Chapter 203: Fool's City

The world's foremost sect? That’s frightening! Why aren’t the Home Sect and the Travel Sect considered the top?

Li Banfeng was unconvinced. "My dear," he asked, "what techniques does this sect possess?"

"Oh, my dear husband, you've stumped me," the gramophone replied. "I don't know what techniques the Foolish Cultivators possess. I've never encountered one myself; this sect has been extinct for a long time, and no practitioners have been seen for many years. I only know that this sect was incredibly powerful. They were extremely clever, and their methods were cunning; they had no rivals at the same level."

No rivals? All sects in the world, except for the Gold Cultivators, have a relationship of mutual generation and mutual restraint – the peddler told him that. "Is there no sect that can counter the Foolish Cultivators?"

The gramophone replied, "Legend has it that only one sect in the entire world can counter the Foolish Cultivators, but that sect is powerless to fight them."

"Wait," Li Banfeng said, frowning. "I don't understand. Which sect can counter the Foolish Cultivators? And why are they powerless to fight them?"

The gramophone explained, "I don't know which sect it is, nor do I know why they are powerless to fight. I can only guess that perhaps there are too few people in that sect, or their hearts are not united."

"Are the Foolish Cultivators united, then?"

"Not entirely, but they can still work together in battle. They jointly established Fool's City in Puro Province. Because the Foolish Cultivators were so powerful, no one in Puro Province could hear the name of Fool's City without being terrified."

"If they were so powerful, how did they become extinct?"

"That's not clear. Some say they perished due to internal strife, brought on by constantly playing tricks and fooling each other. Others claim they attracted too much attention, like a tall tree catching the wind, and were eventually besieged and destroyed by other sects. There are many theories, and it's hard to distinguish truth from falsehood. But I only remember one thing: when I was cultivating, an elder once warned me that Fool's City still exists in the old lands. Although there are no living cultivators there, there are still the spirits of the deceased. Even as spirits, Foolish Cultivators remain incredibly powerful. That elder told me never to come to Fool's City. My dear husband, how did you end up here?"

Li Banfeng rubbed his forehead, his thoughts a jumble. How did I end up in Fool's City? What am I doing here?

"My dear, are the Foolish Cultivators' techniques all about deception?"

"My dear husband, when I first heard elders speak of Foolish Cultivators, I thought the same thing. I felt they should be called Deception Cultivators. But an elder who had actually encountered a Foolish Cultivator warned me: 'Foolishness is foolishness, and deception is deception. The key to Foolish Cultivation is foolishness, not deception.'"

What did that elder do? Why were their words so convoluted?

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment, sensing a clue. 'Foolishness is foolishness, and deception is deception.' Their deceptions weren't necessarily sophisticated. It was his own intelligence that had declined. They had made him 'foolish'! This was the true power of the Foolish Cultivators.

"No wonder I've been getting swindled ever since I entered the city; even the street vendor selling plasters managed to trick a coin out of me!"

Li Banfeng immediately got up, wanting to leave Fool's City. The gramophone called out, "My dear husband, perhaps you should wait a bit before leaving. Your thoughts still seem a bit muddled; you might have fallen victim to the Foolish Cultivators' techniques."

Li Banfeng turned to look at the gramophone. "My dear, do you have a way to counteract the Foolish Cultivators' techniques?"

"Well..." The gramophone had no solution. She had never even seen a Foolish Cultivator; how could she undo their techniques?

"My dear husband, rest for a bit longer in the residence before you go out." This was the only advice the gramophone could offer; the Home Cultivators' ability to recover within their dwelling was unmatched by other sects.

However, Li Banfeng had another concern: "My dear, I feel my mind getting increasingly confused. If I've been hit by the Foolish Cultivators' techniques, won't the 'poison' run deeper the longer I stay?"

"Well..." The gramophone couldn't explain.

Li Banfeng asked again, "Since Fool's City is the territory of the Foolish Cultivators, if I stay here longer, will I be affected and become increasingly dull-witted?"

"Well..." His wife still couldn't explain.

"I should leave as soon as possible!" Li Banfeng was about to leave again, not even bringing his magical artifacts.

His wife called out, "My dear husband, take all your magical artifacts with you. Gourd Sister, if anyone tries to trick our man again, you must give him a warning."

The Wine Gourd replied, "When he was buying the plaster, I never thought the young man would fall for it. Once he bought it, I figured a little money was no big deal."

The gramophone's heart sank. Had the gourd also been affected by the techniques?

The gramophone then said, "Blood-Containment, you can deal with vengeful spirits, so go with my husband. Thread-Puller, you're always by his ear, so remind him occasionally. Old Teapot, you're awake now and well-traveled, go with him. Two-Blades, stay by our master's side for protection. No need to bring the Judge's Brush, that thing is useless. But bring the Calendar Card, that rascal is quite smart."

Li Banfeng picked up a pair of magical artifacts and, tucking the Calendar Card under his arm, walked to the door. After a moment's thought, he put the Calendar Card back. "I'm trying to escape," he mumbled. "Walking down the street with a calendar card tucked under my arm would be too conspicuous."

Li Banfeng left, but his wife remained uneasy. "My husband isn't quite himself today," she mused.

Red Lotus, standing nearby, offered, "Let me go out and look. I've encountered Foolish Cultivators before; perhaps I can help."

"You go out?" The gramophone thought seriously for a moment. "Wait a little longer."

"Wait until when? Until that madman loses his life?"

The gramophone puffed out a cloud of steam, scorching Red Lotus until she glowed red. "Sister," it hissed, "don't say such unlucky things. Just wait patiently; maybe I'll let you out in your next life."

After a round of bickering, Red Lotus fell silent. The gramophone looked at the Calendar Card and said, "My husband should have taken the Dream Virtues. Both Virtue Cultivation and Dream Cultivation can stir the mind; they would definitely be useful against Foolish Cultivators."

Dream Virtues agreed, "Madam is right, I am useful."

The Judge's Brush sneered, "Too much."

His wife was startled. "What did you just say was too much?" she asked the Judge's Brush.

"Hmph..." The Judge's Brush didn't bother to repeat.

Li Banfeng returned to his inn room and found it had been ransacked. This inn wasn't normal; it was likely a shady establishment. Why did I end up in a shady inn?

The innkeeper hadn't found him, so he must have thought Li Banfeng had escaped. Should he simply play along with their scheme and make a getaway? Or should he catch them off guard and launch a surprise attack?

In the past, Li Banfeng's first reaction would have been revenge. Even though the inn was full of spirits, with the Pendulum, Li Banfeng wasn't truly afraid of them.

But in Fool's City, could he gain an advantage by fighting Foolish Cultivators? Besides, there might be others in the inn. What if he got surrounded? How would he escape?

Whenever he thought too much, Li Banfeng's head would ache. Forget it. He would seek revenge later; escaping was the priority now. Li Banfeng jumped out of the window onto the street and headed towards the city gate.

After walking for a while, Li Banfeng began to ponder an important question. Should he go left or right? Where was the city gate?

Hadn't Li Banfeng entered through the city gate? He remembered the way from the city gate to the inn's main entrance. But now he had jumped out of his room window and was in a small alley, not on the main street. He couldn't quite figure out how to get to the city gate.

Just because he used a different exit, he couldn't find his way? How could a Travel Cultivator possibly lose his sense of direction?

Li Banfeng kept rubbing his head, growing more agitated with each step.

The Wine Gourd cautioned, "Young man, don't rush. Let's check the wind direction first, then figure out our way."

Wind direction? Li Banfeng couldn't remember the wind direction when he entered the city.

The Earring suggested, "Master, why don't we go back to the inn's main entrance and follow the original path back?"

The Pendulum angrily cursed at the Earring, "You blockhead! Going back to the inn's front door is just waiting for the innkeeper to see us, isn't it? How is that any different from walking into a trap?"

The Earring retorted, "Well, do you have a better idea?"

Li Banfeng couldn't be bothered to listen to them argue. These magical artifacts were clearly affected by Fool's City as well; their intelligence had dropped.

At such a critical moment, facing a crucial problem, Li Banfeng still had to make his own decisions.

Stuck in the alley with obstructed views, Li Banfeng definitely couldn't find his way out of the city. If he found a place with an open view, wouldn't he be able to find his way? There was a clock tower not far away. Li Banfeng ran through the alley, then along the main street to the base of the clock tower, and climbed all the way to its top. The view from here was indeed expansive! This clock tower must be the tallest building in all of Fool's City, right?

Li Banfeng looked around and quickly located the city gate. And not just one gate; he found the locations of all four city gates. He was excited, he was joyful.

Over a dozen people from the Friendly Inn rushed out. "Look! He's on top of the clock tower!" they shouted. "Quick! Don't let him get away! Grab him and hack him to death!"

The group rushed towards the clock tower, and Li Banfeng quickly fled. "How did they see me? How did they know I was here?"

After a few steps, Li Banfeng frowned, realizing the problem. He was the only living person in the entire city; everyone else was a ghost. And this one living person had climbed to the highest point in the city to stand. 'What the hell was I thinking?' he muttered. 'Why did I climb so high? It would be difficult for the inn's people *not* to find me.'

Racing through the city, Li Banfeng finally managed to shake off his pursuers with great effort. After catching his breath, another voice appeared at his ear: "Young man, I offered you advice, but you wouldn't listen. Do you still want to leave the city?"

Li Banfeng looked back and saw it was the fortune teller again, the one who had 'picked the golden gate' – the same man Li Banfeng had given a hundred yuan to earlier.

"How did you find me?"

"A malevolent aura is clinging to you; I can see it from a long distance."

"How did you know I wanted to leave the city?"

The fortune teller chuckled, "Your destiny is written on your face; how could it escape my eyes? Young man, you absolutely must not leave the city. A bloody disaster awaits you just beyond the gates."

Li Banfeng walked away without saying another word to the fortune teller. The bloody disaster would occur if he *stayed* in the city. His mind was becoming increasingly useless; if he remained, he wouldn't even know to dodge if someone came at him with a knife.

As he walked through the alleys, Li Banfeng kept muttering to himself, "The main street is ahead, it must be the main street..." But when he emerged from one alley, he only found another. Li Banfeng was lost again.

What could he do? Ask for directions? Would anyone here even tell him the truth?

The Teapot, seeing Li Banfeng's irritation, advised him, "Brother, go home and rest for a bit. Get some sleep. You're a Home Cultivator; once you've rested, you'll be fine."

The Old Teapot's advice was similar to the others—equally useless. But for now, Li Banfeng could only return to his Portable Residence.

His head ached, whether from exhaustion or frustration, he didn't know. He felt his thoughts growing increasingly muddled; even thinking about a minor detail required immense mental effort.

Back in the Portable Residence, Li Banfeng collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep. The gramophone asked what had happened, but the magical artifacts stumbled over their words, unable to clearly explain. The gramophone also began to panic. "What's going on?" it wondered. "Have they all become foolish?"

She was a little scared; she worried Li Banfeng would never be able to leave.

"Sleep, my precious husband. Once you wake up, your mind will be clear, and everything will be fine."

"Hmph!" The Judge's Brush snorted coldly and went to sleep first.