Chapter 454: Where is the Demonic Land?

Despite the freezing weather, the peddler, still wearing only a blue canvas vest, drilled a hole in the ice and plunged in.

More than two minutes later, the peddler emerged from the ice hole, found a towel, and wiped his face. He said to the "Local God," "The entrance at the bottom of the lake is blocked, and all other entrances are blocked too. Only Liu Xiaohui's entrance remains."

The peddler clarified that the entrance was for "Liu Xiaohui," replacing the original 'Hui' with the character '慧'.

Li Banfeng was very surprised. "Who came up with such a creative entrance?" he asked.

The peddler replied, "Murong Gui thought of it. He kept this entrance after becoming the Local God. He said the method to open the door couldn't be too complicated, as he might not remember it, but also not too simple, as others might guess it. So he replaced one character in 'Liu Xiaohui,' making it easy for him to recall but hard for others to figure out."

Li Banfeng looked at the Magistrate's Brush and exclaimed, "Ah Gui, you're so talented!"

The Magistrate's Brush was asleep and didn't respond.

The peddler scoffed, "Talent? He was just too lazy to think harder. I even asked him, 'This is how you open your own door, so why tell me?' He said it was to guard against intruders; if something happened to him, I could look after things. And I actually believed him, memorizing the way to open the door. But afterwards, I realized, didn't that make me his family's caretaker? That guy was too lazy; he just wanted me to house-sit for him. I should have guessed then that he had entered the cultivation of laziness."

The peddler took out two large ink sticks and gave them to the "Local God."

The "Local God" smelled the strong ink fragrance, held the sticks affectionately in its arms for a while, and recovered much of its vigor. Its previously blank face gained some expression, and its writing speed increased significantly. Two ink sticks were enough to satisfy it, calm it, and fill it with fighting spirit. This brush was simply too easy to please.

Li Banfeng asked the peddler, "You only give ink, not paper. What if the paper runs out?"

The peddler picked up a written scroll and asked, "Are you talking about this?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

The peddler explained, "This scroll isn't something I can provide; it's generated within the Ink Fragrance Shop."

After speaking, the peddler unrolled the scroll. It was densely covered with the three rules of the Ink Fragrance Shop, but Li Banfeng suddenly noticed that the writing at the beginning of the scroll was gradually disappearing.

"What's the meaning of this?" Li Banfeng asked, looking at the peddler.

The peddler sighed, "Because too many people don't want to read, the newly written rules are quickly worn away."

Li Banfeng understood the reasoning. "Encouraging learning is a very difficult thing," he said.

"That's why being the Local God of the Ink Fragrance Shop is so hard," the peddler said. He kept his gaze on the scroll in his hands until all the writing on it completely vanished, turning it into a blank scroll. He then handed it to the "Local God."

The "Local God" took the scroll, dipped its brush in some ink, and continued writing the rules.

"What a diligent and good brush!" the peddler exclaimed, then looked at Li Banfeng. "Your cultivation must be almost at the Cloud realm, right?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I only just entered the Daoist sect a few days ago. I'm still far from the Cloud realm," he said.

"If you're still far off, then how did you become a Local God?"

"I didn't!" Li Banfeng immediately denied.

The peddler snorted, "I saw it all. Murong Gui was carrying you around, flying everywhere, and on the new land, you even dealt with the pioneers."

Li Banfeng still shook his head. "I have a mental illness," he said. "I just wanted to fly at the time. You wouldn't understand my thoughts."

The peddler frowned. "You don't need to hide it from me," he said. "Wanting to be a Local God but not wanting to go to Inner State is a good thing—something only someone with guts can do. It's just that your new land only has half a deed; the other half is still in Inner State, and you might get tricked by them. The Ink Fragrance Shop is very different. The deed here is complete, making it a great opportunity for you."

Li Banfeng glanced at the "Local God," who was writing furiously, and shook his head. "I don't think this place suits me," he said. "I'm not a literary cultivator."

"It doesn't matter if you're not a literary cultivator!" the peddler declared. "What's important isn't the Daoist sect, but your state of mind. As long as you have a heart for learning, there are no difficulties you can't overcome!" The peddler straightened his back, and his image suddenly seemed much taller.

Li Banfeng felt as if he saw an exaggerated promise written all over the peddler's face.

"Thank you for your kind intentions," Li Banfeng replied, "but I'm really not suitable for this place."

The peddler looked at Li Banfeng sincerely. "I'm asking you to be the Local God here not to rescue my brush," he said. "I'm genuinely doing this for your own good!"

Li Banfeng nodded. "I believe your intentions are good," he said, "but as a traveling cultivator, it's not suitable for me to be writing here every day."

The peddler's face darkened. "Then don't come! You don't know what's good for you," he snapped. "What kind of place is the Ink Fragrance Shop? So many people want to come here, but they don't have the connections!"

Li Banfeng was about to ask about this very thing. "The Ink Fragrance Shop is a very important place, isn't it?" he asked.

The peddler paused, surprised. "You don't know about this?" he asked. "Then why are you fighting so hard here?"

Li Banfeng replied, "Why should the land of Pro State be handed over to Inner State?"

The peddler smiled. "That's true!" he said. "Any other reasons?"

Li Banfeng added, "I smelled the ink fragrance here. In Pro State, this ink fragrance is too rare."

The peddler chuckled, "Are you talking about the smell of ink?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Not just ink," he said. "It's the land, the people, the books, the customs, every word and action, every stroke of a brush, the tea houses and poetry societies, the restaurants and inns..." He spoke as thoughts came to him, telling the peddler everything he had seen over the past few days.

The peddler listened to every word, then asked, "What do you think of the people in the Ink Fragrance Shop?"

Li Banfeng recalled the people he had met in the Ink Fragrance Shop. "They're affected, arrogant, stubborn, and pedantic," he said. "Quite annoying, but also quite likable."

The peddler chuckled, "Right? Quite likable, aren't they? You're right," he continued. "The Ink Fragrance Shop has that ink fragrance, and that bit of ink fragrance is indeed very precious. People from the Outer States are almost all literate, and people from the Inner State are all literate too. Pro State is not just a little bit behind. Barely half the people in Black Rock Slope are literate, and less than thirty percent in Green Water City. In other places, if you randomly pick a hundred people, you might not even find one who's literate."

*Li Banfeng wondered: Why were so many people in Black Rock Slope literate? More than Green Water City?*

Li Banfeng didn't interrupt the peddler and continued to listen. "Only in the Ink Fragrance Shop is everyone literate," he said. "Knowing one more character allows a person to see one more *li* of the world. Someone who knows a hundred characters can clearly see what's around them. Someone who knows a thousand characters can see what's happening outside, and someone who knows ten thousand characters can connect ancient and modern times, inside and out. People who stay in the Ink Fragrance Shop know how to observe and how to think. Regardless of whether their thoughts are correct, they are thinking. People who leave the Ink Fragrance Shop, no matter what methods they use or how affected they are, can convey what they've thought to others."

"But can others understand?" Li Banfeng asked.

The peddler shook his head. "They don't understand," he said. "Ninety percent of people don't understand, but at least ten percent are left who will think along with them. If this place, the Ink Fragrance Shop, is lost, no one in Pro State will be willing to think anymore. And in the future, they'll just be waiting to be completely consumed by the Outer States and Inner State."

Li Banfeng nodded. "So, no matter what," he said, "the Ink Fragrance Shop cannot be lost."

The peddler nodded vigorously. "Therefore," he said, "we need a fine young man with responsibility, courage, and spirit to serve as the Local God of the Ink Fragrance Shop!"

After speaking, the peddler looked at Li Banfeng sincerely.

Li Banfeng politely responded with a "Hmph."

The two left the Local God's residence. On the way, Li Banfeng asked, "According to previous calculations, you should have been in Haichi Ridge and Kudai Ravine these past few days. I sent people to look for you, why couldn't they find you?"

At the mention of this, the peddler's face darkened. "I was just about to ask you," he said, "is your madness contagious?"

Li Banfeng puffed out his chest. "I'm not mad," he said, "a doctor checked me."

The peddler angrily said, "Then why are your subordinates going mad? Why did you have the radio station look for me?"

*Luo Zhengnan used the radio to find the peddler?* Li Banfeng truly didn't know about this.

"Were you listening to the radio at the time?"

The peddler shook his head. "I wasn't listening at the time," he said, "but one of my lovers heard it and found me."

Li Banfeng cautiously asked, "Where did they find you?"

The peddler said with a grim face, "At another lover's house."

*One lover went to another lover's house. What on earth did the peddler go through then?* Li Banfeng took a deep breath. *What luck, truly fortunate. Thankfully, the Portable Residence remained calm and didn't track the peddler. If it had tracked him into bed, things would have been much bigger.*

"Brother Lang, this younger brother was reckless!" Li Banfeng quickly apologized to the peddler.

Outside the woods, the peddler handed Ge Junma and He Caiyuan to Li Banfeng.

"These two are still alive, but they can't move," he said. "Take them back and eat them."

Li Banfeng smiled and said tactfully, "Brother Lang, you're joking. The toad might be acceptable, but that old man is a person; how could I eat him?"

The peddler also smiled. "If you can't eat them," he said, "isn't it fine if someone in your family can?"

Li Banfeng glanced at the peddler; he seemed to know everything.

The peddler tidied up his cart, preparing to leave.

Li Banfeng quickly asked, "Brother Lang, do you know someone called 'Faceless'?"

The peddler put down his cart and suddenly turned back to look at Li Banfeng, his expression extremely sinister. "When did you see him?" he asked.

"It's been a while," Li Banfeng replied. "That day, I was dreaming of rowing a boat in the ocean, but my house somehow misunderstood and sent me to Faceless's oil lake."

The peddler asked, "The house sent you there? Did you get on the railway?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

The peddler then asked, "What did Faceless say to you?"

"He said he suffered a lot in that place," Li Banfeng replied, "and he wants you to rescue him."

"Oil Lake," the peddler said, frowning. "I know the place you're talking about, that's his face. But even if I go there, I can't rescue him."

Li Banfeng didn't speak, not knowing how to handle matters of such a level.

The peddler was silent for a long time before saying, "I've always wanted to rescue him, but I haven't found a good way. I'll tell you when I figure it out; you might still need to help with this matter."

Li Banfeng was startled. *He wants my help with this?* He knew his own capabilities; with his current strength, helping the peddler would be quite difficult. *He probably wants the Portable Residence to help. But the Portable Residence is so useful, why would he give it to me?*

Li Banfeng had always wanted to ask about this, and the timing today seemed quite suitable. "Brother Lang," he asked, "why did you give me that house? There must be many people in the world who would want it."

The peddler paused, surprised. "Haven't I already explained this?" he said. "Because you suffered a loss when you entered the Daoist sect, I had to compensate you."

"Just because I was bumped?" Li Banfeng pressed. "With your abilities, you could definitely have made me dodge your cart."

The peddler said with a serious expression, "That's not necessarily true. Everything is susceptible to accidents; there are always things you can't guard against."

*It seemed the peddler didn't want to elaborate.* Li Banfeng never pressed for information when others didn't want to talk about something.

The peddler pushed his cart and said to Li Banfeng, "Do you have anything else to ask? If not, I'll be leaving. I'm in a good mood today, that's why I've told you so much. It might be hard to say next time we meet."

Li Banfeng had many questions, but he could see the peddler's patience was limited. After some thought, Li Banfeng asked the one thing he most wanted to know: "Brother Lang, where is the Demonic Land?"

The peddler fell silent.

*It seemed this shouldn't have been asked, but it was crucial for Li Banfeng. Madam and Hong Ying had both fought against the Demonic Land, and both had fought against the peddler. So what was the relationship between the peddler and the Demonic Land? According to Li Banfeng's understanding, the Demonic Land should be Inner State, and they were the invaders. But what faction did the peddler and Old Man Train belong to? Judging by their attitude towards Inner State, it was impossible for them to be in the same camp. Li Banfeng's understanding of the Demonic Land might be flawed. Would the peddler be willing to talk about this?*

The peddler leaned against his cart and thought for a long time. He seemed to recall something. "You really stumped me when you mentioned the Demonic Land," he said. "That's ancient history, from how many years ago? That place hasn't been called the Demonic Land for a long time."

Li Banfeng was stunned. "What's it called then?" he asked.

"It's called Pro State."

*Clatter-clatter-clatter!*

The peddler pushed his cart, rattling his drum, and vanished into the night.