Chapter 802: The Creation of the Great Totem

Li Banfeng asked where Beixianzhong came from. The three men equivocated, none wanting to tell the truth.

Lu Maoxian specifically added, "This matter is a state secret; it's not appropriate to discuss it openly here."

His implication was that discussing it there was unsuitable, so Li Banfeng decided to move them to a different location.

Using his 'Connected Chambers' technique, Li Banfeng sent Beixianzhong back to his portable residence and brought out Jiu'er.

Meng Yuchun didn't understand Li Banfeng's technique. She was a bit nervous when Beiwushuang suddenly vanished.

But the moment she saw Jiu'er, Meng Yuchun quickly forgot about Beiwushuang.

Could such a beautiful woman truly exist in this world?

Meng Yuchun stared blankly at Jiu'er; from that moment on, no one else could capture her attention.

Jiu'er knew some medical arts, so Li Banfeng asked her to treat Meng Yuchun's injuries.

Meng Yuchun clutched Jiu'er's arm, her face flushing as she said, "Treating injuries here would be utterly embarrassing."

Jiu'er understood Meng Yuchun's predicament; as a young woman, she couldn't possibly undress outdoors.

"Miss Meng, I'll take you home." Jiu'er escorted Meng Yuchun back to her dwelling. After treating the wounds, she was about to leave when she noticed Meng Yuchun gazing at her with dazed eyes.

"Miss Meng, is there something else?" Seeing Meng Yuchun silent and with beads of sweat on her face, Jiu'er thought the wound might not have been properly treated. "Does your wound still hurt?"

"It hurts!" Meng Yuchun replied weakly.

Jiu'er thought carefully; she hadn't used the wrong medicine, so why was she still in so much pain?

"Miss Meng, please bear with it. I'll check again."

"Okay!"

Jiu'er unwrapped the bandage and re-examined the wound.

Meng Yuchun bit her lip, her cheeks a deep red.

Under the steam, Beiwushuang's camel face also turned completely red.

Zhao Xiaowan gracefully turned a record and asked gently, "Where do you come from?"

Beiwushuang's throat and nose healed quickly, proving his physique was indeed very different from before. He snorted repeatedly and said, "I came from Neizhou, sent by Lord Yu to contend for territory here."

Zhao Xiaowan asked, "Who is Lord Yu?"

"The Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Lord Yu Zhuo."

Zhao Xiaowan held the record up to Beiwushuang's eyes and said, "Isn't Qiao Yi the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet?"

Beiwushuang struggled to avoid the record and explained, "Lord Yu is the Grand Secretary of the New Cabinet, and Lord Qiao is the Grand Secretary of the Old Cabinet."

Li Banfeng was astonished. "What New Cabinet, Old Cabinet? Has Qiao Yi been usurped?"

Hong Ying jumped in surprise. "Qilang, when did you get back? Don't just speak up suddenly; at least give us a heads-up!"

Zhao Xiaowan wasn't scared; she was never afraid no matter when her man appeared.

She continued to ask Beiwushuang, "Who established the New Cabinet?"

"It was the New Emperor."

Li Banfeng said, "Nonsense! The New Emperor is at Three-Headed Fork. When did he issue a decree for you to establish a New Cabinet?"

Beiwushuang looked at Li Banfeng, not daring to speak. He was afraid that saying the wrong thing would cost him his life.

Hong Ying roared, "Qilang asked you a question, why aren't you answering?"

The sheer intimidation terrified Beiwushuang. He struggled to speak, so Lu Maoxian spoke for him from inside: "The imperial family of Shang believes the New Emperor at Three-Headed Fork's lineage is questionable and he might not be the true imperial heir."

"What kind of talk is that!" Li Banfeng was greatly annoyed.

How could the New Emperor at Three-Headed Fork's lineage be questionable? He wasn't even of imperial blood in the first place!

Zhao Xiaowan said, "So, members of the imperial family established a new emperor, and then had the new emperor replace the cabinet, is that the sequence?"

Beiwushuang nodded continuously.

Zhao Xiaowan told Li Banfeng, "They just want to replace Qiao Yi."

Lu Maoxian continued, "Lord Qiao handled both domestic and foreign affairs improperly, leading to many grievances in court. Lord Yu dispatched us to the Great Totem to combine our combat power and reverse the deteriorating war situation."

Li Banfeng carefully observed Beixianzhong. Were these three individuals products of the Great Totem?

In that case, this matter needed to be clarified.

"Did Yu Zhuo send you to the Great Totem? Is the Great Totem under his jurisdiction?"

Lu Maoxian, a disciple of a sage and someone of standing in Shang, knew the most. "Lord Yu has always been in charge of the Great Totem, while Lord Qiao is in charge of the Great Furnace."

It seemed Li Banfeng still knew too little about Shang; he hadn't realized there were two factions.

If the Great Furnace and the Great Totem each represented a faction, the Great Totem faction certainly had a low presence.

This wasn't just Li Banfeng's assessment; his wife also had some knowledge of Neizhou, and she hadn't heard of the Great Totem faction either.

She suspected Beixianzhong wasn't telling the truth.

"My dear husband, I think there's something fishy about this. Qiao Yi isn't easily manipulated, and we haven't heard of such a prominent figure as Yu Zhuo in Shang. It would be best to find a place where they'll tell the truth and question them thoroughly."

Beiwushuang kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Everything we said is the truth, not a single lie."

Li Banfeng used 'Connected Chambers' to take Beixianzhong to A Yu's residence.

After a glance at Beixianzhong, A Yu immediately drew a conclusion: "This isn't one person; this is someone formed by the Great Totem."

A Yu's discernment was truly impressive!

Beiwushuang nodded repeatedly, "The fairy is right, we were indeed created by the Great Totem."

A Yu, beaming, turned to Li Banfeng and said, "Look how well this camel talks. He called me a fairy."

Li Banfeng asked again, "You said Yu Zhuo established a New Cabinet. Is this cabinet still in Chaoge?"

Beiwushuang shook his head. "Not in Chaoge, but in Haocheng."

Li Banfeng frowned. "If it's not in the capital, then what kind of cabinet is it?"

Afraid he couldn't explain clearly, Beiwushuang quickly urged Lu Maoxian to speak.

Lu Maoxian said, "Lord Yu already has intentions to relocate the capital."

A Yu told Li Banfeng, "This person isn't lying. Shang has a history of multiple capital relocations."

She could hear their inner thoughts, a power Lu Maoxian couldn't resist. As long as A Yu wasn't playing tricks, it proved Lu Maoxian wasn't lying.

Since he wasn't lying, Li Banfeng moved on to the most crucial question: "Where is the Great Totem? Is it in Haocheng?"

Beiwushuang said, "It shouldn't be in Haocheng. We don't know its exact location."

Lu Maoxian explained further, "We departed from Haocheng for the Great Totem and then returned to Haocheng. We have no memory of anything that happened during the journey."

A Yu nodded slightly towards Li Banfeng; this statement was also true.

Li Banfeng then asked the second crucial question: "How much of the Great Totem has been repaired?"

"Repaired?" Lu Maoxian was a bit surprised.

Shen Jinzhong spoke up, "Hasn't the Great Totem always been fine? Why would it need repairing?"

Li Banfeng felt he wasn't telling the truth.

But A Yu determined that this was still the truth: "Neizhou never told them about the Great Totem being damaged. In their perception, the Great Totem has always been intact."

Li Banfeng asked again, "Was Lu Xiaolan also created by the Great Totem?"

Beiwushuang fell silent, and Shen Jinzhong also didn't speak.

Li Banfeng directly asked Lu Maoxian, "Elder Lu, you must know about your granddaughter, right?"

Lu Maoxian pondered for a moment. "I heard that Lu Xiaolan is also working for the court. As for which lord she serves, I truly don't know."

A Yu shook her head. "Lie! Lu Xiaolan also takes orders from Yu Zhuo!"

This was Lu Maoxian's inner thought, but Lu Maoxian didn't know A Yu or her methods, so he thought it was a probing question.

"Perhaps by chance, Lu Xiaolan also serves Lord Yu, but I truly don't know about this. My impression is that she serves Lord Qiao—"

"Still lying!" A Yu said, "Lu Xiaolan met Yu Zhuo through your recommendation!"

Lu Maoxian was greatly alarmed. He hadn't expected this matter to be revealed.

Li Banfeng said, "Elder Lu, you don't need to hide this from me, do you? Who Lu Xiaolan serves has nothing to do with me. Is that even considered a secret?"

Lu Maoxian gave a dry laugh. "Since it's a court matter, it's better to be cautious."

A Yu heard Lu Maoxian's inner thoughts again and turned to tell Li Banfeng, "After Lu Xiaolan first encountered the Great Totem, she changed her appearance and defected to Qiao Yi. She is Yu Zhuo's hidden operative beside Qiao Yi."

Beiwushuang trembled on all four legs; he shouldn't have known this, nor did he want to know it.

Lu Maoxian trembled even more violently. If this matter got out, he would lose his life.

Shen Jinzhong remained calm. He now wanted to distance himself from Lu Maoxian and Beiwushuang.

Li Banfeng wasn't concerned with the past between Yu Zhuo and Qiao Yi; he only wanted to know one thing: "Does Lu Xiaolan know the location of the Great Totem?"

Lu Maoxian dared not jump to conclusions. "Since her second resurrection, I've had little contact with her."

A Yu nodded slightly. "That's the truth."

Li Banfeng examined Beixianzhong carefully, feeling somewhat disappointed in the Great Totem. "They molded three people together and came up with this? The Great Totem's power is truly unremarkable."

A Yu shook her head. "Brother, compared to you, he's certainly inferior, but an ordinary Cloud Cultivator truly wouldn't be his match if they encountered him." This was true; among the local deities, Meng Yuchun's combat power wasn't low, yet she was powerless before Beixianzhong.

Even so, this level of combat power couldn't compare to the Bandit Suppression Camp. Was it truly worth it for the peddler to venture into Neizhou for the Great Totem?

A Yu looked at Li Banfeng. "Brother, is there anything else you want to ask?"

Realizing the tone was off, Beiwushuang quickly said, "Seventh Master, please ask anything you wish; I will tell you everything I know."

Li Banfeng took out a long sword and asked Beiwushuang, "Do you recognize this sword?"

The long sword bore faint bloodstains. Beiwushuang naturally recognized it; it was his treasured possession, taken from his lair by Li Banfeng when he was looking for Beiwushuang's contract.

"This is a supreme treasure of our Daoist sect. Many of my techniques were learned from this long sword."

Techniques?

This was Hong Ying's sword, and the bloodstains on it belonged to his wife.

"How can one learn techniques from this thing?"

Li Banfeng had used his 'Spirit Sound Insight' and knew the sword couldn't speak.

Beiwushuang replied, "If I cut myself with this long sword, and the timing is right, I can grasp the essence of a technique. However, this opportunity is difficult to seize. Cutting too deep or too shallow yields no sensation, and sometimes even after dozens of cuts, it might not succeed once."

Li Banfeng was stunned. "Techniques can be learned this way?"

A Yu looked at the long sword. "These bloodstains should belong to a Sound Cultivation Ancestor or Grandmaster. A founder or reformer of a Daoist sect can leave techniques in their blood, and by chance, these techniques can be passed on to fellow disciples. However, such opportunities are rare. In the case of this sword, the bloodstains must contain a very strong intent, and that intent must persist on the sword for a long time. Such artifacts are exceedingly rare and cannot be sought out deliberately."

Li Banfeng was even more surprised. Was his wife a Sound Cultivation Ancestor or Grandmaster?

Probably a Grandmaster, right? Given his wife's intelligence, it was reasonable that she reformed the Sound Cultivation path.

As for the intent on the sword, it was easy to understand. This was the weapon Hong Ying used to kill his wife, and all his wife's resentment towards Hong Ying was concentrated on this sword.

Having asked all his questions, Li Banfeng asked A Yu, "Is there any use in keeping them?"

A Yu nodded. "Yes, they can be used to nourish the body."

Hearing this, Beixianzhong got up and tried to flee.

Before Beixianzhong could get up, A Yu had already seen through his intention. She quickly pulled out a scarf from a wardrobe and deftly tripped Beixianzhong's feet.

Beixianzhong fell to the ground. When he tried to get up again, the residence itself didn't give him a chance, pinning his entire body firmly to the floor.

Li Banfeng looked at A Yu. "Are you planning to keep them for yourself, or give them to the Heavenly Maiden?"

A Yu smiled. "To the Heavenly Maiden, of course. If she eats them, it's as good as me eating them."

"Honglian doesn't eat raw food. How will you deal with their souls? Don't let them escape."

A Yu stepped forward and squeezed the camel's head. "Honglian is Honglian, and the Heavenly Maiden is the Heavenly Maiden. These souls certainly won't be wasted, rest assured."

Li Banfeng got up and left the residence. Before he returned to his portable dwelling, he could still hear the piteous wails of the three men.

"Seventh Master, I've told you everything you asked. Seventh Master, please spare my life!"

"Seventh Master, I'm already this old, and I call you 'Master.' Let's not dwell on the past. From now on, I'll follow your every command!"

"Seventh Master, I'm different from them; I have no enmity with you. Seventh Master, you are my benefactor, and I am loyal to you!"

Li Banfeng closed the door and went with his wife to the main room to frolic.

When Li Banfeng arrived at the tangerine orchard, the elder had already prepared two blue-leaf willow branches.

He also peeled a tangerine and heated a pot of fine wine.

Li Banfeng cupped his fists in a salute. "Senior, I won."

The elder nodded. "I was uneasy, so I went to your territory and took a look. The soil there told me that the battle was fought effortlessly."

Li Banfeng smiled. "You flatter me, Senior."

The elder waved his hand. "No flattery; that's my sincere feeling. I particularly like promising young people. Our Daoist sect has produced many individuals more capable than myself, and I truly believe they are excellent. I've never felt an ounce of jealousy."

These words were unusual.

What was this elder's status among cultivation practitioners?

Li Banfeng asked, "Is Elder Xu your senior or junior?"

The elder sighed. "Hierarchy means little. Xu Han is truly capable, and his disciples are also talented. I respect him!"

After a few drinks, Li Banfeng informed the elder about Beiwushuang's situation. "Senior, Beiwushuang isn't one person; he's three. Lu Maoxian is in his belly, and Shen Jinzhong is in his hump."

"The Great Totem?" The elder wasn't familiar with Lu Maoxian and Shen Jinzhong, but he had seen cases of three people being merged into one. He immediately hit upon the crucial point.

Li Banfeng was pleasantly surprised. "Senior, you've seen the Great Totem?"

The elder shook his head. "I haven't seen the actual object, but I've seen too many Land Seals. These are usually buried in the soil and, through their connection with the Great Totem, can absorb the popular essence from the land. Through the Land Seal, I can trace back and somewhat perceive the Great Totem's shadow."

Li Banfeng put down his wine cup. "Senior, you can sense the Great Totem? Do you know its location?"

The elder squeezed a handful of soil and sighed lightly. "I don't know the Great Totem's location. The soil might know, but it can only speak so little, and its fragments are unclear."

Li Banfeng asked, "Do you think the Great Totem has been repaired?"

"Repaired?" The elder closed his eyes in thought. Around him, some tangerine trees sprouted, some grew leaves, some bore fruit, and many tangerines fell with thuds.

After a long time, the elder opened his eyes and looked at Li Banfeng. "I don't think the Great Totem has changed at all."

No change?

Li Banfeng furrowed his brows, feeling that something was increasingly wrong.

The Great Totem was a crucial chip in the internal struggle between Yu Zhuo and Qiao Yi, and also a crucial chip for Shang in dealing with Puluozhou.

If the Great Totem had indeed been 70% repaired, it would certainly be a major secret for Shang, something absolutely not to be leaked.

Yet, Shang's attitude seemed not to treat this matter as a secret.

The fact that Yuan Youshang had discovered the news was already somewhat accidental.

Lu Xiaolan going to assassinate Ma Wu, and Beixianzhong coming to Puluozhou to seize land—what kind of maneuver was this?

Thinking from another perspective, if Li Banfeng were Yu Zhuo, at such a critical moment, he would never release people transformed by the Great Totem. Even if their memories were wiped, there would still be a risk of leakage.

Was Yu Zhuo a reckless person?

But if he acted so recklessly, how could he have contended with Qiao Yi until now?

Was the Great Totem not actually repaired, and the entire affair just a bluff?

What would be the purpose of such a bluff? To lure the peddler to Neizhou?

Sweat streamed down Li Banfeng's face. The elder took a tangerine segment and offered it to Li Banfeng.

"Child, eat this tangerine segment first."

Li Banfeng, deep in thought, didn't taste anything. But after swallowing the tangerine, a coolness spread throughout his body, quickly calming him down.

The elder poured Li Banfeng a cup of wine. "Child, things like this, where truth and falsehood, reality and illusion intertwine, are common in Puluozhou. It's not so easy for them to deceive us."

These words significantly reassured Li Banfeng.

What kind of person was the peddler? How could he be so easily outsmarted?

If the other side was truly bluffing, the peddler would surely be able to withdraw unscathed.

Full and satisfied, Li Banfeng bid farewell to the elder, took the blue-leaf willow branches, left the tangerine orchard, and returned to his portable residence.

The Bronze Lotus refined the blue-leaf willows into Blue-Leaf Pills. Li Banfeng was preparing to bring Jiu'er back and deliver the pills to Chu Er when Zhao Xiaowan said, "Husband, I want to discuss something with you. I've learned a new technique that I can't practice at home; I need to study it outside."

Li Banfeng said, "That's easy. Where do you want to go, wife? I'll take you!"

Zhao Xiaowan shook her head. "Husband, you don't need to accompany me. If I truly use this technique, I'm afraid it might injure you too. I'll practice on your territory and pick up Jiu'er for you at the same time."

Li Banfeng escorted his wife to the territory, drew her a map, and gave her a simple telephone.

Zhao Xiaowan arrived at a forest and began practicing her technique. She sat under a tree, silent, and after a moment, the leaves in the forest began to tremble.

This was Zhao Xiaowan's self-created 'Silent Technique.' Although called silent, there was still sound. The essence of the technique was to use extremely subtle sounds to kill invisibly.

However, during the execution of the technique just now, the leaves trembled so noticeably that enemies would surely detect it, proving the technique was far from perfected.

After practicing for about an hour, Zhao Xiaowan felt tired. Following Li Banfeng's map, she found Meng Yuchun's door, ready to bring Jiu'er back.

Hearing Zhao Xiaowan knocking, Meng Yuchun's heart tightened. "Miss Jiu, who is that?"

Jiu'er recognized the voice instantly. "That's my elder sister. It's truly time for me to go home."

Meng Yuchun's eyes were solely on Jiu'er, allowing no room for anything else. How could she bear to let her leave?

She asked Zhao Xiaowan to wait in the living room. After half an hour, Zhao Xiaowan grew annoyed. "Miss Meng, if you procrastinate any longer, I'll have to take Jiu'er myself."

With that, she walked directly into Meng Yuchun's bedroom.

Meng Yuchun was initially furious, but after seeing Zhao Xiaowan, her eyes no longer had room for Jiu'er.

"There truly are fairies in this world!" Meng Yuchun stared blankly for a moment, then grabbed Zhao Xiaowan's hand. "Miss, my wound has reopened. Please take a look!"

Jiu'er found it strange. "Miss Meng, why does your wound keep reopening? I've stitched it several times, but it's no use!"

Li Banfeng handed the newly refined Blue-Leaf Pills to Chu Er. Chu Er had taken medicine before and was now much better, already able to speak.

Seeing Li Qi sitting by her bed, Chu Er's heart swelled with happiness. She was about to whisper a few words of affection when Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying arrived at the Chu family mansion to visit her.

Chu Er greeted them with a smile, though inwardly she was impatient. In the past, she would have immediately driven the mother and daughter away.

But now was not the past. Li Qi was watching, so Chu Er had to exert herself to maintain composure. "Sister Yeci, Sister Chunying, you must both be quite busy, right? Don't worry about me; I just took too many pills, and I'll recover quickly."

Lu Chunying indeed wasn't in a hurry to leave. She sat by Chu Er's bed and teased, "Sister Huaiyuan, this illness of yours is quite a blessing; it's rare for Seventh Brother to dote on you like this."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Chu Huaiyuan retorted angrily. "Do you think I want to lie here? Why don't you come and try it yourself?"

Lu Chunying looked at Li Banfeng and smiled. "Seventh Brother, tomorrow I'll go home and lie down too. You must dote on me just as much as you dote on her!"

Xiao Yeci's face turned beet red. "Shameless girl, what are you saying!"

The more Chu Er looked at Lu Chunying, the more displeased she felt. This girl had grown up, and Chu Er thought she might not be joking.

Noticing the awkward atmosphere, Xiao Yeci quickly took Lu Chunying and left.

Only she and Li Qi were left in the room. Just as tender affection swelled in her heart, Granny Ku appeared before them, her face grim.

Tears welled up in Chu Er's eyes. She sobbed, "Granny, we agreed that happiness and suffering coexist. I've endured so much hardship, couldn't you just let me—"

Granny Ku shoved a bitter herb into Chu Er's mouth, then looked down and saw the pills by Chu Er's bedside.

"So many Blue-Leaf Pills!" Granny Ku exclaimed in surprise. "Who gave these to you?"

Chu Er certainly couldn't say Li Qi had given them to her.

But then again, where had Li Qi gone?

He had just been by the bed; how could he vanish in an instant?

Had that little hussy Lu Chunying lured him away!

Lu Chunying and Xiao Yeci returned home together. Xiao Yeci read in the study, while Lu Chunying managed accounts in the living room.

At midnight, both felt sleepy and returned to their respective rooms to sleep.

Lu Chunying took a bath and had just gotten into bed when she suddenly heard singing from outside her window:

"Moonlight, so dim, Earth, shrouded in night mist, Oh, the one in my dreams, where are you?"

"Dream Lover!"

Who was playing this song?

It was not the time for music.

Moreover, the Lu family had a strong taboo against this song. When Lu Dongliang died, this very song was playing on the gramophone.

Lu Chunying pushed open the window and saw a woman standing downstairs, singing.

Only one woman was singing, yet why could she hear accompaniment?

Lu Chunying watched the woman, and the woman also looked up at her.

This woman was very beautiful.

Lu Chunying couldn't help but shiver.

This woman's beauty was terrifying.