The Overlord of Puluo

Li Banfeng wandered through his territory and discovered that Zhang Wanlong had somehow built an entire village. Crops stretched across the territory's one-and-a-half-kilometer diameter, with neat rows of farmhouses standing between the fields.

It made sense for him to plant so many crops, but why did he build so many houses? Only he and Little Gen lived here.

Li Banfeng stepped into the plot and followed the winding country paths. Farmers were busy in the fields, while others stood by the roadside chatting away.

In one courtyard, a man chopped firewood while a woman who appeared to be his wife rinsed rice nearby.

Li Banfeng stopped outside the gate and activated Hundred Flavors at the Tip of the Nose. The couple gave off a pungent, crisp scent with just a touch of sweetness. They were a pair of radishes.

An old man came rumbling toward him in an oxcart piled high with potatoes, bringing with him the rich, earthy smell of freshly turned soil. As they passed, the old man gave Li Banfeng a friendly smile. The man smelled of potatoes. So did the ox, and so did every potato in the cart.

Down by the river, several women were pounding laundry with wooden clubs. Some wiped the sweat from their brows, some chatted away, and others laughed and fooled around. No ordinary person would ever have guessed that every one of them was a zucchini.

At the edge of the field, a young man was bustling about, ladle in hand, with seven buckets strapped to his back.

What sort of crop had this fellow grown from? Li Banfeng did not dare take another sniff. He deactivated Hundred Flavors at the Tip of the Nose and walked over.

Li Banfeng called out, "Little Gen."

Little Gen's face lit up when he saw him. "Master Qi! When did you get here?"

"Just now. I was having a look around," Li Banfeng said. He eyed the seven buckets strapped to his back and asked, "You have two more buckets than before. Are you at a higher level now?"

In the past, Little Gen had only carried five.

Little Gen nodded eagerly. "Master Qi, I have reached level three."

"Well done!" Li Banfeng praised and handed him two Mystic Blazing Pills. He then glanced at the farmers bustling about in the fields. "Did Zhang Wanlong grow all these people?"

Little Gen nodded again. "Big Bro Zhang is incredible. I have learned a great deal from him."

"Why did he build so many houses?"

"Big Bro Zhang says he grows people, and people should live like people!"

Li Banfeng smiled. This was probably Zhang Wanlong's way of defending his domain. Any intruder who came here would have a dreadful time figuring out the real identity of these villagers, and this mistake would have certainly cost them dearly.

Li Banfeng chatted with Little Gen for a while before turning to leave. He had only taken a few steps when a thought occurred to him.

He turned back. "Little Gen, where did you get those buckets?"

Those buckets were not something that could be bought just anywhere. As far as Li Banfeng knew, only the Peddler sold them.

Little Gen answered honestly, "I bought them from the Peddler. He passed through here a couple of days ago."

The Peddler has been here? Li Banfeng froze. He then asked, "The Peddler came here to do business?"

Little Gen nodded. "The Peddler told me he comes by quite often. He and the land deity are friends."

A shiver ran through Li Banfeng. The Peddler and the Mountain-Uprooting Lord are friends? Does he know that the Mountain-Uprooting Lord is already dead?

"Did he ask about anything else?"

Little Gen thought for a moment. "He didn't ask much about me. He gave me some pesticides and told me to pass it on to Big Bro Zhang."

"He knows Zhang Wanlong's here? Then why didn't he give it to him himself?"

"The day before the Peddler arrived, Big Bro Zhang hid himself somewhere. It seemed like he didn't want to see him. But when he saw the pesticide that the Peddler gave, he cheered right up. He said he wouldn't have to hide from the Peddler anymore."

Li Banfeng recognized the powder. The Peddler had once given the same pesticide to the villagers at the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs to deal with the mosquitos.

Judging by that gift, the Peddler seemed to approve of what Zhang Wanlong was doing.

Little Gen asked, "Master Qi, are you looking for Big Bro Zhang? I can take you to him. At this hour, he should be at home experimenting with new seed combinations."

Li Banfeng went to Zhang Wanlong's house. He chatted with him for a while, and bought another two bags of seeds.

After leaving Zhang Wanlong's plot, Li Banfeng went to Bei Wushuang's territory and headed straight for the cave containing the Heavenspring Joysoil.

The Pocket Dwelling never hesitated to help himself whenever he found something he liked. Li Banfeng hoped he would take more this time so that they would have enough to build a few more stations.

He had only been in the cave for a short while when the Glove poked out of his pocket. "Boss! The old fellow should have made his move by now, but he probably won't be able to take much this time."

"Why? Has he finally grown a sense of shame?"

The Glove wagged a finger. "Shame? That old man has no shame to begin with. The problem is that there isn't much Joysoil left."

"What do you mean? Isn't it everywhere?"

Li Banfeng seized a handful from the cave wall and tore away a large chunk. The Joysoil around him appeared perfectly intact, but only a thin layer remained on the surface. Everything beneath it had already been hollowed out.

The Glove said, "Boss! You can see how carefully our old fellow works. He has practically cleaned the place out, yet no one can tell just by looking."

For what? Bei Wushuang is already gone. Who's he trying to hide all this from?

Li Banfeng took out a sack and scraped up the remaining layer of Joysoil. Even if there was not enough to build another station, he could still take it home, eat some himself, and save the rest to give his wifey more love.

By the time he had scraped up the very last bit, the cave had grown several meters wider in every direction. Not a crumb of soil remained. All around him, the bluish-black rock had been picked so clean it looked freshly polished.

Once Li Banfeng went back into the Pocket Dwelling, he got straight to the point. "How much did you take this time?"

The Pocket Dwelling gave a cold snort. "This old man took nothing at all."

The moment the Pocket Dwelling finished speaking, a little heap of soil came spilling out of the Third Room.

The Glove gave a cold snort. "That old fellow has always been fine and noble."

Li Banfeng opened the door to the Third Room and peered inside. "Is there enough to build a station?"

The Pocket Dwelling made a quick calculation. "Just enough for one. Where do you want to build the station?"

Li Banfeng had already chosen Qiu Luoye's territory as the location for the next station. A station there would make the current land activation much easier, but that was only part of the reason. He was also preparing for what might come later.

He had activated a lot of the land in Qiu Luoye's territory. He was a landowner there and those plots belonged to him. Aside from his own territory, Qiu Luoye's territory had become one of his most important foundations.

But now, he needed to think about where he should build this station. This place had to be completely hidden. Even when Li Banfeng was away, ordinary people could not be allowed anywhere near it.

The Pocket Dwelling offered a suggestion. "Bei Wushuang's dwelling is very special. You should go check it out and learn how an Artificer crafts things."

Bei Wushuang had been dead for quite some time, so Pan Dehai must have left by now.

Li Banfeng went back to the sandpit in the desert. He saw that Bei Wushuang's remains had disappeared, along with the several sand vortices that had previously appeared in the pit.

Bei Wushuang's house was very well hidden and would be a perfect place to build the station. There was just one bothersome little problem. How was Li Banfeng supposed to get inside?

During Bei Wushuang's battle with Gao Shuxia and the Hundred-Eyed Fish, he had combined his footsteps with his howls to form a strange piece of music. Only then had the entrance to his dwelling opened.

Obviously, Li Banfeng was incapable of doing that. He went back into the Pocket Dwelling and said to the Pocket Dwelling, "If I want to go inside his dwelling, I need wifey's help."

The Pocket Dwelling refused at once. "I told you before. That was a one-time exception, and it will never happen again."

The Gramophone said at the side, "Husband dear, I will teach you some methods! You can try and see if it works?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Bei Wushuang was a cultivator at the Cloudborne Layer. Some methods I learned on the spot would never open the path to his dwelling. If you can't go outside with me, then we have come all this way for nothing."

The Pocket Dwelling hesitated for a very long time before finally giving in. The old rule still stood, however. The Gramophone was not allowed to bring any of her combat power outside.

Li Banfeng carried the Gramophone into the sandpit. Wifey slowly turned her horn, carefully examining the entire area.

Woooooom~

A low hum rolled across the sandpit, and the yellow sand beneath them began to quiver. Wifey listened to the vibrations travelling back through the sand and used them to examine the structure underground.

Dong-dong~

Drumbeats sounded. It was wifey trying to imitate the rhythm of Bei Wushuang's footsteps.

Taa-raaa-bwaa-bwaa!

Then came the piercing cry of a suona[1] as Wifey imitated Bei Wushuang's howls.

When the strange little tune came to an end, the quicksand began whirling faster and faster. Slowly, a sand vortex opened in the ground once more.

"How strange," the Gramophone murmured. "It should not have been this easy. Why does Bei Wushuang's singing techniques feel so familiar?"

Li Banfeng looked at her in surprise. "Wasn't Bei Wushuang a Sound Cultivator? Aren't Sound Cultivator techniques pretty much all the same? You have always been very familiar with their methods and tricks, right?"

"Husband dear, there is something special about the Sound Cultivation path. Everyone has a different voice, so the abilities they develop differ as well. The strange thing is that Bei Wushuang's abilities feel incredibly familiar to me, yet I cannot remember ever knowing him."

Bei Wushuang was already dead, and Li Banfeng had not even managed to bring back his body, so there was no way to verify whether she had known him.

Li Banfeng looked at the sand vortex. "Let's take a look inside his dwelling. We might find a few clues. Is this the entrance?"

Wifey warned him, "Husband dear, be careful. There are dozens of entrances hidden throughout this sandpit, and most of them lead straight into traps.

"The one I opened should lead to his dwelling, but this place is very peculiar. There is no telling what he might have set up in the main hall."

Li Banfeng remained on guard as he carried his wifey into the dust devil. Fine sand lashed against his face and nearly filled his ears, mouth, and nostrils.

He activated Severing Paths to Forge a Way to drive back the sand, then followed the wind into the eye of the dust devil and on to the main hall.

The hall was pitch-black. Li Banfeng struck a match and surveyed his surroundings. The room measured roughly ten meters on each side, but the ceiling was less than two meters high. Although the hall was fairly spacious, the low ceiling made it feel oppressive.

Wooom~ His wifey gave another low hum, and a door appeared on each of the four walls.

The Gramophone sounded increasingly puzzled. "Husband dear, I really can't tell who Bei Wushuang learned from. His methods and tricks are simply far too similar to mine."

"Don't be ridiculous. Those camel-like howls of his sound nothing like my wifey." Li Banfeng remarked. He swept his gaze across the hall and asked, "Where do these four doors lead?"

"Each one leads to a different chamber. Husband dear, you can open them and take a look. There should be no harm in that, but you must be extremely careful of any traps."

Li Banfeng opened the nearest door first. Behind it was a small room packed with gold bars, with silver coins scattered between them.

"How vulgar!" Li Banfeng sneered before transferring everything in the room into the Pocket Dwelling.

The second door led to a much larger room. This was Bei Wushuang's bedchamber, and in the middle stood an enormous bed.

The pale yellow curtains hanging around the bed felt soft and smooth. Above them, the canopy was covered in elaborate paintings that seemed to tell of the story of camel caravans plodding across distant lands to trade.

Li Banfeng paid little attention to the curtains. He was far more interested in testing how soft the bed was.

This bed is wonderfully soft! Li Banfeng thought. He placed the Gramophone on the mattress. "Wifey, wouldn't it feel wonderful to sleep on a bed like this?"

The Gramophone gave an indignant humph. "Husband dear, are you trying to mock your little wifey?"

"I am thinking of taking the bed home and putting you on it."

Pop... crackle... pop~

The Gramophone crackled with laughter.

Li Banfeng was serious. Without another word, he tried to carry the bed away, only to discover that it was far too large to fit through the door. Once the Gramophone saw that he was serious about taking it home, she brought out her tools and dismantled it. Li Banfeng gathered every piece, including the curtains and canopy, and sent the entire bed into the Pocket Dwelling.

Once the bed had been dealt with, Li Banfeng pushed open the third door. The room beyond was completely empty.

He was about to step inside when a sudden sense of danger stopped him. Trusting his instincts, he remained at the doorway and decided not to enter.

If Li Banfeng had to guess, this was probably where Bei Wushuang kept his deeds and contracts. Judging by the danger he had sensed, the room was likely packed with traps as well.

Behind the fourth door was an assortment of musical instruments: a huqin[2], pipa[3], guzheng[4], yangqin[5], suona, gongs, drums... and a sword.

The sword looked rather odd sitting among all those instruments. Then again, when Li Banfeng thought of Bei Wushuang's hulking camel form, such a nimble weapon did not seem to suit him either.

Suddenly, the wifey in his arms began to tremble. She finally understood why Bei Wushuang's singing techniques had seemed so familiar. That was how he had learned many of his singing techniques!

Seeing his wifey trembling in his arms, Li Banfeng asked, "Wifey, what's wrong?"

"Husband dear, your little wifey loves everything in this room."

Li Banfeng had overlooked how fond his wifey was of musical instruments. If he had known, he would have bought her more of them long ago.

After confirming that there were no traps, he entered the room and moved all the instruments into the Pocket Dwelling.

His wifey spoke again. "Husband dear, your little wifey likes that sword too."

Wifey likes swords? As a Gramophone, isn't it a little hard to dance with a sword? But if she likes it, I will just take it as well.

Li Banfeng carried the sword into the Pocket Dwelling as well.

There was also a large wooden cabinet in the room. Li Banfeng opened it and smiled. The cabinet was crammed with contracts. This was not the deed of a land deity. They were contracts binding the aberrant creatures living throughout the territory. The entire cabinet was packed with them.

Li Banfeng gathered up every last contract and carried them into the Pocket Dwelling. With the contracts in his hands, all those aberrant creatures were his now!

He took the cabinet as well, then asked, "Have you gotten a clear look at the rest of his dwelling?"

"You have not explored the whole place yet," the Pocket Dwelling replied. "It might be hard to get to the other places."

The Gramophone remarked, "It is hard. Many of the areas here are filled with traps."

"That should be enough," the Pocket Dwelling told the Gramophone. "I have learned most of his Artificer abilities. Even if I overlooked something, you should have picked it up. Take your man outside for now."

The Gramophone played another tune, and an eye of swirling sand appeared in the ceiling of the hall. Li Banfeng leaped into the eye of the dust devil. Climbing back up was harder than descending, but it was nothing his Wanderlust Cultivator's footsteps could not handle.

After emerging from the dust devil, he sent his wifey back into the Pocket Dwelling. He took a stack of contracts from the cabinet, gathered his enchanted artifacts, and set off to find the aberrant creatures living in Bei Wushuang's territory.

Li Banfeng had just left when the Gramophone drew the longsword and pressed its point against Hong Ying's forehead. "Wretched woman, do you recognize this sword?"

Dried blood stained the blade, and the faint smell of blood still clung to it.

Hong Ying smiled. "Of course. It is my sword, the one I used to kill you."

"Wretch!" The Gramophone's voice trembled. "I will cut off your head right now!"

Hong Ying extended her spearhead toward the Gramophone. "Go ahead. Cut my head off, and we will finally be even."

Author's Note:

PS: How did this sword end up in Bei Wushuang's hands?

1. A suona is a traditional Chinese double-reed wind instrument with a metal bell. It has a very loud, sharp, brassy, and sometimes wailing sound. It is usually used in folk performances, festivals, weddings, funerals, and Chinese opera. ☜

2. This is also known as Chinese fiddle. It's a name for a family of Chinese bowed string instruments. They are usually held upright and played with a bow. ☜

3. Pipa is a four-stringed, pear-shaped lute. This is held upright and plucked with the fingers. ☜

4. Guzheng is a long zither placed horizontally on stands. It has many strings, each running over a movable bridge. The right hand plucks the strings, while the left hand can press them to bend the pitch or create vibrato. ☜

5. Yangqin is a hammered dulcimer. It has a broad, usually trapezoidal body covered with metal strings. Instead of plucking them, the musician strikes them with two thin bamboo beaters. ☜