Chapter 79: I Have a Love

Li Banfeng knew his wife's singing could summon ghosts; Shopkeeper Feng had told him about it.

He had originally intended to bring his wife out to resolve the situation directly, but she had told him that a house spirit could not leave its dwelling. That was secondary; her main point was that a woman should not always be showing her face in public, and tasks like grocery shopping were still Li Banfeng's responsibility.

His wife had given Li Banfeng a record, featuring the song "I Have a Love." All the ghost servants were completely engrossed, seemingly oblivious to Li Banfeng's presence. Actually, they hadn't ignored him. When Li Banfeng cranked the phonograph a little too fast, the ghost servants immediately became angry, glaring at him repeatedly. Cranking the phonograph truly required skill. Li Banfeng controlled the crank with one hand, while using his other hand to unlock the Portable Residence. Almost simultaneously, all the ghost servants turned their heads, looking towards the Portable Residence's door.

"I have a love,Singing for the spring breeze to hear.Spring breeze, please ask for me,Why has he gone silent, with no news?"

The ghost servants immediately followed Li Banfeng into the Portable Residence, without a moment's hesitation. Through the doorway, they heard an even more exquisite singing voice, far more beautiful than that from the hand-cranked phonograph.

Zhou Yujuan suddenly woke from her sleep and vigorously shook Du Hongxi, the second helmsman of the Jiangxiang Gang's Medicine King Hall, who was beside her.

"Master, master, wake up! There's a commotion downstairs. I heard the phonograph."

Du Hongxi rubbed his eyes, rolled over, and mumbled, "Let it ring. Doesn't that thing ring every day?"

"Master, don't sleep! I really hear something!"

"Just let me rest!" Du Hongxi pushed Zhou Yujuan away. "I've got nothing left here, so stop bothering me!"

Zhou Yujuan listened carefully for a moment; the singing downstairs seemed to have stopped. Had she really misheard? Zhou Yujuan dug at her ears. They felt blocked, probably by something Du Hongxi had left earlier. Sure enough, she heard no more sound, so Zhou Yujuan went to sleep. But Du Hongxi suddenly sat up.

"Master, what's wrong?" Zhou Yujuan asked with concern.

"Nothing. Just going to pee." Du Hongxi got out of bed.

Zhou Yujuan said, "Master, there's a chamber pot under the bed."

"No need for that, it's not comfortable!" Du Hongxi silently left the bedroom. Zhou Yujuan started to follow him but was stopped by a glare from Du Hongxi.

He wasn't going to pee; he had lost his connection to his ghost servants. He had encountered situations before where one or two ghost servants temporarily lost connection, either due to combat or other reasons. But this was the first time he had lost connection with all of them. Du Hongxi was very nervous, even panicked. He didn't tell Zhou Yujuan, nor did he tell anyone else. Without his ghost servants, Du Hongxi was almost completely defenseless. He now trusted no one.

He walked towards the end of the corridor, where two of his subordinates, both cultivators, were located. These two were somewhat capable, though he hadn't let them fight for a few years. Just as he was about to reach the end of the corridor, an iron ruler was suddenly pressed against Du Hongxi's bald scalp.

"Who's in that room?" Li Banfeng asked softly.

"Inside..."

"Quietly." Li Banfeng drilled a hole in the back of Du Hongxi's head with the iron ruler, causing Du Hongxi's body to convulse.

How could something like this be happening? Ever since Du Hongxi had cultivated to the second layer of Nightmare Cultivation, his life had never been threatened to this extent. With his cultivation, he could make his ghost servants do many things. With his cultivation, even third-layer spectral beings could be refined into ghost servants by him. But without his ghost servants, what could he do?

He could still summon new ghost servants. Du Hongxi concentrated, putting all his effort into summoning spectral beings. Were there any spectral beings nearby? Yes, plenty! Puluo Prefecture had no shortage of spectral beings. There were two malevolent spirits near the singing and dancing hall, having killed people and drunk blood. Although they had no cultivation levels, they were vicious enough to be useful if summoned.

Li Banfeng pushed the iron ruler half an inch deeper into Du Hongxi's skull. "I asked you, who's in there?"

Du Hongxi shivered, not expecting this scoundrel to be so ruthless. "They're my two subordinates."

Li Banfeng gently rotated the iron ruler. "What kind of subordinates?"

"Subordinates who've followed me for over ten years, all fierce men who kill without blinking an eye!" He seemed to be uttering threats, but he was actually just stalling for time. The spectral beings sensed the summons and flew towards the singing and dancing hall.

The iron ruler moved up and down inside Du Hongxi's scalp. Li Banfeng said, "I asked you, what cultivation path are these two subordinates of, and what is their cultivation level?"

"Both are Body Cultivators, first-layer cultivation."

"What kind of Body Cultivators? Birds? Beasts? Or insects?"

"Neither birds nor beasts. They should be considered insects." The two spectral beings had already arrived near the singing and dancing hall.

"What kind of insects?" Li Banfeng's iron ruler probed deeper and deeper.

"One is a centipede, and the other is a snake."

A "long worm"? Isn't a "long worm" a snake? Are snakes also considered insects?

The two malevolent spirits had already arrived outside the Western-style building and slowly seeped into the walls. The opportunity had arrived! Du Hongxi prepared to control the malevolent spirits to ambush Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng, with his right hand, stabbed the iron ruler two inches into the back of Du Hongxi's head, first incapacitating him. With his left hand, he turned the key and opened the Portable Residence. Li Banfeng then brought Du Hongxi inside. He wasn't in a hurry to close the door, as two malevolent spirits were still following behind him. These two malevolent spirits indeed had some combat ability, but they couldn't be described as having cultivation. How could their malevolent intentions escape Li Banfeng's notice? The reason he brought them into the Portable Residence was simply to add a dish for his wife.

Gurgle... The fifteen ghost servants hadn't finished eating, and the phonograph was burping from being so full.

"Wife, save those dried vegetables for later. Eat this fresh soul while it's hot."

With damage to his brain, Du Hongxi's body was immobilized. In the dark room, he saw the remaining six ghost servants. Du Hongxi mobilized his will, intending to control them to attack Li Banfeng. The ghost servants remained motionless, as if spellbound, turned to stone. Unable to command the ghost servants, Du Hongxi instead controlled the malevolent spirits to lunge at Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng had Yin-Yang Eyes and saw everything clearly. He dodged the malevolent spirits, and after a puff of steam, the spirits turned into dust and entered the phonograph's horn.

"Clatter~ Oh, dear husband, these two dried vegetables are a bit spicy~"

Du Hongxi was powerless to struggle, tears ceaselessly streaming from the corners of his eyes. What kind of monster was this? What kind of place was this?

"Wife, quickly eat this fresh one while it's hot. His corpse is still useful to me."

Hoo~ hoo~ Du Hongxi couldn't speak, heavy gasps escaping his throat. A mist enveloped him, and the intense burning pain made Du Hongxi vomit white foam. He felt his body being shredded into fine strands, one by one, and sucked into the phonograph. In reality, his body hadn't changed much; what was shredded was his soul. The phonograph consumed Du Hongxi's soul, and incidentally, tidied up his corpse, wiping away bloodstains and smoothing wounds, making him appear completely unharmed. Du Hongxi's corpse was still useful; this was Li Banfeng's planned tactic.

Li Banfeng carried Du Hongxi out of the Portable Residence and arrived at the door of his two subordinates. Du Hongxi had said they were Body Cultivators, one a centipede, the other a snake. Was he telling the truth? Li Banfeng didn't think so. He held Du Hongxi's body, propping him up as best he could by the door, then knocked. It took a long time for the door to open. One of the subordinates was naked, and the other wore a short jacket; both were still groggy from sleep. Seeing how sluggish they were, they didn't seem as agile as a centipede or a snake. These two subordinates had indeed followed Du Hongxi for a long time, but with Du Hongxi protected by his ghost servants, they usually weren't needed for action. Seeing Du Hongxi standing at the door, they didn't immediately realize he was a corpse. A stranger stood behind Du Hongxi. The naked subordinate ignored the young man and directly asked Du Hongxi, "Big brother, what's wrong?"

Du Hongxi didn't answer; the young man behind him spoke.

"Nothing much. Big brother just missed you." Li Banfeng swung his blade, slitting the naked man's throat. The man in the jacket gasped in horror and dismay. Li Banfeng seized the opportunity to force a vivid green poison pellet into his mouth. The man was fairly quick-witted; he managed to spit out the poison pellet and exchanged two moves with Li Banfeng. But spitting it out was useless; the venom had already spread to his throat, and the severe swelling instantly suffocated him. Both subordinates stood at the doorway, clutching their throats.

This was his first time using the poison pellet, so Li Banfeng wasn't entirely confident about its efficacy. However, seeing the man poisoned by the pellet lose all ability to resist within seconds, Li Banfeng formed a high opinion of it. It wasn't just powerful but also effective; it didn't even need to be ingested—just a touch could poison the opponent. Seeing their deteriorating condition, Li Banfeng didn't dare delay. He quickly opened the Portable Residence and turned back to ask:

"I forgot to ask, what cultivation path are you two from? Why aren't you speaking? Neither of you wants to say? If you don't want to tell me, that's fine for now, but you absolutely must tell me next time. Don't be in such a hurry to die. Grin and bear it for a little while longer; I have someone at home waiting to eat."

PS: I have a story to tell, dear readers, which I sing for you. Come, let's open our hearts to each other.