Chapter 419: Home

"The sinners of Sin City, what exactly is their sin?" Li Banfeng was unfamiliar with these terms.

Qiu Luoye shook his head. "It's hard to explain clearly. In short, these people aren't good, and they're supposedly involved with outside provinces."

"Involved with outside provinces? Are they sent from there?" Li Banfeng immediately became wary. If they were from an outside province, he couldn't let them step foot into his territory.

Qiu Luoye said, "The border guards from outside provinces spread a message saying that no one is allowed to take in those who escaped from Sin City. If you do, you'll be crossing the border guards.

If I cross them, I cross them. I'm not afraid of the border guards. But these monsters are difficult to deal with, so I must act preemptively.

During this time, tell the land clearers to be extra careful. Those three-headed monsters are all to the east of our territory, so tell our people to avoid that area."

Qiu Luoye was about to leave again when Li Banfeng said, "Brother Qiu, let's switch. You supervise the land clearing here, and I'll go see those people.

Now is a crucial time for us. As long as they weren't sent by outside or inside provinces to cause trouble, let's try to avoid using force."

Qiu Luoye waved his hand. "I think they're here to cause trouble! It's safest to leave them dead here!"

Ordinary methods couldn't persuade Qiu Luoye, so Li Banfeng changed his strategy.

"Brother Qiu, hundreds of people are clearing land every day. How can I supervise them? Can I collect offerings or send people to examine them?"

In fact, Li Banfeng could do all these things, but Qiu Luoye didn't know that.

"Brother, I'm not trying to make things difficult for you..."

Li Banfeng said, "I can't handle the affairs of a local deity. I'll go talk to the people outside first and see what the situation is. I can handle this clearly."

Qiu Luoye was uneasy. "Those monsters from Sin City can all fight. I'm afraid something might happen to you. Let them send someone to our territory to talk."

"No, that won't do," Li Banfeng also felt uneasy. "If one comes in, it's fine, but what if a group comes in? I'll go alone. Even if something goes wrong, I'll have a way to escape."

"Old Seven, why don't we try a diplomatic approach with them?" Qiu Luoye planned to write a letter for Li Banfeng to take, hoping to intimidate the other party.

Considering the contracts Qiu Luoye wrote for the monstrous beings, and his literary talent, it was probably best not to write a letter for now.

Li Banfeng went directly to the east side of the territory and saw Juanzi waiting by the roadside from afar.

She looked quite proper.

Having lived in Puluo Province for a year and a half, Li Banfeng had seen too many things and found nothing particularly unsettling about three-headed people.

A tiger, one of Qiu Luoye's subordinates, was negotiating with Juanzi. "Let me tell you, don't be ungrateful. Master Qiu wants you to get lost right away. If you don't, I won't be polite."

Juanzi politely said, "It's alright if you don't take us in. Can you at least give us some food?"

"Where would we get so much food for you? Get out of here right now, don't force me to get rough with you!"

Mengzi got angry. "What if you get rough? Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

Just as the two sides were about to fight, they saw Li Banfeng arrive, and the tiger quickly retreated to the side.

Li Qi looked at Juanzi, then at Mengzi, and finally at Xiaoshan, asking, "Who's in charge among you?"

Juanzi replied, "I am."

Juanzi was over two meters tall. Li Banfeng found it strenuous to crane his neck, so he pointed to a roadside rock and said, "Can we sit down to talk?"

Juanzi nodded. As soon as she sat down, she heard a grunt and immediately stood up again.

The rock spoke, in an old man's voice, "Master Seven, Master Qiu called me here to speak, but I haven't even opened my mouth all this time, and this young lady just sat on my face.

When I was young, sitting wouldn't have been a problem. But now I'm old, and this young lady is quite heavy. I can't quite bear it."

Li Banfeng nodded and sat on the ground facing Juanzi, directly asking, "What do you intend to do here?"

Juanzi said, "We want to find a place to settle down and ask if the local deity here is willing to take us in."

"If you want to settle in a new land, why don't you just clear it? What's there to ask?"

The three heads looked at each other. This person in front of them seemed not to understand them very well.

Juanzi had heard the rock call Li Banfeng 'Master Seven' just now, so she followed suit. "Master Seven, we can't clear land. The local deity won't tolerate us."

"Why won't they tolerate you?"

"We are sinners, sinners from Sin City." Juanzi spoke frankly and calmly. They couldn't hide this; their markings were too obvious.

"What is your sin?"

Mengzi asked, "Don't you know about Sin City?"

Juanzi glared at Mengzi. "Don't interrupt!"

Li Banfeng said to Juanzi, "Even though you're in charge, others should also be allowed to speak. Here, everyone can speak."

Juanzi didn't quite understand what "everyone can speak here" meant.

Moreover, this person's attitude was strange.

He knew nothing about Sin City, yet when he saw the three-headed people, he didn't seem to be looking at monsters.

Juanzi saw hope in Li Qi. "Master Seven, everyone who comes from Sin City is a sinner. If the local deity is willing to give us food, we'll gladly work like beasts of burden. Clearing land is absolutely out of the question for us."

"What exactly is your sin?"

"In Sin City, people are divided into two types. One type are those who came from outside to Three-Headed Fork, failed in their cultivation, couldn't become body cultivators, and instead turned into three-headed monsters. Such people are considered sinful and are sent to Sin City.

The other type are those born in Sin City. According to the rules of Sin City, three-headed monsters are not allowed to marry or have children, but some people still gave birth to children.

These children originally had only one head, but they were born with sin and had to remain in Sin City. Slowly, they also grew into three heads and became monsters..."

"Don't keep calling them monsters," Li Banfeng frowned slightly. "That sounds harsh."

Juanzi looked at Li Banfeng for a moment. Although she hadn't eaten in days, her confidence increased slightly, and her voice became a little louder.

"In Sin City, the heavenly light is constant. This year, it's been exceptionally severe. At its least frequent, it appears at least once every three days. At its most frequent, it appears two or three times a day.

When the heavenly light shines on a person, they explode within a few hours. You probably haven't seen such a scene, and I don't know how to describe it."

Li Banfeng nodded. "I understand. I almost witnessed it myself."

Juanzi continued, "Countless people have died in the city, and we don't know how much longer we can live. There are boundaries outside Sin City, so we couldn't leave. Then, a benefactor arrived and showed us a way out."

"Which benefactor?"

"That benefactor didn't allow us to reveal his identity. He gave us a map and told us to follow it, saying we would surely find someone willing to take us in.

Master Seven, we struggled to get here, with blood in every footprint. Please tell Master Qiu that if he is willing to take us in, we will be eternally grateful.

If he's unwilling to take us in, that's okay too. We just ask Master Qiu for some food, even just one meal."

Li Banfeng was silent for a moment, then asked, "There's one thing I don't understand. When you say 'take us in,' do you mean feeding and housing you every day, supporting you?"

Juanzi shook her head repeatedly. "We just want a place to live. We'll figure out our own livelihoods. Whatever you need us for, we'll agree to do it."

Li Banfeng looked at Mengzi. "What do you say?"

Mengzi lowered his head and said, "What my sister said, is what I say."

Li Banfeng then looked at Xiaoshan. "And you?"

Xiaoshan's voice was very soft. "I'll listen to my sister."

Their successive replies made Li Banfeng feel a sense of familiarity.

"Just talking isn't enough. You need to do something."

Hearing this, Mengzi became wary. They had just been tricked before.

"What do you want us to do?"

Li Banfeng pointed to a distant forest and said, "First, go cut some trees and build some houses."

Mengzi sneered. "It's the same trick again."

Li Banfeng frowned. "What trick?"

Juanzi bit her lip, then looked up and said, "We agree."

Why did she agree, even after being fooled before?

Because they had no choice.

They hadn't eaten in days. Even if it was just for a meal, they were willing to work as laborers.

"Having houses isn't enough. You'll need to farm. Do you know how to do farm work?"

Mengzi smiled. The tricks to deceive people were always the same.

Juanzi nodded. "We can do farm work too."

"From now on, you are people of this territory. When trouble arises, you must step up!"

"Whatever Master Seven tells us to do, we will do."

"Agreed. I'll write a contract, and you'll all need to put your handprints on it."

Li Banfeng left.

Mengzi gritted his teeth. "What's with a contract? Such nonsense sounds so convincing."

Juanzi advised, "As long as we get some food, don't say anything more."

"We should have listened to Aunt Fang and just taken what we needed by force."

"Don't blabber on. Our benefactor said we can't do such things!"

Li Banfeng returned to his portable dwelling, took out a large piece of paper, and wrote a contract.

The record player nearby said, "My dear husband, for a contract, you don't need such a large piece of paper, do you?"

"My dear wife, if I used small paper, I'd have to write three thousand copies."

"Three thousand?" Hong Ying was astonished. "Husband, what kind of contract needs three thousand copies?"

A puff of steam made Hong Ying shiver. Li Banfeng offered no explanation. He finished writing the contract and left the portable dwelling.

The record player saw the contents of the contract. "Husband has found three thousand long-term residents. Is he really going to turn the new land into a proper settlement?"

Hong Ying exclaimed, "Our husband is truly capable!"

The record player swung its board and said, "If I don't tear your mouth apart today, it means my household rules aren't strict enough!"

Hong Ying covered her peach and said, "Tear my mouth if you must, but why do you always hit my peach?"

"Do you even have a mouth, you wretch!"

Li Banfeng placed the contract in front of Juanzi and watched her put her handprint on it. "Have all your people put their handprints on it."

Juanzi said, "They all listen to me..."

"No, that won't do. Everyone must put their handprint on it; not one person can be missed. All three heads must agree. If even one head disagrees, that person is not allowed into the territory."

Li Banfeng sat there, watching over three thousand people individually press their handprints, filling the large sheet of paper densely.

With over three thousand three-headed people standing before them, even the tiger sent by Qiu Luoye trembled.

"Master Seven is truly extraordinary. Why doesn't he seem to be afraid?"

Li Banfeng genuinely wasn't afraid.

What's wrong with three heads? Isn't it perfectly fine to discuss things, offer ideas, chat, and play cards together?

Aunt Fang looked at the contract and sighed. "Juanzi, why don't you ever learn?"

Juanzi lowered her head and said, "Aunt Fang, please say less. Let's get some food for everyone first."

Li Banfeng had already prepared the food: two thousand oranges bought from the orange grove. "These are good. One per two people should be enough to fill you up. The cost of food for these past few days is on my tab, but you'll have to pay me back later!"

Aunt Fang sneered, "He tricks us into being laborers and then demands money for food. That's even crueler than 'Two Needles'!"

Despite the complaints, after so many days of hunger, everyone quickly ate all two thousand oranges.

"Now that you're full, get to work!"

Li Banfeng marked out an area of land for the three-headed people to build houses and cultivate.

Qiu Luoye was very nervous. "Brother, you've brought all of them in. Is this going to work?"

"Don't worry, Brother Qiu. Our territory is about to get a population boost, isn't it?"

A subordinate whispered, "Are such monsters considered people?"

Zuo Wugang glared at the subordinate. "From now on, don't call them monsters. Master Seven doesn't like to hear that!"

Li Banfeng returned to his territory via the station, found Zhang Wanlong, bought several bags of quick-growing seeds, and handed them to Juanzi.

"These seeds will yield a harvest in three days, but they can only be used for one crop, otherwise the soil will be damaged. Get through this year first, and next spring, you'll need to plant proper seeds."

Li Banfeng left, and a few three-headed people laughed. "What 'next year'? After this crop, they'll just tell us to leave."

Juanzi didn't say much. She led her people to plant the seeds, water them, and fertilize them. Three days later, they had a harvest. Juanzi led her people to collect the grain and bag it, then found Li Banfeng and asked, "Master Seven, how much can we take with us?"

All the three-headed people were already prepared to be driven away.

Li Banfeng looked at the grain and said, "This is all yours. Take it back and eat it."

"Take it back..." Juanzi didn't understand.

Li Banfeng pointed to the wooden houses. "Those are your homes. Go home and eat."

Home...

The word felt too unfamiliar.

A group of three-headed people stared blankly at Li Banfeng.

Mengzi looked at Aunt Fang, who was speechless for a long time.

Juanzi couldn't believe it was real and asked, "Master Seven, is there any more work you need us to do?"

Li Banfeng pointed to the land-clearing crowd. "Ask them if they need to hire workers. Earn more money, and remember to pay me back for the seeds and oranges."

With that, Li Banfeng pulled down his hat brim and walked away.

The three-headed people watched Li Banfeng's retreating figure until he was far in the distance.

This new land was different. There was a lot of heavenly light here, very bright, allowing them to see far into the distance.