Chapter 183: Doors

Old Ku picked a bitter herb by hand and held it out to Li Banfeng: "Eat this."

The leaves were at least clean; Li Banfeng ate it.

Old Ku seemed satisfied and no longer forced Li Banfeng to eat, then vanished.

The White Food Hall returned to stillness.

Li Banfeng sat beside Chu Er and asked: "After eating this meal, can we go back?"

Chu Er shook her head: "Not yet. White food comes once every ten days, and you must eat for three days straight."

"Three days of this? How do you endure it?"

"You endure it anyway. White food is mandatory—skip it, and you get no rations next month."

"If they don't give you rations, why don't you grow your own? Do you really rely on charity?"

Chu Er was truly terrified of Li Banfeng: "Seventh Master, don't stir up trouble. I don't have your stubborn bones—I'm afraid I'll be beaten to death!"

Li Banfeng wanted to step outside for air and nap in his Personal Dwelling, but the rice server wouldn't let him.

"No one leaves before noon. That's the rule."

"What if you need to relieve yourself?"

"Hold it! Rules are rules—why so many complaints?"

Chu Er stepped forward and grabbed Li Banfeng, telling him to stop arguing.

Li Banfeng looked at Chu Er before him.

Chu Er of Bitter Herb Village was a completely different person from Chu Er of Green Water City.

"When did you become such a coward?"

"Isn't this for cultivation?"

"You're a daughter of privilege—why choose this Dao sect? Why endure this suffering?"

A shadow crossed Chu Er's face; she turned away, looking up at Li Banfeng with rolled eyes: "Why do you ask?"

Li Banfeng shoved her face aside: "Answer me properly. Why put on that face? It won't work on me—save it for scaring others later."

Chu Er lowered her head, whispering so softly it was barely audible: "I planned to cultivate the Literary Path. When my father died, I hadn't yet entered a Dao sect. After he passed, my mother followed him."

To seize the family headship, the whole clan tore itself apart—my two younger brothers died, killed by their own older brother."

What is blood kinship? Even sworn enemies aren't this cruel. I'm stubborn—I survived. There are more people in this world wishing me dead than wishing me alive."

Isn't life meant for suffering? To live a lifetime of suffering, to cultivate through pain—isn't that the strongest Dao? Isn't that the truth?"

"What kind of truth is that?"

"It's the truth," Chu Er insisted. "When no one in this world cares about you anymore, you'll understand."

Li Banfeng laughed.

For most of his past twenty-plus years, no one had cared about him.

"If others don't care, don't you care about yourself?"

Chu Er gave a bitter laugh: "What good does it do if I care about myself?"

"It's the most useful thing of all."

As they argued, three new people entered the White Food Hall.

Were they late?

"Will they still get food?"

Chu Er nodded: "Yes. They're prospective initiates—the White Food Hall always saves a little for them, but barely enough."

One man, one woman, and the woman held a child by the hand.

Was this a family?

Was the whole family entering bitter cultivation?

The rice server gave them three bowls of rice—each half-full, no herbs inside.

The man was starving; he devoured his half-bowl in moments.

The woman watched her child, fearing he wouldn't be full, and spooned some of her rice into his bowl.

The rice was full of sand; the child couldn't swallow it.

The woman whispered to the child: "Chew slowly, eat slowly—don't waste a single grain."

The man grew impatient, snatched the child's bowl, and shouted: "If you won't eat, don't eat! Can't even handle this much bitterness—what kind of bitter cultivator are you?"

The woman stood beside him, tears in her eyes, wanting to stop him but too afraid to act.

Chu Er clenched her teeth—she despised men like this.

She was about to snatch the bowl back from the child when she realized Li Banfeng was gone.

The man lifted his chopsticks, about to eat, when Li Banfeng stepped forward and kicked him square in the face.

The man fell backward, his bowl shattering; he clutched his face and glared at Li Banfeng: "Why did you hit me?"

Li Banfeng stared coldly at the man: "If you can't take a hit, get out! Can't even handle this much bitterness—what kind of bitter cultivator are you?"

The man, tears welling, turned to the rice server: "He hit me—why won't you stop him?"

The rice server held his ladle: "What are you trying to do?"

Li Banfeng turned to the server and asked: "You're the one who mixed sand into the rice, aren't you?"

"Yes," the server admitted. "It's the rule of Bitter Herb Village—you eat this bitterness."

Li Banfeng nodded: "Fine. I'll give you even more bitterness."

As he spoke, Li Banfeng suddenly appeared before the server and punched him in the stomach.

The server gritted his teeth, glared, and fixed his gaze on Li Banfeng.

Chu Er shouted: "Watch out—Shared Suffering!"

A Level Two Bitter Cultivation technique—the server intended to split his pain with Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng vanished instantly—he activated Step of the Slight.

The server's gaze lost its target; he couldn't find Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng reappeared and swung a punch that sent the server crashing to the ground.

This rice server was a Level Three Bitter Cultivator—he should have held his own against a Level Three Traveler.

But Li Banfeng was a Level Four Dweller, and with his "Blind to the Obvious" talent, his strikes left no trace—he crushed the server without resistance.

This was the power of dual cultivation: a Level Three Bitter Cultivator was effortlessly crushed by Li Banfeng. But he had no intention of killing—he remembered Lao Chahu's warning.

The server lay on the ground, moaning: "This man broke the rules—he can't stay in the village."

Li Banfeng kicked the server: "Do you think I want to stay here?"

Several Bitter Cultivators rushed forward to attack Li Banfeng; he stomped the ground, shattering a stone, sending up a cloud of dust. While their vision was obscured, he unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, knocking them all down.

More Bitter Cultivators charged in; Li Banfeng drew his feather duster and swung it at each one.

The entire White Food Hall descended into chaos.

Chu Er stared, speechless.

She never imagined that after barely escaping Old Ku's punishment, Li Banfeng would immediately wreck the White Food Hall.

What hospital did he visit? What doctor would dare say he wasn't mad?

Didn't he fear encountering higher-level Bitter Cultivators?

Besides Old Ku, did Bitter Herb Village have any high-level cultivators?

According to Li Banfeng's estimate, the highest cultivation level among those present didn't exceed Level Four.

Bitter Herb Village was indeed suited for bitter cultivation, but no one was a masochist—once you reached Level Four or above, you had other methods of cultivation. Why come here to suffer?

Li Banfeng could handle anyone below Level Four, but now he was overwhelmed—they were too many.

After a brief struggle, Li Banfeng shouted: "Those who want to fight, stay. Those who don't, leave—hesitate, and you'll regret it!"

"Run!" Chu Er grabbed the new woman and carried the child away.

Smart move—one person fleeing could trigger a mass exodus.

The beaten man scrambled to follow; soon, more than half had fled.

The remaining few still fought Li Banfeng, who suddenly leapt onto the rafters and pulled out his teapot.

Since they refused to leave, they'd have to take a bath.

Li Banfeng stroked the teapot; it sighed: "You didn't want to come here, yet you came. You still had to fight.

I told you—no killing. How do you want to handle this?"

"Just teach them a lesson."

The teapot understood; water rose to waist-height, flooding the hall.

Walls surrounded them—they couldn't escape.

The water was warm, not hot enough to scald them, but blisters would form on every skin.

They tried to lock their gaze on Li Banfeng to share the pain, but he leapt back and forth along the rafters—impossible to track.

Bitter Cultivators could endure pain, but they still felt it; they jumped and thrashed in the water, some climbing toward the rafters—Li Banfeng kicked each one off with a single blow.

The rice server screamed: "Wait until Old Ku comes—she'll take your life!"

Li Banfeng laughed: "You all want suffering? I'm helping you cultivate—letting you suffer more. Old Ku won't blame me."

It was a joke—he knew he was causing trouble.

But he hadn't killed anyone; Old Ku wouldn't demand his life for this—she'd only expel him from Bitter Herb Village. That's exactly what he wanted.

Send him anywhere—just not here.

But after waiting a long time, Old Ku did nothing.

She stood outside the White Food Hall, never stepping inside.

"That old teapot is still alive," Old Ku chuckled. "What he said makes sense—it really does help them cultivate."

Old Ku left.

After more than two hours of scalding, all the ascetics had grown calm.

Li Banfeng saw they had stopped fighting, put away the teapot, and leapt down from the rafters.

He walked over to the man serving rice and ordered, "Make lunch. Don't mix in any sand again. If I find one grain, I'll beat you senseless."

The man dared not speak, his body covered in blisters, and shuffled tremblingly toward the kitchen.

Li Banfeng stepped outside and looked at the family of three preparing to enter the gate. "Why do you want to enter this path?"

The man kept his head down, silent.

The woman bit her lip. "My daughter and I can't even get enough to eat. We heard that if you join this path, the Kucaizhuang feeds you—here, at least, we can survive."

Li Banfeng looked at the man. "Did you come up with this idea for them?"

"Not me!" the man quickly shook his head. "I didn't know them before. We just happened to be traveling the same way."

Li Banfeng misunderstood—they weren't family.

"Not family, yet you steal their food? And you eat it so greedily—you're perfect material for ascetics. You stay."

"I won't stay! I don't want to cultivate this path!" The man rose to run.

"Do you get to decide?"

Li Banfeng kicked the man down and handed the woman two silver dollars. "Once you enter this path, you'll only know suffering! Not just you—your child's entire life will have no future!"

Go speak with Old Ku. See if she'll let you go. You haven't entered the path yet—she won't force you to stay."

"Once you leave, never come back. No matter how hard life gets, you must strive for happiness."

No matter how hard life gets, you must strive for happiness.

Chu Er looked at Li Banfeng, watching him silently for a long time.

Li Banfeng straightened his clothes, pulled his hat lower, and walked toward the distance.

He needed to return to Suishenju, take a hot bath.

…

Late at night, the rice server led a group of ascetics to find Chu Er.

"That bearded man from earlier—is he with you?"

Chu Er nodded. "Yes. What of it?"

"Who is he?"

Chu Er shook her head. "I don't know. I met him on the road."

The rice server's cheek twitched. He lowered his voice. "Then who are you?"

"Someone who suffers."

This was the standard answer at Kucaizhuang. Chu Er had never revealed her identity there. By Kucaizhuang 's rules, no one should ask about her origins.

The rice server did not press further. To press further would break the rules.

"I came tonight because I need your help. Find that bearded man for us. We need to speak with him."

Chu Er lowered her head, raised her eyes, and scanned the group. "You want to go dark? Look at the spineless lot you are."

The rice server gritted his teeth. "Is this something you'll help with or not?"

"No! What will you do?" Chu Er glared fiercely at the rice server.

The rice server stepped back half a pace—he was afraid.

He turned to the others. "Attack!"

Chu Er pulled a dagger from her sleeve and fought the group.

…

Late at night, Chu Er lay half-dead, hung from a wooden post outside the White Food Hall.

The rice server looked up at her. "I'll ask you one last time—who is that bearded man?"

"I won't tell you," Chu Er smiled faintly, looking at them all. "Come on, kill me. If you've got the guts, kill me!"

The mad Chu Er—the same Chu Er from Green Water City—terrified them all into trembling.

One ascetic woman, frightened, whispered to the rice server: "If we do this, won't Old Ku be furious?"

"Don't worry—I know my limits. Old Ku never interferes with suffering. That bearded man broke the rules first. She won't protect him—and she won't protect me either." The rice server spoke with confidence, picked up a red-hot iron rod, and addressed Chu Er:

"This is for cleaning house. You know where the door is. I'll ask you one last time—who is that bearded man? He's no Kuxiu. Why did he come to Kucaizhuang?"

PS: What did he mean by "door"?

(End of Chapter)