Chapter 455: Withering

The Blightland is Puluo Province? Am I misunderstanding something, or is there something wrong with what the Peddler said?

Li Banfeng could not make sense of that conclusion. He could think it over later. For now, he had more immediate problems to deal with.

He Caiyuan was still alive. His body had been twisted like a pretzel, but some of his joints were already twitching. That was easy enough to handle. Li Banfeng picked him up and tossed him straight into the Pocket Dwelling.

The giant toad was still alive too. There was no visible sign of life left in him, but he was undeniably still alive. However, The toad was enormous. Forget getting him through the Pocket Dwelling's door, he would not even fit inside one of its rooms. How was Li Banfeng supposed to get him in?

Leaving him outside was not an option either. He was a pure-blooded native of the Inner Provinces. Even if Li Banfeng had no intention of eating him, he could not just leave him lying around and attracting unwanted attention.

I will try forcing him in.

Li Banfeng opened the door to the Pocket Dwelling, grabbed the toad by the head, and tried to drag him inside.

The toad's head alone completely filled the doorway, but Li Banfeng was still trying to force him through when the Pocket Dwelling suddenly called out, "Wait!"

Li Banfeng stopped. "What is it? Did I damage the doorframe?"

The Pocket Dwelling gave a disdainful laugh. "You cannot ruin such fine ingredients like this. Move aside."

Ingredients? Since when did the old man care about that?

The Glove chuckled. "Our old man always gets excited when he finds something good!"

The Pocket Dwelling's doorframe bent, and the whole doorway twisted out of shape.

Ge Junma's body twisted with it. First he was flattened, then stretched out, and finally squeezed into a round lump that was pulled through the door.

Even then, the lump took up most of the main room, so the Pocket Dwelling moved Li Banfeng's bed into the second room.

Still, Li Banfeng felt that Ge Junma had become much smaller than he should have from compression alone.

"Doesn't the size of the toad seem much smaller?" Li Banfeng asked quietly.

The Glove chuckled. "After our old man got his hands on him, how could he still be the same size? Why don't we go take a look at the third room?"

Li Banfeng went into the third room and found every oil barrel filled to the brim.

"Old man, where did all this oil come from?"

The Pocket Dwelling laughed. "Toad oil. Burns just fine!"

So it can even be used as fuel, Li Banfeng muttered inwardly. Inner Provinces natives really are useful in all sorts of ways!

The Gramophone called out from the main room, "Sisters, our man brought something delicious home! This toad is something special. Even if we only get to eat one like this in our whole lives, it will be worth it!"

The Tang Saber rushed forward. "Mistress, don't just think about the sisters. You can't forget us brothers!"

The Sickle hurried after him. "I am the bigger blade, so I get to stand in front. You go behind me."

Dream Virtue slipped out of the calendar poster and quietly waited beside the ball of flesh.

The Threaded Earring had only just recovered from her injuries and was still unsteady, so the Pendulum helped her over.

The Teapot called out, "Will someone give this old man a hand? I was injured in that battle too."

The Liquor Gourd sneered. "If you are injured, then don't eat. Go find somewhere to rest and recover."

Li Banfeng asked the Glove, "Aren't you in a hurry?"

The Glove chuckled. "What's the rush? Who would dare start eating before the First Madam is finished? I will wait until she's done. Once I get started, I will be faster than all of them."

"Hmph!"

At some point, the Judge's Brush had woken up. Without waiting for the Gramophone's permission, it plunged straight into the ball of flesh.

The Music Box waited obediently nearby, while the little bronze man on its turntable stared eagerly at the meat.

The Gramophone took one bite of the toad's soul and immediately forgot all about maintaining her dignity as mistress of the house. "THISSSS TOAAAD IS SOOOOOOO GOOOOD!"

Hong Ying frowned. "Hurry up and eat. You are the troublesome one who had to eat it alive!"

In the ninth room, the Crimson Lotus looked at Li Banfeng and gently started blooming.

There was no chance she would get to eat first. All she could do was hope these starving ghosts left her something.

Once Wifey finished eating the soul, everyone else dug in together. Li Banfeng watched his entire family happily share their meal, then left the Pocket Dwelling with a smile.

He was exhausted too. The Pocket Dwelling was far too noisy, so he decided to head back to the studio and get some sleep.

When he reached the garden gate, he saw that the couple were still lying together in the snow.

Still asleep? Oh no. If they aren't cultivators, they might freeze to death out here.

Li Banfeng was about to wake them when he suddenly heard them whispering.

The woman asked, "Why am I in your arms?"

"I don't know."

"Let go of me. I want to leave."

"I am not letting go."

The woman said, "If you won't let go of me, then I won't let go of you either."

The man replied, "I will never let go of you, even if you let go of me."

Li Banfeng called out, "I will count to three. Both of you let go at the same time!"

The two of them kept their eyes shut and held each other even tighter, pretending to be fast asleep.

The people here can be repugnant but sometimes they are quite likeable too, Li Banfeng thought. He called over a carriage, paid the driver, and told him to take the couple to an inn.

When Li Banfeng arrived back at Wildgoose Sand Studio, he lay down on the bed. His entire body felt numb and weak.

Am I really that exhausted?

It felt more than simple fatigue. He could feel some kind of power surging through his body.

Am I about to advance to the next level?

It was possible. After such a dangerous battle that night, his Wanderlust cultivation had improved considerably. He might finally break through to level eight.

His eyelids grew heavier as sleep began to overtake him.

Am I forgetting something? Forget it. Too much happened tonight. I will think about it tomorrow.

It was early next morning when Li Banfeng raced back to Willow Garden. He had finally remembered what he had forgotten. He had left the Film Projector behind!

Because they were fighting in a special way, the Film Projector had to be set up in position beforehand to be useful. That also meant that Li Banfeng sometimes would forget to retrieve the Film Projector afterward.

The Film Projector was still hanging from the tree, with firelight flickering behind its lens. When he saw Li Banfeng, he called out, "Director Qi, you are back!"

Li Banfeng held the Film Projector in his arms. "I am back."

"Is the battle over?"

"It's over."

"Did we win?"

Li Banfeng smiled. "Brother, we won!"

"That's good."

The Film Projector sounded weak and exhausted, but there was still a hint of a victor's pride in its voice..

Last night, the Film Projector had seen the giant toad's corpse and watched the Peddler easily defeat He Caiyuan. However, as long as Li Banfeng had not given the order, the Film Projector would continue to be on guard. It remained at its post in the tree, carefully carrying out its mission to provide cover.

With some apprehension, Li Banfeng carried the Film Projector back into the Pocket Dwelling. To his surprise, the rooms inside were spotless. He cautiously asked, "Wifey, did everyone finish eating?"

"Uh..." The Gramophone said as she glanced at the firelight behind the Film Projector's lens, then sang slowly, "Brother Film Projector, what took you so long to come back? It must have been cold outside."

The Film Projector replied, "Madam, thank you for your concern. Did I come back too late?"

"Too late?" There was a trace of guilt in the Gramophone's voice. "Husband dear, I was the one who ate the souls. You will have to ask Ying about everything else."

Li Banfeng turned to Hong Ying. "That toad was huge. You ate the whole thing?"

Hong Ying could tell that Li Banfeng was angry and answered nervously, "I don't know. I didn't even see how big it was at the time. Ask the Crimson Lotus. She was the one who finished off the leftovers."

If the Crimson Lotus had already cleaned up whatever that was left of the toad, why would Li Banfeng bother asking her?

"What about the old man's body?"

"There was an old man too?" Hong Ying thought back to the night before. "Oh, right. We ate too much toad meat and everyone got sick of it, so we changed things up a little. Then... there was nothing left."

"What about the Poison Cultivator?"

"That one was spicy and numbing, so we had it as an appetizer. It's been gone for ages."

The room fell quiet for a while before the Pocket Dwelling spoke up. "Glove, you have always liked hiding things. You think I don't know, but I do! Hurry up and take it out for the Film Projector! Film Projector did the most work last night!"

The Glove said, "Old Master, I did hide a piece of meat, but the Tang Saber got greedy and stole it!"

The Tang Saber let out a satisfied burp and leaned against the wall without saying a word.

"Film Projector, look on the bright side..." the Pocket Dwelling said with a soft sigh. With that, the Pocket Dwelling went silent.

Li Banfeng looked down at the Film Projector and said with his voice trembling, "Brother! I have wronged you..."

"Art... has withered away," the Film Project muttered as the light behind its lens went out.

***

At Yellowclay Bridge, the Peddler pushed his cart down the street and called out, "Foreign soap! Snow moisturizing cream! Snow moisturizing cream..."

There was hardly any energy in his voice. The streets were empty. Who was he even calling out to?

The Peddler pushed his cart through another two streets without seeing so much as a beggar.

After passing through an alley, the Peddler was about to leave when a rickshaw puller came over, pulling his rickshaw.

"Sir, need a ride?"

The Peddler smiled. "Do I look like I need one?"

"Don't worry, sir. I am only out today to learn the roads. I won't charge you. I will take you for free!"

The Peddler frowned. "Even if you take me for free, I still can't ride. What am I supposed to do with my cart?"

"I will pull your cart along too. Just get in."

The Peddler stuck his rattle drum into his cart and gave the driver a suspicious look. "Enough fooling around. If you have got something to say, say it. Otherwise, I am leaving."

The driver set down the rickshaw. "Peddler Sir, I need your help. My territory can't hold out much longer. If this keeps up, it will turn into Old Land."

The Peddler smiled. "So that's why you are being so polite today. You have run into trouble. It's good that it's turning into Old Land. Then I won't have to keep coming all the way out here. I can't sell a damn thing in this place anyway. I am just wasting my time."

The driver said, "Peddler, you and my teacher go way back. You can't just stand by and watch me die!"

The Peddler frowned. "Aren't you embarrassed of yourself for bringing up your teacher? He handed you a perfectly good territory, and look what you have done to it."

"It's not my fault. I haven't been the one running Yellowclay Bridge all these years. It was the Star of Misfortune! That bastard was the one who caused this!"

The Peddler laughed. "Not your fault? You refused to stay put and look after your own territory. Instead, you ran off to pull a rickshaw and gave the Star of Misfortune the chance to take advantage. Who else are you going to blame?"

The driver lowered his head. "I was careless back then. But I took the territory back, didn't I?"

"Don't give yourself too much credit," the Peddler sneered. "Yao Xin was the one who killed the Star of Misfortune. You only got this territory back because it fell into your lap. You think I don't know that?"

The driver nodded repeatedly. "That's true. I did get it back by luck, but at least it's mine again now. You can't just stand by and watch a piece of Proper Land turn into Old Land."

The Peddler sighed. "There's nobody here. What do you expect me to do? Go find someone who can bring people back and ask them for help."

The driver said, "I actually found someone. I heard there's a man named Li Qi in Greenwater City. He's impressive. He activated most of Qiu Luoye's territory all by himself, and I hear he's on good terms with you. Could you put in a word for me?"

"Put in a word?" The Peddler looked at him. "What am I supposed to say? 'Li Qi, do me a favor and help that rickshaw driver out'? You think that will work?"

"Of course!" The driver nodded. "Who in all of Puluo Province carries more weight than you?"

The Peddler laughed. "Even if I really do have that much influence, why should I do this for you?"

The driver lowered his head. "Then at least point me in the right direction. What should I do?"

"Go see Li Qi yourself."

"I am afraid he will ignore me."

"Why would he help you just because you asked? If you want someone to do something for you, you need to offer something in return. Then neither side owes the other anything."

The driver nodded. "As long as you introduce me to him, Li Qi can take anything he wants from here."

The Peddler looked around. "Then give him your rickshaw."

"No!" The driver immediately panicked and protested. "My teacher left this to me. I can't give it away!"

The Peddler sighed helplessly. "Then tell me yourself. What else in this dump is worth anything?"

***

Early that morning, Li Banfeng woke up and went to the study to read.

Everyone in the Pocket Dwelling had eaten too much and had been sleeping more than usual these past two days, so the place was quiet.

A small flame lit up behind the Film Projector's lens. It floated into the air and silently entered the fifth room.

There were nine rooms in total, with the fifth room in the center. No other rooms were directly in front of or behind it, making it the quietest room in the house.

There was not much furniture inside, only a leather sofa, a rosewood table, and a vase. The Film Projector settled on the table, and the image of the vase appeared in its lens.

"Hehehehe..." The Film Projector laughed.

The Glove had been woken up by the low, raspy laugh and followed the Film Projector to the fifth room.. When the Glove entered, he saw the Film Projector sitting on the table with the firelight glowing inside the lens. The lens slowly swept back and forth across the sofa.

"Brother, what are you doing here?" the Glove asked.

The Film Projector spoke in a gloomy voice. "I am here to think about the deeper meaning of art."

The Glove sighed. "Don't dwell on it. What's done is done. As long as we are with the master of the house, there will always be plenty to eat and drink. Why are you still hung up over one meal?"

"You make a good point. You should go get some rest. I just hope I can learn something more about the true meaning of art from what happened."

The Glove left Room Five. When it reached the door to Room Four, it glanced back. Something seemed to be missing from Room Five.

Where had the vase gone?

Author's Note:

PS: What happened to the Film Projector?