Chapter 114

Ghost Hand Sect's little tong-hand Xing Qiushan stumbled to the door of an old mansion east of the Chenghuang Temple in Houtang, banging on the door.

The gatekeeper asked from inside: "Who is it?"

"Little tong-hand from Yangting Road," Xing Qiushan replied.

A tong-hand is a leader in the Ghost Hand Sect; a little tong-hand is a small leader. Yangting Road is the place where Li Banfeng was robbed, and it is Xing Qiushan's territory.

Xing Qiushan is the man in the suit from last night. He took five subordinates to rob Li Banfeng, not expecting to encounter such a madman. Three of his five subordinates died, two were injured, and he himself was wounded.

Entering the main hall and seeing the sect master Xie Juncong, Xing Qiushan fell to his knees and wailed.

"Boss, our brothers were eating (stealing) on our territory, opened a skylight (upper pocket) and took a wallet, but that villain dealt a lethal blow. Three brothers died and two were injured. Boss, please make the decision for us!"

He meant that they were doing business (stealing) on their own territory, just stole a wallet, but ended up with three deaths and two injuries, asking the boss to help take revenge.

Xie Juncong was over sixty, his ears didn't seem very sharp: "Little Shan, what did you say just now? I didn't hear clearly.

You opened a skylight and took a wallet, logically you shouldn't have fought, right?"

Yes, why would you fight when stealing things?

Xing Qiushan replied: "That person is an experienced one (an experienced person), we were caught when opening the window."

Xie Juncong continued to ask: "Since you were caught, you should have thrown the wallet and run!"

Yes, if you put down the wallet and ran away, wouldn't it be fine?

"Boss, we ran (ran away), but he wouldn't let it go, insisting on fighting us to the death. We couldn't leave."

"Five brothers, plus you, six people, and you couldn't leave?"

Xing Qiushan said "um": "Boss, we were blocked in the alley at the time, we really couldn't leave."

"When you made your move, didn't you look for a retreat? That can't be, Little Shan, you aren't a novice anymore."

"We hadn't eaten for several days, we were a bit anxious..."

"Tsk tsk tsk," Xie Juncong shook his head, "Little Shan, I'm old and confused. Tell me the truth, were you really stealing, or were you robbing?"

Robbing refers to highway robbery.

The Ghost Hand Sect is a sect of thief-cultivators. Stealing is their profession, but robbing is their taboo.

Xing Qiushan certainly couldn't admit he went robbing: "Old Boss, it was really stealing. How would we dare to break the sect rules? Old Boss, do you still not believe me?"

Xie Juncong looked at Xing Qiushan, and Xing Qiushan looked back at Xie Juncong, with no half-flash of evasion in his eyes.

After staring for a moment, Xie Juncong sighed: "Little Shan, I am truly confused, but I definitely believe you. How are the two injured brothers?"

"They can't get up, they are seriously injured!" Xing Qiushan continued to cry.

"Take more leaves (money) for them, let them recover well. Have you sent off the brothers who crossed the bridge (died)?"

"This, this hasn't been done yet..."

"Hurry up and send them off, let them rest in peace. I am truly old and confused, I can't think of these things thoroughly. You think for me, see if there's anything forgotten, and hurry up to handle it."

Xie Juncong seemed to have said a lot, yet seemed to have said nothing.

Is he really old and confused?

He is not confused at all.

Having spent a lifetime in the Ghost Hand Sect, from a street thief to sect master, what hasn't he seen? Could Xing Qiushan deceive him?

Xing Qiushan went robbing, encountered a hard nut to crack, suffered heavy losses, and escaped with his life.

Logically, Xing Qiushan should be severely punished according to sect rules, but Xie Juncong turned a blind eye and let the matter pass.

As for revenge, don't even think about it, and Xie Juncong didn't care about the aftermath either. This could be considered a punishment for Xing Qiushan.

Xing Qiushan left the Ghost Hand Sect's lair, feeling unhappy, when he saw an injured subordinate named Deng Jingcai send over a photo: "Big brother, this was obtained from Flower Tongue. This person is named Li Banfeng, and he is the person the Lu family is looking for."

Xing Qiushan frowned: "Why are you showing me this?"

"Big brother, look carefully, doesn't this person look quite like the madman from last night?"

"Like?" Xing Qiushan felt the difference was quite large, "That was a big-bearded man last night."

Deng Jingcai pointed at the photo: "Big brother, beards are things you can grow if you want. Look at these facial features, look at these eyebrows and eyes, look how similar they are!"

Hearing Deng Jingcai's reminder, Xing Qiushan also felt they were somewhat similar.

Deng Jingcai continued: "Big brother, if we hand this photo to the old sect master, it will definitely count as a great achievement."

"Hand it to the old sect master? Look at your lack of ambition," Xing Qiushan lowered his voice and asked, "How much is the bounty for this person?"

Deng Jingcai thought for a moment and said: "I heard that catching him alive gives twenty thousand, dead gives ten thousand, and reporting a message to the Lu family also gives three thousand."

Xing Qiushan frowned: "Just this bit of money?"

"It's not little! I'm talking about silver dollars!"

"Silver dollars!" Xing Qiushan laughed, "Brother, not only have we avenged our grudge, but this time we've also made a fortune!"

Li Banfeng opened his eyes with heavy makeup on his face.

He rubbed his stomach and felt a dull pain.

The wound had already scabbed over, and the bloodstains on his clothes and bedsheets had been washed clean.

The phonograph was quietly waiting by the bed, seemingly asleep.

Li Banfeng pressed his pocket watch and took a look; it was ten o'clock.

Ten o'clock.

This is a bit troublesome.

Li Banfeng didn't know how long he had slept.

His pocket watch was gold-plated and looked high-end, but the actual workmanship was very rough. There wasn't even a calendar on the watch. Li Banfeng didn't know if it was ten in the morning or ten at night.

If it were normal times, he would just go out and take a look.

But now, he had to be cautious when going out; he was still in Green Water City.

Li Banfeng carefully pushed open the bedroom door.

If it was dark, he would set off immediately to return to Lanyang Village and then focus on repairing his wife.

If it was bright, he would repair his wife now and leave Green Water City when it got dark.

Li Banfeng pushed the door and looked; it was bright outside, and it was ten in the morning.

He immediately shrank his body back into the Suishenju, opened a can of food to deal with a meal, took out a screwdriver and a wrench, and prepared to dismantle the two phonographs and one film projector.

The idea was good, but it wasn't that easy to operate. Li Banfeng had studied some mechanical knowledge in university, but in front of these three machines, it basically couldn't be put to use.

Puluo Continent couldn't use electrical appliances on a large scale, which led them to use machinery to the extreme. These three machines, even if professional technicians from Yuezhou came, might not necessarily understand them.

Li Banfeng held the wrench, thinking about where to start, when he suddenly heard his wife hissing behind him.

"Hus~band"

This sound was crisp.

Too crisp.

Li Banfeng shuddered and looked back at his wife: "You're awake?"

"Husband, you've just recovered from a serious injury, don't walk around on the bed, hurry and come to your little slave's side to rest."

Li Banfeng crawled into the front cabinet of the bellows phonograph, preparing to dismantle the lever, when a mass of gentle steam blocked him.

"Husband, why do you need to do this kind of heavy work? Trouble yourself to bring Honglian, that bitch, over."

"Why bring Honglian?"

"Husband~ just bring Honglian, that bitch, over."

His wife's speech was still occasionally off-key, but this voice was truly crisp.

Li Banfeng didn't ask any more questions and hurriedly moved the copper lotus over.

The copper lotus carried a halo of light; she was still refining Madam Bagworm Moth's corpse.

His wife said softly: "Sister Honglian, your sister has a favor to ask of you."

The copper lotus saw the steam phonograph, and on the tightly closed lotus leaves, clear dewdrops were brewing.

Was this excitement after seeing his wife?

It seems their relationship is quite good.

"Hey~ sister, look at these machines, the workmanship is exquisite and the materials are refined, why don't you just accept them?"

Can the copper lotus even accept machines?

The petals didn't move at all; the copper lotus seemed unwilling.

"Hey~ sister, I know you look down on these vulgar things, but you heard it last night, these things were exchanged for my husband's life."

On the petals, there were more dewdrops, ready to go.

She seemed to be talking to the phonograph.

The phonograph listened for a moment and responded: "That's not how you say it. Although my husband did it for me, didn't I do it for our family? If we two sisters fight over this, wouldn't we be a laughingstock for outsiders?"

There really was someone watching the laughingstock.

Li Banfeng vaguely heard a voice.

"Shooting jade bullets like meteors, treasure swords falling like autumn frost, fight! This matter must be decided, no one can yield!"

It was the Tang Dao.

Li Banfeng took the Tang Dao out of his pocket and kicked it aside.

The copper lotus still didn't respond, and his wife was a bit annoyed.

"Today, you won't give me this face. I won't beg you either. Husband, go to the outer room to avoid it for a while, and I'll have a good fight with this bitch!"

Li Banfeng frowned: "You're injured like this, what are you fighting for?"

"Not fighting for victory or defeat, just for dignity. Husband, today your little slave will risk her life here, and see if Honglian dares to fight me in this room!"

Clang, clang, clang~

Although the gongs and drums were stuttering, the momentum was very strong; his wife was going to be serious.

Li Banfeng stood in the middle, not knowing how to mediate this situation.

After a long stalemate, the petals hissed, and Honglian bloomed.

The Tang Dao stood up instantly, turned into a flash of lightning, drilled into the outer room, and closed the door.

A wave of air rose from the lotus heart, rolling up the two phonographs and one film projector, sucking them into the lotus heart together.

Li Banfeng had always thought that the copper lotus couldn't digest objects without spirituality.

Now he knew that "wanting to" and "being able to" were two different things.

In less than a minute, the lotus bloomed again, and there were two lotus seeds in the lotus heart.

One was fully ripe, and Li Banfeng peeled it off.

The other wasn't ripe, stuck very tightly, and Li Banfeng couldn't peel it.

"Hey~ husband, that lotus seed isn't ripe~ yet, still have to wait a few days, give this pill to your little slave to eat first."

Li Banfeng held the lotus seed in his hand, and the copper lotus closed its petals to continue refining the pill.

After a while, the lotus seed in Li Banfeng's hand exploded, exploding into a pale yellow pill with a hint of bright silver.

What color is this?

It seems to be a mixture of wood and metal.

Looking at it by the firelight of the phonograph, it seemed like there were gears rotating in the pill, and it seemed like there was steam swirling.

Mechanical pill?

Li Banfeng opened the rear box of the phonograph, preparing to stuff the pill in, when his wife shouted: "Hey~ husband, why stuff it there? Just let your little slave eat it!"

It turns out it's fine once eaten.

Li Banfeng put the pill into the speaker, and the phonograph was shrouded in clouds and mist, saying softly: "Your little slave will rest for a while, and my husband should also rest well. Just wait until my husband wakes up from a sleep, and we husband and wife will definitely be healed."

The steam comforted Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng hugged the phonograph.

The two fell asleep sweetly.

The copper lotus spat out two clear dewdrops, which fell on Li Banfeng and the phonograph respectively.

Lu family mansion, Lu Dongliang was organizing the cultivation laws for Lu Chunying after her initiation into traveling cultivation.

Head steward Qiu Zhiheng came to Lu Dongliang's side and said in a low voice: "Ghost Hand Sect's little tong-hand Xing Qiushan wants to see you."

"No!" Lu Dongliang refused immediately.

He was in no mood to see guests today, let alone a small character like Xing Qiushan.

Qiu Zhiheng added: "Xing Qiushan said he saw Li Banfeng on Yangting Road."

Lu Dongliang was astonished: "Saw who?"

PS: Banfeng is exposed, the situation is critical, vote quickly to resolve it, comments are also fine.

(End of chapter)