The Overlord of Puluo

Out in the wilderness, Daboinsky raced forward, running like crazy.

Half the tails of his coat had been torn away, and his fedora was clenched in the Bagworm Moth Madam’s mouth. She chewed it a few times, found the taste unpleasant, and spat it onto the roadside.

She then spat out a strand of silk that snared Daboinsky’s leg. Leaning close, she said, ”Be my man. I will treat you well.”

”Madam, I may not be the type you fancy,” Daboinsky said. His body swelled rapidly as he transformed into a massive spider. He tore free of the silk and released a strand of his own, anchoring himself to a tree.

The Bagworm Moth Madam beamed with delight. ”I like men just like you. I like the way you spin silk.”

Daboinsky fixed all eight eyes on her. ”Madam, I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I already have a wife.”

She smiled sweetly. ”Is your wife prettier than me? Does she love you more than I would?”

Daboinsky thought of running again, but she was already crouched, ready to chase.

Can I escape? Yes. She has never tried to kill. Whether it was Li Banfeng or me, she was never ruthless. She has no intention of killing. She just wants to play.

I can’t defeat her and I can’t shake her off. So what then? Should I just let her toy with me? Is this something I can endure?

At that thought, Daboinsky grinned. It was the fearless and carefree smile of a hero. How much pain and struggle have I endured to reach this point? What is this small humiliation compared to all I have survived?

Daboinsky’s eight eyes flickered for a moment before he bowed. ”Madam, could we perhaps talk first?”

The enormous green insect pressed down on him and said, ”What’s there to talk about? Let’s consummate this quickly.”

This was exactly what Daboinsky had expected.

The massive bagworm moth shuddered violently while Daboinsky shut all eight eyes and gripped the strands of his web.

***

Li Banfeng slid down from the rooftop of the cabin, and though Yu Nan had no idea how he had managed to slip into the Yu Family Village, he gave no explanation.

He was starving and exhausted. After some food, a quick bath, and a change of clothes, Li Banfeng felt his strength return. However, when Yu Nan mentioned the detective, he fell into deep thought and remarked, ”Detective Daboinsky is a good man.”

Yu Nan asked, ”What grudge do you have with him? Why would he want to attack you?”

Li Banfeng shook his head. ”I don’t know. I don’t know him.”

Hearing this, Yu Nan found herself not able to understand what Li Banfeng was thinking even more. ”If you don’t know him, then why say he’s a good man?”

Li Banfeng could not understand Yu Nan either. ”Didn’t you see it yourself? If not for him, how would I have gotten rid of that moth?”

”He... saved you...” Yu Nan could not agree with that.

However, Li Banfeng was certain. ”Whatever his intent was, he did a good deed in the end. I’ll visit him myself someday and thank him.”

”You want to thank him in person?” Yu Nan shook her head again and again. ”Master Qi, that private investigator wants you dead. You mustn’t seek him out. I fear he may be tied to the Geng Family.”

At the mention of the Gengs, she finally asked what weighed heaviest on her mind. ”The Geng Family Medicinal Trading House has burned down, and Geng Zhiwei is dead. Did you know about this?”

Li Banfeng nodded. ”I know. I killed Geng Zhiwei. You can go back to Inner Gully and reopen your cloth shop.”

Yu Nan, stunned by the bluntness of his reply, froze for a long moment. ”No, wait, I don’t understand. Master Qi, you burned down the Geng Family Medicinal Trading House and killed Geng Zhiwei all on your own?”

Li Banfeng shook his head. ”Not entirely on my own. Someone helped me.”

Who helped you? Yu Nan burned with curiosity about who it was, but she didn’t dare ask.

Li Banfeng said, ”Tomorrow I’ll give you six hundred thousand in cash. Deliver it to Old Mister Yao for me. Five hundred thousand will settle a debt, and the rest is for a purchase.”

”What are you buying?” Yu Nan asked in puzzlement.

”Two joss papers. Old Mister Yao and I already agreed on the price,” Li Banfeng replied.

Yu Nan was left stunned for a long moment.

Before her father’s death, he had given her a memorial tablet with only the character ”Yao” carved on it. The tablet was meant to be used when making offerings to Old Mister Yao.

Her father had told her that Old Mister Yao was an otherworldly master. In front of such a figure, nothing improper should ever be spoken. That was the rule.

Yet Old Mister Yao had only met Li Banfeng once. How had they grown so close so quickly?

”Master Qi, did you do something against the rules?” she asked.

Li Banfeng couldn’t be bothered to explain. Inwardly, he grumbled, It’s exactly because you have so many rules that Old Mister Yao treats you like a stranger.

Yu Nan’s thoughts tangled in confusion, so she pushed thoughts of Old Mister Yao aside for now. ”Master Qi, what do you plan to do next?”

Li Banfeng had burned down the Geng Family’s medicinal trading house and killed Geng Zhiwei. The Geng Family would not spare him, and neither would the Jiangxiang Gang. He could no longer stay in Medicine King Gully, and perhaps not anywhere in Puluo Province.

Li Banfeng had long made up his mind. ”Shopkeeper Yu, help me find out where I can get a travel permit to another province.”

It seemed like going to the Outer Province was the only way out.

”Master Qi, I won’t lie to you. I’ve never handled something like this before. I can’t promise success, and it won’t come cheap. I’ll need time to raise the funds.”

”How much will it take?” Li Banfeng asked. At this point, he was very confident with his finances.

”I have heard of people who managed to get a travel permit to the Outer Provinces. By Huan currency, it’s about twenty million.”

”Twenty million?” Li Banfeng’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

”Master Qi, don’t worry. You’ve done us a big favor. I’ll figure out a way to raise the money,” Yu Nan said sincerely. To her, Li Banfeng had avenged her, and no matter how hard it was to get the permit, she was determined to try her best.

Li Banfeng blinked, looking at Yu Nan with confusion. ”What favor did I do for you?”

As far as he was concerned, killing Geng Zhiwei was his own business. It had nothing to do with Yu Nan.

And as for the travel permit, this was more like a business deal. It had nothing to do with friendship. Naturally, Li Banfeng would pay.

The figure of twenty million was a bit outrageous, and Li Banfeng would need to find someone else to confirm it.

Yu Nan sighed inwardly. To give without expecting anything in return, Li Qi is truly a hero.

She then said, ”Master Qi, I’ll do my best with what you’ve asked me. But until it’s done, you must stay in the new land and go nowhere. The Jiangxiang Gang could send people after you at any time. I suspect that the private investigator was hired by them.”

Yu Nan’s remark stirred something in Li Banfeng’s mind.

Hired by the Jiangxiang Gang? he thought. Would they really need to hire a private investigator? Even if they did, I only just burned down the Geng Family’s medicinal trading house. Could they really have traced it back to me this quickly, and even learned my whereabouts? This seemed unlikely.

If the Jiangxiang Gang truly sent a private investigator, would it be for the Geng Family’s matter, or for the bronze lotus flower? If it is for the bronze lotus flower, then the situation was far more complicated. The Jiangxiang Gang might already be surrounding the Yu Family Village!

Li Banfeng muttered, ”Looks like I can’t stay here. If things go wrong, plenty more will come after me.”

”They wouldn’t dare,” Yu Nan said with confidence. ”This is the Yu Family Village. I, Yu Nan, had gotten this land with my blood. If I bleed on it, no one dares invade.”

Yu Nan then explained the rules of land activation to Li Banfeng. It was a covenant she had forged with the gods. On the land she had opened, as long as she scattered her blood upon it, anyone who trespassed would face divine punishment.

The contract was lifelong, which meant the land would remain as Yu Nan’s for as long as she lived. Unless she died or formally transferred it to another, she would always be its master. What she told him was exactly what Old Zhu had once said.

What Yu Nan said stirred a thought in Li Banfeng. Should I activate a tract of land here too?

However, as Li Banfeng recalled his experiences here so far, he quickly dismissed the idea. What land could I possibly claim here? I will go back to Yuezhou sooner or later. This region of peril is not suitable for me anyway.

Li Banfeng pulled out Geng Zhiwei’s pistol. ”Do you recognize this gun?”

Yu Nan examined it for a moment. ”A Glock 17, made in Otrilli Kingdom. There aren’t many of these in Puluo Province. This one belonged to Geng Zhiwei.”

At the sight of that gun, Yu Nan had no more doubts. She confirmed that it was indeed Li Banfeng that killed Gengzhi.

”How does this thing work?” Li Banfeng asked. He couldn’t load the bullets, nor could he pull the trigger.

Yu Nan flicked off the safety and showed him how to operate it. ”Master Qi, it looks good and shoots accurately, but it’s not very useful in Puluo Province.”

”What do you mean? If it shoots accurately, why is it not useful?”

Yu Nan explained, ”In Puluo Province, gunpowder doesn’t always ignite the way it should. Out of ten rounds, only two or three might actually fire. The rest either misfire or fail to go off at all. With a pistol like this, when the round misfires, the casing gets stuck in the chamber, and it’s difficult to eject. That means this pistol jams, and you can’t shoot again until you clear it. If you want a gun you can actually rely on for protection, take mine.”

Yu Nan took out her own revolver. ”An eight-inch-barreled Colt Python. It is a revolver. If one round fails to fire, you simply pull the trigger again and fire again.”

A revolver required no shell ejection until the cylinder was empty, which made it far more reliable in Puluo Province.

The Colt Python was beautiful. It matched every fantasy Li Banfeng had about a revolver. Its eight-inch barrel was long enough, its cylinder perfectly sized, and its gleaming silver body gave him the feel of a Western film.

It was a fine weapon, but Li Banfeng saw no reason to accept it for free. ”Shopkeeper Yu, how much for this gun?”

Yu Nan shook her head. ”I won’t take any payment. This is my token of gratitude for you.”

Li Banfeng handed her Geng Zhiwei’s pistol. ”Then take this in return. This is my token of gratitude.”

As they exchanged pistols, Yu Nan’s cheeks flushed faintly, though Li Banfeng thought nothing of it. He tucked the revolver away, took some bullets from her, and soon after, unable to bear the exhaustion, returned to his Pocket Dwelling to sleep.

At noon the next day, after Li Banfeng had a refreshing lunch, Yu Nan gathered all the workers from the Yu Family Cloth Shop in front of him to thank him.

One worker named Ling Xiu stepped forward, dropped to his knees, and said, ”Master Qi, you avenged our brothers. There’s nothing more to say. Please allow me to give you a kowtow.”

”What are you doing?” Li Banfeng quickly leapt back and pulled him up.

Ling Xiu froze in surprise. ”Master Qi, I only wanted to kowtow!”

Li Banfeng frowned. ”Why would you do that?”

Li Banfeng was an orphan. He had seen many pitiful people forced to kowtow to others, sometimes just for a bite of food. To him, kneeling and kowtowing were the most degrading acts of all. A person should never kneel, and certainly not to the living.

Seeing that Li Banfeng was upset, Ling Xiu no longer knew what to do.

Yu Nan, however, was not surprised. Li Banfeng was straightforward and practical, the kind of man who placed little value on gestures of gratitude that lacked substance.

She ordered two chests of gold bars to be brought forward. ”Master Qi, I am not one to forget kindness. Times may be hard for the Yu family, but when it comes to gratitude, we will not fall short.”

Li Banfeng still looked puzzled. ”Why are you giving me money?”

Yu Nan hadn’t expected Li Banfeng, being such a straightforward man, to think money wasn’t something worth making a fuss over. Now she found herself at a loss, unsure what else she could offer him.

The best repayment would be to secure him a travel permit. Once she managed that, the debt would be settled. However, the chances of getting the travel permit was almost zero.

While Yu Nan was still struggling to think of another way to repay Li Banfeng’s favor, Wang Xuejiao suddenly stepped forward, puffed out her chest, and shouted, ”Master Qi, do you want to marry our shopkeeper?”

At those words, Yu Nan’s cheeks turned from pale to red. This girl... does she have no sense of timing? Is this the place to bring that up?

”Master Qi,” Wang Xuejiao snorted coldly, ”You should give up! Our shopkeeper is a proud woman. She would never marry you!”

Yu Nan’s face then went from red to white. Stupid girl! How dare you speak for me!

Wang Xuejiao pressed on. ”If you want a woman, you should marry me instead! Don’t make things hard for our shopkeeper!”

Li Banfeng’s jaw dropped as he stared at her in dumbfounded silence. ”Why would I do that?”

She answered solemnly, ”Don’t worry, I come with sincerity. I will accept all the terms Geng Zhiwei has proposed. I’ll bring a whip, strip off my clothes, and let you lash me. All I ask is that you do it in private, not in front of everyone.”

WHIP YOU? WHY WOULD I DO THAT?

Li Banfeng swept his gaze over the crowd. ”Have you all lost your minds?”

Wang Xuejiao’s eyes reddened. ”Master Qi, we truly want to repay your kindness. I must repay you for myself and for my brother as well!”

”I really can’t make things clear to you.” Li Banfeng shook his head again and again. ”Just give me some dry rations. I’m going back to Inner Gully.”

”Back to Inner Gully?” Everyone was shocked. Going back there now was no different from walking to his death.

Suddenly, someone at the door shouted, ”Big Bro Qi, I will go back with you!”

They looked toward the sound and discovered that it was Chubby Qin.