Chapter 64: Jianghu Rules Tit for Tat

Li Banfeng found a few more watermelon seeds on other weapons. "Shopkeeper Yu, I wasn't wrong. You really were chopping watermelons all day."

Yu Nan meticulously recalled the battle scene. Whether shot with a gun or slashed with a knife, the Geng Family Pharmacy's employees would bleed, but they wouldn't fall.

Throughout the entire process, Yu Nan hadn't heard a single word from the pharmacy's employees, nor even a cry.

Could they all be watermelons?

Was the blood they shed actually watermelon juice?

Why would watermelons grow into human form? And why could they fight?

Zhang Shiquan, the oldest warehouse manager at the cloth store, took a puff from his pipe and speculated, "Diligent cultivators toil to reach their peak; at the fifth level, they reign as lords. I fear we've encountered a powerful Diligent Cultivator!"

A Diligent Cultivator?

Aside from knowing it was arduous, Li Banfeng had no other concept of this particular Taoist sect.

"What do you mean by 'powerful'?" Li Banfeng asked directly.

The old warehouse manager explained, "It's a common saying in our circles. Diligent Cultivation is hard, and few practice it. But if one can persevere and cultivate to the fifth level, they're considered 'powerful.' They can grow all sorts of strange things. Like these fighting watermelons, I've never seen anything like them in all my years. I suspect these were grown from seeds specially bred by a Diligent Cultivator."

Yu Nan thought for a moment, then shook her head slightly. "What is the Geng Family anyway? How could they afford a fifth-level Diligent Cultivator? Besides, I've never heard of a fifth-level Diligent Cultivator in Yaowang Ditch!"

The old warehouse manager packed another pipe of dry tobacco. "Shopkeeper, Diligent Cultivators live hard lives; they'll do anything for money. He's not here to fight a war, just selling a few watermelons. And if a Diligent Cultivator loses their land, they'll surely come out to cultivate new land. Yaowang Ditch has plenty of new land, so it's quite possible a Diligent Cultivator came here and the Geng Family encountered them."

What did 'new land' mean?

He always seemed to hear new terms.

Li Banfeng didn't interject; he didn't want to interrupt their train of thought.

But their thoughts had already stalled. A fifth-level cultivator was an opponent Yu Nan dared not even imagine facing, especially a powerful Diligent Cultivator. No one knew how to react.

Yu Nan turned her gaze to Li Banfeng.

Everyone looked at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng blinked. "Why are you looking at me? I've never seen a Diligent Cultivator either."

The old warehouse manager took a puff from his pipe and sighed. "A wise person speaks only a third of what they know, leaving the other seven-tenths for us to figure out."

Hearing this, everyone continued to look at Li Banfeng expectantly.

Li Banfeng said nothing.

He had deduced that their opponents were watermelons based on the unique scent left on the weapons. As for how to deal with a Diligent Cultivator, Li Banfeng had no similar experience or a well-developed strategy.

However, Li Banfeng did have experience dealing with formidable enemies that couldn't be defeated in the short term. As an orphan raised in a welfare institution, he had encountered too many such adversaries.

"Do you have any other places to stay besides Baixiang Village?" Li Banfeng's suggestion was for them to flee immediately.

Yu Nan had just suffered a defeat, was burdened with many injured soldiers, and knew nothing of Geng Zhiwei's tactics. Staying here would be tantamount to offering themselves up.

Even worse, she and her Yu Family Gang were still thinking about jianghu rules.

Given the mindset and understanding of these people, encountering a ruthless individual like Geng Zhiwei meant staying was simply waiting for death.

"Run?" Wang Xuejiao, Old Eight's sister, stood up. "We've come this far, where else can we run? Are we to abandon all honor?"

Li Banfeng found Yu Nan's thinking contradictory. "When you ran from Ligou to Baihua Village back then, you didn't seem so concerned about honor, did you?"

Yu Nan shook her head. "That was different. Back then, we were guarding against their sneak attacks. Now they've come with open blades and clear intentions."

"Can't you defend against open attacks?" Li Banfeng still couldn't understand.

"Mr. Li, you don't understand what jianghu is," Wang Xuejiao said with a sneer. "If an opponent comes with open blades and clear intentions, you can prepare and fight them. But if you run, the Yu family's banner will have completely fallen!"

Li Banfeng glanced around at everyone. "If you all die here, wouldn't the Yu family's banner have fallen then?"

Wang Xuejiao puffed out her chest. "Of course not! We'll use our lives to uphold the Yu family's banner!"

Li Banfeng continued, "What if Geng Zhiwei presses the Yu family's banner into the ground and then urinates on it? What could you do then?"

Wang Xuejiao retorted angrily, "He wouldn't dare!"

"What if he did dare? What could you do? You're already dead; could you leap up and hit him?" Li Banfeng continued to scan everyone's faces.

The principles of this world are simple, but some people just can't understand them.

Wang Xuejiao mumbled, "That's just how jianghu works..."

"Can dead people argue rules with him?" Li Banfeng asked again. Wang Xuejiao was unconvinced, and so was everyone else, but none could answer.

The old warehouse manager tapped his pipe bowl and looked at Yu Nan.

He had understood Li Banfeng's words; he grasped the underlying truth. "Shopkeeper, let's go. We'll hide out in the new land in Jiangyue Mountain for a while."

Hearing this, Yu Nan nodded slightly, and the others said no more.

Everyone went back to pack their bags. Yu Nan asked Li Banfeng, "Seventh Master, come with us. Although the new land is a bit harsh, Geng Zhiwei wouldn't dare pursue us there."

"What exactly is this 'new land'?" Li Banfeng asked, unafraid to show his lack of knowledge.

Yu Nan was used to it by now; she wasn't sure if Li Banfeng truly didn't understand or was deliberately testing her. "New land is literally 'newborn land'. Every year, Yaowang Ditch has three to five such newborn areas, each about the size of two or three villages."

Newborn land every year?

Li Banfeng shook his head; he still couldn't grasp it.

Yu Nan continued to explain, "It's like two mountains that were originally close together. After a year, they suddenly become far apart, and a large empty space appears between them. That's new land. Most new land is flat, but there are exceptions: some are hills, some are valleys, some are bogs, and some are even lakes..."

Li Banfeng's eyes widened. "Yaowang Ditch... it grows its own land?"

Yu Nan nodded. "Not just Yaowang Ditch; it happens everywhere, every year."

Li Banfeng pulled up a chair and sat down, taking a sip of water to calm his repeatedly challenged perception of reality.

Yu Nan reminded him, "Seventh Master, let's pack our things. We should be leaving soon."

"No rush," Li Banfeng waved his hand. "You go first, take Little Fatty with you. I still have something to do here."

***

At 2 AM, Yu Nan and her group left Baixiang Village.

By 3:30 AM, Geng Zhiwei, with over a hundred men, stormed into Yu Nan's residence.

This group was divided into two teams. One team consisted of living people: some stood behind Geng Zhiwei, shouting and looking menacing, while others surrounded the residence, blocking every exit. The other team was silent, expressionless, and unmoving. These were the "watermelon people" Geng Zhiwei had purchased from the Diligent Cultivator.

These watermelon people also carried swords, axes, and other weapons, but at the moment, their function was limited to simply walking.

A servant, holding a cloth bag, took out a handful of brown pellets and put them into a watermelon person's mouth.

The pellets had a pungent, fishy odor; they were the watermelon people's fertilizer.

After eating the fertilizer, this watermelon person raised their sword, ready for battle.

Before long, over twenty watermelon people had all consumed the fertilizer.

Two servants approached, carrying a dozen or so cut watermelons.

These watermelons were unusual; they were very sweet, very fishy, and seemed different from ordinary watermelons.

Geng Zhiwei picked up two slices of watermelon and crunched them down.

Shortly after, his face flushed, and he broke into a sweat.

Jia Quansheng and a group of servants were also eating watermelon.

Li Banfeng hid inside the house, clearly observing everything through a crack in the window.

Why were they eating watermelon?

Li Banfeng didn't understand.

But he soon understood.

Geng Zhiwei shouted, "Kill!"

The watermelon people didn't possess much intelligence. If Geng Zhiwei ordered them to move, they would follow him; if he ordered them to kill, it meant for them to kill anyone they saw.

However, watermelon people only killed humans, not watermelons. Geng Zhiwei and his subordinates had eaten watermelon, and they emitted a watermelon scent from within. The watermelon people wouldn't harm them and would obey their commands. This was how they distinguished friend from foe.

Li Banfeng leveraged his House Cultivator advantage, quietly leaped into the backyard, and hid in the woodshed.

A man pushed open the woodshed door and entered. Li Banfeng sniffed and detected the unique sweet scent of watermelon on him.

This was a watermelon person.

The front and back yards were filled with watermelon people.

The watermelon people were doing all the risky work.

If Yu Nan hadn't left, no matter how many ambushes she had set, she would ultimately only have fought these watermelon people. She wouldn't have been able to harm Geng Zhiwei in the slightest.

Once Yu Nan's side was completely annihilated, Geng Zhiwei would order the people surrounding the residence to close in, and not a single member of Yu Nan's group would escape.

Geng Zhiwei intended to wipe them out completely.

He wouldn't let Yu Nan go, nor would he let Li Banfeng go. This was the only thing Yu Nan had said correctly.

This was why Li Banfeng had stayed behind.

Yu Nan had been defeated by Geng Zhiwei; it would soon be Li Banfeng's turn.

What should Li Banfeng do?

The principle was simple: fight if you can win, run if you can't.

Could Li Banfeng defeat Geng Zhiwei?

Previously, he couldn't; now, it was hard to say.

Li Banfeng had observed the characteristics of the watermelon people and now understood Geng Zhiwei's methods.

He had a chance to win; the key was how he fought.

Eat a watermelon every day, then constantly guard against Geng Zhiwei?

Would that trick work?

No.

There were three reasons.

First, Li Banfeng wasn't sure if the watermelon Geng Zhiwei ate was an ordinary one.

Second, Li Banfeng didn't know when Geng Zhiwei would make his move; he couldn't eat watermelon constantly.

Third, Geng Zhiwei knew a fifth-level Diligent Cultivator. If tomorrow he brought out carrot people instead, how would Li Banfeng deal with them?

So, simply eating watermelon wouldn't solve the problem fundamentally.

Start a direct battle with Geng Zhiwei here?

The difficulty was too great. Geng Zhiwei was too well prepared, and the chances of victory based solely on surprise were slim.

Matters in the jianghu still had to be resolved using jianghu rules.

Jianghu rules emphasized reciprocity.

First, I visited his home. Although uninvited, it was still a visit.

Then, I'd send him to a 'good place'. Although it would be a one-way trip, it was still a 'going'.

Isn't that reciprocity?

Isn't that precisely a jianghu rule?

As for rules about open attacks and hidden ambushes, Li Banfeng didn't understand them yet.

The watermelon person who entered the woodshed saw Li Banfeng and immediately raised their blade to strike.

Li Banfeng picked up a shovel, made a hole in the watermelon person's stomach, reached his hand into the wound, and pulled out a handful of watermelon flesh.

Yes, it was watermelon flesh, fresh and red, complete with seeds.

The watermelon person felt no pain and continued to swing its blade.

Li Banfeng smeared the watermelon flesh on his face, emitting a watermelon scent.

The watermelon person kept swinging its blade.

It didn't work!

Indeed, it didn't work. Earlier in the day, when Yu Nan and her people fought the watermelon people, they also got a lot of watermelon juice on them, but the watermelon people showed them no mercy.

Smearing it on his face was useless. He had to eat the watermelon flesh so the watermelon scent would emanate from within.

Fortunately, this watermelon person was durable but not very skilled at fighting. With Li Banfeng's agility, he could easily contend with it.

Amidst the struggle, Li Banfeng grabbed another handful of watermelon flesh and swallowed it.

The watermelon was very sweet but also very tart. Li Banfeng forced it down.

The watermelon person continued to swing its blade. Li Banfeng was startled; he had already eaten the watermelon, so why wasn't it working?

Not enough eaten?

Li Banfeng dodged the watermelon person's blade, then pulled out another large handful of watermelon flesh from its wound and shoved it into his mouth.

It was horrible! Why was it so tart? The tartness made Li Banfeng sweat.

The watermelon person sniffed, smelled the watermelon scent emanating from within Li Banfeng, and its blade, mid-swing, stopped.

"Watermelon people" do not harm watermelons.

Li Banfeng opened his portable residence, reached back, and deeply inserted the key into the watermelon person's stomach, burying it very deep.

Li Banfeng vanished. The watermelon person, still holding its machete, silently left the woodshed.

PS: This chapter is so long, give Salar a cheer!