Chapter 198: New Land and Old Land

A torrential rain poured down, quickly dousing the flames in the warehouse. Even so, the warehouse had suffered considerable losses.

Li Banfeng checked Zuo Wugang's injuries. Zuo Wugang waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing serious. I have a way to remove the poison. I am just worried that if those bastards from Iron Goat Mountain come again tonight, I won't be able to hold them off."

"You won't need to hold them off," Li Banfeng said. "As long as I'm here, the land deity will watch over this place. You mentioned Iron Goat Mountain just now. What's their background?"

"They are bandits from the Old Land," Zuo Wugang replied. "Their big ladle handle is called Rong Yeguang. I heard he used to be a sixth-level Physique Cultivator. As for what level he is now, I wouldn't dare say. Even that bastard Du Shuping has already reached the sixth level."

"Sixth level? And he's a bandit?" Li Banfeng frowned, unable to understand. With cultivation at the sixth level, a man could do almost anything.

"The Old Land is different," Zuo Wugang said. "It's a good place to make a fortune."

"What kind of place is the Old Land?"

Zuo Wugang hesitated for a moment before answering. "How do I explain it... It's somewhat similar to the New Land. In short, it's a place with few people. And where there are fewer people, there are more opportunities to make money. But the ways of making money there are different from the New Land. It's just..."

Zuo Wugang was not very good at explaining things to begin with, and the poison in his body meant he could not hold out for long.

Li Banfeng told him to return and rest. Then he went to the edge of the New Land, dragged the half-dead Wang Qi and Du Shuping with him, and entered the Pocket Dwelling.

"Heyaaaaa~ Husband dear~ You finally brought groceries back!" the Gramophone cried excitedly, tears of emotion dripping from its horn.

"Buying groceries?" Du Shuping stared at the Gramophone in shock. He had no idea where he was, nor what this Gramophone even was.

"Don't worry about the groceries," Li Banfeng said, trying to reassure Du Shuping. "Tell me this first. Who sent you to cause trouble on my territory?"

Before Du Shuping could speak, Wang Qi spoke first. "Little brother, you are a man of virtue. Since you ask us this, the only thing that makes sense for us to do is to not say anything. However, since we have already fallen into your hands, we would like a chance to live. If we tell you the truth, will you let us go?"

Li Banfeng sat down in front of the two men and looked at them with a serious expression. "That depends on whether you show enough sincerity."

Wang Qi nodded earnestly and began explaining their background. "We're good men from Iron Goat Mountain. Our big ladle, Rong Yeguang, sent us here to team up with the big thousand-spiker who just leaned on the kiln and smash the kiln on your turf."

Li Banfeng kicked Wang Qi. "Stop speaking a foreign language."

He had picked up some gang slang from Yu Nan, but Wang Qi's speech was so thick with jargon that Li Banfeng could barely understand him.

The Gramophone could not wait any longer. "Joining the kiln means joining the gang. Smashing the kiln means robbery. And a thousand-spiker specializes in gathering intelligence. Husband, if there's anything you don't understand, your little wifey can translate it for you. Hurry up and ask."

Wifey was in such a rush. She was in such a rush that tears streamed down her horn.

Li Banfeng asked again, "Who is this thousand-spiker of yours?"

Having just taken a kick, Wang Qi didn't dare answer right away.

Seeing that Li Banfeng didn't understand the slang, Du Shuping tried to explain it as plainly as possible. "The fallen young lady of the Lu Family, Lu Xiaolan."

Lu Xiaolan had gone up the mountain and become a bandit? That was something Li Banfeng had never expected.

"I have no grievance with your boss," Li Banfeng said. "Why are you targeting us?"

Wang Qi shook his head. "I don't know about that. We just follow the boss's orders. Whatever he tells us to do, we do."

"That thousand-spiker of yours, Lu Xiaolan, planted a mole in my territory. Do you know who it is?"

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"We don't know, and it's not our place to ask," Wang Qi said. "Whenever the thousand-spiker tells us to move, that's when we smash the kiln."

"Where is this Iron Goat Mountain of yours?"

"In the Old Land."

"What is the Old Land?"

"The same as the New Land. A place that never sees the light."

The Gramophone urged him, "Husband, the New Land and the Old Land are not the same. I will explain it to you slowly later. For now, keep asking."

Li Banfeng asked again, "How far is Iron Goat Mountain from here?"

"That depends on whether you know the way," Du Shuping said. "If you can't find the right path, it might as well be a thousand kilometers away. If you can, it's only a day's journey. Little brother, spare our lives and I will draw the map for you."

As expected of a level-six Literary Cultivator, Du Shuping knew how to bargain.

Li Banfeng didn't fall for it. He stopped asking about the road. If he continued, the man would drag the conversation on forever. Instead, he asked about Iron Goat Mountain.

"How many people are in your stronghold?"

"Sixty-six," Du Shuping said. "It may not sound like many, but every one of them is a cultivator. Little brother, the jianghu is one road. No matter which line you walk, everyone on it is a brother. Today we fell into your hands, and we accept it. We have already told you everything we know. You should keep your word and give us a way out."

"There is a way," Li Banfeng said. "First, accompany my wifey for a meal. After dinner, you can be on your way."

"Dinner? Where is the food?" Du Shuping looked confused.

Pop... crackle... pop...

Wifey laughed. "Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu are the fooooooood!"

Two needles shot forward and plunged into the heads of Du Shuping and Wang Qi. The two men glared at Li Banfeng in fury as their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

***

Half an hour later, Wifey finished her meal.

Li Banfeng dragged the bodies over to the Crimson Lotus. "Eat."

The Crimson Lotus sighed inwardly. She had to eat scraps and leftovers, and she still had to watch their moods.

However, she did not dare complain. One level-six cultivator and one level-five cultivator were already rare delicacies. Her petals spread open, and she inhaled the two cultivators into her lotus core.

Li Banfeng asked the Gramophone, "What exactly is the Old Land?"

"When the New Land becomes lively with people, it turns into Proper Land. When Proper Land loses the liveliness of people, it becomes the Old Land."

Li Banfeng stood there stunned for quite a while.

"A New Land only becomes Proper Land when it's lively enough with people? I thought it would become Proper Land once the land was activated?"

"Not even close. When land is activated, it only means it has been exposed to Heavenly Light. Only when Heavenly Light fills the entire fifty-kilometer territory and more than ten thousand people live there long term does the land reach its proper fruition. That is what makes it Proper Land..."

The Gramophone explained carefully. The entire fifty-kilometer territory under a land deity must be activated, and there must be at least ten thousand permanent residents. These were the conditions for the land to become Proper Land.

Is it really that complicated?

Li Banfeng thought.

Doesn't this make Blue Poplar Village an exception?

Li Banfeng did not see it that way. "Blue Poplar Village has been eaten away by the great families, but they kept activating new land outward. Their territory never shrank. The overall area is still about the same as before."

"Not the same, not the same. Husband dear~ Go take a look at the parts of Blue Poplar Village that border the New Land. Are there people living there?"

"There are people, just not many. There aren't any proper houses there, only a few makeshift huts. I heard monsters from the New Land often wander out and harm people, so most people don't dare live there."

"That's exactly the point. Those areas don't count as Proper Land. They are only newly activated parts of the New Land.

"In an actual Proper Land, monsters from the New Land cannot enter. If they do, it would count as fighting for territory on Proper Land. The land deity of that territory would never allow it."

The land deity of Proper Land?

"Does Green Beggar count as a Land Deity of Proper Land?"

"Yes~ Husband dear~ The land deities of Proper Land are of a higher level than those of the New Land.

"However, if Proper Land loses its population for too long, it will turn into Old Land. When that happens, the land deity of that territory will also drop in rank and become not too different from those of the New Land."

When people gathered there, the land deity's level would rise. When the people disappeared, the land deity's level would fall again. No wonder Elephant Qiu cared so much about land activators. Their presence was directly tied to his own advancement.

It also explained why the land deities did not allow a single person to activate too many plots of New Land. Otherwise, one person could claim all the territories, and the population would never reach the required ten thousand permanent residents.

However, this also gave Li Banfeng a sharp reminder. From now on, he could not let the great families stretch their greedy hands into Blue Poplar Village whenever they pleased.

Newly activated plots of land did not count as Proper Land, and that directly affected Blue Poplar Village's future survival.

"But if population determines a land deity's level, why is there still a trial to activate land? Wouldn't more land activators naturally bring more people?"

"Husband, that's not how it works. Having more land activators doesn't mean more people will stay.

"If a useless fellow activates land, at most he brings his family with him. Food is hard to find in the New Land, and aberrant monsters are always attacking. After a few years, if they can't survive, they move away, and the land becomes barren again.

"But once land has been successfully activated and still has an owner, no one else can activate it again. Wouldn't the Land Deity suffer a great loss then?

"So if someone wants to activate land, they must have real ability. They must know how to manage the land, and they must be able to fight. Only people like that can turn the New Land into Proper Land. Only then will the Land Deity accept them."

"So if the population of Proper Land falls below ten thousand, it becomes Old Land? And if Old Land gains ten thousand people again, will it turn back into Proper Land?"

Pop... crackle... pop...

The Gramophone laughed. "Husband, imagine this. Suppose a fifty-kilometer territory had exactly ten thousand people. If one person left today and Proper Land suddenly became Old Land, then another person arrived tomorrow and it became Proper Land again, wouldn't the land deity be driven completely mad?

"Ten thousand is only the threshold. Once the population rises above ten thousand, the land counts as Proper Land. But within that fifty-kilometer territory, it will only turn into Old Land if the population drops below one hundred."

Below one hundred...

Li Banfeng suddenly thought of a place.

"The Bitter Greens Manor definitely covers more than fifty kilometers, but there aren't even a hundred people there. Would that place count as Old Land?"

"Bitter Greens Manor... Granny Bitter's territory... Granny Bitter... what exactly is she? She isn't a Land Deity, so what is she? Bitter Greens Manor... Granny Bitter...heehehhehehehahhohoho..."

Oh no! My wifey is about to go crazy again!

"Let's not talk about Bitter Greens Manor. There is no Bitter Greens Manor. Let's talk about something else. Wifey, is there anything else you would like to eat? I will go buy some groceries..."

After taking the Profound Essence Pill, Wifey had nearly lost her life. But once she recovered, her condition became far better than before. Even so, Granny Bitter was still not someone who could be mentioned lightly.

Who exactly is Granny Bitter?

Li Banfeng thought.

While Wifey's mental state was still stable, Li Banfeng coaxed her to sleep.

After leaving the Pocket Dwelling, Li Banfeng strolled back to his territory. Once there, he calmly set up an offering table, lit the incense, and summoned Shui Yongquan.

"The matter's been investigated," Li Banfeng said. "It was a group of land activators. Their leader is Lu Xiaolan, the big thousand-spiker of Iron Goat Mountain."

"Iron Goat Mountain. That place is a bandit den in the Old Land," Shui Yongquan said, stroking his beard. "I will inform Elephant Qiu first so he understands what's going on. If anyone from his territory dares come here to stir up trouble again. Kill them on sight. No need to show any mercy."

"There's one more thing I need to trouble you with, Boss Shui," Li Banfeng said. "How do I get to Iron Goat Mountain?"

Shui Yongquan froze.

"Brother Li Qi... what exactly are you planning to do?" he asked slowly. "Don't tell me you're thinking of attacking their mountain stronghold."

"Why can't I attack it?" Li Banfeng replied. "They were the ones who started it."

Shui Yongquan motioned for him to calm down. "What did you do to offend Iron Goat Mountain?"

"I didn't offend Iron Goat Mountain," Li Banfeng said. "In fact, I only learned their name today."

"First investigate the cause and effect behind this. After that, we can talk about dealing with those bandits."

"Can't I fight them while investigating?"

Shui Yongquan opened his mouth, then closed it again. For a moment, he didn't know how to answer.

"Brother Li Qi," he said at last, "those are bandits. Famous bandits in the jianghu. They are not street thugs. Let's deal with the problem in front of us first."

"Is there really a difference between bandits and thugs?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK?" Shui Yongquan snapped. With that, he turned and left.

Li Banfeng stood there expressionless.

Is the difference really that big? Even if there is a difference, they already attacked my home! Am I not allowed to fight back?

Still, Shui Yongquan had a point. The immediate matter had to be handled first.

He had to find the mole first. Then he would deal with Lu Xiaolan and her group.

***

He Jiaqing lay on the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling with a slightly unfocused gaze.

"The Three Heroes of Iron Goat just died like that? My friend is quite ruthless! I underestimated him before. He even tricked me!"

A voice sounded beside his ear. "This matter needs an explanation. What am I supposed to tell Rong Yeguang?"

"What explanation? Just give him some money as compensation."

"Iron Goat Mountain doesn't lack money."

"Then don't give him anything. We will save the money instead. And tell Rong Yeguang that if he wants to clear his name, he will have to pay a price!"

The voice let out a sigh. "Do you still want to listen to the livestream?"

"Of course. If there's any movement from him, play it for me. My friend is no ordinary man. I miss him a lot. Also, don't enter their territory for now. But keep the delivery routes blocked.

"If Ma Wu insists on escorting shipments every day with the bagworm moth, let him. The moment he relaxes for even a single day, rob the cargo. Let's see how long he lasts.

"And remind our people to be very careful when talking to Lu Xiaolan. She's suspicious by nature. Don't let her discover who we really are."

Author's Note:

P.S. What treasures can be found in the Old Land? Why is it said to be a place where fortunes are made?