Chapter 301: Putting on Airs

Li Banfeng had been thinking of the oil flask, but when he stepped outside, he found himself in an oil lake.

How could an oil lake suddenly appear?

Wasn't I just in Xiaoyao Wud? How did I end up here?

The lake's surface shimmered faintly, yet no stars could be seen in the night sky.

Is this a new land?

Or is it the old soil?

Oil has low buoyancy and high viscosity; swimming through it is extremely difficult.

Li Banfeng glanced at the shoreline—it was far away—then turned to look at the small island in the lake's center, less than a hundred meters from him.

Logically, he should swim toward the shore.

But after swimming just a few meters toward it, Li Banfeng sensed something was wrong—some creature in the oil lake had fixated on him.

No matter what kind of creature, fighting in this oil lake would put Li Banfeng at a severe disadvantage.

Better to reach the island first and assess the situation.

Li Banfeng swiftly swam to the island's edge, his body and the island's rocks all slick with oil—he couldn't climb up.

I stepped out and fell straight into an oil lake, got so caught up in swimming I nearly forgot my magic treasures.

I still have magic treasures that can fly.

Li Banfeng patted Tang Dao and the wine gourd; Tang Dao flew to shore, while the wine gourd rinsed the oil off the scabbard with wine. Li Banfeng grabbed the scabbard and climbed onto land.

The island was small—he could see its end at a glance.

In the center was a spring; Li Banfeng stepped forward, sniffed—it was water, not oil.

He pulled out the wine gourd and said: "Sister, fetch me some fine wine—I need to wash off this grease."

The wine gourd groaned: "Wash me too—I'm sticky and miserable."

Tang Dao felt no discomfort: "This is premium oil. Just clean the hilt—I don't need the blade washed."

The pendulum knew the oil was high quality, yet feared Li Banfeng might disdain it—hesitant, unsure whether to wash or not.

Li Banfeng washed his body and clothes, but had nothing to change into.

Oil coated everything around him; he dared not light a fire, so he stripped naked and waited for the wind to dry him.

His gloves were clean too, mixed in with the clothes—he quietly took a few banknotes from his wallet.

Li Banfeng scanned the surroundings, silently observing this unfamiliar place.

It felt familiar—as if he'd been here before—but he couldn't recall when or how.

Watching the ripples on the lake's surface, Li Banfeng finally understood.

He had been here in a dream.

In that dream, he sat with his wife on a cruise ship, spending a romantic moment on a calm sea beneath the sunset's glow.

But in my dream, it was the sea—why am I on a lake now?

Did something abnormal happen in my dream?

Li Banfeng patted the wine gourd; it had just been washed and scolded: "Don't keep patting me on the peaches in front of so many—do you really think I'm not shy?"

Li Banfeng asked: "When I slept, did I do anything unusual?"

The wine gourd thought a moment: "No unusual actions—just muttered a few things in your sleep."

"What did you say?"

"You kept saying 'oil lake'—this must be the place, right?"

I said oil lake…

"I said oil flask!"

Li Banfeng was furious.

Last time, seeing a photo of Heishipo, the Body-Attached Dwelling dragged Li Banfeng straight to Heishipo.

This time, just muttering "oil flask" a few times, plus some dream imagery, and the Body-Attached Dwelling dragged him to this oil lake—to a place he'd never seen.

The Body-Attached Dwelling has been acting out lately.

Dragging me all over is one thing—but you don't even bring the key. You never consider how I get back.

I need to find a chance to talk to it.

After waiting over an hour, his clothes were half-dry; he put them on, wondering how to leave this place.

The wine gourd reminded him: "Little brother, we washed so clean—won't we have to swim back to shore?"

Li Banfeng didn't want to swim in oil again—he felt certain unseen creatures were still watching him, and not just one.

He surveyed the island: sparse grass, no trees—building a raft seemed impossible.

Besides a raft, is there another way?

The Judge's Pen!

Li Banfeng pulled out the Judge's Pen, drew a circle on the spot, and pointed to shore: "Let's go there!"

After ten minutes, the Judge's Pen said two words: "Too far."

Li Banfeng snapped: "You've been resting for days—can't you fly a few hundred meters?"

The Judge's Pen took a deep breath, gathered its strength, and said four words: "Rest two more days."

Li Banfeng considered throwing the Judge's Pen into the lake—but couldn't bring himself to do it.

The Judge's Pen was useless. Li Banfeng turned to Tang Dao and asked seriously: "Do you know how to ride a sword through the air?"

Tang Dao replied seriously: "I am a blade."

"That doesn't matter—the intent is what counts!"

Tang Dao's cultivation had recently improved; Li Banfeng gripped the scabbard, and it truly lifted him into the air—only to plunge suddenly toward the lake after flying ten meters.

"What are you doing!" Li Banfeng cried out.

Tang Dao struggled to regain control, dragging Li Banfeng back to the island.

"Master, a cold wind is dragging me into the oil—I can't control myself! Let me try again!"

Li Banfeng stared at the golden-yellow lake and shivered involuntarily.

The shiver came without cause—according to the technique of avoiding misfortune and seeking fortune, this was a sign of grave danger.

Let Tang Dao try again?

Better not.

Is there a safer way?

Li Banfeng gathered his magic treasures and discussed a strategy; the newly arrived projector offered its idea.

"I can try projecting a boat onto the lake's surface—but I need a stable flying anchor."

The pendulum was clearly the best for flight stability; though weak, lifting a projector should be manageable.

The biggest challenge: controlling the projector's light source.

This projector uses candlelight—if even a single spark falls out, the oil lake's fate is obvious.

Whether it holds steady depends entirely on the pendulum's skill.

The pendulum hovered midair, suspending the projector above the lake, which projected a small boat onto the water's surface.

Li Banfeng boarded the boat, took all his magic treasures, and began rowing slowly across the lake.

The pendulum drifted slowly alongside the boat.

Steady—must be steady.

Li Banfeng rowed steadily, the pendulum flew steadily, the projector's image remained steady.

The island was seven or eight hundred meters from shore; they'd covered half the distance when a sudden gust of wind blew!

The image shook violently; Li Banfeng cried: "Hold steady!"

The pendulum strained—but couldn't hold.

The projector wobbled, the projection wobbled; had Li Banfeng not been skilled in martial cultivation, he'd have fallen into the lake.

When the wind finally died, Li Banfeng prepared to row forward—when a spark appeared on the lake's surface.

It had fallen from the projector.

Due to the earlier shaking, no one noticed.

Li Banfeng watched flames erupt from the lake, grabbed both oars, and rowed furiously toward shore!

Too late!

In an instant, the lake became a sea of fire; the boat caught ablaze.

Things projected by the projector have physical substance—and physical things are affected by the environment.

The projector tried to restore the boat—but its repair speed couldn't match the speed of the fire.

Li Banfeng grabbed Tang Dao: "Go!"

Tang Dao tried to fly—but chaotic air currents from the flames kept him grounded.

A blade is a blade, not a vehicle; in such a situation, it had no way to respond.

In desperation, Li Banfeng dove into the oil, submerging beneath the surface to swim to the opposite shore.

Beneath the oil's surface, a massive creature was moving—he'd already seen its silhouette.

In this bind, suddenly the Judge's Pen spoke: "It's acceptable."

What's acceptable?

The Judge's Pen meant the distance was acceptable.

The full journey was too long—but halfway was no problem.

He flew to the shore with Li Banfeng and a host of magic treasures; once on land, Li Banfeng rolled into the sandy gravel, tumbling wildly to extinguish the flames on his body.

When he rose to look again, the fire on the oil lake had also gone out.

The lake surface, like a mirror, rippled occasionally, as if nothing had ever happened.

Li Banfeng sensed danger drawing near, gathered his magic treasures, and pressed on immediately.

Much of his hair had been burned; the pendulum kept reassuring him: "Master, don't worry—I'll fix your hairstyle properly when we get back, I guarantee it'll look better than before."

Li Banfeng paid no attention to his hairstyle—he walked faster and faster.

After walking over two hundred meters, Li Banfeng suddenly slipped, skidded several steps in place, and came to a stop.

He looked toward the roadside.

Sitting by the road was a middle-aged man around fifty, looking up at Li Banfeng.

"Leaving so soon?" the man asked with a smile.

Li Banfeng studied the man's face—he had decent features, small eyes, thick eyebrows, a slightly low nose bridge, and a round nose tip; he looked like a kind-hearted middle-aged man.

But his skin gleamed unnaturally, shimmering under the night's glow, with oil droplets slowly sliding down his cheeks.

"You've come all this way—can you stay and chat a while? It's been so long since anyone spoke to me." The man's tone was pleading.

Li Banfeng looked down—only sand and gravel, not a trace of oil.

Why was the ground slippery if there was no oil?

The reason might be complex, but the conclusion was simple.

This middle-aged man, his face slick with oil, was far stronger than Li Banfeng.

Fine, a few words won't hurt—Li Banfeng glanced at his feet; the man smiled, gesturing for him to walk on.

Li Banfeng sat beside the man, instinctively offering him a cigarette: "Are you the owner here?"

"This is indeed my place," the man nodded, but he did not take Li Banfeng's cigarette.

Li Banfeng saw the cigarette was coated in oil, and sheepishly pulled it back.

Seeing this, the man quickly explained: "I'm not rejecting your cigarette—I just don't feel like smoking today. I've been overheated these past two days, and my face is covered in bumps."

Li Banfeng looked closer—the man's face was indeed dotted with bumps, especially on his nose; most had white heads, their inner fluids seeming ready to burst forth.

The man rubbed his nose, smiling bitterly: "These bumps are especially painful—touch them and they burst, but you can't squeeze anything out."

Li Banfeng advised: "Don't squeeze them randomly—you need to wait until they're fully ripe before squeezing."

The man stared intently at Li Banfeng: "Which one do you think is ripe?"

Li Banfeng pointed to a bump: "This one looks ready—see how the white head's turned black? A little pressure and it'll pop."

The man touched the bump, pinched its base, and pressed his thumb and forefinger together—the tip swelled rapidly.

Pop!

The bump burst, spraying a glob of grease onto the ground beside it.

One bump popped—why such a loud noise?

This wasn't just a bump.

Li Banfeng turned to the lake—the small island at its center shot into the air, drenched in oil, and landed on the opposite shore.

Where the bump had been, traces of blood remained.

The once golden oil lake had turned red.

The man, savoring the relief, smiled at Li Banfeng.

He asked: "Do you know where you've arrived?"

Li Banfeng stared blankly for a moment: "I think… I've climbed onto your face."

The man chuckled and rubbed his nose: "Exactly—you've climbed right up on my nose!"

PS: One bump equals one lake—how huge is this man's face?

(End of Chapter)