Li Banfeng lay on the bed while Sun Tiecheng stood beside it.

Sun Tiecheng clasped his hands together. The same simple, honest smile remained on his face, and he still looked like an upright and straightforward man.

His tone was plain and unpretentious, as if he were simply chatting with Li Banfeng. “I really didn’t expect you to be a Lazy Cultivator.

“I’ve never seen anyone cultivate both the Wanderlust Cultivation and the Lazy Cultivation. Technically speaking, these two paths cannot be cultivated together.

“I wouldn’t have invited you to take the trial if I had known you were a Lazy Cultivator. Lazy Cultivators hold too much of an advantage in Yuren City. You were only able to pass the trial because of your advantage as a Lazy Cultivator.”

“Do Lazy Cultivators counter Folly Cultivators?” Li Banfeng asked listlessly.

“You didn’t know that?” Sun Tiecheng pressed his lips together. Then he squatted down, clasping his hands behind his back.

In the same simple, honest tone, he said, “Then just pretend I never mentioned it…”

That honest, guileless look was simply too misleading.

Sun Tiecheng continued, “I just said you passed the trial. You might not understand what that means yet. In truth, it’s similar to activating a plot of land in the New Land.

“Stay alive on a plot of land in the New Land for three days, and you pass the trial of worthiness. Walk out of Yuren City alive, and you pass the trial here as well. And since you’ve passed, I have three rewards for you. Rewards most people wouldn’t even dare to dream about…”

Li Banfeng’s eyes slowly lost focus. He was on the verge of drifting off into dreamland.

Sun Tiecheng flicked his hand. A soft breeze brushed across Li Banfeng’s face and woke him at once.

“The first reward,” Sun Tiecheng said, “is a domain in Yuren City reserved just for you. Of course, it won’t be as large as one in the New Land. Now then, do you want to choose the spot yourself, or should I pick one for you?”

“No.” Li Banfeng replied succinctly.

“Why not?” Sun Tiecheng asked curiously.

Li Banfeng couldn’t be bothered to explain.

A plot of land in Yuren City? Do you think I am crazy or something?

Li Banfeng would rather die than ever go back to that place.

Besides, who asked you to test me? What gives you the right to test me?

“You can’t refuse,” Sun Tiecheng said. “I put a great deal of effort into this. Whether you want it or not, you are taking it.”

Sun Tiecheng’s tone no longer sounded quite as simple and honest.

Sun Tiecheng waved his hand again, and some of Li Banfeng’s drowsiness faded. Li Banfeng took a deep breath and sat up on the bed.

Paying a price for using an enchanted artifact was a fundamental rule. It was the sort of rule that almost no one could break. Even the Gramophone had no way to deal with it.

Yet this man had casually canceled part of the price demanded by the Judge’s Brush. That alone showed how frighteningly high his rank must be.

Just a moment ago, he had even offered Li Banfeng a plot of land. That meant he was very likely a land deity. But with what he was capable of doing, could his rank be even higher than that of a land deity?

“Who exactly are you?” Li Banfeng asked. He no longer felt that lazy.

“I’m Sun Tiecheng,” the man replied. “A very honest fellow. Let me tell you the truth. In all these years, only two people have ever passed my trial. Chances like this don’t come along often. You really shouldn’t waste it.”

For the moment, Sun Tiecheng no longer sounded like a simple, honest man. Instead, he spoke like an old sage who had seen far too much of the world.

“Who was the other one?” Li Banfeng asked.

Sun Tiecheng shook his head. “Not telling. And I won’t tell him about you either.”

Li Banfeng thought about it for a moment before asking, “How many people have participated in this trial?”

“Tens of thousands,” Sun Tiecheng said. “I stopped counting long ago. Every single one of them stayed behind in Yuren City.”

At once, Li Banfeng thought of those ghosts wrapped in scraps of blood and flesh. Now he understood where those scraps had come from.

“Why did you choose me?” he asked.

Sun Tiecheng responded, “To be honest, I didn’t want to choose you at first. I usually pick people with no cultivation. They are much more useful to me. But as it turns out, they are completely useless. The moment they step into Yuren City, none of them can get out. Most of them don’t even last two hours.”

All the people who had died in Yuren City before had been ordinary folk with no cultivation.

No wonder the Crimson Lotus refused to eat the scattered flesh on the ground, Li Banfeng thought. And he talked about tens of thousands of lives as if they meant nothing.

Sun Tiecheng suddenly put that honest-man look back on his face and squatted beside the bed.

“I spent so much effort and got nowhere,” he said. “In the end, I had no choice but to find someone capable. So I chose you.”

Li Banfeng still did not understand. “How did you know I was capable?”

“Anyone who can activate a five-kilometer territory in the New Land must have some ability.”

“So you went to Properfolk Village just to trick me into coming to Yuren City?”

“I was actually planning to trick Ma Wu,” Sun Tiecheng said. “At first, I didn’t even notice you. But after spending a few days in Properfolk Village, I found out through Shui Yongquan that you are the one really in charge there. And the one who activated the land was you as well.”

The more you stand out, the more trouble you attract, Li Banfeng thought. Perhaps I have stayed in Greenwater City too long. Too many people know about me now.

I told Ma Wu to keep things hidden and he tried his best. But it seems some things just can’t be kept a secret anymore.

Li Banfeng gritted his teeth. “You are truly vicious.”

Sun Tiecheng stood up. His plain, honest-looking face showed he refused to accept the accusation. “You should speak with a clear conscience… I warned you the whole way not to fall for any of their tricks. You are the one who refused to listen and insisted on staying in Yuren City.”

That was true. Sun Tiecheng had been warning him not to get scammed during the entire journey. He told him to stay away from the herbal plaster seller, the fortune teller, and just about everyone else they met.

That gave Li Banfeng a strange impression. Because of that, Li Banfeng had gradually begun to feel that this simple, honest hunter was on his side. It almost seemed as if the man had been looking out for him the whole time.

Because of that, it had never once crossed Li Banfeng’s mind that Sun Tiecheng was a swindler.

“What’s the point of testing my worthiness?” Li Banfeng asked. “To bring more people into Yuren City? To turn Yuren City into Proper Land?”

Sun Tiecheng’s expression turned serious. The simple hunter was gone, and the air of a seasoned sage returned to his face.

“Old Land can never become Proper Land again. Legends speak of such methods, but they are not something mortals can accomplish.

“I only wanted to find someone who can keep the Folly Cultivation path alive. Otherwise, this cultivation path will continue to be like it does now, half-dead and barely surviving.”

Li Banfeng was stunned. Sun Tiecheng had mentioned earlier that he always chose people without cultivation for his trials because they were more useful to him.

What was the reason? It was because it was much easier for someone with no cultivation to follow his Daoist Path.

“You want me to become a Folly Cultivator?”

Sun Tiecheng nodded. “I am an honest man. That really is what I want. The people of this world have already wiped out the Folly Cultivators[1], but I still hope that there can be living cultivators of this Daoist path.”

Li Banfeng shook his head repeatedly. “It’s impossible for me to become a Folly Cultivator. I am already cultivating two Daoist paths.”

Sun Tiecheng nodded again. “And that’s exactly the problem. At your current state, you would certainly die if you tried to cultivate three Daoist Paths.

“But I can wait. I’ll wait until the day you’re strong enough. When that day comes, you can become a Folly Cultivator.”

Wait? Is that even possible? Li Banfeng thought. I am already a level-four Homebound Cultivator. If I cultivate another Daoist path now, I would be a complete beginner who hasn’t even reached level one yet.

That means the gap between the new cultivation path and my existing ones would be four whole levels. I would die on the spot! So what possibility are you even talking about?

Li Banfeng could not be bothered to think about the future. For now, the present was trouble enough.

Judging from our strength, there’s no way I can beat him. We are not even close to being on the same level. Even Wifey, in her current state, might not be his match. So first, I need to figure out how to get out of this alive.

“Since you think so highly of me, then wait a few more years,” Li Banfeng said, fighting off his drowsiness as he got off the bed. “When I actually have that kind of strength, we can talk about me becoming a Folly Cultivator.”

Sun Tiecheng nodded. “No rush. We can set aside the matter of you becoming a Folly Cultivator for now. I still haven’t finished talking about your reward.”

“I don’t want a plot of land in Yuren City. If I enter that place again, I might not come out alive.”

Sun Tiecheng nodded. “That’s why I want to give you a different reward. I will gift you an ability.”

“An ability of the Folly Cultivators?”

Sun Tiecheng nodded.

“But I’m not a Folly Cultivator. Can you still give me one of your abilities?” Li Banfeng could not understand how that would work.

Sun Tiecheng smiled with pride. “Others can’t, but I can.”

Just what level is this man? Even a land deity probably can’t do something like this, right? Will this ability affect me badly in any way? Probably not. If this man wanted to hurt me, there would be countless other ways to do it…

Li Banfeng’s thoughts began to circle endlessly. It seemed he had been affected by a Folly Cultivator’s ability again.

Never mind. If he wants to hurt me, there’s nothing I can do to stop it. It’s no big deal gaining another ability anyway.

Li Banfeng agreed.

Sun Tiecheng looked at him with a cheerful smile. “Pick an ability. Any one you like. Just name the level.”

“Level ten!” Li Banfeng answered without hesitation.

Sun Tiecheng’s cheek twitched. He stared at Li Banfeng. “If I gave you a level-ten ability, do you think you could even learn it?”

Li Banfeng snorted. “Then why say I can choose whatever I want?”

Sun Tiecheng stared at him for a moment. “You know I am a man of status, right? Do you know that I have killed tens of thousands of people? I am your senior. You know that, don’t you? Do you think it’s appropriate for you to speak to me like this?”

Li Banfeng could not be bothered to argue with him. “I ran into a fortune teller in the city. That fortune teller has an ability that makes people think too much. It makes people hesitate and struggle with their thoughts.”

Sun Tiecheng clasped his hands behind his back again and squatted down. Once again, he looked like a simple and honest man. “How about not that one? Let’s change to another ability.”

“Why can’t I have that one? The fortune teller said he was only level two. That ability shouldn’t be very high level.”

“It’s not really about the level. This ability…” Sun Tiecheng hesitated, then sighed. “Forget it. I’ll give it to you.”

After wrestling with the decision for a while, Sun Tiecheng finally agreed. “This is a level-two ability of the Folly Cultivators. It’s called The Fool’s Thousand Worries.”

Li Banfeng paused in surprise. That matched exactly what the Judge’s Brush had described.

Sun Tiecheng explained, “There’s a saying that goes something like this. Even a fool who thinks a thousand times will eventually gain something. Actually, that is a lie.

When fools think a thousand times, they may gain nothing at all. Instead, they worry about every possible gain and loss. It looks as if they have thought everything through, yet they still cannot take even a single step forward. That’s why ordinary people can’t escape Yuren City.”

So when the Judge’s Brush said too much, it meant thinking too much?

Sun Tiecheng continued, “The key to mastering this ability is speaking in a way that makes the other person hesitate and struggle with their thoughts. The more they trust you, the more they think. The more they weigh gains and losses, the more tangled their mind becomes. Then, with just a little guidance, they will make a choice that benefits you.”

Sun Tiecheng waved his sleeve, and a breeze brushed across Li Banfeng’s face, bringing with it a faint sting of pain.

The sensation was similar to what he had felt when the cultivation initiation powder was applied when he first entered a cultivation path, though it was far less intense.

Sun Tiecheng warned, “The Fool’s Thousand Worries can be controlled with your mind. The ability itself is easy to gain, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to use. To make a fool worry a thousand times, you must first know what he is worrying about.

“If someone is starving and wants food, but you drag him to a brothel instead, he won’t react, and he won’t start struggling with his thoughts.

“If you want him to struggle with his thoughts, you must ask what he wants to eat. Meat or vegetables? Oil or vinegar? If you want to use this ability of the Folly Cultivators, you must first put some thought into it.”

After a while, the pain subsided. Li Banfeng asked, “You said the key is making the other person trust me. What if they don’t trust me?”

“Then find a way to make them trust you.”

Li Banfeng nodded. “And how exactly do I make them trust me?”

Why did Li Banfeng end up trusting a herbal plaster peddler? This was exactly why Sun Tiecheng had been reluctant to teach Li Banfeng the ability called The Fool’s Thousand Worries as this ability worked best when used with a level-one ability.

Sun Tiecheng curled his lip and turned his head away, refusing to look at Li Banfeng. “I can only give you one ability.”

Li Banfeng clasped his hands behind his back and squatted beside him. “After all these years, only two people have passed your trial. Shouldn’t you show a little extra consideration?”

“I already gave you three rewards.”

“Give me one more. Buy three, get one free. This is a pretty common promotion.”

“No! You’re not even part of my Daoist Path, yet you want to gain two of our abilities?”

“But one of my rewards hasn’t been fulfilled yet.”

“The third reward isn’t an ability.”

“Then let’s swap it.”

Sun Tiecheng suddenly looked conflicted. He raised his head and glared at Li Banfeng. “Did you just use The Fool’s Thousand Worries on me?”

Li Banfeng smiled shyly. “Well… I did just learn it.”

“Do you know how high my status is? Do you know how powerful my background is? Do you know I’ve killed more people than you’ve ever even seen? And you dare use an ability on me…”

Sun Tiecheng had indeed been affected by the ability. Wifey had also been affected by the fortune teller’s ability.

The abilities of the Folly Cultivators were not restricted by cultivation level and could affect anyone. Li Banfeng found this extremely surprising.

Is that why the different Daoist Paths had united to wipe out the Folly Cultivators? Li Banfeng wondered.

Of course, Sun Tiecheng had only hesitated. His strength remained the same. If Li Banfeng actually tried to fight him, he still wouldn’t stand the slightest chance of winning.

***

After arguing for quite some time, Sun Tiecheng finally gave in.

“Fine. A first-level ability called Words Chiseled in Stone. When you speak, your words will sound convincing to the other person.

“The abilities of the Folly Cultivators require a bit of skill. It’s not that people will believe whatever you say. With Words Chiseled in Stone, you must know how to shape your words. A little cunning goes a long way.

“If everything you say is a lie, people won’t believe you. But if you mix in even a little truth, your words will sound much more convincing.”

“Take that fortune teller, for example. Some of the things he said were true, so you naturally found him easy to believe.”

Li Banfeng thought back to his encounter with the fortune teller. “What he said at the start was true. I really did come seeking revenge. His divination was spot on.”

“That’s because I told him beforehand that you came for revenge,” Sun Tiecheng said.

Li Banfeng had no words.

“The key to this first-level ability is absolute conviction. You must truly believe your lie is the truth. Only then can you deceive others.”

After Li Banfeng learned the fundamentals of the ability, Sun Tiecheng started talking about Yuren City again. “Now that you have learned the abilities of my Daoist path, you should be able to adapt to the environment of Yuren City. You must accept a plot of land. Go pick a place.”

Li Banfeng had no desire to return to Yuren City to choose, so he said casually, “Then just pick a shop for me.”

“What kind of shop?”

“It doesn’t matter what it sells.”

“How about a butcher shop?”

“That works. It counts as an honest trade.”

At this point, Li Banfeng would agree to anything. All he cared about was getting away.

Sun Tiecheng nodded. “The Changsan[2] Literary House in the eastern part of the city is yours.”

“Literary House? A bookstore?”

“Didn’t I just tell you? It’s a place that sells meat.”

A butcher shop called the Changsan Literary House. The name sounded surprisingly elegant and cultured.

Li Banfeng said, “I still have work to do elsewhere. I can’t stay here and run a shop.”

Sun Tiecheng had already expected that. “You don’t need to worry about the business in Yuren City. I’ll find someone to run it for you.”

He waved toward the distance and the herbal plaster seller walked over. “Boss, what are your orders?”

“His name is Tang Changfa. From now on, he will follow you. Changfa, greet Master Qi.”

Tang Changfa looked Li Banfeng up and down. “You want me to serve as his subordinate?”

Sun Tiecheng glanced at him. “Is there a problem?”

Tang Changfa lowered his head. “No problem.”

Sun Tiecheng continued, “From now on, you will manage the Changsan Literary House.”

Tang Changfa looked up. “I am managing that place?”

“You object?” Sun Tiecheng shot him another look.

“No objection!” Tang Changfa turned and walked back into the city.

Watching Tang Changfa’s departing figure, Sun Tiecheng sighed. “That body of flesh he’s wearing needs to be replaced soon. The bits of flesh are almost falling off whenever he’s walking.”

Li Banfeng had been wondering about that. “They are all ghosts. Why do they have to wear flesh and blood?”Sun Tiecheng sighed. “That is the only way they are able to believe that they are still alive.”

Li Banfeng looked at him. “You fooled them?”

Sun Tiecheng shook his head. “They fooled themselves. The key to the first-level ability is absolute belief. Fooling yourself is difficult. They need flesh, and they need a livelihood. Only then can they truly believe that they are alive.

“Folly and deception are not the same thing. If they stop believing that they are alive, their souls will scatter. Their spirits will become hollow spirits, and the Daoist Path of Folly Cultivation will vanish.”

Li Banfeng said expressionlessly, “The flesh they wear came from tens of thousands of people.”

Sun Tiecheng shook his head. “Those people deserved it. They had no real ability, yet they still wanted to strike it rich in Old Land. They thought the spirits there were like wild grass, something they could harvest whenever they liked. They forgot those spirits were once human.

“They got their hands on talismans from Nightfiend Cultivators and began abusing both living spirits and hollow spirits. Then they saw all the dead souls in Yuren City and rushed in like madmen. In their eyes, the whole city was nothing but money scattered on the ground, waiting to be picked up.

“But when they entered the city, I told them to leave immediately. They didn’t listen. They chose their own deaths. When you entered the city, I warned you too.

“But if someone managed to survive, that meant he truly had ability. A person like that deserves to be rewarded. You were supposed to receive three rewards. I have already given you two. There’s one left.”

Li Banfeng was very curious about the final reward. He watched as Sun Tiecheng took out a bundle from behind his back.

Sun Tiecheng handed the bundle to him and said, “I am not aware of what grudge you have with Iron Goat Mountain, but deal with this however you see fit.”

Li Banfeng took the bundle. When he opened it, he saw that there was a human head inside.

Sun Tiecheng smiled and said, “I am gifting you the head of Rong Yeguang, the big ladle handle of Iron Goat Mountain.

Author’s Note:

PS: “Changsan Literary House” was a refined name used during the Republican era for a particular type of upscale entertainment house. Because tea cost three silver dollars, wine accompaniment cost three silver dollars, and staying overnight cost three silver dollars in such establishments, these establishments became known as “Changsan.”

1. I like to interpret this as society because society tells us that we can’t ever be lazy. We can’t slack. We have to work hard. Build your dreams. Etc. ☜

2. 长三 (Changsan) referred to high-class courtesans or prostitutes working in upscale establishments.The “三” (san) comes from three-coin pricing systems used historically. Over time, 长三 became a fixed name for elite courtesans rather than literally meaning “three”. ☜

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep