Chapter 199

The torrential rain poured down, extinguishing the big fire in the warehouse.

The warehouse losses were not small.

Li Banfeng looked at Zuo Wugang's injuries. Zuo Wugang waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter. I have a way to dispel the poison, but I'm afraid I won't be able to hold out against that group of bird-men from Tieyang Mountain if they come again tonight."

"No need to hold out. With me here, there is the Land God's care. You just mentioned Tieyang Mountain; what is their background?"

"Mountain bandits from the Old Soil. The big 'ladle-handle' (leader) is named Rong Yeguang. I heard he used to be a sixth-layer Martial Cultivator. I don't dare to say what level he is now; even that bird-man Du Shuping is already at the sixth layer."

"Sixth layer? Being a bandit?" Li Banfeng didn't quite understand; what couldn't one do with sixth-layer cultivation?

"The Old Soil is different; it's a great place to make a fortune."

"And what kind of place is the Old Soil?"

"How should I put this? It's not much different from the New Land. In short, it's a place with few people. A place with few people can generate wealth, but the means of making money are different from the New Land. It is..."

Zuo Wugang's expressive ability was limited, and since he was poisoned, he couldn't hold on for too long.

Li Banfeng told him to go back and rest first. He went to the edge of the New Land, dragged the half-dead Wang Qi and Du Shuping, and entered the Personal Residence.

"Hey, husband~ you finally bought the groceries and came back!" The phonograph was very excited, and tears of emotion flowed from the horn.

"What groceries?" Du Shuping looked at the phonograph in surprise. He didn't know what kind of place this was, nor did he know the background of this phonograph.

"Don't worry about the groceries," Li Banfeng comforted Du Shuping, "Tell me first, who told you to come to my territory to cause trouble?"

Before Du Shuping could speak, Wang Qi spoke first: "Little brother, you are a virtuous person. Logically, we shouldn't tell you about this matter."

"But we have fallen into your hands, and we also want to find a way to survive. If we tell the truth, can you let us go?"

Li Banfeng sat upright before the two, his expression serious: "That depends on whether you have sincerity."

Wang Qi nodded very sincerely and spoke of their background: "We are heroes from Tieyang Mountain. We followed the orders of our big ladle-handle Rong Yeguang to come here and join forces with the big 'insert-thousand' (scout) of the New Land to go to your territory and 'smash the kiln' (rob)."

Li Banfeng kicked Wang Qi: "Don't speak foreign languages."

He had indeed learned some underworld slang from Yu Nan, but Wang Qi's slang was too dense, and Li Banfeng couldn't understand it.

The phonograph couldn't wait: "'Smashing the kiln' means robbery, 'inserting the thousand' means specifically scouting for information. Husband, whatever you don't understand, the little slave can translate for you. Ask quickly."

The wife was anxious.

She was so anxious that tears flowed down.

Li Banfeng asked again: "Who is your big 'insert-thousand'?"

Wang Qi took a kick and didn't dare to speak easily.

Du Shuping saw that Li Banfeng couldn't understand the underworld slang and tried his best to express it in a straightforward way: "The fallen daughter of the Lu family, Lu Xiaolan."

Lu Xiaolan went up the mountain to be a bandit?

This was something Li Banfeng hadn't expected.

"I have no grudges against your big ladle-handle; why do you want to take action against us?"

Wang Qi shook his head: "I don't know about this. We all follow the big ladle-handle's instructions. Whatever he tells us to do, we do."

"That big 'something-thousand' of yours, which is Lu Xiaolan, she inserted a mole in my territory. Do you know who it is?"

"We don't know this, and we shouldn't ask. Whenever the big 'insert-thousand' tells us to take action, we go to 'smash the kiln'."

"Where is your Tieyang Mountain?"

"In the Old Soil."

"What kind of place is the Old Soil?"

"Like the New Land, a place that doesn't see the light."

The phonograph urged: "Husband, the New Land and the Old Soil are different. The little slave will tell you slowly later. Continue asking."

Li Banfeng asked again: "How far is Tieyang Mountain from here?"

"That depends on whether you know the way. If you can't find the way, it's a thousand miles away. If you can find the way, it's only a day's journey. Little brother, as long as you let us two live, I'll draw this path for you."

Worthy of being a sixth-layer Literary Cultivator, Du Shuping knew how to negotiate.

Li Banfeng didn't fall for his trick. He stopped asking for the way; if he kept asking, the other party would definitely entangle him endlessly. He asked about the situation of Tieyang Mountain: "How many people are in your mountain stronghold?"

"Sixty-six people. Don't look at the small number; they all have cultivation."

"Little brother, the underworld is one path. No matter which line you slide on, everyone on the path is a 'shoulder-to-shoulder' (brother)."

"Today our brothers have fallen into your hands; we are convinced. We've said everything we know just now, and you shouldn't break your word. Give us a path to walk."

"There is a path. You accompany my wife to eat first. After you finish eating, you can go on your way."

"Eat? Where is the food?" Du Shuping looked blank.

*Sshh sshh~*

The wife laughed: "You are the food!"

Two phonograph needles were inserted into the brains of Du Shuping and Wang Qi. The two looked at Li Banfeng angrily, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Half an hour later, the wife finished her meal.

Li Banfeng dragged the corpses in front of Did Honglian: "Eat."

Did Honglian sighed in her heart: To eat leftovers, I still have to look at your faces.

But she didn't dare to say much. A sixth-layer cultivator and a fifth-layer cultivator could be considered rare ingredients. The flower leaves spread out, and Did Honglian collected the two cultivators into the lotus heart.

Li Banfeng asked the phonograph: "What kind of place is the Old Soil, after all?"

"When the New Land's human energy is prosperous, it becomes the Proper Land; when the Proper Land loses its human energy, it becomes the Old Soil."

Li Banfeng was stunned for a long time.

"The New Land's human energy must be prosperous to become the Proper Land? Isn't it that it can become the Proper Land after land reclamation?"

"Far from it, far from it. Land reclamation is called 'seeing the light of day.' A hundred miles of territory, filled with the light of day, with ten thousand people staying for a long time—only this is called achieving a positive result, and only this is the Proper Land..."

The wife explained in detail. Under one Land God, a hundred miles of territory must all be successfully reclaimed, and it must be guaranteed that there are more than ten thousand permanent residents on the land. Only then is it called the formation of the Proper Land.

Is it that complicated?

Isn't Lanyang Village a special case?

Li Banfeng's understanding wasn't like this: "Lanyang Village has been eroded by various major families, but they have been reclaiming land toward the New Land. The territory hasn't become smaller, and the area is about the same size as before."

"It's different, it's different. Husband, go to the place in Lanyang Village near the New Land and take a look. Are there people living there?"

"There are people living there, just not many. There are no houses there; people build shacks. It is said that because the strange monsters of the New Land often run out to harm people, most people don't dare to live there."

"That's the logic. Those places don't count as the Proper Land; they only count as New Land that has been reclaimed."

"The strange monsters of the New Land cannot go to the real Proper Land; otherwise, it counts as grabbing territory in the Proper Land, and the Land God of the Proper Land won't spare them."

The Land God of the Proper Land?

"Does Green Flower count as the Land God of the Proper Land?"

"Yes, husband. The level of the Land God of the Proper Land is higher than that of the Land God of the New Land."

"But if there is no human energy on the Proper Land for many years, it will become the Old Soil. The level of the Land God of the Old Soil will drop, not much different from the New Land."

With human energy, the level of the Land God will rise.

Without human energy, the level of the Land God will drop.

No wonder Guogua Qiu Daxiang cares so much about land-reclaimers.

This relates to their level promotion.

No wonder the Land God doesn't allow one person to reclaim too much New Land; otherwise, if the land is all occupied by one person, it won't be able to reach the standard of ten thousand permanent residents at all.

But this also gave Li Banfeng a reminder: in the future, he cannot let various major families reach out in Lanyang Village at will.

The newly reclaimed land is not the Proper Land; this relates to the future survival of Lanyang Village.

"But since the population determines the level of the Land God, why is there a test during land reclamation? If there are more land-reclaimers, wouldn't the human energy be more prosperous?"

"Hey, husband, that's not how the logic works. If there are many people reclaiming land, the people on the land might not be many."

"An incompetent person goes to reclaim land, at most bringing his whole family. It's not easy to find food in the New Land, and there are strange monsters harassing them. After a few years, they can't live on, move away, and this piece of land becomes desolate."

"But because the land reclamation was successful, the owner is still there, yet newcomers cannot be allowed to reclaim the land again. Wouldn't the Land God suffer a big loss?"

"If you want to reclaim land, you must have real ability, you must know how to manage, and you must be able to fight. Only such people can possibly turn the New Land into the Proper Land and be accepted by the Land God."

"Then if the population on the Proper Land is less than ten thousand, will it become the Old Soil? If there are ten thousand people in the Old Soil, will it become the Proper Land?"

*Sshh sshh~*

The phonograph laughed.

"Husband, if there are exactly ten thousand people in a hundred-mile radius, and one leaves today, the Proper Land becomes the Old Soil; if one comes tomorrow, the Old Soil becomes the Proper Land—wouldn't the Land God be tortured to death?"

"Ten thousand is a big threshold. If it exceeds ten thousand, it counts as the Proper Land. In a hundred-mile radius, only if the population is less than one hundred will it become the Old Soil."

Less than one hundred...

Li Banfeng suddenly remembered a place.

"Bitter Vegetable Village definitely exceeds a hundred miles in radius, but that place doesn't even have a hundred people. Does that place count as the Old Soil?"

"Bitter Vegetable Village, the territory of Bitter Granny. Bitter Granny, what kind of person is she? She is not a Land God, so what is she? Bitter Vegetable Village, Bitter Granny, hee hee hee..."

Oh no, the wife is going crazy!

"Don't talk about Bitter Vegetable Village, there is no Bitter Vegetable Village. Let's talk about something else. What else does the wife want to eat? I'll go out and buy groceries..."

After eating the Mysterious Essence Pellet, although the wife almost lost her life, after recovering, the wife's state had improved much more than before.

But even so, Bitter Granny couldn't be mentioned casually.

What kind of person is Bitter Granny, after all?

Taking advantage of the wife's mental state being okay, Li Banfeng coaxed her to sleep.

After leaving the Personal Residence, Li Banfeng went to his own plot of land.

He set up an offering table and invited Shui Yongquan: "The matter has been investigated clearly. It was done by that group of land-reclaimers. The leader of the land-reclaimers is named Lu Xiaolan, and she is the big 'insert-thousand' on Tieyang Mountain."

"Tieyang Mountain, a bandit den in the Old Soil," Shui Yongquan stroked his beard, "I will tell Guogua Qiu Daxiang about this matter first, so that he understands the logic here. If anyone on his land dares to come here to run wild again, kill one whenever you see one in the future; don't be soft-handed."

"There is one more thing that I have to trouble Shopkeeper Shui with: how do I get to Tieyang Mountain?"

Shui Yongquan was stunned: "Brother Li Qi, what are you going to do? Are you still going to attack their mountain stronghold?"

"Can't their mountain stronghold be attacked? They were the ones who took action first."

Shui Yongquan signaled Li Banfeng to calm down first: "Why did you offend Tieyang Mountain?"

"I haven't offended Tieyang Mountain. I only learned their name today."

"You should investigate the cause and effect here clearly first, and then we'll talk about the matter of these bandits."

"Can't we investigate while fighting?"

Shui Yongquan didn't know how to answer: "Brother Li Qi, those are bandits, those are bandits famous in the underworld! They are not street punks. Let's handle the matter at hand first!"

"Is there a difference between bandits and punks?"

"What do you think?" Shui Yongquan left angrily.

Li Banfeng's expression was wooden.

Is there a big difference?

Even if there is a difference, they have already fought their way to my house; can't I fight back?

But Shui Yongquan's words made sense; the matter at hand really had to be handled.

First, the mole had to be ferreted out.

Then, Lu Xiaolan and her group had to be dealt with.

He Jiaqing lay on the hospital bed, looking at the ceiling, his eyes a bit unfocused.

"The Three Heroes of Tieyang died just like that? That brother of mine is a bit ruthless! I underestimated him before, and he even calculated against me!"

Someone responded in his ear: "There has to be an explanation for this matter. How should I explain it to Rong Yeguang?"

"Explain what explanation? Give him some money as compensation."

"Tieyang Mountain is not short of money."

"If they aren't short of money, don't give it; we'll save it! Also tell Rong Yeguang that if he wants to wash his identity clean, he has to pay a price!"

The person opposite sighed and asked instead: "Are you still listening to the live broadcast?"

"Yes. If there is any movement from him, play it for me. This brother of mine is no ordinary person; I miss him more and more."

"In addition, don't enter their territory for the time being, but the road for delivering goods must still be blocked for them."

"If Ma Wu brings the Bagworm to deliver goods every day, let him deliver. As long as he slacks off for one day, rob his goods. I want to see how long he can hold out."

"Remind our people to be very cautious when talking to Lu Xiaolan. She is suspicious; don't let her see through our identities."

PS: What good things are in the Old Soil? Why is it said that it's a great place to make a fortune?

(End of chapter)