The Overlord of Puluo

Kinless Township was a very small town. It was smaller than Medicine King Gully and Girdle-Slipping Hollow. Of all the towns Li Banfeng had ever visited, it was the smallest.

There were not many people in town, and they did not talk much to one another either. The only thing there was plenty of was swampland.

Li Banfeng spent a whole day looking around and found swamps everywhere, beside the wilderness, among the woods, around the farmland, along the country roads, and even between the village houses.

By evening, Li Banfeng stopped at a little restaurant and ordered a bowl of braised pork noodles. The owner charged him thirty yuan.

It was clearly more expensive than it should have been, but Li Banfeng did not make a fuss. The woman who ran the noodle shop was a kind old lady, and she had told him plainly from the start that the bowl of noodles would cost thirty.

Before leaving, Li Banfeng gave her another twenty yuan and asked which way he should go to get to a stretch of New Land.

The old lady was very helpful. ”Child, walk right along the foot of the wall and head east. When you reach the second alley, turn south and keep going. At the end of the alley, you will find a mountain path. Cross the mountain, and you will see New Land.”

In Kinless Township, it was rare to find anyone willing to give such detailed directions.

Li Banfeng thanked her several times, but there was one thing he did not understand. ”Ma’am, why do I have to walk right along the foot of the wall?”

The old lady lowered her voice. ”Child, there are unclean things along these roads. I am afraid you might run into one. We are neither family nor friends, so I shouldn’t say too much, but trust me. You won’t go wrong if you do as I say.”

What a kind old lady! Li Banfeng gave her another twenty yuan. The moment he stepped outside, however, he sensed danger.

Just what is lurking on the road? Li Banfeng walked right along the foot of the wall and activated Keen-Eyed Perception, keeping a close watch on the middle of the road.

There were a few people passing by now and then, but Li Banfeng saw no ghosts or anything of the sort. Could there be some kind of hidden trap...

Squelch!

Li Banfeng stepped straight into a mud pit. There was a swamp right beside the wall too.

The mud pit seemed bottomless, and there were no signs or warnings around it. To keep passersby from noticing it, the old lady had scattered a thin layer of loose soil over the top, making it look just like ordinary ground.

Li Banfeng was about to climb out when the old lady came over carrying a long wooden pole. ”Child, don’t struggle. The more you struggle, the faster you will sink. Don’t worry, I will pull you out.”

What a kind person, Li Banfeng thought. He did not actually need her help. With his skills, he could easily get out without even using any abilities.

However, the old lady was so eager to help. Holding out the pole, she said, ”Child, we are neither kin nor friends, so I can’t very well help you for nothing. How about this? Give me two thousand, and I will pull you out.”

Li Banfeng blinked. ”Two thousand? Is that really a fair price?”

”Too expensive?” The old lady frowned. ”Let me tell you! Plenty of people have drowned in this mud pit. We are neither kin nor friends. If it were anyone else, who would bother saving you? If you think two thousand is too much, then it will cost five thousand.”

Li Banfeng stared at her. ”Five thousand? Is that a fair price?”

”Ask again and it will be ten thousand!” The old lady still wore the same kindly smile.

Li Banfeng nodded. ”Ten thousand it is.”

With that, he jumped out of the mud pit, grabbed the old lady, and tossed her in.

The old lady was startled, but she twisted on the tip of one foot, curled herself up, and rolled straight back out.

No wonder this old lady dared to set traps here. The old lady was a cultivator. She was quite skilled and was not afraid of anyone taking revenge on her afterward.

The moment she got out, she sprang to her feet and pulled a handful of lime powder from inside her clothes, ready to fling it into Li Banfeng’s face.

Li Banfeng dodged aside, picked up the bamboo pole, and gave her a casual jab, sending her straight back into the mud pit.

The old lady tried to roll out again. Li Banfeng stood there with the pole, and every time she came out, he pushed her back in. After several rounds of this, she finally ran out of strength and stopped moving.

Li Banfeng stood beside the mud pit with the bamboo pole in hand, watching her slowly sink. He asked at an easy pace, ”So when you told me to walk along the foot of the wall, you were setting me up to fall into this pit?”

The old lady shouted, ”Who set you up? Who told you to walk along the wall? Go on, ask around! See if anyone heard me!”

There was no need to ask. In a place like this, where everyone was neither kin nor friend, nobody would admit to hearing a thing.

Li Banfeng said nothing. He simply stood beside the pit and watched.

As the old lady sank deeper, she finally cried out, ”You win! Spare my life!”

”Ten thousand,” Li Banfeng said, naming his price.

The old lady flew into a rage. ”You want money from me?”

Li Banfeng said, ”Wasn’t that the price we just agreed on? We are neither kin nor friend. If you don’t pay me, why should I spare you?”

The old lady shouted to the people nearby, ”Someone help me! I will pay! Two thousand!”

Two thousand was a good sum, but no one dared step forward.

Everyone could tell that Li Banfeng was not someone to mess with. They were neither kin nor friends, so who would risk their life for her? Even the clerks from the restaurant stood off to the side, watching the show.

The old lady gritted her teeth. ”Fine! Ten thousand it is! I admit defeat! Just get me out first.”

Li Banfeng shook his head. ”Money first.”

The old lady shouted toward the restaurant, ”Bring me ten thousand yuan!”

One of the clerks brought the money over and handed it to Li Banfeng. He tucked it away, then asked, ”I am heading to New Land. You didn’t lie about the way there, did you?”

”That’s right!” the old lady answered loudly and without hesitation.

Li Banfeng simply stood there and watched as the mud rose past the old lady’s waist. At last, she told the truth. ”It’s the third alley! Follow the third alley until you reach the mountain path. Cross the mountain, and you will be at New Land.”

”How many entrances to New Land are there around here?”

”Only one!”

Li Banfeng left. The old lady struggled for quite a while before finally managing to climb out of the mud pit.

”Just you wait! You better wait!” the old lady snarled through clenched teeth. ”Madam will definitely make you pay for this!”

***

Li Banfeng did not trust the old lady, so he kept asking people along the way where the entrance to New Land was.

However, asking for directions in Kinless Township was really too difficult. Li Banfeng never expected anyone to help him for nothing. He was willing to pay. Even so, after asking seven or eight people, he got seven or eight different answers, with not a single one matching another.

How had the people here ended up like this? Even Blue Poplar Village had never been this bad.

By the time night fell, Li Banfeng found a quiet place and prepared to hide the key before going back into the Pocket Dwelling for some sleep when he suddenly sensed danger approaching.

Li Banfeng quickly put the key away and saw a woman walking towards him with a lantern.

The woman appeared to be in her fifties. She wore an old-fashioned blue floral jacket with a diagonal front opening, and her hair was pinned tightly on top of her head. Something had been rubbed into the hair at her temples, leaving it glossy with oil.

Even in Puluo Province, it was rare to see anyone dressed in such an old-fashioned way.

The woman stepped forward. ”My name is Qiao Shaofen. Madam sent me to invite you to her house for a meeting.”

”Who is your madam?”

”Madam Kinless. The master of Kinless Township.”

From the way she described Madam Kinless, she was probably the land deity.

Li Banfeng asked, ”Why meet me? We are neither kin nor friend.”

Qiao Shaofen replied, ”Madam was impressed by your skills and would like to be your friend.”

Li Banfeng frowned. ”She’s seen me before?”

Qiao Shaofen nodded. ”Earlier, you fought one of Madam’s maids, Lu Dehua, in town. Lu Dehua’s cultivation isn’t low, yet she couldn’t fight back at all against you. Madam thinks highly of talented young men like you.”

”You mean Lu Dehua, the woman who runs the noodle shop?”

Qiao Shaofen nodded.

Li Banfeng cupped his hands politely. ”Please thank Madam for thinking so highly of me. However, it’s already quite late, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for a man like me to visit her at this hour. I will prepare a gift and pay her a proper visit another time.”

With that, Li Banfeng said goodbye and turned to leave. Qiao Shaofen called after him. ”You are looking for a way out, aren’t you?”

Li Banfeng turned back. ”How did you know?”

”Kinless Township used to border Ink Fragrance Shop on the east. Then one day, for reasons nobody quite understands, a strange new territory suddenly appeared there. The people inside are trapped and can’t get out. You came here to rescue them. Madam worked that out long ago.”

She had gotten part of it wrong. She thought Li Banfeng had come from somewhere else. However, the conclusion was close enough. Li Banfeng really had come out to find a way through.

Qiao Shaofen continued, ”Madam can show you the way. But if you won’t even agree to meet her, wouldn’t that be looking down on her a little too much?”

”That makes sense,” Li Banfeng said and thought for a moment. ”Could I trouble Madam to come here and meet me instead?”

Qiao Shaofen frowned. ”What kind of request is that? Having Madam come out to meet you in the middle of the night would hardly be proper.”

Li Banfeng replied, ”And it wouldn’t be proper for me to visit her home at this hour either. If Madam would rather not come, that’s fine. Just give me a map. I will make sure you are well rewarded.”

Qiao Shaofen’s expression darkened. ”Wait here. I will go report this to Madam.”

She left, glancing back several times along the way, as if she was worried that Li Banfeng might follow her.

Li Banfeng had no intention of doing so. When it came to tailing someone, both timing and skill mattered. If the other person was already on guard, even the best methods could easily go wrong.

Li Banfeng went back into the Pocket Dwelling and asked the Gramophone, ”Wifey, have you heard of Madam Kinless?”

”I have,” the Gramophone replied. ”She’s the land deity of Kinless Township, but I know almost nothing about her. She seldom has much contact with other people.”

”If she seldom has much contact with other people, why did she come looking for me?”

Pop... crackle... pop...

The Gramophone laughed. ”Husband dear~ Perhaps she thinks you are handsome!”

Li Banfeng nodded. ”Yesterday, while I was taking a piss, I caught my reflection in a puddle. Would you believe it? I really am quite handsome.”

The husband and wife teased each other for a little while. Then Li Banfeng took out a knife, cut his palm, and dripped his blood onto a seed.

***

When Qiao Shaofen came back, she saw Li Banfeng waiting by the roadside.

”Madam said it really isn’t convenient to meet at this hour, so she asked me to show you the way instead. Since our lands now border each other, it’ll be good to help each other out in the future.”

Li Banfeng nodded. ”Thank.”

”It’s hard to travel in the dark. Follow me closely.”

Li Banfeng bowed slightly and said, ”Appreciate the trouble.”

The two walked one behind the other along the mountain path and crossed a small hill. Thick fog blanketed the land ahead.

Li Banfeng nodded and said, ”Appreciate the trouble.”

They followed the narrow path for several kilometers before Qiao Shaofen pointed to an old tree stump ahead. ”Let’s sit there and rest for a while.”

Li Banfeng nodded. ”Thank.”

Before Li Banfeng could sit down, Qiao Shaofen suddenly spat at the ground by his feet.

Li Banfeng froze. The ground beneath him turned wet, sticky, and soft. What had been solid earth a moment ago had become a bog, and his body began sinking rapidly.

What Daoist path could this be? Li Banfeng wanted to break free from this swamp, but Qiao Shaofen spat again.

The bog grew even softer and stickier. Li Banfeng could no longer break free, and within moments, the mud had risen to his chest.

He stared at Qiao Shaofen in shock.

Her expression turned cold. ”We are neither kin nor friends, and you expect me to show you the way? Who do you think you are?”

Qiao Shaofen watched until Li Banfeng had completely disappeared beneath the mud. Then she inhaled and sucked both mouthfuls of spit back in. The bog vanished at once, leaving nothing but the same hard, cold ground as before.

Qiao Shaofen turned and walked away. After a few steps, her figure faded from sight, and she sped through the darkness.

Li Banfeng activated Keen-Eyed Perception and quietly followed behind her.

Author’s Note:

PS: Qiao Shaofen first appeared in Chapter 417. Juan knows her.