Chapter 379: There Really Is a Way to Have It Both Ways

He Yuxiu spent three days and effortlessly cleared the land.

Li Banfeng hired several people from Meng Yuchun's territory to help He Yuxiu build a house, bought wine and food from the cook, and set up a table inside the tent to celebrate her success.

He Yuxiu picked up a sheep's head, took a bite, and exclaimed: "This cook's skill is truly excellent—culinary cultivators are rare; if not for this being new land, I'd take him straight back to Green Water City."

After all, she was a scion of a prestigious family; though impulsive, He Yuxiu had broad horizons and could discern the origins of this wine and food.

Though the meal satisfied her, she frowned slightly at the wooden house under construction: "Brother, you really expect me to live here permanently?"

In front of outsiders, He Yuxiu called Li Banfeng "brother"—it was their agreed-upon form of address.

Li Banfeng nodded: "You'll need to stay at least several months."

He Yuxiu sighed: "When I was young, I never wanted to come to new land—this place is always pitch-black, swarming with talking birds and beasts, yet hardly any talking people; if you stay too long, you'll be suffocated to death."

You Tao stood beside her: "Sister, if you've got something to say, just tell me."

He Yuxiu hooked her finger under You Tao's nose and smiled without replying.

You Tao knew He Yuxiu likely had private matters to discuss with Li Bai Sha, so she made an excuse and left the tent. He Yuxiu lowered her voice: "Any news from Green Water City?"

Li Banfeng had indeed inquired through Luo Zhengnan: "The bad news is the Frontier Warden still targets the He family—their business declines daily."

"The good news is none of the He family branches are causing trouble; for now, the household remains relatively peaceful."

He Yuxiu nodded: "Hai Qin was ruthless—he eliminated the violent offshoots; now the branches are obedient, but when real trouble comes, they're utterly useless—not one of them can handle anything."

"Now that Hai Qin is gone and Hai Sheng is out in the outer provinces, if I don't show my face again, the He family will be finished."

Li Banfeng said: "If you show your face, you'll be captured by the Frontier Warden—won't that just accelerate the He family's downfall?"

"Hiding in new land isn't necessarily safe," He Yuxiu said, glancing outside the tent. "I've seen many cultivation cultivators, but never one so bizarre—look at his land—it doesn't even look like new land anymore."

Zhang Wanlong's land indeed didn't resemble new land: a square mile crisscrossed with furrows, crops thriving wildly, already meticulously managed even before the land was fully cleared.

The next afternoon, the three days were up—Zhang Wanlong successfully reclaimed his land, the outcome never in doubt.

Li Banfeng brought a basket of wine and food into the land to congratulate them; both were busy and had no time to eat yet.

Zhang Wanlong planted several acres of crops—not for humans, but exclusively for strange creatures.

A steady stream of two-headed sheep, headless cows, donkey-headed maggots, and eight-legged rabbits arrived at Li Banfeng's land.

These strange creatures weren't here to cause trouble—they were here to eat.

Zhang Wanlong grew them crops that were harmless and delicious, solely to have them consume the plants while producing the raw materials for Genzi's Golden-Essence Brew.

Genzi no longer needed to scavenge with spoon and fork—he now had mountains of gold at his fingertips.

Li Banfeng carried the food basket and sighed inwardly: no matter how skilled the cook, the aroma of food could never rival the majesty of a mountain of gold.

Zhang Wanlong laughed: "Seventh Master, this isn't a place for meals—wait a moment, I'll prepare another spot."

A square mile was neither large nor small; besides the gold mountain and farmland, Zhang Wanlong had also built a garden.

Between the flowerbeds, he placed a dining table—this meal would have real flavor.

After two cups of wine, Li Banfeng asked Zhang Wanlong: "With your skill, couldn't you reclaim three or five more miles of new land?"

Zhang Wanlong shook his head: "We didn't come here to acquire land—we came to cultivate. If we open too much land and human energy doesn't rise, we'd just be annoying the local land gods."

His words made sense, and his actions were equally sound.

After eating and drinking, Zhang Wanlong and Genzi returned to their tasks. Li Banfeng walked around the land—everything was proper crops; the eggplant-like "Zhang Wanlongs" were gone.

Where had those eggplant people gone?

As Li Banfeng was about to leave the land, he saw several "Zhang Wanlongs" returning.

They carried baskets on their backs, filled with all kinds of herbs.

Li Banfeng looked at the real Zhang Wanlong: "It seems your cultivated goods aren't just for amusement—they can do plenty of work."

Zhang Wanlong shook his head: "Only rough labor. Seventh Master, look at these herbs—the vast majority are useless."

"They picked long leaves instead of short ones, flowers instead of thorns; they barely found one ginseng, but these idiots don't know how to dig up the roots—they only brought back the leaves. What's the point of that?"

Yet the utility seemed considerable.

Li Banfeng repeatedly compared these cultivated "Zhang Wanlongs," noticing slight differences from the original—but unless observed closely, they were indistinguishable.

"Could you sell me some of these seeds?"

"Easy!" Zhang Wanlong immediately handed Li Banfeng a small bag of seeds.

Li Banfeng held the seeds: "When grown, do they all look exactly like you?"

Zhang Wanlong chuckled: "Seventh Master, you're joking—if they all looked like me, what use would you have for them?"

"What kind of fruit grows depends on whose blood you use to cultivate them."

"Before planting, the seed must drink a single drop of blood—whose blood it drinks, the fruit will resemble."

Li Banfeng was astonished: "Just one drop?"

"Exactly one drop."

"How much for this bag of seeds?"

"Talking money is crude—I want to be your friend. These seeds are a gift."

Li Banfeng shook his head: "I don't accept gifts without payment. If you won't name a price, I'll return them as-is."

Zhang Wanlong nodded: "Seventh Master, you speak plainly. Since you're sincere, I won't ask for much—this bag of seeds is a thousand silver dollars."

For the seeds' function, a thousand silver dollars was truly cheap—even absurdly so.

Li Banfeng said: "Isn't this price too low?"

Zhang Wanlong smiled: "To anyone else, I wouldn't sell at any price. But you're different—whenever you come to buy, this quality of seed will always be this price."

"Alright, I'll remember your sincerity. I'll take the seeds now—I'll bring the money tomorrow."

Li Banfeng returned to his personal dwelling, took out one seed, placed it on the table, unscrewed the blood-swing, and dripped a drop of blood onto the seed.

The phonograph, with its needle, lifted the seed, observed for a moment, and seemed to discern something special.

"Incredible technique—this method has great potential! Perhaps it could, perhaps it could…"

"Perhaps what?" Li Banfeng didn't understand why his wife was so excited.

The phonograph paused, then sang: "My dear husband, your humble wife spoke nonsense—please don't mind it."

Li Banfeng buried the seed in the land He Yuxiu had cleared. Without Zhang Wanlong's technique, it grew much slower—he waited over an hour before roots just began to emerge.

Li Banfeng returned to his dwelling to sleep.

The next morning, a cabbage over a meter tall had sprouted.

Why had it become a cabbage?

Wasn't it supposed to be an eggplant?

Could it be that eggplant people and cabbage people have different functions?

Li Banfeng sliced open the cabbage with a knife—out crawled a man.

He Yuxiu had just stepped out of the tent to wash up; seeing the man, she nearly struck him.

She recognized him—he was a disciple of Jiang Xiang's Soda Hall, killed by Li Banfeng, who had lost much blood to the Blood-Swing before dying.

Fortunately, He Yuxiu had broad experience; seeing the sliced cabbage beside him and the man's vacant gaze, she realized this must be the strange cultivation cultivator's creation.

"This is a valuable thing!" He Yuxiu examined the cabbage-man front and back, unable to suppress her praise: "Identical to the real thing."

Li Banfeng nodded: "If we keep it, it truly is valuable."

He Yuxiu touched the cabbage-man's robe: "He's wearing a white tunic, Seventh Brother—did you dress him?"

Li Banfeng shook his head—he had given the cabbage-man no clothing; the tunic and pants had emerged from within the cabbage.

He Yuxiu also noticed: "This doesn't seem like fabric—it feels like cabbage stalk."

It felt unnatural, yet looked flawless.

Li Banfeng tapped the "cabbage-man" on the face with a sickle—the cabbage-man showed no reaction.

He did not know fear.

Li Banfeng asked: "What's your name?"

The cabbage-man did not answer—he could not speak.

Li Banfeng ordered him to move—the cabbage-man did not understand.

He Yuxiu shook her head: "If it can't move, it's useless."

Li Banfeng thought long and recalled his earlier experience with the watermelon men.

He cut off two cabbage stalks, chewed them, and swallowed.

The cabbage stalks were crisp and sweet, but like watermelon, intensely bitter—he broke into a sweat, and his sweat carried a cabbage-like stench.

The cabbage-man turned his face toward Li Banfeng, as if sensing him.

Li Banfeng shouted: "Go!"

The cabbage-man slowly stepped forward.

"Run!"

The cabbage-man immediately sped up.

"Kill!"

The cabbage-man turned and charged He Yuxiu—since only she and Li Banfeng were present, and Li Banfeng carried the cabbage scent, the cabbage-man would not attack him.

He Yuxiu had no fear of the cabbage; she punched its head into pulp.

But the remaining cabbage body still tore at her—she swung her fists, reducing the "cabbage-man" to shredded stalks; even the smallest fragment continued to fight her.

He Yuxiu shook cabbage juice from her hands: "Seventh Brother, don't underestimate this cabbage—one or two are manageable, but thousands? A real nuisance. If you had tens of thousands, you could rule the Prolo Province."

Li Banfeng gazed at Zhang Wanlong's land, at the thriving crops, murmuring: "It's certainly a nuisance—but it's also a valuable thing."

Back in his dwelling, Li Banfeng sat on the edge of his bed, lost in thought.

The phonograph asked: "My dear husband, what troubles you now?"

Li Banfeng said, "I don't want to stay in Xin Di forever, but there are matters on this land that require careful handling—if anything changes, I must come back to check."

Huh Chi ~

"Husband, you're putting me in a difficult position. This land is so remote—if you go to Lüshui City and something happens here, even if you sense it, you won't be able to return in time."

"You don't want to stay on this land, yet you still want to manage its affairs. I simply can't think of a way to have it both ways."

Li Banfeng thought long and hard but couldn't come up with a good solution.

When there's a sensation on the land, could I use my will to make Suishenju bring me back to the plot?

I could return, but the key wouldn't come back—I wouldn't be able to get home quickly after arriving at the plot.

Now I'm a seventh-layer Zhai Xiu; I carry the technique of Peaceful Living and Prosperity. If I stay away too long, my fortune will be severely affected.

Hum!

Suishenju suddenly shuddered, and an aged voice sounded in Li Banfeng's ear:

"There is a way—build a train station here."

"What good is building a station?" Li Banfeng didn't understand Suishenju's meaning.

"With a station, I can stop the train." Suishenju replied.

"Where can't you stop the train?"

"It's different. Stopping at a station is normal parking; stopping elsewhere is temporary parking."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is, when parking temporarily, the doors are closed; when parking at a station, the doors are open."

"Then that could… wait a minute!" Li Banfeng suddenly understood. "So if I build a station on this land, you can bring me here—and keep the doors open."

"As long as it's within the scheduled stop time, the doors remain open."

PS: Scheduled stop time is crucial!

(End of Chapter)