The Invisible Enemy

Iron Gate Fort suddenly decided to close its gates.

Li Banfeng wasn't nervous. At worst, he could just stay at Iron Gate Fort and he was sure he could find where the key was hidden.

Sui Donglan was terrified. She didn't bother to cover her face and ran all the way to the mouth of the canyon, even losing her headscarf in the process.

By the time they reached the mouth of the canyon, it was too late; the large iron gate had already been closed.

Two men stood in front of the door and shouted at the fleeing merchants, "Don't go any further! The bandits from Flying Eagle Mountain are here!"

Upon hearing that bandits had arrived, Sui Donglan ran all the way back to Li Banfeng's side.

"Peddler, we've been caught by bandits! What are we going to do?!"

Li Banfeng remained silent; he wanted to know the true nature of this band of bandits.

There are two or three hundred House Cultivator in Iron Gate Fort, and as far as Li Banfeng knows, there are four-story House Cultivator here.

The lord of the fortress is an eight-story House Cultivator. What kind of powerful bandit would dare to attack Iron Gate Fort?

Steam billowed from the iron gate, and the man selling cigarettes whispered, "They can't get in. This gate is ruthless. If they dare take one step closer, their skin will peel off and their flesh will rot from the heat..."

Before he could finish speaking about selling cigarettes, someone outside shouted, "Listen up, you people inside! I'm Luo Dagui, the one who said goodbye before and after Flying Eagle Mountain. Tell your boss to come out and say something."

"The cannon fodder of Flying Eagle Mountain! A martial arts master on the seventh floor!" Sui Donglan exclaimed in surprise and quickly hid under Wu Yongchao's eaves.

The cigarette seller was also scared, and he pushed his cart full of tobacco leaves and hid under the eaves.

"Front attack, back retreat" is slang for the most capable leader in a mountain stronghold, specifically the "gun leader" (炮头), who is the most skilled fighter under the leader.

Upon hearing that they were indeed bandits from Flying Eagle Mountain, all the House Cultivator returned to their houses, and the merchants, having nowhere to go, all squatted under the eaves.

Li Banfeng stood still, listening carefully to the other person's voice.

What kind of Daoist sect is this? Is this martial arts cultivation?

I was more than 100 meters away from the valley entrance, and he must have been quite a distance away as well, yet the sound was still so loud.

Could it be that this gunner has also mastered the Lion's Roar Skill?

A moment later, another voice came from outside. "Cannon Head Luo, what brings you to my Iron Gate Fort?"

Upon hearing this voice, everyone's emotions immediately calmed down.

The lord of the fortress spoke.

Whether it's the House Cultivator of Iron Gate Fort or the small vendors doing business, in their hearts, the fortress lord is their greatest support, which is why they are willing to pay rent.

The gunner spoke again, "We've gained quite a few new brothers in our stronghold, and we're a bit short on cash. We'd like to borrow a little money from you, not much, just ten thousand silver dollars. Will you give it to me now, or will I come back another day to collect it?"

Upon hearing that it cost 10,000 silver dollars, all the vendors frowned.

Li Banfeng couldn't see the expressions on the House Cultivator.

After a long silence outside the valley, the lord of the fortress spoke, "We are all poor people. You are asking for ten thousand silver dollars, which we cannot afford."

"That means they won't lend it to us; that means they're not giving us face!"

"Cannon Head Luo, I've known your chief for a long time. There should be some sense in everything. I already gave your chief a token of my appreciation at the end of the year, so it's a bit unreasonable for me to ask for money again now!"

"We appreciate the year-end gifts and the sentiment, but that's all in the past. Now let's talk about the present and settle things today!"

"If that's how you talk, you'll have to get through this iron gate first!" The lord of the fortress gave the order, and the large iron gate hissed and a cloud of steam billowed out.

Cannon Head Luo laughed, his laughter full of sarcasm. "Fort Lord Zhou, we know your gate is formidable, but we might not necessarily use it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen stones suddenly fell from the cliffs on both sides of the valley.

Each stone is quite large; an ordinary person with seven or eight stones might not be able to lift even one.

Two vendors' trucks were smashed to pieces, and a House Cultivator's roof was punched with a hole.

Li Banfeng looked up at the top of the cliff, hundreds of meters high, where there was no sign of anyone.

Cannon Head Luo shouted, "These stones are our greeting gift. From today onwards, for every ten thousand silver dollars I don't see, I'll take one of your heads!"

The bandits outside the iron gate seemed to have left, but the gate remained closed.

The vendors were terrified and dared not move, while all the House Cultivator stayed at home and no one went out.

Before long, several of Fort Lord Zhou's men went door to door, asking each House Cultivator their opinions.

Ten thousand silver dollars would require each household to contribute.

There are two or three hundred households in Iron Gate Fort. Each person has to pay thirty or forty silver dollars, which is not an amount that every family can afford.

Fort Lord Zhou wanted to ask for everyone's opinions on whether to fight or make peace.

If we're going to fight, we'll fight those bandits from Flying Eagle Mountain to the death.

If you want to make peace, try negotiating with them to see if they can give you less.

Wu Yongchao told the steward under the fortress lord, "I want to fight. As long as the battle starts, I'm willing to stand in the first row."

The manager, named Ma Dingfu, wrote down in a small notebook, "Okay, next one."

Li Banfeng used the Thread-Pulling Earring to listen for sounds, and he could hear them for more than two miles.

House Cultivator Xiu was indeed gentle, but gentleness and cowardice are two different things. According to the voices Li Banfeng heard, more than 70% of the people wanted to fight.

Sui Donglan, unaware of the situation, was still hoping that the fight wouldn't start. "They can't fight! They absolutely can't fight..."

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "What are you afraid of? You're not from Iron Gate Fort, and you don't need to go out and fight."

"Peddler, you don't know, once the fight starts, that big iron gate will never be able to be opened again. We'll all have to squat here and wait until the fight is over before we can leave."

OK!

House Cultivator and guarding their old home is exactly the kind of combat they are best at. I want to see how the bandits of Flying Eagle Mountain will fight their way in.

As dusk fell, the large iron gate opened.

Huff~ Huff~

There's another door on the side.

It's over already?

The steward, Ma Dingfu, shouted, "Two-tenths of the people in the fort want to fight, and eight-tenths want to make peace. The fort master listened to everyone and went to negotiate with Flying Eagle Mountain. All outsiders, leave. The fort will be closed tomorrow!"

Peace talks?

Eighty percent of people want to make peace?

Did I hear that right?

Or perhaps there are more people deeper inside the fortress, and I didn't hear what they were saying?

Just as Li Banfeng was starting to suspect something, Ma Dingfu approached and asked Li Banfeng, "Brother, have you paid rent for your business here?"

"Isn't rent due at the end of the month?"

"There's rent to pay at the end of the month, and there's a deposit to pay when you move in. They all paid a deposit the first time they came in. Even if you only sell here for one day, you still have to pay the deposit. If you don't want to pay, you won't be able to leave today."

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "Okay, I'll pay. How much is the deposit?"

"Five hundred!"

"Shall we just pay this once?"

"That depends on whether you are an honest businessman. If you do business honestly, you can just pay the rent on a monthly basis. If you are not honest, then we have other things to say."

Li Banfeng asked in surprise, "You think I'm not a decent person?"

Ma Dingfu laughed and said, "I really think you're not very honest. You don't sell anything here, but you ask all sorts of questions and cause a lot of trouble."

Li Banfeng looked at Sui Donglan: "Do you think she's an honest and upright person?"

Ma Dingfu's face darkened. "I think you talk too much. Hurry up and pay!"

Li Banfeng gave Ma Dingfu five hundred yuan and then took Sui Donglan out of the fort.

Walking down the street, Sui Donglan pushed her bicycle, looking at Li Banfeng with a hint of disdain.

"You give money to people who ask for it, and you call yourself the Peddler's senior apprentice?"

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "That's not a gift, it's a loan to him, and he has to pay it back."

"You can only bully someone like me," Sui Donglan sneered. "Fort Lord Zhou of Iron Gate Fort Fortress dares to challenge Flying Eagle Mountain. How dare you touch his men?"

Li Banfeng shrugged. "He didn't challenge us, did he? Isn't this an act of appeasement?"

"Being able to sue for peace is already a huge favor; you have no idea how ruthless the bandits of Flying Eagle Mountain are!"

"You've seen it before?"

"Yes, I've seen it. The village where I used to live was wiped out by He Zhenlei from Flying Eagle Mountain. The village was looted clean, and most of the people were killed."

Li Banfeng was taken aback. "How much gold and silver treasure does your village have?"

"It wasn't gold or silver treasures. During the autumn harvest, bandits came to rob the grain. They wanted too much, and a few households didn't want to give it to them. The situation escalated, and the village was wiped out."

"If it weren't for the fact that Fort Lord Zhou had foresight and didn't try to fight the people of Flying Eagle Mountain head-on, those bandits would have been reincarnated devils; you'd have to back down when necessary."

"What is this Fort Lord Zhou's name?"

"His name is Zhou Anju. Within a radius of hundreds of miles, no one is unaware of his name!" Sui Donglan's face was full of admiration when she mentioned Fort Lord Zhou.

Li Banfeng didn't ask any more questions, and gave Sui Donglan a glass of wine to drink. "Rest well at home tomorrow, and come find me at Iron Gate Fort the day after tomorrow."

If you dare not go, your face will continue to sting, until you die.

After Li Banfeng left, Sui Donglan snorted coldly and went home. She rubbed her face in front of the mirror for a long time, but she couldn't get the two words off.

We can't stay in Iron Gate Fort anymore. Once we figure out a way to swindle the antidote from this Peddler, we'll have to find another place to hide from our debts.

Li Banfeng returned to Portable Abode and reviewed what he had seen and heard that day.

There are too many contradictions between what he sees and what he hears.

The lord of Iron Gate Fort, House Cultivator.

What does eight layers mean?

In Pro State, one is either at the top of a wealthy family or the head of a powerful clan; he came to Iron Gate Fort to become its lord.

Perhaps it's because the House Cultivator live in seclusion and are unwilling to participate in conflicts, so they come here to build a paradise for House Cultivator.

That's understandable.

But why did he bow down to the bandits of Flying Eagle Mountain?

Most of the people in the fort wanted to fight, but he didn't dare to. He even lied and said that 80% of them wanted to make peace.

Could it be that Flying Eagle Mountain is too powerful, forcing Fort Lord Zhou to choose to endure?

There are even more problems with Flying Eagle Mountain.

Their leader was a level seven martial arts practitioner, so their chieftain must also be at least level seven.

A ruthless character from the seventh level went to become a bandit.

They weren't like Rong Yeguang, a bandit who entrenched himself in old territory and dared to challenge powerful Lineage.

They were the kind of bandits who swept through villages, slaughtered people, and only wanted to steal some food.

This band of outlaws managed to intimidate Fort Lord Zhou.

Li Banfeng asked the record player, "Wife, have you ever heard of a place called Iron Gate Fort?"

"I've heard that many House Cultivator want to go there, and my husband wants to go too."

"I've already gone there. I'm near Iron Gate Fort now. Their fortress lord is Zhou Anju. Have you heard of him?"

"Zhou Anju? That name sounds like it belongs to House Cultivator."

"He is indeed House Cultivator, and is said to have an eighth-level cultivation level."

"An eight-story House Cultivator?" The Wife was also shocked. "I've never heard of Little Slave before."

"House Cultivator Little Slave shows himself. Although I've never heard of him, I can't say he lacks real skills."

"Have you ever heard of He Zhenlei of Flying Eagle Mountain, my Wife?"

"I've heard of Flying Eagle Mountain, it's a place name, but I've never heard of He Zhenlei."

Li Banfeng asked about the Wine Gourd and the Old Teapot, but neither of them knew either.

Is the reputation of such a big shot as the mountain king limited to the area around Iron Gate Fort?

That evening, Li Banfeng followed the mountain path and climbed the cliffs of Iron Gate Fort.

This mountain path is not easy to walk. Li Banfeng is a fourth-level Travel Cultivator, and it is quite difficult for him to walk it.

Once you reach the halfway point, the situation changes. There's a platform here, about five or six meters wide, clinging to the cliff face and extending into the valley.

Li Banfeng understood that the bandits had stood on this platform and thrown stones into the valley.

His guess was correct; there were also carrying poles, ropes, crowbars, and several large stones on the platform, ready to be used.

But Li Banfeng still didn't understand this.

This platform is so crucial, with cliffs above and below, clearly a natural sentry post. Why didn't Fort Lord Zhou send someone to guard it?

As Li Banfeng sat on the platform pondering the reason, he suddenly heard an earring whisper in his ear, "Master, there's movement."

Li Banfeng was startled. If he were discovered in this place, there would be nowhere to escape. If all else failed, he would have to hide in Portable Abode.

He was wondering where to hide the key when he heard a sound that wasn't coming from up the mountain, but from an argument taking place down below.

"I'm not paying this money. Let them come and fight me!" It was Wu Yongchao's voice.

"I won't pay!"

"Absolutely not!"

Many people are echoing the call.

"Why are you refusing to pay the money now that we've agreed to make peace?" came the voice of Ma Dingfu, a steward under Fort Lord Zhou.

"Who consulted you beforehand? If I want to fight, we all want to fight!"

"This is something everyone agreed upon. If you don't want to pay, you'd better move out now!"

"Why should we move? The land is ours, the house is ours, you think we can just move as you please?"

"I've been in Iron Gate Fort for fifty years. When I arrived, Fort Lord Zhou hadn't come yet. If there's trouble, we fight it out. Why let bandits bully us?"

Li Banfeng sat silently on the platform, lost in thought.

He looked back at the tools on the platform again.

Ropes, carrying poles, crowbars...

Moving a stone seems to require a lot of people and a lot of tools.

The bandits from Flying Eagle Mountain don't seem to be very good.

The bandits, whose quality was not very good, easily occupied the strategic location. So what kind of person is this eighth-floor fortress lord?

At Yuezhou Third Hospital, He Jiaqing lay on his hospital bed and chuckled, "I messed up again, messed up once more."

Ling Miaoying explained, "I did make thorough preparations, but I didn't expect..."

"It's alright, it's fine. Put my friend aside for now, focus on getting the newspaper up and running, be wary of the Lu Family, and put in some extra effort. Thank you for your hard work, brother."

"I see."

Ling Miaoying wiped her sweat and ended the call.

He Jiaqing said it was nothing.

Is everything really alright?

P. S.: An unseen enemy is terrifying.