Chapter 145: Fate and Destiny

All the preparations before land activation were complete. Li Banfeng and Ma Wu each set up their own tents. Ma Wu spent the night sleeping on the plot of land, while Li Banfeng left the key in his tent and returned to the Pocket Dwelling to rest. This was how they had passed the last few nights.

By the afternoon of the second day, a full twenty-two hours had passed since Li Banfeng scattered his blood on the plot they were activating. In another two hours, the trial of worthiness would begin.

According to the rules, both of them had to enter the site in advance.

Ma Wu pointed at the bluish-green boundary of the land and said, "Brother Li, once we go in, we won't be able to leave for three days. If there's anything you still need to take care of outside, do it now."

In actuality, there was little left to handle beyond the plot itself. They had food and water, though only just enough, and Li Banfeng also had ample reserves inside the Pocket Dwelling.

The only remaining concern was arranging a suitable place for Ma Wu to stay.

"Brother, head straight south and make for the orange grove," Li Banfeng said. "Set up camp there and rest. The oranges are edible. Aside from eating them, do nothing else. Most importantly, don't damage anything in the grove. Come back here after three days. If the land activation succeeds, we'll tidy this place up together. If it fails, we'll look for another chance."

Ma Wu froze. "Brother Li, what are you saying? You plan to activate the land here by yourself?"

That was exactly what Li Banfeng intended to do.

If staying inside the Pocket Dwelling did not count as leaving the plot of land they were activating, land activating would be super easy for him. If Ma Wu stayed, he would instead become a burden.

"Brother, I have ways to deal with those aberrant creatures. Don't you remember how I was the one who dealt with Madam Bagworm Moth back then? If I stay on as the land activator and succeed, that would be the best outcome. If I fail, I won't be able to activate another plot of land within a fifty-kilometer radius.

"However, you are not involved in this. You didn't scatter blood and if you don't participate in the activation, you will still have a chance to activate a plot of land here."

Li Banfeng was telling the truth. He genuinely liked this plot of land near the orange grove. If he failed to activate it, there was still hope that Ma Wu could succeed instead.

With Li Banfeng having said so much, Ma Wu had no choice but to agree. Still, he warned him again and again.

"Brother Li, once you step into the plot of land, hide first. Don't rush into anything. If you run into aberrant creatures, try not to act at all. That's what Daboinsky told my family back when we activated land. Within half a kilometer, there are plenty of places to hide. The fewer fights you get into, the better.

"You mentioned Madam Bagworm Moth earlier, so I have to warn you again. If she shows up, no matter what, don't let yourself get dragged into a long fight. Those things aren't sent by the local land deity to test you. They're roaming aberrations, the kind that wander wherever they please. Running into one is nothing but bad luck."

Li Banfeng asked, "If I run into a roaming aberration and am forced to step outside the boundary, would that still count as a failure of land activation?"

"The moment you cross the boundary, it counts as a failure." Ma Wu knew it was unfair, but the rules of the new land were simply like that.

Ma Wu left all his equipment with Li Banfeng. "Take all the water and food," he said. "I'll leave my weapons and spirit-bound items with you as well. I'll just head to the orange grove and live on oranges."

Li Banfeng knew Ma Wu was doing this out of concern, but he did not need the extra equipment.

"Take the weapons with you, and take the spirit-bound items as well," he said. "There might be troublemakers at the orange grove too. And remember what I told you. Once you get there, eat as many oranges as you like, but don't damage or waste anything."

Ma Wu kept Li Banfeng's words in mind and headed south. Meanwhile, Li Banfeng entered the land plot and quietly waited for the trial of worthiness to begin.

Soon, it was four o'clock, the exact moment when Li Banfeng had spilled his blood the day before.

In the pitch-black sky, a cluster of green flames slowly took shape, lingering as though it were looking straight down at Li Banfeng.

So this is the local land deity,

Li Banfeng thought.

Is he planning to act against me personally?

It was only a half-kilometer plot of land, hardly worth such drastic measures. Even so, Li Banfeng tightened his grip on the key and braced himself.

Two minutes later, the green flames vanished. The local land deity had no intention of clashing with Li Banfeng. By rank and status alone, he should not have intervened in the first place. He had only come to take a look and to confirm that someone had truly come to activate the land.

It was not until ten o'clock that night that the first aberrant creature finally appeared to challenge the land activators.

Crack!

The aberrant creature pushed its way out of the forest, crunching over dead leaves and broken branches. It moved on all fours, yet stood more than three meters tall.

Its head was enormous, its body round and bulky, and a stiff strip of mane bristled along the back of its neck. From its mouth, two stark white tusks jutted outward, bright against the dark.

It was a wild boar. Aside from its massive size, there was nothing particularly unusual about it.

The wild boar stepped cautiously into the land plot, clearly on guard against an ambush from the land activator. It advanced from the edge of the plot all the way toward the offering table, yet the land activator was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it, another one hiding behind tricks.

"Hey! Whoever's here to activate the land, come out already. I'm just following orders myself. If we're meant to fight, we'll trade a few blows. If not, we can sit down and have a couple of drinks. I won't make things difficult for you."

This wild boar can speak human language?

Li Banfeng thought. Hearing how polite it sounded, he felt a real urge to step out and meet it. If they could share a drink, perhaps hostility could turn into peace, and he might even gain a new acquaintance in this new land.

That was nothing but wishful thinking. This wild boar was not here to make friends. It was here to kill.

The wild boar had accepted a bounty from the local land deity and had come specifically for land activators. If it managed to kill one, the local land deity would reward it with three months of cultivation. If it forced the land activators to leave the plot, or slaughtered them all and caused the activation to fail, it would be gifted another year of cultivation.

Land activation was a trial of worthiness. It tested not only the land activators, but also the living beings of the new land who dared to risk their lives.

"Hey! If you still don't come out, I won't be so nice anymore. And if I have to find you myself, don't blame me for being ruthless," the wild boar said as he moved from the offering table toward another boundary of the land plot, still without spotting a single human figure.

The wild boar was angry. It excelled at brutal combat and slaughter, and not subtlety or clever maneuvering.

"Not a single one of you wants to show your face? Fine. I'll stay right here. If you've got the guts, keep quiet. Make even the smallest sound, and once I hear it, it will be too late for you all to even shed a tear."

The wild boar sprawled on the ground and settled in, waiting for the land activator to show himself.

In the freezing cold, it would come down to who broke first. For a trial like this, the wild boar had patience to spare.

***

Li Banfeng sat by the bed, wrapped tightly in a blanket.

His wifey brewed a cup of tea and handed it to Li Banfeng.

As Li Banfeng sipped the tea, he grumbled to his wifey, "Do you have any idea how cold it is outside? If it weren't for going out to buy groceries for you, I wouldn't have stepped out at all. Just look at me. I've been frozen stiff these past few days."

Clang, clang, clang~

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Husband dear~ You've worked so hard. This little wifey will boil you a bowl of hot soup in a moment."

"In a moment, you also need to heat a basin of water so I can bathe properly," Li Banfeng said calmly. "Then warm a pot of hot wine and heat up a couple of side dishes. What's the point of just a single bowl of soup?"

"Husband dear~ We can talk about everything else," she said softly, "but the bath will have to wait. There isn't much water left at home either."

Li Banfeng had been roaming the new land for many days without a chance to replenish their water supply. The two buckets they had left were barely enough for drinking, and his wifey, being a steam-powered gramophone, also consumed a fair amount of water.

He just had to wait a little longer. As long as the land activating succeeded, they could dig a well in the new land and finally replenish their water supply.

If the land activating failed, then his only option would be to head to the orange grove and ask the old caretaker there for water. He also had no idea whether Ma Wu had reached the grove yet.

***

Fifteen kilometers was not far for a level-one cultivator. After walking more than ten kilometers, Ma Wu could already vaguely make out the tall orange trees in the distance.

He repeated Li Banfeng's instructions in his mind. He knew that he should absolutely not break the rules once he arrived at the orange grove. He had to make sure that he ate with moderation.

As he was turning these thoughts over in his mind, a sudden cry for help reached his ears.

"Kind sir passing by, please help me."

Ma Wu's ears twitched, but his steps did not slow.

He was a Hedonism Cultivator. Many believed that cultivators of this path were soft-hearted toward women, easily moved by a cry for help. That was a misunderstanding.

Hedonism Cultivation was not about loving or cherishing women. On the contrary, those who walked this path often valued women less, not more.

This was new land. No one could know what might appear here. It was best not to interfere in matters that had nothing to do with him.

"Kind sir, please save me," the voice pleaded again, trembling with desperation. "I beg you."

Ma Wu was just about to quicken his pace when a flicker of guilt rose in his chest.

It's a woman stranded out here,

he thought.

If I leave her to die like this, will I regret it for the rest of my life?

"You only need to pull me out," she said hurriedly. "I can walk the rest of the way on my own. I swear I won't slow you down."

Listening to her voice, she did not sound like a bad person at all.

Ma Wu turned his head and saw the woman calling for help from within a tangle of thorns. She wore red, with a yellow silk sash tied around her waist. Thorny vines had wrapped around her legs, winding from her ankles up to her knees, and they were still creeping upward, inch by inch.

The woman clawed at the thorns with both hands in desperation. Blood streaked along the sharp barbs and seeped into the bluish-green vines, staining them dark as they tightened their grip.

Green Serpent Vine was an aberration that could not truly be called either snake or vine. It usually clung motionless to trees. Even if someone tore it down, threw it onto the ground, and hacked at it with a blade, it would not react at all.

At other times, it would suddenly come alive. It didn't care if the target was a beast or a human. As long as there was flesh and blood, the Green Serpent Vine would coil around its prey, crush the flesh into pulp, and suck it dry.

The Green Serpent Vine was a nightmare to deal with. Its thorns were laced with poison, and its vines were tough as iron rope. If Ma Wu rushed in and tried to tear it apart with brute force, he would not save the woman at all. He would only end up tangled right beside her, wrapped up nice and tight, waiting to be drained dry together.

This Green Serpent Vine was thicker than any Ma Wu had seen before, and just looking at it made his scalp prickle with fear. Yet when he caught sight of the woman's tear-soaked face, twisted with pain and desperation, his feet refused to move on.

I have to save her

, Ma Wu thought.

Since I ran into her at all, this has to be fate.

Ma Wu cast a charm technique on the Green Serpent Vine.

As a level-one cultivator, his charm technique was not particularly powerful, but it was more than enough for the Green Serpent Vine.

In terms of sheer strength alone, the Green Serpent Vine was on par with a level-three Martial Cultivator. When it came to intelligence, however, it was painfully simple-minded.

Ma Wu cast it a single glance. That was all it took.

The Green Serpent Vine immediately grew fond of him. It loosened its grip on the woman and, abandoning her entirely, turned around and slithered after Ma Wu instead.

Ma Wu shouted to the woman, "Go, now!"

The woman struggled to her feet and limped away.

She is so beautiful.

Ma Wu thought as he watched the woman's retreating figure, feeling deeply reluctant to let her go.

Although Ma Wu had not seen her face clearly, he knew she was beautiful. When he came back to his senses, however, he realized that the Green Serpent Vine was gone.

This thing could burrow underground. More precisely, its true body was its root system, which had always been hidden beneath the soil. At that very moment, those massive roots were creeping through the earth, slowly closing in around Ma Wu.

Ma Wu did not dare move recklessly. One wrong step, and he would walk straight into the Green Serpent Vine's trap.

It isn't smart. It isn't smart.

Ma Wu kept repeating the thought to himself, forcing the panic down.

The Green Serpent Vine always left signs before it surfaced. As long as he could spot those signs in time, he still had a chance.

However, he saw no signs at all. He was not a Wanderlust Cultivator, and he lacked that sharp instinct for danger.

The Green Serpent Vine was already about to burst out of the ground behind him, yet Ma Wu remained completely unaware.

The woman in red suddenly ran back, grabbed Ma Wu, and, limping heavily, dragged him forward as she ran with all her strength.

Ma Wu said in astonishment, "Why did you come back?"

With her back to Ma Wu, a hint of resolve seeped through the softness of her voice. "I came back to save you!"

"I don't need you to save me!" Ma Wu snapped.

"You saved me, so I have to save you. That's destiny. That's fate."

Destiny and fate.

Ma Wu felt his heart pounding wildly.

It should have been utterly absurd for a Hedonism Cultivator to genuinely love someone. Yet Ma Wu knew he had fallen for the woman before him.

The Green Serpent Vine was not especially fast, and it could not move far from its underground roots. By this point, they had already escaped it.

Even so, Ma Wu kept running alongside her. He would gladly run like this for the rest of his life.

***

The enormous wild boar charged back and forth across the land plot, growing increasingly agitated. It had heard movement and searched all night, yet it never found a single trace of the land activator.

It even began to suspect that there was no land activator on this plot at all.

The local land deity lied to me. No, this cannot even be called a lie. This is a test.

If I can see through the truth that there is no land activator here, he will surely value me more and reward me generously.

The wild boar was just about to leave the land plot when, at the very edge of the boundary, it suddenly caught a scent.

Human scent. Fresh. Very fresh.

It's close. No more than a hundred meters away!

Following the scent, the wild boar made his way over and finally found the traces Li Banfeng had left behind.

Just some moments ago, Li Banfeng had peed there before returning to the Pocket Dwelling. The scent he left behind was indeed fresh.

So there really is a land activator here! I was careless! Where is he?

The wild boar scanned the ground, following the traces carefully. Then its eyes narrowed. Li Banfeng's footprints stopped abruptly, as if they had been cut off mid-step.

There are no trees within the land plot. Climbing is impossible. Then he must have escaped underground. This land activator has an earth-escape technique!

At the spot where the footprints vanished, the wild boar immediately began digging with all his strength.

Author's Note:

PS: Who did Ma Wu encounter? How and why did he fall in love so quickly?