Chapter 79: I Have a Love

Li Banfeng knew his wife’s singing could summon ghosts; Feng the Shopkeeper had told him about it.

He had planned to bring his wife out to solve this directly, but his wife said the house spirit could not leave the house.

That was secondary; the main point his wife made was that a virtuous woman should not constantly appear in public—buying vegetables was still Li Banfeng’s duty.

His wife carved Li Banfeng a record of this song—“I Have a Love.”

All the ghost servants listened, entranced, as if they had forgotten Li Banfeng’s presence.

In fact, they hadn’t forgotten; when Li Banfeng cranked the phonograph slightly too fast, the ghost servants immediately grew angry and glared at him several times.

Cranking the phonograph was truly a skilled task; Li Banfeng controlled the handle with one hand while using the other to unlock the Portable Dwelling.

Almost simultaneously, all the ghost servants turned their heads toward the door of the Portable Dwelling.

“I have a love,

Sung to the spring breeze,

Let the spring breeze ask for me:

Why did he cut off all contact?”

The ghost servants immediately followed Li Banfeng into the Portable Dwelling, without hesitation.

Through the door, they heard an even more beautiful song—more beautiful than the hand-cranked phonograph.

…

Zhou Yujuan suddenly woke from sleep and shook awake Jiang Xiang, the Second Division Patrol Commander of the Medicine King Hall.

“Master, master, wake up—there’s movement downstairs, I heard the phonograph.”

Du Hongxi rubbed his eyes, rolled over, and said: “Let it ring—it rings every day.”

“Master, don’t sleep! I truly heard something!”

“Just let me rest!” Du Hongxi pushed Zhou Yujuan away. “I’ve lost everything—don’t torment me!”

Zhou Yujuan listened carefully; the singing downstairs seemed to have stopped.

Had she imagined it?

Zhou Yujuan scratched her ear; it felt blocked—as if something Du Hongxi had left behind had clogged it.

Hearing no further sound, Zhou Yujuan fell asleep—but Du Hongxi suddenly sat up.

“Master, what’s wrong?” Zhou Yujuan asked anxiously.

“Nothing. Just going to piss.” Du Hongxi got out of bed.

Zhou Yujuan said: “Master, there’s a chamber pot under the bed.”

“I don’t use that—it’s uncomfortable!” Du Hongxi quietly left the bedroom; Zhou Yujuan tried to follow, but Du Hongxi shot her a glare that sent her back.

He wasn’t going to piss—he had lost all sense of his ghost servants.

Losing one or two ghost servants, whether from battle or other reasons, was something Du Hongxi had encountered before.

But losing all of them at once? This was the first time.

Du Hongxi was tense, even panicked; he told no one—not even Zhou Yujuan.

Without his ghost servants, Du Hongxi had lost nearly all combat power; he trusted no one now.

He walked toward the end of the corridor, where his two subordinates waited—subordinates with cultivation, men with some skill, though they hadn’t fought in years.

Just before reaching the corridor’s end, an iron ruler suddenly pressed against Du Hongxi’s bald scalp.

“Who’s inside this house?” Li Banfeng asked softly.

“Inside…

“Speak quieter.” Li Banfeng drilled a hole into Du Hongxi’s skull with the iron ruler; Du Hongxi convulsed.

How could this happen?

Since Du Hongxi reached the second layer of Nightmare Cultivation, no threat had ever come this close to his life.

With his cultivation, he could make his ghost servants do anything.

With his cultivation, even third-layer wraiths could be turned into ghost servants.

But without ghost servants, what could he do?

He could summon new ghost servants.

Du Hongxi focused his mind, summoning every ounce of strength to call forth wraiths.

Were there any wraiths nearby?

Yes—plenty!

Pulu Province had no shortage of wraiths.

Near the singing hall were two malevolent spirits—killers who had drunk blood; though they had no rank, they were vicious enough to be useful immediately.

Li Banfeng shoved the iron ruler half an inch deeper into Du Hongxi’s skull: “I asked you—who’s inside?”

Du Hongxi shuddered, shocked by the brute’s cruelty: “They’re my two subordinates.”

Li Banfeng gently twisted the iron ruler: “What kind of subordinates?”

“They’ve followed me for over a decade—both fearless killers!” He sounded threatening, but was actually buying time.

The wraiths sensed the summoning and flew toward the singing hall.

The iron ruler moved up and down inside Du Hongxi’s skull; Li Banfeng asked: “What sect do these two subordinates belong to? What level of cultivation?”

“Both are Body Cultivators—first-layer cultivation.”

“What kind of Body Cultivators? Birds? Beasts? Or insects?”

“Not birds, not beasts—probably insects.” The two malevolent spirits had reached the vicinity of the singing hall.

“What kind of insects?” Li Banfeng pushed the iron ruler deeper.

“One’s a centipede, the other’s a long worm.”

Long worm?

Isn’t a long worm a snake?

Are snakes considered insects?

The two malevolent spirits arrived outside the villa and slowly slithered through the walls.

The moment had come!

Du Hongxi prepared to command the malevolent spirits to ambush Li Banfeng—but Li Banfeng drove the iron ruler two inches into Du Hongxi’s skull, paralyzing him instantly.

With his left hand, he turned the key and opened the Portable Dwelling, dragging Du Hongxi inside.

He didn’t close the door immediately—two malevolent spirits still followed behind.

These two spirits had some combat power, but no true cultivation; their malice couldn’t possibly fool Li Banfeng.

He brought them into the Portable Dwelling to give his wife an extra dish.

Gurgling~

The fifteen ghost servants hadn’t finished eating; the phonograph groaned with fullness.

“Wife, save the dried vegetables for later—eat this fresh soul while it’s hot.”

With his skull damaged, Du Hongxi couldn’t move; in the dark room, he saw the remaining six ghost servants.

Du Hongxi willed his thoughts to command them to attack Li Banfeng.

The ghost servants remained motionless—as if petrified by a spell.

Unable to control the ghost servants, Du Hongxi turned to command the malevolent spirits to lunge at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng, with his Yin-Yang Eyes, saw clearly—he dodged the spirits, and after a puff of steam, they dissolved into dust and were sucked into the phonograph’s horn.

“Clang~ Oh, husband, these two dried vegetables are spicy~”

Du Hongxi struggled helplessly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

What monster is this?

What place is this?

“Wife, eat this fresh soul while it’s hot—I still need his corpse.”

Huh~ Huh~

Du Hongxi couldn’t speak; only heavy breaths came from his throat.

A mist enveloped him; searing pain made him vomit white foam.

He felt his body sliced into fine threads, each one sucked into the phonograph.

In truth, his body changed little—the shattered thing was his soul.

The phonograph devoured Du Hongxi’s soul, then tidied his corpse—wiped away blood, smoothed wounds, leaving him looking perfectly intact.

Du Hongxi’s corpse was still useful—that was Li Banfeng’s tactic.

Li Banfeng carried Du Hongxi’s corpse out of the Portable Dwelling and stood before the doors of his two subordinates.

Du Hongxi said they were Body Cultivators—one a centipede, one a long worm.

Was he telling the truth?

Li Banfeng thought not.

He propped Du Hongxi’s body upright before the door and knocked.

After much knocking, the door finally opened.

One subordinate was bare-chested, the other wore only a short tunic; both were half-asleep.

They seemed sluggish—not nimble like centipedes or long worms.

These two had indeed followed Du Hongxi for a long time, but with ghost servants guarding him, they’d never needed to fight.

Seeing Du Hongxi standing at the door, they failed to recognize him as a corpse.

Behind Du Hongxi stood a stranger; the naked subordinate ignored the young man and asked Du Hongxi directly: “Big brother, what’s up?”

Du Hongxi did not answer; the young man behind him spoke.

“Nothing much, Big Brother just missed you.” Li Banfeng swung his knife and slit the naked man’s throat.

The man in the jacket gasped in shock, drawing a sharp breath—Li Banfeng seized the moment and shoved a emerald-green poison pill into his mouth.

The man was quick-witted; he forced the poison pill out and parried two of Li Banfeng’s strikes.

But it was already too late—the poison had spread to his throat; severe swelling caused him to suffocate instantly.

The two subordinates stood at the door, both clutching their throats.

This was Li Banfeng’s first time using a poison pill; he wasn’t fully confident in its effect.

But seeing the poisoned man lose his ability to resist within seconds, Li Banfeng gained a high evaluation of the poison pill.

Not only was its power great, but its effect was excellent—it didn’t even need to be swallowed; just a touch could poison the target.

Seeing the two men weakening, Li Banfeng didn’t dare delay; he quickly opened his personal dwelling and turned to ask:

“I forgot to ask—what Dao sect are you two from?”

Why aren’t you speaking?”

“Don’t want to talk?”

“Fine, don’t say anything. But next time, tell me.”

“Don’t die just yet—hold on a little longer. My family’s still waiting for dinner.”

PS: I have a little tale to sing for you, dear readers—come, let us share our hearts~

(End of Chapter)