CHAPTER 365: CHAPTER 250 WORRY-FREE PLAIN

Li Banfeng, leading Xiao Yeci and a group of twenty-seven, continued south.

The mountain path grew narrower and more rugged. By two o’clock in the morning, most of the group could walk no further; even Xiao Yeci stumbled.

Li Banfeng instructed Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying to lead everyone in setting up camp on the spot. He, under the pretense of scouting ahead, didn’t rest at the camp but returned to his Portable Residence.

Although others found the journey arduous, such a distance meant nothing to Li Banfeng. He wasn’t the least bit sleepy and decided it was a good opportunity to thoroughly read the history book given by the Saint.

The moment he started reading, Li Banfeng felt sleepy.

It wasn’t because he lacked a desire to learn. He could tolerate the vertical, right-to-left format of ancient books. He could even tolerate the obscure grammar of ancient texts. But annals-style history books? Those he couldn’t stand.

Annals-style history books narrate historical progress along a timeline. For historians, such books are excellent for referencing events and their historical context. But for Li Banfeng, it was just a tedious chronological account.

The book detailed the history of a dynasty called Great Huan. The very first sentence marked a date:

"The Sixth Year of Xiankang, March: A great drought in Dongping. The Emperor dispatched the Grand Tutor to provide relief."

So, this was about disaster relief.

By April, Emperor Xiankang had a son.

Come May, Emperor Xiankang went hunting outside the city.

...

Li Banfeng read through to the end of the year but found no more information related to the disaster relief.

Reading annals-style history books was already frustrating enough. Moreover, these historical texts weren’t complete; they didn’t start with the founding emperor but with some emperor from the middle of the dynasty. No clear beginning or end, and no connection between the narrative threads. It made Li Banfeng’s eyelids grow heavy, and he soon fell asleep.

「The next day」

Li Banfeng woke up to the sound of Meng De’s time announcement.

"Sir, on such a beautiful morning, please allow me to sing you ’I Want You’:

I want you

beside me,

to keep watch through the night,

until tomorrow.

I want you

..."

SLAP!

Li Banfeng threw the history book at Meng De’s face, dressed, and left the Portable Residence.

An alarm clock, in whatever form it took, was always an unwelcome object.

Xiao Yeci and the others passed the night without incident. They packed their bags and continued on their way with Li Banfeng.

The mountain road grew increasingly difficult. By noon, the trail had disappeared.

Good, Li Banfeng thought. It means we haven’t been walking in circles.

Brambles blocked their path, wild grass tangled their feet, mosquitoes bit them relentlessly, and spiderwebs clung to their faces. By dusk, the group was on the verge of collapse.

Only two people didn’t feel tired: Li Banfeng and Lu Chunying. If not for matching the group’s pace, Lu Chunying alone could have covered several times the distance.

As darkness approached, Xiao Yeci wanted to set up camp but didn’t dare tell Li Banfeng. Fortunately, they found a water source. Li Banfeng ordered everyone to collect water and rest there for the night.

Since they had set up camp early, Li Banfeng had more time to flip through the history book from the Saint.

He read carefully where he understood and skimmed over the parts he didn’t. Forcing himself to stay awake, Li Banfeng went through all five volumes. Finally, at the end of the scrolls, he found a piece of useful information:

"The Sixth Year of Yuanxi: The Demon Land rebelled. The Emperor dispatched Zhao Xiaowan, the Valiant Cavalry General, to suppress it. The Valiant Cavalry General was defiant, and the Emperor reprimanded her."

My wife.

This is about my wife!

Li Banfeng had finally found his wife’s name in the history book.

It only mentioned that his wife was sent to fight the Demon Land and was reprimanded by the Emperor for being defiant. As for how exactly she was reprimanded, how she demonstrated her defiance, or whether the battle was won or lost—none of that was written in the book. This was consistent with the typical style of this history book.

From beginning to end, all five volumes revolved around the Emperor. For instance, if the Emperor ate something wrong one day and had diarrhea, the entire incident—from how he ate it, to the details of his bowel movements, and even how much was expelled—had to be meticulously recorded, not a single detail missed. All other matters were merely glossed over.

Turning to the end of the history book, Li Banfeng didn’t see his wife’s name again. However, he did come across another familiar name:

"The Eighth Year of Yuanxi: The Demon Land rebelled again. The Emperor dispatched Hong Ying, the Material Officer General, and Cong Shixiang, General Hengbo, to quell it."

Who is Cong Shixiang? I don’t know. Hong Ying also led a campaign against the Demon Land as a commanding general. What exactly was her relationship with my wife?

Li Banfeng looked at the Phonograph and the Long Spear, a glimmer of understanding in his eyes.

「The next day」

Li Banfeng and the group continued their journey.

They traveled for a full twelve days. Their food had long run out, and they struggled to survive by hunting.

On the afternoon of the thirteenth day, amidst a torrential downpour, the group actually laughed.

Ahead, there were no mountains, only a plain.

Ever since arriving at Cheap Person Ridge, all they had seen were interconnected mountains. No one present had ever experienced such an expansive view.

Finding the plain meant they had finally left the territory of Cheap Person Ridge.

But where were they? Li Banfeng had never been here before.

Though he hadn’t, someone else had.

Xiao Yeci was the first to speak. "Benefactor, I know this place! Nannan and I passed through here when we came!"

Lu Chunying nodded. "We did indeed pass through here."

Many others present also claimed to have passed through the area, yet no one could recall its name.

Now, Li Banfeng had to make an important decision: where exactly should these people go?

The general consensus was for everyone to return to their respective homes, as most claimed they knew the way back.

But how would they return?

"When you came, you all had Guide Tokens, right?" Li Banfeng asked. "Do you still have Guide Tokens to return with?"

The crowd looked at each other in dismay. It seemed that, apart from Li Banfeng, no one else had a Guide Token.

Li Banfeng’s own Guide Token could only guarantee his passage. His plan was to have everyone settle down here first. Then, he would head back to Greenwater Bay himself and have Ma Wu acquire a batch of Guide Tokens to send everyone home.

It seemed to be the only feasible solution. But then, Xiao Yeci revealed something crucial to Li Banfeng.

"Benefactor," she said, "I’m not sure about other places, but you don’t need a Guide Token to come here from Greenwater Bay."

Li Banfeng paused. "Are you sure?"

"Certain! You really don’t need a Guide Token."

Lu Chunying could vouch for this. Unlike the others who had been kidnapped, Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying had been tricked into coming here. When they reached this wilderness, their freedom hadn’t been restricted, and the "friend" who brought them hadn’t shown any Guide Token either.

This made things easier. Since they didn’t need a Guide Token to travel to Greenwater Bay, Li Banfeng could take everyone there and then decide on the next steps.

They had already left Cheap Person Ridge, Xiao Yeci remembered the way they had come, and Lu Chunying was a Traveling Cultivator. So, Li Banfeng confidently let the mother and daughter lead.

They walked from dawn until dusk, and the heavy rain never stopped.

Along the way, Xiao Yeci encouraged everyone, "Just a bit more effort! There’s a village ahead. Once we reach it, we can find a place to stay for the night."

They walked late into the night, but Li Banfeng still saw no sign of a village.

Xiao Yeci started to panic. "We haven’t taken a wrong turn, this is the right road! Where has the village gone? There was a forest just now, and we walked east around it, didn’t we? Did I remember wrong?"

Lu Chunying said, "Mom, you didn’t remember wrong. That’s the way we came."

CRACK!

A flash of lightning streaked across the night sky, faintly revealing a cluster of buildings up ahead.

Li Banfeng asked, "Is that the village?"

"Yes, yes! There are houses, so it must be the village!" Xiao Yeci declared, quite certain.

Lu Chunying remained silent as the group headed towards the buildings.

As they drew closer, Li Banfeng’s heart lurched. He saw the very thing he least wanted to see.

The so-called cluster of buildings was, in fact, a large estate.

It had earthen-red courtyard walls, vermilion gates studded with rusted nails, and a pair of massive door knockers.

This was a signature building of Sage Peak!

Li Banfeng looked at Xiao Yeci. "Have we circled back?"

Xiao Yeci vigorously shook her head. "Impossible, impossible! I’m sure this is the way we came! I didn’t remember it wrong..."

Lu Chunying was also surprised. "We did come this way, but I don’t remember seeing an estate like this."

It wasn’t the mother and daughter’s fault. They had been traveling for nearly half a month. If they still hadn’t left Cheap Person Ridge, it could only mean the Saint had gone back on his word.

Is that damned Saint playing with me? If he is, I’ll fight him to the bitter end. He’ll never have another peaceful day!

Li Banfeng stepped closer to the estate. Using the lingering flashes of lightning, he carefully examined the mansion.

First, he was certain this wasn’t the Saint’s residence. The Saint’s estate was on the mountain; this was still the plains. Location aside, this mansion was also different from the Saint’s. Its walls were mottled, paint peeled from the doors, and the stone slabs paving the ground were riddled with cracks, with weeds sprouting from them. Though the Saint’s estate had an air of desolation, it wasn’t as dilapidated as this one.

Li Banfeng turned to look at the others. After traveling in the heavy rain for an entire day, most were barely able to stand. If they continued, many might fall ill.

Entering this mansion could be dangerous. But sleeping outside wouldn’t necessarily be safe either. First, I need to see who the owner is. If they’re not malicious, perhaps we can ask to stay for the night. If we encounter trouble... well, my wife hasn’t ’eaten’ in a while. I’ll assess the situation and then decide how to respond.

Li Banfeng lifted a door knocker and rapped a few times. KNOCK. KNOCK.

There was no response from inside for a long time.

He pushed on the door panel. It wasn’t locked. With a jarring SCREECH from the rusted hinges, the door swung open.

His gaze passed through the doorway, into a front courtyard choked with weeds, and fell upon a moss-covered brick wall.

Is this an abandoned estate?

PS: Visiting relatives and friends during the day, staying up all night to write updates—Shala is exhausted! Dear readers, Happy New Year! Please give Shala some encouragement!