Chapter 255: Chapter 182 Portal_2
Li Banfeng kicked the uncle. "You think I want to stay here!"
Several Bitter Cultivators rushed up to attack Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng stomped down hard, shattering a pebble on the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. While everyone’s vision was obscured, Li Banfeng let loose with punches and kicks, knocking down all who had rushed at him.
More Bitter Cultivators surged forward, and Li Banfeng pulled out his feather duster, greeting each one in turn.
The whole Freeloader’s Inn was thrown into chaos.
Chu Er was wide-eyed and tongue-tied, not knowing what to say.
She couldn’t imagine, no matter how, that Li Banfeng had just encountered Bitter Granny and narrowly avoided being tempered, yet in the blink of an eye, he had caused an uproar at the Freeloader’s Inn.
Which hospital did he go to, and which doctor would dare say he wasn’t crazy?
Wasn’t Li Banfeng afraid of encountering high-level Bitter Cultivators?
Apart from Bitter Granny, were there any high-level cultivators at Bitter Vegetable Manor?
According to Li Banfeng’s estimate, among the Bitter Cultivators present, none had a cultivation level higher than the Fourth Layer.
Indeed, Bitter Vegetable Manor was conducive to the practice of Bitter Cultivators, but nobody was a glutton for punishment. Anyone who had cultivated to the Fourth Layer would definitely have other methods of cultivation. There was no reason for them to come to this place to seek abuse.
Li Banfeng was confident he could handle anyone below the Fourth Layer, but now it was getting a bit overwhelming. There were too many of them.
After a fierce battle, Li Banfeng shouted, "Those who want to fight me, stay! Those who don’t, get out! If you’re slow, don’t regret it!"
"Quick, run!" Chu Er grabbed the newly arrived woman’s hand, picked up the child, and they fled too.
This was a smart move. One person leading the escape could sweep away many others who wanted to flee.
The men who were being beaten rushed to follow, and before long, more than half of the people had run out.
The remaining few were still entangled with Li Banfeng, who suddenly leaped onto a roof beam and pulled out the Teapot.
Since these people didn’t want to leave, they would have to enjoy a bath here.
Li Banfeng stroked the Teapot, and the Teapot sighed, "I didn’t want to come here, yet I still ended up here. After all, we still have to fight. I’ve told you, you can’t kill anyone. How do you plan to fight?"
"Just teach them a lesson," replied Li Banfeng.
The Teapot understood and let the tea water rise to everyone’s waists.
They were surrounded by walls, with no way out.
The water temperature was bearable, not enough to scald them to death, but being covered in blisters was inevitable.
They tried to lock their gazes on Li Banfeng to share the pain, but Li Banfeng was darting back and forth on the roof beams, too elusive to find.
Bitter Cultivators could endure, but they still felt pain. The crowd in the water leaped and thrashed. Some tried to climb onto the roof beams, but Li Banfeng kicked them down one by one.
The uncle serving food yelled in a strained voice, "Just wait until Bitter Granny comes; she’ll take your life!"
Li Banfeng laughed. "Don’t you all want to endure hardship? Allowing you to suffer a bit more is helping your cultivation. Bitter Granny won’t blame me."
This was a joke. Li Banfeng knew he was making trouble.
But since he hadn’t caused any deaths, Bitter Granny wouldn’t demand his life for this. At most, she would send him out of Bitter Vegetable Manor, which was exactly what Li Banfeng hoped for.
Li Banfeng could be sent anywhere. He just didn’t want to stay here.
But after waiting for a long time, Bitter Granny didn’t make a move.
She was outside the Freeloader’s Inn, watching, without even stepping inside.
"So the Old Teapot is still in this world." Bitter Granny laughed. "He’s got a point. This is indeed helping them cultivate."
Bitter Granny walked away.
After more than two hours in the hot water, all the Bitter Cultivators finally settled down.
Seeing that they had stopped fighting, Li Banfeng put away the Teapot and jumped down from the roof beam.
He walked over to the uncle serving food and ordered, "Go make lunch, and don’t mix sand into it. If I find a single grain of sand, I’ll give you a beating."
The uncle didn’t dare to say more. Covered in blisters, he shakily went to the kitchen.
Li Banfeng walked outside the building and looked at the family of three preparing for initiation. He asked, "Why do you want to pass through the Entering the Path Gateway?"
The man kept his head down and said nothing.
The woman bit her lip and said, "My child and I simply can’t find food to eat. I heard that after passing through the Entering the Path Gateway, Bitter Vegetable Manor provides meals, and at least we can survive here."
Li Banfeng looked at the man. "Was this your idea?"
"Not me!" the man quickly shook his head. "I don’t know them. We just happened to be travelling the same way."
Li Banfeng had misunderstood. It turned out they weren’t a family.
"Not family, yet you’re stealing their food and enjoying it so much. You really have the makings of someone who bears suffering well. You stay."
"I won’t stay! I don’t want to cultivate in this Taoist Sect anymore!" The man stood up, attempting to run away.
"You think you have a choice?"
Li Banfeng kicked the man down and gave two Ocean Dollars to the woman. "Once you pass through the Entering the Path Gateway, all that awaits you is suffering! Not only will you suffer, but your child’s life will have no prospects either! Talk it over with Bitter Granny; see if she’s willing to let you go. You haven’t passed through the Entering the Path Gateway yet; she won’t force you to stay. After you leave, never come back. No matter how hard life gets, you must aim to live a life of comfort."
No matter how hard life gets, you must aim to live a life of comfort.
Chu Er looked towards Li Banfeng, silently watching him for a long time.
Li Banfeng straightened his clothes, pressed down the brim of his hat, and walked into the distance.
He needed to return to his Portable Residence and take a hot bath.
「Late that night.」
The uncle serving food led a group of Bitter Cultivators to find Chu Er.
"Was that Big Beard with you during the day?"
Chu Er nodded. "Yes, what about him?"
"Who is he?"
Chu Er shook her head. "I don’t know. We met on the road."
The uncle serving food’s cheeks twitched as he lowered his voice and asked, "And who are you?"
"A person enduring suffering."
This was the standard answer at Bitter Vegetable Manor. Chu Er had never revealed her identity there. According to the manor’s rules, others shouldn’t ask about her background either.
The uncle serving food didn’t press further. Asking more would indeed break the rules.
"I’m here today to ask for your help. Could you please find that Big Beard? We have something to discuss with him."
Chu Er looked down, then rolled her eyes upward to scan the crowd. "Thinking of using force? Look at your pathetic selves."
The uncle serving food gritted his teeth. "Are you going to help or not?"
"Not helping! What are you going to do about it?" Chu Er glared fiercely at the uncle serving food.
The uncle serving food took half a step back, a little afraid.
He turned to the others and said, "Get her!"
Chu Er pulled a dagger from her sleeve and began to fight the crowd.
「Deep in the night.」
Chu Er, beaten half to death, was hung on a wooden post outside the Freeloader’s Inn.
The uncle serving food looked up at her. "I’ll ask you again: who is that Big Beard?"
"I won’t tell you." Chu Er revealed a faint smile, looked at the crowd, and said, "Come on then, kill me! If you have the guts, just kill me!"
The crazed Chu Er was still the Chu Er of Greenwater City, scaring the crowd into shivers.
A female Bitter Cultivator grew frightened and whispered to the uncle serving food, "If we do this, won’t Bitter Granny get angry?"
"Don’t worry, I know my limits. Bitter Granny doesn’t interfere with matters of suffering. It was that Big Beard who broke the rules first. If Bitter Granny doesn’t care about him, she certainly won’t care about me." The uncle serving food spoke with confidence. He picked up a red-hot iron poker and said to Chu Er, "This is for sorting out the gateway. You know where the gateway is. I’m asking you one last time: who is that Big Beard? And since he’s clearly not a Bitter Cultivator, why did he come to Bitter Vegetable Manor?"