Chapter 104: Devouring the Pearl

Originally twelve cactus plants, now there were thirteen—the thing they were waiting for had arrived.

Where did this extra cactus come from?

According to Li Banfeng’s memory, it was between the fifth and sixth cactus plants.

Li Banfeng prepared to use Tang Dao, but Ma Wu signaled him to wait a moment longer.

Both turned their backs, refusing to look at the cacti.

The cactus was now devouring a snakehead eel; it opened its sack and used its spiny arms to impale a fish.

Then, with another arm, it slashed a wound on its own body and shoved the eel into the wound.

This was how it fed—entirely silent.

Ma Wu was estimating the speed at which the cactus consumed the fish.

The more it ate, the better—but not so much that it finished everything, or the cactus might flee, or worse things might happen.

This batch of snakehead eels was larger, so Ma Wu wanted to wait longer, when Li Banfeng’s ear twitched and he used the Skill of Insightful Spirit Sound to hear a voice: “There’s more.”

What do you mean, “there’s more”?

Li Banfeng whirled around and found a cactus nearly two meters tall standing right before them.

Close call.

Ma Wu grew overconfident—the cactus had finished the fish and was ready for the next course.

This type of cactus is called Ci Tun; it hides beneath the yellow sands and rarely shows itself.

Ci Tun has a varied diet—it eats insects and snakes in the sand—but in this new land, only two kinds of food can lure it out.

The first is the snakehead eel—the very fish Li Banfeng and Ma Wu pulled from the lake, dead or alive, Ci Tun loves them all.

The second food is humans—only live ones.

Ci Tun is extremely dangerous; once it strikes, Li Banfeng and Ma Wu’s strength may not be enough to survive it.

But Ci Tun has a fatal weakness: it cannot move while being watched.

That’s why Ma Wu and Li Banfeng had to turn their backs to the snakehead eels on the ground—to lure it out.

Ci Tun arrived silently and was indistinguishable from the other cacti, its shape nearly impossible to identify; Ma Wu could only confirm its presence by counting.

Ci Tun makes no sound while eating, so Ma Wu could only estimate time by experience.

This time his estimate was off—the cactus had a huge appetite and devoured the fish too quickly; only Li Banfeng’s Skill of Insightful Spirit Sound saved them—if they’d waited longer, they might have become its next meal.

Now there was no need to worry—Ma Wu and Li Banfeng both stared at the cactus; as long as they didn’t blink together, it wouldn’t move.

“To survive in this desert, you need at least two people to avoid Ci Tun’s attack,” Ma Wu said, swinging a short sword over a foot long, leaping up, and splitting the cactus open.

Colorless, clear sap oozed from the split cactus; within it, Ma Wu collected eight pearls the size of peanuts.

“This cactus has eaten many people recently…” Ma Wu’s expression grew grave. He took his canteen and washed the sticky residue off the pearls—six were dark red, two were bright red.

Seeing the two bright red pearls, Ma Wu smiled slightly.

He’d won the bet.

“Brother Li, look—these are Ci Tun Pearls, undigested food from Ci Tun. These six pearls were formed after eating humans; they’re bound with vengeful souls, low quality.

These two pearls were formed from the fish just eaten—these fish died long ago, no vengeful souls cling to them, their quality is excellent.

One of these two pearls, taken to Green Water Bay, could sell for three hundred thousand—more valuable than all six combined!”

This was why Ma Wu waited for Ci Tun to finish the snakehead eels—each extra bite might yield one more pure pearl.

Li Banfeng stared at the six dark red pearls and asked: “Does each pearl hold one vengeful soul?”

He used his Yin-Yang Eyes but saw no ghostly flames.

Ma Wu shook his head: “More than one. Eating live humans makes pearls grow slowly—three or five people might yield only one pearl. Judging by the color, each likely holds five or six vengeful souls. Such pearls are low-grade; in the Song family, they sell for two thousand, but in Green Water City, three ten thousand is the best you can hope for.”

The more vengeful souls, the lower the pearl’s quality—but why couldn’t he see them? Were they buried too deep?

Li Banfeng pondered a moment: “If we remove the vengeful souls from the pearls, wouldn’t they become high-quality?”

Ma Wu chuckled bitterly: “That’s difficult. Those eaten by Ci Tun are pierced by countless thorns before death, suffering terribly—their souls lose their essence and are filled with immense resentment.

To purge the vengeful souls, you need a magic treasure or a Yin Cultivator. Such treasures are rare, Yin Cultivators even rarer. To fully cleanse the spirits, you’d need at least a hundred thousand coins—and if you fail and break the pearl, you lose everything. So few bother.”

Li Banfeng said: “Give me the pearls first—I have a way.”

“You have a way?” Ma Wu was skeptical, but since this whole venture was to repay a debt, he handed over all eight Ci Tun Pearls without hesitation.

“Brother Li, keep them safe—on the way back, don’t let anyone from the Song family find them. The Song family hunts Ci Tun too, but they don’t use snakehead eels—they use live humans as bait.”

“Live humans as bait?” Li Banfeng froze.

Ma Wu nodded: “In Blue Willow Village, those who can no longer survive sign a contract with the Song family, receiving twenty thousand coins in exchange for pawning their life as a bait person.

The Song family binds them tightly, throws them into this desert. Since Ci Tun fears being watched, the bait’s eyes are covered.

When Ci Tun appears, if the Song family acts quickly, the bait might survive—but the Song family cares only for Ci Tun, choosing only the optimal moment to strike, never the bait’s life. So becoming a bait means nine deaths out of ten.”

Bait.

Li Banfeng heard another new term.

“Brother Ma, how do you know Ci Tun loves snakehead eels?”

“From family texts. The Ma family has more books than any other clan in Pulu Province. Ma family members study literature or martial arts—both can find texts in our library.

I love reading too, but only books about making money. Too bad—I’ll never return to the Ma family. So many good books in that library, so many profitable methods I never fully learned.”

Li Banfeng thought a moment: “From Tuyu Peach, to Tigerhead Louse, to Snakehead Eel, to Ci Tun Pearl—this whole chain is written in one book?”

Ma Wu shook his head: “No chain exists. These things couldn’t appear in one book.

Tuyu Peach eats over a hundred foods; stinking fish are easiest to get, so everyone knows this method.

Tuyu Peach hosts over a hundred insects, but Tigerhead Louse is just one—few know this.

Snakehead Eel is extremely cunning; without the right bait, you can’t catch it. Diving to catch them is extremely dangerous, and even if caught, they’re only useful for Poison Cultivators, fetching no good price—so few bother.

But Tigerhead Louse is one of the baits for Snakehead Eel. In Blue Willow Village’s new land, it’s the only bait available—very few know this.

Ci Tun has an extremely varied diet; over sixty baits are recorded in texts—snakehead eel is just one. In Blue Willow Village’s new land, besides live humans, it’s the easiest bait to find.

I took every book I’d ever read, broke them apart, crushed them in my mind, then spent days lurking near the Song family’s great warehouse, learning what this new land produced, until I pieced together this chain.”

Li Banfeng said: “Then we’ll follow this chain every day—bait the peach, catch the fish, hunt Ci Tun.”

Ma Wu shook his head: “No. If we do this too often, the Song family will suspect. This chain is valuable, but I know more than one.”

Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly—this man was destined to make money.

The two returned to Blue Willow Village. To avoid suspicion, Ma Wu still carried the bag of stinking fish.

Song Jiasen was taking his morning stroll through the village. Seeing Ma Wu, he smiled: “Young Master Wu, toss that bag of stinking fish—it reeks so badly, it’s probably crawling with maggots.”

Ma Wu sneered: “If Master Song gave me more food money, I wouldn’t be this destitute.”

Song Jiasen looked astonished: “Young Master, why say that? Still bitter about the peach incident? I had no choice—it’s been Blue Willow Village’s custom for generations. I can’t break precedent just for you.

How about this: if you’re not too proud, come to my home for dinner tonight. As long as I have food, you won’t go hungry.”

In mere words, he poured out every ounce of mockery.

Ma Wu said nothing. They returned to the wooden house together. Ma Wu napped downstairs; Li Banfeng went to his personal quarters.

Seeing Li Banfeng return, the phonograph hissed, spewing steam that filled the entire main room: “Hey~ Master, this life is unbearable—I’m about to starve to death.”

Li Banfeng waved his hand, dispersing the steam, and pulled out a Ci Tun Pearl: “Wife, check if the ingredients on this are edible.”

“This thing… it’s actually edible!” The phonograph’s Yin-Yang Eyes were clearly superior to Li Banfeng’s. After studying it a moment, she said: “This is a Ci Tun Pearl—I haven’t seen one in years.”

“What’s the use of this pearl?”

“A material for forging magic treasures. Ci Tun Pearls lock in spiritual essence tightly—the purer the pearl, the better for forging, because it locks a single spiritual essence without interference from mixed energies.

Your pearl holds eight dead souls—its quality is impure, the locked essence is disturbed, it won’t fetch a good price. Let me eat it.”

Li Banfeng sat beside the phonograph and pleaded gently: “Wife, such a fine pearl would be wasted. Could you eat the souls and leave the pearl?”

Hss~

Clatter~

The phonograph grumbled: “Master, you’re so greedy—even eating won’t let me enjoy it fully. Fine, I’ll try.

Ci Tun Pearls lock spiritual essence tightly—this isn’t just talk. Even your Yin-Yang Eyes can’t see where the souls hide.

These souls have lost their essence and fused with the pearl. I can separate the vengeful spirits, but if the pearl breaks, don’t blame me.”

“No blame, no blame—wife, do as you please. If it breaks, it’s my loss!”

As long as one pearl survived, Li Banfeng would profit greatly.

The phonograph rubbed steam over the pearl for a moment; one soul peeled free and was sucked into its horn.

Though the wife said it was hard, in under five minutes, the pearl was done—dark red turned bright red, all vengeful souls cleared.

Seeing the steam-coated horn, Li Banfeng wiped it tenderly: “Wife, you’ve worked hard.”

“Hey~ Hard work? Not really—just these souls’ resentment is spicy.”

Spicy…

“Wife, you like spicy food? I’ve more!” Li Banfeng pulled out the remaining five pearls.

The phonograph giggled, her steam tinged red: “Hey~ Master, I knew you cared for me.”

In under half an hour, all Ci Tun Pearls were processed.

The wife burped, then fell asleep.

Li Banfeng held the high-quality Ci Tun Pearls, lay down, and slept.

…

That night, Li Banfeng gave Ma Wu the six high-quality Ci Tun Pearls.

Ma Wu was stunned—he couldn’t imagine how Li Banfeng had done it.

He didn’t ask further—he knew such methods were never revealed lightly.

"Brother Ma, I leave the shipment to you."

Ma Wu nodded: "Brother Li, come with me to the village entrance—I fear an ambush."

PS: Dear readers, it's the weekend, and Shala is adding extra chapters—please vote for Shala and leave comments; Shala awaits you with great anticipation.

(End of Chapter)