Chapter 309: New Skill of the Gramophone

An old farmer said that Xiao Genzi's golden juice was lacking in quality.

Xiao Genzi was unhappy.

"Old man, don't look at how little is in this ladle of mine — if you spread it sparingly, it can fertilize an entire acre,

and if you still feel it's not enough, I can give you this whole bucket,

but you casually saying the quality is lacking — that's something I don't care to hear. Do you know what sect I'm from?"

The old man smiled. "What other sect could you be from? Looking at your getup, you're clearly a Jin Xiu."

Xiao Genzi was taken aback — Jin Xiu were so rare, yet this old man could recognize one at a glance.

"Since you know I'm a Jin Xiu, how can you still say my quality is lacking?"

"Lacking is lacking — your golden juice doesn't even have a hint of scent." As he spoke, the old man reached out and touched the golden juice in the ladle.

Xiao Genzi quickly pulled the ladle back. "Old man, you mustn't touch this — if you touch it, it won't wash off easily."

The old man had already touched it, so Xiao Genzi hurriedly found medicinal powder to wash the old man's hands.

The old man waved his hand and said, "No need for the trouble. Smell for yourself — is there any scent?"

Xiao Genzi sniffed the old man's hand, and indeed there wasn't the slightest smell.

Had he grabbed the wrong golden juice? Or did this old man have some other method?

He couldn't have grabbed the wrong golden juice — Xiao Genzi began to feel afraid.

The old man set down his hoe and said with a smile, "What layer is your cultivation?"

"That's not for you to ask." Xiao Genzi took two steps back.

The old man said, "I see you're carrying five buckets on your back — surely you must be at five layers?"

Xiao Genzi puffed out his chest at the words. "Yes — five layers!"

Of course he wasn't at five layers. The last time he'd met a peddler, he'd bought ten buckets, strapped five to his back first, and the remaining five were simply too heavy to carry, so he kept them in reserve for now.

The old man shook his head. "If you really were at five layers, the quality would be far too poor. Golden juice at five layers — sprinkle it casually, and it can turn a living person into a puddle of mud."

With a wave of the old man's hand, one bucket vanished from Xiao Genzi's back.

In his astonishment, he watched the old man pull a small ladle from his robe, stir it around in the bucket twice, scoop out a ladleful, and fling it onto a nearby rock.

Hiss-crack-crack — a string of sounds rang out, and the rock instantly dissolved into mud.

Genzi was terrified, and nearly dropped his buckets on the ground.

The old man held up the small ladle and smiled. "Tell me the truth — how many layers are you really?"

Genzi forced himself to hold his composure. "Five layers — exactly!"

"Such bragging without measure!" The old man grew angry. "Your golden juice is barely enough for three layers!"

Enough for three layers?

Genzi was a two-layer Jin Xiu, able to brew golden juice of three layers — in the past, Xiao Genzi would have allowed himself a little pride at that.

But this was no time for pride — he had no idea where this old man had come from.

"So there's still someone from the sect, and a stubborn one at that," the old man laughed. "Brewing golden juice can't rely on hard work alone — there are tricks to it. Put your buckets down first, and watch my craft."

……

Li Banfeng brought Cao Zhida to Lanyang Village, searching everywhere for Xiao Genzi.

Many people in Lanyang Village knew Genzi — they all said he'd gone off carrying his buckets to cultivate, but none could say exactly where, and none were willing to watch him cultivate.

Land-breaking couldn't rely on Xiao Genzi alone, so Li Banfeng had Cao Zhida recruit a batch of land-breakers in Lanyang Village.

Lanyang Village had plenty of hunters, and quite a few of them had done land-breaking work before. Li Qi paid generously, so plenty signed up — but the rules had to be made clear: after breaking land, they had to become landlords.

Cao Zhida said, "Seventh Master, this land-breaking is being done for you, so the landlord ought to be you. The money's all been paid out — are you really going to spoil them like this?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "This local earth god's rules are different — the land-breakers must become landlords."

Cao Zhida was taken aback. "Such a rule? Doesn't that just play into these hunters' hands?"

"Whether it's a bargain or not, let's leave that aside."

The next day, Xiao Genzi hadn't returned — this was nothing unusual. When Genzi went out to cultivate, he sometimes vanished for days and nights on end.

Li Banfeng took more than fifty people to the new land. He himself had made the round trip in less than a day last time, but that was because he was a six-layer Travel Cultivator.

These people had no such legs on them — this journey was going to take some time.

……

He Haisheng got off the train and bought a newspaper at the station.

The headline: the Lu family special train had been attacked, eleven Branch Hangers killed in action.

Who could be so bold as to attack the Lu family special train?

This wasn't just aimed at the Lu family — to strike on a train offended even the Customs Defense Commissioner.

He Haisheng gave the paper a cursory glance, hailed a rickshaw at the station entrance, and went to the He family mansion.

He Haiqin was in the dining room gnawing on a pork knuckle. Hearing that He Haisheng had returned, he hurried to the main hall. "Ling Lao San, why are you back? Didn't I tell you to watch over Jiaqing?"

He Haisheng looked around, and He Haiqin understood his meaning, leading He Haisheng into the study.

"What happened?"

He Haisheng lowered his voice. "Brother, Jiaqing's condition isn't right."

He Haiqin was startled. "What is it? Those physicians from the outer provinces aren't treating him properly, are they? Has Jiaqing's injury worsened?"

"Brother, I'm not talking about his injuries," He Haisheng sighed repeatedly. "I feel he's hiding something from you."

He Haiqin's expression didn't change as he asked, "What is he hiding from me?"

"This is what I found in Jiaqing's hospital room." He Haisheng took out a wooden box.

He Haiqin took the wooden box, broke the seal on it, and lifted the lid — a thick medicinal fragrance rushed to his face.

"Jin Yuandan?" He Haiqin examined the pill's quality.

He Haisheng said: "Top-grade Jin Yuandan, a full thirty of them — tell me, where did this stuff come from?"

He Haiqin looked at the pills and said: "I bet Honglian refined them."

"Wasn't Honglian taken back to Puluozhou? Whether it was his friend Li Banfeng or his fiancée Lu Xiaolan, one of them was taken back anyway. The stuff isn't in Jiaqing's hands, so how did these pills end up at the hospital?"

He Haiqin put the pills back in the box and asked: "Where were these pills found?"

"The toilet. That day I really couldn't resist wanting a smoke, so I lit one in the ward's toilet. Riding the tobacco smell, I caught a whiff of medicine. Behind the toilet, on the wall, I found a hidden compartment and saw these pills."

"That hidden compartment was definitely opened by Jiaqing, and these pills were definitely hidden by him. Brother, what you said before was right — Jiaqing really is hiding something from us."

He Haiqin was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

In his smile was a long-absent sense of relief.

He Haisheng was startled: "Brother, what are you laughing at?"

He Haiqin laughed and sighed at the same time: "If he really wanted to hide it, you wouldn't have found it at all."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He could fool Puluozhou — do you think he couldn't fool you? These pills were deliberately placed in the toilet by him. He wanted you to see them, wanted you to bring them to me." He Haiqin took the medicine box, returned to the dining room, and went on gnawing the pork knuckle.

His appetite was especially good, and he even pulled out a chair specially for He Haisheng: "Don't just stand there watching — eat with your brother!"

He Haisheng ate two pieces of beef, shook his head, and said: "Brother, I still don't get it."

He Haiqin laughed and said: "You don't need to get it. Hurry off to the outer state and keep an eye on my son for me."

He Haisheng ate along with him for a while, then went back to his room to rest.

He Haiqin ate and drank his fill, then also went back to his room, opened the medicine box, and muttered to himself: "Scheming or not, he still knows how to show respect to his old man. I didn't raise you for nothing."

He wanted to eat one of the pills, but still hesitated a little.

Forget it — tomorrow I'll find a medicine cultivator and have them check the toxicity.

……

He Haisheng returned to Yuezhou, went to the Third Hospital, sat by the sickbed, and silently gazed at He Jiaqing on the bed.

He bent down and whispered a sentence into He Jiaqing's ear:

"Third Uncle, you lie here for me for a few days. Once I've finished what I'm doing, I'll let you go."

……

In Leaving Leaving Suishenju, Xiang Xiang Hongying was doing her makeup in front of a mirror.

She suddenly turned her face toward the phonograph and said: "Xiaowan, do you think these eyes of mine are alluring?"

Hiss-hiss-hiss~

The phonograph laughed repeatedly: "What eyes do you have? Those are clearly drawn on by you with rouge!"

"So what if they're drawn on — don't they look good? I have a face now. You couldn't draw one even if you wanted to — there's nowhere on you to draw it!"

These past days, Xiang Xiang Hongying's spear tip had grown increasingly rounded, no longer as cold as before, and had even taken on a faint flush of blood. If you didn't look closely, it really did resemble a human face.

The phonograph snorted coldly: "What's the rush? A few more tries and I can do it too!"

Xiang Xiang Hongying laughed and said: "How many times have you tried already? You've picked up plenty of useless skills, yet you can't even grow a single strand of hair."

The phonograph didn't much care: "What's the use of growing so much hair?"

"How can you say it's useless?" Xiang Xiang Hongying took up a comb and carefully groomed her hair. "Without this hair, where would the look of a woman be?"

The glove lowered its voice and said to Tang Dao: "A long spear combing its hair in front of a mirror — tell me, how terrifying is that?"

Xiang Xiang Hongying lifted a foot and kicked the glove into the wall.

Tang Dao stepped back a few paces, gave a dry laugh, and said: "General Hong's hair looks lovely — this humble officer finds it extremely lovely!"

Xiang Xiang Hongying held up the comb toward the phonograph and said: "I'll tell you this — I don't just have hair on my head, I've got it in other places too!"

The phonograph sneered coldly: "What? You've grown a beard too?"

"You vicious woman, keep that poisonous tongue of yours. In a couple of days I'll seduce your man away — let's see if it hurts your heart."

"You cheap tart — you'd have to have the skill for that."

"Why wouldn't I have the skill? I've got everything now. In a couple of days when I grow a mouth, I can eat, drink, and do everything — a living, breathing great beauty. Isn't that far better than a machine like you?"

"Let's see how capable you really are! I'll tear that face of yours apart right now!"

A puff of steam rushed in, scalding the spear tip bright red.

Xiang Xiang Hongying wasn't about to back down either — she stepped forward and started brawling with the phonograph.

Li Banfeng pushed the door and walked in. The phonograph hurriedly twirled the stylus, let go of Xiang Xiang Hongying's hair, and said in a soft, gentle voice: "Oh, husband, you're back!"

"I'm back!" Li Banfeng hugged the phonograph and was affectionate for a moment.

Xiang Xiang Hongying also stepped forward to greet Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng stepped around Xiang Xiang Hongying and lay down on the bed.

No matter how much Xiang Xiang Hongying had changed, Li Banfeng acted as if he hadn't seen anything — this was something Xiang Xiang Hongying truly couldn't understand.

Warm steam swirled around Li Banfeng. The phonograph asked with concern: "Darling husband, was the journey to the new land tiring?"

"Not really tiring, it's just…" Li Banfeng didn't quite know how to put it.

A day's journey had taken ten days and still wasn't finished.

At night the group camped in the open. Li Banfeng found a chance to return to Leaving Leaving Suishenju. Traveling alongside people who weren't travel cultivators was, for Li Banfeng, sheer torment.

"Husband, the new land has no day or night. Staying there too long makes a person forget the passage of time. Some strange creatures will take that chance to harm people.

Take Mengde with you. Look at it from time to time — let it remind you. At the very least, don't forget your way home."

"Carry a calendar on me?" Li Banfeng looked at Mengde's size and always felt it was inconvenient.

"No matter — this little servant will alter it for husband."

"What does the Lady want to change?" Mengde trembled in terror.

"Don't be afraid — it won't hurt a bit." A puff of steam covered the calendar. As the steam swirled, the calendar began to twist and deform.

Mengde let out a piercing wail: "Lady, have mercy on me! This is too terrifying!"

"You wretched little thing, cry again and I'll tear your mouth apart!" The gramophone spent half an hour reforging, fusing Mengde and Li Banfeng's pocket watch into a single whole.

"Husband, open it and take a look."

Li Banfeng pressed open the pocket watch and found Mengde trembling all over the dial.

"Husband, try pulling the stem."

Li Banfeng pulled the stem, and the pocket watch stretched out on all sides, turning once again into a calendar card.

"Wife, how did you manage that?" Li Banfeng was very surprised.

Huff, puff~

The gramophone laughed and said: "Husband, these are a few new little tricks this servant has just learned."

"This doesn't look like a little trick — this is Master Gongxiu's technique, isn't it?" Li Banfeng was quite certain that Xiao Chuanzi couldn't have done this.

"Oh husband, this servant has learned quite a few new tricks, and some of them husband will really find useful."

Xiang Xiang Hongying gave a cold snort and muttered under her breath: "Showing off — in the end, the one thing you most want to learn, you still can't learn it!"

PS: All of this was learned from Leaving Leaving Suishenju?

(End of this chapter)