Entangled in Karma

Li Banfeng called out, "Brother Huang."

Hearing this, Ye Jianhuang was quite pleased and said to Li Banfeng, "Brother, wait for me to finish some business first."

Congratulations again!

After saying that, Ye Jianhuang took a puff from his Smoking Pipe and blew the smoke into Feng Chongli's face.

"Boss Feng, my brother is having a happy occasion. You shouldn't be here to cause trouble. Why don't you take my advice and never come to this place again?"

Feng Chongli picked up the abacus and fiddled with it for a bit.

This is not something to be done casually. Every time he makes a major decision, Feng Chongli has to consider the costs. "Old Senior Huang, I'm afraid it's not easy to give you face today."

Feng Chongli had calculated that if he let Li Banfeng go, he would feel he was at a great disadvantage.

Ye Jianhuang was quite considerate. "If you feel you're at a disadvantage, then let's have a fight. My brother is making a living in this new place, so I'm here today to help him clear the land."

Ye Jianhuang took a puff of his cigarette, the smoke seeming to contain countless sharp blades scraping against Feng Chongli's skin.

Feng Chongli took the abacus and did the calculations again. Was it worth fighting Ye Jianhuang for this piece of land?

The result depends on the condition of the Ye Jianhuang.

If it's just a casual affair, then fighting once wouldn't result in much loss.

If Ye Jianhuang gets serious and fights him to the death, it would be a losing proposition.

Feng Chongli turned the abacus beads, and a sudden gust of wind arose, dispersing the smoke exhaled by Ye Jianhuang.

Ye Jianhuang wasn't in a hurry at all. Holding his pipe, he coughed twice, neutralizing Feng Chongli's magic.

The wind stopped immediately.

After the wind stopped, Ye Jianhuang exhaled another puff of smoke, which this time seeped into Feng Chongli's clothes and headed straight for his vitals.

The Ye Jianhuang mean it's serious!

If it's just for show, the actions should be grand but the results minimal.

But right now, Ye Jianhuang isn't making any moves; when he does, it's a deadly attack.

Feng Chongli stopped moving the abacus beads. Given Ye Jianhuang's current state, continuing the fight would not be wise.

He put away the abacus, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Ye Jianhuang, Li Banfeng, and He Yuxiu, and then turned and left.

Ye Jianhuang tapped his pipe and turned to look at Li Banfeng: "Brother, it's time to congratulate you."

Li Banfeng clasped his hands in thanks. "Old Senior Huang, we owe you a great deal just now—"

Ye Jianhuang waved his hands repeatedly. "You must not call him senior. If you do, someone will be unhappy. He was referring to Sun Tiecheng, because Li Qi always called Sun Tiecheng' Big Brother.' Ye Jianhuang had heard Gui Jianchou and Tang Changfa mention it."

"If you respect me in the future, just call me Brother Huang, like before. This must be my wife, right?" Ye Jianhuang looked at He Yuxiu. Judging from her physique, she looked like she could have a lot of children.

He Yuxiu was too embarrassed to look up, but Ye Jianhuang was actually joking with her.

It's normal that He Yuxiu doesn't recognize the Ye Jianhuang, because the Ye Jianhuang rarely appears.

But Ye Jianhuang recognized He Yuxiu. He knew a lot about the major and minor events in Pro State, so he naturally knew about this eldest daughter of the He Family.

After a few jokes, Ye Jianhuang led Li Banfeng to a secluded spot and got down to business. "Someone asked me to tell you not to always be so Old Gu on other people's business that you forget about your own."

Li Banfeng understood Ye Jianhuang's meaning; it was City Lord Sun who wanted Li Banfeng to go home.

"Brother Huang, as you can see, Snowflake Port has its eye on this new land. If I leave now, I'm afraid all my efforts will be in vain."

Ye Jianhuang sighed, "Snowflake Port is indeed difficult to deal with. I'll keep watch here for you. If I can't keep watch, there's still your Brother Sun."

When you get home, tell him what happened. He's been so protective of you; you can't just ignore this.

Li Banfeng returned to the edge of the territory, exchanged a few words with He Yuxiu, Ma Wu, the cook, and others, and prepared to leave the new land for Fool's City.

He Yuxiu was a little reluctant to part. "Seventh Brother, when will you come back?"

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "Once you've settled into your Local Earth God, I'll probably be back soon enough to continue clearing the land."

He Yuxiu's heart skipped a beat. She glanced at the Land Block, where the Three-Headed People had set out offerings, preparing to begin clearing the land again.

By the time she turned her head, Li Banfeng's figure had already disappeared into the distance.

At the gate of Fool's City, a man stopped Li Banfeng and demanded an entrance fee. "You have to pay one silver dollar to enter the city; that's the rule here!"

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "One piece isn't enough."

The man was taken aback and asked, "Then how much do you think is appropriate?"

"You have to give me five yuan!"

The man scratched his head. "Isn't five yuan too much?"

"Not much," Li Banfeng said earnestly, trying to reason with the man. "I've come all this way, and the travel expenses alone cost a dollar. Food and water will cost another half a dollar."

I got a minor injury on the way, and the medicine and gauze will cost half a dollar, so that's already two dollars. You're giving me a dollar? Is that fair? Where's your conscience?

The doorman counted on his fingers for a while, then said, "Even if one yuan isn't right, you can't ask for five."

"You only spent two dollars, didn't you?"

Li Banfeng waved his hand and said, "I haven't finished speaking yet. I encountered a robber on the road and was robbed of three silver dollars. How do you think we should settle this debt?"

The gatekeeper got angry. "It's not like I stole your money! How can you attribute this to me?"

Li Banfeng also got angry. "If I hadn't come to Fool's City, this money wouldn't have been stolen. I was robbed of three silver dollars just to get through this city gate. You're the gatekeeper here, shouldn't you be the one to pay for it?"

The gatekeeper lowered his head and said, "You're asking for too much. Five dollars is definitely not enough. Let's not talk about anything else. Hiring a carriage and horses shouldn't cost a dollar. The dry food and water are too much. And then there's the medicine and gauze. Those things shouldn't be worth half a dollar."

After arguing for a while, the two finally reached an agreement: the gatekeeper would give Li Banfeng three and a half silver dollars.

Li Banfeng took the money and went into the city.

The gatekeeper sneered, "Judging by your expression, you're still not convinced. Let me tell you, giving you three and a half dollars is already quite generous. When I was ruthless in the past, I would have given you three dollars. What could you do to me then?"

When Li Banfeng arrived at the Changsan Academy, Yan Cuier was soliciting business at the door, Yan Qing'er was singing songs inside, Yan Hong Honger was sitting to the side reading the newspaper, and Tang Changfa was managing accounts in the back room.

Everyone was delighted to see the shopkeeper return. Li Qi glanced at the newspaper in Yan Hong's hand and couldn't help but frown. "Isn't this last month's newspaper?"

Yan Hong pouted and said, "I asked Tang Changfa for a newspaper, but he kept refusing to buy it for me."

Li Banfeng was displeased. "Old Tang, I gave you a lot of money before, how come you can't even bear to buy a newspaper?"

Tang Changfa together and said, "Money is hard to earn and doesn't last long. This is all hard-earned by the shopkeeper. We can manage to buy some firewood and rice to make ends meet, but we can't afford to waste it on other things."

Li Banfeng glanced at Tang Changfa. He had given Tang Changfa a sum of Huan Country Notes earlier, and then another 10,000 silver dollars. Tang Changfa had even shown Li Banfeng his account book. He hadn't touched any of the money.

No matter how much money he was given, all he cared about was food and water. In the Fool's City, simply surviving was more important to him than anything else.

Li Banfeng took out his wallet and gave Yan Hong some money first. "Go buy newspapers, buy as many as you want."

Yan Hong left happily, Li Banfeng gave Yan Cuier another sum of money. "Go buy wine and meat, pick the best ones."

Tang Changfa: "Shopkeeper, how can we charge you? There's plenty of money in the account. We can't let Yan Cuier buy this wine and meat. That girl is too naive; she doesn't know how to spend money!"

"You stay home, let them go, let them flourish," Li Banfeng stopped Tang Changfa.

He gave Yan Qing'er another sum of money.

"Let's go buy some new clothes, one for each of our sisters!"

Yan Qing'er left happily.

Li Banfeng took out another wad of banknotes and gave them to Sun Tiecheng: "Go buy some rouge and dress up with the sisters!"

Sun Tiecheng looked at himself in the mirror and said, "I'm already this handsome, do I need to dress up?"

Li Banfeng was startled and quickly took the money back.

There were only three girls and Tang Changfa in the room just now, and Li Banfeng really didn't know when Sun Tiecheng came in.

"Brother Sun!" Li Banfeng bowed respectfully.

Sun Tiecheng stopped the three girls. "Don't rush out yet. Stand over there. I have something to say to your manager today."

The three girls stood obediently by the wall, Tang Changfa called out the other girls, who then stood neatly to the side.

Sun Tiecheng said to Li Qi, "Back then, when you passed the test in Fool's City, I rewarded you and even taught you the Fool Cultivation Skill. This wasn't taught for nothing. We had an agreement before that when the time was right, you would join my sect. Now, the time is not yet ripe."

"Your cultivation has already reached the Cloud Realm. I'm confident I can allow you to cultivate all three disciplines simultaneously without suffering any backlash from your cultivation. If you join my sect, you will become the only surviving cultivator of this foolish path. If you don't join my sect, then we'll have to have a serious talk."

Li Banfeng said, "No need for formalities, my desire to enter the Daoist sect is sincere!"

Sun Tiecheng appreciated Li Banfeng's attitude. "Since you've agreed, I'll get to work!"

Li Banfeng was taken aback. "What do you mean, 'get physical'?"

"To enter the Daoist path, one naturally needs to apply medicinal powder!" Sun Tiecheng took out a cloth bag and pulled out some medicinal powder with his bare hands.

Li Banfeng asked, "Where do you want to apply it?"

Li Banfeng hesitated.

Apply it to the thickest part of the skin?

Taking off my pants in front of so many girls would definitely be inappropriate.

Apply it to the palms of your hands or the soles of your feet?

Injuries to the limbs would inevitably affect combat effectiveness. To minimize the impact, Li Banfeng pulled at his collar and pointed to his stomach, saying, "Apply it here!"

"Okay!" Sun Tiecheng nodded and applied the powder to Li Banfeng's face.

Li Banfeng clutched his face, jumping in pain. "Didn't I tell you to rub my belly?"

Sun Tiecheng smiled and said, "No matter where you say to apply it, I'm going to apply it to my face."

"Then why are you asking me?"

"This is to hone your skills. I've used techniques; let's see if you can spot them."

Li Banfeng retorted, "If I used a technique on you, could you have detected it?"

Sun Tiecheng was very confident. "I can do it!"

"Then I'll really use it."

Sun Tiecheng drew a short knife. "Go ahead and try!"

This person is really unreasonable.

Li Banfeng clasped his hands together, squatted down, and said, "Today is the day I entered the Daoist sect. Such a joyous occasion!"

You came empty-handed?

Sun Tiecheng asked in surprise, "What do you mean by empty-handed? Didn't I just give you the medicine powder?"

Li Banfeng snorted and said, "That little bit of powder isn't worth much. You should at least teach me a technique." Sun Tiecheng sneered, "Did I not teach you enough? Gu Rusong has been with me for so many years, and I only taught him two techniques. You've learned four techniques from me. Isn't that enough?"

"How can he compare to me? I am a true disciple, the only living cultivator in our Yuxiu sect. Shouldn't you give me some consideration?"

Tang Changfa in, "The shopkeeper is right; we should take care of them."

Yan Cui persuaded Sun Tiecheng, "Today is our joyous day, so it's only right that we teach each other a few more techniques."

Yan Hong nodded repeatedly. "Our shopkeeper is First Young Master from the city. If you don't dote on him, who else would you dote on?"

Yan Qing'er picked up the pipa. "City Lord, let me sing you a little song. You are the head of our Fool's City, so you can't be too petty in your actions."

Sun Tiecheng got annoyed. "Didn't I tell you to go out and buy things? What are you all doing here? Go buy them!"

Everyone went about their own business and left.

Li Banfeng looked aggrieved and was still squatting on the ground.

Sun Tiecheng squatted down next to Li Banfeng and said irritably, "Alright, today is indeed a good day. I'll teach you another technique. Have you learned it yet?"

Li Banfeng retorted, "What have I learned? You haven't taught me anything!"

Sun Tiecheng said with a serious expression, "What are you talking about? You wanted to learn the techniques, and I promised to teach you. How can you say I didn't teach you?"

"Are you kidding me?" Li Banfeng was confused. "You agreed to teach, so that means you've already taught?"

Sun Tiecheng remained serious. "If I don't agree to teach you, I definitely can't teach you. Don't you think that makes sense?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "That makes a lot of sense."

Sun Tiecheng added, "If I agree to teach you, then I have already taught you. Don't you think that makes sense?"

Li Banfeng was stunned for a long time. "What kind of logic is this?"

"This is Reversing Cause and Effect," Sun Tiecheng laughed. "Whether I've taught you or not, just watch whether I agree or not."

Think about it carefully, is what I said really unreasonable?

Li Banfeng actually thought this made a lot of sense, because he had fallen for the technique.

However, this contradicts his understanding of normal logic, so Li Banfeng cannot accept the reasoning behind it.

"There's a flaw in the cause-and-effect relationship you're describing; you can't calculate it that way."

Sun Tiecheng laughed and said, "How do you think we should calculate it? Is it up to you or me? What is cause and what is effect? Let's see how the techniques are applied. Do you understand now?"

Li Banfeng pondered the key points of the technique carefully. After thinking for a long time, he murmured to himself, "Is this what 'unnamable' means?"

Sun Tiecheng nodded. "Good lad, you've finally figured it out. Other people's techniques use unspeakable methods."

Our family's techniques utilize unspeakable mechanisms, which is why we dare to claim our school as the best in the world!

Li Banfeng pondered the changing patterns between cause and effect. This technique was clearly difficult to learn. Sun Tiecheng told Li Banfeng not to rush, "Reversing cause and effect is a hard skill. In the beginning, don't try to reverse too rigid a cause and effect."

For example, if I went to the Changsan Academy and had dinner, that's normal cause and effect. If you reverse the order—that I didn't eat dinner and therefore didn't go to the brothel—that's a bit too abrupt.

I haven't had dinner yet, but I still went to the brothel. The obvious truth is there; it's not easy to go against it. I have the ability, but you still need more practice.

You can start by reversing the cause and effect, which isn't so rigid. You can reverse it to "I ate dinner, which proves I went to the brothel." Reversing it like that makes it much smoother.

Li Banfeng tried it, and sure enough, the two causes and effects were reversed, and the difficulty levels were very different.

Sun Tiecheng laughed and said, "Brother, you've got some insights, haven't you?"

Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly, then stood up and said, "Now that I have entered the Daoist sect, I should address you as Master."

Sun Tiecheng gave a wry smile, "You've got it backwards. Now you want to call me Master? You can't even if you want to." Li Banfeng chuckled, "Why can't I call you that?"

Sun Tiecheng pulled up a chair for Li Banfeng to sit down. "If you were still outside the sect, you should indeed call me Master, and other disciples outside the sect should also call me Master. But if you've entered the Daoist sect, you can only call me Big Brother."

In our Daoist sect, we only have brothers, not masters. You must remember this; it's an unchangeable rule.

Li Banfeng didn't understand. "Why is there such a rule?"

Sun Tiecheng was silent for a moment before saying, "If one day we become enemies and have to fight to the death, I will definitely tell you, I passed on my skills to you, I am your master, and you cannot betray your master."

"Don't be fooled. In our Daoist tradition, there are no masters, nor is there any concept of betraying one's master or ancestors. So don't show me any mercy."

The words sounded rather heavy. Li Banfeng blinked and said, "How could we become enemies? What makes you say that?"

Sun Tiecheng asked seriously, "Did you remember that?"

"I've got it." Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly.

Yan Cuier brought back the wine and dishes, Tang Changfa quickly set the table. Sun Tiecheng looked at the food box and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "This little bit of food is hardly enough to eat!"

Tang Changfa, "That's quite a lot, enough to fill a table!"

Sun Tiecheng took out a few silver dollars. "Go buy more, add a few more tables, and have the people from the brothel come over for a meal. Don't forget the sweepers and dusters."

This was a big day for the Changsan Academy and for Fool's City. Sun Tiecheng was very happy and drank every toast offered to him. He drank two jars of wine and still felt he hadn't had enough.

Li Banfeng put down his wine bowl and began to recount the events of the day. "Brother, the people from Snowflake Port have their eyes on me. They were investigating me secretly before, and now they're causing trouble openly. I only escaped this predicament today thanks to Brother Huang's help."

Sun Tiecheng was quite satisfied. "A'Huang did a good job. You also have a lot of guts to ask the people of Inner State for land. This land is not easy to defend."

Li Banfeng said, "I'm worried about this too. What should I do if I run into people from Snowflake Port again?"

Sun Tiecheng laughed and said, "What else can we do? Beat them to a pulp! If we can beat them, beat them to death. If we can't, we'll hide first and then beat them to a pulp when we have the chance to use dirty tricks."

Li Banfeng sighed, "Everyone says Snowflake Port is not easy to offend, but this time I've really offended them thoroughly."

Sun Tiecheng laughed repeatedly, "Snow Cream is not to be trifled with. What the hell is Snowflake Port? What can they do if we offend them? They're just destined to get beaten up!"

Li Banfeng said, "They manage the minting business, and they have quite a few ruthless men under their command. With my current abilities..."

We really can't beat them.

Sun Tiecheng shook his head and said, "Brother, there are some things I can't tell you outright. Just listen to me: when you can beat them up, don't hold back, beat them to a pulp. If you really can't beat them, come find me, and I'll beat them up for you."

Snowflake Port was surprisingly incompetent under Sun Tiecheng's rule.

After a few more drinks, Li Banfeng looked at Tang Changfa and several familiar girls and said, "Brother, I want to take them out and give them some experience."

Upon hearing this, Tang Changfa, Yan Cuier, and the others all put down their chopsticks.

Sun Tiecheng remained silent, Tang Changfa to Li Qi, "Shopkeeper, we haven't been out for many years. We don't even know what it's like outside. If we go out now, who knows how much trouble we'll cause? In the end, we'll just be a burden to you."

Li Qi shook his head. "It's impossible for you to be a burden. You all have your own methods, and you'll be good helpers to me once you get out."

The group looked at each other, but remained silent.

Sun Tiecheng smacked his lips. "The entire Pro State is wary of our Daoist sect. They've been with me for so many years, and I'm a little worried too. If they leave the city, they'll probably be sent to their deaths."

After thinking for a long time, Li Banfeng said to Sun Tiecheng, "Then let's not go to Pro State, let's go to Outer State. The Outer State don't know much about our Daoist sect."

Upon hearing that they were going to Outer State, Tang Changfa panicked even more. "City Lord, the Outer State may not know us, but we know even less about Outer State. I've hardly ever seen the term 'Outer State' except in the newspapers."

Sun Tiecheng took a sip of wine, savoring the taste. This time, he was a little tempted. "Seventh Brother, tell me the truth. Did you take them to Outer State to help you, or to repay me?"

If it's just to repay me, then fine, I don't need your repayment. But if you really want to take them out to see the world, I think that's a good thing.

"They are all good helpers when they go to Outer State, that's the truth." Li Banfeng did need some helpers Outer State.

Tang Changfa still didn't want to go. "City Lord, we really can't do it—"

"What's wrong with that?" Sun Tiecheng waved his hand. "In the city, you listen to me. But at the Changsan Academy, you listen to the manager. Wherever the manager tells you to go, you go!"

Everyone fell silent. Sun Tiecheng was in a great mood and poured Li Qi another bowl. "Set a date and take them on their way. If you really think they're useful, keep them for a while longer. If they're really useless, send them back to me."

After spending a few days in Fool's City, under Sun Tiecheng's guidance, Li Banfeng learned the technique of Reversing Cause and Effect.

He also received a message from He Yuxiu that the first plot of land in the new area, spanning three miles, had been completed.

The cook is indeed skilled; he has different strategies for dealing with different Wandering Monster.

The Three-Headed People learned quickly. On the last day of the exam, the cook didn't give him much guidance, so the Three-Headed People came up with his own strategy and successfully defeated Feng Qu Weng.

The land reclamation went smoothly. With a water source, more than 5,000 people were able to settle down smoothly. Ye Jianhuang stayed in the new land, and Snowflake Port did not send anyone to cause trouble again. This matter was considered to be completely accomplished.

"Good lad," Sun Tiecheng exclaimed, "You've carved a piece of flesh from Inner State!"

Li Banfeng, not seeking credit, asked, "Brother, you left that crucian carp skeleton, didn't you?"

Sun Tiecheng nodded.

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "I just picked up a ready-made one from my older brother."

Sun Tiecheng shook his head and said, "This ready-made opportunity isn't something anyone can just pick up. I kept this fish to see if the Inner State really dares to fight the Outer State."

Judging from this situation, the Inner State is making a loud claim, but it still lacks confidence. It would rather cede a piece of land to you than dare to fight with the Outer State.

Li Banfeng sighed, "If I had known it was my elder brother who set this up, I would have asked them for a few more plots of new land and seen if they would have agreed."

Sun Tiecheng laughed loudly upon hearing this, "You're quite ambitious, kid. Do you know that you personally bestowed the title of 'Local Earth God' upon someone?"

"Really?" Li Banfeng thought about the whole incident and realized that He Yuxiu was indeed personally sealed by him.

Li Banfeng smiled casually, "This is nothing."

"It's nothing?" Sun Tiecheng looked Li Banfeng up and down. "Local Earth God is a regional ruler. What kind of person do you think is qualified to be appointed as Local Earth God?"

Li Banfeng really didn't know about this.

Sun Tiecheng didn't offer any further explanation, humming a little tune as he turned and left.

After packing his things, Tang Changfa handed the bookstore over to Yan Qing'er to manage, and then, along with Yan Hong'er and Yan Cuier, left Fool's City with Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng originally planned to take them on the train. With his connections, obtaining three anonymous Travel Permit wouldn't be a problem, and they could travel back by train without the hardship of walking.

Less than twenty miles from Fool's City, Tang Changfa began to tremble, unsure how to walk or how to speak.

This wasn't nervousness; Tang Changfa worried that his fooling trick would fail, that he wouldn't believe he was still alive, and that he would slowly turn into a dead man.

Yan Cuier trembled along with Tang Changfa. Yan Hong'er was strong-willed and intelligent. She pretended to be calm in front of Li Banfeng, but she was also afraid inside.

Li Banfeng said to the three of them, "I came from the Fool's City, so I'm alive, right?"

The three nodded.

Li Banfeng then said to the three of them, "You all came out of Fool's City, so you must be alive too!"

Yan Cuier nodded, believing that what the shopkeeper said was true.

Yan Hong remained silent; she felt this wasn't true, but she didn't dare say it aloud.

Tang Changfa couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out, "Shopkeeper, you're different from us."

Li Banfeng feigned surprise. "How is it different? It's the same when we eat, the same when we drink."

It's the same when you're sleeping, the same when you enter the path of enlightenment, the same when you're learning techniques—no matter what you're doing.

We're no different; aren't we just the same kind of people?

Li Banfeng sorted out the cause and effect, Tang Changfa felt at ease. He thought they could walk all the way to the station, but unexpectedly, after walking several dozen miles, the three of them fell ill again.

They've been in Fool's City for who knows how many years, and this can't be cured with just one technique. If they get on a train in this state, who knows how much trouble they'll cause? If they can't control themselves, they might very well reveal what happened in Fool's City.

Let's go to new places.

Li Banfeng led the three men on a long trek through the new land. After walking for a whole day, they set up camp to rest in the evening. Just as Li Banfeng was about to return to his Portable Abode, he smelled a burning smoke.

Fire?

Li Banfeng stepped out of the tent and followed the smell of smoke. After walking for more than two miles, he saw a man who had built a stove with a few stones and was adding firewood to the firebox.

Upon seeing Li Banfeng, the man stood up and clapped his hands. "The night breeze is getting cooler. I'm afraid you'll get cold, so I'll light a stove for you to warm up."

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "It's more than two miles away from us, so we really can't feel the warmth."

The man added some firewood, "Well, here you are. I knew you'd come, so I started this fire to warm you up."

Li Banfeng nodded. "You seem like a nice person. What do you want to do by leading me here?"

The man replied sincerely, "I want to fight you and see who wins."

Li Banfeng asked, "And then what?"

The man produced a contract. "If you win, I'll sign this contract, and this land beneath my feet will be yours to do with as you please."

Li Banfeng said, "If you win, He Yuxiu's land will be yours, right?"

"I won't take that land for nothing," the man said, taking out another contract. "If I win, you sign this contract, and I'll exchange this land for He Yuxiu's land. You won't be at too much of a loss."

Li Banfeng asked, "What's your name?"

The man accepted the contract, poked at the fire in the stove, and laughed, "I like to light the stove and make the fire burn brightly."

This land beneath your feet is mine.

P. S.: August 1st is here, so I'm giving all my guaranteed monthly votes to Salad. Thank you, dear readers!