Chapter 442: Flesh and Soul Transformed

Li Banfeng said he would help Qiuluoye cross the Three Passes tonight.

His wife hurried to dissuade him: "Husband, don't do it—he's not ready for even his first or third pass."

"Then let's prepare together," Li Banfeng said, pressing his ear against the left horn of the phonograph, speaking in a low voice.

The phonograph trembled slightly and whispered softly: "Beloved husband, don't speak so urgently—your words make my ears itch."

Li Banfeng slowed his speech, but the phonograph found it even more irritating, giggling uncontrollably.

"Husband, how did you even think of this plan?"

"Ever since I learned the Art of Body Construction, I've been thinking about it—I've pondered for days, just never knew if it would work."

His wife considered a moment, then said: "Logically, it makes sense—but this covenant has already drawn the attention of Neizhou. If they sense any anomaly, they'll deploy other methods. If you risk yourself, I absolutely won't allow it."

Li Banfeng had thought of this too: "I can find someone who isn't afraid of Neizhou's tactics."

"I don't believe it. Who in this world isn't afraid of death? Where would you find such a person? If you trick them into coming and they turn back at the critical moment, you'll regret it forever."

"This man won't turn back! I only worry he won't resonate with the covenant." Li Banfeng pressed his ear to the horn and told his wife the man's name.

His wife smiled: "Only you could think of this. They're of the same lineage—there should be resonance. But I wonder if the nickname will work."

Li Banfeng was confident: "Better than Li Furong."

The phonograph grew uneasy: "If Qiuloye becomes too deeply attached, he might get entangled in the affair."

Li Banfeng said: "Don't worry—he won't recognize it himself, but it'll still work."

The phonograph wrapped Li Banfeng in steam: "If you've devised such a clever plan, my husband, let's finish this tonight."

Li Banfeng tapped the back door of the phonograph: "Why wait? Let's do it now?"

Hss~

A puff of steam pushed Li Banfeng back: "A major undertaking is at hand—don't be frivolous. Husband, we must time this precisely.

I've thought it through—the window is extremely tight. If any step lags, disaster will follow."

Timing was indeed critical. Li Banfeng summoned Mengde, set every node with absolute clarity, then transformed Mengde into a pocket watch and carried it on his person.

His wife instructed: "After you dig up the covenant, have Qiuloye soak in hot water—his flesh will slough off faster and he won't feel the pain, preventing delays in the first pass."

Soaking in hot water, waiting for his own flesh to peel away.

That might not work—how could anyone not fear watching their own flesh fall off?

His wife added: "Once separated from flesh, the soul sees nothing—that's the perfect moment to act. The faster the flesh falls, the better!"

See nothing!

This made things easier.

Outside the Personal Dwelling, Li Banfeng asked Ma Wu to prepare a large basin—big enough to hold two Qiuloyes.

Such a basin was hard to find. Ma Wu had no choice but to rent out an entire bathhouse: "There's only one place suitable."

Li Banfeng inspected the bathhouse: "This place will do, but it's too far from the mountain."

Ma Wu sighed: "Then I'll look elsewhere."

"No need. This is the place." Deceiving Qiuloye into coming for a bath was far better than forcing him into a wooden tub.

Li Banfeng walked through the bathhouse and scooped up some grime from the pool.

This grime was scraped off human skin.

Ma Wu quickly explained: "We just rented the place—the water hasn't been changed yet. Someone will come to clean soon."

Li Banfeng stared at the grime and smiled: "This is perfect! I was thinking of using lime—this is far better."

Ma Wu glanced at the mud in Li Banfeng's hand and ventured: "Old Seven, you're not joking, are you? You say this stuff is good?"

"Excellent! Extremely good! Brother, get me a sack of this!"

"A sack?" Ma Wu stared blankly. "Where am I supposed to get that?"

"From the bathhouse! If it's not enough, call all our brothers—have those who haven't bathed scrubbed too!"

Ma Wu reluctantly summoned Chuanzi and ordered him to gather men and collect the grime.

What was this for?

Chuanzi didn't understand but dared not ask. He took men to every bathhouse in town and barely scraped together half a sack.

For the remaining half, they had no choice—just as Old Seven said—they rounded up a group who hadn't bathed and scrubbed them on the spot.

With enough grime collected, it wasn't over. Ma Wu also ordered Chuanzi to set up checkpoints between Qiuloye's territory and Wuqinxiang, banning all passage after eight tonight.

Li Banfeng went to the market and bought every last spinning top, slingshot, bamboo dragonfly, glass marble, and shuttlecock, then brought them all into the Personal Dwelling.

He bought these to please the Personal Dwelling, to activate the Art of Peaceful Living.

"Old Master, today I'm doing something big—I need good fortune."

The Personal Dwelling grunted: "You think these trinkets will earn fortune? Where's your sincerity?"

"I have sincerity!"

Li Banfeng spent the afternoon playing spinning tops with the Old Master. The Personal Dwelling was satisfied.

That night, Li Banfeng and Ma Wu brought Qiuloye to the bathhouse.

Qiuloye was uncomfortable with the place: "The floor's too slippery—slipperier than river stones. When I was still at the Earth Skin realm, I refused to come here. Bathing in the river was far better!"

Li Banfeng laughed: "Big Brother, let's soak first, drink some good wine, then we'll get to the real business.

We discussed this before—you need your covenant dug out. Tonight's the night. If you're having second thoughts, now's your chance to back out."

Qiuloye smiled: "Brother, that's a silly question. Once I've decided, when have I ever wavered?"

"Good!" Ma Wu ordered wine and food. The three began eating and drinking.

Qiuloye was a true man—but even he couldn't be completely calm at this moment.

He ate and drank little, speaking little. When they finished, he sank into the pool, downing over a dozen jugs of wine. The alcohol surged upward, mingling with the rising steam.

Li Banfeng said to Qiuloye: "Big Brother, I need a drop of your blood."

"Here!" Qiuloye sliced his palm and squeezed out blood. Li Banfeng caught it in a small vial.

After taking the blood, Li Banfeng said: "I'm going to dig up the covenant now—it'll be real."

"Go!" Qiuloye grabbed another jug and drained it in one gulp.

Clearly, he was still nervous.

Ma Wu immediately ordered more wine.

Li Banfeng told Ma Wu to keep drinking with Qiuloye, and specifically warned: "In two hours, the scrubber will arrive."

Ma Wu checked his pocket watch, nodded, and ordered his men: "Clean the scrubbing room—leave not a speck of grime visible!"

The men understood and quickly arranged the sack of grime inside the scrubbing room.

Li Banfeng left the bathhouse and found a quiet spot. He poured half the vial's blood onto melon seeds, then sealed the rest.

After nearly two hours, two melon-Qiuloyes had grown.

Melon people formed slower than cabbage people, but far more precisely. Li Banfeng brought both into the Personal Dwelling. He had the pendulum dress one, and the phonograph infused steam into both, ensuring they could respond simply.

Li Banfeng left one melon-Qiuloye in the Personal Dwelling for his wife.

He took the other into the bathhouse and coughed.

Ma Wu heard the sound—everything was ready. He turned to Qiuloye: "Big Brother Qiuloye, let's get scrubbed!"

Qiuloye waved him off: "No scrubbing. I never liked it as a youth—their hands weren't strong enough. It felt awful."

Ma Wu said: "This scrubber's hands are strong. Let's go see."

They entered the scrubbing room. The scrubber waited with a smile.

Qiuloye studied the scrubber for a moment—tall, muscular, thick eyebrows, bright eyes. He couldn't help but praise: "This man's handsome!"

It was the melon-Qiuloye, disguised with blood-tinted makeup.

Qiuloye lay on the bed. The melon-Qiuloye picked up a towel and began scrubbing.

After one stroke, Qiuloye nodded vigorously: "Perfect pressure!"

As Qiuloye was scrubbed, Li Banfeng sprinted up the mountain.

The Tiger waited in the house and immediately led Li Banfeng to the buried covenant.

The covenant was buried halfway up the slope. Li Banfeng dug it up, dismissed the Tiger, and rushed it back to the Personal Dwelling.

His wife took the covenant and immediately wrapped it in a mist of water vapor.

It was an illusion.

"Husband, Neizhou is surely watching Qiuloye's covenant. Now that it's been dug up, they'll notice. I can deceive them for now, but we can only hope Qiuloye's soul departs quickly."

When the covenant is dug up, the Earth Spirit loses cultivation base, and the soul leaves the body—effectively dying again.

But this process takes time. Some Earth Spirits depart within an hour; others may take days.

"Husband, the speed of soul departure depends on the Earth Spirit's bond with the land. The deeper the bond, the faster the departure. Watch closely—once the soul departs, the critical moment begins."

Li Banfeng rushed back to the bathhouse.

Qiuloye had little bond with Wuqinxiang, but deep ties to his own land. Li Banfeng estimated he'd depart within one or two hours.

Of course, if Qiuloye didn't depart in one or two days, Li Banfeng had no choice—he had to proceed anyway, for once the soul left, not a second could be wasted.

Li Banfeng returned to the bathhouse. Qiuloye lay on the bed, still enjoying himself.

The melon-Qiuloye scrubbed vigorously. As he rubbed Qiuloye's back, a chunk of flesh peeled away with a wet slap.

"What fell off?" Qiuloye startled.

Ma Wu feigned calm and smiled: "Just a bit of grime."

"That much grime?" Qiuloye doubted it, wanting to look closer.

Li Banfeng entered the scrubbing room, diverting Qiuloye's attention: "Big Brother Qiuloye, how long has it been since you scrubbed? A little grime's normal, isn't it? Scrubber, add more force—get all the grime off."

His face remained calm, but Li Banfeng's heart was suspended.

Qiuluoye had already lost his soul; I never expected it to happen so fast.

The Melon Man didn't care what he rubbed off—he just rubbed hard, and piece after piece of Qiuloye's flesh and blood peeled away.

Li Banfeng continued chatting with Qiuloye while Ma Wu silently prepared the sack of gray mud.

Qiuloye lay on the bed, feeling something was off about his body.

"Old Seven, is this bath attendant applying too much force?" As he spoke, another large chunk of flesh was rubbed off.

Qiuloye felt something strange about his face—he grabbed a handful, and his facial flesh nearly came off in his grip.

"Big Brother Qiulou, you think the force is too strong?" Li Banfeng shoved the bath attendant. "Can't you be gentler?"

The Melon Man stumbled and fell onto Qiuloye.

CRASH!

The bath bed barely held up under Qiuloye alone—now with two Qiuloyes piled on top, it was bound to break.

The bed collapsed!

Qiuloye crashed to the floor with a splat, shedding all his flesh and blood, even popping out his eyeballs.

In an instant, Qiuloye's vision went pitch black.

His soul detached from his body.

Li Banfeng swiftly used the Body-Assembly Technique, attaching the Melon Man's body to Qiuloye's.

Ma Wu poured mud from the sack onto the floor.

Qiuloye cried out: "Old Seven, what's going on? Why can't I see anything?"

Li Banfeng replied: "I can't see either—someone released poison. Old Five, where are you?"

Ma Wu, still holding the sack and pouring mud, shouted back: "I've got the bath attendant! He's an assassin—I'm fighting him!"

THUD!

Ma Wu accidentally stepped on Qiuloye's flesh, slipped, and fell.

The fall was hard—he gritted his teeth and grunted twice.

Qiuloye panicked: "Old Five, don't fight him head-on—hide first! I'll fight him!"

Qiuloye truly wanted to fight, but he couldn't move—his soul had just been glued to the Melon Man's body and wasn't adjusted yet.

He thought he'd truly been poisoned—he hadn't been fooled by poison in years, and wondered what kind of poison was so potent.

But then he thought again—it didn't make sense. Why could Ma Wu move while he couldn't?

Li Banfeng shouted: "Old Five, hold him tight—I'm coming!"

BAM!

Li Banfeng used the Step-Breaking-Myriad-Rivers Technique to crush the fallen flesh underfoot, picked up the sack, and sprinkled gray mud into the bloody sludge.

Hearing the sounds of battle nearby, Qiuloye grew frantic: "You two brothers get out first—don't worry about me! I'll fight him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qiuloye stood up, now wearing the Melon Man's body.

Li Banfeng was startled—Qiuloye recovered too quickly!

Qiuloye stood in place, slowly opening his eyes.

His vision shifted from blurry to clear—he could see again.

Scanning the surroundings, he saw flesh and blood scattered everywhere, mixed with gray mud, unrecognizable in shape.

Li Banfeng and Ma Wu had prepared many elaborate acts—but now that Qiuloye could see, there was no need to continue the performance.

Qiuloye asked: "Where did the bath attendant go?"

"I blew him apart with Step-Through-Flowers." Li Banfeng pointed at the sludge on the ground—the evidence was right here.

Qiuloye asked: "Is this his corpse?"

Ma Wu nodded: "Yes, this is his corpse."

The witness is here too.

Qiuloye moved his body—it still felt strange: "My body… why is it so stiff?"

Li Banfeng said: "Poisoned. My body's stiff too!"

Ma Wu added: "We all got poisoned just now."

Qiuloye blinked: "What poison did he use? Why was I the only one unable to move?"

Li Banfeng replied: "You were severely injured. It's a miracle you're recovering at all."

Qiuloye looked at Old Seven—this made sense.

After a moment of stunned silence, Qiuloye stepped on the sludge: "I actually praised his looks—so who sent him to kill us?!"

Don't step too hard, Big Brother Qiulou—the Melon Man's body's too brittle. Don't crush it.

Seeing Qiuloye's condition, Li Banfeng felt reassured.

First trial—passed!

(End of Chapter)