Ren Wenlie lay dead with his throat slit.

The two remaining junior brothers, Pei Maojin and Gao Yangting, stood frozen where they were. None of them dared to turn back, nor step forward.

Li Banfeng's words still rang in their ears. Standing still was the best choice. So they stayed where they were, not moving an inch.

With a smile, Li Banfeng stepped forward and patted their heads. "You are disciples of the Sage?"

Pei Maojin trembled as he spoke, his voice unsteady. "The Sage's power knows no bounds. You have already made a grave mistake, but it's not too late to turn back!"

Gao Yangting hurried to add from the side, "We will put in a good word for you before our teacher. We will let this matter go and won't pursue it any further."

Li Banfeng nodded. "As expected of the Sage's disciples. You two are kind and generous. Come. The two of you can accompany me to my cave abode for a chat."

With her clothes already soaked through with sweat, Xiao Yeci stood where she was.

Li Banfeng looked at her with clear approval. "You have earned merit today. I will have a proper talk with these two disciples of the Sage first. Tonight, there will be additional rewards for you."

Xiao Yeci turned to look at Li Banfeng's back, unsure what kind of reward he meant.

***

After entering the cave, Pei Maojin still tried to put on a brave face. "I think you are a reasonable man. The Sage is waiting for us to report back to him. We should set off as soon as possible and not waste time here."

Even as he spoke, he was trembling so badly he looked like he might wet himself. Still, he believed that if he sounded tough enough, the bearded man in front of him might let him go.

Gao Yangting, however, had already realized something was wrong.

With a thud, he dropped to his knees before Li Banfeng and cried, "Lord Benefactor, I was forced to come. I have trained for so many years, and they tell me every year that I have not gained enough Dao affinity. I don't know why, but I suddenly became the Sage's disciple today. They tricked me into coming here to die. I didn't want to come, but I didn't dare not come. Lord Benefactor, please spare my life."

At the brink of life and death, the two of them reacted in completely different ways. Why do they act so differently? Li Banfeng wondered.

Li Banfeng brought the two of them into his Pocket Dwelling and looked them over carefully. It took only a couple questions before he figured out the reason.

Pei Maojin had been born and raised in Admire the Sage Village. In his eyes, the Sage was omnipotent and omnipresent.

Gao Yangting, on the other hand, had grown up on Blackstone Slope and was sent to Kind Heart Village at the age of fifteen. He knew people like the Sage rarely bothered with small fry like them.

Li Banfeng asked Pei Maojin where they were.

Pei Maojin answered, "This is the barren mountain beside Muxian Village. It doesn't have a name."

"I am asking about the whole region," Li Banfeng said.

Pei Maojin shook his head. "This is the Sage's territory. The entire world is the Sage's territory."

In his eyes, the world was only this big.

When asked the same question, Gao Yangting gave a very different answer.

"Lord Benefactor, do you want to hear the explanation people here give, or the one people outside give?"

There was no need to hear the version here as Li Banfeng had heard it too many times.

"There are two versions from the outside," Gao Yangting said, explaining them one by one. "My father told me this is the Mount of Sage's Teachings, where the Sage imparts his teachings. But on my way here, I heard from others that it isn't called that at all. They call it Vilefolk Hillock."

Vilefolk Hillock! Li Banfeng's eyes flickered. He recalled Old Mister Yao's map and Ma Wu's description of the Lower Thirty Percent regions of Puluo Province. He had heard that name more than once before, and each time, it had left him wondering what kind of place would be called that.

Now, he was no longer curious.

Since arriving here, Li Banfeng had seen far too many vile people in this Vilefolk Hillock! So many that people who weren't vile ended up becoming the odd one out.

Li Banfeng was surprised, and the Gramophone was even more so as she asked, "Husband dear~ How did you end up at Vilefolk Hillock?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "It's hard to explain in a few words. Wifey, have you been to Vilefolk Hillock before?"

Pop... crackle... pop...

Wifey replied, "Heyaaa! Husband dear~ I have never been to Vilefolk Hillock, but I have heard of it."

Li Banfeng nodded. "Mm. Heard of it."

"Heyaaaa! Husband dear~ This place is no ordinary place!"

"Yes. Not ordinary."

Why did wifey sound a little hesitant just now? Li Banfeng wondered.

"Heyaaaa~ Husband dear~ Vilefolk Hillock is very hard to find, and in recent years it's become even harder to locate. It's said that among those who come here, very few manage to leave. We might be trapped here for quite some time."

Li Banfeng blinked. "I have already been trapped here for a while. It's been more than a dozen days now."

"A dozen days isn't long. I once heard of someone who was trapped here for decades before they could leave."

Li Banfeng waved his hand. "I can't stand that. No need for decades. Give me three to five years, and I will probably wipe out all the vile folk in this place."

"Husband, this isn't something you can rush," Wifey said. "From what you asked those two just now, that Sage they speak of is no ordinary figure. You must be careful. In a few days, he may pay you a visit himself."

The fact that he could so easily send out a Ruptured Cocoon along with a level-five subordinate made it clear that he was no ordinary person.

Li Banfeng glanced at the Gramophone, sensing that she knew more but had kept quiet about it. Since she clearly didn't want to talk, he didn't push any further.

Li Banfeng dragged Pei Maojin and Gao Yangting over. "Wifey, time to eat."

Gao Yangting broke down in tears. "Lord Benefactor, spare my life! I was forced to come!"

On the other hand, Pei Maojin was still threatening Li Banfeng. "I don't care who you are or where you are from. If you dare lay a hand on the Sage's disciples, you won't live to see tomorrow! Let me go now, and I will plead with my teacher on your behalf. The Sage might still show you mercy..."

Whoosh~

A thin stream of steam shot forward and sliced off Pei Maojin's tongue.

Wifey was clearly in a bad mood and found Pei Maojin unbearably noisy.

After Li Banfeng left the Pocket Dwelling, Wifey lost all interest in slowly savoring their souls and simply swallowed them whole.

Huff... huff...

After thinking it over, the gramophone asked Hongying, "Wretched woman, don't you think the Ruptured Cocoon earlier looks familiar?

Hongying retorted coldly, "Vicious woman, do I even have eyes? How would I know if it looked familiar?"

Only then did the Gramophone remember that Hongying couldn't see. She asked again, "Have you heard of a place called Vilefolk Hillock?"

"I have never heard of them. The place names you mentioned, Greenwater Bay, Medicine King Gully, the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs, I have never heard of any of them. I have never even heard of Iron Gate Fort."

It was a bit absurd. Hongying had been trapped inside Iron Gate Fort for years... and yet, somehow, she had never even heard of Iron Gate Fort itself.

Hongying really hadn't heard of it. She was both deaf and blind. The world had long since shut her out. She could neither hear nor see, and no news from outside ever reached her.

She didn't know where she was. She didn't know what this place was called. As for the many changes that had happened over the years... she knew nothing of them at all.

"You vicious woman... you seem to know quite a lot," Hongying said, her voice sinking into a darker, colder tone. "It seems you have had quite a few encounters even after your death."

In the past, whenever Hongying brought up the Gramophone's death, it would send her into a furious rage. However, the Gramophone was not in the mood to be angry as her mind was elsewhere. She had kept an eye on Vilefolk Hillock for a long time.

The Gramophone swung her horn toward the Crimson Lotus. "Well? Do you know any insider information?"

The Crimson Lotus didn't answer. Whether she truly didn't know or simply didn't want to answer, no one could tell. She stayed right where she was, focused on refining Cong Shixiang's corpse, as if the question had never been asked.

***

After returning to Benefactor Stronghold, Li Banfeng immediately set people to work repairing the damaged wooden houses and the main gate.

The way the people in the stronghold looked at Li Banfeng had completely changed. Having heard that he dared to defy the Sage and even seize his belongings, they had come to him seeking refuge.

Now, they witnessed the truth for themselves. The Benefactor had killed not just one, but several of the Sage's disciples today.

From that day on, anything Li Banfeng ordered needed no repetition, and even without orders, they took the initiative to act.

Xiao Yeci's status rose sharply. Benefactor had personally said that she was a level-eight Literary Cultivator. A figure at that level was very powerful!

As for what level eight really meant, they had never seen it for themselves, but anyone recognized by Benefactor naturally deserved their respect.

That night, Li Banfeng sought out Xiao Yeci and handed her one hundred silver dollars. He had not forgotten the extra reward he had promised earlier that day.

Xiao Yeci shook her head and refused. "Benefactor, I can't take this money."

Li Banfeng paused. "Too little?"

Xiao Yeci waved her hand. "One hundred silver dollars is not a small sum for my daughter and me. Also, I didn't help you today so I shouldn't take a reward I haven't earned. I already owe you so much, and I don't even know when I'll be able to repay it.

"Besides, money is of no use here. We don't dare enter the village to buy anything, and even if we did, the villagers wouldn't sell to us."

"Then save it and use it later."

Xiao Yeci lowered her head. "Benefactor, there are things I don't dare tell Nan'nan. I can only tell you. I don't know what I will become, and I don't even want to think about it.

"Whenever I think of that Eldest Senior Brother who came today, my chest aches. I don't know if he was human or some kind of monster. I have read so many books, but I have never come across anything that terrifying.

"Benefactor, when you fought him, risking your life like that, I was so scared. I didn't think you would win. I thought... I would die there with you."

Li Banfeng let out a short laugh. "What? Do you regret following me now?"

Xiao Yeci shook her head at once. "I don't regret it. When I was young, I had to rely on others. Before I even grew up, I was already a mother. I wandered from place to place with Nan'nan, taking whatever work I could just to survive.

"When we finally found a wealthy household, they wouldn't take me in. These past few days... were the only days I have ever lived with any dignity.

"Benefactor, if I may speak shamelessly, even if I can never leave this place, I would still be willing to follow you for the rest of my life. Benefactor, I..."

When Xiao Yeci lifted her head, she realized that Li Banfeng was already gone, leaving only a bag of silver coins beside the straw mat.

She bit her lip and murmured to herself, "Did I say something wrong? Did I give him the wrong idea? That's not what I meant. How could I ever be worthy of marrying him... when I already have a daughter?"

Li Banfeng had left without a sound, not because Xiao Yeci had said anything wrong, but because he had sensed danger.

He knew it was coming from the stronghold's entrance. Though he didn't understand the ability, it was clearly a result of his Wanderlust Cultivation reaching level five.

When Li Banfeng reached the entrance, he saw a white-clothed youth waiting there in silence. The guards stood at the gate like clay statues and no longer reacted like normal human beings.

The youth in white scrutinized Li Banfeng from head to toe. He was curious what kind of man Li Banfeng was, and how he had caused three of his senior brothers, including his eldest senior brother, to leave and never return.

He wanted to take a closer look, but Li Banfeng suddenly shouted, "Do not look at what is improper!"

The white-clothed youth hurriedly lowered his head. "I mean no harm. I haven't hurt your people. They are only unconscious for now..."

Li Banfeng shouted again, "Do not speak what is improper!"

The white-clothed youth fell silent, not daring to say another word.

Li Banfeng fell silent for a moment before asking, "Did your teacher send you?"

The youth nodded. "He wants to meet you."

"If he wants to see me, he can come himself," Li Banfeng said.

The youth hesitated, unsure how to respond. His teacher had meant for Li Banfeng to visit, but Li Banfeng had no intention of going.

After a brief pause, the youth said, "My teacher said that he wants to see you in ten days and ask to be prepared."

"Ten days?" Li Banfeng frowned. "Why wait? Why not today?"

The youth lowered his head. "That's... what my teacher said."

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment, then agreed. "Go back and tell your teacher. I will be waiting here at ten o' clock at night ten days from now."

Author's Note:

PS: Who exactly is this Sage?