The Sage held his teacup and gently swirled it in his hand.

Waves of domineering presence rolled out from Li Banfeng, one after another, filling the space with crushing force.

It took the Sage by surprise. More than that, something about the presence stirred a faint sense of familiarity, as though he had encountered it before. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Have you been on a battlefield?" the Sage asked.

"Something like that." Li Banfeng gave a vague reply. There was no need for him to be too specific.

It was, in a sense, the truth. Whether he had been on a battlefield depended on how one chose to define it.

By that reasoning, the clash between Qiu Luoye and Shui Yongquan could just as well be called a proper battlefield.

The Sage asked again, "How old are you this year?"

Li Banfeng thought for a moment. "I don't remember. Perhaps about the same as you."

That was only half the truth. Li Banfeng clearly wasn't as old as the Sage, yet he really couldn't remember his own age. He had grown up an orphan.

The Sage's domineering presence continued to press forward, colliding with Li Banfeng's presence in steady waves.

One of the disciples couldn't hold back his curiosity. He wanted to see for himself what kind of man could stand on equal footing with his master.

He lifted his gaze and glanced into the room. That small movement was immediately noticed by the Sage.

The Sage flicked his sleeve.

The disciple who had dared to look into the room suddenly twisted in agony. The veins on his forehead bulged, then burst in an instant. Blood sprayed everywhere, and the next moment, he was no longer breathing.

The Sage looked at Li Banfeng and asked, "Do you understand now?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "No."

"I told him to kneel here, so he must kneel properly. That is my rule. If he kneels poorly, then he is defying my rule, and he deserves to die. Do you understand now?"

Li Banfeng glanced outside and pointed at another disciple. "He's kneeling poorly too. Look at how sloppy and loose his posture is. He is clearly kneeling without a hint of sincerity. Kill another one and let me see. If I watch it a few more times, I might understand."

The tea rippled again. The Sage was furious, but he forced himself to hold it in.

Li Banfeng took a sip of tea. He was tense inside, but none of it showed on his face.

The Sage set the teacup down and looked at Li Banfeng. "Do you know who I am?"

Li Banfeng replied, "What do you think?"

"Do you know that even the Peddler doesn't dare to step into my territory easily?" the Sage said. He wasn't lying. The Peddler rarely came here.

Li Banfeng seized the moment and pressed on. "That's exactly why I am here. As his senior brother, I have to stand up for my junior and regain respect for him."

Even if it was a bluff, he had to make sure this bluff was believable. Hongying's domineering presence might back him up, but if the Sage wasn't convinced, he would be in real danger.

The Sage suddenly laughed as his expression became less vicious. "Do you really think you can regain control of the situation?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I can't. I have already lost half, but I didn't lose to you!"

He had lost half.

The Sage went silent for a moment, then burst out laughing. He very much agreed with what Li Banfeng said.

"Very reasonable. You didn't lose to me. I can agree to your terms. You can take your people and leave at this same time tomorrow night. In this stronghold, you can take anyone who wants to go with you.

You all must set out before ten o'clock. Head south and keep going until you find a way out.

Once you leave, this matter will be considered settled. If you ever find a way to win back your face, I will still be here, waiting for you!"

Li Banfeng nodded. "It's a deal."

"Fate, you see," the Sage said, "has decided we should meet. And since fate has gone to all this trouble, I suppose I should give you a little something."

With that, he gave his sleeve a lazy flick and a white-clothed disciple came crawling forward on his knees, clutching a neat little book box. He continued crawling until he finally was right in front of Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng took the box, turned it over once in his hands, then glanced at the young man in white.

"You are quite good at crawling," he said. "Looks like you practice this often. But just now, you weren't paying attention. Your steps were uneven. Your rhythm was all wrong. That shows a lack of respect. Go on. Crawl back and forth a few more times. Let me see your sincerity."

As Li Banfeng spoke, cold sweat broke out across the young man's back and ran in chilling streams. He was so scared that his teacher would believe Li Banfeng and take his life.

The Sage did not make things difficult for the disciple. With a wave of his hand, he sent him out of the wooden hut.

Li Banfeng accepted the box but did not open it right away. He gave it a light tap, then weighed it in his palm, and deduced that there were four or five books inside.

The Sage smiled faintly. "These are historical records. Genuine ones. Don't you want to take a look?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Reading can wait. If I run into characters I don't recognize, you might end up laughing at me."

He kept his tone easy, but there was no way he would read these books in front of the Sage.

He had already claimed they were of similar age. If he showed even the slightest unfamiliarity with these records, or failed to judge their authenticity, the lie would fall apart at once. And once that happened, the consequence would be obvious.

The Sage smiled. "Even if you don't like reading, you should know the value of historical records from Puluo Province. These few volumes alone are worth a fortune. This is no small gift."

Li Banfeng gave his thanks and casually set the box aside.

The Sage stood. "I have shown enough sincerity. I expect you to keep your word. I will check on things at ten tonight. If you lie to me, I will make you stay here forever. Let's see who ends up regretting it."

With that, the Sage turned away.

Li Banfeng fixed his gaze on the man's departing back and asked, "Don't you want to sign a contract?"

The Sage laughed without looking back. "A promise between men of honor needs no such things."

That domineering presence surged once more. Li Banfeng held himself steady and forced himself not to tremble.

Was Li Banfeng afraid of him? Yes, but was there really no way for him to deal with the Sage? Not exactly. He could go on robbing, fighting, stirring Vilefolk Hillock into a dreadful mess and helping himself to whatever he pleased.

Even if the Sage struck ruthlessly, he could just slip back into the Pocket Dwelling and wait things out like a fox in its burrow.

But Li Banfeng had decided to leave. Because, you see, although he hadn't entirely lost to the Sage, he hadn't exactly won either. He had already lost half as some things were beyond his control.

He also understood something now, why the Peddler rarely came to Vilefolk Hillock.

After seeing the Sage off, Li Banfeng called Xiao Yeci over. "Have you decided? Are you coming with me, or staying here?"

Xiao Yeci straightened her back. "Of course I'm going with you, Benefactor. I am not staying here, eh."

Li Banfeng confirmed again, "If I say we leave, you will come with me? No hesitation?"

Xiao Yeci answered sincerely, "If you say we go, then we go. I won't hesitate at all, eh."

Lu Chunying chimed in from the side, "Let my mom change her pants first. That doesn't count as hesitation, right?"

Li Banfeng answered seriously, "Changing pants doesn't count. Once you're done, go around the stronghold and ask. Find out who wants to stay and who wants to leave. I want an answer before eight tomorrow night."

Xiao Yeci did not dare delay a single moment once Li Banfeng gave his order. Off she went, knocking on doors, poking her head into rooms, and asking everyone she could find.

She thought she already knew the answer. After all, these people didn't want to keep robbing and risking their necks forever. If there was a chance to leave this dreadful place, surely they would leap at it.

But Xiao Yeci, quite unexpectedly, was wrong. When she finished asking, not a single person had agreed to leave with the Benefactor. Instead, they hummed and hawed, scratched their heads, and gave answers so vague they might as well have said nothing at all.

"Sister Xiao, I hurt my foot pushing a cart. I need a few more days to recover."

"Madam Xiao, we can't leave just yet. As they say, supplies must come before the troops. If we are going, we should at least wait for the next harvest."

They didn't want to leave and came up with every excuse to delay. When Xiao Yeci asked for more details as to why, she found out that there were three main reasons.

Firstly, some had been dragged here by force. Even if they left, they had nowhere else to go. Secondly, those sent here by their families would likely be sent back again even if they returned home. Thirdly, there were those who simply didn't believe in Li Banfeng. They thought he was no match for the Sage. And if that was true, then following him would be less of an escape and more of a very quick way to get themselves killed.

To Xiao Yeci, all three reasons sounded quite reasonable. But to Li Banfeng, none of them mattered.

The real reason was simple. Their lives had become livable again. And once life became livable, people had a habit of clinging to it. As long as they could get by, they were willing to go on like this forever.

This was exactly what Li Banfeng had expected. This place was different. It was not like Medicine King Gully, Greenwater City, or Iron Gate Fort. People who stayed here for long became different from those elsewhere.

At eight the next night, Li Banfeng set off at once, without the slightest pause or second thought.

By the stronghold gate, Niu Guangda had already tied his cow to the side. He hoisted a bundle onto his back and hurried after Li Banfeng.

"Benefactor," he said, "I told them I was going out to graze the cow so no one would pay me any mind. But I am going with you. Wherever you go, I go. I don't want to stay here and suffer anymore."

Li Banfeng smiled as he thought, At least this kid could be saved.

As they walked, others began to slip out and follow. One by one, then two or three at a time, until more than twenty had joined them. They were all young, and they believed Li Banfeng could lead them out.

The rest stayed behind, settling back into their so-called peaceful lives within the stronghold.

Unfortunately, that peace didn't last very long. Not long after Li Banfeng left, the Sage's disciples arrived and they came with a demand. They demanded that the Benefactor Stronghold hand over seventy percent of its yields. Whether it was grain, livestock, silk, or anything else the stronghold produced, seventy percent of it had to be delivered to the Sage's peak.

Seventy percent? Isn't that too high?

That was what the residents of the stronghold thought and they had no intention of agreeing initially. However, this disciple was a cultivator. After killing several people in succession, he calmly explained things to the rest.

"Your Benefactor is gone. No one is protecting you now," the disciple said. "The Sage's patience is running out. If you don't repent, you won't live."

The Benefactor left. Aside from him, no one dared to challenge the Sage. Why did he leave just like that? Why can't he stay here with us?

I guess we can give seventy percent. We will have just enough to survive with the remaining thirty percent. Back in our own villages, we might not even be able to keep thirty percent. Life now is already so much better than before.

Outside the stronghold, the Sage watched everything unfold.

He watched as the residents went from resisting, to swallowing their anger in silence, and finally to not even daring to feel angry at all.

Soon, another village would take shape here. He had seen this scene many times before.

In time, they would forget how this place came to be. They would hand over even more of their harvest. The Sage's disciples would arrive to teach them, and before long, the Sage would become the most important presence in their lives.

As for that Benefactor, people here would no longer mention him so easily.

A young man had just brought him up and said with disdain. "He left just like that. Didn't even look back. He never meant to take us with him."

The Sage gazed south, then asked the white-clothed disciple, "Do you think he will come back?"

The disciple replied respectfully, "He has already lost to you, Master. He will never dare return."

The Sage shook his head. "I think he will come back. And he didn't lose. He won half. Aside from the Peddler, he is the only one who could leave my territory so quickly. That alone counts as a win. As for the other half, he did lose. But not to me. He lost to these people. Vile creatures, beyond saving."

The Sage continued watching every movement within the Benefactor Stronghold. To him, Vilefolk Hillock had a strange sort of charm.

After a moment, he looked south again and said, "Send word to your second senior brother. Have him investigate that man's identity thoroughly."