Chapter 181

Li Banfeng and Chu Er sat opposite each other at the table, with a plate of bitter greens and two steamed buns in front of them.

"The bitter greens have salt added; they're quite delicious. Try some."

Li Banfeng was in no mood to eat bitter greens, and besides, this little bit of food wasn't enough to eat.

Chu Er's food was issued monthly by Kucai Village; she could only eat this much per meal. Even a woman like Chu Er couldn't get full here.

"Where is my key?" This was the matter Li Banfeng cared about most.

Chu Er showed displeasure: "You came from so far away; was it to find me, or to find the key?"

Li Banfeng showed a trace of a smile: "Silly girl, what silly things are you saying? What kind of person do you take me for? I ran to this place from so far away; of course, it was to find the key."

Chu Er was so angry her face turned white: "You don't need to speak so directly!"

"Hurry up and give me the key!"

"I won't!"

"You won't, right!"

"I just won't, what will you do?"

"I can't really do anything."

Li Banfeng really couldn't do anything to Chu Er.

He had heard Ma Wu say that Chu Er had all kinds of ways to torture herself; torture and coercion were of no use.

Pondering for a moment, Li Banfeng changed his strategy, his gaze full of tenderness as he looked at Chu Er: "Saying I came to find the key was just an excuse I thought up; I truly wanted to come find you."

Chu Er rolled her eyes upward and looked at Li Banfeng: "Are you speaking the truth?"

Li Banfeng gritted his teeth and said: "Truthfully."

"Can you swear an oath for me to hear?"

Li Banfeng shook his head and said: "I'm not that kind of superstitious person."

Chu Er smiled: "I'll just assume you're being truthful. Tell me first, how did you come to Kucai Village?"

"This is a long story," Li Banfeng began to make it up, "Didn't I discover the key was lost? So I looked, looked everywhere, and I found my way to Ma Wu's place."

"Ma Wu told you I had been to your house?"

"Yes, he told me!"

"He told you I came to Kucai Village?"

"Yes, that's what he said."

Chu Er thought about it, and it seemed reasonable: "And then?"

And then.

This person has so many questions.

Li Banfeng continued to make it up: "As soon as I heard you went to Kucai Village, I was anxious; I couldn't rest easy about you, so I found a way to get a ticket and came here.

I'm also here for the first time; I couldn't tell north, south, east, or west, and it was only with great difficulty that I found your residence..."

Chu Er widened her eyes and said: "You just arrived?"

Li Banfeng nodded: "Just arrived."

"Then did you see me taking a bath just now?"

"Didn't see it; such a good thing was missed by me," Li Banfeng sighed, shook his head repeatedly, and said, "When are you taking a bath next time?"

"Half a year later."

Li Banfeng blinked: "You take a bath once every half year?"

Chu Er nodded seriously: "Is that too much or too little?"

Li Banfeng blinked again: "Are you crazy?"

Chu Er answered seriously: "Not crazy. My father took me to the hospital to see; the doctor said I wasn't crazy."

"You've also been to the hospital to see? I've also been to the hospital to see! The doctor said the same thing!"

Chu Er laughed until she was doubled over: "No wonder they say we are fated."

While she was doubled over, Li Banfeng discovered she had a rope tied around her neck.

"Yes, we are fated!" Li Banfeng laughed loudly, then pounced on Chu Er.

Chu Er was startled: "Even if we are fated, it can't be this fast; wait a moment, it's not possible now..."

After a scuffle, Li Banfeng pulled the key off Chu Er's neck.

Chu Er clutched her neck, panting for a long time.

Li Banfeng had been too ruthless; he almost strangled her to death.

"I knew you weren't here to find me!" Chu Er said with red eyes, "You heartless person, why did you lie to me?"

"I also feel bad in my heart; I feel ashamed for myself!" Li Banfeng stood up, adjusted his hat, walked to the door, and said, "I won't have the face to see you again; let's never see each other again."

For a moment, Li Banfeng really wanted to kill Chu Er.

Although she didn't know what the key was for, Li Banfeng was worried she would still have designs on the key in the future.

But at the moment he wanted to strike, his skill of seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster warned him of great danger, though the specific reason was unknown.

This is Kucai Village; this is the base camp of bitter cultivators.

Killing someone here, killing a bitter cultivator with a prominent background, Li Banfeng wasn't sure what consequences it would trigger.

Li Banfeng left, and Chu Er didn't chase. She took a bite of bitter greens and smiled hideously: "Let's see where you can go!"

Kucai Village, sparsely populated, the land desolate.

Li Banfeng walked forward along the yellow earth road, walked more than two miles, only saw one earthen house, even more dilapidated than the one Chu Er lived in. Besides that, he didn't see any other buildings.

Truly a place without any vitality; even the insect-plagued Hai Chi Ridge was better than Kucai Village.

He opened his pocket watch to check the time, then looked at the position of the sun, and Li Banfeng quickly identified the direction.

He was walking south.

Li Banfeng's goal was the New Territory.

As long as he walked to the New Territory, he could compare it with Yao Lao's map and return to Lan Yang Village.

But can walking south lead to the New Territory?

"Sister Gourd, have you been to Kucai Village?"

"What are you doing in this place? Looking for suffering? Go ask the big sister; she is knowledgeable."

Go back to the personal residence and ask the phonograph?

This place, besides yellow earth, was empty; there wasn't even a place to hide the key.

What if someone picks up the key again?

Besides, asking would be asking in vain. Li Banfeng didn't know where he was; there were no landmark buildings here, and the phonograph couldn't give him directions.

There was a person in front, wearing a gray cloth cotton-padded jacket, wrapped tightly from head to toe, and it was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman.

Li Banfeng went up to ask for directions: "This... uncle, I want to ask how to get to the New Territory?"

That person raised her head, her face covered by a scarf, and asked back: "What are you doing going to the New Territory?"

Hearing the voice was a middle-aged woman, Li Banfeng hurriedly changed his words: "Big sister, I'm here in Kucai Village for the first time and got lost. I want to go to the New Territory to hunt."

The big sister shook her head and said: "Young man, do you know why you got lost?"

"Should be, just being careless..."

This question was asked so profoundly, Li Banfeng really didn't know how to answer.

"It's not being careless; it's that you haven't thought it through, it's that you haven't realized it, you don't know why you came to this place, just like you don't know where you are going in the future.

Don't let desire block your eyes, don't let comfort cover your heart, don't let indulgence erode your ambition, don't let laziness corrupt your character."

Li Banfeng stood blankly in place and said: "I just wanted to ask for directions..."

On him, a magic treasure was trembling, and with all its might, it said two words: "Shut up!"

Look how angry the Judge's Pen was; it actually said two words!

How can laziness corrupt character?

This woman is clearly talking nonsense.

The big sister sighed: "Young man, since you've come, you must calm your heart. Only by calming down can you settle down, can you understand where you are going, and can you know the meaning of this life."

"Big sister is right." Li Banfeng nodded and stepped away.

There's no need to grind teeth with such a person; she's clearly obsessed.

"Stop!" The woman wouldn't let Li Banfeng leave. "Where are you going?"

"Going where I should go." Li Banfeng gave a very profound answer.

"Your heart is too restless," the big sister reached out and grabbed Li Banfeng's clothes. "You don't know where you are going at all. Listen to me, stay."

Li Banfeng shook off this big sister and tidied his clothes: "I know where I'm going; don't trouble yourself."

The big sister was a bit disappointed in Li Banfeng: "You don't want to stay? After experiencing so many things, haven't you realized it yet?"

"Whether I realized it or not is my own business; this also doesn't need to trouble you." Li Banfeng's tone changed; he was a bit angry.

This big sister raised her head and looked at Li Banfeng with a pair of bloodshot eyes: "Why can't you stay? Why do you want to leave? If you really leave, wouldn't everything you fought for before be wasted?

You still haven't realized it after all; you don't know why you are here, but I know. When I first saw you, I knew why you were here."

First time seeing me?

Isn't this the first time right now?

Why doesn't this big sister's speech follow logic?

Li Banfeng didn't want to pester her and ran away.

The big sister followed behind as if taking a stroll and said to Li Banfeng: "Do you really have to leave?"

How can this big sister run so fast?

I'm a third-layer traveling cultivator; how can I not outrun her?

Is her cultivation so high?

Li Banfeng stopped running; he knew he couldn't run away: "Big sister, I really arrived in Kucai Village by accident; I'm unfamiliar with the place and people, so please let me go.

After I leave Kucai Village, I won't forget your kindness. I'll go to Green Water City to buy some good things another day and come back to visit you."

The big sister was stunned for a moment: "You're going to Green Water City; you just want to leave Kucai Village?"

Li Banfeng was surprised: "Otherwise? Where did I think I was leaving?"

The big sister nodded upon hearing this and said: "Leaving Kucai Village, it's not impossible, but it has to be according to my rules. As long as you can beat me, I'll let you go."

Li Banfeng rubbed his forehead, full of helplessness: "Big sister, you're joking. We are strangers; why would I hit you?"

The big sister moved her muscles and bones: "I won't use techniques, nor will I use weapons, otherwise it counts as me bullying you.

Let's just compare fists and kicks. As long as you can beat me, not only will I let you leave, but I'll also send you on your way."

"You say it like that," Li Banfeng shook his head and sighed, "I'm a man, you're a woman; how can I hit a woman?"

The big sister laughed and said: "That sentence, it's quite like a gentleman..."

*Bang! *

Li Banfeng punched the big sister in the face.

The big sister was silent.

Li Banfeng said very seriously: "Big sister, I hit you first; this counts as me winning. We agreed on this."

The big sister sighed: "Fine, I'll let you go."

Li Banfeng was full of joy: "Then I'll..."

*Bang! * The big sister suddenly raised her leg and kicked Li Banfeng.

This kick was quite ruthless; Li Banfeng almost fell to the ground.

"Big sister, you're so insidious!"

"You weren't prepared because you haven't tempered enough. Wait until you've tempered enough, and then I'll let you go."

As the sun set, Chu Er was making a fire to cook in the courtyard, and Li Banfeng walked back, bruised and swollen.

"Seventh Master, what happened?" Chu Er clapped the dust off her palms. "Didn't you say you were leaving? Why are you back?"

Li Banfeng laughed dryly: "Met a big sister on the way; that big sister is really good, insisted on keeping me for a few more days.

I said I wouldn't stay, she said I had to beat her to leave. I hit her, didn't win.

I said I wouldn't fight, she said I hadn't tempered enough, and then she kept hammering me, hammered me until now."

Chu Er smiled: "Seventh Master, you met Bitter Granny."

"Who is Bitter Granny?"

"Bitter Granny is Bitter Granny. It's easy to enter Kucai Village, but if you want to go out, you need Bitter Granny's consent."

Li Banfeng looked at Chu Er blankly: "Can't you get out either?"

"Can't get out," Chu Er shook her head. "Have to wait for Bitter Granny to leave, then I can leave Kucai Village."

"When is she leaving?"

"Arrives in the second month, leaves in the fifth month. She generally stays in Kucai Village for three months. I'm talking about the lunar calendar."

"Lunar fifth month?"

It hasn't even reached the third lunar month yet; doesn't that mean having to stay here for more than two months?

"What is this Bitter Granny's background?"

"I don't know her background either. In short, just stay here with me peacefully, otherwise Bitter Granny will beat you every time she sees you."

Dinner, still bitter greens and steamed buns.

Chu Er looked at Li Banfeng affectionately: "Seventh Master, eat; I couldn't bear to eat it myself, I saved it all for you."

Li Banfeng ate the bitter greens, chewed the steamed buns, as if he had returned to the years in the Star Fall Continent.

Seeing Li Banfeng eat quite a bit, Chu Er sighed lightly: "When you and Ma Wu were in trouble, you also suffered like this, right?"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "After meeting me, Ma Wu never suffered. He is my brother; as long as I can think of a way, I won't let my brother suffer."

Chu Er snorted coldly: "Suffering, actually, has no disadvantages."

"There are many disadvantages to suffering; I really can't see any advantages."

"Can you speak? I'm a bitter cultivator; you tell me suffering has no advantages?"

"Keep the suffering for yourself! You only have one bed here; where do I sleep at night?"

Chu Er said tenderly: "Don't be a stranger; we'll just squeeze together."

Li Banfeng sneered: "Really?"

"Not really," Chu Er shook her head. "It's not possible now. Bitter Granny is here; we can't sleep together, otherwise she'll beat us both to death."

"She even manages this?"

"She manages! As long as it's something enjoyable, she won't let it be done. Not only does she manage this, she even manages bathing. When she's in Kucai Village, people in the village can't bathe. Do you think I really bathe once every half year?

I'm hiding from her. Today I was really too dirty to bear, so I secretly wiped myself with water. If she saw it, she'd beat me to death!"

More than two months, how can this be endured?

No, must find a way to run away.

In the middle of the night, Li Banfeng quietly left Chu Er's house and, relying on his talent for seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster, chose a direction.

Go north; north is great fortune!

Li Banfeng ran wildly for twenty miles, and didn't meet Bitter Granny along the way.

Sure enough, the talent for seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster is the most useful!

While rejoicing, Li Banfeng stumbled over a stone, and the Judge's Pen fell to the ground.

"Why so careless." Bitter Granny picked up the Judge's Pen for Li Banfeng.

"I'll be more careful next time." Li Banfeng took the Judge's Pen.

Bitter Granny shook her head: "I see you still haven't realized it."

Li Banfeng nodded: "Then I'll go back and realize it some more."

"Can't just rely on yourself to realize it; someone needs to help you temper."

Li Banfeng held his head and said: "Can we change someone to do the hammering?"

PS: Who exactly is Bitter Granny?

(End of chapter)