Subduing Army might be wiped out. He swiftly issued orders to march, but marching was easier said than done. The former vanguard had become a legion of three-headed daolao ghosts blocking the path ahead. The road was narrow, with no room to detour, and for a time Qiao Yi could not find a viable route. The Prince of Anshun pressed, "Lord Qiao, don't worry about anything else—just charge straight through!" Qiao Yi gave the order to charge. At this perilous juncture, relying entirely on their superb combat discipline, the Bandit-Subduing Army shifted formations and broke through by sheer force. The newly transformed daolao ghosts were still dim-witted. They could not understand tactics at all and could barely use techniques, unable even to employ their original cultivation talents, relying purely on instinct to tear, slaughter, and bite. After a prolonged clash, only twenty-odd thousand of the remaining thirty thousand soldiers managed to break free of the daolao ghosts and rush toward Sanlipu. Of those surviving twenty thousand, nearly half were already stricken with disease. Qiao Yi did not drive these soldiers away. They had crawled out from piles of corpses, staking their lives to win a chance at breaking out. Driving them away now would be tantamount to provoking a mutiny. Besides, Qiao Yi could find no justification to banish them. They were indeed infected with pestilence, but so was Qiao Yi. What right did he have to drive them out? Stay behind in the Soil Market to wait for death with them? Qiao Yi could not do that. Seeing the Bandit-Subduing Army flee farther and farther away, Lühuazi grew frantic, shouting at all the daolao ghosts, "Charge! Charge, all of you! Whoever leads the charge will be handsomely rewarded!" Having exhausted so much pus, his body had shrunk, and his voice had dwindled. Worried the daolao ghosts wouldn't spot him, he leaped onto Li Banfeng's arm and kept screaming, "Charge! This is war! What are you useless wretches waiting around for? Military orders are absolute—don't you understand?!" Li Banfeng glanced down at Lühuazi on his arm. The beggar was currently less than a foot tall and weighed under a jin. Standing in the distance, Yuan Miaoping transmitted via radio waves: "He's screaming so pitifully—how about swatting him dead with a single slap?" Hong Ying had the same thought. "Swat him dead, and the debt is wiped clean!" Li Banfeng ignored Hong Ying and Yuan Miaoping. He had an alliance with the Lüshui Beggar; even if they hadn't signed a covenant deed and it was only a verbal agreement, Li Banfeng would never break his word. The most pressing task right now was to organize the daolao ghosts for immediate pursuit. Once Qiao Yi reached Sanlipu, he would use the passage beneath the well to lead the Bandit-Subduing Army in evacuating the Soil Market. Preventing every single one of them from escaping was impossible. Though Li Banfeng had sealed the well, Qiao Yi could use the Imperial Jade Seal to reopen the path. Inflicting as many casualties as possible before they fully evacuated was Li Banfeng's primary goal. Yet organizing this mob of daolao ghosts was no simple task. The ghosts brought from Daogui Ridge had suffered heavy casualties, and the newly converted ones from the Bandit-Subduing Army could barely comprehend Li Banfeng's commands. Even when they did, they had no concept of a "Daolao God of War." Watching Li Banfeng dance across the battlefield, many of the newly transformed daolao ghosts sat in a circle to quietly admire the performance, and some even excitedly tapped along to the rhythm. The Heavenly Maiden sat among the daolao ghosts clapping the beat. Seeing how nimble Li Banfeng's posture was, she even fished two silver dollars from her pocket. A'yu warned, "He might tolerate a few claps, but if you give him a tip, Li Qi will lose his mind." Li Banfeng danced with mounting urgency. Zhao Xiaowan came up beside him. "Husband, don't fuss over them for now. We have already won. Even if Qiao Yi escapes with the remaining twenty-odd thousand soldiers, it is still a massive victory for us." Li Banfeng refused to let them go. He summoned the Heavenly Maiden. "Find a way to place a Boundary around that well. It doesn't matter if it lacks power, and it doesn't matter if the precision is off—just stall them as long as you can." The Heavenly Maiden had thought of setting up a Boundary long ago, but it was not so simple. "An unspeakable power is blocking the area around the well. I can't construct a Boundary. It's even harder than making one back at Wuyouping." According to Li Banfeng's scouting, there were two paths leading outside: one inside the well, and another in a long-abandoned residence. No wonder Qiao Yi hadn't chosen the residence and went for the well instead—there was an extra safeguard here. A'yu used her Clairvoyance techniques to probe the well's perimeter several times, then shook her head. "This unspeakable power is too potent. If the Heavenly Maiden tries to forcibly seal the well with a Boundary, she might be injured." The Heavenly Maiden was equally reluctant to let Qiao Yi get away. Gritting her teeth, she tried once more, and her face suddenly lit up with joy. "It worked!" Li Banfeng said excitedly, "The Boundary worked?" The Heavenly Maiden shook her head. "Not the Boundary—the messengers! The messengers sent out have responded!" Li Banfeng was startled, then brightened. "The Totem Army camps have arrived?" The Heavenly Maiden shook her head. "Not all of them—only two camps." "That's enough!" Li Banfeng told his wife to reorganize the forces while he took a group of shadows to Sanlipu to stall Qiao Yi. The longer they were delayed, the more soldiers would succumb to sickness, and the fewer men Qiao Yi could lead away. Sanlipu was bustling with commotion. The two Totem Army camps had received word from the messengers and rushed ahead to Sanlipu to await orders. The messengers who arrived today were unfamiliar, which had initially caused the camp commanders some concern. Yet after a brief hesitation, the commanders could no longer afford to worry about such details. Diseases developed at different rates; many soldiers in the camps had contracted acute symptoms and had already perished. Though the surviving soldiers hadn't developed acute symptoms, the chronic affliction had flared up, leaving them in unbearable agony. As long as they could find a way out alive, nothing else mattered. Leaving the dead behind and bringing the living along, a crowd of soldiers covered in oozing sores and vomiting bloody pus followed their commanders, crowding into Sanlipu. Qiao Yi ground his teeth in fury. "Who told them to come? Bring the camp commanders here for questioning!" The moment the words left his mouth, Qiao Yi vomited a mouthful of bloody pus himself. The Prince of Anshun kept his distance from Qiao Yi as best he could; Qiao Yi's condition was hardly any better than that of the soldiers. "Lord Qiao, take my advice. Deal with other matters later. The urgent priority is to leave Santoucha as quickly as possible." Qiao Yi nodded at the Prince of Anshun, turned, and walked over to the well. After examining it for a moment, he sensed something amiss. He ordered a soldier down to scout the path. The soldier returned shortly; the passage beneath the well was completely blocked. Qiao Yi went silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. He looked all around, searching for traces of Li Qi. Unfortunately, the Peeping half of his abilities was gone, and Qiao Yi could no longer use clairvoyance techniques. He was certain this was Li Qi's doing, and suspected Li Qi was lurking nearby. "You think blocking the way can hold me back?" Qiao Yi smiled faintly, glancing across the people around him. Seeing Qiao Yi's face covered in sores, wearing a sinister smile and muttering nonsense, everyone nearby felt a chill run down their spines. No one dared speak, but the Prince of Anshun plucked up the courage to ask, "Lord Qiao, what happened?" Qiao Yi did not reply. He ordered He Jiaqing to lead the guards in clearing everyone away from the well. He Jiaqing swiftly led his men to disperse the onlookers, leaving Qiao Yi standing alone on the street beside the well. From his pack, Qiao Yi retrieved brush and paper and quickly drafted an official document. Its contents were simple: the imperial court was requisitioning this road, all previous decrees were null and void, and passage was to be restored immediately. With the decree drafted, Qiao Yi took out a brocade box from his pack, preparing to stamp it with the Imperial Jade Seal. When he opened the box, his face turned deathly pale. The brocade box was completely empty. There was no Imperial Jade Seal. Where was the seal? Qiao Yi called out, "General He!" No one answered. Qiao Yi summoned the Prince of Anshun and asked where He Jiaqing had gone. The Prince of Anshun looked bewildered. "Lord Qiao, didn't you just send him off on an errand?" The clamor grew louder and louder. Shouts mingled with groans and wails, and the air was thick with the salty stench of bloody pus as more diseased soldiers flooded into Sanlipu. Sitting beside the well, Qiao Yi suddenly flashed a faint smile. He looked up at the Prince of Anshun. "Your Highness, this is the capable man you recommended. He Jiaqing was after the Imperial Jade Seal from the very start." The Prince of Anshun was horrified. He shook his head repeatedly. "Lord Qiao, this matter still requires further investigation." "No need to investigate," Qiao Yi said with a chuckle. "He is a thief—a thief who knows nothing of loyalty. "The reason you were able to force this thief to bow his head was not because of your wisdom and bravery, but because you had the advantage of the Imperial Jade Seal. "If you hadn't had endless reinforcements, did you really think you could best He Jiaqing?" The Prince of Anshun was struck dumb. Qiao Yi sighed softly. "He Jiaqing is smarter than Smiling Thousand Hands. When Smiling Thousand Hands gets beaten, he forgets it in an instant; as long as he has a breath left, he'll crawl back up and keep stealing. "When He Jiaqing gets beaten, he knows why he was beaten, and he wants to know which stick struck him so hard. "He risked his reputation and his entire foundation just to steal that stick back. Such a thief is truly rare." The Prince of Anshun gritted his teeth. "Rest assured, Lord Qiao. I will take men and hunt him down right now." Whether he could recover the seal was another matter. What the Prince of Anshun really wanted was to get away from Qiao Yi—he had noticed pus beginning to seep from Qiao Yi's eyes. "Go chase him. The seal carries a curse; He Jiaqing won't get very far." With that, Qiao Yi leaned back against the well and closed his eyes. He was utterly exhausted. There were so many things he still needed to ponder. Why had the daolao ghosts come to the Soil Market? Why had the Lüshui Beggar appeared in the Soil Market? And the woman who had tried to kill him amidst the army just now—what was her background? She was probably a Dwelling Cultivator; she had appeared beside him without a sound. What kind of existence were Dwelling Cultivators, really? Did people overlook them only when looking at them, or did people fail to pay them any mind at all times? Probably the latter. With eyes closed, Qiao Yi let out one bitter chuckle after another. After clashing so many times and fighting for so long, he had never once grasped Li Qi's movements. When the Peddler was alive, his focus had been entirely on the Peddler. Now that the Peddler was gone, he had still overlooked Li Qi. Was this the innate talent of a Dwelling Cultivator? If he ever had the chance in the future, he truly ought to study the Daoist sects of Puluo Province properly. The Daoist sects of Puluo Province were an entirely different matter from the dark abilities of the Outer States. A Daoist sect was a Daoist sect—the natural creation of nature, guidance, and cultivation—vastly different from the arts of the various nations in the Inner States, and utterly distinct from the myriad arts of Wansheng Province. Would he ever have the chance to study them again? The surrounding clamor grew louder, yet to Qiao Yi, the sounds felt increasingly distant. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier; he was about to fall asleep. Could he still wake up after falling asleep? Whether he woke or not didn't matter; his soul would return to the Great Totem in the end. Puluo Province, I truly cannot let you go! We will fight again—provided the Great Totem does not wipe away my memories... Qiao Yi lay beside the well, his breath gone. The soldiers who had lost control swarmed into the street and leaped into the well one after another, but jumping down was useless; the passage beneath remained sealed. Looking at the Bandit-Subduing Army and Totem Army soldiers struggling in despair amidst the pestilence, Li Banfeng could not hold back his tears. The scene was too horrific. Li Banfeng had never expected He Jiaqing to steal the Imperial Jade Seal. Now, not a single enemy soldier could escape. Tens of thousands of living souls were slowly fading away before his eyes. Feeling that crying alone wasn't enough, Li Banfeng called Jiu'er out to weep with him. He phoned Chu Er, telling him to find Sun Tiecheng and have Sun Tiecheng lead the Fool cultivators of the City of Fools in weeping together. As ash drifted down from the sky, the first person Li Banfeng wept for was Qiao Yi—let's see how many pieces his soul could be split into. As for the others whose names Li Banfeng did not know, he could only do his best to shed a few tears on their behalf. Li Banfeng wept as he walked, while Zhao Xiaowan devoured souls along the way. The Fifth Lady swallowed both souls and corpses indiscriminately, terrifying Lühuazi into trembling fits. Even plague-ridden corpses were swallowed down by the Fifth Lady, and after consuming them, she remained completely unscathed! Lühuazi genuinely feared that once this woman worked up an appetite, she might swallow him whole as well. He wanted to steer clear of the Fifth Lady, only to see the various magical treasures on Li Banfeng gather around her, feasting on corpses alongside her. The projector's lens flickered, as though finding Lühuazi's delicate physique quite artistic. Lühuazi shot Li Banfeng a look. "The world calls me an evil ghost, but compared to you, I'm truly a saint." Li Banfeng tossed Lühuazi beside the Fifth Lady, sending him scurrying in fright. This was meant to protect Lühuazi; Li Banfeng had just heard a person's voice—someone who bore a grudge against the beggar. "Banfeng, I have something good here. Don't you want to come take a look?" Following the voice, Li Banfeng walked into a sorghum field. He Jiaqing lay in the middle of the crops, blood pouring profusely from several wounds on his body. He struggled to lift his head, holding out the Imperial Jade Seal to Li Banfeng. "You're giving this to me?" Li Banfeng did not rush to take it. He Jiaqing shook his head. "I don't want to give it to you, but I had to take the seal from Qiao Yi. As long as the seal remained in Qiao Yi's hands, this battle couldn't be won—not by you, and not by me." Li Banfeng looked at the seal. "Can we win just by getting the seal? The artisan cultivator Patriarch is still in the Inner States; he surely knows how to craft another one." "It's not that easy," He Jiaqing said, having thoroughly investigated the seal. "The craftsmanship required to make an Imperial Jade Seal isn't that simple; it cannot be accomplished easily just through high cultivation. "Qiao Yi prepared for a very long time to make this seal. No matter how superb the artisan cultivator Patriarch's skills are, he will still have to search for materials anew and prepare tools anew. Without a few years, he won't be able to craft a replacement. Meanwhile, you still have time—you can make improvements to this existing seal. "I really didn't intend to give this seal to you. I wanted to steal it back for my own use, but I never expected that while I could steal it away, I couldn't carry it off. This seal bears a potent curse. "You have special means. Some of your techniques are things I've never been able to fathom. You should have a way to deal with this." Li Banfeng nodded and took the seal. He did not feel any harm from the curse, but another wound appeared on He Jiaqing's body. It seemed the seal's curse would not transfer to others. He Jiaqing gave a bitter smile. "That's good, too. At least it lets you take the seal away." Li Banfeng put the seal away and asked, "Anything else to say?" He Jiaqing pondered carefully. He looked up at Li Banfeng and said, "If I had to choose again, I wouldn't use your face to stash that fake Red Lotus in the campus supermarket. I would find someone else." Li Banfeng looked down at him. "And then?" He Jiaqing thought for a moment. "Then, I would find a way to escape that turmoil and stay in the Outer States a bit longer. "Then, I would find the right opportunity to tell you about Puluo Province, and tell you about my dream. "Then, I would help you enter a Daoist sect, help you raise your cultivation, invite you to join the Brotherhood Alliance, and then bring you to Puluo Province. We were such good brothers; you definitely would have been willing to help me." Li Banfeng shook his head. "That might not be true." "That really hurts," He Jiaqing said with a smile. "You're not wrong, though. You might not have helped me. You and I think differently. "In your eyes, right is right, wrong is wrong, good is good, and bad is bad. "You see everything with absolute clarity and purity. Under those circumstances, I probably would have had a hard time convincing you. Someone like the Peddler, with his temperament, was far more likely to earn your trust." Li Banfeng shook his head slightly. "Does it matter whom I trust? I'm just an ordinary person, an ordinary person more mediocre than dust." "It matters. I only realized later how much it matters," He Jiaqing said, clutching the bleeding wound on his chest. "Actually, you trusted me once. I took a sum of money to help treat your illness and lied, saying I earned it working on a construction site. You believed me completely back then and were deeply touched." Li Banfeng smiled faintly. "Has a true word ever left your mouth?" He Jiaqing searched his memory for a long time. "That exam—the answers I slipped you were real!" Li Banfeng nodded. "The answers were indeed real. Anything else?" He Jiaqing thought for a moment. "There were others, but not many. I've deceived people—almost every day. I never thought lying was a sin, nor did I ever feel I owed those I fooled. "I didn't even feel I owed anyone—not Lu Xiaocheng, not Shen Rongqing, not He Haiqin, not Granny Ku. But there was only one exception. Just one." "Which one?" "I'm sorry, Banfeng." A cold wind blew past. Li Banfeng remained expressionless, keeping silent. From his robe, he drew a bottle of Wuwang Cinder crafted by Yang Xiangjun and set it beside He Jiaqing. He Jiaqing held the porcelain bottle, staring at it for a long while before asking, "Is this medicine that can treat curses?" The curses of Gao Ya all originated from the Myriad Void Origin Silkworms, and Wuwang Cinder was their bane. Li Banfeng glanced at the seal in his hand. He never made people do things for nothing, but the rules had to be made clear: "This seal is in your hands. No matter who asks, it's in your hands. You will take the blame for this, just as I took the fall for Red Lotus back then." He Jiaqing nodded. Li Banfeng continued, "You know the situation in the Soil Market well. How you survive has nothing to do with me, just as it was when I first came to Puluo Province." He Jiaqing nodded once more. Li Banfeng looked at the bottle of Wuwang Cinder. "Whether that medicine works depends entirely on your own fortune. If you leave this place and ever see me again, you might lose your life. Do you understand?" "I understand," He Jiaqing said, nodding again. "Win some, lose some; neither owes the other." Li Banfeng pulled down the brim of his hat, turned, and walked out of the sorghum field. He Jiaqing held the bottle, sitting silently for a long time. From the distance came the roars of daolao ghosts. He Jiaqing struggled to his feet. Pestilence and daolao ghosts roamed the entire Soil Market; He Jiaqing had no idea if he could survive. He had never heard of a medicine called Wuwang Cinder, but he trusted Li Banfeng. He drank the medicine, gritted his teeth, and plunged deep into the fields. For now, he needed to buy as much time as possible to let his body recover from the curse's damage. The medicine truly worked. After he sat quietly for a moment, no new wounds appeared on his body. There was a puddle in the sorghum field. He Jiaqing glanced down and saw his own reflection. At first, he felt only disgust, but after looking for another moment, a wave of irritation flared in his chest. What kind of state was this? His face was smeared with mud and blood, filthy beyond belief! He hurried to wash his face with the water, grumbling to himself as he washed: "Not even a bar of soap. The blood won't even come off clean. How am I supposed to be seen like this?" Jiu'er was still sobbing bitterly. Zhao Xiaowan used a sound-amplifying technique to broadcast Jiu'er's weeping across the entire Soil Market. As ash fluttered down from the sky, the Fifth Lady lamented, "That wicked woman! She's had her fill, yet she's letting so many fine souls go to waste." Hong Ying snapped, "Were you secretly badmouthing Xiaowan just now? Who are you calling a wicked woman?" The Fifth Lady gave a humble smile. "I didn't name anyone. General Hong must have misunderstood." Hong Ying happened to have a question for her anyway. "I saw you swallowing both souls and bodies just now. Why does everyone say Red Lotus doesn't eat the living?" The Fifth Lady offered a helpless smile. "Red Lotus was crafted by the Heavenly Maiden and the Peddler, not by me. I can't explain why that is either." Hong Ying said, "Wasn't Red Lotus made from your body? Reason dictates it should share your traits!" The Fifth Lady looked at Hong Ying. "General Hong, you certainly have a way with words!" Hong Ying laughed. "Which sentence rubbed you the wrong way? I'll be sure to ponder it carefully." While the two bickered, Glove was chatting warmly with Lühuazi. Lühuazi originally couldn't hear Glove's voice, but Glove had consulted the lady of the house, and Zhao Xiaowan had specifically applied some techniques to help him. "Say, beggar, you seem like a reasonable guy. Why don't we become sworn brothers?" The Lüshui Beggar looked at Glove in astonishment. "What kind of status do you have? What makes you think you can become sworn brothers with me?" Glove wagged an index finger. "I'm a disciple of Smiling Thousand Hands. In terms of seniority, I'm not beneath you, am I?" Lühuazi sneered, "I am the founder of a sect! What right does a disciple of Smiling Thousand Hands have to compare seniority with me?" Glove said placidly, "Beggar, becoming brothers with me won't hurt you. Ask our head of household—everyone in our home says I'm a loyal brother." Lühuazi wasn't buying it. "I'm not part of your household. What does your loyalty have to do with me?" "Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit, are we?" Glove shouted to the Fifth Lady, "He won't become sworn brothers with me!" The Fifth Lady, eager to avoid further squabbling with Hong Ying, turned around and smiled at Glove. "Little Glove, who refuses to swear brotherhood with you? How ungrateful. I'll go have a chat with him." "Wait!" Lühuazi leaped aside, staring warily at Glove. "What are you really planning?" "Good intentions!" Glove bumped Lühuazi's shoulder. "Beggar, once you become my brother, we'll share good times and bad, standing shoulder to shoulder through life and death!" Lühuazi shoved Glove away. "Don't feed me that hollow nonsense! Just say what you want!" "How is that hollow? Every word I said came from the heart!" Glove spat out brush and paper. "Let's sign a covenant deed! Everything I just said will be written right into it!" Lühuazi took a startled breath. Nothing else mattered, but the phrase "through life and death" was deadly serious. He glanced over at Li Banfeng. "Li Qi, are you coercing me?" Li Banfeng said nothing. Hong Ying leaned in close. "Qi-lang, what price did you and Lühuazi actually agree on?" Li Banfeng's expression was grave as he scanned his surroundings again and again. Aside from those killed in battle and those who died of illness, every last man Qiao Yi brought with him would turn into a daolao ghost—daolao ghosts of terrifyingly formidable physique. Hong Ying froze in realization. "Qi-lang, don't tell me all these daolao ghosts are going to belong to the Lüshui Beggar?"