The Overlord of Puluo

Li Banfeng knew that his wifey’s singing could lure ghosts as Shopkeeper Feng had told him about it.

At first, he had wanted to bring his little wifey out to take care of the problem directly, but his wifey had refused, saying that a dwelling spirit wasn’t allowed to leave the house. She also reminded him that, as a proper married woman, she couldn’t be showing herself in public all the time. Buying groceries and such still had to be done by Li Banfeng himself.

His little wifey had recorded a vinyl for Li Banfeng. It was this very song called I Once Had a Love.

All the ghost servants were utterly entranced as they listened, seemingly unaware of Li Banfeng’s presence.

In truth, they weren’t so lost in the music that they didn’t notice him. Whenever Li Banfeng turned the gramophone a bit too fast, the ghost servants would immediately grow upset and cast a few sharp glares his way.

Operating the gramophone truly required skill. With one hand turning the winding handle, Li Banfeng used the other to unlock the Pocket Dwelling with his key.

From the open doorway of the Pocket Dwelling, the ghost servants heard an even lovelier voice, one far more beautiful than the tune played by the hand-cranked gramophone.

「 I had a love story to tell,

And I sing it to the spring breeze.

Please, spring breeze, ask for me,

Why has he cut off all news of me~ ♪」

All the ghost servants turned their heads at once toward the Pocket Dwelling’s door, then followed Li Banfeng inside without a moment’s hesitation.

***

Zhou Yujuan suddenly jolted awake from her sleep and hurriedly shook Du Hongxi, the Wind Watcher at the Second Branch of the Medicine King Hall under the Jiangxiang Gang.

”Master, wake up! There’s noise downstairs. I heard the gramophone playing.”

Du Hongxi rubbed his eyes and turned over. ”So what if it’s playing? That thing goes off every day.”

”Master, please don’t sleep! I really heard noise downstairs!”

”Just let me rest for a bit, will you?” Du Hongxi groaned, pushing Zhou Yujuan back. ”I’m all out of sauce, so quit wearing me out!”

Zhou Yujuan listened carefully for a while and realized that the singing from the first-floor hall had stopped.

Did I really hear it wrong? Zhou Yujuan thought. She rubbed her ear, which felt like something was blocking it, probably something Du Hongxi had left there earlier.

After confirming that she could no longer hear anything, Zhou Yujuan drifted back to sleep. But at that moment, Du Hongxi suddenly sat up.

”Master, what’s wrong?” Zhou Yujuan asked with concern.

”Nothing. Just going to take a piss,” Du Hongxi said as he got out of bed.

”There’s a chamber pot under the bed,” Zhou Yujuan reminded him.

”I’m not using that! It doesn’t feel right when I piss in it!” Du Hongxi said, leaving the room quietly. Zhou Yujuan was about to follow, but he shot her a glare that made her stop.

Obviously, he wasn’t going to relieve himself. He had lost his connection with the ghost servants.

Du Hongxi had experienced losing contact with one or two ghost servants before and this usually happened because of battles or other disruptions. However, this was the first time he had lost connection with all of them.

At this moment, he felt so nervous. In fact, he was panicking. He didn’t tell Zhou Yujuan, nor did he tell anyone else what was happening as he didn’t trust anyone right now. Losing all his ghost servants meant that he had lost almost all his combat power.

He walked toward the end of the corridor, where two of his subordinates were stationed. His subordinates were cultivators with some level of skill, though it had been a few years since either of them had put their abilities to use.

When Du Hongxi was about to reach the end of the corridor, he suddenly felt something cold press against the back of his head.

Li Banfeng had aimed the iron ruler at the back of Du Hongxi’s bald head and asked softly, ”Who’s inside this building?”

”There’s...”

”Keep your voice down.” Li Banfeng twisted the iron ruler and bored a hole into the back of Du Hongxi’s head. Du Hongxi’s entire body convulsed violently.

How did I end up in this situation? Du Hongxi thought. He had already cultivated to the second level of Nightfiend Cultivation, and his life had never been in such danger before.

With his cultivation, Du Hongxi could command his ghost servants to do many things. He could even refine a third-level ghost into his servant.

However, without his ghost servants, what could he do? The only thing left was to summon new ones.

Du Hongxi focused his mind and poured all his strength into summoning the wandering spirits.

Could there be wandering spirits nearby? There certainly were! In fact, there were plenty of them!

Wandering spirits were the one thing Puluo Province would never run out of.

Near the dancehall were two vengeful spirits. They had killed before and drunk blood. Though they possessed no cultivation level, they were vicious enough to be useful once summoned.

Li Banfeng pushed the iron ruler half an inch deeper into the back of Du Hongxi’s skull. ”I asked you, who’s inside the building?”

Du Hongxi jolted. He hadn’t expected this bastard to be so ruthless, and he quickly answered, ”My two subordinates.”

Li Banfeng slowly twisted the iron ruler and asked, ”What kind of subordinates?”

”They have been with me for more than ten years. They are men who can kill without blinking an eye.” He sounded as if he were boasting, but in truth, he was only stalling for time.

At that moment, the two vengeful spirits sensed the Nightfiend Cultivator’s summons and began flying toward the dancehall.

Meanwhile, Li Banfeng twisted, poked, and moved the iron ruler inside Du Hongxi’s skull as he asked, ”What Daoist paths do your two subordinates follow, and what is their cultivation level?”

Du Hongxi answered, ”They are both Physique Cultivators at the first level.”

”What kind of Physique Cultivators? Are they flying creatures, land creatures, or insects?”

”Not really flying creatures or land creatures. I suppose they count as insects,” Du Hongxi replied. By this time, the two vengeful spirits were already very close to the dancehall.

”What kind of insects?” Li Banfeng asked as he pushed the iron ruler deeper into Du Hongxi’s skull.

”One’s a centipede, and the other’s a long worm.”

Hearing that, Li Banfeng thought, A long worm? Isn’t that just another name for a snake? Since when did snakes count as insects?

Outside the mansion, the two vengeful spirits had already arrived. Their shadowy forms slid up the outer wall, seeping through the cracks like living smoke.

This is my chance! Du Hongxi thought.

Du Hongxi was about to command the vengeful spirits to launch a sneak attack on Li Banfeng when Li Banfeng thrust the iron ruler two inches deeper into the back of his skull, stripping him of any ability to resist.

With his left hand, Li Banfeng turned the key and unlocked the Pocket Dwelling, dragging Du Hongxi inside. Knowing that the two vengeful spirits were following close behind, he didn’t close the door right away.

These two vengeful spirits had some fighting power, but they were not true cultivators. With their malicious intent so blatant, their presence could not possibly escape Li Banfeng’s notice. The only reason he allowed them into the Pocket Dwelling was because he wanted to give his little wifey something extra to eat.

Gululu~

The gramophone hadn’t finished devouring all fifteen ghost servants yet, but she was already so full that she started to burp.

”Wifey, leave those old and dry souls for later. Eat this fresh one while he’s still hot,” Li Banfeng called out.

Behind him, Du Hongxi could no longer move. The iron ruler had pierced through the back of his skull, likely damaging his brainstem. His body went completely limp, paralyzed from head to toe. In the pitch-dark room, he could still make out the six remaining ghost servants.

He tried to command them with his mind, ordering them to attack Li Banfeng. However, the six ghost servants didn’t move at all. It was as if they had been bound by a spell and turned to stone.

Unable to control his ghost servants, Du Hongxi turned his will toward the vengeful spirits instead, commanding them to lunge at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng had yin-yang eyes, allowing him to see everything clearly. With a quick sidestep, he dodged the vengeful spirits. A puff of steam followed, and the spirits dissolved into smoke that was sucked straight into the gramophone’s horn.

Clang, clang, clang~

Hey ya~~~ Husband dear~ These two dried morsels are a little too spicy~

Du Hongxi lay limp, unable to move. He couldn’t muster a single ounce of strength to fight back. By now, tears were streaming uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes.

What is this monster? What is this place?

”Wifey, eat the fresh one while it’s still hot. I’ve still got plans for his corpse,” Li Banfeng said with a chilling calm.

Huff~ huff~

Du Hongxi could no longer speak. The injury to his brainstem left him barely breathing, only able to make those heavy, rasping sounds.

A thick mist rolled over him, and the burning pain was so intense that he vomited froth from his mouth.

He felt his body being shredded into countless fine strands, each one pulled into the gramophone’s horn. In reality, his body hadn’t changed much at all. It was his soul that was being torn to pieces.

The gramophone devoured Du Hongxi’s soul, then tidied up his corpse, wiping away the blood and smoothing out the wounds until his body looked just as it had when he was alive.

According to Li Banfeng’s plan, Du Hongxi’s body still had its uses.

Li Banfeng carried Du Hongxi’s body out of the Pocket Dwelling. He made his way to the subordinates’ room and stopped in front of the door.

Du Hongxi had claimed they were Physique Cultivators, one a centipede and the other a long worm, but had he really told the truth? Li Banfeng doubted it.

He propped up Du Hongxi’s body so it appeared to be standing in front of the door, then began to knock. He knocked for quite some time before the door finally creaked open.

One man was bare-chested, and the other had a short jacket thrown loosely over his shoulders. Both looked half-awake and dazed with confusion.

Judging by how dull and sluggish they seemed, they were nothing like a centipede or a long worm.

They had been Du Hongxi’s subordinates for many years, yet with ghost servants at his side, they rarely ever had to fight.

When the two men saw Du Hongxi standing in the doorway, they did not realize at first that he was already dead.

Behind Du Hongxi stood a stranger. The bare-chested subordinate ignored the young man and asked Du Hongxi directly, ”Big Bro, what is it?”

Du Hongxi did not answer. The young man behind him spoke instead.

”Nothing much. Your big bro just missed you two,” Li Banfeng said as he raised his blade and slashed the bare-chested man’s throat.

The man with a short jacket hanging from his shoulders let out a sharp gasp of shock, and Li Banfeng seized the moment to flick a jade-green poison pill into his mouth.

The man was quick-witted and had sharp reflexes. He spat the poison pill out with all his strength and managed to exchange two blows with Li Banfeng.

However, it was already too late. The liquid poison had already seeped down his throat, causing it to swell so badly that he began to suffocate.

The two subordinates stood at the door with their hands clutching their throats.

It was Li Banfeng’s first time using this poison pill, and he was a little concerned about its effect. Nevertheless, after seeing that the man who had almost swallowed the pill lost the ability to fight back within less than a dozen seconds, Li Banfeng gave the pill a rather high rating.

Not only was the pill powerful, it was also highly effective. It did not need to be swallowed to work; even a small trace inside the mouth was enough to poison a person.

Seeing the two men in such bad condition, Li Banfeng did not dare waste any time. He quickly opened the Pocket Dwelling and turned back to ask, ”I forgot to ask. What Daoist paths do you two belong to? Why aren’t you speaking? You don’t want to talk? Fine, then tell me next time. Don’t rush to die. Clench your teeth and hold on a little longer. My wife is still waiting for her meal at home.”