Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'-Chapter 556 - 387: Bei Wushuang’s Contract Book
Watching Pan Dehai, Gao Shuxia, and Hundred-Eyes Fish all chasing after Bei Wushuang, Li Banfeng felt very conflicted.
Is the Contract Book in Bei Wushuang’s hands, or still at his home? he wondered. Is it possible he dug out his own Contract Book? It’s certainly possible. Although doing so would lower his cultivation level, staying home to defend the Contract Book with Pan Dehai around would be a death sentence. He’d be better off running away with the Contract Book. If the Contract Book is really on him, should I give chase too? But what could I do if I did? I definitely can’t beat Pan Dehai. Gao Shuxia is a Wounded Demon Fiend; I can’t beat her either. Hundred-Eyes Fish is a Wandering Monster. According to the Cook, her cultivation level is far above mine, so my chances of beating her are slim. If I follow them now, I won’t gain anything, let alone something as crucial as the Contract Book. But if I don’t chase, I won’t know who ends up with the Contract Book.
Just as Li Banfeng was about to move, he suddenly sensed someone approaching. Turning around, he saw He Yuxiu running over, breathless.
"Brother Seven, don’t chase! That’s not the person you’re looking for, it’s a cucumber!"
A cucumber? Li Banfeng thought.
"Zhang Wanlong grew it!" He Yuxiu nodded and pointed to the sandpit. "The person you’re looking for should still be down here."
Zhang Wanlong is truly ruthless, growing a cucumber person capable of deceiving Pan Dehai! Li Banfeng mused. He looked at the sandpit.
He Yuxiu said, "Brother Seven, you must act quickly; that cucumber won’t last long."
Li Banfeng and He Yuxiu jumped into the sandpit, wondering where the entrance was. The quicksand suddenly churned underfoot, and Bei Wushuang emerged from it, carrying a pack on his back.
This wasn’t a coincidence; Bei Wushuang had chosen the perfect moment to escape from his home. He didn’t know why Pan Dehai, Gao Shuxia, and Hundred-Eyes Fish had suddenly left, but he knew one thing: this was his last chance to escape.
Two people stood before him. He recognized one as Meng Yuchun’s lover, but the other was a stranger.
I blew up my own hump, nearly dying in the process. After fighting Gao Shuxia and Hundred-Eyes Fish, I’ve barely any strength left, Bei Wushuang thought. Can I still fight these two? I have to fight, even if I can’t win. Any more delay, and Pan Dehai will return. Then it’ll all be over.
Bei Wushuang had no time to hesitate or probe. He stamped his hooves and let out a low growl.
"GRRRRRR~"
He employed his best tactic, directly using a Sound Cultivation Technique to trigger the quicksand trap, intending to ensnare them. As the quicksand swirled, Li Banfeng and He Yuxiu both began to sink.
Just as Bei Wushuang was about to break free, Li Banfeng’s legs trembled. The quicksand beneath him parted, opening a trench. It was the Traveling Cultivation Technique: Path-breaking Technique.
Li Banfeng freed himself from the quicksand and, with another kick, cleared the way for He Yuxiu. He Yuxiu also escaped. Seeing Bei Wushuang leap into the air to flee, she grabbed a handful of sand and flung it at him. The sand, like buckshot, pierced straight into Bei Wushuang’s body.
Bei Wushuang tumbled from mid-air back into the sandpit, struggling to rise.
This Martial Cultivator is completely unreasonable! Bei Wushuang fumed.
"GRRRRRR~" Bei Wushuang prepared to trigger the quicksand again. To him, it was as simple as a shout, and he didn’t believe Li Banfeng could keep neutralizing it with the Path-breaking Technique.
"HUUUUUYA~" Li Banfeng didn’t use the Path-breaking Technique but roared back at Bei Wushuang. This roar disrupted the rhythm and cadence of Bei Wushuang’s cry, preventing the quicksand trap from activating.
Bei Wushuang was stunned. Isn’t he a Traveling Cultivator? How could his random shout break a Sound Cultivation Technique? Or was it not just a random shout? Could it be he had undertaken Dual Cultivation, also mastering Sound Cultivation?
Bei Wushuang had no time to ponder, as He Yuxiu was already pelting him with another handful of sand. Smoke rose from Bei Wushuang’s body. Barely able to stand, he opened his throat to bellow once more.
"HUFF~ HUFF~" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
"HUUUUUYA~" Whatever Bei Wushuang shouted, Li Banfeng responded in kind.
This was a technique he’d borrowed from his wife—the Phonograph—using the Deep House Technique. Since he didn’t know his wife’s Taoist Sect, he wasn’t sure if it would counter Bei Wushuang, but it was worth trying anyway. Li Banfeng was far from his home, so the technique’s power was very limited. If Bei Wushuang hadn’t been injured, Li Banfeng’s shouts wouldn’t have harmed him at all. But Bei Wushuang was barely clinging to life and couldn’t afford a battle of attrition with Li Banfeng.
After several exchanges of shouts, Bei Wushuang suddenly fell silent. As the sound ceased, Bei Wushuang’s form also vanished.
What technique is this now? Li Banfeng wondered.
It was the Sound Cultivation Technique: Silencing and Vanishing. In continuous sound-based combat, suddenly withdrawing the sound would cause the Sound Cultivator’s traces to vanish. It was a very high-level Escaping Form Technique.
Previously, when Bei Wushuang prepared to ambush Pan Dehai, he had used Silencing and Vanishing; even Pan Dehai hadn’t been able to see his form then. At that time, Li Banfeng had seen him and poured a ladle of Golden Juice over him. Back then, Bei Wushuang thought he might have inadvertently revealed himself. Now, he intended to use this move to escape again, but he didn’t expect to still be unable to elude Li Banfeng’s eyes.
Li Banfeng once again pushed his Golden Gaze Autumn Hair to its limit and saw Bei Wushuang’s vague outline. His outline is too distinctive—a camel without a hump, Li Banfeng noted.
Li Banfeng performed Trample Over Thousands of Rivers, slamming Bei Wushuang to the ground.
I don’t understand, Bei Wushuang thought, bewildered. Meng Yuchun’s lover seems to be my born nemesis. I know Sound Cultivation Techniques, but so does he. Every time I vanish, he hits me squarely. Could I have underestimated him? Is his cultivation level actually unfathomable?
In his bewilderment, He Yuxiu flung another handful of sand into Bei Wushuang’s eyes.
This is bad! Bei Wushuang realized. Not only was it painful, but Bei Wushuang’s vision was also severely affected.
He Yuxiu might act recklessly, but she knew a thing or two about fighting; she knew exactly what measures to use at the right time. His vision impaired, Bei Wushuang found that Li Banfeng had disappeared.
BANG! With a muffled explosion, one of Bei Wushuang’s forelegs blew apart. The Technique Bei Wushuang dreaded most had arrived: Li Banfeng had used Passing Glance. Luckily, he had the physique of someone from Above the Clouds, so this blast didn’t completely tear him apart. But even if he endured this time, it was hard to say about the next.
He strained his eyes, locking onto Li Banfeng’s figure, while He Yuxiu relentlessly threw sand, aiming for his eyes.
This despicable couple... Bei Wushuang seethed. He had fought Local Deities his entire life; what combat techniques hadn’t he seen? I never expected that today, at the end of my rope, I’d fall to such a simple tactic.
"WOO WOO~ AOW..." Bei Wushuang attempted a counterattack, but another handful of sand struck his eyes, blinding him once more.
In that instant of blindness, Bei Wushuang lost everything. His body completely exploded. Amidst the scattered flesh and blood, only a backpack remained intact.
Without a second thought, Li Banfeng grabbed the backpack, took He Yuxiu’s hand, and bolted. Pan Dehai could return at any moment; if they delayed, they wouldn’t escape.
As they fled, He Yuxiu suddenly laughed.
Li Banfeng asked in astonishment, "What are you laughing at?"
Could she have been affected by that camel’s Technique? Has it affected her sanity? Li Banfeng wondered.
He Yuxiu replied, "You once said that many heroes have ’capsized their ships in the gutter.’ Just now, I was wondering if that camel counts as one of them too?"
By all accounts, it really was so. Bei Wushuang, a powerful figure among the Local Deities of New Land, could surely have taken on Meng Yuchun alone. Gravely wounded from the combined attacks of Meng Yuchun and Pan Dehai, then after a bloody battle with Gao Shuxia and Hundred-Eyes Fish, he had drained the last of his combat strength, ultimately perishing at the hands of Li Banfeng and He Yuxiu. This final battle had lasted less than a minute; it was a classic case of "capsizing in the gutter."
"But we can’t put it that way! He was a hero, and so are we."
He Yuxiu asked earnestly, "Then who exactly is the gutter?"
Li Banfeng shot He Yuxiu a glance, and the two continued their mad dash.
Pan Dehai, Gao Shuxia, and Hundred-Eyes Fish thought they were about to catch up with "Bei Wushuang," only to find him suddenly vanish into thin air in the desert.
Where could he hide? Pan Dehai wondered. Silencing and Vanishing?
Pan Dehai shouted sternly, "Bei Wushuang! When you spread pests in Hai Chi Ridge, did you ever think you would face this day? Death is at your doorstep! How long can you hide? Surrender now!"
As his words fell, Pan Dehai’s form swelled. He looked down in all directions, intending to use the Technique of Esteemed Presence to force Bei Wushuang out. After a long wait with no sign of Bei Wushuang, Pan Dehai turned and grabbed Gao Shuxia and Hundred-Eyes Fish.
Gao Shuxia, startled, exclaimed, "Why are you grabbing us?"
Pan Dehai grinned ferociously. "Didn’t I just tell you two ladies I’d ask for your help to guide the way? We’re going to Bei Wushuang’s dwelling again. And incidentally, there are some things I’d like to ask you both."
On his plot of land, Zhang Wanlong bit into a cucumber. The crunch was notably crisp.
"Lucky it came back quickly," Zhang Wanlong said to Root, looking at the cucumber. "If they’d discovered this, we two wouldn’t have gotten away with it."
Li Banfeng took He Yuxiu back to her plot of land, then ran to the Mountain-Uprooting Master’s abode, to the tunnel where the platform was under construction. The tunnel was unchanged. Li Banfeng followed his memory to the location of the Portable Residence. He paused briefly, and the rubble beneath his feet turned into flat, moist earth.
"The soil isn’t dry yet, don’t keep stepping on it!" a voice came from the Portable Residence, and a large door slowly materialized before him.
This was a verification process. The Portable Residence recognized Li Banfeng’s identity, and both the station and the door appeared. Li Banfeng entered the door and opened Bei Wushuang’s backpack. Inside were a wooden box and an arched Iron Token.
The Contract Book! Li Banfeng exclaimed internally. Bei Wushuang really did dig out his own Contract Book, planning to escape with it!
Li Banfeng was overjoyed and first verified the Contract Book’s contents. On the Iron Token’s front, eight large red characters were engraved vertically: *Hundred Miles of Land, this serves as proof.* Specks of blood dotted the writing. The back of the Iron Token held much more text, totaling over a dozen lines.
The first line, in small letters: *Bei Wushuang is granted this land.*
The second line: *Bei Wushuang defeated Iron-Arm Lad, gained fifteen miles of land.*
The third line: *Bei Wushuang defeated Ax-Term Lord, gained ten miles of land.*
...
This continued to the ninth line, which read: *Bei Wushuang defeated the Mountain-Uprooting Master, gained ten miles of land.*
The following lines all listed Bei Wushuang’s victories. Bei Wushuang was indeed formidable. After becoming a Local Deity, he fought fifteen battles without a single defeat.
Li Banfeng first handed the Contract Book to his wife (the Phonograph). "Help me change the Mountain-Uprooting Master’s name on this."
His wife (the Phonograph) was also very happy. "Beloved husband, our heart’s burden has finally been lifted."
The Phonograph’s needle meticulously altered the writing, quickly changing the Mountain-Uprooting Master’s name to Li Furong.
Li Banfeng, in high spirits, was about to grab the Oil Pot to celebrate, but the Phonograph cried out, "Hold on, husband! Today isn’t convenient for this Little Servant. It’s the perfect time for that shameless woman Hong Ying."
Hearing this, Hong Ying scampered off towards The Fifth Room.
Li Banfeng paid Hong Ying no mind and took the Oil Pot straight to the Phonograph.
The Phonograph exclaimed, "Wait, husband! What do you plan to do with this Iron Token?"
Li Banfeng was taken aback and set the Oil Pot down.
