Chapter 56: Rules and Limits

“Male old woman!” The man in the horsehair coat first smelled smoke, then his whole body burst into flames—he realized he’d met his enemy.

No wonder this guy in the red suit knew so much about Oil Xiu.

No wonder he knew my killing move.

It was Yu Nan who guided him.

Yu Nan had indeed instructed Li Banfeng; otherwise, Li Banfeng alone, facing such a rare Dao sect as Oil Xiu, would have suffered greatly.

Oil Xiu fears fire; using fire is the most correct tactic against Oil Xiu.

But why didn’t Li Banfeng use fire at first?

Because the correct method must be applied at the correct moment.

Li Banfeng succeeded in his ambush because his strike was hidden; if he’d approached the horsehair coat man holding a torch, the man would have knocked Li Banfeng down immediately.

Why didn’t Li Banfeng use fire during the fight?

Light a match halfway through?

Li Banfeng had considered it.

But the horsehair coat man wasn’t a fool—he wouldn’t give Li Banfeng a chance to strike a match; even if the match lit, he wouldn’t let it burn him.

Not even Li Banfeng, let alone Smoke Xiu Yu Nan, could easily set fire to the horsehair coat man; during their earlier fight, the man had denied Yu Nan even the chance to light a cigarette.

Now, though fire had succeeded, the horsehair coat man wasn’t without recourse.

He immediately retracted the oil from his body, rolled on the ground, and quickly extinguished the flames.

But by the time he put out the fire, Li Banfeng was already approaching with his sickle.

The horsehair coat man had lost one eye, suffered burns, and had almost no strength left; without oil, he could only wait to die.

What if he used oil?

Smoke hung all around him; if he used oil, he’d catch fire again—and still wait to die.

He was trapped, utterly without escape.

Seeing no hope, the horsehair coat man shouted: “Master Yu, what I did before was wrong. Let’s talk about this—anything can be settled!”

“Talk?” Yu Nan sneered. “When you killed my brothers, why didn’t you talk to me?”

“When you smashed my shop, why didn’t you talk to me?”

“When you insulted the girls in my shop, why didn’t you talk to them?”

So the horsehair coat man’s name was Rong Jin’an. Li Banfeng silently memorized his name.

Rong Jin’an defended himself: “Some things, our boss discussed with you—you refused. That’s why I burned your shop. I acted openly, unlike you, who strikes from the shadows. You’ve broken the Jianghu code!”

Yu Nan stepped forward and kicked Rong Jin’an in the face, leaving a red-and-black shoe print.

Rong Jin’an wailed: “Master Yu, I apologize! I’ll kowtow to you! Spare my life!”

“But let me remind you: you run a shop, you still live in Li Gou. You’ve vented your anger, you’ve settled your grudge—let it go.”

“If you push it to the extreme, you cut off your own path. You know what the Geng Family Pharmacy is capable of—they’re backed by the Jiang Xiang Gang.”

“You’ve been in this world for years. You know ambushes are unjust. You know the rules, you know the limits. I’ve said enough—decide for yourself.”

Yu Nan’s index and middle fingers rubbed along the cigarette, his expression grim.

Rong Jin’an had a point: back then, when he attacked Yu Nan’s shop, it was open warfare.

Tonight, Yu Nan’s strike was an ambush.

This did break the rules.

Killing him outright went too far.

Yu Nan hesitated. Li Banfeng walked up to Rong Jin’an and asked: “Just now you said, ‘I’ve said enough’—what did you mean?”

Rong Jin’an sneered: “You don’t get it? Are you new to the Jianghu? Figure it out yourself!”

Li Banfeng said: “I figured it out. In my understanding, you’ve said everything you meant to say.”

Rong Jin’an froze: “What does that mean?”

“You don’t get it? Your last words are spoken—you’re ready to go.” Li Banfeng swung his sickle, slicing toward the horsehair coat man’s throat.

Rong Jin’an raised his right arm to block—but he had no time to summon oil; his forearm was severed.

The severed-arm Rong Jin’an gasped: “Young brother, you’re just doing a job. Your master hasn’t given the order—why are you acting now? This breaks the rules!”

“Who cares about your rules?” Li Banfeng swung again. He aimed for the skull, but the horsehair coat man dodged—his ear was sliced off.

“Forget rules—let’s talk reason. I have no grudge against you—”

“Who cares about your reason?” Li Banfeng swung again. He aimed for the neck, but Rong Jin’an dodged—the blade pierced his left shoulder.

“I—I’m with the Jiang Xiang Gang—”

“Oh? Jiang Xiang Gang? Then one more cut.” Li Banfeng swung again.

“I—I’m not with the Jiang Xiang Gang—I’m with the Geng Family Pharmacy—”

“Then why did you lie to me?” Li Banfeng swung again.

…

The final strike pierced his chest. Rong Jin’an went still.

Seeing this, Yu Nan—who’d still hesitated—could only accept reality.

They discussed it: Li Banfeng would handle the corpse; Yu Nan would clean up the traces.

Qin Xiaopang had already been rescued by Yu’s Textile Shop’s staff. Yu Nan said: “Seventh Master, come to the textile shop tomorrow morning. I’ll take you to visit Boss Qin.”

Li Banfeng nodded, lifted the horsehair coat man’s corpse, and turned to leave.

Yu Nan noticed the horsehair coat man’s blood seeping out, staining Li Banfeng’s red suit—unless you looked closely, no trace showed.

So that’s why Li Banfeng wore the red suit?

Had he decided from the start to kill?

Yu Nan sighed: “Seventh Master, you have no regard for rules or limits at all.”

Li Banfeng turned back, puzzled: “What exactly are rules and limits?”

Yu Nan froze—was Li Banfeng truly clueless, or pretending?

After a moment’s silence, Yu Nan smiled: “Rules and limits? That’s the Jianghu.”

Jianghu?

So profound?

I don’t understand.

For things he didn’t understand, Li Banfeng never overthought.

He walked to the alley’s depths, confirmed no one was around, and carried Rong Jin’an’s corpse into his Sui Shen Ju.

He moved quietly, afraid of waking the phonograph. When he placed the corpse beside the bronze lotus, he noticed the petals were open—inside the seven-hole lotus heart lay three lotus seeds.

Li Banfeng peeled off the seeds.

Two seeds were forged from the corpses of De Cai and De Mao.

The third seed was forged from the Blood-Sucking Short Blade.

Soon after, the two seeds exploded, each spitting out two red pills. Li Banfeng collected them.

Li Banfeng now held eight red pills. At the rate of two pills per level, Rong Jin’an’s corpse should yield two more—ten in total. But Li Banfeng still didn’t know what the red pills were for.

As Li Banfeng pondered, Rong Jin’an’s eyeball twitched slightly.

He wasn’t dead. When the blade pierced his chest, he’d grown oil over his heart—the blade had slid past.

Now the old woman was gone. Only this fool boy remained.

Rong Jin’an planned to gather strength and kill Li Banfeng.

Crack!

The final lotus seed exploded.

Three rusted pills burst forth. Li Banfeng quickly gathered them with his gloves.

Besides the pills, a pendulum also erupted from the lotus.

Li Banfeng recognized the pendulum—it was Luo Yuni’s relic.

When had this entered the bronze lotus?

Li Banfeng traced the pendulum’s edge—it was razor-sharp.

What was this thing for?

Li Banfeng looked at Rong Jin’an: “Do you know what this thing does?”

Rong Jin’an’s heart tightened—he stayed silent.

He’s tricking me—I won’t fall for it!

“Hold still—I’ll test it.” Li Banfeng swung the pendulum at Rong Jin’an’s skull.

Oil instantly welled from Rong Jin’an’s skull—but it was too late.

The Traveler’s speed was too fast—the pendulum had already embedded into the skull.

Rong Jin’an’s body convulsed violently. Li Banfeng stared at the wound, frowning.

Strange—he’s not bleeding.

PS: Because updates are intense, Pu Luo’s word count is quickly exceeding the new book range. Dear readers, please leave a comment and cast a vote—help Sha La climb the new book rankings!

(End of Chapter)