Chapter 129: Tearing Faces

After spending most of the day at Suishenju, Li Banfeng left at 3:00 PM to head back.

Having recently advanced to a second-tier travel cultivator, and thanks to his frequent ventures into perilous areas like the New Land, he had accumulated a significant amount of cultivation time.

Furthermore, a Golden Yuan Pill he consumed yesterday added another hundred days to his travel cultivation. Calculating the total, Li Banfeng now possessed cultivation experience in travel cultivation equivalent to nearly twenty-two years of steady progress for an ordinary person.

Despite having twenty-two years of cultivation, he was still in the early second-tier, though significantly faster than the first-tier. Li Banfeng sprinted towards Lanyang Village, expecting the journey of over a hundred *li* to take no more than an hour.

As he passed Jueding Mountain, Li Banfeng deliberately glanced toward the side of the mountain road.

The people staking out were still there, truly capable of enduring hardship.

In fact, Li Banfeng's assessment was not entirely accurate; while most of the people were still there, Liu Changyu was not among them.

He was ill, suffering from a persistent high fever, trembling uncontrollably, and unable to speak clearly. He was currently receiving treatment in a nearby village.

The cause was simple: a chill. After taking the herbal medicine, he needed to rest for a period.

However, the young man was strong-willed; as soon as he recovered slightly, he returned to stake out by the road, refusing to believe the Ma family wouldn't transport their goods to Lushui City.

A subordinate informed Liu Changyu, "A convoy of carriages and horses really did pass along this mountain road just now."

Liu Changyu frowned, "Why didn't you stop them?"

Another subordinate replied, "Young Master, that fellow wasn't clear. That convoy was heading from Lushui City towards Lanyang Village. It definitely wasn't a shipment from Lanyang Village."

"How foolish!" Liu Changyu reprimanded. "Ma Junyang is a cunning person. Since he doesn't dare to transport the goods himself, he's surely trying to get people from Lushui City to come and pick them up!"

Upon hearing this, everyone agreed that Liu Changyu had a point.

"Young Master, you don't need to worry," a subordinate said. "Even if he passed through, his goods still couldn't leave. As long as he wants to return to Lushui City, he'll have to take this road. We can just intercept his goods then, can't we?"

Liu Changyu was somewhat concerned, "If the two parties have already settled the payment, then the ownership of these goods might not be clear."

"No matter who it's attributed to," a subordinate argued, "if we seize it and scare him, he'll never dare to come and pick up goods again."

Liu Changyu agreed it made sense and continued his stakeout by the roadside.

Li Banfeng had just returned to the village and was walking towards his wooden house when, passing the noodle shop, he suddenly felt something trip his feet.

He bent down to look; it was spider silk.

Li Banfeng was greatly alarmed; the famous detective had found him.

He immediately ducked into the noodle shop, startling the owner. "Sir," the owner said, "we've just sold out of noodles."

Li Banfeng ignored the owner, went straight from the kitchen into the backyard, and then jumped out of the backyard.

Not long after he left, Daboyens entered the noodle shop, smiling at the owner. "Did someone just come in here?" he asked.

The noodle shop owner didn't know how to respond. "This is a noodle shop," he said, "people always come in."

Daboyens pushed the owner aside, chased into the backyard, and followed the footprints up the wall. When he jumped down from the wall, he found the footprints were gone.

"Was it him?" Daboyens muttered to himself. "Judging by the weight of the footsteps, it should be him, but they seemed lighter than before."

"If his footsteps are lighter, that means his cultivation might have improved," Cuiteak offered from the side.

Daboyens nodded, then turned to Cuiteak and said, "You damn foreigner, do you have to follow me?"

Cuiteak replied very seriously, "Fake foreigner, I must follow you."

Daboyens suddenly produced a cocoon, and a layer of blisters appeared on Cuiteak's face, oozing fluid.

Just as the two were about to fight, they suddenly saw a convoy of carriages and horses entering the village.

"Who is it?"

Cuiteak didn't recognize them for a moment, but Daboyens reacted quickly and immediately hid in the distance.

It was Chu Er's convoy.

The carriage's canopy bore Chu Er's favorite red background with gold silk patterns. Most people wouldn't recognize it, but Daboyens had worked for Chu Er before and knew the canopy.

What was the Chu family doing in Lanyang Village?

Daboyens wanted to observe closely, but ultimately dismissed the idea.

He had been involved with too many powerful families recently; it was best not to return to Lanyang Village.

Miss Chu Er, Chu Huaiyuan, entered the village and alighted from her carriage at Ma Wu's doorstep.

Ma Wu quickly came out to greet her. To be honest, he was a bit nervous when he first saw Chu Er, but after all, they were old acquaintances. Once they were seated in the living room, his awkwardness slowly faded after a few sentences.

"Miss Chu Er, I hope you've been well," Ma Wu said. "What brings you to my humble abode today?"

"If I didn't come, what other option would there be?" Chu Huaiyuan sneered. "Young Master Wu doesn't favor me. I sent an invitation, but he refused to go."

Ma Wu quickly explained, "Miss Chu Er, as you can see, I've just built up my fortune. The competition was intense at the time, and I truly couldn't spare the time."

Chu Er sighed deeply. "Young Master Wu couldn't spare the time, but I happen to be idle, so I specifically came to visit you."

Despite Chu Er nearly causing Ma Wu's death, when they spoke face-to-face, they conversed and laughed freely, appearing particularly close.

When Ma Wu inquired about Chu Er's business, she even made a couple of suggestive remarks: "After Young Master Wu left, those three divas stopped singing properly. Jiang Mengting and Xiao Xiuyun went off to act in movies, and Xu Qiulan became a rich lady.

"I truly don't understand," she continued, "back when they were under your control, these divas were all obedient and submissive. What method did you use? Did you subdue them in bed?"

Ma Wu repeatedly waved his hands. "Miss Chu Er, you flatter me," he said. "How could I have such ability?"

Chu Er smiled. "I hear Young Master Wu's abilities are not limited to just that."

Ma Wu sighed softly. "Hearing is hearsay, and seeing isn't always believing," he said. "True abilities are hidden and not revealed; how could they be easily seen by others?"

Hearing this, Chu Er blinked her heavily eyeshadowed large eyes and, with a shocked expression, said, "Then shall I try with Young Master Wu another day?"

Ma Wu laughed. "Don't put it off till another day; today is suitable. Does Miss Chu Er have such an interest?"

Chu Er gave a playful smile. "With words like that," she said, "what kind of person do you take me for? Did I come all this way just to offer myself to you?"

A few suggestive remarks, a couple of jokes, and receiving a few gifts were all fine. As long as there were no business dealings with Chu Er, there wouldn't be a significant problem.

But Chu Er had indeed come for business. "Young Master Wu, your business has just opened," she said. "I should at least buy a couple of things to support you."

Ma Wu repeatedly waved his hands. "Oh, you mustn't!" he said. "I've already received so many gifts from you today; I wouldn't dare let you spend any more."

Chu Er smiled. "Why should we be so formal?" she said. "Besides, I won't buy much; it's just for good luck."

Ma Wu heard this and felt he shouldn't refuse. He led Chu Er to the warehouse and introduced a few specialties from the New Land. He had expected Chu Er to pick one or two items as a token gesture, but Ma Wu was mistaken.

Chu Er had brought many gifts for Ma Wu, enough to fill ten entire carriages.

After the gifts were unloaded, Chu Er ordered her subordinates to load the carriages. "Empty this warehouse!" she commanded. "I'll take everything!"

Ma Wu was startled. "Miss Chu Er," he said, "wait a moment, the price..."

"According to your ledger, no bargaining today!" she interjected. "Load the carriages!"

"But this isn't according to the rules..." Ma Wu protested.

Chu Er paused, then said, "Young Master Wu, what are you talking about? You're opening for business, and I'm here to buy goods. Are you saying that buying goods is against the rules?"

Ma Wu was speechless.

Chu Er hadn't even bargained, so she truly hadn't violated any rules.

Dozens of subordinates carried boxes and loaded goods, with an accountant following to calculate the prices. Chu Er had prepared everything thoroughly.

Before long, the warehouse was emptied.

The accountant brought several boxes of banknotes and placed them before Ma Wu. Chu Er took one of the boxes and placed it in Ma Wu's hand, while a photographer nearby took continuous photos.

After the photos were taken, Chu Er waved her hand, boarded her carriage, and departed.

Ma Wu stood motionless in the warehouse.

Why didn't he resist?

Chu Er was a second-tier arduous cultivator.

She also had a fourth-tier Yang Yanzheng and a fifth-tier chief enforcer under her command.

There were countless second and third-tier guards.

Ma Wu had neither the opportunity nor the ability to resist.

Chu Er returned to Lushui City in her carriage. As she neared Jueding Mountain, Liu Changyu, the young master of the Liu family, spotted the goods on the carriage from afar.

Earth Jade Peaches!

This item was the most noticeable, being one of the specialties of the New Land in Lanyang Village.

Chu Er hadn't boxed the peaches, nor covered them with a tarpaulin. She didn't intend to hide them; she simply wanted to make it clear to everyone that these items were taken from Ma Wu's home.

Seeing the Earth Jade Peaches, Liu Changyu's mind was clear: this was the person transporting goods for the Ma family.

The young master ordered everyone to prepare, but observed that the convoy didn't enter the ambush zone; it stopped halfway.

"What's going on?"

"Are they prepared?"

Of course, they were prepared.

Chu Er had Yang Yanzheng by her side, a fourth-tier travel cultivator. With such clear malice from the other side, how could he not sense it?

It was good that they were prepared; Liu Changyu didn't want to accidentally injure innocent people.

He instructed his subordinates to prepare firearms and rolling logs, then shouted towards the mountain road, "Friends passing by, leave your carriages and horses and quickly depart. We don't want to harm anyone."

No one in the convoy responded, nor did anyone leave.

Liu Changyu shouted again, "We truly don't want to harm you, and we weren't originally targeting you. But you must leave this shipment. Consider this a lesson for the future: don't go to Lanyang Village for goods again. Their goods definitely cannot leave Jueding Mountain."

The convoy still didn't move.

Beside Liu Changyu was a third-tier martial cultivator named Guo Shanqi. Holding his rifle, he said, "Young Master, we need to draw some blood; otherwise, they won't know fear."

Liu Changyu frowned. "My father instructed me to only seize goods, not harm people," he said.

Guo Shanqi shook his head. "Young Master," he said, "you still haven't fully grasped the old master's meaning. If you don't even harm people, how can you seize the goods?

"The old master meant to minimize casualties and not cause too big a commotion," Guo Shanqi continued. "What's the harm in killing a few? Those drivers and porters, their lives are cheaper than dog shit. Do you care about them..."

Guo Shanqi suddenly fell silent. Liu Changyu was startled and turned to look, only to see that Guo Shanqi's head was gone.

Standing behind him was a slender middle-aged woman.

The woman's arms were long and slender, with an elegant bend at the elbows, resembling a praying mantis's scythe-like forelegs.

Clutched in the woman's right arm was Guo Shanqi's head. The woman seemed to enjoy this head greatly; she had lifted his skull and was licking his brain matter.

This mantis-like woman, named Wen Hongyan, was Miss Chu Er's chief enforcer, a fifth-tier body cultivator.

Everyone around was scared senseless.

A few brave ones fired their guns at Wen Hongyan.

Wen Hongyan's figure suddenly vanished. When she reappeared, the heads of all those who had fired shots fell to the ground, neatly arranged around her.

All the heads had their skulls opened, like prepared coconuts, waiting for Wen Hongyan to consume them.

Liu Changyu stood frozen, unsure what to do at that moment.

He was a first-tier Nightmare Cultivator and had originally intended to summon his ghost servants to resist for a while.

Suddenly, Yang Yanzheng walked up to him, grabbed his hair, and said with a smile, "Are you the mountain king? Our young lady requests your presence."

Liu Changyu was powerless to resist, and no one around dared to stop them.

Yang Yanzheng lifted Liu Changyu and brought him to Chu Er's carriage.

Chu Er stepped out of the carriage, looked at Liu Changyu, and asked softly, "You wanted to rob me?"

Liu Changyu's face was ashen, and he couldn't speak.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Chu Er clicked her tongue and sighed. "Such a handsome young man, why choose a life of robbery? It's a real shame for your good looks."

After speaking, Chu Er dug her fingernails into Liu Changyu's cheek.

She scratched and tore, until she completely peeled off Liu Changyu's entire face.