Chapter 313: The Art of the Bride-Recruiting Actor

The projector displayed the image of Meng Yuchun; Li Banfeng examined it closely and found no flaw whatsoever.

The singing machine asked, "My dear husband, why are you bringing out this old man again?"

"He has an accomplice skilled in disguise—when she impersonated the Earth God, I couldn't tell her apart from the real one."

The singing machine turned to the projector: "Did you record it?"

The projector replied: "I only caught a little—this woman tried to seduce Seventh Director, but failed. I got bored and stopped recording after that."

Li Banfeng said: "Short is fine—as long as the image can be made."

The projector hesitated: "Actually, I'm afraid I can't make the image at all."

"Why can't you make it?"

The projector displayed the fake Meng Yuchun's footage—it was indeed brief, only twenty-some seconds, but that wasn't the issue.

The issue was that the fake Meng Yuchun had faced Li Banfeng directly the entire time; the projector could only produce flat images, not three-dimensional figures, so it didn't know what she looked like from other angles.

Li Banfeng told his wife: "This is the woman—she looks exactly like Earth God Meng Yuchun. She must be a high-ranking Xie cultivator."

His wife had the projector replay the footage several times, then said to Li Banfeng: "This seems to be a Xie bride."

"What's a Xie bride?"

"If he really is a Xie bride, this gets interesting," his wife asked the projector, "How long can you hold up against a sixth-layer Xie cultivator?"

The projector replied: "If kept at a distance, I can last two or three minutes; if close, maybe only ten seconds."

…

Li Banfeng arrived at Meng Yuchun's plot, where several hunters were discussing land opening with Meng Yuchun.

Seeing Li Banfeng, Meng Yuchun greeted him warmly: "Li Qi, want to open another plot? Pick the size yourself!"

Li Banfeng smiled and brushed him off: "Maybe another day."

Open land?

Did Li Banfeng even have the mood for that?

He planned to lead his people away from this territory.

Seeing Li Qi about to leave, Meng Yuchun stepped forward to block him: "Come with me somewhere—I need to speak with you."

Li Banfeng froze: "Where are you taking me?"

"To a good place—I won't harm you," Meng Yuchun reached for his arm, but Li Banfeng swiftly stepped aside.

Meng Yuchun paused, puzzled by his intense wariness.

Li Banfeng suddenly asked: "How much land have I opened in your territory?"

Meng Yuchun replied in surprise: "Three li square—surely you haven't forgotten?"

"What offering did I use?"

"Half a chicken—tasted pretty good."

This was the real Meng Yuchun: many knew about the three-li plot, but no one else knew about the half-chicken offering.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere no one else knows."

Meng Yuchun led Li Banfeng into a cave—narrow but tall, stretching over a hundred meters upward.

After winding through the cave for a long while, green flames erupted from Meng Yuchun's body—her upper half remained human, her lower half transformed into ghostly fire. She said to Li Banfeng: "Don't be afraid—I'll take you up."

Ghosts weren't frightening—Earth Gods were all ghosts, and Li Banfeng knew this well.

Meng Yuchun embraced Li Banfeng and flew up to the rock wall, stopping at seventy or eighty meters above ground, entering a cave within the cliff.

Li Banfeng asked: "What is this place?"

"My home," Meng Yuchun set him down. "Speak softly—don't provoke my household spirit."

Li Banfeng's heart tightened: "Aren't your household spirits already devoured by the Inner State?"

"After arriving in the New Land, I found another one—she's not very gentle. I'm afraid she might hurt you."

Li Banfeng stood at the cave entrance and refused to go further.

Unless necessary, he never entered the home of a household cultivator.

"Say what you need to say here."

Meng Yuchun said: "I think I'm being watched—someone seems to be one of your men."

My men?

Li Banfeng laughed: "You're handsome—they stare at you every day. What's so strange about that?"

"That's not what I mean. Last night, I killed a wandering monster near my home—the household spirit told me it was a Dao Bi Li."

"She said it's an extremely rare wandering monster. Its appearance in my territory must mean someone sent it—someone might be trying to kill me."

As Li Banfeng had suspected, the sudden appearance of rare wandering monsters was targeted at Meng Yuchun.

"What did the Dao Bi Li look like? Hand it over to me—I'll examine it first."

"Forget the Dao Bi Li for now—I need to find out who wants me dead!"

Li Banfeng was investigating the same thing: "You need to think about who you've offended lately."

"I haven't seen anyone lately except you."

"You suspect me?" Li Banfeng pulled his hat lower, preparing to leave the cave immediately.

Meng Yuchun shook her head: "I trust you—otherwise I wouldn't have brought you here.

I've been an Earth God so long, never met a soul, never had a chance to rise—Heaven took pity on me and brought you to me.

I truly consider you a friend, but if one of your men really wants me dead, and I strike back hard, don't turn on me later."

This is a joke, isn't it?

My men are all poor hunters—who among them could possibly harm you?

Li Banfeng smiled: "This definitely wasn't done by my men—I can help you investigate, but not for free. We can negotiate a price.

If you agree, we start right away. If you refuse, I'll take my people home immediately. I don't want to turn against you, nor do I want to be dragged into your troubles."

Meng Yuchun nodded: "Fine—as long as I can afford it, we can discuss anything."

Li Banfeng said: "First, give me the Dao Bi Li's corpse. Then set some traps. After that, we'll negotiate the price."

As he spoke, the thread-earring trembled: "Master, footsteps."

Li Banfeng looked at Meng Yuchun: "Does anyone else know your residence?"

"Three sisters I know well—sometimes they come for a drink. They never enter my chamber. Besides them and you, no one else knows where I live. Stay here, don't move."

Meng Yuchun flew alone down the cliff wall. After a moment, three women approached carrying wine jars and various dishes.

One woman wore red, with a slender waist. She bowed to Meng Yuchun and smiled sweetly: "This is newly brewed Hundred Flower Wine—I brought it specially for you, Sister."

This woman was Hong Die.

Behind her stood a woman in yellow, resembling Hong Die in face and figure—Huang Die.

The last was a plump girl, round-faced and full-figured, wearing a green-furred cloak—she was Xiao Die.

Xiao Die hadn't yet transformed into a butterfly.

Meng Yuchun told the three: "Sisters, I'm busy today—we'll gather another time."

The three women looked disappointed. Meng Yuchun chatted with them briefly, then saw them off, returning to the cliff wall.

Li Banfeng watched their backs and asked quietly: "Do these three always stick together?"

Meng Yuchun nodded: "Almost inseparable."

Inseparable?

Unlikely.

Everyone says butterflies love flowers—who's ever heard of a caterpillar loving flowers?

Li Banfeng asked: "Have you heard of a Xie bride?"

"What's a Xie bride?" Meng Yuchun looked utterly confused.

As the giant toad described, Meng Yuchun was a pure household cultivator who rarely visited the New Land before the tenth layer; her knowledge of wandering monsters was no better than Li Banfeng's.

…

After lunch, Li Banfeng carried a man into his portable dwelling.

The man wore a long robe, its embroidery faded—clearly an official robe, though from which dynasty was unknown.

He held a brush, its white tip stained with ink. His wife exclaimed happily: "This is a Dao Bi Li—a treasure! My dear, you always cherish…"

The joyful gongs and drums fell silent; the singing turned mournful: "Oh my husband, why did you bring back a corpse? Don't you cherish your humble wife anymore?"

Hong Ying burst into laughter: "You can't eat it? I will—I'll make you jealous, wicked woman!"

A wave of power surged—Hong Ying rushed forward and devoured the corpse greedily.

After eating, Hong Ying returned to the mirror and sat silently. Her body changed visibly—once gaunt, her form now showed signs of plumpness.

The singing machine murmured: "This wretch is turning human so fast—why does she get such luck? I wonder if it's even luck at all…"

Other magic treasures rushed forward to share the feast. Li Banfeng comforted his wife: "After we finish this job, I'll bring back some live ones for you."

His wife shook her trumpet mouth and suddenly blasted steam, driving back the other treasures.

"Enough eating—leave the rest for Honglian."

The Dao Bi Li was still half left—this was to be given to Honglian?

His wife was being unusually kind to Honglian today.

Li Banfeng brought Honglian over—her petals bloomed, and within the lotus heart, one seed had fully ripened.

Li Banfeng plucked the seed—it instantly shattered, and a pair of mandarin duck daggers landed in his palm.

No wonder his wife was so generous—Honglian had come with sincere intent today.

But this seems no different from the earlier mandarin duck axes.

Li Banfeng crouched beside Honglian and said, "Ah Lian, trying to trick me again?"

Chit-chit~

"Oh, husband, you're wrong to blame this woman—these mandarin duck axes have a sweet scent. Smell closely, husband."

Li Banfeng used his Hundred Flavors Luminous Skill to sniff for a moment and indeed detected a faint sweetness.

"Let me smell too!" Hong Ying sniffed for a long time beside him; after years of deafness and blindness, her nose was exceptionally sharp, yet she smelled nothing sweet.

Li Banfeng sniffed again. The Hundred Flavors Luminous Skill wasn't just about acute smell—it seemed to have other functions.

"Wife, how do you use this magic treasure?"

"This thing lacks sufficient spirit—it's not quite a magic treasure, at best a spiritual object. One pair of mandarin duck axes, one male, one female. The one in your left hand is male; the one in your right is female."

"If the male axe strikes a woman, she will become infatuated with the wielder; if she appears within a li, the male axe will sense her. If the female axe strikes a man, the same effect occurs."

Li Banfeng nodded. "A useful item, then. Let's call it the Male-Female Axes."

"Oh, husband, wouldn't 'Male-Female Axes' sound better?"

"Wife, your literary taste is exquisite!" Li Banfeng put away the Male-Female Axes, took up the projector, and left the Personal Dwelling.

……

At ten at night, Xiao Die, having eaten her fill of leaves, climbed down from the tree and strolled lazily through the deep forest.

Li Banfeng and Meng Yuchun trailed behind at a distance; thanks to the Zhai Xiu's inherent ability to be easily overlooked, Xiao Die never noticed them.

After walking over an hour, Xiao Die seemed hungry again and climbed another tree to nibble leaves.

Li Banfeng hid beneath a dirt mound and said to Meng Yuchun, "Wasn't she supposed to be inseparable? Where are the other two women?"

Meng Yuchun replied, "Xiao Die's habits differ from theirs—they can't stay together constantly. The Yellow Butterfly and Red Butterfly feed on nectar and rarely separate."

Li Banfeng's judgment was correct: Xiao Die had not yet transformed into a butterfly.

After the battles with Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye, Li Banfeng learned a crucial detail: the dwelling of a Daitoushen is its lifeline; within it lies the covenant scroll. If unearthed, it poses a grave threat to the Daitoushen. Hence, both Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye fiercely guarded their dwellings.

What exactly the threat was remained unknown, but Li Banfeng knew the best way to deal with a Daitoushen was to strike at its dwelling.

Rare wandering monsters—Fengquweng, Xizhaofu, Dao Bi Li, Qing Shang Kulu—had been appearing one after another on Meng Yuchun's territory. They certainly weren't here to fight her head-on; Dao Bi Li had proven with his life that they couldn't match a Daitoushen in combat.

Their goal was to investigate Meng Yuchun's dwelling.

Qing Shang Kulu had parasitized Cao Zhida; Cao Zhida had relentlessly pursued Meng Yuchun, giving him a chance to locate her dwelling.

But he failed—and died at Li Banfeng's hands.

Dao Bi Li successfully found Meng Yuchun's dwelling but failed to escape, dying at Meng Yuchun's hands.

Fengquweng and Xizhaofu worked together—one handled combat, the other deception—giving them the highest chance of success.

Now Fengquweng was dead, but Xizhaofu likely didn't know it yet and probably wouldn't stop.

Aside from Li Banfeng, only three others knew Meng Yuchun's dwelling: Red Butterfly, Yellow Butterfly, and Xiao Die.

Because Xiao Die hadn't transformed, her habits differed from the other two, and she spent more time alone—making her the most likely target for Xizhaofu to impersonate.

Li Banfeng set his target on her.

Meng Yuchun whispered, "It might not be my sisters. That Xizhaofu could be one of your men."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "If it were Xizhaofu, it definitely wouldn't be one of my men—I only have male subordinates."

"Can't she disguise herself as a man?"

"No."

Li Banfeng pulled out the projector and played the image of Fengquweng.

After waiting over ten minutes, Xiao Die climbed down from the tree and slowly walked up to the "Fengquweng," lowering her voice: "Got it."

PS: What should be done next?

Capture Xizhaofu and torture her?

(End of Chapter)