The Overlord of Puluo

Xiao Zhenggong drove at full speed all the way to Tulou Village.

Tulou Village had begun demolition the year before last, and the whole village had already been relocated. Last year, the developer ran off, leaving the project half-finished.

From time to time, clouds of dust drifted up from the construction site, accompanied by bursts of roaring.

A police cordon had been pulled tight around the site. Inside it stood Old Chen with more than twenty team members, ready to brief them on the operation.

When Old Chen saw Xiao Zhenggong turn up, he gave a little laugh. ”Deputy Xiao. Well, well. If it isn’t our rare visitor...”

To be fair, Xiao Zhenggong really did rarely show his face during field missions.

He gave the construction site one look, caught the smell drifting out of it, and knew exactly what was inside.

”That thing in there is a donkey, isn’t it?”

Tangyuan shook his head. ”Deputy Xiao, the thing inside is a mammalian worm-class anomaly. The head looks like a mammal, but the body is more like a worm.”

Xiao Zhenggong gave a snort. ”It is a donkey-headed maggot. I am used to calling it a donkey. In Puluo Province, they use these things as draft animals.”

Xiao Zhenggong didn’t care about the creature inside the construction site. He only cared about Chen Changrui.

”Captain Chen, when did you get here?”

”Been here for a while,” Chen Changrui said. ”Deputy Xiao, you are so terribly experienced and knowledgeable. Why don’t we let you handle this job?”

The corners of Xiao Zhenggong’s eyes drooped, and a cold glint crept into his gaze. ”Old Chen, if you have something to say, say it to my face. If you have something to do, do it where everyone can see. Don’t go creeping around in the dark, trying to stick your foot out and trip me.

”I ain’t afraid of you. I am only letting you off because you are old. What worries me is that if I really do make a move, you might not be able to take it.”

Chen Changrui took out a cigarette and lit it with a smile. ”Xiao Zhenggong, I have proper work to do right now, and I have no time to waste on you. So scram as far away from me as you can.”

Xiao Zhenggong did not lose his temper. ”You want me gone that badly? You do not want me staying in the Public Security Team? Well, I am telling you now! I am staying! Let’s see what you can do about it.”

The two men stared at each other.

The team members were terrified. They were afraid these two might start fighting right there on the spot.

Qin Minghui was the only one who kept his eyes on the construction site. He was worried that the anomaly might burst out at any moment.

Xiao Zhenggong wanted to see how Chen Changrui would respond.

If Chen Changrui put up with it, Xiao Zhenggong would keep provoking him until he could no longer hold his head high in front of the team.

If Chen Changrui lost his temper and hit him, that would be even better. Xiao Zhenggong would have a reason to kick him out of the Dark Star Bureau.

Chen Changrui knew exactly what Xiao Zhenggong was up to. On any other day, he would simply have ignored him.

However, they were in the middle of a mission now. With the donkey-headed maggot still rampaging through the construction site, Chen Changrui didn’t want to get tangled up with Xiao Zhenggong.

Seeing Old Chen being very quiet, Xiao Zhenggong smiled and was about to continue provoking when his phone rang.

The person who called was the hall master Song Yuwei stationed at the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs.

”Boss Xiao, the hall at the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs has been wiped out.”

The news hit Xiao Zhenggong so hard that his head rang.

Another hall was gone.

Old Chen was a Spycraft Cultivator, so he heard every word on the phone perfectly clearly.

With a caring tone, he asked, ”Boss Xiao, something happened to your gang?”

Xiao Zhenggong lowered the phone and looked back at Old Chen. ”I want to see the Bureau Director.”

Old Chen smiled. ”Go on then. You don’t need to ask me for leave. Just try not to cry when you see the Director. It would be terribly embarrassing.”

Xiao Zhenggong drove away, and Old Chen led the team into the construction site to deal with the donkey-headed maggot.

***

Inside the Pocket Dwelling, Li Banfeng was drenched in sweat. He gently stroked the Gramophone and said, ”Wifey, let us slow down a little.”

”Oh, husband dear,” the Gramophone said softly. ”It has only been a little while, and you already cannot keep going?”

”I can. Of course I can. How could I possibly not? I only want to rest for a moment...”

”A man must not say such things. If he doesn’t fight, then so be it. But once he fights, he must win. Come now, husband dear. Up you get. Let us go again. Advancement must be done in one grand push!”

As the Gramophone spoke, she sucked Li Banfeng’s head into the horn again.

This advancement took a very long time.

In that damp, sweltering place, Li Banfeng kept trembling and twitching. Only when he heard Wifey’s sweet singing did his whole body slowly relax through the shivers.

”Winter comes with snow so white,

”I sew warm clothes for my love tonight.

”Peaceful days shall sweetly bloom,

”And for my husband, one more room.”

The Pocket Dwelling now had eight rooms.

Each room had the same layout, but Li Banfeng still could not wait to take a look at the eighth one.

He tried to stand twice, but failed both times.

The Gramophone quickly coaxed him, ”Oh, husband dear, you have only just advanced. You must not wander about so soon. Rest on the bed for a little while and let this humble wifey explain the ability of a level-seven Homebound Cultivator.

”The level-seven Homebound Cultivator ability is called Peaceful Home and Prosperous Work. This ability does not come from me. It comes from our home itself.”

Peaceful Home and Prosperous Work was an ability that came from the house itself.

Li Banfeng found that a little hard to grasp.

Wifey explained, ”As the saying goes, one must first be settled at home before one can take joy in one’s work. To put it simply, you please the house, and the house brings you good fortune.”

Good fortune! Now this is a splendid ability.

”How do I please the house?”

”Heyaaaaa! Husband dear, living peacefully at home is how you please the house. You and our house get along so well. As long as you stay home, the house will naturally bring you good fortune.”

As soon as Li Banfeng heard this, he no longer felt excited. It was impossible for him to stay home all the time.

”How long do I have to stay home each day?”

”Husband dear, you are already a level-seven Homebound Cultivator. Under ordinary circumstances, out of twenty-four hours in a day, you should spend at least twenty of them at home.”

Twenty hours? That won’t work! I won’t even have time for my daily Wanderlust Cultivator’s training.

Wifey went on. ”Our house is a little more forgiving, so it does not fuss over the matter quite so strictly. But this humble wifey has worked it out. Husband dear, you should spend at least twelve hours at home each day.

”Once you pass twelve hours, every extra hour improves your fortune by one notch. But if you fall short of twelve hours, every missing hour knocks it down by one notch.

Twelve hours was no small amount of time.

Li Banfeng was a level-seven Wanderlust Cultivator. By his own estimate, as long as he was not in danger and did not have to run at full speed, he still needed to spend at least twelve hours a day walking outside at a normal pace.

If something unexpected happened and he couldn’t make it back home, would he lose good fortune then?

The conflict between Wanderlust Cultivation and Homebound Cultivation was becoming more and more obvious. Could there be a solution?

He could support the practice of Wanderlust Cultivation with pills, but this wouldn’t be a long-term solution.

After taking pills for such a long time, Li Banfeng had worked out one rule. Pills could indeed make up for a period of basic training, but only for a limited time.

If he stayed indoors for three to five days, things were still bearable. But once he passed the fifth day, he would start feeling the pain. His arms, legs, and torso would start feeling as though they had all grown tired of one another and wanted to go their separate ways. It felt very much like cultivation backlash. And the longer he stayed shut in, the worse it became.

What would happen if he stayed indoors for more than ten days?

Li Banfeng had never tried it, but he still remembered Qiao Yuesheng, the famous sprinter, very clearly. This was not something to test lightly. It was a matter of life and death.

Was there any other way to maintain his Wanderlust Cultivator training? There was.

A Wanderlust Cultivator could gain some cultivation progress by looking at photographs and watching movies. However, this would only produce a very limited cultivating effect.

There were not many solutions on the Wanderlust Cultivator side. So what about the Homebound Cultivator side?

”Aside from staying home, is there any other way to please the house?”

”Heyaaaa~ Husband dear, you are already a level-seven Homebound Cultivator. If you are not staying home to keep this humble servant company, which wild woman are you thinking of visiting?”

”A man does not go out only for women. Perhaps I only want to buy groceries. What if I run into trouble on the way and cannot get home? If my fortune drops because of that, would I not be losing out terribly?”

”Husband dear is quite right. There are other ways to please the house. Husband dear, you can furnish it with more household goods.”

”What sort of household goods?”

”That is rather hard to say,” Wifey said. ”It depends on the house’s own little likes and dislikes. If husband dear chooses the right household goods, then even if you spend a whole day away, your fortune will still be brimming full.

”But if you choose the wrong things, and the house takes one look and decides it cannot stand them, then even if husband dear stays home every single day, the house will only dislike you more and more.”

This is risky!

What does the Pocket Dwelling like? It is a train, is it not? And what does a train need? Rails? No, that is far too expensive. Two rails would cost more than a Paramount Club. Besides, where would I even buy them? I will have to think this through.

After resting for half a day, Li Banfeng left the Pocket Dwelling, washed up at the inn, and went with Luo Zhengnan to a restaurant.

At the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs, one would feel hunger very easily. And so, they ate three great bowls of lamb stew with flatbread.

Once they had eaten their fill, Li Banfeng and Luo Zhengnan went to the train station. Both of them bought first-class tickets, with a private compartment each.

On the platform, Li Banfeng bought a newspaper. News about the Jiangxiang Gang had already taken over the entire front page.

”Well, that is rare,” Luo Zhengnan said with a soft sigh.

Inside the train compartment, Li Banfeng asked Luo Zhengnan, ”Do you know the hall at Blackstone Slope well?”

”I do.” Luo Zhengnan nodded and marked the positions of the branches on the map one by one.

There were still a few bloodstains on the map, left there during their visit to the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs Hall.

The Hall Master at the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs had not been there, but all of his men had been sent to heaven.

The Jiangxiang Gang had twenty-two halls in Puluo Province, and Li Banfeng had already wiped out two. Blackstone Slope would have to be next. This was Li Banfeng’s territory, and he would never allow the Jiangxiang Gang to exist on his territory.

The revenge had been wonderfully satisfying. Luo Zhengnan was now quite certain he had chosen the right man to follow, so he explained every branch under Blackstone Hall carefully, one by one.

”Master Qi, the people of Blackstone Slope have a real backbone. The Jiangxiang Gang has never found it easy to do business there, so their hall is not a large one. They only have two branches altogether...”

***

At the Dark Star Bureau, Director Shen Jingye was trying to convince Xiao Zhenggong.

”Zhenggong, if there is some conflict between you and Changrui, you can report it to the Bureau. If you have any requests, you can raise those with the Bureau as well. But arguing with Changrui in front of the team during a mission reflects very badly on everyone.

”After discussing it, the Bureau feels this matter must be handled seriously. Zhenggong, we do not think you are suited to remain in the Public Security Team.”

Xiao Zhenggong looked at Shen Jingye. ”So you think this was my fault?”

”Let’s not talk about whose fault it was for now. With things between you and Changrui already at this point, keeping the two of you on the same team will only make the work harder. The Bureau has arranged a more suitable position for you. The rank is higher, and the benefits are better too.”

”Are you joking with me?” Xiao Zhenggong said with a frown. ”Do you think I care about the ranking and the benefits? I am not leaving. I am staying in the Public Security Team and I am not going anywhere! I did not come here to resolve some conflict between Chen Changrui and me.”

Shen Jingye said, ”Are you talking about what’s going on in Puluo Province? I only just heard about that myself. I don’t know the situation in Puluo Province very well, and I know even less about the affairs of your gang. I have already informed the Border Control Office about this and I believe they will give you a satisfactory answer.”

”When will I get an answer from them?”

Shen Jingye frowned slightly. ”Zhenggong, there are procedures for these things...”

”I do not want to wait for whatever procedure! I have lost two halls. I am about to lose everything I have built!” Xiao Zhenggong said as he pulled a seal from inside his coat. ”I want to use the Balancer Seal. I demand that He Jiaqing be arrested at once, along with all his subordinates in Puluo Province!”

Shen Jingye looked at the seal in Xiao Zhenggong’s hand. ”Have you thought this through?”

Xiao Zhenggong nodded. ”I have thought it through very clearly.”

Author’s Note:

PS: The price of using the Balancer Seal is really huge.