Chapter 588: The Head of the Family (High Energy Chapter)

Spring arrives, the willow branches long,A young maiden, lovestruck, sees off her beau.Soundly she sleeps, free from all strife,Soon for her lord, another wife.

Li Banfeng woke up in the arms of the record player, sitting straight up. He didn't feel the weakness after his promotion; even his fatigue was very limited.

"My dear wife, is this because of the 'Sound Sleep, No Worries' skill?"

"My husband, the 'Sound Sleep, No Worries' skill is also known as 'Master of the House.' Once home, you are the master. Everything in the house, including your own body, is at your command. Of course, the extent of your command depends on your cultivation level and the proficiency of your technique."

Li Banfeng carefully considered the essence of the skill: "I control my own body, allowing for rapid recovery?"

"That's right, my husband. You've just been promoted and learned this skill recently, so you're not yet proficient. Otherwise, you'd recover even faster."

"What about the glove? Can I heal him now?"

"That's hard to say," the record player said, producing the glove. "Dispelling curses is one of the most difficult techniques. You've never had experience with it before, my husband, so this will require some effort."

Watching the glove lie motionless on the table, Li Banfeng concentrated his mind and shouted at it, "Curse dispelling, curse dispelling—"

The record player interjected, "My dear husband, that's not how you dispel it. First, you must find the root of the curse. The core principle of a curse lies in the seed of misfortune planted when it was cast. The methods for planting these seeds are bizarre and endless. It could be a single phrase, a cup of tea, or even a powerful curse cultivator simply smiling at someone – any of these can implant the seed. Once cursed, this seed remains in the body, causing abnormalities. When the curse is triggered, and the cursed person suffers, the seed grows within the body, undergoing slight changes. These changes are the key to lifting the curse."

Li Banfeng asked, "What changes happened to the glove?"

"You'll have to find that yourself, my husband."

"How?"

"By looking!"

Li Banfeng was pleased: "I can see it directly with my eyes?"

The record player replied, "Outside this house, let alone seeing it with your eyes, even a Gazer Cultivator using their skill might not perceive it. But within this residence, you are the master, my husband. Just observe carefully, and you will surely notice something amiss."

Li Banfeng picked up the glove and examined it meticulously for a long time, but couldn't spot anything unusual.

His wife said, "Don't rush, my husband. Calm your mind and observe. Think about what the glove looked like before. The change might be a lump, a knot, a tear, or a loose thread. Curses are known for their subtlety, and finding their origin is never easy. You'll need to put in more effort."

Li Banfeng stared at the glove for over an hour until his eyes blurred, yet he still couldn't detect anything unusual.

His wife advised him, "My husband, this is a new skill you're learning; you truly mustn't rush it. It's a pity that I only understand the principles of the 'Sound Sleep, No Worries' skill but cannot perform it myself, so I can't really help you with this."

Li Banfeng was surprised: "My dear wife, you can't use this skill?"

"My husband," she replied, "I am not a House Cultivator; I am your household spirit. I know the techniques of House Cultivation because I have a contract with the house, and through the power from that contract, I've learned these skill principles. Some techniques, I can show you a glimpse of, but others, I simply cannot perform. For instance, 'Sound Sleep, No Worries' is a skill meant for the master of the house, and our home has only one master."

Our home has only one master! Hearing this, Li Banfeng puffed out his chest.

He continued to examine the glove. Another hour passed, still with no results, and Li Banfeng began to sweat.

The projector came to the table and cast a beam of light. "Chief Qi," it said, "these are the images Brother Glove left behind. He doesn't like being photographed or filmed and has always been wary of me. We only have these two usable photos."

"You have such a good thing, why didn't you bring it out earlier?"

There were two photos: one of the front, one of the back. The projector had been modest; these two photos were more than enough. Li Banfeng held the glove and compared it to the photos for a long time, finally finding the problem. A new black spot had appeared on the back of the glove. This black spot was originally quite noticeable, but it had formed precisely on top of another existing black spot. The glove was already covered in black spots, and these two had almost overlapped, making it difficult for Li Banfeng to distinguish them. Only by comparing it with earlier photos of the glove did he realize that the outline of the original black spot had changed slightly.

"My dear wife, I've found the seed of misfortune. What should I do now?"

"You can deal with it however you wish, my husband. As long as your resolve is firm, everything in this house must obey you!"

Li Banfeng thought for a moment, then brought a basin of clean water, put the glove in, and began to rub it with his hands. After rubbing for a while, there was no visible change on the glove. Li Banfeng's expression grew serious, while the record player tried to comfort him. The other magic artifacts offered suggestions.

The Wine Gourd said, "The seeds of misfortune from curse cultivators are never ordinary. Little brother, washing it directly with water doesn't seem appropriate."

The Old Teapot added, "I can't see where the root of misfortune is, but I think since it's a root, it must be pulled out completely. Water won't wash it clean."

The Tang Saber stepped forward: "Master, tell me where the root of misfortune is, and I'll pick it out with my blade."

The Pendulum stopped the Tang Saber, saying, "If you strike with that blade, the glove will surely lose its life. Let me do it; I'm more meticulous with delicate work."

The Judge's Brush stammered, "I, I—"

Li Banfeng thought the Judge's Brush also wanted to do needlework. He shook his head and said, "This isn't a matter of needlework. This black spot isn't small; you can't just pick it all out with a needle. How many threads would that break?"

"I, I—" The Judge's Brush grew more anxious as it spoke.

Li Banfeng said, "You rest for now. I'll think of another way."

After thinking it over, with no other solutions, Li Banfeng continued to rub by hand.

"Excuse me," the Judge's Brush finally managed to blurt out, "have you ever washed clothes?"

Li Banfeng looked up and replied, "Not really, no." Usually, his wife did the laundry.

"Clean water won't work!" the Judge's Brush struggled to say. "You need soap!"

Li Banfeng suddenly realized. Clothes need soap to be washed! He searched for a long time and found a bar of soap. He soaped up the glove and rubbed it for a moment; the black spot on the back of the glove began to fade. After rubbing for a bit longer, the black spot grew fainter and fainter, and the glove gradually regained its mobility.

Fearing it wasn't enough, Li Banfeng rubbed vigorously for a long time until the glove spat out a mouthful of water and exclaimed, "Oh, goodness, I'm drowning, I'm drowning! I can't swim! Where have I ended up?"

Li Banfeng cradled the glove in his palm and burst out laughing: "Brother, you really scared me."

Once the glove understood where it was and was sitting in Li Banfeng's palm, it waved its index and ring fingers. It cried for a long time.

"Master, I'm so glad to see you! I thought I was done for this time. I've charged into battle with you, and I've never been afraid of death, but this time I was truly terrified. I was afraid I would truly be gone."

The Tang Saber scoffed, "Look at you, so weak!"

Li Banfeng didn't think the glove was wrong: "There's nothing wrong with being afraid of death, is there? You only have one life; who isn't afraid of death? You were hurt by that old thing because of me. I'll always remember this friendship, and I'll risk my life to save you."

The glove expressed its profound gratitude, then suddenly remembered something: "Master, that 'old thing' you just mentioned, who is it?"

Li Banfeng replied, "The Patriarch of Thieving Cultivation, Laughing Thousand Hands."

The glove shivered, jumped off Li Banfeng's hand, and began pacing back and forth on the table using its thumb and pinky. Watching it tap-tap from left to right, then back from right to left, the record player picked up a feather duster, feeling an urge to swat it onto the table.

"My dear wife, calm down," Li Banfeng urged the record player. "The glove just woke up; it's weak and can't handle that."

His wife retorted angrily, "If you have something to say, stand still and say it! Pacing back and forth is annoying!"

Its index and ring fingers were tightly clasped to its chest, clearly indicating its conflicted emotions. After pacing dozens of times, the glove finally looked up and said, "Master, I remember some things."

"Tell me," Li Banfeng said, pulling up a chair and sitting beside the table.

"I remember Laughing Thousand Hands's hands."

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment: "Is there anything special about his hands?"

"His hands, they are me!" the glove exclaimed, somewhat incoherently due to excitement. "Master, Laughing Thousand Hands has many hands, and I am one of them. I was his disciple; I took him as my master!"

Li Banfeng didn't quite understand: "Brother, take a sip of water and speak slowly."

"No, I can't be slow, not here. I have to speak quickly, or I'll forget again. I was the Young Master of the Ghost Hand Sect. Actually, I wasn't the Young Master at first; the Old Master never intended to appoint one. He wanted to be the Great Master for his entire life. But as he grew old, he couldn't manage many things, so he found a few people to oversee affairs, and I was one of them. I handled a lot of matters, and I did them quite well. When they had problems, they all came to me, so the Old Master made me the Young Master. Later, when the sect had issues, they all came to me, and the Old Master even handed the sect over to me. I was already at the Ninth Layer at the time. I didn't want to go to Neizhou and live like a dog, so the Old Master showed me a way."

Li Banfeng asked, "What was the name of this Old Master you're talking about?"

"He, his surname was Xie. Xie, what was it again?"

"Xie Juncong?"

The glove nearly jumped: "Yes, that old dog! That old dog said I had excellent talent and that the Taoist Patriarch appreciated me and wanted to take me as a disciple. He said that if I became the Patriarch's disciple, I wouldn't have to go to Neizhou and live like a dog; I could ascend directly to the clouds. I believed him. I met the Patriarch, and I became his disciple. I never imagined that this Patriarch was such a horrible person. Many of his disciples were turned into gloves by him. He's called Laughing Thousand Hands. I don't know if he actually has a thousand hands, but he certainly has many. These hands are all transformed disciples, and I am one of them!"

This time, Li Banfeng understood.

"When you served as Laughing Thousand Hands's hand, what did you usually do?"

"Steal things!" The glove's memory became clearer. "Laughing Thousand Hands rarely acted himself; it was always us, the gloves, who did. If we failed even once, he would cut off a finger. Once all fingers were cut off, we would turn to dust and vanish. He told us that all Thieving Cultivation disciples owed him a debt, and once the debt was paid, he would let us go. But I served him as a disciple for many years, and I never saw him let anyone go. Those who tried to escape were all caught by him, tortured, then turned to dust and vanished!"

Li Banfeng asked, "How did you escape?"

"How did I escape?" The glove tap-tapped, pacing dozens of circles on the table again. The record player once more raised the feather duster. The glove finally remembered: "One time, he fought with a ruthless person. I've forgotten who that ruthless person was, but they were truly brutal and almost killed him. Laughing Thousand Hands's hands were mostly crippled, and I was hit too. I tried to escape, but Laughing Thousand Hands cast a curse on me, and I couldn't run; I fainted. When I woke up, I found myself thrown into a garbage dump, piled with broken cloth and waste paper, about to be burned. At that time, I couldn't move; my body felt like it wasn't mine. None of my five fingers could move. I was truly lucky. It rained heavily that day, and the fire in the garbage pit went out. After spending a night in the dump, I recovered."

Li Banfeng asked, "And then?"

"Then—I wandered everywhere. Whenever I saw something good, I couldn't resist taking it. After bringing it back, I didn't even know what it was for. I didn't know who I was or why I was alive. Later, an old woman signed a contract with me. I'd help her steal things, and she'd give me good things. I thought it was an equal exchange, but she tricked me. She played a trick in the contract: everything I stole belonged to her, and she would pick out a few 'good things' from the stolen goods to give me. And whether something was 'good' or not was up to her. I didn't know many characters before, and I wasn't very learned to begin with. Then I forgot too many things, and my mind didn't work well, so I fell for her trick muddledly. I helped her steal over ten thousand silver dollars, and she gave me one silver dollar as a reward. I said this wasn't an equal exchange, and she said silver dollars were good things, and good things for good things was the rule. I had no one to complain to about my loss, and bound by the contract, I couldn't kill her. From then on, I never spoke to anyone again. After that, the old woman was killed, and I changed owners. I set a rule for myself: if they used me, they had to pay me capital, and I had to take that capital myself. If they treated me well, I'd take less. If they bullied me, I'd steal their hearts and livers! I wouldn't speak; I'd just show them once. If they understood, they were lucky; if not, they could only blame themselves. Many years passed, I don't know how many. I went to Black Stone Slope and fell into the hands of the Clear Guard Society, specifically that Elder Wu, named Wu Decheng. That fellow didn't treat me well. I worked for him, but he always humiliated me. I originally wanted to deal with him, but then he was killed by the Master, so I followed the Master."

The glove recounted its past; this was the first time Li Banfeng had learned a relatively complete history of a magic artifact.

Li Banfeng said, "Now that you remember who you are, do you want to become human again?"

The glove shook its finger: "Master, I don't have that desire anymore. What's so good about being human? It's just a constant struggle of deceit and trickery. Back then, Xie Juncong said he would pass the sect to me, and I believed him. Who knew he had such a trick up his sleeve?"

Li Banfeng said, "This grudge must be settled, and so must the one against your Patriarch. But if you still wish to become human again, I will help you."

The glove looked up at Li Banfeng: "Master, I am completely loyal to you—"

"Brother, I'm not testing you; I'm speaking from the heart," Li Banfeng said, looking at his family in the room. "In the future, if anyone here wishes to become human, I will help them. There's just one condition: don't reveal anything about our home!"

The group of magic artifacts all stared at Li Banfeng. Only the Judge's Brush wrapped itself tightly in newspaper and continued to sleep. After speaking so much just now, the Judge's Brush was very tired. Moreover, it truly had no interest in becoming human. But the others had some expectations; some were deeply hopeful, while others quickly dismissed the thought.

The record player let out a laugh beside him: "My husband, I would indeed like to become human, but I'm afraid you wouldn't like it."

"As long as it's my dear wife, I'll love you no matter what you become." Li Banfeng embraced his wife affectionately for a moment, then suddenly remembered something.

"The 'Sound Sleep, No Worries' skill can dispel curses, heal illnesses, and cure injuries. Can it also break other techniques?"

"It depends on the technique."

"Can it break Water Cultivation skills?"

The record player knew what Li Banfeng intended: "My husband, are you talking about the 'Cleansing Heart and Mind' technique? That skill is not easy to break, but here in our home, there might still be a chance. The question is, how can we bring Shui Yongquan into the house?"

This was a difficult matter. Anyone Li Banfeng brought into his house usually died. There was only one exception: the strange creatures from Autumn Leaf's territory. How did those strange creatures get in?

Li Banfeng smiled: "My dear wife, would you like to go to the laboratory again?"

"Yes, I would! We still have many experiments unfinished from last time. Husband, let's go to Seven Autumn City!"

Upon arriving in Seven Autumn City, Li Banfeng picked up Shui Yongquan and first brought him to his residence, asking the music box to coax him to sleep. Having lost his memory, Shui Yongquan was much like a baby. He had grown accustomed to Autumn Leaf these past few days but was still a little shy around Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng got two tin frogs for Shui Yongquan, and Shui Yongquan played happily. The two of them became somewhat acquainted, and to the sound of the music box's song, Shui Yongquan slowly fell asleep. This was the good thing about the music box: her songs were targeted. Shui Yongquan slept very soundly, but Li Banfeng remained wide awake.

Li Banfeng moved Shui Yongquan into his Portable Residence and instructed Dream Demon to enter Shui Yongquan's dream. There wasn't much to see in the dream. At this stage, Shui Yongquan's dreams consisted only of sleeping and eating. Dream Demon's primary task was to monitor Shui Yongquan's sleep quality and ensure he didn't wake up before the task was complete.

Li Banfeng stared at Shui Yongquan for a long time, pondering the true root of the 'Cleansing Heart and Mind' technique. Since it was said to cleanse the "heart aperture" using a skill, the root should be in the heart. However, Li Banfeng stared at Shui Yongquan's heart for a long time but couldn't see the so-called heart aperture.

The record player said, "My husband, the heart aperture isn't in the physical body, let alone this person who doesn't even have a physical body. Shui Yongquan is now a Wounded Demonic Fiend, a type of undead. The place where undead store memories should be in the human soul. The Earth Soul is outside, the Heaven Soul is inside, and the Human Soul is between the Heaven Soul. If you want to see the Human Soul, you must look through the Earth Soul."

These concepts were a bit complex, but Li Banfeng had a simple solution: the best way to see souls was with Golden Eyes of Autumn Hair. Li Banfeng used his Golden Eyes of Autumn Hair and looked for a long time, shaking his head. "It's truly difficult to see through."

The record player said, "Don't rush, my husband. Look into the crevices of the soul; concentrate your mind even more." The record player couldn't help Li Banfeng directly. Despite her own exquisite Golden Eyes of Autumn Hair skill, she couldn't see through Shui Yongquan's Earth Soul. Even seeing through the soul of an ordinary person was extremely difficult. Although Shui Yongquan was in a dire state now, he was still a Wounded Demonic Fiend above the Ninth Layer; how could his soul be easily seen through by others?

After waiting for over ten minutes, Li Banfeng seemed to be making some progress.

"Is this the Human Soul? There doesn't seem to be much change, just that it's a bit cleaner." Blood vessels burst in Li Banfeng's eyes.

"My husband, how clean is it? Please describe it in detail!"

"It's as if there are no clothes, and no dust. There was a lot of dust on his face just now, but now it's gone."

The record player looked at Shui Yongquan; his clothes were still there, and the dust on his face was still there. "My husband, you've seen through the Earth Soul! This is the wonder of the 'Sound Sleep, No Worries' skill. In this house, you are our master!"

"My dear wife, now that I've seen the Human Soul, where should I look?"

"Look at the chest. On the Human Soul's chest, there's a bone with some drawings—circles and dots. You can't tell what they depict, but these drawings are a person's memories."

Li Banfeng was now dizzy and bleary-eyed. After searching the Human Soul for a long time, he found the bone in the chest, and some of the drawings his wife mentioned. Some drawings were just circles, others were wavy lines, triangles, or spots of varying sizes. The drawings were very dense, yet each was distinct. Clear layers prevented most of the drawings from becoming muddled with one another.

"My dear wife, these drawings are densely packed, appearing to be dozens of them. Which one should I look for?"

"Dozens? That's too few!" The record player shook her head. "A middle-aged person over fifty years old would have at least ten thousand drawings on their bones, not to mention Shui Yongquan is much older than fifty. My husband, if you only see dozens of drawings, these must be the memories he's re-formed since losing his memory."

Li Banfeng asked, "What about the other drawings? Were they all washed away?"

The record player replied, "That's the effect of the 'Cleansing Heart and Mind' technique, my husband. Look carefully, are there any traces left on the bone?"

Li Banfeng looked for a long time but saw no traces.

His wife pondered for a long time before saying, "Shui Yongquan is a clever man; he wouldn't do things without leaving himself a way out. My husband, reach out and feel the back of the bone. See if there are any marks left there."

"I can touch that?"

"Others cannot, but you can, my husband. In our home, you possess this ability."

Li Banfeng reached out to touch the bone on the Human Soul, and Shui Yongquan's body twitched. Dream Demon suddenly opened its eyes and warned, "Master, please be gentler. Don't wake him up." Shui Yongquan didn't wake, merely felt uncomfortable. The music box's song never ceased, and Shui Yongquan remained in a deep slumber.

Li Banfeng touched the bone on the Human Soul. It was slick and slightly warm.

"Did you find the marks, my husband?"

"Yes, I really did!" Li Banfeng smiled. "My dear wife, there are patterns on the back of this bone!"

The record player said, "My husband, feel the patterns carefully and see if there are any mechanisms within."

Li Banfeng fumbled along the patterns for a moment. The patterns began to grow slowly, spreading from the back of the bone to the front. The spreading patterns intertwined on the front of the bone, slowly forming a few more drawings.

This was the escape route Shui Yongquan had left for himself!

Li Banfeng burst into laughter: "My dear wife, the drawings are increasing!"

Dream Demon emerged from the dream and told Li Banfeng, "Master, he's about to wake up. Get him out quickly!"

Li Banfeng withdrew his skill and immediately sent Shui Yongquan out of the Portable Residence.

After lying in the residence for half a day, Shui Yongquan awoke, his eyes filled with confusion. His memory recovery was incomplete, and he didn't recognize Li Qi. Li Banfeng took Shui Yongquan up the mountain. Unlike when they arrived, Shui Yongquan was much more wary, constantly observing Li Banfeng's movements along the way.

Upon arriving at Autumn Leaf's dwelling, the two looked at each other for a moment. Shui Yongquan pointed at Autumn Leaf and said, "You, you, where's your nose?"

Autumn Leaf smiled, revealing his elephant form: "Old Shui, do you recognize me now?"

"Autumn Elephant!" Shui Yongquan finally recognized him.

Ever since Autumn Leaf's transformation, according to Li Qi's instructions, the nickname "Autumn Elephant" was no longer to be mentioned. But today, Shui Yongquan brought it up, and Autumn Leaf wasn't angry; he almost laughed to tears.

"Old Shui, you remember me!" Autumn Leaf wrapped his trunk around Shui Yongquan and swayed him up and down.

Li Banfeng worried he might be shaken to pieces and quickly set Shui Yongquan down. With that sway, Shui Yongquan seemed to remember something else.

"Zhu Chunhua!" He uttered a name, then looked at Autumn Leaf and asked, "Do you still remember Zhu Chunhua?"

Autumn Leaf let out a dry laugh: "Why bring her up?"

"Were you interested in her?"

Autumn Leaf's cheeks flushed: "At first, yes, I was. That girl was built sturdily. The moment I saw her, I felt a sense of security. If I were to marry her and bring her home as a wife..."

Autumn Leaf had a girl he liked? Li Banfeng listened with keen interest.

Shui Yongquan thought for a moment, then continued, "She seemed to be interested in you too."

"Really?" Autumn Leaf's trunk trembled.

"Really!" Shui Yongquan nodded. "She personally asked me. She asked if you were interested in her."

"What did you say?"

"I said you weren't interested. I told her she was the one you disliked the most. She left the next day. Don't you remember?"

Autumn Leaf's face periodically paled: "Why did you say that?"

Shui Yongquan said, "Because I wasn't interested in her, and I thought you could find someone better. You two weren't a good match. I guess I shouldn't have told you that."

"Yes, you shouldn't have told me that—" Autumn Leaf turned to look at Li Banfeng. "How's his physical recovery?"

"It's alright—"

Before Li Banfeng could finish, Autumn Leaf grabbed Shui Yongquan and lifted him up. "Whether she and I are a good match or not, what does that have to do with you?"

Shui Yongquan shouted, "Not a good match means not a good match! I'm very accurate at judging people!"

"Who do you say I'm a good match with? If you can't say today, I'll take your life!"

Li Banfeng quickly stopped Autumn Leaf: "No, this won't do, Brother Qiu. Let him go first; he can't handle this!"

Just as he managed to pry Shui Yongquan away, he suddenly heard the glove trembling on his chest: "Master, he's here!"

"Who's here?"

"The Patriarch!"

Autumn Leaf still wanted to grab Shui Yongquan, but Li Banfeng looked at him and said, "We have a thief in our house."