Chapter 314: The Land Deity's Contract |
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord swept her gaze over the severed limbs and broken remains scattered around the room, then sneered. "You usually pretend to be such a kind-hearted woman, yet behind closed doors, you are this cruel and vicious. A two-faced wretch like you deserves to be cut into ten thousand pieces."
She was cursing Meng Yuchun, but Hong Ying misunderstood. Hong Ying turned her spear body toward the voice and asked, "Old thing, who are you cursing?"
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord swung her cane. "Are you the dwelling spirit?"
"That's right!" Hong Ying flicked her spear tip, clearly proud of herself. The spear tip was now stained crimson, and paired with its original metallic base, it had a strange, striking beauty.
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord raised her cane to strike, but the Gramophone called out first, "Aiya, you hussy, what kind of dwelling spirit do you think you are? Since when do you get to make decisions in this house?"
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord looked toward the Gramophone. At first, she had only noticed it puffing steam and smoke, so she had mistaken it for a tea stove. Only now did she realize there was a record spinning on top of it, and sound could even come from its horn.
Meng Yuchun actually has two dwelling spirits, the Mountain-Uprooting Lord thought. She had heard of such cases before. Some high-level Homebound Cultivators did indeed have more than one dwelling spirit.
Then what is this man doing here?
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord turned to Li Banfeng. "Are you also a dwelling spirit?"
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord laughed. "Forget it. I will send all of you on your way together!"
Bang!
The cane struck the ground, and an invisible force surged through the room, sending corpses and enchanted artifacts flying in every direction.
The Tang Saber cried out in alarm and slipped into Li Banfeng's pocket together with the Glove. The Music Box was a little clumsier. It tried to reach him as well, but it could not fly over.
The Judge's Brush hovered in midair, completely unconcerned. It rolled over and went back to sleep.
The Illustrated Calendar rolled itself up, latched onto the Pendulum, and flew to Li Banfeng's side together with the Liquor Gourd.
Flying to Li Banfeng's side was no guarantee of safety as Li Banfeng himself had gone flying too.
In the main room of the Pocket Dwelling, everything was up in the air. Tables, chairs, benches, bowls, buckets, and even Li Banfeng's bed had all been lifted off the ground.
"A Strength Cultivator?" The Gramophone stayed exactly where she was, calmly puffing out steam. "Now there's a Daoist Path you don't see much anymore."
"What's rare about it?" Hong Ying remained where she was as well, though her loose hair had lifted slightly. "There were loads of them on the battlefield back then."
Pop... crackle... pop...
The Gramophone laughed. "Bliiind old woman, that age has long since passed. These days, the Martial Cultivators have driven the Strength Cultivators to the very end of the road, leaving them with no path forward and no place to stand."
Hong Ying gave a cold snort. "One mighty force can shatter ten thousand techniques, and one flash of speed can break a hundred clever tricks. Hmph. What are Martial Cultivators worth?"
While the two of them were still arguing over cultivation, the Mountain-Uprooting Lord realized the situation had taken a turn for the worse.
The fact that these two dwelling spirits had not been sent flying meant that they were no weaker than Meng Yuchun. Killing them quickly would be nearly impossible.
That male dwelling spirit, however, did not seem capable of much. She decided to seize him first and use him as a hostage while she looked for a chance to escape.
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord shifted her force and tried to smash Li Banfeng back down to the ground.
Clang, clang, clang!
A rapid drumbeat rang out, and the Mountain-Uprooting Lord's breath caught in her throat. For a moment, she could barely use her ability.
As the gongs and drums beat on, Li Banfeng, the scattered furniture, and the enchanted artifacts slowly settled back into their original places. Wifey had broken the Mountain-Uprooting Lord's ability.
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord brought her cane down on the Gramophone.
Bang!
A dull thud came from the Gramophone's front cabinet.
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord had struck her front cabinet door, but the blow carried no force. The Mountain-Uprooting Lord's breath kept lurching with the drumbeat, and the power inside her body clashed against itself.
The Gramophone sang in a chilling, drawn-out voice, "Yooouuu death-seeking old haaag, aaah, whooo gaaave yooouuu permissiooon to tooouch my huuusbaaand?"
The old hag trembled as she forced her strength together, trying to break free from the Gramophone's control.
The gongs and drums grew even denser, mingling with Wifey's eerie singing. "I went to the Gazing Homeward Terrace to see for myself, and there I saw ghost soldiers and ghost judges escorting the wronged souls of the dead. Iron chains hung around their necks, and one by one they wept, so wretched, so mournful, while the chilling wind circled and chilled me to the bone."
"Exploring Mount Yin" was originally sung by a painted-face role[1]. However, the Gramophone changed its key and rhythm, turning it into the mournful style of a qingyi[2]. The melody grew so eerie and mournful that the Mountain-Uprooting Lord trembled in fear, cold sweat drenching her body.
NO! I CAN'T WIN THIS DWELLING SPIRIT!
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord turned and rushed toward the door, only to find that it would not open. She then spotted another door behind Li Banfeng, transformed into ghostly fire, and rushed toward it. That only enraged Wifey further, because she thought the old hag was charging at Li Banfeng.
A cloud of steam swept over and forced the old hag back into her true form. The gramophone needle pierced straight through her eyeball, hooked into her eye socket, and dragged her back.
The boiling steam heated the needle until it glowed red. The Gramophone's eerie singing did not stop for even a moment. "You are couuurting death! Who gave you the nerve to lay a hand on my huuusband?"
The old hag tried to use brute force to snap the Gramophone's needle, but the eerie singing never stopped, and she could not muster any strength at all.
Li Banfeng did not understand. Wifey's opera sounded quite pleasant, so why was it so devastating to the old hag?
As he puzzled over this, something warm and damp suddenly splashed against his ear.
What's going on? Li Banfeng thought. He took off the earring and snapped, "Didn't I tell you not to pee in my ear?"
Hong Ying warned the Earring, "Listen carefully to what you are allowed to hear, and never listen to what you're not. That wicked woman is afraid of hurting her man, so she only lets you hear the pleasant parts. If you heard the real sound, it would scare the souls right out of you."
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord moved her wrist. There should have been a gold bracelet on it, a rare spirit-bound item that might still save her life.
She moved her wrist again and again, but the bracelet gave no response.
Strange. Where is my bracelet? My bracelet is gone!
The gramophone needle heated up again, and layer upon layer of singing rose together, as though hundreds, even thousands, of performers had joined in the same grand opera.
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord that was hooked by the gramophone needle gradually stopped struggling. The lyrics from the Gramophone's singing had sent her in a daze.
Another gramophone needle pierced the top of her head. The Mountain-Uprooting Lord's body convulsed, and her eyes rolled back as though her brain marrow were being sucked out.
Li Banfeng sighed inwardly. Thank goodness I am an upright man, and my home is an upright place too.
If this had been someone else's home, with blood dripping everywhere, corpses strewn across the floor, and an old hag having her brain marrow sucked out alive, it would certainly have looked like some kind of demonic den.
"Wifey, keep her alive. I have questions to ask her."
The Gramophone answered, "Husband, ask quickly. Hong Ying, stay on guard as well. This person's cultivation is above the Terranean Layer."
Hong Ying said, "Since her cultivation is above the Terranean Layer, we should kill her quickly before anything goes wrong!"
"Wretch woman, who asked you to run your mouth? If my dear husband wants to ask questions, we will listen to husband!"
Above the Terranean Layer? Li Banfeng thought. This means her cultivation was in the Cloudborne Layer.
Li Banfeng asked, "Are you a land deity?"
The Mountain-Uprooting Lord refused to speak. The gramophone needle suddenly heated up, and she trembled before finally saying, "People call me Mountain-Uprooting Lord. I am the local land deity of the territory to the east."
"You are Meng Yuchun's neighbor?"
"Yes."
"Why do you want to kill her?"
"I want to take her contract. If she doesn't resist or seek revenge, I can spare her life."
"What can you use her contract for?" Li Banfeng had always wanted to know just how valuable contracts were to a land deity.
"After taking her contract, I can go to the Inner Provinces and exchange them for one hundred years of life."
Li Banfeng froze. "Is that a promise the Inner Provinces made to you?"
"It isn't a promise. It's a rule, a rule every land deity knows."
Li Banfeng was stunned speechless. The Inner Provinces could actually make a rule like this?
Thinking about it now, Shui Yongquan had really been gracious. Back then, he could have dug out Qiu Luoye's contracts, but he had not done so.
"What happens to a land deity if their contracts are dug out and taken?"
"They lose their standing."
"What happens after they lose their standing?"
"Their cultivation starts to decline. At best, this decline in cultivation will continue for three to five days. At worst, this decline will continue for one to two years. Once a land deity loses their contracts, their cultivation will eventually fall from the Cloudborne Layer to the Terranean Layer."
So falling from the Cloudborne Layer to the Terranean Layer is like failing an advancement? Li Banfeng thought.
"So they become Wounded Demonic Fiends?"
"They don't become Wounded Demonic Fiends. A drop in cultivation is a major injury. Those with deep foundations can preserve a little spirit essence and barely stay alive. Those with shallow foundations will turn straight to dust."
No wonder land deities fought to the death whenever contracts were involved. The price of having their contracts dug out and taken was far too great.
Li Banfeng asked the Mountain-Uprooting Lord, "You are willing to take such a risk for one hundred years of life?"
"I have no choice. I am already over four hundred and eighty years old. Among land deities, that already counts as long-lived.
"A level-one Cloudborne Layer land deity can only live up to five hundred years. If I don't find a way to extend my life, I will probably be dead in a few years."
The Gramophone said from the side, "Husband dear, this old hag isn't lying. There is such a rule in the Inner Provinces."
When Wifey mentioned the Inner Provinces, Li Banfeng shuddered. He thought she was about to go mad again, but nothing happened. Wifey seemed perfectly normal.
Looks like she has recovered quite a bit, Li Bangeng thought. All the feeding over the past few days has not gone to waste after all.
Li Banfeng continued asking, "Why did you have to choose Meng Yuchun?"
"She is a Homebound Cultivator with little experience, and she only recently became a local land deity, so she doesn't know many of the rules. Among the nearby local land deities, she is the easiest target.
"None of the land deities around here had ever encountered land-activators, so none of them could see any hope. Only she got lucky. She had been here for less than a year and already encountered land-activators.
"The surrounding land deities all envy and resent her. If I kill her, no one will say anything about it. Even if she doesn't die at my hands, she will die at someone else's sooner or later."
Is this what relations between land deities are like? Li Banfeng thought.
"Oldie Due-Taker, Sweet Snot, Scribbleblade Clerk, and the Theatrical Temptress. Did you hire all these roaming aberrations?"
"Yes."
"What did you use as payment?"
"Cultivation. Cultivation from the Terranean Layer."
"Where did you get the cultivation time?"
The old hag's expression grew increasingly dazed, and she mumbled for a long while without making herself clear.
The Gramophone said, "Husband, territories in the New Land can produce cultivation. A land deity can gather that cultivation through their contract and use it to reward the aberrant creatures under them. If the payment is high enough, they can even hire roaming aberrations."
"But after buying off that many roaming aberrations at once, this old hag has probably spent everything she had. If she wants to keep the aberrant creatures in her territory under control later, she won't have much left to offer."
The old hag murmured, "I couldn't worry about that anymore. I couldn't… I want to live…"
Li Banfeng did not catch her words clearly. His thoughts were completely occupied by the cultivation she had mentioned.
The Gramophone spoke up from the side. "Husband, ask whatever you need to ask, and hurry. I can't keep this person alive much longer."
Li Banfeng hurriedly asked, "Where is your contract?"
"At my residence."
What kind of useless answer was that?
"Where is your residence?"
"You want my contract?" the Mountain-Uprooting Lord gasped. "Spare my life, and I will take you to get them."
The gramophone needle heated up again, and Wifey warned the Mountain-Uprooting Lord, "Stop talking so much. Just answer honestly when you are asked something."
Unable to endure the torment, the Mountain-Uprooting Lord told the truth. "Go find the Theatrical Temptress. She knows where I live."
"Good, good!" Li Banfeng nodded, signaling Wifey that she could make her move.
The gramophone needle suddenly lengthened, piercing through the Mountain-Uprooting Lord's head and going straight into the ground.
As the Mountain-Uprooting Lord convulsed, she was still murmuring, "I want to live. Let me live..."
After whispering for a long while, the Mountain-Uprooting Lord fell silent. Wifey had eaten her soul.
Steam puffed from the Gramophone in thick clouds as she let out a satisfied burp and sang lazily, "Husband, even if you brought me dragon liver and phoenix marrow right now, I wouldn't be able to eat another bite."
Li Banfeng smiled. "Wifey, get some rest. I am going out for a walk and will be back soon."
"Heeeyaaa~ Husband dear~ Don't tell me you are planning to look for that old hag's contract?"
Li Banfeng rubbed his nose. "I am just curious. I want to take a look."
"Heeyaaa~ Husband dear, you aren't thinking about the cultivation sealed inside those contracts, are you?"
Li Banfeng flashed an innocent smile. "What's wrong with saving up a little extra cultivation? You said it yourself, Wifey. A land deity's cultivation is all stored inside their contract."
"Heeyaaa~ Husband dear, your cultivation comes from me. Why are you looking for someone else's contract?"
Li Banfeng quickly wiped the sweat from his brow. "Even if I don't use it myself, I can give it to you, Wifey!"
"Heeyaaa~ Husband dear, I don't use that kind of cultivation. Cultivation from the New Land is different from proper cultivation.
"You have seen Madam Bagworm Moth before. Do you want to end up like that?"
Li Banfeng froze. "Using cultivation from the New Land will turn someone into Madam Bagworm Moth?"
"Not exactly. Madam Bagworm Moth was previously an Ascetic Cultivator. As for what a Homebound Cultivator might turn into, that's hard to say."
"Some aberrant creatures in the New Land used to be human, while others were close kin to humans. They only ended up that way because they gained cultivation from the New Land. Husband, think this through carefully. Do you really want to become something like that?"
Li Banfeng pursed his lips and said, "It's just a change of appearance. It isn't that big of a deal."
Hong Ying brought the mirror in front of Li Banfeng. "Take a look at how you look now first. If you really turn into a monster, won't you be disgusted with yourself?"
As a spear, you still look in the mirror every day. If you are not disgusted with yourself, what do I have to be disgusted about?
"I won't be disgusted with myself. I just don't know whether Wifey will be disgusted with me."
"Heyaaa~ Husband dear~ I won't be disgusted either. Go if you want to."
"Good. I will go right now." Li Banfeng crouched down and opened the box.
"Heyaaa~ Husband dear~ What are you doing?"
"I am going to apply machine oil right now."
The Gramophone began trembling. "Husband dear, I was only reminding you out of kindness. Why are you applying machine oil?"
Creak.
Li Banfeng had already opened the back cover.
The Gramophone trembled even harder. "Husband, I have eaten so much today. You can't put it in the wrong place. Husband, look carefully. Look... carefully... No, that's the wrong place. Husband, don't~
"Husband, Husband, th-that land deity's contract, th-they have other uses too. D-don't be in such a hurry. Listen to me. I will tell you slowly~"
Author's Note:
PS. What other uses could the contract have?
1. The painted-face role is usually called jing (净) or hualian (花脸) in Chinese opera. It is a male role with heavy, colorful facial makeup, and often represents bold, forceful, rough, loyal, or commanding characters.
2. Qingyi (青衣) is a female role type in Chinese opera, especially Peking opera. It is usually a dignified, gentle, restrained woman, often a wife, mother, noblewoman, or virtuous heroine