Chapter 371: Xiu'er, Let's Get Serious

Li Banfeng took He Yuxiu and found an inn to stay at.

He tipped the waiter an extra banknote and had him prepare a large basin of clean water.

The Gourd said to He Yuxiu, "Sister, take off your clothes and soak in the water for a while. I'll help you detox and tend to your wounds."

He Yuxiu sat in the room with a vacant stare.

Li Banfeng had a technique for perceiving spirit-sounds, allowing him to communicate directly with magic treasures.

Could other cultivators communicate with magic treasures?

They could, depending on their faction and level. The stronger a cultivator's perception and the higher their level, the more they could communicate with magic treasures.

A Wu Xiu's perception isn't particularly strong, but He Yuxiu was at the eighth layer. Below that level, even if one couldn't speak with a magic treasure, one could still sense some of its thoughts.

But He Yuxiu couldn't sense it—this wasn't her area of expertise.

She had once tried hard to communicate, and in a fit of rage, smashed several magic treasures to pieces, but never once succeeded in communicating.

Now she couldn't hear a single word the Gourd said. Li Banfeng translated beside her: "Soak in the water for a bit. This elder sister will help heal your wounds."

After saying that, Li Banfeng pulled his hat brim down and left He Yuxiu's room.

"Elder sister?" He Yuxiu looked at the Gourd.

He calls this gourd "elder sister"?

The Gourd flicked its lapel, signaling her to take off her clothes.

Blood had crusted onto her clothes. He Yuxiu tore them off roughly, leaving her body covered in fresh blood, and stepped into the basin of water.

The Gourd slowly poured wine into the basin. It hurt terribly. He Yuxiu was tough and didn't make a sound.

After a while, the wounds were cleaned. The Gourd fed He Yuxiu two more sips of wine.

These two sips of wine were different in nature from the earlier ones. After drinking them, He Yuxiu felt her stomach churning as if rivers were overturning, and she wanted to vomit.

Vomiting into the basin was out of the question. He Yuxiu tried to stand up from the basin, but her legs were weak and she couldn't get up for a long time.

The Gourd wobbled toward the door, meaning to ask whether to call Li Banfeng in.

He Yuxiu hesitated for a moment, feeling too embarrassed. She struggled out of the wooden basin and found a bucket to vomit into.

Strange—why is she suddenly feeling shy today?

He Yuxiu herself couldn't figure this out.

After vomiting it all out, He Yuxiu soaked in the basin again for a while. The water, originally pale red, gradually turned a bluish-black.

This meant the poison had been drawn out.

After soaking for over an hour, seven or eight tenths of the poison in He Yuxiu's body had been cleared. The Gourd fed her a sip of wine, and she lay down on the bed and slept.

The Gourd went to the next room to inform Li Banfeng, only to find that Li Banfeng wasn't there at all.

He had gone back to Leaving Leaving Suishenju to divide the loot with the Gloves.

The Soda Kiln branch had plenty of good stuff. The two squatted in the Third Room, item by item taking stock. They both knew this room was special—anything a train liked could just be sent straight to Leaving Leaving Suishenju.

The Gloves spat out two crates of banknotes first. Li Banfeng roughly counted them—over seven hundred thousand.

The Gloves spat out another crate of silver dollars. Li Banfeng couldn't be bothered to count: "The money's all yours."

"Thanks, Boss!" The Gloves were overjoyed and spat out another chain.

This was the chain that had bound He Yuxiu in the dungeon. It could hold an eighth-layer Wu Xiu—this was truly a fine item.

Li Banfeng was about to examine it, but Leaving Leaving Suishenju took it directly.

"The quality's a bit lacking, but it'll do in a pinch," Leaving Leaving Suishenju spoke up.

Li Banfeng didn't understand the principles of trains very well. Would something like an iron chain be useful to a steam train?

The Gloves consoled him: "Boss, since the house took it, we're not losing out. I've got other treasures too."

It spat out a hammer. This hammer had a spirit and could move on its own. He had expected Leaving Leaving Suishenju to take it too, but Leaving Leaving Suishenju seemed a bit disdainful.

"The craftsmanship's too crude. Leave it for that girl."

Which girl?

Li Banfeng took the hammer to the Phonograph.

Hiss~

The Phonograph puffed out a cloud of steam and slowly sang: "Oh husband dear, this sort of rough labor, this little wife knows a thing or two about as well."

She used a stylus to detach a wooden beam from the Windmill Phonograph, tied the wooden beam to the hammer, and stored them in the front compartment.

Seeing the mistress liked it, the Gloves spat out pliers, screwdrivers, saws, chisels, and adzes. The Phonograph took them all.

There was still a pile of glass beads left. The Gloves spat those out too: "Boss, these are good hidden weapons—specifically for tripping people up underfoot."

Li Banfeng had noticed it too. These glass beads really were unusual. He was just about to pick one up when he saw the glass beads all clatter and roll into the Third Room.

By the time Li Banfeng chased into the Third Room, the glass beads had already been taken by Leaving Leaving Suishenju.

"You old man, what do you want this stuff for?"

"To pass the time." Leaving Leaving Suishenju's answer caught Li Banfeng completely off guard.

With the loot sorted out, Li Banfeng left Leaving Leaving Suishenju, took the Gourd back to his side, and slept for the night.

Jiang Xiang's branch at the Soda Kiln had been wiped out. The Border Defense Office would likely take action soon.

Li Banfeng wasn't worried about this—he was confident he could make a getaway, because the border line couldn't stop him now.

As for He Yuxiu, there was even less need to worry. She surely had her own methods.

Capsizing in a ditch was a low-probability event. He Yuxiu was, after all, the head of the He family. The only thing was, the reason for this capsize needed to be figured out clearly.

The next evening, He Yuxiu woke. Her external wounds were mostly healed, and although the remaining poison hadn't been fully cleared, it wasn't much of an issue.

She found Li Banfeng and, thick-skinned, made a request: "All my money was robbed. Could you buy me a set of clothes?"

Her clothes were all torn and covered in bloodstains—she really couldn't go out looking like that.

But this was genuinely a bit tricky. Money wasn't the issue. The key was that He Yuxiu was tall and broad, and a person of conscience. That conscience of hers—ordinary clothes simply couldn't contain it.

With no room left for conscience, the peaches were even harder to fit; in her tattered clothes, the plump peaches were practically bursting out.

Li Banfeng visited a few ready-made clothing shops and bought a loose-fitting men's outfit for He Yuxiu to make do with.

A checkered shirt paired with a beige suit, her hair pinned up under a bowler hat—He Yuxiu looked even more dashing than the average man.

"I'm, uh, hungry," He Yuxiu said, blushing. "Could you treat me to a meal?"

He Yuxiu really was someone who cared about face.

Going out to eat risked drawing attention, so Li Banfeng had a waiter prepare some food and wine and bring it to the room.

The Soda Kiln didn't just make excellent soda; its wine was mellow and fragrant too, making the Wine Gourd rub against Li Banfeng nonstop, craving a taste.

Li Banfeng patted the gourd, signaling her to drink as much as she liked; most of the wine poured into Li Banfeng's bowl was secretly drunk by the Wine Gourd.

After a few bowls of wine, He Yuxiu had recovered much of her spirit. Looking at Li Banfeng, she said, "Brother Li Qi, I truly don't know how to repay this kindness."

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "A life-saving grace—that's a serious matter. To speak of repayment in a few casual words shows far too little sincerity."

He Yuxiu said, "Then what do you propose?"

Li Banfeng looked at He Yuxiu and smiled slightly. "We'll have to do something real."

He Yuxiu delicately asked, "Are you trying to sleep with me?"

Li Banfeng waved his hand: "That won't do—we're a generation apart. How about this: let's become sworn siblings."

He Yuxiu was taken aback. "Wouldn't we still be a generation apart then?"

Li Banfeng said, "Once we've sworn brotherhood, what generation gap is there? A life-saving grace is the greatest of great matters. If you're quibbling over generations with me, what talk is there of repaying a debt?"

He Yuxiu was genuinely torn. Normally, when Lu Chunying called her Sister Xiu, she answered to it.

But sworn brotherhood was another matter entirely—it wasn't as simple as a form of address. In Pulo Province, this was the real deal; from then on, they truly would be of the same generation.

Forget it—in the face of a life-saving grace, such a small thing truly shouldn't be quibbled over.

The two of them burned yellow paper on the spot and swore brotherhood.

Li Banfeng said, "Xiu'er, from today onward, I am your elder brother."

"That's right, this counts as... wait a moment!" He Yuxiu refused. "You, as my elder brother? How old are you to be my elder brother?"

Li Banfeng lifted the wine jar and said, "A life-saving grace—this kindness is enormous. What's there to quibble about over age!"

"That won't do!" He Yuxiu wouldn't agree. "You're bullying me far too much!"

"Xiu'er, drink this wine first, and listen to my reasoning. If I become your elder brother, you won't be losing out. Actually, you don't really know how old I am. Let's start from the life-saving grace..."

She doesn't know how old he is?

Isn't he on brotherly terms with Ma Wu?

Is this really not a losing deal?

He Yuxiu grew more and more conflicted.

……

Two jars of wine, a jar and a half were drunk—He Yuxiu drank the lion's share, and the rest basically all went to the Wine Gourd.

The Wine Gourd secretly sighed: the Soda Kiln's wine really packs a punch!

Flushed in the face, He Yuxiu slapped her chest and looked at Li Banfeng: "Seventh Brother, I owe you a life. From now on, your affairs are my affairs. Whether it's a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, your little sister won't hesitate for a moment!"

"Straightforward! Xiu'er, I just love that temperament of yours!" Li Banfeng praised, then poured He Yuxiu another bowl.

He Yuxiu took a big gulp, then continued, "So, uh, let's discuss this. Your little sister has been scrambling around the jianghu for so many years. Calling you Seventh Brother in front of people—I just can't quite bring myself to do it."

"How about we work something out: when no one's around, I call you Seventh Brother, and you call me Little Sister. When people are around, would you suffer through calling me Big Sister? See if that works."

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "You just said yourself you've been scrambling around the jianghu for so many years—how did you end up falling into the hands of the Jiang Xiang Gang?"

"Embarrassing! That is truly f***ing embarrassing!

Last night you said I had guts, and I said I didn't—I really didn't have any. I came out this time fleeing for my life.

Fleeing for my life was already shameful enough, and then I capsized in this damn ditch." He Yuxiu lit a cigarette, propped her forehead, and recounted the whole story:

"I offended the Garrison Commissioner, and the family business was all shut down. Later, after a lot of effort, I got the business back. Ma Wu was afraid the Garrison Commissioner would come after us for old debts, so he told me to lay low in New Land.

I couldn't stand being in New Land—just thinking about it makes me feel stifled. I wanted to hide out at the Soda Kiln; it's more remote there. I'd cultivated there for a few years and had some foundation.

I even deliberately changed my identity, changed my clothes, didn't dare bring a single pendant, bought a hard-seat ticket, and came all the way to the Soda Kiln carefully.

After getting off the train, I went to find an old friend. We'd already discussed it, and he agreed to arrange a place for me to stay.

Who would have thought that bastard Song Baiming sold me out. That very night, someone came after me.

Not to brag, Little Sister, but over a hundred people surrounded me and attacked. Every one of them was a strong cultivator, yet I fought my way out through a river of blood."

Surrounded by over a hundred cultivators, she still broke out!

Li Banfeng had no doubt about this.

Judging from He Yuxiu's combat ability last night, among the people Li Banfeng had seen, she was the ceiling of the eighth layer.

But being able to gather over a hundred cultivators in one go—this could only mean the Garrison Commissioner had stepped in.

He Yuxiu took a sip of wine and continued, "My magic treasures are all lost, my travel pass is lost too—those aren't big deals. At least I kept this life of mine. Fighting and running the whole way, a full two days and two nights, I finally shook those people off.

Those two days and two nights I had nothing to eat or drink—I was starving and parched. I found a soda stall and wanted to get something to eat.

I didn't dare go anywhere too conspicuous, so I found a secluded spot. Who would have thought I'd run into those bastards from the Jiang Xiang Gang—a few bottles of soda took me down.

I survived great storms, only to be taken down by that soda-selling piece of trash. How f***ing embarrassing is that? Seventh Brother, you absolutely must not tell anyone about this. Your little sister truly can't afford to lose face over it."

Li Banfeng heard this, shook his head, and said, "Sister, this isn't embarrassing."

He Yuxiu raised her head and said, "I was plotted against by those bird-thieves—how is that not embarrassing?"

Li Banfeng asked, "Have you read Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"

He Yuxiu shook her head and said, "Never read the book. I've only heard a few passages from storytellers."

Li Banfeng smiled and said, "Do you know Lü Bu?"

"That I know—he's the best fighter in the Three Kingdoms!"

"How did Lü Bu die?"

"He died at White Gate Tower — his own men tied him up and took him to see Cao Cao."

"What was the name of those men of his?"

He Yuxiu blinked, shook her head, and said, "I can't remember that."

"Zhang Fei was known as a warrior who could take on ten thousand — how did he die?"

"He was also killed by his own men."

"What was the name of his men?"

He Yuxiu scratched her head, unable to answer.

"Can't remember, can you," Li Banfeng went on. "How did Guan Yu die?"

He Yuxiu thought for a moment: "I remember he was brought down by a tripping rope."

"Who set the tripping rope?"

He Yuxiu stared with wide eyes: "How would I know that?"

"Exactly! I don't know either!" Li Banfeng said with a solemn expression. "Plenty of heroes have capsized in a ditch, but a hero is still a hero."

"Xiuer, you were surrounded by over a hundred cultivators and carved your way out along a river of blood — you are a hero. A spent arrow falling into an ambush is nothing to be ashamed of!"

He Yuxiu lowered her head and said, "I'm just afraid people will laugh at me. I can't go up to every person and say I fought my way out of over a hundred. If I kept saying that, wouldn't it just make people laugh even more…"

Li Banfeng looked at He Yuxiu and said, "Let them laugh. If they laugh behind our backs, we can't hear them — let them laugh all they want."

"But if they dare laugh in our faces, we'll knock out their front teeth and see if they can still laugh."

He Yuxiu held her wine bowl and studied Li Qi carefully.

She was clumsy with words and couldn't explain certain things clearly.

But for some reason, she felt calling him Seventh Brother was well worth it.

"Xiuer, what's your plan from here?"

He Yuxiu thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to New Land. Soda Kiln New Land — there's a He family plot there too. Ma Wu was right: only New Land can hide us."

"Someone in Soda Kiln Main Land was willing to sell you out — do you think New Land would be any different? Let's go back to Green Water City. We'll go back openly and honorably."

"Openly and honorably?" He Yuxiu said. "Just buy tickets straight to Green Water City? I'm afraid we won't even make it into the station."

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "Buy tickets? Would that even work? Doesn't your He family have a private train? Call the private train over and bring the head of the family home!"

He Yuxiu said in astonishment, "That would be far too showy."

"Scared?"

He Yuxiu thought for a moment, then drained her wine in one gulp: "I'll listen to you. I'm not afraid!"

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "That's right. The two of us have to have this kind of dignity!"

Dignified it certainly was — but could they keep their lives?

"Seventh Brother, I've lost all my magic treasures, I can't reach my family right now, and as for anyone else, I don't dare trust them either."

"I'll figure something out."

Li Banfeng contacted Luo Zhengnan and asked him to notify Ma Wu, who would reach the He family and have a private train depart immediately to pick up the head of the family at Soda Kiln.

Ma Wu didn't understand Li Banfeng's idea — doing this would get He Yuxiu killed.

After thinking for a moment, he still contacted the He family.

The He family immediately dispatched a private train, bringing along a hundred or so attendants, big and small, to fetch the head of the family.

The train departed that same day and was expected to arrive at Soda Kiln three days later.

The He family's attendants had made ready for a fight to the death — they had even prepared to take action on the train itself.

The Customs Defense Hall got wind of the news. They could see that He Yuxiu was openly defying them.

They ordered the Jiang Xiang Gang to go all-out hunting He Yuxiu — whether alive or dead, they had to see results within three days.

Soda Kiln Hall was already empty, so the Customs Defense Hall transferred in plenty of manpower from other halls.

The Customs Defense Envoy's orders were crystal clear: He Yuxiu's life had to be ended at Soda Kiln. She absolutely could not be allowed to board the private train back to Green Water City, and the matter had to be carried out with great secrecy.

Even with the Customs Defense Envoy's covert support, this was no easy task for the Jiang Xiang Gang.

Elites from several halls had come, and every available method had been deployed.

Over the next three days, the entire Soda Kiln would be turned upside down!

On a steam freight train heading for Green Water City, He Yuxiu sat up from a coal-filled car, wiped the coal dust from her face, and said, "Seventh Brother, is this what you call dignity?"

Li Banfeng snorted and said, "What, looking down on me? Is that how you talk to your elder brother? Have we no family rules anymore?"

"I'm not looking down on you. I just feel like the way we've been traveling is, well, a bit…"

Li Banfeng said with a solemn expression, "Let me tell you, I'm not afraid of them. I'm avoiding their sharp edge. I'm doing this for…"

"Seventh Brother, the conductor seems to be coming!"

Li Banfeng lay flat in the coal pile, not moving a muscle.

PS: So the two of them just became sworn siblings like that — what about Jiaqing?

(End of chapter)