Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'
Chapter 68 - 55 Oil Cultivator

Chapter 68: Chapter 55 Oil Cultivator

As night fell, Tail Alley was practically devoid of pedestrians. Whether Qin Xiaopang could get his first bite of food for the day depended entirely on the charity of the Unlined Garment Man.

The Unlined Garment Man was eating a bowl of mutton noodles. Half the bowl was broth, and the other half was mutton fat, filled with bright red chili peppers, causing the man to break out in a sweat as he ate.

The aroma of the mutton and the chili peppers wafted into Little Fatty’s nose, slowly eroding his last shred of dignity.

"Bow your head to me, just bow your head, and I’ll give you a sip of the broth," the Unlined Garment Man said, holding the bowl of broth in front of Qin Xiaopang.

Bowing his head was out of the question.

The Unlined Garment Man slurped a spoonful of the piping hot broth, "You’ve been kneeling here all day, are you still afraid to bow your head?"

Kneeling here was because Little Fatty was under a Spell; his lower body was immobilized, and only some of his upper body joints could move. Otherwise, with his last breath, he would have fought the Unlined Garment Man to the end.

The Unlined Garment Man sighed, "I know you Food Cultivators. If you don’t eat for a day, your stomach and intestines start to burn, the flames reaching all the way to your throat, scorching inch by inch through your heart, liver, spleen, and stomach. Just thinking about it feels unbearable."

While speaking, the Unlined Garment Man sipped another mouthful of noodles, "I genuinely pity you. Just sincerely bow your head to me, and I’ll immediately give you some broth to drink, guaranteeing you’ll live another day.

"Bow, come on, bow.

"Don’t think you can just die if you want to. I won’t let you die today, even if you don’t drink this broth. I’ll also make you eat something else.

"Do you see that latrine over there? I’ll scoop out a bowl for you. If you don’t eat it, I’ll still force it down your throat. The Young Master said you have to stay alive for at least three days."

Little Fatty closed his eyes. The Unlined Garment Man was right. His gut was on fire, burning away his organs.

The Unlined Garment Man really would go to the latrine to scoop up something for him to eat. This bastard would do anything.

But Little Fatty would not bow his head to him.

A man passed through the alley, dressed in a red suit with a red top hat on his head, carrying a bag of twisted dough sticks, and glanced in Little Fatty’s direction.

He took out a twisted dough stick and offered it to Little Fatty, "Here, you eat this."

The scent of the twisted dough stick prompted Little Fatty to open his eyes, and he looked up at the man in front of him.

Because the man was against the light, he couldn’t see his face, but he felt that the man’s figure seemed familiar.

Little Fatty reached out to take the twisted dough stick, but the Unlined Garment Man abruptly raised his hand and knocked it away.

Little Fatty had expected this outcome and closed his eyes again.

However, the man in the red suit was surprised, "What are you doing? I’m just giving something to eat to this beggar..."

"Who allowed you to feed him?" the Unlined Garment Man said with a smile, his face sporting a signature rascal grin.

The man in the red suit blinked, puzzled and frightened, "What’s wrong? He’s begging, and I’m giving him something to eat. What’s the issue?"

The Unlined Garment Man’s smile vanished. "What if I don’t want you to give it to him? Is that a problem?"

"I... I’m just giving him a bit of food. This... there’s nothing wrong with feeding a beggar. I... where have I gone wrong? We have to be reasonable here..." The man in the red suit was so scared he couldn’t speak clearly, obviously terrified yet still trying to argue.

The Unlined Garment Man hated people like that the most.

"You think you’re the only one with reason? Is there so much fairness in this world? What the hell makes you think you can reason with me? I could beat the shit out of you and feed it to him. Tell me, is that reasonable?"

The Unlined Garment Man slowly got to his feet, intent on teaching the man in the suit a lesson. He rose from a crouch, stopping halfway up, his balance exceedingly precarious, and the height just right.

Li Banfeng had thought he would have to provoke the Unlined Garment Man further for him to stand up; he didn’t expect him to be so cooperative, standing up after just a couple of words.

Li Banfeng was waiting for this moment. He lifted his foot and kicked the bowl.

The scalding hot noodle broth, along with the chili oil, splashed all over the Unlined Garment Man’s face.

I’ve come across someone who likes to reason and is extremely easy to bully, the Unlined Garment Man thought. Such a person is perfect for venting my frustration on.

He had no defenses up in advance, and until the hot soup splashed across his face, he hadn’t even realized what was happening.

"AAAHHH!"

The scalding soup made him cry out, and the chili oil even poured into his eyes, causing the Unlined Garment Man to burst into tears from the pain.

Despite being ambushed, the Unlined Garment Man didn’t lose his composure, and a layer of grease immediately oozed from his body.

But his eyes, still severely burned by the chili, caused the Unlined Garment Man to grimace in agony. Seeing this, Li Banfeng’s heart wrenched.

What now? Li Banfeng wondered. You can’t rub your eyes after chili oil gets into them, and there’s no water nearby to wash them out. Am I supposed to just watch him suffer like this?

Li Banfeng flung a Sickle from his sleeve, stepped forward, and gouged out the Unlined Garment Man’s left eye, offering a consolatory word, "Doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?"

With an eye gouged out, he must no longer feel pain, Li Banfeng thought.

The Unlined Garment Man was a First Layer Cultivator with a strong physique, and he didn’t pass out.

Using his remaining eye, he looked at Li Banfeng, not understanding why Li Banfeng would know his weakness.

It was useless to cut with a Sickle anywhere else. The layer of grease on his body was extremely slippery, and ordinary knives would slide right off, not leaving even a scratch.

Light Bulb from the Dark Star Bureau also oozed oil, and he had once used this Technique to defend himself against Li Banfeng.

Such people were called Oil Cultivators, who relied on slippery oil Technique to defeat their enemies.

He could produce oil all over his body, but his eyes produced oil slowly. Compounded by the chili injury, his Techniques weren’t working well, which allowed Li Banfeng to gouge out his left eye with a single cut from the Sickle.

As Li Banfeng was about to gouge out his right eye, the Unlined Garment Man blocked with his arm. The Sickle cut into the arm and slid off, truly not leaving a mark.

If knives are ineffective, should I use fists and feet? Li Banfeng mused. Fists and feet would be even more useless; they’d all slip on the body of an Oil Cultivator.

This was what made Oil Cultivators tough to deal with. Someone encountering an Oil Cultivator for the first time would basically find no means of attack.

But how could an Oil Cultivator attack? His hands were oily; wouldn’t his punches also slip? Couldn’t he also not hold a knife properly?

An Oil Cultivator could freely retract their oil. The Unlined Garment Man withdrew the oil from his right hand, pulled out a machete, and chopped towards Li Banfeng’s forehead.

Li Banfeng was well-prepared and easily dodged the attack.

Taking advantage of Li Banfeng’s dodge, the Unlined Garment Man immediately fled.

Losing an eye is a serious injury; I can’t continue to fight, he thought.

Oil sprouted from the soles of his shoes, and he surged forward as if he were skating.

Li Banfeng broke into a run and chased after him.

The Unlined Garment Man’s heart tightened. He might be a Traveling Cultivator! When facing a Traveling Cultivator, you can’t go head-to-head; you need to look for an opportunity to ambush.

Li Banfeng quickly caught up to him, not striking, just running alongside him, not giving him a chance to ambush.

The Unlined Garment Man panicked and quickly changed tactics, negotiating with Li Banfeng while running, "Friend, what crew are you with? I am a Protector from the Geng Family Medicine Shop. You’d best inquire about the reputation of the Geng Family Medicine Shop. Since we’re both in Medicine King Valley, how about we call it a night? We can meet up tomorrow, grab a bite, and talk things over, alright?"

His meaning was clear: they wouldn’t fight tonight. Instead, they would meet at a restaurant the next day in broad daylight, where he would treat Li Banfeng to a meal and resolve the matter.

This was purely a stalling tactic. Li Banfeng had gouged out one of his eyes; such deep-seated hatred couldn’t be so easily resolved.

However, since he’s here to rescue someone, he probably won’t strike to kill, the Unlined Garment Man reasoned. If I start with some conciliatory words and dodge this bullet, it won’t be too late to seek revenge on that guy in the suit later.

"So, friend, yes or no? Give me an answer!" The Unlined Garment Man waited for Li Banfeng’s reply.

Li Banfeng replied with one sentence, "I don’t understand."

The Unlined Garment Man almost slipped.

"You’re not from the underworld?"

"What ’underworld’ are you talking about?" Li Banfeng looked utterly confused.

The Unlined Garment Man tried again, "Let me put it this way. I’m from the Geng Family Medicine Shop. Our Shopkeeper is with the Jiang Xiang Gang. If you want to make an enemy of us, you’d better think it through. Otherwise, take that Fatty with you, and we’ll call it even tonight. How about it, is there room for negotiation?"

Li Banfeng nodded, "There is room for negotiation. Do you suggest we negotiate standing still or while we run?"

The Unlined Garment Man was speechless. He’s looking to drag things out!

Whether standing or running, dragging the fight out was not something he could afford. What he really meant was to let bygones be bygones and for Li Banfeng to stop chasing him.

The Unlined Garment Man slid forward on the ground. It seemed less taxing than Li Banfeng’s effort, yet maintaining his oily state actually consumed a great deal of stamina.

With the Unlined Garment Man’s current cultivation level, at most he could sustain this for just over five minutes. He was reaching his limit.

However, the Traveling Cultivator had great endurance, and Li Banfeng was far from his limit.

Whether standing or running, in another two or three minutes, the Unlined Garment Man would be exhausted, and there would be no oil left on his body.

An Oil Cultivator without oil was just waiting for death in front of a Traveling Cultivator.

To save his strength, the Unlined Garment Man secretly retracted the grease from his body, keeping only a thin layer on his soles.

In this state, I can last over half an hour, enough time to run back to the Medicine Shop, he schemed. Back at the Medicine Shop, I’ll have more help to deal with this Li Banfeng.

After retracting the grease, the sheen of oil on the Unlined Garment Man’s body would disappear, and his skin would look duller.

He won’t notice such a slight change, he thought.

But Li Banfeng did indeed notice.

He had kept an eye on the Unlined Garment Man’s oily face, and seeing the luster weaken, Li Banfeng immediately hooked his Sickle through the Unlined Garment Man’s cheek.

"AAAHHH!" The Unlined Garment Man let out a scream and hastily mobilized his grease to slide his cheek off the Sickle’s edge.

What’s up with this kid? he wondered frantically. He knows too much about Oil Cultivators!

Having his cheek pierced by Li Banfeng, the Unlined Garment Man found the pain unbearable, with cold air filling his mouth. He was in agony, and more pain was yet to come.

Up ahead was the only road back to the Medicine Shop, a straight path over a mile long with not a single branching road.

Under such conditions, it was impossible to shake off Li Banfeng, but he had no choice but to take this road. The Unlined Garment Man’s oil was getting thinner, and he couldn’t hold on much longer.

Seeing Li Banfeng raise his Sickle to strike again, the Unlined Garment Man stopped in his tracks, ready to fight Li Banfeng to the death.

"You little bastard, if you want to die that badly, your grandpa here will grant your wish today!"

After speaking, he completely retracted the oil from his body and drew a cleaver from his waist. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Come on, let’s not play dirty. Let’s go at it hard!" The Unlined Garment Man wanted a head-on collision with Li Banfeng.

Such tactics seemed to make no sense. Without the protection of grease, an Oil Cultivator had no chance in close combat against a Traveling Cultivator. What good would this desperate gamble do?

Li Banfeng raised his Sickle and shouted, "Come on, let’s go hard!"

Having said that, Li Banfeng charged forward.

Suddenly, the Unlined Garment Man’s feet oozed oil, and he spun rapidly in place.

With that spin, he flung out the hundred-plus Throwing Darts he had hidden on him, scattering them like bullets.

This was the Unlined Garment Man’s life-saving Technique. In a desperate situation, he would retract his oil and fake a do-or-die attitude to lure his opponent into close combat. When the opponent really got close, he would rapidly release his oil and, through fast spinning, shoot out the darts he carried all over his body.

It may not seem like a clever move, but the Unlined Garment Man had killed quite a few skilled fighters with it. In a life-or-death struggle, who could think that far ahead? Opportunities came and went in an instant, and who could be so clear-headed?

But Li Banfeng was very clear-headed.

The Unlined Garment Man acted well, saying he wanted to go all out against Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng acted even better. He charged as if to engage the Unlined Garment Man head-on, but after a couple of steps, he quickly veered away and hid in a distant corner by the wall.

CLANG! CLANG!

The Unlined Garment Man unleashed all the Flying Darts on his body in one go.

He stopped to look for Li Banfeng’s corpse, searching for quite a while, but found no sign of him.

Where has Li Banfeng gone? Could it be the darts didn’t kill him?

Shocked, the Unlined Garment Man immediately exuded oil all over his body, ready to defend himself.

What’s the background of this little bastard? How did he manage to defend against my killing move? This is no good. I can’t keep the oil up. I have to get back to the Medicine Shop now!

Just as the Unlined Garment Man was about to run for his life, he suddenly smelled smoke. It seemed someone had already figured out how to deal with him.

This was the route to the Medicine Shop that he had to take.

Someone had been waiting for him here for a long time.

Yu Nan took a drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke towards the Unlined Garment Man.

The smoke swirled around, enveloping the Unlined Garment Man.

The oil-soaked Unlined Garment Man burst into flames on the spot.

PS: Thank you to Black Blade Like Snow.

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