Zhao Xiaowan (This Chapter Is Nuclear-Powered)

Li Banfeng sat in a chair, the shadow of his hat obscuring his face.

The man in front of me, Luo ZhengNan, told part of the truth and part of the lie.

Lies are easy to spot. He said he only brought two men with him, but in reality, he brought more than two.

Sun Xiaoan, the Medicine King Hall Second Sub-Gang, sold groceries in the fort, but Luo ZhengNan didn't mention it.

The truth is hard to discern, but there are a few statements that are indeed correct.

If he could sneak into Iron Gate Fort, so could anyone else.

Zhao Xiaowan, this Home Spirit, is clearly a woman who attracts all sorts of attention. Once the news gets out, Iron Gate Fort is destined to become Blood Gate Fortress.

But what should we do about this?

It's not difficult to get rid of Luo ZhengNan, nor is it difficult to get rid of Jiang Xiang Gang, but Zhao Xiaowan so powerful that even her Wife might not be a match for her. She's not someone Li Banfeng can deal with at will.

After sitting in silence for a moment, Li Banfeng said to Luo ZhengNan, "Please come back in three days. I will give you an answer then."

"I'll wait for your news." Luo ZhengNan stood up to take his leave.

Li Banfeng added, "Take all your people with you, not just those two vegetable vendors. If you don't leave now, I'll have to send them away later."

Luo ZhengNan was taken aback, not expecting that Li Banfeng had discovered others. He clasped his hands in a salute again and left the house first.

He walked around the street, and the three men who had come with him understood his meaning and left Iron Gate Fort.

This is how smart people interact; things have been laid bare, so no one should be coy anymore.

Late at night, after the fortress gates were closed, Li Banfeng asked Wu Yongchao, "Do you know who Zhao Xiaowan is?"

"I know her! Flying General Zhao Xiaowan, who conquered the land with her spear!" Wu Yongchao said excitedly when talking about Zhao Xiaowan!

"When was she born?"

"As for which dynasty or era people lived in ancient times, there's no way to verify that."

"How did you learn about this general? Didn't you find it in history books?"

"This..."

This is hard to explain.

Wu Yongchao did attend school, but the school he attended did not teach history.

There are no places in Pro State where history can be systematically studied. Most history books are kept in the hands of noble families. Occasionally one or two copies may appear on the market, but they are not only extremely rare, but their authenticity is also difficult to verify.

How did Wu Yongchao find out about Zhao Xiaowan?

The origin of this is even more complicated.

The legendary Zhao Xiaowan was a famous general in a certain dynasty in Pro State. She led tens of thousands of troops to defeat the invading Demon Soil People in Pro State. There are many stories about her.

Zhao Xiaowan appears in the stories told by storytellers, and Zhao Xiaowan also appears in the plays performed in theaters of all sizes.

From the masterpieces of famous dancers to the sentimental songs of girls from the brick kiln, from the classic novels serialized in newspapers to the storybooks sold on street stalls, wherever there are stories, there is Zhao Xiaowan.

"Zhao Xiaowan highly skilled in martial arts and stunningly beautiful. If she were to personally come to the front lines, the battle would be won without even a fight."

Li Banfeng was taken aback. "How can we win without fighting?"

Wu Yongchao slammed his hand on the table, like a storyteller striking a gavel, and said with a focused expression, "Half of them were captivated by Miss Zhao, and the other half were scared to death by General Zhao!"

Li Banfeng didn't know how to describe it.

Seeing that Li Banfeng didn't believe him, Wu Yongchao became unhappy.

For Wu Yongchao, Zhao Xiaowan was an inviolable figure.

"Lord of the Fortress, this is not something I made up; I have evidence to back it up."

Li Banfeng's eyes lit up. "What evidence do you have?"

"You wait here."

Wu Yongchao went back into the house, and soon returned carrying a Willow Trunk.

"Lord of the castle, please take a look."

He carefully opened the box, inside which were neatly arranged sixteen novels and more than fifty portraits.

Li Banfeng unfolded a portrait and said, "Is this Zhao Xiaowan?"

Wu Yongchao nodded solemnly.

Li Banfeng flipped through the more than fifty portraits one by one. There were more than fifty "Zhao Xiaowan", each with a different appearance, makeup, clothing, and figure.

"Is this the same person?"

Wu Yongchao didn't speak, and his expression was strange.

Li Banfeng didn't press the matter further; he realized he had said the wrong thing.

For someone like Wu Yongchao who specializes in House Cultivator, some things are beyond question.

After carefully examining the paintings for a long time, Li Banfeng finally found a common point among them.

Whether in her boudoir or on the battlefield, whether in military uniform or elegant attire, every "Zhao Xiaowan" carries a red-tasseled spear.

"This is Xiao Wan's weapon," Wu Yongchao explained carefully. "It's twelve feet long, with a seven-and-a-half-inch spearhead. Its red tassel flutters in the wind; who can rival a flying general?"

"With General Fei, with Red Tassel on, with Red Tassel on, even the bandits tremble in fear." Zhao Xiaowan and her Red Tassel Spear were inseparable.

"What a smooth talk!" Li Banfeng praised, finding it rare to see Wu Yongchao display his eloquence.

Zhao Xiaowan was inseparable from her Red Tassel Spear.

Is that why she turned into Red Tassel Spear after her death?

To be honest, among these fifty-odd paintings, only the long spear is depicted in much the same way.

The scroll's function is limited to this; it's too difficult to judge Zhao Xiaowan's appearance based on the scroll.

Li Banfeng looked at the dozen or so novels and asked, "Could I borrow these books to read for a couple of days?"

Wu Yongchao was a little embarrassed. "If the lord wants to borrow it, I shouldn't hesitate, but I'm afraid he won't cherish it..."

"Don't worry, if any corner is folded or any page is damaged, I'll replace it with a new one."

Wu Yongchao lowered his head and said, "These books are not easy to buy, so the fortress lord should be careful."

The book remains, Wu Yongchao is gone.

Li Banfeng opened more than a dozen volumes of novels and read them one by one.

It must be said that these writers are quite good at writing; he sat in the room reading for hours without getting bored.

But the key information he was looking for wasn't mentioned in these books.

Li Banfeng couldn't find the dynasty in which Zhao Xiaowan lived; he only knew that she fought for Pro State.

At that time, Pro State still had an emperor, but he was only mentioned briefly in the novel.

The enemy she faced was called the Demon Soil People, which was the part that Li Banfeng was most concerned about.

If Zhao Xiaowan was the Wife's mortal enemy before her death, then the Wife was very likely a member of the Demon Soil People.

Seeing the descriptions of the Demon Soil People in the book, Li Banfeng found it hard to associate his Wife with them.

"He was ten feet tall, with a waist ten spans wide, and thick hair and beard, making it impossible to tell whether he was male or female..."

Could it be that...

Li Banfeng shook off the shadow in his mind and continued searching for Zhao Xiaowan's ending in the book.

In these sixteen novels, Zhao Xiaowan has three different endings.

The most common ending is that after Zhao Xiaowan defeated the Demon Soil People, she was adopted by the emperor as his goddaughter, became a princess, found a husband, and lived happily ever after.

Nine novels share this ending, which is more than half.

The second ending is that the Demon Soil People temporarily retreat, while Zhao Xiaowan stays on the frontier and fights against the Demon Soil People for the rest of her life.

A total of six books used this ending. According to Li Banfeng's speculation, this was Wu Yongchao's favorite ending. The basis for his speculation was that all six books had been read so many times that Wu Yongchao liked it so much because the prince consort did not appear in this ending.

The third ending was quite tragic; there were many watermarks on the paper, which were probably Wu Yongchao's tears.

Only one book used this ending, which tells the story of how Zhao Xiaowan, after defeating the Demon Soil People, became a target of suspicion from the court due to her outstanding achievements, was framed, and ended up in prison, suffering all kinds of humiliation and torture.

Then the Demon Soil People attacked again. The emperor, shameless as ever, sent Zhao Xiaowan into battle once more. Zhao Xiaowan, prioritizing her country, went to war again and ultimately died on the battlefield.

This ending is not a happy one, Li Banfeng believes it is probably closest to Zhao Xiaowan's true situation.

After putting away the novel, Li Banfeng returned to Portable Abode.

Ultimately, the one who knows Zhao Xiaowan's identity best is still her Wife.

There are some things my Wife doesn't want to say, but there's one thing I must ask Wife to confirm.

Li Banfeng entered Portable Abode Shen Ju, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Wife, have you ever heard of the name Zhao Xiaowan?"

Sizzle~

The record player paused for a moment, then asked, "Husband, why did you suddenly ask about this person?"

Li Banfeng spoke frankly, "I suspect that the fierce Home Spirit in the Deputy Building is Zhao Xiaowan."

Ta-da-da, tai~

The Wife sang slowly, playing a melodious tune. "Oh, my husband, what do you intend to do with that Home Spirit?"

Li Banfeng said, "I want to get rid of that Home Spirit."

"You accepted her? How did you accept her, husband?"

"I want to call her name to her face," Li Banfeng said, revealing his plan. "I am House Cultivator. If I call her name to her face and she doesn't resist, it will be equivalent to making a contract with me. As long as the house doesn't object, she will become my Home Spirit."

Sizzle~

The Wife laughed and said, "Husband, are you tired of me and want to adopt her as the Home Spirit?"

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "I'll acknowledge her as the Home Spirit, bring her back to the house, and with my husband and I working together, we can definitely kill her."

"Why did you kill her, my husband?"

Li Banfeng said, "Because she is the Wife's enemy, this revenge must be taken. While I am still in Iron Gate Fort, I will help the Wife fulfill this wish."

Sizzle~

Flames roared, steam billowed, and the record player turned its horn, staring at Li Banfeng.

She was observing whether Li Banfeng was telling the truth.

What Li Banfeng said was indeed the truth.

He wanted to take Zhao Xiaowan. On the one hand, he didn't want this Home Spirit to bring trouble upon herself; on the other hand, he genuinely wanted to avenge his Wife.

No matter how composed the Wife may seem, the revenge for her husband's death must be taken.

The Wife remained silent for a long time, while the loudspeaker swayed from side to side.

The needle was placed on the record, and a tender rendition of "My Darling" slowly began to play.

The Wife sang and spoke at the same time (she had two trays):

"My dearest husband, I am deeply grateful for Little Slave kindness. Little Slave entrust my life to you and am willing to serve you for the rest of my life."

But now is not the time for revenge. That Home Spirit is blind and deaf. Even if my husband calls out her name, how can she hear it?

Moreover, the Home Spirit must recognize its master with mutual consent. The Home Spirit harbors immense resentment, and if one is not careful and angers it, the husband will find it difficult to escape unscathed.

Li Banfeng said, "That Home Spirit just lost its owner. With her heart empty, wouldn't it be perfect time for me to take her away?"

Sizzle~

The record player laughed, "My lord's words have made this Little Slave jealous. Even if that slut were willing to agree, my lord and that Deputy Building are not yet in sync, so he may not be able to bring that slut out."

"My lord, you are Little Slave heart and soul. If anything were to happen to you, Little Slave would not wish to live on alone. Let's put this matter aside for now."

The Wife may want to let go, but can Jiang Xiang Gang really let go?

Li Banfeng sighed and left Portable Abode.

"Hahahaha!" A burst of hearty laughter suddenly came from the Sixth Room.

"You bitch, what are you laughing at?" the record player cursed angrily.

Red Lotus laughed so hard her whole body trembled, and her body was covered in dewdrops.

Jiang Xiang Gang couldn't let go, but Luo ZhengNan could.

He wasn't as stubborn as Xiao Zhengong.

His idea was that if the lord of the fortress was willing to sell Zhao Xiaowan, he would pay for her; if the lord was unwilling to sell, the matter would be dropped, and he would consider it a wasted trip.

He's an open-minded person; he believes in doing his best and never pushing himself too hard.

But He Jiaqing wasn't so open-minded.

The fortune teller sent him a message that Luo ZhengNan had infiltrated Iron Gate Fort.

"This is bad! Luo ZhengNan is a capable man!" He Jiaqing immediately became anxious. "We can't wait any longer. Lao Wan, go to East Ridge Village and find a man named Han Juncheng."

He's a sixth-rank House Cultivator. Find a way to bring him into Iron Gate Fort and get Zhao Xiaowan out.

The fortune teller was somewhat worried. "Zhao Xiaowan is no ordinary person. House Cultivator might not be enough to ensure her safety."

He Jiaqing said, "I knew it wasn't a safe bet, so I haven't let him take action, but the situation is urgent now, and we can't worry about that now."

Han Juncheng is arrogant, has an unpleasant way of speaking, and lacks experience in doing things. You should be more accommodating to him.

He's been my Hidden Pawn for years, and he'll be very useful in the future. Don't bother with him over small things, but look after him for important matters. After it's done, take your things and leave Pro State immediately. He'll remain in Iron Gate Fort.

PS: What is Red Lotus laughing about?