Chapter 410: 乞修

Suishenju chose a forest within Qiu Luoye’s territory as the station’s location.

The station was built underground. Suishenju was confident he could avoid the attention of Qiu Luoye and a group of strange monsters, but he needed Li Banfeng’s cover.

Qiu Luoye currently had no time to focus on anything else. He was overwhelmed, constantly dealing with land reclamation, assessments, and guarding against arrivals from Neizhou.

Li Banfeng provided cover for Suishenju as he built the station, while simultaneously contacting Luo Zhengnan, asking him to inform Ma Wu to continue recruiting people for land development.

Ma Wu was quite curious about what it would be like for thousands of people to develop land in the new territory.

Old Qi was still recruiting?

Ma Wu looked at the ledger. During this period, money was being spent faster than flowing water.

How big of a project was he planning?

A beggar, covered in pustules, stood silently at the entrance of Xiaoyao Wu, watching the crowd signing up for land development.

Li Qi offered generous rewards, so anyone in Green Water City who was struggling wanted to come and try.

Those who had already been to the new territory were, of course, ready to depart that very day.

Some, who had never even been to the new territory, mustered their courage and dared to follow.

Lv Huazi shook the alms bowl in his hand, speculating on Li Qi's intentions.

He wants to turn Qiu Daxiang's territory into a proper land?

If he truly succeeded, he would become the earliest landowner of a proper territory, and if the entire area belonged to him, the benefits would be immense.

But land development alone isn't enough; where would he get ten thousand people to live there permanently?

How much money would it take for anyone to be willing to live in Qiu Daxiang's broken-down place?

And how would he manage it?

With just his and Ma Wu's limited foundation, how difficult would it be to establish a proper territory?

Even the Four Great Families couldn't accomplish something like this.

If Li Qi wasn't crazy, he wouldn't be doing this.

But he's doing it now, which proves someone must be helping him from behind the scenes.

Who exactly is helping him?

Why is he so openly recruiting people in Green Water City?

The Green Water Beggar left Xiaoyao Wu, carrying his alms bowl.

Li Qi, an interesting person.

Interesting people are all dangerous.

Who are the people behind you targeting?

If they are targeting me, I should kill you as soon as possible.

If they are not targeting me...

Killing you doesn't seem to have any drawbacks either.

The station was completed, built in the center of the forest.

Normally, the entrance was invisible, indistinguishable from the surrounding ground.

Seven old trees surrounded it. These old trees were all worm-eaten, but the depth of the damage varied, producing different pitches when struck.

By striking these seven old trees to play the tune of 'Pretentious Seriousness,' the entrance could be opened.

With sufficient security ensured, Li Banfeng prepared to return to Green Water City to personally oversee the continued recruitment for land development.

Having walked this road countless times, Li Banfeng could navigate it even with his eyes closed. As he passed through Hulu Gully, approaching Lanyang Village, a man sat on the ground, holding an alms bowl and calling out, "Good sir passing by, please have mercy on me. I haven't eaten all day."

Because of its proximity to Green Water Bay, Li Banfeng was very cautious whenever he encountered beggars.

This beggar's face was relatively smooth, without pustules or similar ailments. His clothes were tattered, patched together from various scraps of fabric.

He appeared to be at least seventy years old, with sunken lips and seemingly only a few teeth left. Li Banfeng pulled out a piece of dry food and asked, "Can you eat this?"

"Yes!" the old beggar nodded vigorously.

Li Banfeng offered the dry food, and the old beggar held out his bowl.

As Li Banfeng let go, just as the dry food was about to fall into the bowl, he suddenly heard the old beggar say at an extremely fast pace, "Since it's given, then..."

The words were too fast and too sudden; Li Banfeng didn't react in time.

The Tang Blade suddenly flashed out of its scabbard, striking the beggar's alms bowl and knocking it over.

The dry food didn't land in the bowl; it fell to the ground.

The beggar reached for it, but the Tang Blade pierced the dry food and, with a flick of its edge, sent it flying to the side.

"My lord, be careful! He's a Beggar Cultivator!"

A Beggar Cultivator?

Li Banfeng had no prior experience with this Daoist sect.

He had only heard that Yuan Shoulu was a cultivator of this sect, the local deity of Huazi Bay.

Yuan Shoulu was later defeated by Lv Huazi, his territory was seized, and Huazi Bay became today's Green Water Bay.

Could this beggar be Yuan Shoulu?

Li Banfeng activated his Golden Eyes of Acuity to examine him, seeing ghost fire on the man's body.

He was a local deity; he really might be Yuan Shoulu!

He had actually been living right next to Lv Huazi's territory all this time.

The Tang Blade lunged towards the beggar's glabella.

The beggar didn't dodge, instead reaching out to catch it with his hand, rapidly muttering, "Have mercy on me!"

The Tang Blade suddenly retracted, not daring to thrust forward.

This wasn't the Tang Blade faltering in battle; there was a skill at play.

The Wine Gourd shouted, "Pleading for Mercy! Young master, don't give him anything; you'll lose combat power!"

If the beggar managed to grab the Tang Blade, even if Li Banfeng had 'bestowed' a blade upon him, Li Banfeng would lose some combat power, not a lot, but it would also trigger other skills.

The beggar failed to grab the Tang Blade and reached for Li Banfeng instead.

Li Banfeng didn't dare to parry, instead dodging with all his might.

He was too unfamiliar with Beggar Cultivators; he feared that parrying might cause further trouble.

As it turned out, his choice was correct. If he had chosen to parry or counterattack, the beggar would likely have taken something from him.

Perhaps a random item from his person, or a scrap of fabric torn from his clothes.

Once something was seized by him, the beggar's skill would succeed.

Seeing Li Banfeng dodge, the beggar tried to grab his lapel again, but Li Banfeng was fast, always managing to evade him a step ahead.

Unable to grab Li Banfeng, the beggar suddenly pulled out a bamboo stick from his bosom.

Li Banfeng thought it was a weapon or a magic artifact, but to his surprise, the beggar held the bamboo stick to his lips and began to play a tune.

It was a musical instrument called a Chī (pronounced like 'chee').

And indeed, the beggar played beautifully; Li Banfeng genuinely found it pleasant to listen to.

The Gourd shouted, "Young master, don't listen! This is 'Playing the Chī for Alms!'"

As he spoke, the Tang Blade had already lunged towards the bamboo pipe.

What would happen if he listened?

If he listened to the entire tune, Li Banfeng would be compelled to give the beggar something; if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Food would suffice, money would suffice; as long as he gave something, he would fall victim to the beggar's skill and similarly lose a portion of his combat power.

Li Banfeng didn't know the reason behind it, only that the bamboo pipe was formidable.

The Tang Blade was hesitant and dared not fight the beggar directly. Li Banfeng picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the bamboo pipe.

Within five meters, he never missed.

The stone accurately struck the bamboo pipe, breaking it.

The Beggar Cultivator's bamboo pipe was specially made, requiring unique Beggar Cultivator methods for its maintenance. A Beggar Cultivator typically carried only one such pipe. Now that it was broken, there was no way to replace it immediately, rendering the 'Playing the Chī for Alms' skill unusable.

But unexpectedly, the beggar threw away the bamboo pipe, bent down to pick up the stone that had fallen at his feet, and muttered, "Since it's all given..."

The Tang Blade swung its edge to strike the beggar's hand. As the beggar reached for the Tang Blade, it quickly dodged, and the beggar again moved to pick up the stone.

The Wine Gourd shouted, "Greedy for More! Don't let him pick up that stone!"

Li Banfeng truly hadn't expected that even a stone could count as alms.

For an ordinary Beggar Cultivator, one had to give something useful for it to count as alms. But this Beggar Cultivator's cultivation was so high that even a mouthful of spit would be accepted by him.

Pleading for Mercy and Playing the Chī for Alms were both skills that stripped combat power, but not excessively, so the loss wasn't too significant.

What was truly terrifying was that once these skills were triggered, they would activate the subsequent 'Greedy for More' skill.

This was a nine-layered skill of the Beggar Cultivators. Once alms were given, the Beggar Cultivator would continue to demand things—perhaps a limb, perhaps internal organs, perhaps a magic artifact. If the cultivation gap was large enough, it might even demand one's life. At that point, one would have no choice but to give.

As the beggar bent down to search for the stone, Li Banfeng's opportunity arrived.

His figure suddenly vanished.

The beggar raised an eyebrow: "Fleeting Glimpse?"

He didn't rush to search for Li Banfeng's whereabouts, instead standing still and waiting patiently.

With the skill successfully deployed, Li Banfeng, fearing the beggar wouldn't die, prepared to follow up with 'Trampling Ten Thousand Rivers,' but was stopped by the Tang Blade.

Why is it stopping me...?

Li Banfeng was stunned, but saw the beggar still standing, with no significant change.

A gash appeared on the beggar's face.

How big was the gash?

Just over an inch long, bleeding slightly, clearly not deep.

Li Banfeng was startled. He knew that Cloud Cultivators could withstand 'Fleeting Glimpse,' and he hadn't intended it to be a fatal blow. But he hadn't expected the 'Fleeting Glimpse' skill to cause so little damage.

"Hehe," the beggar chuckled, touching his face. "It stings a bit."

The Gourd whispered, "Thick-Skinned."

The Beggar Cultivator skill 'Thick-Skinned' could transform lethal damage to the body into a mere gash on the face. Because of their exceptionally thick skin, the damage from this gash was extremely limited.

This skill's defensive power rivaled 'Benevolent Heart, Thick Skin,' but unlike 'Benevolent Heart, Thick Skin,' it had no usage limit. As long as the Beggar Cultivator had enough stamina, they could continuously use the 'Thick-Skinned' skill. The only drawback was that the skill's preparation time was a bit long.

The beggar's combat experience was richer than Li Banfeng's. When he bent down to pick up the stone, he was luring Li Banfeng to attack, having already prepared his 'Thick-Skinned' skill.

He had anticipated that Li Banfeng, relying on the ferocity of 'Fleeting Glimpse,' would continue to press his advantage, but he hadn't expected the Tang Blade to stop him.

The Gourd seized the moment to whisper in Li Banfeng's ear, "Young master, whatever you do, don't run! That stone is still on the ground."

Several seconds had passed since he threw the stone; was the beggar's skill still effective?

Logically, it should have expired, but the Gourd dared not gamble.

"I'm not too familiar with Beggar Cultivators either. His cultivation is too high; it's hard to say how long the skill lasts. Young master, stall for a bit longer, try to last more than a minute."

Stall for a minute?

Facing such a master, even stalling for an extra second could be fatal.

While contemplating, the Tang Blade abruptly returned to Li Banfeng's pocket, and Li Banfeng took off running.

The beggar didn't go for the stone but chased closely behind.

Li Banfeng had gambled correctly.

Why was he so confident in his gamble?

The reason came from the moment he threw the dry food.

Before the dry food even landed in the bowl, the beggar had shouted, "Since you've come..."

He only needed to wait a little longer, until the dry food was in the bowl, before shouting, and Li Banfeng would have fallen into his trap.

But why did he shout so hastily?

And then, after the dry food was struck away by the Tang Blade, why didn't the beggar go to pick it up?

From this, Li Banfeng deduced that the Beggar Cultivator's skills were strictly time-limited in their activation. From the moment alms were given to the moment the skill was cast, it had to be completed within a very short timeframe. The stone he had thrown, not picked up within a few seconds, had likely already passed its activation window.

This was too risky. What if he had gambled incorrectly?

If he had gambled incorrectly, the beggar would certainly pick up the stone. Before he could pick it up, Li Banfeng would have turned back and fought him desperately. Since his speed was superior, he would still have a chance.

After running for less than a minute, the beggar stopped chasing. He couldn't keep up.

"Alright, kid," the beggar said, "you used Fleeting Glimpse and can still run this fast."

The beggar looked around. Having let Li Banfeng escape, he felt somewhat uneasy.

It's fine; if I don't tell him, he won't know.

The beggar returned to his original spot, preparing to continue his vigil, when he suddenly saw another beggar, covered in pustules, walking towards him from a distance.

Lv Huazi!

The beggar quickly stood up and smiled at Lv Huazi.

Lv Huazi looked at the beggar's face: "You're injured?"

The beggar shook his head, saying, "No, my face was itchy, so I scratched it myself."

Lv Huazi's eye twitched: "Thick-Skinned. You used the skill. He was here, wasn't he?" Lv Huazi smiled.

The beggar pursed his lips: "Someone was here. It seemed to be him, but I can't be sure..."

Lv Huazi touched the beggar's cheek, and a patch of bumps grew on the beggar's face.

The beggar stammered, "I really don't know if it was him!"

Lv Huazi chuckled, "Let him get away one more time, and I'll take your life!"