Self-Born Spirit

Portable Abode, Li Banfeng quietly watched the Shadow Play.

The Shadow Play in snot and saliva, and his body was covered in blisters. His Wife somehow managed to calm him down.

"May I have your name?"

The Shadow Play replied, "Mei Laokan."

"Is this a name or a nickname?"

That's my name.

"What is your status in the Black Stone Slope gang?"

"No identity."

Li Banfeng pulled out a sickle, Shadow Play trembled in fright. "I'm not from the Black Stone Slope branch. I was originally a patrolman from the Leaping Horse Gulch branch. I came to Black Stone Slope on the orders of the Hall Master."

"Why were you brought to Black Stone Slope?"

"Our Hall Master said that this is the Gang Leader's order. The Gang Leader wants to run the Black Stone Slope gang well, so he needs a few people who can do the work."

"Are you considered capable of doing housework?"

"I've been playing the foreign film for over thirty years and I've never made a mistake."

Li Banfeng was silent for a moment, then asked, "How many children did you abduct?"

"Too many to count."

Have any children died at your hands?

"I'm just doing business, I don't usually kill people. But occasionally I've killed one or two disobedient ones, but there's nothing I can do about it."

"Do you know that these children are the apple of their parents' eyes?"

"But I still have to make a living, and the business has to continue. They can just have another one..."

Bang!

Li Banfeng kicked the Shadow Play in the face, breaking his nose and knocking out his teeth. The Shadow Play cried and screamed on the ground for a long time, but the sound was not like that of a human being.

The record player advised, "Husband, don't stoop to his level. Get the important things out of him first, and I'll deal with him slowly Little Slave."

Li Banfeng asked, "Is this Hall Master from Black Stone Slope really from the Guanfang Hall?"

The Shadow Play shook his head, crying, "I really don't know. All I know is that a new Hall Master has come to Black Stone Slope. The previous Hall Master was sent to another branch."

This Hall Master knew I was an expert and wanted me to do a few deals in Black Stone Slope first. I dared not; the people of Black Stone Slope were tough, and if I got caught, I'd be dead.

The Hall Master said all the money earned would be mine, and he would also give me other rewards. He just wanted me to gather enough money and deliver the goods quickly.

"To whom should we deliver the goods?"

"For the sages of Sage Peak."

"Do you have connections?"

"Having done this for so many years, I must have connections. I've met everyone on Sage Peak except for the Sage himself."

At this point, the Shadow Play's voice rose slightly.

What's the meaning?

Are you trying to show off to me?

Li Banfeng wanted to beat him up again, but he held back, worried that he might accidentally kill the man.

"How many children did you abduct in Black Stone Slope?"

"Including today's, there are eighteen in total."

"What are you doing saving all this up? Why don't you sell it already?"

"Travel Permit also require capital investment; taking one or two out isn't enough to recoup the cost."

Moreover, even if one or two children are sent to Sage Peak, they will never get to meet any important figures.

If three or five children are sent there, they can meet one of the disciples from the foot of the mountain.

Ten or more people can see the disciples on the mountain.

If there were more than twenty of them, they could meet the sage's confidants and even pass on a few words to the sage.

The Hall Master instructed him to go with the shipment and make sure he met a very important person, at least a close confidant of the emperor.

This new Hall Master didn't want to make money by kidnapping children; he wanted to establish a connection with the sage.

What is the purpose of doing this?

Asking about the Shadow Play is pointless; it's not something someone at his level could know. He'll probably finish this job, and once the Hall Master has made contact with the emperor, the Shadow Play will be silenced by the Hall Master.

Li Banfeng pointed to the several mutilated corpses and asked, "Do you recognize these ruthless men around the Hall Master?"

The Shadow Play shook his head and said, "I don't know any of them. They weren't originally from the gang; they came with the Hall Master."

Are all these people from Outer State?

"Have you been sending abducted children to those Bastard Slope?"

"No, that's not it. Back when I was doing this business, I didn't even know there was Sage Peak. There were no Travel Permit back then, so I could only operate locally. If I got a doll, I had to sell it that same day, finding someone capable within the sect to deliver it out."

After working in the gang for a few years, the gang respected us experts and gave us Travel Permit so we could send our children out to work. Back then, we mainly sold to wealthy families. The gang took the lion's share of the profits, and we only got a Big Head cut.

A few years later, the rules changed. The children obtained could only be sent to Sage Peak, where there were many more rules, but the money the Sage offered was indeed plentiful.

"Who was the highest person you saw on Sage Peak?"

"I have met Saint Envoy Zhong."

"Are you talking about Zhong Huaien?"

"I don't know his name, but I do know that he always wears a White Clothes."

"Besides money, has he given you anything else?"

"They also gave me pills, all of them high-quality medicines that you can't find on the market. The more dolls I sent, the more pills I received."

"You think you can get out of that Bastard Slope once you've been put in there?"

"Sure, the road there isn't difficult to travel."

Li Banfeng can't get out of this situation, and so can many others in Bastard Slope.

It can now be concluded that there are methods of a sage here.

Having finished asking about the matters concerning Sage Peak, Li Banfeng then inquired about Jiang Xiang Gang: "How did you know I was watching you?"

The Shadow Play shook his head and said, "I don't know about this. It was a Gold Picking Gate in the sect who told me that my place is being targeted."

I told the Hall Master about this, Hall Master said he would handle the rest.

I must say, this Hall Master is quite clever; he arranged things very well.

Li Banfeng asked, "When do you plan to ship the goods?"

"Tonight, the Hall Master said he'll have some other brothers bring a few more babies, making a total of twenty, and send them all to the large warehouse south of the Train Station. Six Warehouses Five Storages. We'll set off tonight to avoid any unforeseen problems."

"How do you plan to ship the goods?"

"I'll take the baby back first, find a place to settle him down, and then go to the branch. Someone from the branch will see me off on the train, and the Hall Master will go with me."

If this Shadow Play doesn't go to the gang, Jiang Xiang Gang and his gang of bastards probably won't come out either. In that case Li Banfeng will force his way into the gang.

If this Shadow Play puppeteer were to leak information to the brothel, Li Banfeng would be in even more trouble.

What should we do?

Create a phantom using a projector?

The images were indeed very realistic, but the temple was heavily guarded, making it difficult to make arrangements in advance.

Is there a better way?

After much deliberation, Li Banfeng came up with a technique. "Who among you is skilled at skinning?"

Upon hearing the word "skinning, "the Shadow Play was terrified. He jumped up to flee, shouting as he ran, "I only had a few dolls with me. If they behave, I definitely won't kill them!"

I've found them good families. I haven't done anything immoral. What right do you have to kill them? Let's find a place to have this serious talk!

Hong Ying stepped forward and pinned the Shadow Play to the ground.

"Seventh Son, I can peel skins, but I don't peel them very well."

What does "not very good-looking" mean?

Before Hong Ying could answer, the record player sneered, "You bitch, do you want to skin this person alive?"

Hong Ying, standing on the Shadow Play, calmly replied, "Shouldn't this person be skinned alive? Human slave traders deserve this fate!"

"Don't cause trouble. My husband still needs human skin; if you cut it into pieces, how can we use it?"

The Blood-Containing Pendulum said, "I can give it a try."

The record player said, "Girl, be careful with your hands. Don't make the wound too big. Try to peel off this skin as completely as possible."

The pendulum started to swing, Shadow Play continued.

Li Banfeng, citing the noise, took the projector to the Fifth Chamber and reenacted the battle that had just taken place.

Because he was ambushed, Li Banfeng went all out to fight back. He didn't have a comprehensive plan and made decisions on the spot, which led to problems with many details of the battle.

Of course, it's best not to let your Wife see these battle details, because Li Banfeng used a lot of Travel Cultivator techniques.

Some things are better left unsaid, and you shouldn't bring them up yourself.

Perhaps because his mind had calmed down, Li Banfeng looked closely at the previous footage and felt that these four high-level cultivators looked somewhat familiar.

Especially that Mole Cricket body cultivator who was stabbed to death by the Tang Blade, Li Banfeng seemed to have seen him before.

"Hey, my lord, I've seen this Little Slave before!"

Li Banfeng was startled and quickly turned off the projector. He returned to the main room and said with a grin, "My dear Wife, where did you say I've seen you before?"

The Wife pointed to the relatively intact corpse and said, "This is the Little Slave. I think I've seen him before."

This is the very Mole Cricket that was stabbed to death by the Tang Blade.

Isn't he from Outer State?

Could it be that my Wife has also been to Outer State?

"When did you first see this person, my Wife?"

The record player extended its stylus and flipped through newspapers on the bookshelf.

Before long, a newspaper was picked up by the needle and placed on the tray, and in the dim light of the fire, a photograph appeared on the wall.

"When my Little Slave is not at home, I often read the newspaper to pass the time. I have indeed met this person Little Slave; he should be from the Chu family."

The Wife pulled out a newspaper from fifteen years ago, which Li Banfeng had bought at a high price from the Lu Family Bookstore.

At that time, Chu Shaoqiang, the head of the Chu family, and Lu Dongliang, the head of the Lu Family, joined forces to do a big business in Belt Ridge, called Flower Branch Street.

This street still exists and is still the Lu Family's business. The whole street is lined with flower shops, and both men and women can buy flowers there. They have all kinds of colors and patterns.

I'll definitely go to Huazhi Street sometime in the future, but that's not the point right now. The point is the photo of both parties signing the contract.

Li Banfeng saw this Mole Cricket in the photo.

Although his appearance was very different then, Li Banfeng still recognized him. Although the man's name did not appear in the news at the time, judging from his position, he should be a member of the Chu family.

He's from Pro State!

Why did he become a bodyguard for Outer State people?

There might be another story behind this.

While he was pondering, the pendulum finished peeling off the skin.

The Shadow Play is still alive; the skin is gone, but the person is still moving.

The Wife found the man disgusting and asked the others, "Does anyone want to eat a soul?"

No one spoke. The Wife asked Hong Ying first, "Aren't you going to eat it? This won't do you any harm."

Hong Ying shook the gun and said, "I don't want to fight you for this. You can keep it."

The record player then asked the Judge's Brush, "Lazybones, do you want some or not?"

"Hmph!" The Judge's Brush ignored his Wife.

"Thief's gloves, do you want some?"

The man with the gloved hand shook his index finger and said, "Madam, you can't say things like that. You have to catch a thief red-handed. Without evidence, how can you accuse me of being a thief?"

The record player scoffed, then turned to Tang Blade and said, "Looks like you're the only one left to benefit from this."

Aside from these few, the Wife didn't ask anyone else.

There's a hidden secret here.

These magical artifacts are quite different from other magical artifacts.

Li Banfeng didn't know the reason, but there was one thing he needed to verify.

He took out a sickle and asked, "Can you eat souls?"

The record player exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, husband, are you talking to it?"

Seeing this, Sickle stopped hiding and walked confidently in front of the record player, saying in a clear voice, "Can't I talk to you? I've been with Li Lang for much longer than you have!"

"You bitch!" the record player exclaimed, somewhat surprised. "What's your name?"

"My name is Sickle!"

The record player then asked, "Did you recognize me before?"

"How could I not recognize you? We're from the same place!"

The record player exclaimed in surprise, "Are you Self-Born Spirit?"

P. S.: The record player and the sickle were both sold by Steward Feng to Li Banfeng, so they were old friends.