Two Contracts

Killing Qiao Shaofen was only half the battle won.

Shui Yongquan said, "Based on my deduction, this Qiao Shaofen should be a Contract Guardian Spirit, that is, a trusted confidant who guards the contract for Kinless Madam."

Both Li Banfeng and Qiu Luoye understood the concept of Contract Guardian Spirit; they had heard Xiao Yeci mention it.

But Li Banfeng felt that Qiao Shaofen was not Contract Guardian Spirit.

"Brothers, Qiao Shaofen's cultivation level is quite high; he should be in the Cloud Realm, right?"

Qiu Luoye nodded and said, "It's definitely Yunshang. He's so skilled with this mud, and it's still not dead after half a day. No one from the ground can do that."

Li Banfeng said, "Can a Cloud Above Cultivator become Contract Guardian Spirit for someone else?"

Shui Yongquan was cautious by nature. After thinking for a moment, he said, "When people used to talk about Kinless Village, they said that the Local Earth God was Kinless Madam. I have never heard of Qiao Shaofen."

Qiu Luoye waved her hand and said, "Qiao Shaofen is a fake name, used to conceal her identity. Is there any need to think about it?"

"We can't be so sure," Shui Yongquan shook his head slightly. "She might be a confidante of Kinless Madam. Even if her cultivation level increases, she will remain loyal to Kinless Madam."

Qiu Luoye snorted and said, "We're not related, so what's this talk of loyalty in this wretched place?"

Shui Yongquan was speechless for a moment. Qiu Luoye's words made a lot of sense. It seemed like a ridiculous thing to talk about loyalty in Kinless Village.

Qiu Luoye added, "The three of us fought her for so long, this person should have the cultivation of the Cloud Above Second Layer. You say she's just a follower, I definitely don't believe it."

Furthermore, if Qiao Shaofen really was a lackey, why didn't she call for help from Kinless Madam after being beaten like that?

Shui Yongquan said, "Perhaps Kinless Madam is not here."

Li Banfeng said, "If she is Kinless Madam, we'll save ourselves trouble. If she is the Contract Guardian Spirit, it proves that she is guarding the contract, and finding the contract will make things easier."

Qiu Luoye nodded and said, "Seventh Brother is right. What are we doing here, let's hurry up and find the contract!"

The three arrived at the gate of the house. Qiu Luoye walked straight in, Shui Yongquan stopped him again.

"Don't rush, we still need to be cautious."

Qiu Luoye said urgently, "Be careful, be careful! So much caution! What do you want? Tell me quickly!"

"Let me try to find a way to explore first." Shui Yongquan shook the water gourd; there wasn't much water left inside.

Li Banfeng said, "I am Travel Cultivator, and I have techniques for Auspiciousness and Avoiding Calamity. I am also fast on foot. I will go and scout ahead."

After saying that, Li Banfeng jumped into the yard.

Qiu Luoye looked at the Shui Yongquan and said, "How pathetic, Old Water! At our age, we still have to let this young fellow scout ahead. It's really pathetic to work with you!"

Shui Yongquan said, "I don't have enough water, and I don't want to put Seventh Brother at risk."

In fact, Li Banfeng was also a little worried. Regardless of whether this was the place where the contract was located or the residence of the Local Earth God, there were bound to be all sorts of traps inside. If his Kinless Madam was still alive, she might lose her life if she encountered one.

Just to be on the safe side, Li Banfeng went back to Sui Li Banfeng and brought two cabbages with Portable Abode, wanting them to take a walk around the courtyard now.

Before they could even complete half a lap, both Cabbage Man got stuck in the mud and disappeared.

Li Banfeng was very nervous. He brought out more than a dozen Cabbage Man from Portable Abode, and with their cooperation, they made their way to the main house, clearing a path for Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng marked the way, gathered the Cabbage Man, and called Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye in.

The three of them went into the main room together. Li Banfeng observed for a long time but still couldn't figure out where the contract could be hidden.

At this point, we still need to rely on the Shui Yongquan.

There wasn't much water left in the water hyacinth, but it was still enough for indoor exploration. A few drops of Shui Yongquan spilled out onto the ground.

Qiu Daxiang smacked his lips. "Old Shui, is this golden juice? Why are you so stingy? You could at least pour a little more."

Shui Yongquan frowned and said, "This is spiritual water I refined; don't compare it to Golden Juice!"

A few drops of water dispersed, forming an invisible film that covered the entire room.

This is a second-level Water Cultivator technique, capable of penetrating any opening.

Using this technique, the water film can penetrate into all the crevices in the room, acting as the eyes of Shui Yongquan to find hidden compartments.

After searching for a long time, Shui Yongquan came to the inner room, crawled under the bed, and soon came out with a jar.

Qiu Luoye frowned and asked, "Is the contract here?"

Shui Yongquan opened the jar, a foul stench wafted out.

"What is this?" Qiu Luoye pinched their nose.

Shui Yongquan said, "This is a jar specifically for holding silt. It can turn silt into puppets and is a top-grade magic weapon."

Li Banfeng used his Discern Spiritual Sounds Technique to listen, and the jar seemed to be saying, "Too dry, too dry, give me some water."

Shui Yongquan said to Li Banfeng, "Seventh Brother, this is a good thing, you should keep it."

Magical artifacts that can transform into puppets are indeed rare. Li Banfeng wanted to keep it, but his Wife was very clean and probably wouldn't appreciate it. "It's inconvenient for Travel Cultivator to carry such a large magical artifact. Let's give it to Brother Qiu."

Qiu Luoye shook her head and said, "No! I have magic weapons, this stuff is too pungent."

"Fine, don't give up!" Shui Yongquan put the jar away himself and then rummaged around under the bed for a long time.

There was a clanging sound under the bed as the Shui Yongquan triggered many traps. Fortunately, his cultivation level was high enough that he avoided some traps and withstood others.

After probing for over an hour, Shui Yongquan produced something.

It wasn't a contract, but a yellow box with a silver ring engraved on it.

The Qiu Luoye chuckled, "These are the Local Earth Seal!"

Finding the Local Earth Seal was equivalent to finding the contract. Li Banfeng prepared to crawl under the bed and dig it out, Shui Yongquan advised him against it:

"Seventh Brother, we've already got the Local Earth Seal, so there's no need to dig up the deeds. The people inside are all ours."

With popularity comes cultivation, after all, this is a contract between the Proper Land Local Earth God and the people. If it is really unearthed, I'm afraid it will be..."

Clang!

The falling Qiu Luoye overturned the bed.

"Your rambling makes me angry! We've already found the deed, why don't we dig it up? Kinless Madam is already dead, are we just going to wait for someone else to come and take it?"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dozens of crossbow bolts crawled out from under the bed. Qiu Luoye was too lazy to dodge, letting the bolts pierce her body, then pulling them out and throwing them aside.

Call!

A burst of Fierce Flame erupted and burned Qiu Luoye's entire body.

Qiu Luoye wiped the black ash off its face and continued digging.

A large number of loaches flew out, clinging to the Qiu Luoye and burrowing into their flesh.

The Qiu Luoye pulled the loach off, threw it on the ground and stomped it to death, but they still dug it up.

Qiu Luoye tried every one of the dozens of traps and managed to dig out the contract.

Upon seeing the contract, Qiu Luoye remained silent for a long time, and Shui Yongquan was also taken aback.

The deed was arched, and its style was the same as theirs.

But this contract is not one piece, it is two pieces.

Logically speaking, all Local Earth God's contracts are in two parts: one part is in the hands of the Local Earth God, and the other part Inner State.

But why are both of these contracts here?

The Qiu Luoye without knowing why, and the Shui Yongquan cannot understand it either.

Both contracts have eight characters on the front. "Hundred Li Land, this is the proof."

Like other contracts, these eight characters were stained with blood.

Turn it over, Qiu Luoye blinked, then remained silent for a long time.

Shui Yongquan laughed and said, "What's wrong? Too many characters, can't you recognize them all?"

Qiu Luoye shook his head and said, "No words."

Shui Yongquan frowned and said, "If you don't know me, just say you don't know me. Do you think I don't know you? Why would I laugh at you?"

Qiu Luoye gave the two contracts to Shui Yongquan and Li Banfeng respectively. When the two looked at them, they found that there was indeed not a single word on the back of the contracts.

That's impossible!

According to Shui Yongquan's deduction, the deed on the Proper Land should record a lot of things, including how this land was formed, who the Local Earth God were, what happened and what happened, especially the wars, the wins and losses, the gain and loss of land, all of which should be written clearly.

I looked at it repeatedly for a long time, but there really wasn't a single word on it.

Qiu Luoye asked, "Could this contract be fake?"

Li Banfeng remained silent; he couldn't tell if the contract was genuine or fake.

Shui Yongquan stared at the contract, repeatedly examining the Work Method and materials. "This contract should be genuine. I saw them making contracts when I Inner State. Some of their Work Method are unique to them. But the origin of this contract is hard to say."

Qiu Luoye laughed loudly, "Is there any need to say more? Buried in the Kinless Village, it naturally becomes the deed of the Kinless Village!"

Li Banfeng handed the contract to Qiu Luoye: "Brothers, smear your blood on the contract, and this land will belong to you. We agreed beforehand that each family would get half."

Qiu Luoye felt a little ashamed. "Seventh Brother, this was fought by the three of us, but in the end, the two of us had to split it. I feel really bad about it."

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "My cultivation is still at the local level, so it's useless for me to take it. The two of you are Local Earth God here, and you let me run the business. I won't lose out."

Qiu Luoye sighed and said, "Seventh Brother, you're too kind-hearted. I don't even know what to say."

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "Brother, we are both kind-hearted, otherwise we wouldn't get along so well."

Shui Yongquan nodded. "We've just killed someone, so let's not talk about our feelings when we're dividing the loot."

"Qiu Daxiang, this land is yours; I won't claim any more."

Qiu Luoye frowned and said, "What's wrong with you now? Why do you have so many problems?"

"Nothing much, I just need that clay pot." Shui Yongquan felt uneasy. A Proper Land had suddenly appeared in front of him, and he was hesitant to reach for it.

Moreover, this contract is somewhat eerie.

"Take that clay pot and get out of here!" Qiu Luoye was angry. She took a knife and cut her palm, about to bleed.

Shui Yongquan said, "Wait a minute!"

"What? You've changed your mind?"

Shui Yongquan shook his head, poured some water from the water gourd, and dripped it onto the two contracts.

The water droplets moved across the contract, quickly erasing the original bloodstains.

His water skills are amazing!

Shui Yongquan said, "We don't even know if Kinless Madam is alive or dead. If your bloodstains get mixed up, you might have to live together in the future."

"Wipe her blood off, and we'll draw up another Paper Contract. This land will then belong to you alone."

Qiu Luoye frowned. "Do we need to add Paper Contract?"

"Let's make up for it. When the Inner State was divided into fiefdoms, there were Paper Contract. The Local Earth God also had Paper Contract for their wins and losses in battles. Having such a thing makes things more secure."

Paper Contract is a contract made of paper.

Qiu Luoye lost the battle against Shui Yongquan. Qiu Luoye ceded thirty li of land to Shui Yongquan. The two sides signed Paper Contract and shed blood on the boundary of the ceded land before the cession was considered valid.

Judging from what Shui Yongquan just said, the Local Earth God also needed Paper Contract when he was granted the land. It seems that there is a special connection between the Paper Contract and the iron certificate.

Shui Yongquan found paper and pen in the room. Qiu Luoye picked up the paper and pen, thought for a long time, and then asked, "What should we write?"

This wasn't a title conferred upon them; it was more like fighting a war.

If it were a war, it should be written that Kinless Madam was defeated by the falling Qiu Luoye and agreed to cede the entire territory of Kinless Village.

But wasn't the one you just defeated Kinless Madam?

Even if it's her, does she actually agree to this?

She's been beaten to a pulp, so it's not worth asking about it now.

Li Banfeng suggested, "Since the original owner's bloodstains have already been wiped off the iron certificate, just write that Qiu Luoye seized Kinless Village, and that she took it from someone else. There's no need to write it too clearly."

Shui Yongquan remained cautious. "The word 'seize' is not good, so I'll write 'Qiu Luoye, Kinless Village.'"

Qiu Luoye was very satisfied. The seven words, except for the word "get", were not too difficult.

Shui Yongquan demonstrated it several times, and Qiu Luoye learned the word "de". He picked up a pen, wrote the paper deed, and sprinkled blood on the deed and on the land boundary.

Qiu Luoye said to Shui Yongquan, "You contributed the most in this battle, so I can't take advantage of you for nothing. The territory is mine, and we'll split the popularity equally. When you want popularity, come and get it from me."

In my territory, plus Kinless Village, the landlord is the Seventh Brother. He can do whatever he wants. From now on, I won't be angry at all if the Seventh Brother runs wild in these two territories!

Shui Yongquan laughed, "Qiu Daxiang, I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

Li Banfeng said, "Brother Qiu, I'm a good person."

The Qiu Luoye spilled their blood onto the two contracts once more.

The backs of both contracts display two lines of text.

First line: Qiu Luoye, leaving Kinless Village.

Second line: The territory is 3,188 square kilometers.

Qiu Luoye exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't this contract supposed to be able to write? Why haven't we seen any writing on it before?"

Shui Yongquan shook his head and said, "I can't figure out the reason either."

The Paper Contract and iron certificates truly had a connection, a connection that came from the blood of Qiu Luoye.

Hundred Li Land normally has 10,000 cubic meters, so why is there only 3,000 cubic meters here?

Who erased the original text of the contract?

The matter was unresolved for the time being, so Li Banfeng said to Qiu Luoye, "Brother Qiu, you should think of a good place to bury the contract. I'll go and dispose of Qiao Shaofen's body to avoid arousing suspicion."

Qiu Luoye exclaimed in admiration, "Seventh Brother, you've thought of everything!"