Chapter 435: Come, Lets Fight to the Death

Chapter 435: Come, Let's Fight to the Death

The person coming for Qiu Luoye was a cultivator at the Cloudborne Layer. He would bring two helpers, who might also be at the Cloudborne Layer. Even if they were not, they were probably at level eight or nine of the Terranean Layer.

Li Banfeng could throw everything he had into a fight and hold his own against a level-one Cloudborne cultivator outside the Pocket Dwelling. However, if he wanted to win, he had to trick that level-one Cloudborne cultivator into entering the Pocket Dwelling.

According to Qiu Luoye's description, the person that the Inner Provinces had sent was clearly not a level-one Cloudborne cultivator. His cultivation level might even surpass Qiu Luoye's. Li Banfeng had little chance of winning against Qiu Luoye, let alone if he had two helpers with him.

Did Li Qi have no helpers? He did, of course.

He Yuxiu counted as one. She could fight really well and shared a tacit understanding with Li Banfeng that came naturally to them.

This was a matter of risking their lives. It would be best if He Yuxiu were willing to help, but Li Banfeng would not force her to do it. Furthermore, he could not let her help for free; he had to give He Yuxiu some property in Qi Qiu City.

Huo Ling was at level seven and could at most hold out for a while.

Zuo Wugang, Qin, the Street-Cursing Crone, Miss Severed-No-Grudge, Trusty-Doubty, Mr. Hundredhands, Mr. Look-Everywhere, and Madam Gobble-the-World were all at level six. If Li Banfeng placed them together under He Yuxiu's command, perhaps they could stand their ground against one Cloudborne cultivator.

With Li Banfeng handling one Cloudborne cultivator and He Yuxiu's group handling a second, that meant they had two Cloudborne cultivators more or less covered. But if there were a third Cloudborne cultivator, how were they supposed to handle it?

Did Li Banfeng have anyone else?

He did not know Tan Fucheng's cultivation level. Nevertheless, Tan Fucheng followed a special Daoist path, so perhaps he could take part in the battle.

Lu Yuanxin was an Entomic Cultivator, which was also a special Daoist path. However, he was only at level four.

Ma Wu was about to advance to the next level, but even after he advanced, he would only be at level four as well. Sending him to fight a Cloudborne cultivator would just be sending him to his death.

These people were not enough. Li Banfeng needed a greater combat force.

Should I return to Properfolk Village and ask Shui Yongquan to come? No, it's too far away. Shui Yongquan probably wouldn't make it in time.

Should I use the Pocket Dwelling to bring him here? I doubt the Music Box alone can knock him out, though. More importantly, he's extremely afraid of the Inner Provinces. He may not even be willing to help with this.

Various suggestions kept appearing in Li Banfeng's mind, only to be rejected one after another.

He rubbed his forehead and shouted, "Speak in an orderly fashion!"

***

Juan had just finished boiling a pot of dumplings, but before she could even serve them up, a few hungry mouths had eaten half of them.

Before New Year's, Li Banfeng had someone send over rice, noodles, wine, meat, sugar, and tea. For this group of three-headed people, it was the happiest New Year's of their lives.

Li Banfeng knocked on the door and entered Juan's home. The three-headed people all got up and invited him to sit down. One poured him wine, another offered him a cigarette, and another came over to give him New Year's greetings.

Li Banfeng looked at the lanterns outside the window, the paper-cut decorations on the window, and then at the table laden with food and wine.

It was such a good day. Li Banfeng did not even know how to broach the subject, knowing he was about to disrupt the peace.

Then he took off his knapsack and poured out a pouch of silver dollars.

Juan was startled. "Master Qi, what's this for?"

Li Banfeng said, "It's New Year's. This is a red envelope[1] for all of you. There's also something I have to trouble you all with."

"Master Qi, take this money back." Juan pushed the pouch back to him. "Whatever it is, just give us your command."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "It's not a command. I don't have the right to command you anyway. I just wanted to ask... are any of you interested in making some quick money?"

The words sounded a little crude, but Li Banfeng did not know how else to put it.

Juan did not understand. "Master Qi, are you asking us to go rob someone?"

"No, I'm not talking about robbing someone. I rarely do that now—well, I didn't really do that before either... Tomorrow, a few ruthless people are coming to seize this territory. I'm going to fight them, and I want to hire some helpers. I definitely won't shortchange anyone on the pay. Anyone who wants to join me, come find me in the woods tomorrow night."

Juan was silent for a moment before asking, "Master Qi, do you have weapons?"

"I do. I can provide one to two hundred weapons. It would be enough if you could find thirty to fifty people for me. Even ten or twenty will do. If you really can't find anyone, that's fine. Those who are willing to go will receive an additional generous reward after the battle."

Li Banfeng took out a contract and handed it to Juan. Whoever participated would be putting their lives on the line, so there could be no ambiguity about how much each person would be paid.

Juan accepted the contract and nodded. "Master Qi, wait for my news."

***

Back in the Pocket Dwelling, Li Banfeng told the Gramophone, "My beloved darling, I'm going up against three Cloudborne cultivators. Got any good ideas?"

Hong Ying froze. "Three Cloudborne cultivators?"

The Gramophone let out a puff of steam. "My darling husband, it's New Year's! What are you trying to do?"

"They've come right to my doorstep. If I don't drive them away, I won't be able to celebrate the New Year."

"Three Cloudborne cultivators came right to your doorstep? Who are they?"

"They're from the Inner Provinces. They want to take the territory I just opened up."

The room fell silent.

Hong Ying said to the Pocket Dwelling, "Old thing, let me out. I'll go fight them alongside Darling Qi. How is he supposed to fight three Cloudborne cultivators?"

The Pocket Dwelling said nothing.

Hong Ying could not see it, but she could feel someone examining her.

"You don't trust me?" she asked.

The Pocket Dwelling gave a simple answer. "That's right. I don't."

The Gramophone let out a cold laugh. "You wretch, you stabbed me in the back. How could the old man trust you? Sir, let me out to help my husband."

"I don't trust you either."

The Gramophone was speechless.

Hong Ying burst out laughing. "Wicked woman, who do you think you are, some paragon of virtue?"

The Pocket Dwelling sighed deeply and asked, "Qi, is this battle really unavoidable?"

"It's unavoidable!" Li Banfeng replied.

The Pocket Dwelling sighed. "Since you've made your decision, I cannot stop you. At the critical moment, I will be flexible."

The Gramophone said, "My darling husband, you can't be rigid when you're fighting a war. If you can't beat them, you absolutely must retreat. Tell me what abilities your opponents have first, and I'll help you come up with a strategy."

Abilities?

Li Banfeng only knew that one of them was an Artificer Cultivator.

***

Nighttime, the first day of the new year.

Inside Qiu Luoye's residence, all the Contract Guardian Spirits were busy. The day before, they had been taking care of Qiu Luoye and had not had time to prepare for New Year's.

On the first day of the new year, everyone put up Spring Festival couplets, hung lanterns, and changed into new clothes.

Qiu Luoye tightened the bandages around his wounds and stood in the courtyard holding a pair of spiked clubs.

With a smile on his face, he said, "New Year's should look like New Year's. Even if this is our last one, we should celebrate it properly."

A python lit a pair of lanterns and hung them on its body. Flicking its tongue, the python said, "Master Qiu, let's not say such inauspicious words. Tonight, we'll fight them to the death, eat their flesh, drink our wine, and have a lively New Year's!"

"Well said!" Stone shouted from the side. "Even a dead tiger's skeleton won't fall[2], and our Master Qiu is an elephant!"

What a thing to say...

Qiu Luoye and Old Tiger each kicked Stone once.

Qiu Luoye lowered his voice and asked Old Tiger, "You saw it clearly? Old Qi and the others really left?"

Old Tiger nodded. "I saw it clearly. He took his people and, as you instructed, went to Kinless Township to hide."

"Good. I was afraid that kid would do something stupid and throw his life away for nothing." Qiu Luoye gritted his teeth and tightened his bandages. "You should leave soon too."

"Master Qiu, we're not leaving. If we're going to die, we'll die together!" Old Tiger roared and rose to his feet.

"Nonsense! We can share good fortune, but dying isn't a good thing. Why die with me? Hurry up and go!"

Old Tiger refused to leave. There was something he still did not dare say.

Meanwhile, Li Banfeng had not left either. He was lying in ambush in the woods in front of Qiu Luoye's residence. Qiu Luoye's injuries were too severe for him to sense Li Banfeng's presence.

He Yuxiu crouched in a tree and said, "Old Qi, didn't you find some three-headed people? Not a single one came? Even though you showed them kindness back then?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "If it hadn't been for them, this territory could not have become a Proper Land. I've thought it over many times. They probably accounted for ninety percent of the human presence in this territory, so I suppose they've repaid that favor. Xiu'er, you repaid whatever small favor you owed me long ago too. If things go wrong later, take them and run."

"Bullshit!" He Yuxiu glared at Li Banfeng. "If they want to run, let them run. We kowtowed to each other and swore an oath. How could that be the same?"

***

On Junyang Avenue, Ma Wu had settled Lu Chunying and the others in and instructed them, "I've already made arrangements with the Border Controller. If those bastards come attacking later, go hide in the Border Control Office. They definitely won't dare cause trouble there."

Lu Chunying asked, "Big Bro Wu, where are you going?"

"Up the mountain."

"Big Bro Qi told you not to go."

Ma Wu smiled. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. If Old Qi can come back, I'll come back with him. If he can't, then none of us will."

"Big Bro Wu..." Lu Chunying gritted her teeth. "I'll go up the mountain too."

"Take care of these people first. Where did Miss Chu go?"

"Big Sis Huaiyuan said she wanted to see the restaurant you just built."

"Couldn't she look at it some other time? Why did she have to go right at this time?" Ma Wu frowned. "Besides, the restaurant only has its foundation laid. What's there to see?"

"She saw the blueprints. She said that restaurant is unusual."

At the mention of the blueprints, Ma Wu froze.

I almost forgot. Where did the person who drew the blueprints go?

***

The Mr. Look-Everywhere, a Spycraft Cultivator, held up three fingers toward Li Banfeng. Three people had come from the other side.

As expected, there were three. Fortunately, that was it.

Chu Shaoqiang had Spycraft enchanted artifacts, so he had sensed the ambush as well. He slowly walked toward the ambush, with two men in tow.

One man wore a changshan with overlapping lapels and a round hat. With a folding fan in hand, he bore the appearance of a scholar. His name was Guo Jinshi.

The other man wore a front-buttoned Chinese-style shirt[3]. It looked plain and casual, but it was actually made of lightweight material with exquisite workmanship and not a stitch out of place. This was high-quality clothing for a martial artist. He was a Martial Cultivator named Tian Dasong.

As they walked, Guo Jinshi, a Literary Cultivator, said, "I used to know only of noblemen on rooftops, but today I see noblemen in the trees. If you're noblemen, you should be open and forthright. Which of you still has enough courage left to come down, meet me face-to-face, and exchange a few words?"

Once he was done talking, everyone had the urge to jump down from the trees. He had used the Literary ability Binding Edict.

Judging by how powerful the ability was, Guo Jinshi had to be at least a level-eight Literary Cultivator. Whether he was at the Cloudborne Layer was another matter. Li Banfeng and He Yuxiu were barely managing to resist yielding to the ability. Meanwhile, the others gritted their teeth and struggled against it, feeling like their skin and flesh were being torn apart inch by inch.

Guo Jinshi stood right at the edge of the ambush. He did not step into the range of the ambush, nor did he take any precautions against it. This was an open provocation to everyone.

"Oh, my. What kind of bastard calls himself a nobleman? Since when did noblemen become so common and of little value?" the Street-Cursing Crone remarked.

Once she opened her mouth, everyone's condition improved considerably.

Then she continued, "And what the hell do you mean by being open and forthright? Let's see you be forthright. Let's see whether you're willing to risk that precious face of yours!"

Those few insults were so satisfying that the Binding Edict was broken.

Guo Jinshi smiled. "So you're a fellow cultivator of the same Daoist path."

The Street-Cursing Crone's a Literary Cultivator?

Li Banfeng had actually thought there was a special Daoist path that cultivated cursing.

"Bah!" the Street-Cursing Crone spat. "Who the hell is your fellow cultivator? You really have no shame. You're a thief. What kind of Daoist path is that fucking supposed to be? You're a Thievery Cultivator, yet you think you're worthy of being my fellow cultivator?"

Guo Jinshi laughed. "You're hiding in the dark because you're afraid to show your face, yet you dare to call me a thief?"

The Street-Cursing Crone yelled, "Breaking into someone's home at night makes you a thief!"

"Whose home did I break into? Is this wooded mountain your home? Gathering in the wilderness like this, aren't you a mountain bandit?"

Guo Jinshi and the Street-Cursing Crone traded insults as though they were debating the definition of "thief," but things were not as simple as they seemed. The Street-Cursing Crone was actually fighting with everything she had.

The two people were battling with their abilities. The Street-Cursing Crone wanted to provoke Guo Jinshi into entering the ambush. Guo Jinshi, on the other hand, wanted to use his Literary Cultivator abilities to force Li Banfeng and his allies out of the ambush.

As they traded insults, blood spilled out of the Street-Cursing Crone's mouth. Her cultivation level was lower than Guo Jinshi's.

Guo Jinshi seized the opportunity and launched an attack, intending to finish off the Street-Cursing Crone. "Shameless shrew, you've got one foot in the grave, yet you're spewing filth from your mouth like a mangy old dog baring its teeth and barking madly.

"Old dog, save your strength. I know you have little time left, but there is still a bowl of hot soup in the latrine at the foot of the mountain. Go fill your stomach while it's still hot. Don't become an fiendish ghost on the road to the Yellow Springs[4].

"Old dog, why have you stopped talking? Old dog, don't just die like this—"

"Hooyayayayah~" Li Banfeng howled, deliberately interrupting Guo Jinshi while leaping down from a tree.

Guo Jinshi smiled. "Good, come on. This time, I'll see where you can—"

However, before he could finish, Guo Jinshi's throat tightened.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A rapid barrage of drumbeats suddenly rendered Guo Jinshi unable to speak. It felt as though a knife were twisting back and forth inside his skull. He could barely stay on his feet and almost collapsed.

Chu Shaoqiang and Martial Cultivator Tian Dasong also felt a tightness in their chests, accompanied by shortness of breath. They could not tell what ability Li Banfeng had used.

Guo Jinshi was now injured; blood was streaming out from his eyes and ears. Before he could come to his senses, Li Banfeng was already straddling him, swinging his sickle down at his face.

Knowing full well how dangerous this was, Li Banfeng still stubbornly stuck to his plan. He moved so fast that Chu Shaoqiang could not immediately determine his cultivation level. He drove his sickle down onto Guo Jinshi's face repeatedly like a burst of torrential rain.

Chu Shaoqiang and Tian Dasong wanted to rush over and help, but a mighty wave of pressure suddenly swept over them, forcing them back. Guo Jinshi stiffened as he suffered another heavy blow.

The drumbeats had come from the Gramophone, while the mighty pressure had come from Hong Ying. The Pocket Dwelling had opened his front door for an instant and closed it right after. He could only open it for a brief moment, otherwise he might expose his presence.

The Pocket Dwelling said to the Gramophone and Hong Ying, "I've already made an exception to my rules. The rest depends on your man's skills."

The Gramophone and Hong Ying had given it everything they had during that exception, and Guo Jinshi bore most of the resulting damage alone.

Now, Li Banfeng simply continued driving the sickle into Guo Jinshi's face repeatedly. Guo Jinshi had no idea how many blows he had taken. He could neither withstand them nor break free.

Was Li Banfeng not a Wanderlust Cultivator? Why was a Wanderlust Cultivator fighting like this? He did not use abilities or maneuver around his opponent. Instead, he was fighting like a madman...?

This was the battle strategy the Gramophone and Li Banfeng had devised together. If the enemies entered the ambush, Li Banfeng's side had the advantage of terrain and the right distance to coordinate their abilities for a win.

If the enemies did not enter the ambush, the terrain and positioning would be unfavorable, which meant they could not coordinate their abilities well. A master Artificer Cultivator could dismantle them one by one.

In that situation, they could not attack methodically. Their best choice was to have the Gramophone and Hong Ying assist and rely on Li Banfeng's speed as a Wanderlust Cultivator to eliminate one of the three enemies first. Li Banfeng had chosen to eliminate Guo Jinshi first.

However, Li Banfeng neither dodged nor blocked. He took the blow without flinching and hooked his sickle into Guo Jinshi's left eye.

The two men traded blow for blow, blood for blood. What kind of fighting style was this?

Tian Dasong rushed over to grab Li Banfeng, but He Yuxiu kicked him away. He then struck down He Yuxiu instead, and Zuo Wugang and Mr. Hundredhands desperately grabbed him from behind. The others rushed forward and attacked him together.

The Tang Saber seized the opportunity to stab Guo Jinshi in the middle of his back, while the Blood-Drinking Pendulum slipped past his collar and slit his neck.

Li Banfeng countered by biting down hard on Guo Jinshi's neck, releasing a gush of blood from the wound.

Chu Shaoqiang remained calm throughout. He quickly saw through Li Banfeng's strategy and prepared to use an enchanted artifact to kill that madman first.

Then Chu Huaiyuan suddenly appeared in front of Chu Shaoqiang with a smile.

Chu Shaoqiang was expressionless as he asked, "What are you doing here?"

Chu Huaiyuan smiled. "I came here to fight you to the death."

Chu Shaoqiang remained calm. "You don't know who I am. You don't need to know now either. Leave this place."

"I know who you are." Chu Huaiyuan's smile disappeared. She rolled her eyes upward to look at Chu Shaoqiang. "Dad, I really did come here to fight you to the death."

1. The New Year’s being referred to here is the Chinese New Year, where red envelopes filled with money are given as a blessing, wishing for good luck, health, prosperity, etc. ☜

2. Meaning it won’t lose its dignity. ☜

3. See translator’s note for photo. ☜

4. The underworld. ☜