Li Banfeng worried that soone might resort to foul play.
The people throwing stones from the cliff needed crowbars to move them. Could such individuals really climb down a cliff tens of ters high to kill a Third Layer Ho Cultivator?
Li Banfeng didn’t believe it!
He suspected that soone from Iron Gate Fort had killed Old Hu.
Old Hu had refused to pay up and even wanted to take on the bandits from Flying Eagle Mountain. He was old and had arrived at Iron Gate Fort quite early, his tenure even predating that of the Fortress Lord. Such a person was an easy target for the Fortress Lord to eliminate.
Now that Old Hu was dead, who would be next?
In Li Banfeng’s view, it had to be Wu Yongchao’s turn.
Wu Yongchao also advocated for fighting, and his cultivation level was high. This was obviously a threat to the Fortress Lord.
Why did Li Banfeng pin all his suspicions on the Fortress Lord? Indeed, Li Banfeng considered the Fortress Lord the most suspicious person right now.
An Eighth Layer Ho Cultivator unable to prevent bandits from entering his fort?
Either his cultivation level was fake, or he was colluding with the bandits to oppress these honest people together.
Li Banfeng repeatedly cautioned, "Don’t co out until you hear call at the door."
Wu Yongchao didn’t understand.
The House Spirit reminded him, "Kid, listen to him. As long as you’re inside the house, those bastards won’t dare to touch you. Even if they really dare to co, you and I can fight them together!"
Wu Yongchao thought Li Banfeng couldn’t hear the House Spirit, but in reality, Li Banfeng heard every word clearly—he possessed the Insightful Spirit Sound Technique.
This honest fellow was indeed fortunate; he had encountered a good House Spirit, and now he had t a good "Peddler."
As Li Banfeng was about to leave, Wu Yongchao stopped him. "Don’t go out. Just stay here for a while. If the Fortress Lord finds out..."
Li Banfeng laughed. "Without discussing it with the House Spirit, it’s not a good habit to let strangers stay in your ho. I have a way to keep your Fortress Lord from finding out. Just rember, you must open the door when you hear call."
If the Fortress Lord really were an Eighth Layer Ho Cultivator, I would have been exposed already.
If the Fortress Lord’s cultivation level isn’t too high, I’ll just play with him a bit.
At three o’clock in the morning, Li Banfeng, holding a Sickle and relying on the agility of a Traveling Cultivator, started to climb the cliff face.
The sheer cliff was tough to scale, and Li Banfeng’s hands bled from the effort.
The Wine Gourd whispered by his ear, "Kid brother, do you really have to get involved in this?"
"Yes," Li Banfeng answered decisively.
"These honest folks might not be useful to you in the future."
"This has nothing to do with whether they’re useful or not."
Li Banfeng reached the platform, rested a mont in his Portable Residence, and returned to the platform near six o’clock.
There were already people on the platform, eleven in total—ten workers and a foreman supervising them as they carefully prepared the stones.
When Li Banfeng arrived, the foreman shivered in fear and asked quietly, "Who are you?"
All the workers stopped what they were doing and looked nacingly at Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng spoke in a lowered voice, "The mountain stronghold sent to check on things. Just keep working and be quiet."
The foreman sized up Li Banfeng. "You’re from the stronghold? How co I’ve never seen you before?"
Li Banfeng furrowed his brow. "You haven’t seen because you weren’t supposed to. What’s with all the questions?"
"Which boss are you with?"
"Still asking?" Li Banfeng frowned.
The foreman was a bit intimidated; Li Banfeng’s deanor was rather nacing. That’s right, the foreman thought, in the stronghold, people you don’t recognize are surely people with status, not to be casually questioned.
"Well, uh, you have to give a na," the foreman stamred, "so I can have an explanation when our boss asks."
"Just say Li," Li Banfeng responded.
This was basic underworld slang, which Li Banfeng understood.
"Alright then." The foreman didn’t dare to ask any further and urged his subordinates to get back to work.
Their task was to throw stones down once Luo Dagui, the artillery chief, had finished speaking.
Eleven people—that was quite a number. Taking on so many all at once, and without causing too much commotion... this will be tricky, Li Banfeng thought with so concern.
But seeing them work, Li Banfeng set his mind at ease. Just as he’d suspected, they were using poles and crowbars to move stones. They probably weren’t skilled fighters.
From the look of their strength, these people weren’t even Cultivators.
Li Banfeng took a Short Step, appearing behind the foreman. He clapped his left hand over the man’s mouth and, with the Sickle in his right, slit his throat.
Everyone else was busy with their heads down. With a single slash for each, Li Banfeng dispatched nearly half of them before anyone else reacted.
"What are you—"
Li Banfeng thrust out the Iron Ruler, piercing the throat of the man who spoke.
The remaining five lackeys charged up together, fighting Li Banfeng desperately.
Wielding the Mandarin Duck Axes, Li Banfeng chopped them all down. He sent them all—the dead and the dying—into his Portable Residence.
After cleaning up, Li Banfeng headed down the mountain.
At six o’clock, Ma Dingfu ca to call at the door again. Wu Yongchao hid behind it, keeping quiet.
"Little Wu, you’re a man too. It’s no use hiding like this. I know you’re short on funds. Tell how much you can scrape together. If it’s not enough, brother, I’ll lend you so.
"If you keep hiding, that’s not how it should be. We Ho Cultivators aren’t cowards.
"If you really can’t afford it, you can move out. Constantly endangering everyone’s lives like this isn’t sothing a man should do!"
No matter what Ma Dingfu said, Wu Yongchao just wouldn’t co out.
At the entrance of the mountain stream, Sui Donglan hid among the overgrown weeds, waiting for the "Peddler" to show up.
As it neared eight o’clock and the Peddler still hadn’t arrived, WHOO! WHOO! A loud steam whistle blared as the Steam Gate closed.
Not good, the bandits are coming!ŸŸŸ
Sui Donglan wanted to run but felt her legs go weak.
After mustering her courage for a long ti, she finally managed to stand, only to see a group of a dozen or so burly n approaching in the distance.
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