Chapter 445: A Business of Murky Water

Cedric had come to see Li Banfeng to do a business with him.

Li Banfeng found a teahouse, booked a private room, and sat down with him for a proper talk. There was one thing he wanted to know first. "Why does Chu Shaoqiang want to take the territory of Ink Fragrance Shop?"

Cedric replied, "From what I have learned, Chu Shaoqiang desperately needs a piece of Proper Land. The Inner Province has been putting pressure on him, so he's looking for somewhere easy to take."

The Ink Fragrance Shop is easy to take? Li Banfeng couldn't help but doubt this. He asked, "The land deity of Ink Fragrance Shop should be a Literary Cultivator, right?"

Cedric nodded. "Ever since I came here, I have been affected by this place. I have become very interested in the literature of Puluo Province. I think the land deity is using some kind of ability to influence everyone here."

Li Banfeng took out a map he had bought from a street stall. "Ink Fragrance Shop isn't small. A land deity who can affect an entire territory like this is rare. Literary Cultivation is one of the biggest cultivation paths in Puluo Province, and it's very powerful. If Chu Shaoqiang wanted an easy target, he wouldn't have picked this place."

Cedric said, "I thought the same thing. But according to the information your good friend found, something happened to the land deity here, and they have fallen into this extremely weakened state."

My good friend. He's talking about He Jiaqing, Li Banfeng thought. He then asked, "Is that information reliable? What exactly happened to the local land deity?"

Cedric shook his head. "My founding cultivator didn't tell me anything more. As for whether the information is true, he asked me to test it."

Li Banfeng was curious. "How?"

"My founding cultivator told me to pick a place in Ink Fragrance Shop and spread a plague there. If everyone dies and the land deity still doesn't appear to stop it, then we will know your friend's information is true. That would also mean Chu Shaoqiang could come to Ink Fragrance Shop at any time. When that happens, my founding cultivator will have plenty of options. He could wait for Chu Shaoqiang to make his move and reap the benefits afterward, or he could take Ink Fragrance Shop first and wait here for Chu Shaoqiang to come to him."

Li Banfeng asked, "You don't want to do that?"

"No."

"Because you can't bring yourself to?"

Cedric shook his head. "Oh, I can. I am just afraid that if I cause a disaster in Ink Fragrance Shop and the land deity turns out to be perfectly fine, then I will be the one in trouble. And even if the local land deity doesn't come after me, like you said, Literary Cultivation is the second-largest cultivation path in Puluo Province. Literary Cultivators will not spare me. So no matter how I look at it, if I actually do this, I am the one who ends up dead. I would love to wipe out everyone in the world with a plague, but only if I am strong enough to do it. Until then, I would rather stay alive a little longer."

Li Banfeng understood Cedric's situation. "In this situation, what kind of business are you trying to do with me?"

"I want to find out what's happening with Ink Fragrance Shop's land deity in a more normal and gentle way. However, you know Puluo Province isn't very friendly toward foreigners, and I am not good at gathering information. Back when I was hunting you, I had to rely on Daboinsky. I want you to help me find out what's going on with the land deity. In exchange, I can give you some information about He Jiaqing."

Li Banfeng asked, "What kind of information can you give me? If it isn't worth much, I don't want to waste my time."

Cedric said, "Whatever I give you will be worth as much as what you give me. This isn't the first time we have done business, so I am sure we can agree on that. I also know what you are capable of. I wouldn't risk my life on this if I didn't trust you."

Li Banfeng turned the teacup in his hand. "It won't be easy to find out what's really going on with the land deity. I might only be able to find out part of the truth."

Cedric nodded. "I understand. Since we are working together, I will be honest with you. I never planned to tell my founding cultivator everything anyway. I just need to give him a believable lie. I can tell him the land deity's house, cultivation level, or even just a name. As long as one part is true, it will be much easier to believe the rest of the lie. Of course, if you do manage to find out the land deity's actual condition, then we can take our deal further. I can choose what information to pass on to my founding cultivator and make him respond in the right way or the wrong way. Once Chu Shaoqiang, my founding cultivator, your friend, and Ink Fragrance Shop's land deity all start fighting, there may be an even bigger opportunity waiting for us."

Li Banfeng smiled. "You are planning to fish in troubled waters?"

Cedric replied, "Leaving such delicious fish in murky water would be disrespectful to the fish."

"That depends on how murky the water is, and how deep."

Cedric took a sip of tea. "No matter how murky or deep it gets, I have to go in. I don't have a choice. But you are different. You can choose to stay out of the water, and even if you go in, you can always climb back out. You won't lose anything from this deal."

Li Banfeng looked out the window. From here, he could still see the poetry club they had visited earlier. "Are you still going to that poetry club?"

Cedric nodded. "I will still visit that club. There aren't many places where I can gather information, and that poetry club is a good one. Even if the women there don't like me, I can still learn about local customs and hear some interesting stories."

"If you see a poem I left in the poetry book, it means I have found something. Wait for me at the poetry club then. I will find a chance to contact you."

Li Banfeng left the teahouse and walked around the Ink Fragrance Shop for a while. He only went back to the Wildgoose Sand Studio when it was night time.

Tan Fucheng was reading in the courtyard. He did not know many words, so he kept a dictionary beside him and struggled through the book one word at a time.

He pulled over a chair for Li Banfeng. "Master Qi, have a seat."

Li Banfeng did not sit down. Tan Fucheng was a Devotion Cultivator, and sitting in a chair he offered might bring trouble. It was not that Li Banfeng did not trust him, but that Tan Fucheng simply seemed a little odd today.

"Master Qi, my cultivation has grown higher and higher over the years, and my business has grown bigger and bigger. I bought more than a dozen houses and married more than a dozen wives. I thought I had enjoyed everything life had to offer. Only now do I realize I have wasted half my life. All the truths of this world are hidden in books. If I hadn't gotten a glimpse of them today, I would have lived my whole life for nothing!"

What kind of book had affected Tan Fucheng this deeply? The book was very thin. Li Banfeng looked at the cover and saw that it was the Hundred Family Surnames, which only made things harder to understand.

"What kind of great truths did you find in the Hundred Family Surnames?" Li Banfeng asked.

Tan Fucheng shook his head. "Master Qi, I can't explain it. I don't understand it well enough yet. I am too slow. Let me study this book properly first and I will then explain it to you!"

Several of the support hooks beside him were reading too. Xiao Yeci also had a book in hand, while Lu Yuanxin stayed inside feeding his insects.

Lu Chunying's face lit up when she saw Li Banfeng. "Big Bro Qi, there's money to be made in Ink Fragrance Shop. There are large stretches of farmland outside the city and plenty of Agrarian Cultivators. A lot of grain is sold outside every year, so we could make good money trading grain here. But people start acting a little strange if they stay here too long. I don't know what's gotten into Big Bro Tan and the others. All they want to do is read and they don't even care about eating anymore."

It seemed Lu Chunying had visited quite a few places that afternoon. Li Banfeng asked, "Don't you feel like reading too?"

Lu Chunying shook her head. "I read at home with my mother every day. Isn't that enough? I don't get to come out often, so I might as well build up some cultivation while I am here."

Ink Fragrance Shop did not seem to affect Lu Chunying or Lu Yuanxin. It was hard to tell whether it had affected Xiao Yeci.

After going back to the Pocket Dwelling, Li Banfeng took out the Judge's Brush. "Is Ink Fragrance Shop your home?"

The Judge's Brush did not answer.

Li Banfeng asked again, "Who's the land deity of Ink Fragrance Shop?"

The Judge's Brush remained silent for a long time.

The Gramophone spoke from beside him. "This little wifey knows about this. The land deity of Ink Fragrance Shop is the Wisdom-Bound Scholar, one of the Luminaries of Literary Cultivation. He's extremely powerful and incredibly clever. There are plenty of stories about him throughout Ink Fragrance Shop."

Li Banfeng took out the book he had bought from the Ru Family Bookstore. "Wifey, take a look. Is what's written in here true?"

The Gramophone quickly flipped through the book. "Husband dear, I don't know much about the Wisdom-Bound Scholar myself, but the stories about him are more or less the same everywhere. His name is Murong Gui. After three sentences, he can tell why someone has come to see him. After five, he can see through what they are thinking. His Literary Cultivation has reached an extraordinary level, and his foundation in Martial Cultivation is nothing to underestimate either. He's especially skilled with a Judge's Brush. Anyone wounded by that weapon won't die, but they will lose all the strength to fight almost at once."

Hong Ying said, "Isn't that obviously our despicable brush?"

The Gramophone asked, "How can you be so sure?"

Hong Ying paused. "Wicked woman, are you testing me? Isn't it obvious? If it used poison, the enemy would still be able to struggle for a while. But if it used a Lazy Cultivator ability, they would become too lazy to fight. Wouldn't that leave them completely unable to fight? A Lazy Cultivator ability combined with a Judge's Brush. That's clearly our despicable brush . Darling Qi, it looks like that brush wants to go back home to its former master. You better be careful."

Li Banfeng looked at the Judge's Brush. "Do you want to go home?"

"Hmph." The Judge's Brush gave him a one-word reply.

Li Banfeng responded, "If you want to go home, I can let you go."

Hong Ying hurriedly said, "Darling Qi, you can't let it leave! It knows too much about us. If it tells its master everything, we will be in danger!"

The Judge's Brush trembled with anger. "THEN DON'T TAKE ME OUTSIDE!"

It spoke five whole words! Those five words made its anger and frustration perfectly clear.

Li Banfeng remained calm. "Don't be afraid. I trust you. Brush, if you really want to go home, we can make a contract saying you won't reveal anything about us. I will even take you back myself."

"Hmph." The Judge's Brush turned away and ignored him.

Li Banfeng thought for a moment. "Are you afraid I will use you to find the Wisdom-Bound Scholar, Murong Gui, and bring trouble to him?"

The Judge's Brush said nothing.

Li Banfeng said, "If I am the one who finds Murong Gui, he's considered lucky. If the Greenwater Beggar or Chu Shaoqiang finds him first, that's considered the start of a real disaster. And it won't just be Murong Gui in danger. The whole of Ink Fragrance Shop will suffer. Think about the pros and cons yourself."

Later that night, Li Banfeng was fast asleep with the Gramophone in his arms. All the other enchanted artifacts were resting as well. The Judge's Brush quietly rose from the table without making a sound. It floated into the air and looked down at Li Banfeng.

Under the bed, the Glove silently grabbed the dagger. It was awake. The Judge's Brush had not made a sound, but it still woke the Glove up.

The Glove knew that if it woke the Gramophone now, the Judge's Brush could attack Li Banfeng before the Gramophone had time to react. But if it only needed to block the first attack, the Glove was confident it could move faster. Once they clashed, the noise would wake the Gramophone up.

The Judge's Brush hovered there for a moment before waking Li Banfeng up. "Qi, got something to talk about."

Author's Note:

PS: What exactly happened to the Wisdom-Bound Scholar?