Pouch Hanging Beneath the Tree

Li Banfeng practiced with the Iron Ruler for two hours and felt he had gained some experience.

The record player kept encouraging him. "Husband, a good man should have lofty ambitions. What's the point of staying at home all the time? Hurry up and go out to buy groceries!"

Does going out to buy groceries make a good man?

Li Banfeng checked his Pocket Watch and saw that it was already ten o'clock. He really should go out and take a look.

Back in Yu Family Stronghold, Li Banfeng first went to have lunch with Old Zhu, and then decided to take a walk around the new place.

Every day, Travel Cultivator must walk at least fifty li (approximately 25 kilometers). Although yesterday's journey was quite long, they exceeded their quota. In cultivators' parlance, this means they have accumulated enough time.

But even if time is plentiful, it should not be wasted on daily spiritual practice.

Old Zhu couldn't dissuade Li Banfeng, so he could only tell him the taboos of the new place, "Boss Li, don't cut down trees, don't pull up grass, and don't harm the birds and animals in the forest."

Don't eat the fruit or drink the water from the forest. If you encounter people you don't understand or things you can't comprehend, come back immediately.

You've already taken this route when you came to the new place, so try to follow the same path as before, and please be extra careful.

Heed the advice, but don't keep going back to the same old path. Always going back and forth on the same route makes it difficult to accumulate self-cultivation.

Li Banfeng relied on the techniques of Travel Cultivator Auspiciousness and Avoiding Calamity, and tried to go to places that were not too dangerous.

However, there are not many safe places in the new land.

The journey to Yujiazhai was Yu Family Stronghold.

Beyond the three-mile mark, Li Banfeng constantly felt danger approaching, goosebumps rising one after another, and he couldn't help but shiver every two steps. The Travel Cultivator's skills in Auspiciousness and Avoiding Calamity and seeking good fortune were constantly warning Li Banfeng.

After walking nearly ten miles, Li Banfeng realized that he had completed enough of his basic cultivation for the day.

Should we go back now?

Going back is fine. I'll take a walk in the afternoon and then go back for a nap. It's a very reasonable arrangement.

Li Banfeng changed direction, preparing to return the way he came, when he suddenly heard someone speaking from the tree:

"Brother, is that you?!"

Whose voice is that?

He Jiaqing?

Li Banfeng silently raised his head.

He saw a thin, almost transparent thread hanging down from the tree.

Looking up along the silk thread, Li Banfeng saw a huge "bamboo basket" slowly sliding down the thread.

Is this a bamboo basket?

It was pitch black and airtight, as if it were woven from tree branches and covered with leaves, blocking every gap.

The opening of the bamboo basket faced directly downwards, directly above Li Banfeng's head.

The silk thread enters the bamboo basket through the opening, exits from the end of the basket, and hangs on the tree.

A man's voice came from the bamboo basket. "Brother, you've finally arrived."

When Li Banfeng first heard this voice, he was somewhat moved, thinking that he had encountered He Jiaqing.

When Li Banfeng heard this sentence again, he found that the voice was very different from He Jiaqing's voice. It was only because the other person was in the "bamboo basket" that the voice was somewhat muffled and deep, and it was slightly similar to He Jiaqing's low and hoarse voice.

Li Banfeng looked at the bamboo basket, sensing no danger, and calmly asked, "Why are you calling me brother? Have you mistaken me for someone else?"

The bamboo basket hovered in mid-air. After a moment, a voice came from inside. "Child, is that you?"

Her voice was hoarse and gentle, like that of an elderly mother with white hair.

Li Banfeng is very good at imitating women's voices, but this time, he couldn't detect any trace of imitation.

Could there be another person in the bamboo basket?

Although he still did not sense any danger, Li Banfeng decided to leave immediately.

He didn't forget the Carriage Driver's instructions.

If the other party is at a higher level than oneself, one may not be able to perceive the other party's malice.

Just as Li Banfeng took a step forward, the silk thread suddenly sprang out of the bamboo basket and wrapped around Li Banfeng's legs.

Li Banfeng tripped over the silk thread and fell backward onto the ground.

He tried to break free twice, but the silk threads were very strong, and his legs could not break free.

Li Banfeng did not rashly try to pull the silk thread with his hands. If his hands were trapped again, he would have no chance of escaping.

He put both hands into his pockets at the same time, and took out a pair of Mandarin Duck Halberds with his right hand first.

The weapon is a unique blade formed by the intersection of two crescent moons, with an extremely sharp edge.

But Li Banfeng tried several times, and the Mandarin Duck Blades could not cut the silk thread.

The huge bamboo basket slowly descended, gently shaking.

Another voice came from inside the bamboo basket, gentle and delicate. "Husband, you've come?"

It was the voice of a young woman, and there was still no trace of imitation.

"You've really mistaken me for someone else," Li Banfeng replied calmly, immediately putting away the Mandarin Duck Halberds and taking out the Iron Ruler.

The Iron Ruler has no blade, but its spikes are extremely sharp.

The bamboo basket continued to fall, shaking more and more violently.

A face slowly emerged from the mouth of the bamboo basket. It was the face of a young woman with very delicate features. Thin, finger-like threads emerged from her lips and continued to extend down.

It turned out that the thread came out of her mouth.

This reminded Li Banfeng of a special kind of worm that hangs itself from a tree by silk threads.

What's this insect called again?

It seems to be called a bagworm moth.

Could this woman be a moth?

A silk thread ran through her body, with one exit being her mouth. Where was the other exit?

What is this bamboo basket?

It's a bagworm cocoon!

As the cocoon slowly approached, a human face gradually emerged from it, wriggling around.

A woman with long, flowing black hair cascaded down to Li Banfeng's face. Looking down at him, she asked in a muffled voice, a thread between Li Banfeng teeth, "Did I guess wrong three times?"

"Yes, you're all wrong." Li Banfeng's brows relaxed, a smile appearing on his face. He gripped the Iron Ruler tightly in his right hand and thrust it towards the man's face.

The Travel Cultivator was fast, and Li Banfeng, who had just come out of the house, was at his physical peak.

The stab was swift and precise; the sharp point of the Iron Ruler pierced the woman's brow. Suddenly, another Insect Silk emerged from the bamboo basket and wrapped around Li Banfeng's arm.

And there are Insect Silk?

Where did this Insect Silk come from?

The cocoon swayed back and forth, the amplitude of which increased, until a human head with short hair struggled to emerge from the opening of the cocoon.

With thick eyebrows, large eyes, and full lips, he was a man with sharply defined features. He had Insect Silk in his mouth, looked down at Li Banfeng, and asked, "Did you really guess wrong all of that?"

"I didn't lie to you, you were all wrong." Li Banfeng took his left hand out of his pocket.

Before Li Banfeng could open his palm, another Insect Silk tightly wrapped around his entire left arm.

Inside the cocoon, a white-haired human head, squeezed between two other human heads, biting the silk thread, struggled to emerge.

She was an old lady with a face full of wrinkles.

Are three worms huddled together in a cocoon?

Or is it a worm with three heads?

The old woman, toothless and with Insect Silk in her mouth, smiled at Li Banfeng and said, "I guessed wrong. Your turn. Guess who I am?"

Li Banfeng blinked and asked, "What if I guessed wrong?"

The woman replied, "Then we'll eat you."

Li Banfeng then asked, "What if I guess right?"

The man replied, "Then live with us."

Damn it, they're not giving us a way out!

Li Banfeng used all his strength in his left hand, struggling with all his might.

The old woman bit the Insect Silk, binding it tighter and tighter.

"What are you holding in your hand? It must be something really fun. Let me see, let me see! Hehehe~" The old woman chewed on the Insect Silk and let out a peculiar laugh.

Pulled by the Insect Silk, Li Banfeng's left hand slowly opened.

Instead of his keys, he held a glove with a rusty red pill on it.

The old woman tried to use the Insect Silk to roll up the pill, but as soon as the Insect Silk touched the Rust Pill, the rust quickly spread along the Insect Silk.

The speed at which it spread surprised even Li Banfeng; it was faster than the rate at which Rust Pill corroded iron cigarette boxes.

How does Rust Pill effectively control Insect Silk?

This is truly an unexpected delight.

The Insect Silk on his left arm quickly rusted and broke off. Li Banfeng took the Rust Pill and rolled it all over his body.

Rust spots spread across all the Insect Silk, and the strong Insect Silk quickly became brittle. Li Banfeng quickly broke free from the Insect Silk.

The three human heads inside the cocoon also bit through the Insect Silk.

They had no choice but to bite it off; rust had crawled onto the Insect Silk and almost crawled into their mouths.

The three heads spat out silk threads and pounced on Li Banfeng together.

This time, Li Banfeng was on guard. He rolled on the spot to avoid the silk thread and then used Iron Ruler to stab the man's temple.

The man howled in pain, and the other two heads, sensing the pain, also howled along with him.

Li Banfeng raised his hand again and threw the Rust Pill into the cocoon.

The three human heads contorted in pain as they sensed the excruciating agony and retreated back into their cocoons.

Before long, the young woman's head emerged from the cocoon, her beautiful face covered in rust.

For a fleeting moment, Li Banfeng really wanted to take the cocoon into his Portable Abode, feed its soul to his Wife, and see what the Copper Lotus could refine from the corpse.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Banfeng still left.

Li Banfeng didn't know the exact situation of these three insects. If Rust Pill couldn't subdue them, Li Banfeng might have to stay here and keep them company.

This is the new land.

Li Banfeng now finally understood why five out of six people had died in three days of clearing the land!

Without thinking twice, Li Banfeng ran back to Yu Family Stronghold.

As I walked under a huge banyan tree, I suddenly saw the canopy tremble and a ball of silk thread fall down in front of me.

Li Banfeng retreated rapidly, dodging the silk threads, and broke out in a cold sweat.

Are those three worms coming after us?

Is the Rust Pill no longer working?

A woman's voice came from the treetop; it was neither the old lady nor the young wife.

"My children just wanted to play with you for a while, why did you hurt them?"

A middle-aged woman's face emerged from the tree canopy.

Is this the mother of those three worms?

Shh! Shh! Shh!

The dense foliage rustled as a huge body moved among the leaves.

Li Banfeng changed direction; he wanted to go around the tree.

Boom!

With a muffled thud, the woman fell from the tree.

She has a human face and a human head.

But she had no neck; behind her head was a plump, bloated, emerald-green body.

It was a green worm, lying on the ground, much taller than Li Banfeng.

"Don't go, stay, be my child."

Ripples spread across the worm's body as it crawled toward Li Banfeng.

P. S.: The Salad has spun Insect Silk and gotten tangled up with you, dear reader. Don't go! Stay and talk to me!