The Overlord of Puluo

Li Banfeng squatted beside the mountain path for an entire day. He seized cart after cart of grain, livestock, cloth, and daily necessities.

While taking a cart of miscellaneous goods, Li Banfeng even took the time to share some ”insights” with the farmer he was robbing.

”Look at this cold cream. The quality is clearly poor. I’m an expert in this field. The Peddler is my junior brother!”

Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying went back and forth, pushing cart after cart full of food, drinks, and supplies into the cave until there was a massive pile.

The children ate until their bellies were round. Xiao Yeci took out a needle, thread, and a measuring tape from the pile of supplies and made clothes for them.

These children each had only one set of clothes. During their escape, their clothes became covered in mud and dirt. They then hid in a forest deep in the mountains for over a month, and their clothes became holey and tattered. They had no chance to mend or wash the clothes, leaving them looking like rags.

Li Banfeng was quite satisfied with how things had turned out. The cloth he had seized could be used to make clothes for the children.

After dinner, Li Banfeng asked each of the children about their background.

One of the children was Xiaosuo[1]. He had been playing outside his home when he encountered someone selling medicated candy. The man said business had been good that day and offered him some candy for free, asking him to help draw in more customers.

After eating the candy, Xiaosuo felt dizzy. The candy seller told him to follow, so he did and ended up at a carriage.

Once he got on the carriage, he wanted to go home, but he couldn’t anymore. If he so much as moved an inch, the candy seller beat him mercilessly.

Several other children had very similar experiences. Some encountered sugar-figure[2] makers, some saw peep-box[3] performers, and others came across puppet show performers.

These were all common methods used by the Jiangxiang Gang to abduct children. Li Banfeng had heard of such abductions before, be it in the Outer Provinces or in Puluo.

The remaining children had been sent to the village by their parents. That was something Li Banfeng couldn’t understand.

Their parents were outsiders with no money to settle in Respect Virtues Village. So they had pooled all their savings and sent their children here, hoping they could receive the Sage’s education and have a chance to rise in life.

”Don’t your parents come to visit you?” Li Banfeng asked.

The younger children said nothing.

One of the older children yelled, ”My dad came once. I told him I wanted to go home, and he slapped me twice. I’ve never seen him again.”

The children that had been born in the village had grown accustomed to being tormented. The abducted children were forced to endure it. However, what about these children whose parents had sent them to the village on their own volition?

While Li Banfeng was deep in thought, Lu Chunying shouted, ”Mom, those punks are here to steal food again!”

As soon as Li Banfeng stepped outside, he saw more than a dozen teenage boys standing in the distance, confronting Lu Chunying.

A boy of thirteen or fourteen years of age held a bamboo stick as he shouted at Lu Chunying, ”We ain’t wasting time gabbing with a lackey like ya. Call yer boss out fer a talk, ’ey!”

Xiao Yeci walked out of the cave.

Seeing her, the teenage boy cupped his fists together in greeting and said, ”In the jianghu, we carry the banner of our founding cultivator and rely on loyalty as weighty as a mountain of gold.

Elder Sister, yer a tough hustler[4], ’ey. Ya feast on fine delicacies. Just give us junior brothers a bowl of soup!”

The rest of his group chimed in noisily behind him.

Xiao Yeci was annoyed and furious. She looked at the teenagers and was speechless for a moment. Then she said, ”Oh, why you… little rascal! You’re here to steal from us, yet you’re talking so arrogantly!”

Li Banfeng walked out of the cave and responded seriously, ”Oi, cobber, one o’ the trade. Whose lot you chiv in with?”

The moment they saw Li Banfeng, the group of teenage boys shrank back.

They didn’t know Li Banfeng’s cultivation level, but they couldn’t help feeling afraid upon seeing an adult man.

The leader of the group gathered his courage and replied, ”We’re disciples under Lord Qi. If ya haven’t heard of his name, go ask around our place!”

Lord Qi?

Li Banfeng paused for a moment, then thought about the leader’s accent and asked, ”You’re from the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs?”

The leader nodded. ”You have sharp eyes, sir!”

Li Banfeng said, ”Throw me a vine!”[5]

The leader thought for a long while before answering, ”H-h-horn…”

Li Banfeng chuckled. He was probably trying to say ”horn-head vine,” which means ”connections.”

”Your surname is Niu[6]. Do you know Flatbread Village?” Li Banfeng asked.

Almost every household there had the surname Niu.

The leader nodded. ”I’m from Flatbread Village. My name’s Niu Guangda!”

”Do you know Niu Fuzhi?”

”The hero of the Niu family, blessed and full of ambition—that’s my uncle!”

Li Banfeng smiled.

How did this kid end up in a place like this?

”Were you kidnapped by human traffickers?”

Niu Guangda shook his head. ”My dad sent me here. He said I should learn real skills.”

Li Banfeng looked at the other children. ”Did these kids come with you?”

”They’re not from Flatbread Village, but like me, they were all sent by their parents to Respect the Virtuous Village.”

Respect the Virtuous Village. These are children who escaped from another village.

Li Banfeng nodded. ”Call all your people over. There’s food here!”

Niu Guangda hesitated for a moment, then he asked, ”Sir, may I ask for yer honorable name?”

Xiao Yeci tugged at Li Banfeng. ”Benefactor, the jianghu is dangerous. Some things shouldn’t be shared so easily.”

Shared so easily? Do you even know my name?

In truth, Xiao Yeci was just like them. She didn’t know Li Banfeng’s name either.

Li Banfeng looked at Niu Guangda and said, ”My surname is Bene, and my given name is Factor.”[7]

His surname is Bene…

Niu Guangda turned to the other children. ”Has anyone studied the hundred names? Does the surname ’Bene’ exist?”

***

That night, Niu Guangda brought over a dozen children and settled in the neighboring cave. Li Banfeng gave them plenty of food, but he also made the rules clear.

”The food and drink aren’t free. Tomorrow, you all have to work.”

Niu Guangda was a sensible teenager. He straightened his back and said, ”Ya don’t get a reward if it’s not deserved. We know this idiom and understand it well. Benefactor, even if we survive today, we’ll still starve tomorrow without ya giving us a bowl of food. Since ya have given the word, we will place our lives in yer hands. Climb mountains of blades or walk through seas of fire, we’ll do it at your command.”

Li Banfeng fell silent for a moment, then he spoke seriously. ”There are two things I need to make clear. Firstly, your lives belong to you. Don’t hand them over to anyone. Secondly, don’t throw around promises like ’climbing mountains of blades’ or ’walking through seas of fire.’ Do what you’re capable of. Don’t make cheap promises, and don’t cheapen yourselves. Do you understand?”

Niu Guangda didn’t fully understand, so Li Banfeng said plainly, ”Tomorrow, I’m going out to do some honest business. Have you ever robbed anyone before?”

Niu Guangda didn’t dare brag.

Fang Lianfu, the young man standing beside him, looked at Li Banfeng with bright, spirited eyes. He answered, ”Benefactor, we’ve… considered doing it before…”

Niu Guangda kicked Fang Lianfu. That made it sound like they had only dared to think about it and had never acted on it.

”Benefactor, we can handle honest work. I’ll take a few brave ones with me. Just give us a bit of guidance, sir.”

Li Banfeng shook his head. ”You don’t know who should be robbed and who can be robbed. When it comes to actually doing it, it’s not your turn yet. Pick a few strong ones who can push carts and wait on the hillside. Wait for me to finish the work. You’ll bring the goods back here. If you can handle that, you won’t be dragging us down.”

The next day, Li Banfeng led them back to the mountain road to rob travelers. After he robbed people for three days straight, the news spread across dozens of nearby villages.

Most villagers no longer dared go up the mountain alone, but they couldn’t stop sending offerings to the Sage. If the offerings stopped, their chain of sincerity would be broken. Without sincerity, what hope was there of studying under him?

After discussing it, six villages joined forces and sent sixty strong men to escort the villagers delivering grain up the mountain. The six villages made a big show of it. The day before departure, they held a banquet to send off the sixty men in high spirits.

On the day of departure, each of the six villages raised a large banner at the front of the procession. The six banners bore the names of the villages: ”Respect Virtues,” ”Respect the Virtuous,” ”Admire the Sage,” ”Illustruous Virtue,” ”Virtuous Thinker,” and ”Kind Heart.”

Standing behind the banners were six middle-aged men, carefully selected by their villages. They had seen the world, had eyes that could grasp the spring[10], and had experience in the jianghu.

As they set out, the strong men first shouted, ”He Wu[8]!”

People of the jianghu call themselves ”Old He.”[9] This phrase means: ”We’re jianghu folk, so mind your behavior.”

The sixty men formed two lines, guarding the villagers in the middle as they transported grain and supplies.

The large group approached a bridge, and one of the middle-aged men at the front shouted, ”It’s a suspension bridge. Ease the numbness, He Wu!”

This phrase carried two meanings. Firstly, it urged his men to move faster, as there might be an ambush here. Secondly, it warned any bandits lying in wait that they were professionals and already prepared for an ambush.

When they were about to head up the mountain, they shouted again, ”Approaching. Hold together, He Wu!”

It meant the same as before.

After crossing a hill without incident, the villagers transporting the grain sighed in relief. ”If you want to survive in the jianghu, you have to understand its rules. You can’t rely on brute force alone.”

The seasoned strongmen felt quite proud. The Sage’s disciples usually looked down on people like them, but now they were using their strength for the Sage. It was a chance for them to earn some respect.

Another mountain lay ahead. After a short rest, they continued up the path, their formation tight and orderly.

Halfway up the mountain, dozens of young women suddenly descended the mountain.

One of the strong men shouted, ”The slippery bridge now has a sea of people. Hold together, He Wu!”

This meant ”There are many people ahead. Be extra cautious!”

This was true jianghu conduct. They didn’t let their guard down just because the other party was made up of women.

Several of the strong men instructed the villagers to step aside and let the women pass first.

However, the women stopped in front of them, smiled, and didn’t move.

The villagers had all been taught by the Sage, so they wouldn’t fall for a honey trap. The leading strongman stepped toward the women, cupping his fists together in greeting. ”The founding cultivator grants us a bowl of rice. Sisters, you’ve tasted the world’s riches, while I scrape by on scraps. Leave a bite for us, will you?”

The women didn’t leave. Instead, they drew their weapons.

The strongman frowned. Looks like reasoning with words wasn’t going to work today.

”Sisters, do we really have to break the plate today? If words won’t work, then we’ll settle this the hard way. You’re skilled, but we’re no greenhorns. Circle up, grab your weapons—”

Wham!

One of the women swung her club and knocked the man flat.

Dozens of women rushed forward, raising their clubs and striking straight for the head.

These women were Li Banfeng’s paper effigies. Against cultivators, they weren’t much good for fighting, only useful for distraction. Seeing such a large force, Li Banfeng had assumed there would at least be a few cultivators among them.

However, it turned out that they were all just Bleaters.

After just over a minute of beating, all sixty strongmen, along with the villagers, fled in defeat.

Li Banfeng gathered all the paper effigies, returned them to the Pocket Dwelling, and let them disperse on their own.

Following Li Banfeng’s instructions, Niu Guangda led a few boys up the mountain and collected dozens of carts of goods.

The villages poured everything into this, yet still couldn’t deliver their offerings. That should make them give up, right?

Three days later, over two hundred people came again, escorting supplies up the mountain.

This time, they weren’t strong men, but elders all over sixty.

As they climbed, the elders called out, ”Heroes of Greenwood Road, we’re all half in the coffin already. If you have the heart, take it from us!”

Li Banfeng let out an exasperated laugh.

Just how much has the Sage done for them? What is the meaning of sending these elders up the mountain?

Looking at the elders, Li Banfeng sighed. ”Fine. Out of consideration for your advanced ages, I’ll accept this filial offering on behalf of my ’son!’”

1. His name means “little lock”. ☜

2. Figures made from sugar by blowing air into it. Find out more here. ☜

3. Boxes with hidden items inside. There would be puppets or pictures outside the box, with people having to pay extra to look through the holes and see what’s inside. Find out more here. ☜

4. Author has this as gang slang for “Great at earning money.” The origin of this phrase is when performers go around the crowd during a break in their performance to try to get people to give them money. ☜

5. This is underworld slang, meaning “Name a contact.” He’s testing to see if the teenager’s part of a gang. ☜

6. This translates to “cow”. ☜

7. Obviously, we went with “Bene” and “Factor” so it would make sense in English, but it’s “En” and “Gong” in Chinese. We’ll continue using “Benefactor” for his fake name so it reads better in English. ☜

8. Basically translates to “we are buddies” or something along those lines. It’s jianghu slang to let each other know they are from the jianghu and are like-minded people. ☜

9. So this would be something like “we are old buddies”. ☜

10. Gang slang: knew how to read situations ☜