Chapter 108: New Land Old Friends

In the second room, Li Banfeng and Tang Dao stood, each leaning against a wall.

Tang Dao spoke first: "The day of reckoning has finally arrived."

Li Banfeng's expression was cold: "What's meant to be will be; this is fate."

Tang Dao swayed slightly in agreement: "A thousand gold pieces are easy to obtain, but a true friend is hard to find. To be able to duel against the world's foremost swordsman today, I would have no regrets even if I died a hundred times."

Li Banfeng's gaze was sharp, seemingly touched by Tang Dao's words: "Pity, you are not a sword."

Tang Dao drew his sword: "But I possess sword energy!"

The two stood in a standoff for a while. Then Tang Dao asked, "Why do you still not draw your sword?"

Li Banfeng replied, "In my heart, I have sword intent."

"Ah!" Tang Dao trembled twice, cried out in pain, and fell to the ground. "My lord, I've been wounded by your sword intent. I am now powerless to fight again and wish to follow you from now on."

Li Banfeng was very disappointed. "How many times have I told you not to surrender so quickly? You must fight seriously against my sword intent!"

Tang Dao explained, "Your subordinate has already fought very seriously with you, my lord, but alas, I am powerless to resist!"

Li Banfeng was not satisfied with this explanation. "You didn't even recite a single poem. Do you call that a serious fight?"

Tang Dao quickly defended himself. "Reciting poems isn't that important; it's enough if the mood is right."

Li Banfeng was about to spar again when he suddenly heard the gramophone call out, "Husband, it's a beautiful morning! Don't just play around at home; go buy some groceries quickly."

Li Banfeng returned to the main room, staring in astonishment at the gramophone. He felt his wife was being a bit excessive. Just yesterday, Li Banfeng had brought back five Thorn-Devouring Pearls, each containing resentful souls, with a minimum of six and a maximum of nineteen on each pearl.

The gramophone had consumed them all cleanly, and now it was telling Li Banfeng to buy groceries. Was this appropriate?

"My dear, although I also like you a bit rounder, shouldn't we control our diet a bit..."

"My husband treats me poorly!" the gramophone wailed, spraying the entire room with steam.

Lotus closed the door to the second room. Tang Dao cowered in a corner, not daring to move. Li Banfeng, his entire body red from the scalding steam, left his portable abode.

Today, they were going to the new land.

Ma Wu had discovered a large mass of clay in the new land yesterday. He hadn't brought an iron can, so he couldn't bring it back. They were setting out early today to quickly retrieve this treasure.

In a large mansion in Yitang Village, Yaowang Gully, Detective Daboynes sat across from Zhuo Yuling. It was a sprawling estate with multiple courtyards, yet only the two of them were present.

"Madam, why such an urgent summons? I was in the middle of searching for clues about Li Banfeng."

Zhuo Yuling shook her head. "Put Li Banfeng's matter aside for now. The situation is critical; we must save my daughter first."

Daboynes was silent for a moment, then said, "To my knowledge, Lu Xiaolan has already been rescued by Qiu Zhiheng, the Lu family's head steward, and is currently in the Lu family's main residence."

Zhuo Yuling nodded. "That's precisely why I asked you to save her."

Daboynes fell silent again for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. "Madam, please don't joke. Are you asking me to become an enemy of the Lu family?"

Zhuo Yuling's eyes reddened. "I have only this one child. You are the only one I can rely on now. If you can rescue her, I will agree to any condition."

Daboynes sighed. "Do you think I would believe you? Think about it yourself: have you ever told me the truth in your life?"

Zhuo Yuling suddenly gripped Daboynes's hand. "At least that night, I was sincere. I gave myself to you that night; do you still not believe me?"

Daboynes looked into her eyes. A tear glistened in her eye, refusing to fall, revealing a unique stubbornness and persistence, as well as a distinct helplessness and vulnerability.

Daboynes pushed Zhuo Yuling's hand away, smiling. "Madam, let's discuss something practical. If I save your daughter, how much money can you give me? And please don't mention the previous ten thousand silver dollars; the situation is different now, and that amount is far from enough."

Zhuo Yuling wiped away her tears. "One hundred thousand. I'll give you one hundred thousand."

"Not enough."

"Two hundred thousand."

Daboynes was silent for a moment. "Two hundred thousand silver dollars, three round-trip travel permits to the Outer Provinces, and two round-trip travel permits to the Inner Provinces, with no time limit."

Zhuo Yuling frowned. "Outer Province permits are easy enough to obtain, but Inner Province permits are truly..."

Daboynes chuckled. "I only need two. Can't you even get those? If this is your attitude, I'm afraid your daughter can't be saved."

Zhuo Yuling bit her lip. "The silver dollars can be delivered within three days, the Outer Province permits within five days at most. For the Inner Province permits, I'll have to inquire first..."

Daboynes sighed again. "You'd better inquire quickly. I've already heard many rumors in Yaowang Gully. Many people are saying Li Banfeng died after reaching Yaowang Gully, at the hands of Lu Xiaolan. If these rumors reach Lu Dongliang, you know what the consequences will be."

These rumors had already reached Lu Dongliang. Some rumors even made it into the newspapers.

Zhuo Yuling didn't know the origin of these rumors, but they were spreading throughout Puluo Province, and many people believed Li Banfeng had long since died at Lu Xiaolan's hands.

At Yuezhou Third Hospital, on a sickbed. The unconscious He Jiaqing, finding himself alone, couldn't help but reveal a faint smile.

Li Banfeng wiped spiderwebs from his face, observing his surroundings.

Traveling through the jungle, two things were most unbearable.

First, being relentlessly pursued by mosquitoes and insects.

Second, getting spiderwebs stuck on one's face.

Ma Wu also had spiderwebs on his face. "Only spiderwebs are good. Whatever you do, don't get spiders on you. It's hard to say how venomous the spiders in the new land are."

Li Banfeng asked, "Do you remember this place? How much farther is it to the clay you mentioned?"

Ma Wu nodded. "I remember the place. It's about ten more *li* north. Finding the clay isn't difficult, but the mass of clay is quite large. The challenge lies in how to bring it back. If the Song family discovers it, we'll be in trouble."

The Song family was truly a peculiar presence.

They didn't know much about the new land, yet they firmly controlled its resources. If it weren't for the special channels Ma Wu possessed, the Song family would exploit a significant portion of the profits from all game obtained from the new land.

Li Banfeng sighed. "No matter what business one does, one can't bypass the Song family. Is the Song family an impenetrable monolith?"

Ma Wu shook his head. "Brother Li, the Song family isn't a monolith; it's much harder than iron because there are other forces behind them. To my knowledge, the highest-level cultivator in the Song family is their patriarch, Song Jiasen. Song Jiasen is a third-tier martial cultivator. A cultivator at this level is quite powerful, but it's far from enough to guard the entire Lanyang Village."

Li Banfeng asked, "Then are his family members powerful?"

Ma Wu shook his head. "Although some can accumulate cultivation through special encounters, for ordinary people, cultivation is ultimately a matter of time and years. The Song family's talent is generally lacking. Song Jiasen consumed a large amount of tonics and only reached the third tier of cultivation in his early fifties. His two sons, Song Zhigang, in his early thirties, and Song Zhiyi, in his twenties, are both still only at the first tier of cultivation."

"Then are his subordinates powerful?"

Ma Wu said with a hint of disdain, "He only has one fourth-tier expert under him, and he can't even be fully considered his subordinate; he's more like a hired helper. With Greenwater City so close, how many people who have reached the third tier of cultivation would be willing to settle in such a poor, remote place?"

"So what does the Song family rely on?"

"The Song family has backers above them. Their backer is the Liu family, above the Liu family is the Si family, and above the Si family is the Lu family, one of the four great families. More than eighty percent of the Song family's annual income goes to these layers of families above them. It is through these layered connections that the Song family has established a deep foundation and can firmly control Lanyang Village."

The Lu family, it's the Lu family again.

In Puluo Province, completely escaping the Lu family was truly not an easy task.

After a short rest, the two set off again, when they suddenly heard someone say, "Brother, watch your step."

Both responded simultaneously, "What about our feet..."

After their response, Li Banfeng and Ma Wu exchanged glances.

Who was talking just now?

Li Banfeng looked up and saw a massive cocoon slowly descending from a tree.

In an instant, Li Banfeng recalled his most terrifying experience in the Jiangyue Mountain new land.

"Run!" Li Banfeng grabbed Ma Wu and ran wildly, hearing a series of shouts from behind:

"Don't go! Did I guess correctly?"

"If I guessed correctly, you'll stay and play with me."

"If I guessed wrong, then it's your turn to guess."

Three voices sounded one after another, and Li Banfeng ran faster and faster.

Ma Wu struggled to keep up, asking, "What is that thing?"

Li Banfeng replied, "Bagworm!"

"Bagworm? This, what was this again..." Ma Wu had read about it in a book but couldn't recall it at the moment.

The description in the book seemed different from what he had just seen.

After running for a short while, a large willow tree ahead began to shake violently. Li Banfeng knew something serious was about to happen.

"Go around!"

The jungle was full of vines and thorns; how could they easily go around?

While Li Banfeng was still searching for a path, a plump, emerald-green figure had already dropped to the ground from the tree.

"This, this, is this the Bagworm Madam? The inescapable Bagworm Madam?" Ma Wu recalled the description from the book.

The appearance of this green caterpillar was almost identical to the book's description.

Li Banfeng instantly fell into despair.

Why did he encounter this thing?

Why was this creature also present in the Lanyang Village new land?

Could it be that every new land had this creature?

"Run! Run faster!" Li Banfeng and Ma Wu took off, with the large green caterpillar hot on their heels.

"Don't run, stay here. My children like you, and I like you too."

Li Banfeng realized the Bagworm Madam was a very peculiar creature. He had only seen it twice in total, and both Bagworm Madams looked the same, had the same build, spoke in the same manner, said the same things, and even had identical voices.

Was this thing mass-produced in some factory?

"Stop running. If you don't want to play with my children, then play with me. I have many tricks up my sleeve."

After running for a long time, Li Banfeng saw a fork in the road. By his judgment, taking the left fork would lead back to Lanyang Village.

As soon as he took a step to the left, a mass of silk threads blocked his path.

It was exactly like the previous situation. The Bagworm Madam was not in a hurry to kill; she allowed her prey to flee, but not to leave the new land.

Ma Wu could no longer run. His cultivator body was weak, and he kept coughing and wheezing. Even if he couldn't run, he had to! Li Banfeng pulled Ma Wu, desperately sprinting, while the Bagworm Madam followed unhurriedly behind them. "Don't run away! Have you abandoned me like this, disregarding our past connection?"

Who had a connection with you? Bagworms always tried to get close, both old and young!

Li Banfeng continued to run. The Bagworm Madam then spoke from behind him, "We played in the forest all day long, and you killed three of my children, yet I didn't blame you. Have you forgotten me so quickly?"

Wait!

What did that mean?

What was this situation?

Li Banfeng's head buzzed.

The Bagworm Madam sighed. "You truly are a heartless person. Your friend is not like you; he was intimate with me for three whole days, and I bore him many children."

My friend?

The one who can turn into a spider?

Detective Daboynes?

He had many children with you?

Was this true?

Daboynes's predicament was not something to worry about for now.

Now, there was another problem to consider.

This Bagworm Madam, was she actually the same Bagworm Madam from the Jiangyue Mountain new land?

How was that possible?

The Jiangyue Mountain new land was a thousand *li* away from Lanyang Village!

How did this worm get here?