Chapter 301: Face Not Big

A vast oil lake appeared as a bump on the middle-aged man's face. The island in its center was the hard core of that bump.

Li Banfeng pondered a question: "Where exactly am I located?" On a face? "I'm on someone else's face..." The concept was hard to grasp, but Li Banfeng understood it nonetheless, simply assuming the person's face was extraordinarily vast.

Yet, he could still see the middle-aged man, viewing him at a normal size and with a normal field of vision. "I'm standing on this man's face, looking at this man." This part was truly perplexing. "What kind of dimensional being is this person?"

The middle-aged man cupped his fist towards Li Banfeng. "Allow me to introduce myself. My surname is 'Face,' and my name is 'Not Big Face.'" Li Banfeng quickly returned the gesture. "My surname is 'Li,' and my name is 'Li Not Crazy.'"

Not Big Face stared at Li Banfeng for a long time, then said seriously, "My face truly isn't big; even my wife says it's not big." Li Banfeng readily agreed, "I truly am not crazy; even the doctors have confirmed I'm not crazy."

Not Big Face blinked. "You are very slick." Li Banfeng shook his head. "You misunderstand; I am very sincere."

The middle-aged man chuckled. "I appreciate slick people." Li Banfeng replied earnestly, "Whether you appreciate it or not, I have always been a sincere person!"

"Since you're so sincere, let me ask you one thing: How did you find this place?" This question truly stumped Li Banfeng.

"If I said I don't know, would you believe me?" Not Big Face shook his head, clearly disbelieving. "People from Inner State sent you, didn't they? Was it the one who chokes people? The one who stuffs ears? The one who cuts hands? The one who gags mouths? Or the one who blinds eyes?"

Li Banfeng looked bewildered. "Who are these people you're talking about?" Not Big Face lowered his head slightly, raised his eyebrows, and looked at Li Banfeng. "You don't know them? You've come all this way to me, and you still want to deny it?"

Li Banfeng frowned. "Not knowing means not knowing. What is there to deny?" Not Big Face chuckled twice. "Alright, let's assume you're not from Inner State. Tell me, have you ever seen a car?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "Yes, I have." "Are the cars you've seen coal-powered or oil-powered?" "I've seen both." In Greenwater City, there were steam cars, though not many.

Not Big Face continued, "Profound State doesn't have oil-powered cars. Are you from Outer State?" Li Banfeng answered vaguely, "I've been to Outer State."

Not Big Face stroked his oily cheek, shaking his head repeatedly. "How could people from Outer State possibly find me? They don't have that kind of ability. I don't believe what you're saying, and I don't even believe your name."

Li Banfeng said calmly, "If you don't believe anything I say, why bother asking? The outcome will be the same, won't it?" Not Big Face chuckled. "I was just bored and wanted someone to talk to. Actually, you're right; no matter what you say, the outcome will be the same. I won't let you leave here alive."

Li Banfeng suddenly stood up and bolted. Not Big Face, with one foot gliding across the ground like an ice skater, followed Li Banfeng unhurriedly. "Are you a traveling cultivator?" he asked. "This footwork is quite rare. Who taught you this technique?"

Li Banfeng ignored him. There was a hill ahead, and he climbed up its slope. Not Big Face was still following behind, seemingly without effort. "Watch your step when you walk," he warned. "I could drown you in a single pore."

After crossing the hill, Li Banfeng saw a river about twenty meters wide, its water emitting a fishy, salty odor. Not Big Face continued, "I just sweat a little. Once this sweat dries, this river will be gone too." As he spoke, Not Big Face wiped away some sweat. Indeed, the river in front of them dried up, leaving only a slightly damp riverbed.

Li Banfeng rushed directly towards the riverbed, saying to Not Big Face as he went, "You're sweating, which means you're tired. If I run a bit longer, you won't be able to keep up with me." "What does it matter if I can keep up with you?" Not Big Face replied. "You're always on my face; where else can you run off to?" He wiped a handful of sweat from his face and flung it towards Li Banfeng's feet.

The sweat, mixed with a large amount of oil, caused Li Banfeng to slip, nearly stumbling. His right foot instinctively stomped, executing the "Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers" technique at extreme speed. Boom! Sand and gravel scattered, and dust flew. A two-meter-diameter shallow pit appeared where Li Banfeng had stomped. Not Big Face rubbed his nose. To say he felt nothing would be untrue; there was a slight itch or sting. But as for how much it actually hurt, it was far less than a mosquito bite.

Li Banfeng looked at the Not Big Face behind him, then at the skin beneath his feet, attempting to establish a connection between the two. First, it was clear that this was one person in two different dimensional forms. However, Li Banfeng's current cognitive abilities couldn't comprehend the coexistence of two dimensions for the face. He could only offer a more intuitive explanation for the current situation. He referred to the true Not Big Face as "True Not Big Face" and the Not Big Face chasing him as "Little Not Big Face."

To True Not Big Face, Li Banfeng might be something akin to a bacterium. Given the current situation, this was actually good news, as a normal person has few effective ways to deal with bacteria. Therefore, the real threat now should come from Little Not Big Face. Li Banfeng wanted to use this opportunity to escape Little Not Big Face's sight, then find a way to escape True Not Big Face's face entirely.

Having made up his mind, Li Banfeng began to accelerate continuously. Little Not Big Face found it strenuous to keep up. "Hey, don't run so fast!" he called out. "Don't run towards that oil lake ahead; there's something there that could eat you..." Before he finished speaking, Li Banfeng had already reached the oil lake and continued sprinting around its edge.

Not Big Face stopped chasing. A ripple suddenly appeared on the previously calm lake surface. As one ripple spread, the entire lake surface began to sway. Li Banfeng knew what the problem was: the unknown creature he had sensed earlier in the oil lake was about to emerge.

As his thoughts raced, a shrimp-headed behemoth emerged from the lake, using two scythe-like short limbs to crawl towards Li Banfeng. He called it a "shrimp-headed behemoth" because he couldn't find a more suitable descriptor; the creature's head somewhat resembled a shrimp's, though less pointed, it had no visible eyes, and significantly more tentacles. It was estimated to be seven to eight meters tall and over twenty meters long.

Li Banfeng turned back and asked Not Big Face, "What is that?" Not Big Face's face flushed slightly; the matter seemed to cause him some shame. "These are mites. I actually wash my face very often, but these things just won't wash off. Some crawl with legs, some wriggle with their bodies, and sometimes they're quite itchy."

Mites? Were the mites parasitizing his face really that large? Had this species of mite evolved to such a size on his face, or were these creatures naturally occurring and only able to parasitically inhabit such large beings?

The oil-covered mite swung a short limb and struck towards Li Banfeng, who promptly dodged. His speed was extreme, and the mite, with its naturally poor eyesight, couldn't see Li Banfeng's figure at all. When Li Banfeng stopped, the mite sensed his location with its tentacles and was about to turn around when its hard body suddenly swelled rapidly. Halfway through its turn, the mite's body exploded, sending broken shell fragments, insect flesh, and a large amount of oil splattering everywhere.

Not Big Face exclaimed in admiration, "The 'Viewing Flowers While Riding a Horse' technique! Everyone says it's hard to use, but you're quite proficient with it. It seems a true master taught you." One mite exploded, and dozens more mites emerged from the lake, surrounding Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng used the "Viewing Flowers While Riding a Horse" technique again, causing two more mites to explode and attempting to create an opening. However, as soon as those two mites exploded, the mites behind them immediately filled the gaps, creating a layered encirclement that left no room for Li Banfeng to break through. Were there other options? Moving back and forth among the mites, blowing them all up? It wasn't impossible, but the energy consumption would be too great. The number of mites on this face could be astonishingly high, and Li Banfeng still needed to conserve energy to deal with Little Not Big Face.

Seeing the swarm of mites approaching, Li Banfeng stared at the ground beneath his feet and shouted, "Open!" The ground beneath his feet suddenly split open, creating a path about a hundred meters long that cut through the swarm of mites and extended into the distance. This was a traveling cultivator's skill: "Breaking Paths to Forge a Way." It was worth noting that if this were normal land, Li Banfeng could at most open a path of twenty to thirty meters, but Not Big Face's skin was surprisingly soft. Li Banfeng sprinted along the newly opened path. The mites on both sides tried to rush into the path, but an invisible resistance prevented them from entering. The old teapot was gushing tea water, forming a barrier on both sides of the path.

Li Banfeng dashed for about a hundred meters, leaving most of the mites behind, but he couldn't shake off Little Not Big Face. "Li Not Crazy, you've gone too far!" Little Not Big Face shouted from behind. "You're making cuts on my face and even splashing hot water! What if it leaves scars?" He couldn't shake off this fellow; it seemed he needed to be even faster.

Just as Li Banfeng was about to accelerate, a nested, ring-shaped giant mouth appeared at the end of the canyon before him. This "nested, ring-shaped giant mouth" was a large mouth encompassing a slightly smaller one, with a fistful of dark yellow fangs protruding between the two. Where did this nested giant mouth come from? Li Banfeng jumped out of the canyon and saw the full picture: a blood-red worm emerging from the ground.

"A blood larva, a type of facial parasite. This thing is really troublesome," Not Big Face said, rubbing his nose again. "You just had to provoke it. Now I'm going to be uncomfortable; it'll itch for a whole day." This worm, dozens of meters long and shaped like a hybrid of an earthworm and a leech, rapidly wriggled towards Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng dodged. A mite chasing him from behind was bitten by the blood larva. The blood larva quickly broke the mite's shell with its fangs, then completely sucked the mite into its giant mouth.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Banfeng took out his wine gourd and sprinkled some wine on the blood larva. Little Not Big Face sniffed. "This is Old Yao's wine. Did Old Yao send you? What does Old Yao want with me?" After a moment of thought, Little Not Big Face continued to murmur to himself, "It shouldn't be Old Yao; he has no reason to look for me. He's acquainted with the peddler, so did the peddler send you to find me? If it's the peddler, then we can talk. I might consider letting you go!"

Li Banfeng ignored Little Not Big Face. He struck a match and ignited the blood larva. Under the encouragement of the wine, only a small flame flickered on the blood larva's body. However, with oil all around, the blood larva's struggles caused the flames to rapidly spread across the greasy skin.

Little Not Big Face became angry. "Why are you setting fire to my face again?" He blew a breath towards his nose, and a fierce gust of wind swept over, extinguishing all the surrounding flames. This was why the Tang Saber and Pendulum couldn't fly steadily.

The connection between Little Not Big Face and True Not Big Face was something Li Banfeng couldn't comprehend. "I don't want to talk to you anymore!" Little Not Big Face looked at Li Banfeng furiously. "You're always messing up my face. Now I want to take your life immediately." As he spoke, Little Not Big Face's face became even oilier. At the same time, oil began to well up beneath Li Banfeng's feet, quickly submerging his ankles.

Li Banfeng didn't hesitate for a moment; he kept running. "No matter what tricks you have," he thought, "only by escaping your face can I hope to survive." The oil beneath his feet grew deeper and deeper. Li Banfeng exerted strength in his legs while singing a song to distract Little Not Big Face. There was one song that was particularly suitable for exerting strength: "Running on flat ground, crossing mountains and rivers, huffing and puffing, spewing smoke, adding coal and water, we hit the road, once the train starts, its power is boundless..."

Li Banfeng's singing was piercing, giving Little Not Big Face a headache. Yet, the familiar melody and lyrics made Little Not Big Face unable to resist listening. "Are you singing 'The Train Ballad'?" Little Not Big Face was stunned, and the oil stopped rising.

Li Banfeng didn't answer. "Where did you hear this ballad?" Li Banfeng remained silent. "Did you learn your footwork from him too?"

Li Banfeng ran further and further away. Until Little Not Big Face's figure completely disappeared, Li Banfeng found a patch of woods and stopped to catch his breath. The forest was lush with vegetation, but the wind was quite strong. After only a moment of rest, Little Not Big Face's voice drifted from deep within the forest. "Don't stay here," he warned. "If the wind gets stronger soon, there's no telling where it might blow you."

Li Banfeng asked in surprise, "You can catch up so quickly?" "This is my face; I know where the shortcuts are." "Shortcuts on a face too?"

Little Not Big Face didn't want Li Banfeng to escape again, so he kept a certain distance for now. "If he truly sent you," he said, "please deliver a message to him: To this day, I still say, whether it's a train or a car, burning oil is better than burning coal." Was he referring to Grandfather Train? Did these two have some kind of agreement?

Li Banfeng said, "Profound State has no way to burn oil; fuel cannot be stored in large quantities." "That's because they haven't found good oil, that's because..." Not Big Face's tone suddenly changed. "You're lying to me, aren't you? You came to steal my oil, didn't you? Are you singing his Train Ballad to steal my oil?"

Li Banfeng frowned. "Catch a thief with the stolen goods. You need evidence to make such claims. When did I ever steal your oil?" "You're covered in oil, and you say you didn't steal?" "Who wouldn't be covered in oil when they come to your place?"

Not Big Face gnashed his teeth. "No one will ever steal my oil! Even if my Daoist sect is driven to extinction, I will not let you steal my oil!"