Fief

Fief

Li Banfeng followed A-Yi to Gourd Village, all the way to her residence. Beside her home lay the village's largest open space, where A-Yi had set up an opera stage.

A-Yi said to Li Banfeng, "See that? This is the altar."

Li Banfeng examined the stage carefully. It was not small: stone pillars below, wooden planks above, and a layer of carpet spread over the planks.

"This is the altar?" Li Banfeng looked it over again and again for a long while. "Isn't it a little too crude?"

A-Yi thought it was quite good. "Why make it so elaborate? Didn't the Peddler say it? We don't need all those cumbersome formalities.

"Go to my house and get some sleep first. Tomorrow morning, get up and drink with my wife. Don't drink too much—we've still got work to do tonight."

Li Banfeng shook his head repeatedly. "That won't do. I've got a wife too. Besides, us brothers can't let you handle it all by yourself!"

A-Yi spat. "What do you think we're doing? I'm taking Gourd Village to the Inner State now. Tomorrow night, we're holding a sacrificial rite. Go get some rest!"

The next night, A-Yi pinched Qiu Luoye's nose, counted on her fingers, and determined that Gourd Village had reached the right place.

When you didn't understand, you asked. Li Banfeng said, "Sister, what counts as the right place?"

A-Yi said, "Hao City is the right place. In the Inner State, it's the only place where soil can be born. But you blew up the altar before, so Hao City has tightened its guard. I don't dare get too close to it.

"But if we get too far from Hao City, we won't be able to produce soil, and all our effort will be wasted. So we have