Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'
Chapter 65 - 52 Millionaire

Chapter 65: Chapter 52 Millionaire

Li Banfeng had completely forgotten about the Short Knife. He was currently sitting at the doorway of the main house, muttering to himself.

The Phonograph didn’t kill me; she must still have some fondness for me.

But when she suddenly started singing, it was quite frightening.

Frightening? She sings beautifully.

No matter how well she sings, it’s futile if one day she devours you without leaving behind a single bone.

If she wanted to eat me, she would have done so already. She probably doesn’t like to eat the living.

What if one day she changes her taste? If she gets angry and roasts you till you’re crispy on the outside but tender inside, she’ll consume you, soul and all, leaving not even scraps behind!

You’re just heartless. The Phonograph has protected you from the beginning; how could you slander a young lady like that?

How do you know it’s a young lady? It could be a ferocious Evil Ghost that knows how to sing!

Li Banfeng waved a hand at his forehead. Arguing with himself was utterly pointless.

He gathered his thoughts, trying to figure out how to deal with the Phonograph.

Throw it away?

Besides, it was such a good House Spirit; throwing it away would be a pity. More importantly, Li Banfeng didn’t dare!

He feared that the moment he even entertained the thought, the Phonograph would cook him.

She had killed Luo Yuni instantly. Against someone like me, a single belch from her could scald me to death.

The ideal result would be to successfully subdue the House Spirit, but the prerequisite is that I must know the House Spirit’s name. Where can I find it out? The only source I can think of right now is Shopkeeper Feng. I have to make a trip back to Li Gou.

But before going back, he had to clean up this estate.

The owner of the house and the House Spirit were gone. Li Banfeng felt a pang of sorrow and decided he should sort out their belongings.

Li Banfeng wasn’t focused on the money; his main motivation was respect for them.

Li Banfeng first went to the cellar, as Xiao Yeci had said there were many things there.

She hadn’t been lying. The old lady used to store most of the looted items in the cellar, with some hidden in the cabinets of the main house. Li Banfeng gathered these items together; the cash alone amounted to 763,236 yuan.

Besides that, Li Banfeng also found a lot of Gold and Silver jewelry and some valuable personal items. Since he couldn’t appraise their value, he estimated them at 200,000 yuan.

After selling Elixirs and buying the Phonograph, he still had 230,000 yuan left.

Disregarding the loose change spent on daily expenses, Li Banfeng now possessed assets amounting to 1,180,000 yuan.

Is this real? I have 1,180,000 yuan!

From birth until now, Li Banfeng’s assets had never exceeded 10,000 yuan.

Now, he actually had 1,180,000 yuan!

Of course, this amount of money wouldn’t even cover a down payment for a property in Yuezhou.

But for Li Banfeng, this was his second peak of wealth.

His first peak was when he sold the Snake-Patterned Pills.

There were also some miscellaneous items in the estate that Li Banfeng could use.

The second son, Demao, was a Martial Cultivator. His room contained numerous martial arts manuals, from which Li Banfeng selected a few.

In the old lady’s room, a desk and two chairs looked decent, so Li Banfeng took them. The sewing kit also seemed quite good, so Li Banfeng took that as well.

There was also a Pocket Watch, seemingly robbed from a passerby. It was gold-plated and looked stylish, although its craftsmanship wasn’t as exquisite as the one Shopkeeper Feng had recommended.

Li Banfeng had always wanted a timekeeping device, so he took this as well.

Demao also had a bathing tub, which Li Banfeng took. Usually, in his Portable Residence, he could only use a wooden bucket to fetch some water and give himself a quick wipe-down. It had been a long time since he’d had a proper, satisfying bath.

After gathering the useful items, he also took some things that didn’t seem useful at the moment.

Li Banfeng took Decai’s collection of bottles and jars for concocting poisons, along with some special medicinal herbs. It was hard to say if these things would be useful, but he took them anyway.

In Demao’s room, there was a Long Spear. Li Banfeng didn’t know how to use such a long Weapon, but Demao had related books, so he could learn slowly in the future.

In Decai’s room, there were many Throwing Darts that smelled fishy, likely coated in poison. Li Banfeng didn’t know how to use hidden weapons, but he took them anyway.

After gathering everything, Li Banfeng first found the corpses of Decai and Demao.

These two corpses were originally intended to be taken into the Portable Residence for Alchemy.

However, given the current situation, Li Banfeng was somewhat hesitant to return.

Still, on further thought, being afraid was useless. He had to spend at least two hours a day in the Portable Residence, as this was the foundation of Home Cultivation.

Li Banfeng mustered his courage, opened the door, and dragged in the cash, valuables, furniture, corpses—a huge pile of items.

The Phonograph remained silent. It was unclear if it was sound asleep.

The Copper Lotus Flower was also quiet.

This wasn’t right.

With such fine corpses laid out before it, how could it not be interested?

Li Banfeng observed it closely and noticed a faint Light Halo around the Copper Lotus Flower.

It was currently performing Alchemy.

What kind of Elixir is it refining?

Oh no, the knife! That blood-absorbing Short Knife! Such a top-grade Weapon, being refined just like that?

Li Banfeng was heartbroken at the thought. He wanted to pry open the Lotus Petals and retrieve the knife.

The room was cluttered with items. Just as Li Banfeng reached the Copper Lotus Flower, he accidentally tripped over the bathing tub. He nearly fell, and the cloth bag at his waist dropped.

CLANG!

The Clock Pendulum slid out of the cloth bag.

WHOOSH!

The Phonograph’s light flared.

HISS. HISS. HISS.

Steam billowed out.

The Phonograph woke up?

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

"Alas~ husband!" the Phonograph began to sing.

"Alas~ wife!" Li Banfeng sang in response.

The Phonograph was someone I could communicate with; she wasn’t scary at all.

"Alas husband~ Wherever did you acquire all these possessions?"

The Phonograph’s voice is very gentle; she isn’t scary at all.

"Alas wife, I merely acquired them conveniently."

Li Banfeng wiped the sweat from his brow and slowly walked toward the door.

"Husband, you’ve toiled so~" This line was sung with such deep affection and warmth; she isn’t scary at all!

"Wife, you’ve also toiled~" Li Banfeng ran out the door and closed it behind him.

The Phonograph emitted a puff of Steam, which carried a desk and chairs to the wall. It then set the bathing tub upright in a corner.

Next to the bathing tub, the Phonograph noticed the broken Clock Pendulum, Luo Yuni’s only remaining possession.

HISS~

The Phonograph seemed displeased; she disliked this item.

"This madman," the Phonograph muttered, "why did he bring this broken thing back again?"

HISS. HISS. HISS.

The petals of the Copper Lotus Flower opened, drawing the corpses and the broken Clock Pendulum into its Lotus Heart.

HISS~

The Phonograph sneered continuously, "Alas~ Just moments ago, you showed no interest in this Clock Pendulum, yet now you pick it up to consume. It seems your hunger is truly unbearable, making you cast aside all dignity! You wretch! To think you were once so mighty and commanded respect, yet now you’ve fallen to this state, scrounging for trash to sate your hunger. It’s truly chilling! How laughable, utterly laughable! HAHAHAHA~"

PLOP!

A clear dewdrop sprayed from the Lotus Heart, landing accurately on the Phonograph’s Big Horn.

The laughter stopped abruptly.

"You dare spit on me?" The Phonograph was furious, all three horns smoking as a cloud of Steam enveloped the Copper Lotus Flower. "Rebelling, are you? Today, I’ll show you what family discipline means!"

The Copper Lotus Flower was undaunted. Droplets of dew danced within the Steam.

...

Li Banfeng returned to the yard. Looking around, he saw the familiar surrounding wall was gone, replaced by a dense forest.

The old lady was dead, and so was Luo Yuni. The Phonograph had consumed all the Ghosts, causing all the Blinding Techniques to vanish.

After walking through the forest for some time, Li Banfeng saw Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying.

The mother and daughter were covered in wounds, clinging to each other, too afraid to move.

Seeing Li Banfeng approaching, Xiao Yeci’s voice trembled as she cried out, "Benefactor, you’re finally here! We’ve been trapped by a ghost wall."

Li Banfeng could tell what had happened to them without asking.

"You want to go to Li Gou, right?"

"Yes, Benefactor!" Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying nodded emphatically.

"If I escort you to Li Gou, how much will you pay?"

"Name your price, Benefactor!"

"One thousand yuan!"

"Deal, Benefactor!" Xiao Yeci was pleasantly surprised; this was less than she had anticipated.

Li Banfeng didn’t ask for more. He recalled the Medicine Shop at the foot of Kuwu Mountain pricing Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums at twenty-five yuan each.

One thousand yuan could buy forty Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums, a sum for which many would risk their lives. It was indeed not a small amount.

Of course, some conditions had to be clarified.

"One thousand yuan is just the basic escort fee. If we encounter dangerous individuals, the price will increase depending on the situation. If I incur any losses, you must compensate me for their full value."

These terms were reasonable, and Xiao Yeci nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Li Banfeng led Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying towards the edge of the forest.

Throughout the journey, Xiao Yeci trembled with fear, while Lu Chunying stayed hidden closely behind her mother.

They had been terrified by the tree branches earlier, but following Li Banfeng, they weren’t struck even once more.

The Ghosts in the forest were gone, so naturally, they wouldn’t be attacked again. However, they were unaware of this.

Just what kind of person is he...? Xiao Yeci was astounded. He’s such a capable fighter, and he even knows Spells! He can even subdue Ghosts!

Lu Chunying tugged at Xiao Yeci’s sleeve. "Mom, use your silver tongue and win him over."

Xiao Yeci shook her head. "Mom doesn’t have that skill. If you think you can, you try."

Stepping out of the forest, Li Banfeng saw a stone stele.

Three characters were engraved on it: Changliu Village.

Upon entering the village, Li Banfeng had seen this stone stele and had genuinely believed such a village existed.

Now it seemed the so-called Changliu Village was an Illusionary Realm created by the old lady and her House Spirit Luo Yuni, with only a forest and this estate here. No wonder when Li Banfeng had entered the village, only one house had its lights on.

But this stone stele looked ancient; it didn’t seem like a fake.

Perhaps a Changliu Village had truly existed here in the past, and its entire population had fallen victim to the old lady and Luo Yuni.

An entire village vanished. Didn’t anyone care? Yet, when I argued with the ticket seller at the station, someone did intervene. Puluo State... what kind of order truly exists here?