Chapter 104: Enjoying Cultivation Level One Barrier

To sell the goods, they naturally couldn't go to the Song family; Ma Wu had his own channels.

Li Banfeng followed Ma Wu to the village entrance. It was already late; the steamroller had shut down, and several workers were getting ready to leave. One worker noticed Ma Wu and quietly approached him while the others weren't looking.

"Fifth Young Master, are you looking for me?" asked the worker, whose name was Qin Haichuan, though Ma Wu called him Xiao Chuanzi.

Ma Wu nodded, pulled a locked wooden box from his pocket, and handed it to Xiao Chuanzi. "Give this to the shopkeeper of Yufangzhai," he instructed. "If you complete the task, I'll reward you twenty thousand."

Li Banfeng whispered from the side, "Don't wait until the task is done; give him ten thousand as an advance now. I've got it ready."

Hearing this, Ma Wu's face lit up. He took the ten thousand and handed it to Xiao Chuan.

Xiao Chuan thanked him profusely. Undetected, he took the box and swiftly left the village.

On the way back, Ma Wu expressed his gratitude to Li Banfeng. "I wanted to give Xiao Chuan an advance just now, but unfortunately, I was short on cash."

Li Banfeng then pulled out another twenty thousand in cash and gave it to Ma Wu, saying, "Take this money and go cultivate."

Ma Wu tried to give it back to Li Banfeng. "How can I take more?" he protested. "I'm already on your payroll and taking your elixirs; I can't possibly spend your money again."

"I'm not giving it to you, I'm lending it," Li Banfeng clarified. "Just give me an IOU tomorrow. When we make money, we'll split the profits. How can you find women without money?"

Ma Wu took the money, looking slightly excited, and whispered, "Then I won't be coming back tonight."

Li Banfeng nodded. "Be wary of the Song family, and also of your own relatives."

"Once the beads are sold, and after deducting the middleman's cut, we can earn around two million," Ma Wu said. "Brother Li, what are your plans?"

"Plans? Keep earning! This isn't much money at all."

Ma Wu nodded. "For our next venture, we'll need to prepare the necessary funds in advance."

"Other things are fine, but you'll have to figure out the 'stinky fish' yourself," Li Banfeng said, glancing back at the village entrance. "Is the steamroller operator reliable?"

Ma Wu nodded. "Yes, he's reliable. This road was originally built by my family, and Xiao Chuanzi and I are very close."

Li Banfeng then asked, "Can I borrow the steamroller for a spin?"

Ma Wu blinked. "Brother Li, that's a bit..."

"What's wrong with driving it? I won't break it."

Not sure if Li Banfeng was joking, Ma Wu tentatively agreed. "Alright, I'll talk to them about it another day."

Arriving at a fork in the road, Ma Wu pointed to the small path leading east. "Brother Li, Jiqing Troupe is just ahead. The place is a bit shabby, but they have some good girls. Shall we go together?"

Li Banfeng raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a Joy Cultivator; what would I go there for with you?"

Ma Wu pursed his lips. "You don't necessarily have to be a Joy Cultivator to go," he replied.

Li Banfeng then asked, "I'm a Travel Cultivator. Can I take girls with me everywhere?"

Ma Wu pondered for a moment. "No, you can't..."

"If I can't travel everywhere, I can't cultivate. If I can't cultivate, what's the point of having girls?"

Li Banfeng turned and walked away.

Ma Wu shivered in the wind. It seemed his fun had been ruined. He was right; it was all for cultivation.

At the Lu family mansion, Lu Dongliang's face was ashen as he looked at Zhuo Yuling.

"We've been searching Yaowang Valley for so many days, but where is Li Banfeng?" he demanded. "Xiao Lan insists the bronze lotus is in his hands, and we've nearly turned the entire valley upside down. Has anyone even seen this Li Banfeng?"

Zhuo Yuling slightly bowed her head and spoke calmly. "Xiao Lan said Li Banfeng is very cunning. Perhaps he's hidden himself too well. Let's search for two more days..."

"Cunning? Now he's cunning? Didn't you say he was cheaper than a cockroach? And now you're talking about him being cunning?"

Zhuo Yuling bit her lip, and tears streamed down her face. "Master, our mother and daughter are so unwelcome to you. Whatever we say, you refuse to believe it's true."

Lu Dongliang put on his custom-made yellow woolen overcoat from England, stood up, and left. Wearing this coat meant he was about to engage in discussions with powerful figures. The He family's pressure was intensifying. The outer states were still awaiting an explanation regarding the derailment of train 1160. There was no news of the Profound Crimson Lotus. Lu Dongliang had offended the He family and gained nothing, and he truly regretted trusting Zhuo Yuling and Lu Xiaolan.

"Tell her to get to the damn point! Why are you crying in front of me?" The more Zhuo Yuling acted this way, the more irritated Lu Dongliang became.

Lu Dongliang left, and Zhuo Yuling's brow furrowed in thought. Daboyins still hadn't found any news about Li Banfeng. If this continued, Xiao Lan would be in danger.

Zhuo Yuling glanced towards Lu Xiaolan's living quarters. Following Lu Dongliang's orders, no one was permitted to visit Lu Xiaolan. However, Zuo Wugang, the chief guard (leader of the security detail) on duty, did not stop her. Zuo Wugang wasn't a stickler for rules; with the master away, and Zhuo Yuling being Lu Xiaolan's biological mother, he simply turned a blind eye.

Zhuo Yuling walked over to Lu Xiaolan and, seeing several scars on her wrist, her face immediately changed. "Xiao Lan, what are you doing?" she asked.

Lu Xiaolan looked stunned. "Mom, I didn't do anything..."

Zhuo Yuling's body trembled slightly. This child had actually tried to take her own life.

Late that night, Lu Dongliang returned to the mansion. He didn't want to sleep in the master bedroom, as his negotiations that day had been very unsuccessful, and he wished to avoid his main wife's nagging as well as Zhuo Yuling's complaints. He had intended to find any room to rest for the night, but upon pushing open a door, he found Xiao Yeci reading under a lamp.

Seeing Lu Dongliang enter, Xiao Yeci quickly rose and bowed. "Master, you've arrived," she said, trying her best to curb her usual speaking habits.

Lu Dongliang had forgotten that Xiao Yeci was staying in that guest room and initially intended to leave immediately. However, after taking a closer look at her, he pulled up a chair and sat down. Xiao Yeci's heart immediately leaped to her throat.

Lu Dongliang frowned slightly. "You said thirteen years ago, you and I spent a night at Yesong Bridge?" he questioned. The question was very direct.

Xiao Yeci's face instantly flushed. "Master, you, well, you probably don't remember..."

"I truly don't remember," Lu Dongliang replied very frankly. He wasn't a meticulous man; throughout his life, there were two things he could never clearly recall: the women he'd been with and the money he'd spent. For him, there were simply too many of both.

After a long silence, Lu Dongliang suddenly asked, "How old are you this year? Are you twenty-five?"

"Yes, I am, yes..." Xiao Yeci accidentally let slip her speech tic. She cleared her throat, adjusted her tone, and corrected herself, "I'm thirty-two this year."

"Thirty-two," Lu Dongliang scoffed. "My eyes aren't blind. Your clothes are a bit old-fashioned, and your makeup makes you look older, but I can tell you're no more than twenty-four or twenty-five. I saw the child Chunying; she looks like me, and she is indeed my offspring. But she's twelve this year; how could she possibly be your daughter? How old were you when she was born? Even if I, Lu Dongliang, am a scoundrel, I wouldn't lay a hand on a mere child."

"Master, I truly am thirty-two! Master, I'm not lying to you; you really just don't remember me."

"Alright, I believe you. Since you've come to seek refuge with me, I'll make you my ninth concubine. In a few days, I'll host a banquet, settle the matter, and give you a proper title."

"Thank you, Master," Xiao Yeci quickly bowed.

"Since you're my person, I'll sleep here tonight." With that, Lu Dongliang took off his yellow woolen overcoat.

Xiao Yeci's face flushed crimson like a persimmon. She knew this was inevitable and that she couldn't and shouldn't refuse. Yet, though her heart urged her to agree, a different excuse came out of her mouth: "I'm not feeling well today, Master. I'll serve you another day."

"Heh heh," Lu Dongliang chuckled. "Alright, then another day." He picked up his coat and left.

Even if Xiao Yeci had been willing, Lu Dongliang wouldn't have stayed the night. This woman was not Lu Chunying's mother. Lu Dongliang still didn't know her true purpose for coming to the Lu family. However, Lu Chunying was very much to Lu Dongliang's liking. Once the truth was uncovered, this woman calling herself Xiao Yeci should disappear.

Lu Dongliang went downstairs. Zhuo Yuling scaled the wall and climbed onto the rooftop. This was her special skill. Her movements were so light that even Lu Dongliang, a nine-level Travel Cultivator, didn't notice her. But she knew she was no match for Lu Dongliang; she was only a five-level Body Cultivator, and he could kill her with a mere blink. She hung upside down from the rooftop, silently watching Lu Dongliang's retreating figure, her eyes filled with resentment. In her mouth, she held a thumb-sized, dark green, glistening worm. Every trace of malice emanating from her was consumed entirely by the worm.

Li Banfeng and Ma Wu visited the New Land several more times, earning over seven million in two months. With his previous savings, Li Banfeng was getting closer to his goal of twenty million. But this money wasn't solely Li Banfeng's; he planned to give half to Ma Wu. Moreover, money alone wasn't enough; to buy a travel permit, one needed connections.

Li Banfeng asked Ma Wu about it, and Ma Wu sighed. "A few months ago," he said, "getting a travel permit to the outer states wouldn't have been difficult for me. I wouldn't even need twenty million. A meal at Dongzhuang Restaurant during the day, drinks at Paramount Hall at night, a few good girls, and some silver dollars, and the matter would be settled. But now, all of that is useless."

"Now, even if I offered twenty million, those people wouldn't even agree to see me."

Li Banfeng was puzzled. "They won't see you even with money? It seems you're not offering enough."

"It's not about the money; it's about status," Ma Wu explained. "My standing is no longer the same as theirs, and they wouldn't stoop to earn my money."

"If money can be earned back, can't status be earned back too?" Li Banfeng asked, pulling out another ten thousand in cash for Ma Wu. "Go cultivate quickly. If I'm not mistaken, after today, you'll pass the first level."

Ma Wu nodded. "This is all thanks to you..."

Li Banfeng shook his head repeatedly. "Not thanks to me. You're relying on the girls from Jiqing Troupe, and you'll continue to rely on them in the future."

Ma Wu was about to leave for cultivation when he suddenly remembered that the sticky mud he'd collected last night hadn't been sold yet. If he had goods, he had to sell them immediately and avoid keeping anything at home; this was Ma Wu's precaution against the Song family.

The sticky mud was a peculiar anomaly unique to the New Land. It was called an anomaly because its very existence defied explanation. You could call it mud, or you could call it a living organism. Yesterday, Ma Wu ventured into the New Land alone, found this sticky mud in a swamp, and brought it back in an iron can.

Li Banfeng looked at the somewhat foul-smelling mud and frowned. "What's the use of this?" he asked.

"Brother Li, you wouldn't believe it, but this stuff is incredibly useful," Ma Wu said, then proceeded to seriously explain the sticky mud's properties. It looked like a lump of clay, and in the New Land, it behaved as a harmless lump of clay. But if it was taken out of the New Land, this lump of clay would transform. It would grow as if alive. A small lump placed on a road would quickly transform several square meters of the surface into an extremely sticky adhesive. The most peculiar thing was that the affected road surface still looked exactly like ordinary road, with no outward changes visible. This adhesive surface could stick to shoe soles, socks, and flesh, but it wouldn't stick to metal or grow on it. That's why the sticky mud had to be stored in metal cans.

"Brother Li, this sticky mud is one of the best materials for setting traps," Ma Wu explained. "Anyone who steps on it will have their shoes stuck. If they take off their shoes, their socks will stick; if they take off their socks, their bare feet will stick. They won't be able to escape even if they cut off their own feet. As long as they make contact with the road surface, they're trapped. To escape a sticky mud trap, one would need special Daoist techniques, very high cultivation, or a unique magical artifact. Otherwise, they'd have to wear iron shoes—but how many people would casually go out wearing iron shoes? Don't underestimate this small can; this amount of sticky mud can sell for a million."

Li Banfeng looked at the can of sticky mud, greatly surprised. "If this stuff falls on the ground, does that area become permanently sticky?" he asked.

"Not forever," Ma Wu replied. "If it doesn't rain, the sticky mud will dry out after a day and a night. Once it dries, the adhesive surface disappears. That's why it must be sealed in iron cans."

"A day and a night?" That would be sufficient.

Li Banfeng took the iron can. "Leave the selling to me," he said. "You go cultivate quickly."

"This is my job; how can I let you do it?" Ma Wu said, a little embarrassed, though his expression showed his heart had already flown to Jiqing Troupe.

Li Banfeng picked up the sticky mud. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm already familiar with the steamroller operator; nothing will go wrong."

"Brother Li, Xiao Chuan is a timid person. Don't scare him."

Li Banfeng nodded. "Don't worry, I definitely won't steal his steamroller!"

Ma Wu thanked him profusely and sprinted off toward Jiqing Troupe.

Li Banfeng realized the sticky mud was indeed very useful. He kept a portion for himself, took the rest, and headed to the village entrance. Xiao Chuanzi, the steamroller operator, saw Li Banfeng and quietly approached him, softly asking, "Where's Fifth Master?"

"He's busy and can't come today," Li Banfeng replied. "You take this iron can to Yufangzhai; you know the rest."

Xiao Chuanzi nodded, and Li Banfeng gave him twenty silver dollars. Xiao Chuanzi paused for a moment, then whispered, "Sir, you don't need to give so much."

"Just take it for now," Li Banfeng said. "And, uh, let me try the steamroller."

"Sir, you really can't."

"What do you mean 'can't'? Hurry up and add coal."

"Sir, you can't do this!"

He didn't get to drive the steamroller; Xiao Chuanzi adamantly refused.

Li Banfeng returned to the wooden house to study the properties of the sticky mud. Five hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Ma Wu, covered in injuries, pushed open the door and stumbled in, collapsing onto the ground before he even reached the main hall. Li Banfeng stepped forward and helped him up. "Brother Ma, what happened to you?"

Ma Wu let out a laugh and struggled to sit up. "Brother Li," he said, "thanks to your help, I've passed the first level."

Li Banfeng exclaimed in surprise, "Aren't you a Joy Cultivator? Couldn't you just do your job properly? How did you get beaten up? Which girl hits so hard?"

Ma Wu shook his head. "Not girls," he said, "but men. Four of them came, stole all the money I had, and beat me into this state."