The Overlord of Puluo

After Luo Zhengnan sorted through his thoughts and pieced together a rough thread of clues, he went to find Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng was drinking with Ma Wu. Luo Zhengnan felt a little awkward when he saw Ma Wu, but Ma Wu did not feel awkward at all.

Ma Wu had always been easygoing and did not have any particular dislike for people of the jianghu. More importantly, Luo Zhengnan had come with Li Banfeng. Even if a man like that came from a place like the Jiangxiang Gang, he could still be trusted.

Ma Wu said, ”Brother Luo, have a drink. Last night’s success was mostly thanks to you.”

Luo Zhengnan froze. ”What happened last night?”

Li Banfeng lowered his voice. ”The business in his bed last night.”

Luo Zhengnan had heard all about Ma Junyang’s reputation. But how could anything that happened in Ma Junyang’s bed count as his achievement?

Luo Zhengnan grew a little uneasy. He moved away from Ma Wu, just enough to be safe, then turned to Li Banfeng. ”Master Qi, I have managed to piece a few things together...”

He stopped halfway and looked toward the door of the private room. Through the door came the faint scrape of a broom.

Ma Wu pointed upstairs, signaling for Li Banfeng and Luo Zhengnan to leave through the hidden door and continue the conversation somewhere else.

Ma Wu opened the main door of the private room and called the cleaner inside, ordering him to sweep the room properly.

Ma Wu handed the cleaner a Huan note and kept his eyes on him. ”Clean it properly. We have important guests coming soon, so put some care into it.”

The cleaner was very anxious. He had just seen Li Qi come back to the Carefree Wharf with a stranger. This was a man he didn’t recognize and he didn’t know if he should tell Wan Jinxian about it.

Now Li Qi was nowhere to be found, and Ma Wu was watching him at the side. The cleaner had no choice but to grip his broom and clean obediently.

***

Once they reached the upper floor, Luo Zhengnan told Li Banfeng everything he had pieced together. ”Master Qi, have you heard of the Sage from Vilefolk Hillock?”

”I have.” Li Banfeng did not mention that he had been there himself.

”Then do you know who this Sage really is?”

Li Banfeng shook his head.

”I overheard He Jiaqing talking to that woman just now. From the sound of it, the Sage of Vilefolk Hillock might be an emperor.”

Li Banfeng stilled. ”An emperor from which dynasty?”

Luo Zhengnan shook his head. ”I don’t know about that. To be honest, I have been investigating this Sage for quite some time. What I do know is that he has very close dealings with the Jiangxiang Gang.”

”You mean the human trafficking?” Li Banfeng knew about this as well. ”Anyone who can sell people to Vilefolk Hillock must have a special channel.”

”No special channel needed!” Luo Zhengnan said with a wave of his hand. ”Every branch of the Jiangxiang Gang does it. This is how they make a living. Some branches control such poor territories that they can only sell humans for a living.

”Vilefolk Hillock pays well. If a fellow gets lucky, he might even come back with a few pills from the Sage. I made a rule that Medicine King Hall is not allowed to deal in human trafficking, and plenty of my men have grumbled about it.

”If you have ever been to Vilefolk Hillock, you know exactly what sort of place it is. If it were me, I would rather stay in Bitter Greens Manor and chew bitter veggies all day than set foot in that place.

”Life there is awful. Everyone spends the whole year scratching and scraping just to stay alive. Who has the time to marry? Who has the strength to raise children? Their population keeps shrinking year after year, and the only reason Vilefolk Hillock has not gone empty is because the Jiangxiang Gang keeps feeding people into it.”

Li Banfeng thought of Xiao Zhenggong. ”Then it seems the leader of the Jiangxiang Gang has dealings with this Sage as well.”

”He must,” Luo Zhengnan said. ”From what I have found, Xiao Zhenggong only became a Balancer because of his connection to the Sage.”

Li Banfeng paused. ”What is a Balancer?”

”A person with a special status between the Outer Provinces and Puluo Province,” Luo Zhengnan said. ”As for what makes that status special, I still haven’t figured it out.”

The Sage is the emperor and Xiao Zhenggong is the Balancer, LiBanfeng thought. And now, the Sage wants to recruit He Jiaqing. Will He Jiaqing agree to working with the Sage? He might not have a choice.

***

When Li Banfeng returned to the Pocket Dwelling, his face was as black as a thundercloud.

He went straight up to Hong Ying and shouted, ”Come with me!”

Hong Ying obediently followed him at once.

The Gramophone froze, then asked the others, ”What did Hong Ying do wrong? Why is Husband dear so angry?”

Dream Virtue, who was on the wall, said, ”Miss Hong has always had a temper. Master must have endured it for long enough. Today, she is finally getting punished.”

The Gramophone laughed. ”Good! A beating will do her some good. That proud temper of hers should have been knocked flat ages ago!”

Then the Gramophone thought about it a little more and asked, ”But can Husband dear actually beat her?”

Dream Virtue answered from the wall. ”With Madam here, would Miss Hong dare to hit him back?”

***

The two of them went to the Seventh Room. Li Banfeng moved Crimson Lotus outside, then turned back to Hong Ying with a grave expression.

”How have I treated you?”

Hong Ying lowered her head and said, ”Darling Qi, you have been good to me.”

”There is still one piece of Lin Dexing’s flesh left. Glove hid it for you. I already know about it. Eat it.”

Hong Ying shook her head. ”I am not eating that. You promised me you wouldn’t force me to eat it.”

”My wife ate hers. Does it seem right for you not to eat yours?”

”I don’t care. I am not eating it!” Hong Ying was very stubborn.

Li Banfeng sighed. ”Fine. We will leave that aside for now. I have run into a powerful Wanderlust Cultivator. He is at level nine, and before I fight him, I need to know what abilities he has. There is no need to mention the first six levels. I already know those. Just tell me the abilities for the seventh, eighth, and ninth levels.”

It would be too troublesome to ask about the ability for each level. High-level abilities were especially difficult to learn about. Very few people knew them, and those who did were never willing to talk. Since he had the chance, he might as well ask about all of them at once.

Li Banfeng knew he was being a little greedy, but he trusted himself to show some restraint. He definitely wouldn’t try to master abilities above his level.

He most likely wouldn’t try to master those abilities above his level. He would at most study the moves of the higher level abilities. Perhaps he would practice them now and then. That probably, most likely, should not count as learning abilities above his level.

”Darling Qi, you want to ask about the abilities of Wanderlust Cultivators?” Hong Ying seemed a little troubled by this request

”Come on, then. We are going to find my wife, and you are going to eat Lin Dexing’s flesh in front of her.”

”No, wait!” Hong Ying said at once. ”I will tell you. The level-seven Wanderlust Cultivator ability is called Stubborn Step.”

”How do you use this ability?”

”It has to be used together with a level-one ability. The level-one ability is the foundation of Wanderlust Cultivation. Every ability after that depends on it.

”Passing Flowers on Horseback corresponds to Raising a Gale on Level Ground. The main thing there is speed. You have to move fast.

”Stubborn Step corresponds to Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Calamity, but it works in reverse.”

Li Banfeng grew more confused. ”What do you mean, use it in reverse? Are you saying I have to walk toward danger?”

Hong Ying nodded with the tip of her spear. ”That is exactly it. Once you use Stubborn Step, the more dangerous the place is, the greater the boost to your combat strength.”

Li Banfeng thought for a moment. ”So if there is a level-nine cultivator ahead of me and I charge straight at him, would I not just be running to my death?”

Hong Ying stared at him for a moment. ”Why are you charging straight at him? You are not even a Wanderlust Cultivator.”

”That’s right. I am not.” Li Banfeng said while maintaining a perfectly calm expression. ”I am just thinking about it from the perspective of a Wanderlust Cultivator!”

Hong Ying said, ”That is exactly how it works. Suppose you were a level-seven Wanderlust Cultivator, and suppose there was a level-nine cultivator standing right in front of you. If you used Stubborn Step, then yes, you would have to charge straight at him.

”Would you win? Probably not. But if you couldn’t run, then Stubborn Step would at least give you one last way forward. The moment you charged in, your combat strength would climb close to the eighth level. And if the danger became dreadful enough, it might even push you past the eighth level. Then, perhaps, you would have just enough strength to fight a level-nine cultivator.”

It was an ability used at the risk of one’s life.

Li Banfeng said, ”From the way you describe it, once a level-seven Wanderlust Cultivator is cornered, he might throw his life into the fight at any moment.”

Hong Ying shook the tip of her spear. ”Not exactly. There is more to it than...”

Hong Ying stopped there. Once the explanation reached the weakness of the ability, Hong Ying did not want to say another word. Every cultivator wanted to protect the secrets of their own abilities, especially abilities at the higher levels.

Li Banfeng sighed softly. ”Fine. Then you should eat Lin Dexing’s flesh.”

”Darling Qi, spare me~”

Hong Ying was not like Wifey. She didn’t know how to act sweet. Even when she tried to plead in that soft little voice, it sounded stiff to Li Banfeng.

There was no chance of him going soft. If she did not explain it clearly, he would not spare her.

Left with no choice, Hong Ying finally revealed the key point. ”The level-seven ability cannot be used while the body is heavily injured. It places extremely strict demands on the body. An injured level-seven Wanderlust Cultivator will not be able to activate this ability.”

This was not the sort of ability a man could save until he was heavily injured. In other words, the moment the battle began, he had to make up his mind to risk his life.

This ability was a test of nerve.

”What is the key to using it?”

”Courage,” Hong Ying said. ”The courage to walk straight into danger. Darling Qi, if that powerful enemy of yours suddenly stops caring whether he lives or dies and charges right at you, you must be careful.

”He may already have activated his level-seven ability. If he is really a level-nine Wanderlust Cultivator, then his combat strength might reach that of a level-ten cultivator. You must not fight him head-on. Keep away from him until that burst of power fades.

This time, Hong Ying’s attitude was much better.

Li Banfeng asked, ”What about the level-eight ability?”

Hong Ying rubbed her hands together and was just about to answer when the Gramophone cried out from outside, ”Oh, Husband dear, what is that smell? Why is there still a piece of meat hidden in the Third Room?”

The Pocket Dwelling fell silent at once.

Hong Ying clutched Li Banfeng’s hand. Her palm was slick with sweat.

After a round of relentless questioning, the artifacts could not hold out any longer.

The Tang Saber was the first to speak. ”Glove was the one who hid the flesh. The Third Room stinks so badly now that I have stopped sleeping there.”

Wifey turned to Glove. ”Were you refusing to eat your share, so you hid it instead?”

”I ate mine! I really did!” Glove defended himself at once. ”This piece is not mine. It belongs to Miss Hong. She was the one who told me to hide it!”

Actually, Li Banfeng had given Glove permission to hide it. But at a time like this, Glove absolutely could not sell out the master of the house.

Hong Ying was terrified.

The Gramophone snapped, ”You wretch, get out here!”

Hong Ying came out trembling. No matter how deep her grudge against the Gramophone was, she was really afraid now that trouble had fallen on her own head.

Li Banfeng tried to smooth things over. ”Wifey, that piece of flesh has been sitting there for days, and the smell has grown rather strong. If Hong Ying really cannot stomach it, why not give it to Crimson Lotus?”

Dew gathered all over Crimson Lotus. She very nearly spat at Li Banfeng, but in the end, she held herself back.

Surprisingly, the Gramophone really let Hong Ying off. ”Since our dear husband has pleaded for you, I will spare you this once. Husband dear, I have taken in too much nourishment these past two days, so I need a few days to rest. Once I have recovered, it will be time to take my dear husband up to level seven.

”Have you asked anyone about the level-seven ability of Homebound Cultivators lately?”

Li Banfeng shook his head. ”Why would I need to ask? I can just wait for Wifey to teach me!”

”Heyaaaa~ Husband dear, I knew you trusted me best. You must not go asking around. Learning abilities above your level is a terrible taboo. If something goes wrong, you might lose your life.”

Li Banfeng waved a hand. ”Do I look like the sort of person who would do that?”

”Heyaaaa~ Husband dear, you can be a little impatient at times, and I really worry about you. Please remember this. When you reach level seven, we will learn level-seven ability. Do not start thinking about anything beyond that.”

”Mm.” Li Banfeng answered and left the Pocket Dwelling.

Hong Ying stood beside the Gramophone.

The Gramophone asked, ”What were you doing with Husband dear just now?”

Hong Ying hurriedly answered, ”Nothing! We did not do anything. We are completely innocent!”

”Innocent my foot!” the Gramophone snapped through gritted teeth. ”If not for Husband dear, I would have beaten you to death long ago, you little wretch!”

Hong Ying gave a cold snort, but she still stood properly beside the Gramophone.

The Gramophone turned her gaze to Crimson Lotus. ”And you, little wretch. Are you taking too long with this batch of pills?”

***

Two days later, Luo Zhengnan picked up another message through the hook he had planted.

”The Sage’s disciple is called Zhong Huaien. He arranged to meet He Jiaqing, but He Jiaqing sent that woman in his place. The meeting is tomorrow night at seven, at Lotus Pond Teahouse.”

Li Banfeng smiled. ”So they really are planning to work together. In that case, let us go and join the fun.”