Chapter 775: Mysterious Light Exorcises Evil

A Yu, carrying Tian Nü, looked at Li Banfeng. Step by step, she moved closer to the window. "Brother," she said, "you're quite calculating, but I can't be your house spirit."

Li Banfeng picked up a chair, sat in the wooden house, and looked up at A Yu. "Why can't you be my house spirit?"

"I was originally someone else's house spirit. My household has a house cultivator." A Yu glanced back at Tian Nü.

Li Banfeng lifted his hat brim. "Sister, I've been a house cultivator for many years; I know the rules. I called your name in my residence, and you answered. As long as your house cultivator doesn't object, it's a done deal. What more is there to say about something so clearly settled?"

A Yu pursed her lips and looked at Tian Nü behind her again. "She actually doesn't agree."

"Let her speak," Li Banfeng made a very reasonable request.

A chorus of voices shouted in A Yu's ears:"Exactly, let her speak!""She can't even talk; she's clearly dead.""The house cultivator is dead, so what's the big deal? Isn't she just an unowned house spirit?""It's your fortune that we're taking you in!""That's right, don't be ungrateful!"

A Yu's hearing wasn't very sharp; most of the voices sounded indistinct.

*How strange is this residence?* Not only was it strange, but A Yu also sensed that this residence hadn't been looked after for a long time. Residences that aren't maintained tend to be sluggish. If she escaped now, she might still have a chance to leave.

"Old Seven, listen to me. I'm very grateful that you brought me to Hulu Village. I want to go under the clouds to see A Yi. As for everything else, we can discuss it later." As she spoke, A Yu appeared calm but felt nervous. Li Qi's cultivation wasn't low, and this residence's level wasn't low either. If she broke the house cultivator's covenant and escaped secretly, she would likely face severe punishment. But if she could successfully get away, things might still turn around.

Li Banfeng said, "Don't worry about that. I'll call A Yi up in a moment, and you can reunite."

A Yu's cheeks flushed slightly. "I am your senior brother's woman; it's not appropriate between us."

The various parts of the residence were startled by this remark and began to chatter."What did this little hussy just say?""She said she's the senior brother's woman.""Our house cultivator is quite ruthless too, daring to lay hands on his senior brother's woman.""Don't talk nonsense; maybe her senior brother is willing.""If he's not willing, then take in the senior brother too, and let them live together."

The voices from the residence gradually faded; they fell silent, quietly watching the two individuals.

Li Banfeng thought for a moment. "You'd be my house spirit, not my wife. What's inappropriate about that? Besides, I already have a wife."

"In short, it's just not appropriate—" A Yu, with Tian Nü on her back, suddenly stood up and leaped out the window.

Don't underestimate a scrying cultivator's physical talent. A Yu could fly; though not fast, she could seize the best moment. Her previous statement, "I am your senior brother's woman," directly caused the residence to drop all its guard, waiting intently for what would come next, which gave A Yu an opportunity to escape. A house spirit who escapes secretly would have to hide from residences and house cultivators for life. If she ever encountered Li Banfeng in a confrontation, she would definitely be at a disadvantage.

Even so, A Yu chose to escape. She jumped out the window and was thinking about where to go next when she suddenly felt a strong gravitational pull behind her, preventing her from flying away. *Was there a vortex behind her?* A Yu didn't know where this vortex came from, but because she was delayed by it for a moment, invisible hands stretched out from inside the residence, dragging A Yu bodily back into the room.

Bang!

A Yu crashed onto the floor, and angry reprimands from the residence filled her ears:"Still trying to run?""Her legs should be broken!""Break them, then let them heal, and then break them again!"

If A Yu tried to jump out the window again, it wouldn't be so easy. This residence wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. Various furnishings and objects from inside the residence flew at A Yu, striking her face and head. A Yu could predict the trajectory of some objects, but others came without warning, giving her no time to react.

After being battered by the residence for a while, A Yu was bruised, her clothes tattered. She yelled at Li Banfeng, "Li Qi, don't force me to fight to the death!"

Li Banfeng looked at A Yu with an innocent smile, happily saying, "You know what, this is quite fun."

A Yu was startled, adjusted her tattered clothes, and retreated to a corner. "What do you want to play? How dare you—"

Looking closely at Li Banfeng's eyes, A Yu realized she had misunderstood him. Li Banfeng didn't want to play with A Yu; he had discovered a very interesting method. When using the "Riding the Wind and Driving the Clouds" ability, one could create a vortex. This vortex could not only lower oneself but also pull others back in. "Floating Clouds Interrogate Post" was right; this was truly fun—

A Yu pleaded from the side, "Brother, for your brother's sake, just let your sister-in-law go out and take a look."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "That's definitely not going to happen. This place was specifically prepared for you."

According to the tactics set by Li Banfeng and Old Train, if Old Train could bring A Yu and Tian Nü to Hulu Village, Li Banfeng would send them into the residence to settle down as house spirits. If Old Train failed, Li Banfeng would use Suishen Ju to pull Old Train, bringing A Yu and Tian Nü to Hulu Village, and similarly, into this residence, still to settle down as house spirits. But all of this was predicated on A Yu only wanting to escape and having no other intentions.

However, Li Banfeng knew very well that A Yu had other ideas, and shared a common intention with the Red Lotus in his residence: they very much wanted to reunite. This meant there was another possibility: A Yu might try to infiltrate Suishen Ju, an extremely high probability. To deal with this situation, Li Banfeng and his wife had specifically devised two sets of tactics.

First, Li Banfeng would use "Connecting Wide Bridal Chambers" to send A Yu to the residence in Hulu Village. Because Hulu Village was a hidden location, connecting to it was very difficult. To complete this operation, it would take considerable time. His wife, along with Hong Ying, Jiu'er, and Erfang, were desperately stalling for this very purpose.

Second, if Li Banfeng couldn't stall, he would try to make A Yu acknowledge him as her master within Suishen Ju. This was a very dangerous option. If A Yu became Suishen Ju's house spirit, she would reside there permanently. Although Li Banfeng and the Old Master would suppress her together, given A Yu's cunning, acquiring the Red Lotus would only be a matter of time.

The current outcome was quite favorable, so Li Banfeng certainly wouldn't let A Yu leave. "Sister, just wait here. I'll bring A Yi to see you in a bit. You can start by tidying up the room."

Li Banfeng descended from the cloud.

*He just left like that?* A Yu sneered, "I'll let you be arrogant!" Inside Suishen Ju were Zhao Xiaowan, Hong Ying, Erfang the Shadow Cultivator, and Yu Bu Zuo Bu Cheng Qi. All of them combined couldn't stop A Yu and Tian Nü. Now Li Banfeng had simply left. Did he think a single house could trap A Yu?

A Yu searched for flaws in the residence. Even the slightest flaw wouldn't escape her eyes. The windows were definitely out of the question; the residence had heavily guarded them. There seemed to be a gap in the ceiling. A Yu put Tian Nü on her back and was about to go to the roof when the residence creaked and groaned, warning A Yu.

"I don't want to hurt you, so don't run around!" The residence's voice was full of vicissitudes, like that of an eighty or ninety-year-old man. Old as it was, this residence was quite powerful; every tremor of the floor was forceful.

A Yu had acknowledged the house cultivator as her master, so she didn't want to clash directly with the residence. She turned to Tian Nü and said, "Use 'Cuckoo Occupies Magpie's Nest' one more time." A drop of blood fell from Tian Nü's fingertip. The "Cuckoo Occupies Magpie's Nest" technique couldn't be used frequently; it took a long time for the technique to take effect.

"I... I..." The residence's voice became sluggish, controlled by Tian Nü's "Cuckoo Occupies Magpie's Nest." A Yu leaped up to the ceiling, just about to escape through a gap, when she suddenly heard an old woman's voice coming from upstairs. "Are you coming into my room?" The old woman's tone was full of longing.

A Yu quickly dropped to the floor. She had used a scrying technique but hadn't seen what the old woman looked like. She turned back to Tian Nü and said, "Release the 'Cuckoo Occupies Magpie's Nest' technique." Tian Nü didn't respond. She couldn't release it.

A Yu was perplexed. "Cuckoo Occupies Magpie's Nest" usually allowed one to occupy an entire residence, so why had it only occupied one room today? *Could it be that this one room counted as an entire residence?* A Yu realized something was wrong. She turned to Tian Nü and said, "Use 'Connecting Chambers' to move this room to the top floor." Tian Nü had already occupied this room with "Cuckoo Occupies Magpie's Nest," so using "Connecting Wide Bridal Chambers" would be effortless. But this room couldn't be moved to the roof. The old woman upstairs refused to give way, and a little girl downstairs was pulling the room down.

"Sister, where are you going? Come down and play with me!" From the sound, the little girl seemed to be pulling hard on the ceiling.

A Yu shouted, "Move it to the next room!"

Tian Nü exerted her power, but the room couldn't be moved to the next one either. A young woman replied, "Don't rush, you're so beautiful, I like you very much too. I'll come find you once I've put on my makeup."

Tian Nü continuously used "Connecting Wide Bridal Chambers," but the room wouldn't budge an inch.

The old man shouted, "Stop pushing! I can't move! Just honestly be my house spirit."

The old woman snorted, "You old lecher, she's not just yours!"

The woman next door nodded. "That's right, from now on, we'll each have her for a day."

A Yu gritted her teeth. "Do you know who I am? Do you know who this is I'm carrying? You truly aren't afraid of death!"

The woman next door chuckled. "Fighting alone, we're definitely not your match, but there are many of us."

A Yu's face twisted fiercely. "What good is a lot of people?"

The old woman upstairs sighed, "Girl, don't show off. You've already acknowledged a master in front of the house cultivator, so how can you act tough with the residence?"

A Yu angrily said, "I only acknowledged one master! How could I have acknowledged so many of you residences?"

The woman next door said, "But we only recognize one house cultivator; we only have one master."

A Yu looked at Tian Nü and touched her arm. "I can make you change masters."

"That's difficult," the little girl downstairs earnestly advised. "This master has a contract, a contract given by the peddler. You should think carefully about it."

A Yu bit her lip. The peddler's contract was indeed not easy to deal with.

Zhao Xiaowan walked out of Suishen Ju and found the key Li Banfeng had left in a corner of the Dark Star Bureau's main hall. The locomotive was still parked in the hall. As Zhao Xiaowan picked up the key, she heard Old Train's voice.

"I've forgotten where this is, and I've forgotten what I'm supposed to do. I'm almost forgetting my own name."

Zhao Xiaowan didn't respond; Old Train didn't seem to be talking to her.

Little Train spoke up, "Shall I remind you? Your name is Eighteen Wheels. This is the Dark Star Bureau, and you came here to release Tian Nü and A Yu."

"Release them? No way!" Old Train suddenly became very agitated. "Why are you making me do this? What are your intentions?"

Little Train chuckled. "Old fellow, if you didn't want to come yourself, who could force you?"

Old Train's headlights flickered. "I have to go. I sense danger; some old friends are about to arrive."

"What's the rush? You're whole now; none of those old friends are your match."

Old Train puffed out steam, as if sighing. "Being whole isn't necessarily a good thing. I still want to slide out the artisan cultivator half. Keeping him inside me just feels uncomfortable."

Little Train laughed. "If you slide out the artisan cultivator, where would you put him? If he truly falls into the hands of an outer territory, wouldn't it be Pro-state that suffers in the future?"

"I'm worried about that too, brother. Can you look after the artisan cultivator half for me?"

Little Train was silent for a moment. "I can't agree to that. I don't like your artisan cultivator half either. I'm used to being free; he has too many annoying habits, and he bothers me."

Old Train had nothing more to say. Even he himself was annoyed by the artisan cultivator half, so it was reasonable that Little Train wouldn't agree. After a moment, Old Train's headlights flickered again. "Since you like being free, would you like to come out and travel with me? I'll talk to Li Qi and ask him to let you stay with me. We brothers can travel all over the world. Don't worry, I'll find good things to trade with him, so Old Seven definitely won't suffer a loss."

Little Train whistled, "I've been to many places with you before. Even if there are places I haven't been, it'll be the same if I go with A Qi later."

Old Train sighed, "Little Train, are you holding a grudge against me? Are you disregarding our past friendship?"

Little Train was about to depart. "Old Train, I remember all our friendship. As for the road ahead, we don't necessarily have to walk it together."

Whoosh-whoosh.

Zhao Xiaowan left the Dark Star Bureau building, and Little Train was also moving further away. Old Train suddenly shouted, "Little Train, are you really not coming with me?" Amidst the whistle, Little Train's voice was heard: "Do you know? I have a name now. My surname is Sui, and my name is Suishen Ju."

A Yi sat in the room, staring at A Yu for a while, then quietly said to Li Banfeng, "You know, she's quite pretty." Many voices from inside the room echoed:"Quite pretty, indeed quite pretty.""What's the use of just being pretty? Look at her figure, she's not too fat, but I wonder if she'll be easy to maintain.""After all these years, we've only acquired one house spirit. We must take good care of her. I wonder what her teeth are like, if she can still eat."

Li Banfeng looked at A Yi and said, "Haven't you seen your mother before?"

"I have seen her. We've bowed to each other, we've drunk together, we're closer than real sisters, it's just..." A Yi stared at A Yu for a moment longer. "Big sister, after all these years, I've forgotten what you look like. Were you always this beautiful?"

A Yu slapped A Yi. "Is that how you talk to your mother?"

A Yu was indeed beautiful, more so than A Yi and Jiu'er. But once A Yi noticed Tian Nü lying on the ground, she suddenly changed her mind.

"How could a human possibly look like that? She's way too beautiful!" A Yi thought Tian Nü was much prettier than A Yu.

Li Banfeng hadn't paid attention to Tian Nü's appearance, and neither had anyone else in the household. It wasn't easy to get a good look. When Tian Nü was on A Yu's back, they couldn't clearly see Tian Nü's face. But now that Tian Nü wasn't on A Yu's back, she was quite clear to see. Her skin was quite fair, and her features were regular. Her hair was a bit messy, probably not well-maintained usually, and was covered in quite a bit of mud and blood from the recent fight, making her look somewhat dishevelled.

Li Banfeng nodded slightly. "She's just passable."

A Yi still said, "Just passable?"

A Yu glared at Li Qi. "You speak with a conscience! There's no one prettier than her in the world!"

A Yi nodded. "I think even Zhao Xiaowan can't compare to her."

A Yu snorted. "Zhao Xiaowan is far from her!"

Li Banfeng suddenly stood up. This was his residence, and the sudden burst of imposing presence startled the two women. "How is she inferior? What does my wife lack compared to her? My wife has a loudspeaker; does she have one?"

A Yi looked at A Yu, not knowing what a loudspeaker meant. A Yu looked at Tian Nü and asked Li Banfeng, "First, let's clarify one thing: what do my sister and I eat here?"

A Yi slapped her thigh. "Mom, listen to yourself! What kind of sisterly bond do we have? Have I ever treated you unfairly? As long as you follow me, your sister, you'll have delicious food and drinks every day!"

A Yu gave A Yi a sidelong glance. "Do I lack your food? Am I that greedy?"

A Yi whispered, "Tonight there's lamb leg and chili oil noodles."

A Yu wiped the corner of her mouth. "I'm telling you, what we eat isn't important. When we sisters eat together, it's all for our friendship. Let's not even talk about lamb leg and oil noodles. Tian Nü and I need to consume outer territory regulators. I only have three days' worth, no more."

Li Banfeng said, "You can't go a single day without eating it?"

"What do you think?" A Yu glared, "Otherwise, why would we work for the outer territories?"

Li Banfeng still didn't understand. "Why do you need to consume regulators?"

A Yu said, "Tian Nü and I both suffered severe injuries. Our souls and bodies are heavily damaged and difficult to recover. Our cultivation is too high, and our souls and bodies can't bear the cultivation, so we naturally need to use regulators for guidance." What she said really sounded plausible.

Having laid enough groundwork, A Yu began the main topic. "The Dark Star Bureau's regulators and guiding agents have all been moved. I heard they're hard to find on the black market now. Tian Nü and I need to consume a lot every day. You really need to think carefully about this. My blooming young maiden serves you as a concubine, and the even more beautiful elder maiden serves you as your sworn sister. Two girls sweeter than honey are now yours. Can you bear to see me starve?"

Li Banfeng's expression turned serious. "Sister, I definitely won't let you starve. Regulators are hard to get, but I'll figure something out. I'll definitely find some."

Regulators were available in any quantity; Li Banfeng had his matched pearls. But A Yu's hearing wasn't sharp, and she couldn't hear Li Banfeng's thoughts at that moment.

A Yu sighed. "I feel bad making you run around for this all the time. Actually, when I went to look for the Red Lotus just now, it was also to solve things once and for all. When we were first trapped by Old Train, we relied on the Red Lotus to stabilize our cultivation. Later, when the Red Lotus was lost, we switched to using the Dark Star Bureau's regulators. Now that we're family, I'll just be straightforward. I, your sister, just want to borrow the Red Lotus for a bit. It only takes three to five minutes per use, and you won't be bothered for a year after that. Brother, can you do me this favor?"

A Yi looked at Li Banfeng. "Brother, my mother sounds quite sincere."

Li Banfeng remained silent.

A Yi turned her face to A Yu again. "Sister, he's not falling for it. Why don't you try buttering him up a bit more?"

A Yu kicked A Yi. She looked at Li Banfeng and said, "What I said is all true. Just bring the Red Lotus over for a short while. You can watch the whole time; I assure you I have no other intentions."

Li Banfeng looked at A Yu with a sincere smile. "Sister, leave the matter of regulators to me; you don't need to worry. Now, we need to talk about compensation. I brought you to Hulu Village, which is much better than giving A Yi a television. Shouldn't you give me a bit more reward?"

"Oh, listen to you," A Yu snorted. "The business you did with A Yi, you naturally need to settle the accounts with A Yi. What does that have to do with me? Are you implying you want to profit from both of us sisters?"

A Yi interjected, "Sister, that's not how we talk about it. I'm me, and you're you. Old Seven and I have an agreement, and you and he need to negotiate separately—"

A Yu kicked her again. "Get lost, you good-for-nothing!"

Li Banfeng sat upright. "We agreed initially that you would help me fight the bandit camp."

A Yu rolled her eyes. "Brother, you flatter me! With your great abilities, why would you need my help? I wouldn't want to be a burden."

Li Banfeng's lips curled. "You say you won't help, and you won't? If you don't, I'll use the grand mansion to lend out."

A Yu's eyes widened. "I just won't lend it to you! What are you going to do about it?"

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped, and A Yi shivered repeatedly. Li Banfeng also sensed a very strong danger, but it wasn't directed at him. Some voices came from inside the residence.

First, the old man: "What did she just say?"Then the old woman: "The house cultivator asked to borrow her technique, and she just said no!"Next, the young woman: "What a brazen hussy, she's rebelling!"Again the old man: "There must be rules in this house. She can't be allowed to act so unruly."The little girl laughed, "Let's apply house rules! She definitely needs a beating!"

A Yu looked around, then glared at Li Banfeng. "Exactly how many residences are here, and where did they all come from?"

Li Banfeng shook his head and said sincerely, "I'm not very familiar with them either."

Voices from the residence spoke again, this time addressing Li Banfeng:"It's alright, you'll get used to us eventually.""We're all family.""We'll help you discipline this brazen hussy!"

A Yi looked around. "Why do I keep hearing voices in the room? Big sister, I'm not crazy, I really hear voices talking, but they're too indistinct, I can't hear them clearly."

A Yu looked at A Yi. "Isn't this Hulu Village? You should know the origin of this residence."

A Yi looked innocent. "I truly don't know the origin of this residence. When Old Seven told me, I didn't quite believe it. I only knew such a place existed when I saw it with my own eyes."

A Yu's expression twisted fiercely. "Girl, you still dare to play dumb with me? You treat your mother like this? We'll settle this account later. Li Qi, if you want to borrow a technique from me, I'll agree. Do you have any other requests?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "Yes! We agreed back then that you'd also teach me a house cultivation technique."

Upon hearing this, A Yi immediately stood up. "Mother, I won't eavesdrop on the technique discussion."

Watching A Yi leave the room, A Yu grumbled, "Now she leaves quickly."

A Yi exited the residence, turned to look at its structure, and murmured, "Mother, don't mess around."

A Yu looked at Li Banfeng. "Brother, what technique do you want to learn?"

Li Qi put his hands in his sleeves, squatted beside A Yu, and said, "That depends on what techniques you have."

A Yu angrily said, "Take your hands out of your sleeves! When I see you like that, I just want to punch you!"

Li Banfeng kept his hands in his sleeves; he wouldn't take them out.

A Yu gritted her teeth. "One technique is called 'Cuckoo Occupies Magpie's Nest.' This is a life-saving technique for house cultivators. When you go to another person's residence, you can temporarily turn that place into your home. Any technique you can use in your own home, you can also use in that temporary home."

Li Banfeng nodded. "That technique is good."

"It's good, yes, but this technique is very difficult to learn, and its consumption is too great, especially when encountering residences of high-level house cultivators. With your current cultivation, your stamina would be exhausted in just a few minutes."

Li Banfeng nodded slightly, but mentally he temporarily gave up on this technique. For other house cultivators, fighting outside their residence was extremely dangerous. With the "Cuckoo Occupies Magpie's Nest" technique, their lives would indeed be protected. But Li Banfeng wasn't worried; he had Suishen Ju, which followed him wherever he went. For him, "Cuckoo Occupies Magpie's Nest" seemed a bit redundant.

"Are there other techniques?"

"Yes!" A Yu lowered her voice and leaned close to Li Banfeng's ear. "This technique is formidable, but it's even harder to learn than 'Cuckoo Occupies Magpie's Nest'."

Li Banfeng rubbed his ear. "Tell me about it."

A Yu's expression became even more mysterious. "This technique is specifically for preventing thieves. If there's something particularly important in your home, you can add a spiritual mark to it. If someone takes that item, the spiritual mark will make you aware of it." This technique didn't sound very interesting either. Whether it was the Old Master or the gloves, Li Banfeng never lacked guardians for his home.

Seeing Li Banfeng wasn't very interested, A Yu continued, "Once you sense that something has been stolen, you can emit a profound light, and the thief will be severely injured by it."

Li Banfeng was startled. "What is profound light?"

A Yu countered, "Have you ever seen heavenly light?"

Li Banfeng, with his hands in his sleeves, squatted on the ground and nodded repeatedly. "I've seen it; I'm very familiar with it."

A Yu smiled. "Brother, this technique is called 'Profound Light Slaying Evil.' Do you want to learn it?"

"Yes!" Li Banfeng smiled genuinely.

"Do you still have the level to learn techniques?"

Li Banfeng's smile froze. He shook his head. "No, I don't."

"Alas!" A Yu sighed deeply. "Then there's no way. Even if I wanted to teach you, you wouldn't be able to learn it."

"Don't worry, I'll go get some qi. I'll advance immediately!" Li Banfeng scurried out of the residence.

A Yu looked around, murmuring, "I refuse to believe I can't get out!"