Chapter 382: The Peddler

The phonograph stood beside the bed, glancing first at Li Banfeng asleep on it, then at Hong Ying standing before the dressing table.

I can't sit still—I've had to stand these past two days.

After a moment of silence, Hong Ying suddenly snapped: "Wicked woman, how do you account for this debt?"

"Account? My husband gave you a favor, and you dare demand repayment?" The phonograph was angrier than Hong Ying. "If you'd been even slightly useful, would I have suffered so much last night?"

"What do you mean I'm not useful? Your madman can't tell door from threshold—how am I supposed to be useful?"

The phonograph sneered: "Even if he could tell them apart, could you have succeeded?"

Hong Ying laughed too: "If I couldn't, could you? We were both virgins in life—knew nothing but war. What are you showing off for?"

Chit-chit~

"That's true, you wretch—you could've been a princess, all ruined because of me. Don't you hate me to death?"

"Wicked woman, I'll say this once more: I killed you for nothing to do with this! I killed you for the tens of thousands of lives in the army—you never cared about them!"

"You wretch, how dare you say I didn't care?"

"If you cared, why keep fighting?"

"Because I can win!"

"You can't win a damn thing! The peddler's already reached the battlefield—what are you going to fight him with?"

"I'm not afraid of him!"

"Still talking nonsense!" Hong Ying roared. "Ask anyone who was there—they all feared him! Even the fiercest men from Neizhou trembled before him! What do you think you can use to fight him?"

The phonograph fell silent for a moment, then gritted her teeth: "Why won't you believe me? Why won't you believe I can win?"

Hong Ying replied: "I believe you. Since stepping onto the battlefield, I've followed you—whatever you said, I believed."

Three vanguards died, two of them—only Yuan Shoulu remains, and he fled. He said he'd rather beg for the rest of his life than fight again.

Even now, I still believe you. I believed you could win—but what good is winning if it's still a dead end?"

Just as they were about to argue again, the phonograph noticed Li Banfeng's eyeballs moving.

"Hey, husband, if you're awake, get up right away."

Li Banfeng opened his eyes—he'd wanted to listen longer, but his wife had already spotted him.

"What exactly happened back then?"

His wife remained silent.

Hong Ying sat down angrily, then stood up again angrily.

"Sit down," Li Banfeng said, puzzled at Hong Ying. "Sit and talk slowly."

"Sit? After what you did to me last night, how can I sit?"

Li Banfeng scratched his head—he didn't remember doing anything to Hong Ying last night.

That peddler they were talking about—was he a street hawker?

Could a hawker make the fiercest men of Neizhou tremble? How strong was he really?

Li Banfeng got up and checked Room Three—the floor was still piled high with Tianquan Huan Soil.

"You haven't taken this to the train station yet?"

The Portable Dwelling replied: "Have you chosen a location yet?"

"I choose the location? Can I pick anywhere?"

"Ordinary places won't do. You've ridden trains—you know what a station looks like. The platform must be large enough to hold a train and its passengers."

"But the platform can't be open to anyone—it needs walls to keep ticketless people from boarding."

Finding such a place won't be easy.

Accommodating a train isn't the hard part.

Li Banfeng roughly calculated the Portable Dwelling's length: each room was just over three meters, and now there were eight carriages. When it ascends to Cloud Level, it will theoretically have twelve rooms—Room Three doesn't count toward length. The remaining eleven rooms total barely thirty meters. There are many possible spots.

As for fitting passengers, that's even less of a concern—the Portable Dwelling is Li Banfeng's home. Normally, the only passengers are his family. Even counting everyone, there's no way they'd overflow.

The real issue is the walls.

Where could he find a wall this large?

Hire people to build one?

In the wilderness, suddenly appearing with a strange structure would just announce to everyone that this place is special.

Find a natural wall?

Where would such a place exist?

Li Banfeng thought for a moment—and suddenly remembered.

The estate of Bashan Master.

Since returning to Xindi, Li Banfeng hadn't visited the estate.

Bashan Master's estate was built deep in the mountains, with no entrance, completely surrounded by rock formations—this barrier wouldn't stop the Portable Dwelling, but it did form a natural wall.

Li Banfeng went to the cliffside, used the technique of the Deep Residence, borrowed Hong Ying's ability to pass unhindered, and slipped into the stone.

Through the rock, Li Banfeng walked down a tunnel—the end of which led to Bashan Master's mansion.

The station couldn't be built directly inside the mansion—there were still many blind guards inside.

This tunnel, over a hundred meters long, was a perfect choice.

Li Banfeng hid the key, entered the Portable Dwelling, and asked: "How's this place?"

The Portable Dwelling sighed: "Who ever heard of building a platform inside a tunnel?"

"Tunnels are fine—no need to build a ceiling, and no worries about rain."

The Portable Dwelling agreed: "Hide the key well. For the next ten days, don't let me leave this place."

Li Banfeng said: "Why must you hide the key? Just don't leave yourself."

The Portable Dwelling gave a bitter laugh: "Do you think I don't want to leave? If I could go anywhere, I'd have left long ago.

I'm bound to one of two paths: follow you, or follow the key. I don't get to choose."

"What do you mean you don't get to choose?"

The Portable Dwelling didn't answer.

Li Banfeng hid the key and went to Bashan Master's estate.

Two watchdog wolves once guarded the gate—one Li Banfeng killed, the other had since risen to become the estate's steward, no longer guarding. Now, a blind, headless ox stood at the gate.

The headless ox had no head—only a clean, severed neck.

Though headless, the ox's facial features were intact.

On its left rib, there was a gash connected to its stomach—this was its mouth.

On its back were two holes—once its eyes, but dug out by Bashan Master.

On each front hoof grew an ear. Hearing footsteps approach, the headless ox wagged its tail and blocked Li Banfeng.

"Who are you?"

Li Banfeng studied the headless ox. "Don't you recognize me?"

"No!" The headless ox truly didn't recognize Li Banfeng. On the day Li Banfeng declared himself master, the ox had fallen ill with severe diarrhea and never heard his voice.

Li Banfeng didn't argue with the ox—he simply walked past it.

But the ox was loyal. Knowing it couldn't stop Li Banfeng, it shouted loudly: "Someone's intruding into our estate!"

The ox's voice was loud—many inside the estate heard it.

Shanlang burst out first, barking: "Who dares cause trouble here?"

Li Banfeng smiled and reached out to pat Shanlang's head.

That touch told Shanlang who he was.

"You blind old ox, don't you recognize our master? Apologize at once!"

Hearing the master had arrived, the ox wagged its tail and stepped forward to apologize.

Shanlang caught wind of something and snapped at the ox: "How dare you wag your tail before the master? Disrespectful—get lost!"

The ox hurried away. Li Banfeng asked Shanlang: "What rule did he break by wagging his tail?"

"Master, you don't know—this ox's nose is on its tail. Just now it wagged so hard—it definitely farted, and the stink's still spreading!"

The estate, managed by Shanlang, was orderly. The various strange creatures inside had grown fatter than when Li Banfeng last visited.

Li Banfeng asked Shanlang: "Have the strange creatures on the land been sending more food than before?"

Shanlang shook his head: "Master, you won't like this, but they've sent less—only about half as much as before."

Li Banfeng couldn't understand: "If they're sending less, why are you all fatter?"

"Even half is enough. When Bashan Master was alive, we got less than ten percent."

Shanlang had once told Li Banfeng they only ate Bashan Master's leftovers.

"Could one person eat nine-tenths? She's not a food cultivator."

"She couldn't eat it all, but she wouldn't give it to us. Around the estate, many caves are piled high with spoiled food—but even when rotten, she refused to give it to us.

She said we were lowlife creatures, destined to starve. Since coming here and following you, I've eaten my first full meal, Master—I don't know how to thank you…"

"You don't need to thank me. You earned it yourself."

Li Banfeng went down to the cellar and took out the land seal from the contract.

He awarded Shanlang a merit reward, and others received their due.

Leaving the estate, Li Banfeng went to Meng Yu's residence and held out the land seal: "I'll give you half of this cultivation, as payment for your service these days."

Meng Yu shook her head repeatedly: "I owe you my life. Helping you is my duty."

"You helping me is your duty—but rewarding you for success is mine too. One thing at a time. First, tell me about Bei Wushuang and Pan Dehai—how did they clash? Their land seals are far apart."

According to the cook's intelligence, it seems related to the insect plague in Haichiling.

Insect plague?

The insect plague in Haichiling was caused by the Insect King, and the peddler personally killed the Insect King.

Why would this be connected to Bei Wushuang?

Meng Yu continued: "I heard Pan Dehai has already declared he will take Bei Wushuang's life. I've never dealt with a proper land god, but I know their ranks are far higher, and their methods far more numerous than ours, new land gods. If this war breaks out, I fear we'll be dragged into it."

Li Banfeng nodded: "This is indeed something to worry about. We must prepare early and give the cook more reward so he can gather more intelligence."

Meng Yu nodded: "If anything stirs, I'll light up my territory boundary. I don't care how they fight, but they won't fight on my land."

Li Banfeng lowered his voice: "What technique is it, exactly, that you use to light up your boundary?"

Meng Yu frowned: "Why are you asking me about techniques again? Techniques can't be casually revealed to others."

"What time is this?!" Li Banfeng said sternly. "A war is coming—do you understand? Know yourself and know your enemy, and you'll win every battle. Don't you get that?"

"I don't even know how much capital we have between us, and yet we're still so suspicious of each other—how are we supposed to fight this war?"

Meng Yu thought for a moment and decided Li Banfeng had a point.

"It's a Level Eight Zhaixiu technique: Close the Door and Shut the Window."

"What's the core principle of the technique?"

PS: Yuan Shoulü, the original land god of Huaziwan, was defeated by Lüshui Gai; since then, Huaziwan has become Lüshuiwan.

(End of Chapter)