Chapter 119: I Just Want You

Li Banfeng followed Ma Wu, crossed the newly paved road, and arrived in the middle of a ruin.

This ruin had been demolished not long ago; the broken bricks and tiles had yet to be cleared. An iron fence had been erected around the perimeter, guarded by sentries who forbade any strangers from approaching.

"This is the Song family's rule, called 'sealing the field.' Before the duel, the field is sealed. The Song family selects the site a day in advance, and no one is allowed to enter, to prevent cheating or foul play."

Li Banfeng was taken aback; they were doing this quite formally.

Through the fence, Li Banfeng saw the head of the Song family, Song Jiasen.

Song Jiasen was wearing a blue cloth jacket with a front-button closure, followed by his two sons, Song Zhigang and Song Zhiyi. Behind them stood twenty or thirty guards.

The crowd of onlookers grew larger. At ten o'clock, Song Jiasen gave the order: "Beat the drums!"

Dong, dong, dong~

The drumbeats were deafening, and the two main fighters for the duel entered the field one after another.

The so-called main fighters were the hired muscle brought in by the two families for the duel.

In a Clear Sky Field, duels were fought during the day, and the parties involved didn't have to fight themselves; they could choose others to duel on their behalf.

The ones dueling were the owners of two inns who had a dispute over business. One inn chose a tall, dark man to fight; he looked to be 1.9 meters tall, with a sturdy build and tight muscles, clearly someone who had practiced martial arts.

The other inn chose a middle-aged man with a thin frame, clearly at a disadvantage in terms of physique, though his cultivation base was likely not low.

Before the fight began, both sides announced their names and then stated the reason for the duel.

The middle-aged man spoke first: "Today I come to this wild field to duel, to seek justice for the Liuyuan Inn. Everyone knows that an inn is a place for lodging.

Our Lanyang Village doesn't get many visitors, and inn business is already hard to do. Keeping the rooms clean and the food and drink plentiful is the duty of running a business.

The Huaxuan Inn across the way calls over a few girls, puts them in clothes that are impossible to look at, and runs to the inn entrance to sell themselves and solicit customers. Is this the business an inn should be doing? This ruins the reputation of Lanyang Village.

I come today not for the sake of a few coins, but to reclaim a reputation for our Lanyang Village, and to seek justice for the Liuyuan Inn!"

This man had a good way with words, drawing cheers from many.

The tall, dark man wasn't very good at speaking; he gave a cold snort: "Why say so much? Let's just fight!"

The crowd stretched their necks, waiting for the good show to begin; after the three drumbeats sounded, the two officially started fighting.

After watching for five or six minutes, the two still hadn't finished, and more than half of the onlookers dispersed.

Boring.

Neither of these two had any cultivation base.

Two inns fighting over business—this matter was inherently uninteresting.

These two main fighters, one punch and one kick at a time, were no different from a street brawl. This kind of scene was seen too often in Lanyang Village.

The tall, dark man had a better physique and held a significant advantage.

The middle-aged man had decent experience and barely managed to hold his own against the tall, dark man.

Li Banfeng watched the middle-aged man and asked Ma Wu: "Why choose such a person to duel? This man can talk but can't fight; he can't gain any advantage at all."

"Who knows..." Ma Wu wasn't even watching the duel; he was scanning the crowd, looking for helpers for the next trip to the New Land.

After another two minutes of fighting, an accident occurred. The tall, dark man punched the middle-aged man, who stumbled and looked like he was about to fall, staggering behind a half-collapsed brick wall.

The tall, dark man pressed his advantage, but stepped on a piece of broken brick.

The broken brick suddenly sank, the brick wall collapsed along with it, and the falling bricks happened to land on the tall, dark man.

The tall, dark man was not lightly injured; he barely managed to stand steady. The middle-aged man jumped up and kicked the tall, dark man to the ground, then stepped forward to land two more kicks. The tall, dark man begged for mercy on the spot.

The fight was over.

Song Jiasen stood up and shouted: "Close the field, beat the drums, the Liuyuan Inn wins!"

A dull duel ended just like that. The winning family was elated, the losing family was dejected, and the onlookers left in their entirety.

Li Banfeng didn't rush to leave; he stared at the field for a long time.

Stepping on a brick, and the whole brick wall collapsed.

There was a problem here.

Qiu Zhiheng stood before the main residence gate, silently lost in thought.

The guard leader Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang looked uneasy, watching Qiu Zhiheng, wanting to speak but not knowing how to start.

A man wearing a blue cloth long gown came running all the way, arriving before Qiu Zhiheng: "There's news, there's news!"

Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang looked joyful: "There's news?"

"Yes!" The man nodded repeatedly, "Someone said they saw Li Banfeng at the Baile Gate last night, carrying a phonograph. He looked exactly like the photo, this news is absolutely correct..."

So it was news about Li Banfeng.

Qiu Zhiheng didn't want to speak.

Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang stepped forward and kicked the man to the ground, followed by a round of kicking and beating.

"Li Banfeng, Li Banfeng again, what's the use of you finding Li Banfeng? Didn't I tell you to go find the Master? I'll let you Li Banfeng!" Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang vented all his anger on the man in the long gown.

The man in the long gown didn't react in time: "I, that, you yesterday, that, didn't you tell us to find Li Banfeng..."

"I'm telling you now to go find the Master, do you hear me? If you heard me, go quickly!"

Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang stepped forward and added two more kicks, and the man in the long gown hurried off.

"He went to find the Master, he went." Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang looked at Monkey Qiu with an awkward expression.

Ever since the incident at the Lu family mansion, as an eyewitness, the person in the most awkward position from top to bottom in the Lu family was the head guard Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang.

He had experienced everything, seen nothing, and played no role whatsoever.

Lu Dongliang had been missing for a night, and his life or death was currently unknown. The Lu family, the number one wealthy family in Puluo Continent, seemed to have reached a critical juncture of survival overnight.

According to Lu Dongjun, Lu Dongliang had been wounded by He Yuxiu.

Based on Qiu Zhiheng's understanding, Lu Dongliang's cultivation base was above He Yuxiu's. The battlefield was the Lu family mansion; there was no reason for Lu Dongliang to lose to He Yuxiu.

Even if Lu Dongliang had been careless at the time and accidentally lost to He Yuxiu, he would certainly have had a way to retreat unscathed, at least to find a place to hide temporarily, not to be like this now, without a single trace of news.

Could it be that the Master really met with an accident?

Qiu Zhiheng had sent people to the He family to investigate, but the He family hadn't given a response yet.

To be honest, Monkey Qiu cared most about Lu Dongjun right now, not the He family.

Why did Lu Dongjun appear at the residence last night?

Who let him come?

Qiu Zhiheng had asked Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang, and Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang shook his head and sighed: "Head Qiu, this is the Master's family business, how would I dare to ask?"

Qiu Zhiheng didn't blame Seeing Seeing Zuo Wugang; he felt he had been careless himself.

Feeling self-reproach in his heart, but his composure remained intact, Qiu Zhiheng could clearly judge the situation before him.

Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying were missing, that didn't matter.

Zhuo Yuling and Lu Xiaolan were also missing; this matter was a bit urgent, but not imminent.

The most urgent matter lay with Lu Dongjun. If he were allowed to find Lu Dongliang first, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Lu Dongjun led people to search all over Green Water City, but found no trace of Lu Dongliang.

But some of his thoughts had already been discovered by those around him.

Lu Dongjun's strategist, Wan Jinxian, reminded him: "Second Master, the matter of finding the Eldest Master can be entrusted to us. What's most urgent now is to guard against the He family attacking.

A family cannot go a day without a master; someone must take charge of the family now."

This suggestion was very much in line with Lu Dongjun's thoughts.

Take charge of the family, first seize the position of family head!

Lu Dongjun ordered: "Go inform the elders and peers, all go to the Lu family mansion to discuss matters."

Wan Jinxian reminded him again: "Is it appropriate to go to the Lu family's grand mansion?"

"Why wouldn't it be appropriate?" Important members of the Lu family had always discussed matters at the mansion; this rule hadn't changed for so many years. Lu Dongjun didn't understand Wan Jinxian's meaning.

Wan Jinxian stated it more bluntly: "The Eldest Lady is still in the mansion, don't forget there's also Monkey Qiu."

Lu Dongjun suddenly realized.

The Lu family mansion was Lu Dongliang's home.

Discussing matters in Lu Dongliang's home, Lu Dongjun's influence might not be as strong as his sister-in-law's, or even the head steward's.

"Tell them to come to my residence to discuss matters. Tell them the situation is urgent. Anyone who is in Green Water City must arrive before noon."

Lu Dongjun returned to his residence and made preparations for the noon discussion.

He had waited for this day for a long time. Although he hadn't found Lu Dongliang, he felt very uneasy, but as long as the people in the family listened to his orders, didn't search everywhere for Lu Dongliang, and focused on dealing with the He family, Lu Dongjun's first move would be considered a success.

The second move, naturally, was for him to personally find Lu Dongliang, then eliminate him, and subsequently frame the He family.

The third move: the Lu family would unite against a common enemy, defeat the He family, and Lu Dongjun would have rendered great service, sitting on the position of family head.

Lu Dongjun had planned these three moves countless times and was full of confidence.

However, by noon, the first move encountered a problem.

None of the Lu family's elders or peers appeared.

No one gave Lu Dongjun face; no one came to his residence to discuss matters.

Instead, two elders went to the Lu family mansion to visit Lu Dongliang's sons.

Lu Dongjun's cheek twitched.

Although the Eldest Lu had met with an accident, the family's attitude toward Lu Dongjun seemed unchanged; still, no one looked up to him.

Even if Lu Dongliang's corpse were found tomorrow, I'm afraid it wouldn't be Lu Dongjun's turn to sit in the position of family head.

Li Banfeng had been driving the steamroller for several days and was in a great mood. This afternoon, he prepared to take a nap and go to the New Land again in the evening to retrieve the clay he hadn't obtained before.

Entering the Leaving Suishenju, Li Banfeng discovered the copper lotus flower had bloomed. There were two lotus seeds on the lotus heart; one was ripe and could be peeled off, while the other was still refining.

When Li Banfeng peeled off the lotus seed, the petals closed rapidly. After waiting bitterly for half an hour, the lotus seed finally burst.

What burst out this time wasn't one or two elixirs, but a handful of elixirs—a full thirty-eight of them!

The golden beads were eye-catching and plump; a single palm couldn't hold them all.

"What kind of elixir is this?"

Chi chi~

The phonograph responded: "Oh, husband, this is the Jin Yuandan. One pill is worth a hundred days of cultivation. This handful of elixirs is enough for you to set up a family business."

One elixir for a hundred days of cultivation?

Such a good elixir certainly couldn't be sold.

I'll keep it for myself to eat!

But eating elixirs had to be done behind the wife's back.

Under normal circumstances, a residential cultivator cannot improve their cultivation base through elixirs. If the phonograph knew Li Banfeng was eating elixirs, it would very likely expose Li Banfeng's dual cultivation as a traveling cultivator.

Li Banfeng was very excited: "How did this elixir come about? Was it refined using Lu Dongliang?"

Chi chi~

"Lu Dongliang is still early; this was refined from that insect."

Insect?

Madam Suoe!

Li Banfeng tidied up the elixirs and handed them to the phonograph.

In the matter of killing Madam Suoe, the wife had rendered great service, and the elixirs should also be distributed by the wife. Li Banfeng understood this point very clearly.

Chi chi~

The wife laughed: "Good husband, although elixirs of this quality are rare, I still don't think much of them."

Li Banfeng couldn't quite understand.

Thirty-eight Jin Yuandan, one elixir for a hundred days of cultivation—if all of these were eaten, it could improve his cultivation base by one layer.

Even this, the phonograph didn't want?

A cloud of steam swirled around Li Banfeng: "Husband, you cherish me so much; I always feel a bit indebted in my heart."

"Feeling guilty?" Li Banfeng gave a chuckle. "Is it your stomach that's feeling guilty? You haven't found any food in the last two days, so the missus must be hungry again."

"I'm not hungry; I don't want to eat."

Li Banfeng was stunned for a long time.

What's wrong with the wife?

Why is her appetite still so poor?

Could that one Lu Dongliang make the wife so full?

Li Banfeng asked again: "If you don't want to eat, shall I go find a few more phonographs and change some parts for you, wife?"

"I don't want to change parts."

"Then what do you want? Add some machine oil?"

"I don't want machine oil."

You don't want anything?

Then there's nothing to be done.

Li Banfeng was happy to be idle, lying on the bed and saying: "Wife, I'll take a nap first, and go to the New Land in the evening to see if I can find something fresh for you."

"I don't want anything fresh; I just want you."

Li Banfeng touched the phonograph's tray and nodded: "I like hearing that."

"I'm not just saying it; I truly want you."

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The dense sound of gongs and drums proved the wife was a bit impatient.

The singing was rhythmic and powerful, proving the wife was very serious.

"That, well, when your body recovers..." Li Banfeng jumped up suddenly and ran out the door. He wasn't sure what mental state the wife was in right now.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

"Can't wait! I want you right now!"

Whoosh!

A cloud of steam rushed toward him, wrapping around Li Banfeng and charging toward the speaker.

This crazy woman wants to eat people!

No matter how Li Banfeng struggled, it was to no avail.

The powerful steam struck, and half of Li Banfeng's body was rolled into the speaker in the center of the phonograph.

"Murdering your husband, evil woman, you're murdering your husband, this is a serious crime, a serious crime..."

Li Banfeng braced his hands against the speaker, kicking his legs with all his might. After struggling for a few minutes, he gave up.

The situation wasn't as bad as he had imagined.

The steam wasn't as hot as he had imagined.

And here with the wife, it was actually quite warm.

Half an hour later, Li Banfeng struggled out of the speaker, his head of black hair curled by the heat, steaming with hot vapor.

"Wife, regarding what just happened, shouldn't there be an explanation? I cherish you so much, how could you treat me like this?"

Chi chi~

The phonograph was silent for a long time, then suddenly started singing.

"Autumn arrives, the lotus fragrance,

The young girl dreams of her hometown every night,

Waking up, she doesn't see her parents' faces,

Only the bright moonlight before the window!"

"Four Seasons Song"!

Why sing "Four Seasons Song"?

For the phonograph wife, "Four Seasons Song" wasn't just something to be sung casually.

Could it be...

Chi chi~

The wife's modified version came:

"I am infatuated with my lover,

Husband and wife's love and affection are long,

Who can block the arrow-like heart returning home,

Adding another room for my husband."

Adding another room?

Li Banfeng scanned the main room of the Leaving Suishenju and only saw three doors.

One was the main gate, leading to the outside world.

The other two doors led to the outer room and the third room, respectively.

He didn't see any new room door appear.

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment, entered the outer room, and saw a door at the end of the outer room.

Pushing the door open, Li Banfeng saw an identical room, empty inside.

Having more rooms was a good thing, but that wasn't the point.

The point was that with an extra room, he had to be promoted by one layer.

He was now a third-layer residential cultivator!

Third layer!

Li Banfeng was so excited he almost jumped up!

In the short term, he no longer had to worry about residential cultivation being suppressed by traveling cultivation, and no longer had to worry about cultivation backlash...

Cultivation backlash.

Li Banfeng rubbed his forehead; now he had to worry about another matter.

Now his traveling cultivation was only at the first layer, while his residential cultivation was already at the third layer!

According to the peddler, for dual cultivation, the cultivation gap couldn't exceed three layers.

A gap of one layer was acceptable, meaning there was no discomfort.

A gap of two layers would lead to backlash.

A gap of three layers could endanger his life.

Exceeding three layers would surely lead to death.

Previously, Li Banfeng worried that residential cultivation couldn't be promoted, holding back his traveling cultivation, but that should have been something for ten or twenty years later.

Who could have imagined that residential cultivation not only didn't hold him back, but directly crushed his traveling cultivation.

Li Banfeng walked back to the main room, sat on the edge of the bed, and watched the phonograph silently.

The phonograph sang slowly: "Oh, husband, your cultivation has improved again, why don't I see you happy?"

"I am happy!" Li Banfeng revealed a trace of a smile, "Wife, does third-layer residential cultivation have techniques?"

"Yes, didn't I just tell you about the technique? The name of the technique is 'Arrow-like Heart Returning Home.' All third-layer residential cultivators know this technique. If they want to go home, ordinary people can't stop them.

Husband, what's wrong with your legs?

Husband, why are you shivering?"

Li Banfeng's two legs were shivering.

They wanted to walk, wanted to carry Li Banfeng and run.

Traveling cultivation was being suppressed, resulting in backlash; these two legs were almost out of control.

PS: Li Banfeng underestimated cultivation backlash; this is the biggest hurdle for dual cultivators.

(End of chapter)