The Overlord of Puluo

The Sickle and the Gramophone had both come from Feng’s General Store, so there was nothing wrong with saying that they came from the same place.

Huff... huff...

The Gramophone said slowly, ”When we were still in Feng’s General Store, I never paid much attention to you. If you had possessed spirit essence then, I am quite certain I would have noticed.”

”I don’t know what you mean by spirit essence,” the Sickle replied. ”But I remember you, and I remember the songs you used to sing back then.”

Li Banfeng blinked and turned to Wifey. ”Then doesn’t that mean she already possessed spirit essence when she was still in the general store?”

The Gramophone fell silent for a moment before saying, ”Heyaaa~ Husband dear! This little wifey would never dare to say that I have seen every marvel under heaven, but my eyes are not easily fooled. Feng’s General Store was stuffed with all manner of peculiar treasures, and I saw plenty of them. If this Sickle had really possessed spirit essence back then, I would definitely have noticed.

”She might indeed have remembered a few things, but that only proves she carries a trace of spirit energy. Countless objects in this world carry traces of it. An item crafted with extraordinary skill might develop spirit energy, as might a work of art so flawless that it seems to have been shaped by nature itself. Every painting created by a high-level Brushwork Cultivator contains spirit energy, and even the film recorded by our Film Projector retains a trace of it.”

”Anything with spirit energy will preserve memories. However, spirit energy is very different from spirit essence.The Sickle only developed spirit essence recently. As for what awakened it, even this little wifey cannot figure it out.”

”Wifey, you said earlier that she’s a selfborn spirit. What exactly is a selfborn spirit?”

”A selfborn spirit begins as an object that already possesses spirit energy. When this object is nourished by spirit essence from an external source, it then develops spirit essence. Under ordinary circumstances, selfborn spirits are exceedingly rare. An object with spirit energy must first have the good fortune to encounter an external source of spirit essence. Even then, the external source of spirit essence must be compatible with the object’s spirit energy. If the external spirit essence is of a different nature than the object, the object will not become a selfborn spirit. The conflicting nature might instead transform it into a monster.”

Li Banfeng listened intently. Whenever Wifey would explain something to him, the sound of her voice and the way she moved would send a pleasant shiver through his heart.

Wifey continued, ”Selfborn spirits are not so rare in the homes of Homebound Cultivators. Many dwelling spirits come into being when a house draws on the spirit essence of the earth and nurtures a spirit of its own.

”But our home has no foundation in the earth, so it should not be able to nurture a dwelling spirit into existence. This means... Husband dear, can you pull out the oil brush first and let this little wifey catch her breath?”

Li Banfeng closed the cabinet at the back of the Gramophone, then sat down beside her properly.

Keeping a slow beat, the Gramophone sang, ”If the house did not nurture this spirit into existence, then how did it get its spirit essence?”

The Sickle hovered around Li Banfeng, sounding a little uneasy. ”Darling Li, can you stop talking to her about this? I don’t want to hear you discussing things about me.”

It felt uneasy, though it could not say why. It could speak, but it still struggled to express itself clearly. This was exactly how a selfborn spirit behaved.

The Gramophone still could not put her mind at ease. If the spirit essence that had awakened the Sickle came from some unknown source, it might pose a danger to Li Banfeng.

Should they restrain the Sickle first and examine it carefully?

On second thought, the Gramophone decided that would be unwise. The Sickle was one of her husband’s most familiar weapons. If it really had become a selfborn spirit, then it was a rare treasure. Questioning it too harshly might twist its nature and make it dangerous to him later. She would test it a little more first.

”Sister Sickle, since we are a family now, we should share the same food. You can have that man’s flesh and blood,” the Gramophone said.

The Sickle looked toward the peep-box performer.

Inside the main room of the Pocket Dwelling, every enchanted artifact would feel the urge to eat whenever blood and flesh were present. The Sickle was no exception.

The Gramophone encouraged her. ”Go on, sister. It is good stuff. Everyone in this house knows that.”

The Sickle flew over to the corpse and made a cut across the flesh.

The peep-box performer shuddered again and again. The Sickle made several more cuts, clearly wanting to feed, but it did not seem to know how.

The Gramophone watched closely. This was another trait of a selfborn spirit. There were still many things it had yet to learn. Still, there was always the chance that it was cunning by nature and merely putting on an act.

After thinking it over, the Gramophone said to Li Banfeng, ”Husband dear, take the Sickle with you. Teach her the rules as you go, so she doesn’t act without permission. When it comes time to fight, you can teach her more of what she needs to know.”

The best way to shape a selfborn spirit’s nature was to keep it close to its master.

Li Banfeng was not worried about Sickle’s fighting ability. Judging by how it had performed today, it already had plenty of combat experience.

The Gramophone gently tapped the Gourd with her needle. ”Sister, you have seen more of the world than she has. Keep a close eye on her and teach her properly.”

The Liquor Gourd understood what the Gramophone really meant. The Sickle did not need anyone to teach her how to fight as she had a natural talent for it.

The Gramophone wanted the Liquor Gourd to remain wary of her and be ready to strike if necessary.

Li Banfeng looked at the skin that had been peeled off and said to the Pendulum, ”We need to make something useful out of this, and I will need your help with quite a few parts.”

The Pendulum was quick to understand what he had in mind. She gathered some scraps of cloth and wastepaper, then began stuffing them into the skin.

The Gramophone said, ”Heyaaaaa~ Husband dear, are you planning to use the Golden House of Hidden Beauty technique? With a face like his, no matter what you do, you will never turn him into a beauty. And if the finished piece is ugly, it will not have much fighting power either.”

That was the difficulty with the Golden House of Hidden Beauty ability. Whether the creation was a painting or a sculpture, its fighting strength depended entirely on how handsome or beautiful it turned out. The more attractive the finished work was, the more powerful it became.

Li Banfeng was not much of a craftsman or artist, so the Golden House of Hidden Beauty ability was the one he was least proficient in. Besides, the peep-box performer was far too ugly to begin with. No matter how fine the workmanship, there was no turning that face into anything handsome.

Fortunately, Li Banfeng did not need it to be able to fight. As long as it could exchange a few words with someone, that was enough. For a level-seven Homebound Cultivator, creating something that simple would likely not be difficult.

After working for over an hour, Li Banfeng left the Pocket Dwelling and hurried back to Blackstone Slope.

Luo Zhengnan had been worrying himself half to death. The moment he saw Li Banfeng return in one piece, the great stone pressing on his heart finally rolled away.

”Master Qi, this is all my fault. I did not think it through properly. You can punish me however you like.”

Li Banfeng waved a hand. ”It was not your fault. The Jiangxiang Gang had prepared for this far too carefully.

”I am going to their hall in a moment. I will draw the whole rotten lot of them out, and while they are busy with me, you will get the children to safety.”

***

Late that night, a fortune teller was still lingering at the mouth of an alley with his stall not yet packed away. He spotted the peep-box performer approaching from a distance and lowered his voice. ”Old Mei, where is the cart?”

”The job went smoothly. Everything has been arranged.”

”And the hall master?”

”Waiting by the warehouses. It’s storehouse five in warehouse six. He wants every one of us to bring the children there.”

”All of us?” The fortune teller was surprised and thought it was odd.

”Those are the hall master’s orders.”

”What about the travel permits?”

”That is not for us to worry about.”

The peep-box performer gave no explanation. The fortune teller did not dare hesitate and hurried back to the hall.

Not long afterward, two men came out and asked the peep-box performer, ”Did the hall master really order every brother to go? Are the men from all the branches going as well? Don’t you think we should leave at least two behind to guard the hall?”

The peep-box performer shook his head. ”How would I know? What rank do I have? The hall master gave me a single order, and I didn’t dare to ask anything more.”

No one dared waste time. They hurried off to round up the others. Thankfully, the hall at Blackstone Slope didn’t have many men to begin with.

”I brought back five today,” the peep-box performer said. ”I will take them to the warehouse first.”

With that, he left. He was following the usual procedure, so no one suspected him of anything.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Banfeng brought the skin back into the Pocket Dwelling and sprinkled some fresh blood over it.

This was one of the limitations of the Golden House of Hidden Beauty ability. Blood had to be spilled inside the house to sustain the creation’s spirit energy.

The Jiangxiang Gang members gathered the children they had abducted earlier, tied their hands and feet, blindfolded them, gagged them, and loaded them into a carriage before taking them all to the warehouse.

When they reached storehouse five in warehouse six, the peep-box performer was already waiting outside. He motioned for them to hurry in.

The Jiangxiang Gang members were about to carry the children out of the carriage when the peep-box performer shook his head. ”Leave them outside for now. Wait for the hall master’s orders.”

Once everyone had entered the warehouse, the peep-box performer and Luo Zhengnan shut the doors, then secured them with both the bar and the lock.

The peep-box performer had stopped moving. Its spirit energy was spent, and it had completed its task.

Luo Zhengnan waited by the entrance for a moment and soon saw blood seeping out from beneath the doors. This would draw attention.

And so, Luo Zhengnan gathered some dirt and spread it over the gap to cover the blood. Then he drove the carriage away, handed the children over to his friends, and had them taken home one by one.

By the time Luo Zhengnan went back to the warehouse, Li Banfeng had already finished dealing with everything. Every member of the Blackstone Slope Hall was gone, and not even a body remained.

Only a few bloodstains were left behind.

”Master Qi, leave this to me,” Luo Zhengnan said. ”I will find someone to clean it up. You should pack up quickly. We need to leave Blackstone Slope as soon as possible. I heard they have just appointed a new Border Controller here, and he has quite a temper. I expect something serious will happen within the next day or two.”

Li Banfeng had already made his arrangements. ”Go to the train station at once and take the train back to Greenwater City tonight.”

”Master Qi, if you are not leaving, then neither am I,” Luo Zhengnan said firmly.

”You have to go. There is something important I need you to do,” Li Banfeng said as he took out a reel of film and handed it to him. ”Give this to Ma Wu. Put it directly into his hands, and do not let anyone else see it. Tell him he is the only one allowed to watch it. Once he has, he will know what to do.”

Luo Zhengnan tucked the reel of film safely away and hurried back to Greenwater City.

Li Banfeng boarded a little train and took a seat by the window, watching the streets slide past.

When they passed one of the Jiangxiang Gang’s branches, the whole place was black and silent. It seemed like everyone left, However, Li Banfeng wasn’t absolutely certain that no one had escaped.

As the train passed the Border Control Office, Li Banfeng lowered the brim of his hat.

He knew the Border Control Office was bound to make a move. Now he wanted to see just how bloody a price the Border Controller was willing to pay for the Jiangxiang Gang.

Author’s Note:

PS: And by ”a bloody price,” I mean a price paid in blood.