The Overlord of Puluo

Who burned down the Geng Family’s medicinal trading house?

Yu Nan fell into deep thought, but her shop assistants did not think much about it.

They swung their fists and roared, and many even shed tears.

Wang Xuejiao was the first to cry. ”Old Eight, do you hear that? The Geng Family’s medicinal trading house was burned down, and that bastard Geng Zhiwei was burned to death. Old Eight, I can’t avenge you, but the heavens have opened their eyes and sent immortals down here to avenge us.”

The people around them shouted, ”That scoundrel Geng Zhiwei has done every evil under the sun. The heavens will surely punish him!”

”He just launched a sneak attack on us... and now the Geng Family’s medicinal trading house has been burned down. This is karmic retribution. This is justice!”

The group grew even more agitated, but Yu Nan still had not arrived at an answer to the question she was pondering.

The Geng Family became a tyrannical presence over the years and offended many people. That means there are plenty of people who would have wanted revenge on Geng Zhiwei.

However, with the Jiangxiang Gang backing the Geng Family, how many people would even dare to make a move against the Geng Family?

The four powerful families?

Impossible. They look down on the Geng Family, considering families like that as small fry.

The three major gangs?

That’s impossible too. They generally avoid getting involved with the Jiangxiang Gang; it would lower their status and bring them no benefit.

Last night, Li Qi insisted on staying at the old residence, and now the old residence has been burned down. It seems fairly certain that Li Qi fought Geng Zhiwei.

But did Li Qi really storm the Geng Family’s medicinal trading house all by himself and set the place on fire?

That’s even more impossible. Song Boming, the Geng Family’s large support hook[1], is no pushover, and he has many excellent fighters under his command. Li Qi alone could not have been their match.

Or does Li Qi have a wide network of connections? Did he lead a group of people into the Geng Family’s medicinal trading house, burn it down, and kill Geng Zhiwei?

However, that could not be. For if he had that kind of ability, he would not have let Chubby Qin suffer so much... nor would he have needed to hide in the Yu Family’s old residence.

If it were true that this matter had something to do with Li Qi, then it would completely overturn Yu Nan’s understanding of the entire jianghu.

Zhang Shiquan, the old warehouse keeper, reminded Yu Nan, ”Shopkeeper, we should make haste with our journey. With Geng Zhiwei dead, the Jiangxiang Gang will definitely make a move. This matter has gotten too big to sweep under the rug. There is no way they will let us go!”

The old warehouse keeper was right; that was the real priority. Yu Nan quickly led the group on their way, hoping to reach the new land before nightfall.

***

After a bath and dinner, Li Banfeng slept in the Pocket Dwelling. He had gotten so used to sleeping in the comforts of the Pocket Dwelling that he disliked sleeping anywhere else.

When he woke, the Arcane Crimson Lotus opened its petals, revealing four lotus seeds inside.

Two red pills burst from each of the first three seeds he plucked,

Li Banfeng now had a total of sixteen red pills. With so many on hand, Li Banfeng himself didn’t really treasure them anymore.

However, according to Yu Nan, this pill was the Mystic Blazing Pill. It could be traded for ten days’ worth of cultivation progress, at one 150,000 Huan yuan per pill.

Sixteen pills could sell for 2,400,000 yuan. Adding his savings balance, subtracting recent expenses, and further deducting the costs of treating Chubby Qin’s injuries and buying yellow paper, Li Banfeng’s total assets came to 3,281,122 yuan, 8 jiao, and 4 fen.

I can buy a house in Yuezhou with that much money.

Of course, that’s assuming I can make it back to Yuezhou.

Could I buy a travel pass with this amount of money?

It probably won’t be a problem, as long as I find the right channel to buy it through.

Was that money all of Li Banfeng’s assets?

Of course not.

When Geng Zhiwei and his bodyguards entered the Pocket Dwelling, they had brought along one chest of silver dollars and four chests of banknotes.

”You know, you could have just come. Why bring so much stuff...” Li Banfeng said, almost feeling bad about taking the money.

He opened the chests and counted the money carefully.

The chest of silver dollars held only 920 coins, not that many.

But at an exchange rate of 500 yuan per coin, that amounted to 460,000 yuan.

How much money was in the four boxes of banknotes?

Well, the first chest held 860,000 yuan, the second chest had 920,000 yuan, the third chest had a bit less at 730,000 yuan, and the last chest had 970,000 yuan.

Together, they totaled 3,480,000 yuan. Any one of these four chests was worth more than the chest of silver dollars.

Li Banfeng truly could not understand why Geng Zhiwei had clutched the chest of silver dollars, leaving the four chests of banknotes to his bodyguards to hold instead.

3,480,000 plus 460,000 made 3,940,000.

Just counting the yuan, Li Banfeng now had 7,220,000 yuan.

At that point, it was way more than a down payment.

Of course, there was still the 500,000 yuan he needed to give Old Mister Yao. He certainly could not owe the Medicine King money.

”I am not someone who puts that much weight on money,” Li Banfeng said with a sigh.

Pfft!

The gramophone released a puff of steam.

”But I still feel that making money in Puluo is much easier than in Yuezhou.”

Li Banfeng let out another sigh.

This time, the gramophone did not mock him.

It was true that this large sum of money had come easily to Li Banfeng.

After neatly putting away the money, Li Banfeng stared at the last lotus seed. He felt a little apprehensive.

This lotus seed still hasn’t burst open.

Li Banfeng was worried that it might explode open or produce something unusual, hurting him in the process.

He set the lotus seed in a corner of the main room and hid behind the gramophone.

Crack, crack, crack.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, the seed finally split open.

It only cracked open; it did not burst.

Li Banfeng approached the lotus seed with great caution. He slipped on a pair of cotton gloves and peeled away the shell to reveal its contents.

There was one pill, just a single deep-purple pill.

The pill was lustrous and translucent, slightly larger than a Mystic Blazing Pill. Despite not holding it up to his nose, Li Banfeng could already smell the pill’s pleasing scent.

”What pill is this?” Li Banfeng muttered to himself.

Pssh, pssh, pssh!

The gramophone let out more puffs of steam.

”My dear husband,” the gramophone suddenly spoke, startling Li Banfeng. ”This pill is a rare treasure. You must keep it safe.”

”Rare treasure?” Li Banfeng uttered, looking at the gramophone in surprise. He had no idea that she was knowledgeable about pills.

This was a good thing. Since his wife was knowledgeable about pills, he would not need to rack his brains to find someone else who could identify this new pill.

”My dear wife, what does this pill do?”

”My dear husband, this pill has great uses, but my stomach is empty, so I cannot recall it for the moment.”

An empty stomach...

She wants food again.

She just had a hot pot feast of three fresh souls last night, and she’s hungry again today?

”My dear wife, at the rate you eat, I cannot afford to keep you.”

Huff!

The gramophone snorted, beat her gong-and-drum set, and sang, ”I devote my heart to following you, dear husband, yet even my food and drink are not assured. I am in sorrow. My fate is so bitter~”

”My dear wife, don’t cry yet. Let’s talk about what the pill does first...”

Huff!

The gramophone snorted again. ”I am hungry and cannot remember. My dear husband, go find someone knowledgeable and just sell the pill.”

Li Banfeng’s eyes lit up. ”How much can it fetch?”

”Oh, my dear husband, I am simply too hungry to recall that~”

Li Banfeng’s face turned red with anger. ”All you know how to do is eat, yet even with all that you eat, you haven’t grown any flesh. You are cold all over and stiff as a board. You don’t look like a proper wife in the slightest!”

Huff, huff.

Moisture beaded at the horns’ mouths. The gramophone was crying.

”My dear husband mocks me. Huff. My dear husband treats me poorly. Huff,” the gramophone sang as she sobbed.

Li Banfeng let out a helpless sigh. ”At least tell me this pill’s name. I will sell it, then get you something tasty.”

”My dear husband, you are not short of money. Huff. You simply do not want to feed me. Huff.”

Unable to stand the gramophone’s whining, Li Banfeng decided to step outside for a walk.

Before going out, he took out the handgun that Geng Zhiwei had brought him.

Li Banfeng didn’t know much about firearms, so he couldn’t tell what kind of gun it was, but he could tell it wasn’t a revolver. He tugged at the barrel for a long time, but he couldn’t load the gun. Nor could he pull the trigger.

What’s the point of carrying this thing around?

He set the handgun aside and took out the iron spike that one of the Martial Cultivators had given him.

”This iron spike is better.”

He gave the iron spike a couple of swings. The gramophone could not bear to watch him in silence. She released several puffs of steam.

Pfft, pfft, pfft.

She was mocking Li Banfeng.

”My dear husband, where do you intend to go with that weapon in hand?”

”To buy groceries!” Li Banfeng answered casually.

”To buy groceries? Truly?” The gramophone perked up and stopped teasing him. ”My dear husband, the weapon in your hand is not an iron spike. It is called an iron ruler[2], a fine tool for both attack and defense.”

A long main spike with two small forked prongs to either side: that weapon was called an iron ruler.

Li Banfeng froze for a while, suddenly remembering something. He had seen the term ”iron ruler” somewhere.

On television?

He might have, but he couldn’t recall the name of the television program.

In a novel?

That was possible. He had likely read it somewhere...

Then he recalled where he’d seen it. It wasn’t a novel but a martial arts manual - one of the ones he’d taken from the elder son of that old woman Homebound Cultivator.

Li Banfeng jogged into the outer room.

Among the manuals Decai had gathered, there was one that introduced unusual weapons.

It cataloged many strange weapons, and it included a dedicated entry on the iron ruler.

Its offensive methods were relatively simple, focusing on thrusting. The two small forked prongs were mainly for defense.

Written descriptions were never as insightful as direct demonstrations. After a few trial moves, he still found the iron ruler difficult to use. Then his gaze shifted to the pair of forks with two interlaced crescents.

”My dear wife, what is this pair of things called?”

The gramophone grew impatient. ”My dear husband, you need not carry so many weapons. Hurry up and go buy the groceries.”

”How do I buy groceries without a weapon?” Li Banfeng replied in irritation. He rebuked her, ”Do you think it’s easy for me out there, having to face rains of bullets and blades? You won’t even teach me how to use a weapon. How am I supposed to find food for you?”

Hululu~

A puff of steam trembled out from the horn.

The gramophone felt a bit ashamed.

”My dear husband, do not be angry. I know I was wrong to do that. That pair of weapons is called the mandarin-duck battle-axes. They cannot be mastered overnight.

”My dear husband, let me teach you how to use the iron ruler first. Set up a steady stance. Begin with a straight thrust of the ruler!

”My dear husband, focus a little more on steadying your hands, slow your thrusts. Martial arts training needs perseverance and patience.

”My dear husband, I admire your courage, your persistence, and your hardworking attitude.”

The operatic recitative rang out in the gramophone’s unique timbre, every word brimming with tenderness.

Warm feelings flooded Li Banfeng’s chest. As he refined his technique under the gramophone’s guidance, an unprecedented bond of trust and a sense of closeness formed between them.

The gramophone did not feel the same way though. She just kept spurring Li Banfeng on.

”My dear husband, you have such fine talent. You learn quickly. Your thrusts are accurate and steady!

”My dear husband, do not rush. Watch the amount of force you put into your thrusts.

”My dear husband, um... you shouldn’t use that much strength yet. And please do not point the iron ruler at me, my dear husband.

”My dear husband, you... why do you suddenly have another iron ruler?

”My dear husband, that... please don’t point that iron ruler at me either...”

1. Leader of the guards. ☜

2. The iron ruler is a three-pronged melee weapon. See translator’s thoughts for a photo. ☜