Chapter 221

Ma Dingfu couldn't explain Zhou Anju's origins?

"Are you being too insincere?" Li Banfeng slashed his face again.

Ma Dingfu gasped painfully: "I truly don't know. Ever since I came to Feiyingshan, Zhou Anju was already the lord of Tiemenbao.

I heard he once led men to attack Feiyingshan—we were his mortal enemies.

Until one day, our Grand Chief summoned me back to the mountain and ordered me to go to Tiemenbao. That's when I learned Zhou Anju was our Grand Chief's friend.

He said Lord Zhou was an extraordinary man, with cultivation base beyond measure and schemes beyond measure, and told me to serve Lord Zhou henceforth—whatever Lord Zhou ordered, I would do."

"Did Lord Zhou order you to sleep with his wife?"

Ma Dingfu explained: "In our Grand Chief's words, Lord Zhou could do anything. I always held great respect for him.

When I arrived at Tiemenbao, he made me his personal attendant, publicly declared me a Zhai Xiu, and even gave me a house.

At first, he heavily relied on me—he discussed secret matters with me. Until one day, he quarreled with Yu Hequan inside the fortress, and everything changed."

"How did it change?"

"Yu Hequan was a second-layer Zhai Xiu, newly arrived, young and arrogant. He spoke disrespectfully to Lord Zhou.

Lord Zhou ignored him, but he grew bolder—he shoved Lord Zhou while speaking.

Whether intentional or not, the shove was strong. Lord Zhou staggered back half a step, nearly falling to the ground.

I was the only one beside Lord Zhou at the time, and no one else was around. Lord Zhou just laughed it off.

But when we returned to the residence, Lord Zhou ordered me to kill Yu Hequan."

A group of Zhai Xiu stared, eyes blazing.

Many among them knew Yu Hequan—he had died shortly after arriving at the fortress.

They felt no affection for him, barely remembered him.

But they recalled Lord Zhou had claimed Yu Hequan was killed by bandits for leaving the fortress without permission!

So Yu Hequan had died at Ma Dingfu's hands!

How much blood was on Ma Dingfu's hands?

How many Zhai Xiu had died at the hands of Zhou Anju and Ma Dingfu?

These two beasts!

Someone spat at Ma Dingfu; others shouted curses.

Li Banfeng ordered the crowd to quiet down—he had urgent questions: "How did you kill Yu Hequan?"

Killing a Zhai Xiu inside his own residence was extremely difficult—even if you were one layer higher, success was unlikely.

Ma Dingfu said: "Lord Zhou said he understood Yu Hequan's mind. His disrespect wasn't mere insolence—it was an act to impress, to gain Lord Zhou's favor.

He told me to trick Yu Hequan, saying Lord Zhou had a mission for him outside the fortress.

Yu Hequan fell for it. As soon as he left the fortress, I ambushed him and cut off his head. Then I told the fortress he'd been killed by bandits.

At first, I didn't understand. Yu Hequan was loyal, if crude. With proper discipline, he could've been useful. Why kill him?

But after killing him, Lord Zhou distanced himself from me. He stopped sharing secrets.

I thought maybe Yu Hequan shouldn't have been killed—that Lord Zhou regretted it and blamed me.

After many days, I finally understood. It wasn't about Yu Hequan—it was about that stumble.

Yu Hequan wasn't a high-level cultivator. Yet he shoved Lord Zhou and made him stumble. What was Lord Zhou's cultivation level? It was unclear—maybe not as profound as claimed.

Yu Hequan was dead. Only I knew what really happened.

Sometimes I wondered—if I killed Lord Zhou one day, would his position become mine?

I only thought it. I never revealed it. But I suspect he found out."

No need to suspect—he definitely found out.

As a fraud with almost no cultivation, how could he have ruled Tiemenbao for decades? Every thought was visible to him.

Ma Dingfu looked up at Li Banfeng: "Brother, you killed Lord Zhou and toppled me. Now you're the new lord of Tiemenbao. I, Ma Dingfu, will obey you in all things—through fire and water, I'll die without hesitation!"

Li Banfeng laughed: "Do you think they're fools—or am I a fool? One promise of 'through fire and water, I'll die without hesitation,' and you expect me to spare your life?"

"Brother, what do you want? If you'll spare my life, I'll do anything!"

"Fine. We'll talk later, alone," Li Banfeng turned to the Zhai Xiu. "Stop standing there. Search the fortress—find any remaining followers of Zhou Anju and Ma Dingfu. Capture them and deal with them.

Summon everyone from the residence. Give Zhou Anju's wives and servants some severance money and order them to leave—never set foot in Tiemenbao again.

Don't go near the eastern annex. Do you know which way east is? Clear everyone out of the residence immediately.

Go to the main gate and check if it's locked.

Climb halfway up the hill and search the cliff—there's a platform there. Check if anyone's hiding there.

From now on, someone must guard that platform. Take turns standing watch.

Do you understand what I mean by 'platform'? Do you know how to get there?

Gao Chao! Bring the roster. Send a group up there right away. Don't wait until Feiyingshan attacks and we're unprepared!"

…

Everyone scattered to carry out orders. Earlier, they'd planned to beat this "peddler" to death. Today, for some reason, they obeyed him without question.

Li Banfeng picked up Ma Dingfu and took him to a secluded corner, entering his personal dwelling.

"Oh, my dear husband, back with groceries? What's the quality today?"

"A third-layer body cultivator. A fine catch!"

"Third-layer?" the wife sighed. "It'll do."

Li Banfeng frowned: "My dear wife, you've grown picky. A third-layer cultivator, and you say 'it'll do'?"

The wife smiled: "I don't mind. Even those white lambs I ate before were passable. But Honglian—the bitch—hasn't eaten in days."

Li Banfeng shoved Ma Dingfu before the phonograph. Ma Dingfu's soul nearly fled his body.

Chirp-chirp~

The phonograph chuckled: "Oh, my dear husband, I won't be polite then."

"Wife, wait. Let me ask him a few more questions."

Ma Dingfu screamed: "Brother, ask me anything—I'll answer! Just spare my life!"

"I know where Zhou Anju hid his money. I know where he stored his magic treasures.

I know all his wives—whose bed was good, who was beautiful—I know it all!"

"Since you know it all, tell me one thing at a time. Be precise."

Ma Dingfu recounted everything he knew. When Li Banfeng asked about Lao He, Ma Dingfu couldn't answer.

He knew little about Lao He. He only knew Lao He was a Zhai Xiu who lived in the eastern annex—no one was allowed inside that building.

Li Banfeng knew a Zhai Spirit lived there, but he didn't know what state the Zhai Spirit was in—and Ma Dingfu didn't either.

Since he didn't know, there was no point tormenting him further.

"Wife, mealtime!"

Ma Dingfu screamed: "I told you everything! Why kill me now?"

"You still owe me five hundred copper coins."

"I paid it back…"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "Five hundred copper coins with compounded interest—do you think a few words can settle that?"

After eating, the wife handed the corpse to Honglian, then asked Li Banfeng: "My dear, you mentioned the Zhai Spirit earlier. What's its origin? Why are you so concerned?"

Li Banfeng recounted his encounter with Lao He. The wife found it unsurprising.

"Some Zhai Spirits are like that—they never allow their Zhai Xiu to leave their sight. Lao He died at the Zhai Spirit's hands because he'd signed a contract."

"Sight?" Li Banfeng didn't understand. "Lao He's residence was in the eastern annex. The Zhai Spirit should be inside. What exactly do you mean by 'sight'? Does it mean anywhere the Zhai Spirit can see?"

"No. The 'sight' I mean isn't visual—it's the extent of the Zhai Spirit's power."

Li Banfeng was even more confused: "Can a Zhai Spirit's power extend beyond the residence?"

"Yes. There are two common cases. First: the Zhai Spirit is extremely strong, the Zhai Xiu extremely weak. The Zhai Xiu cannot restrain the Zhai Spirit, allowing it to reach outward.

Han Xue—the bitch—was like that in life. Her Zhai Xiu was only first-layer, while she had sixth-layer power. Han Xue's force could extend beyond the residence.

For such an extension to occur, two conditions are needed: one, the residence must permit it; two, someone must lend power."

Luo Yuni was the original owner of that residence. She lived there for years, even died inside. Out of that bond, the residence likely permitted her actions.

"But what about 'someone lending power'?" Li Banfeng directly asked the pendulum.

The pendulum spoke vaguely: "I remember none of these things."

She'd had her soul extracted—only her spirit remained. Forgetting was normal.

The wife knew the reason: "The 'someone lending power' refers to those tormented souls. Not fresh, but I've eaten my fill."

The tormented souls hanging from the trees.

So that's what "someone lending power" meant.

Li Banfeng stared at the phonograph for a moment: "Wife, when we met, you were so powerful—I had no cultivation at all. With such a gap, didn't you ever think of extending your power beyond the residence?"

"Hmph!" the wife scowled. "What do you take me for? Without your permission, I never stepped beyond the inner gate!"

"That's my good wife!" Li Banfeng was moved. He hugged her tightly, kissing her for a long time.

Tong Lian wanted to spit at the phonograph.

You wicked woman—you wanted out back then. Did you ask the residence if it would allow it?

The phonograph continued: "The second case is when the Zhai Xiu uses the fifth-layer technique: Deep Residence, Grand Courtyard.

When a Zhai Xiu reaches fifth-layer, he learns the technique to draw part of the Zhai Spirit's power from within the residence into the courtyard.

The 'courtyard' I mean isn't the walled yard—it's the area within the Zhai Spirit's reach."

The higher one's level, the greater the harmony with the mansion spirit, the more familiar one becomes with the surroundings of the mansion, and the more power one can draw forth.

That old He you fought, he drew forth considerable power—perhaps his cultivation base was above the sixth level, or perhaps it was because he knew the mansion intimately.

That's it—this is Old He's technique! He truly knows the mansion inside and out.

He channeled the mansion spirit's power throughout the entire estate—that's why this battle was so grueling for me.

This is only a fraction of its power.

If I had entered the side building and confronted the complete mansion spirit directly, I'd be dead already!

Hssss~

The phonograph sighed: "Old He went to great lengths to lure the Young Master into the mansion, hoping to use the mansion spirit to harm him—lock the door, and let the spirit kill. This is a common, despicable technique among mansion cultivators."

Li Banfeng let out a dry laugh: "Actually, it's not that despicable."

The Lady continued: "Moreover, from his technique, you can already discern traces of his mansion spirit's nature."

When the Young Master was inside that building, there were stairs at first, then they vanished; at the end of the corridor, a door suddenly appeared—that must be the technique of Cutting Paths and Opening Ways."

When the Young Master reached the courtyard, shattered stones flew everywhere—that must be the technique of Crushing Ten Thousand Rivers. Old He's mansion spirit is likely a high-level Traveling Cultivator!"

Traveling Cultivator!

Li Banfeng was startled, then asked: "Lady, you just mentioned this 'Cutting Paths and Opening Ways' technique—what exactly is it?"

The Lady fell silent for a moment, then said: "Young Master, why are you so interested in Traveling Cultivator techniques? All Traveling Cultivators are evil—they all deserve to die!"

Li Banfeng straightened his expression: "I share your enmity, Lady. To know oneself and know the enemy is to ensure victory in a hundred battles!"

"With those words from you, this humble servant has nine-tenths confidence! Young Master, are you bold?"

Li Banfeng straightened his spine: "Bold!"

"Dare you go lure out that mansion spirit?"

Li Banfeng puffed out his chest: "I dare not!"

"Young Master, don't fear—this servant has a foolproof plan!"

……

Ling Miaoying took a deep breath, opened the wooden box, and pulled out a telephone without a cord, then dialed the number.

The call connected quickly, and He Jiaqing's voice came through: "What is it?"

He had been sleeping and was awakened—his mood was poor.

"Jiaqing, it's like this—the hook at Tiemenbao has broken."

"When did it break?"

"It must have been… these past few days…" Ling Miaoying couldn't specify the exact time, as he hadn't monitored that hook recently.

He Jiaqing fell silent for a moment, then snapped: "Do you know how important that hook is? Do you know how important that soul is?"

Ling Miaoying did not answer.

That hook was previously controlled by Ling Miaowen; Ling Miaoying knew very little about the hidden circumstances behind it.

He Jiaqing's temper cooled slightly: "It's not entirely your fault—I suspect Zhou Anju, that old conman, discovered it. Don't move against him yet. Wait for me to find an opportunity to give him a warning, then you can reattach the hook."

The connection ended. Ling Miaoying was drenched in sweat, wondering whether he should now report everything to He Jiaqing.

He Jiaqing rubbed his temples—recent events had given him a pounding headache.

……

"Damn, it really hurts." Jiang Xiang, Yaowang Hall, Hallmaster Luo Zhengnan, pulled an antenna out of his skull.

"So that soul was at Tiemenbao," Luo Zhengnan smiled. "I must tell the Boss—this soul's value isn't less than that of the Red Lotus. Doesn't that earn me the position of Deputy Boss?"

PS: A soul compared to the Red Lotus? Are you joking?

(End of Chapter)