Chapter 303: The Ancestor of Oil Cultivation (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

He firmly insisted that Li Banfeng was stealing his oil.

Li Banfeng grew angry: "This oil is stuck to me—I'm the one who wants to get rid of it!"

Xiao Liandabu snapped: "If you're so capable, don't take it!"

"Who said I'm taking it? If you're so capable, take it back!"

"Take off your clothes first!"

"These clothes are mine—why should I take them off?"

"If you won't take them off, you're stealing oil!"

Unable to reason with him, Li Banfeng ran away again.

Strong winds raged through the forest, hurling sand and stones at them constantly.

Li Banfeng pushed forward against the wind, but Xiao Liandabu caught up from behind and grabbed him: "No time—come with me!"

"What's no time?"

"Just come!"

Xiao Liandabu dragged Li Banfeng through the forest until they reached a massive tree, where they spotted an entrance to a cave.

Xiao Liandabu told Li Banfeng: "Crawl in!"

Li Banfeng frowned: "Why must we crawl through this one?"

"If you don't, you'll die for sure!" Xiao Liandabu crawled in first.

Li Banfeng sensed imminent danger—this cave was indeed the safest refuge—and followed Xiao Liandabu inside.

The cave's interior was extremely complex: they could see the tree's massive root system and numerous small and large caverns carved into the rock walls.

Xiao Liandabu found a high-elevation cavern and hid inside, motioning for Li Banfeng to join him.

Soon, water began pooling inside the cave, rising rapidly—lower caverns were submerged, and even the one Li Banfeng was in was nearly filled to its entrance.

Where was this water coming from?

Li Banfeng reached his hand outside the cavern entrance, scooped up some liquid, and examined it.

Though clear, the liquid was slightly sticky.

Xiao Liandabu rubbed his nose: "I just had a bit of clear snot."

Li Banfeng wiped the liquid onto Xiao Liandabu's face and said earnestly: "I really didn't come to steal your oil."

"Then how did you get here?"

"I was hunting in New Land, and for some reason, I fell into an oil lake." Li Banfeng made up a story.

"New Land? What New Land?" Xiao Liandabu still didn't believe him.

Li Banfeng had no better explanation, so he kept lying: "In Green Water Bay's New Land."

"Green Water Bay? Does that place even exist?"

"I remember—it used to be called Beggar's Bay, then the Green Beggars took over and renamed it Green Water Bay. So… did the Green Beggars send you to steal my oil?"

Li Banfeng frowned: "I don't even know the Green Beggars!"

"Then who sent you to steal my oil?"

"Why are you so certain I came to steal oil?"

"Then what else could you possibly be doing here?"

Li Banfeng couldn't explain.

He thought of a solution: "Here's an idea—take all the oil off me, leave not a single drop. You'll be satisfied, and I'll be cleared of suspicion. But these clothes are mine—I won't leave them to you."

Xiao Liandabu thought for a moment: "Alright. This place isn't suitable—let's go outside and settle this."

Li Banfeng glanced at the clear liquid outside the cavern, then turned to look at Xiao Liandabu.

"Why don't we wait a bit longer? Your tide hasn't receded yet."

"Receding tide? Easy!" Xiao Liandabu took a deep breath.

Ssshhhh~

Glug!

He swallowed his snot.

Li Banfeng looked again—the tide had receded, leaving only damp ground.

Following Xiao Liandabu out of the cave, Li Banfeng understood the general layout.

This forest was Xiao Liandabu's nostrils; the lush trees were his nose hairs.

The cave they'd just left was one of his pores.

Xiao Liandabu led Li Banfeng out of the nostrils.

In an instant, they arrived at another forest—denser still, with no visible edge or treetop height.

These must be his whiskers.

Xiao Liandabu's whiskers are long indeed!

Xiao Liandabu stood before Li Banfeng, cleared his throat, and all the oil on Li Banfeng's body vanished.

"There—oil's gone. Go now!" Xiao Liandabu waved Li Banfeng off.

"Farewell!" Li Banfeng turned and walked away.

After just two steps, Xiao Liandabu roared: "Your feet are coated in my oil—how can you still claim you didn't come to steal it?"

Li Banfeng didn't know how to respond: "Can't we reason? Your whole body is covered in oil—how could I avoid getting some on me?"

Xiao Liandabu thought a moment: "I want to reason with you, but this makes no sense—you wandered around New Land in Beggar's Bay, yet ended up here?"

Li Banfeng said: "There are plenty of unreasonable things—I'm on your face, and now you're standing right in front of me. Does that make sense?"

Xiao Liandabu thought about it—it really didn't make sense.

When he looked up again, Li Banfeng was already gone.

"Where are you going? Stop!"

Li Banfeng didn't look back—he just kept running.

This couldn't be explained—better not explain at all.

Since I've already been through your nostrils, I'll crawl back in—until you sneeze and spit me out!

Xiao Liandabu seemed to sense his intent and shouted: "Try it—I'll drown you in yellow snot!"

…

Green Water City, east district, Lu Chunying's residence.

Lu Chunying tilted her head up while Xiao Ye Ci pulled open her eyelids.

"Mom, look closely—is there any bloodshot in my eyes?"

"Baby, I've been pulling your eyelids for half an hour—you're completely bloodshot!"

Lu Chunying rubbed her eyes: "Qiu Brother told me, after meeting Lady Duan, I must watch my eyes—if bloodshot veins appear, disaster is coming."

Xiao Ye Ci was still worried, examined her for a long while, then shook her head: "Baby, close your eyes and rest a bit—when the redness fades, I'll check again."

…

In the Lu family mansion, Qiu Zhiheng was reading a newspaper in a small pavilion when Zhang Huaiyi knocked and entered.

Qiu Zhiheng looked surprised: "Young Master Zhang, when did you arrive?"

Previously, Qiu Zhiheng had called him Huaiyi—now he always addressed him as Young Master Zhang.

Zhang Huaiyi smiled: "My mother cooked a few dishes herself—she wants you to come eat."

"Did Lady Shaohong come?" Qiu Zhiheng deliberately mentioned Duan Shaoxia.

"I meant…" Zhang Huaiyi's expression turned awkward. He looked at Qiu Zhiheng: "Uncle Qiu, I'm actually…"

Qiu Zhiheng waited silently for him to finish.

Zhang Huaiyi didn't know how to begin.

…

Three days later, Li Banfeng and Xiao Liandabu sat side by side in a canyon, each holding a roasted chicken, slowly chewing.

This canyon was Xiao Liandabu's forehead wrinkle.

Li Banfeng checked the chicken many times, still uneasy: "Is this chicken… growing on your face?"

Xiao Liandabu snapped: "Have you ever seen a chicken grow on a face? I hunted this down outside!"

Honestly, the chicken tasted good—just too greasy.

"Any greens? To cut the grease."

"Cut grease?" Xiao Liandabu frowned. "When I was a kid, getting oil once every few days made me happy for days—you want to cut the grease?"

Li Banfeng gnawed on a chicken wing: "Because you couldn't get oil as a kid, you gathered so much?"

Xiao Liandabu chewed his drumstick and sighed: "What's wrong with oil? It's fragrant, smooth—the finest delicacies in the world all rely on oil.

Dishes without oil don't belong on the table; people without oil don't rise to prominence. As long as there's oil on the table, life isn't unbearable. Don't you think oil is the best thing in the world?"

Li Banfeng nodded: "I'm not saying oil is bad—but I really didn't come to steal it."

Xiao Liandabu nodded: "I believe you—we've spent three days together, and I can tell you're decent.

But one thing you did wrong: you urinated on my face."

Li Banfeng said: "What else could I do? For three whole days, where else could I have gone?"

Xiao Liandabu still felt uneasy: "You could've urinated on my cheeks—but not by my mouth!"

"I just saw trees—I didn't know they were your lips!"

"Those aren't trees—they're my whiskers!" Xiao Liandabu glared angrily. "I truly wanted to let you go, but I can't rest easy."

Li Banfeng said, "Relax. If you don't let me go now, it won't just be urinating on your face anymore."

The small face looked at Li Banfeng and said, "I'm not crazy. You know where I am—I'm afraid you'll leak the news and the people from Huineizhou find me again."

"I don't doubt your character, but what if they capture you and torture you? Can you guarantee you won't reveal my whereabouts?"

Li Banfeng said, "You can rest easy—I definitely can't guarantee that."

"But you don't have to tell me where you are. After you send me away, you can move somewhere else!"

"I can't move. I can't go anywhere."

Li Banfeng froze. "Why can't you move?"

"I just… can't move…" The small face's expression turned mournful.

They ate the roasted chicken in silence, nearly halfway through, when the small face said to Li Banfeng, "You said you came here by accident—I believe you. I'll find a way to send you out just as randomly, so you won't even know how you left. Let's pretend we never met."

"Fine! After I leave, I'll act like I never saw you—I swear I won't tell a soul!" Li Banfeng set down half the roasted chicken and pounded his chest in promise.

The small face sighed. "Is there still anyone left from my Dao sect?"

"You mean Jin Xiu?"

The small face nodded.

"Yes! I've met two."

The small face blinked its tiny eyes, a flicker of excitement crossing its face. "Are they still well?"

How could he answer that?

One was a lightbulb, out in Waizhou—I hit him with a spicy strip. He's probably fine.

He's with the Anxing Bureau. His life must be decent enough.

The other was Rong Jin'an, a branch manager at the Geng Family Pharmacy—he nearly tortured Fatty to death.

I fed him to my wife. Is that considered "well"?

"Good! All good!" Li Banfeng answered according to his own understanding.

"As long as they're well, as long as there are still disciples!" The small face rose. "When you meet the Peddler later, remember to tell him to come rescue me."

"Alright, I promise."

The small face snapped, "Didn't you just say you wouldn't tell anyone? Now you're going to tell the Peddler!"

"You told me to—"

Before Li Banfeng could explain, the small face lunged forward—he turned and ran.

The small face chased Li Banfeng all the way through a vast forest stretching dozens of li.

Scattered across the forest were many oil lakes; Li Banfeng circled each one along its shore.

The small face cried, "That's my eyebrow!"

The forehead had been his wrinkle, and now the spot where they'd eaten the chicken was truly his brow ridge.

Li Banfeng had no interest in admiring the scenery—he kept running. Soon, a wasteland appeared ahead.

No grass, no trees, nothing at all—only flat, gently rolling wilderness.

"That's my eye!" The small face caught up from behind.

Li Banfeng kept running.

A single pimple on the small face could form a lake. By Li Banfeng's estimation, one eye must be nearly the size of an ocean.

But he saw no ocean—only endless, boundless wasteland.

He ran for who knew how long. The wasteland finally vanished. The land rose gradually, and ahead loomed a towering mountain—he'd been here before.

The small face shouted, "That's my nose!"

Li Banfeng turned and yelled, "I didn't see your eye!"

"Covered!"

Li Banfeng didn't understand.

The small face repeated: "My eyes… are covered."

Covered by what?

He said Huineizhou had things that covered eyes.

Had people from Huineizhou covered his eyes?

He ran for a long time more, then the small face shouted, "Stop!"

Li Banfeng halted, leaning on his knees, gasping for breath.

He was used to it by now. Over the past three days, he'd pushed his Dao techniques to the limit, trying every trick to outmaneuver the small face.

The small face stood over ten meters away and asked, "You know the Old Train's stepping method. You sing 'The Train Ballad.' You're friends with Old Train, aren't you?"

"I'm his brother!"

"Good. I believe you." The small face gave a slight nod. "You say you didn't steal my oil—but why is my oil gone?"

How was he supposed to know?

Could it be that glove woman stole it?

He couldn't say that lightly.

Li Banfeng said, "Maybe it just leaked away. Wind and sun could've dried it up."

"Dried up?" The small face laughed. "You really don't know where you are?"

"I really don't!"

The small face looked around, sighed. "This place is harsh. So harsh. I suffer terribly. I want to tell someone how much I suffer—but no one talks to me!"

Li Banfeng paused, then said, "I've talked to you plenty these past days."

"Yes, you've talked enough. I'll let you go—I'll send you to Huaziba's new land. But you won't take any oil with you! Keep running forward!"

Li Banfeng ran another dozen li when a violent wind lifted him into the air.

The small face shouted, "You won't take my oil—I've reclaimed it all!"

The oil on Li Banfeng's body vanished completely.

"If you meet Old Train, tell him: burning oil is better than burning coal!"

The air surged upward. Li Banfeng shot out through a crack—first darkness, then thick smoke that blinded him for minutes.

When the smoke cleared, he landed on the ground. Opening his eyes, he saw a rotting great tree, its trunk entwined with thick vines.

This was a common sight in the new land—he'd been here before.

The new land of Lüshuibay wasn't unfamiliar to Li Banfeng. Once he found his bearings, he could quickly return to Zhengjing Village.

He sat down to rest, then pulled out the glove.

"Tell me—did you steal the oil?"

The glove used its index finger as a head and shook it vigorously. "Why would I steal that?"

"You really didn't?"

"Didn't!" The glove looked wounded. "I only stole half a roasted chicken—it was your leftovers."

As he spoke, the glove spat out the chicken.

Li Banfeng laughed. "You've got such low standards—why steal a chicken?"

Honestly, the small face's roasted chicken was delicious.

What had he been through?

Was he the founder of Jin Xiu?

Where exactly was he?

He knew Old Train Eunuch and the Peddler. Old Train Eunuch was hard to find—but if I ever meet the Peddler, I must ask.

Then again, I don't have to wait for the Peddler. I can go see him myself.

Later, when I've gained more techniques, I might as well return to the oil lakes and see him again.

Li Banfeng picked up the roasted chicken, ready to take another bite—then saw it was gone.

"Who?!" Li Banfeng gasped.

A woman's voice echoed beside him: "Alright, I've agreed."

Li Banfeng blinked. "Agreed to what?"

The woman replied, "Begin the examination!"

A halo of light flared around the ground.

PS: What exactly is being examined?

(End of Chapter)