Where Was the Demon Soil?

Despite the freezing weather, the Peddler was still only wearing a blue cloth vest. He chiseled a hole in the ice and crawled inside.

Two minutes later, the Peddler crawled out of the ice hole, wiped his face with a towel, and said to the "Local Earth God": "The entrance at the bottom of the lake is blocked, all the other entrances are blocked, only the one for Liu Xiahui is left."

Liu Xiahui, write the word "Hui" under Liu Xia.

Li Banfeng was quite surprised. "Who came up with such a creative entrance?"

The Peddler said, "It Murong Gui who came up with this idea. After he became the Local Earth God, he left this entrance. He said that the method of opening the door could not be too complicated, for fear that he would not be able to remember it, nor could it be too simple, for fear that others would guess it. So he changed one character of Liu Xiahui, making it easy for him to figure out, but not easy for others to guess."

Looking at the Judge's Brush, Li Banfeng exclaimed, "Ah Gui, you're so talented!"

The Judge's Brush fell asleep and did not respond.

The Peddler sneered, "He has no talent whatsoever. He's just too lazy to think. I even asked him, 'This is how you open your own door. Why are you telling me?'"

He said it was to prevent bad guys from getting in, so that if something happened to him, I could have someone to look after me.

I actually believed him and memorized how to open the door, but after thinking about it, I realized that I had become a mere prop in his household.

"That kid's too lazy. He wanted me to watch the house for him. Actually, I should have guessed back then that he'd fallen into the Lazy Cultivator."

The Peddler took two large blocks of ink and gave them to the "Local Earth God".

The "Local Earth God" smelled the rich scent of ink, hugged it affectionately for a while, and regained a lot of energy. His originally dull face regained some brightness, and he wrote much faster.

Two ink sticks were enough to satisfy me, calm me down, and fill me with fighting spirit. This pen is too easy to fool.

Li Banfeng asked the Peddler, "You only give me ink, not paper. What if you run out of paper?"

The Peddler picked up a written scroll and asked, "Is this what you mean?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

The Peddler explained, "This scroll is not something I can give away; it was produced in the Ink Fragrance Shop."

After speaking, the Peddler unfurled the scroll, which was densely covered with the three principles of the Ink Fragrance Shop. But Li Banfeng suddenly noticed that the writing at the beginning of the scroll was disappearing one by one.

"What kind of logic is this?" Li Banfeng looked at the Peddler.

The Peddler sighed and said, "Because too many people don't want to read, the order that has just been established will soon be worn away."

Li Banfeng understands the reasoning behind this. "Persuading students to study is a very difficult thing."

"So Local Earth God of the Ink Fragrance Shop is not easy." The Peddler stared at the scroll in his hand until the writing on it completely disappeared and turned into a roll of white paper. He then handed the scroll to the "Local Earth God".

The "Local Earth God" took the scroll, dipped it in ink, and continued writing the rules.

"What a diligent and excellent pen!" the Peddler exclaimed, then turned to Li Banfeng, "Your cultivation is almost at the Cloud Realm, isn't it?"

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "I've only been a Daoist for a few days, and I'm still far from being at the Cloud Realm."

"Since you're still far from being good enough, how come you've become Local Earth God?"

"I didn't!" Li Banfeng denied it outright.

The Peddler sneered, "I saw it all. Murong Gui was carrying you around everywhere, and you even dealt with the pioneers on the new land."

Li Banfeng shook his head again. "I have a mental illness. At that time, I just wanted to fly. You don't understand my thoughts."

The Peddler frowned and said, "You don't need to hide it from me. You want to be Local Earth God but don't want to go to the Inner State. That's a good thing, something only a man with guts could do."

However, you only have half of the deed for that new land; the other half is still in Inner State. It's possible that Inner State might try to take advantage of you.

The Ink Fragrance Shop is quite different; the contracts here are complete, which is a great opportunity for you.

Li Banfeng glanced at the "Local Earth God" who was writing furiously, shook his head and said, "I don't think this place is suitable for me. I'm not a scholar."

"It doesn't matter if you're not a scholar! What's important isn't the Daoist school, but your state of mind. As long as you have a heart that yearns for learning, there's no difficulty you can't overcome!" The Peddler straightened his back, and his image suddenly became much more imposing.

Li Banfeng seemed to see a heavy "pancake" character on the Peddler's face.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I really don't belong here."

The Peddler looked at Li Banfeng sincerely. "I brought you here to Local Earth God not to rescue my pen, but because I genuinely care about you!"

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "I believe you mean well, but it's not appropriate for a Travel Cultivator me to be writing here every day."

The Peddler's face darkened. "Fine, don't come then! You ungrateful wretch! What kind of place is Ink Fragrance Shop? Countless people want to come, but none have the connections!"

Li Banfeng was just about to ask about this, "Isn't the Ink Fragrance Shop a very important place?"

Peddler 1: "You didn't know about this? Then why are you risking your life here?"

Li Banfeng replied, "Why should the territory of Pro State be handed over to Inner State?"

The Peddler chuckled, "That's right! Is there any other reason?"

Li Banfeng added, "I smell the scent of ink here. This scent is extremely rare in Pro State. "The Peddler chuckled, "You mean the smell of ink?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "It's not ink, it's the land, the people, the books, the customs, every word and deed, every stroke of the brush, the teahouses and Poetry Club, the restaurants and inns—"

He talked about whatever came to mind, telling the Peddler everything he had seen in the past few days.

The Peddler listened to every word and then asked, "What do you think of the people at the Ink Fragrance Shop?"

Li Banfeng recalled the people he met at the Ink Fragrance Shop: "They were pretentious, arrogant, stubborn, and old-fashioned. They were quite annoying, but also quite likable."

The Peddler chuckled, "Isn't it charming?"

You're right, the Ink Fragrance Shop has the scent of ink, and that scent is indeed very precious.

Almost everyone in Outer State people was literate, and almost everyone in Inner State people was literate.

Pro State is far behind; in Black Stone Slope, barely half are literate, in Green Water City, less than 30% are literate, and in other places, you might find a hundred people who are literate.

Why are there so many literate people in Black Stone Slope?

More than Green Water City?

Li Banfeng didn't interrupt the Peddler and listened as he continued, "Only in the Ink Fragrance Shop can everyone read. The more characters you know, the more miles you can see."

A person who knows one hundred characters can see things clearly around them; a person who knows one thousand characters can see things outside; a person who knows ten thousand characters can see things from the past and present, from within and without.

Those who stayed at the Ink Fragrance Shop knew how to observe and reflect. Whether their reflections were right or wrong, they were still thinking about those who Ink Fragrance Shop. No matter the method, no matter how affected, they could still convey their thoughts to others.

Li Banfeng asked, "But will others be able to understand it?"

The Peddler shook his head and said, "I don't understand. Ninety percent of people don't understand, but at least ten percent try to understand along with me."

"If we lose the Ink Fragrance Shop area, nobody in Pro State will be willing to think about anything anymore, and we'll just have to wait to be completely devoured by Outer State and Inner State."

Li Banfeng nodded. "Therefore, we must not lose the Ink Fragrance Shop, no matter what."

The Peddler nodded vigorously. "Therefore, we need a responsible, courageous, and spirited young man to serve as the Local Earth God of the Ink Fragrance Shop!"

After saying that, the Peddler looked at Li Banfeng sincerely.

Li Banfeng responded politely with a "Hmph."

The two left the Local Earth God's residence. On the way, Li Banfeng asked about something, "According to the previous timeline, you should have been in Sea Eat Ridge and Belt Ridge these days. I sent people to look for you, but why couldn't they find you?"

Upon hearing this, the Peddler's face darkened. "I was just about to ask you, is your madness contagious?"

Li Banfeng puffed out his chest and said, "I'm not crazy, the doctor has seen me."

The Peddler angrily retorted, "Then why are your men acting so crazy? Why did they send the radio station to find me?"

Did Luo ZhengNan find the Peddler through the radio?

Li Banfeng genuinely knew nothing about this.

Were you listening to the radio at the time?

The Peddler shook his head and said, "I didn't hear it at the time, but one of my lovers overheard it and found me."

Li Banfeng asked cautiously, "Where did you find it?"

The Peddler said with a stern face, "At the home of another lover."

What did the Peddler go through when he went to the home of another lover?

Li Banfeng took a deep breath.

Thank goodness, thank goodness.

Thankfully, Portable Abode remained calm and didn't follow the Peddler; otherwise, it would have been a serious matter if he had tracked him down to his bed.

"Brother Lang, I was reckless in this matter!" Li Banfeng quickly apologized to the Peddler.

Once outside the woods, the Peddler handed Ge Jun and He Caiyuan over to Li Banfeng.

"These two are still alive, but they can't move. You can take them back and eat them."

2

Li Banfeng smiled and said tactfully, "Brother Lang, you're joking. The clam was alright, but the old man was a person; how could I eat that?"

The Peddler laughed, "If you can't eat it all, there's someone at home who can, isn't that enough?"

Li Banfeng glanced at the Peddler; he seemed to know everything.

The Peddler picked up his cart and prepared to leave.

Li Banfeng quickly asked, "Brother Lang, do you know this person Face Not Big '?"

The Peddler put down his cart, turned sharply to look at Li Banfeng, and asked with an extremely sinister expression, "When did you see him?"

"It's been a while. I dreamt that I was rowing a boat on the sea. My house had some misunderstanding and sent me to Face Not Big Oil Lake."

The Peddler asked, "Did the house deliver you there? Did you get it on the railroad tracks?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

The Peddler asked again, "What did I, with my Face Not Big, say to you?"

"He said he suffered a lot in that place and he wants you to go and save him."

"Oil Lake," the Peddler frowned, "I know the place you're talking about, that's his face."

Even if I went to that place, I couldn't save him.

Li Banfeng remained silent; he didn't know how to handle a matter of this level.

The Peddler remained silent for a long time before saying, "I've been wanting to save him, but I haven't been able to think of a good way. I'll let you know when I do. I might need your help with this."

Li Banfeng, is this something you need my help with?

He knew his own limitations; with his current strength, it would be too difficult for him to help the Peddler.

He probably wanted to ask Portable Abode for help.

Why would he give me Portable Abode, which is so useful?

Li Banfeng had been wanting to ask this question for a while, and today the opportunity seemed right. "Brother Lang, why did you give me that house? There must be many people in the world who want that house."

Peddler 1: "Didn't we already talk about this? Because you suffered a loss when you entered the Daoist sect, I have to compensate you."

"Is it really because I was bumped? With your skills, you could definitely make me dodge your container."

The Peddler said with a serious expression, "That's not necessarily true. There's always an unexpected event, and there are always things we can't prevent."

It seems the Peddler doesn't want to talk.

Li Banfeng never asks about things that others don't want to talk about.

The Peddler pushed his cart and said to Li Banfeng, "Is there anything else you want to ask? If not, I'm leaving."

I'm in a good mood today, that's why I'm telling you so much. Who knows, we might not see each other again.

Li Banfeng had many questions to ask, but he could tell that the Peddler had limited patience.

After much deliberation, Li Banfeng asked the question he most wanted to ask, "Brother Lang, where is the Demon Land?"

The Peddler fell silent.

This is something I shouldn't ask, but it's crucial for Li Banfeng. Both his Wife and Hong Ying had fought against the Demon Land and the Peddler.

So what is the relationship between the Peddler and the Demon Land?

According to Li Banfeng's understanding, the Demon Land should be the Inner State, and they are the invaders.

But which faction do the Peddler and the Train Grandpa belong to?

Judging from their attitude towards Inner State, it's impossible for them to be on the same side as Inner State. Li Banfeng's understanding of the Demon Land may contain some misunderstandings.

Would the Peddler be willing to talk about this?

The Peddler leaned against his cart and thought for a long time, as if he had thought of something, "You mentioned the Demon Land, which really stumped me. That's so many years ago."

That place is no longer called the Demon Land.

Li Banfeng was taken aback. "What's it called?"

"Call it Pro State."

Ta-da!

The Peddler pushed his cart, shook his Pellet Drum, and disappeared into the night.

P. S.: Is "Magic Land" the same as "Pro State"? Is Salad having mental problems?