Chapter 57: Blood-Stained Pendulum

Li Banfeng thrust the pendulum into Rong Jin'an's head.

Rong Jin'an lay on the ground, his body convulsing violently.

Li Banfeng had known he wasn't dead. Although Rong Jin'an was faking it well, Li Banfeng could sense danger emanating from him.

The reason he brought him back to his abode was to please the dwelling spirit.

She wasn't exactly a dwelling spirit; Li Banfeng still couldn't call her by name.

For now, he'd just call her 'Madam'.

Madam had complained that the food hadn't been fresh, and Li Banfeng felt very ashamed.

The gramophone began to stir. After a rattling sound, the gramophone, which had been waiting for a long time, spoke: "My Lord~~ You truly cherish your humble servant, bringing back such fresh delicacies."

Li Banfeng nodded. "Please enjoy your meal, Madam."

"Thank you, My Lord~"

A cloud of steam enveloped Rong Jin'an, and his body trembled even more violently.

Li Banfeng thought he heard a slurping sound, though he wasn't sure what the gramophone was slurping.

Only Rong Jin'an knew.

At that moment, the gramophone was devouring his soul, thread by thread. The sensation was like someone slicing his flesh, cut by cut.

He longed for a swift release, but death wouldn't come quickly.

In his extreme agony, Rong Jin'an inexplicably thought of Qin Xiaopang, who also couldn't die even if he wanted to.

While Madam was consuming the soul, Li Banfeng continued to examine Rong Jin'an's wound.

Why wasn't the wound bleeding?

After a moment's observation, Li Banfeng understood: the wound was bleeding, but the moment blood emerged, it was swallowed by the pendulum, leaving no visible trace.

The pendulum could absorb blood.

Using a blood-absorbing knife, combined with Luo Yuni's pendulum, a blood-absorbing pendulum had been forged.

Li Banfeng looked at the bronze lotus. "Why go to all this trouble?"

The bronze lotus remained silent.

Li Banfeng pulled the pendulum out of Rong Jin'an's skull.

Satiated with blood, the pendulum had transformed from bright silver to reddish-bronze. Li Banfeng touched it but felt nothing out of the ordinary.

There was a small screw at the bottom of the pendulum, used for adjusting its length. Li Banfeng noticed the screw was at the very end of the pendulum, appearing as if it might fall off at any moment, so he tightened it twice with his hand.

With that twist, golden-yellow oil spurted from the pendulum, most of it landing on the floor, and some splashing onto the gramophone.

Madam, who had been consuming the soul, immediately stopped.

She swallowed the remaining half-soul in one gulp, then, in a slow tempo, softly sang: "Husband, do you know how difficult it is to clean up all this oil on the floor?"

Her lyrics were gentle, but carried a hint of menace.

Hearing this, Li Banfeng picked up the mop in the room and started cleaning the floor.

The gramophone sang again: "Husband, pray tell, how is your humble servant to clean herself of this filth?"

Hearing this, Li Banfeng used the mop to wipe down the gramophone's casing.

"Husband, is it appropriate to clean your humble servant with a mop?"

The menace in her lyrics intensified.

Li Banfeng threw down the mop, retrieved a handkerchief, and carefully wiped Madam.

The gramophone continued to sing: "Husband, that wretch, Honglian, crafted a weapon for you but didn't tell you how to use it. This shows she doesn't respect you. If you don't reprimand her, where is the household discipline?"

Li Banfeng turned to look at the bronze lotus and angrily shouted, "What you did was wrong!"

The bronze lotus opened its petals, appearing very ashamed, swallowed Rong Jin'an's corpse, and then closed its petals.

"She knows she was wrong!" Li Banfeng continued wiping the casing.

"My Lord, you've worked hard. Such trivial household chores should be handled by your humble servant." Madam's anger subsided. A cloud of steam drifted over, and the oil stains on the floor and casing vanished, settling into a nearby bucket with the steam.

Once cleaned, the gramophone said again: "Husband, bring that weapon here. Let your humble servant hear what she has to say."

Speak?

Can the pendulum talk?

Li Banfeng placed the pendulum beside the gramophone.

The gramophone and the pendulum seemed to be communicating, but Li Banfeng couldn't hear a thing.

Before long, a cloud of steam heated the pendulum until it was glowing red.

The gramophone, keeping a steady rhythm, sternly reprimanded the pendulum: "You wretch, when asked a question, answer properly! How dare you talk back!"

The pendulum was indeed speaking with the gramophone, but Li Banfeng couldn't hear it.

After a few more minutes, the gramophone slowly sang: "Husband, put this wretch away. From now on, call her 'Blood-Contain'."

Blood-Contain?

Does that name have any special meaning?

"It can absorb blood?" Li Banfeng didn't quite understand. "How is that different from the previous short knife?"

The gramophone replied with a rattling sound: "It can absorb blood, and it can also spray. If it absorbs the blood of an Oil cultivator, it can spray oil. If it absorbs the blood of a Smoke cultivator, it can spray smoke."

"What if it absorbs the blood of a Wine cultivator?"

"It can spray wine."

"What if it absorbs the blood of a Food cultivator?"

"It can spray blood."

"What's the use of spraying blood?"

"Its uses are vast! The blood of a Food cultivator can heal wounds, the blood of a Dwelling cultivator can remove toxins, the blood of a Journey cultivator can make your legs nimble, and the blood of a Joy cultivator can allow you, Husband, to ride unrestrained between the sheets~~ Ohh!~~"

Li Banfeng suddenly realized that this Blood-Contain Pendulum could not only spray others but also spray himself.

What a fine weapon, truly a fine weapon.

Li Banfeng quickly put away the pendulum. He wanted to ask more questions, but the gramophone's flame extinguished, and it fell silent.

Eat and then sleep – Madam's life was very regular.

Li Banfeng also felt a bit tired. He lay on the bed and stretched languidly.

This trip to the old lady's house had been quite fruitful!

The only problem was that he didn't know the purpose of the red elixir yet.

Ask Madam?

Madam was asleep.

He should have asked that Mouth cultivator earlier. She read a lot and should have some knowledge about elixirs.

What was her name again?

***

Xiao Yeci and her daughter, Lu Chunying, stood at the entrance of the He family's old residence, hesitant to go inside.

Such a large estate, yet the courtyard was empty, with no one even at the gate.

The Western-style building was pitch black, and they couldn't tell if anyone was inside. Xiao Yeci said to Lu Chunying, "Nannan, don't be afraid. Just follow Mama."

Lu Chunying thought for a moment and said, "Mama, I still believe what that person said. We shouldn't go in here."

"If not here, then where? We came to Yaowanggou precisely to find your sister, didn't we? We don't have much money left. If we waste any more time, I'm afraid we'll have to sleep on the streets!"

The two lingered at the gate for a moment, then decided to enter the residence.

"Nannan, follow Mama, don't be afraid. Your sister wrote to us asking us to come, so what is there to be scared of?"

No sooner had they passed through the picket fence gate than a faint light appeared in the dark Western-style house.

The light came from the second floor; it was a candle flame.

The emaciated Lu Xiaolan stood by a second-story window, holding a candle and waving at the mother and daughter.

"Come on, come on~"

Lu Xiaolan didn't know who these two people were.

She didn't recognize them, she hadn't written them any letters, she didn't know she had a long-lost sister, and she didn't know why this mother and daughter had come to the He family's old residence.

Apart from Li Banfeng, she couldn't contact anyone else.

But that didn't matter; as long as someone came.

As long as someone came to be a substitute.

"Come on, come on~" Lu Xiaolan called out anxiously.

Xiao Yeci seemed to hear Lu Xiaolan's voice, but she wasn't sure if it was truly Lu Xiaolan.

"Nannan, is that your sister?"

Lu Chunying shook her head. "She doesn't look like her to me."

Xiao Yeci thought for a moment, then asked, "Didn't you say you'd never met your sister?"

"I haven't," Lu Chunying shivered as she looked at the emaciated Lu Xiaolan, "but I just feel like she isn't her."

Xiao Yeci pursed her lips. "If she doesn't look like her, then let's go. It's late, and we shouldn't disturb anyone."

"Then where do we go?" Lu Chunying also looked a bit lost. "Are we really going to sleep on the streets?"

Xiao Yeci thought for a long time. "Isn't there still Steward Qiu? Let's go find him and discuss where we can stay."

Lu Chunying was very troubled. "We don't even know who Steward Qiu is. Why would he recognize me?"

Xiao Yeci looked at Lu Xiaolan in the Western-style building and swallowed. "You don't know who Lu Xiaolan is either, do you? Let's just try our luck with Steward Qiu."

As they spoke, Lu Xiaolan vigorously slapped the window, seemingly urging them to come in quickly.

"Let's go," Xiao Yeci grabbed Lu Chunying's hand, and they quickly left the He family's old residence.

***

PS: Dear readers, happy weekend!