Chapter 215: Half Truth

The next day, Iron Gate Fort was sealed shut. Li Banfeng went around gathering information about the surrounding area.

There were many villages around Iron Gate Fort, inhabited by humble farmers living simple lives. He encountered two level-one Agrarian Cultivators, but the rest were not cultivators.

Li Banfeng discovered the location of Flying Eagle Mountain, which was more than ten kilometers away from Iron Gate Fort. The bandits there had a notorious reputation; they were seemingly even more infamous than the bandits of Iron Goat Mountain. Whether it was the Stronghold Chief He Zhenlei or the Gun Captain Luo Dagui, they were prominent figures that struck fear into the locals.

This group of bandits had many "achievements." From the villagers' accounts of the bandits, one word stood out to Li Banfeng—"ruthless."

Every year, the bandits took more than half of each village's grain. If there was even slight resistance, it was common for them to massacre the entire village.

This was different from most bandits in Puluo. Ordinary bandits would not go as far as slaughtering the residents living near their base. They would even maintain good relations with nearby villages so they could look out for each other if something happened.

For vicious bandits like those of Flying Eagle Mountain, hadn't any powerful influential families or clans come to suppress them? Of course, there had been!

The largest local force was the Iron Gate Fort. Three hundred households of Homebound Cultivators lived there, making up a considerable force.

Fort Lord Zhou Anju had once gone alone to Flying Eagle Mountain and fought He Zhenlei. The battle had ended without a clear victor.

Another time, Zhou Anju had led more than a dozen subordinates to fight He Zhenlei at the foot of the mountain, only to be defeated and forced to retreat.

According to the local villagers, Fort Lord Zhou had lost because Homebound Cultivators could not stay away from their homes for long.

That explanation made sense, but Li Banfeng still felt that something was off.

He asked an old farmer, "Old brother, when Fort Lord Zhou fought He Zhenlei, did you see it with your own eyes?"

The old farmer shook his head. "That was a battle between immortals. How would I dare go watch?"

"Since you didn't see it, how do you know about the battles in such detail?"

"The accounts of the battle have long since been spread around Iron Gate Fort. Those two battles shook heaven and earth. Everyone around here knows about them! Fort Lord Zhou is a hero, but those villains are too ruthless. Even Iron Gate Fort couldn't stand against them, let alone ordinary folk like us."

The villagers spoke of the battles as earth-shaking, yet none of them had actually witnessed the battles.

Li Banfeng felt a strong urge to go to Flying Eagle Mountain and see what was really going on.

However, if that stronghold chief truly was a level-seven or eight cultivator, wouldn't I be courting death by going there? I'd better observe a bit longer. Sooner or later, I'll find someone who knows the truth.

The next day, Iron Gate Fort opened its gates. Li Banfeng entered again, and Ma Dingfu shouted at the entrance, "Do your business quickly, we're closing in two hours!"

Li Banfeng asked Sui Donglan, "What time do they usually close?"

"Seven in the evening. Closing this early today means the Flying Eagle Mountain matter hasn't been settled yet."

Those selling rice, oil, and vegetables went door to door doing business. But those selling cloth, sundries, and tobacco couldn't do the same.

Flying Eagle Mountain demanded ten thousand silver dollars from Iron Gate Fort. Most people in the fort hadn't handed over their share of the money yet, but they had to prepare it. If the pressure grew too great, they would have no choice but to give in, since Homebound Cultivators couldn't relocate easily.

A woman selling cloth went to Old Hu's house to collect clothes. Old Hu was a tailor with decent skills, and she had been placing orders with him for years.

Old Hu hadn't locked his door today; it was left slightly ajar.

However, the woman didn't dare to enter. She knew Homebound Cultivators disliked others stepping into their homes. So, she called out from outside, "Old Hu, are those two qipaos finished?"

The voice of an elderly man rang from inside the house. "Who?"

Is that Old Hu? Something seems off about his voice.

"It's me! Xiujuan. I'm here to pick up the clothes!"

"Who exactly?"

Xiujuan took two steps back. "I... It's me..."

A cold wind blew out from the house, and dense fog began to swirl in the dark corridor.

Within the fog, Old Hu's severed head slowly floated toward Xiujuan.

"Mother of heaven!" Xiujuan shrieked. She stumbled and crawled, scrambling away from Old Hu's doorway as fast as she could.

Several Homebound Cultivators who had come out to shop gathered around Xiujuan and saw Old Hu's head still hanging in midair.

The elderly man's voice echoed from within the house. "Tell me... who killed him..."

Li Banfeng wanted to go in and take a look, but Wu Yongchao stopped him. "Don't go. The dwelling spirit might be about to go berserk."

Without its master, a dwelling spirit could easily turn into a vengeful spirit. Furthermore, this was not an ordinary dwelling spirit.

"Old Hu lived in Iron Gate Fort for over fifty years. This dwelling spirit was with him for even longer. Now that he's gone, this spirit will likely—"

Before he could finish, the dwelling spirit roared repeatedly, "WHO WAS IT?!"

The entire house shook with the force of the dwelling spirit's roar.

Fifty years. So, the Homebound Cultivator I heard yesterday, the one who moved here even earlier than Fort Lord Zhou... That's the one who died.

Ma Dingfu ran over and shouted at the merchants, "Go! Everyone, go! Something's happened here. We're closing the gates very soon."

They were shutting the gates again.

As the merchants rushed toward the exit, a steam whistle blared suddenly.

Wheeeooo! Wheeeooo!

Before anyone could run out, the steam gates slammed shut.

Soon after, someone yelled from outside the gates, "Fort Lord Zhou, I'm back. I told you yesterday. If I don't get the ten thousand silver dollars, I'll take one life a day. You received the head, didn't you?"

Fort Lord Zhou shouted sternly, "Luo Dagui, don't push things too far!"

"I'm not. I'm acting on the rules I told you yesterday!"

Then a thunderous boom rang out, and several massive rocks crashed down into the valley.

Another Homebound Cultivator's house was smashed. All the merchants crouched on the ground, not daring to make a sound. They waited for Fort Lord Zhou to respond, but he said nothing.

Gun Captain Luo Dagui shouted, "Everyone, I'll be back tomorrow. If I still don't see the ten thousand silver dollars, I'll bring you another generous 'gift'!"

With that, Gun Captain Luo Dagui left.

The crowd stayed frozen for a long while, still not daring to move.

Ma Dingfu swept his gaze across the crowd and shouted angrily, "Where's all that bravado now? Go on, fight him if you dare! Look what's happened. Someone's dead!"

Several Homebound Cultivators looked at Wu Yongchao with resentment. These were the ones who had already handed over their share of the money.

Wearing an expression filled with guilt, Wu Yongchao avoided everyone's eyes.

Meanwhile, Old Hu's dwelling spirit continued to roar, "Who killed him?!"

Ma Dingfu glanced in the direction of Old Hu's house. Then he turned back to the crowd. "Who's close with Old Hu? Go look at what happened inside his house."

Wu Yongchao said, "I'll go take a look. I know his dwelling spirit."

Ma Dingfu looked at Wu Yongchao for a long moment. "Handle it properly. And remember, you owe Old Hu a life."

***

Two hours later, the steam gates finally opened.

Sui Donglan rushed toward the gates, but Li Banfeng grabbed her and handed her a cup of wine.

He said, "Drink this. Come back to Iron Gate Fort tomorrow and wait for me."

"It won't open tomorrow! That Ma guy just said so!"

"If the gates don't open, then wait outside."

"What if I run into bandits?"

"Then just do a better job at hiding?"

***

Late at night, Wu Yongchao rummaged through his house, gathering every bit of loose change he could find. In total, he scraped together twelve silver dollars.

Each household had to pay thirty-six. What he had wasn't even close.

He took out several paintings he had never been willing to sell and tried to estimate their value.

Right then, an old man's voice spoke into his ear. "Boy, you can't sell those. You'll need them when the fighting starts!"

"I need the money now. Later, I'll just—"

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone was knocking at Wu Yongchao's door.

He furrowed his brows slightly. At this hour, there shouldn't be any outsiders in Iron Gate Fort.

Could it be Ma Dingfu coming to press for payment again?

He walked to the door and looked through the peephole. It wasn't Ma Dingfu standing outside but a man wearing a fedora.

The peddler!

Wu Yongchao opened the door and asked quietly, "How did you get in?"

Li Banfeng spoke even more quietly. "I never left."

"That's impossible. Every time the fort closes, everyone has to—"

"Let me in first. This isn't the place to talk."

Wu Yongchao hesitated.

The old man's voice spoke into his ear again. "Let him in. He's a good man."

Wu Yongchao led Li Banfeng into the living room and glanced around several times before closing the door.

Once they were seated, Wu Yongchao asked, "How did you dare stay behind in the fort? If the Fort Lord finds out..."

"Forget that for now. When you went to Old Hu's place, did you find out how he died?"

Wu Yongchao lowered his head, his expression filled with guilt. "This morning, Old Hu went out to dump waste soil and didn't return for a long time. Smelling the scent of blood wafting in from outside, the dwelling spirit opened the door and found Old Hu's head placed right at the entrance. This is all my fault—"

Li Banfeng cut him off. "How early this morning? Before the main gates were opened or after?"

"Around six. The gates hadn't opened yet."

"Then how did the killer get in?"

Wu Yongchao thought about it for a moment. "They can throw rocks down from the cliff. They probably snuck into the fort from there."

Li Banfeng thought about the height of that cliff. Then he thought about the kind of tools those people used.

People of that caliber... climbing down a cliff just to kill a Homebound Cultivator at his own doorstep? Seems unlikely.

"What was Old Hu's cultivation level?"

"He said he was level three."

Only level three? How is that possible?

"Didn't you say he cultivated for over fifty years? Just by time alone, he couldn't still have been only level three."

Wu Yongchao considered it for a moment. "I remember once when he got drunk, he talked about his cultivation. He said that when he was young, he fought his dwelling spirit every day, the kinds of intense fights where only one party would emerge alive. Later, to escape it, he moved to Iron Gate Fort.

For some reason, the dwelling spirit pursued him all the way here. They kept fighting for another thirty years. His cultivation didn't improve, and he was left covered in injuries. Later, when Old Hu grew too old to keep fighting, the dwelling spirit granted him level-three cultivation... and they continued fighting."

To think there are even dwelling spirits like this?

The more Li Banfeng heard, the more he felt that meeting his wife had been an incredible stroke of luck.

"Why did you come to Iron Gate Fort?"

Wu Yongchao lowered his head. He didn't want to talk about his past, but since the "Peddler" had asked, he didn't know how to refuse.

"I used to live in Greenwater Bay—not Greenwater City but a village outside it.

I liked staying at home since I was young. My family was well-off, so they got me some pills and built up my Dao affinity, hoping I'd become a Martial Cultivator.

But I didn't want to practice martial arts, so I secretly found the Peddler and became a Homebound Cultivator instead. My family thought I was useless and scolded me every day, so I bought a house in Blue Poplar Village and moved out."

Blue Poplar Village?

Li Banfeng nodded. "You've got a good eye for locations."

Wu Yongchao gave a bitter smile. "A good eye? Not at all. If I'd known what Blue Poplar Village was really like, I wouldn't have bought a house there just because it was cheap.

The only good thing about Blue Poplar Village is that dwelling spirits appear quickly. I hadn't even been there a month before mine showed up."

Of course, they did,

Li Banfeng thought.

That place is full of restless souls.

Wu Yongchao continued, "I can paint and do tailoring. I thought I could make a living with my skills. But when I made business deals in Blue Poplar Village, I got scammed nine out of ten times!"

"Scammed nine times?" Li Banfeng was genuinely surprised.

The people of Blue Poplar Village seemed so simple and honest, yet they scammed him nine times...?

He continued, "Tell me carefully. That one time they didn't scam you. How did that happen?"

Wu Yongchao forced a smile. "Let's not talk about it. It's all in the past. Later, my dwelling spirit told me that I couldn't live in Blue Poplar Village. That there was a good place where the inhabitants never bullied honest people. He'd stayed there before and told me to go take a look."

"He meant Iron Gate Fort?"

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Wu Yongchao nodded. "The dwelling spirit was willing to go with me, but the dwelling wouldn't let us leave. The two of us fought against it for a whole day and night before we escaped. We almost died. The dwelling spirit treated me very well, truly well. I came to Iron Gate Fort and settled down. It guided my cultivation. He said Iron Gate Fort had changed. It wasn't like before, but it was still livable. He said I had good talent, just that I was too honest. After over ten years, he helped me reach level four."

That was the unpredictable part about Homebound Cultivators. With a compatible dwelling spirit, their cultivation could grow rapidly. But they had an incompatible one, they might remain stuck for decades.

Old Madam Han was one example of having an incompatible welling spirit. Old Hu was another.

"In Iron Gate Fort, what's the highest level a Homebound Cultivator can reach?"

Wu Yongchao answered without hesitation, "Level four. No higher. If you go beyond that, you can't stay in the fort."

"Who made that rule?"

"That's Fort Lord Zhou's rule. He said Iron Gate Fort exists to give less capable Homebound Cultivators a way to survive. Those with real ability should go out and make their own path, not stay here forever."

That's ridiculous. It's incredibly valuable to have cultivators at level five and above as part of their combat force, yet Fort Lord Zhou doesn't want it...? Then again, perhaps powerful people simply think differently.

"Homebound Cultivators can't relocate easily. If someone reaches level five, can they really be forced to leave?"

Wu Yongchao shook his head. "There's no need to force them. Homebound Cultivators are prideful people, and we would never cause trouble for others. If we're told to leave, we'll just leave. At worst, we'll fight our own house again. Two years ago, Old Wang from across the street reached level five. Fort Lord Zhou personally came to persuade him to leave, and he agreed. He and his dwelling spirit fought the house for three whole days... and in the end, he died inside it. He once told me, 'Rules are rules. There's nothing to complain about.'"

Li Banfeng nodded in understanding.

It wasn't that all Homebound Cultivators couldn't adapt to life outside. But those who came to Iron Gate Fort wanted to escape the chaos of the outside world. Homebound Cultivators like these were the simplest, most straightforward people.

Life at Iron Gate Fort was harsh, but the many unnecessary conflicts they would likely have outside the fort were absent here. The merchants might exploit these honest people, but it was still better than the outside world, where they could be stripped of everything. And Fort Lord Zhou understood this sentiment perfectly.

"Do you know what it's like above the cliff?"

Wu Yongchao shook his head. "Above the cliff? That's just a mountaintop, isn't it? What else could there be?"

No wonder he thought he was blessed with talents. He doesn't even know what it's like outside and around Iron Gate Fort.

"Do you go out often?"

"You mean leaving our house, or leaving the main gates? We don't usually go out through the main gates..."

From Wu Yongchao's account, most Homebound Cultivators lived the same way. They rarely went out, seldom moved about, and hardly interacted with one another, keeping as much distance from the outside world as possible.

Midway through their conversation, someone came knocking on Wu Yongchao's door again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Wu Yongchao looked at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng gazed straight back at him.

Why are you looking at me? I'm right in front of you. How could it be me knocking?

Wu Yongchao moved to check the door, but Li Banfeng stopped him and signaled for him to stay silent.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Already asleep? It's me, Ma Dingfu. I'm here to talk about the money!"

Wu Yongchao moved toward the door again to open it, but Li Banfeng stopped him once more.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"What, dead asleep? Don't play dumb. You owe Old Hu a life. I'll come back tomorrow!"

Then Ma Dingfu left.

Wu Yongchao was overwhelmed with shame. "This is my fault... all my fault. I'll sell the house if I have to. No matter what, I'll gather the money."

Li Banfeng looked at him straight in the eye. "Brother, this isn't your fault. None of it is your fault. Remember this. From now on, unless the person at your door is me, you are not to leave the house. Do not take even one step out of it!"