Chapter 387: The Contract of Bei Wushuang

Watching Pan Dehai, Gao Shuxia, and Bai Muyu all chase after Bei Wushuang, Li Banfeng was torn.

Is the contract now on Bei Wushuang's person, or still at his home?

Could Bei Wushuang have dug up his own contract?

It's entirely possible—though doing so would cost him cultivation base, if he stayed home to guard the contract, Pan Dehai's presence meant certain death; better to flee with it.

If the contract really is on him, shouldn't Li Banfeng chase after him too?

But what could he even do if he chased?

He couldn't possibly defeat Pan Dehai.

Gao Shuxia is a Wound Demon, and he couldn't defeat her either.

Bai Muyu is a wandering monster; according to the cook, her cultivation base far surpasses his—Li Banfeng's chance of defeating her is slim, and now chasing after her would net him no advantage, let alone the crucial contract.

But if he doesn't chase, he won't know who ends up with the contract.

Just as Li Banfeng was about to move, he sensed someone approaching.

He turned to see He Yuxiu running up, panting heavily.

"Seventh Brother, don't chase—that's not the person you're looking for; that's a cucumber!"

A cucumber?

"Planted by Zhang Wanlong!"

He Yuxiu nodded, pointing to the sandpit: "The person you're looking for is still down there."

Zhang Wanlong really is a ruthless man—he grew a cucumber person and fooled Pan Dehai!

Li Banfeng stared at the sandpit.

He Yuxiu said: "Seventh Brother, act fast—this cucumber won't hold out much longer."

Li Banfeng and He Yuxiu leapt into the sandpit, pondering where the entrance might be.

Suddenly, the shifting sand churned beneath their feet, and Bei Wushuang emerged, carrying a satchel on his back.

This wasn't luck—it was Bei Wushuang seizing the perfect moment to escape from home.

He didn't know why Pan Dehai, Gao Shuxia, and Bai Muyu had suddenly left, but he knew one thing: this was his last chance to flee.

Before him were two others—one he recognized, Meng Yuchun's lover.

The other he didn't know.

He'd blown up his own hump, nearly killed himself, fought Gao Shuxia and Bai Muyu, and now his last two breaths were spent.

Could he still fight these two?

Even if he couldn't, he had to fight—delay another moment, and when Pan Dehai returned, it would be over.

Bei Wushuang had no time for maneuvering or probing—he stomped his front hooves and let out a low, muffled roar.

"Hulu lulu~"

He used his best tactic: triggering the shifting-sand mechanism with his Sound Cultivation technique to trap the two here.

The sand spun, and both Li Banfeng and He Yuxiu sank into it.

Just as Bei Wushuang tried to escape, Li Banfeng's legs trembled—the sand split apart on either side, carving a channel.

Traveler Technique: Sever Path, Open Way.

Li Banfeng broke free from the sand, then kicked again, clearing a path for He Yuxiu.

He Yuxiu also freed herself, saw Bei Wushuang soaring into the air to flee, and grabbed a handful of sand from the ground, hurling it at Bei Wushuang.

That handful of sand struck like buckshot, piercing straight into Bei Wushuang's body.

Bei Wushuang tumbled back into the sandpit and struggled to rise.

This guy is a damn unreasonable Wu Xiu!

"Hulu lulu~" Bei Wushuang prepared to trigger the shifting sand again—it was just a matter of shouting, and he didn't believe Li Banfeng could keep using Sever Path, Open Way to counter it.

"Huyaya ya~" Li Banfeng didn't use Sever Path, Open Way—he roared back at Bei Wushuang.

That roar shattered Bei Wushuang's rhythm and cadence—the shifting sand failed to activate.

Bei Wushuang froze.

Isn't he a Traveler?

He just bellowed randomly—and it broke my Sound Cultivation technique?

Was he not just roaring randomly?

Did he also cultivate Sound Cultivation?

Bei Wushuang had no time to ponder—He Yuxiu was already hurling sand at him.

Bei Wushuang's body smoked, his form wavering—he opened his throat and roared again.

"Hu~ hu~"

"Huyaya ya~" Li Banfeng didn't care what he shouted—he answered with the same technique.

This was a method he borrowed from his wife using the Deep Courtyard Technique; since he didn't know her Dao path, he didn't know if it could counter Bei Wushuang—he'd just use it and see.

Li Banfeng was far from the courtyard, so the technique's power was extremely limited—if Bei Wushuang hadn't been wounded, these two roars wouldn't have harmed him at all.

But Bei Wushuang was barely clinging to life—how could he endure this kind of grinding battle with Li Banfeng?

After several rounds of roaring, Bei Wushuang suddenly fell silent.

As the sound ceased, Bei Wushuang's form vanished.

What technique was this?

Sound Cultivation Technique: Vanish Without a Trace.

When engaged in continuous sound-based combat, suddenly cutting off sound causes the Sound Cultivator's presence to disappear—a high-level concealment technique.

Earlier, when Bei Wushuang planned to ambush Pan Dehai, he used Vanish Without a Trace—even Pan Dehai couldn't see him then.

Li Banfeng had seen him then, and poured a ladle of golden waste over him.

Bei Wushuang had assumed he'd accidentally revealed himself then; now he tried the same trick to escape, yet still couldn't evade Li Banfeng's gaze.

Li Banfeng once again pushed his Golden Eye's Perfection to its limit—and saw Bei Wushuang's blurred outline again.

His outline was unmistakable: a camel without a hump.

Li Banfeng stomped, shattering ten thousand rivers, flipping Bei Wushuang onto the ground.

Bei Wushuang couldn't understand—Meng Yuchun's lover seemed to be his natural nemesis.

Bei Wushuang used Sound Cultivation; so did Li Banfeng.

Every time Bei Wushuang vanished, Li Banfeng struck him dead-on.

Had he underestimated him? Was his cultivation base truly unfathomable?

In his confusion, He Yuxiu hurled sand into Bei Wushuang's eyes.

This was fatal.

Not just painful—it severely impaired Bei Wushuang's vision.

He Yuxiu acted recklessly, but she knew exactly when to use what tactics.

With impaired vision, Bei Wushuang realized Li Banfeng had vanished.

Boom!

A muffled crack—one of Bei Wushuang's front hooves exploded.

The technique Bei Wushuang feared most had come—Li Banfeng used Ride the Horse, Glimpse the Flowers.

Luckily, his Cloudborne physique held—he didn't explode completely.

But he survived this time; next time, who knew?

He widened his eyes, locking onto Li Banfeng's form, while He Yuxiu kept pelting his eyes with sand.

These two bastards…

Bei Wushuang had fought the local spirits of Xin Di his whole life—what battle tactics hadn't he seen?

Yet now, at his last breath, he was undone by such a simple tactic.

"Wu~ ao…" Bei Wushuang tried to counter—another clump of sand struck his eyes, blinding him again.

In the instant he lost sight, Bei Wushuang lost everything.

His body shattered completely.

Amidst the scattered flesh and blood, only the satchel remained intact.

Li Banfeng didn't hesitate—he grabbed the satchel, seized He Yuxiu's hand, and ran.

Pan Dehai could return at any moment—if they delayed, they'd never escape.

Halfway through their flight, He Yuxiu suddenly laughed.

Li Banfeng stared in surprise: "What are you laughing at?"

Had she been affected by that camel's technique and lost her mind?

He Yuxiu said: "You once said many heroes drown in ditches—I was just thinking, isn't that camel one who drowned in a ditch?"

Logically, yes.

Bei Wushuang, a powerful Xin Di local spirit, could have easily defeated Meng Yuchun in single combat.

He was gravely wounded in Meng Yuchun and Pan Dehai's joint attack, then fought Gao Shuxia and Bai Muyu to the death, exhausting his last strength, and finally died at Li Banfeng and He Yuxiu's hands.

That final battle lasted less than a minute—this was the classic case of a hero drowning in a ditch.

"But you can't say it like that—he's a hero, and so are we."

He Yuxiu asked seriously: "Then who's the ditch?"

Li Banfeng glared at He Yuxiu, and the two kept running.

……

Pan Dehai, Gao Shuxia, and Bai Muyu were about to catch up to Bei Wushuang, when they discovered Bei Wushuang had suddenly vanished in the desert.

Where could he hide?

Disappeared without a trace?

Pan Dehai barked sharply: "Bei Wushuang, you spread insect plagues across Haichiling—did you ever think this day would come? You're at death's door—how long can you hide? Will you not surrender?"

As his words fell, Pan Dehai's body swelled violently, looming over all directions—he sought to force Bei Wushuang out using his revered aura technique.

After waiting a long while and Bei Wushuang still not appearing, Pan Dehai turned and seized Gao Shuxia and Bai Muyu.

Gao Shuxia gasped: "Why are you grabbing us?"

Pan Dehai grinned menacingly: "Didn't I just tell you two young ladies I needed your help guiding us to Bei Wushuang's dwelling? There are some matters I'd like to ask you both."

……

On a one-li plot, Zhang Wanlong held a cucumber, bit into it—the sound was crisp and refreshing.

"Luckily it came back fast," Zhang Wanlong said to Genzi, staring at the cucumber. "If they'd found it, we'd be in deep trouble."

……

Li Banfeng escorted He Yuxiu back to the plot, then ran back to the Mount Ba's residence, arriving at the tunnel where the platform was under construction.

The tunnel looked no different than usual. Li Banfeng walked to the location of his Self-Residence as he remembered, paused briefly—and the gravel beneath his feet suddenly turned into smooth, packed earth.

"The soil's still wet—don't keep stepping on it!" Li Banfeng heard the Self-Residence's voice. A large door slowly materialized before him.

This was an authentication process—the Self-Residence confirmed Li Banfeng's identity, and both the station and the door appeared together.

Li Banfeng entered the door and opened Bei Wushuang's satchel. Inside was a wooden box and an arched iron tablet.

The deed!

Bei Wushuang had indeed dug up his own deed—he planned to flee with it.

Li Banfeng was overjoyed and immediately verified the deed's contents.

On the front of the iron tablet, eight red vertical characters were carved: "One hundred li of land, this as proof."

Dots of blood still stained the characters.

On the back, the inscriptions multiplied—over a dozen lines.

First line: Bei Wushuang was granted this land.

Second line: Bei Wushuang defeated Tiebi Lang and gained fifteen li of land.

Third line: Bei Wushuang defeated Fu Qi Gong and gained ten li of land.

……

Until the ninth line, which read: Bei Wushuang defeated Mount Ba's Master and gained ten li of land.

Several more lines followed, all recording Bei Wushuang's victories.

Bei Wushuang was indeed a ruthless man—after becoming the local deity, he fought fifteen battles and never lost one.

Li Banfeng handed the deed to his wife: "Change Mount Ba's name on this."

His wife was delighted: "My dear husband, this weight has finally been lifted."

The needle carved one stroke at a time, swiftly changing Mount Ba's name to Li Furong.

Li Banfeng was in high spirits and reached for the oil flask to celebrate, when the phonograph called out: "Master, wait—today your humble servant is indisposed. Hong Ying is just the right time."

Hearing this, Hong Ying sprinted off to the Fifth Wing.

Li Banfeng ignored Hong Ying and headed straight for the phonograph with the oil flask.

The phonograph called: "Master, don't rush—how do you intend to handle this iron deed?"

Li Banfeng froze and set down the oil flask.

PS: This really is a problem.

(End of Chapter)