Chapter 215: The Invisible Enemy

Tie Men Bao suddenly closed its gates.

Li Banfeng wasn't worried—he could just stay inside Tie Men Bao and would surely find where the key was hidden.

Sui Donglan was terrified, forgot to cover her face, and sprinted all the way to the canyon mouth, her headscarf falling off.

By the time she reached the canyon mouth, it was too late—the great iron gate was already shut.

Two men stood before the gate, shouting at the fleeing merchants: "Don't go out—Flying Eagle Mountain bandits have arrived."

Hearing the bandits had come, Sui Donglan turned and sprinted back to Li Banfeng's side.

"Master Merchant, we've run into bandits—what do we do now!"

Li Banfeng said nothing—he wanted to gauge the quality of these bandits.

Tie Men Bao housed two to three hundred households; as far as Li Banfeng knew, some of these homes had four stories.

The lord of the fortress was an eighth-layer Zhai Xiu—how powerful could these bandits be, to dare attack Tie Men Bao?

The steam-powered iron gate hissed out white mist; the tobacco seller whispered: "They can't get in—this gate's fierce. Step within a pace of it, and the steam will strip your skin and melt your flesh…"

Before the tobacco seller finished, a voice called from outside: "Listen, inside! I'm Luo Dagui—the former Vanguard Commander of Flying Eagle Mountain. Call your master out to speak."

"Flying Eagle Mountain's Cannon Chief! An eighth-layer Wu Xiu!" Sui Donglan gasped and hurried to hide beneath Wu Yongchao's eaves.

The tobacco seller also panicked, pushed his cart of tobacco leaves, and ducked under the eaves too.

"Front-Strike-Back-Defeat"—slang for the Cannon Chief of a mountain stronghold: the strongest fighter under the Zhaizhu.

Hearing it was truly Flying Eagle Mountain bandits, all Zhai Xiu retreated into their homes; merchants, with nowhere to go, huddled under the eaves.

Li Banfeng stood still, listening intently to the voice outside.

What Dao sect is this? Is this even a Wu Xiu?

I'm over a hundred meters from the canyon mouth—he must be at least as far away—how can his voice carry so loudly?

Could this Cannon Chief have trained the Lion's Roar Art?

Soon after, another voice echoed from outside: "Cannon Chief Luo, what brings you to Tie Men Bao?"

At this voice, everyone's tension immediately eased.

The lord had spoken.

Whether Zhai Xiu or merchant, all saw the lord as their greatest protector—that's why they willingly paid rent.

The Cannon Chief spoke again: "Our gang's grown, and we're short on cash. We'd like to borrow a bit—just ten thousand silver dollars. Will you pay now, or shall I return tomorrow to collect?"

Hearing "ten thousand silver dollars," every merchant frowned.

Li Banfeng couldn't see the Zhai Xiu's expressions.

Silence stretched outside the canyon. Then the lord spoke: "We're all poor folk. You ask for ten thousand silver dollars—we can't pay."

"So you refuse to lend? You refuse to show us face!"

"Cannon Chief Luo, I've known your Grand Chief for years. Everything must be reasonable. At year's end, I already gave your Grand Chief a gift. Now you come again for money—isn't that unreasonable?"

"We accepted your year-end gift, and we're grateful—but that matter's closed. Now we speak of today's matter—today's logic!"

"If you speak like that, first get past my iron gate!" The lord ordered. The great gate groaned, and a burst of steam erupted outward.

Luo Pao laughed, his laughter dripping with mockery: "Lord Zhou, I know your gate's strong—but we don't need to go through it!"

As he spoke, boulders tumbled from the cliffs on both sides of the canyon.

Each boulder was massive—ordinary men would need seven or eight to lift one.

Two merchants' carts were crushed to splinters; one Zhai Xiu's roof was pierced by a boulder.

Li Banfeng looked up at the cliff—hundreds of meters high, not a single figure visible.

Luo Pao shouted: "Those boulders are our greeting gift. From today, if I don't see ten thousand silver dollars each day, I'll take one of your heads!"

The bandits outside seemed to have left—but the gate remained shut.

Merchants trembled in fear, unable to move; Zhai Xiu remained locked in their homes, no one dared step out.

Soon after, several of Lord Zhou's men knocked on every door, asking each Zhai Xiu their opinion.

Ten thousand silver dollars meant pooling money from every household.

With two to three hundred households in Tie Men Bao, each had to contribute thirty or forty silver dollars—a sum no family could easily bear.

Lord Zhou wanted to know: fight or negotiate?

If they fought, they'd fight the Flying Eagle Mountain bandits to the death.

If they sought peace, they'd negotiate to pay less.

Wu Yongchao told the lord's steward: "I want to fight. If war comes, I'll stand in the front row."

The steward, Ma Dingfu, jotted it down in his small notebook: "Good. Next household."

Li Banfeng, using his thread-earring to listen, followed the sounds for over two miles.

Zhai Xiu were indeed mild-mannered—but mildness wasn't cowardice. Of the voices Li Banfeng heard, over seventy percent wanted to fight.

Sui Donglan, unaware of the situation, still hoped they wouldn't fight: "Don't fight—please, don't fight…"

Li Banfeng frowned: "What are you afraid of? You're not from Tie Men Bao—you don't have to fight."

"Master Merchant, you don't understand—if they fight, that great iron gate will never open again. We'll be trapped here until it's over."

Good.

Zhai Xiu defending their homes was their strongest tactic—I'd like to see how Flying Eagle Mountain's bandits break in.

At dusk, the great iron gate opened.

Hssss~ Hssss~

Still the side gate.

Already over?

The steward Ma Dingfu shouted: "Twenty percent of the households want to fight, eighty percent want peace. The lord follows the people's will—he's gone to negotiate with Flying Eagle Mountain. Outsiders, leave. The fortress closes tomorrow!"

Negotiate?

Eighty percent want to negotiate?

Did I mishear?

Or is there a larger population deeper in the fortress that I didn't hear?

As Li Banfeng sensed something suspicious, Ma Dingfu approached him: "Brother, you're doing business here—have you paid your rent?"

"Rent's due at month's end, isn't it?"

"Month-end rent is month-end rent. Entry requires an advance deposit. Everyone paid it when they first came—even if you're only selling here one day, the deposit's mandatory. If you refuse to pay, you won't leave today."

Li Banfeng nodded: "Fine. I'll pay. How much?"

"Five hundred!"

"Just this once?"

"That depends on whether you're an honest merchant. If you're honest, pay monthly rent going forward. If you're not, we have other ways to deal with you."

Li Banfeng blinked: "You think I'm dishonest?"

Ma Dingfu smiled: "I truly think you're not honest. You don't sell much, ask too many questions, and cause too much trouble."

Li Banfeng glanced at Sui Donglan: "Do you think she's honest?"

Ma Dingfu's face darkened: "You talk too much. Pay up!"

Li Banfeng handed Ma Dingfu five hundred silver dollars and left the fortress with Sui Donglan.

On the road, Sui Donglan pushed her cart, looking down on Li Banfeng.

"They ask for money, you pay—how can you call yourself a Merchant Brother?"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "That's not payment—it's a loan. He'll repay it."

"You only dare bully people like me," Sui Donglan snorted. "Lord Zhou of Tie Men Bao dares defy Flying Eagle Mountain—how dare you touch his people?"

Li Banfeng raised an eyebrow: "He didn't defy them—he negotiated."

"Negotiating is already a huge favor! You don't know how ruthless Flying Eagle Mountain's bandits are!"

"Have you seen them?"

"Yes. My old village was wiped out by He Zhenlei, Flying Eagle Mountain's Grand Chief. Everything was looted; over half the villagers were killed."

Li Banfeng paused: "How much silver or treasure did your village have?"

"It wasn't silver or treasure—it was harvest season. The bandits came for grain. They demanded too much; some families refused. The village was destroyed."

"Only Lord Zhou has wisdom—he knows not to fight Flying Eagle Mountain. Those bandits are reincarnated demons—you must bow when you must."

"What's Lord Zhou's name?"

"Zhou Anju. In a radius of hundreds of miles, no one doesn't know his name!" At the mention of Lord Zhou, Sui Donglan's face glowed with admiration.

Li Banfeng asked no more, handed Sui Donglan a cup of wine: "Rest well tomorrow. Come back to Tie Men Bao the day after tomorrow."

"If you don't come, your face will keep hurting—until you die."

Li Banfeng left. Sui Donglan snorted, returned home, and scrubbed her face for hours—but the words wouldn't fade.

Tie Men Bao was no longer safe. Once she tricked this fake merchant into giving her the antidote, she'd have to flee somewhere else to hide from her debts.

…

Li Banfeng returned to his portable dwelling and reviewed today's observations.

What he saw and what he heard contradicted each other too often.

The lord of Tie Men Bao—an eighth-layer Zhai Xiu.

What did eighth-layer mean?

In Pu Luo Province, that meant either the pinnacle of a wealthy clan or the head of a gang—he came here to be a fortress lord.

Perhaps Zhai Xiu avoided worldly strife, seeking to build a haven for their kind.

That can be understood.

But why did he bow to the bandits of Feiyingshan?

Most people in the fortress clearly wanted to fight, yet he dared not fight, and even lied, claiming eight out of ten people demanded peace?

Could it be that Feiyingshan's strength was too great, forcing Lord Zhou to choose submission?

This Feiyingshan problem has even more issues.

Their artillery chief is a Level Seven Wu Xiu; their Zhaizhu must be no lower than Level Seven.

A ruthless Level Seven cultivator going to become a bandit.

Not like Rong Yeguang, who holed up in old territory and dared challenge major clans.

He's the kind who raids villages, slaughters civilians, just to steal grain.

And yet this band of bandits has frightened Lord Zhou.

Li Banfeng asked the jukebox: "Wife, have you ever heard of Tiemenbao?"

"I've heard of it. Many Zhai Xiu want to go there; you wanted to go too, husband."

"I've already been there. I'm now near Tiemenbao. Their fortress master is Zhou Anju. Have you heard of him?"

"Zhou Anju? That name does sound like a Zhai Xiu's."

"He really is a Zhai Xiu, claiming Level Eight cultivation base."

"Level Eight Zhai Xiu?" His wife was also shocked. "I've never heard of such a person."

"Zhai Xiu rarely show themselves. I haven't heard of him, but that doesn't mean he lacks real ability."

"Have you heard of He Zhenlei of Feiyingshan?"

"I've heard of Feiyingshan—it's a place name. I've never heard of He Zhenlei."

Li Banfeng asked the wine gourd and the old teapot; neither of them knew.

Is such a famous mountain king's reputation limited only to the vicinity of Tiemenbao?

…

That night, Li Banfeng climbed up the cliff of Tiemenbao along the mountain path.

This mountain path wasn't easy to walk; Li Banfeng, a Level Four Lv Xiu, found it exhausting.

When he reached halfway up the mountain, the situation changed: there was a platform, five to six meters wide, clinging to the cliff and extending into the valley.

Li Banfeng understood: originally, those bandits had stood on this platform to roll stones down into the valley.

His guess was correct—the platform still held bamboo poles, ropes, pry bars, and several large stones laid aside as reserves.

But this puzzled Li Banfeng again.

Such a critical platform, surrounded by sheer cliffs on all sides, clearly a natural lookout post—why didn't Lord Zhou station guards here?

Li Banfeng sat on the platform, pondering the reason, when suddenly his earring whispered: "Master, there's movement."

Li Banfeng was startled—if discovered here, he'd have nowhere to flee; he'd have to hide inside his Personal Dwelling if necessary.

He was just thinking where to hide his key, when he realized the sound wasn't coming up the mountain—it was a quarrel below.

"I won't pay this money. Let them come fight me!" It was Wu Yongchao's voice.

"Won't pay!"

"Absolutely won't pay!"

Many others echoed the chant.

"We all agreed on peace earlier—why are you refusing to pay now?" That was Ma Dingfu's voice, one of Lord Zhou's stewards.

"Who agreed with you? I want to fight—we all want to fight!"

"This was decided by everyone. If you don't want to pay, leave early!"

"Why should we leave? The land is ours, the houses are ours—do you think you can just order us out?"

"I've lived in Tiemenbao for fifty years. When I came, Lord Zhou hadn't arrived yet. When there's trouble, we fight—why let bandits bully us?"

Li Banfeng sat silently on the platform, lost in thought.

He looked again at the tools on the platform.

Ropes, bamboo poles, pry bars…

Moving a stone clearly required many people and many tools.

The bandits of Feiyingshan didn't seem very formidable.

If such weak bandits could easily seize such a strategic position, what kind of man was this Level Eight fortress master?

…

In Yuezhou's Three Academies, He Jiaqing lay in bed and chuckled: "Missed again. Missed again."

Ling Miaoying explained: "I made full preparations, but I didn't expect…"

"It's fine, no problem. Set aside my friend for now. Focus on running the newspaper office, watch out for the Lu family, put in more effort. You've worked hard, brother."

"I understand."

Ling Miaoying wiped her sweat and ended the connection.

He Jiaqing said it was fine.

Was it really fine?

PS: An invisible enemy is terrifying.

(End of Chapter)