Li Banfeng knocked on the door. A man answered—about thirty-five or thirty-six, not very tall but fairly sturdy, dressed in a vest and long trousers, patches upon patches covering him from head to toe.
His cheeks were dark, his brows thick and long, his lips full. His entire face radiated simplicity and honesty.
Little Fatty had once told Li Banfeng that in Medicine King Gully, once one left Inner Gully, restaurants became very scarce. If hunger struck on the road and one wanted something to eat, one could ask for a meal at someone's home. Three or five dollars as payment for the meal would do, and most households would not refuse.
Li Banfeng explained why he had come, and the man warmly welcomed him inside.
The хозяин wore plain, simple clothes, but the courtyard was not small. The front yard alone was about the size of a basketball court.
There were three tiled houses in the yard, along with a storage room. The buildings were somewhat old, but they had been tidied up spotlessly.
He called it the front yard because, judging from the walls and layout, there should have been a fairly large backyard as well.
As a House Cultivator, Li Banfeng could not help feeling a little envious at the sight of such a spacious and tidy home.
"There's some leftover rice at home, but no dishes. Just make do with it." The man lit an oil lamp in the yard, and a woman brought over a bowl of rice and a small dish of pickled cucumbers.
The woman wore a cloth blouse with a slanted front, and it too was covered in patches. Judging by her age, she should have been the man's wife. Li Banfeng did not look too closely, nor should he have.
After setting out the bowls and chopsticks, the woman hurried back into the house.
Li Banfeng first took out thirty dollars in banknotes and stuffed them into the man's hand. The man repeatedly waved them away. "That's far too much."
Li Banfeng waved a hand. "Take it. It's so late, and I feel bad troubling you."
The rice was coarse and contained quite a few husks, but Li Banfeng did not mind. He was truly hungry, and he shoveled down the rice in great mouthfuls with the pickled cucumbers.
The man clutched the banknotes, his expression filled with guilt, as though he owed Li Banfeng something.
He quietly returned to the house. Before long, an old woman with graying hair came out.
The old woman carried a wine jar in her arms. Coming before Li Banfeng, she said with a smile, "Young man, try some of our homemade sorghum wine."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Ma'am, I can't drink."
He was not merely being polite. Li Banfeng genuinely was not used to the alcohol here.
For such a poor household, a jar of wine was exceedingly precious. The old woman had even come out personally. Since Li Banfeng did not like it, he should not waste their good stuff.
Yet the old woman still insisted on pouring him a bowl. "Young man, have a bowl. It's nothing special, so don't disdain it. My son took your money, and he truly feels bad about it."
Since the old woman had poured it herself, Li Banfeng could not refuse again. He picked up the bowl and took a sip.
To his surprise, the wine was fragrant and mellow, much better than the wine at the Steamed Bun Shop.
He finished the bowl of rice, finished the pickled cucumbers, and drained the wine bowl. Li Banfeng let out a full belch.
The old woman smiled. "Young man, have you found a place to stay? If not, stay at my house."
"I've found lodging. I'll be going now. Thank you for your hospitality."
Once he had eaten, he needed to leave at once. Li Banfeng was being hunted by the Jiang Xiang Gang; he could not drag this honest family down with him.
The instant he stood, Li Banfeng suddenly felt dizzy and disoriented. The figures of the mother and son bobbed up and down before his eyes.
Had he drunk too much?
No!
He had been poisoned!
The old woman looked at Li Banfeng with a beaming smile. "Young man, don't run around. I think you'd better stay the night."
What was going on?
Li Banfeng turned and ran for the door, only to see the man's wife blocking the entrance.
The woman raised her head and punched Li Banfeng squarely in the chin.
Li Banfeng wanted to dodge, but his body would not obey him. He failed to evade and took the punch solidly.
This woman was incredibly strong!
Li Banfeng staggered back two steps and fell to the ground.
He took a careful look at the woman's face.
By candlelight, he saw clearly this time: a ring of dark stubble surrounded that person's lips.
This was a man.
This was a black inn!
Impossible. I hadn't sensed any danger just now!
Li Banfeng held his forehead, rubbed his eyes, wiped the blood from his mouth and nose, then slumped limply to the ground and slowly closed his eyes.
His eyes were closed, but he had not passed out. His mind remained clear, and he heard every word of the people around him.
The eldest son, with the honest-looking face, looked at the old woman. "Mother, was it really necessary to waste a whole jar of my good wine on a White Lamb like this? That dish of pickled cucumbers would've been enough."
So the pickled cucumbers had poison in them too!
Li Banfeng burned with anger. He had endured Bitter Mist Mountain, only to have his boat capsize in this gutter!
How strange. I can sense malice. At the station, I could sense Chu Yunlong's malice. Why couldn't I sense this family's malice at all while I was eating?
Could this entire family's cultivation be extraordinarily high?
With cultivation that high, why would they use such despicable methods?
The old woman smiled. "Silly boy, look carefully. He isn't a White Lamb. There's something strange about the way he walks. He's a Travel Cultivator, and one who has reached a rank."
"A Travel Cultivator?" The eldest son scratched his scalp. "I've really never seen one before."
The old woman said, "You haven't seen one, so today you'll broaden your horizons. Travel Cultivators move fast. This man has the skill of Sudden Wind on Flat Ground, which proves he's reached a rank, but he only reached it not long ago and hasn't learned to control it freely. If we hadn't poisoned him with wine, he could vanish without a trace in the blink of an eye. And Travel Cultivators know danger. If I hadn't acted, he would have woken up the moment he entered."
Waking up was underworld slang. It meant that the person being deceived had realized what was happening.
So this old woman had acted in advance, preventing me from sensing their malice.
What rank of cultivator was this old woman?
What level of ability had she used?
Hearing this, the eldest son looked somewhat pleased with himself. "Mother, isn't my wine getting better and better?"
The old woman snorted. "You reached the first rank the year before last. A year and a half has passed already. If you can't even knock down someone at the same cultivation level, what face do you have to eat from this bowl?"
From the old woman's words, Li Banfeng learned that the man was a Poison Cultivator. His cultivation was equal to Li Banfeng's; both were at the first rank.
Li Banfeng tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were far too heavy. He tried several times, but could not open them.
The second son, disguised as a woman, said, "Mother, since he isn't a White Lamb, why not scoop out his head while he's down?"
The second son had never seen a Travel Cultivator either, but he felt that Hostage Room stock with cultivation should be killed.
At those words, Li Banfeng's heart tightened.
In his current state, he had very few means of resisting.
But few means or not, he had to fight once. He could not simply die here!
The old woman poked Li Banfeng with her cane. Seeing no reaction from him, she instructed her two sons, "Strip him clean, lock his hands and feet, and send him into the Hostage Room. We'll do it at Zi Time."
The second son did not understand. "Mother, why do we have to wait until Zi Time?"
Yes, why did they have to wait until Zi Time? Li Banfeng did not understand either. He had already prepared himself for a fight to the death.
Did they intend to strike when I let my guard down?
She was overthinking it. I would never let my guard down.
"When I tell you to wait until Zi Time, you wait obediently. Strip him clean first!" The old woman barked. The two sons stepped forward and searched Li Banfeng, taking his sickle, shovel, and wallet. Even the spicy strips hidden in his clothing's lining were taken away.
But they missed one thing.
When Li Banfeng had wiped his mouth and nose earlier, he had hidden the key in his mouth.
He had originally intended to open the Portable Abode at once and escape, but under the gazes of the three of them, Li Banfeng had no confidence that he could hide the key—or even that he could turn it successfully.
The old woman truly did not want to kill Li Banfeng yet.
She said to wait until Zi Time. What exactly was she waiting for?
Why, even now, could he still not sense the danger here?
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(End of chapter)
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