Chapter 599: The Road to the Fool's City

Li Banfeng officially became an initiate of Mad Cultivation and was now operating with four active cultivation paths. Honestly, he felt uneasy. He had never heard of anyone having four cultivation paths, and if one were to backfire, he wouldn't know how to handle it.

"Sister, to be frank, I still have many cultivation paths within me. If I had known that our path required applying medicinal powder, I would have definitely given it more thought. Repercussions from cultivation are not easy to deal with."

Ayi asked, "You're at the third or fourth layer of Cloud, right? At that level, you don't need to worry."

Li Banfeng was pleasantly surprised: "At this level, there won't be any backlash?"

Ayi smiled and said, "Brother, rest assured, there will definitely be backlash."

"Sister, I'm not hoping for backlash—"

"Don't worry, our cultivation path is very gentle. Cultivators at the Cloud level are resilient; even if there's a backlash, it won't be fatal."

"This cultivation path is gentle?" Li Banfeng gave a wry smile. "Is the consequence of a backlash going mad?"

"Going mad is a good thing! The crazier you get, the higher your cultivation becomes. So there's nothing to worry about when it comes to backlash. Brother, in the future, you won't need to worry about anything. The key to our cultivation path is: never pretend reluctance for what you truly don't want to do, and never postpone what you genuinely desire. If you learn these two phrases, you can solidify the foundation of our path."

"Just these two phrases?"

"Don't underestimate them. There might not be a single person in our cultivation path who has truly grasped their meaning."

"Not a single one?" Li Banfeng looked at Ayi.

Ayi nodded seriously: "Including me, the founder of this cultivation path, there isn't a single one. You don't understand the difficulty here because you don't yet know the profound meaning of these two phrases. Originally, you should have stayed in the village for ten or eight years, but you insisted on leaving. Now you only have three days. Even with your talent, I don't know how much you'll comprehend in these three days. This is your own decision. I never worry about other people's affairs. How you cultivate in the future will depend on your own destiny."

The next morning, Li Banfeng followed Ayi to the Gourd's Belly. Inside the Gourd's Belly lived people who had signed contracts. These people lived in three different villages. The first village was called Unenlightened Village.

Upon entering Unenlightened Village, Li Banfeng saw a young woman, around twenty, sitting by her house door, wiping away tears. Ayi introduced the young woman to Li Banfeng. Her name was Ami. She lived in a rural area. Her father went to work in the city, made money, and then found another woman to live with. After her mother received the news, she remarried, leaving Ami and her younger brother with their elderly grandfather. Their grandfather went gambling, got his legs broken, was bedridden, and required a large sum for medical expenses. Her younger brother got into a fight and was sentenced to three years; he hadn't been released yet, and the family was facing a large compensation payment.

She bore all these burdens alone, working three jobs, with all her earnings going to debt repayment. She couldn't bear to buy a new piece of clothing even for twenty yuan, but no matter how much she saved, she couldn't fill such a huge financial hole. A friend introduced her to a quick-money job. Just as she was determined to take it, Ayun brought her to Gourd Village. There was a place where she could escape everything from the outside world; this was her good fortune.

After staying in the Gourd's Waist for half a month, it was time to decide whether to stay or leave. According to the rules of Gourd Village, she had two choices: either stay in Gourd Village and cultivate properly, or leave Gourd Village and never return. Ami chose to stay; she truly didn't want to go back to face that kind of life. But after living there for over a year, she cried at least once every day. She couldn't let go; she couldn't let go of either her grandfather or her younger brother.

Seeing the village chief arrive, Ami quickly wiped away her tears, lowered her head, and stood by the door. Ayi's face hardened as she scolded Ami: "You good-for-nothing, all you do is cry all day. If you keep crying like this, will there be any harvest from the fields?"

Ami dared not speak. A shadow emerged from behind Li Banfeng. He struggled to retract the shadow, then sincerely asked Ayi: "What does her crying have to do with the harvest in the fields?"

Ayi glared at Li Banfeng: "Isn't it obvious? She cries like this every day, so her tears must be flowing into the fields."

Li Banfeng still didn't understand: "Do tears flowing into the fields have anything to do with the harvest?"

"A huge connection! Tears are all saltwater. If you water the fields with saltwater, can crops still grow? Look at the fields in the Gourd's Head; they have abundant harvests year-round. Then look at hers; how much grain can she harvest in a year?"

"That doesn't seem right, does it?"

"How much grain you harvest in a year depends on the farming cultivation methods, right?"

Ayi shook her head: "There's no farming cultivation here, only Mad Cultivation."

"Mad Cultivation can also determine crop growth?"

"Of course. This is one of the three great techniques of our cultivation path, called 'Abundant Harvest.' But brother, your cultivation is still shallow, so you probably can't learn this technique yet."

Many techniques of Mad Cultivation were difficult for Li Banfeng to understand. However, Ami was indeed facing starvation. She worked diligently, but her field's harvest had always been poor, and her rice jar was almost empty. "Anyway, she hasn't joined our cultivation path, so I shouldn't bother with her. Let her cry herself to death here!" Ayi turned and walked away.

The village chief's wife, pushing a cart, seized the opportunity to enter the courtyard and placed a bag of sweet potatoes by Ami's wall. Ami quickly waved her hands, saying, "Uncle, please don't give me any more food. The village chief will scold you again." The village chief's wife smiled: "Child, keep it and eat. If the village chief scolds me, it's because she cares for me. She also can't bear to see you starve." Not long after, Amu came carrying two baskets of fish. He left two for Ami and delivered the rest to other families.

The more Ayi watched, the angrier she became: "Unenlightened Village is the most useless! They all have to rely on others to support them. They can't let go of anything in their hearts, and they talk about cultivation? We shouldn't have kept them in Gourd Village in the first place! Our cultivation path has no room for such useless people!"

Li Banfeng had thought that everyone who entered the Gourd's Belly had already joined Mad Cultivation, but this was not the case. Unenlightened Village had over five hundred villagers. Some had just arrived, while others had been there for over ten years. None of them qualified for the Mad Cultivation medicinal powder because they all had burdens in their hearts that they couldn't let go of. Walking on the paths of Unenlightened Village, Li Banfeng often heard crying. He couldn't tell what kind of crying it was—whether it was guilt or helplessness. Perhaps even Projector couldn't describe it clearly.

Seeing the village chief walk away, Ami sat in the courtyard and secretly started crying again. Li Banfeng suddenly appeared at the courtyard gate. Ami quickly stood up and wiped away her tears. She heard the village chief call this man "Brother" and knew he was extraordinary. However, it wasn't easy to suppress her crying. Ami took a breath, trembling all over.

Li Banfeng asked, "Do you miss your brother and grandfather?"

Ami nodded.

"When you were with them, were they doing well?"

Hearing this, Ami felt even more miserable. With tears in her eyes, she whispered, "No, they weren't."

Li Banfeng nodded, directly reversing cause and effect: "It's precisely because you were with them that they weren't doing well."

Ami was stunned. Li Banfeng's words were somewhat irritating. Li Banfeng continued, "Now that you're not with them, they will be doing very well." Ami's face turned pale. These words were even more infuriating. She wanted to argue with Li Banfeng, but she was clumsy with words and didn't know what to say. By the time she figured out what to say, Li Banfeng had already walked far away.

Ami was so angry she wanted to cry, but despite trying for a long time, no tears came out. Why cry? Aren't they all doing well? Ami fetched a basin of water and washed her face. Her eyes were terribly swollen and looked somewhat unsightly. Let them be unsightly. Today she ate someone else's sweet potato, tomorrow someone else's salted fish. She was practically begging for food. Why care about looking unsightly?

The more Ami thought about it, the more unpleasant she felt. She remembered the village chief giving her a box of powder last month. She took it out and patted some on her face. It seemed she applied too much powder; her face was a bit too pale. Let it be pale, as long as it looked presentable. Ami shouldered her hoe and went to work in the fields. Why put on powder when doing farm work? If others saw her, would they think she was mad? Let them think I'm mad, as long as I feel at ease!

The next day, Li Banfeng went to the second village, Enlightened Village. At the entrance, two men were playing chess. One man, not skilled at chess, lost a game and pestered his opponent for another round. The man opposite him laughed, "I'm not taking advantage of you. When I used to pester my dad to play chess, my attitude was exactly like yours just now."

"Do you still miss your dad?"

"Yes, I still think of him occasionally."

"Do you want to see him?"

"No, I'll never see him again in this lifetime."

The two continued playing chess. Enlightened Village had over two hundred villagers, all originally from Unenlightened Village. Because they had let go of their burdens and gained some enlightenment, they received the medicinal powder and began true cultivation. However, their levels of cultivation varied. Each person's cultivation level could be judged by the crops in their fields. Some families had significant surpluses, while others barely had enough to eat, but none of them required help from others.

Li Banfeng walked around the farmland, which confirmed a fact: the growth of crops was indeed related to the cultivator's level in Mad Cultivation. But there was one thing Li Banfeng hadn't found the reason for: in Enlightened Village, he only saw young and middle-aged people, with the oldest being around fifty. He saw no elderly people. Unenlightened Village had many elderly people. Had none of these elders entered Enlightened Village? Or did those elders become younger after achieving enlightenment?

"Sister, does our cultivation path also have techniques for changing age?"

Ayi smiled: "Our cultivation path has all sorts of techniques."

Li Banfeng bowed deeply: "Sister, I want to learn this."

Ayi's smile faded, and her expression became very serious: "Brother, this is one of the three strongest techniques of our cultivation path. Do you sincerely want to learn it?"

"I sincerely want to learn!"

"Have you let go of everything in your heart?"

"Yes, everything has been let go."

"Brother, your cultivation is still shallow. I'm afraid you won't be able to learn it!"

"Are you using that excuse to put me off again?"

"Sister, just teach me the key principles first; I can slowly cultivate later." Li Banfeng insisted on learning.

Ayi first taught Li Banfeng to meditate: "I will now impart the key principles to you. Listen carefully: first, cast aside all current matters, then release all worries from your mind. In this state of clear thought, perceive the flow of time. When your mind is serene, comprehend the changes of epochs."

Li Banfeng sat for over an hour, allowing his thoughts to settle completely: "Sister, I have let go of the trivial matters in my heart and comprehended the changes of time and epochs."

"Good, I knew you had this level of comprehension! Our cultivation techniques demand an extremely high state of mind. Now, recite the name of the technique loudly with me: 'Mad Cultivation Technique, I want eternal youth!'"

"I want—" Li Banfeng pondered for a moment, then turned to Ayi: "Sister, you just made up this technique, didn't you?"

"Nonsense! With your state of mind, how could you possibly learn this technique?" Ayi was furious. "I told you, this is one of the three great techniques of our cultivation path, and this is your attitude? And you say I just made it up? I finished making it up last night!"

On the third day, Li Banfeng followed Ayi to the third village, Fully Enlightened Village. The village had fewer than a hundred villagers. They were holding a grand feast. Young men set up a ring and wrestled on it, while young women, adorned with garlands, danced beside the ring.

Li Banfeng asked Ayi, "What's the occasion?"

Ayun whispered mysteriously, "Don't tell anyone about this, but Old Man Chai's sow gave birth—a litter of twelve piglets!"

Li Banfeng was stunned: "Is that really worth celebrating so much?"

"Then tell me, what *is* worth celebrating?"

Li Banfeng retorted dismissively, "There are plenty of things to be happy about. What's so special about piglets?"

Ayi smiled, put on a garland, and danced with the young women. Although her age was unknown, she looked as young as the other women. Everyone in Fully Enlightened Village was very young. Their cultivation had reached a certain level, and after a while, they would leave the Gourd's Belly to live in the Gourd's Head. Li Banfeng sat by, watching the spectacle. So many people celebrating twelve piglets—he truly couldn't understand the reasoning behind it.

Ayun was afraid Li Qi would be bored, so she brought a jar of wine, intending to have a couple of drinks with him. She carried the wine jar around for a long time but couldn't find Li Qi.

"Have you seen Li Qi?"

Amu pointed to the stage: "He's over there. He's won six matches in a row; he's quite skilled."

Li Banfeng was wrestling on the stage. He drank when he won and drank when he lost. He didn't know how many matches he had won or how much wine he had drunk.

The next day at noon, Li Banfeng woke up, drank a bowl of yellow wine to cure his hangover, and then followed Ayi back to the Gourd's Head. Today was his day to leave the village, and Zhang Peiwen was leaving with him. Ayi allowed Zhang Peiwen to leave the village: "I am fair in my dealings. If I make an exception for Li Qi, I must also make one for you. You two may both leave."

Li Banfeng was an initiate of Mad Cultivation, and Ayi trusted him, so she didn't make any demands of him. But Zhang Peiwen was not a cultivator. He had to sign another contract, guaranteeing that he would not reveal anything about Gourd Village after leaving.

Li Banfeng asked Ayi, "You trust him that much?"

Ayi shook her head: "I don't trust him, but I trust my contract paper. If they break the contract, they will suffer severe punishment. They will die before they can reveal anything about Gourd Village. My contract paper can also help them avoid interrogation. Even if they encounter a Virtuous Cultivator, they won't be able to speak a single truth."

No wonder the Dark Star Bureau had interrogated many survivors before but never got the truth. A contract paper that could evade a Virtuous Cultivator – he had truly never heard of such a thing.

Ayi introduced: "This is one of the three great techniques of our cultivation path, called 'Words Come True.' The key to the technique lies in..."

"Wait a minute, earlier there were 'Slaying the Ignorant,' 'Abundant Harvest,' and 'I Want Eternal Youth.' Now there's 'Words Come True.' If there are three great techniques, why are there four?"

Ayi counted on her fingers twice, then stated seriously, "This is one of the four great techniques of our cultivation path, 'Words Come True'—"

Zhang Peiwen held the contract, still hesitating whether to sign or not. "They say that once you leave Gourd Village, you can never come back. Is that true?"

Li Banfeng nodded: "It's true. The village chief is absolute about what she says. For numbers higher than three, she might not be so precise."

Zhang Peiwen lowered his head and said, "It's fine if I don't come back. Who would want to come to a place like this? It's full of madmen here. I've been thinking about going home every day." He said this, but he still hadn't signed his name on the contract.

Li Banfeng asked, "Can you tell me, who exactly was that taxi driver?"

"He, well—" Zhang Peiwen hesitated.

"Don't worry, I won't make trouble for him. If you tell me in the village, it will be considered a village matter, and I will absolutely never bring it up outside."

Logically, there was no problem, and Zhang Peiwen felt it was fine too. He lowered his voice and said, "He's my high school classmate. I went to university, but he dropped out due to family reasons. The month before last, he recognized me on the street. We chatted a bit, and he knew I was living a somewhat unusual life. We talked a bit more, and I got home ten-odd minutes late. My mom was looking for me everywhere and almost called the police. Since then, we hadn't contacted each other. Then one day, I was buying medicine for my mom, and as I came out of the pharmacy, I happened to run into him on the roadside. He stopped his car, rolled down the window, and told me, 'Look behind you, there's something good.' I looked behind me and saw two beautiful girls. I hesitated whether to go. He told me, 'Go quickly, it's a good place. Once you go, don't come back.'"

What a clever taxi driver; he must have been to Gourd Village. Zhang Peiwen picked up the pen, his hand trembling slightly: "I don't know if this is a good place, but I... I have to go home."

Before he put pen to paper, Li Banfeng snatched the contract away. He took out another contract, one that Ayun had given him. The contract read: "Outsider [Name], willingly comes to Gourd Village, will reside in Gourd Village for half a month, and will decide their own path." Li Banfeng then said, "Sign this, and go live in the Gourd's Waist for half a month first."

Zhang Peiwen's hand continued to tremble: "I can't—"

"You can."

"My mom is sick; she needs me to take care of her."

"She's not sick. The medicine she takes isn't for treating illness."

"She can't live without me."

"Don't worry, she can live because she can't bear to die."

Zhang Peiwen held the pen, looking at Li Banfeng: "Really?"

"Really."

Zhang Peiwen, who had agonized there for over ten days, signed the contract, pressed his bloody handprint, and followed Ayun to the Gourd's Waist. Ayi smiled: "This kid, he's been dragging his feet here, refusing to sign the contract, just trying to stall. I don't know what good he thought that would do."

Li Banfeng understood Zhang Peiwen's feelings well: "He wanted to find an excuse for himself to stay here—an excuse to say that it wasn't his decision, that he didn't abandon his mother, but that he was compelled."

Ayi sighed: "Look how much he likes the village, and then look at you, so eager to leave."

"Sister, if I don't leave now, I won't be able to bear to leave." Li Banfeng stood on the twenty-sixth floor of a tall building, looking down at the entire village.

Ayi untied a jade pendant from her neck, placed it around Li Banfeng's, and smiled: "I know you still have things to do outside, but please remember the way back."

"Sister, there's only one Gourd Village, so how many paths lead into it?" Li Banfeng hadn't forgotten his purpose for coming here.

Ayi thought carefully: "I've built so many paths, I can't even count them. Perhaps more than the paths leading into Fool's City."

His previous speculation was correct; the situation in Gourd Village was indeed similar to that of Fool's City. "Sister, did you build the paths to Fool's City?"

"Yes, it was me," Ayi admitted. "I built many paths leading into Fool's City, but normally only one path is open. The others are closed. It's up to Sun Tiecheng to decide which path is open."

Ayi still knew Sun Tiecheng! Ayi had a connection with Fool's City! Recalling what Ninth Lady had said earlier, even the Portable Abode didn't know the origin of Gourd Village, but Ninth knew. Ninth was Sun Tiecheng's daughter, which proved that Ninth and Ayi were also old acquaintances.

"So, the situation in Gourd Village is like Fool's City: there are many paths, and it's up to you, Sister, to decide which one is open."

"Not entirely," Ayi shook her head. "I made a key for Gourd Village. As long as you have the key, you can open the gate to the village."

Li Banfeng touched the jade pendant on his chest: "This is the key?"

Ayi nodded: "I trust you, so I gave you the key."

"How do I use this key?"

"Let go of the burdens in your heart—I'm afraid you might not be able to do that. But if you can forget the present matters and wish to return for a few days, this key can help you open the village gate."

Li Banfeng bowed deeply and asked, "Sister, when you built so many paths for Gourd Village, did you use one of our cultivation path's five great techniques? I'd really like to learn that."

Ayi shook her head: "That's not one of our cultivation path's techniques. That's a Craftsman Cultivation technique; you can't learn it. Among the hundreds of paths in the world, Mad Cultivation and Fool Cultivation are among the most special. These types of paths can accommodate other paths, but other paths find it difficult to accommodate each other. When I fought with you before, I found you have an aptitude for Arrow Cultivation. But you'd best not dual-cultivate Arrow Cultivation, nor any other paths. The barriers between cultivation paths are severe, and the bitter consequences of backlash are not easy to bear. Brother, take good care of yourself."

Ayi led Li Banfeng out of Gourd Village. When they reached the end of the mountain road, Ayi smiled sweetly and began to sing a folk song:

"Oh, my dear brother, the silk floss tree flowers are blooming on the mountain,My dear brother, walk slower, pick another flower for your little sister,Standing on the petals, your little sister awaits your return, my dear brother, come back soon, don't wait until the flowers wither—"

Ayi's singing faded into the distance, and the surrounding scenery gradually blurred. When Ayi's song completely disappeared, the scenery of Gourd Village also vanished.

Li Banfeng returned to the cinema entrance. The road was still blocked, and Dark Star Bureau agents were monitoring the area. Before the agents noticed him, Li Banfeng left the street, returned to his residence, and entered the Portable Abode. After resting for a moment inside, Li Banfeng's understanding of Mad Cultivation was still very vague. Ayi's state was too abstract. He couldn't distinguish which of her words were true and which were mad.

Li Banfeng went to Ninth's Room: "Ninth, you knew Ayi before, right?"

"Yes, she's my sworn sister."

"What kind of person is she?"

"She's been eccentric and a bit mad since I can remember. Back then, she always wanted to establish her own cultivation path. Once she had it, she wanted to contend with Sun Tiecheng for the title of the world's foremost cultivation path. The two of them always fought."

"Isn't Sun Tiecheng your father?"

"Yes," Ninth Lady said, unwilling to mention her father further, and continued speaking about Ayi, "After she was defeated by Sun Tiecheng, she left Prolific Province and built Gourd Village. I stayed in Gourd Village for some time. The people there were too mad; I couldn't bear it and moved out again. Later, my mother told me that when she was pregnant, she ate something wrong, which is why Ayi was born a madwoman." "Wait a minute!" Li Banfeng interrupted Ninth Lady, "Your mother ate something wrong, why would Ayi become mad?"

"Because she was born from my mother."

Li Banfeng collected his thoughts and asked again, "Weren't you also born from your mother?"

"Yes!"

"You two were born from the same mother, so why is she your sworn sister?"

Ninth explained: "She said we had a deep bond and should become sworn sisters, so I did. She's the second sister, and I'm the third sister."

"Who's the eldest sister?"

"My mother."

Li Banfeng was silent for a long time. Ninth added another explanation: "We wanted Sun Tiecheng to be the eldest brother, but he didn't agree."

Shadow stood up from under his feet and sat beside Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng sighed: "How did Brother Sun manage to endure all those years?"

Shadow also sighed, looking at Li Banfeng: "I always thought you were mad, but actually, you're a pretty good person."

After leaving Ninth's Room, Li Banfeng felt a bit disoriented. Hong Ying saw his unsteady steps and went to support him: "Qi Lang, are you hurt?"

Portable Abode advised him: "Ah Qi, you can't reason about Mad Cultivation with common sense. Don't keep dwelling on it."

Scythe said, "You can't *not* dwell on it. Ah Qi is already a Mad Cultivator now; he has to cultivate according to their rules."

Projector thought carefully: "Director Qi, if you make achievements in Mad Cultivation, will you become sworn siblings with our Lady?"

Hong Ying kicked Projector: "You brute! Can't you speak properly?"

Li Banfeng gave a wry smile: "What's the use of just being able to speak? Things have already become like this—"

No amount of comfort helped. Li Banfeng, still in a daze, went to Seven Autumn City. By the time he reached the laboratory, his wife's experiment was nearly complete.

"My dear husband, what's wrong? You look distracted."

"Wife, I went to a strange place and met a strange person. She became sworn sisters with her sister, and the eldest sister was her own mother—"

Li Banfeng spoke a jumbled mess. Phonograph embraced him: "My dear husband, what exactly happened? Don't rush; tell your little maid slowly."

"Wife, if one day I go mad, what will you do?"

Phonograph smiled: "What if you go mad? You'd still be my mad husband, and your little maid would still cherish you. 'My darling, suddenly before my eyes, I gasp for breath, overcome with emotion for you, hoping you might notice, and return a string of longing—'" His wife sang the song "My Darling."

Li Banfeng lay in his wife's arms, looking up at her. The clouds of worry on his face gradually dispersed.

"My dear husband, your little maid promised to give you something good, and it's almost finished." His wife shifted to a puppet body and pushed a piece of equipment over. Li Banfeng looked at the equipment. Its overall shape resembled a cannon.

"What's this for? It's not like a magnetic tremor cannon, is it?"

"No, it's different. This thing should be able to create a passage across the boundary, but whether it will work or not is hard to say right now."