Wu Yongchao led Li Banfeng all the way to Fort Lord Zhou’s residence.

It stood deep within the valley, much larger than the homes of the other Homebound Cultivators. A five-story vermilion mansion rose in the center, with two three-story side buildings on either side, enclosing a vast courtyard. Beyond that courtyard were several smaller ones, along with a row of Western-style houses.

Wu Yongchao said, “Every year, we have to contribute money and labor to build the Fort Lord’s residence. Ma Dingfu and the others always say that the bigger the residence is, the higher the Fort Lord’s cultivation will be, and the better life in Iron Gate Fort will become.”

Li Banfeng smiled. “Ma Dingfu really is a good subordinate.”

Lights shone from the main building. Lowering his voice, Wu Yongchao said, “Those should be the Fort Lord’s family members.”

Li Banfeng looked at the number of lights and asked, “Isn’t your Fort Lord a Homebound Cultivator? That’s quite a crowd. Can the dwelling spirit really tolerate so many outsiders?”

Wu Yongchao hesitated, then said, “The Fort Lord warned us before too. He said Homebound Cultivators shouldn’t start families, or it would hinder their cultivation. He even made a rule that none of us in Iron Gate Fort are allowed to marry… But he himself has taken more than thirty wives. A lot of people can’t make sense of that either.

“Ma Dingfu always say we shouldn’t apply the Fort Lord’s rules to the Fort Lord himself. The Fort Lord is different from us. The rules are for our own good. As for the Fort Lord’s affairs… those aren’t for us to question.”

Li Banfeng let out another sigh. “This Ma Dingfu truly is a… something else.”

Wait… Through the Threaded Earring, Li Banfeng heard Ma Dingfu shouting. It was not just him. There were five others who were shouting along with him. The noise was wild and chaotic, like a battlefield at the very moment two armies clashed, each side fighting to decide who would win and who would fall.

One against five, Li Banfeng thought. How is that even possible from a physical point of view?

Li Banfeng glanced at Wu Yongchao and asked, “How many wives did you say your Fort Lord had just now?”

“Thirty-two… or thirty-five, I think. Some say thirty-eight. I can’t quite remember.”

Zhou Anju had only just died, and Ma Dingfu was already using five at once? This so-called loyal subordinate didn’t seem all that loyal after all.

Li Banfeng had Wu Yongchao keep watch nearby while he slipped quietly into the main building. He wasn’t familiar with the layout inside, but bringing Wu Yongchao along wouldn’t help. Wu Yongchao didn’t know it either. Aside from his own house, he was just as lost anywhere else.

Based on Li Banfeng’s judgment, anything secret was usually hidden on the top floor, because far fewer people had been there compared to the first floor.

Right now, what worried Li Banfeng the most was whether Fort Lord Zhou wasn’t dead, or hadn’t fully died.

He still couldn’t figure it out.

Before Luo Dagui died, he had been talking to Zhou Anju. Even if Luo Dagui could mimic voices, the two voices didn’t come from the same place. Luo Dagui’s voice came from the loudspeaker he carried and Zhou Anju’s voice echoed from deep within the valley.

After searching three rooms on the top floor, Li Banfeng finally found the answer.

In the third room stood a massive bellows gramophone, with a stack of records piled beside it.

The horn was over a meter wide and usually hidden behind curtains. With a few simple obstructions added, no one outside could see what was inside.

Li Banfeng took the stack of records back to his Pocket Dwelling and had his wifey play them one by one.

A voice crackled out from the gramophone.

“Gun Captain Luo, what brings you to my Iron Gate Fort?”

Another voice followed.

“We are all poor folk here. It is outrageous for you to just ask us for ten thousand silver dollars. We simply don’t have the money to give you!”

Then came a third, slower and heavier.

“Gun Captain Luo, you are ruthless. I, Zhou, know to fear you now…”

Li Banfeng understood. He understood everything.

No wonder that last line hadn’t fit the situation. Luo Dagui hadn’t even made a move, yet Fort Lord Zhou was already claiming he feared him.

So that was how it was. Fort Lord Zhou had recorded his own voice in advance using the gramophone. Then he altered his voice, went outside the valley, and impersonated Gun Captain Luo, staging a back-and-forth conversation with himself.

Why not leave the gramophone outside the valley and stay inside the fort to carry it all out?

There were two reasons. The first one was because the gramophone was larger than a loudspeaker and not easy to move. Another reason was that the situation outside the valley was complicated. If he didn’t go in person, it would be difficult to deal with anything unexpected.

Tricks of a swindler, all of it was nothing but tricks.

Nothing but a swindler’s tricks. There was nothing particularly clever about it, and yet it had managed to deceive a whole group of fairly capable Homebound Cultivators for decades.

Who did he learn the voice-changing technique from? Fort Lord Zhou and Gun Captain Luo doesn’t sound alike at all.

Maybe it’s not a technique. Maybe Zhou Anju possessed a spirit-bound item that could alter his voice.

Spirit-bound item or enchanted artifact that can change one’s voice…

Perhaps Li Banfeng was overthinking it, but whenever he came across something that could alter a person’s voice or appearance, his thoughts would drift to the Ling Family. And once he thought of the Ling Family, another thought would follow. Had they already planted a hook on him?

Am I being too cautious? Li Banfeng couldn’t help but wonder.

Li Banfeng pushed the windmill-powered gramophone out of his Pocket Dwelling. He crouched over it, squinting, and very, very carefully turned the volume all the way down.

Then, he played the song “The Pretender.”

Clink~

With a crisp sound, a hook snapped.

So there really was a hook hidden inside Zhou Anju’s gramophone.

It was a delicate little hook, completely different from the rough hook that Lu Xiaolan owned. If it had been one of Xiaolan Lu’s hooks, the snap would have sounded like a gun going off in your ear.

Could this really be connected to the Ling Family?

The moment that hook broke, the tension in his shoulders slipped away. He let out a quiet breath and felt, at last, a little more at ease.

He found quite a few blank records in Zhou Anju’s room and brought them back to his Pocket Dwelling. “Wifey, can you record a few more using his voice?”

Li Banfeng placed two blank records onto the two plates.

With Zhou Anju’s voice as a reference, his wifey followed Li Banfeng’s instructions and made several more records.

***

After finishing up, Ma Dingfu called over the Fort Lord’s steward.

“Old He, go inform the other ladies. Tell them not to worry. I won’t treat them unfairly.”

The steward nodded repeatedly in agreement.

“Also, I plan to pick two and send them to you. They are not leftovers. I believe there are two who suit your temperament.”

The steward hurriedly bowed. “Thank you for your favor, Fort Lord.”

“In a couple of days, the stronghold will send people again. Don’t say what shouldn’t be said, and don’t ask what shouldn’t be asked. You’re the Fort Lord’s steward. What happens in the stronghold has nothing to do with you.”

“I understand. Fort Lord Zhou had already instructed us before, um…”

The steward mentioned Fort Lord Zhou without thinking. Afraid of displeasing the newly appointed Fort Lord Ma, he quickly fell silent.

Seeing this, Ma Dingfu laughed. “Old He, you are overthinking it. I am not that petty. At tomorrow’s banquet, I will even raise a toast to Fort Lord Zhou.

“Though Fort Lord Zhou’s physical cultivation wasn’t particularly strong, his inner cultivation was exceptional. Over the years, he guided me step by step to where I am today.

“Let me tell you, cultivation of the body can’t compare to cultivation of the heart. Old He, you may be a level-five cultivator, but would you dare show even the slightest temper in front of Fort Lord Zhou?

“Even if a level-eight cultivator came, they would still have to bow their head before him, obedient and without a word of complaint. Let alone someone at the fifth level. As for me, my admiration for Fort Lord Zhou comes straight from the heart!”

Steward He nodded again and again. “Fort Lord Ma hasn’t forgotten old ties. Having a Fort Lord like you is a blessing for Iron Gate Fort!”

Ma Dingfu smiled. “It’s too early to say that. Nothing’s settled yet. Without proper justification, the title won’t sit right.

“For the banquet in three days, prepare a register. Record who comes, who doesn’t, and how much each brings as a token of goodwill. Write everything down clearly. I am not one to fuss over details, but I still need to make sure I am aware of some things…”

Li Banfeng crouched on the rooftop, wearing the Threaded Earring, hearing every single word with perfect clarity.

This Steward He is a level-five cultivator. However, it is unclear which Daoist path he followed.

No wonder Fort Lord Zhou didn’t allow anyone above level four to stay in the fort. His strongest fighter is already at level five. But then again… why would a level-five cultivator serve as a steward to a mere Bleater?

The more Li Banfeng thought about it, the more he found himself impressed by the methods of Deception Cultivators.

Wait… something might be different now.

According to Wu Yongchao, Fort Lord Zhou set the rule over a decade ago that no Homebound Cultivator above the fourth level was allowed in Iron Gate Fort. Steward He was already at level five back then. But what about now? Could he have gone beyond level five? There’s no way to know for sure.

Strange… Li Banfeng muttered inwardly. With strength like his, why didn’t Zhou Anju take him outside to deal with matters?

At the mouth of the valley, if Old He had been by his side, I might not have been able to kill him.

There must be a reason for this.

***

Three days later, Iron Gate Fort held its banquet. Steward He stood at the entrance with a ledger, receiving gifts. Anything worth more than one silver coin went into one book, while anything below that was recorded in another.

Those who didn’t show up were checked off one by one against the fort’s roster. Once Ma Dingfu’s position as Fort Lord was secure, he would deal with them one by one.

Ma Dingfu had thought that Wu Yongchao wouldn’t come, but he actually showed up. He presented a congratulatory gift of two silver dollars, and the steward even made a point to report it to Ma Dingfu.

Ma Dingfu let out a cold sneer. “So now he knows to be afraid? Too late. Do you think two silver dollars can buy his life?”

“You mean… we act today?”

Ma Dingfu shook his head. “On such a good day like this? Don’t let him spoil the mood. Wait two more days.”

Old He nodded again and again. “Everything will be as the Fort Lord commands.”

Li Banfeng watched from the side, his thoughts stirring.

Look at how obedient this steward is. Zhou Anju really was something. But even with someone this obedient, Zhou Anju still didn’t trust him.

He didn’t take him along when going out. He didn’t use him to kill anyone. All he asked Old He to do was guard the residence. It’s so hard to understand what he was thinking.

The banquet began.

Ma Dingfu raised his cup.

“The first toast,” he said, “is to the late Fort Lord Zhou.

“Fort Lord Zhou labored his entire life for Iron Gate Fort. He worked himself to the bone for all of us, and in the end, he even gave up his life for our sake.

“Without him, there would be no Iron Gate Fort. And yet now… we haven’t even recovered his full remains. Whenever I think of this, my heart aches…”

At this point, Ma Dingfu choked up. Tears streamed down his face, and for a long moment he couldn’t go on.

“I… whenever I think about it, I… I just…”

“You took my house, slept with my wives, and damn it, you slept with five at once!”

Fort Lord Zhou’s voice suddenly rang out, echoing through the entire building and across Iron Gate Fort.

Ma Dingfu’s hand trembled, and his liquor cup slipped from his fingers, shattering on the ground.

All eyes turned toward Ma Dingfu.

He had slept with Fort Lord Zhou’s wives? He had taken over Fort Lord Zhou’s residence?

The younger Homebound Cultivators stared in disbelief. Fort Lord Zhou’s body wasn’t even cold yet! The older ones, however, remained calm. When a new Fort Lord took power, taking over the former Fort Lord’s assets was nothing unusual.

However, that wasn’t the real issue. Hadn’t Fort Lord Zhou already died? So how was he speaking again? Had his spirit returned?

“Who… who’s impersonating Fort Lord Zhou?” Ma Dingfu snapped out of it and hurriedly defended himself. “You… you’re framing me…”

Fort Lord Zhou’s voice rang out again. “Little Ma, I told you to go up the mountain and call for reinforcements. Why didn’t you go?

“We have worked ourselves to the bone for Flying Eagle Mountain all our lives. Now that something’s happened to me, you rush in to seize my position. Have you no regard for the mountain’s rules?”

“Who is it?! Who got into the fort? Who’s trying to frame me? Old He, go upstairs and check!”

Steward He went upstairs.

Ma Dingfu was terrified. No matter how he tried to explain himself, everyone’s gaze stayed fixed on him.

Whether young or old, none of the Homebound Cultivators could stay calm anymore. The fact that Ma Dingfu slept with the former Fort Lord’s wives could be ignored. However, colluding with the Flying Eagle Mountain to scheme against Iron Gate Fort was something that they couldn’t ignore.

“Ma Dingfu gathered us all here… is he planning to work with Flying Eagle Mountain and slaughter us from both inside and out?”

“Fight them! We fight to the death!”

Above it all, on the top floor of the building, Li Banfeng quietly operated the gramophone.

Li Banfeng was certain that Zhou Anju belonged to Flying Eagle Mountain. He had also deduced that Ma Dingfu was part of it as well.

But the part about Ma Dingfu planning to coordinate with Flying Eagle Mountain tonight and strike mercilessly… That was something Li Banfeng had made up.

Even so, it was a lie that sounded perfectly reasonable.

For decades, with a massive iron gate between them, Zhou Anju had used the bandits of Flying Eagle Mountain to threaten the people living in Iron Gate Fort. If those bandits were so useful to him, then why couldn’t Li Banfeng use them too?

“Zhou Anju” was still talking.

“Little Ma, the stronghold chief and the others have already arrived. You have gathered all these Homebound Cultivators. It’s time for us to make our move. This is your chance to make amends. If you succeed, I won’t hold your past actions against you.”

Ma Dingfu looked at the gathered Homebound Cultivators and shook his head over and over. “Someone is trying to spread rumors! Can’t you guys tell!”

The Homebound Cultivators didn’t know whether it was a rumor. All they knew was that they were hearing Fort Lord Zhou’s voice. They were afraid, conflicted, and furious.

Author’s Note:PS: Steward He had gone upstairs. He wouldn’t be easy to deal with. If it came to an internal fight among the Homebound Cultivators, Li Banfeng would be in for a tough battle.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep