Chapter 124: Song Family's Territory and Li Banfeng's Rules

When Song Jiasen returned to the residence, he took out two pills for Song Zhiyi. "These pills can increase your strength. Take them and then sleep immediately."

Song Zhiyi said, "Father, this is my first time having a battle like this. I want to stretch and practice a bit later."

Song Jiasen frowned. "The duel is tomorrow. What are you practicing for?"

Song Zhiyi scratched his head. "Father, my master said you should grind your spear right before battle. Even if it's not sharp, it will still shine!"

He had trained away from home since childhood, spending more time with his master than with his father. Every time he opened his mouth, it was always "my master said."

Song Jiasen hated that phrase. "Stop spouting useless nonsense. I told you to sleep, so sleep!"

Ultimately, Song Zhiyi did not dare disobey his father. After lunch, he took the pills and went to bed early.

The pills worked quickly. Song Zhiyi slept straight until an hour past midnight, when Song Jiasen woke him.

After getting up, Song Zhiyi felt he had overflowing strength surging through his body. "Father, what pill was that? Why have I never taken it before?"

Song Jiasen snorted. "Even I cannot bear to take this pill. If you were not fighting tomorrow, I would never have brought it out."

Hearing that, Song Zhiyi was delighted.

It was true that Song Jiasen could not bear to take this pill.

However, it was not because he could not bear to part with the pill; it was because he could not bear the damage it would do to him.

It was the Marrow-Venom Pill. After taking it, the cultivator's combat strength would increase by one level for a short period. For the next two days, Song Zhiyi, a level-one Martial Cultivator, could now put up a fight against a level-two cultivator, albeit with difficulty.

However, there was a price for that increase in strength.

Once the pill's effect wore off, Song Zhiyi would lose two full years' worth of cultivation. His talent in cultivation was already mediocre, so reaching the second level would become even more of a distant dream.

"Tidy up your things. Then come with me." Song Jiasen said.

He led Song Zhiyi out of their residence without any attendants. The father and son avoided the main gate and slipped out through the back door instead.

Song Zhiyi was confused. "Father, where are we going?"

"Be quiet. Just follow me."

They walked along side paths until they reached the northern side of the village. They could hear the steamroller chugging along as it paved the road. Song Jiasen deliberately took a detour and entered a stretch of ruins across the road.

Little Chuan shoveled more coal into the steamroller and licked the wound on his lip.

***

When they reached the deepest part of the ruins and saw that no one was around, Song Jiasen turned to Song Zhiyi and said, "Take a good look. This is the battlefield I chose for you. I have already arranged the men. Early tomorrow morning, people will come to seal off the place. Before the sealing, no one will know that you and Ma Wu are fighting the bloodcall here."

The battlefield was filled with broken bricks and rubble, and several half–demolished walls still stood. Song Zhiyi was not satisfied with such a battlefield.

"Father, why did you choose this place? I am a Martial Cultivator, and Ma Wu is a Hedonist Cultivator. I gain the advantage in close combat. But this place is such a mess that it'll be hard for me to get close. If he kites me around, I will be the one at a disadvantage."

"Nonsense. Why would I put you at a disadvantage?"

Song Jiasen took a cocoon from the inner chest pocket of his robe and placed it on a broken roof tile.

A white silkworm emerged from the cocoon.

The silkworm spun silk on the broken roof tile while Song Jiasen watched.

When he judged the silk to be enough, Song Jiasen moved the silkworm onto a bunch of long wooden beams leaning against the wall beside the roof tile.

The dozens of wooden beams had been removed from demolished houses and stacked against the wall messily. No one would find it strange if the wooden beams were to fall.

The white silkworm gnawed a hole into one of the beams, crawled inside it, and began devouring it hungrily.

After nearly two hours, the key supporting beam was fully hollowed out. Song Jiasen retrieved the now plump silkworm, put it in a sack, and slung it over his shoulder.

"Remember this well. Tomorrow, when the fight starts, lure Ma Wu over to this roof tile. Once he steps on it, those wooden beams will fall toward it. It doesn't matter if the beams don't hit him; he will have to move quickly to dodge them. When he dodges, that's your chance to give him a ruthless beating. Do not kill him. Beat him up within an inch of his life. Beat him up until he begs for mercy."

Song Zhiyi froze for a moment. He had not spent much time at home, but he had always thought his father was a respected and honorable figure in Blue Poplar Village. He never expected this. "Father, you want to use a dirty trick against him? This is not right. If people find out—"

Song Jiasen slapped Song Zhiyi. "Why the hell do you think I brought you out here so late at night? It's precisely so that no one will find out."

He had not even brought any bodyguards. No one could know about this.

Song Zhiyi covered his stinging cheek. "Father, I took the pill. I am a level-one Martial Cultivator, and I have been at this level for years. Ma Wu is a level-one Hedonist Cultivator. Dealing with him will be a cinch. We do not need to resort to such tricks. A real man should act uprightly—"

Song Jiasen slapped him again. "Did staying away from home and training make you stupid? What do you know about being upright? You think you're the only one with pills? Do you know who Ma Wu is? The fifth young master of the Ma family. You think he has fewer pills than you? You think that just because you reached your level a few years earlier, you can beat him? You think so highly of yourself! Tang Tianjin went to block him this morning, and he has not come back yet. I sent people to search the entire village. Couldn't find a trace of him, not even his corpse. Do you know how many things Ma Wu has seen? How many experiences he has had, how many people he has met? You have never even left Greenwater Bay in your whole life. Yet, you want to compare yourself to him?"

Song Jiasen made sure Song Zhiyi memorized the location, then the father and son walked back to their residence using the same route they took to get there.

On the way, Song Zhiyi could not stop himself from complaining. "Father, if I can beat Ma Wu with my real skills tomorrow, then we won't need this trap. If people find out, it will shame our family."

"Why would anyone find out?" Song Jiasen snapped. "You talk to me about real skills? What do you know about real skills? You think punches and kicks are real skills?"

Song Zhiyi said in surprise, "Isn't a bloodcall fight just about throwing punches and kicks?"

"You just don't get it, do you? You're just nowhere as good as your brother. I have guarded Blue Poplar Village for over twenty years. In all these twenty years, whether in the Skygreen Field or the Skyblack Field, which bloodcall has ever relied only on fists? Do you really not get it?"

Song Zhiyi was not entirely to blame. He had spent most of his years training away from home and had barely seen any bloodcalls.

Song Jiasen knew his son lacked experience, so he explained patiently. "Take Old Wei's fight with Ju Mazi. Do you think Old Wei could have won? If he had not slipped me a thousand silver dollars beforehand, how would Ju Mazi trip over a rock halfway through the fight?

"And what about the burly man that the Huaxuan Inn hired? You think he can't fight? He obviously can. Then how did he lose? And why did the wall collapse at that exact moment?

"The inn hired several girls as prostitutes, hid all the earnings off the books, and refused to pay me my cut. You think I would tolerate that? You think I would let him win?"

"In a bloodcall, I'm the one who decides who wins and who loses. I do not care whether the fight is fair or dirty. The winner is the one still standing, and the loser is the one lying on the ground. That is my rule.

"The Song Family's territory was built this way. One day, this territory will be passed on to you and your brother. If you cannot even learn the rules, how will you ever take charge?"

Song Zhiyi lowered his head. "But what if this... scam gets exposed? How will I show my face in public again? I am still the second young master of the Song Family after all..."

Song Jiasen was furious. For years, he had avoided telling this boy certain things because he was thick-headed.

"You rascal, you really don't understand anything. You are far worse than your brother. Tomorrow, if you fucking dare to—"

Song Jiasen froze. One of his feet was stuck to the ground and could not be lifted.

"Gluey clay!" Song Jiasen shouted in alarm. "Someone set an ambush!"

"What is it, Father? Who set an ambush?" Song Zhiyi asked.

He was truly thick-headed. He had just watched his father fail to lift his foot, yet he still walked right over to his father.

"Do not come here, you damn fool!"

But the warning came too late. Song Zhiyi was already beside him, and his foot also refused to move.

"Father, what is happening?"

"You useless brat, why the fuck did you follow me? If your brother were not injured, I wouldn't have called you to do this job! Take off your shoe. After you take it off, do not let your foot touch the sticky ground. Stand on your shoe and jump to the side where it's not sticky. Do not use your hands to prop yourself up on the sticky ground, and keep your other foot off the sticky ground too."

Song Jiasen had experience with glue clay, so he twisted his foot within the shoe and quickly pulled one foot free.

His other foot was harder to free. While he was still struggling, a faint rumble rang out in the distance, growing louder as it approached.

Huff! Huff!

What's coming over here?

Song Jiasen lifted his head and saw a massive machine charging toward them, spewing smoke.

Li Banfeng was driving the steamroller toward them.

He had sent Little Chuan to work precisely to watch Song Jiasen's movements.

When Little Chuan spotted the father and son, he immediately sent word to Li Banfeng.

It was late at night, and the wilderness was shrouded in silence. As a level-three Homebound Cultivator, Li Banfeng was easily overlooked. With the clairaudient hearing of his threaded earring, he followed the sounds that the father and son made until he located them. Then he brought Little Chuan along and set up the ambush ahead of time.

Li Banfeng had seen the bloodcall between the two inns and had already figured out the trick.

A bloodcall in the wilderness was not about punching and kicking. It was about having good speaking skills, setting up traps, and being cunning.

Liuyuan Inn had hired a middle-aged man who spoke a flood of pretty words and ended up winning the bloodcall. A win was a win. No one cared how he won. Everyone felt his argument was justified, so he deserved victory.

As for the mystery of why the brick wall had suddenly collapsed and had just so happened to fall onto the burly man, no one had bothered with it.

And even if someone had, what could they do about it?

Ju Mazi had died in the Skyblack Field. Even if he had complaints, he could no longer speak.

Huaxuan Inn had offended Song Jiasen. Whether they could even continue operating was uncertain. How could they dare challenge the results of the bloodcall?

And would the bystanders care? Of course not. They just wanted a good show. They didn't care about anything else!

Li Banfeng thought Song Jiasen's way of thinking was correct. As long as victory was obtained, it did not matter whether the method used was fair or dirty. On that point, he and Li Banfeng were largely aligned.

In the details, however, the two of them had some differences.

Song Jiasen had never intended to fight fairly.

Li Banfeng had never intended to fight at all.

What's the point of fighting?

To decide victory or defeat, is it really necessary to step into the ring?

Who would want to step into the ring with you?

Even with the father and son trapped in gluey clay, Li Banfeng still did not intend to confront them directly. Gluey clay did not stick to metal, so the iron wheels of the steamroller were perfect for the job.

The steamroller charged near. Song Jiasen pulled out a dagger and hurled it at Li Banfeng's face.

As a level-three Martial Cultivator, his throw was extremely accurate.

However, Li Banfeng was a level-three Homebound Cultivator and a level-two Wanderlust Cultivator. He simply lowered his head and avoided the dagger.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Song Jiasen wanted to grab another weapon, but it was too late.

The massive iron wheel rolled straight over Song Zhiyi. Everything from the knee downward was dragged beneath it, and his blood-curdling screams ripped through the night.

Song Jiasen managed to free one foot from his shoe. He took a step back and tried, with all his strength, to stop the wheel.

A level-three Martial Cultivator was truly strong. He forced the steamroller to a halt.

Li Banfeng opened the steam valve to its maximum and quietly watched Song Jiasen.

Song Jiasen's face turned blue and purple. He raised his head and said, "You little bastard, you... you ambushed me!"

Li Banfeng smiled. "I quite like what you said earlier. The one still standing is the winner, and the loser is the one lying on the ground. Let me give you one more line. The dead tell no tales."

Then Li Banfeng turned to Little Chuan. "Was he going to take off one of your legs?"

Little Chuan gritted his teeth and nodded. "Yeah!"

Li Banfeng drew the Tang saber and handed it to him.

"Brother, it's time for work. Take Eldest Master Song's leg."

Little Chuan took the Tang saber, stepped off the steamroller, and swung it down onto Song Jiasen's right leg.

He did not even need to use his much strength. After all, the Tang saber was incredibly sharp. All it took was one cut to sever the leg at the base.

Without his leg, Song Jiasen could no longer hold the wheel back. Li Banfeng drove the steamroller straight over the father and son.

When he stopped the vehicle, Li Banfeng saw that he had made a huge mess on the ground. It would be troublesome to clean up.

Seeing that, Little Chuan said, "Master Qi, do not worry about this. I will cover it with asphalt and press it flat. You go about your business."

This brother is very knowledgeable!

Li Banfeng smiled, lowered his hat brim, and left the wilderness.

The next day, at half past noon.

The people the Song Family had assigned to seal the area arrived early, but Song Jiasen and Song Zhiyi did not.

After waiting half an hour, Ma Wu shouted toward the onlookers:

"I, Ma Junyang, may be in dire straits, but I am still a true man. Song Jiasen said he wanted a bloodcall in the wilderness, so here I am. I did not find anyone else to represent me. I came to represent myself!

"All it means is putting my life on the line, but I, Ma Junyang, did not back down! I will wait here all day if I must. I want to see if Song Jiasen and his son dare to show up!"

Li Banfeng watched with a smile. Little Chuan led the onlookers in a cheer.

This was why people always said that in a bloodcall, what really mattered was speaking skills!