If we refine a normal spear, a belt that can strengthen one's aura, and a button that can mimic voices together, would they form something like Hongying? Li Banfeng thought and came to a conclusion. It was possible. After all, cultivation wasn’t something one could see with the naked eye.

However, there was one condition. The Crimson Lotus had to be willing to help.

Li Banfeng went to the sixth room, picked up the Crimson Lotus, and carried it back to the main room. The Crimson Lotus was already waiting. She had covered herself in tiny dewdrops from top to bottom, glistening like she’d just stepped out of a very suspicious bath.

"Crimson Lotus, I need a favor."

Spat!

A droplet shot from the Crimson Lotus and splattered right onto his face.

Li Banfeng wiped his face and didn't seem angry at all. The Gramophone, however, quivered with fury. "You shameless wretch! Spitting at my husband? How dare you?!"

Spat!!

Another droplet flew out straight onto the Gramophone.

The Gramophone hissed with steam, ready to lunge at the Crimson Lotus, when Li Banfeng shouted, "Wifey, if she refuses to help, I will have no choice but to send Hongying away."

Huff, huff~

Wifey adjusted her breathing and composed herself. She turned her horn toward the Crimson Lotus and began playing a tune of huqin[1] and singing along,"Heyaa, little sister dear~ We are family! No need to speak like strangers. Why cling to such a small grudge from before?"

Spat! Another droplet struck her.

"Little sister, I was in the wrong before. Please don’t hold it against me."

Li Banfeng also tried to persuade her from the side. "I was at fault too. Let’s just put this behind us."

The two pleaded for quite a while, taking droplet after droplet to the face until Li Banfeng was soaked through and the Gramophone’s casing was slick with moisture. Only then did the Crimson Lotus finally relent.

The spear, the button, and the belt were drawn into the lotus core. The Crimson Lotus then exchanged a few more words with the Gramophone.

The Gramophone used its needle to pull over two poetry collections and a stack of newspapers, then passed them to the Crimson Lotus.

Nearly two hours later, the refinement was complete and a long spear emerged. It looked exactly like Hongying and that even a high-level Spycraft Cultivator might not be able to tell that this was fake.

The Gramophone sighed in amazement and kept praising Crimson Lotus’s methods. "Like I said, this wret... little sister is actually quite useful."

Hongying woke, but steam bound her limbs, leaving her unable to move.

She could sense a powerful presence. Only her hearing had returned. Her vision remained dark, and she had no idea what stood before her.

Why is this presence even stronger than mine? Who is it? Has the enemy arrived?

After the Crimson Lotus’s refinement, the belt’s power was fully unleashed. In terms of sheer presence alone, it had already surpassed the real Hongying.

Hongying spoke, "Vile woman, is this your presence? No... it doesn’t feel like you. What exactly is this thing?"

Li Banfeng held the spear, but even he couldn’t explain what it truly was.

Two high-level spirit-bound items had been reworked by the Crimson Lotus and fused with an ordinary weapon. What could you even call something like that?

After a moment’s thought, Li Banfeng gave it a name.

"Exploding Tiger."

Now that’s an intimidating name! Li Banfeng muttered inwardly.

Li Banfeng lifted the Exploding Tiger, and it let out a cry.

"Snow buries banners, dull and torn,

"Wind drives the drums like battle’s horn."

Hongying was very nervous. "Where did this bastard come from? Are you here to fight me?!"

Li Banfeng was even more on edge. He glanced at the Crimson Lotus and said, "Crimson Lotus, did you refine the Tang saber too? That blade’s still useful!"

The Crimson Lotus said nothing.

Li Banfeng hurried into the second room and found the Tang saber peeking through the crack in the door.

The newly refined spear could recite poetry, and it left the Tang saber utterly captivated. However, the spear’s spirit came from two spirit-bound items rather than a true artifact, and its intelligence was extremely limited.

This spear could recite poetry, but only the poems from the two collections of poems refined into it. Aside from that, it could not speak on its own.

It could display a domineering presence, even stronger than Hongying’s, and its voice closely resembled hers. However, it couldn’t respond to complex situations or fight independently. That was the insurmountable gap between spirit-bound items and true enchanted artifacts.

Could this spear deceive Luo Zhengnan? That would depend on how convincing the act would be.

Li Banfeng left the Pocket Dwelling and called Wu Yongchao over, telling him to prepare a banquet.

Wu Yongchao didn’t know the reason, but since the Fort Lord didn’t explain, he didn’t ask.

Once the food and drinks were ready, Li Banfeng chose the main residence as the venue. He set up more than twenty tables on the first floor and even arranged a tea room in the eastern wing.

What’s going on with the Fort Lord? Didn’t he say the former Fort Lord’s residence was off-limits? No one was supposed to enter it under any circumstances, especially not the eastern wing.

These were the questions that all the Homebound Cultivators wondered.

Li Banfeng explained that the matter with the main residence had been resolved, and from now on, it would be used to handle official affairs in Iron Gate Fort.

The Homebound Cultivators were overjoyed. Before this, they had all believed that demons or evil spirits had appeared in the fort. They had even seen someone nailed to death at the entrance, which had thrown everyone into fear.

The evil presence was gone, and the Fort Lord must have been the one to eliminate it. Filled with respect, everyone began to offer toasts to him.

Hu Fangyuan raised his cup. "Fort Lord, this toast is to you. I don’t usually drink, but I will make an exception today. I will finish mine first. Drink as you please."

Li Banfeng looked at Hu Fangyuan and said, "If I don’t finish it, wouldn’t that be a bit ungrateful?"

After he drained his cup, the female Homebound Cultivator Li Zhijuan stepped forward. "We women don’t usually drink either, but I respect you, Fort Lord. I will finish this cup as a toast to you."

After finishing her drink, Li Zhijuan’s face flushed red. She looked at Li Banfeng and said, "Fort Lord, I really did finish it."

"Alright..." Li Banfeng felt too embarrassed to refuse and downed his drink as well.

After finishing his second cup, Wu Yongchao came over holding his own. "Fort Lord, I also don’t usually drink..."

Li Banfeng kept a straight face. "Then don’t."

"No matter what, I have to toast you today and share a drink with you."

"I don’t want to drink with you."

"When are you going to return the novels you owe me?"

Li Banfeng poured himself another cup. "Yongchao, what kind of talk is that? With the friendship between us..."

The drinking went on and on, until the night itself seemed to grow tipsy and wobble a little.

By the time it was over, more than half of the three hundred Homebound Cultivators were sprawled about like sacks of grain, snoring, muttering, and in some cases hugging their empty cups as if they were long-lost friends.

The next morning, when the market opened, not a single one of them showed up.

Meanwhile, Luo Zhengnan was squatting by the roadside, selling vegetables when an old oil vendor whispered in his ear, "They held a big celebration banquet yesterday. Drank themselves silly. Heard it from a young lady just now."

Luo Zhengnan didn’t say a word as he spotted Li Banfeng strolling through the market.

The two said little. Luo Zhengnan simply followed Li Banfeng into the same house where they had met before.

After they both took their seats, Li Banfeng got straight to the point. "I am selling you the item. Do you have the money ready?"

Luo Zhengnan smiled. "It’s all ready. Not only that, I have brought it with me."

Li Banfeng was stunned. "Eight hundred thousand silver dollars?"

Ten thousand silver dollars filled a single large crate, which meant that eight hundred thousand silver dollars would be eighty crates in total. How could he possibly have brought them here?

Luo Zhengnan lowered his head and took a pouch from his waist. He loosened the cord, but it didn’t open.

The pouch was a spirit-bound item. It required verification to access. Luo Zhengnan pressed it to his forehead, and the two seemed to exchange something in silence for a moment.

Li Banfeng watched the entire process and asked, feeling a little uncertain, "What kind of method is this?"

Luo Zhengnan didn’t hide anything. "It’s called short-range wireless communication. In the Outer Provinces, they call it bluetooth. I quite like things from the Outer Provinces. Even though I am old now, I like to keep up with the trends."

Li Banfeng stared at Luo Zhengnan’s head, as if trying to find where the Bluetooth switch was.

This thing couldn’t stay active all the time, as it drained a lot of power.

After the Bluetooth verification, the pouch opened, and Luo Zhengnan reached inside to take out a tray.

The pouch convulsed, as if it were about to vomit.

Luo Zhengnan reminded it, “Don’t rush.”

He set the tray down carefully on the ground. Beneath it sat a small mechanical dial with the number being zero. At first glance, the thing looked like an ordinary scale, but it was really a mechanical counter.

As long as the tray took a strong enough hit, the number ticked up by one. It kept climbing, one strike at a time, until it reached ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine. And the moment it crossed that mark, it flipped straight back to zero.

Luo Zhengnan inserted a tube into the pouch, and the pouch convulsed again. This time, it couldn’t hold it in any longer. Silver coins burst out through the tube in a steady stream, spilling onto the tray with a clatter.

Clang, clang, clang...

Silver coins rained onto the tray in a steady stream, clattering without pause as the counter ticked upward faster and faster.

Li Banfeng and Luo Zhengnan watched with their own eyes as the pouch poured out eight hundred thousand silver dollars in a steady stream.

The coins piled higher and higher, spreading across the floor until there was barely any space left to step. The whole room glittered with cold, hard silver.

Luo Zhengnan finally smiled. "Fort Lord, the money has been delivered. Is this sincere enough?"

Was Luo Zhengnan not worried that the Fort Lord would scam him out of his money? Of course he was! But Luo Zhengnan had come prepared. There was still something hidden inside the pouch, something he would only use if he had no other choice.

With the money all paid, Li Banfeng didn’t hesitate. He went up to the second floor, locked the room, stepped into the Pocket Dwelling, and retrieved the spear.

When he set it down in front of Luo Zhengnan, a domineering presence spread out at once. It pressed down on him so hard that he shuddered and nearly collapsed beneath the table.

This is definitely the item! It can't be wrong! Luo Zhengnan muttered inwardly.

Luo Zhengnan tried to calm himself. Only then did he reach out and grab the long spear, intending to put it into the huge pouch. But the moment he touched it, his hand slipped. He had to pull back, gather himself, and try again.

On the second attempt, he tightened his grip and forced the spear forward. Bit by bit, he pushed it into the pouch.

The pouch reacted at once. It convulsed violently, writhing as if it had swallowed something it absolutely could not bear. It struggled for a long moment before finally giving in and gulping down the Exploding Tiger spear.

Luo Zhengnan was still shaken. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Li Banfeng, "Fort Lord, I don’t mean to question how you do things, but when you hand over something like that, you should at least seal it first. You just passed it to me as it was. The moment I took it, I nearly lost my soul. I am not even sure this pouch can hold out much longer."

Li Banfeng let out a sigh. "The only thing that could seal this spear was the auxiliary building next door. But I broke that seal. Now, I can’t think of anything that can hold it down."

Luo Zhengnan lowered his gaze to the pouch. It was still convulsing and seemed to have become extremely weak.

Seeing it like this made his chest tighten. This was his most important spirit-bound item, and just watching it struggle left him aching inside.

"It’s getting late. I should be going. Since we have met, we can consider ourselves friends. The jianghu is vast. Perhaps we’ll look out for each other again someday. Fort Lord, until we meet again."

Seeing that Luo Zhengnan was about to leave, Li Banfeng stepped forward and spoke with courtesy. "Hall Master Luo, there’s no need to rush. I have prepared some simple liquor. Why not stay for a couple of drinks?"

Luo Zhengnan waved his hand. "I am a straightforward man, so I will speak plainly. With this thing on me, I can’t feel at ease for even a moment. Once I have dealt with it, I’ll come visit you again."

With that said, Luo Zhengnan left.

After Luo Zhengnan left the fort, Wan Jinxian was still sitting by the roadside stall, telling fortunes as if nothing had happened.

The moment he saw Luo Zhengnan hurry out, Wan Jinxian quickly sent word to He Jiaqing.

"Jiaqing, Old Luo just came out of the fort. Judging by how rushed he looks, the deal is probably done."

"It’s done? That fast?" He Jiaqing frowned. Luo Zhengnan wasn’t the careless type. He shouldn’t have wrapped things up so quickly.

"I don’t think it’s fast at all!" Wan Jinxian replied, his voice tinged with worry. "It’s not just Luo Zhengnan. Others from the Jiangxiang Gang have come out as well."

He Jiaqing was stunned. "Are they pulling out already?"

Wan Jinxian said, "Yesterday, Iron Gate Fort held a celebration feast. Those homebound cultivators drank themselves senseless. The seals on the forbidden area were torn off as well."

"This morning, Luo Zhengnan entered the fort. By noon, he was already rushing out. Don’t you see? This isn’t just a deal being discussed. It’s already finished. Done and dusted!"

He Jiaqing’s face turned stiff. His teeth clenched so tightly it looked like they might crack, and he nearly tumbled right off the bed.

"Old Wan, keep a close watch on Luo Zhengnan immediately. Don’t let him leave Iron Gate Fort. If the item is in his hands, retrieve it at all costs!"

Author's Note:

PS: Luo Zhengnan has indeed done something impressive. He spent eight hundred thousand silver dollars to buy a so-called great treasure. But can he take this "great treasure" back with him?

1. Huqin is a traditional Chinese bowed string instrument. It has two strings and is played with a bow held between the strings. ☜