The Overlord of Puluo-Chapter 64: Give and Take in the Jianghu

Li Banfeng found a few more watermelon seeds stuck to the other weapons and said, "Shopkeeper Yu, I'm not wrong. You really did spend the whole day chopping watermelons," he says.

Yu Nan carefully recalled the fight. Whether the clerks from the Geng Family Medicinal Trading House were shot or cut, they bled, yet none of them fell.

Throughout the entire fight, she did not hear the clerks of the Geng Family Medicinal Trading House speak a word. She did not even hear a shout.

Are they all watermelons? And the blood was watermelon juice? Why are these watermelons in the form of humans and why are they able to fight? These questions crossed Yu Nan's mind.

Zhang Shiquan, the oldest warehouse keeper in the cloth shop, inhaled a mouthful of dry pipe and speculated, "An Agrarian Cultivator who grinds long enough is fully fledged. At the fifth level, he lords it like a marquis. I'm afraid we ran into one." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

An Agrarian Cultivator? Li Banfeng thought.

Aside from knowing that this Daoist Path was arduous, Li Banfeng did not know much about this cultivation.

"What do you mean when you say fully fledged?" Li Banfeng asked outright.

The old warehouse keeper said, "It's a saying in this path. Agrarian Cultivation is harsh, so few choose it. If someone makes it to the fifth level, he is considered established, and he can grow all kinds of strange things."

"I've lived a long life, and I've never seen watermelons that can fight. However, I'd bet they were grown from seeds specially made by an Agrarian Cultivator."

Yu Nan paused, then shook her head. "Who do the Geng Family think they are? They can't afford a fifth-level Agrarian Cultivator. I've never heard of one in Medicine King Gully."

The old warehouse keeper packed his pipe with tobacco and said, "Boss, Agrarian Cultivators live a hard life. They will work if you pay them. They are not here to wage war. They are just here to sell a few watermelons. If an Agrarian Cultivator has no fields to farm, he will surely venture out to plow new lands. The Medicine King Gully has many new lands. So maybe an Agrarian Cultivator came and bumped into someone from the Geng Family."

What does new land mean? Li Banfeng realized that he would always hear some new terms during conversations, but he didn't interrupt. He did not want to interrupt everyone's train of thought.

However, all of them were at a loss and could not think of a way forward. A fifth-level cultivator was an opponent Yu Nan did not even dare to look up to, and none of them knew how to deal with a fully fledged Agrarian Cultivator.

Yu Nan turned her gaze to Li Banfeng and everyone looked at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng blinked. "Why are you all looking at me? I haven't seen an Agrarian Cultivator either."

The old storekeeper smoked his pipe and sighed. "Experts don't explain everything. They tell you a little and expect you to figure out the rest."

On hearing this, everyone kept looking at Li Banfeng, hoping for an answer.

Li Banfeng did not say a thing. He had identified them as watermelons by the distinctive scent left on the blades, but as for dealing with an Agrarian Cultivator, he had neither experience nor a ready plan.

Still, he had experience with powerful foes he could not defeat for now. As an orphan in a welfare home, he had met too many like them.

"Other than Hundred Fragrances Village, do you have anywhere else to stay?"

The only advice Li Banfeng could give was to run away at once. Yu Nan had just been defeated and she came back with a group of wounded men. She knew nothing of Geng Zhiwei's methods. And so, staying here would be the same as throwing their lives away.

The worst part was their mindset. Yu Nan and her followers still clung to the rules of jianghu. With that way of thinking, if they did not run, they would die against a ruthless man like Geng Zhiwei.

"Run?" Wang Xuejiao, Old Eight's elder sister, stood up. "We have come this far. Where can we go? Are we supposed to lose face?"

Thinking that Yu Nan's reasoning was contradictory, Li Banfeng asked, "When you first fled from Inner Gully to Hundred Fragrances Village, you didn't seem to care as much about your reputation?

Yu Nan shook her head. "That was different. Back then, we were guarding against ambushes. But now, they will be attacking us openly."

Li Banfeng still did not understand. "If you know they will attack in the open, why can't you take precautions and guard against that?"

Wang Xuejiao let out a cold laugh. "Trader Li, you do not understand the jianghu. If they come at us in the open with blades and guns, we can prepare and fight. But if we run, the Yu Family's banner would be considered fallen."

Li Banfeng scanned the crowd and said, "If you all die here, won't the Yu Family's banner be considered fallen?"

Wang Xuejiao puffed out her chest and her proud curves lifted. "Of course not! We would have set the Yu Family's banner upright with our lives!"

Li Banfeng said, "If Geng Zhiwei pins your banner to the ground and pisses on it, what can you do?"

Wang Xuejiao snapped, "He wouldn't dare!"

"He would," Li Banfeng said as he swept his eyes over every single person. "And then what? You would all be dead. If you're dead, can you still get up and hit him?"

The logic of the world was simple, yet there were always people who would not understand.

Wang Xuejiao lowered her head and spoke in a small voice. "The jianghu has rules like this."

"Can the dead argue rules with him?" Li Banfeng asked. Wang Xuejiao would not yield, and neither would the others, yet none of them could answer this question.

The old warehouse keeper tapped ash from his pipe and looked at Yu Nan. He understood Li Banfeng's point and the logic behind it. "Boss, let's go. We'll lie low for a while at the newly-formed lands at Mount Jiangyue."

Yu Nan gave a slight nod at that, and the others said no more. They all went back to pack their things. Yu Nan asked Li Banfeng, "Master Qi, come with us. Life in the new land is a little harsh, but Geng Zhiwei won't dare pursue us there."

"What exactly is this new land?" When Li Banfeng did not understand, he asked. He was never afraid to show ignorance.

Yu Nan was used to it. She was not sure whether he truly did not understand or if this was another test.

"New land means a newly formed tract," she said. "Medicine King Gully gets three to five each year, each about the size of two or three villages."

Newly-formed tracts every year? Li Banfeng thought for a moment and shook his head. He still could not make sense of it.

Yu Nan continued explaining, "Imagine two mountains that once stood side by side. After a year, these two mountains suddenly became far apart from each other and a wide stretch of open ground appeared between them. This is new land. Most newly formed lands are flat, but there are exceptions. Some appear as hills, some as gorges, some as bogs, and some even as lakes…"

Li Banfeng's eyes widened. "Medicine King Gully grows land on its own?"

Yu Nan nodded. "It's not just Medicine King Gully. It happens in many places every year."

Li Banfeng sat down in a chair, took a sip of water, and tried to steady his nerves as his sense of reality was battered once more.

Yu Nan offered a reminder. "Master Qi, pack a few things first. We should set out."

"No rush," Li Banfeng said with a wave. "Go on ahead and take Chubby Qin. I still have some matters to handle here."

***

At two in the morning, Yu Nan led everyone out of Hundred Fragrances Village.

By half past three, Geng Zhiwei brought a hundred or so men and stormed into Yu Nan's residence.

They split into two groups. One was made up of living men. Some stood behind Geng Zhiwei, shouting with menacing expressions, while the rest surrounded the residence outside, cutting off every path.

The other group stayed silent. Their eyes were vacant and their faces lifeless. They were the "watermelon men" Geng Zhiwei had bought from an Agrarian Cultivator.

The watermelon men also held blades and axes, yet at the moment, they did nothing more than march forward.

A household servant opened a cloth sack, grabbed a handful of brown pellets, and stuffed them into a watermelon man's mouth. These pellets were the fertilizers for the watermelon men and they smelled sharp and fishy.

After being fed, the watermelon man raised his machete and took his stance.

Before long, they had fed more than twenty watermelon men.

Two servants then carried over a dozen cut watermelons.These watermelons were very special. They smelled very sweet and fishy and seemed to be a little different from the normal watermelons.

Geng Zhiwei picked up two slices and crunched them down. Soon his face flushed, and sweat beaded on his skin.

Jia Quansheng and several servants started eating the watermelon as well.

Li Banfeng hid inside the house and saw everything clearly through the crack of a window.

Why are they eating watermelon? Li Banfeng thought. He did not understand why they were eating watermelon, but he soon figured it out.

Geng Zhiwei then shouted, "Kill!"

The watermelon men did not have much intelligence. When Geng Zhiwei ordered them to move, they followed him wherever he went. When he ordered them to kill, it meant they would kill anyone they saw.

However, the watermelon men killed only people and never watermelons. After Geng Zhiwei and his men ate watermelon, they gave off the scent of it from the inside out. The watermelon men would not harm them and would obey their orders.

This was how they distinguished friend from foe.

Using the skills of a Homebound Cultivator, Li Banfeng slipped into the back courtyard without a sound and hid in the woodshed.

A man pushed the door open and stepped into the shed. Li Banfeng sniffed and caught the distinct sweetness of watermelon.

It's a watermelon man, he thought.

Watermelon men filled both the front and back courtyards. Any task that meant taking the first risk was given to them.

If Yu Nan had stayed, every ambush would have turned into a fight with the watermelon men. She still wouldn't be able to touch even a hair of Geng Zhiwei.

Once Yu Nan's side was cut down and worn out, Geng Zhiwei would tell the men around the house to close the net. No one from her side would escape.

Geng Zhiwei meant to wipe them out. He would never let Yu Nan go, and he would not spare Li Banfeng. This was the only thing that Yu Nan had gotten correctly, and it was why Li Banfeng stayed.

Yu Nan had been defeated by Geng Zhiwei and it would soon be Li Banfeng's turn. What should he do?

The logic was simple. If victory was possible, he would fight. If he could not, he would run. Could Li Banfeng beat Geng Zhiwei? If this had been before he advanced in cultivation, the answer would have been no. Now, it was hard to say.

After seeing the watermelon men's traits, Li Banfeng understood Geng Zhiwei's method. He knew he had a chance to win, but it would depend on how he fought.

Would eating one watermelon a day and staying on guard against Geng Zhiwei work? It would not work, for three reasons.

Firstly, Li Banfeng was not sure whether the watermelons Geng Zhiwei ate were the usual kind.

Secondly, Li Banfeng did not know when Geng Zhiwei would strike, and he could not spend every second of his day eating watermelon.

Third, Geng Zhiwei knew a fifth-level Agrarian Cultivator. If carrot men appeared tomorrow, how would he deal with them?

Therefore, eating watermelon would not actually solve the root issue.

Should I just start fighting with Geng Zhiwei? Li Banfeng thought.

However, fighting directly with Geng Zhiwei would be too difficult as Geng Zhiwei was too well prepared. The odds of winning with a surprise attack were far too low.

Matters in the jianghu had to be settled by its rules. Those rules were about give and take.

Paying a visit to someone's house, albeit uninvited, would be an act of giving. On the other hand, taking someone to a good place, albeit without ever returning from that good place, would be an act of taking. Is this not give and take? Is this not the rule of the jianghu? Li Banfeng thought. As for the rules on open attacks and hidden arrows, he did not yet understand them.

A watermelon man entered the woodshed, spotted Li Banfeng, and lifted its machete to strike.

Li Banfeng grabbed a shovel, ripped open its belly, and plunged his hand inside. He came up with a fist of red, wet pulp studded with seeds. The watermelon man showed no pain and kept swinging its machete.

As Li Banfeng dodged, he smeared the pulp on his face so that he could smell like a watermelon. However, it didn't work! The watermelon man still raised its machete and hacked at him.

It really did not work at all.

During the day, Yu Nan's people were spattered with melon juice while fighting the watermelon men, and the watermelon men still showed no mercy. This meant that it would be useless smearing watermelon on one's face. He would have to eat the watermelon so that the scent could emanate from the inside out.

Fortunately, the watermelon man could take hits but was not a very skilled fighter. With Li Banfeng's skills, he could hold it off.

In the midst of the scuffle, Li Banfeng grabbed another handful of pulp and shoved it into his mouth. The watermelon was sweet but harshly astringent. He held it in and forced a swallow.

Still, the watermelon man kept hacking. Shock ran through Li Banfeng as he dodged and thought, already eaten the watermelon. Why is it not working? Did I not eat enough?

Slipping past the machete, he thrust his hand into the wound, grabbed another handful of pulp, and stuffed it into his mouth.

This tastes so bad! Why is it so tangy? Li Banfeng remarked inwardly. It was so tangy that it made him sweat.

The watermelon man sniffed, caught the watermelon scent rising from within him, and froze with its blade midair.

Watermelon men would never hurt watermelons.

Li Banfeng unlocked his Pocket Dwelling with the key, then shoved the key deep into the watermelon man's belly before vanishing into thin air.

Meanwhile, the watermelon man held its machete and walked out of the woodshed without a sound.