Chapter 73: New Land Covenant

Across the open country, private detective Daboyins ran frantically.

The coattails of his tuxedo were mostly torn off, and his top hat was being chewed by Mrs. Bagworm. Mrs. Bagworm found the hat's taste unpleasant. After a few chomps, she tossed it aside. She spat out a silken thread, binding Daboyins' feet, and leaned in close. "Be my man," she cooed, "I'll take good care of you."

"Madam, I may not be your type," Daboyins replied. His body rapidly expanded, transforming into a massive spider. He broke free of the silken thread, shot a stream of spider silk, and hung himself from a tree.

Mrs. Bagworm was delighted. "I love a man like you! I love the way you spin your silk!"

With eight eyes, Daboyins gazed at Mrs. Bagworm. "Though I don't know what you've been through, Madam, I have a wife."

Mrs. Bagworm chuckled. "Is your wife prettier than me? Can she love you as well as I can?"

Daboyins wanted to escape, but Mrs. Bagworm was ready for the chase.

Could he escape? Yes, he could!

Mrs. Bagworm hadn't been malicious towards either Li Banfeng or Daboyins. She wasn't trying to kill; she was merely playing.

He couldn't defeat her.He couldn't shake her off.Should he just let her play?But could he endure such a thing?

At this thought, Daboyins suddenly smiled, his expression radiating a warrior's fearlessness and easy grace. *To think of all the pain and hardship I've endured to get this far! What is this little humiliation now?*

His eight eyes flickered for a moment. Daboyins bowed. "Madam, could we perhaps talk first?"

"Talk about what? Let's just consummate our union!" The colossal green grub pressed down on the spider. This was exactly what Daboyins had expected. The massive bagworm's body trembled violently. Daboyins closed his eight eyes, his eight legs tightly gripping the spider silk.

***

Li Banfeng slid down from the roof of the wooden cabin. Yu Nan had no idea how he'd entered Yujia Village, and Li Banfeng offered no explanation. He was hungry and utterly exhausted.

After a meal, a bath, a change of clothes, Li Banfeng regained some strength. Yu Nan brought up the detective they'd just encountered, and Li Banfeng fell into thought.

"Detective Daboyins," he mused, "he's a good man."

"What exactly is your history with him?" Yu Nan asked. "Why did he attack you?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I don't know him."

Yu Nan was even more perplexed. "If you don't know him, why do you call him a good man?"

Li Banfeng, in turn, couldn't understand Yu Nan's reasoning. "Didn't you just see? If he hadn't saved me, how would I have shaken off that creature?"

"He... saved you?" Yu Nan found this hard to accept.

Li Banfeng firmly believed it. "Whatever his intentions, he ultimately did a good deed. I'll visit him to thank him one day."

"You're going to thank him?" Yu Nan shook her head vigorously. "Seventh Master, that private detective tried to kill you! You absolutely mustn't seek him out. I suspect he might be connected to the Geng family."

At this, Yu Nan brought up what concerned her most. "The Geng Family Pharmacy caught fire, and Geng Zhiwei died. Do you know about this?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "Yes, I killed Geng Zhiwei. You can return to Ligou and continue running your fabric shop."

Yu Nan was speechless for a long time. She hadn't expected Li Banfeng's reply to be so direct. "No, no, I don't understand. Seventh Master, you single-handedly burned down the Geng Family Pharmacy and killed Geng Zhiwei?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "It wasn't just me; someone helped."

Who exactly helped him? Yu Nan was very curious but didn't dare to press for more details.

Li Banfeng said, "Tomorrow I'll give you 600,000 in cash. Please deliver it to Elder Yao for me. 500,000 is to repay a debt, and the remaining 100,000 is for some purchases."

"Purchases of what?" Yu Nan was completely baffled.

Li Banfeng replied, "Two pieces of paper. It's the price I agreed upon with Elder Yao."

Yu Nan stared in disbelief for a long moment. Before her father died, he had given her an ancestral tablet inscribed with only the character "Yao," meant for honoring Elder Yao. According to her father, Elder Yao was an otherworldly master, and it was a rule to never utter a word out of place in his presence. Elder Yao had only just met Li Banfeng. Why were they on such familiar terms?

"Seventh Master, did you do something against the rules?"

Li Banfeng couldn't be bothered to explain. *It's precisely because you have so many rules that Elder Yao is so reserved with you.*

Yu Nan's thoughts were in a whirl, so she set aside the matter of Elder Yao for the moment. "Seventh Master, what are your next plans?"

Li Banfeng had burned down the Geng Family Pharmacy and killed Geng Zhiwei. The Geng family wouldn't let him go, nor would the Jiangxiang Gang. Li Banfeng could no longer stay in Yaowanggou, and perhaps not even in the entire Purozhou.

Li Banfeng had already made up his mind. "Shopkeeper Yu, please help me inquire where I can obtain a travel permit to another province."

Going to another province—it seemed to be his only way out.

"Seventh Master, I wasn't lying to you; I truly haven't handled this before. I'm not confident about it, and the cost isn't small. I'll need some time to gather the necessary funds."

"How much money is needed?" Li Banfeng was confident when it came to finances.

"I heard someone managed it," she replied. "Converted to Huanguo currency, it would probably cost twenty million."

"Twenty million?" Li Banfeng's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Seventh Master, you don't need to worry," Yu Nan said earnestly. "You've been so good to us. I'll find a way to get that money." Li Banfeng's willingness to avenge her meant Yu Nan would spare no effort, no matter how difficult it was to get the travel permit to another province.

Li Banfeng blinked, looking at Yu Nan with great confusion. "What kindness have I shown you?"

Killing Geng Zhiwei was Li Banfeng's own affair; he didn't feel it had anything to do with Yu Nan. And the travel permit was a business transaction, not a favor. Li Banfeng naturally intended to pay for it. However, the figure of twenty million was ridiculous. Li Banfeng needed to find someone to verify it.

Yu Nan sighed inwardly, reflecting on Li Qi's selflessness. *A true hero indeed, to do good without seeking repayment.* "Seventh Master," she continued, "I will certainly carry out your instructions with all my heart. But until it's done, you must remain in the New Land. You can't go anywhere. The Jiangxiang Gang could send people for you at any time. I suspect that private detective was hired by them."

"Hired by the Jiangxiang Gang?" That statement certainly gave Li Banfeng pause. *Does the Jiangxiang Gang really need to hire private detectives to do their work? Even if they did, I just burned down the Geng Family Pharmacy. Could the Jiangxiang Gang have tracked me down so fast? And know my whereabouts?* That seemed unlikely.

If the Jiangxiang Gang really sent a private detective to find him, was it about the Geng family or the copper lotus? If it was for the copper lotus, the situation would be far from simple. The Jiangxiang Gang might even surround Yujia Village!

Li Banfeng murmured, "It seems I can't stay here. More people might come looking for me if I do."

"They wouldn't dare," Yu Nan asserted confidently. "This is Yujia Village, territory I, Yu Nan, claimed with my blood. On this land, as long as I bleed, no one would dare to trespass."

Yu Nan then explained the rules of land reclamation to Li Banfeng. This was a covenant Yu Nan had made with the spirits, creating this New Land. As long as Yu Nan spilled blood on this territory, anyone who dared to trespass would face severe punishment from the spirits. This contract was lifelong, meaning the land belonged to Yu Nan for life, unless she died or made a new covenant to transfer Yujia Village to someone else.

Yu Nan's account perfectly matched Old Zhu's. This sparked an idea in Li Banfeng. *Should I claim a plot of land here too?* Recalling his previous encounters, the idea was quickly dismissed. *Why would I claim land here? I'm going back to Yue Province eventually, and this perilous place isn't suitable for me anyway.*

Li Banfeng took out Geng Zhiwei's pistol. "Do you recognize this gun?"

Yu Nan examined it for a moment. "A Glock 17, domestically produced in Aocuilina. This type of gun is rare in Purozhou. It's Geng Zhiwei's gun."

Seeing the pistol, Yu Nan no longer had any doubt that Li Banfeng had indeed killed Geng Zhiwei.

"How do you use this gun?" Li Banfeng couldn't load it or get the trigger to move.

Yu Nan flipped the safety and taught Li Banfeng how to operate the pistol.

"Seventh Master, this gun looks good and shoots accurately, but it's not very practical in Purozhou."

"What do you mean? Why isn't it practical if it shoots accurately?"

Yu Nan explained, "In Purozhou, gunpowder is unreliable. Out of ten bullets, perhaps only two or three might fire. If this type of pistol misfires, the spent casing is hard to eject. If you want a gun for self-defense, I'll give you mine." Yu Nan pulled out her own revolver. "An eight-inch barrel Colt Python, a revolver. If a bullet doesn't fire, just pull the trigger again."

Revolvers don't need to eject spent casings before firing all their rounds, making them far more reliable than other pistols in Purozhou. This Colt Python pistol was beautiful; it embodied everything Li Banfeng had envisioned in a revolver. The eight-inch barrel was sufficiently long, the cylinder was perfectly sized, and its silver body made Li Banfeng feel as if he were in a Western film.

It was a fine gun, but Li Banfeng wouldn't simply accept things for free.

"Shopkeeper Yu, how much is this gun?"

Yu Nan shook her head. "I won't take money. This is a token of my regard for Seventh Master."

Li Banfeng handed Geng Zhiwei's pistol to Yu Nan. "This is a token of my regard for you. Please accept it."

The two exchanged pistols, and Yu Nan's cheeks flushed slightly. Li Banfeng saw nothing special in the exchange. He put away the pistol, took some bullets from Yu Nan, and, unable to resist his weariness, retired to his quarters to sleep.

The next day at noon, Li Banfeng felt refreshed after lunch. Yu Nan gathered all the employees of the Yu Family Fabric Shop before Li Banfeng to express their gratitude.

An employee named Ling Xiu stepped forward and immediately knelt. "Seventh Master," he began, "you avenged our brothers. There's nothing else to say. I'll kowtow to you."

"What are you doing?" Li Banfeng immediately backed away from Ling Xiu and pulled him to his feet.

Ling Xiu was startled. "Seventh Master, I'm going to kowtow to you!"

Li Banfeng frowned. "Why would you do that?"

Li Banfeng was an orphan. He had seen many impoverished people kowtow to others, often just for a meal. In Li Banfeng's view, kneeling and kowtowing were the most debasing acts, bar none. People shouldn't kneel, at least not to living people.

Ling Xiu saw that Li Banfeng was displeased and, for a moment, didn't know what to do. Yu Nan, however, found this unsurprising. Li Banfeng was a down-to-earth person who wouldn't appreciate such superficial displays of gratitude.

She ordered two boxes of gold bars to be brought over. "Seventh Master, I am not an ungrateful person. Although times are tough for the Yu family, we will certainly show our appreciation appropriately."

Li Banfeng was still confused. "Why are you giving me money?"

This was unexpected for Yu Nan. Li Banfeng was a straightforward person; there was no need for him to be so coy about money. This put Yu Nan in a difficult spot; she didn't know what else she could offer Li Banfeng. Her focus was now on securing his travel permit; once that was obtained, his kindness would be considered repaid. But the chances of successfully obtaining that permit were slim to none.

As Yu Nan struggled to find a way to express her gratitude, Wang Xuejiao stepped forward, puffing out her ample chest, and loudly declared, "Seventh Master, are you trying to marry our shopkeeper?"

Yu Nan's cheeks went from pale to flushed at the remark. *That girl! She has no sense of occasion...*

Wang Xuejiao scoffed. "Seventh Master, just give up that idea. Our shopkeeper is a strong-willed woman; she won't marry you!"

At this, Yu Nan's cheeks went from flushed to pale. *You impudent girl! Don't take matters into your own hands!*

Wang Xuejiao continued, "If you're looking for a woman, don't trouble our shopkeeper. Just marry me!"

Li Banfeng stared in astonishment for a long time. "Why would I do that?"

Wang Xuejiao declared righteously, "Don't worry, I'm sincere! I'll agree to all the terms Geng Zhiwei proposed back then. I'll even go get the whip now, take off my clothes, and let you beat me. I only ask that you find a private room and not do it in front of others."

*Beat you up? What is this for again?*

Li Banfeng scanned the group. "Are you all crazy?"

Wang Xuejiao's eyes welled up. "Seventh Master, we sincerely want to repay your kindness. I want to repay you myself, and repay my brother's share as well!"

"There's no explaining to you people..." Li Banfeng shook his head repeatedly. "Get me some rations. I'm going back to Ligou."

"Back to Ligou?" Everyone was alarmed. Going back to Ligou now would be nothing short of suicide!

Suddenly, someone shouted from outside the door, "Seventh Brother, I'll go back with you!"

Looking in the direction of the voice, it was Qin Xiaopang.