The Overlord of Puluo

Taking advantage of the gramophone’s guilty conscience, Li Banfeng toyed with her mercilessly and kept her occupied for the entire night.

When dawn arrived, Li Banfeng went back to the orange grove. He wandered around the orange grove for half the day, but by noon he still had nothing to show for it.

Soon, he felt hungry but he didn’t want to eat the canned food. And so, he climbed a tree, picked two oranges, and ate them beneath it.

Each orange was nearly fifty centimeters across, larger than a pomelo, yet the peel was unexpectedly soft and thin.

When he peeled one open, each plump, oversized segment released a distinct fragrance. With his keen sense of smell, Li Banfeng could not resist the temptation and lifted a segment to his mouth, biting into it.

The juice surged into his mouth, sweet with a trace of sourness, the mingled flavors tingling across his tongue.

The refreshing aroma rushed up from his throat into his nose. After the first bite, Li Banfeng found it impossible to stop.

When he was back in the Outer Provinces, he was poor and living a hard life. He was someone who had never tasted anything truly good in his entire life.

In Blue Poplar Village, life had grown comfortable, and he had enjoyed his share of fine food. Yet even then, none of it could compare to these oranges.

Why are these oranges so fragrant? Li Banfeng wondered.

Suddenly, realization struck him.

It’s fat! There’s fat in this orange. Not the greasy kind from animals, but something semi-solid, dissolved into the juice itself.

The fat mingled with the juice as it flowed through his mouth. His tongue brushed against its delicate texture before it slid down his throat, carrying the congealed richness into his stomach.

No! I still haven’t had enough! Li Banfeng thought as he picked up another segment and slurped it down.

Before long, both enormous oranges were gone, leaving his belly round and full.

He gathered the orange peels. He did not particularly want the peels, nor did he care about saving such a tiny amount of money. Besides, the peels were so thin that even both oranges together did not amount to half a kilogram.

However Li Banfeng remembered the old hunter’s advice not to waste anything in this grove.

He agreed that these fine oranges shouldn’t be trampled and wasted. He even buried the seeds carefully in the soil. Yet the lingering fragrance from the fruit still hanging on the branches stirred his appetite once more.

You mustn’t eat anymore. If you keep going, your stomach will burst.

Li Banfeng argued with himself, torn between reason and desire. Suddenly, he detected a hint of smoke within the orange scent.

Where is this smoke coming from? he thought.

***

On the eastern side of the grove, an elderly man in his sixties was tied to an orange tree while two young men waved torches in front of him.

”You’re halfway in the grave already, old man. What are you poking around for? You fancy dying quicker?”

The old man gritted his teeth. ”Aren’t you afraid of retribution for doing something like this?”

”What did we do, huh? We didn’t cut a single tree or ruin any oranges. So which rule did we break?”

Li Banfeng was curious as well. He stood silently behind the two young men and listened.

Yes, which rule had they broken?

The old man growled through clenched teeth, ”You burned the trees. You killed them!”

One of the young men flashed a grin. ”Why is burning trees your problem? Unless you’d rather we burn you instead.”

The other young man laughed and waved his torch close to the old man’s face.

Li Banfeng asked, ”Why are you burning the trees?”

The two young men jolted in shock, only then realizing someone was standing behind them.

One of them yanked out a short saber. ”Who the hell are you?”

Li Banfeng frowned. ”I asked first. Why are you burning the trees?”

Without another word, the two young men raised their short sabers and came at Li Banfeng from both sides. Their coordination was tight, suggesting that they had fought side by side for a long time.

The ease with which they wielded their short sabers suggested that they were Martial Cultivators at either the first or second level.

It must have been difficult for these two to get to the orange grove. They must have asked for guidance beforehand. But how did they cross the Ironwire River? Li Banfeng was curious.

Li Banfeng stepped left and swung his sickle, slicing across the first man’s neck. He then shifted right with a quick step, reached the other young man, and hooked his sickle into the man’s chest.

”Don’t move. One more move, and I’ll scoop your heart out.”

The sickle’s blade was nearly touching his heart, and the young man froze completely.

Li Banfeng said with a blank expression, ”I will ask you one more time. Why are you burning the trees?”

The young man struggled to breathe. ”We came to catch elephant beetles. They hide inside the trunks and are hard to catch. Burning the trees forces them out.”

Li Banfeng looked around and saw a dozen orange trees charred and blackened. The old man’s eyes brimmed with tears as he said, ”They ruined all these trees.”

The oranges were still hanging on the branches and their fragrance lingered in the air.

This fine orange tree died just like that, Li Banfeng muttered inwardly.

Li Banfeng looked at the young man, frowned, and asked, ”How could you ruin such good oranges?”

”We’re doing it to catch elephant beetles! Those things are slippery as hell. On a good day, we only catch thirty or fifty. Burn the trees, and we can haul in over a hundred. Do you know how hard it was just to get here? We’re only trying to bring back enough to break even!”

Li Banfeng said, ”Then catch them slowly and stay a few more days. There are oranges to eat anyway. If you ruin the grove like this, everything here will be wiped out in a few days.”

The young man endured the pain and ground his teeth. ”Cobber, don’t push things too far. You don’t even know which gang I am part of! I’m from Blue Poplar Village. Young Master Wu of the Ma Family is my boss. You really think you can touch me without paying the price? Have you thought about the consequences?”

”You’re from Blue Poplar Village?” Li Banfeng looked genuinely surprised. ”Then we’re from the same place. That makes us brothers. Come on, let’s take this somewhere else and talk.”

The man with the slashed neck was still alive. Li Banfeng dragged him away, moving far enough to leave the old man’s sight, before tossing both men into his Pocket Dwelling.

This time, his little wifey showed no restraint at all. Before Li Banfeng even finished closing the door, she had already started eating.

Li Banfeng returned to the old man and untied the ropes binding him.

The old man stood, stretched his stiff limbs, and asked, ”Where are those two lads?”

Li Banfeng said, ”They went home. I told them to reflect properly, and they promised they wouldn’t ever do this again.”

The old man sighed, as if understanding what Li Banfeng truly meant. He walked over to the burned trees and touched the charred bark.

”Those beasts... such wickedness.” He shook his head. ”Are you from Beggar Bay too?”

Beggar Bay? What place is that? Li Banfeng thought and answered, ”I am from Greenwater Bay.”

The old man chuckled when he heard that. ”Greenwater Bay is what you young people call it. Back when I was young, it was called Beggar Bay. The place was full of beggars.”

”Old sir, you must be mistaken,” Li Banfeng said, blinking. ”Greenwater Bay is full of rich people.”

The old man lightly stroked the bark, lost in distant memories. ”When I was young, there was a beggar in Beggar Bay who came down with a strange illness. His entire body was covered in sores. At first, they oozed white pus, then red, and in the end, the pus turned green.

”Back then, aside from the beggars, everyone else in Beggar Bay was poor as well. Being able to eat a full meal already counted as good fortune. If anyone fell ill, they certainly couldn’t afford treatment.

”The beggar’s illness was terrifying. Green pus covered his body, and no one dared go near him. No one gave him food, and when he tried to scavenge scraps from the gutters, people pelted him with stones.

”Even then, he didn’t die. He kept on living, no longer quite human, yet not a ghost either.”

A beggar dripping green pus! Li Banfeng suddenly remembered something! He had seem such a person before!

The beggar’s voice echoed in his ears again. ”Have pity on me.”

”Young man, what are you thinking about?”

Li Banfeng was stunned. ”He’s still alive even now? He must be one tough survivor.”

”Tough. Truly tough. Because his cultivation was high enough.”

”What Daoist path did he practice, and what level was he at?”

”He created his own Daoist path. No one could describe it clearly, and no one knew how high his cultivation had reached. Unfortunately, after falling ill, he lost the ability to use any of his powers.

”One snowy day, he was starving and begged along the streets, but not a single person gave him any food. He starved to death. On the very day he died, a strange illness spread through Beggar Bay. It started as rashes. When they burst, they became sores, oozing white pus that turned green after a few days.

”After a few days of oozing green pus, the infected died. Soon after, those around them developed rashes too, and before long, the same green pus began to seep from their bodies.

”People died in waves, until nearly everyone in Beggar Bay had perished. After that, Beggar Bay became Greenwater Bay.”

The more Li Banfeng listened, the more horrified he felt at what might have happened if no one had given the beggar food. He studied the old man carefully and asked, ”When did this happen?”

The old man shook his head. ”Many years ago. I can’t remember exactly how many.”

”You’ve been to Beggar Bay?”

The old man chuckled. ”How could I have merely been there? I was born in Beggar Bay. I came to the new land only to escape that catastrophe.”

Greenwater Bay was once known as Beggar Bay. Everything started with a beggar whose body oozed green pus. Medicine King Gully was named after the Medicine King, while Greenwater Bay got its name because of that beggar. Then was the beggar I saw the master of Greenwater Bay? Li Banfeng wondered. He had never heard anyone mention such a thing.

Li Banfeng continued to wonder. The old man before me is from the same era as the beggar who oozed green pus. Just how old must he be? Anyone who came to the orange grove and damaged the trees ended up dead. Is this connected to the old man? Is he the master of the orange grove?

”Old sir, have you been living in this orange grove all this time? You’ve never once returned to Greenwater Bay?” Li Banfeng activated his Keen-Eyed Perception, trying to determine whether the old man was human or a ghost.

There is no trace of ghostly fire on the old man. He should be human, Li Banfeng muttered inwardly.

The old man nodded. ”I don’t dare go back. That beggar may have died, but I heard his soul still lingers. Every so often, he comes out carrying a bowl, wandering around to beg for food. If three people give him alms, the matter is settled. If not, he brings the same calamity as before.

A tingling spread across Li Banfeng’s scalp. He had given the beggar several steamed buns. Surely that counted as alms.

Little Chuan had given the beggar two eggs. That should count as well. But had anyone else given him alms?

Blue Poplar Village was a place filled with ”innocent” and ”honest” people. Would anyone there really give food to a beggar, especially one whose body oozed green pus?

Greenwater Bay is the beggar’s own territory. So why did he choose Blue Poplar Village instead? He wanted to bring calamity to the Blue Poplar Village? Did he deliberately destroy his own territory? Is Blue Poplar Village about to face a plague?

Yet so much time has already passed, and nothing unusual seems to have happened...

As Li Banfeng’s thoughts raced, the old man suddenly asked, ”Young man, did you bury seeds in the soil just now?”

Li Banfeng froze for a moment before answering honestly, ”Yes.”

The old man nodded. ”What did you come to the orange grove for? Orange peels, orange grubs, or something else?”

Li Banfeng replied, ”I came to eat oranges.”

The old man shook his head and let out a soft laugh. ”Young man, speak the truth. When you are in front of me, you must not lie.”

Li Banfeng answered honestly, ”If I come again, it’ll be to eat oranges. The ones here are simply too delicious.”

The old man nodded. He trust that Li Banfeng was telling the truth. ”Then what brings you here this time?”

”This time, I came to look for Blue Poplar Trees.”

”What do you want Blue Poplar for? Forging weapons?”

Li Banfeng shook his head. ”No. I want to make medicine with the Blue Poplar Trees.” He spoke frankly, sensing that any lie would be seen through by the old man.

The old man pondered for a long moment before saying, ”You want to use Blue Poplar to counter pill poison, don’t you?”

Li Banfeng nodded.

The old man let out a sigh. ”You should give up on that idea. Blue Poplar’s toxicity can indeed counter pill poison, but no one has ever succeeded in refining the Blue Poplar Trees into medicine. Not in all these years. Even the Medicine King of the Medicine King Gully couldn’t do it.

”You are a good young man. Don’t gamble with your life over this. Once Blue Poplar enters your body, you will certainly die.”

Author’s Note:

PS: In this situation, I think it’s better to listen to the bronze lotus flower.