Chapter 251: Worry-Free Terrace

Li Banfeng led a group of twenty-seven people, including Xiao Yeci, heading south.

The mountain path grew narrower and more rugged; by two in the morning, most could no longer walk, and even Xiao Yeci stumbled with fatigue.

Li Banfeng ordered Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying to lead the group in setting up camp, then claimed he was scouting ahead and did not rest at the camp—he returned to his Personal Dwelling.

Though others struggled, this distance meant nothing to Li Banfeng; he felt no sleepiness and took the opportunity to carefully read the historical text given by the Sage.

As soon as he opened the book, Li Banfeng grew sleepy.

It wasn't that he disliked learning—he could endure the vertical, right-to-left ancient format, and the obscure, archaic grammar.

But annalistic history? He couldn't bear it.

Annalistic histories record events along a timeline; for historians, they're ideal for verifying events and their eras, but to Li Banfeng, it was nothing but a dry ledger.

This book chronicled the history of a dynasty called Da Huan, and its first sentence was a date.

In the sixth year of Xiankang, the Dongping region suffered a severe drought; the Emperor dispatched the Grand Tutor to provide relief.

This was about famine relief.

In April, Emperor Xiankang had a son.

In May, Emperor Xiankang went hunting outside the city.

…

Li Banfeng scrolled through to year's end and found no further mention of the relief effort.

Annalistic histories are already tedious, but this one was incomplete—not beginning with the founding emperor, but starting mid-dynasty.

No beginning, no end, no narrative continuity; Li Banfeng's eyelids grew heavy, and soon he fell asleep.

The next day, Li Banfeng awoke to the chime of Mengde.

"Master, on such a beautiful morning, allow me to sing you 'I Want You'—"

"I want you"

"By my side"

"Through the night"

"Until tomorrow"

"I want you"

"..."

Thwack!

Li Banfeng hurled the historical text onto Mengde's face, pulled on his clothes, and left his Personal Dwelling.

An alarm, no matter its form, is always an unwelcome thing.

Xiao Yeci and the others spent the night unharmed, packed their bags, and followed Li Banfeng onward.

The mountain path grew harder still; by noon, there was no path left.

No path was good—it proved they hadn't been walking in circles.

Thorns choked the way ahead, wild grass tangled their feet, mosquitoes bit relentlessly, spiderwebs clung to their faces; by dusk, everyone was nearly collapsed.

Only two felt no fatigue: Li Banfeng and Lu Chunying. Had she not slowed for the group, Lu Chunying could have walked several times farther.

As night fell, Xiao Yeci wanted to set up camp but dared not ask Li Banfeng—luckily, they found a water source, and Li Banfeng ordered everyone to fetch water and rest for the night.

Since they camped early, Li Banfeng had more time to read the historical texts.

He skimmed the readable passages, skipped the incomprehensible ones, forced himself to flip through all five scrolls given by the Sage, and finally found a sliver of useful information at the end.

In the sixth year of Yuanxi, the Demon Lands rebelled; the Emperor dispatched General Zhao Xiao to suppress them. Zhao Xiao was defiant; the Emperor reprimanded him.

My wife.

This is my wife.

Li Banfeng had finally found his wife's name in the history.

The text only said his wife was sent to fight the Demon Lands, and that she was reprimanded by the Emperor for her defiance.

How she was reprimanded, how she was defiant, whether the battle was won or lost—all were omitted.

This was consistent with the book's style.

All five scrolls focused solely on the Emperor.

For instance, if the Emperor ate something wrong and got diarrhea, the cause, effect, how he ate, how he defecated, how much—he was recorded in excruciating detail.

Everything else was glossed over.

At the end of the history, Li Banfeng saw no more mention of his wife—but he saw another familiar name.

In the eighth year of Yuanxi, the Demon Lands rebelled; the Emperor dispatched General Hong Ying and General Cong Shixiang to suppress them.

Who is Cong Shixiang?

Unknown.

Hong Ying had also led campaigns against the Demon Lands—what was her relationship to his wife?

Li Banfeng looked at the phonograph and the long spear, and thought he saw a clue.

The next day, Li Banfeng led the group onward.

They walked for twelve full days; their food was long gone, and they survived only by hunting.

On the thirteenth day, after noon, heavy rain poured down—and the group laughed.

Ahead lay no mountains, only a vast plain.

Since arriving at Jianren Gang, they had seen only endless mountains; none of them had ever seen such open horizons.

Finding a plain meant they had left Jianren Gang.

But where was this?

Li Banfeng had never been here.

He hadn't, but someone had.

Xiao Yeci spoke up for the first time: "Master, I know this place—I passed through here with Nannan!"

Lu Chunying nodded: "We did pass through here."

Many others claimed they'd walked this way, but none could name the place.

Now Li Banfeng had to make a critical decision: where should these people go?

Everyone wanted to return home; most claimed they remembered the way back.

But how would they return?

"When you came here, you all had travel permits—do you still have them now?"

The group exchanged glances; apart from Li Banfeng, none seemed to have permits.

Li Banfeng's own permit only covered himself—he planned to settle everyone here, return to Lüshui Bay, have Ma Wu fetch new permits, and send each person home.

It seemed the only viable option—until Xiao Yeci told Li Banfeng something vital:

"Master, I don't know about other places, but coming from Lüshui Bay to here, you don't need a permit."

Li Banfeng froze: "You're sure?"

"Absolutely sure—you truly don't need one."

Lu Chunying could confirm this; unlike the others who were kidnapped, Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying had been tricked here.

When they reached this wasteland, they weren't confined—the friend who brought them never showed any permit.

That made things easier.

No permit was needed to reach Lüshui Bay—Li Banfeng could take everyone there and decide next steps.

Since they'd left Jianren Gang, and Xiao Yeci remembered the way, and Lu Chunying was a Traveling Cultivator, Li Banfeng confidently let the mother-daughter pair lead.

From dawn to dusk, the rain never stopped.

Xiao Yeci encouraged the group: "Push a little harder—there's a village just ahead; we'll find shelter there!"

They walked deep into the night, but Li Banfeng saw no village.

Xiao Yeci grew anxious: "We didn't take a wrong turn—it's this path! Where did the village go?

There was a forest just now—we went east around it—did I remember wrong?"

Lu Chunying said: "Mom, you didn't remember wrong—we came this way."

Crack!

A lightning bolt split the night sky, revealing faint structures ahead.

Li Banfeng asked: "Is that a village?"

"Yes! Yes! There are houses—it must be a village!"

Xiao Yeci was certain; Lu Chunying stayed silent as the group approached the structures.

Up close, Li Banfeng's head spun—he saw the one sight he dreaded most.

The "structures" were not a village—they were a grand mansion.

Red-earth walls, vermilion gates, rusted nails on the door, two massive door rings.

This was the signature structure of Sacred Sage Peak!

Li Banfeng looked at Xiao Yeci: "We came back?"

Xiao Yeci shook her head frantically: "Impossible! I swear we took this path—I didn't get lost..."

Lu Chunying was equally stunned: "We did come this way—but I don't recall this mansion."

It wasn't their fault—they'd walked nearly a month without leaving Jianren Gang; it proved the Sage had broken his word.

That bastard lied to me?

If he's lying to me, I'll fight him to the end—he'll never know peace again.

Li Banfeng arrived before the courtyard and, under the fading glow of lightning, carefully examined the residence.

First, he could confirm this was not the Sage's residence.

The Sage's residence was on the mountain; this place was still flatland.

Setting aside location, this house differed from the Sage's.

The walls were peeling, the door panels chipped and faded, the stone slabs on the ground cracked and riddled with fissures, overgrown with various weeds.

Though the Sage's residence was lifeless, it was not as dilapidated as this one.

Li Banfeng turned to look at the others; after traveling all day in the rain, most could no longer hold on, and if they pressed forward, many would fall ill.

Entering this residence might be dangerous.

But camping outside it might not be safe either.

First, find out who the owner was—if not a villain, they could spend the night here.

If they encountered a villain, his wife hadn't eaten in a long time; they would assess the situation and respond accordingly.

Li Banfeng pulled the door knocker and knocked three times.

There was no response from within.

Li Banfeng pushed the door; it was unlocked. With a creaking screech, the rusted hinges groaned, and the door swung open.

Through the corridor, Li Banfeng saw a front courtyard overgrown with wild grass and brick walls covered in moss.

Was this an abandoned house?

PS: I visited relatives during the day and stayed up late to update—I'm utterly drained. Dear readers, Happy New Year; please give Shala some encouragement.

(End of Chapter)