Chapter 302: Oil Repair Ancestor

Face Small adamantly accused Li Banfeng of trying to steal his oil.

Li Banfeng grew angry. "This oil is stuck on me; I'm disgusted by it!"

Face Small retorted furiously, "If you're so capable, don't take it with you!"

"Who said I'm taking it? If you're so capable, take it back yourself!"

"First, take off your clothes!"

"These are my clothes; why should I take them off?"

"If you don't take them off, you're trying to steal my oil!"

Unable to reason with him, Li Banfeng continued to flee.

The jungle wind was too fierce, constantly blowing sand and stones into his face.

Li Banfeng pushed against the wind, trying to rush out when Face Small caught up from behind, grabbing him. "No time! Come with me."

"No time for what?"

"Just come!"

Face Small pulled Li Banfeng, sprinting through the jungle. Near a giant tree, they found the entrance to an underground cave.

Face Small told Li Banfeng, "Crawl in!"

Li Banfeng frowned. "Why do I have to crawl into this one?"

"If you don't, you'll die!" Face Small crawled in first.

Li Banfeng sensed imminent danger. Entering the cave was indeed a way to avoid it, so he followed Face Small inside.

The cave's structure was incredibly complex, revealing the giant tree's root system and various-sized hollows in the rock walls.

Face Small found a high-elevation hollow and hid, gesturing for Li Banfeng to join him.

Soon after, water began accumulating in the cave. The water level rose rapidly, submerging the lower hollows, and even reaching the mouth of the hollow where Li Banfeng was hiding.

Where was this water coming from?

Li Banfeng stretched his hand out of the hollow's entrance, took some water, and examined it.

Although very clear, the water was slightly viscous.

Face Small rubbed his nose. "I just had a little clear snot."

Li Banfeng, seizing the opportunity, wiped the "water" from his hands onto Face Small and sincerely stated, "I truly didn't come here to steal your oil."

"Then tell me, how did you get here?"

"I was hunting in New Land and, for some unknown reason, fell into an oil lake." Li Banfeng fabricated an excuse.

"New Land? Which New Land?" Face Small remained unconvinced.

Unable to offer a better explanation, Li Banfeng simply continued to improvise: "The New Land in Greenwater Bay."

"Greenwater Bay? Does such a place exist? I remember now, it used to be Beggar's Bay, but then Green Beggar took over the territory and it became Greenwater Bay. So, Green Beggar sent you to steal my oil?"

Li Banfeng frowned. "I don't even know Green Beggar!"

"Then who sent you to steal my oil?"

"Why are you so convinced I'm here to steal your oil?"

"What else would you be here for?"

Li Banfeng couldn't explain.

He thought of a good solution: "How about this? You take all the oil off my body, don't leave a single drop. You'll put your mind at ease, and I'll clear my name. But these clothes are mine; I absolutely cannot leave them with you."

Face Small considered for a moment. "Alright, this isn't a good place. Let's go outside and take care of it."

Li Banfeng glanced at the clear liquid outside the hollow, then turned to look at Face Small.

"How about we wait a bit before going out? Your 'tide' hasn't receded yet."

"Receding tide is easy!" Face Small took a deep breath.

*Gulp!*

He swallowed his snot.

Li Banfeng looked again, and the 'tide' had receded, leaving only a slight dampness on the ground.

Following Face Small out of the cave, Li Banfeng began to understand the general layout.

This patch of forest was Face Small's nostril, and the lush trees were his nasal hair.

The cave they were just in was one of Face Small's pores.

Face Small led Li Banfeng out of his nostril.

In an instant, they arrived at another forest, even denser than the last. Its boundaries were invisible, and the trees seemed to stretch endlessly upwards.

These must be his whiskers, right? Face Small's whiskers were quite long!

Face Small stood before Li Banfeng and coughed. All the oil on Li Banfeng's body vanished completely.

"Alright, the oil's gone, you can leave now!" Face Small waved his hand at Li Banfeng.

"Farewell!" Li Banfeng turned and departed.

After just two steps, Face Small roared angrily, "You still have my oil on the soles of your feet, and you claim you weren't here to steal it!"

Li Banfeng didn't know how to explain. "Can we be reasonable? You're covered in oil; how could I *not* get some on me?"

Face Small pondered for a moment. "I want to be reasonable with you, but this doesn't make sense. You were wandering in Beggar's Bay New Land; you shouldn't have ended up here!"

Li Banfeng replied, "Many things don't make sense. I'm on your face, and now you're in front of me. Do you think *that's* reasonable?"

Face Small thought about it; it was indeed quite unreasonable.

When he looked up at Li Banfeng again, Li Banfeng had already vanished.

"Where are you going? Stop right there!"

Li Banfeng didn't look back; he just kept running forward.

This matter was too complicated to explain, so it was better left unsaid.

Since he had been in the nostril before, he decided to crawl back into it. Once deep enough, he hoped Face Small would sneeze him out.

Face Small seemed to understand Li Banfeng's intention and shouted, "Go ahead and try! I'll drown you directly, drown you with yellow snot!"

Greenwater City, East District, Lu Chunying's residence.

Lu Chunying tilted her head back, letting Xiao Yeci examine her eyelids.

"Mom, look closely. Are there really any blood vessels in my eyes?"

"Dear, I've been examining your eyelids for half an hour now. Your eyes are completely red, full of blood vessels!"

Lu Chunying rubbed her eyes. "Brother Qiu told me that after seeing Madam Duan, I need to be careful about my eyes. If blood vessels appear, something major is about to happen."

Xiao Yeci, still worried, helped Lu Chunying check for a while, then shook her head. "Dear, close your eyes and rest for a bit. Once the redness subsides, I'll take another good look."

At the Lu family mansion, Qiu Zhiheng was reading a newspaper in a small building when Zhang Huaiyi knocked and entered.

Qiu Zhiheng looked surprised. "Young Master Zhang, when did you arrive?"

Previously, Qiu Zhiheng had called him Huaiyi, but now he consistently addressed him as Young Master Zhang.

Zhang Huaiyi smiled. "My mother cooked a few dishes herself and asked me to invite you for dinner."

"Has Madam Shaohong arrived?" Qiu Zhiheng intentionally brought up Duan Shaohong.

"I was talking about..." Zhang Huaiyi looked awkward. He looked at Qiu Zhiheng and said, "Uncle Qiu, I actually..."

Qiu Zhiheng quietly waited for him to finish.

Zhang Huaiyi didn't know where to begin.

Three days later, Li Banfeng and Face Small sat side by side in a canyon, each holding a roasted chicken and slowly gnawing on it.

This canyon was Face Small's forehead wrinkle.

Li Banfeng inspected his roasted chicken many times, still feeling uneasy. "This chicken didn't grow on your face, did it?"

Face Small angrily retorted, "Have you ever seen chickens grow on someone's face? I hunted this one from outside!"

To be fair, the roasted chicken tasted good, but it was a bit greasy.

"Got any vegetables? To cut through the grease."

"Cut through what grease?" Face Small became unhappy. "When I was a child, I'd be happy for days if I could get my hands on some greasy food once. And you're thinking of cutting through the grease!"

Li Banfeng gnawed on a chicken wing and asked, "So, because you couldn't eat enough oil when you were young, you created all this oil?"

Face Small sighed as he gnawed on a chicken leg. "What's wrong with oil? It's fragrant and smooth. All the world's delicacies and gourmet dishes rely on oil. Dishes without oil can't grace a banquet, and people without 'oil' can't make a name for themselves. As long as there's oil on the table, life isn't so bad. Don't you think oil is the best thing in this world?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "I didn't say oil was bad, but I truly didn't come here to steal it."

Face Small nodded. "I believe you. After these three days together, I can see your character is quite good. But there's one thing you did wrong: you shouldn't have peed on my face."

Li Banfeng said, "What choice did I have? It's been three whole days; where else was I supposed to pee?"

Face Small still felt upset. "You could have peed on my cheek, but not near my mouth!"

"I just saw trees there; how was I supposed to know that was your mouth!"

"Those weren't trees; those were my whiskers!" Face Small said, his face filled with indignation. "I really want to let you go, but I can't rest easy."

Li Banfeng advised, "Don't worry, if you don't let me go soon, it won't be as simple as just peeing on your face."

Face Small looked at Li Banfeng. "Banfeng, you know where I am. I'm afraid you'll leak the information and people from the Inner Province will find me here. It's not that I don't trust your character, but what if people from the Inner Province catch you and torture you? Can you guarantee you won't reveal my whereabouts?"

Li Banfeng replied, "You can rest assured, I definitely can't guarantee that. But you can make sure I don't know where you are. After you send me away, you can move somewhere else!"

"I can't change places; I can't move."

Li Banfeng was startled. "Why can't you move?"

"I just... can't move..." Face Small's expression became somewhat forlorn.

The two silently ate the roasted chicken. When they were nearly halfway through, Face Small said to Li Banfeng, "You said you came here by accident, and I believe you. I'll find a way to send you out by accident too, so you won't even know how you left. We'll just pretend we never met."

"Deal! Once I'm out, I'll act as if I've never met you, and I won't tell anyone about this, ever!" Li Banfeng put down the half-eaten roasted chicken and patted his chest in agreement.

Face Small sighed. "Are there still any disciples of my Daoist sect left in this world?"

"You mean oil cultivators, right?"

Face Small nodded.

"Yes! I've met two."

Face Small blinked his small eyes, a hint of excitement appearing on his face. "Are they both doing well?"

How should he answer that?

One was Bulb, in an Outer Province. I hit him with a spicy stick, but he should be fine. He's from the Dark Star Bureau, so his life should be reasonably good. The other was named Rong Jin'an, a branch manager for Geng Family Pharmacy. He almost tortured Little Fatty to death. I fed him to my wife. Does that count as doing well?

"Good! They're both doing very well!" Li Banfeng gave his answer, based on his own interpretation.

"As long as they're well, and there are still disciples, that's enough!" Face Small stood up. "Next time you see the Peddler, remember to tell him to come and rescue me."

"Alright, I promise."

Face Small angrily exclaimed, "Didn't you just say you wouldn't tell anyone? Now you're going to tell the Peddler!"

"But you're the one who told me to..."

Before Li Banfeng could finish explaining, Face Small charged at him, and Li Banfeng took off running again.

Face Small chased Li Banfeng, running through a vast forest that stretched for dozens of miles.

There were many oil lakes within the forest, and Li Banfeng carefully circled each one along its shore.

Face Small shouted, "These are my eyebrows!"

After the forehead came the eyebrows, meaning the place where they ate chicken earlier really *was* a forehead wrinkle.

Li Banfeng had no time to admire the scenery and continued running forward. After a short distance, a wasteland appeared before him.

There was no grass, no trees, nothing but barren, flat, slightly undulating wilderness.

"This is my eye!" Face Small caught up from behind.

Li Banfeng kept running.

A single bump on Face Small's face could form a lake. By Li Banfeng's estimation, the area of one eye would be comparable to an ocean.

Yet, he saw no ocean, only an endless, boundless wasteland.

He ran for an unknown period until the wasteland finally gave way. The terrain gradually sloped upwards, and a tall mountain appeared ahead – a place Li Banfeng had visited before.

Face Small shouted, "This is my nose!"

Li Banfeng looked back and shouted, "I didn't see your eyes!"

"They're covered!"

Li Banfeng was puzzled.

Face Small repeated, "My eyes are covered."

Something is covering them. He said there are eye-covering things in the Inner Province. Were his eyes covered by people from the Inner Province?

After running for a long time, Face Small called out, "Stop now!"

Li Banfeng stopped for a moment, leaning on his knees and panting heavily.

He had actually gotten used to it. For three days, he had pushed his Daoist techniques to their limit, trying every method to deal with Face Small.

Face Small stood about ten meters away and asked Li Banfeng, "You know Old Train's footwork and you can sing 'The Train Ballad.' You're Old Train's friend, aren't you?"

"I'm his brother!"

"Good, I believe you!" Face Small nodded slightly. "You said you didn't steal my oil, but why is there less of it?"

How would he know that? Could it be that scoundrel Glove stole the oil? He couldn't just say that.

Li Banfeng said, "Maybe it flowed away, or perhaps it evaporated due to the wind and sun."

"Evaporated?" Face Small chuckled. "You truly don't know what place this is?"

"I really don't!"

Face Small looked around and sighed. "This place is bitter, truly bitter. I live a hard life. I want to tell others how hard my life is, but no one talks to me!"

Li Banfeng was silent for a moment, then said, "I've talked a lot with you these past few days."

"Yes, yes, you've talked a lot. I'll let you go, send you to the New Land in Beggar's Bay, but you can't take my oil with you! Keep running forward!"

Li Banfeng ran for another few dozen miles when a strong gust of wind swept him into the air.

Face Small shouted, "You can't take my oil with you; I've taken it all back!"

All the oil on Li Banfeng's body disappeared completely.

"If you encounter Old Train, tell him that burning oil is better than burning coal!"

The airflow rapidly intensified, and Li Banfeng shot out from a crevice. First, there was complete darkness, then a thick cloud of dust that prevented him from opening his eyes for a long time.

When the dust finally cleared, Li Banfeng landed on the ground. Opening his eyes, he saw a decaying large tree and numerous vines wrapped around it.

This was a common sight in New Land, and Li Banfeng seemed to have been here before.

The New Land in Greenwater Bay was not unfamiliar to Li Banfeng. As long as he could figure out the direction, he would quickly find his way back to Zhengjing Village.

Sitting on the ground to rest for a moment, Li Banfeng took out his glove.

"Tell me, did you steal the oil?"

The glove used its index finger as a head, shaking it repeatedly. "Why would I steal that?"

"You really didn't steal it?"

"No!" The glove looked very wronged. "I only stole half a roasted chicken, and it was your leftovers."

With that, the glove spit out the roasted chicken.

Li Banfeng smiled. "Look at you, what's the point of stealing a chicken?"

Honestly, the roasted chicken made by Face Small was delicious.

What exactly had he been through? Was he the patriarch of oil cultivators? Where exactly was he? He knew Old Train and the Peddler. Old Train was hard to find, but if he ever met the Peddler, he absolutely had to ask.

Actually, he didn't necessarily have to ask the Peddler; he could go see him himself. Later, when he had more ways to deal with him, he might as well visit him again at the oil lake.

Li Banfeng picked up the roasted chicken, intending to take a few more bites, when suddenly he noticed the chicken was gone.

"Who?" Li Banfeng was startled!

A woman's voice echoed in his ear: "Alright, I agree."

Li Banfeng paused. "You agreed to what?"

The woman replied, "Let the assessment begin!"

A halo of light illuminated the area around them.