Chapter 482.2: Where Did He Come From? (2)

At the Paramount Club, Liao Zihui brought Lightbulb to the Singing Queen's Room and arranged for Chang Hongjiao, one of the club's most popular singers, to perform for them. He had invited Lightbulb alone, with no other guests, specifically to help him recover from his ordeal.

Now, was Liao Zihui going to all this trouble because he was such a kind and considerate superior? This wasn't quite true. For one thing, Lightbulb was only there for further training and wasn't even technically his subordinate.

Perhaps he was worried that Lightbulb would go back to the Dark Star Bureau and say something he shouldn't? That wasn't it either. The difference in their status was simply too great. As long as Lightbulb went back alive, he could say whatever nonsense he wanted and it wouldn't cause Liao Zihui much trouble.

Liao Zihui's real purpose was to investigate Lightbulb's relationship with Li Qi. Lightbulb had supposedly followed Li Qi for several days without being discovered, something Liao Zihui found hard to believe. However, he had no intention of interrogating Lightbulb directly. Instead, he wanted to draw the truth out of him through casual conversation.

After all, in a setting like this, surrounded by music and good company, people were more likely to let their guard down and reveal things they shouldn't say.

After Chang Hongjiao had finished her second song, Liao Zihui asked her to leave them alone for a while. Once she was gone, he lowered his voice. "Ning, what do you think of that girl?"

Lightbulb shook his head. "I would say she's average."

Liao Zihui stared at him in astonishment. "Average? Just look at that pretty face, that lovely figure, and listen to that voice! Are you telling me she can't even compare to the singers in the Outer Provinces?"

"Oh, she's miles better than the singers back home! Besides, a fellow of my standing would never get anywhere near a proper star. I only meant she's nothing special compared to Jiang Mengting."

Liao Zihui's interest was immediately piqued. "You have been to one of Jiang Mengting's concerts?"

Lightbulb lowered his voice. "I have. Li Qi took me."

Liao Zihui was surprised. "You know Li Qi?"

"Well, sort of." Lightbulb scratched his head. "We hadn't actually met back in Blue Poplar Village. After we came back from dealing with the bandits there, Li Qi went back to Freewind Wharf, and I followed him. I wanted to see what he was going to do next, but wouldn't you know it, he sent someone to invite me inside to watch a concert! So I went in, and they even gave me a private box. I was scared stiff at the time. Li Qi himself came into the box at one point and said a few words to me."

"What did he say?"

"He said it couldn't have been easy for me and told me not to come back." Lightbulb paused, lowering his head in embarrassment before continuing. "Commissioner, do you think Li Qi knew I was spying on him all along?"

Liao Zihui hardly knew what to say. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

"I was embarrassed." Lightbulb hung his head even lower. "Commissioner, I am pretty useless, aren't I?"

Liao Zihui gave a faint smile and called Chang Hongjiao back into the room to continue singing.

Just as he had suspected, Li Qi had long realized that Lightbulb was spying on him. What surprised him was that Li Qi hadn't done anything to harm the fellow. Instead, he had gone out of his way to let Lightbulb know that he had already been discovered.

Is this Li Qi extending an olive branch? Liao Zihui thought. I will just take it as it is. It's good to have a couple more days of peace and quiet.

***

Inside the Pocket Dwelling, Li Banfeng had a question for Hong Ying. "Darling Ying, is there an ability that lets you kick someone so hard they go flying an incredible distance?"

Hong Ying thought for a moment. "I don't think that's an ability. Back when I was learning martial arts, I practiced a move called Horse Kick to the Dantian. With one good kick, I could send someone flying more than two zhang."

"Much farther than that!" Li Banfeng waved his hand. "I am talking about sending someone flying a couple of kilometers!"

"A couple of kilometers?" Hong Ying could hardly make sense of what she was hearing.

Li Banfeng scratched his head. "Possibly even farther. I fought this fellow at Yellowclay Bridge, and when I went back afterward to look for him, he was nowhere to be found. Could I really have kicked him all the way out of Yellowclay Bridge? And here's the strangest part. He went flying, but so did I! I flew all the way from Yellowclay Bridge to Greenwater Bay."

"Darling Qi, before you used that ability, were you having trouble telling which direction was which?" Hong Ying asked.

Li Banfeng nodded. "I was, actually. But then, for some reason, I could tell the directions apart again."

Hong Ying was delighted. "Darling Qi, you have used the A Parting Across Ten Thousand Miles ability!"

Li Banfeng had heard a few descriptions of A Parting Across Ten Thousand Miles before, and he had already suspected that this might be the ability he had used. Now that Hong Ying had said the same thing, he was almost certain of it.

"But how did I learn it? I don't even know how to use the technique properly, and it's a level-nine Wanderlust Cultivator ability!"

"A Parting Across Ten Thousand Miles isn't nearly as complicated as Intent Travels a Thousand Mountains. There have been cases of people learning it without anyone teaching them." Hong Ying clasped Li Banfeng's hand excitedly. "Darling Qi, you have mastered a level-nine ability! That means you have reached level nine! From now on, you'll finally be able to tell the front door from the back door!"

Smack!

The Gramophone gave Hong Ying a mighty smack with her wooden paddle. "What's that got to do with front doors and back doors?"

"Owww!" Hong Ying rubbed her sore peachy butt and hissed in pain several times. "You wretched woman! You really put some strength into that one!"

Li Banfeng offered an explanation. "I might have borrowed Ying's ability without realizing it at the time."

The Gramophone responded, "Husband dear, you need to think back carefully. Did you actually use a level-nine ability on your own, or did you rely on Stubborn Step to use an ability above your level?"

Li Banfeng had wondered about that himself.

It seemed unlikely that Li Banfeng had used an ability beyond his cultivation level. Stubborn Step could temporarily push his cultivation higher, but using an ability above his level would leave him terribly injured, and Li Banfeng knew that all too well. He had learned that lesson the hard way.

Hong Ying thought that Li Banfeng had advanced as well. "Darling Qi spent several days wandering around Ghostblade Ridge, so his cultivation was bound to shoot up! Of course, advancing a whole level is not that easy. But remember what Darling Qi said? Things have changed at Ghostblade Ridge. Those Toilblade Ghosts can now come out even without a thunderstorm, which made the place even more dangerous than before. With dangers like that, perhaps it's not so surprising that Darling Qi managed to advance an entire level!"

The Gramophone sighed. "How can his body possibly cope with such a sudden leap in cultivation?"

Hong Ying chuckled. "But Xiaowan, didn't Darling Qi say he had borrowed the ability..."

"You have still got the nerve to run your mouth!" Zhao Xiaowan grabbed Hong Ying and gave her another good beating.

While getting a beating, Hong Ying shouted, "He was the one who said that! Why do you only beat me up?"

Li Banfeng asked, "Darling Ying, where exactly did that man I kicked away end up?"

Hong Ying rubbed her backside. "Darling Qi, that depends on where you wanted to send him."

"I can send him anywhere I want?"

Hong Ying nodded. "In theory, yes, but it's not quite that simple. The key to the A Parting Across Ten Thousand Miles ability lies in two things: the outward journey and the return journey. The outward journey concerns the person you are sending away. As long as you have a destination in mind, you can send that person there. However, there are two things you need to take care of beforehand. Firstly, the destination must be somewhere you are familiar with, and you need to picture every last detail clearly. Even the slightest uncertainty could send things awry.

"Back when I was serving in the army, I once tried to send an enemy commander straight into our camp so Xiaowan could deal with him. Unfortunately, in the heat of battle, my concentration slipped for just a moment, and I accidentally sent him into our granary instead. That wicked woman punished me with a hundred and twenty strokes of the rod! Even now, I still feel wronged whenever I think about it..."

At this point, Hong Ying's voice began to tremble. Gramophone, however, was absolutely furious. "A hundred and twenty strokes, and you think that was too many? Because of one little slip from you, you wretched woman, the entire army's food supplies went up in flames!"

Hong Ying went on. "Now, the second thing is to make absolutely certain of your directions. The technique will still work if you get them wrong, but where your enemy ends up is anybody's guess. Even you won't have the faintest idea where you've sent them!"

Li Banfeng thought this over. "So they might end up somewhere a little different from where you intended?"

Hong Ying shook her head. "Oh, it's much worse than that! They might end up somewhere that has absolutely nothing to do with your intended destination. Why, I once used A Parting Across Ten Thousand Miles on my very own mother when I was in a terrible pickle! You see, Mother was about to punish me according to the family rules. At the time, I just wanted to push her into the garden so I could make a quick escape. Unfortunately, in my panic, I got my directions all muddled up and sent her straight into the latrine instead! She fell right into the filthy pit and very nearly drowned!

"And when Mother finally got out of that dreadful place, she gave me a beating that lasted two whole days! Even now, whenever I think about it, I can't help feeling terribly wronged..."

Li Banfeng offered a few words of comfort. "There, there, don't cry. If you ask me, you didn't get nearly enough of a beating. Now, give me more details on this matter of figuring out your directions."

Hong Ying continued, "Well, that brings us to the return journey. You see, no matter how powerful a Wanderlust Cultivator might be, using A Parting Across Ten Thousand Miles will always leave them completely disoriented. The only way to get one's sense of direction back again is to establish a tether beforehand, something that can guide us back. That's what we call the return journey."

"And what exactly is this tether?"

"Well, it's like the great banner of an army camp, or an anchor on a ship. Oh, I find myself unable to explain everything clearly! I used to have two ropes that are both rare enchanted artifacts. They were the finest tethers I ever had.

"Whenever I went into battle, I would tie one rope around my waist and bury the other somewhere safe. Then, after using A Parting Across Ten Thousand Miles, the rope around my waist would tighten and respond to the one buried in the ground. That was how I could tell which direction I was facing and find my way back. Once I sent the enemy flying, all I had to do was follow the return path to safety. Such a pity, though. I lost both those wonderful ropes on the battlefield. Even now, whenever I think about it, my poor heart..."

Gramophone chimed in, "Oh, Yingying, don't be sad! One of these days, I will make you a lovely chain and fasten it around your neck."

Hong Ying gave a disdainful snort. "Well, enchanted artifacts like those ropes are hard to find, but there are other ways to set up a return journey. For instance, you could carry a high-quality communication artifact and have a trustworthy assistant send you a message at just the right moment. It's a fairly common method, though the timing is terribly tricky. If the message was sent too early before the ability had been activated, it would be useless. If the message was sent too late, neither of you will have the faintest idea where you would end up! That's why your assistant must be quick-witted and your plans must be worked out to the last detail."

Gramophone gave a mocking laugh. "Heyaaa~ Husband dear! You regret it, don't you? This A Parting Across Ten Thousand Miles ability is no good."

Hong Ying was not willing to accept that as she argued, "Who said it's no good? Let's see what ninth-level ability you Homebound Cultivators have up your sleeves, and then we will find out whose is better!"

Li Banfeng said, "Wifey, we can't let her get the better of us! Show her your level-nine Homebound Cultivator ability!"

Gramophone sighed. "Husband dear, what's the rush? Give yourself a few days to recover, and this little wifey will see to it that you reach level nine. But once you reach level nine, you will have a very important decision to make. Will you give up your corporeal body to ascend to level ten, or skip the tenth level altogether and ascend straight to the Cloudborne Layer?"

Li Banfeng asked, "Haven't we settled this already? Why do you think I went to all the trouble of claiming a territory and pretending to be a local land deity? Wasn't the whole point to skip level ten and ascend straight to the Cloudborne Layer?"

"That's true, Husband dear, but you have been advancing at such a tremendous pace that I am afraid your physique hasn't had time to catch up. Trying to force your way into the Cloudborne Layer in your present condition would be terribly dangerous, if you ask me."

Li Banfeng too agreed that his cultivation had been advancing rather too quickly. "Then I will take some time to strengthen my physique."

"Husband dear, not only will you need to rest and recuperate, you must also keep this a secret. You mustn't let anyone know that you have reached level nine."

Li Banfeng knew perfectly well how important it was to conceal his cultivation level, but there was something different about Wifey's warning this time.

"Is there something special about level nine?"

After all, everyone knew that Lu Dongliang was a level-nine cultivator, and Bao Yingchen, the Great Golden Seal of the Three Heroes Sect, even went around dropping hints that he had reached level nine himself.

Wifey explained, "Level-nine cultivators are like dragons and phoenixes among men. Once you reach such heights, you are bound to attract the attention of the Inner Provinces. If you want to cultivate in the Inner Provinces one day, then you don't have to hide your cultivation level. In fact, it's better if you let everyone know your cultivation level. If you can make some friends in the Inner Provinces beforehand, you will have people to look out for you when you arrive."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Oh, I am definitely not going to the Inner Provinces. Most of the friends I made there have already ended up in my stomach."

Wifey continued, "That's why you need to think carefully. You better think about everyone who has seen you use your level-nine ability. We can't have them going around blabbing about it."

For now, Wan Jinxian is the only one who has seen me activate my level-nine ability. Now, where on earth did I send that old bastard? I was thinking about the Ghostblade Ridge at the time, but that's a place that isn't really convenient for me to check.

***

Vilefolk Hillock, Virtue-Praising Village.

A man's corpse lay on the ground, gnawed into a dreadful mess by a Toilblade Ghost.

Cedric stepped closer and frowned. "Senior Brother, how on earth did you end up like this?"

He moved to carry the corpse away, but the Toilblade Ghost lying flat on the ground nearby let out a bloodcurdling shriek.

"SCREEE-AAAAAAHHHH!"

Cedric carried the corpse away anyway. "Senior Brother, you really mustn't eat things like that anymore. I have got some proper human food for you."

He offered the Toilblade Ghost a tin of food, but the creature gave it a thorough sniff before tossing it aside. He really didn't like the smell of seasoning.

Cedric picked up the tin and peeled back its metal lid. "Senior Brother, why don't you give it another try? Perhaps it will bring back a few memories."

The Toilblade Ghost took the tin and stuck out his tongue to lap at the broth. The familiar taste seemed to stir something deep in his memory.

He took a piece of beef and chewed it slowly and carefully. As he did, something resembling an expression began to creep across his bloated, unresponsive face.

Cedric leaned closer. "Senior Brother, has anything come back to you? Do you remember how you got here?"

The Toilblade Ghost stood as still as a clay statue for a good long while. Then, without warning, he jerked his head up and slapped the entire tin, broth and beef and all, straight into Cedric's face.

"Squeak! Squeak-squeak!" That was his way of saying the food tasted absolutely dreadful.

The Toilblade Ghost, who was none other than the former Wan Jinxian, dropped onto all fours and trotted merrily out of the village.

A female Toilblade Ghost was waiting for him just outside. The two crouched low, facing each other, and circled around twice while exchanging a few dreadful shrieks. Then, together, they disappeared into a little grove.

Cedric watched them go and gave a long sigh. "It seems Senior Brother has forgotten all the troubles of this world."

The moment he said that, Wan Jinxian came trotting out of the grove, looking just as lively as before. The female Toilblade Ghost followed close behind, shrieking at him in a manner that sounded remarkably like a mixture of insults and mockery.

Cedric glanced at his pocket watch and shook his head. "Then again, it seems some troubles are still with him."

Wan Jinxian finally had enough of the female Toilblade Ghost's pestering, and the two fell to clawing and scratching at each other.

Cedric watched the scuffle for a while and noticed something rather interesting. A rash had broken out across the female Toilblade Ghost's skin.

A rash...

Once Wan Jinxian had gone, Cedric approached the female Toilblade Ghost and made it clear that he was a far superior male. The female Toilblade Ghost accepted him.

In the little grove, Cedric took a good, careful look at her back. The bumps on her back were growing at an astonishing rate. There was no mistaking it. This was the work of a Disease Cultivator's ability!

So Wan Jinxian can still use his abilities! And what about the other Toilblade Ghosts?

A smile spread across Cedric's face. If the Toilblade Ghosts really could retain their cultivation and abilities from when they were alive to a certain extent, Cedric could put his plans into motion sooner than expected.

Author's Note:

PS: What started as a bioweapon might just turn into an entire biochemical army! Salagus has been coughing for days, so badly that I can't even sleep. Dear readers, please send all your monthly votes my way!