Chapter 217: Knock on the Door (This Chapter is High-Octane)

Li Banfeng feared someone might strike from the shadows.

Someone who needed a crowbar just to move a rock down a cliff—could such a person climb down a seventy-meter cliff to kill a third-layer Zhai Xiu?

Li Banfeng didn't believe it.

He suspected someone in Tiemenbao had killed Lao Hu.

Lao Hu refused to pay and wanted to fight the bandits of Feiyingshan.

He was old, had been in Tiemenbao longer than anyone else—even longer than the fortress lord—and such a man was an easy target for the fortress lord to eliminate.

Lao Hu is dead now—who's next?

In Li Banfeng's view, the next one should be Wu Yongchao.

Wu Yongchao also favored resistance, and his cultivation base was high—clearly a threat to the fortress lord.

Why did Li Banfeng attribute all the suspicious points to the fortress lord?

Yes, in Li Banfeng's eyes, the most suspicious person right now was the fortress lord.

An eighth-layer Zhai Xiu couldn't stop bandits from breaking in?

Either his cultivation was fake, or he was colluding with the bandits to oppress these honest folk together.

Li Banfeng repeatedly warned: "Before you hear me knock, don't open the door under any circumstances."

Wu Yongchao didn't understand.

The Zhai Spirit reminded him: "Child, listen to him. As long as you stay inside the house, those bastards won't dare touch you—even if they truly come, we'll fight them together, you and me!"

Wu Yongchao thought Li Banfeng couldn't hear the Zhai Spirit, but Li Banfeng heard every word clearly—he possessed the Skill of Perceiving Spiritual Sound.

This honest man had good fortune indeed: he met a good Zhai Spirit, and he met a good "Huo Lang."

Li Banfeng prepared to leave, but Wu Yongchao stopped him: "Don't go out—stay here with me. If the fortress lord finds out…"

Li Banfeng smiled: "You leave a stranger to stay in your house without consulting your Zhai Spirit? That's a bad habit."

"I have a way to keep the fortress lord from knowing. Remember this: when you hear me knock, open the door for me."

If the fortress lord were truly an eighth-layer Zhai Xiu, I'd already been exposed.

If the fortress lord's cultivation isn't too high, I'll play with him properly.

At three a. ., Li Banfeng took his sickle and, relying on his Lv Xiu's agility, climbed up the cliff face.

The sheer cliff was hard to scale; his hands bled from the friction.

The wine gourd whispered in his ear: "Young brother, are you really going to get involved in this?"

"Yes." Li Banfeng answered bluntly.

"These honest folk won't necessarily be useful to you in the future."

"It has nothing to do with usefulness."

Li Banfeng reached the platform, rested briefly in his Personal Dwelling, and returned to the platform just before six.

People were already there: eleven in total—ten laborers and one foreman, all carefully preparing rocks.

Seeing Li Banfeng, the foreman jumped in fright and whispered: "Who are you?"

Everyone stopped working and glared at Li Banfeng with murderous intent.

Li Banfeng lowered his voice: "The gang sent me to check. Just keep working—don't make a sound."

The foreman sized him up: "Sent by the gang? I've never seen you before."

Li Banfeng frowned: "You haven't seen me because you weren't meant to. Why ask so many questions?"

"Which boss do you follow?"

"Still asking?" Li Banfeng's brow darkened.

The foreman grew nervous—Li Banfeng's appearance was intimidating.

True enough: anyone unknown in the gang must be someone important—don't ask casually.

"Then, uh, you at least have to give your surname—we need to report to our boss."

"One-foot Gate (Li)." Li Banfeng replied.

The code of "throwing vines and tracing roots"—basic underworld jargon—he understood it perfectly.

"Got it." The foreman dared ask no more and urged his men to get back to work.

Their task: wait until Luo Dagui finished speaking, then roll the rocks down.

Eleven men—quite a number.

Taking out so many at once without making too much noise worried Li Banfeng.

But seeing how they worked, he relaxed.

As he'd expected, using shoulder poles and crowbars to move rocks meant they were almost certainly not experts.

From their strength alone, these men weren't even cultivators.

Li Banfeng took a single step behind the foreman, clamped his left hand over his mouth, slashed his throat with his right hand, and killed him instantly.

All were focused on their work; Li Banfeng killed nearly half before anyone reacted.

"You're—"

Li Banfeng thrust out his iron ruler, piercing the man's throat.

Five thugs charged at him together, fighting desperately.

Li Banfeng swung his twin axes, cutting them all down—dead and half-dead alike—and sent them all into his Personal Dwelling.

After tidying up, Li Banfeng walked down the mountain.

…

At six a. ., Ma Dingfu came to knock. Wu Yongchao hid behind the door, silent.

"Little Wu, you're a man—hiding like this won't solve anything. I know you're short on cash—tell me how much you can pay now; if it's not enough, I'll lend you the rest."

"If you keep hiding like this, it's not right. Zhai Xius aren't cowards."

"If you truly can't afford it, move out. Lingering here and endangering everyone's lives isn't what a man should do!"

No matter how much Ma Dingfu pleaded, Wu Yongchao refused to open the door.

…

At the mountain ravine entrance, Sui Donglan hid among the tall grass, waiting for the "Huo Lang" to appear.

By nearly eight a. ., the Huo Lang hadn't come—then, WOOOO! WOOOO! The steam whistle blared, and the steam gate slammed shut.

Trouble—bandits are coming.

Sui Donglan wanted to run, but her legs turned weak.

After struggling for a long while, she finally stood up—only to see over a dozen burly men approaching in the distance.

These men wore thick long robes, large leather hats, and grotesque masks; they carried a wooden crate one meter high, one meter wide, and over two meters long to the valley entrance.

Sui Donglan scrambled into the grass, clamped her hand over her mouth, wept silently, and felt warm liquid gushing down her pant legs.

These were the bandits of Feiyingshan!

That damned Huo Lang made me wait here—and now I've run into them!

CLANG!

Several burly men set the crate down, opened the lid, turned a crank, and a large horn—eighty centimeters in diameter—rose from inside.

What is this thing?

The burly men scanned the surroundings, as if checking for other witnesses.

Sui Donglan bit her lip, silent.

"Brother Zhou, are you home?" Luo Dagui shouted through the horn.

A voice suddenly boomed from the horn, shaking Sui Donglan's chest.

So this was how they shouted—no wonder the sound was so loud.

Sui Donglan remembered the Feiyingshan village massacres—each time, the voice had been this deafening, enough to scare people to death.

She'd thought it was the power of a high-level cultivator—never imagined it came from this device.

The urine stopped.

Sui Donglan no longer felt quite so terrified.

"Brother Zhou, yesterday you asked me to delay payment—I agreed. Today I didn't kill anyone."

"But we must be clear: you said 'delay'—what does that mean? Ten thousand taels you can't pay, but three thousand you surely can—let me take three thousand today!"

Upon hearing this, all the Zhai Xius in the fortress lit up with hope.

There's a reprieve!

The fortress lord is still powerful—he negotiated it down.

Three thousand taels are manageable—ten taels per household is enough.

As they rejoiced, they heard another shout from outside: "Brother Zhou, no reply? Then I won't be polite anymore!"

Why didn't the fortress lord reply?

Didn't he want to pay three thousand taels?

Luo Dagui said he wouldn't be polite—was he about to roll rocks again?

The Zhai Xius were terrified, yet they all stayed inside their homes—even if they died from falling rocks, they wouldn't abandon their houses.

Ma Dingfu stood silently in the middle of the path, waiting for the rocks to fall.

These Zhai Xius just need beating.

Long minutes passed—no rocks fell.

Ma Dingfu was puzzled; so was Luo Dagui, standing outside the gate.

These bastards didn't hear clearly, did they?

"I'm not playing nice anymore!" he roared again; someone behind him turned a wheel on the crate, the sound louder than before.

They waited a long time, but no stone fell.

Luo Dagui panicked—he realized something might have gone wrong.

"Fine, Boss Zhou, I don't want to spoil the peace today. Three thousand silver dollars—I'll come tomorrow to collect them. A few days later, I'll come back for another three thousand. If you keep stalling, we stick to the old rule: one head per day!"

Boss Zhou finally spoke: "Luo Paotou, you're ruthless. I'm afraid of you. I'll send you three thousand silver dollars tomorrow."

All the home cultivators inside the fortress were stunned.

What does that mean?

How is that ruthless?

No stone fell from the cliff, no one died inside the fortress—how is that ruthless?

Sui Donglan was also puzzled. She had always assumed Boss Zhou negotiated face-to-face with Luo Dagui, but she hadn't seen him anywhere—only heard his voice.

Was Boss Zhou shouting from inside the fortress?

He's afraid to come out?

That's a poor show indeed.

Luo Dagui waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave quickly.

Sui Donglan exhaled deeply, thinking they'd survived this ordeal.

Ding dang! Ding dang!

At the sound of the drum, Sui Donglan wet herself again.

Damn it, why is he showing up now?!

Li Banfeng, carrying a sack and shaking a rattle drum, arrived before them.

"Don't rush off," Li Banfeng said seriously. "Let's discuss this again. One head per day is too much—how about one every two days?"

Luo Dagui was startled, then roared: "Who are you?"

"A peddler!" Li Banfeng smiled. "I see these folks in Tiemenbao are honest, don't know how to bargain—I'll negotiate for them. One head every two days—how's that?"

Luo Dagui said nothing; his dozen or so henchmen all drew their weapons.

Li Banfeng grinned: "You're silent—that means you agree. Count these heads—see how many days they cover!"

He dropped the sack to the ground; eleven severed heads spilled out.

Li Banfeng said: "One head every two days—that's twenty-two days. Luo Paotou, is the accounting right?"

Luo Dagui shouted: "Attack him!"

The dozen henchmen charged Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng swung his sickle at a man's face; the man reared back to dodge.

Li Banfeng twisted his wrist, slashed sideways, and cut the man's throat.

Dodging one strike proves this man has some cultivation.

The others all seem to have some cultivation too.

Li Banfeng shouted loudly: "Open the gate! Fight them!"

He was close to the loudspeaker; it was still picking up sound, and the fortress heard clearly—Li Banfeng was calling for the gate to open.

He's calling for the gate!

Wu Yongchao heard it clearly inside his room.

The home spirit said: "He said he'd call the gate—I thought he meant our house door, but it's the fortress gate! What do we do now?"

"I must open it for him!" That's the home cultivator's stubbornness!

"No, don't be reckless—watch out for your boss!"

"I must open it for him!" Wu Yongchao rushed outside, heading straight for the boiler room.

Ma Dingfu was startled: "What are you doing?"

"Open the gate! Fight the bandits!"

"No, I'm telling you, this won't do—no one opens it without the boss's order…" Ma Dingfu quietly followed behind Wu Yongchao, clutching a dagger.

They were less than ten steps apart; Wu Yongchao suddenly turned, brandishing a paintbrush, and flicked it forward—straight into Ma Dingfu's chest.

Ma Dingfu clutched his chest and collapsed; the dagger slipped from his hand.

"Trying to ambush me!" Wu Yongchao gritted his teeth. "You're not even worthy!"

He's an honest man—but honesty doesn't mean he's a fool!

Li Banfeng warned him repeatedly—he couldn't afford to be unprepared.

"Bastard, did you kill Old Hu?!" Wu Yongchao kicked Ma Dingfu; the man didn't move—he was clearly dead.

Wu Yongchao stormed into the boiler room and shouted: "Open the gate!"

Everyone stared at each other, confused by Wu Yongchao's meaning.

Wu Yongchao didn't explain—he rushed forward and yanked the valve.

Several boiler workers rushed to block him: "No—this requires the boss's order."

Wu Yongchao and the workers began fighting inside the boiler room.

…

Outside, the fighting grew fiercer. Li Banfeng felled two men with his sickle; two others tried to sneak up from behind—Tang Dao suddenly unsheathed, one slash, one head; another slash, another head; then turned and cut down the man charging straight at him.

"Every strike takes a head!" Tang Dao shrank instantly, retreating into Li Banfeng's pocket.

The teapot spilled tea, scalding two to death.

The wine gourd sprayed mist; Li Banfeng struck a match, burning three alive.

The pendulum struck a man's neck, instantly draining him dry, then struck another's skull.

None of these men had cultivation beyond Level Two.

Li Banfeng was a dual-Level-Four cultivator—he wiped out over a dozen henchmen in the blink of an eye.

Only Luo Dagui remained, calm and composed.

"Impressive skill," Luo Dagui said, adjusting his sleeve and retracting the loudspeaker—now silent. He turned to Li Banfeng: "Which path do you follow?"

Li Banfeng shook his rattle drum: "A peddler—naturally, the peddler's path."

"We've never had a grudge. When I first entered the path, I even took your powder—it's a connection."

"Is that so?" Li Banfeng feigned surprise. "You must've taken my younger brother's powder. But tell me—what sect are you from?"

Judging by your demeanor, you're no Wu Xiu—aren't you a Cheater Xiu?"

Luo Dagui nodded: "You're right—I'm a Cheater Xiu, Level Seven."

Level Seven!

He got the sect wrong—but the cultivation level right. This bastard really is Level Seven.

Li Banfeng stepped back half a pace.

Luo Dagui chuckled: "Friend, whether you're senior or junior, you've taken enough advantage today, settled enough scores. I advise you to stop while you're ahead.

You keep claiming to be a peddler, but if I'm not mistaken, you're nowhere near his level. If I truly moved against you, you couldn't survive one strike.

I'm not touching you because I fear you're truly connected to the peddlers—I don't want to offend the real peddlers over this petty business at Tiemenbao.

You know the banner of Feiyingshan on this land. There's no need to make this feud permanent. Let's each give a little today, and call it quits. What do you say?"

The oppressive aura made Li Banfeng's hands tremble.

Could a dual-Level-Four cultivator defeat a Level Seven?

Two Level Fours add up to Level Eight, right?

Nonsense! You can't calculate it like that!

Is he really Level Seven?

Would a Level Seven cultivator bring so many weaklings to fight?

As Li Banfeng pondered, he heard the steam gate groan.

Hssss! Hssss! Hssss!

Wu Yongchao had felled all the workers in the boiler room and opened the gate.

Li Banfeng gritted his teeth!

Inside the fortress were two or three hundred home cultivators—this was their own doorstep.

The strongest among them reached only Level Four.

Was there a chance to win?

Li Banfeng sighed: "Fine. Let's each give a little today."

"Good!" Luo Dagui nodded, praising: "Knows when to advance, knows when to retreat—you'll accomplish great things…"

Before he finished speaking, Li Banfeng took a swift step forward.

If home cultivators can't even defend their own gate, what use are they?

Fight!

Li Banfeng swung his sickle at Luo Dagui's throat.

He didn't expect to land the blow—he only sought the initiative.

This Luo Dagui is almost certainly not Level Seven. I'll pressure him now—when the home cultivators burst out, we'll strike from both sides and fight for…

The head fell.

Li Banfeng's blade swept across—Luo Dagui's head rolled off.

He this...

Li Banfeng picked up Luo Dagui's head and stared at it for a long time, his thoughts swirling.

With this level of cultivation, how could he be a cannon leader in a mountain stronghold?

Are bandits' standards really this low?

Where the hell did his intimidating aura come from?

Is this some kind of deceptive cultivator's talent?

The steam door opened, and Wu Yong stood at the threshold, watching the "peddler" nervously.

Behind him, a group of Zhai Xiu watched the "peddler" with equal tension.

Li Banfeng raised Luo Dagui's head and shouted to the crowd: "The cannon leader of Feiyingshan is dead!"

The Zhai Xiu couldn't believe the "peddler" had killed someone from Feiyingshan.

They didn't understand why the "peddler" was helping them.

They couldn't even believe the head in the "peddler's" hand was truly Luo Dagui's.

Seeing their skeptical glances, Li Banfeng removed Luo Dagui's mask: "Look closely—do you recognize him? Do you remember him?"

"You're Zhai Xiu. Whoever comes to your door must have his head taken—defend your home, that's the dignity of a Zhai Xiu!"

The Zhai Xiu were moved; many even wept.

Li Banfeng himself thought he'd spoken quite movingly.

A woman cried out: "Baozhu!"

Li Banfeng froze.

What master?

They're calling me Baozhu?

This is just too...

Li Banfeng felt embarrassed.

Wu Yong said, voice trembling: "You killed the Baozhu."

He means...

This is...

Baozhu?

Li Banfeng stared at Luo Dagui's head for a moment.

He said softly: "I'm fucked..."

PS: How could he be the Baozhu?

Didn't the Baozhu just speak to him a moment ago?

(End of Chapter)