Chapter 341: For the Sake of Yaowang Gou

Funeral Gate Array.

Li Banfeng and Qiu Zhiheng had never heard this name before.

Yao Lao stood in the courtyard, dazed and muttering to himself, doubting his own judgment.

"It can't be— to set up a Funeral Gate Array, the Funeral Star must act in advance,

he laid the array on my turf, and yet I knew nothing?"

Qiu Zhiheng thought to himself: Yao Lao, no need to doubt—you really might not have known.

Compared to other local gods, Yao Lao was clearly not cautious enough; he was too carefree by nature.

Li Banfeng asked directly: "What is the Funeral Gate Array used for?"

Yao Lao sighed: "The Funeral Gate Array is a technique of Funeral Cultivators—using their blood to draw a array in Yaowang Gou, then sending a living Funeral Cultivator into it,

if the Funeral Cultivator dies within the array, the area becomes saturated with ill fortune, making these Funeral Cultivators untouchable,

what can we do now?

Capture them all alive and send them away?"

Yao Lao thought of a solution and moved to act, but Li Banfeng stopped him.

Yao Lao had drunk too much today; he acted impulsively.

"Yao Lao, let's first clarify the situation. Your plan is sound, but you must not confront the Funeral Cultivators—you must stay here to deal with the Funeral Star,

leave the Funeral Cultivators to me and Brother Qiu. If they wish to cultivate, they'll inevitably cause trouble; finding them won't be hard. We'll figure out how to send them away later."

Yao Lao shook his head: "This matter shouldn't drag you into it."

Qiu Zhiheng shook his head: "This isn't dragging you in—it's Yaowang Gou's affair, and I can't avoid it. My home is here."

After much persuasion, Yao Lao finally agreed to stay behind. Li Banfeng and Qiu Zhiheng descended the mountain, discussing strategies as they walked.

First, we must determine how Yu Heshun died.

Li Banfeng feared he had been ordered by the Funeral Star to come to the Funeral Gate Array and kill himself.

If that were true, and other Funeral Cultivators collectively sought death, we couldn't stop them.

Qiu Zhiheng wasn't worried about this: "With the way Funeral Cultivators behave, they wouldn't willingly die. I suspect the Funeral Star sent someone to kill him."

They settled on a plan and went their separate ways: Qiu Zhiheng searched for the Funeral Cultivators' whereabouts, while Li Banfeng investigated Yu Heshun's death.

The news came from Yu Nan; Li Banfeng first went to Yu's Cloth Shop.

Yu's Cloth Shop was in chaos; apprentices were rushing about sorting through bolts of cloth.

The cloth had all mildewed. Yu Nan had run this shop for years—she couldn't possibly lack anti-mildew methods—but now the warehouse was turned upside down, and hardly a single bolt remained intact.

Li Banfeng pulled Yu Nan aside and asked: "How did you learn of Yu Heshun's death?"

"I heard it from a coachman. Someone saw him walking toward the ticket office at the station, then suddenly spat blood and died. His body's still lying there. Everyone thinks it's bad luck, no one's claimed it. I knew Yao Lao cared about this, so I rushed to tell him."

At the station, no one else acted—he suddenly died.

Was it a slow poison? Or some kind of curse technique?

Li Banfeng went to the train station to examine Yu Heshun's corpse. Aside from the pool of blood, there was no visible cause of death.

The station falls under the jurisdiction of the Border Warden—couldn't even he send someone to collect the body?

Li Banfeng considered bringing the corpse home for his wife to study, but out of caution, he decided to return and consult first.

Back at Suishenju, Li Banfeng mentioned Yu Heshun. Before he could finish, his wife spat twice: "Pfft! Hey, husband, why bring up that cursed thing again? Wasn't he killed by a donkey?"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "He's dead. And now over a dozen Funeral Cultivators have appeared."

"A dozen?" His wife didn't believe it. "Husband, are you sure? Are they really Funeral Cultivators? How many disciples does the Funeral Cultivator sect even have?"

"I asked the local gods. It's the Funeral Star who set up the Funeral Gate Array in Yaowang Gou."

Huh-huh! Huh-huh!

The drums and gongs quickened.

Before the singer could speak, Xiang Hongying spoke first: "Forget this. Leave quickly."

Li Banfeng asked: "And if we don't leave, what then?"

"One Funeral Cultivator dies, that's the First Array. Another dies, that's the Second Array. The more Funeral Cultivators die, the stronger the ill fortune grows.

Once the ill fortune gains momentum, you won't be able to leave. The Funeral Gate Array is deeply evil—don't bring disaster upon yourself and carry the curse home."

Li Banfeng said nothing.

The singer knew Li Banfeng's nature. She told Xiang Hongying: "Stop talking."

Xiang Hongying protested: "I'm only trying to help him."

"Wretched woman, do you want a beating? I told you to be silent!"

The singer snapped, and Xiang Hongying fell silent.

"Beloved husband, what do you plan to do about this?"

"I want to bring Yu Heshun's corpse home and find out how he died—perhaps we can trace the Funeral Star's whereabouts."

"No, husband! Funeral Cultivator corpses are too cursed. Bringing one home will ruin your fortune and anger the house spirit."

Li Banfeng sighed: "Very well. Let's just send these Funeral Cultivators away."

"You must find a good place to dispose of them. Since the Funeral Star has acted, he'll surely return. This is all Yao Lao's fault—he's always drowning in his wine barrel. Someone set up such a massive array on his turf, and he didn't notice. Let's see if he learns a lesson."

Li Banfeng left Suishenju. Xiang Hongying asked: "Who was this Yao Lao you mentioned?"

"Just a local god surnamed Yao."

"You said he's drowning in a wine barrel—is he…?"

His wife snapped: "Enough questions. Go put on your rouge. Look at how badly you've drawn your eyebrows."

"If they're ugly, so what? I can't see them anyway."

…

Li Banfeng returned to Qiu's Herbal Shop. The shop was even more chaotic than Yu's Cloth Shop—the herbs had mildewed too.

Cao Ye wept: "Master Qiu, Madam, I delivered only top-quality herbs—they shouldn't mildew!"

Madam Qiu comforted her: "Yezi, this isn't your fault. Don't be upset."

Li Banfeng walked down the street. The entire Paifang Street was in disarray.

Feng the Shopkeeper's goods had mildewed. Zou's Rice Shop's grain had mildewed. Pinming Tea House's tea leaves had mildewed. The steamer cloths at the bun shop had mildewed. Even Liu Er's wife's baby diapers had mildewed.

The entire Ligu was steeped in a stench of mold—was this what they meant by "ill fortune spreading"?

What would happen if another Funeral Cultivator died?

Funeral Cultivators seek out ill fortune—they should be easy to find. But things weren't as expected.

Qiu Zhiheng sent his apprentices to search Ligu, but they found not a single Funeral Cultivator.

Where had they gone? Did they all flee to Wai Gu to cause trouble?

Qiu Zhiheng contacted his contacts to search widely. Li Banfeng had the newspaper publish a reward. Yu Nan and Feng the Shopkeeper each mobilized their networks to hunt for the Funeral Cultivators.

After a day and night of searching, they found no living Funeral Cultivator—only one corpse.

The corpse appeared again at the train station—the old woman who had harassed the coachman earlier. Her cause of death matched Yu Heshun's exactly: she spat blood and died right before the station.

Soon after the old woman died, herbs in every herbal shop began to sprout insects; cloth shops and general stores were infested with borers.

That wasn't the worst. The real disaster struck in Wai Gu: fields and farmlands swarmed with pests.

Li Banfeng's face tightened. Seeing the insects, he felt as if he were staring at the devastation of Hai Chi Ridge.

Fortunately, these pests weren't fierce. That night, heavy rain fell all night. By morning, the rain stopped—and all the pests vanished. Yu Hulü examined their bodies and confirmed they had been poisoned.

"This poison kills insects but spares humans—it must have been Yao Lao's doing."

The insect plague was over, but the Funeral Cultivators were still missing.

Two days later, several friends brought news to Qiu Zhiheng: they were leaving Yaowang Gou.

These friends were people of status, with travel permits—they were fleeing the disaster.

Those without permits couldn't escape Yaowang Gou. They hid at home. Restaurants, teahouses, inns, and dance halls all closed. By dusk, not a single pedestrian could be seen on Ligu's streets.

Li Banfeng now understood the power of the Funeral Gate Array: a thriving community had withered to this in such a short time.

Qiu's Herbal Shop had closed too. At dinner, Qiu Zhiheng urged Li Banfeng: "Brother, return to Lüshuicheng. I've never encountered a Funeral Gate Array before. Honestly, I don't know what to do next."

Li Banfeng looked at Qiu Zhiheng.

Qiu Zhiheng shook his head: "I can't leave—not just for Yao Lao. My livelihood is here."

With Qiu Zhiheng's skills, could he not rebuild his fortune elsewhere?

Not difficult.

But he cherished Qiu's Herbal Shop.

Li Banfeng lowered his head and kept eating: "I can't leave either."

"Why?"

Li Banfeng didn't answer.

Some truths can't be explained.

He entered the Dao in Yaowang Gou.

He acquired Suishenju in Yaowang Gou.

He brought his wife home in Yaowang Gou.

He met Ma Wu and Xiao Pang in Yaowang Gou. He climbed Kuwu Mountain, gathered Snake-Spotted Chrysanthemums—everything that allowed him to survive in Puluozhou was built in Yaowang Gou.

"I'll search again." Even if he had to walk every inch of Yaowang Gou on foot, he'd drag out every Funeral Cultivator!

Li Banfeng set down his chopsticks and rose—when suddenly, someone knocked at the door.

Qiu Zhiheng opened the herbal shop's gate and frowned.

Since arriving at Yaowang Gou, he had visited every mountain faction, but Qiu Zhiheng had never paid a visit to the Jiangxiang Gang—he looked down on them in his heart.

The man standing before him was Luo Zhengnan, the Hall Master of the Jiangxiang Gang's Yaowang Hall.

"Hall Master Luo, what brings you here?"

Upon hearing Luo Zhengnan had arrived, Li Banfeng quickly entered the back chamber.

Before Hall Master Luo, Li Banfeng was the Lord of Tiemenbao—his surname was Bao, his title was Lord Bao.

Luo Zhengnan bowed to Qiu Zhiheng and said, "Lord Qiu, I'd like to discuss something with you."

"Say it here," Qiu Zhiheng replied, offering no return bow and making no move to invite Luo Zhengnan inside.

Luo Zhengnan waved his hand behind him; two stick-bearers brought forward a man who trembled violently. Qiu Zhiheng recognized him—a corpse cultivator who had once harassed the cart driver at the station.

Luo Zhengnan said, "I hear Lord Qiu is hunting corpse cultivators. I've captured one. Such people bring ill fortune—I've come to discuss with you: should he stay with me, or with you?"

Qiu Zhiheng glanced at the corpse cultivator and asked Luo Zhengnan, "Are you helping me?"

Luo Zhengnan shook his head. "This is for Yaowang Gou. This fine Yaowang Gou must not be ruined by these scum."

Qiu Zhiheng bowed to Luo Zhengnan. "Hall Master Luo, please come inside!"

Luo Zhengnan had the corpse cultivator left outside and entered the pharmacy alone. The two sat across from each other, sipped tea, and Luo Zhengnan said, "I've traveled the martial world for many years. I've heard tales of this situation before—if I'm not mistaken, this is the Sanguan Array?"

Qiu Zhiheng nodded. "Hall Master Luo has sharp eyes."

"Lord Qiu intends to drive all corpse cultivators out of Yaowang Gou?"

Qiu Zhiheng nodded.

Luo Zhengnan set down his teacup. "All my brothers in Yaowang Hall will spare no effort to hunt down corpse cultivators. As for travel permits and tickets, we'll figure it out together."

PS: Luo Zhengnan is a man of courage and one who gets things done.

(End of Chapter)