Chapter 72: Mrs. Suo

A little after nine o'clock, Yu Nan led everyone to Yu Family Village.

Old Zhu quickly went out to greet them. Once everyone was inside Yu Family Village, Old Zhu began to speak of Li Qi.

"Master Qi is here?" Yu Nan was overjoyed to hear this. "Where is he?"

"He said he was going for a walk in the forest and has been gone for seven or eight hours."

Yu Nan's face clouded with worry. She couldn't understand why Li Banfeng dared to wander alone in the New Land.

Wang Xuejiao said, "Boss, if you're worried, we can go look for him in the forest."

Yu Nan shook her head. "The New Land is too dangerous. If we go in so rashly, let alone finding him, it's doubtful whether we'll even make it back alive. Li Qi is a journey-cultivator; he knows his way back. Let's wait for now."

They waited for another two hours. Everyone had been traveling for two days straight, and the exhaustion was unbearable, so they all fell asleep.

Yu Nan couldn't sleep. She was pacing back and forth outside the wooden house when suddenly a middle-aged man in a tailcoat approached her. He removed his top hat and bowed to Yu Nan.

"Excuse me, are you Manager Yu of the Yu Family Cloth Shop?"

Yu Nan was taken aback; she didn't recognize him.

The man smiled. "I am the private detective, Da Boynes."

He was clearly a local, so why did he have a foreign name?

"A detective?" Yu Nan scrutinized him. "What brings you to my Yu Family Village?"

"I'm looking for someone. His name is Li Banfeng."

"I don't know anyone by that name. You should try asking elsewhere." Yu Nan was ushering him away.

Da Boynes had no intention of leaving. "I've already asked everywhere else. There aren't many villages in this New Land; only your village had visitors yesterday."

Yu Nan maintained a smile, but her heart rate suddenly quickened.

From the private detective's words, Yu Nan gleaned two crucial pieces of information.

The first: the Li Banfeng he was looking for was very likely Li Qi.

The second: he could determine that Yu Family Village had visitors yesterday, which proved he possessed some special technique.

He had come here already certain that Li Banfeng was present.

Yu Nan wasn't going to waste any more words on him. "Detective Da Boynes," she said, "we truly don't know anyone named Li Banfeng here. It's very late; if you have no other business, we won't keep you any longer."

Da Boynes smiled. "Since Manager Yu brought it up, I actually do have another matter. I'm a timid person and don't particularly like walking at night. If Manager Yu doesn't mind, could I possibly stay here for the night?"

Yu Nan's smile vanished. "I do mind. Yu Family Village never hosts outsiders."

Da Boynes's smile remained unchanged. "It's fine if I can't stay the night. Could you perhaps offer me a cup of tea?"

Yu Nan, holding her pipe, replied, "The well isn't yielding water today. No water means no tea."

Da Boynes still wouldn't leave. "Could I at least ask Manager Yu for a cigarette? Surely that's allowed?"

Puff~ Yu Nan exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Detective, is this puff enough for you?"

The smoke swirled around Da Boynes several times.

This was a warning from a smoke-cultivator.

Da Boynes put on his top hat. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Manager Yu, are you threatening violence?"

"Yes!" The lady's cigarette stuck in her pipe glowed much brighter, and scattered ash fell onto Da Boynes.

Da Boynes brushed off the ash. He looked somewhat helpless. "Manager Yu, this isn't very wise of you."

The ash was simply brushed away.

The private detective's cultivation was clearly superior to Yu Nan's.

Yu Nan drew a dagger. She pointed it at her own palm. "This is Yu Family Village; I am the master of this land!"

She held the dagger not to fight the private detective, but to draw her own blood.

She was the master of this land; that wasn't just a simple warning.

Her blood could awaken certain beings on this land, and these beings could claim Da Boynes' life.

Da Boynes had spent years pioneering in the New Land and naturally understood the mysteries involved. In this situation, it was clear he couldn't persist.

He extended his hands, palms pressed slightly downwards. "Manager Yu, please don't be angry. I shall take my leave."

With that, Da Boynes withdrew from the perimeter of Yu Family Village.

But he didn't go far. He circled the two rows of wooden houses in Yu Family Village dozens of times, leaving spiderwebs on the surrounding trees.

Yu Nan knew these spiderwebs were meant for Li Banfeng.

But knowing was useless. Da Boynes's range of activity was outside Yu Family Village's boundaries; once outside the village, Yu Nan was no match for him.

Yu Nan nervously gazed into the depths of the jungle. She didn't know when Li Banfeng would return.

Before, she had desperately wished to see Li Banfeng immediately.

Now, she wished he wouldn't appear at all.

Da Boynes sat beneath a tree. He took out a harmonica and said to Yu Nan, "Li Banfeng and I share a special destiny. I believe this connection hasn't been severed. I believe he will definitely return tonight."

Yu Nan sneered, her face full of sarcasm. "You're not a foreigner by birth; why do you insist on speaking with a foreign accent?"

Da Boynes smiled slightly. "Manager Yu, a gentleman's demeanor knows no borders, regardless of his lineage. Don't try to provoke me with your harsh words; it won't work on me. Also, let me remind you of something: Li Banfeng will definitely appear tonight. If he's someone you care about, then wait for him here. Perhaps this will be the last time you ever see him."

With that said, Da Boynes took his harmonica and began to play.

The harmonica's tune had a unique, leisurely quality, a casual mellowness. Yet, all Yu Nan heard was a pervasive murderous intent.

After playing two songs, Da Boynes put away his harmonica, stood up, gazed into the distant night, and adjusted his top hat and tailcoat.

He felt the vibration of the spider silk; he knew someone was approaching.

Yu Nan immediately exhaled a cloud of smoke. She wanted to pinpoint Li Banfeng's location and send out a warning using the smoke.

This would depend on both parties' cultivation.

Da Boynes was clearly confident in his cultivation. "Manager Yu, don't make futile attempts. By the time your smoke reaches Li Banfeng's face, his head will likely already be in my hands."

Yu Nan looked at the iron bell in front of the village gate. She wanted to ring it to summon her subordinates.

Da Boynes saw through her intention. He shook his head at her. "Don't do anything foolish and pointless. Once outside your village, you and your subordinates are as insignificant as ants. Isn't it good to be alive? You haven't known him for very long, actually. Just watch quietly. Isn't it better to just see him off for the last time like this?"

Yu Nan was filled with fury, but what Da Boynes said was indeed true.

A moment later, Li Banfeng's figure appeared in the night. Yu Nan cried out, "Master Qi, don't come any closer!"

Da Boynes shook his head and chuckled. "Too late, it's already too late."

Once Li Banfeng was within Da Boynes's sight, only two possibilities remained.

The first: Li Banfeng would rush towards Yu Family Village, get caught in the spiderwebs, and wait to be killed by Da Boynes.

The second: Li Banfeng would heed Yu Nan's warning and not approach Yu Family Village, then be directly killed by Da Boynes.

The current Li Banfeng seemed not to hear Yu Nan's warning and charged directly towards Yu Family Village.

Da Boynes stepped forward and greeted him. "From the moment we parted, I sensed we would meet again. I didn't expect this moment to come so soon, my friend."

Li Banfeng responded loudly, "Yes, we are friends!"

Da Boynes sighed. "I've always felt that our connection runs deep. It definitely won't end here. I truly hope that in the next world, you'll still remember me, my friend."

Li Banfeng loudly retorted, "Did you hear that? He's my friend!"

Da Boynes paused, bewildered. Who was he talking to?

Yu Nan?

Da Boynes looked at Yu Nan. Yu Nan was also bewildered; she didn't understand Li Banfeng's meaning.

In his astonishment, Da Boynes sensed another presence around Li Banfeng.

This presence's location was erratic; sometimes it was in the trees, sometimes on the ground, and sometimes hovering in mid-air.

The other party was very strong; some of the spiderwebs Da Boynes had set up were torn through.

What was this thing?

In his surprise, a colossal figure uncoiled from a tree and dropped down, blocking Li Banfeng who was rushing towards Yu Family Village.

Yu Nan and Da Boynes's view was also blocked.

They couldn't see Li Banfeng; they only saw a colossal, emerald-green worm.

Da Boynes blinked. He muttered, "Madam Bagworm... This is trouble."

Li Banfeng ran and dodged, evading the worm for an entire night, and finally managed to run back to Yu Family Village.

He shouted, "You heard it! That person is my friend!"

The human-like face on the worm turned and glanced at Da Boynes. "Are you two friends?"

Da Boynes licked his lips. "I, uh, no..."

Madam Bagworm turned her face to Li Banfeng. "He said you aren't..."

Li Banfeng had already taken out the blood-filled pendulum. He tapped the screw beneath the pendulum, and a spurt of blood sprayed onto Madam Bagworm's eyes.

This was the blood of a joy-cultivator, from Geng Zhiwei, stored within the pendulum.

Madam Bagworm let out a roar of rage. She furiously wiped her eyes with her long, slender tentacles.

Seizing this opportunity, Li Banfeng entered his portable dwelling. With all his might, he threw the key two hundred meters away, onto the roof of a wooden house in Yu Family Village.

Old Zhu had said that this was Yu Nan's territory. As long as Yu Nan shed her blood in Yu Family Village, anyone who dared trespass would be pulverized.

If humans couldn't trespass, then this worm certainly couldn't either!

When Madam Bagworm opened her eyes, she found that Li Banfeng had vanished.

She turned her face again and looked at Da Boynes. "Where did he go?"

Da Boynes couldn't answer. His view had been blocked by Madam Bagworm; he hadn't even seen Li Banfeng's departure.

Madam Bagworm gazed tenderly at Da Boynes. "He killed my child; will you be my child instead?"

Da Boynes took two steps back. He said nervously, "He and I aren't really friends. We barely know each other..."

He had been a pioneer in the New Land several times; he knew what level this Madam Bagworm was on. He knew such beings were not to be provoked.

"If you don't want to be my child," Madam Bagworm said, "you could also have a child with me." Her cheeks flushed slightly, and ripples spread across her plump body.

Under the influence of the joy-cultivator's blood, she had fallen in love with Da Boynes.

"Perhaps we're not quite compatible," Da Boynes said, stepping on his own spider silk and quickening his retreat.

Dear esteemed readers, the joy-cultivator's blood is ready, and so is the salad.