Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'-Chapter 41 - 34 Don’t scare me anymore

Qin Xiaopang looked at the corpse on the ground, then at Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng said he had been very scared just now. Qin Xiaopang didn’t know how to comfort him.

"I was afraid he would kill me, so I killed him first, and now he won’t kill me anymore," Li Banfeng provided a logical explanation.

Little Fatty felt that this explanation... was faultless.

Li Banfeng walked over to Old Smoker’s corpse, untied the cloth bag from his body, and counted the harvest inside.

Ninety-one Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums, which could sell for nearly eight thousand bucks.

"Is it worth murdering someone over less than eight thousand bucks?" Li Banfeng thought about the prices in Medicine King Valley; human life shouldn’t be so cheap.

Qin Xiaopang sighed. "You’re from outside; you don’t understand the rules here. Money is too hard to earn and too easy to spend. In some remote places, people kill over a hundred bucks, not to mention this is Kuwu Mountain, an extremely dangerous place. Here, human life is like grass—worthless."

Li Banfeng handed the bag to Little Fatty. "Take this."

Little Fatty shook his head. "Those two bastards were killed by you; you avenged Old Smoker. It’s only right that his belongings go to you."

"Hold on to it for now," Li Banfeng said, handing the bag to Qin Xiaopang. "We’ll talk after we get down the mountain."

Qin Xiaopang noticed Li Banfeng’s empty hands and asked, "Where are your flowers?"

"This is quite a story," Li Banfeng said, taking several black and white beads out of his pocket. "Brother, do you recognize these?"

Qin Xiaopang took the beads and looked them over, his eyes immediately lighting up. "These are Snake-Patterned Pills! I’ve seen these before. Where did you get them?"

They were indeed Snake-Patterned Pills. Actually, Li Banfeng had similar suspicions.

Since he was willing to show them to Little Fatty, he had already prepared an explanation.

"On the way down the mountain, I met an old lady. She said she worked for a medicine shop. She wanted to trade elixirs for my Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums—ten flowers for one pill."

Li Banfeng had originally planned to say five flowers for one pill, but after thinking it through, five flowers only covered the cost; no one would make that kind of trade. Trading at a price twice the cost was obviously more reasonable.

Upon hearing this, Little Fatty stared at the Snake-Patterned Pills in his hand, then looked at Li Banfeng. "You traded?"

"Traded!" Li Banfeng nodded.

"All of them?"

"All of them!" Li Banfeng declared proudly. "Brother, what do you think of this deal I made?"

"About your deal... I think you’ve been had," Little Fatty said, returning the Snake-Patterned Pills to Li Banfeng. "Brother, my eyes aren’t sharp enough to distinguish real elixirs from fakes, but I can tell real worldly affairs from fake ones. A single Snake-Patterned Pill sells for at least ten thousand. Ten Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums only sell for eight hundred and fifty. Who would make such a trade with you? You’ve almost certainly been duped."

"Is that so?" Li Banfeng smacked his lips and pocketed the Snake-Patterned Pills, not offering any further explanation.

He couldn’t explain. He couldn’t tell Qin Xiaopang that these hadn’t come from the old lady but had popped out of the Copper Lotus Flower.

Qin Xiaopang sighed. "Coming to Kuwu Mountain this time, I’ve come to understand something. We’re still too green. Some money, we really aren’t qualified to earn. I was tricked by that guy with the glasses, and you were deceived by that old lady. You said earlier there was a place with lots of flowers. Is that true?"

Li Banfeng scoffed. "Of course it’s not true. I made that up when I saw they were about to make a move on you, hoping to lure them away. I originally hoped they would follow me so I could deal with them on the way. I didn’t expect those two to try to kill you first, so I had no choice but to send them on their way here."

Little Fatty nodded. "You’re still better than me, actually much better. You don’t have to feel sad about being tricked out of your Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums; all of Old Smoker’s Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums are yours now. Let’s hurry down the mountain."

Just as the two were about to leave the woods, they suddenly saw flickering firelight in the distance.

Little Fatty was startled. "Those are torches."

Li Banfeng’s eyes darted around as he realized the situation was dire.

The newcomers were very likely associates of Gold-rimmed Glasses, probably Baldy.

Baldy wasn’t particularly strong in combat, but he had many people with him. To defeat them, an ambush was necessary.

Li Banfeng said to Little Fatty, "Find a place to hide, the faster the better. Wait for my signal before you act. I’ll go hide the corpses first."

Qin Xiaopang said, "I’ll hide them with you!"

"There’s no time. Don’t worry about the corpses."

Li Banfeng dragged the bodies of Gold-rimmed Glasses and Hu Gaizi deeper into the woods. Little Fatty watched anxiously. This forest is so sparse; where could he possibly hide bodies!

Unable to find a place to hide the corpses, and with the torches drawing nearer, Li Banfeng watched Little Fatty climb a tree. Then, slipping out of Little Fatty’s line of sight, he took out his key, opened the door to his Portable Residence, and hurled the two bodies inside.

Keeping corpses in his living space felt ominous to Li Banfeng, but he had no other choice.

After leaving the Portable Residence and pocketing the key, Li Banfeng hid in the bushes, watching silently.

Baldy, carrying Cao Ye, entered the woods first. Cao Ye was bound tightly, whimpering and crying all the way. Two men followed behind, carrying Oil Peach. Oil Peach was bruised all over; if not for the slight rise and fall of her chest, Li Banfeng might have thought she was dead.

After Cao Ye and Oil Peach were dumped in the clearing, one of Baldy’s lackeys stepped forward and pinched Cao Ye’s cheek. "Don’t cry now. What’s there to cry about? I know my limits; I promise I won’t hurt you!"

As he was about to lay a hand on Cao Ye, Baldy barked, "Don’t fucking mess around! Didn’t I tell you to wait for Big Brother to return first?"

"Always waiting for Big Brother..." the lackey muttered.

Baldy kicked him. "Around here, it’s not just about women! Even if it’s a single grain of rice, Big Brother eats first!"

The lackey didn’t dare to say another word. Meanwhile, another one spotted Old Smoker’s corpse.

"Third Brother, Big Brother must have done this old guy in, right?"

Baldy ordered the other two lackeys to keep an eye on Cao Ye and Oil Peach while he examined Old Smoker’s body.

"Look at the blade wound; this should be Second Brother’s work. But the old bastard was poisoned—that’s definitely Big Brother’s style." Baldy proudly explained to his lackeys the difference between Gold-rimmed Glasses’ and Hu Gaizi’s methods.

Li Banfeng wasn’t in the mood to hear him explain these differences; Gold-rimmed Glasses and Hu Gaizi were already gone.

His only concern now was that they had split up. Baldy and his three lackeys had separated into two pairs.

Li Banfeng held his sickle, carefully approaching the two henchmen guarding Cao Ye and Oil Peach.

One henchman was groping Oil Peach, eager to take full advantage of the situation.

The other slipped his hand into Cao Ye’s clothes. Seeing her crying hysterically, he quickly covered her mouth.

Closer, just a little closer to them.

Twenty meters, by his estimation—still a bit too far.

A few more steps, and the distance shrank to fifteen meters.

Closer still.

CRACK!

Li Banfeng’s footstep was slightly heavy, crunching on dry leaves and making a noise.

He held his breath, hiding motionless behind a tree.

The two henchmen probably noticed, he thought. The ambush seemed to have failed. If all four of them surrounded him, he’d need a plan to withstand their first assault and then get Little Fatty to come down as backup. If worst came to worst, he’d just run. After all, he wasn’t particularly close to these two women.

After a moment of contemplation, Li Banfeng didn’t hear any further movement.

Peeking from behind the tree at the two men, Li Banfeng was surprised to find that the henchmen continued to take liberties with Oil Peach and Cao Ye, seemingly unaware of his presence.

The talent of Home Cultivation—Ignorance. Not ignoring others, but being ignored by them. They had ignored Li Banfeng’s presence and paid no heed to his footsteps.

In these wild mountains and forests, a little CRACK! was perfectly normal, he figured. Their attention was entirely on the two young women.

Since they hadn’t noticed him, Li Banfeng continued forward.

With only ten meters left, Li Banfeng stopped sneaking.

Suddenly, he burst out from behind the tree. With the speed of a Traveling Cultivator, he reached one of the henchmen in less than a second.

The henchman didn’t even get a clear look at Li Banfeng before Li Banfeng slit his throat with the sickle.

The other henchman hid behind Cao Ye. Li Banfeng pushed her aside and swung his sickle again. Sparks flew as the sickle struck the man’s body but failed to break his skin.

Oil Peach shouted, "He’s a Body Cultivator!"

This bastard has natural armor!

Li Banfeng swung his sickle again, still unable to break the skin. By now, Baldy and the other henchman had rushed over.

Li Banfeng was in a dire situation; he was about to face an attack from three men.

Gripped by fear, Li Banfeng trembled all over, his eyes turning red.

Baldy looked at the dead henchman on the ground, then at Li Banfeng.

"You damn mutt, you really are a son of a bitch!" Baldy tilted his head, his eyes glinting coldly at Li Banfeng. "You fucking dare touch my men? Today, I’ll chop off both your hands, gouge out your brain, and make you eat it!"

Hearing this, Li Banfeng turned and fled, but he wasn’t fast enough. When he reached a tree, the armored Body Cultivator blocked his path.

Baldy and his remaining henchman followed unhurriedly from behind.

Terrified, Li Banfeng’s face contorted, and his knees buckled as if he were about to kneel.

Baldy slowly approached Li Banfeng, stopping at the base of the tree, a savage grin on his face. "Kneel! Make it look good, and I’ll give you a quick death. Kneel down, now! Are you deaf? Can’t you hear me..."

THUD!

Baldy heard the dull sound.

Little Fatty leaped down from the tree.

He didn’t understand why Little Fatty would jump from the tree.

And he certainly wouldn’t know why Li Banfeng had run towards this particular tree.

Little Fatty’s axe landed squarely on the henchman’s head, splattering Baldy’s face with shattered skull and brain matter.

The savage grin on Baldy’s face vanished when he saw Li Banfeng raise his sickle.

As a Martial Cultivator, Baldy’s reflexes were sharp. He immediately raised his dagger and adopted a horse stance, preparing to parry with all his might. Then, a wave of excruciating pain hit him, and he collapsed to his knees.

Li Banfeng still held the sickle aloft, but raising a blade and striking someone were two different things. With the sickle in his right hand, he kicked out with his left foot, aiming straight for Baldy’s groin. The move was seamless.

And with Baldy conveniently in a horse stance, the impact of the kick was devastating.

Baldy crumpled to his knees.

He cursed Li Banfeng internally: Why is this Bird Person so damn treacherous?

Only the armored henchman remained.

Like everyone else, this henchman had endured a full day on Kuwu Mountain; his physical condition wasn’t optimal.

But Little Fatty was in better shape; a Food Cultivator’s endurance was somewhat greater than that of a Body Cultivator.

Little Fatty raised his axe and hacked away relentlessly.

The henchman desperately blocked with his armor until he could no longer withstand the onslaught. Little Fatty cleaved him nearly in two, from his left shoulder down to his right hip.

Meanwhile, Li Banfeng hooked Baldy’s chin with his sickle.

Baldy’s jaw trembled as he mumbled incoherently, "I... I just wanted to scare you... I didn’t mean to kill anyone. I wouldn’t kill anyone, I definitely wouldn’t..."

"You wanted to scare me?" Li Banfeng blinked, asking earnestly. "Is that true?"

"It’s true!" Baldy couldn’t nod, his chin still hooked by the sickle, but his gaze was sincere.

"Don’t do that again. I get really scared," Li Banfeng advised him earnestly.

Hearing this, Baldy saw a glimmer of hope. "I won’t scare you again, I never will..."

Before Baldy could finish, Li Banfeng pulled out a shovel, slammed it into Baldy’s head, and pried off his skullcap.

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