The Overlord of Puluo

Li Banfeng sat in the Wildgoose Sand Studio and spent his entire morning reading books.

Wildgoose Sand Studio did have plenty of good books, but most of them were collections of poetry, literary anthologies, novels, and miscellaneous writings. These were not what Li Banfeng wanted. Li Banfeng wanted to figure out why the Blightland was Puluo Province. If he hoped ot find any clues, he needed to read the historical records.

Li Banfeng spent a great deal of money searching through every treasured collection he could find, but the only works related to history were biographies of famous figures and travelogues.

The biographies focused mostly on strange tales and anecdotes. They gave him neither a clear timeline nor any real sense of the historical period in which those people had lived.

The travelogues were quite useful. At the very least, they gave Li Banfeng a glimpse of the famous mountains, great rivers, local customs, and ways of life found across the province.

Puluo Province had never had a proper historical record, so it was understandable that Wildgoose Sand Studio had no history books.

What made even less sense was Li Banfeng’s physical condition.

Judging by how he felt, he was certain he had advanced. Both his strength and speed had improved dramatically compared to before. Yet he felt no urge to travel at all.

Ever since he first became a Wanderlust Cultivator, every advancement had left Li Banfeng with an overwhelming urge to run for over a hundred kilometers. The Homebound cultivation path kept that impulse somewhat in check, but during the early stages after an advancement, he would spend nearly every moment outside the Pocket Dwelling racing from place to place. Only once his cultivation stabilized would he finally settle down as well.

This time, however, he had stabilized almost immediately. During the day, he returned to the study and sat quietly. At night, he went back to the Pocket Dwelling and lay down to rest. He felt no physical discomfort whatsoever, and his cultivation seemed to be progressing steadily as usual.

Did my Homebound Cultivation completely suppress my Wanderlust Cultivation? Maybe the two cultivation paths have gradually begun to merge before I broke through to the Cloudborne Layer. Should I ask Hong Ying about it?

Hong Ying is a pure Wanderlust Cultivator who only follows a single path, so she probably wouldn’t know. Should I just ask my wife directly?

Wifey already knows all about me cultivating two paths, but saying it to her face would still be a little awkward. Maybe I should bring it up when I am behind her?

After finishing two travelogues, Li Banfeng returned the books to the shelf and headed out for lunch. The moment he stepped outside, he saw Ma Wu hurrying toward him in a panic.

Ma Wu looked Li Banfeng up and down several times. ”Old Qi, what happened?”

Li Banfeng froze for a moment. ”I was about to ask you the same thing. What has you so worked up?”

”Lu Chunying and the others have all gone back. Xiao Yeci looked like she had been through a lot too. Her eyes were swollen from crying. I asked them what happened, but they couldn’t explain it clearly, so I came straight here to find you.”

Li Banfeng smiled. ”It’s already over. Let’s get something to eat first, and I will tell you about it.”

When they reached a restaurant, Li Banfeng explained the situation over lunch. He only said that something was wrong with Ink Fragrance Shop’s land deity, and that he had been worried Lu Chunying and the others might get caught up in it, so he had sent them back. He left the rest out.

Ma Wu shook his head. ”I knew this damn place wasn’t peaceful. Old Qi, pack your things after we eat and come with me.”

Li Banfeng smiled. ”You really hate Ink Fragrance Shop that much?”

”If I wasn’t worried something had happened to you, I wouldn’t have come back to this place for the rest of my life.”

After lunch, Ma Wu sat in the study for a while. Under the influence of the territory’s rules, even he picked up a book and flipped through a couple of pages.

Li Banfeng glanced at him. ”I remember you actually liked reading.”

Ma Wu genuinely enjoyed reading. He had read every book in the Ma Family’s library, and his skill in business came from a mix of natural talent, practical experience, and what he had learned from books. Talent accounted for about thirty percent, experience another twenty, and the remaining half came from the methods and lessons he had picked up through reading.

”Reading is a good thing. I hate Ink Fragrance Shop because it’s a terrible place for me to cultivate.”

Li Banfeng thought for a moment. ”Ink Fragrance Shop has plenty of pleasure houses. Maybe you just haven’t found the right places?”

Ma Wu laughed. ”Old Qi, you are underestimating me. I might not know everything, but when it comes to places like that, how could I possibly not know where to go? It’s just that I can’t stand the pleasure houses around here. You have to first drink tea, then liquor, then compose poetry and trade couplets.

”And once you finally get down to business, if I am on top, she will say she can’t bear the pressure. If I’m underneath, she will say she can’t bear the strain. If I take her from behind, she accuses me of turning my back on virtue. If I just go through the motions, I get an earful of complaints and tears.

”And if you say even one wrong thing along the way, you can forget about seeing a pleasant expression on her face until it’s all over. It’s not that I don’t understand romance. I just can’t stand all that fuss.”

Li Banfeng smiled, then suddenly noticed Little Chuan nearby.

Little Chuan had come with Ma Wu and was now reading as well. The book in his hands was Fragrant Verses, a rather old-fashioned novel. Li Banfeng had read it before. The writing was excellent, but the story was quite vulgar.

The book came in three volumes. Ma Wu had once said that finishing a single volume was worth half a month of cultivation. If someone could get through all three in one sitting and still hold out, they could gain nearly half a year’s worth of cultivation.

Li Banfeng had never managed all three. He could not even make it through one volume before he had to ask Wifey to wash his pants. However, that was not the important part. The real issue was that this was a fairly classical-style novel, the kind that required a solid reading foundation. Could Little Chuan really understand it?

When Little Chuan first entered cultivation, he had originally wanted to become a Literary Cultivator. He only became an Artificer Cultivator because he could not read. Later, Ma Wu found a private tutor for him and Little Gen. After studying for a little over a month, Little Chuan had barely learned to recognize a few characters. After that, he followed Li Banfeng and Ma Wu from place to place as they traveled and ventured.

As Li Banfeng remembered it, when they were running the newspaper office at Blackstone Slope, Little Chuan could not even recognize all three characters in ”Night-Blooming Jasmine.” He had trouble reading blueprints too. So how was he suddenly reading a novel like this so smoothly?

Something was wrong.

There might be some order governing Blackstone Slope that Li Banfeng still did not understand.

If that rule could help people learn to read and gain knowledge quickly, it would be very important. It would mean Puluo Province might have another place that could preserve its knowledge and culture. Then even if something happened to Ink Fragrance Shop, the culture of Puluo would continue to be passed onto the next generation.

Li Banfeng sat down beside Little Chuan. ”Brother, can you understand this book?”

Little Chuan scratched his head. ”It’s a little hard to read, but I can manage. The man in this book is really something. He started with nothing, built all this for himself, and even married so many beautiful wives. I really admire him.”

Little Chuan was not pretending. He had described the story correctly.

”Brother, who taught you to read?”

Little Chuan thought for a moment. ”A lot of people taught me. There was a teacher in Blue Poplar Village, but I only studied with him for a few days. I really learned to read after I got to Blackstone Slope. I was always reading newspapers and magazines, and the other workers would explain things to me when I got stuck. I slowly picked it up that way.”

The other workers had only helped him here and there. That was obviously not a proper education. The real key was the newspapers and magazines.

There had to be some reason why newspapers and magazines were so common in Blackstone Slope. Maybe the publications there carried some kind of special power.

Li Banfeng went back into the Pocket Dwelling. He had bought plenty of newspapers in Blackstone Slope and kept them in a cabinet in the sixth room.

He searched through the cabinet for a long time. He found plenty of newspapers from other places, but not a single newspaper or magazine from Blackstone Slope.

And it was not just the newspapers and magazines. Several short films Bai Qiusheng had made were gone too. Those were the very films that had helped sell so many of Little Chuan’s film projectors.

Where did it go? How could I possibly lose anything in the Pocket Dwelling? Did I remember wrong or forget where I put it? It’s possible since we have so many rooms now.

Li Banfeng was searching the rooms one by one when he suddenly heard the Glove lower its voice. ”Boss, did you lose something?”

”How did you know?”

The Glove lowered its voice even further. ”Something’s wrong with the Film Projector lately. This might have something to do with him. Don’t punish him yet. Let me keep an eye on him for a few more days. With our old master here, nothing too serious should happen.”

After such a major setback, Li Banfeng could understand why the Film Projector was acting strangely. But what exactly was wrong with him? Why was he hiding things?

The Pocket Dwelling definitely knew what was going on, and Wifey had probably noticed something too. Li Banfeng could ask them when he got the chance.

For now, the most important thing was to find something good and make it up to the Film Projector.

***

After two days at Ink Fragrance Shop, Li Banfeng confirmed that nothing else had gone wrong with the local land deity, so he decided to return to Qi Qiu City.

As a Wanderlust Cultivator, he was not supposed to stay in one place for too long, even though he still felt no urge to travel.

Ma Wu was a little reluctant to leave. He would miss the books at Wildgoose Sand Studio, and he would miss the female attendant at the inn even more.

”After I leave, will you think about me every day?”

The attendant’s eyes filled with tears. ”If thinking about you only brings me pain, do you really want me to spend every day living with that pain?”

Ma Wu said, ”I will think about you every day. No matter how much it hurts, I will always have you in my heart!”

The attendant wrapped her arms around Ma Wu. ”I would rather you forget me from this moment on than see you suffer even a little more because of me.”

Li Banfeng turned to the attendant. ”How about this? Quit your job and come with us to Qi Qiu City.”

The attendant shook her head. ”I can’t leave Ink Fragrance Shop. This place is where fate has destined me to stay. But I don’t want to leave you either!”

”I got a way!” Li Banfeng said. He pulled out a thousand-legged bug and placed it on Ma Wu.

The female attendant screamed, shoved Ma Wu away, and ran off.

Ma Wu stood there stunned for a while. ”Where did you get this bug?”

”Lu Yuanxin gave it to me. He said it works especially well on her.”

***

Qi Qiu City was just right next door, only one stop away by train. Once they arrived in the city, Ma Wu returned to his usual self and focused on managing his business.

Xiao Yeci still had not fully recovered. Her heart was still all the way back at Ink Fragrance Shop. Lu Chunying could not take her constant pleading anymore, so she finally used Li Qi as an excuse. ”Big Bro Qi told me not to let you go. What, you do not even listen to him anymore? Aren’t you his lover? Aren’t you afraid he will punish you?”

”Nonsense! Who’s his lover? I will go talk to him myself. I want to go to Ink Fragrance Shop!”

Xiao Yeci went to find Li Qi, and to her surprise, he actually agreed.

Xiao Yeci was hardworking and had pretty good natural talent. This might even be a chance for her to make some real progress in her cultivation. However, she would need guards with her if she went to Ink Fragrance Shop, so Li Banfeng asked Trusty-Doubty to accompany her.

Trusty was happy to go, but Doubty had some concerns. ”My heart belongs only to Qi Qiu City. However, what if I end up falling in love with Ink Fragrance Shop too?”

Li Banfeng nodded. ”Don’t worry. You will definitely fall in love with the place. It suits you too well.”

However, Trusty-Doubty alone was not enough as a guard. Trusty-Doubty could fight, but after living in the New Land for so many years, they were not very familiar with how things worked in the outside world.

Lu Chunying wanted Tan Fucheng to go with them, but he turned her down several times. He really did not want to go back to Ink Fragrance Shop. Just thinking about how he had nearly chopped off his own hand there made him too embarrassed to face his men.

Li Banfeng went to see Tan Fucheng in person and found him at home scolding his son. ”If I had the kind of opportunities you have when I was your age, I would have been one of Puluo Province’s great writers by now! I have even hired a private tutor for you, and you still won’t study properly. How can you do this to me?”

”Big Bro Tan, young people don’t know any better, so don’t be too hard on him. You didn’t have the chance back then, but now you do. I think you can still become one of Puluo Province’s great writers. Pack your things. You are going to the Ink Fragrance Shop!”

Tan Fucheng shook his head again and again. ”Master Qi, please spare me. I was only saying that to fool the kid. I really can’t go back to Ink Fragrance Shop.”

”You think you have a choice?” Li Banfeng pulled out the deed. ”Get going. And bring the Hundred Family Surnames with you.”

After running a few laps around Qi Qiu City, Li Banfeng gradually felt the urge to travel again. He wanted to get moving again, and not just around Qi Qiu City. He wanted to go farther afield, so this was the perfect chance to make a trip to Blackstone Slope.

This time, he was certain he had advanced. Li Banfeng felt so restless that he could not sit still for even a moment. Once he got back, he would ask Hong Ying what the level-eight Wanderlust Cultivator skill was.

Back in the Pocket Dwelling, Li Banfeng took Hong Ying’s hand and gazed at her affectionately. ”Darling Ying, I bought you a gold chain.”

Hong Ying gave a cold snort. ”How tacky!”

Li Banfeng pressed the gold chain into her hand. ”Feel how heavy it is.”

Hong Ying weighed it in her palm a couple of times. It was nearly 250 grams.

She calmly tucked the gold chain into her clothes, then touched up her appearance and spoke in a soft, sweet voice. ”Darling Qi, you really shouldn’t have spent so much. If there’s something you need, just tell me.”

Sometimes, Li Banfeng really could not understand Hong Ying. She came from a noble family, so why did she care so much about money?

”Darling Ying, what’s the level-eight Wanderlust Cultivation ability?”

The Gramophone gave a cold laugh from nearby. ”Heyaaaaaa! Husband dear, you have reached level eight already?”

Li Banfeng smiled awkwardly. ”I... I came to borrow an ability from Darling Ying.”

Hong Ying turned to the Gramophone. ”Xiaowan, there are some things everyone already knows. When there’s only a thin layer of paper left between us, we might as well tear through it. Why make things difficult for Darling Qi?”

Smack!

The Gramophone whacked Hong Ying with a board. ”You wretched woman! He gives you one gold chain and suddenly you are acting like this? Have some dignity!”

Hong Ying was so used to being hit by the Gramophone that she was not angry in the slightest. She rubbed her peachy butt, slipped her arm through Li Banfeng’s, and said, ”Darling Qi, come paint with me first.”

”Paint?” Li Banfeng immediately started panicking. The level-four Homebound Cultivator ability, Golden House of Hidden Beauty, also required him to paint. However, his poor drawing skills had kept him from making any progress with it for a long time, and it had only become useful after he obtained Zhang Wanlong’s seeds.

And now, he would have to paint to perform the level-eight ability of Wandelust Cultivation? It seemed like this ability would not be a very good fit for Li Banfeng.

Hong Ying did not explain at all. She unrolled a scroll and quickly painted a landscape in ink. ”Ink painting is more about capturing the spirit than every little detail. I painted this one in a hurry, so you will have to make do. Darling Qi, look at these mountains first. Do you know what stands highest among them?”

Li Banfeng answered proudly, ”The peak!”

He said it so loudly that the Glove beside him flinched.

Hong Ying nodded. ”Darling Qi, you are right. Among the mountains, the highest is the peak. Now look at this mountain path. It runs from the lakeside all the way to the summit. What do you think of the scenery along the way?”

Hong Ying was a very good artist. The scenery around the path was half-veiled in thick mist. The rocks, dead trees, and withered grass all had different shapes, and their lines, size, and proportions did not quite match their real forms. The painting carried the exaggeration and distortion unique to ink wash, yet when Li Banfeng looked at it, he felt a kind of truth that reached straight into the heart and the nerves.

”The scenery is beautiful,” Li Banfeng said with admiration.

Hong Ying asked again, ”Darling Qi, do you feel your cultivation progressing?”

Li Banfeng carefully checked his condition and suddenly realized that his urge to keep traveling had reduced quite a lot.

Hong Ying set down her brush. ”Congratulations, Darling Qi. You have mastered the level-eight ability, Intent Travels a Thousand Mountains.”

Author’s Note:

PS: Lu Dongliang had once said, ”When Wanderlust Cultivators reach a certain level, they no longer walk the earth in the way ordinary people do.” For details check chapter 114.

Fragrant Verses was a celebrated work of literature written in a classical style by Salagus, one of Puluo Province’s leading contemporary authors. Completed and published in 2026, it was one of Jade-Faced Sala’s representative works after he overcame his creative block.