Chapter 300: Dare to Insult Me

Li Banfeng had been thinking about an oil lamp, but unexpectedly, upon stepping out, he found himself in an oil lake.

How could an oil lake appear? Wasn't I in Carefree Valley? How did I end up in this place again?

There was a slight shimmer on the lake's surface, but no stars were visible in the night sky. Was this a new land? Or old ground?

Oil has very little buoyancy and is very viscous, making swimming in it extremely difficult. Li Banfeng looked at the distant shoreline, which seemed far away, then turned to glance at the small island in the middle of the lake, less than a hundred meters from him.

Logically, he should have swum towards the shore. However, after only a few meters towards the shore, Li Banfeng sensed something was wrong; some creature in the oil lake seemed to be eyeing him. Regardless of the type of creature, Li Banfeng would likely be at a disadvantage fighting in the oil lake. He decided to get to shore first and assess the situation.

Li Banfeng quickly swam to the small island, completely covered in oil. The island's rocks were also slick with oil, making it impossible for him to climb up. Falling into the oil lake right after stepping out, he had been so focused on swimming that he nearly forgot about his magic treasures. Some of his magic treasures could fly.

Li Banfeng patted his Tang Sword and wine gourd. The Tang Sword flew to the shore, and the wine gourd used its wine to rinse the oil from the scabbard. Li Banfeng grabbed the scabbard and ascended to the shore.

The small island was not large; one could see its entirety at a glance. In the center was a spring. Li Banfeng approached and sniffed; the spring contained water, not oil. He took out the wine gourd and said, "Sister, get some good wine so I can wash off all this oil."

The wine gourd also complained, "Wash me too, it's so sticky and uncomfortable."

The Tang Sword, however, didn't feel uncomfortable: "This is high-grade oil. Just wash my hilt; no need to wash the blade."

The pendulum also knew the oil was of good quality but was worried Li Banfeng might dislike it, so for a moment, it didn't know whether it should be washed or not.

Li Banfeng washed himself clean, and his clothes too, but he had nothing to change into. With oil everywhere, Li Banfeng dared not light a fire. He simply stood naked, waiting for himself to air dry. The gloves were also cleaned and, amidst the pile of clothes, quietly took a few banknotes from his wallet.

Li Banfeng looked around, quietly observing this unfamiliar place. It felt very familiar, as if he had been there before, but he couldn't recall the exact time or experience. Watching the lake surface rippling in layers, Li Banfeng finally realized. He had been here in a dream. In his dream, he had sat on a cruise ship with his wife, spending a romantic time on the calm sea under the afterglow of the sunset.

But I dreamt of the sea then, so why did I end up at a lake? Could something abnormal have happened in my dream?

Li Banfeng patted the wine gourd. Freshly cleaned, it playfully chided, "Don't always pat me there in front of so many people. Do you really think I have no shame, Big Brother?"

Li Banfeng asked, "Did I do anything unusual while I was sleeping?"

The wine gourd thought for a moment: "Nothing unusual, just some sleep-talking."

"What did I say?"

"You seemed to keep saying 'oil lake,' so I suppose this is the place?"

I said oil lake...

"I clearly said 'oil lamp'!" Li Banfeng was furious.

Last time, because he looked at photos of Blackrock Slope, the Portable Dwelling pulled him to Blackrock Slope. This time, because he muttered "oil lamp" a few times, combined with some dream scenes, the Portable Dwelling pulled him to an oil lake, a place he had never seen before.

The Portable Dwelling was getting a bit out of hand lately. It's one thing to drag me around everywhere, but you don't even bring the key. You haven't considered how I'm supposed to get back. I need to find an opportunity to communicate with it.

After waiting for over an hour, his clothes were semi-dry. Li Banfeng put them on, wondering how to leave this place.

The wine gourd reminded him, "Little brother, we're so clean now, do we still have to swim to the shore later?"

Li Banfeng didn't want to swim in the oil anymore. He kept feeling that the unknown creatures were still watching him, and there was more than one. He looked at the island's environment; there was some wild grass, but no trees, so the idea of building a raft seemed unfeasible. Besides building a raft, were there any other ways?

The Judge's Brush!

Li Banfeng took out the Judge's Brush, drew a circle on the ground, pointed to the shore, and said, "Let's go there!"

After waiting for about ten minutes, the Judge's Brush uttered two words: "Too far."

Li Banfeng fumed, "You've been resting for so long, and a few hundred meters is still too far to fly?"

The Judge's Brush took a deep breath, gathered all its energy, and said four words: "Rest two more days."

Li Banfeng wanted to throw the Judge's Brush into the lake but ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it.

With the Judge's Brush being useless, Li Banfeng turned to the Tang Sword and asked seriously, "Do you know how to fly with a sword?"

The Tang Sword replied earnestly, "I am a sword."

"That doesn't matter, as long as the spirit is there!"

The Tang Sword's cultivation had improved significantly recently. Li Banfeng, holding the scabbard, actually managed to fly with it. But after flying about ten meters, the Tang Sword suddenly plummeted towards the lake surface.

"What are you doing!" Li Banfeng exclaimed.

The Tang Sword struggled to control its direction, bringing Li Banfeng back to the island. "Master, a cold wind was pulling me into the oil. I couldn't control my body. Please let me try again!"

Li Banfeng looked at the yellowish-orange lake surface and couldn't help but shiver. The shiver came inexplicably. According to the techniques of seeking fortune and avoiding disaster, this was a sign of great danger. Let the Tang Sword try again? Better not. Was there a safer way?

Li Banfeng gathered his magic treasures to discuss a plan. The newly acquired projector offered its idea. "I can try. I can project a boat onto the lake surface, but I need a stable flying support."

In terms of flight stability, the pendulum was undoubtedly the best. Although its strength was limited, lifting a projector shouldn't be too difficult. The most challenging part was controlling the projector's light source. This projector used a candle flame as its light source. If even a tiny spark fell out, the condition of the oil lake was imaginable. Whether it could be kept stable would depend on the pendulum's skill.

The pendulum flew in mid-air, suspending the projector over the lake. The projector cast an image of a small boat onto the water. Li Banfeng boarded the boat with all his magic treasures and slowly propelled it across the lake surface. The pendulum flew slowly, accompanying the boat. It had to be steady, absolutely steady.

Li Banfeng rowed steadily, the pendulum flew steadily, and the projector's image was also very stable. The island was seven to eight hundred meters from the shore. They had gone about halfway when a strong gust of wind suddenly blew! The image swayed violently, and Li Banfeng exclaimed, "Hold steady!"

The pendulum tried its best but couldn't stabilize it. The projector shook continuously, and the projection swayed with it. If it weren't for Li Banfeng's good coordination, he would surely have fallen into the lake. Just as the wind finally died down and Li Banfeng was about to continue rowing, a spark appeared on the lake's surface. It had fallen out of the projector. Due to the earlier turbulence, no one had noticed.

Li Banfeng watched the flames rise from the lake, snatched up his oars, and frantically rowed towards the shore! Too late! In a flash, the lake became a sea of fire, and the small boat caught fire with it. Things created by the projector had physical form, and physical things were affected by the environment. The projector tried to restore the boat, but the speed of restoration was far slower than the speed of the fire.

Li Banfeng grabbed the Tang Sword and said, "Go!" The Tang Sword tried to fly, but amidst the fierce flames, the airflow was chaotic, preventing it from carrying Li Banfeng. A weapon was just a weapon, not a mode of transport. In such a situation, it had no immediate solution. In this critical moment, Li Banfeng could only jump into the lake, hide beneath the oil surface, and swim underwater to the other side. Beneath the oil surface, massive creatures were swimming. Li Banfeng could already discern their outlines.

In this dilemma, he suddenly heard the Judge's Brush say, "Alright."

What was alright? The Judge's Brush meant the distance was alright. The full distance was too long, but half the distance was no problem. It carried Li Banfeng and all his magic treasures to the shore. Once on land, Li Banfeng burrowed into the sandy ground, rolling about to extinguish the fire on his body. When he stood up and looked back at the oil lake, the fire on the surface had also extinguished. The mirror-like lake surface, with occasional ripples, looked as if nothing had ever happened.

Li Banfeng felt danger approaching. He quickly gathered his magic treasures and set off. A good portion of his hair was burnt. The pendulum kept reassuring Li Banfeng, "Master, don't worry. I'll tidy you up properly when we get back. I guarantee your hairstyle will look better than before."

Li Banfeng paid no mind to his hairstyle. He walked faster and faster. After walking over two hundred meters, Li Banfeng suddenly slipped, staggered a few steps, and stopped. He looked towards the roadside. Sitting by the road was a middle-aged man, around fifty years old, who looked up at Li Banfeng.

"Leaving already?" the man asked with a smile.

Li Banfeng looked at the man's face. His features were decent, with slightly small eyes, thick eyebrows, a somewhat flat nose bridge, and a very round nose tip. He looked like a kind-faced middle-aged man. However, his skin had an exceptionally good sheen, glimmering under the night sky, with occasional oil droplets slowly sliding down his cheeks.

"Since you're already here, could you stay and chat with me for a while? It's been a long time since anyone talked to me," the middle-aged man's tone was pleading.

Li Banfeng looked at the ground beneath his feet; there was only sand and mud, no trace of oil. Why was he still slipping if there were no oil traces on the ground? The reason might be complex, but there was only one conclusion. This middle-aged man with an oily face was far more powerful than Li Banfeng.

"A few words then," Li Banfeng thought. He looked at his feet. The middle-aged man smiled, indicating that Li Banfeng could walk normally now. Li Banfeng sat beside the middle-aged man and, out of habit, offered him a cigarette, asking, "Are you the master of this place?"

"This is indeed my place," the middle-aged man nodded but didn't take Li Banfeng's cigarette.

Li Banfeng saw that the cigarette was covered in oil stains and awkwardly took it back. Seeing this, the middle-aged man quickly explained, "I'm not rejecting your cigarette; it's just that I don't feel like smoking today. I've been a bit 'heated' these past two days, and I've got a lot of pimples on my face."

Li Banfeng looked and indeed saw many pimples on the middle-aged man's face, especially on his nose. Most of them had whiteheads, and the fluid inside looked like it was about to burst out. The middle-aged man touched his nose, smiling wryly, "These few pimples are particularly annoying. They burst if I touch them, but I can't squeeze anything out."

Li Banfeng advised, "Don't just squeeze them. You need to find one that's ripe to squeeze it out."

The middle-aged man looked at Li Banfeng seriously, "Which one do you think is ripe?"

Li Banfeng pointed to a pimple and said, "I think this one is almost ready. Look, the whitehead is already turning dark. Just a little force, and it should come out."

The middle-aged man touched that pimple, pinching its base. With a push from his thumb and index finger, the tip of the pimple quickly swelled. The pimple burst, and a gush of oily substance sprayed out, landing beside it.

A single pimple burst, but why such a huge commotion? This was no mere pimple. Li Banfeng looked at the lake. The small island in the center of the lake flew into the air, carrying a large amount of oil, and landed on the shore opposite the oil lake. The pimple was squeezed, and a bit of blood stained the wound. The originally yellowish-orange oil lake turned red.

The middle-aged man, with a mix of pain and relief, looked at Li Banfeng and smiled. He asked Li Banfeng, "Do you know where you are?"

Li Banfeng stood dumbfounded for a moment: "I feel like I've landed on a face."

The middle-aged man chuckled, touching his nose: "Exactly! You climbed right up my nose!"