Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'
Chapter 78 - 65: Red Lotus Doesn’t Eat Raw, Mistress Doesn’t Eat Dead

Chapter 78: Chapter 65: Red Lotus Doesn’t Eat Raw, Mistress Doesn’t Eat Dead

After searching for a while and seeing no one, the "Watermelon People" returned to the front courtyard.

One of the "Watermelon People" was injured, watermelon juice flowing out, and Geng Zhiwei quickly instructed his men to bandage it.

Jia Quansheng said from the side, "Brother, you’re being too cautious. It’s not a living person anyway."

Geng Zhiwei glanced at Jia Quansheng. "Do you have any damn idea how much this thing costs? If it weren’t for you, would I have spent so much money?"

"That’s right, that’s right," Jia Quansheng said with a flattering smile. "It’s all for me."

Although he said this, Jia Quansheng was not happy inside.

It sounded as if Geng Zhiwei had suffered a loss! Qin Xiaopang’s ten Snake-Patterned Pills were all taken by Geng Zhiwei, and when all was said and done, the Yu Family Cloth Store ended up belonging to him too!

In the end, Geng Zhiwei had only lost Rong Jin’an and spent money on over twenty watermelons.

Jia Quansheng had seen the Farming Cultivator who made them. One "Watermelon Person" sold for just over twenty thousand. Geng Zhiwei got a cloth store in exchange. Where did he lose out?

Besides, these "Watermelon People" could be used for a year. If injured, just water them, and they would heal themselves. For such a cheap price, getting such useful things, where the hell did Geng Zhiwei lose out?

Of course, these were all thoughts in his mind, and Jia Quansheng definitely wouldn’t dare to say them out loud.

Since the "Watermelon People" couldn’t speak and one was injured, they must have encountered an ambush. Geng Zhiwei took his men to the back courtyard to inspect it himself. Seeing no one, he simply ordered someone to set a fire and burned down the old Yu Family residence.

Amid the rolling flames, a residence was thus reduced to ashes.

Geng Zhiwei said to Jia Quansheng, "Tomorrow, post a notice in Li Gou, forbidding Yu Nan from appearing in Medicine King Valley. Whoever sees her and doesn’t report it will be my, Geng Zhiwei’s, enemy from now on!"

Geng Zhiwei shouted, "Let’s go!"

A group of subordinates followed behind Geng Zhiwei, with the "Watermelon People" forming a line as they walked.

Li Banfeng was in the Portable Residence, gently stroking the Phonograph. He whispered, "Beloved wife, what cultivation level of Farming Cultivation is needed to create these ’Watermelon People’? I don’t want to fight him; I want to make friends with him. I’ll buy some good stuff too someday. Wife, what do you think about cucumber people? The prickly kind! Wife, say something to me, will you? I’m going to be home for quite a while today. If you don’t talk, you’ll bore me to death."

HISSS! HISSS! HISSS!

The Phonograph started talking.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The gongs and drums began to sound.

The Phonograph was playing an opera.

"Su San! After leaving Hongtong County, I made my way to the street’s forefront,

I heard that Luoyang’s flowers are splendid as brocade, but upon my arrival, I was met with frost and cold!"

A familiar tune from the opera "Yutang Chun," the trial of Su San.

The Phonograph sang with great emotion. After two lines, its voice trembled as if crying. No, it was indeed crying.

From the Phonograph’s horn, droplets of water trickled down amid the Steam, falling like teardrops.

Li Banfeng was no emotionless man; he was a tender-hearted fellow.

Seeing the Phonograph cry so sadly, Li Banfeng quickly went to comfort it. "Wife, why are you crying?"

HISSS! HISSS!

With a sob, the Phonograph recited a spoken part, "My lord has not brought back rice and provisions for many days; your servant’s hunger is unbearable~ah~ah~ah~"

That dragging tone in its voice was quite long.

"Couldn’t you just say you’re hungry?" Li Banfeng was rather dissatisfied. "Back at that old lady’s place, you ate so much. Just the day before yesterday, you had a fresh Rong Jin’an. Now you’re saying you’re hungry again?"

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The Phonograph changed its tune and continued singing, "For a poor husband and wife, every matter is sorrowful. I know my lord toils hard outside, hungry one meal, full the next; your servant dares not utter half a complaint, oh~~~"

Reaching this point, the Phonograph started crying again.

Li Banfeng sighed. "This is because you ate too much last time; it stretched your stomach."

The Phonograph’s crying became more tragic, and its recitation more mournful, "Your servant never complained about the hardships. How could my lord mock me so, oh oh oh~~~"

"Stop crying!" Li Banfeng was not in the best of moods.

In theory, living under the same roof, it’s only right to feed one’s wife some good food.

Li Banfeng was not short of money. He couldn’t claim to provide daily delicacies, but to be hungry one meal and full the next was definitely not right.

But his wife’s diet was unique!

Those precious ingredients were hard to come by!

"Wife, how about I catch a Watermelon Person for you to eat? What do you think?" Li Banfeng asked, taking out the leftover watermelon flesh.

HISSS!

The Phonograph hummed.

"That’s just a watermelon grown through Farming Cultivation, with no Spirit Attribute. How could you expect your servant to eat that~~"

His wife did not like watermelon.

"Then I’ll bring back some corpses for my wife to eat."

HISSS! HISSS!

"Your Little Servant doesn’t eat corpses!"

Li Banfeng frowned. "How can you be so picky? Red Lotus is eating quite well."

"Husband, don’t you dare mention that bitch Red Lotus!"

Red Lotus?

Was she talking about Copper Lotus Flower?

The Phonograph continued its spoken part, "My lord cherishes that bitch; all the good food and drink go to her~~ but you neglect your servant’s life and death, oh~ah~ah~"

That reasoning was off. Li Banfeng argued, "Wife, the corpses are just lying there. If you want to eat, go ahead~"

PUFF!

A large cloud of Steam burst out of the horn, as if spitting.

"How can your servant swallow such filthy things? Red Lotus doesn’t eat the living; your servant doesn’t eat the dead!"

Li Banfeng got angry. "You woman, you’re so hard to please!"

"Husband, you don’t cherish your servant, you don’t cherish her~~~"

FWOOSH!

A large amount of Steam enveloped him, scalding Li Banfeng until his body was completely red.

Li Banfeng fell silent, and so did the Phonograph.

Red Lotus doesn’t eat the living, meaning it does not consume living creatures. It feeds on corpses, medicinal herbs, and also special weapons.

The Phonograph doesn’t eat the dead, meaning it does not consume dead things; it feeds on Wronged Souls.

Wronged Souls are difficult to obtain!

Li Banfeng did come up with an idea, but this idea carried no small risk.

...

Geng Zhiwei returned to the Medicine Shop, specifically clearing out a sunny room to accommodate the "Watermelon People."

In the room were more than twenty buckets, one for each "Watermelon Person." They stood with their feet in the buckets, standing straight. By standing like this for a day and a night, they could recover their energy and be ready to fight again the next day.

During the day, the "Watermelon People" soaked up enough Sun to heal all the wounds on their bodies.

At night, a clerk from the Medicine Shop would come over to add water for the "Watermelon People."

At one in the morning, a "Watermelon Person’s" belly swelled up, and then with a CRACK, its entire body burst open.

Li Banfeng stood up from the basin filled with watermelon flesh, clutching a key.

The Portable Residence followed the key, and the key had been inside the "Watermelon Person."

Li Banfeng crawled out of the belly of the "Watermelon Person." He was now in the Geng Family Medicine Shop.

The shattered "Watermelon Person" made no disturbance, and the other "Watermelon People" were silent.

Having eaten no fertilizer, the "Watermelon People" lacked the strength to fight. They showed no hostility towards Li Banfeng, who was gorging on watermelon flesh.

After eating the watermelon flesh and sweating profusely, Li Banfeng looked around the watermelon room and quickly squatted down.

The room had several glass windows that provided excellent lighting. From inside, one could clearly see the situation in the yard outside.

Outside the room, two guards stood at the door. Both were trusted subordinates of Geng Zhiwei, specifically assigned to guard here because the "Watermelon People" were of great importance.

Having just heard the sound of a "Watermelon Person" bursting, the two were peering inside.

Luckily, the "Watermelon Person" that had burst was in a corner, out of view from the windows.

One guard whispered, "You keep watch here; I’ll go in and take a look."

The other shook his head. "Look at what? These things are freaky as hell."

"You actually know fear? Last month, when the young master asked you to collect a debt, you killed all the men in a family of more than a dozen and slept with all the women. Even ghosts tremble at your sight. What’s there to be afraid of with these watermelons?"

"Can it be the same? These are sentient watermelons! You saw it yourself during the battle today; these things are fiercely sinister!"

"These are high-priced watermelons bought by the young master. If something goes wrong, we can’t shoulder the responsibility. How about we both go in and take a look together?"

"You, I mean, really..."

The two guards unlocked the door and entered the room cautiously, only to find one "Watermelon Person" had burst, watermelon pulp strewn everywhere.

Startled, one said, "What happened here?"

The other turned to look at the other "Watermelon People" and saw that every bucket held one; they were all intact and accounted for.

If none of the "Watermelon People" were missing, then what was the deal with the shattered one?

Did another one just appear?

Impossible...

The guard’s hair stood on end as he surveyed the group of "Watermelon People" again and noticed that something was off.

In fact, one "Watermelon Person" was missing. Li Banfeng stood expressionless in a bucket, pretending to be one of them.

Home Cultivation comes with the trait of being overlooked, and the two guards didn’t notice anything amiss at first glance.

One of the guards approached Li Banfeng and said with wide eyes, "This one isn’t..."

PFFT!

Li Banfeng swung his Sickle, slicing the guard’s throat.

The other guard was still examining the burst watermelon on the ground. Hearing a noise behind him, he was about to turn around when he saw a Sickle placed across his neck.

"Don’t make a sound. I’m a good person," Li Banfeng whispered gently in his ear.

The guard dared not utter a word. Li Banfeng then asked, "I’ll ask you something. If you tell the truth, I’ll let you go. Where does your Medicine Shop keep its valuable medicines?"

"They are all in the medicine storehouse, in the east wing of the front yard," the guard answered truthfully.

"What kind of good medicines are there?"

"Are you asking about medicinal herbs or Elixirs? I don’t recognize all the medicinal herbs, but I do know some Elixirs."

"Then tell me about the Elixirs."

"There are several dozen Snake-Patterned Pills. Exactly how many, I don’t know."

Li Banfeng didn’t believe him. "Such a large Geng Family Medicine Shop only has Snake-Patterned Pills? I’m a good person; don’t lie to me."

"The valuable medicines aren’t kept on the shelves; they’re all in the master’s residence."

This man wasn’t lying. Medicine Shops typically didn’t keep the most precious Elixirs on hand. To buy valuable Elixirs, one had to arrange a time in advance for the seller to retrieve the goods.

Li Banfeng then asked, "Where is the Medicine Shop’s money kept?"

"There is some at the front counter, but the substantial amounts of money are in the back courtyard, in the young master’s room."

"Where does your young master reside?"

"In the back courtyard. He sleeps in the Third Concubine’s room."

"Are there guards in the back courtyard?"

"Yes, usually ten of them."

"Do they have cultivation levels?"

"Yes, Chief Custodian Song Baiming is a Second Layer Body Cultivator, and he has two First Layer Martial Cultivators under him."

This was going to be difficult. One Second Layer cultivator and two First Layer cultivators, plus seven lackeys—Li Banfeng couldn’t take them all on by himself.

"What about the other guards?" Li Banfeng remembered that Geng Zhiwei had over thirty guards.

"The others are all sleeping in this courtyard. Sir, everything I’ve told you is the truth. You promised to let me go. Please spare my life; I promise I won’t alert anyone else," the guard was crying now.

"Alright, I’ll let you go," Li Banfeng said with a smile. "I heard everything just now; you didn’t spare a family of more than a dozen."

With tears streaming, the guard pleaded, "Sir, that was the young master’s order! Whatever he tells us to do, we do! Don’t believe that bastard’s nonsense; he’s more ruthless than I am, he’s killed more people than me!"

"More than you, huh." Li Banfeng glanced at the corpse on the ground. "I see you two shared a deep bond. I’ll send you to join him."

"Spare my life..." The guard wanted to shout but couldn’t get the words out.

Li Banfeng gently swung the Sickle, cutting the guard’s throat.

PS: What goes around comes around. Our Ban Feng is here; give a shout-out to Ban Feng!