Chapter 23: Finally Found You

How could the key be on the bear’s back?

This question, if you think about it for a moment, has an obvious answer.

Before Li Banfeng entered the door, he threw the key into the tangled grass.

The bear rubbed against the tangled grass to scratch its itch, accidentally brushing the key away and carrying it all the way back to its cave.

Following the key, Li Banfeng and the Body Dwelling followed the black bear to the cave.

The key issue now is how to take the key off the bear’s back.

Seeing the black bear about to return to the cave, Li Banfeng hurried forward, picked up a stone, and hurled it at the bear’s back.

He couldn’t let the black bear enter the cave—if the key fell into the pitch-dark cave, retrieving it would be far too difficult.

Li Banfeng intended to use the stone to knock the key loose.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t within five meters—he was dozens of meters away from the bear, and hitting the bear at all was already a miracle.

The stone missed the key and struck the bear’s occiput.

The black bear, struck hard, roared and turned to chase Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng ran, and after chasing for a while, the bear realized it couldn’t catch up; it stood on its hind legs, forelegs hanging before its chest, roaring furiously at Li Banfeng.

This was a stern warning from a bear—step closer again, and it would cost you your life.

After issuing the warning, the bear lowered its forelegs and lay back down; as soon as it turned toward the cave, its occiput took another stone.

Li Banfeng meant to hit the key, but his aim and force were always off—he kept striking the bear’s occiput.

Enraged, the black bear mustered all its strength, knocked down a tree beside the cave, and displayed its power to Li Banfeng.

As the bear turned, Li Banfeng threw another stone, again hitting its occiput.

The bear shook its head, looking dazed.

Li Banfeng glanced at the key on the bear’s back, growing anxious.

When the black bear charged, Li Banfeng fled; whenever the bear turned, Li Banfeng threw another stone.

After throwing sixteen stones, the bear stopped chasing and didn’t return to the cave—it lay motionless on the ground.

Li Banfeng approached and found the bear wasn’t dead or unconscious—it was still breathing, eyes open, its occiput stained crimson with blood.

Had it given up?

Li Banfeng picked up another stone.

The black bear roared and immediately rose to its feet.

Li Banfeng put the stone down.

The bear lay back down, utterly still.

In Li Banfeng’s understanding, this meant: don’t throw stones, let’s talk.

Gathering courage, Li Banfeng went behind the bear, grabbed the key, and turned to run.

Only after Li Banfeng’s figure vanished completely did the bear rise from the ground and slowly crawl back into the cave.

Li Banfeng, with the key tucked away and covered in dust and mud, walked out of the forest and down the mountainside.

At the foot of the mountain, Li Banfeng picked up two stones, put them in his backpack, and weighed them—they were about the same as the copper lotus.

The bait had to be convincing; though heavy, a Traveler’s physical condition could handle it.

In such an unfamiliar place, Li Banfeng should have had no way to tell direction.

Yet Li Banfeng not only identified direction accurately but, using the sun’s position and footprints on the ground, found a major road.

This was the Traveler’s talent.

Li Banfeng could run faster than the black bear through complex, harsh terrain—that too was the Traveler’s talent.

Hitting with such precision and force—was this the Traveler’s talent or the Dweller’s?

These questions would need verification later; right now, the urgent task was to find He Jiaqing as soon as possible.

This so-called major road was merely a relatively flat, wide dirt path—wide enough for two ox carts to pass side by side.

Why measure road width by ox carts?

Because there was an actual ox cart on the road.

Li Banfeng encountered an old man driving the cart and asked where he could charge his device.

“Charge? That’s hard to find—even the village chief doesn’t have it! Try Li Gou!”

Following the old man’s directions, Li Banfeng gained some understanding of Yaowang Gou.

Yaowang Gou was a town—a very large one—divided into Li Gou and Wai Gou.

Wai Gou was vast, encompassing all the villages under Yaowang Gou’s jurisdiction.

Li Gou was the town’s central district; Li Banfeng gave the old man thirty kuai, and the old man drove the cart to take him to Li Gou.

The ox cart traveled from morning until dusk; by the time they reached Li Gou, night was falling. Standing on the cobblestone archway street, Li Banfeng wondered where to go next.

He Jiaqing had sent his address, but Li Banfeng only remembered “Archway Street”—to find the exact location, he needed to charge his phone.

Beside the street was a small shop with a sign reading “Feng’s General Store”; its lights were on, so it likely had electricity.

Li Banfeng entered the store and saw two candles on the counter—only then did he realize the light he’d seen earlier wasn’t electric, but candlelight.

The storekeeper, dressed in a side-buttoned long robe, smiled from behind the counter: “What can I help you with?”

Behind the counter stood shelves densely packed with assorted goods.

Li Banfeng asked: “Do you have a place to charge?”

“Charge?” The shopkeeper sounded as if he’d heard an alien word. “We don’t have electricity here. Ask at Old Xu’s on Yuanzheng Street?”

Yuanzheng Street?

Where was that?

Li Banfeng really didn’t want to walk any further.

“Do you know someone named He Jiaqing who lives on Archway Street?” He asked, though he had little hope.

The shopkeeper thought for a moment, then shook his head: “I don’t know He Jiaqing, but I know the He Family’s old mansion.”

“Walk east along the main street, turn south at the second intersection, go to Xiansuanzi Alley—there’s a standalone courtyard there. That’s the He Family’s old mansion.”

The He Family’s old mansion?

Could it be He Jiaqing’s home?

Very likely!

The shopkeeper was kind; to show his gratitude, Li Banfeng decided to buy something from his shop.

What would be appropriate?

After a moment’s consideration, Li Banfeng chose a feather duster.

The duster’s handle was straight, its feathers abundant and multicolored—very impressive.

For a first visit, he couldn’t arrive empty-handed; this feather duster made a perfect gift for He Jiaqing.

Li Banfeng also selected a top hat.

The store’s top hat wasn’t high quality, but the style was passable; Li Banfeng picked a black one and put it on immediately.

His hiking cap had resembled a rickshaw puller’s; now, with the top hat, his demeanor instantly elevated a notch.

“Boss, how much for these two items?”

The boss glanced at Li Banfeng’s attire and smiled: “Do you use Huan currency or silver coins? If you have foreign bills, I can exchange them.”

In this place, confirming currency type was standard before any transaction.

Li Banfeng had no silver coins or foreign bills, so he naturally chose Huan currency.

The top hat was thirty-one kuai six, the feather duster seven kuai eight.

Li Banfeng pulled his hat low, gripped the feather duster, and walked like a mysterious gentleman slipping through the night, from the main street into the narrow alley.

The He Family’s old mansion was easy to find: along this narrow lane, houses pressed tightly together with barely a gap between walls—yet only one stood alone, with its own courtyard.

A courtyard enclosed by green stone walls, featuring a flowerbed; behind it stood a two-story Western-style house, built of blue bricks and red tiles, vines trailing down its walls, radiating luxurious elegance.

In this small town, such a mansion was strikingly prominent.

Could this really be He Jiaqing’s home?

He Jiaqing’s family was well-off!

Then why did he ever carry stones?

Yet the mansion faintly carried a fishy odor, making Li Banfeng slightly uneasy.

He disliked fish—even at Fuli Academy, when he went a month without meat, he still refused to eat fish.

There were no fish vendors nearby—where was the smell coming from?

Li Banfeng arrived at the iron gate and didn’t know how to knock on such a gate.

Such a large mansion should have at least one gatekeeper, right?

After watching for a moment, he saw no gatekeeper; he pushed the iron gate—it creaked loudly on its hinges and swung open.

Was it appropriate to just walk in?

Jiaqing wouldn’t mind—if this isn’t his home, I’ll just say I got lost; no one would care.

Li Banfeng crossed the courtyard and arrived at the Western-style house’s front door.

A shadow suddenly appeared beside the first-floor floor-to-ceiling window, then vanished.

The figure flashed by the window for only an instant—under normal circumstances, Li Banfeng would never have noticed it.

But today, Li Banfeng saw it clearly—his vision was vastly different from before.

Someone was inside the mansion—and from the speed of movement, that person was no ordinary human.

Li Banfeng gripped the feather duster in his right hand and gently knocked on the door.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The knocking was soft and slow, elegant and composed.

Meow!

A black cat suddenly leapt from the second floor to the door’s edge, glanced at Li Banfeng, flicked its tail, and stepped back twice.

Li Banfeng froze, then heard a familiar voice from inside the door: “Is that Banfeng?”

It was He Jiaqing’s voice!

Li Banfeng exhaled deeply and called out loudly: “It’s me. Open up.”

After nearly half a minute, the door opened.

Li Banfeng frowned: “Why did you take so long?”

He Jiaqing stood at the threshold, staring at Li Banfeng for a long while: “Brother, you’ve finally come.”

“I’m here,” Li Banfeng said, slinging off his backpack with a wry smile. “This journey wasn’t easy.”

He Jiaqing took the backpack casually: “Why are you carrying such a ragged bag?”

Li Banfeng blinked: “Is this bag ragged?”

He Jiaqing laughed: “Of course it is! The seams are splitting. Where did you even buy this thing?”

“Where did I buy it?” Li Banfeng’s brow relaxed, his lips curled into a smile. “I forgot. I think it came free with my phone credit.”

He Jiaqing hefted the bag’s weight and asked: “Is the item inside?”

Li Banfeng shook his head: “No, I left it at the train station.”

PS: Thank you, dear readers. Thank you to every single one of you for your comments and replies—every word, every character, makes Shala incredibly happy.

(End of chapter)