Chapter 252: Royal Mansion

The actor remained reluctant to approach, and Li Banfeng couldn't leave the gate to his residence open indefinitely. So, he closed it, clutched his pendulum, and resumed his battle with the actor.

The actor's singing was good, but his combat skills were only mediocre. Despite Li Banfeng wielding only a pendulum, his swift movements ensured he held his own throughout the fight. After three to five minutes, the actor sustained several cuts, while Li Banfeng remained unharmed. Realizing he couldn't gain the upper hand, the actor vanished in an instant.

Li Banfeng roared, "Are you coming out, or not? If you don't, I'll continue to sing!"

The Deep Mansion technique allowed Li Banfeng to project his 'Madam's' abilities from the residence, and the Madam's singing could attract spirits. So, Li Banfeng stood in the second courtyard and continued to sing 'Wujia Slope'. He belted out several sections. Peking opera is not an ordinary song; it truly tests one's skill. Li Banfeng's throat burned from the effort, but the actor still didn't show himself.

Was the Madam's technique ineffective? That proved the actor's cultivation level was not low. High cultivation, yet poor combat skills—what kind of Daoist path does this actor follow?

"Never mind his Daoist path. If he won't show himself, I'll just leave." He had hoped to hide in the mansion for the night and reassess in the morning. However, the current situation made it clear that staying here was out of the question.

Li Banfeng instructed Xiao Yeci, "Gather everyone; we're leaving immediately." Xiao Yeci replied, "Understood," and promptly gathered everyone at the entrance.

Li Banfeng reached out to push the door, but it wouldn't budge. He tried kicking it, but it remained shut. Even with several people ramming it, the door wouldn't open. The door was sealed shut.

A sealed door was no issue; they could climb over the wall. Xiao Yeci led the group to bring water vats, wooden crates, and other miscellaneous items. They stacked everything against the wall. Niu Guangda was the first to ascend, stepping onto a wooden crate, then a water vat, just as he was about to hoist himself over the wall. The moment his hands touched the top, a puff of green smoke billowed out.

"Ah!" Niu Guangda wailed, tumbling from the water vat. The top of the wall was scalding, hotter than a branding iron.

Since they couldn't scale the wall, Li Banfeng told everyone, "I'll jump out first and figure out a way from the outside." Though the brick wall was quite tall, for Li Banfeng, it was barely more than a doorstep. He leaped, his feet rising a foot above the wall, poised to clear it. The brick wall suddenly shot up by ten feet. Li Banfeng slammed into the wall, sliding down, wisps of green smoke rising from his body. Being burned by the brick wall was minor; Li Banfeng was accustomed to the Madam's fiery touch.

He stood up, stared at the brick wall for a moment, and considered phasing through it. With his Level Four Wanderer Cultivation technique, he could pass through anything unimpeded, and piercing this wall seemed relatively easy. But if the wall could grow taller, could it also thicken? If he got trapped inside, wouldn't he end up flattened like a potsticker?

After a long moment of thought, Li Banfeng suddenly burst out cursing, "If you have the guts, come out and fight me fair and square! What kind of hero are you, using such despicable tactics to vex me?"

"What do you mean, 'despicable methods'?" The actor's voice echoed from the night sky, proudly singing with the rhythmic flair of Xipi, "This place has its own inescapable net; none of you shall escape, even with wings! Hahahaha!"

Li Banfeng demanded, "You've trapped us and won't let us leave. What exactly do you want?"

The actor continued to sing, "Shameless girl, urinating in my courtyard! Even if you don't pay with your life, you won't escape a good beating!"

Xiao Yeci turned to Lu Chunying and said, "Daughter, this trouble is your doing. You must take responsibility. Kneel here and let them give you a good beating."

Lu Chunying froze. "Mother, you want me to kneel here?"

Xiao Yeci's expression turned serious. "Daughter, don't feel wronged. The lives of everyone depend on this. You cannot avoid this suffering today."

Lu Chunying gasped, "Mother, what have I done wrong?"

Xiao Yeci gritted her teeth. "Today, regardless of right or wrong, you will simply accept the punishment. Daughter, don't blame me for being heartless..."

Li Banfeng, wielding his pendulum, slashed at Xiao Yeci's face. Everyone was aghast, stunned by Li Banfeng's unexpected viciousness. Xiao Yeci clutched her face, stepping back a few paces. She looked at Li Banfeng and cried, "Benefactor, what are you doing? I'm her mother! Can't I even scold my own child?"

Li Banfeng raised his pendulum and continued to strike at her face. "You shameless impostor! You're a man! How could you possibly be her mother?"

Xiao Yeci shrieked, "How am I a man? Benefactor, you're mistaken!"

"Did I see wrong? Really? Could I have misheard too?"

Li Banfeng had long found Xiao Yeci's behavior strange, but he hadn't seen any green light on her. Coupled with her identical appearance and voice, Li Banfeng hadn't dared to act rashly. However, when 'Xiao Yeci' instructed Lu Chunying to kneel, Li Banfeng confirmed that this 'Xiao Yeci' was an impostor. He swung his pendulum, and the figure of 'Xiao Yeci' vanished.

Li Banfeng roared, "I've exposed your trick! Now, give me back my people!"

From the night sky, the actor's voice returned: "Why should I give them back to you?"

Li Banfeng said, "You couldn't fool me, which means you lost. If you lose and don't concede, what kind of hero are you then?"

Logically, this argument made no sense. What if the actor simply refused to concede? Even if the actor conceded, he wasn't obligated to return Xiao Yeci to Li Banfeng. Yet, upon hearing Li Banfeng's words, the actor seemed conflicted.

"I am different from these people. These people relieve themselves anywhere; can I truly be compared to them? If I lost and didn't concede, and then was mocked by such individuals, I would never be able to live with myself."

Seizing the moment of his hesitation, Li Banfeng shouted again, "Even if you won't return them, at least tell me where they are!"

The actor no longer hesitated, stating decisively, "They are lying in the wing room of my main courtyard. I haven't harmed them. If you have the courage, come and retrieve them!"

"Mother!" Hearing this, Lu Chunying sprinted towards the Moon Gate, but Li Banfeng yanked her back.

"Don't cause more trouble. Take everyone and hide in a room. Stick together in pairs, watching each other. If you see anything suspicious, tie it up immediately. If you can't win a fight, run. If you can't run, grab whatever you can, and all urinate together in the room."

Lu Chunying asked, bewildered, "What good will urinating do?"

"It's extremely useful," but Li Banfeng didn't bother to explain. If only Xiaogenzi were here!

Li Banfeng strode into the second courtyard, which was a garden. Though overgrown with weeds, traces of flowerbeds were still visible. Beyond the flowerbeds, there was a pond and an ornate tower, with a row of houses on either side. Straight ahead was another Moon Gate, which should have led to the third courtyard. However, Li Banfeng didn't approach it, as two green flames flickered before it. A ghostly illusion? This gate might not be real; it was likely a ghostly illusion. If Li Banfeng were to push through it, there was no telling what he might encounter.

How many spirits truly resided in this mansion? And what was the cultivation level of these spirits? The only spirit Li Banfeng had truly engaged was the actor, and even the actor's level was hard for Li Banfeng to discern. If he was high level, why couldn't he fight, and why was he constantly hiding from me? If he wasn't high level, how could he withstand the Madam's singing and evade the Golden Eye Autumn Hair technique? Indeed, when he impersonated Xiao Yeci, Li Banfeng truly failed to recognize him. Did this actor possess techniques specifically designed to counter me?

The level of these minor spirits probably wasn't high. Li Banfeng let out a thunderous yell towards the Moon Gate: "Waa ya ya ya!" The green light warped, and the minor spirits, startled, scattered. The original Moon Gate vanished, and a new one appeared a dozen meters away. This was the true Moon Gate.

Li Banfeng stepped towards the gate. Suddenly, Lu Chunying rushed after him. "Benefactor, something's happened! The actor tied up Niu Guangda and the others. He said he plans to eat them as a snack with his wine!"

Li Banfeng looked at Lu Chunying and asked, "Where is your mother?"

Lu Chunying looked surprised. "Isn't she in the main courtyard?"

"I'm asking about your *actual* mother!"

"But that *is* my mother, isn't it?"

"Waa ya ya ya!" Li Banfeng roared. Lu Chunying began to tremble violently, and a green glow emanated from her body. Li Banfeng raised his pendulum and struck again. Lu Chunying absorbed two blows, then vanished.

From the night sky, the actor's voice echoed once more: "How did you see through it?"

Li Banfeng replied, "Come out and fight me first!"

"First, tell me where my flaw was."

"Your acting is terrible. You have so many flaws, I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"Villain, don't be so arrogant. Let's settle this in the main courtyard."

The actor's tone was full of resentment. In truth, when impersonating Lu Chunying, the actor had been flawless, mimicking both her appearance and spirit perfectly. However, Li Banfeng knew that Xiao Yeci was not Lu Chunying's biological mother.

Passing through the third gate, they entered the third courtyard. Corridors crisscrossed through the courtyard, and scholarly studies lined both sides. In the center of the courtyard, beneath a pavilion, stood a man with gaunt cheeks, piercing eyes, and a walrus mustache. Behind him, a group of attendants knelt on the ground, awaiting his command. The Saint of Jianren Peak?

The Saint looked at Li Banfeng and asked, "Do you truly believe you can escape?"

Li Banfeng, wielding his pendulum, continued to strike. The Saint exclaimed angrily, "You would strike even me?"

"And what if I do?"

Li Banfeng struck the Saint directly on the forehead with his pendulum. The Saint cried out in pain, then vanished, leaving his attendants to surge forward.

"This old fellow was just about to slay you wretches!" Li Banfeng swung his pendulum, singing a passage from 'Wild Boar Forest,' channeling Lu Zhishen's raging fury as he battled the spirits. In terms of martial arts, these few spirits were quite formidable; some were even slightly stronger than the actor. As for tactics, they were far more ruthless than the actor, all master killers, with every move aimed at vital points. However, they had little resistance to Li Banfeng's opera performance. Listening to his powerful vocals, they found themselves unable to employ their usual tactics.

After a few minutes of fighting, most of the spirits were dispersed by Li Banfeng. The few remaining, who had higher cultivation, continued to contend with him. Li Banfeng seized an opportunity to open his residence, and the Madam's singing immediately filled the air.

"Rose, oh rose, most tender and fair; Rose, oh rose, beyond compare..."

A spirit snorted coldly, "Licentious verses!"

Li Banfeng called out, "Madam, sing opera!"

"Who, at dawn, dyed the frost-kissed woods crimson? Always the tears of separation, flowing in a thousand streams..." The Madam sang a passage from 'The Romance of the Western Chamber,' a performance of considerable destructive power.

The spirits, unable to resist, were uncontrollably drawn into the residence. By the time Li Banfeng closed the gate, it was too late for them to escape.

A spirit asked, "Were those two lines just now from the Brave Cavalry General?" The gramophone didn't answer, instead asking, "Who are you?"

The spirit replied, "I am Peng Chunyang from Prince Chun's Mansion. Don't you remember me?"

The gramophone couldn't recall who Peng Chunyang was, but Hong Ying remembered: "Steward Peng, is that you?"

Upon hearing the voice, Peng Chunyang exclaimed, "General Caiguan, is that you? How could you..."

Before he could finish, the gramophone swallowed all the spirits in one gulp. Hong Ying angrily exclaimed, "These are people from Prince Chun's Mansion! How could you eat them?"

The gramophone sneered, "What if I did? These are provisions my man brought back. I'm entitled to eat them, I love to eat them, and I'll eat them with great pleasure!"