Chapter 447: This Is Called Genius?

"Ge Junma, a purebred person from Neizhou," Li Banfeng asked Qiu Luoye. "Are all Neizhou people frogs?"

Qiu Luoye shook his head and replied, "There are chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs. Some also look like humans."

"So, they are Body Cultivators?"

Qiu Luoye shook his head. "I don't know what sect they belong to, nor do I know his cultivation level. Ge Junma can read, and he once used the 'word worth a thousand gold' technique, so he might be a Literary Cultivator."

"So, he was born a frog?"

Qiu Luoye couldn't answer. He had seen people from Neizhou, but he didn't know much about them. As Meng Yuchun said, they were just livestock in Neizhou, and no one was willing to waste words on livestock.

Li Banfeng used his 'Trampling Ten Thousand Rivers' technique to stomp the cabbage frog into a pulp. Some clues had already become clear in his mind.

Chu Shaoqiang would definitely come to the Ink Fragrance Shop.

Chu Shaoqiang suffered a great loss at Qiu Luoye's hands, and he would certainly have a difficult time explaining himself once he returned to Neizhou.

To atone for his failure, he needed to find a way to earn merit. The best way to earn merit was to secure a 'Rectified Land'.

As long as he acquired a Rectified Land, his previous actions would likely be forgiven.

If he secured a Rectified Land and also rescued a person from Neizhou, not only would his past be overlooked, but he might even be promoted by a rank.

For this very reason, he chose the Ink Fragrance Shop, knowing that Ge Junma was there.

But why would a person from Neizhou be in the Ink Fragrance Shop?

"Brother Qiu, can people from Neizhou come to Prouzhou freely?"

Qiu Luoye shook his head. "According to the rules, they cannot."

"Is it because there's a border between the two regions? Then how did Chu Shaoqiang manage to get out?"

"It's not just about borders," Qiu Luoye drew a circle on the ground and then erased a gap in it. "There are some fixed passages in Neizhou. Each passage only allows one or two people to come out each year.

But these people are all lackeys from Neizhou, or individuals bestowed with the title of local deities. If a purebred Neizhou person comes to Prouzhou, they will be killed."

Li Banfeng was startled. "Who would kill them?"

Qiu Luoye shook his head. "I don't know, but it's said to be the ruthless individuals of Prouzhou. However, this rule is real; purebred Neizhou people never dare to come to Prouzhou. Why Ge Junma is here, I can't figure out either."

If Chu Shaoqiang reached the Ink Fragrance Shop, he would likely quickly find the residence of Huiye Wenren. If he teamed up with the frog, Huiye Wenren would certainly die.

At that point, the Ink Fragrance Shop would become Neizhou territory.

"I need to kill Ge Junma first." With limited time before the stop, Li Banfeng had to quickly return to his Portable Abode.

Qiu Luoye said, "Brother, I'll go with you. That bastard Ge Junma made me suffer a lot; I'm eager for revenge!"

Li Banfeng looked at Qiu Luoye's condition; his body was covered in bandages, all stained with blood.

"Brother Qiu, there will be plenty of opportunities for revenge. You should recover first."

Qiu Luoye said, "I'm indeed not in good shape right now. Take all my junior brothers with you; they're strong fighters!"

Li Banfeng shook his head.

He was referring to the three-headed men who came from Sinner City.

They were indeed powerful fighters, but why should they go to the Ink Fragrance Shop?

Last time they fought for their homes against Chu Shaoqiang, but what would they be fighting for this time?

Li Banfeng returned to his Portable Abode and said to the Judge's Brush, "Ah Bi, later we'll go to Murong Gui's residence. You need to explain things clearly to him.

I'm here to help him; he needs to team up with me to get rid of that frog."

"Hmph," the Judge's Brush hummed, weakly.

"Hmph!" the Portable Abode also hummed, full of mockery.

Li Banfeng glared at the Judge's Brush. "What are you humming about? We're doing something serious!"

The Judge's Brush slowly replied, "Try it."

Leaving the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng arrived at the Wild Goose Sand Study.

Xiao Yeci was still reading in the study, having not returned to the inn all last night.

Tan Fucheng continued to study the *Hundred Family Surnames*, and it was said he had made further progress, crying three times that morning.

This wasn't his first time crying; he had cried last night too. While reading, he accidentally sneezed, spraying some saliva on the book. He considered this disrespectful to books, slapped himself a dozen times, and nearly chopped off a finger.

Li Banfeng took the key and headed straight for Willow Garden.

As he walked, Li Banfeng kept thinking about one thing.

If Ge Junma was dealt with, could Murong Gui defend the Ink Fragrance Shop?

In a one-on-one fight, he might be able to defeat Chu Shaoqiang, but would Chu Shaoqiang fight him fairly?

When dealing with Qiu Luoye, Chu Shaoqiang brought two helpers. Now, aiming to secure territory and rescue someone, how many more helpers would Chu Shaoqiang bring?

According to Qiu Luoye, people coming out of Neizhou were restricted by the passages, so the number wouldn't be too high.

But even if only three or five arrived, even if I were willing to help Murong Gui, we might not be their match.

Should he kill Ge Junma first and then worry about what comes next?

Crucially, there was no time to waste. Li Banfeng didn't know when Chu Shaoqiang would arrive at the Ink Fragrance Shop; it could be tomorrow, or even tonight.

Defending the Ink Fragrance Shop wouldn't be easy. This matter involved Neizhou, so he absolutely needed to find help.

Li Banfeng recalled Qiu Luoye's words.

Purebred Neizhou people didn't dare to come to Prouzhou because they would be killed by the ruthless individuals of Prouzhou.

Which ruthless individual was so formidable?

Among the ruthless individuals Li Banfeng knew, there were the Peddler, Grandfather Train, Sun Tiecheng, and Old Woman Ku.

And Old Xu, the ancestor of Metal Cultivation.

Grandfather Train was trapped in Neizhou, so he was not an option for now.

Old Woman Ku was at Bitter Vegetable Village. If he asked for her help, would she come?

Second Aunt had a somewhat strange temperament. Getting beaten up by her wouldn't be a big problem, but he hoped she wouldn't make him undergo another trial at Bitter Vegetable Village; he couldn't afford to waste time.

Old Xu seemed like a good person, but he had to guard Medicine King Gully, so he probably wouldn't get involved with the Ink Fragrance Shop's affairs.

The only one left he could think of was the Peddler. Would the Peddler get involved?

He dealt with the insect plague at Sea Eater Ridge, so with such a significant event happening at the Ink Fragrance Shop, he would probably get involved too.

Moreover, among these people, the Peddler was relatively easy to find.

The New Year had just passed, and normally, the Peddler should now be at Sea Eater Ridge or Pants Belt Pit.

Arriving at Willow Garden, Li Banfeng took out his portable phone, connected the battery, plugged in the antenna, and contacted Luo Zhengnan. "Old Luo, go to Pants Belt Pit, find the Peddler, and tell him that someone from Neizhou has gone to the Ink Fragrance Shop."

Upon hearing "Neizhou people," Old Luo was startled. He quickly arranged for travel permits and boarded a train that very day.

Li Banfeng went to the willow tree. While no one was around, he had the Judge's Brush write the character "Hui" on the ground.

Willow leaves sprouted, and catkins fluttered. Li Banfeng entered Murong Gui's residence once more.

On the frozen lake, Murong Gui was still writing at his desk. He filled one scroll and then started on a new one.

Li Banfeng had the Judge's Brush go forward to negotiate. The Judge's Brush flew to Murong Gui and announced, "It's me."

Murong Gui's brush stopped. He looked up, silently watching the Judge's Brush.

Seeing that the two seemed to be getting along, Li Banfeng stepped closer to Murong Gui.

The characters Murong Gui wrote today were different from last night. Besides "Kill" and "Fight," there were "The blind should be ashamed" and "The learned should strive," as well as "People should cultivate literacy."

Li Banfeng asked, "What do these three sentences mean?"

Murong Gui did not answer.

Li Banfeng didn't dwell on the three sentences and quickly got to the point: "That frog is a purebred Neizhou person. He's here to seize your territory.

I came to you because I want to team up and kill him. Do you know when he usually appears?"

Murong Gui looked up and at Li Banfeng.

In the silence, Murong Gui's pupils contracted, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Li Banfeng sensed malice and quickly retreated from the lake surface.

This time, the malice was very clear, emanating directly from Murong Gui.

The characters on the paper stood up one by one and flew towards Li Banfeng. Their speed was so great that even Li Banfeng, a Level Seven Traveler Cultivator, found it hard to parry.

"Ah Bi, how did you communicate with the old master? Isn't he exceptionally smart? Isn't he supposed to guess intentions in three sentences and read minds in five? I came with good intentions, and he couldn't figure that out?"

The Judge's Brush sighed. "No more guessing, let's just beat him."

It seemed Murong Gui's state wasn't right. Aside from writing, he didn't seem able to make any other responses.

Could this be some kind of special sleepwalking state?

Li Banfeng dodged the barrage of characters, wanting to further observe Murong Gui's condition. Suddenly, with a rumble, the ice cracked, and Ge Junma emerged from the bottom of the lake.

Murong Gui was entangled in battle with Li Banfeng and couldn't form wings in time. He supported his body and desk on the ice with a cluster of characters. Even so, the brush in his hand didn't stop; he continued writing without pause.

To buy Murong Gui time, Li Banfeng once again employed 'Riding a Horse to View Flowers'.

But this time, the big frog didn't fall for it. He wrote more than a dozen "eye" characters on himself. These "eye" characters transformed into eyes that opened on his cheeks, front legs, hind legs, and back, taking turns staring at Li Banfeng.

Ge Junma was indeed a Literary Cultivator!

He knew Li Banfeng had come and was prepared for it.

Faced with such persistent scrutiny, Li Banfeng had a standard routine. He pulled out Ling Miaoying's pistol from his pocket and began shooting at the eyes.

Bang! Bang!

Two of the six bullets fired. The pistol's power wouldn't inflict fatal damage on Ge Junma, but if it made him blink, Li Banfeng's technique could succeed.

Ge Junma indeed blinked. Li Banfeng briefly vanished from sight, and a hole exploded open on the frog's back.

He thought this created an opportunity for Murong Gui to counterattack, but unexpectedly, Murong Gui didn't attack Ge Junma. Instead, he wrote dozens of "forbidden" characters that flew towards Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng knew the power of these "forbidden" characters; he had once been besieged by twelve such characters used by Scholar Guo Jinshi, rendering all his weapons and magical artifacts useless.

As he carefully dodged the characters, Ge Junma charged forward and spat a glob of viscous fluid at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng dodged aside, and the fluid landed on a tree. The large tree, thick enough for two people to embrace, turned into a puddle of mud in an instant.

That was close!

If that fluid had gotten on him, it would have been over.

Li Banfeng had originally intended to fight Ge Junma two-on-one with Murong Gui, but now it had become one-on-two.

What exactly was wrong with Murong Gui?

Even if he couldn't fathom Li Banfeng's intentions before, at this point, could he still not distinguish friend from foe?

With the frog blocking his path ahead and characters surrounding him, Li Banfeng prepared to pull out his key.

Ge Junma extended his tongue, just about to capture Li Banfeng, when hundreds of characters swarmed onto the frog's back, tearing off a piece of flesh.

The large frog, unable to bear the severe pain, turned to counterattack Murong Gui.

Li Banfeng seized the opportunity to launch a pincer attack but was repelled by another barrage of characters.

To be honest, Li Banfeng had an impulse: he wanted to team up with Ge Junma to kill Murong Gui first, and then settle their own fight. At least Ge Junma's actions weren't as abstract as Murong Gui's.

The ink in the inkstone was drying quickly. Murong Gui picked up an ink stick and rapidly ground more ink. Li Banfeng quickly rushed closer, wanting Ah Bi to try once more to see if they could awaken Murong Gui.

Murong Gui swiftly wielded his brush, filling the entire scroll in the blink of an eye.

The entire scroll was filled with only the character "Kill." As the characters flew, they repelled both Li Banfeng and Ge Junma.

Ge Junma leaped back into the lake, and soon after, the lake surface froze over again.

Murong Gui returned to the ice surface and continued writing.

The battle just now had been intense, and Murong Gui seemed a bit tense. Now he only wrote three characters: "Kill," "Fight," and "Forbidden."

Li Banfeng stood nearby, watching Murong Gui with a helpless expression. He didn't know how to communicate with Murong Gui, but he knew that if he took another step closer, Murong Gui would counterattack.

In this situation, killing Ge Junma was impossible, so Li Banfeng had no choice but to leave Willow Garden.

Chu Shaoqiang could arrive at any moment. What should he do now?

Where else could he find help?