Chapter 312: The Theatrical Temptress |
The Film Projector projected Oldie Due-Taker's image. Li Banfeng studied it carefully, yet he could not find the slightest flaw.
The Gramophone glanced at the image and asked, "My darling husband, why are you projecting the image of this old man?"
"He has an accomplice who's very good at disguise," Li Banfeng said. "When she impersonated the land deity, I couldn't tell she was an imposter."
The Gramophone looked at the Film Projector. "Did you record her?"
"Only a little," the Film Projector replied. "That woman tried to seduce Director Qi, but she failed. I thought it was boring, so I stopped recording after that."
"That doesn't matter," Li Banfeng said. "As long as you can make an image of her."
The Film Projector sounded troubled. "Well… I am afraid I really can't make an image of her."
"Why not?"
The Film Projector played the footage of the fake Meng Yuchun. It was indeed short, only a little over twenty seconds, but that was not the real problem.
Li Banfeng turned to Wifey. "This is the one. She looks exactly like Meng Yuchun, the land deity. She should be a high-level Performing Arts Cultivator."
The Gramophone had the Film Projector play the footage several times before she spoke. "She seems to be a Theatrical Temptress."
"What is a Theatrical Temptress?"
"If she really is a Theatrical Temptress, this might turn into something rather amusing." Wifey turned to the Film Projector. "Tell me, little projector, how long can you last against a level-six Performing Arts Cultivator?"
"If I keep my distance, I should be able to manage within two or three minutes," the Film Projector replied. "If I am up close, I might only last a dozen seconds."
***
Li Banfeng arrived at Meng Yuchun's territory and found several hunters gathered around her, all talking eagerly about activating more land.
The moment Meng Yuchun saw him, she greeted with such enthusiasm. "Li Qi, are you here to activate another plot? You can choose the size yourself!"
Li Banfeng smiled and gave a perfunctory reply. "Perhaps another day."
Activate land?
How could Li Banfeng be in the mood for that? He was already planning to take everyone and leave this territory.
Seeing that Li Qi was about to leave, Meng Yuchun stepped forward to stop him. "Come with me. I need to tell you something."
Li Banfeng paused. "Where are you taking me?"
"Somewhere good. In any case, I won't hurt you." Meng Yuchun said as she reached for his arm, but Li Banfeng quickly dodged to the side.
Meng Yuchun froze. She could not understand why Li Banfeng was suddenly so wary of her.
Li Banfeng suddenly asked, "How large was the plot of land I activated in your territory?"
Meng Yuchun blinked in surprise. "A one-and-a-half-kilometer radius. Don't tell me you have forgotten already?"
"What offering did I use?"
"Half a chicken," Meng Yuchun replied. "It tasted pretty good."
This was the real Meng Yuchun. Many people knew about the one-and-a-half-kilometer plot, but no one else knew about the half chicken.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Somewhere no one else knows about."
Meng Yuchun led Li Banfeng into a mountain cave. The cave was narrow, but the ceiling rose high above them. When Li Banfeng looked up, it seemed to be over a hundred meters tall.
After they had gone deep into the cave, green flames rose from Meng Yuchun in layer after layer. Her upper body still looked human, but the lower half of her body had turned into ghostly fire.
She said to Li Banfeng, "Don't be afraid. I will take you up."
Ghosts were nothing to be afraid of. Land deities were ghosts too, and Li Banfeng knew at least that much.
Meng Yuchun carried him up along the stone wall and stopped seventy or eighty meters above the ground, where another cave opened in the wall of stone.
Li Banfeng asked, "What is this place?"
"This is my home." Meng Yuchun set him down and lowered her voice. "Keep quiet. Don't provoke my dwelling spirit."
Li Banfeng's heart tightened. "I thought your dwelling spirit was devoured alive in the Inner Provinces?"
"When I arrived at the New Land, I found another one," Meng Yuchun said. "She has a rather bad temper, and I am afraid she will hurt you."
Li Banfeng stopped at the cave entrance and refused to go any farther. Unless it was necessary, he did not want to casually enter a Homebound Cultivator's home.
"Just say whatever you need to say here."
Meng Yuchun said, "I think I am being targeted by someone, and that person seems to be one of your subordinates."
One of my subordinates?
Li Banfeng smiled. "You are pretty. They stare at you every day. What's so strange about that?"
"That's not what I am talking about. Last night, I killed a roaming aberration near my house. My dwelling spirit told me it was a Scribbleblade Clerk.
"She said it was extremely rare too. Something like that wouldn't wander into my territory for no reason. Someone must have sent it here. I think someone is trying to harm me."
Just as Li Banfeng had guessed, these rare roaming aberrations had been appearing one after another because they were all after Meng Yuchun.
"What did that Scribbleblade Clerk look like? Hand him over to me. I will study him first."
"Forget the Scribbleblade Clerk for now. I need to find out who's trying to hurt me!"
Li Banfeng had been looking into the same thing. "Then we should start with the people you have offended recently."
"Aside from you and your people, I haven't met anyone recently."
"Are you suspecting me?" Li Banfeng lowered the brim of his hat. He was ready to leave the cave at once.
Meng Yuchun shook her head. "I trust you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought you to my home.
"I have been a land deity for so many years, yet I never even met a single person. I used to think I would stay buried in this lonely little corner forever with no future and no way out. Then the heavens must have taken pity on me because they gave me the chance to meet you.
"I really do see you as my friend. However, if one of those people who work for you really is trying to harm me, don't turn against me when I deal with them harshly."
Isn't this a joke? All the men working for me are poor hunters. How could any one of them possibly hurt you?
Li Banfeng smiled. "My men definitely didn't do this. I can help you investigate, but I won't do it for free. We can discuss the price.
"If you agree, we will get started right away. If you don't, I will take my men home at once. I don't want to turn against you, and I definitely don't want to get dragged into this."
Meng Yuchun nodded. "All right. As long as it's a price I can afford, we can discuss it."
"Give me the Scribbleblade Clerk's corpse first," Li Banfeng said. "Then set up a few traps. After that, we will talk about the price."
As they spoke, the Threaded Earring gave a tiny shiver. "Master, there are footsteps."
Li Banfeng looked at Meng Yuchun. "Does anyone else know where you live?"
"Three sisters I am close with. They come by now and then for a few cups of liquor, but they never enter my home. Aside from them and you, no one knows this place," Meng Yuchun said. "Stay here for now. Don't move."
Meng Yuchun flew down the stone wall alone. Before long, three women approached, carrying jars of wine and several dishes.
One of the women was dressed in red, with a slender waist and a graceful figure. She bowed to Meng Yuchun with a bright smile. "Big Sis, this is freshly brewed Hundred-Flower Wine. I brought it specially for you to try."
This woman was named Redwing.[1]
Behind Redwing was a woman in yellow. Her face and figure resembled Redwing's, and her name was Goldwing[2].
At the very back stood a plump girl with a round face and full figure. She wore a green furry cloak, and her name was Tinywing[3].
Tinywing seemed to be the only one who had not yet transformed into a butterfly.
Meng Yuchun said to the three women, "Sisters, I have something to deal with today. Let's gather another day."
The three women looked a little disappointed, so Meng Yuchun chatted with them for a while before seeing them off. Only after they had left did she return to the stone wall.
Li Banfeng watched them walk away and asked quietly, "Are the three of them always together?"
Meng Yuchun nodded. "Almost inseparable."
Inseparable? Li Banfeng thought. No way! Everyone talks about how butterflies love flowers. No one has ever heard of a caterpillar loving flowers?
Li Banfeng asked, "Have you heard of a Theatrical Temptress?"
"A theatrical what?" Meng Yuchun looked completely baffled.
It was just as the great toad had said. Meng Yuchun was only a Homebound Cultivator. Before reaching level ten, she had rarely visited the New Land, so her knowledge of roaming aberrations was not much better than Li Banfeng's.
***
After lunch, Li Banfeng carried a man into the Pocket Dwelling.
The man wore a long robe. Its embroidery had blurred with age, but it still looked like an official robe, though no one could tell which dynasty it came from. In his hand was a writing brush, its white tip stained with a little ink.
When the Gramophone saw it, she sang out happily, "This is a Scribbleblade Clerk. What a fine thing, Husband deaaaar. You really doooote..."
The cheerful gongs and drums stopped abruptly, and her singing voice sank into a mournful wail. "Oh, Husbaaand, why did you bring back a corpse? Do you not dote on me anymooore?"
Hong Ying burst into laughter. "You can't eat it, but I can. I will make you die of jealousy, you wicked woman!"
A wave of pressure swept through the room as Hong Ying rushed forward and began feasting heartily.
After Hong Ying finished eating, she went back to the mirror and sat in silence. The changes in her had become even more obvious. Her originally thin, withered spear body now showed a hint of fullness.
The Gramophone murmured, "That wench is really about to turn human. Why is she the one blessed with such good fortune? Though I suppose it is hard to say whether this can even be called fortune..."
While she murmured, the other enchanted artifacts scrambled forward to share the corpse.
Li Banfeng comforted Wifey. "Once this deal is done, I'll catch some live ones for you."
Wifey shook her horn and spat out a burst of steam, forcing the enchanted artifacts back. "That's enough eating. Leave the rest for Crimson Lotus."
More than half of the Scribbleblade Clerk is still left, yet she is already saving it for Crimson Lotus? Wifey is treating Crimson Lotus especially well today.
Wifey was taking especially good care of Crimson Lotus today.
Li Banfeng carried Crimson Lotus over. Its petals had bloomed, and a lotus seed at its core had already ripened.
Li Banfeng plucked off the lotus seed.
Pop!
It burst open in his hand, and out dropped a pair of mandarin-duck battle axes.
Ah. So that's why Wifey has been taking such good care of Crimson Lotus today. Crimson Lotus came bearing gifts, and with real sincerity too. But… these axes look exactly the same as the last pair…
Li Banfeng crouched beside Crimson Lotus and narrowed his eyes. "Crimson Lotus, are you messing with me again?"
Pop... crackle... pop...
"Heeyaaa, Husband deaaaar. This poor wench has been wronged by you this time. These mandarin-duck battle axes carry a sweet, sweet fraaagrance. Smell them carefully, won't you?"
Li Banfeng used Hundred Flavors at the Tip of the Nose and sniffed the axes for a while. Sure enough, they carried a faint sweetness.
"Let me smell them too!" Hong Ying sniffed beside him for a long while. After so many years of being deaf and blind, her nose was especially sharp, yet she could not smell anything sweet.
Li Banfeng sniffed the axes again. Hundred Flavors at the Tip of the Nose did more than sharpen his sense of smell. It seemed to have other uses too.
"Wifey, how do I use this thing?"
"It hasn't got enough spirit essence to be a proper enchanted artifact," Wifey said. "At best, it is only a spirit-bound item. These mandarin-duck battle axes are a male-and-female pair. Husband deaaaar, the one in your left hand is the male axe, and the one in your right hand is the female axe.
"If the male axe cuts a woman, it will take a fancy to her. Once she comes within half a kilometer, it will know. If the female axe cuts a man, it works the same way."
Li Banfeng nodded. "Not bad. They can be considered useful little things. Let's call them the Male-and-Female Axes!"
"Heyaaaaa, Husband deaaaar. Wouldn't Mister-and-Missus Axes sound better?"
"Wifey, you have such a knack for naming things!" Li Banfeng put away the Mister-and-Missus Axes, took the Film Projector with him, and left the Pocket Dwelling.
***
At ten that night, Tinywing finished her grand feast of leaves, crawled down from the tree, and went wandering lazily through the deep forest.
Li Banfeng and Meng Yuchun followed a short distance behind her. Both of them were Homebound Cultivators, which made them terribly hard to notice, so Tinywing never noticed a thing.
After more than an hour, Tinywing seemed to grow hungry again. Up she went into another tree, and there she sat, munching leaves as if the whole forest had been planted just for her.
Li Banfeng hid beneath a dirt slope and looked at Meng Yuchun. "Didn't you say they were inseparable? Why haven't we seen the other two women?"
Meng Yuchun said, "Tinywing's habits are different from theirs, so she can't stay with them all the time. Goldwing and Redwing both feed on flower nectar, and they rarely separate."
Li Banfeng was right after all. Tinywing had not turned into a butterfly yet.
After watching the battle between Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye, Li Banfeng had figured out one crucial thing. A land deity's home was their lifeline. Their contracts were kept there, and once those contracts were dug out, even a land deity would be in serious danger. That was why Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye had guarded their homes so carefully.
Li Banfeng still did not know what kind of danger that would bring, but he understood one thing. The best way to deal with a land deity was to target their home.
Oldie Due-Taker, the Theatrical Temptress, the Scribbleblade Clerk, the Heartbreak Slug... rare roaming aberrations had appeared in Meng Yuchun's territory one after another.
They had not come to fight her head-on. None of them could overpower a land deity, and the Scribbleblade Clerk had already proved that with his life.
Their real goal was to find Meng Yuchun's home.
The Heartbreak Slug had latched onto Cao Zhigang and turned him into its host. Since Cao Zhigang kept pestering Meng Yuchun day after day, there was a chance he might eventually find her home. However, the Heartbreak Slug failed and was killed by Li Banfeng.
The Scribbleblade Clerk managed to find Meng Yuchun's home, but he never made it out alive. She killed him before he could escape.
If Oldie Due-Taker and the Theatrical Temptress worked together, they had the best chance of succeeding. One could trick while the other could attack.
Oldie Due-Taker was now dead, but the Theatrical Temptress probably did not know that yet, which meant that she would most likely continue searching.
Aside from Li Banfeng, only three people knew where Meng Yuchun lived: Redwing, Goldwing, and Tinywing.
Tinywing had not transformed into a butterfly yet, so her habits were different from Redwing's and Goldwing's. She spent more time alone, which made her the easiest target for the Theatrical Temptress to impersonate.
Li Banfeng decided to keep his eyes on her.
Meng Yuchun lowered her voice. "It might not be one of my sisters. That Theatrical thingummy could pretend to be one of your subordinates too."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Not possible. If it really is the Theatrical Temptress, then it definitely isn't one of my subordinates. Every one of my subordinates is a man."
"Can't she pretend to be a man?"
"No."
Li Banfeng took out the Film Projector and projected Oldie Due-Taker's image.
They waited for a dozen minutes. Then Tinywing came crawling down from the tree and crept toward "Oldie Due-Taker." She lowered her voice and whispered, "I succeeded."
Author's Note:
PS. What should they do next? Capture the Theatrical Temptress, torture her, and squeeze the truth out of her?
1. Her Chinese name is 红蝶 (Hong Die), which means red butterfly.
2. Her Chinese name is 黄蝶 (Huang Die), which means yellow butterfly.
3. Her Chinese name is 小蝶 (Xiao Die), which means little butterfly.