Chapter 381: That Grocery Seller

Chang Ji stood by the bed, first looking at Li Banfeng, who was sound asleep, then at Hong Ying, who stood in front of the dressing table.

Sitting was no longer an option; for the past two days, she could only stand.

After a moment of silence, Hong Ying suddenly exclaimed, "You wicked woman, how do we settle this score?"

"Settle? My man went easy on you, and you dare talk about settling scores with me?" Chang Ji was even more annoyed than Hong Ying. "If you were even a little bit useful, would I have suffered so much last night?"

"What do you mean I'm useless? Your madman can't even tell the difference between a door and a threshold; how do you expect me to be useful?"

Chang Ji sneered, "Even if he could tell the difference, would you have succeeded?"

Hong Ying also laughed, "If I couldn't, could you? We were both virgins when we were alive, knowing nothing but warfare. What are you showing off to me?"

"An ordinary place certainly won't work. You've ridden a train; you know what a station looks like. The platform needs to be large enough to accommodate a train and passengers. But the platform also can't allow just anyone in; there needs to be a wall to block off those without tickets from getting on the train."

"Master, you don't know, this old ox's nose is on its tail. It wagged so hard just now, it must have been passing gas, and the smell is lingering!"

Why was this related to Bei Wushuang?

Since returning to the New Land, Li Banfeng hadn't been back to the manor.

"You blind old ox, don't you recognize our master? Apologize to the master quickly!"

Li Banfeng didn't bother arguing with the ox and simply walked around it.

As the two continued to argue, Chang Ji suddenly noticed Li Banfeng's eyes move.

Li Banfeng asked Shan Lang, "Are the strange creatures from the realm sending more food than before?"

As for accommodating passengers, that was even less of a concern. Suishen Ju was Li Banfeng's home, and normally, the only passengers were his family members. Even counting everyone, there was no possibility of it being too crowded.

"What time is it now?!" Li Banfeng said with a serious expression. "Do you know there's a war coming? Do you understand the principle of 'know yourself and your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles'? I don't even know how much capital we have, and we're still so wary of each other. How do you expect us to fight this war?"

"Sit? How can I sit after what you did to me last night?"

Li Banfeng said, "You insist on hiding the key, but if you don't leave yourself, isn't that enough?"

"Sit," Li Banfeng looked at Hong Ying in surprise. "Sit down and tell me slowly."

On each of its two front hooves, there was an ear. Hearing footsteps approach, the headless ox wagged its tail and blocked Li Banfeng's path.

Of the three vanguards, two died, leaving only Yuan Shoulou. He ran away, saying he'd rather beg for food his entire life than fight another war. Even at this point, I still believe in you. I believe you can win, but what's the use of winning? It's still a dead end!"

Passing through the stone wall, Li Banfeng entered a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was the manor of the Mountain-Uprooting Master.

"Because I can win!"

"Why do you say I don't care?"

"Who are you?!"

The manor of the Mountain-Uprooting Master.

Hire someone to build one?

In a desolate wilderness, a sudden strange building would simply tell others that this place is special.

With that touch, Shan Lang knew Li Banfeng's identity.

Unexpectedly, this ox was very loyal. Knowing it couldn't stop Li Banfeng, it immediately bellowed, "Quick, someone! Someone has entered our manor!"

Li Banfeng looked the headless ox up and down and asked, "You don't recognize me?"

Originally, there were two guard wolves at the gate. One was killed by Li Banfeng, and the other was promoted to the manor's butler. Guarding the gate was no longer its duty; instead, a blind, headless ox stood guard.

On the headless ox's left flank, there was a gap connected to its stomach, and this gap served as its mouth.

"Since you care, why are you still fighting?" Meng Yuchun nodded, "In case of any trouble, I'll illuminate the boundary. I don't care how they fight, but they can't attack my territory."

Hong Ying responded, "I believe you. Ever since we entered the battlefield, I've followed you, and I believe everything you say!"

"This is the Eighth-Layer Manor Cultivation Technique: Closing Doors and Shutting Households."

"I'm not afraid of him!"

"You wicked woman, I'll tell you again: my killing you has nothing to do with this! I killed you for the tens of thousands of lives in the entire army, lives you never cared about at all."

For such a large realm, where would one find a wall?

Hong Ying angrily sat down in the chair, then angrily stood up again.

As soon as it heard the master had arrived, the old ox wagged its tail and stepped forward to apologize.

Shan Lang heard some murmurs and shouted at the old ox, "How dare you wag your tail in front of the master? You're ill-mannered, get out of here!"

Li Banfeng scratched his head. He couldn't recall doing anything to Hong Ying last night.

Being able to accommodate a train wasn't the difficult part.

"Don't recognize him!" This headless ox truly didn't recognize Li Banfeng. On the day Li Banfeng announced himself as the manor's owner, this headless ox had been ill with incessant diarrhea and hadn't heard Li Banfeng's voice.

"I get to choose the location? Can I choose any place?"

He awarded Shan Lang a significant merit, and others also received their respective rewards.

The main issue was the wall.

"But this wasn't used to build a train station, was it?"

This tunnel, over a hundred meters long, was a very suitable choice.

Li Banfeng asked in a low voice, "What exactly is that technique you use to illuminate the boundary?"

Meng Yuchun continued, "I heard that Pan Dehai has declared he will take Bei Wushuang's life. I haven't dealt with the local deities of the True Land, but I know their cultivation levels are not low, and they have far more methods than us local deities of the New Land. If this war truly begins, I worry we'll also be implicated."

The station couldn't be built directly inside the manor, as there were still many blind guards within the estate.

Chang Ji was silent for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Why don't you believe me? Why don't you believe I can win?"

"What exactly happened back then?"

Pestilence?

"You're right. You could have been a princess, but it was all delayed because of me. Do you hate me for that?"

"Husband, if you're awake, get up quickly."

Shan Lang had told Li Banfeng before that they could only eat what the Mountain-Uprooting Master left behind.

On its back were two holes, which were originally its eyes, but they had been gouged out by the Mountain-Uprooting Master.

"She wouldn't eat it herself, nor would she let us eat it. Around the manor, many caves were filled with spoiled, stinking food, but even then, she wouldn't let us have it. She said we had cheap lives, and starving was our destiny. Since I came to this cave, only by following you have I had my first full meal. Master, I truly don't know how to thank you..."

The manor was meticulously managed by Shan Lang, and the various strange creatures within it were noticeably fatter than during Li Banfeng's last visit.

His wife remained silent.

Although it had no head, the headless ox's sensory organs were complete.

Li Banfeng went down to the cellar and retrieved the local deity seal from the deed.

Li Banfeng nodded, "This is indeed cause for concern. We need to prepare early. Give the cook more rewards so he can gather more information."

Shan Lang shook his head, "To speak frankly, Master, the food they've sent is less than before, only about half as much."

The Mountain-Uprooting Master's manor was built deep in the mountains, with no obvious entrance, surrounded by mountains. This obstruction certainly couldn't stop Suishen Ju, but it did form a natural wall.

Li Banfeng opened his eyes. He had intended to listen a bit longer but was unexpectedly discovered by his wife. Li Banfeng smiled and stepped forward to pat Shan Lang's head.

Li Banfeng approached the cliff, used the Deep Manor technique, borrowed unimpeded passage from Hong Ying, and entered the stone wall.

Leaving the manor, Li Banfeng went to Meng Yuchun's residence, took out the local deity seal, and said, "I'll share half of the cultivation from here with you, as payment for these past days."

Suishen Ju did not reply.

"According to the information the cook gathered, it seems to be related to the insect plague of Haichi Ridge."

Li Banfeng roughly calculated the length of Suishen Ju. Each room was just over three meters long. Currently, there were eight carriages. When it ascended to the cloud level, theoretically, it would have twelve rooms. The Three Rooms were not included in the length calculation, so the remaining eleven rooms combined would be just over thirty meters. There were many places to choose from.

This kind of place would be difficult to find.

Shan Lang was the first to rush out, shouting loudly, "Who dares to cause trouble here?!"

The insect plague of Haichi Ridge was caused by the Insect Overlord. The peddler personally killed the Insect Overlord for this reason.

"A tunnel is good. No need to build a roof, and no worries about rain."

Was the peddler they just mentioned the same peddler?

Could the peddler make the ruthless people of Neizhou tremble? How strong was he, really?

Li Banfeng got up and glanced at the Three Rooms; the entire room was still piled high with Sky Spring Joy Earth.

"You don't need to thank me; you earned this yourself."

Li Banfeng couldn't understand: "Since less food is being sent, why have you all gotten fatter?"

The old ox quickly left. Li Banfeng asked Shan Lang, "Which rule did he break by wagging his tail?"

The ox's voice was very loud; many in the manor heard it.

"Could the Mountain-Uprooting Master alone eat ninety percent of it? She's not a food cultivator."

Suishen Ju gave a wry smile, "Do you think I don't want to leave? If I could move freely, I wouldn't be here anymore. Either I follow you, or I follow the key. Those are the only two paths for me, and I can't even choose."

"What do you mean you can't choose?"

Li Banfeng thought for a moment and indeed came up with an idea.

"You can't win anything! That peddler has already reached the battlefield; what will you fight him with?"

Meng Yuchun shook her head repeatedly, "I owe you a life; helping you is what I should do."

Meng Yuchun thought for a moment and felt there was some truth to what Li Banfeng said.

Suishen Ju responded, "Have you chosen a good location?"

Meng Yuchun frowned, "Why are you asking me about techniques again? Techniques can't be casually shared with others."

Li Banfeng hid the key and went to the Mountain-Uprooting Master's manor.

"It's right that you help me, and if the task is done, it's also right that I give you compensation. One thing at a time. First, tell me about Bei Wushuang and Pan Dehai. Their territories are very far apart; how did a conflict arise between them?"

Suishen Ju sighed, "Who builds a platform inside a tunnel?"

"Although it's only half, it's still enough for us. When the Mountain-Uprooting Master was here before, we couldn't even get one-tenth of it."

Suishen Ju agreed, "Hide the key well. For the next ten days, don't let me leave this place."

Li Banfeng hid the key, entered Suishen Ju, and asked, "How is this place?"

The headless ox had no head, only a clean, severed point on its neck.

Find a natural wall?

Where could such a place be?

"That's still nonsense!" Hong Ying retorted angrily. "Ask anyone back then who wasn't afraid of him! Even if you brought out the ruthless figures from Neizhou, wouldn't they tremble before him? What will you fight him with?"

"What are the key points of the technique?"