When it came to selling things, going to the Song Family was out of the question. Ma Wu had his own ways of getting goods out.

By the time they reached the edge of the village, the sky was heavy and dark. The steam roller had shut off its fire, leaving only the smell of coal and sweat in the air. The few workers were already preparing to get off work.

One of the workers noticed Ma Wu and tiptoed over when the others weren't watching. "Young Master Wu, you looking for me?" he asked in a hushed voice.

This worker's name was Qin Haichuan, though Ma Wu always called him Little Chuan.

Ma Wu nodded and fished a locked wooden box from his robe. He handed the wooden box to Little Chuan and said, "Deliver this to the shopkeeper of Imperial Workshop Hall. If the deal goes through, I will reward you twenty thousand."

Standing beside him, Li Banfeng whispered, "Don't pay him after the deal's done. Just hand him ten thousand first. I've got the money ready."

Hearing that, Ma Wu's face lit up with delight. He took the ten thousand yuan and passed it to Little Chuan.

Little Chuan thanked them as if they'd handed him the moon, tucked the box out of sight, and darted out of the village before anyone could blink.

As they walked back, Ma Wu's face showed nothing but gratitude. "I meant to give Little Chuan some money upfront, but I don't have much."

Li Banfeng said nothing at first. Then he took out twenty thousand yuan, and stuffed it into Ma Wu's hands. "Take it. Use it for cultivation."

Ma Wu pushed the notes back into Li Banfeng's hands. "No can do. You are already paying me a salary and I even took your pills. I can't keep using your money too."

"It's not a gift. Consider it a loan. Put it in writing tomorrow. When we make a fortune, we'll split it fair. And tell me, how are you going to win a girl's heart if you are flat broke?"

At last, Ma Wu took the money. His face lit up with a spark of excitement as he whispered, "Then I won't be going home tonight."

Li Banfeng nodded. "Keep an eye on the Song Family members and be careful of your own family.

"When the beads are sold," Ma Wu said, "and the middlemen take their portion, we'll make around two million. What's your plan, Brother Li?"

"Plan? Make more money, of course. This isn't much at all."

Ma Wu nodded. "In that case, we should get the funds ready for the next venture."

"I'm fine with everything else, but not the stinky fish. You'll have to figure that out yourself."

Suddenly, Li Banfeng looked back at the edge of the village and asked, "Is the fella that drives the road roller reliable?"

Ma Wu nodded. "Of course. My family built that road. I know Little Chuan very well."

Li Banfeng asked, "Think I could borrow the steamroller for a spin?"

Ma Wu blinked. "Brother Li, that's a bit…"

"What's wrong with taking it for a drive? I won't break it."

Ma Wu wasn't sure if Li Banfeng was joking, but he thought he would agree for now. "Alright, I'll talk to them another day."

When they reached a fork in the road, Ma Wu pointed toward a narrow path to the east. "Brother Li, the Lucky Celebration Troupe has their camp up ahead. The place is a bit shabby, but there are some lovely girls around. Why don't you come along?"

Li Banfeng raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a Hedonism Cultivator. Why would I go with you?"

Ma Wu pursed his lips. "You don't have to be a Hedonism Cultivator to go."

"I'm a Wanderlust Cultivator," Li Banfeng said. "Can I take a girl running with me to all those random places?"

Ma Wu thought for a while, then admitted, "No… you can't."

"Then what's the point? If I can't take them running, I can't cultivate. And if they can't help me cultivate, what good are they to me?" Li Banfeng turned and walked away.

A chill wind brushed past. Ma Wu stood there, shivering. Li Banfeng was right. In the end, everything came down to cultivation. Somehow, the thought of making love no longer sounded so enjoyable.

***

At the Lu Family residence, Lu Dongliang's face was ashen with fury as he glared at Zhuo Yuling.

"We've searched every inch of Medicine King Gully," he said coldly. "Xiaolan claimed the bronze lotus was with Li Banfeng, yet despite having turned the whole place upside down, we still haven't found this dude!"

Zhuo Yuling tilted her head down and replied in a calm and steady tone, "I heard what Xiaolan told you. Li Banfeng is a cunning man. Perhaps he hides too well. We should continue the search a few days longer…"

"A cunning one, is he? So now he's scheming? I thought you said he was worth less than a cockroach, and now you're telling me he's plotting something?"

Zhuo Yuling bit her lip slightly, tears glistening down her cheeks. "My lord, is that how little we matter? You never believe a thing we say."

Lu Dongliang put on his custom-made yellow wool coat from Ingris and rose to his feet. Whenever he wore that coat, it meant he was off to talk with important people.

The pressure from the He Family grew heavier by the day, and on top of that, he still had to explain to the Outer Provinces how the derailment of Train 1160 had happened.

Secondly, the Arcane Crimson Lotus had vanished without a trace. Lu Dongliang had managed to offend the He Family for absolutely nothing. Now he was left regretting the day he had ever trusted Zhuo Yuling and Lu Xiaolan.

"I'm discussing serious matters with her! What are you crying for?"

The more Zhuo Yuling cried, the more Lu Dongliang's irritation grew.

When Lu Dongliang left, Zhuo Yuling frowned deeply. The private investigator she hired, Daboinsky, had yet to uncover even a hint of Li Banfeng's whereabouts.

If things went on like this, Xiaolan would soon be in danger. Zhuo Yuling hurried to her living areas to check on her. By Lu Dongliang's orders, no one was allowed to visit. However, the large support hook, or rather the head of the guards[1], Zhuo Wugang, did not stop her.

Zhuo Wugang wasn't the type to fuss over rules. With the master away and Zhuo Yuling being Lu Xiaolan's mother, he simply turned a blind eye and let her through.

When Zhuo Yuling walked over to Lu Xiaolan's side, she saw that there were a few faint red lines on her daughter's wrist. Her expression changed at once. "Xiaolan, what were you trying to do?"

Lu Xiaolan looked stunned and confused. "Mom, I didn't do anything…"

Zhuo Yuling's whole body trembled. She couldn't believe it. Her child had tried to end her own life.

***

It was late when Lu Dongliang came back to the estate, and he had no wish to set foot in the master bedroom. The talks that day had gone sour, and he wasn't in the mood for his wife's nagging or Zhuo Yuling's whining.

He only meant to find a room to rest for the night, but when he pushed one door open, he saw Xiao Yeci sitting under the warm glow of a lamp, reading in silence.

The moment Xiao Yeci saw him step in, she rose from her seat and bowed. "My lord, you are here."

She was doing her best to hold back her usual way of talking.

Lu Dongliang had forgotten this guest room was where Xiao Yeci was staying. He was about to leave, but after a long look at her, he pulled up a chair and sat down.

Xiao Yeci's heart jumped into her throat.

Lu Dongliang narrowed his eyes. "You said we spent a night together at Whispering Pine Bridge thirteen years ago?"

The question was blunt and straightforward.

Xiao Yeci's face turned red. "My lord, you… you must have forgotten…"

"I truly don't remember," Lu Dongliang admitted frankly. He had never been the meticulous type. In his life, there were two things that he could never remember clearly: the women he had slept with and the money he had spent. There had just been too much of each.

They sat in silence for a long time before Lu Dongliang finally spoke. "How old are you now? Not yet twenty-five, are you?"

"Yes, eh… yes." Xiao Yeci's speech habit slipped out before she could stop it. She coughed softly, corrected herself, and said, "I'm thirty-two this year."

"Thirty-two?" Lu Dongliang laughed under his breath. "Come now, I'm not blind. You dress like you are in your thirties and you do your make up like you are in your thirties, but I can tell that you are at most twenty-four or twenty-five.

"I have seen Chunying. I will admit that she does look like me. But she's twelve. How old would you have been when she was born? I may be a piece of shit, but I would never lay my hand on a girl that young."

"My lord, I really am thirty-two, eh. I'm not lying. You really don't remember me…"

"Alright, I'll believe you," Lu Dongliang said. "Since you've come to find me, I'll make you my Ninth Concubine. In a few days, I'll hold a few banquets and make it official. That will give you a proper title."

"Thank you, my lord." Xiao Yeci quickly bowed.

"Since you're mine, I'll sleep here tonight." With that, Lu Dongliang took off his yellow wool coat.

Xiao Yeci's face turned as red as a ripe persimmon. She knew this moment would come;it wasn't something she could refuse, nor something she should.

She wanted to agree, yet when she opened her mouth, the words betrayed her. "It's that time of the month, my lord. I'm afraid tonight isn't suitable. Please let me attend to you another day."

"Ha," Lu Dongliang chuckled. "Fine. I'll come back in a few days then."

With that, he picked up his coat and left.

Even if Xiao Yeci had been willing, Lu Dongliang wouldn't have stayed the night. He knew she wasn't actually Lu Chunying's mother and had no idea what her true purpose in coming to the Lu Family was.

However, Lu Chunying herself had grown quite fond in his eyes. Once he had finished his investigation, it would be time for this woman, the so-called Xiao Yeci, to disappear.

While Lu Dongliang went downstairs, Zhuo Yuling scaled the wall and climbed onto the ceiling.

This was her specialty. Zhuo Yuling could move so quietly that even a ninth-level Wanderlust Cultivator like Lu Dongliang could not notice her.

Zhuo Yuling knew she was no match for him. As a fifth-level Physique Cultivator, Lu Dongliang could kill her with a single look.

She hung upside down from the ceiling, watching in silence as Lu Dongliang walked farther away. Hatred and resentment filled her eyes as she stared after him.

A thumb-sized worm, dark green and slick with oil, rested in her mouth. Every trace of malice that rose from her body was swallowed clean by the worm.

***

Li Banfeng and Ma Wu went back and forth to the new land a few more times. In just over two months, they earned more than seven million. With what Li Banfeng had already saved, he was getting closer and closer to twenty million.

The money didn't all belong to Li Banfeng. Half of it would go to Ma Wu. But now, money alone wasn't enough. To buy a travel permit, he needed connections.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

When Li Banfeng asked about it, Ma Wu sighed. "If it were a few months ago, getting a travel permit to the Outer Provinces wouldn't have been hard for me.

"It wouldn't even take twenty million. All I had to do was treat them to lunch at Dongzhuang Restaurant, then drinks at the Paramount Club at night, call a few good girls, and lay some silver dollars on the table.

"That was enough back then. But now, even if I offered them twenty million, they wouldn't bother to show up."

Li Banfeng was confused. "They won't come even if you pay them? Sounds like you're not offering enough."

"It's not about money," Ma Wu replied with a sigh. "It's about status. I'm out of their circle now. They don't care to make money off someone like me."

"If you can make money again, you can rebuild status too." Li Banfeng handed Ma Wu ten thousand yuan. "Go cultivate. If I'm right, you will reach level one after today."

Ma Wu nodded. "It's all thanks to you…"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Not me. You are relying on the girls from the Lucky Celebration Troupe, and you will keep relying on them."

Just as Ma Wu was about to head out to cultivate, he recalled that he still hadn't sold the gluey clay he had collected last night.

When there were goods to sell, it was best to move them quickly. To stay safe from the Song Family, Ma Wu tried not to keep anything valuable at home.

Yesterday, he had gone to the new land alone. In a swamp, he found a lump of gluey clay and brought it back in an iron jar.

The gluey clay was a strange substance found only in the new land. It could be called a kind of mud, but also a living thing. People called it an anomaly because no one could explain what it really was or how it came to exist.

Li Banfeng frowned as he examined the foul-smelling lump. "What's the use of this stuff?"

"Brother Li, you are missing out. This stuff is incredibly useful." Ma Wu spoke earnestly as he began explaining the properties of the gluey clay.

"I know it looks like ordinary mud, and inside the new land, that's all it is. But once it leaves the new land, it starts to change. It grows, almost like it's alive. If you spread this lump of gluey clay on the road, it would spread within moments, turning the several meters of pavement into a sticky, adhesive trap.

"The strangest thing is that the ground looks exactly the same as before. There's no visible change at all. It can cling to shoes, socks, even bare skin, but it won't stick to metal or grow on it. That's why it has to be kept in an iron container.

"Brother Li, this gluey clay is one of the best trap materials. Anyone who steps on it will have their shoes stuck. Take off the shoes and the socks will stick. Take off the socks and the feet will stick. Even if someone cuts off a foot, they will still be trapped. As long as you touch that ground, you cannot escape.

"To escape a sticky clay trap, you'd need to be a Daoist with special cultivation or an enchanted artifact. Otherwise, your only option is to wear iron shoes, but really, who walks around in iron shoes? Don't underestimate this little jar. Just this tiny gluey clay can sell for a million."

Li Banfeng stared at the jar and felt very much surprised. "If it spills on the ground, will that spot stay sticky forever?"

"Not forever," Ma Wu said. "If there's no rain, the spread clay dries up after a day and a night. Once it dries, the stickiness disappears. That's why it has to be sealed tight in the jar."

A day and a night? That's more than enough

, Li Banfeng thought. He picked up the iron jar and said, "Leave the delivery to me. Go focus on your cultivation."

"This is my job. I can't have you doing it for me." Ma Wu looked embarrassed, though it was clear from his face that he was already thinking about the girls from the Lucky Celebration Troupe.

Li Banfeng picked up the jar of gluey clay. "Don't worry. I'm on good terms with the bros who drive the road roller. Nothing will go wrong."

"Brother Li, Little Chuan's a timid one. Don't scare him."

Li Banfeng nodded. "Don't you worry! I definitely won't steal his road roller!"

Ma Wu thanked him again and again before hurrying off toward the base of the Lucky Celebration Troupe.

Li Banfeng thought the gluey clay was indeed useful. He used an iron scoop to move a small portion into another iron container, then took the rest and headed to the edge of the village.

When Little Chuan, the man who drove the road roller, saw Li Banfeng, he quietly came over and whispered, "Where's Master Wu?"

"He's busy today, so he can't make it. Take this iron jar to the Imperial Workshop Hall. You know what to do."

Little Chuan nodded, and Li Banfeng handed him twenty silver dollars.

Little Chuan froze for a moment before saying softly, "Sir, that's too much."

"Take it first. By the way, let me try the road roller."

"Sir, I really can't."

"What do you mean you can't? Add the coal already."

"Sir, you can't do this!"

***

Li Banfeng never got to drive the road roller. No matter how much he insisted, Little Chuan simply refused.

He went back to the wooden hut and began studying the clay again. Time slipped by. Before he realized it, more than five hours had passed.

Then Ma Wu stumbled in, his clothes torn and his body covered in wounds. Before he could reach the living room, he collapsed on the floor.

Li Banfeng rushed forward to help him up. "Brother Ma, what happened to you?"

Ma Wu let out a weak chuckle and struggled to sit. "Brother Li, thanks to you, I am now a level-one cultivator!"

Li Banfeng stared. "You're supposed to be a Hedonism Cultivator. All you had to do was make the wood work, not get beaten bloody. Which girl did this to you?"

Ma Wu coughed weakly. "Not a girl. Four men. Took everything I had and beat me up until I looked like this."

Author’s Note:

P.S. Lu Xiaolan did not attempt to take her own life. The faint marks on her wrist were caused by something else.

I wrote a total of thirteen thousand characters today. Readers, are you really not going to vote for me? Not even a little praise?

1. Author invested a slang and wrote this explanation in parentheses next to the slang but we decided to include it in the novel ☜