Chapter 249: The Saint

Li Banfeng returned to the Suishenju and told his wife about the meeting in ten days.

His wife pondered for a long while and said, "Husband, I feel you still shouldn't meet him."

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "If I don't meet him, how can I get out?"

His wife said in a solemn tone, "My precious husband, let's think of another way."

Honglian hissed, seemingly agreeing with the phonograph's view.

Xiang Xiang Hongying gave a cold snort and said, "You should know what kind of person someone who holds a broken cocoon is. As for what abilities you have yourself, you should have some measure of it in your heart. However, the ten days of time given is indeed quite long."

Li Banfeng was also very curious: why did the other party want to give him ten days?

Returning to Engong Village, Li Banfeng had people tighten their guard. He suspected that the Saint might suddenly strike during these ten days, catching them off guard.

In fact, he had the same plan; he wanted to give this Saint a surprise.

By the second day, the Saint had not appeared, nor had his disciples, but dozens of people had come to seek refuge in Engong Village.

Their reasons were much the same as the others: they could no longer endure the exploitation of Sage Mountain and the bullying of the Saint's disciples.

Among them, one woman had suffered the most.

This person was a Farming Cultivator in her early twenties, named Dong Qiaoqin.

She was an outsider who had entered the Farming Cultivator sect at thirteen, and at fifteen, she was abducted into Jingde Village and sold to a family as a daughter-in-law.

At sixteen, she consummated the marriage with her husband, and the couple had a pair of children.

Although she was only a first-layer Farming Cultivator, Dong Qiaoqin was proficient in various methods such as farming, sericulture, and poultry, and their life was considered happy.

By the time she was twenty, her husband had offended a disciple of the Saint and, along with their pair of children, was beaten to death in the village.

That day, she happened to be on her way to the neighboring village to buy silkworm seedlings, and she luckily escaped with her life.

When she returned to the village and received the tragic news that her family had been destroyed, Dong Qiaoqin almost committed suicide.

From then on, the villagers' attitude toward her changed.

The reason wasn't in the "suicide," but in the "almost."

In the eyes of the villagers of Jingde Village, Dong Qiaoqin should have died; she should have died together with her husband and children.

The fact that she didn't die proved that there was something fishy going on.

Especially Dong Qiaoqin's in-laws, who insisted that Dong Qiaoqin had colluded with the Saint's disciples and deliberately caused her husband's death.

They dared not reason with the Saint's disciples, so they vented all their anger on Dong Qiaoqin.

For two whole years, Dong Qiaoqin's family property was looted, and she suffered countless bullying and beatings.

First, her in-laws beat her, then the villagers of Jingde Village beat her, then the villagers of the surrounding villages beat her, and even the Saint's disciples came to beat her.

Why did the Saint's disciples also beat her?

Because he felt he hadn't taken advantage of her, but his reputation had been ruined by her, and this grudge had to be avenged.

Just half a month ago, Dong Qiaoqin was besieged by a group of villagers, the little grain left in her home was looted, and she was beaten so badly she couldn't get out of bed for days. Life was truly unbearable, so Dong Qiaoqin entered the mountains and forests to seek refuge in Engong Village.

Xiao Yeci was very sympathetic to this miserable woman and even cleared out a bed in her own room to live with her.

Dong Qiaoqin was indeed a capable woman. After settling in, she chose a piece of land on the edge of the forest, sowed a bag of fast-growing seeds, and began to farm.

This piece of land was not small. Although Dong Qiaoqin had techniques, she couldn't manage it alone, so Xiao Yeci called many members of the village to farm with her.

This group of people had all suffered in the villages, so farming skills were not a problem.

These bags of fast-growing seeds were very special, much faster than the seeds at Haichi Ridge. They were sown that day, headed the next day, and harvested on the third day, and the harvest was quite good.

Xiao Yeci was very happy and rewarded Dong Qiaoqin with thirty silver dollars. As an important member of the village, Xiao Yeci felt this was what she should do.

Dong Qiaoqin took the thirty silver dollars and went to other villages to buy back a lot of poultry and livestock.

Raising chickens and ducks, herding cattle and sheep—three days later, chicken coops, duck pens, and livestock sheds were all built.

Dong Qiaoqin went to the village to buy some silkworm seedlings, picked mulberry leaves, built a silkworm house, and led the women in the village to raise silkworms together.

"This is a good thing, this is a good thing..." Xiao Yeci repeatedly reminded herself that this was a good thing, but she felt that something seemed wrong.

Dong Qiaoqin also felt aggrieved: "Sister Xiao, where exactly did I do something wrong?"

Xiao Yeci couldn't say. She went to find Li Banfeng: "Benefactor, I always feel that this Miss Dong is not right, but I can't say what is not right."

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "I know she is not right."

"Is she sent by that Saint? Is her experience fabricated to deceive us?"

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "I went to Jingde Village to check; her experience is all true."

Xiao Yeci stammered for a long while and said, "Since it's true, it proves that I was overthinking."

Li Banfeng still shook his head: "You weren't overthinking; she is very likely sent by that Saint."

Xiao Yeci looked puzzled: "Then I don't understand."

Li Banfeng gave a bitter smile: "I don't understand either. She has suffered so much; why does she still want to do things for the Saint?"

Xiao Yeci said, "Let's drive her away. Benefactor, it's not convenient for you to act; just leave this to me."

Li Banfeng sighed: "What can you do? If you drive Dong Qiaoqin away, what will you tell the others?

Tell them that growing grain is wrong? Tell them that robbing grain is the right path?"

Xiao Yeci was speechless.

Li Banfeng looked at Xiao Yeci and said, "In the village, except for me, everyone has suffered more than you and your daughter, right?"

"Yes, they have been here longer than us."

"Why do you think there are so many villages in this place?"

"I, I don't know..."

"Did the Saint come first, or did these villages come first?"

"I don't know..."

"They have suffered so much, but as long as they can get by, they can forget all the suffering they have endured. Why do you think that is?"

"I, I still don't know..."

Xiao Yeci really didn't know, but she knew Li Banfeng was right. The people in the village now wanted to live a steady life; if they were asked to go out and rob again, they certainly wouldn't want to.

Li Banfeng lowered the brim of his hat, stood up, and said, "I'm going to meet the Saint tomorrow. You and your daughter should discuss it first. If I find a way out, are you willing to leave?"

Xiao Yeci remained silent.

Li Banfeng left the village, found a quiet place, and entered the Suishenju.

"Husband, tomorrow is the appointed day. Are you really going to meet that Saint?"

Li Banfeng was silent for a moment, did not answer, and instead asked about another matter: "Wife, does Xiang Xiang Hongying count as my Zhailing?"

His wife was a bit angry, but she couldn't lose her temper at this time: "Husband called her name to her face, and this slut also agreed to her face. Naturally, she counts as Husband's Zhailing."

Li Banfeng asked again: "Is the technique of the Deep Mansion and Large Courtyard useful on her?"

Xiang Xiang Hongying said in a cold tone: "Faithless man, evil woman, what are you plotting? I'll tell you clearly: don't think about calculating against me. I don't buy this from you."

Li Banfeng said: "I don't want to calculate against you; I just want to borrow something from you."

"What do you want to borrow? Want to borrow techniques from me?"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "I don't want to borrow techniques, not for now. To deal with that Saint, relying on techniques alone is useless.

I want to borrow some prestige from you."

The phonograph pondered for a moment and said: "Husband wants to scare that Saint?"

Xiang Xiang Hongying sneered: "So it was to use the method of a fox pretending to be a tiger. Madman, you'd better think carefully. If this matter is exposed by that Saint, can you still come back alive?"

Li Banfeng said: "Then borrow more prestige from me, so he has no way to expose it."

*Sshh sshh~*

"That's also a way," the phonograph turned its horn toward Xiang Xiang Hongying, "Listen to Husband, take out all the prestige you had on the battlefield."

"Evil woman, that madman is going crazy, and you're following him? Do you know how much risk you're taking by doing this? If that madman shows even a little bit of cowardice, his life will be gone!

The current plan should be to hide and not meet him. That madman is not a gentleman anyway; it's just a verbal agreement, why be so concerned?"

"Hide and not meet him?" Li Banfeng asked, "Hide where? Hide until when? This is his territory; sooner or later, won't I fall into his hands?"

Li Banfeng was right. As long as he didn't leave Jianren Ridge, his life would always be in the Saint's hands.

The phonograph made up its mind and wrapped Xiang Xiang Hongying in steam: "This matter is settled."

Xiang Xiang Hongying said angrily: "You say it's settled, so it's settled? Why should I agree to you?"

The phonograph said: "We've known each other for so many years; you should know my temperament. If you help me, I naturally won't treat you badly.

As for those things between us, as long as you don't want to talk about them, I can stop forcing you, as long as you sincerely help my husband this one time."

The next day, sixty-four disciples from Sage Peak, carrying a palanquin, went down the mountain.

Along the way, every time they passed a village, all the villagers would kneel and welcome them at the entrance of the village an hour in advance. Until the Saint left, no one dared to stand up, and they had to kneel for another hour to express their reverence for the Saint.

At ten o'clock in the evening, the palanquin arrived at Engong Village.

Hearing that the Saint had arrived in person, everyone in Engong Village hid in the caves, leaving only Xiao Yeci and her daughter to stay in the village, emboldened.

Li Banfeng sat in the wooden house, making tea.

The white-clothed disciple walked into the house first and said to Li Banfeng: "Master is waiting for you outside the door. He said to let you go out to talk."

Li Banfeng shook his head and said: "That won't do. Tell him to come in to talk."

The white-clothed disciple relayed it truthfully. The Saint laughed and walked down from the palanquin.

From the moment his feet touched the ground, all the accompanying disciples knelt on the ground, their foreheads pressed tightly against the ground.

If Li Banfeng hadn't previously issued an order forbidding kneeling, it was estimated that a large area in Engong Village would have knelt down.

The Saint entered the wooden house and sat opposite Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng poured a cup of tea and drank it himself.

The Saint smiled.

By his appearance, this person seemed to be in his forties, also wearing a round-topped hat, with thin cheeks, a fair complexion, and two thin mustaches.

It could be seen that this was a person of great status, but it was completely different from the image of the Saint in Li Banfeng's imagination.

The Saint asked Li Banfeng: "Have I made myself clear?"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "You haven't said it yet."

"You are a smart person; you should have seen it clearly without me saying it."

Li Banfeng did not deny it: "I suppose I have seen it clearly."

The Saint nodded slightly and said: "Since you have seen it clearly, I will only ask you one thing: do you want to leave?"

Li Banfeng nodded: "I do."

The Saint took a teacup and poured himself a cup of tea: "That makes things easy. You leave tonight. I will let you leave, and never come back again."

Li Banfeng held the teacup and said: "Not enough."

"Not enough?" The Saint doubted he had heard correctly, "What do you want?"

"I want to take some people away. Whoever wants to follow me, I want to take them all."

The Saint shook his head: "There is no such precedent."

Li Banfeng replied calmly: "Then I'll trouble you to set a precedent."

"You still haven't seen it clearly." A domineering aura surged from the Saint's body, and the entire wooden house shook a few times.

Lu Chunying, hiding in the distance, almost peed herself.

Xiao Yeci had already peed herself, but she was too embarrassed to say so.

The disciples kneeling outside were shaking like chaff.

Li Banfeng did not shake.

He really wanted to shake, but he restrained himself.

He raised his head slightly, his eyes fixed tightly on the Saint.

A wave of prestige struck, evenly matched with the Saint's domineering aura.

Li Banfeng calmly took a sip of tea: "I think I see it very clearly."

The Saint frowned, and the remaining half cup of tea shook gently in the cup.

PS: How many people can Banfeng take away?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 250 =====