Li Banfeng stomped Zhong Desong down into the scalding water.
Steam billowed up, scorching Li Banfeng so fiercely that he snapped his foot back.
With his current cultivation as a tier-two Dwelling Cultivator combined with tier-one journey cultivator abilities, the sudden scalding still stung excruciatingly. Zhong Desong, submerged entirely in the scalding tea, had it far worse.
Zhong Desong struggled to thrust his head above the surface. Li Banfeng drew his iron ruler, thrust it at the crown of Zhong Desong's head, and shoved him back under.
The iron ruler glowed fiery red from the heat. Li Banfeng swiftly pulled it back and delivered another kick to Zhong Desong's head.
Zhong Desong swam toward the opposite wall, attempting to surface there.
Li Banfeng leapt across to that wall and planted another kick onto his head.
Zhong Desong tried several times to escape the pool of boiling tea, but Li Banfeng never gave him an opening.
He remained submerged in the scalding water for nearly five minutes.
An Ascetic Cultivator could endure agony unimaginable to ordinary men.
Yet this agony was far beyond what a tier-two Ascetic Cultivator could bear.
Holding the teapot, Li Banfeng had no idea how to control the magical treasure and could only wait patiently.
Only when the spout ceased spraying did the pool of tea—hotter than molten iron—slowly begin to recede.
Zhong Desong lay sprawled on the ground. Every inch of his skin had sloughed away, and the flesh across his body was cooked through, without a single trace of blood.
Li Banfeng sighed softly and offered Zhong Desong a word of instruction: "As the saying goes, only by enduring hardship beyond hardship can one endure hardship beyond hardship beyond hardship. This suffering won't be for nothing. Grit your teeth and hold out a little longer, and you'll get to see Old Lady Han."
Li Banfeng stowed the teapot, hoisted Zhong Desong by the scruff, and prepared to take him back to the Portable Abode to treat his wife to some boiled meat.
Before he could open the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng suddenly caught the flicker of sparks against Zhong Desong's chest.
*What is he doing?*
*Could he have explosives on him?*
Startled, Li Banfeng immediately hurled Zhong Desong far away.
He carried no explosives, but rather two signal flares.
The two flares were wrapped in an oiled film that kept them dry. Marshalling the last ounce of his strength, Zhong Desong had ignited them.
In Puluo Province, gunpowder worked only intermittently.
This time, Zhong Desong had luck on his side. Of the two signal flares, one actually went off.
*Bang! Whoosh!*
The flare shot into the sky and burst into a golden bloom.
Li Banfeng dashed forward and dragged Zhong Desong into the Portable Abode.
With his eyes boiled blind, Zhong Desong could see nothing. He had no idea where he had been brought, nor what Li Banfeng intended to do to him.
Using his mangled, shredded body, he desperately clung to Li Banfeng and hissed hoarsely:
"Little thief, you can't run! You can't go anywhere!
"You think the matter at the dance hall is over? You think the business with Du Hongxi and Zhou Yujuan has passed?
"Little thief, I sent someone to take word to the branch master! The branch master will be here any second! Having crossed the Jiangxiang Gang, you've already got one foot in the Underworld!"
Li Banfeng kicked Zhong Desong away and said to the gramophone, "Wife, time to dine."
*Chhh, chhh—*
The gramophone gave two sobs. "Husband, after starving this humble servant for so many days, you're finally giving me a bite to eat! Waaayyy—"
Li Banfeng snapped reprovingly, "Don't talk like that in front of outsiders! It makes it sound as though I actually starved you!"
A surge of steam swept in, tearing Zhong Desong's soul to shreds inch by inch.
Li Banfeng sat by the edge of the bed, turning Zhong Desong's words over in his mind.
Zhong Desong claimed the Jiangxiang Gang's branch master had been hunting for him all along. Was that true or false?
Li Banfeng judged it to be very likely true.
From the moment Li Banfeng bombed the Xianle Dance Hall to the Jiangxiang Gang backing down and using Jia Quansheng as a scapegoat, barely a day had passed.
The Jiangxiang Gang had moved too fast. Even back in Yuezhou, handling such an affair couldn't possibly happen with that kind of efficiency.
The only reason they quelled the matter so swiftly was to conceal their true aims—aims directed at him.
*Looking for me!*
*They're still looking for me!*
*This isn't over yet!*
Li Banfeng tickled the gramophone's armpit. "Wife, do you think your husband's reasoning is sound?"
*Chhh, chhh, chhh—*
The gramophone giggled from the tickling.
"What is husband asking about?"
"I'm thinking about matters outside."
"This humble servant never steps beyond the inner doors. How would I know anything about what happens outside?"
Li Banfeng sat silently by the bedside, when he suddenly felt a faint heat radiating against his chest.
He pulled out the teapot and heard it calling out repeatedly, "Are you cold? Quick, tell me if you are cold!"
The teapot grew hotter and hotter. Li Banfeng promptly tossed it aside.
*Chhh, chhh—*
The gramophone wrapped the teapot in steam. The voice inside grew fainter until it gradually faded away.
"Waaayyy, husband, where did this teapot come from?"
Li Banfeng looked at Zhong Desong on the floor. "Took it off him."
"This magical treasure is out of the ordinary. Its tier is high to begin with, and it has been utterly spoiled. If husband uses it once, it will make husband suffer once. At the slightest misstep, you might even lose your life."
Using it once meant suffering once.
The price was far too steep.
Considering the magical treasure's power, it created an extremely harsh combat environment that made no distinction between master and foe.
Li Banfeng's expectations for the teapot plummeted. The gramophone slowly sang, "Husband dear~ this treasure is a precious prize for an Ascetic Cultivator, but of little use to a Dwelling Cultivator. In this humble servant's view, it would be better to simply destroy it."
Destroy it?
Li Banfeng shook his head. "That would be a waste."
His wife was right: the teapot had been designed for an Ascetic Cultivator. In Zhong Desong's hands, it could display its value, but to a Dwelling Cultivator, it had little worth.
Yet fighting in harsh environments was also the specialty of a journey cultivator. Given the right terrain, a journey cultivator might even enjoy a greater advantage than an Ascetic Cultivator in that pool of boiling tea.
The only intolerable part was the toll demanded to use it.
*Chhh, chhh—*
"If husband cannot bear to part with it, this humble servant has two other ways to handle it.
"First, hand it directly to Red Lotus to re-refine. But that wretched slut's temperament is impossible to predict. Once refined, whether it remains a magical treasure is hard to say—it might turn straight into a couple of medicinal pills.
"Second, set it aside for now. Once husband's cultivation advances, perhaps you will be able to master it."
Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "Then let's set it aside for now."
"This humble servant shall do as husband says."
Just as the gramophone was about to seal the teapot with steam, Li Banfeng called out, "Wait, wife, I still need to use this thing."
"When will you use it?"
"Right now."
"So soon?" *Chhh, chhh—* The gramophone sounded concerned. "Husband, once you've used it, return home quickly and hand it over to this humble servant. On no account should you linger in battle."
Li Banfeng nodded. "How do I use this teapot?"
"Rub it repeatedly until the water inside boils. Once you splash the tea out, it takes effect.
"As long as husband keeps rubbing it, water will continue pouring from the spout, and the tea across the ground will keep gushing up.
"Husband must remember: the water will rise higher and higher, so take great care not to scald yourself.
"If husband stops rubbing, wait five or six minutes; once the spout stops spraying, the tea on the ground will disperse.
"After the tea disperses, the teapot will ask husband if you are cold. Husband must never say you are cold, nor delay endlessly. Simply return home at once."
***
Deep in an alleyway.
Medicine King Hall Second Branch Master Shi Boyu of the Jiangxiang Gang, accompanied by red stick Xiang Guicheng, arrived at the lane.
The moment they saw the signal rocket, they rushed over. Yet the alley was completely deserted, save for puddles everywhere, as though a heavy rain had just fallen.
Xiang Guicheng gritted his teeth. "Old Zhong ran into trouble. It's definitely the work of that man-woman and Fatty Qin's bunch again!"
His trusted counselor, Sun Xiao'an, held his water pipe and cautioned, "Nothing is settled yet. Be careful what you say."
Xiang Guicheng snapped furiously, "Not settled? Old Zhong went to Fuwang Steamed Bun Shop to drink tonight to celebrate Fatty Qin breaking through tier one. Zhang Liuze invited him! Now before he even made it back, something happened. Can Fatty Qin wash his hands of this?"
Sun Xiao'an shook his head. "I can't say for sure what Fatty Qin is thinking, but Zhang Liuze has tumbled through the jianghu for decades. He would never do something so foolish.
"Since he invited Old Zhong to a banquet, he would never make a move on Old Zhong. That would not only invite trouble upon himself, but also bring shame upon Sanying Gate."
Xiang Guicheng sneered, "Zhang Liuze might not be as thoughtful as you think. He's a rough fellow too. Rather than guessing blindly here, we might as well go ask him."
Shi Boyu nodded, preparing to lead his men to find Zhang Liuze.
Sun Xiao'an stepped forward to bar the branch master's path, lowering his voice: "We cannot go to Zhang Liuze tonight."
Shi Boyu asked in surprise, "I'm only going to question him. Why can't we go?"
"Questioning is fine, but demanding answers like an accuser is not. This hour is no time for asking questions."
Barging into a drinking banquet in the dead of night to track someone down—wasn't that just going to lay blame?
Shi Boyu remained silent. Sun Xiao'an continued, "Old Zhong is nowhere to be seen, and we can't say for certain whether he's met with disaster. The urgent priority is to find Old Zhong first.
"Master, return to the sub-branch altar first to await news. Brother Xiang, I'll rally the brothers with you and go search for him at once."
Xiang Guicheng was deeply dissatisfied, but before he could speak, Shi Boyu took the lead: "Let's do that."
Shi Boyu turned and left. Xiang Guicheng had no choice but to follow Sun Xiao'an to assemble their men.
"Indecisive and dithering, not like a real man at all. Why the hell is someone like that a branch master? We shouldn't have spared those bastards in the first place!" Xiang Guicheng complained the entire way.
Sun Xiao'an took a drag from his water pipe. "Brother Xiang, our branch master never intended to spare them. It's just that matters must be handled with measure and method."
Across an alley, Li Banfeng heard every word clearly through his Thread-Hook Earring.
Just as expected, this matter was far from over.
*You don't intend to let me off?*
*Seems you haven't been beaten hard enough!*
Shi Boyu was heading back to the sub-branch altar.
*Fine then. I know where your sub-branch altar is too. Let's see who gets there faster!*
Chapter 86