The Overlord of Puluo

Back at Wildgoose Sand Studio, Tan Fucheng was squatting by the entrance eating noodles with a group of support hooks. Some broth splashed onto him, and he casually grabbed the book Hundred Family Surnames and wiped it off.

Li Banfeng froze. "You used the book to wipe your hand?"

Tan Fucheng did not seem bothered in the slightest. "I didn't bring a handkerchief, so it will have to do."

Why had his attitude changed so quickly? Just last night, he had wanted to chop off his own finger because he had sneezed on the book.

"When you wipe it with the book, you will get the book all greasy. How are you supposed to read it afterward?"

Tan Fucheng shook his head."I am not! Reading this stuff is exhausting. I barely read a book for half my life, and I got along just fine, didn't I?"

Riiip!

One of the support hooks beside him tore a page from the book and used it to wipe his mouth.

Li Banfeng was on his way back to his room when he spotted Xiao Yeci in the corridor. She had dressed herself up a little and was about to take Lu Chunying out.

"Not reading today?" Li Banfeng asked.

Xiao Yeci shook her head. "No. There are so many books that my head hurts from reading them. We do not get many chances to come out like this, so I thought I would take Nan'nan for a walk. Benefactor, would you like to come with us?"

"You two go ahead. I want to get some sleep."

Lu Yuanxin stepped out of his room to escort Xiao Yeci and her daughter. Once he saw that they were still some distance away, he whispered to Li Banfeng, "Master Qi, I think something is wrong. This morning, I suddenly felt a strong urge to read, but after a few pages, I could not focus on it anymore."

Li Banfeng smiled. "Maybe it is because you have not read in so long."

Lu Yuanxin shook his head. "I think it feels more like someone used an ability on us."

Lu Chunying urged Lu Yuanxin to hurry up. Before he left, Li Banfeng reminded him, "Be careful out there."

He Yuxiu had once said that when Lu Yuanxin turned ruthless, he resembled Lu Dongjun in many ways. There were some differences though. Lu Yuanxin was smarter than Lu Dongjun.

After seeing how everyone had behaved, Li Banfeng finally understood the meaning behind the three phrases on the scroll.

"The blind ought to be ashamed" referred to illiterate people like Tan Fucheng. Within Ink Fragrance Shop, they would feel ashamed of their lack of learning.

"Scholars ought to strive" referred to Literary Cultivators like Xiao Yeci. Once they arrive at Ink Fragrance Shop, they would become more diligent and eager to improve themselves.

"Everyone ought to study literature" referred to ordinary people who were not illiterate. Within Ink Fragrance Shop, they would develop a desire to study the Literary Cultivation Path.

Those three phrases formed the rules governing Ink Fragrance Shop, and as its land deity, Murong Gui was responsible for maintaining them. By repeatedly writing the phrases, he reinforced their effects.

Because Murong Gui had been worn down by his prolonged battle with Ge Junma, he had been forced to temporarily neglect the rule that "Everyone ought to study literature" and devote more of his attention to fighting. That was why Lu Yuanxin had not been affected at first.

Last night, however, Ge Junma had been injured and could no longer pose an immediate threat to Murong Gui. With the pressure off, Murong Gui restored the rule that "Everyone ought to study literature." Lu Yuanxin was affected by it, which was why he had suddenly wanted to read that morning.

Li Banfeng was not affected because his level was too high. If he stayed here long enough, he would probably end up like Lu Yuanxin.

The fierce battle just now had forced Murong Gui to give up all three rules and put everything into fighting. That was why everyone became normal.

The order here was surprisingly fragile.

Li Banfeng couldn't believe that Murong Gui could actually maintain the order of his territory like this. Of all the land deities Li Banfeng had ever seen, this one had to be the most overworked. Could he have crashed from sheer exhaustion?

"Brush, why would there be a land deity who has to work this hard?"

The Judge's Brush slowly replied, "Reading is exhausting. There's no other way."

Li Banfeng returned to the Pocket Dwelling, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes to rest.

The Glove came up beside his ear and wagged an index finger. "Boss, we are neither kin nor friends with that land deity. It was that local land deity who doesn't know what's the right thing to do. We have already done everything we could for him."

The Gourd joined in. "Little Bro, let's go. I don't want to stay in this place anymore."

The Teapot sighed. "Even Bitter Greens Manor was better than this..."

The Film Projector added, "There is nothing artistic about this place."

Even the Sickle, who rarely ever spoke, had something to say. "The people here are really repulsive."

The Sickle was right. Ink Fragrance Shop really was repulsive. The people were repulsive, the atmosphere was repulsive, and even the land deity was repulsive.

Still, this was part of Puluo Province. No matter how repulsive the place was, Li Banfeng could not let it fall into the hands of the Inner Provinces.

Old Luo is still on his way to the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs, Li Banfeng thought. Is there any way to get word to the Peddler sooner?

Then Li Banfeng remembered something. The Pocket Dwelling now has six railway tracks, and some of them can take me to places I can vaguely imagine in my mind.

Li Banfeng pictured the scenery of the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs while also imagining the Peddler walking the streets, shaking his rattle drum as he hawked his wares.

After thinking about it for more than a minute, Li Banfeng figured that should be enough. He was just about to step outside when the Pocket Dwelling spoke. "No need to go out and check. I didn't move."

Li Banfeng froze. "Why not?"

The Pocket Dwelling gave a helpless chuckle. "Qi, there are some things in this world that simply cannot be done. Tracking down the Peddler is one of them. I can't do it, and you absolutely shouldn't try either."

Even the Pocket Dwelling is that afraid of the Peddler? Li Banfeng thought.

Hong Ying advised him, "That seller of sundries is impossible to read. Even if you manage to find him, he might not be willing to help."

The Tang Saber agreed. "My lord, whether the Peddler comes or not will depend on Ink Fragrance Shop's own fate. Perhaps this place is simply destined to suffer this calamity."

"Such a repulsive place can fend for itself."

"We should leave as soon as possible too. If we stay too long, we might get dragged into this mess."

The Gramophone said nothing. She simply wrapped Li Banfeng in a cloud of steam.

Li Banfeng looked toward the Judge's Brush. The Judge's Brush was huddled in a corner against the wall, not saying a word.

***

At noon the next day, Luo Zhengnan sent word. "Master Qi, I've reached the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs, but I couldn't find the Peddler."

We were too late? Li Banfeng thought. He then said, "Go to Girdle-Slipping Hollow right away."

"Master Qi, I contacted an old friend. The Peddler hasn't gone to Girdle-Slipping Hollow either."

Judging by his usual movements, he should have been at one of those two places. Where did he go? Li Banfeng thought.

"Old Luo, keep looking. Let me know as soon as you hear anything," Li Banfeng instructed and immediately left for the poetry club. He was still thinking about what kind of poem he should leave for Cedric. The poem had to cleverly hide the time and place of their meeting. Cedric needed to understand it, while everyone else remained completely in the dark.

Unexpectedly, before Li Banfeng even reached the door, he heard someone reciting with great passion from inside.

"My dreams are in Ink Fragrance Shop. My life has worth in Ink Fragrance Shop. I struggle hard for Ink Fragrance Shop. And everything I have, I will give to Ink Fragrance Shop!"

Li Banfeng stood in the doorway and waved to Cedric.

Under the annoyed stares of the young men and women inside, Cedric walked out.

"This makes no sense. I put my heart into that poem, and even the men can't stand me!" Cedric grumbled, still holding his teacup.

Li Banfeng could not make sense of Cedric's state of mind. "The Greenwater Beggar is breathing down your neck, and you still have the mood to come out looking for a date?"

Cedric shrugged. "What else can I do? There are only so many leads I can follow. Even if he's the founding cultivator, he can't expect me to uncover everything that quickly."

"I found some things."

Cedric looked startled. "Found out what?"

There was a gramophone in the first-class private room. Li Banfeng picked a record from the cabinet, fed the gramophone a square strip, and set Where Can I Find a Kindred Spirit? spinning. Before long, music filled the room, loud enough to swallow every word the two of them said.

"The land deity of Ink Fragrance Shop is Murong Gui."

"Murong Gui, the Wisdom-Bound Scholar," Cedric said after taking a sip of tea. "I have heard of him. He's something of a legend in Ink Fragrance Shop. I suspected before that he might be the land deity here. Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely. I can also tell you that He Jiaqing's information was right. Murong Gui really isn't doing well. I am guessing you have noticed something strange too."

Cedric still felt a little confused. "What kind of strange?"

"Yesterday morning, the people in Ink Fragrance Shop started acting differently."

Cedric thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yesterday morning, only three people showed up at the poetry club, including me. The other two didn't want to recite any poetry. They thought there was no point and didn't want to make life so exhausting for themselves. They only stayed for a little while before leaving."

"That's because the land deity here has become extremely weak. He just went through a battle."

Cedric came nervous. "Who did he fight? Has Chu Shaoqiang already arrived?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "It wasn't Chu Shaoqiang. It was Ge Junma."

"That's a strange name." Cedric searched his memory for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know him."

"Your founding cultivator must know him, or at the very least have heard of him. Pass this information along, and he will definitely have a way to verify it. As for where you got the information, you will have to come up with a lie yourself."

Cedric slowly turned the teacup in his hands a few times before draining it in one gulp. "I trust you. This information is far too valuable for me to take without giving you something of equal value in return, so I will tell you what I know about He Jiaqing. Your friend has become an ally of the founding cultivator of my Daoist path. His cultivation is extremely high, and he's capable of overcoming the Neverending Peaks ability that affects people at Vilefolk Hillock."

Li Banfeng thought back to what he had experienced there. "Is this Neverending Peaks ability you are talking about the one that traps people inside Vilefolk Hillock and keeps them from finding their way out?"

Cedric nodded. "Yes. It's an extremely advanced Hedonism Cultivator ability. If I am not mistaken, your friend stole a way out of the other party's ability and used it to lead me out of Vilefolk Hillock. Based on that, he should be a thief, or what people in Puluo Province usually call a Thievery Cultivator. His cultivation also isn't at the Terranean Layer. Cloudborne Layer cultivators need something special to support their standing. He lost what supported his standing before, and now the deed that belonged to Foxtail Grass supports it. You should know who that is."

"You mean the beggar I killed?"

Cedric nodded. "My founding cultivator took Foxtail Grass' deed and used it as a bargaining chip. As part of the deal, he gave the deed to He Jiaqing."

Li Banfeng was a little curious. "What could be so valuable that he had to trade a deed for it?"

Cedric puffed out his chest and answered proudly, "Me!"

Li Banfeng froze. "The Greenwater Beggar traded a deed for you? He must really treasure you!"

"That's why I love my founding cultivator." Cedric poured Li Banfeng a cup of tea. "That's everything I know. Do you think we are even now?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "More or less."

When Cedric saw that Li Banfeng was about to leave, he asked, "Are we still doing the murky water business?"

"We are," Li Banfeng said as he lowered the brim of his hat. "If you hear anything, come find me at the teahouse again."

***

"Ge Junma. So he actually went to Ink Fragrance Shop," the Greenwater Beggar said as he burst out in laughter. He was sitting in the corner with his beggar bowl when someone threw a silver dollar into it and asked, "Is this information reliable?"

It was He Jiaqing.

The Greenwater Beggar stared at the silver dollar for a moment. "Since you have already given it to me..."

Before he could finish, the silver dollar vanished from the bowl.

"Impressive," The Greenwater Beggar gave a word of praise. "Cedric got the information through the Inner Province. He's been there himself, so there's no way he would dare lie to me about this."

He Jiaqing twirled the silver dollar between his fingers. "To be safe, we should wait a little longer. It's not too late to make a move after Chu Shaoqiang shows up."

The Greenwater Beggar rose to his feet. "No need to wait. Ge Junma is at Ink Fragrance Shop, so Chu Shaoqiang will definitely go there to save him. We can head over, take the territory, take the deed, and take Chu Shaoqiang's head while we are at it. Where else are we going to find a deal this good?"

He Jiaqing kept playing with the silver dollar. "Before we get down to business, we should settle how we are dividing the spoils. Do you want Chu Shaoqiang's head, or do you want the territory? We better make this clear first."

The Greenwater Beggar sneered. "Aren't you trying to create a new Puluo Province? You are really going to haggle over something this small?"

He Jiaqing smiled. "I want to change Puluo Province, but I still need somewhere to establish myself first. It's like doing business. You need a shop before you can get started. I would really like the territory of Ink Fragrance Shop. If you want it too, we can take our time and work something out."

The Greenwater Beggar frowned. "You already took the deeds from me, and now you want the territory too. Aren't you getting a little too greedy?"

He Jiaqing tossed the silver dollar back into the Greenwater Beggar's bowl. "You have already given me the deeds. Letting me earn a little more won't cost you anything."

The Greenwater Beggar shook the bowl, making the silver dollar clink against the sides. "If you want a bigger share, then put in more work. Chu Shaoqiang, Ge Junma, and Murong Gui. That's three heads. How many of them can you take?"

Author's Note:

PS: The waters are getting muddier and muddier. Let's see who manages to fish something out of the murky water.