New Land, Old Land

The torrential rain extinguished the fire in the warehouse.

The warehouse suffered significant losses.

Li Banfeng glanced at Zuo Wugang's injuries, Zuo Wugang waved his hand and said, "It's nothing serious, I have a way to get rid of the poison, but if those birdmen from Iron Sheep Mountain come again tonight, I'm afraid I won't be able to withstand them."

"No need to carry it. I'm here, and the Local Earth God will protect us. You just mentioned Iron Sheep Mountain, what's their background?"

"The bandits in the Old Land, the big boss is called Rong Yeguang. I heard he used to be a level six body cultivator. I don't dare say what level he is now. Even that bastard Du Shuping is at level six."

"Sixth level? Become a bandit?" Li Banfeng didn't quite understand. There were many other things a sixth-level cultivator could do.

"The Old Land is different; it's a great place to make money."

"What is 'Old Land'?"

"How should I put it? It's not much different from Xindi. In short, it's a place with fewer people, and you can make money in places with fewer people. But the way he makes money is different from Xindi. He is..."

Zuo Wugang's ability to express himself was limited, and he was also poisoned, so he couldn't hold on for much longer.

Li Banfeng told him to go back and rest first. He went to the edge of the new land, dragged the half-dead Wang Qi and Du Shuping, and entered Portable Abode.

"Hey, my love~ you're finally back from grocery shopping!" The record player was very excited, and tears of emotion streamed down its horn.

"What grocery shopping?" Du Shuping looked at the record player in surprise. He didn't know where he was or what the record player was.

"Don't worry about buying groceries," Li Banfeng comforted Du Shuping. "First tell me, who sent you to cause trouble on my turf?"

Before Du Shuping could speak, Wang Qi spoke first, "Young man, you are a virtuous person. You asked us about this matter, and we shouldn't answer it, in principle."

But now that we're in your hands, we want a way to survive. If we tell you the truth, will you let us go?

Li Banfeng sat upright in front of the two men, his expression serious, and said, "That depends on whether you are sincere."

Wang Qi nodded sincerely and began to explain their origins, "We are heroes from Iron Sheep Mountain. We were ordered by our leader Rong Yeguang to come here and team up with the big boss of the new kiln to smash kilns in your territory."

Li Banfeng kicked Wang Qi: "Don't speak foreign languages."

He did learn some slang from Yu Nan, but Wang Qi's slang was too dense for Li Banfeng to understand.

The record player couldn't wait any longer. "Going to the kiln means joining the gang, smashing the kiln means robbing, and 'inserting a thousand' means specializing in intelligence gathering. Husband, if there's anything you don't understand, this Little Slave can translate it for you. Ask away quickly."

My Wife is anxious.

Tears streamed down her face in distress.

Li Banfeng then asked, "Who is your Da Chaqian?"

Wang Qi was kicked and didn't dare to speak easily.

Seeing that Li Banfeng couldn't understand the slang, Du Shuping tried to express himself in a straightforward way. "Lu Xiaolan, the fallen heiress of the Lu Family."

Did Lu Xiaolan become a bandit in the mountains?

This was something Li Banfeng hadn't expected.

"We have no grudge against you big shots, so why are you attacking us?"

Wang Qi shook his head and said, "I don't know about that. We all follow the orders of the big boss. We do whatever we are told to do."

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

"We don't know, and we shouldn't ask. We'll smash the kiln whenever Da Chaqian tells us to."

"Where is your Iron Sheep Mountain located?"

"In the Old Land."

What is "Old Land"?

"Like New Land, a place where no light shines."

The record player urged, "My dear husband, the new Old Land Little Slave. I'll explain it to you slowly in a bit. You can continue asking questions."

Li Banfeng then asked, "How far is Iron Sheep Mountain from here?"

"It depends on whether you know the way or not. If you can't find the way, you're thousands of miles away. If you do find the way, it'll only take a day. Young man, if you spare our lives, I'll draw this road for you."

As expected of a sixth-level scholar, Du Shuping is very good at negotiation.

Li Banfeng wasn't fooled. He stopped asking for directions, knowing that if he did, the other man would just keep pestering him. Instead, he inquired about the situation at Iron Sheep Mountain: "How many people are in your mountain stronghold?"

"Sixty-six people. Don't underestimate this small number; they are all skilled in cultivation."

Young brother, there's only one path in the world. No matter which path you choose, you'll always be on the same road.

We brothers have been defeated by you today, and we accept it. We've told you everything we knew, and you shouldn't have gone back on your word. Give us a way out.

"There is a road. You all stay and have dinner with my Wife first. After you finish eating, you can set off."

"Eat? Where's the food?" Du Shuping looked bewildered.

Sizzle~

The Wife laughed and said, "You are the food!"

Two needles were inserted into the brains of Du Shuping and Wang Qi. The two men glared angrily at Li Banfeng, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Half an hour later, the Wife finished her meal.

Li Banfeng dragged the corpse to Red Lotus's side. "Eat it."

Red Lotus sighed inwardly, "Even eating leftovers, I still have to be mindful of your attitude."

But she didn't dare say much. A cultivator at the sixth level and a cultivator at the fifth level were rare ingredients. The flowers and leaves unfurled, and the Red Lotus took the two cultivators into its Lotus Heart.

Li Banfeng asked the record player, "What exactly is 'Old Land'?"

"When a new development becomes popular, it becomes Proper Land; Proper Land loses popularity, it becomes Old Land."

Li Banfeng was stunned for a long time.

"Does a new plot of land need to become popular before it becomes Proper Land? Doesn't it automatically become Proper Land after it's been cleared out?"

"Far from it, far from it. Clearing land is called seeing the light of day. Hundred Li Land, filled with the light of day, where ten thousand people stay, that's what it means to achieve true success, that's the Proper Land..."

The Wife explained in detail that under a Local Earth God, all the Hundred Li Land of their jurisdiction must be successfully cultivated, and there must be at least ten thousand permanent residents on that land for it to be considered Proper Land.

Is it really that complicated?

Isn't Blue Poplar Village a special case?

Li Banfeng's understanding was different. "Blue Poplar Village has been encroached upon by various Lineage, but they have been reclaiming new land, so the territory has not shrunk and the area is about the same size as before."

"It's different, it's different, my husband. Go to the area near the new land in Blue Poplar Village and see if anyone lives there."

"There are people living there, but not many. There are no houses, but people have built shacks. It is said that the Strange Monsters of the new land often come out to harm people, so most people dare not live there."

"That's exactly the point. Those places aren't considered Proper Land; they're just newly cultivated land."

"The Strange Monsters of the true Proper Land and the new land must not go there, otherwise it would be considered as stealing territory from the Proper Land, and the Local Earth God of the Proper Land will not forgive them."

The Proper Land Local Earth God of the land?

"Is Green Flower considered Proper Land Local Earth God?"

"Yes, my lord, the Local Earth God of the Proper Land is of a higher level than the Local Earth God of the new land."

However, if no one lives on the Proper Land for a long time, it will become Old Land, and the Local Earth God of the Old Land will lose their luster, becoming not much different from those of new soil.

With popularity, the Local Earth God's status will rise.

Without popularity, the Local Earth God's status will drop.

No wonder Qiu Daxiang cares so much about the pioneers.

This is related to their promotion.

No wonder the Local Earth God doesn't allow one person to cultivate too much new land; otherwise, if one person occupied all the land, the standard of 10,000 permanent residents would not be met.

But this also served as a reminder to Li Banfeng that he could no longer allow the various Lineage to arbitrarily interfere in Blue Poplar Village.

The newly developed land is not Proper Land, which is crucial to the future survival of Blue Poplar Village.

"But if population determines the level of Local Earth God, why conduct assessments during land reclamation? Wouldn't a larger population mean greater popularity?"

"Hey, my lord, that's not how it works. Even if there are many people clearing the land, there might not be many people actually working on it."

An incompetent person going to reclaim wasteland can only bring their entire family. Finding food in the new land is difficult, and there are also Strange Monsters disturbances. After a few years, they can't survive, so they move away, and the land becomes barren.

But since the land reclamation was successful and the owner is still alive, the local deity cannot be allowed to reclaim the land. Wouldn't that be a huge loss for the Local Earth God?

To reclaim wasteland, one needs genuine skill, management ability, and the capacity for fierce battles. Only such individuals have the potential to transform new land into Proper Land and gain acceptance from the Local Earth God.

"If the population of the Proper Land is less than ten thousand, will it become Old Land? And if the Old Land has ten thousand people, will it become Proper Land again?"

Sizzle~

The record player laughed.

"My lord, if there are exactly 10,000 people in Hundred Li Land, and one of them leaves today, turning the Proper Land into Old Land, and another one comes tomorrow, turning the Old Land into Proper Land, wouldn't the Local Earth God be tormented to death?"

Ten thousand is a major threshold. Once you cross ten thousand, it's considered Proper Land. If the population of Hundred Li Land falls below one hundred, it will become Old Land.

Less than one hundred...

Li Banfeng suddenly remembered a place.

"The area around the Bitter Vegetable Manor must be over a hundred li in circumference, but there aren't even a hundred people in that place. Can it be considered Old Land?"

"Bitter Vegetable Manor, the territory of the Bitter Granny, who is the Bitter Granny again? She's not Local Earth God, so what is she? Bitter Vegetable Manor, the Bitter Granny, hee hee hee..."

Oh no, my Wife is going crazy!

"Let's not talk about the Bitter Vegetable Manor, there's no Bitter Vegetable Manor. Let's talk about something else. Is there anything else you'd like to eat, my Wife? I'll go out and buy some groceries..."

Although the Wife almost lost her life after taking the Profound Essence Pill, Wife condition improved significantly after recovery.

Even so, we can't just casually mention Bitter Granny.

What kind of person is Bitter Granny?

While his Wife was still in relatively good spirits, Li Banfeng coaxed her to sleep.

After leaving Portable Abode, Li Banfeng went to his own Land Block.

He set up an offering table and invited Shui Yongquan: "The matter has been investigated. It was done by that group of pioneers. The leader of the pioneers is called Lu Xiaolan, and she is the big boss of Iron Sheep Mountain."

"Iron Sheep Mountain, the Old Land bandit stronghold," Shui Yongquan stroked his beard. "I'll talk to Qiu Daxiang about this first, so he understands the reasoning behind it. If any of his men dare to run wild here again, we'll kill them without hesitation."

"There's one more thing I need to trouble you with, Manager Shui. How do I get to Iron Sheep Mountain?"

Shui Yongquan was taken aback. "Brother Li Qi, what are you going to do? Are you going to attack their mountain again?"

"Can't we fight on their hilltop? They attacked first."

Shui Yongquan gestured for Li Banfeng to calm down. "What did you do to offend Iron Sheep Mountain?"

"I have never offended Iron Sheep Mountain. I only learned about their name today."

"You should find out the whole story before we talk about this gang of bandits."

"Can't we investigate while we're investigating?"

Shui Yongquan didn't know how to answer, "Brother Li Qi, those are bandits, notorious bandits! Not some street thug. Let's take care of what's in front of us first!"

Is there a difference between bandits and thugs?

"What do you think?" Shui Yongquan asked angrily as he left.

Li Banfeng's expression was blank.

Is there a big difference?

Even if there are differences, he's already attacked my home, can't I fight back?

However, Shui Yongquan is right; the matter at hand does indeed need to be addressed.

First, we need to find the mole.

Then we'll take care of Lu Xiaolan and her gang.

He Jiaqing lay on the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, his eyes somewhat unfocused.

"The Three Heroes of Iron Sheep are dead just like that? My brother was ruthless! I underestimated him; he even outmaneuvered me!"

A voice echoed in his ear, "This needs an explanation. How am I supposed to explain this to Rong Yeguang?"

"What's there to explain? Just give him some money as compensation."

"Iron Sheep Mountain is not short of money."

"If we don't need the money, we won't give it to him; we'll save some! And let's tell Rong Yeguang that if he wants to clear his name, he'll have to pay the price!"

The person on the other end sighed and then asked, "Are you still listening to the live stream?"

"Listen, if you hear him, play it for me. My brother is no ordinary man; I miss him more and more."

Also, don't go into their territory for now, but keep their delivery routes blocked.

If Ma Wu continues delivering goods with his moths every day, let him do it. If he slacks off even for a day, we'll rob his goods. Let's see how long he can hold out.

The person who warned us to be extremely careful when speaking to Lu Xiaolan; she's a suspicious person, and we mustn't let her discover our true identities.

P. S.: What good things are there in the Old Land? Why is it considered a good place to make money?