The Overlord of Puluo

The two Judge’s Brushes were taken away by the Pocket Dwelling just like that.

The Glove let out a sigh and said, ”When it comes to acting fast, our old man is really the best!”

Li Banfeng raged, ”Old guy, I was the one who brought those brushes here. And you took them away just like that? At least tell me what they are going to be used for!”

The Pocket Dwelling chuckled. ”These are rails. They are not much use to you if you keep them, but they are extremely useful to me.”

Rails! Rails worth an entire Paramount Club! No wonder they were the Chu Family’s ultimate hidden treasure.

Li Banfeng patted the Glove and smiled. ”You have made a great contribution this time. You will be well rewarded.”

The Glove raised his index finger, stood on the ground, and shook his head as he said, ”Doing things for our boss is our duty. Rewards? You’re being too polite, Boss.”

Xie Juncong was the leader of the Ghosthand Sect, a true forebear of thieves. Li Banfeng was greatly surprised by the Glove’s ability to steal something from Xie Juncong without being noticed. However, he could not let his surprise show, so Li Banfeng remained calm on the surface.

Now that they had collected six rails, there were some things he needed to confirm with the Pocket Dwelling.

”Sir, at the beginning, you only collected two rails, and you were already able to move around freely without the key. Now that you have six, does that mean there are even more things you can do?”

The Pocket Dwelling coughed. ”This is not called moving around freely. This is following you. I can only follow you, or follow the key. That rule cannot change. Back then, there were two rails. Now there are six rails. Naturally, there have been changes. Now I can go from what is real and tangible to what is illusory.”

Li Banfeng shook his head, not understanding what the Pocket Dwelling meant. ”We are among our own people. Don’t speak foreign words.”

”To put it plainly, I’m talking about ambiguity. I can go to places that you don’t have a clear visual on. When I only had two rails, I could only go to places that you could see. Black Stone Slope was an example.”

At the time, Li Banfeng had stared at a photo of Blackstone Slope, and in the blink of an eye, he had gone to the photo studio in the Night-Blooming Jasmine’s office.

”But what about Oil Lake?”

The Pocket Dwelling said, ”Things seen in dreams also count.”

The Glove snorted. ”The old man wanted to go steal oil, so he used Boss’ dream as an excuse and deliberately acted for his own benefit...”

”Silence!” the Pocket Dwelling shouted angrily. ”This old man is not like you!”

The Glove’s response was a cold laugh.

Then Li Banfeng asked, ”What happened after you had four rails?”

The Pocket Dwelling answered, ”After having four rails, I no longer needed you to have truly seen the specific location. Seeing a similar location and making a deduction was enough.”

The explanation was a little roundabout, but Li Banfeng understood. At Medicine King Gully, the Pocket Dwelling had broken through the Formation of Misfortune without missing an inch. In the lead-up to that, Li Banfeng had only found one patch of blood. The later traces of blood had all been found according to Li Banfeng’s deductions.

In other words, with one more pair of rails, the Pocket Dwelling could make some vague adjustments regarding the destination. The more rails there were, the more intelligent the Pocket Dwelling became, allowing for a greater degree of ambiguity regarding the specifics of the locations.

Li Banfeng asked, ”With six rails, how vague can it be?”

”There may be some places you have never seen, but as long as I have been there and can still remember them... If they are not too far away and you can describe them clearly, we can go there.”

Li Banfeng became very excited. ”Where have you been?”

”Too many places. I have practically been everywhere in Puluo!”

”Then doesn’t that mean that as long as I can explain a place clearly and it is not too far away, you can go there?”

”Only if it is somewhere I can remember.”

”What places do you remember?”

”I generally do not remember the places I have been.”

Li Banfeng was no longer as excited. ”Sir, aren’t you messing with me? How could a train forget the places it has been?”

”A train does not need to remember many places. It only needs to remember the stations. You’ve only built one station, and I can still remember that.”

Li Banfeng was speechless.

The Glove snorted. ”There was no station at Oil Lake either, but didn’t you still go there to steal oil? In the end, it all depends on whether our resident old man wants to remember!”

The Pocket Dwelling flew into a rage. ”I went to Oil Lake because Qi saw Oil Lake in his dream!”

Li Banfeng did not dwell on this matter. Since the Pocket Dwelling was sentient, he naturally had his own thoughts. Li Banfeng had encountered some dangers at Face Not-Big when he went to Oil Lake. Nevertheless, they were only able to search every inch of the place afterward because the Pocket Dwelling had accumulated enough fuel.

This also reminded Li Banfeng of something. He looked at the fuel in the third room. There were only five barrels left, which truly was not much.

”Should we go to Face Not-Big’s place and get some more fuel?”

The Pocket Dwelling agreed with this. ”I have known Face Not-Big for many years. Right now, due to certain matters, it is not convenient for me to meet him. You should chat with him on my behalf.”

Li Banfeng was puzzled. ”Chat about what?”

”Just chat for a bit.”

Li Banfeng still did not get it.

The Glove explained, ”Boss, the old man is just saying you keep Face Not-Big occupied so that he can continue stealing oil.”

The Pocket Dwelling snapped, ”I am not that kind of person!”

The Glove burst into laughter. ”The old man is truly noble.”

Whoosh!

A jar flew over and landed directly on the Glove, instantly cutting off his laughter.

Li Banfeng pondered it for a moment, then he shook his head.

He wants me to keep Face Not-Big occupied. Is Face Not-Big someone who can be kept occupied so easily? I will deal with this after handling the matter with the Border Controller.

***

He Jiaqing had just finished attending an anime convention and had stuck a fox tail into his hair.

The button on his chest trembled for a moment. He Jiaqing grasped the button and heard Wan Jinxian’s voice.

—Jiaqing, Xie Juncong got those Judge’s Brushes.

He Jiaqing smiled. ”That’s good news. Send them to Yuezhou in a few days. I’ll study them carefully.”

—Jiaqing, the thing is... Xie Juncong said he did get them, but Li Qi stole them from him afterward.

He Jiaqing did not quite believe it. ”They got stolen? Someone actually stole something from Xie Juncong?”

—That’s what Xie Juncong said. I don’t believe it either. Who else could steal something from him? Besides, Li Qi is currently collaborating with us in business. He should count as our friend. How could he steal our things?

He Jiaqing pondered for a moment and said, ”It is true that we’re doing business together, but whether we are friends is another matter. Li Qi understands this distinction very clearly. Tell Old Xie that I am very angry about this. Have him figure out a way to get the items back himself.”

While He Jiaqing was talking to Wan Jinxian, a girl wearing fox ears rushed out of the convention hall and snatched the fox tail from He Jiaqing’s head. ”You stole even this? How shameless!”

***

Wan Jinxian ended the communication and looked at Cedric. ”That is the whole story.”

Cedric rubbed his chin, feeling a little puzzled. ”I can’t figure out what kind of relationship Li Qi and He Jiaqing actually have.”

Wan Jinxian shook his head. ”I can’t either. Perhaps it is similar to the relationship between you and me.”

Cedric shook his head too. ”I don’t think it’s the same. According to the information I have, Li Qi is resisting, resisting for the sake of Puluo.”

”Jiaqing is doing the same thing.”

”I don’t see that. All I see is him doing everything he can to become more powerful.”

Wan Jinxian sighed. ”You don’t understand Puluo’s situation. You don’t understand how powerful the forces from the Inner Provinces and the Outer Provinces are.”

”I understand, of course,” Cedric said with a smile. ”My country has places like this as well.”

Wan Jinxian was startled. ”You foreigners have places like this too?”

”Yes.” Cedric nodded. ”It just is not called Puluo.”

This made Wan Jinxian suspicious about something else. ”Your Daoist path did not come from Puluo but from your own country?”

This was a very important point. Wan Jinxian had never been able to figure out the origin of Cedric’s cultivation.

If Cedric’s cultivation came from a foreign country, then it proved that Disease Cultivation might not have been created by the Greenwater Beggar.

”Daoist paths...” Cedric shook his head. ”If our place also had Daoist paths, then the people there would have had the means to resist.”

They don’t have Daoist paths there? Wan Jinxian thought puzzledly.

He asked, ”From what you are saying, does that mean your people have also suffered a great deal of oppression?”

Cedric nodded. ”If you heard the stories from my country, I guarantee you would shed tears. I guarantee you would feel that Puluo was as beautiful as heaven. Human nature is the same everywhere. That is why I hate humanity. One day, I will bring every person’s life to an end with my own hands.”

”You are insane, insane beyond saving,” Wan Jinxian remarked, unable to think of a more fitting assessment of Cedric.

”I am not insane, Senior Brother. Most people in this world will die in disease. Those who die in disease can be considered to have died a natural death, a good end. I will let them die from the diseases I create. It conforms to the laws of nature, and it also conforms to humanity’s wishes. I think we should accomplish this great feat together.”

Wan Jinxian nodded. ”Fine, I can help you. First, cure the rash on my body.”

Cedric smiled. ”Senior Brother, do not pay so much attention to that rash. That is a gift from the founding cultivator. My willingness to share it with you precisely proves my generosity toward you.”

Wan Jinxian said nothing more and got up to leave.

After Wan Jinxian left the hospital, Cedric used a probe to pierce his own nose, causing a little bit of dark green pus to flow out.

This pus had come from Wan Jinxian.

Cedric checked the texture of the pus with his hand, then he tasted it. He closed his eyes and analyzed the pus with his senses for a long while.

Then he concluded, ”He is resisting, and he has achieved some results. My senior brother is very powerful. Be it in cultivation or willpower, he is very strong. If he continues resisting like this, what result will it bring?”

Slurp~

Cedric swallowed the pus.

***

Wan Jinxian returned to his residence. The steward brought him a box of silver coins. ”Master, the house at Heshun Garden has been sold.”

He had already sold six of his houses in Greenwater City. Now, only this one remained. It could not be sold. If he sold it, he would have to sleep on the streets.

He needed money. He needed to buy pills. He needed to advance to the next cultivation level.

The blisters on his back itched in waves.

Wan Jinxian gritted his teeth and thought, Once I reach level eight, I should be able to be rid of this rash.

***

At the Chu Family’s main residence, Chu Huaijun held a cigar in his mouth and quietly listened as his subordinates reported on the Three Heroes Sect’s situation.

Bao Yingchen was dead, Yang Xingbo was dead, and Dong Kaibin was also dead. The forces he had cultivated within the Three Heroes Sect had been completely wiped out. The most hateful thing was that Bao Yingchen’s death had actually been blamed on him.

The He Family, the Lu Family, the Azure Cloud Society, the Hundred Flowers Sect, the White Crane Gang... all the major and minor aristocratic families and sects were willing to testify that Bao Yingchen had fallen victim to Chu Huaijun’s schemes.

Chu Huaijun sent people to find Shen Jinzhong and demanded an explanation. Shen Jinzhong sent over the heads of Dong Kaibin and his subordinates. The explanation was perfectly clear.

Fine, then. The days of the Three Heroes Sect are over. We will destroy them. That’s the only way they’ll know who truly rules Puluo!

Chu Huaijun put out his cigar and called over his subordinate. ”Yingchun House. Prepare a feast. I will invite the Commissioner for dinner tomorrow night.”