Spilling Blood to Honor Heroic Spirits
On the dark path, Li Banfeng carried Feather Duster and carefully made his way forward.
This road Little Underworld. The old hunter repeatedly warned me that this section of the road is the most dangerous, and I should never be greedy for speed.
The path was shrouded in thick fog, with what appeared to be wild grass, trees, and even creatures crawling forward in the distance.
According to the old hunter, you can only walk along this path and cannot go off the path. Even taking one extra step off the path is a matter of life and death.
In addition, you must always pay attention to the wind direction when walking.
If the wind is blowing south, you can keep going forward, but never look back, because there might be many things following behind you.
If the wind is blowing north, you must stop and stand still. Taking another step might lead to whatever you might encounter.
If the wind blows east, take out some food and drink and put it on the ground. It doesn't have to be much, just a token of your goodwill. As long as the food and drink disappear, you can continue on your way.
If the wind blows west, light a cigarette and, as long as the cigarette butt doesn't go out, you can continue on your way.
If the wind is not blowing in the right direction, turn around and walk backwards until the wind is blowing in the right direction.
The old hunter repeated himself several times, "These rules were told to me by others, but as for the reasons behind them, I can't explain them."
But I've seen people who break the rules on the Little Underworld, and even if they only make one mistake, they lose their lives in the blink of an eye.
Ghosts are invisible; in the end, you won't even know how you died.
Li Banfeng remains optimistic; he can see ghosts.
But that doesn't mean he wants to watch himself die.
The rules of wind direction still need to be followed, and the best tool for judging wind direction is Feather Duster.
Li Banfeng carried Feather Duster and walked south. A gentle breeze blew south, and the feathers drifted south as well, making his journey very smooth.
After walking for more than ten miles, the wind suddenly stopped.
Li Banfeng also stopped in his tracks, unsure of what to do next.
The old hunter never mentioned that the wind had stopped.
The old hunter said the wind above Little Underworld would keep blowing.
The wind has indeed stopped, and the Feather Duster remains motionless.
This should be considered an incorrect wind direction, right?
Li Banfeng turned around, preparing to walk backwards, when he suddenly saw a ball of green flame following behind him.
Not a group, but a single path.
Countless will-o'-the-wisps, one after another, lined up neatly behind Li Banfeng.
It seems I shouldn't have turned around just now.
Just as Li Banfeng was wondering if turning his body back would solve the problem, a wave of malice swept over him from the will-o'-the-wisp.
Without a second thought, Li Banfeng immediately picked up the Blood-Containing Pendulum, his only magical artifact capable of attacking the spirits of the dead.
Bang!
The Blood-Containing Pendulum was struck hard, and along with Li Banfeng's body, it trembled violently.
Bang bang bang!
The impacts continued, and Li Banfeng was forced to retreat repeatedly.
"Master, I can't hold on any longer!" the pendulum cried out in despair.
Li Banfeng opened the door to Portable Abode with one hand, lost the key, but did not close the door.
Since you've come to deliver the food, I won't stand on ceremony.
Clusters of will-o'-the-wisps followed and lingered in the room for a long time, but the record player did not make any move.
Li Banfeng dodged and weaved in the main room, calling out repeatedly, "Wife, dinner is ready!"
Huff! Huff!
The record player finally responded, "My lord, please wait in the outer room. Little Slave have been starving for many days and my eating manners are rather unseemly. I do not wish for you to see me."
"It's just the two of us here, why would you care about this?"
Li Banfeng didn't understand the record player's intention, and besides, he couldn't go to the outer room right now.
A dozen or so undead were responsible for the attack, a dozen or so were responsible for the support, and a dozen or so were responsible for blocking the route.
These dead souls moved in an orderly and coordinated manner, like a well-trained army, making it difficult for Li Banfeng to defend himself.
What's wrong, my Wife?
I'm back from grocery shopping, why isn't she at all enthusiastic?
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
The sound of the zither slowly began.
With a crackling noise, the record player started playing a song:
Spring grass grows green, and battle armor is carefully sewn.
Summer flowers bloom, and the sound of drums and horns resounds.
As autumn leaves fall, we take the enemy's head on the battlefield.
Snowflakes fall in winter, blood is shed to honor the fallen heroes.
Whew~
The sound of the wind rose, so real, as if there really was wind in the Portable Abode.
Amidst the sound of the wind, one could still hear the Wife's singing; it was the most beautiful song Li Banfeng had ever heard.
What song is this?
Perhaps we shouldn't dwell on this issue; no matter what song the Wife sings, she can bring peace to the departed souls.
These well-trained ghosts were no exception; they immediately stopped moving, stood in neat rows, and listened silently to the songs playing from the record player.
A puff of steam shot out and pushed open the door to the outer room.
Li Banfeng understood, went into the house, and closed the door.
He took out the Thread-Pulling Earring and listened carefully to the sounds outside the door.
The song continued, and he vaguely heard sobbing, the sobbing of the departed souls.
At first, there were one or two sounds, but gradually it turned into a large chorus. The dozens of ghosts that entered the house seemed to be sobbing.
Were they moved by the Wife's singing?
Just because I was moved?
After the song ended, the record player spoke:
"I had planned to never see you again, but I've met you here anyway."
What you owe me, you can't pay back, and you don't need to pay back.
"You can leave now, but don't you dare touch that man again."
Does the Wife know them?
Do you know these lost souls in the new land?
Just as Li Banfeng was taking a peek, he saw the door to the outer room open.
Dozens of clusters of will-o'-the-wisps stood neatly in place, waiting for Li Banfeng to open the door.
The Wife resumed her usual singing style, and sang in a slow tempo. "Hey, husband, these vengeful ghosts have been dead for who knows how long. They are old and frail, bitter and spicy, and really hard to swallow. Let's send them away quickly."
Li Banfeng was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Li Banfeng heard everything the record player had said to these ghosts.
The record player knew that Li Banfeng had heard it all.
But Li Banfeng didn't ask any more questions. He opened the door and led a group of dead souls out of Portable Abode.
Just as I stepped outside, before I could even pick up my keys, a huge swarm of will-o'-the-wisps rushed up from outside.
The will-o'-the-wisps that emerged from the house circled around Li Banfeng, forcing back the will-o'-the-wisps outside. After Li Banfeng up the key, they escorted him southward.
Portable Abode, Red Lotus spoke, "Seeing an old friend, does your heart feel like it's being ripped out?"
The record player scoffed, "If you want to mock me, you'd better do it on the right spot. Do you think I have any decency left?"
The Red Lotus petals opened and closed slightly, seemingly mocking the record player. "Only you know whether you have a heart or not. Look at what they've done to you! How could you forget? You had the chance for revenge but didn't seize it, and actually let them go?"
Huff!
Huff!
"What good would killing them do? What good would revenge do? It's because I've lost all will to live, and I don't care anymore."
Li Banfeng was escorted by a group of dead souls for a full hundred miles.
Blue Poplar Village isn't very big, but this new land is incredibly vast!
The narrow path widened as we walked, and as the chilly mist slowly dissipated, the surroundings transformed into a vast wilderness.
Li Banfeng walked out of the Little Underworld.
The rest of the journey was all flat ground. Occasionally, they would encounter some strange beings, but fortunately, they were not of a very high level, and Li Banfeng used his skills of Auspiciousness and Avoiding Calamity to escape them.
After running wildly across the wilderness for two hours, Li Banfeng saw a large grove of orange trees.
From a distance, these orange trees look no different from the orange trees that Li Banfeng is familiar with, except that they have more leaves and the oranges are a bit bigger.
Upon getting closer, Li Banfeng realized the problem.
These orange trees are over ten meters tall, and each orange is about fifty centimeters in diameter, much larger than what Li Banfeng considered a normal orange.
For the old hunters of Blue Poplar Village, the Tangerine Forest is a truly good place.
The oranges in this Tangerine Forest are edible, high in sugar and oil, and are a very rare food source in New Zealand.
Orange peel is a very precious spice, and it is quite valuable. In Ma Wu Na, a pound of orange peel can sell for eight hundred.
Besides orange peels, there are also Tangerine Maggot (a type of parasitic pest that infests oranges). The Tangerine Maggot in this Tangerine Forest can be used as medicine and have a remarkable effect on external injuries. A high-quality Tangerine Maggot can sell for two hundred dollars in Ma Wu's shop.
Besides Tangerine Maggot, there are also weevils. These weevils in the Tangerine Forest have particularly long nose needles, which are excellent tools for acupuncture. A single weevil needle can sell for more than 500 yuan.
In the Tangerine Forest, you can peel oranges, look for Tangerine Maggot, and catch weevils, but you can't go too far, especially you can't damage the orange trees. As the old hunters say, this is called "look up at the tree, look down at the seedling."
Some hunters come to the Tangerine Forest to catch Tangerine Maggot. They cut down the orange trees, pick all the oranges, and crush them one by one to find the Tangerine Maggot.
Such a person will die, but the specifics of how they die are unknown.
Some people, in their eagerness to peel oranges, have harvested thousands of kilograms of oranges, regardless of whether they were green or yellow, wasting all the flesh in the process. Such people will also die.
Hunters who come to catch elephants find them in the way, so they clear a path with sickles, cutting down all the orange saplings in the process. Such people also die.
To put it simply, as long as you use the oranges in moderation and don't cause excessive damage, there will be no problems in the Tangerine Forest.
The old hunter had told Li Banfeng that the Blue Leaf Poplar might suddenly appear among the orange trees. Poplars and orange trees are very different, and as long as you look closely, you will definitely not be mistaken.
Li Banfeng walked around the Orange Garden for two hours and found no other tree species besides orange trees.
Having walked all day and exhausted himself, Li Banfeng went back to his Portable Abode early to rest.
As soon as I entered, a warm cloud of steam rushed towards me, as if I were being tightly embraced by my Wife.
"My dear husband, you must have had a hard journey."
"My dear husband, quickly take off your clothes and change them. I'll wash them for you."
"My dear husband, the hot water is ready. Your Little Slave will help you take a bath."
"My dear husband, if you want to enjoy yourself, then enjoy yourself to the fullest while you take a bath. Little Slave 'll clean up afterward."
Because he had concealed some things from Li Banfeng and had let him down, Li Banfeng felt guilty and spoke especially gently tonight.
Li Banfeng ignored the record player and squatted down to look for something in the cabinet.
Huff~ Huff~
Her singing voice carried a hint of nervousness. "My dear Little Slave, are you angry with me? I know you work hard buying groceries, but Little Slave really have no appetite today. Please don't blame Little Slave, Little Slave apologize."
Li Banfeng took out an Oil Pot from the cabinet and said with a smile, "I don't blame my Wife. I just feel that Wife is not speaking smoothly today. I guess she is having some difficulty speaking. I wanted to put some Machine Oil on Wife."
The record player seemed a bit flustered, and the lyrics were slightly off-key. "My dear husband, let's talk this out. There's no need to Machine Oil; everything's going smoothly for Little Slave."
Without waiting for a reply, Li Banfeng picked up the Oil Pot, went behind the record player, and opened the case.
The record player hurriedly explained, "My lord, this Little Slave truly has no shortage of Machine Oil!"
My dear Little Slave, please listen to me. I didn't mean to hide it from you, nor was I being blunt. Those people were indeed old acquaintances, but Little Slave truly don't want to bring up the past again.
My dear husband, you may insist on applying oil, but you must use an oil brush; other tools won't do!
My dear husband~
Husband~
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