Chapter 796: The Second Battle of Ban and Qing

Li Qi, Ma Wu, and Feng Daiku sat in a carriage together, heading toward the new land.

Li Qi felt He He Jiaqing wanted to move against Ma Wu's territory, and Ma Wu felt Seventh Brother's words made sense.

He didn't dare to wait for a moment. He didn't even pack his luggage, only brought a few weapons and magic treasures, and immediately set off with Li Li Banfeng.

Ma Wu should indeed go to the new land. He is the Land God; he hasn't been on the territory these days, and the land reclamation has had no response, delaying the progress quite a bit.

Li Li Banfeng reminded: "After returning to the territory, don't be in a hurry to respond to the land reclamation, otherwise He He Jiaqing won't come."

Feng Daiku said: "Seventh Brother, are you still hoping He He Jiaqing will come?"

Li Li Banfeng said: "I'm not afraid of the thief stealing, I'm afraid of the thief coveting. If he never comes, this matter will always be hanging, which is not good for defense."

Ma Wu was uneasy in his heart: "Seventh Brother, do you remember where I buried the contract? In that peach forest on the hillside, right at—"

Li Li Banfeng said: "One hundred steps east of the spring eye. Old Five, I have never forgotten this matter. Don't worry."

Feng Daiku was also somewhat worried: "If it were just defending against one He He Jiaqing, that would be fine, but there are so many land reclaimers on the new land. It's hard to say if there are He He Jiaqing's accomplices among them."

Li Li Banfeng asked Ma Wu: "Don't you investigate the origins of the land reclaimers?"

Feng Daiku shook her head repeatedly upon hearing this. Ma Wu laughed dryly: "Seventh Brother, you know my temperament. Some things, I didn't have too many scruples."

Ma Wu acts decisively, but he lacks some caution. This point is exactly the opposite of Chu Chu Huaiyuan.

He and Chu Chu Huaiyuan obtained their territories at the same time. Chu Chu Huaiyuan only used the Three-Headed People Li Li Banfeng allocated to reclaim land, and she wouldn't use anyone else unless their background was investigated clearly, which is why she has only reclaimed half of the territory now.

Ma Wu's attitude toward land reclaimers is to accept everyone. Land reclaimers can reclaim land for him, can accept Ma Wu's employment, and can even accept employment from strangers. Ma Wu doesn't interfere with any of it, which is why his territory has been reclaimed by more than ninety percent.

If it weren't for the fact that business matters took up his energy, Ma Wu could have even reclaimed the territory before He He Yuxiu.

Along the way, Ma Wu kept talking about his fights with He He Jiaqing, including every factory that was smashed, every shop, and even a restaurant that had just opened in Huangtu Bridge—just because it was the business of He He Jiaqing's subordinates, Ma Wu didn't let it go.

These things were too trivial. Ma Wu was usually embarrassed to mention them to others, and even Feng Daiku felt it was too petty.

But with Li Qi, Ma Wu opened up, talking more and more enthusiastically, feeling more and more relieved.

Halfway through the journey, Ma Wu finished speaking, and Li Li Banfeng also got off the carriage.

This carriage was a traveling cultivator's spiritual object; it didn't need a horse to pull it, could eat and drink by itself, and ran very fast.

But even so, this was still too far from the speed Li Li Banfeng was used to.

Before leaving, Li Li Banfeng repeatedly instructed: "After you two arrive at the territory, absolutely do not make a sound. Find a place to stay near the peach forest and don't let anyone know."

Ma Wu said: "Seventh Brother, do you also think he will steal my contract?"

Li Li Banfeng said: "I dare not say he will definitely steal your contract, but other things are easy to talk about; we cannot afford to lose the contract."

After getting off the carriage and walking for less than twenty minutes, Li Li Banfeng arrived at Ma Wu's territory. He bought a new leather jacket from a hunter, had the pendulum match some pigments, and painted the leather jacket until it was shiny. It looked like it had been worn for more than ten years.

The pendulum then gave him a makeover, adding some wrinkles, some bumps, and some messy stubble, painting the wind, frost, rain, and snow on his face.

Li Li Banfeng tucked both hands into his sleeves and walked honestly and dutifully among a group of land reclaimers.

"Do you lack manpower? I'm quite good at fighting."

An land reclaimer looked at him: "What cultivation level?"

Li Li Banfeng said: "Second-layer poison cultivator."

"We don't want poison cultivators," the land reclaimer waved his hand. "Go ask somewhere else."

Poison cultivators easily hurt their own people. Choosing a poison cultivator must be done with caution. Some land reclaimer teams also have poison cultivators, but they are all people they know well.

Li Li Banfeng changed to another place, and this time he didn't call himself a poison cultivator.

"I am a second-layer martial cultivator. Do you lack people here?"

The land reclaimer asked: "What's the price?"

Li Li Banfeng hadn't participated in land reclamation for a long time and wasn't very familiar with the price, so he estimated it roughly: "Five big ocean dollars a day."

The land reclaimer pondered for a long time: "Go take a look at other families."

Land reclamation is a life-risking business. Five big ocean dollars a day, Li Li Banfeng really didn't ask for too much.

It was mainly because the manpower of that group of land reclaimers was already complete. Adding one more was certainly good, but they were a bit reluctant to spend five big ocean dollars.

Li Li Banfeng changed to another place, and this time he lowered the price by a large margin: "Second-layer martial cultivator, only three big ocean dollars a day."

The leader of this group of land reclaimers waved his hand: "Go to another family. We are not in the same business as you."

What do you mean not in the same business?

Li Li Banfeng was angry. He was so active and proactive, yet no one was willing to use him: "Aren't you here to reclaim land?"

That leader said impatiently: "We have another proprietor, we take money to do things, we don't hire people!"

Li Li Banfeng had seen many land reclaimers who took money to do things; they were all heads who recruited people everywhere. How could this group of people be so special?

Li Li Banfeng listened for a while and understood the reason.

The manpower of this group of land reclaimers was complete. They had been working on someone else's territory before but didn't receive the money. Through the recommendation of a middleman, they came to Ma Wu's territory.

Traveling cultivators recognize the road; they can remember the places they have been. Through their description of the terrain, Li Li Banfeng could judge that they had originally been reclaiming land on He He Jiaqing's territory.

They were now on Ma Wu's territory, which was equivalent to poaching He He Jiaqing's wall corner.

Who was this middleman they mentioned? Was he sent by Ma Wu?

Poaching wall corners is indeed the fighting style of the older generation, but if Ma Wu had done it, he would definitely have told Li Li Banfeng; after all, he didn't even leave out the restaurant matter.

Li Li Banfeng rubbed his Judge's Pen: "I feel this middleman should have been sent by the Hundred Flower God."

The Judge's Pen corrected: "It's a fake Hundred Flower God; he is deliberately causing trouble."

From this group of land reclaimers, Li Li Banfeng had already found the first clue, but this middleman they spoke of would likely not appear again.

Li Li Banfeng was thinking about whether this clue had any other use, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

The Judge's Pen asked: "What are you laughing at?"

Li Li Banfeng didn't know what he was laughing at either. A burst of uncontrollable joy suddenly surged into his heart.

He looked into the distance, and many people were digging foundations and building houses.

More than ninety percent of the new land had been reclaimed and would soon become formal land. Those who had successfully reclaimed land all wanted to set up a family business here.

The sound of a suona came from afar, and two land reclaimers had become husband and wife.

It couldn't be considered a formal marriage; there wasn't even a sedan chair. The couple scraped together a table of wedding wine and would live together from now on.

Thinking of his own wife, Li Li Banfeng's cheeks flushed slightly. He hadn't even held a wedding banquet, but fortunately, he had prepared plenty of good food and drink for his wife.

That joy surged into his heart again. Li Li Banfeng tucked his hands and stood there laughing for a long time.

The Tang Dao shook its blade: "Master, when Seven Autumn City became formal land, you laughed like this too."

"Did I?"

"Yes!" The glove testified. "At that time, the Three-Headed People treated Seven Autumn City as their home, and the head of the household laughed for a long time. Why is it so funny?"

Li Li Banfeng squatted down, took his hands out of his sleeves, and grabbed the soil on the ground, vaguely perceiving some spirituality.

That was a perception unique to residential cultivation. The joy in the soil surged slowly in his palm.

A song drifted to his ears. Li Li Banfeng looked in the direction of the sound.

"The slave plays the willow silk as strings, singing until the liver and intestines break, who pities me? At night, counting the drum beats, the needle and thread tangle the lotus flowers."

A girl was playing the pipa and singing. The land reclaimers gathered in a circle, cheering and applauding from time to time, occasionally throwing some small change into the girl's basket.

This girl was pretty, and her singing was sweet, but Li Li Banfeng could see that she was not a living person.

Was this a puppet of the Craft Cultivation, or a delicate lady of the Residential Cultivation?

It didn't seem to be either.

It seemed there was another expert who had settled down on this territory.

This expert seemed to be an acquaintance—

"Two freshly hunted bears, everyone take a look, offer a price!"

A shout interrupted Li Li Banfeng's thoughts.

He He Jiaqing, disguised as an old hunter, carried a bear on his back and walked among the land reclaimers.

Seeing that old hunter had come again, the land reclaimers teased him one after another: "Old thing, cheating people again?"

He He Jiaqing looked colorful: "What kind of talk is that? When have I ever cheated anyone?"

"You clearly have one bear on your back, why do you say you are selling two bears?"

He He Jiaqing put the two-headed bear on the ground: "This bear has two heads. Are you guys not seeing it, or are you deliberately trying to anger me?"

"Deliberately trying to anger you!" The land reclaimers burst into laughter, swarming up to bargain. Some wanted the bear gall, some wanted the bear hide, and some wanted to buy the bear head.

Many people liked to buy things from the old hunter because the price was relatively affordable.

He He Jiaqing had indeed become familiar with them. This was his sixth time scouting the situation on Ma Wu's territory. Now he had judged the approximate location of the contract and had also figured out part of the traps around the contract.

It was because of these traps that He He Jiaqing repeatedly came here to scout. Every trap in the peach forest was built by a famous master, and some traps even came from the hands of Tang Tang Shijiang and the Hundred Clever Lady. These traps were enough to endanger He He Jiaqing's life.

So He He Jiaqing was very cautious; without absolute certainty, he would not take action easily.

Late at night, He He Jiaqing entered the peach forest, took a piece of bear hide from his bosom, tore off a handful of bear hair, and threw it into the wind.

Stealing Cultivation Technique, No Treasure Without Falling.

The bear hair would automatically look for valuable things. The contract was of high value. Based on where the bear hair landed, He He Jiaqing could judge the location where the contract was buried.

The bear hair drifted with the wind. After a while, it landed evenly around He He Jiaqing.

The technique of No Treasure Without Falling took effect, but it didn't work.

Ma Wu had buried quite a few valuables in the peach forest, and the bear hair landed chasing these valuables. This was a method specifically used to guard against Stealing Cultivators.

He He Jiaqing laughed: "Good Ma Ma Junyang, you are really well prepared."

An ordinary Stealing Cultivator might have been helpless, but He He Jiaqing had his own way of dealing with it. Relying on his experience, he first chose several locations in the peach forest, took out a wire from his bosom, and began to probe one by one on the ground.

This was a Stealing Cultivation Technique, Golden Thread Hanging Pulse. Although both were treasure-hunting techniques, compared to No Treasure Without Falling, the efficiency of Golden Thread Hanging Pulse was obviously much lower, but the precision was much higher.

The first location was probed; what was buried underneath wasn't the contract, but gold.

He He Jiaqing put away the wire and turned to the second location. After probing, he discovered it was silver dollars underneath.

These were all good things, but no one should touch them; they were full of traps.

The third location, what was hidden underneath was a suona.

Could this suona be considered a valuable item?

The wire vibrated. This suona should be a spiritual object.

This spiritual object was very sensitive. After being poked by the wire, it seemed to have woken up.

The awakened suona was somewhat annoyed, but it wouldn't take action immediately. After all, this was a peach forest on the mountain. Usually, if a worm or snake came to dig a hole and touched it, it would be normal. As long as it didn't offend this suona again, it could retreat unscathed.

He He Jiaqing roughly estimated the control range of this suona through the pulse transmitted by the wire.

After waking up, the suona controlled a plot of land within a radius of several dozen meters. Within this range, if it perceived an abnormality again, the consequences would be serious.

He He Jiaqing wouldn't let this suona perceive an abnormality again. His feet moved lightly on the ground, leaving no footprints and making no sound, moving further and further away from the location of the suona.

Stealing Cultivation Technique, Stepping on Snow Without Traces.

While moving, He He Jiaqing was still thinking calmly about why this suona appeared here.

According to common sense, such a good spiritual object was buried in this place to protect the contract, so it could be concluded that

Ma Wu's contract was under the suona.

Of course, there could also be traps under the suona. Ma Wu was playing tricks, using such a suona to lure others into the trap.

But such a precious spiritual object, just used as a decoy, was too wasteful, so He He Jiaqing felt—

Thump!

He He Jiaqing fell to the ground.

Tripped by a tree root?

Stepped on mud?

He He Jiaqing didn't know why he fell.

This fall enraged the suona.

Woo-wah-wah—the sound of the suona echoed in all directions for dozens of miles.

Lights turned on in many wooden houses around. The land reclaimers woke up from their dreams, not knowing what had happened.

The singing girl had been sitting in the room. Hearing the suona, she picked up the pipa and played "Ambush from Ten Sides."

People around couldn't hear her music, but Mu Yuejuan, who was high above the clouds, heard it clearly.

She immediately woke up Ai Ai Yeqing: "The fight has started! On Ma Wu's territory!"

Ai Ai Yeqing immediately got up, came to the second-floor corridor, tore a string of copper coins from his bamboo hat, and stuck them on the wall.

The copper coins moved on the wall, outlining a door.

Ai Ai Yeqing pushed the door and entered; inside was a secret room.

Mu Yuejuan stood at the door and saw a mountain of copper coins inside. A rough estimate was that there must be hundreds of thousands of them.

"Good you, Ai Ai Qiandao, you hid so many? Even I didn't know!"

"Without some capital, what can I use to do big things?" Ai Ai Yeqing flicked his hand, and hundreds of thousands of copper coins converged into a line, drilling into the top of Ai Ai Yeqing's head. As the last copper coin merged into Ai Ai Yeqing's body, Ai Ai Yeqing moved his neck and walked into the painting with Mu Yuejuan.

"Ai Ai Qiandao, with this capital, you could fight back and forth with Dan Chengjun, right? Don't you have a grudge against him? Didn't we almost die at his hands? Why didn't you show your capital back then?"

Ai Ai Yeqing shook his head: "Without showing the capital, I only almost died at his hands. If I had really shown it, I wouldn't have lived until today. Besides, I can't carry this capital with me. It's best to settle the matter with He He Jiaqing quickly!"

On Ma Wu's territory, the suona kept ringing.

He He Jiaqing ran at full speed, wanting to leave the peach forest. Before he had gone far, he saw the figures of Ma Wu and Feng Daiku.

If it were another place, He He Jiaqing could handle one against two, but this was Ma Wu's territory, and He He Jiaqing didn't want to take risks.

He leaned against a peach tree, and his figure disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Stealing Cultivation Technique, Avoiding Shadows and Hiding Forms.

At this moment, He He Jiaqing had merged with the peach tree. Even a Peer Cultivator from above the clouds would find it very difficult to judge He He Jiaqing's position.

Feng Daiku pulled the love threads and searched in the peach forest. Ma Wu prepared the Joy Fire, ready to burn He He Jiaqing as soon as he appeared.

But the love threads circled the peach forest twice without finding He He Jiaqing's tracks.

Ma Wu said in a low voice: "Did he escape the forest?"

Feng Daiku wasn't sure either, and she discussed searching elsewhere with Ma Wu.

Watching the two leave, He He Jiaqing was about to cancel the technique when a love thread suddenly flew toward him. He He Jiaqing was completely unprepared. Relying on his agile body, he barely dodged, but a large piece of skin and flesh was shaved off his face.

Love Cultivation Technique, Love Stronger Than Gold!

He He Jiaqing hadn't figured out why Feng Daiku could find him when the love thread bypassed the peach tree and wrapped around He He Jiaqing's waist.

Looking down, He He Jiaqing understood.

The reason Feng Daiku could see him was because he was shining.

He was flashing with light, and where the light came from was unknown.

Could it be that he was hit by Ma Wu's Joy Fire?

He couldn't care about that now. Feng Daiku's love thread was wrapped around his waist. Once Feng Daiku exerted force, He He Jiaqing would be cut in two at the waist.

Whoosh—Feng Daiku was about to tighten the love thread when she found that the love thread was out of control and loosened, falling into He He Jiaqing's hands.

Empty Hands!

He He Jiaqing had actually stolen Feng Daiku's love thread.

Stealing one didn't matter. Feng Daiku flicked her long sleeves, and another love thread drilled out of her sleeve, wanting to wrap around He He Jiaqing's neck.

He He Jiaqing waved the love thread in his hand and tangled it with Feng Daiku's love thread. He He Jiaqing exerted force, pulling Feng Daiku into a stumble.

Feng Daiku gritted her teeth and fought with He He Jiaqing. The love thread was her means of settling down; how could she let He He Jiaqing gain the upper hand?

But He He Jiaqing really could gain the upper hand. His wrists and footsteps were much more agile than Feng Daiku's. Between tension and relaxation, he advanced and retreated freely. He He Jiaqing not only wasn't restricted by the love thread but instead controlled Feng Daiku's footwork. After two close-quarters encounters, He He Jiaqing left several bloody marks on Feng Daiku's exquisite face with the ring on his hand.

Taking advantage of the two fighting, Ma Wu used the Joy Fire. He He Jiaqing laughed; the Joy Fire was lit, but it didn't light on him; it lit on the peach tree next to him.

Stealing Cultivation Technique, Stealing the Beam and Replacing the Pillar.

The peach tree quickly caught fire, and the branches and leaves suddenly grew wildly, struggling to wrap around the surrounding peach trees.

Seeing the fire spreading, Ma Wu hurriedly withdrew the technique. His contract was here, and he didn't want to burn the peach forest to the ground.

He He Jiaqing was unscathed. While dealing with Feng Daiku, he chatted with Ma Wu: "Ma Ma Junyang, they said your leg tendons were broken. I see your legs are quite fine."

Ma Wu wanted to use the Flirting Technique on He He Jiaqing, but his speed in using the technique couldn't keep up with He He Jiaqing's skills at all.

Feng Daiku let go of the love thread in her hand and stopped entangling with He He Jiaqing. She spread her sleeves in mid-air and used the Love Cultivation Technique, Net of Regret, and ten thousand love threads wove into a giant net, pouncing on He He Jiaqing together.

With so many love threads, let's see how he steals them.

He He Jiaqing really didn't hesitate. Waiting for the love threads to fall, he straightened them one by one. All ten thousand love threads were in his hands, and in the blink of an eye, the entire Net of Regret was stolen by He He Jiaqing.

He took the net and wanted to throw it at Feng Daiku. Feng Daiku was startled and immediately dodged.

Actually, this was a feint.

This was a love net created by Feng Daiku herself; how could it trap her?

But with He He Jiaqing's scare and Feng Daiku's dodge, Ma Ma Junyang was left unattended.

He He Jiaqing laughed: "Ma Old Five, you framed me for breaking your leg tendons. Today I will really break them once for you to see!"

Feng Daiku wanted to use the love thread to block He He Jiaqing's path. He He Jiaqing bypassed the love thread in one step, approached Ma Ma Junyang in two steps, and flew into the air in the third step. Ma Wu was terrified!

Why did He He Jiaqing fly? What was he doing?

Not only did Ma Wu not understand, but He He Jiaqing himself didn't understand either. His third step was intended to steal Ma Wu's leg tendons; why did he suddenly fly?

Flying wasn't the point; He He Jiaqing's body wasn't very controllable. He felt a gas vortex nearby constantly pulling him.

Feng Daiku's love threads wrapped around. He He Jiaqing couldn't dodge, and three openings were made in his front and back.

Seeing the love threads coming again, He He Jiaqing used the Stealing the Beam and Replacing the Pillar technique, swapping positions with a stone on the ground.

Ma Wu gritted his teeth. Just missed a good opportunity. After He He Jiaqing flew up, he didn't have any special intentions; he was purely taking a beating.

After landing, He He Jiaqing went to find Ma Wu again. After walking two steps, his feet suddenly stepped into the air, and he flew up again.

This time Ma Wu and Feng Daiku didn't show mercy anymore. Regardless of why He He Jiaqing wanted to fly, they would kill him first and talk later.

Feng Daiku tied He He Jiaqing firmly with the love threads, and Ma Wu directly lit the Joy Fire on He He Jiaqing.

He He Jiaqing first had to control his body balance, and also had to resist the love threads and the Joy Fire. If he wanted to use Stealing the Beam and Replacing the Pillar again, he would be a bit powerless.

But if he couldn't use Stealing the Beam and Replacing the Pillar, he would be tied in the air and left with nothing but a beating!

Ma Wu pulled out a short stick more than a foot long from behind, jumped into mid-air, aimed at He He Jiaqing, and started beating him violently.

Feng Daiku was anxious watching. With such a good opportunity, why didn't Ma Wu use a sharp blade instead of this stick?

This stick was much more powerful than a sharp blade. It was a weapon Ma Wu had forged by melting several spiritual objects together, called the Five-Wolf Stick.

A sharp weapon might not necessarily hurt He He Jiaqing, but the Five-Wolf Stick could truly hurt him.

After a few strikes, He He Jiaqing's arm bones were broken in two places, a leg bone was broken, and his shoulder blade and cheekbone were cracked. Under the intense pain, his intent slackened, the love threads dug into his bones, and the Joy Fire burned through his flesh.

In the blink of an eye, He He Jiaqing turned into a ball of charred charcoal and fell to the ground with a thump.

Was he burned to death just like that?

Ma Wu didn't believe it. He grabbed the stick, aimed at He He Jiaqing's head, and added another blow.

Bang!

With one blow, He He Jiaqing's entire body exploded, turning into a ball of black ash. Feng Daiku felt the situation was wrong. The black ash scattered with the wind, blurring the eyes of the two.

He He Jiaqing got up from the black ash and ran away.

Stealing Cultivation Technique, Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell.

Although he successfully shed his shell, he couldn't shed his injuries. He He Jiaqing dragged a leg and fled for over a hundred miles before shaking off Ma Wu and Feng Daiku. Ma Wu and Feng Daiku tried their best to chase, but their speed was far behind He He Jiaqing's.

Now that he was no longer on Ma Wu's territory, He He Jiaqing pondered his next destination.

Going to Green Water City would likely lead to another ambush; Ma Wu's foundation in Green Water City was too deep.

Return to his own territory?

Shu Shu Fangjuan might be able to provide him with some support on his own territory.

But if Shu Wanjuan didn't provide support, and instead kicked him while he was down, how should he deal with it?

To be safe, He He Jiaqing prepared to go to Bitter Vegetable Village.

The nearest formal land from here was Hundred Clever Ridge. Once he reached Hundred Clever Ridge, he could find the entrance to Bitter Vegetable Village. This place was over a hundred miles away from Hundred Clever Ridge. This distance was not a problem, and Ma Wu definitely wouldn't think He He Jiaqing would go to Hundred Clever Ridge.

As for why there were so many inexplicable situations today, he would ponder them slowly after arriving at Bitter Vegetable Village.

After running for over thirty miles, a large patch of petals suddenly descended from the sky.

He He Jiaqing was shocked. Was the Hundred Flower God coming?

Could it be that the various strange phenomena that appeared during the fight just now were all caused by the Hundred Flower God?

The petals approached and suddenly turned into copper coins, pouncing on He He Jiaqing.

He He Jiaqing hurriedly dodged, but because he was injured and not agile, several copper coins still nailed firmly into his body.

Copper coins?

Kong Fang?

He He Jiaqing looked around, searching for Master Kong Fang's figure.

The fog in the night sky vibrated, and He He Jiaqing suddenly realized that there was an invisible painting in front of him.

A large patch of copper coins flew out from the painting. He He Jiaqing heard Master Kong Fang's voice: "Don't go anywhere; just stay here." ===== CHAPTER 797 =====