Chapter 408: Grudges (High Energy Continues)

"You bitch, do you really think I won't chop you?" Phonograph raised her longsword.

Hong Ying held out her spearhead, motionless. "Go ahead," she said, "be quick about it."

"You show no remorse at all?" Phonograph asked furiously.

Hong Ying chuckled, "There's nothing to regret. If I had to choose again, I'd still kill you!"

"You bitch!" Phonograph struck Hong Ying with the sword hilt, making her stumble.

"I am not a bitch," Hong Ying said slowly, steadying herself. "The lowest thing I've ever done in my life was trusting you. From the day we met, I listened to everything you said. Even after entering death row, walking through the gates of hell, and then going to the battlefield, I still listened to you. Until you said you wanted to send troops to Gansha Plain, I knew I couldn't listen to you anymore. The peddler and the crazy craftsman were both there; you were just leading us to our deaths."

"I said I could win!"

Hong Ying burst into laughter. "What if you win? Cong Shixiang has an imperial edict, and it clearly states that if you lose, he will force us to fight to the death on the battlefield. Even if you win, he'll immediately read the edict, arrest us both, and take us back to the capital to death row, awaiting execution!"

"Who told you this?"

"Prince Chun sent word," Hong Ying replied. "He saw the imperial edict himself. We're going to die either way. Do you understand now? If you told me to die, I wouldn't bat an eye. But to die for *them*? I couldn't do it. I'm not that despicable. Zhao Xiaowan, I am not a bitch. The biggest bitch is you! After coming out of death row, you still showed no remorse. I desperately tried to persuade you, but you wouldn't turn back. A bitch like you should be killed!"

Phonograph calmed down slightly. "What did you plan to do then?" she asked. "If you killed me, you wouldn't have to die?"

Hong Ying nodded, tapping her spearhead. "Yes, after killing you, I planned to immediately surrender to the peddler. I wouldn't have to die, and neither would the soldiers! Unfortunately, you were too difficult to deal with. To kill you, I also sacrificed my life, and I couldn't save them."

Phonograph scoffed. "How stupid you are. I'm from a theatrical background; death would be the end of it for me. You kill me, then surrender, but your entire family is in the capital. What would you do about them?"

"At that point," Hong Ying said bitterly, "do you think I could still care about them?"

Phonograph asked again, "You don't care about your own family, and you don't care about the soldiers' families either?"

Hong Ying replied calmly, "I couldn't care about them anymore. That's all the capability I had."

"No ability, and yet you, a bitch, have such grand ideas!" Phonograph swung her longsword, striking Hong Ying with the hilt again, making her stumble. "I sent troops to Gansha Plain because I had already gathered information: the peddler was taking his army through Iron Mist Valley. As long as we reached Gansha Plain, we wouldn't encounter any enemy forces!"

Hong Ying stiffened. "Impossible. The peddler had already decided to fight you decisively in Gansha Plain; that was the message from the spy."

"That was a feint from the peddler," Phonograph said. "His real target was the capital, and he didn't want to waste resources fighting us in Gansha Plain. Although Iron Mist Valley is treacherous, it's a shortcut. He had long planned to bypass us, fearing we would block him in Iron Mist Valley. The peddler released false information, and the spies fell for it, but I saw through it because I had an informant close to him. On the day you killed me, the peddler had already marched his troops to Iron Mist Valley. If you hadn't killed me, I would have led you to Gansha Plain, and we would have found nothing there. I would have acknowledged my misjudgment in command. I would have kept the army in Gansha Plain, and no matter how many imperial edicts came, I would have held the army there. If Cong Shixiang dared to touch me, I would have killed him immediately."

Hong Ying was stunned. "You knew Cong Shixiang was going to act against you?"

Phonograph sneered, "What kind of scoundrel is he? Did you think I couldn't see through him? Yao Xin was instigated by him; did you think I didn't know that? I truly hoped that once we reached Gansha Plain, our battle would be over. The peddler would have passed Iron Mist Valley and marched directly to the capital. Whether he could win or not would depend on his ability. If he won, it wouldn't be too late for you to surrender. If he lost, all the blame would fall on me. When the court assigned blame, I would simply flee, at least ensuring your safety. But you, bitch, conspired with other generals and attacked me first. You didn't save your own life, and you handed the entire army over to Cong Shixiang. This blood debt should all be on you. Tell me, aren't you a bitch?"

Hong Ying was silent for a long moment, then shook her head repeatedly. "You lied to me," she said. "You never mentioned any of this beforehand."

"Everyone in the army was Cong Shixiang's informant," Phonograph retorted. "Your every move was under his surveillance. How could I have mentioned it to you? If the news had leaked beforehand, do you think any of this could have been accomplished?"

"I... I don't believe you..." Hong Ying's voice trembled slightly.

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me!" Phonograph snapped. "You've been deaf and blind for so many years, surely you know nothing. There are still many survivors; go ask them which path the peddler ultimately took."

"I... I can't get out, I can't ask..." Hong Ying was trembling all over.

"You don't need to go out," Phonograph said. "Ask our residence. Which path did the peddler take then?"

Silence fell within the portable residence.

After a long wait, an old voice sounded: "I remember this. It was Iron Mist Valley."

With a thud, Hong Ying collapsed to the ground. She tried to get up but couldn't. Every joint in her body was trembling.

"Kill me," she said, extending the spearhead towards Phonograph. "Have pity on me; just kill me."

Phonograph snorted. "Chopping off a spearhead counts as killing you?"

"Can't you consume souls? Consume my soul," Hong Ying pleaded, fumbling towards Phonograph. "Eat me, eat me now."

"Can't bear to live anymore? Do you think you can just die if you can't bear to live?" Phonograph sneered. "There's no such easy way out. Hold out your hand!"

Hong Ying didn't know what Phonograph was going to do, but she still held out her hand. It was just death, and how she died didn't matter to her.

Phonograph pricked Hong Ying's palm with a needle, took some fresh blood, and dripped it onto the seed Li Banfeng had just brought back.

In the desert, Li Banfeng looked at a heavily scarred lizard and said with a chuckle, "Are you willing to work for me now?"

The lizard panted for a moment. "Hero," it said, "please tell me what you want me to do first. Just stop hitting me like this."

Li Banfeng pulled out a contract. "Do you recognize the person on this?" he asked.

"Yes, I know him. That's Diao Nengsou, a monkey. I know where he lives. I'll take you to him."

The lizard led Li Banfeng to a pond and found an old white-furred monkey living beside it.

"Are you Diao Nengsou?" Li Banfeng asked. "Do you recognize this?" He waved the contract in front of Diao Nengsou. It was the contract he had signed with the Local Deity, so he naturally recognized it.

Diao Nengsou asked, "How did this get into your hands?"

"Bei Wushuang sold you to Miss Meng. You'll have to live somewhere else now."

Diao Nengsou nodded. "Okay."

He agreed just like that? You're not going to resist at all?

"Did you not understand me? The Local Deity sold you, so you need to sign another contract and change masters."

"Where is the contract? I'll put my handprint on it right now." Diao Nengsou prepared to cut his palm.

Why was this so smooth? Li Banfeng had thought there would be a fight. He took out a contract he had written himself and gave it to Diao Nengsou. This contract didn't have the Local Deity's name on it. Li Banfeng expected Diao Nengsou to ask a couple of questions, but to his surprise, he didn't say a word and immediately put his handprint on it.

Li Banfeng then pulled out another contract left by Bei Wushuang. "Do you know this person?" he asked.

Diao Nengsou nodded. "Yes, I know him. I'll take you to him."

"Is he willing to change masters?"

"He should be. I'll help you persuade him."

"Can he fight? If he doesn't agree, I might have to get rough."

"He's not much of a fighter. I'll help you beat him up."

This was too proactive. Does he have other intentions?

Diao Nengsou had no other intentions. With his help, Li Banfeng managed to bring over thirty exotic creatures to his territory. He couldn't bring too many at once; it would be difficult to explain. Bei Wushuang couldn't possibly have sold all his subordinate exotic creatures. But some intelligent people don't need much explanation. Diao Nengsou was one such intelligent person. After a day of observation, Li Banfeng found him to be pragmatic and capable.

Li Banfeng took out two Profound Scarlet Pills and handed them to Diao Nengsou. "I still have many contracts here, all sold by Bei Wushuang to Miss Meng. I don't want to handle this task anymore, so I'm assigning it to you. Do you think you can manage it?"

"Don't worry, leave it all to me."

"Do a good job, and there will be further rewards after completion!" Li Banfeng gave Diao Nengsou one hundred contracts to first observe his efficiency.

Diao Nengsou took the contracts and, following Li Banfeng's instructions, began sending the exotic monsters from Bei Wushuang's territory to Li Banfeng's territory, at a rate of twenty to thirty per day.

With matters handled, Li Banfeng prepared to return to Qiu Luoye's territory to build a train station. He went home first to discuss his travel plans with his wife and have her prepare.

His wife took out a seed: "My dear husband, plant this seed, and it won't be too late to leave after it bears fruit."

Hong Ying, who was sitting in front of a mirror dressing her hair, dropped her comb.

Li Banfeng looked at the seed and asked, "Wife, is there anything special about this seed?"

Phonograph laughed, "You'll know once it grows. It can grow a useful person."

Li Banfeng raised his eyebrows, took a shovel, and went out to plant.

Hong Ying turned around and looked at Phonograph. "Xiaowan, are you going to..."

Phonograph snorted. "I'm just testing the seed. Don't overthink it."

Li Banfeng sowed the seed, added medicine, and watered it. Soon, the seed sprouted and grew branches and leaves. This seed grew slower than cabbage. Zhang Wanlong had added an outer shell to the seed, making it look like a dark black bean. Li Banfeng didn't know what kind of fruit it would bear.

After two hours, the fruit finally matured. It was a pale green melon. Fragrant, truly fragrant. The enticing aroma made Li Banfeng truly want to take a bite.

The melon became whiter and whiter until it fully ripened and burst open. A woman in a white dress emerged from within.

Tang Dao emerged from his waist and scrutinized it. Projector emerged from his pocket, focusing its lens. Gloves emerged from Li Banfeng's pocket, its five fingers wiggling together.

"Boss," Gloves exclaimed, "this is too beautiful."