Chapter 312: Tribute-Taking Old Man

Mengde gained the upper hand in the argument, and Li Banfeng sensed the change in technique.

The old man was still patiently reasoning, and he really could make a case: "Whether or not she was a Harming Demon Fiend, that woman was going to take your master's life. I saved your master's life, so this tribute must count."

Mengde was once again left speechless, and Li Banfeng's right leg, which had just relaxed, began to act up again.

"Anything else to say?" The old man raised the short blade again.

Li Banfeng asked, "How did you know that woman wanted to take my life?"

The old man said, "Out of nowhere, she spoke provocatively — clearly she harbored ill intentions!"

Mengde seized the flaw: "Not necessarily. Perhaps that woman took a fancy to my master and was sincerely throwing herself into his arms!"

The old man shook his head: "Such an argument is utterly absurd!"

Li Banfeng said, "Why is it absurd? How do you know what that woman was thinking? Could it be that she's your accomplice?"

Li Banfeng hit the mark again — that woman really was the old man's accomplice.

The old man's arm trembled violently; this backlash was extremely severe.

Mengde seized the chance and launched a fierce attack: "You shameless, 无耻 scoundrel, colluding with a brazen woman, using despicable tricks to seduce my master,

My master, upright and righteous, was unmoved. You cried 'stop thief' while being the thief yourself, staging your own farce, yet still talk about tribute, still demand payment,

With such despicable tricks, you can only beg for scraps in the gutter, yet dare stir up trouble here, playing petty tricks and making false accusations. A waste of your years — you truly don't know how to write the two characters for 'despicable'!"

This fierce scolding left the old man dumbfounded, unable to speak.

Li Banfeng felt the binding on his legs was already seventy or eighty percent released, just waiting for the right moment to pull out the key.

He couldn't be hasty.

Eunuch of the Train had warned Li Banfeng that this small motion of pulling out the key would draw others' attention.

The old man didn't notice Li Banfeng; he was still reasoning with Mengde.

Strange — he's supposed to be controlling me, so why does he keep reasoning with Mengde?

Could it be that this reasoning isn't meant for my ears?

Then who else could it be meant for?

The old man was silent for a moment, then suddenly said: "Setting aside the matter of saving him, I still gave him three tributes!"

What does that mean?

The old man said: "I invited him to watch a fine show — does that count as tribute?"

That counts too!

Can it really be played this way?

The old man really did put on a show, and Li Banfeng really did watch it.

But this was a show Li Banfeng hadn't wanted to see.

It seemed that regardless of whether he wanted to or not, as long as he watched, it equaled owing the old man.

Li Banfeng couldn't think of a response, but Mengde was quite composed.

She calmly undid her collar.

What is she doing? Did she learn bad habits from the projector?

Mengde shed part of her qipao, revealing a pair of fragrant shoulders.

The old man was stunned too: "What does this mean?"

Mengde smiled: "Did you see? Was my show good-looking?"

The old man said angrily: "I don't want it; this doesn't count as payment."

Mengde snorted: "If you don't want it, then don't look. You looked, so that means you've accepted it!"

Virtue Cultivation actually countered his Dao.

The old man was furious, his whole body trembling.

The binding on Li Banfeng's legs vanished completely.

He immediately pulled out the key, opened Sui Shen Ju, grabbed Mengde, and ran into the room.

"Stop!" The old man reached out to grab Li Banfeng, who seized the moment to lunge forward, dragging the old man into the room.

The room was very dark, with only a flicker of candlelight.

Beside the candle stood a mirror, and a long spear was grooming itself facing the mirror.

The long spear was grooming itself…

This situation plunged the old man into deep thought.

Suddenly, from behind, came a burst of gongs and drums, followed by a crisp singing voice.

"Hey you wretched woman, your eyes are clearly blind, yet you still look in the mirror?"

"I love looking in the mirror, because I, this Miss, am beautiful."

"Where are you beautiful?"

"My face and my figure are both beautiful — far better than your ghostly appearance."

The old man looked behind him and saw a phonograph arguing with the long spear.

The old man said through gritted teeth: "After living all these years, today I truly have met a demon!"

Xiang Xiang Hongying turned her face toward the sound and said: "Who are you calling a demon?"

The old man looked at Li Banfeng and said: "Demon, is this your lair?"

Li Banfeng was taken aback: "You're calling me a demon?"

The old man pulled a handful of wild fruits from his right pocket, about to throw them on the ground.

A burst of steam suddenly bound the old man's right hand, preventing him from throwing the fruits.

"Hey husband, you brought back a Tribute-Taking Old Man."

Li Banfeng was taken aback: "What is a Fengqu Weng?"

The gramophone said: "A type of wandering fiend from the New Land. It gives three offerings and demands three payments. This thing's level is not low! This is our home — if the wild fruit falls to the ground, it counts as us accepting his thing, which means we've taken his offering, no?"

The old man's left hand was about to reach into his pocket again when a wave of might came crashing down, frightening him into a shudder — whoosh — and his left hand dropped to the ground.

"Who… my hand!" The old man didn't know why his hand had fallen off.

Xiang Xiang Hongying still sat before the mirror doing her makeup, as if she had never moved at all.

The gramophone snorted: "You wretched woman, you took one of his hands — that counts as one offering."

"Is that so?" Xiang Xiang Hongying set down the rouge and picked up an eyebrow pencil.

Whoosh!

Another sound, and both of the old man's legs were severed at the knees.

The old man wanted to speak — one hand and two legs made three offerings, and he could demand his payment.

Unfortunately, he could no longer speak.

Xiang Xiang Hongying drew a line across her face with the eyebrow pencil, and a hole appeared in the old man's throat.

Now the Fengqu Weng could not speak.

The gramophone said angrily: "Wretched woman, don't kill him off — I haven't eaten yet!"

Xiang Xiang Hongying continued drawing her brows: "The soul is yours; leave me some of the flesh and blood to eat."

"Oh you wretched woman — don't you abstain from mortal food?"

"It's different now," Xiang Xiang Hongying smiled. "I'm a proper Miss with a door in front and a household behind, and these few days happen to be a special time — I need to eat something to replenish my qi and blood."

"Special time, my foot!" the gramophone scoffed. "Why don't you go have a baby while you're at it?"

"Soon enough — when the time comes, I'll ask you, you vicious hag, to mind the child for me!"

The gramophone was a little annoyed, and Did Did Honglian, far away in the Seventh Room, was even more annoyed.

Xiang Xiang Hongying, you wretched woman — can't you just eat souls? Why must you eat flesh and blood?

Xiang Xiang Hongying finished her brows and asked tenderly: "Seventh Young Master, do you think I look pretty?"

"Seventh Young Master, I'm asking you a question."

"Seventh Young Master, where are you?"

Li Banfeng was right behind the gramophone.

The gramophone giggled: "Oh husband, stop rubbing this little slave's belly — it tickles terribly!"

"Let your husband have a feel — see if your wife has gotten any plumper."

"Husband, why do you always hope this little slave will get fat?"

"Whether the household thrives or not all depends on whether the wife is fat or not!"

Xiang Xiang Hongying's body trembled, and her loose hair trembled along with it.

The Fengqu Weng's right hand broke free from the steam, dipped itself in its own blood, and tried to write on the ground.

Xiang Xiang Hongying's body swayed, and she lopped off his right hand as well.

"Vicious hag, hurry up and eat — don't cause any more trouble." Xiang Xiang Hongying sat before the mirror, holding a comb, combing her hair in a foul mood.

The gramophone held back a laugh: "Husband, stop the horseplay for now — let's attend to proper business first."

Although his wife and Xiang Xiang Hongying handled things with ease, they did not look down on the Fengqu Weng in the slightest.

The Fengqu Weng, using the broken bone from his arm, continued writing on the ground.

His wife used the steam to bind the Fengqu Weng and began sucking out his soul.

Li Banfeng found it hard to understand: "Why is he writing?"

His wife sucked the soul while singing: "Fengqu Weng, Fengqu Weng, before you call in the debt, first recite the scripture."

"What does that mean?"

"It's an old song. It describes the Fengqu Weng's habit — before demanding payment, he must first state the cause clearly. If he can't state it clearly, he can't act."

"That's the Fengqu Weng's habit?"

"Not a habit — a law. Not just the Fengqu Weng; all Offering Cultivators abide by this law."

"The Fengqu Weng is transformed from a high-level Offering Cultivator. Judging by the quality of this soul, this Fengqu Weng should be at the eighth layer."

"What sect is the Offering Cultivator?"

"A sect that cultivates entirely through offerings — one offering, one payment demanded."

"The Fengqu Weng has been tainted by the New Land, so the situation is special. It must offer at least three times before it can demand payment, or it will suffer a backlash to its cultivation."

"This thing is extremely rare in the New Land. How did you happen to run into it, husband?"

"It conjured up a woman to trick me. I didn't fall for it. Then it moved a stone for me to sit on, brought me a tree branch to use as a walking stick, and stirred up a breeze to wipe my sweat — saying that made three times…"

The Fengqu Weng struggled violently. Li Banfeng warned: "Wife, be careful — this old thing is very fast."

"His strikes may not be that fast, but his footwork truly is quick — though it depends on the opponent. This is an Offering Cultivator technique called Debt-Collecting Life-Chase. Anyone who has accepted his offering will be relentlessly pursued by him."

"Husband, you were able to hold him off this long — your footwork isn't slow either!"

Uh…

Li Banfeng quickly changed the subject: "Wife, what did he write?"

"Nothing worth seeing — just his usual reasons for the matter. These reasons don't necessarily have to be spoken aloud; writing them down works too."

"Write them for whom to see? We're not looking, and his technique won't work either."

"It's not written for us. When Offering Cultivators recite their scripture, they recite it for themselves to hear — they must understand it clearly themselves for the technique to work. The reasons behind it, this little slave can't explain either. I only know this sect places great emphasis on temperament of mind."

The gramophone finished eating the soul, and Xiang Xiang Hongying took some flesh and blood from the Fengqu Weng and smeared it on the spear tip.

After the smearing, the spear tip looked even more crimson and lustrous.

She wanted to ask Li Qi if she looked pretty, but heard Li Qi bantering with the gramophone again.

Listening to the record player's laughter, it seemed Li Qi was still nuzzling against the record player's belly.

Xiang Xiang Hongying finished eating, and the pendulum and earrings rushed forward together. Tang Dao refused to be outdone, snatched a chunk of flesh and blood, and ran.

The Judge's Brush snorted—wanted to eat, but was too lazy to move.

The wine gourd and the old teapot each took a sip, and the record player took some fresh blood and poured it onto the adhesive tape. The tape, which had already been more than half used up, began to grow rapidly, and soon grew into a full roll.

The projector sighed deeply and said, "Why are you all so cruel!"

He released a Miss, who cut a piece of meat for him and put it into the film chamber.

The gloves shook their head repeatedly and said, "I really can't watch this anymore."

He went into the third room, closed the door, and while no one was paying attention, spat out a piece of meat, trembling with excitement:

"This piece of meat is the best. That bunch of crazy men and women don't understand a thing!"

Xiang Xiang Hongying sat silently for a moment, then suddenly felt a change in her body.

Her conscience was growing, her peaches were growing, and her cultivation was also recovering.

"I say, why are you all so greedy? Eating flesh and blood in this house is truly extraordinary!"

Xiang Xiang Hongying rushed forward and scrambled together with the others.

Li Banfeng cut a piece of meat and saved it for Mengde.

"In this battle, you rendered great service. Earlier, when Xiang Xiang Hongying hit you, her hand was too heavy—don't hold a grudge."

Mengde covered her peaches, her face full of grievance, and said, "Master didn't even offer to rub it for me."

"Hmph!" the record player said angrily, "You wretched woman, still asking for a beating? Hang yourself on the wall!"

The whole family ate and drank their fill, and the Fengqu Elder had barely anything left.

Li Banfeng carried over the Did Honglian and placed it beside the Fengqu Elder: "Eat."

The Did Honglian trembled for a moment, then spread its petals, seemingly saying something to the record player.

The record player said impatiently, "I know. With less flesh and blood, there will naturally be fewer pills—I won't blame you."

The Did Honglian got very angry. Li Banfeng frowned and said, "If you won't eat, then forget it. I'll leave it for them as the next meal."

The Did Honglian hesitated no longer, absorbed the Fengqu Elder, and left not a single drop of blood behind.

The record player reminded him, "Husband, the origins of this Fengqu Elder are still unknown. In this servant's memory, one would not encounter such a thing for no reason. Husband must be extra careful."

He really should be more careful. Before it was the slug, now it's the Fengqu Elder—where do so many high-level wandering monsters come from?

And this matter hasn't even been cleaned up properly yet.

Li Banfeng asked the projector, "Have you memorized the appearance of the Fengqu Elder?"

PS: Who else hasn't been cleaned up properly?

(End of this chapter)