Chapter 251: Chun Wang Mansion

Li Banfeng entered the abandoned mansion and surveyed his surroundings.

It was a vast estate!

It stretched seven courtyards from north to south and five sections from east to west, with large and small courtyards nested one within another.

After walking through it twice, Li Banfeng detected no danger and saw no one. He returned to the mansion's entrance and beckoned everyone inside.

No one, including Xiao Yeci, had ever seen such a large mansion. Upon entering the first courtyard, everyone looked around curiously, and some headed towards the ornate 'drooping flower' gate.

Behind the drooping flower gate was the second courtyard. Li Banfeng blocked the entrance and instructed everyone, "Find shelter from the rain immediately. We must stay only in the first courtyard. Tomorrow, once the rain stops, we will leave this place at once."

Compared to the other courtyards, the first one wasn't particularly large, but it had the most rooms.

These rooms were known as gatehouses or 'inverted seats' because they faced north, the shaded side. There were over thirty such rooms stretching from east to west, serving as servants' quarters.

Xiao Yeci was very satisfied. "There are so many rooms here; we can each have one!"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "We can't have one room each. At least three per room. Our lodgings must be close together so we can look out for each other if anything happens. I'm going to scout the area. You all must be extremely careful."

Although he said he was scouting, Li Banfeng returned to his Portable Dwelling.

"Wife, I think I've left Scoundrel Ridge, but I encountered an abandoned mansion in the wilderness."

After hearing Li Banfeng's description of the abandoned mansion, his wife sang slowly, "Seven courtyards, five sections... that must be a prince's residence. It's been abandoned for so long with no one to maintain it. Husband, could you have reached the Old Lands?"

Reached the Old Lands?

Is that possible?

Indeed, it was.

Based on his experience going to Fool's City, the condition for entering the Old Lands was to travel a specific route at a particular speed.

After days of trekking and combined with the heavy rain, the group had been moving very slowly today.

Slowness, too, was a particular speed.

Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying both believed they hadn't taken a wrong turn. Yet, an abandoned mansion suddenly appeared on the road to Greenwater Bay, very similar to how Li Banfeng had unknowingly entered the Old Lands before.

Li Banfeng nodded. "I also worry that we've reached the Old Lands. Before, there were still day and night cycles, but by the time we reached this mansion, it was deep night. It's hard to say what kind of place this is."

"The Old Lands are more dangerous than the New Lands. Husband, do not go out lightly tonight."

Li Banfeng pondered for a long time. "I've traveled through the Old Lands before; at least I know more than they do. I brought them out of Scoundrel Ridge. If I don't help them through this, wouldn't it be as good as killing them?"

The gramophone sang, "What you say is reasonable, Husband. Our dwelling has always been gentle towards you. It wouldn't hurt for you to go out and look after them for a night. But Husband, please be extremely careful. If it becomes unavoidable, you must return home quickly. Do not act on impulse."

Li Banfeng agreed, took his magical artifacts, and exited the Portable Dwelling.

Hong Ying murmured, "Could a prince's residence truly still exist in this world?"

The gramophone scoffed, "Wretch, do you want to be a princess again? Did you sell me for this?"

Hong Ying was silent for a long time. "Wicked woman, don't force me to talk about things I don't want to discuss. You must keep your word."

Deep into the night, in a small room, wet clothes were drying over a fire. Xiao Yeci was asleep by the bed.

The bed was unusable; the wooden boards were utterly rotted. There had originally been bedding on it, but with a tug, it disintegrated into dust.

Fortunately, the room wasn't leaking. After trekking all day in the heavy rain, Xiao Yeci was already very content just to have a dry place to sleep.

But after less than two hours of sleep, Xiao Yeci was woken by Lu Chunying. "Mom, can you come with me to the outhouse?"

Xiao Yeci didn't even open her eyes. "There's a bucket in the room. Just make do with that."

If it were just the mother and daughter in the room, Lu Chunying would have made do. But Li Banfeng had said there should be at least three people per room, and a small girl was also sleeping there.

Although she came from a poor background, Lu Chunying had received a good education under Xiao Yeci, so she was naturally reserved when strangers were present. She had no choice but to brave it and leave the room.

The rain was still heavy, and she didn't know where the outhouse was. As she searched around, a clap of thunder roared, making Lu Chunying tremble.

It wasn't the thunder that scared her, but the lightning.

In the flash of lightning, Lu Chunying seemed to see a figure in the courtyard.

"Who's there?" she asked, mustering her courage.

No one answered from the courtyard, nor did she see anyone moving in the darkness.

Did I see wrong?

Her "Seeking Fortune, Avoiding Misfortune" skill didn't alert Lu Chunying to danger, but she felt she shouldn't stay in the courtyard for long.

Unable to find the outhouse anyway, Lu Chunying relieved herself in a corner of the wall.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

While relieving herself, she thought she heard someone smacking their lips.

Must have been mistaken, just the sound of the rain.

Lu Chunying pulled up her pants and ran like the wind back to the room. After only two steps, she suddenly heard laughter.

"Heh heh heh..."

Lu Chunying glanced around, not daring to linger, and continued running back. When she reached the door and pushed it open to enter, she found that Xiao Yeci and the little girl who had been sleeping with them were not in the room.

Where had they gone?

A woman in green was sitting in the room, combing her hair before a bronze mirror. Her back was to Lu Chunying. She sang, "Oh, my dear sister, for a young lady like you to relieve yourself in someone's courtyard, are you truly without shame?"

Lu Chunying trembled all over and retreated repeatedly.

She didn't know where this woman came from, and in the deep darkness, she couldn't make out her appearance.

Crack!

Another clap of thunder!

In the mirror, Lu Chunying clearly saw the woman's face.

If she hadn't just relieved herself, Lu Chunying would have surely wet her pants.

The woman's face was pure white, whiter than snow.

Her eyebrows were jet black, and her eye corners were vivid red; it was a painted face.

An actress?

Lu Chunying didn't think further. She stepped back two paces and quickly left the room.

As soon as she reached the courtyard, the woman in green had already chased after her.

Lu Chunying tried to go left, but the woman blocked her way. She tried to go right, but after a few steps, the woman was still in front of her.

The other's footsteps were faster than hers!

Lu Chunying didn't panic. She stood in the courtyard and shouted loudly, "Benefactor! Mom! There's an intruder in the courtyard!"

After shouting for a long time, no one responded.

Because the people in the room couldn't hear her at all.

The woman in green, swaying her long sleeves, came closer. She sang, word for word, "As a woman, I must reprimand you on two counts: first, for your shamelessness, and second, for your lack of manners. You have defiled my courtyard. Today, you shall pay with your life as punishment."

Lu Chunying stammered, trembling, "Is a little urine worth my life?"

"Hmph, girl," the woman scoffed. "You must abide by my rules in my domain! If not with your life, what else can you pay with?"

Clink!

As her words fell, three silver dollars were tossed at the woman in green's feet.

"Here, take some money," Li Banfeng sang as he walked. "This ingot of silver, three taels and three mace, given to Sister-in-law for integrity's sake. To buy silks, to make clothes, to fashion jewelry, to acquire hairpins and rings, and I, your young husband, will live with you for a few more years!"

The woman in green paused. She looked at the silver dollars on the ground as if deeply insulted, then sang to Li Banfeng, "This silver ingot, I do not want. Give it to your mother as household money, to buy treasure chests, to make clothes, to buy white paper, to paste white banners, so your name as a dutiful son may spread throughout the land!"

Peking Opera, "Wujiapo."

Li Banfeng had spent a lot of time recently learning to sing from his wife, and it just so happened that he could respond to these two lines from the woman in green.

No one else could hear any sound, so how did Li Banfeng know there was activity in the courtyard?

This was the difference brought by cultivation. Li Banfeng was a fifth-level wanderer-cultivator. He had sensed danger from inside the room, and upon exiting, he saw Lu Chunying walking towards what appeared to be the opposite side of the room.

She had been misled by a ghost; what she pushed open wasn't a room door but the drooping flower gate leading to the second courtyard.

Once she entered the second courtyard, no matter how she shouted, no one outside could hear her.

It was fortunate that Li Banfeng had followed her in.

He glanced at Lu Chunying. Without needing to say anything, Lu Chunying immediately understood and quickly hid in a corner.

The sound of gongs and drums echoed in the second courtyard. The performer was about to start singing again when Li Banfeng suddenly stepped forward and kicked the performer.

The performer was enraged. "How dare you hit someone?"

Li Banfeng said, "That was a civil play; now it's time for a martial one."

The performer roared, "Are you really going to fight in a martial play?"

Li Banfeng chuckled, "Look at what you're saying. You just demanded that girl's life; weren't you truly intending to kill her?"

"Alright, then let's show off our skills and see who's got the foundation!" The performer pulled out a decorated spear from somewhere and thrust it towards Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng could choose to dodge, or parry with his sickle, or, relying on his swift footwork, launch a close-quarters counterattack.

But no matter what he chose, he would ultimately be at a disadvantage.

Because he had observed with his Golden Eyes of Autumn Hair, the performer before him, glowing with green light, was not human at all.

A ghost of this caliber could freely switch between illusory and real states, meaning Li Banfeng would be at a disadvantage no matter how he fought.

So, he decided not to fight head-on. Li Banfeng cleared his throat and roared at the performer, "Waaah-ya-ya-ya, you demon, prepare to die!"

This roar made the performer's body go limp and their soul nearly dispersed.

This was a technique of the Deep Mansion Courtyard, a singing style of the bronze-hammer painted face learned by Li Banfeng from his wife, whose vocal prowess contained a means to deter departed souls.

Taking advantage of the performer's weakness, the Blood-Soaked Pendulum rushed forward. It could harm ghosts, and it first cut an opening on the performer's body.

The performer was furious. They shook off the pendulum and charged towards Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng retreated continuously, circling behind the rockery.

The performer knew the way, passed through the rockery, and caught up with Li Banfeng.

At this moment, Li Banfeng had already opened his Portable Dwelling with a key.

The performer saw Li Banfeng standing still and roared, "You're not running or hiding, just waiting to die?"

Li Banfeng chuckled, "Are you hesitating to strike because you've taken a liking to me?"

As long as the performer charged over, Li Banfeng was confident he could send them into the Portable Dwelling.

The performer shook the decorated spear and revealed their true voice. "Hmph, you're a man. What could I possibly like about you?"

Uh...

The voice suddenly turned rough and coarse.

This performer is a man?

The door to the Portable Dwelling was open. Hong Ying whispered, "Listen, wasn't that Prince Chun's voice just now?"

The gramophone snorted coldly, "Wretch, are you truly still dreaming of being a princess?"

"I remember correctly," Hong Ying said, her body trembling ceaselessly. "It's him."