Climbing onto His Face

Li Banfeng had been thinking about the Oil Pot, but he never expected to step into Oil Lake as soon as he went out.

How did an Oil Lake suddenly appear?

Wasn't I in Carefree Dock? How did I end up here again?

There were some ripples on the lake, but no stars could be seen in the night sky.

Is this new land?

Or perhaps it's Old Land?

Oil has very little buoyancy and high viscosity, making it very difficult to swim in.

Li Banfeng glanced at the distance to the shoreline, which was quite far, then looked at the small island in the middle of the lake, which was less than a hundred meters away.

Logically, he should have swum to the shore.

But after swimming a few meters towards the shore, Li Banfeng sensed something was wrong; it seemed that some kind of creature in the Oil Lake was eyeing him.

No matter what type of creature it is, Li Banfeng would probably not have the upper hand in a fight in the Oil Lake.

Let's go ashore first and observe the situation.

Li Banfeng quickly swam to the side of the island, covered in oil, as were the rocks on the island, making it impossible for Li Banfeng to climb up.

As soon as I stepped outside, I fell into Oil Lake. I was so focused on swimming that I almost forgot about my magic weapon.

The magical artifacts he carries can even fly.

Li Banfeng patted the Tang Blade and the Wine Gourd. The Tang Blade flew to the shore, and the Wine Gourd washed away the grease on the scabbard. Li Banfeng grabbed the scabbard and came ashore with it.

The island is small; you can see its entire length at a glance.

There was a spring in the center. Li Banfeng went up and smelled it. The spring contained water, not oil.

He took out Wine Gourd and said, "Sister, get me some good wine so I can wash off this greasy mess."

Wine Gourd was also uncomfortable. "Help your sister wash up too, it's all sticky and uncomfortable."

Tang Blade didn't seem to mind. "This is top-quality oil. Just use it to wash the handle; you don't need to wash the blade."

Zhong Bai knew the oil was of good quality, but he was worried that Li Banfeng would dislike it, so he didn't know whether he should wash it or not.

Li Banfeng washed himself and his clothes, but he had nothing to change into.

Oil was everywhere, so Li Banfeng didn't dare to light it. He simply lay naked and waited for it to dry slowly.

The gloves were washed clean and mixed in with the pile of clothes. He then quietly took a few banknotes from the wallet.

Li Banfeng looked around, quietly observing this unfamiliar place.

It looks familiar, like I've been here before, but I can't remember the exact time or experience.

Looking at the lake surface rippling with waves, Li Banfeng finally understood.

He came to me in my dreams.

In his dream, he and his Wife sat on a cruise ship, spending a romantic time on the calm sea and in the afterglow of the sunset.

But I dreamt of the sea, so why am I on a lake?

Did something unusual happen in my dream?

Li Banfeng patted the Wine Gourd, Wine Gourd had just washed, and said reproachfully, "Don't keep patting the peaches in front of so many people. Do you really think I'm shameless?"

Li Banfeng asked, "Did I do anything unusual while I was sleeping?"

The Wine Gourd thought for a moment, "He didn't do anything special, he just talked in his sleep."

"What are you talking in your sleep about?"

"You seem to keep mentioning Oil Lake, you must be referring to this place, right?"

I'm talking about Oil Lake...

"I clearly meant Oil Pot!"

Li Banfeng was very angry.

Last time, because of seeing photos of Black Stone Slope, Portable Abode took Li Banfeng to Black Stone Slope.

This time, it was because he muttered a few words about the Oil Pot and some scenes from his dream that Portable Abode pulled Li Banfeng to the Oil Lake, a place he had never seen before.

Portable Abode has gone a bit too far lately.

It's bad enough that you drag me around everywhere, but you didn't even bring the keys. You didn't even consider how I would get back.

I need to find an opportunity to talk to him.

After waiting for more than an hour, his clothes were half-dry, so Li Banfeng put them on and thought about how to leave this place.

The Wine Gourd reminded him, "Little brother, we've washed ourselves so clean, won't we have to swim back to shore later?"

Li Banfeng didn't want to swim in the oil anymore; he always felt that some unknown creature was still watching him, and there was more than one.

He looked around the island; there was some weeds, but no trees, so the idea of building a raft seemed impossible.

Besides building a raft, are there any other ways?

Judge's Brush!

Li Banfeng took out his Judge's Brush, drew a circle on the spot, and pointed to the shore, saying, "Let's go there!"

After waiting for about ten minutes, the Judge's Brush uttered two words: "Too far."

Li Banfeng retorted angrily, "After resting for so long, you think flying a few hundred meters is far?"

The Judge's Brush took a deep breath, mustered his strength, and said four words: "Rest for two more days."

Li Banfeng wanted to throw the Judge's Brush into the lake, but in the end he couldn't bring himself to do it.

The Judge's Brush was no longer effective, so Li Banfeng looked at the Tang Blade and asked seriously, "Do you know about flying on a sword?"

Tang Blade replied earnestly, "I am a sword."

"That doesn't matter, as long as the mood is right!"

Tang Blade's cultivation has improved a lot recently. Li Banfeng held the scabbard, and it could actually carry Li Banfeng into the air. After flying for about ten meters, Tang Blade suddenly swooped down towards the lake.

"What are you doing!" Li Banfeng exclaimed in surprise.

Tang Blade controlled the direction with all his might, and flew back to the island with Li Banfeng in his arms.

"My lord, a cold wind is dragging me towards the oil. I can't control myself anymore. Please allow me to try one more time!"

Li Banfeng looked at the golden lake surface and couldn't help but shiver.

The chills came on of no apparent reason; according to the principles of Auspiciousness and Avoiding Calamity, this was a sign of great danger.

Should we let the Tang Blade try again?

Let's not.

Is there a safer way?

Li Banfeng gathered the several magic weapons together and discussed countermeasures. The newly arrived projector then offered his idea.

"I can try. I can project a boat onto the lake, but I need a stable fulcrum for it to fly."

In terms of flight stability, a pendulum is undoubtedly the best. Although its strength is limited, it should not be too difficult to lift a projector.

The most challenging part is controlling the projector's light source.

This projector uses candlelight as its light source. If even a tiny spark were to fall from the candle, one can only imagine what would happen to the Oil Lake.

Whether it can remain stable depends on the pendulum's behavior.

The pendulum flew in mid-air, suspending the projector on the lake, and the projector projected a small boat onto the lake.

Li Banfeng boarded the boat, took all his magical treasures, and rowed the famous boat slowly forward on the lake.

The pendulum swung slowly with the small boat.

We must be stable, absolutely stable.

Li Banfeng rowed the boat steadily, the pendulum flew steadily, and the projector's projection was also very steady.

The island was about 700 or 800 meters from the shore. We had walked about halfway when a gust of wind suddenly blew over!

The screen shook violently, and Li Banfeng exclaimed, "Steady!"

The pendulum tried its best to stabilize, but unfortunately it couldn't.

The projector kept shaking, and the projection swayed accordingly. If it weren't for the good coordination of the Travel Cultivator, Li Banfeng would definitely have fallen into the lake.

Just as the wind finally stopped and Li Banfeng was preparing to row forward, a spark appeared on the lake's surface.

This fell out of the projector.

Because of the bumpy ride, no one noticed.

Seeing the flames rising from the lake, Li Banfeng grabbed his oars and rowed swiftly toward the shore!

It's too late!

In the blink of an eye, the lake was engulfed in flames, and the small boat caught fire as well.

The things produced by a projector have physical form, and physical things are subject to the influence of the environment.

The projector tried to restore the small boat to its original state, but the restoration was far slower than the fire.

Li Banfeng grabbed the Tang Blade and said, "Let's go!"

Tang Blade wanted to fly, but under the Fierce Flame, the airflow was chaotic, and he and Li Banfeng could not fly.

A weapon is a weapon, not a means of transportation. In such a situation, one would be at a loss for how to respond.

In the critical moment, Li Banfeng had no choice but to jump into the lake, hide below the surface of the oil, and dive to the other side.

Beneath the surface of the oil, a giant creature was swimming; Li Banfeng could already see its outline.

Just as they were in a dilemma, the Judge's Brush suddenly said, "Not bad."

What's alright?

The meaning of "Judge's Brush" is that the distance is acceptable.

The whole journey is too long, but half of it is fine.

He flew to the shore with Li Banfeng and a group of magical treasures. Once on the shore, Li Banfeng burrowed into the sand and rolled around to extinguish the flames on his body.

When I got up and looked at the Oil Lake again, the fire on the lake had gone out.

The lake surface, as smooth as a mirror, occasionally ripples, as if nothing had ever happened.

Li Banfeng sensed danger approaching, packed up his magical artifacts, and immediately set off.

Despite having burned a lot of hair, Zhongbai kept reassuring Li Banfeng, "Master, don't worry, I'll go back and fix it up for you properly, I guarantee it will look better than before."

Li Banfeng didn't care about his hairstyle; he walked faster and faster.

After walking more than 200 meters, Li Banfeng suddenly slipped, swayed a few steps in place, and stopped.

He looked towards the roadside.

A middle-aged man, around fifty years old, sat by the roadside and looked up at Li Banfeng.

"Are you leaving already?" the man asked with a smile.

Li Banfeng looked at the man's face. The man's features were fairly regular, his eyes were a bit small, his eyebrows were a bit thick, his nose bridge was a little low, and his nose tip was very round. He looked like a kind-looking middle-aged man.

His skin was so radiant that it shimmered in the night, with oil droplets occasionally sliding down his cheeks.

"Since you're already here, could you please talk to me for a while? It's been so long since anyone has spoken to me." The middle-aged man's tone was pleading.

Li Banfeng looked at his feet and saw only mud and sand, without a trace of oil.

Why is my foot still slippery even though there are no oil stains?

The reasons may be complex, but there is only one conclusion.

This middle-aged man with an oily face was far more powerful than Li Banfeng.

Let's chat for a bit. Li Banfeng looked down at his feet, and the middle-aged man smiled, indicating that Li Banfeng could walk now.

Li Banfeng sat down next to the middle-aged man, habitually offered him a cigarette, and asked, "Are you the owner of this place?"

"This is indeed my place." The middle-aged man nodded, but did not accept Li Banfeng's cigarette.

Seeing that the cigarette was covered in grease, Li Banfeng took it back, feeling embarrassed.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man quickly explained, "It's not that I'm disgusted by your cigarettes, it's just that I don't want to smoke today. I've been feeling a bit feverish these past few days, and I've got a lot of pimples on my face."

Li Banfeng took a look and saw that the middle-aged man did indeed have a lot of bumps on his face, especially on his nose. Most of the bumps had whiteheads, and the juice inside looked like it was about to flow out.

The middle-aged man touched his nose and smiled bitterly, "These bumps are really uncomfortable. They break as soon as you touch them, and you can't squeeze them out."

Li Banfeng advised, "You can't just squeeze any fruit; you have to find a fully ripe one to squeeze out."

The middle-aged man looked at Li Banfeng very seriously. "Which one do you think is ripe?"

Li Banfeng pointed to a lump and said, "I think this one is about right. Look, the white part has turned black. If you use a little force, you can squeeze it out."

The middle-aged man touched the lump, pinched its base, and with a forceful squeeze of his thumb and forefinger, the tip of the lump quickly bulged up.

Bang!

The lump burst open, and a greasy splattered out, landing next to it.

A lump burst open; why was there such a commotion?

This is more than just a lump.

Li Banfeng looked at the lake. The small island in the center of the lake flew into the air, carrying a large amount of oil, and landed on the opposite shore of the Oil Lake.

The lump was squeezed out, and there was some blood at the wound site.

The once golden-yellow Oil Lake has turned red.

The middle-aged man looked at Li Banfeng with a pleasantly sour expression and smiled.

He asked Li Banfeng, "Do you know where you are?"

Li Banfeng remained silent for a moment, then said, "I think I'm getting carried away."

The middle-aged man chuckled and touched his nose, "That's right, you practically climbed up here by sheer luck!"

P. S.: One bump, one lake—just how big is this person's face?