Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

Li Banfeng cradled Rong Yeguang's head, scrutinizing it for a long time. He had never seen Rong Yeguang before, but this bandit chief had his men sweep through Zhengjing Village. Li Banfeng was determined to avenge this. He just hadn't expected Sun Tiecheng to settle the score for him so readily.

Was it all over just like that? That wouldn't do; Lu Xiaolan was still alive. This account still had to be settled.

Sun Tiecheng said to Li Banfeng, "In the eyes of the world, Foolish Cultivation should have long been extinct. There should be no living Foolish Cultivators, and absolutely must not be any. You went to Fool's City, survived, and even learned two Foolish Cultivation Techniques. You absolutely cannot let outsiders know about this, or your life will be in danger."

There should be no living Foolish Cultivators in the world.

Li Banfeng looked closely at Sun Tiecheng. "Do you count as a living Foolish Cultivator?"

Sun Tiecheng shook his head. "No."

Li Banfeng could not see any Ghost Fire on him and did not know what kind of being he truly was.

"Was the first person who passed the examination a living Foolish Cultivator?" Li Banfeng asked.

Sun Tiecheng laughed. "You shouldn't ask."

"Can I forgo the land from Fool's City and exchange it for something else?" Li Banfeng continued. "It doesn't matter if nothing can be exchanged. I asked for one more Technique than I should have, and I shouldn't be too greedy."

Sun Tiecheng shook his head again. "You can't."

Clearly, this land served as a bond between Li Banfeng and Foolish Cultivation, much like a Contract Book. Sun Tiecheng had taken great pains to examine Li Banfeng, all to find a suitable person to establish this connection.

"Visit Fool's City more often when you can," Sun Tiecheng advised. "During life-and-death situations, it will be a refuge for you, much more reliable than the territory of Shui Yongquan." With that, Sun Tiecheng's figure vanished.

On the way back, Li Banfeng did not run too fast. He returned to Zhengjing Village at the same pace as when he had set out. He remembered Sun Tiecheng's words: run too fast, and you won't find the entrance to the Old Land. By the same token, running too fast meant you also wouldn't find the exit from the Old Land.

Li Banfeng suspected there were other ways to enter and exit the Old Land. He figured Sun Tiecheng had deliberately defined the exit through speed because he knew Li Banfeng was a Traveling Cultivator, and Traveling Cultivators were most sensitive to speed.

Encountering this person... have I come out at a loss or a gain? He tricked me into going to Fool's City, where I almost lost my life. But I gained two Techniques from him, killed an enemy, and acquired a piece of territory whose usefulness I doubt. Does this settle the account?

Even if it didn't, there was nothing Li Banfeng could do. He knew the vast gap in power between himself and Sun Tiecheng. From the moment Sun Tiecheng had targeted him, this encounter had been inevitable.

What level is he at? Is he close to that insect, above the Local Deity—the Chief Leader? What sort of existence is a Chief Leader?

The effects of the Lazy Cultivation's power hadn't fully dissipated, so Li Banfeng couldn't be bothered to think further. Upon returning to his bedroom, he immediately entered his Portable Residence.

"Husband, have you come out of Fool's City?"

"I have." Li Banfeng dove onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

The Phonograph's loudspeaker turned toward the Judge's Pen. "You lazy thing, you're rather useful after all."

"HUMPH." The Judge's Pen turned, too lazy to speak.

「Later」

He Jiaqing's left ear remained deaf. Ling Miaoying took this into account. When transmitting messages, she tried to make the tone as rich as possible, giving He Jiaqing the illusion that he could hear with both ears.

"The Lu Family's newspaper is gaining momentum," Ling Miaoying reported. "I don't understand the newspaper business well, and the Lu Family has poached several skilled men from under my big brother."

He Jiaqing remained calm, as this was within his expectations. "Is the matter with the newspaper office clear yet?"

"From the clues we currently have, people from Hundred Flowers Gate burned down the newspaper office. It's very likely my big brother's death is also related to them."

Ling Miaowen had died from an eerie piece of music, and He Jiaqing had also been severely injured by it. The music came from a Phonograph bought by Ma Wu. The Phonograph, in turn, was bought from Ling Miaosheng. Ling Miaosheng definitely wouldn't have killed his own brother, so the Phonograph must have been tampered with.

Was it Ma Wu? Did Ma Wu hire Hundred Flowers Gate?

He Jiaqing believed Ma Wu didn't have the resources, and Hundred Flowers Gate didn't have the strength.

The Lu Family! Only the Lu Family had such strength!

"Hundred Flowers Gate normally didn't have much to do with Miaowen," He Jiaqing mused. "There's someone else behind the scenes. It's ninety-nine percent certain the Lu Family is responsible. We must avenge this."

"How do you suggest we take revenge?" Ling Miaoying asked.

He Jiaqing said, "Contact Rong Yeguang, the Leader at Iron Sheep Mountain. Have him rally his men and sweep through all the Lu Family's businesses in Medicine King Valley. Try to dispatch Monkey Qiu to Medicine King Valley. Without Monkey Qiu, Lu Yuanshan and Lu Yuanhai will be easy to deal with. Tell Lu Maoxian that if he wants to be the Lu Family's Head, now is the best opportunity. He should directly take out the Lu brothers."

Ling Miaoying agreed and immediately went to contact Iron Sheep Mountain.

「That night」

When the caregiver fell asleep, He Jiaqing received a message from Ling Miaoying. "There might be some difficulty with Iron Sheep Mountain."

"What's the problem?" He Jiaqing asked. "Are you afraid Rong Yeguang won't agree? Raise the price for him. We're not short on money."

"We're not short on money," Ling Miaoying replied, "but we're short one Rong Yeguang."

He Jiaqing frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Our people just sent word. Something happened to Rong Yeguang last night. Someone took his head."

Lying in bed, He Jiaqing was speechless for a long time.

Rong Yeguang, the Big Dipper of Iron Sheep Mountain, killed?

"Who did it?" he finally asked.

"It's not yet known," Ling Miaoying responded. "Iron Sheep Mountain is already in chaos. All the major powers are contesting for the position of Fort Master, and Lu Xiaolan is planning to run away with her mother."

"She mustn't run!" He Jiaqing exclaimed, still reeling. This was his immediate reaction. "Tell her to stay and fight for the Fort Master position!"

"Jiaqing," Ling Miaoying cautioned, "the Fort Master position isn't easy to win. There are many ruthless people on Iron Sheep Mountain, and Lu Xiaolan is only a Fourth Layer Peeping Cultivator."