The Overlord of Puluo

Xiao Yeci?

After not seeing her for so long, Li Banfeng could barely remember what Xiao Yeci looked like, but he hadn’t forgotten her unique manner of speech.

”Benefactor, come with me quickly. Don’t stay in this village. If the Sage finds you, it’ll be terrible, eh!”

Xiao Yeci pulled Li Banfeng into a mountain pass and led him to a cave. Lu Chunying, Xiao Yeci’s daughter, was inside.

Aside from Lu Chunying, there were several children, ranging from four to thirteen years old.

”Benefactor, how did you end up in this place?”

How did I get here? I don’t know how to explain that.

Li Banfeng said, ”That’s not important. How did you and your daughter end up here?”

Xiao Yeci lowered her head, her face flushed red. ”I’m afraid you’ll laugh at me, Benefactor. I brought Nannan here to seek knowledge.”

Li Banfeng did indeed laugh. ”You came here for her to learn? When we first met, I remember you being quite knowledgeable. How could you do something this absurd?”

Before Xiao Yeci could speak, Lu Chunying interjected, ”Isn’t that why she’s called a Mouth Cultivator? In the end, she’s only good at talking!”

Xiao Yeci snapped, ”You brat! No respect at all for your elders when you speak. Benefactor, I came here to let Nannan learn some real skills. Ever since we parted at Medicine King Gully, my daughter and I have gone through quite a lot. Some things happened that I’m not really comfortable telling you about—”

”Then don’t. Just get to the point. How did you end up here?”

”My daughter and I wandered for a time to avoid our enemies. Those days were filled with fear. In the end, it was because our cultivation levels were too low. No matter where we went, we were nothing but pitiful insects others could crush with a single step, eh. Later, I acquired some information that there’s a useful place, a land that’s ideal for cultivation. No matter which Daoist path you follow, you can rapidly improve your cultivation here. I got this information from a friend. That friend of mine used to be very reliable—”

Lu Chunying snorted dismissively and interjected, ”Yeah, very reliable. That friend of my mom’s is from the Jiangxiang Gang. Scammed us out of two hundred silver dollars and lured us here.”

Li Banfeng was taken aback. ”You had dealings with the Jiangxiang Gang?”

From his very first day in Puluo, Li Banfeng had an extremely poor impression of the Jiangxiang Gang.

Xiao Yeci shot Lu Chunying a glare. ”Don’t talk nonsense! Benefactor, I truly didn’t know she was from the Jiangxiang Gang. Otherwise, I would never have fallen for her scam, eh. After she brought us here and I heard all those stories about the Sage, I initially thought we had come to the right place. But Nannan didn’t learn anything here and was beaten quite a lot. When I realized something was wrong, I took her and fled the village.”

Lu Chunying looked at Xiao Yeci. ”Mom, can you stop making yourself sound better than you were? Didn’t you get beaten too? If I hadn’t been quick on my feet, you might not have escaped at all.”

”You brat, stop talking back to me!”

Li Banfeng looked at the other children and asked, ”Did all these kids escape with you?”

Xiao Yeci nodded. ”A few of them were like us; they were tricked into coming to the village. A few of them were sent there by their parents. None of them are locals. The local children won’t run. They don’t dare to, and they don’t want to.”

Li Banfeng felt a bit dizzy as he took in the new information. The makeup of people in this place was rather complicated.

”First, tell me, what is this place called?” he asked.

”Benefactor, don’t you know? This village is called Respect Virtues Village, eh.”

Li Banfeng felt tired just from talking to Xiao Yeci. ”I’m not asking about this village. I’m asking about this whole region!”

”Which place?” Xiao Yeci asked, not quite understanding.

”From that tallest mountain, the Sage’s Peak, all the way to this village, what is this entire region called?”

Xiao Yeci shook her head. ”Those aren’t part of the same place, eh. Respect Virtues Village is Respect Virtues Village, and the Sage’s Peak is the Sage’s Peak.”

She answered very seriously, but that wasn’t the answer Li Banfeng was looking for.

”Does the Sage’s Peak have no connection to Respect Virtues Village?”

”There is a connection. The Sage of the Sage’s Peak has sent out dozens of disciples to teach in dozens of surrounding villages. These villages are grateful day and night for the Sage’s grace. But we’re not from these villages. After staying for a while, we started to feel that something wasn’t quite right.”

Li Banfeng asked, ”What can you even learn from those disciples?”

Xiao Yeci shook her head. ”You can’t learn anything proper. At the beginning, they taught literacy, but Nannan already knows how to read, so there was no need for that. Later, they taught some of the Sage’s words, the Sage’s instructions. But no matter how much you listen, it’s all meaningless, brainwashing nonsense. When Nannan didn’t understand something and asked a few questions, they immediately started hitting her. They even said her heart wasn’t sincere and that she would never become a disciple of the Sage in this lifetime, eh.”

Lu Chunying had attended the village school for several months, but the disciples hadn’t taught anything of value.

Li Banfeng asked, ”How much do you have to learn to become a disciple of the Sage?”

”That’s hard to say. For ordinary people, nine out of ten will never become disciples of the Sage in their entire lives. They say it depends on fate, sincerity, and perseverance. Waiting ten years or more is nothing unusual.”

”You realized they were frauds, so you brought these children and escaped?”

Xiao Yeci lowered her head. ”I wouldn’t dare say they’re definitely frauds, but I feel they’re not good people. These children all wanted to escape and had the courage to do so, so I brought them with me.”

Li Banfeng frowned. ”This place isn’t far from the village. The villagers haven’t come looking for you?”

Xiao Yeci shook her head. ”We’re not originally from the village, so they don’t want to bother with us. These past two days, we couldn’t find anything to eat. I went to the village to get some food, and that’s when I ran into you, Benefactor.”

”Get some food?”

Xiao Yeci blushed. ”I mean… steal it. The children need to eat. I… I was desperate. I couldn’t think of any other way.”

Lu Chunying snorted. ”I’m faster on my feet. I should be the one going. If we wait for you to get food, we’ll all starve to death.”

Looking at the group of sallow, emaciated children, Li Banfeng asked, ”How long have you been out here?”

”It’s been a month,” Xiao Yeci answered.

”It’s already been a month, and you’re still staying here? You never thought about leaving?”

”Benefactor, we can’t get out. I remember the way we came, but when we try to go back, we just can’t get out. Over the past month, we’ve tried many paths, but not a single one has led us out of here. We just kept circling within these mountains, eh! We’re afraid we’ll never get out for the rest of our lives, eh!”

Li Banfeng reassured them, ”You’ll be able to get out.”

Then he went into the forest, hunted a deer, and gave it to Xiao Yeci so she could let the children have a full meal.

After everyone fell asleep, Li Banfeng returned to the Pocket Dwelling and asked the Gramophone, ”Wifey, what kind of place is the Sage’s Peak?”

Pop… crackle…

The Gramophone pondered for a long while before saying, ”I’ve never heard of this place.”

Hongying let out a cold laugh. ”How ignorant and inexperienced. I know about the Sage’s Peak.”

The Gramophone let out a puff of steam. ”Let’s hear it then.”

”Why should I tell you? I’m not telling you unless you let me out!”

Clang, clang, clang~

The Gramophone beat her gong-like parts and sang, ”You shameless wretch, trying tricks like this. Have you no shame?!”

Hongying fell silent.

The Gramophone snorted. ”Husband dear, don’t believe her. She doesn’t know about the Sage’s Peak either.”

Li Banfeng felt quite helpless. ”I’ve been trapped here for an entire day and still can’t get out.”

The Gramophone said, ”My dear, the Sage’s Peak is probably not its real name. You’ll have to find out what this place truly is. If you’re lost here, either the place itself is unusual, or you’ve fallen into someone’s scheme. Only after you figure out the cause can we deal with it.”

Someone’s scheme.

Li Banfeng had truly overlooked this possibility. He had thought it was the peculiar nature of the domain that prevented him from leaving. Now that he thought about it, it was possible that the Sage simply didn’t want him to leave.

What’s the purpose of keeping me here?

Li Banfeng spent the night in the Pocket Dwelling. At dawn the next day, he searched for a way out. He kept going until late at night, but he was still wandering in circles.

He found that even more frustrating than getting lost in Fool City. Furthermore, this place was far more repulsive than that city.

Over the course of that day, Li Banfeng saw groups of children being tormented by so-called Sage’s disciples, and groups of poverty-stricken farmers offering their most valuable harvests to Sage’s Peak.

When Li Banfeng returned to the cave, he saw Xiao Yeci sitting by the fire, battered and bruised.

Lu Chunying complained, ”I told you to let me go, but you just wouldn’t listen.”

Xiao Yeci shook her head. ”This isn’t something you should do. You’re still so young. I can’t let your hands be stained with the immoral act of stealing.”

Li Banfeng asked, ”What happened? Did someone find you?”

Xiao Yeci shook her head. ”Benefactor, we’ve almost finished consuming the deer you hunted yesterday. I went to the village last night to get more food, but someone caught me in the act, and I got beaten up…”

Li Banfeng frowned. ”You got caught stealing? Aren’t you ashamed? And you call yourself an educated person!”

Xiao Yeci’s voice trembled slightly. ”What else could I have done, eh?”

”How is there no way?” Li Banfeng took out a short saber and handed it to Xiao Yeci. ”Get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, you’re coming with me to rob people.”

Holding the short saber, Xiao Yeci looked at Li Banfeng in confusion. ”Benefactor… isn’t robbing people shameful too?”

”What’s shameful about robbery? We’re making a living by using our talents. It’s clean money.”

”W-what talents do you use for that, eh?”

”Plenty of talents!” Li Banfeng replied. He asked with a serious expression, ”Do you know how to recite the lyrics of mountain songs?”

***

At dawn the next day, several farmers pushed carts of grain toward the Sage’s Peak.

Xiao Yeci lay hidden among the tall wild grass, trembling anxiously.

Beside her, Lu Chunying said, ”Mom, if you can’t do it, let me go instead.”

”Who says I can’t do it, eh! You’re still too young. I can’t let you do this, eh.”

Li Banfeng interrupted them. ”Stop dragging things out. Did you memorize the lines?”

Xiao Yeci nodded. ”I memorized them, eh!”

”Then get moving, eh!”

Xiao Yeci jumped out from the tall wild grass and hindered the farmers delivering grain.

She yelled,

”Wah eh!

This mountain was opened by me. This tree was planted by me. If you want to pass through, leave your toll behind. If anyone dares to say no, one strike for each of you is all it takes. I kill without burying, eh!”

Li Banfeng and Lu Chunying both shook their heads at the same time.

Her expression was pretty good! But that last ”eh” completely killed the vibe!

The farmers shouted angrily, ”Where did this wild woman come from? This grain is for the Sage, and you dare to rob us?”

Li Banfeng stepped out from the tall wild grass and said to the farmers, ”I’m the Sage’s father. This is what he should be giving me. It’s not robbery; it’s a filial offering. Consider this your contribution to his duty.”

The farmers remarked inwardly, What an arrogant madman!

”You’re in the Sage’s domain, yet you dare say such things? Are you tired of living?”

Lu Chunying jumped out from the tall wild grass, holding a saber. She pointed it at one of the farmers and asked, ”Are you giving it to us or not?”

This girl has guts, Li Banfeng thought.

A group of children from the cave tossed sand and waved leaves from amid the tall wild grass, creating a show of force.

These kids have great potential too!

Seeing that the farmers were still hesitant to yield, Li Banfeng weaved among them with his short saber, slashing a cut across each of their faces.

The farmers were absolutely terrified and ran off at full speed.

Li Banfeng told Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying to take the children and push the cart of grain to the cave. Meanwhile, he would stay by the side of the mountain path and keep robbing.

If the Sage won’t let me leave, then I won’t try to leave anymore. From now on, whatever the villagers bring up for you, I’ll accept it all in your place. I want to see just what kind of sage you really are!