Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

Song Jiason returned to the residence and handed two Elixirs to Song Zhiyi. "These Elixirs will increase your strength. Take them and go to sleep immediately."

Song Zhiyi said, "Dad, this is my first time entering the arena. I want to stretch my muscles and practice a bit."

Song Jiason frowned. "The fight is tomorrow. What's the use of practicing now?"

Song Zhiyi scratched his head. "Dad, my master always said, 'Sharpening your weapon before battle is never too late!'"

He had been studying martial arts away from home since he was young, spending more time with his master than with his father. He would often begin with, "My master once said."

Song Jiason extremely disliked this catchphrase. "Stop spouting such nonsense! If I tell you to sleep, then sleep immediately!"

Song Zhiyi didn't dare to disobey. After lunch, he took the Elixirs and went to bed early.

The Elixirs worked quickly. Song Zhiyi slept until one o'clock in the morning when Song Jiason woke him.

After getting up, Song Zhiyi felt an inexhaustible strength. "Dad, what kind of Elixir is this? How come I've never had it before?"

Song Jiason huffed, "I couldn't even bear to take this Elixir myself. If it weren't for your fight tomorrow, I wouldn't have brought it out."

Hearing this, Song Zhiyi's mood improved tremendously.

Song Jiason indeed couldn't bear to take such an Elixir. It wasn't the Elixir he couldn't part with; it was himself.

This was a Marrow Poison Pill. After taking it, one's combat power could be temporarily boosted by one level. Song Zhiyi was a First Layer Martial Cultivator; for the next two days, his combat power would allow him to barely contend with a Second Layer Martial Cultivator.

But this came at a cost.

After the Elixir's effects wore off, Song Zhiyi would lose two full years of his cultivation level. His talent was already mediocre, and with this setback, advancing to the Second Layer would become even more remote.

"Pack your things and come with me," Song Jiason said, leading Song Zhiyi out. They brought no attendants and didn't use the main entrance; the father and son stealthily left the residence through the back door.

Song Zhiyi didn't understand. "Dad, where are we going?"

"Don't talk. Just follow me."

They took a small path all the way to the north side of the village. The sound of a road roller chugging along could be heard; roadwork was still in progress. Song Jiason made a special detour, entering a patch of ruins on the opposite side of the road.

Xiao Chuanzi added a shovel of coal to the road roller and licked a wound on his lip.

...

Deep within the ruins, seeing no one around, Song Jiason turned to Song Zhiyi and said, "Look carefully. This is the venue I've chosen for you. I've already arranged for men to come early tomorrow to seal off the area. Before it's sealed, no one will know that you and Ma Wu are going to duel here."

This place was littered with broken bricks and tiles, and many dilapidated walls hadn't been completely demolished. Song Zhiyi wasn't too satisfied with this combat environment.

"Dad, why choose this place? I'm a Martial Cultivator, and Ma Wu is a Lust Cultivation practitioner. I have the advantage in close combat. This place is so cluttered, it'll be hard for me to get close. If he manages to kite me, I'll be the one at a disadvantage."

"Nonsense! Would I let you suffer a loss?" Song Jiason pulled a silk cocoon from his robes and placed it on a piece of broken tile.

A White Silkworm emerged from the cocoon.

The silkworm spun silk on the broken tile while Song Jiason watched.

Estimating that enough silk had been produced, Song Jiason moved the White Silkworm to a pile of wood beside the broken tile.

This pile contained dozens of logs, all dismantled from houses. They were stacked rather haphazardly, so it would be normal for them to collapse.

The White Silkworm gnawed a hole in one of the logs, then burrowed inside and began to devour it ravenously.

He waited nearly two hours. Only when the most critical log had been hollowed out did Song Jiason retrieve the now rotund White Silkworm, put it in a sack, and sling it over his shoulder.

"You listen to me carefully. Tomorrow, when the fight starts, lure Ma Wu onto this broken tile. As soon as he steps on it, this pile of wood next to it will collapse towards the tile. Even if the wood doesn't hit him, he'll have to dodge. While he's dodging, you beat him fiercely. Don't kill him. Beat him until he begs for mercy."

Song Zhiyi was stunned for a moment. He hadn't spent much time at home, but he'd always thought of his father as a respected and decent man in Blue Poplar Village. He hadn't expected such underhanded tactics. "Dad," he said, "it's not right to use such sneaky tricks on him. If others find out..."

Song Jiason slapped Song Zhiyi across the face. "Why the hell do you think I brought you out here alone so late? Isn't it precisely so no one finds out?"

He hadn't even brought guards; this matter couldn't be known by anyone else.

Clutching his face, Song Zhiyi said, "Dad, I've taken the Elixir. I'm a First Layer Martial Cultivator, and I've been at the First Layer for several years now. Dealing with Ma Wu, that First Layer Lust Cultivator, should be no problem. We don't need to resort to such methods. A true man should act openly and honorably..."

Song Jiason turned and slapped him again. "Did you become an idiot while you were away studying? Do you even know what 'openly and honorably' means? You think you're the only one with Elixirs? Who do you think Ma Wu is? The Ma Family's Young Master Wu! Do you think he has fewer medicines than you? You think just because you reached this layer a few years before him, you can beat him? You really think highly of yourself! Tang Tianjin went to intercept him on the road this morning and still hasn't returned. I've had people search the entire village; there's no sign of him, dead or alive. Do you know how much experience Ma Wu has? Do you know how many things he's been through, how many people he's met? You've never even left Greenwater Bay in your life! How can you compare to him?"

Song Jiason made Song Zhiyi memorize the location thoroughly before they started back the way they came.

On the way, Song Zhiyi couldn't help but grumble, "Dad, if I can beat Ma Wu with my true abilities tomorrow, we won't need this trap. If people find out, our family will lose face."

"Why would you let people find out?" Song Jiason raged. "You talk to me about true abilities? Do you even know what true abilities are? You think skill in fist and foot is true ability?"

Song Zhiyi was surprised. "In a duel in the wilds, isn't it all about fist and foot?"

"That's why I say you're not sharp. You're not as good as your brother. You just don't get it! I've guarded Blue Poplar Village for over twenty years. In all those years, whether it was at the Clear Sky Arena or the Huntian Venue, which duel was ever settled by martial arts alone? Can't you see the underlying methods?"

This wasn't Song Zhiyi's fault. He had spent years away learning his craft and had rarely witnessed any duels.

Song Jiason, aware of Song Zhiyi's lack of experience, patiently explained, "That fight between Old Wei and Yu Mazai, did you think Old Wei could win? If he hadn't given me a thousand Ocean Dollars beforehand, how could Yu Mazai have tripped over a stone mid-fight? That big dark fellow hired by Hua Xuan Inn—couldn't he fight? How did he lose during the duel? Why did the wall just happen to collapse then? Their inn hires a few girls as Fruit Storers—a special occupation—to do shady business off the books. They don't even pay me my cut. Should I tolerate that? Could I let him win? In a duel in the wilds, who wins and who loses is decided by me, your father! Forget about underhanded or overt tactics. Winners stand, losers fall. That's my rule. The Song Family's domain was forged this way. This domain will, sooner or later, be handed over to you two brothers. If you can't even learn the rules, how will you manage the family?"

Song Zhiyi lowered his head. "But what if it gets exposed? Where will I hide my face? I'm also the Song Family's Second Young Master..."

Song Jiason was furious. For many years, there were things he hadn't wanted to tell this boy, precisely because he was too pigheaded.

"You just don't understand things. You're far worse than your brother. If you, tomorrow..." Song Jiason paused, one foot on the ground, suddenly unable to lift it.

"Glue Mud!" Song Jiason was shocked. "It's an ambush!"

"What's wrong, Dad? Who's ambushing us?" Song Zhiyi was truly dense. Seeing Song Jiason unable to lift his foot, he still moved closer.

"Don't come over, damn you!"

Song Jiason spoke too late. Song Zhiyi was already standing beside him, his feet also stuck.

"Dad, what's happening?"

"You useless thing! Why the hell did you follow me? If your brother weren't injured, this task wouldn't have fallen to you! Take off your shoes! Once they're off, don't let your feet touch the ground. Step on your shoes and jump elsewhere. Don't use your hands to support yourself, and don't let your other foot touch the ground either."

Song Jiason had experience. He wiggled his foot inside his shoe and quickly pulled it free.

His other foot was harder to extricate. As Song Jiason strained, he suddenly heard a noise from afar.

HUFF! HUFF!

What's coming?

Song Jiason looked up and saw a behemoth, spewing smoke, charging towards them.

Li Banfeng was driving the road roller.

Having Xiao Chuanzi on the job was precisely to monitor Song Jiason's movements.

Upon seeing Song Jiason and his son, Xiao Chuanzi had immediately sent word to Li Banfeng.

Deep in the night, the wilderness was silent. Li Banfeng, a Third Layer Home Cultivator, was easily overlooked. Relying on the Favorable Wind Ear effect of his Silk-pulling Earrings, he heard their voices and located Song Jiason and his son. He then went back, picked up Xiao Chuanzi, and set an ambush on the road ahead of them.

Having witnessed the duel between the two inns, Li Banfeng had already figured out the game.

A duel in the wilds wasn't about fisticuffs; it was about eloquence, traps, and cunning.

The middle-aged man hired by Willow Garden Inn spoke a lot of fine words and ultimately won the duel. A win was a win. No one cared how he won. People felt he was in the right, so he deserved to win.

As for why the brick wall suddenly collapsed, how it so coincidentally struck that big dark fellow—no one bothered with such details.

Even if someone did bother, what could they do?

Yu Mazai died in the Huntian Venue. Even if he wanted to argue, he couldn't speak.

Hua Xuan Inn had offended Song Jiason. Whether it could continue to operate was doubtful, let alone quibble over the duel.

Would the onlookers care?

They enjoyed the show, and that was enough for them. They couldn't be bothered with other matters!

Song Jiason's thinking was correct: winning was all that mattered, whether by fair means or foul. In this respect, Li Banfeng generally agreed with him.

But in the details, there were some differences between the two.

Song Jiason had never considered a fair fight.

Li Banfeng had never considered fighting at all.

What's there to fight?

Do you have to get into a ring to settle a win or loss?

Who wants to get into a ring with you?

Even with the father and son trapped by the Glue Mud, Li Banfeng had no intention of a direct confrontation; Glue Mud didn't stick to iron. The road roller's iron wheels were perfect for the job.

As the road roller charged towards Song Jiason, he pulled out a dagger and hurled it at Li Banfeng's face.

As a Third Layer Martial Cultivator, his throw was extremely accurate.

But Li Banfeng, a Third Layer Home Cultivator and Second Layer Traveling Cultivator, simply ducked and avoided it.

Song Jiason tried to grab another weapon, but it was too late.

The enormous iron wheel rolled directly over Song Zhiyi, crushing his legs from the knees down and eliciting a heart-wrenching scream.

Song Jiason, having freed one foot from his shoe, managed to take a step back. He summoned all his strength, desperately trying to hold back the wheel.

A Third Layer Martial Cultivator indeed possessed great strength; he actually managed to stop the road roller.

Li Banfeng pushed the throttle to maximum and watched Song Jiason silently.

Song Jiason's face turned a ghastly pale. He looked up at Li Banfeng and snarled, "Bastard! You... you tricked me!"

Li Banfeng smiled. "I quite appreciated those lines of yours earlier: winners stand, losers fall. Let me add another for you: when you're dead, you shut your mouth."

Finished speaking, Li Banfeng said to Xiao Chuan, "Didn't he want to take one of your legs?"

"Yes!" Xiao Chuan, standing behind him, nodded through clenched teeth.

Li Banfeng drew his Tang Sword and handed it to Xiao Chuan.

"Brother, time for work. Take Old Master Song's leg off for him."

Xiao Chuan took the sword, climbed down from the road roller, raised the blade, and chopped down on Song Jiason's right leg.

He didn't even need to use much force. Such was the quality of the Tang Sword! With one strike, Song Jiason's right leg was severed cleanly at the root.

This time, Song Jiason could no longer hold on. The road roller rolled directly over the father and son.

After stopping the vehicle, Li Banfeng saw that the aftermath on the ground would be tricky to handle.

Xiao Chuan said, "Seventh Master, don't worry about this. I'll cover it with some asphalt later and flatten it. You go on with your business."

This brother really gets it!

Li Banfeng smiled, pulled down the brim of his hat, and left the wild field.

「The next day, at 12:30 PM.」

The Song Family's men arrived early to secure the dueling ground, but Song Jiason and Song Zhiyi didn't appear.

After waiting in the wilderness for half an hour, Ma Wu shouted to the onlookers:

"Though I, Ma Junyang, have fallen on hard times, standing here, I am still a true man! Song Jiason said he wanted a duel in the wilds, and I came! I didn't send anyone else; I came myself! It's nothing more than putting my life on the line here, but I, Ma Junyang, haven't chickened out! I'll wait right here all day! I want to see if Song Jiason and his son dare to show up!"

Li Banfeng watched with a smile as Xiao Chuanzi led the cheering from within the crowd.

It just goes to show, a duel in the wilds is all about eloquence!