Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

It's settled.

In just two short words, Li Banfeng had agreed to the business deal.

Zuo Wugang was a bit skeptical and planned to confirm it again, but he saw Li Banfeng whisper a few words to Xiao Chuan and then place a box of Ocean Dollars on the table.

Li Banfeng said, "The payment is here, but let's be clear about one thing: you are here to answer the call for Support, not to be Retainers. You must follow orders."

Zuo Wugang nodded, "Of course."

Li Banfeng went out briefly and returned with three contract papers, which he handed to Zuo Wugang. "Please imprint your hand seals."

Zuo Wugang glanced over them briefly. The content of the contract was simple: Zuo Wugang and the others were responsible for protecting the safety of the main household, and the main household would pay them accordingly.

If Zuo Wugang no longer wished to serve as Support, after mutual negotiation, they could part on good terms. However, if during his tenure as Support Zuo Wugang disobeyed orders or even betrayed the main household, he had to accept any punishment the main household decided.

Having served as Support all their lives, they had naturally signed similar contracts before. Zuo Wugang and the others did not hesitate to imprint their hand seals, thus becoming Li Banfeng and Ma Wu's Support.

Could he trust these three men? Honestly, he couldn't.

With the current strength of Li Banfeng and Ma Wu, hiring a Sixth Layer Chief Custodian was risky, and the risk was considerable.

If Zuo Wugang and his companions had ulterior motives, Li Banfeng and Ma Wu had few means to counter them.

But few didn't mean none.

Li Banfeng had ways to investigate Zuo Wugang's background.

As for Li Banfeng, Zuo Wugang knew almost nothing.

Just now, the contract they signed was made of Copper Lotus Flower refined Contract Paper, and the auxiliary material used in the Contract Paper was Li Banfeng's Rust Pill. If Zuo Wugang were to break the contract, he would become a pile of rust.

After having a couple of drinks, Zuo Wugang said to Li Banfeng, "Seventh Master, may we meet Young Master Wu? Both he and you are our employers, and as Support, we should at least see the face of our master."

A reasonable request; Li Banfeng agreed.

Xiao Chuanzi led Zuo Wugang to Ma Wu's bedside. Upon seeing that Ma Wu could barely move except for breathing and occasionally blinking, Zuo Wugang pondered for a moment and then asked, "Is this Wind Paralysis Syndrome?"

"What Wind Paralysis Syndrome!" Xiao Chuanzi gave Zuo Wugang a look of disdain.

Li Banfeng inquired, "Is this Wind Paralysis Syndrome referring to leprosy?"

"It's not leprosy," Zuo Wugang waved his hand. "Wind Paralysis Syndrome is caused by exposure to a strong wind. This leads to numbness over the entire body and an inability to move. I have a folk remedy for it that's very effective—one dose usually does the trick."

Xiao Chuanzi frowned and said, "Master Zuo, you're a person of status, and treating illnesses shouldn't be taken lightly. I've seen the Wind Paralysis Syndrome you speak of before; it's completely different from what our young master has."

Zuo Wugang scratched his head and said, "A different thing, you say? The symptoms look quite similar. My remedy is indeed very effective; more than one person has said so."

Li Banfeng observed Zuo Wugang carefully. He felt there was more to his words.

He invited Zuo Wugang to the living room to ask about the origins of the remedy. Zuo Wugang took a sip of tea and said, "You don't need to ask about the origins. Just know that this potion for treating Wind Paralysis Syndrome truly works, especially for those who have been out and about for years. It's effective against cold winds, warm winds, and even sudden gusts!"

Li Banfeng understood.

The 'people who have been out and about for years' he mentioned are Traveling Cultivators.

If this remedy worked, that meant it had been effective for Lu Dongliang in the past.

Had Lu Dongliang experienced symptoms similar to Ma Wu's? He must have; it was inevitable.

With his age, to have reached Ninth Layer cultivation level without consuming Elixirs would have been impossible, and contracting Pill's Poison would surely have been a regular occurrence.

As the premier household in Puluo State, Lu Dongliang must have possessed some methods to counteract Pill's Poison.

Though Elixirs from different families differ in properties and no single formula can neutralize all Pill's Poisons, Elixirs refined by Red Lotus possess extremely high purity, as do Gold Yuan Pills. This means such Elixirs likely share certain commonalities. The common toxicity of Gold Yuan Pills is likely full-body numbness, which is also their basic toxicity.

Besides the basic toxicity, Gold Yuan Pills acquired from other sources have various characteristic Pill's Poisons. These are difficult to counteract and require specific treatments for the different toxicities; it is impossible to have a universal antidote. This is why there is no cure for Pill's Poison.

Zuo Wugang has a method to counteract the basic toxicity. This would be of limited use to Lu Dongliang, but for Li Banfeng, it would be a significant boon.

The poison refined by Red Lotus likely only has the basic toxicity.

Since Zuo Wugang had mentioned it, Li Banfeng naturally couldn't miss the opportunity.

"This remedy must be very precious." Li Banfeng waited for Zuo Wugang to state his price.

Zuo Wugang slightly shook his head. "I don't remember the formula, but I do have a few prepared doses of the medicine."

He didn't want to reveal the recipe.

That was reasonable enough.

This was a technique he had learned through hard work. Regardless of its source, it was not easy to mention it in such a setting. Indeed, there was no reason to disclose it to Li Banfeng.

"The prepared medicine will do," Li Banfeng nodded. "Name your price."

"You are the master, and I am Support; I shouldn't be setting a price with you." Zuo Wugang's offering of this medicine was to show his sincerity.

Li Banfeng tilted his head slightly. Under the cover of shadows and beard, his face was completely hidden, but it seemed to convey a simple message.

He didn't want to hear the other party talk in riddles.

Having gained some understanding of the Seventh Master's temperament, Zuo Wugang decided to speak straightforwardly. "I failed in the employ of the Lu Family. With my reputation ruined, nobody wants me. Seventh Master, without a second thought, you took me in. I am deeply grateful. The first dose of medicine is on me, as thanks for your kindness, Seventh Master. In the future, if you or Young Master Wu need more, just cover the cost of the medicinal ingredients."

Li Banfeng appreciated Zuo Wugang's character. Zuo Wugang went over to Ma Wu, took out a small bottle of Medicine Powder, and administered it to Ma Wu.

More than an hour later, Ma Wu's fingertips could move slightly.

Xiao Chuanzi expressed his surprise, "Master Zuo, your medicine really works!"

Zuo Wugang smiled. "Yes, it does. It's effective for Wind Paralysis Syndrome, but only for that particular condition. If it were some other disease, it would be difficult to say. It's still best to advise Young Master Wu to be more restrained."

"What disease are you talking about?" Xiao Chuanzi was not pleased, thinking that Zuo Wugang was insinuating that their young master had contracted some unsavory illness.

Zuo Wugang remained silent, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the Seventh Master.

Li Banfeng understood. Zuo Wugang was reminding him, and this statement also confirmed Li Banfeng's speculation.

This medicine could treat the numbness caused by the Gold Yuan Pill, but Zuo Wugang had no way to resolve other symptoms of Pill's Poison.

After waiting for most of the day, Ma Wu was able to eat and move around.

Grateful to Zuo Wugang, Ma Wu instructed Xiao Chuanzi to arrange a place for Zuo Wugang to stay. Just after Zuo Wugang left, Ma Wu worked his cheek muscles, squeezing out a small clump of Medicine Powder from between his teeth.

Li Banfeng was startled. "You managed to hold that in?"

"This is good stuff, genuinely good stuff! I need to analyze its properties first; I've already recognized a few of the medicinal ingredients."

Ma Wu was eager to reverse-engineer the prescription and didn't close his eyes the entire night.

By the next morning, Ma Wu's eyes were bloodshot, yet the prescription had not been deduced.

"There are dozens of medicinal ingredients in this bit of Medicine Powder; some I can roughly identify, but others I just can't discern..." Ma Wu wanted to return to the Ma Family's old residence to find some books related to medicinal ingredients from the library. However, he was worried his father wouldn't allow him in the door.

"How about I find a Medicine Cultivator to try?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "That won't do."

Ma Wu sighed lightly; he also knew that wasn't appropriate.

This was the Medicine Powder Zuo Wugang had given to save Ma Wu's life. If they got a Medicine Cultivator to decipher the prescription, it would mean spreading the formula. That would be unfair to Old Zuo.

"Brother Ma, you should rest. Leave this Medicine Powder with me for safekeeping." Li Banfeng took the Medicine Powder back to his Portable Residence and stared at the Copper Lotus Flower for a long while.

The Copper Lotus Flower could refine anything. However, Li Banfeng didn't plan to refine this bit of Medicine Powder; he was contemplating whether the Copper Lotus Flower could refine an actual prescription. This seemed to go against the Copper Lotus Flower's functions. What if the powder was consumed and nothing was refined in the end? Wouldn't that be a major loss?

After hesitating for a while, Li Banfeng still fed the Medicine Powder to the Red Lotus.

Zuo Wugang was still around, so the source of the Medicine Powder wasn't cut off. Even if this batch was lost, he could simply request another prepared dose from Zuo Wugang.

The Red Lotus swallowed the Medicine Powder and showed no reaction for some time.

Li Banfeng sighed, about to give up, when suddenly he saw the Red Lotus open its petals again. Inside the Lotus Heart, an existing Lotus Seed had matured.

This Lotus Seed was refined from the body of Liu Liangyi. Logically, the Elixir should have been ready by now, but it seemed as though the Copper Lotus Flower was deliberately slowing down the process.

The Red Lotus was indeed doing it intentionally. She was afraid that if the Elixir was refined too quickly, Li Banfeng would get an itch and have impulsive thoughts.

Li Banfeng did indeed feel impulsive. Liu Liangyi had a Fourth Layer cultivation level and had lived for an unknown number of years. Based on Li Banfeng's estimate, it should yield sixteen to twenty Mysterious Flame Pills.

But the result was unexpected: three Gold Yuan Pills burst from the Lotus Seed.

That was equivalent to thirty Mysterious Flame Pills.

A big profit!

A huge profit!

As Li Banfeng was secretly delighted, he suddenly noticed something off about one of the Elixirs.

The other two were round and full, gleaming with a brilliant golden light under the candlelight.

This one was dull, as though a Gold Bean had been coated with a layer of golden paint.

Why was there such a discrepancy? Was this Elixir insufficient in quantity or impure in quality?

While Li Banfeng was observing closely, the Phonograph started singing, "Hey~ Husband, what are you staring at that Elixir for? Don't tell me you're going mad and thinking of eating it again?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I suffered a big loss last time. This time I've learned my lesson; I won't eat it again."

"Husband, you know the suffering involved. Since it can't be eaten, quickly price it and sell it, so we can buy some groceries."

"My dear Wife, the 'groceries' you eat can't be bought with money. Besides, you ate so many Ghost Servants recently. Are you hungry again so soon?"

HMPH!

The Phonograph retorted indignantly, "Husband, my body isn't what it used to be. Naturally, my appetite has grown."

Li Banfeng, with a look of surprise, asked, "Are you pregnant?"

SOB... SOB...

The Phonograph sobbed repeatedly. "Husband, you're mocking me again! You know perfectly well that this body of mine cannot bear your child."

"Whether one can conceive depends on combat strength, technique, strategy, and sincerity... My dear Wife, let's consummate our marriage first..."

WHOOSH.

A cloud of steam pushed Li Banfeng back as the wife's voice turned dignified. "Clothes are difficult to launder, so cherish them, Husband. You've slept for a night, so your cultivation practice should be sufficient. Hurry up and go buy those 'groceries'."

Li Banfeng left the Portable Residence. Suddenly, the Phonograph called out to the outer chamber, "Sister Lian, didn't the color of one of the Elixirs seem a bit off just now?"

Red Lotus replied, "Since they're all going to be sold anyway, letting that madman earn more money isn't a bad thing, is it?"

"If he really sells it for money, that's one thing. But I'm worried he'll go mad and eat the Elixir again. You'd better not poison him."

Red Lotus sneered. "Why, do you pity him now?"

PUFF... PUFF...

The sound of steam spraying suddenly slowed, and the Phonograph sang in a chilling tone, "Whether I care for him or not is none of your concern. Don't do things behind my back, or this won't be over between us."

The steam puffed out slowly.

Dew covered the Copper Lotus Flower.

Li Banfeng sat in the wooden hut holding the Elixir, still pondering the issue with the one Elixir's coloration.

After observing it in his hand for a long time, Li Banfeng suddenly noticed cracks on the Elixir.

What in the world was it made of?

Tracing along the crack closely, Li Banfeng peeled away the outer shell of the Elixir bit by bit, much like dismantling a jigsaw ball when he was a child.

The Elixir was hollow. On the inner wall of the shell, Li Banfeng saw three words: Blue Leaf Poplar.

P.S. The name of Blue Poplar Village comes from the Blue Leaf Poplar tree.