Qin Xiaopang had an overabundance of qi and blood; he couldn't hold it back any longer.
The principle was remarkably simple.
A Food Cultivator could swiftly convert food into the nutrients their body required, and a large portion of those nutrients would turn into new blood.
If it were an elderly Food Cultivator whose blood production had slowed down, no issues would have arisen.
But Xiaopang's blood-producing capability was robust, and the food was converting too quickly. Instead, a crisis arose—his blood vessels were about to burst!
Brother Liu had seen Food Cultivators die from ruptured blood vessels before, so he should have prepared for this earlier.
Yet that had happened more than twenty years ago, and it simply hadn't crossed Brother Liu's mind in time.
"Brother, stop eating for a moment!" Zhang Liuze intervened, stopping Qin Xiaopang before turning back to shout to his subordinates, "Go to the pond and catch some leeches!"
"What are we catching those for?"
"Quit your fucking questions and just go!"
No sooner had Zhang Liuze finished barking orders at his men than he saw Xiaopang continuing to stuff buns into his mouth.
"Brother, didn't I tell you to stop eating?" Zhang Liuze grabbed hold of Xiaopang tightly.
Xiaopang gasped for breath and said, "Brother Liu, in front of all these people today, even if it kills me, I have to shove all twenty jin of buns down."
"You think I can't fucking handle you?!" Zhang Liuze shoved Xiaopang down onto the chair as the surrounding onlookers broke into a flurry of murmurs.
"What's going on?"
"A Food Cultivator's qi and blood surged. He can't eat anymore; eating any more will get him killed."
"Look at how red his face is! I'm afraid it's already too late. All the food in his belly has turned to blood. If he doesn't let it out, he's done for!"
"Isn't letting blood easy enough? Just give him a slash."
"You think you're just killing someone? As if it's that simple! The blood qi in him is raging furiously. Cut too deep, and blood will spray right out, finishing him on the spot. Cut too shallow, and hardly any blood will flow before it clots on its own. Who could gauge the depth just right? If I handed you a blade right now, would you dare go over and cut him? Even a tiered Healer Cultivator might not possess such skill!"
"Brother Liu did the right thing. At this point, the only thing that might work is leeches."
As the crowd buzzed with discussion, Xiaopang's face turned from crimson to purple.
Zhang Liuze's eyes turned red with fury. "Where the fuck did they run off to? I told them to catch a few leeches, and they still haven't brought any back after all this time!"
Even if they brought leeches now, it would be too late.
Xiaopang didn't dare move an inch. If any vital vessel burst, he would lose his life.
Li Banfeng walked up behind Xiaopang, took off his suit jacket, draped it to conceal his right hand, and lowered his voice. "Brother, bear with it."
With that, Li Banfeng drew out the Hanxue pendulum and drove it into Qin Tianjiu's back.
The pendulum shifted from bright silver to red, from red to purple, and from purple to deep black.
Li Banfeng heard the pendulum's voice:
"Master, I can't eat any more."
When he pulled the pendulum out, the blood drained from Qin Xiaopang's face, receding back to normal.
Qin Xiaopang's blood pressure had been bled off by the Hanxue pendulum.
Li Banfeng put away the pendulum and inspected Qin Xiaopang's wound.
The wound was only two centimeters long, and the blood quickly clotted; it was nothing serious.
Xiaopang sat resting for a moment, his complexion gradually improving.
Zhang Liuze remained tense. He didn't know what method Li Banfeng had used, nor was he certain whether Qin Xiaopang was truly out of danger.
Zhong Desong, the shopkeeper of Qingtang Teahouse, had someone brew a pot of tea and brought it over to Xiaopang. "Ninth Master, have some tea to ease your breath."
Qin Tianjiu waved his hand. "No tea for me. My stomach isn't too settled right now."
Zhong Desong set the teacup aside and glanced at the wound on Qin Xiaopang's back.
Though Li Banfeng had used his jacket to shield the pendulum, it hadn't escaped his notice.
This action caught Li Banfeng's attention. He lowered his voice and asked Shopkeeper Feng, "Who might this be?"
"Zhong Desong of Qingtang Teahouse. You ought to know him." Shopkeeper Feng smiled knowingly at Li Banfeng, and Li Banfeng remembered who he was.
This person had appeared on Shopkeeper Feng's list.
Zhong Desong!
The sage of the Second Branch of the Jiangxiang Gang's Medicine King Hall, tier-two Ascetic Cultivator Zhong Desong.
Today was Xiaopang's big day; why had someone from the Jiangxiang Gang been invited?
This was because Li Banfeng did not know the inside story.
Most of today's guests had been invited by Zhang Liuze, and Zhong Desong was one of them.
Zhang Liuze knew that Qin Xiaopang had friction with the Jiangxiang Gang, but between Zhang Liuze and Zhong Desong, there was no bad blood, and they were actually on decent terms.
This was also meant to give Xiaopang a way out—an attempt to defuse the grudge down the road so things wouldn't escalate into a fight to the death.
After sitting for a while, Xiaopang looked at Zhang Liuze, hesitated, and said, "Brother Liu, my stomach feels a bit off."
"You ate too fast. Give it time, and you'll be fine. If you didn't reach tier one this time, don't be discouraged. Next time we'll—" Zhang Liuze began to comfort Qin Xiaopang, only to see Xiaopang reach for another bun.
"I think... I'm hungry."
"Hungry?" Zhang Liuze was puzzled.
It was only natural to feel hungry.
The buns Qin Xiaopang had eaten had converted into blood.
The blood had been sucked away by the pendulum, stimulating a faster conversion of food, so Xiaopang genuinely felt hungry again.
Zhang Liuze shouted, "Who has a watch? Is time up yet?"
There was an alarm clock on the shopkeeper's counter. "Sixth Master, there's still a quarter of an hour left!"
Hearing this, Xiaopang grabbed buns and shoved them frantically into his mouth.
In less than ten minutes, every last bun had vanished down his gullet.
Worried that it might not be enough to secure the breakthrough, Xiaopang snatched up a roast chicken and devoured it in a matter of bites.
"Brother Liu, did I make the quota?"
Zhang Liuze wasn't sure. Cultivation couldn't be seen with the eye, and he couldn't tell whether Xiaopang had reached tier one. "Brother, how do you feel yourself?"
Qin Xiaopang rolled his shoulders and neck. After waiting ten-odd minutes, both of his shoulders swelled by a visible circumference.
Not just his shoulders—his waist, abdomen, thighs, and forearms grew at the same time. Except for his height, every visible part of Xiaopang had expanded, leaving his frame noticeably rounder than before.
Zhang Liuze burst into hearty laughter. "Brother, you did it! Your elder brother puffed up a big circle back then, too!"
Joy filled Xiaopang's heart, and the crowd joined in celebration. Only then did Zhang Liuze recall the stranger who had saved Xiaopang moments before.
Zhang Liuze walked up to Li Banfeng and asked in a low voice, "Friend, what method did you just use?"
"An ancestral healing technique; I'm not at liberty to disclose it," Li Banfeng said with a smile, smoothly changing the subject. "Brother Liu, where did that Stomach-Clearing Powder of yours come from? I'd like a dose myself to settle my stomach."
Hearing that, Zhang Liuze couldn't help laughing. "Friend, I won't lie to you—that Stomach-Clearing Powder was just something I picked up from a roadside pharmacy. It doesn't have any miraculous effect at all. Feeding it to Xiaopang was purely to bolster his courage."
Li Banfeng suppressed a smile. It was indeed just as he had suspected.
The drinking went on until the early morning hours before the gathering finally broke up.
Li Banfeng left early.
When he arrived, no one had paid him any mind; when he left, no one knew.
Such was the capability of a tier-two Dwelling Cultivator. Most of the people present lacked sufficient cultivation, so they simply overlooked Li Banfeng's presence.
Yet one person had not overlooked him.
Walking down an alley, Li Banfeng was planning to find a secluded spot to open the Portable Abode when he suddenly sensed danger approaching.
He whipped around to see a man slowly walking in from the alley entrance.
The man was around fifty, dressed in a long gown and wearing a flat-topped round cap. Holding a teapot flat in his palm, he walked toward Li Banfeng with a genial smile.
"Qin Tianjiu calls you Brother Seven, and the clerk at the Yu Family Cloth Shop once mentioned a Seventh Master. You must be that Li Qi, aren't you?"
Li Banfeng didn't answer, asking instead, "Shopkeeper Zhong, what guidance might you have for me?"
The newcomer was none other than the shopkeeper of Qingtang Teahouse, the sage of the Second Branch of the Jiangxiang Gang's Medicine King Hall, tier-two Ascetic Cultivator Zhong Desong.
Cradling the teapot in his palm, Zhong Desong looked at Li Banfeng and smiled faintly. "Guidance is out of the question. I merely wanted to invite Seventh Master for a cup of tea. Would Seventh Master prefer to visit my teahouse, or shall we share a cup right here?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "It's so late; no tea for me. I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep. Thanks for the kind offer."
Zhong Desong kept the teapot resting on his palm, gently caressing its lid and spout. The originally tranquil pot of tea gradually began to boil.
"Seventh Master is known for being ruthless and decisive—you burned down the Geng Family Medicine Shop with a single fire, yet when it comes to me, you don't even dare drink a cup of tea?"
With his hands in his pockets, Li Banfeng checked the location of every weapon on his person. "Shopkeeper Zhong, I don't know where you heard that rumor, but I have no dealings with the Geng family. Their medicine shop burning down has nothing to do with me."
Zhong Desong sneered. "A real man stands tall between heaven and earth; if you dare do it, why don't you dare own up to it? Geng Zhiwei deserved to die anyway, so I never intended to pry into that. As for the Xianle Dance Hall, that was one of our gang's properties. I suspect that was your doing as well, but the gang forbade asking into it, so I won't ask. However, there is one matter I must ask you: were Old Lady Han and her two sons in Changliu Village killed by you?"
Changliu Village?
That old lady's family?
That old lady was surnamed Han?
He had almost forgotten—she was also a member of the Jiangxiang Gang.
Had Zhong Desong come to avenge her?
"You have the wrong man. I've never been to Changliu Village. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." Li Banfeng turned to leave.
Zhong Desong jerked the teapot, sloshing tea out onto the ground, and scalding tea erupted violently from beneath the earth.
What kind of art was this?
Li Banfeng leaped onto the top of a wall to evade the boiling water beneath his feet.
He wanted to leap into the courtyard of the residence on the other side to shake off Zhong Desong.
Yet Li Banfeng couldn't jump across. An invisible wall blocked the courtyard, blocked the mouth of the alley, and covered the sky, sealing the entire alley into an airtight space.
The scalding water kept gushing, the water level rising ever higher. Its temperature had long surpassed that of boiling water—it was hotter even than molten iron.
Li Banfeng stood atop the wall with his back against the invisible barrier, at risk of falling into the scalding water at any second.
He tilted his ear and listened intently, catching the faint mutterings of an aged voice.
"Come on, come warm yourselves up by me, both of you come together!"
It was the teapot in Zhong Desong's hand; the teapot was speaking!
The scalding water beneath their feet did not stem from Zhong Desong's art, but from this teapot. Li Banfeng recognized the spiritual voice of the teapot—it was a magical treasure.
What a formidable magical treasure! Was this something a tier-two cultivator could control?
Yet this treasure seemed to have a flaw. Li Banfeng noticed that Zhong Desong had also leaped onto the wall, leaning his back against the invisible barrier to evade the scalding water below.
The teapot attacked indiscriminately. Whether it was the scalding water or the walls, its assault fell equally upon both Li Banfeng and Zhong Desong.
Yet the effects of the attack differed drastically between them.
Scorching steam billowed within the enclosed space, and sweat began to bead on Li Banfeng's skin.
Zhong Desong didn't sweat. His expression was completely at ease. He could endure pain—pain beyond ordinary imagination.
This was a treasure crafted specifically for Ascetic Cultivators.
This magical treasure could manufacture harsh, punishing environments. It severely hindered other pathways, yet had minimal impact on an Ascetic Cultivator.
Li Banfeng raised an eyebrow. "Shopkeeper Zhong, what's the point of this? Are you trying to perish together with me?"
Zhong Desong shook his head with a chuckle. "We won't perish together. I can endure this agony, but you cannot. You're a Dwelling Cultivator, aren't you?"
Li Banfeng's heart tightened. Plenty of people could tell he was a journey cultivator because a journey cultivator's traits were relatively prominent.
Yet Zhong Desong hadn't deduced that Li Banfeng was a journey cultivator; instead, he had pegged him as a Dwelling Cultivator.
How had he figured that out?
Stroking the teapot in his hand, Zhong Desong chuckled softly. "Old Lady Han's home had a treasure: that mantel clock. Others couldn't tell it was a treasure, but I knew the secret within—it was actually Old Lady Han's dwelling spirit. The pendulum in your hand belongs to that mantel clock; I recognized it. To kill her inside her own dwelling and carry off her dwelling spirit, only a Dwelling Cultivator would possess such capability."
So he hadn't seen through him; he had deduced it!
Walking along the top of the wall while caressing his teapot, Zhong Desong slowly advanced toward Li Banfeng. "Li Qi, the fact that you could kill Old Lady Han's family proves your cultivation is not low. But judging by your age, you're at most tier two. If a tier-two Dwelling Cultivator had just stepped out of their dwelling, I truly wouldn't dare trade blows with you. But I calculated it: from the moment you entered the bun shop until now, three hours have passed. Your dwelling must be nearby, and once inside it, I would be even less a match for you. But right here on this ground, you will not live through tonight. Does it feel hot? Do you feel like you're about to be steamed alive? Dwelling Cultivators grow accustomed to the comfort of their homes and cannot endure suffering. In this land of torment, you are utterly powerless to fight."
Zhong Desong understood Dwelling Cultivators well; he knew they were ill-suited for combat in harsh, hazardous environments.
He was set on killing Li Banfeng, and he had prepared meticulously for this battle.
The wall was narrow, wet, and slick. On the other side stood the invisible barrier. For an ordinary person, let alone walking, even standing still in place was exceedingly difficult.
Yet Zhong Desong took every step with supreme steadiness, his smiling face gradually contorting into something vicious:
"Tell me: how did you kill Old Lady Han, and how did you kill her two sons?"
Li Banfeng asked in surprise, "Why do you care so much about Old Lady Han? Was she your wife?"
"If only she had been." Zhong Desong did not deny it. He had genuine feelings for Old Lady Han, though she had never given him a chance.
"What did you even see in that old lady?"
"Everything about her was good! She was a good person!"
That old lady was a good person?
What was this old man thinking?
He truly was smitten with her!
Seeing him draw closer and closer, Li Banfeng shifted his feet, appearing to pull back.
Zhong Desong chuckled twice. "Don't move recklessly—by no means move! The top of this wall is extremely slick; one careless slip and you will tumble into the water. Once you fall in, not even your bone fragments will remain! In this pool of tea, I have slain six tier-two cultivators, two tier-three cultivators, and severely wounded a tier-four cultivator. Do you think you can escape? I can walk on this wall, but you cannot! No matter how treacherous the path, I can tread it; I can fight here, but you cannot, because there is no hardship too bitter for me to endure! If you don't believe me, take a few steps forward and see. If you want to be scalded alive, I won't stop you. But if you want a quicker death, answer my questions honestly: just how did you kill Old Lady Han's family, and just what—"
Thwack!
Li Banfeng sprinted along the wall, burst right up to him, and kicked Zhong Desong.
Zhong Desong staggered, nearly falling over.
While Zhong Desong was still reeling in shock, Li Banfeng twisted his wrist and snatched the teapot away.
Greatly alarmed, Zhong Desong tried to drag Li Banfeng down into the scalding water with him.
He could endure in the scalding water for a while, but Li Banfeng wouldn't last a single moment.
Not lasting didn't matter—Li Banfeng had no intention of going into the water in the first place.
Li Banfeng dodged to the side and delivered another kick to Zhong Desong.
Failing to keep his balance, Zhong Desong tumbled alone into the boiling water.
Excruciating pain hit him, and Zhong Desong struggled frantically.
How could this be?
How could he stand so firmly?
How could he sprint across?
He didn't fall off the top of the wall?!
Under the billowing steam, the top of the wall had indeed turned exceptionally slick.
Under normal circumstances, a Dwelling Cultivator standing on the edge of a wall with their back against an invisible barrier, unable to maintain balance on such slick footing, genuinely wouldn't be able to take a single step.
Zhong Desong could endure harsh environments and possessed exceptional adaptability, which allowed him to tread firmly with every step.
Yet if he wanted to compete in footwork against a journey cultivator, he was truly delusional.
To a journey cultivator, this slick wall was hardly any different from flat ground; Li Banfeng could run along it with ease.
Thoroughly boiled in the scalding water, Zhong Desong struggled to poke his head out, intending to transfer his own agony onto Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng planted one foot steadily on the wall, extended his other foot, and stomped down on Zhong Desong's head, plunging him back into the scalding water.
"You can take hardship, right? Don't hold back—eat your fill!"
Zhong Desong surfaced again, only for Li Banfeng to kick him down once more.
"You fancied Old Lady Han so much? I'll send you to be reunited with her!"
Chapter 85