The Overlord of Puluo

Even though Li Banfeng was a little afraid of the gramophone, Li Banfeng always managed to sleep well in the Pocket Dwelling.

When he woke, he lit a candle and pressed the catch. The pocket watch snapped open, showing that it was already ten o’clock.

Li Banfeng felt a little thirsty, so he crouched down to look for the water bucket under his bed. Yet it was gone again.

Before going to bed last night, he had fetched a bucket of water from the river, boiled it, let it cool, and placed it by his bedside. Now, after just one night’s sleep, it had vanished again.

Li Banfeng knew well that the dwelling spirit liked to keep things tidy, but he couldn’t help but complain in his heart, Can’t you take my living habits into account when you tidy up?

With the candle raised, Li Banfeng looked high and low for the bucket, yet after searching for quite some time, he still couldn’t find it.

A missing bucket wasn’t a problem. He could always buy another. However, there was something else missing. The bronze lotus flower was gone!

The veins on Li Banfeng’s forehead bulged instantly!

Last night, the bronze lotus flower had refined Rong Jin’an’s corpse into two red pills. Li Banfeng had personally collected the lotus seeds with his own hands and had clearly seen the flower fold its petals shut in the corner. How could it be gone in the blink of an eye? Could the gramophone have put it away? And where had she put it away?

He searched the entire room several times, but it remained nowhere to be found.

Aside from the gramophone, the tables and chairs he had taken from the old woman’s room were gone, as were the medicinal materials he had gathered from the Poison Cultivator Decai’s room.

”My lady, where did you put everything?” Li Banfeng asked, but the gramophone did not respond.

Li Banfeng’s heart sank as a grim conjecture crossed his mind. Could it be the gramophone didn’t take them? Someone… did someone slip into the Pocket Dwelling last night? But how could they get inside? Unless… unless they have a key. Don’t tell me the one I hid outside was picked up…

At that thought, cold sweat broke out across Li Banfeng’s back. Should I go check? No, I can’t!

If someone took the key, entered the Pocket Dwelling, and left with the bronze lotus flower, why didn’t they kill me? Maybe he didn’t dare to kill me because the gramophone is here.

If I step outside now, there might be a whole group of them waiting. Still, I can’t stay in the Pocket Dwelling forever. There’s no food or water here, and I won’t last long. For now, I mustn’t act rashly. First, I need to confirm whether someone really entered the Pocket Dwelling.

Holding up the candlestick, Li Banfeng carefully inspected the room. Even if the gramophone liked to keep things spotless, there had to be some sign if anyone had entered.

However, he found no signs of intruders and had instead stumbled upon something astonishing.

On the wall opposite the entrance was a door. It was the same color as the wall, and only by studying closely could he make out the faint outline of its hinges and the thin seam that marked its edge.

What lies behind this door? Is it a passage to another world? Are there unknown creatures hidden inside? Or… could there be another me waiting on the other side?

Just as Li Banfeng was debating whether or not to push the door open, the gramophone suddenly let out a sound, making him shiver.

Pop… crackle… pop…

「 When springtime comes, green paints the pane,

A maiden sits beneath her window,

embroidering mandarin ducks,

When suddenly strikes a ruthless stick,

Driving the loving pair of ducks apart! ♪」

This was The Song of Four Seasons[1].

This song was popular in Medicine King Gully, and it was said to be well-known throughout Puluo Province.

”Why are you suddenly singing this song?” Li Banfeng asked bluntly.

Pop… crackle… pop…

The gramophone continued singing:

「 When summer comes, the willows grow long, My husband sleeps late and slumbers strong.Day and night I toil for our home,And for my husband, I added a chamber. 」

She had changed the lyrics again and what does it mean by adding a chamber? Li Banfeng wondered before muttering to himself, ”Does she mean adding a chamber… as in bringing in another wife?”[2]

Hissssss~~~

A long hiss erupted as a cloud of steam rushed out, scalding Li Banfeng until his whole body flushed red. It stung, yet he brushed it off as though he were simply taking a steam bath.

Suddenly, another door appeared in the room. In old sayings, ”adding a chamber” often referred to taking a concubine, but here it carried the literal meaning. The Pocket Dwelling had gained an extra chamber.

What kind of room is this? Li Banfeng wondered as he pushed the door open and looked inside.

The moment he looked inside, his jaw dropped and stayed open for a long while before he finally forced it shut. Behind the door was another room that was identical to the one he already had in the Pocket Dwelling.

The room was the same in size and layout, but it held fewer furnishings. Inside were a water bucket, a table with two chairs, a cloth sack, and the bronze lotus flower resting on the table.

The gramophone had deliberately gathered these things and moved them into the new chamber. That did not surprise Li Banfeng, since she had always been good with household chores. What truly shocked him was that she had managed to expand the Pocket Dwelling with an additional room.

The Pocket Dwelling had been a shelter that a Wanderlust Cultivator crafted for himself. Based on how the Peddler had described the Wanderlust Cultivator, he was a cultivator of extremely high level. Yet the gramophone had managed to expand the shelter even further. Just what level had she reached?

In his astonishment, Li Banfeng noticed something even stranger. The bronze lotus flower lay open, and within it rested a lotus seed. But where did this lotus seed come from?

As the shock sank in, Li Banfeng noticed that the cloth sack was open as well. Inside were the medicinal materials Decai had once used to refine poisons. When he picked it up for a closer look, he saw that nearly half the contents were gone.

Judging from the state of the room, Li Banfeng pieced together what must have happened the night before.

Somehow, the gramophone had expanded the Pocket Dwelling by adding a new chamber. She had placed the bucket, the bronze lotus flower, the table and chairs, and the sack inside this chamber. Whether it was by accident or on purpose, some of the medicinal herbs spilled out when she set the cloth bag down.

The bronze lotus flower then saw the medicinal herbs, reacted to them, and refined them into pills, almost exactly the same way it had produced the Speckled-Snake Pill. As for the rest of the materials, their properties were too weak, so the bronze lotus flower simply discarded them.

The reasoning was sound, yet Li Banfeng could not tell what pill the bronze lotus flower had produced this time.

Li Banfeng picked up the lotus seed and set it in his palm. At once, the bronze lotus flower closed. Moments later, the seed split apart, releasing three green pills.

Catching the bitter odor that wafted from the pills, Li Banfeng wondered, What effect could these three green pills have?

Since Poison Cultivators used only toxic substances, these three pills had to be poisonous as well. Li Banfeng didn’t dare keep them in his palm for too long. He quickly fetched a money pouch and stored the pills inside.

The leftover materials had already been rejected by the bronze lotus flower. Since it had deemed them useless, Li Banfeng simply tossed them away.

With an extra room added, the Pocket Dwelling became much larger. Overjoyed by this, Li Banfeng decided to decorate both rooms.

He named the newly added chamber the outer room, while the original one became the main room. The main room, he decided, should not be too cluttered, and the outer room should not be too empty.

The first thing Li Banfeng did was move the washbasin into the outer room, since it took up too much space.

Aside from the washbasin, what else can I move? he wondered as he looked around. His eyes settled on the spear. He barely knew how to use it, so he placed it in the outer room as well.

And what else? he thought. Hah, this feather duster doesn’t belong in the main room either.

He carried it out and muttered to himself, Anything else?

After a pause, another thought followed. It seems… there’s nothing left.

Previously, the main room had felt cramped, but now that he had the outer room, there didn’t seem to be all that much to rearrange after all…

Hiss! The gramophone spat out a jet of steam that sounded very much like a mocking laugh.

Li Banfeng glared. ”Are you mocking me? Mocking that I live a poor life?

The gramophone continued to sing The Song of Four Seasons:

「 One day together as bride and groom,A hundred days’ grace will forever bloom.How could this little wife dare to mock her beloved?Each stitch, each thread, I weave with my heart,With my dear husband, I’ll share every part. 」

The lyrics sounded sincere, but the singing dripped with sarcasm!

Li Banfeng gnashed his teeth. ”Just you wait. I’ll buy a whole house full of fine things and blind that loudspeaker of yours!”

Hiss! Hiss! The gramophone laughed at Li Banfeng twice.

Li Banfeng was very angry. He was just about to head out when he heard the gramophone sing again.

「 This little wife, with a foolish heart,Holds a love that will never part.One level of cultivation I gift to my beloved, A hundred delicate flavors,gather at the tip of the nose.With golden eyes that see even the finest hair, discerning the secrets of yin and yang.~~ 」

Wait! Li Banfeng rushed back to the gramophone. ”What do you mean when you said you gifted me a level of cultivation? Are you saying that I gained a level in my Homebound Cultivation?”

The gramophone did not answer.

He added, ”A Homebound Cultivator cannot advance without a dwelling spirit. You gave me one level of cultivation. Does this mean you are already my dwelling spirit?”

The gramophone still did not answer.

”Do you really want to be with me? If you stay by my side, your days will be good. I can earn money, support a household, and I would never treat you poorly.”

Hiss! The gramophone let out a mocking hiss.

”Don’t look down on me. I’m worth a million now.”

Hiss! The gramophone spat another jet of steam.

She’s mocking me again? Whatever. I won’t be petty over such a small thing, Li Banfeng thought. Then he said, ”You just said that I already gained one level of Homebound Cultivation. Does that mean I also have two skills?”

The gramophone did not answer.

”A hundred delicate flavors gather at the tip of the nose,” Li Banfeng recited. He paused before asking, ”Does this lyric mean my sense of smell will become especially keen? I already noticed before that I could smell and identify certain poisons. Now that I am a level-one Homebound Cultivator, will my nose become even sharper?”

He thought for a moment, then continued, ”And what about the line, ’With golden eyes that see even the finest hair, discerning the secrets of yin and yang’? Does it mean I have the fiery golden eyes[3] that can see through illusions and disguises? If I can discern yin and yang, does this mean I can identify existences that are dead? Are these techniques common to all Homebound Cultivators, or are they unique to you?”

”My lady, don’t ignore me! Say something, please. Don’t keep leaving me to mutter to myself like a lunatic.”

Hiss, hiss~ The gramophone emitted two more mocking hisses.

Li Banfeng grew angry. ”My lady, why do you always mock me?”

A puff of steam drifted over and wiped the mirror on the table.

Is that a hint for me to look at the mirror? Li Banfeng wondered. He looked into the mirror, and his eyes widened at once.

His face was covered in heavy makeup. Thick black brows. Deep purple eyeshadow. Pale, luminous foundation. A dab of bright red on his lips. It was far more dazzling than the makeup worn by most women.

If Li Banfeng went on livestream with this face, he could gain tens of thousands of followers overnight!

He snapped, ”Who did this? My lady, was it you?”

Hiss, hiss~

Clang, clang, clang~

The gramophone sang,

”Oh my husband~

”You wrong your little wife~

”This was done by that wretch Hanxue~”

Li Banfeng was stunned. ”The Blood-Drinking Pendulum? Why would she do that?”

The gramophone recited in a dramatic cadence, [4], ”It is her nature…

”Her soul I devoured, only a trace of spirit remains.

”She was born to dress, born to adorn.

”Each time you use her pendulum, she will dress you again.”

Li Banfeng looked at the pendulum. ”Is that wretch still worth keeping?”

Pop~ Crackle~

The gramophone recited in a soft and gentle voice, ”Yes, you may keep her…

”My husband, all enchanted treasures of the world require a price, only then may they be used.

”She merely likes to dress you, to paint you, to adorn you.

”Such a cost is trivial.”

Li Banfeng scratched his head. ”What do you mean when you say I have to pay a price before I can use it?”

1. This is another song sung by Zhou Xuan (周璇), is one of the most iconic Chinese songs of the Republican-era Shanghai period. This was a song from the golden age of Shanghai and it is about a woman waiting through the seasons for someone who may never return. It talks about the reality of separation during wartimes. You can listen to it here. ☜

2. In traditional context, ”添一房” (adding a chamber) often implies taking another concubine or wife, since each would be given her own ”chamber” in the household. ☜

3. This is referring to 火眼金睛 (huo yan jin jing). It is an ability of the famous Sun Wukong’s ability in Journey to the West. ☜

4. 念白 (nianbai) was mentioned this time instead of singing. It’s describing the gramophone speaking in the style of a Chinese opera recital. ☜