The Overlord of Puluo

Sun Tiecheng, the master of Yuren City, was the man who had once disguised himself as a hunter and tricked Li Banfeng into entering the city. After Li Banfeng passed the trial of worthiness, Sun Tiecheng had taught him two abilities.

Now, without any warning, Sun Tiecheng had appeared. Li Banfeng had no idea when he even stood among the girls.

Li Banfeng brightened at the sight of him. ”Since you are here, I don’t need to ask anyone else.”

Sun Tiecheng frowned. ”What exactly did you come back here for?”

Li Banfeng grinned. ”It’s New Year’s. I thought I would come home for a visit.”

”Then visit. Why are you stirring up trouble?”

”I wasn’t causing trouble. I just want to learn another ability. Look at these people! After all these years, they still think they are alive. This must be more than just the effect of the ability Words Chiseled in Stone...”

As Li Banfeng spoke, Tang Changfa and the girls all looked over at him.

Sun Tiecheng gnashed his teeth. ”Shut up. If you say another word, I will beat you to death right here!”

Li Banfeng smiled. ”Don’t worry. We are all on the same side, and there aren’t any secrets between us. I just want to know how you pulled this off.”

Sun Tiecheng waved a hand and sent everyone in the Literary House out of the hall to wait in the rear courtyard.

Once they were gone, Sun Tiecheng shot Li Banfeng an irritated look. ”Didn’t I already tell you? You just have to make them believe they are still alive. The effect of Words Chiseled in Stone is enough.”

Li Banfeng shook his head. ”With just that one ability? I don’t think so.”

Sun Tiecheng snorted. ”That’s because you haven’t mastered it properly.”

Li Banfeng was not buying that. ”This has nothing to do with how well I have mastered it. If the effect of Words Chiseled in Stone alone were enough, you wouldn’t need to give them bodies of flesh and blood and make them seem so real. Besides, I have noticed something else. They actually know they are dead, and they know these bodies aren’t originally theirs. Quite a few of them even have to find ways to replace their flesh from time to time. And yet every single one of them still believes they are alive. They know perfectly well that they took the flesh from someone else, but they still believe this flesh grew from their own body. This is clearly contradicting and this contradiction is beyond what Words Chiseled in Stone can do. There has to be something else going on.”

Sun Tiecheng smiled. ”The Fool’s Thousand Worries is at work here too. Think about it. They can’t figure out whether they are alive or dead. Since they can’t make sense of it, they simply stop thinking about it. Doesn’t that explain everything?”

Li Banfeng smiled back. ”One is Words Chiseled in Stone, and the other is The Fool’s Thousand Worries. It just so happens those are both abilities I already know. What a coincidence.”

Sun Tiecheng nodded. ”Exactly. What a coincidence! You already know both abilities, so go figure out how to combine them yourself!”

The two looked at each other for a moment, then shared a knowing smile.

When the laughter faded, Li Banfeng sighed. ”You are the one who brought me into the path. I am your disciple. Is it really suitable for you to lie to me like this?”

”What are you talking about!?” Sun Tiecheng exclaimed as he thumped his chest and raised a thumb. ”Every disciple under me was fooled into joining!”

”I am different from them.” Li Banfeng said and looked at Sun Tiecheng with complete sincerity. ”They were only playing along with you while I am genuinely trying to carry on our Daoist path and make it flourish!”

”Don’t give me that!” Sun Tiecheng’s face darkened. ”You don’t even know my other disciples. What makes you think they were only playing along with me?”

Li Banfeng responded, ”Let’s not talk about how many disciples you have first. Only two people passed the trial in Yuren City, and I am one of them. Doesn’t that mean you should give me a little special treatment?”

”I have given you plenty already,” Sun Tiecheng replied. ”I have answered everything you asked. You came into the city and started causing trouble, and I haven’t even taught you a lesson for doing that!”

”What you told me was obviously false. Giving them bodies of flesh and blood and making them no different from living people isn’t something done through words or thoughts. That’s an ability that works through something external. It doesn’t operate on the same principle as Words Chiseled in Stone or The Fool’s Thousand Worries at all.”

Sun Tiecheng sniffed, clasped his hands together, and squatted on the floor. For some reason, this seemed to be second nature to him. Whenever Li Banfeng struck a nerve, Sun Tiecheng would suddenly take on this meek, honest look.

”There really is another ability involved,” Sun Tiecheng admitted. ”But I can’t teach you any more abilities from my Daoist path.”

Li Banfeng clasped his hands the same way and squatted down beside him. ”I am on your side. What’s there to hide? You have already taught me two. One more won’t hurt.”

”No. You haven’t officially joined my Daoist path yet. I can’t let you learn too many of its abilities,” Sun Tiecheng said as he shuffled a couple of steps away and turned his face aside, refusing to look at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng circled around and squatted in front of him again. ”Then let me join. I am utterly loyal to our Daoist path.”

Sun Tiecheng turned his head the other way, still trying to avoid him. ”You can’t join yet. The time isn’t right.”

”If the time isn’t right, then that’s not my fault. And if I haven’t done anything wrong, why won’t you teach me?”

”I just won’t!” Sun Tiecheng said as he started drawing circles on the floor with his finger.

Li Banfeng started drawing circles beside him. ”Then I am not leaving. I will stay here and cause trouble every single day!”

”If you keep that up, I will beat you to death!”

”If you beat me to death, you won’t have any disciples left.”

”I have got one more.”

”You mean He Jiaqing? He’s useless.”

Sun Tiecheng froze. ”How did you know his name?”

Li Banfeng said, ”I ran into him once on a train. He nearly got me with a Folly Cultivator ability. I didn’t know who he was at the time, but when I thought back on it later, I realized it had to be him.”

Li Banfeng had indeed been affected by a Folly Cultivator ability on the train to Kinless Township, and he had already suspected that He Jiaqing was the one behind it.

Judging from Sun Tiecheng’s reaction, his guess had been correct. The other disciple who had passed the trial of worthiness was really He Jiaqing.

As for why He Jiaqing had gone to Yuren City, or how he had managed to leave afterward, Li Banfeng still had no idea. This was not the time to press Sun Tiecheng about it either.

He Jiaqing’s cultivation is higher than mine, and he knows more Folly Cultivator abilities too. If I run into him again, just think how badly I will be at a disadvantage. We have the same teacher and you treated us differently! That’s not very fair of you as our teacher!”

Sun Tiecheng kept his head down and continued drawing circles on the floor. ”It’s wrong of you to say that... I only taught him two abilities too, so I would say I have treated you both equally.”

”That’s different. I’m your final disciple[1]. You should treat me a little better.”

Sun Tiecheng shot to his feet. ”Final disciple? Who said I have closed my doors and stopped accepting disciples? My Daoist path is doing perfectly well. Since when did I close my doors?”

Li Banfeng asked, ”Have you taken any disciples after me, then?”

Sun Tiecheng squatted back down and resumed drawing circles. ”I just haven’t found anyone suitable yet.”

”Exactly. So when all is said and done, there isn’t anyone else. Of course you should treat me better. I am honest, upright, and a man of excellent character. The future of our Daoist path is going to depend on me.”

Sun Tiecheng struggled with that for a moment before letting out a sigh. ”How should I describe your character? Let me put it this way...”

He suddenly paused and continued, ”You fucking tried to use the ability I taught you on me again... Do you even know who I am? Do you know my status? Try using another ability on me and I will beat you to death right here!”

Li Banfeng gave him an innocent grin. ”I am on your side. I just wanted to show you I haven’t wasted everything you taught me.”

Sun Tiecheng fell silent for a moment. ”You came here this time because of Qiu Luoye, didn’t you?”

Li Banfeng paused. ”You know about that?”

”Of course I do. I go out pretty often myself. I am still hoping to find a somewhat decent disciple.”

Li Banfeng sniffed. ”Am I not decent?”

”Decent my ass! You either disappear completely or come back just to stir up trouble. And listen to me. Stop running your mouth about this. Everyone in this city is alive!”

Li Banfeng smiled. ”We both know what’s really going on. You don’t have to keep up the act with me.”

Sun Tiecheng stood up and said, ”What am I trying to hide? Everyone in this city is alive! Yanhong, come out here and eat something so he can see!”

Yanhong came out carrying a bowl of noodles. Right in front of Li Banfeng, she finished every last noodle and even drank all the broth.

Sun Tiecheng said, ”See that? She can eat and drink, so she’s alive. That’s Ironclad and Mountain-Solid Evidence. What else have you got to argue about?”

Li Banfeng pursed his lips. ”You can’t prove it just because she can eat and drink...”

”Yanqing’er, come out and sing something to him!”

Yanqing’er brought over a record, wound up the gramophone, and put on some music. Then she stepped in front of Li Banfeng, swaying her waist as she danced and sang, ”Cold winds blow, so bitter and chill, stirring the spring pond, ripple on ripple. They scatter the love that once filled my heart, and leave me longing, sorrowing still...”

It was a famous song of Puluo Province, ”Hoping for My Lover’s Return”[2]

Sun Tiecheng said, ”See that? Hear that? She can sing and dance! It’s ironclad and mountain-solid evidence that she’s alive!”

Li Banfeng said, ”You can’t just say that because she can sing and dance, she’s...”

”Seeing is believing, and you are still not convinced?” Sun Tiecheng shouted. ”Yancui’er, let him feel for himself!”

Yancui’er was a little plumper in figure than Yanhong and Yanqing’er. She walked up to Li Banfeng, grabbed his hand, and stuffed it inside the front of her clothes. ”My heart’s right here in your hand. Feel for yourself. The flesh in your palm is real, and so are the pearls!”

The heck you mean by pearls... Li Banfeng thought.

When Li Banfeng still said nothing, Yanhong grabbed his hand too. She lifted her qipao and pressed his hand against her backside. ”Feel the peaches in your hand. Give it a try. Both halves are real, and so is the cleft between them!”

Sun Tiecheng said, ”And they are not just real. The flesh is warm too. Ironclad and Mountain-Solid Evidence! That means she’s alive. What else have you got to say?”

Li Banfeng pulled his hand free. ”You still can’t say that proves...”

”Still not convinced!” Sun Tiecheng barked. ”Yancui’er, pin him down and have your way with him.”

The girl was surprisingly strong. She really did wrestle Li Banfeng to the floor and hold him there.

Li Banfeng shouted, ”Wait! This isn’t suitable!”

”She’s not suitable?” Sun Tiecheng shouted. ”Tang Changfa, get over here and do him instead!”

”ALRIGHTY!” Tang Changfa rolled up his sleeves and strode over.

Li Banfeng hurriedly shouted, ”Don’t come any closer! Fine! I believe you! I believe they are alive!”

Only then did Yancui’er let him go.

Li Banfeng was curious. What had just happened? Why had he been unable to break free?

Sun Tiecheng looked at him. ”Open your eyes and you can see them. Prick up your ears and you can hear them. Reach out your hand and you can touch them. One piece of ironclad and mountain-solid evidence after another is right in front of you. They are living people. What is there left for you to argue about?”

Li Banfeng’s thoughts came to a standstill.

Sun Tiecheng was right. These people were alive, and Li Banfeng could not find a single argument against it. Even if someone else had been standing in his place, they would have been just as unable to refute him.

”But they were...”

Sun Tiecheng waved him off. ”Don’t start bringing up what happened before, and don’t try dragging in anything unrelated. The ironclad and mountain-solid evidence is right in front of you. I am deciding right now that it is real! They are alive!”

Li Banfeng stared at him in stunned silence for a long moment, sensing an authority that left no room for doubt. He looked at Sun Tiecheng and asked, ”This is the ability?”

Sun Tiecheng nodded. ”This is Ironclad and Mountain-Solid Evidence.”

Li Banfeng grinned. He taught me... He’s finally willing to teach me.

Author’s Note:

PS: Why is Sun Tiecheng willing to help Li Banfeng?

1. The raw is 关门弟子(GUAN MEN DI ZI), which means closing-door disciple. It’s the final disciple someone takes in before closing doors and never accepting another one. ☜

2. Listen to the song here. ☜