[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-lord-of-the-proles":3,"chapter-lord-of-the-proles-lord-of-the-proles-chapter-80":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Lord of the Proles",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2290378,4478,"Chapter 80: Do You Even Know What Pain Is?","lord-of-the-proles-chapter-80",80,"\u003Cp>Zhou Yujuan woke from sleep, hearing movement in the hallway—sounds of a fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was right; Du Hongxi’s two subordinates had briefly fought Li Banfeng before dying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pulling on her robe, Zhou Yujuan crept cautiously to the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her hand on the doorknob, she was about to open it—then pulled back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the door, she heard breathing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it Du Hongxi?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The breathing was lighter than Du Hongxi’s, and came from a higher position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap-tap-tap!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A knock came at the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not Du Hongxi—he never knocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yujuan retreated to the bed, pulled a pair of scissors from the drawer beside her pillow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Level One Cultivator isn’t skilled in combat; Zhou Yujuan had paid dearly for this special weapon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scissors, over twenty centimeters long, were entirely black, with only a few dark red bloodstains on the blades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The knocking stopped; Zhou Yujuan listened closely—the breathing outside still continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The doorknob turned—the person was coming in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Creak—the door swung open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yujuan immediately slashed her palm, hurling the bloody scissors toward the doorway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scissors instantly lengthened, their blades opening nearly a meter wide, shearing off the head of the man standing outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This attack was swift and precise; with perfect timing, it left most Level One or Two cultivators no chance to dodge or block.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing silence in the hallway, Zhou Yujuan crept to the door and picked up the severed head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who was this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it that fool who came causing trouble last night?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That fool truly had no sense of self-preservation—he dared return for revenge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cutting off his head was too kind—he should’ve been handed to Old Du, made to suffer endlessly before dying, then forced to become a spirit servant, then…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yujuan stared at the head for a long while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This head had no hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This head looked like Old Du’s…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could it be his?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just now, Old Du was sleeping in my bed—how could his head be gone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did I cut it off?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, it wasn’t me,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It really wasn’t me!” In panic, Zhou Yujuan cried out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t be afraid—it wasn’t you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It wasn’t me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know it wasn’t you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Truly, it wasn’t me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng comforted her from beside: “Don’t fear—it wasn’t you, truly not you. It was me—he was already dead. I killed him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone had entered!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yujuan snapped back to awareness, scrambling on all fours toward the scissors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng reached the scissors first: “This thing’s dangerous—I’ll hold it for you. Tell me where the money is.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What money?” Zhou Yujuan stared, bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng widened his eyes: “My money—you took a lot from me tonight. Already forgotten?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yujuan froze for over ten seconds, then realized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She remembered who this was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasn’t this the fool who caused trouble?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did he come back?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did he kill Old Du?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Li Banfeng’s gentle smile, Zhou Yujuan dared not think further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I haven’t forgotten, I haven’t—I’ll get it right away!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tears on her cheeks, Zhou Yujuan led Li Banfeng to the first-floor counter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath the counter was a mechanical cash register—click-click-click—she entered the code, yanked the lever hard; gears and drive shafts ground together as the drawer popped open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yujuan grabbed two stacks of bills and handed them to Li Banfeng: “All this is yours, sir. Please take it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng glanced at it, frowned: “How much is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s… two thousand.” Zhou Yujuan had extorted two thousand from Li Banfeng; now the cash in her hands was more than that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think two thousand is enough?” Li Banfeng’s tone matched Zhou Yujuan’s own extortion tone exactly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not enough, not enough…” Zhou Yujuan emptied the entire cash register, handing everything to Li Banfeng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng’s tone remained unchanged: “Do you think this is enough?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, not enough…” Zhou Yujuan, now sensible, led Li Banfeng to the third floor and opened the safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside were over three hundred thousand in cash; Zhou Yujuan packed it into a box and handed it to Li Banfeng: “All cash is here. The rest is at the bank—I can take you to get it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think going to the bank is wise?” Li Banfeng would never go with her—step outside this door, and his life might end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yujuan gritted her teeth, pulled a key from a hidden compartment under the bed, and unlocked a secret door behind the bookshelf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the secret door was a hidden cabinet, filled with over a dozen gold bars: “Sir, these are my savings from over a decade—take them all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng frowned: “Is this enough?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yujuan wept: “I’ve given you all my money—truly all of it! I beg you, let me go—I beg you…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng snorted, sneered: “Do you even have the right to beg me? Do you deserve it? Why don’t you piss on a mirror and look at yourself…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Splash~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as he finished speaking, Li Banfeng regretted it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the saying goes: beg for a hammer, get a hammer; beg for urine, get urine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A puddle flooded over Li Banfeng’s shoe soles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plop!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng lifted his foot—his sole dripped water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You really peed?” Li Banfeng was furious, grabbed Zhou Yujuan, and threw her into the Portable Dwelling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey~ Master just bought groceries, let me see this vegetable…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The phonograph was initially delighted, but soon a furious shout rang out: “Ah! Where did this filthy woman come from? How dare she pee in my room, Master? When you buy a chicken, you pluck the feathers first—you didn’t even clean her before bringing her in!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng put all the cash and gold bars into the Portable Dwelling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides cash, there were other good things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yujuan had many fine pieces of jewelry; Li Banfeng took them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two sets of exquisite solid wood chairs and tables; Li Banfeng took them too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bookshelf—he took the entire thing, books and all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Candelabras—he took them. Candles—he took them too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wardrobe—he took it. Clothes—he kept none. Du Hongxi’s clothes were too small; Zhou Yujuan’s clothes were useless to Li Banfeng; the phonograph couldn’t use them either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sofa—he took it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two fine vases—he kept the vases, discarded the flowers; they could hold feather dusters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several oil paintings hung on the wall; as soon as Li Banfeng retrieved them into the Portable Dwelling, the phonograph burned them to ashes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These shameless women, naked, posing provocatively—what decorum!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng sighed deeply: “You shrew, you don’t understand art!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng moved the hand-cranked phonograph into the Portable Dwelling; the steam phonograph immediately dismantled it and warned him: “Master, listening to music outside is fine—but you dare bring this thing home?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to move more things back, but the phonograph objected: “Hey Master, if you keep moving things like this, you won’t even have a place to sleep!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The outer room and main chamber were already packed solid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If only there were another room!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng pulled out the explosives he’d bought from Manager Feng, placing them in every corner of the dance hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>University knowledge wasn’t entirely useless; Li Banfeng knew exactly where to place explosives for maximum effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Explosives in Puluozhou were unreliable; key spots needed extra charges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All set, Li Banfeng woke Old Gu, the caretaker of the phonograph.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the iron ruler in Li Banfeng’s hand, Old Gu turned pale: “Sir, I’ve never done anything wrong—I’m just here to earn my meals.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng pulled out a pocket watch and said to Old Gu: “I believe you’ve done no wrong. Look at this watch—watch closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I give you ten minutes to get everyone out of the dance hall. If even one person is left behind, you die.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright! Alright! This is no problem!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Old Gu, this wasn’t hard at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides operating the phonograph, he had another duty: every afternoon at two, when the dance hall opened, Old Gu had to summon the girls to meet the guests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Usually, he’d play a tune first; once the music played, the girls would come downstairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If any girl refused to get up, Old Gu would blow a trumpet—its loud sound would surely wake them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, he didn’t play any music; he blew the trumpet directly. Less than two minutes later, everyone in the building was awake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Gu shouted loudly: \"Fire! Everyone, get out, hurry!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing there was a fire, some guests didn’t even bother putting on clothes—they rushed out bare with the girls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time they reached the street, they saw not a single spark. The girls complained at Old Gu: \"Are you asleep? Where’s the fire?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Gu didn’t know how to answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone nearby asked: \"Where’s our boss? Why hasn’t she come out?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mr. Du hasn’t come out either, Old Gu— are you messing with us?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the first floor, in the lobby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng struck a match and lit the fuse on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled up his collar, lowered his hat, shoved his hands into his pockets, and silently left the dance hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he had walked half a block, Li Banfeng struck another match and lit himself a cigarette.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cigarette was lit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flames erupted inside the dance hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a deafening explosion, nearly thirty percent of the explosives detonated, blowing half the dance hall apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blowing away half was fine—the other half could serve as a memorial for Jiang Xiang’s gang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The escaped guests and girls were terrified; those standing too close were struck by flying stones and debris, their bodies covered in bloody wounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Run! Run fast!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They no longer blamed Old Gu. They even forgot him. They forgot everyone around them—only focused on fleeing for their lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng looked at the Xianle Dance Hall and smiled faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM! Another deafening explosion—the remaining explosives, which had failed to detonate earlier, suddenly went off. A burst of flame shot out and instantly swallowed Li Banfeng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the flames cleared, Li Banfeng patted the fire off his clothes and hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either blow it early, or don’t blow it at all—hate these duds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, the Cultivator’s legs were fast—he wasn’t hurt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to take one more drag to maintain his composure, but the cigarette was burned to ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng picked up the half-burned hat from the ground, blew out the smoldering embers, and placed it atop his head, still smoking faintly, then vanished silently into the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Xiang’s gang—if you don’t know pain, let’s keep fighting!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Regarding the issue with Zhou Yujuan’s ears in the previous chapter, many readers believe this is a talent of the Spy Cultivator—large ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I think this speculation is too hasty. The problem at the time may not have been with the Spy Cultivator—it could have been that Du Hongxi was simply small. This may well be the cost of the Nightmare Cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1807,"2026-06-20T03:43:13.043Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","04adb67c6026fed8cca616530a1677775f71acb2f33eafbcd8f6998979f587b9","lord-of-the-proles-chapter-81","lord-of-the-proles-chapter-79",863,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-the-proles-cover.jpg"]