Chapter 162: Bread Village

After passing through several villages, Li Banfeng never used the medicine.

Yao Lao's medicine is meant to save lives; these villages were either empty or inhabited only by people who survived by eating humans.

Empty villages didn't need saving, and those who ate humans—if they merely scavenged corpses—Li Banfeng would spare their lives; if they hunted innocent people, Li Banfeng would save them in another way.

He would cut off their hands and feet, then send them into the Personal Dwelling, letting his wife rescue their souls.

Whether the remaining parts had any nutritional value depended on Honglian's mood.

For corpses without cultivation, Honglian had little interest; though Haichiling was a gathering place for food cultivators, there weren't nearly as many cultivators as one might imagine.

But this place was truly peculiar—every two hours, Li Banfeng had to return to the Personal Dwelling to eat something, as some force seemed to govern this land, making people here grow hungry easily.

This was Sandao Ridge, the most isolated part of Haichiling, the region most ravaged by insect plagues, nearly forgotten by everyone; for the first time in his life, Li Banfeng saw what "nine out of ten homes empty" and "bodies of the starving littering the land" truly meant.

This was utterly different from the famines portrayed in films and TV—it was suffocating oppression and terror.

"Thank goodness I'm insane, or I'd have been driven mad by you," Li Banfeng said, patting a man's head seriously. "Aren't you afraid when you boil your wife alive?"

The man had tied up his wife, preparing to boil her alive, and Li Banfeng had just witnessed it.

Li Banfeng let his wife go, then began earnestly lecturing the man.

The man wept: "I had no choice—I was just so hungry…"

"Boil her alive? Can you really do that? At least stab her first—I'll let you die quickly!"

Li Banfeng threw him into the Personal Dwelling and continued searching the village; by nightfall, he found nothing, so he returned to the house and ate six entire cans.

At this rate, even his own food stores might not last.

His wife had eaten well today; seeing Li Banfeng return with his wine gourd, she greeted him warmly: "Hey, sister, today our whole family ate our fill—are you hungry? I saved two fresh souls for you."

The wine gourd hopped to her side and replied: "Thank you, sister, but I don't eat souls."

"What about flesh? Honglian, that bitch, is picky—she left behind a pile of good stuff she wouldn't touch. Why not try some?"

"I can eat flesh, but today I followed the little brother and saw too much blood—I'm feeling nauseous. I'll eat another day."

"Hey, sister, you only ever follow your husband into danger, yet you won't even take a bite or sip—sister really doesn't know what you like. You're a magic treasure, after all; you must have a price to pay."

At these words, Li Banfeng's cheek twitched.

He had overlooked something.

All magic treasures in the world have a price, but since the wine gourd came into his hands, Li Banfeng had never once considered this.

If his wife hadn't reminded him, he might never have remembered.

The gourd replied: "Of course I need a price—though I fear you'll laugh at me. I'm addicted to wine, drinking nonstop year-round, afraid my body will grow cold."

"But I can produce only one catty of wine per day, and that one catty must be saved for the little brother. When I have no wine to drink, I must find a place to warm myself."

"If I can't find a warm place, I warm myself on the little brother's body; if he's inconvenient, I warm myself on your body. That's my price."

Hearing this, Li Banfeng suddenly understood: except for that one night when he drank with his wife, the wine gourd had always clung tightly to him.

This cost was not great.

Li Banfeng was quite satisfied, but his wife scoffed: "Pfft! Naughty little thing, shameless—tonight your husband and I will share a bed. Will you come warm yourself too?"

"I'll just snuggle nearby—it won't disturb you."

"Pfft! Even more shameless now!"

Li Banfeng was embarrassed too, leaning close to the phonograph: "Wife, are you really sharing a bed tonight?"

"Hey, husband, I was just joking. My body isn't convenient today—please rest in the outer chamber."

Not convenient?

What's inconvenient?

"Wife, are you low on oil?"

"Huh, husband, I'm not low on oil at all—not a drop missing. Husband, rest early, fall asleep quickly, husband… husband~"

His wife's voice was too seductive.

Li Banfeng slept in the third room that night; at dawn, he resumed searching Sandao Ridge.

Only the phonograph and Honglian remained in the house; Honglian said to the phonograph from the outer chamber: "Did you notice?"

Chit-chit~

"I noticed—not just her price, but her Dao sect too."

"Tell me."

The phonograph snorted: "You should've noticed too—why ask me?"

"That madman is suspicious by nature, yet he has zero doubt about the gourd—that's her price. She can stir others' thoughts, making them believe her. When alive, she must've been a thought cultivator."

Honglian fell silent for a long while, sensing something wrong: "That madman's thoughts are strange—he naturally suppresses thought cultivators. If the gourd were truly a thought cultivator, she couldn't influence his thoughts."

Chit-chit~

"Not influence—stir. This gourd is different from ordinary thought cultivators. She doesn't force—she soothes. She's made the madman comfortable, so he naturally doesn't suspect her."

Honglian grew uneasy: "This is hard to handle. Why didn't you expose her in front of the madman?"

"Why rush? If you expose her, how will you uncover her true intentions?"

"Relax—besides you and me, someone else suspects her. It's her own sect member—they'll help the madman watch her."

Honglian sneered: "What does my concern matter? I don't want to be his wife."

Chit-chit~

"Say what you will—you still have to live under the same roof as him."

Soon, the door opened—Li Banfeng returned, looking for canned food.

"Hey, husband, have you reached Haichiling? Eating like this, your home stores won't hold out."

They truly wouldn't hold out—Li Banfeng had to finish his mission in Haichiling quickly.

From dawn to dusk, Li Banfeng still saw no proper village; at a crossroad, a pungent, spicy odor drifted into his nose.

Someone had poisoned the area!

Li Banfeng retreated swiftly, carefully observing his surroundings.

Danger struck from behind—he didn't turn immediately, but drew Tang Dao and stabbed backward.

A cry of pain came from behind; Li Banfeng spun around and kicked out hard.

Thud!

Technique: Shatter Ten Thousand Rivers.

Failed.

The stones on the ground didn't break—Li Banfeng's technique had failed.

This technique often failed; since learning it, he'd only succeeded twice in Xin Di, and only when his legs were heavily burdened.

Standing behind him was a middle-aged man, around fifty, holding a wolf-tooth club, pointing at Li Banfeng: "Who are you?"

Li Banfeng recalled Tang Dao and said to the man: "I should ask you—who are you? Another one here to eat flesh? Want arms or legs?"

"Eat flesh?" The man roared in fury. "You're a cannibal beast!"

As he spoke, the man charged forward, swinging his wolf-tooth club.

Just from the wind, the club weighed over a hundred jin; though his shoulder had been slashed by Tang Dao, it didn't hinder him—he swung faster and faster, forcing Li Banfeng to retreat step by step.

After a brief exchange, Li Banfeng slipped a step closer, pressing his sickle against the man's chest and barked: "Who are you really?"

The man didn't dodge or retreat—he lunged straight onto the blade, swinging the club toward Li Banfeng's head.

Such a powerful physique, such reckless combat style—this was clearly a food cultivator.

Judging by combat strength, he was no lower than Level Three.

Li Banfeng withdrew his sickle—he hadn't struck to kill; from the man's few words, he deduced a misunderstanding.

"I'm here to deliver medicine."

These few words made the middle-aged man stop.

He froze for a moment, staring at Li Banfeng with excitement: "Did Second Master send you?"

"Which Second Master?" Li Banfeng looked confused.

"Lu family's Second Master!"

Lu Dongjun?

Li Banfeng recalled news from the newspaper.

Lu Dongjun had come to Haichiling to combat the insect plague—apparently, he'd already achieved some success.

Then why am I here?

Li Banfeng shook his head: "Not Lu Second Master. Another master sent me—I can't reveal his identity."

The middle-aged man was disappointed: "If it's not Lu Second Master's medicine, it probably won't work."

"Try it anyway—I came all this way," Li Banfeng said, embarrassed that his efforts weren't appreciated.

"Fine, I'll try," the man said, studying Li Banfeng closely before agreeing.

He just agreed.

Li Banfeng thought this man was genuinely simple—his simplicity made Li Banfeng suspicious.

"Follow me," the man said, leading Li Banfeng into a village. At the village entrance, three men stood ready—one with an iron hammer, one with a Guan Wang dao, one with an axe—each weapon heavy.

"Put down your weapons—he's here to deliver medicine."

"Second Master's medicine?" All three were excited.

Li Banfeng frowned: "Not Second Master—Seventh Master. Clear the path."

The three exchanged glances.

The man with the wolf-tooth club said: "He really is here to deliver medicine."

"The one bringing the medicine... fine." The three men stepped aside.

Are all of you this simple-minded?

Li Banfeng entered the village and saw smoke from hearths he hadn't seen in years.

Someone in this village was still cooking rice; Li Banfeng caught the scent of grains.

The middle-aged man asked, "Have you eaten? Have some rice first."

Li Banfeng was indeed hungry. He entered the man's home and saw a sturdy middle-aged figure placing a bowl of rice before him.

"Is this your younger brother?" Li Banfeng asked casually.

The man frowned: "What kind of talk is that? This is my wife!"

Li Banfeng looked again at the middle-aged figure.

The woman shot Li Banfeng a glare and went back into the inner room.

No wonder women aren't suited for Food Cultivation—this hostess seemed to have a beard.

The man introduced himself: "I'm Niu Fuzhi—blessed and ambitious. What's your name?"

"I'm Li Qi."

Niu Fuzhi sneered: "What a crude name—clearly never went to school. Your medicine's probably useless."

Li Banfeng thought to say, I also go by Li Furong—doesn't that sound cultured?

But it wasn't worth arguing over. The bowl was covered with a mesh lid; beneath it lay pure white rice. Li Banfeng's appetite stirred. He sniffed—it smelled only of rice, no odd odors.

He used his Sense of Auspiciousness and Avoidance of Misfortune for a moment—no danger detected.

He lifted the lid and ate quickly, for some mosquitoes wouldn't even spare cooked rice.

After eating eight taels of rice, knowing how hard-won this grain was, Li Banfeng didn't dare eat more.

He set down his chopsticks and asked, "Where did your rice come from?"

"We grew it."

Grew it?

"What season is this? How can you grow rice now?"

Niu Fuzhi said, "We have Farming Cultivators—we can grow grain even now. But we can't keep the mosquitoes out. Have you had enough? Now show us your medicine!"

"Where should I test it?"

"In the fields! We're about to harvest the rice."

Li Banfeng paused, then asked, "Was it you who poisoned the farmland earlier?"

Niu Fuzhi said, "Poison? That's mosquito repellent. We've tried plenty of medicines."

PS: Are these villagers really this naive?

Extra chapter at 12: 0 PM!

(End of Chapter)