Chapter 240: The Train Station

Li Li Banfeng slept until dusk; when he woke up and checked, it was already six in the evening.

He had truly missed his stop.

Missed it, so be it; the lingering power of the Judge's Brush was still there, and Li Li Banfeng was too lazy to overthink it.

Once he exited the Leaving Suishenju and picked up his key from under the sleeping berth, Li Li Banfeng couldn't help but overthink it.

On his sleeping berth, one above and one below, two young women were sleeping.

To be precise, this wasn't Li Li Banfeng's sleeping berth; it was the berth belonging to these two young ladies, and Li Li Banfeng should have gotten off the train long ago.

Seeing these two young ladies grinding their teeth, Li Li Banfeng hurriedly explained, "I went to the wrong carriage; you two don't need to mind..."

A shrill scream echoed out of the carriage, and the conductor rushed over.

The two female passengers' explanation was that Li Li Banfeng had suddenly crawled out from under the sleeping berth.

Li Li Banfeng's explanation was that he should have gotten off the train long ago, but he had overslept.

The conductor looked at Li Li Banfeng and asked, "You overslept under the sleeping berth?"

Li Li Banfeng explained for a long time but couldn't provide a reasonable explanation.

The conductor gritted his teeth and said, "Traveling past your stop, harassing other passengers, your behavior is extremely vile; fine of three thousand."

"Three thousand is easy to handle." Li Li Banfeng paid the money first.

The conductor counted it, put the money into his pocket, and gave no receipt.

He took out an iron rod.

Li Li Banfeng looked at the scenery rapidly receding outside the window, estimated the train's speed, waved his hand at the conductor, and said, "Listen to my explanation first; I have a general travel permit, which is valid everywhere in Puluo Province. Let's wait until the next stop to discuss this..."

Bang!

The conductor opened the door and shoved Li Li Banfeng out with the rod.

Li Li Banfeng rolled on the side of the tracks and climbed up.

In the instant he flew off the train, Li Li Banfeng heard the shouts of those two young ladies.

They seemed to be shouting: "Beat this pervert to death!"

Pervert...

Isn't this ruining my reputation?

This matter truly did ruin his reputation; the two young ladies cried and complained everywhere, eventually alerting the train captain.

The train captain was extremely furious, took the three thousand yuan from the conductor's hands, and checked the ticket information.

After checking, the conductor reported to the train captain, "This passenger is named Ma Ma Junyang."

Li Li Banfeng's ticket and travel permit were both obtained using Ma Wu's identity.

The train captain said angrily, "I've heard of this person; he slept with his own sister-in-law. He is the most shameless person in Puluo Province, so it's no surprise he would do something like this."

Li Li Banfeng walked along the railway on the hillside for a long time without seeing a single soul.

Here, it was all mountains, mountains connected to mountains, and every mountain looked like it came from the same mold, with no apparent difference.

After walking for more than three hours, Li Li Banfeng stopped walking.

According to his previous assumptions, what he worried about most was encountering a border line.

Li Li Banfeng still remembered the power of the border line; one wrong step, and he would be reduced to ashes.

The railway could cross the border line, but smugglers dared not walk along the railway line because there were checkpoints on the railway as well.

Li Li Banfeng was not afraid of checkpoints; he had a travel permit, and he was not a smuggler.

What stopped him from moving forward at this moment was not a border line, but a patch of worn-bald turf.

How could the turf near the railway be worn bald?

One possibility was that something suddenly fell off the train, smashed onto the grass, and as that thing slid, it wore the turf bald.

Li Li Banfeng touched his own back; it seemed there were still grass blades stuck to it.

This was the place where he fell off the train.

He had walked back to the starting point.

A fourth-layer traveling cultivator, walking along the railway for three hours, had actually walked back to the starting point.

This didn't make sense logically.

Could it be that this railway was constantly drawing circles?

The railway couldn't draw circles; it was he himself who was drawing circles.

Li Li Banfeng pondered for a moment and moved away from this railway.

There might be some kind of power around this railway interfering with his judgment of direction.

But if he didn't walk along the railway, where else could he go?

Li Li Banfeng looked at the starry sky; on a clear night, there were many ways to determine direction.

He quickly found due north and walked along it; less than ten miles later, a high mountain blocked his path.

This mountain was higher than all the surrounding mountains, and some buildings could be vaguely seen on the hillside.

For Li Li Banfeng, climbing a mountain was not a strenuous task; he sprinted along the mountain road and quickly found the houses on the hillside.

The architectural style of these houses made Li Li Banfeng feel somewhat unfamiliar.

Earth-red brick walls, vermilion gates, rusty door nails on the gates, and a pair of massive door knockers.

This bright red style of architecture should have made people feel festive, but Li Li Banfeng always felt that these houses exuded a heavy, dead silence from top to bottom.

Under normal circumstances, Li Li Banfeng would stay away from such households.

But he had to ask for directions.

Walking to the front of the gate, he lifted the door knocker, knocked twice, and a teenager of seventeen or eighteen opened a side door.

This teenager wore a long gown with a diagonal collar and a small round cap on his head, looking particularly old-fashioned.

He stood at the doorway, looked Li Li Banfeng up and down, and asked, "Who is making a racket here?"

He asked quite formally.

Li Li Banfeng replied, "I'm just passing through and would like to ask what place this is."

"Wait here; let me ask my Master."

The teenager left.

I'm just asking what place this is; there's no need to ask your Master for this, right?

Li Li Banfeng waited at the gate for nearly half an hour before the teenager came out again: "My Master says, do not look at what is improper, do not listen to what is improper, do not speak of what is improper, do not move what is improper; you should come back another day."

What's the situation?

I came to ask for directions; how was that improper?

Li Li Banfeng was just about to ask, but the teenager had already closed the door.

Should he change to another place and ask again?

There were quite a few houses around, with similar styles, all lifeless.

Forget it; this place is quite remote and not the same concept as Green Water City. Knocking on doors in the middle of the night is indeed not in accordance with etiquette; better not scare people.

Li Li Banfeng found a suitable place, hid his key, and returned to the Leaving Suishenju to sleep for the night.

The next morning, Li Li Banfeng came out of the Leaving Suishenju, still thinking of asking someone for directions, but found that there were basically no pedestrians on the road.

The household he encountered last night still had its gate tightly closed, and another household had its gate ajar. Just as Li Li Banfeng walked forward, that household slammed its gate shut with a bang.

What is this all about?

I'm not a robber, not a thief, and not a beggar; why are you all hiding from me like this?

Even the first time he went to Iron Gate Fort, at least someone answered when he asked for directions.

Li Li Banfeng prepared to go further up the mountain to take a look, when he suddenly saw a man in a white shirt walking over with a solemn expression.

Finally seeing someone, Li Li Banfeng hurriedly stepped forward to ask for directions: "May I ask if this is..."

Before he finished speaking, the man in white fell to his knees with a thud, startling Li Li Banfeng.

"I'm asking for directions, not robbing you; I haven't had that for a long time..."

The man in white glanced at Li Li Banfeng with a very surprised expression, but ultimately said nothing more.

His eyes were fixed on the mansion in front, and Li Li Banfeng realized that he wasn't kneeling to him, but to the owner of this house.

What on earth could he be begging for that he had to kneel to them?

Kneeling to the gate is useless; at least wait until they see you before you kneel.

If he wants to kneel, let him kneel; they were strangers, so Li Li Banfeng couldn't stop him, but it didn't delay him from asking for directions: "May I ask what place this is?"

The man in white stared fixedly and said, "To be on the Peak of Sages and still ask where one is, how laughable the ignorance of the world is."

Peak of Sages?

Li Li Banfeng had never heard of this place.

"Excuse me, how do I get to the nearest train station?" Li Li Banfeng had a travel permit and could buy a ticket.

The man in white sneered, "The land of sages, how can it tolerate such vulgar things."

Are trains considered vulgar?

Li Li Banfeng tried to be as polite as possible: "I'm visiting the land of sages for the first time, and I have urgent business to attend to; please point me in the right direction."

The man in white suddenly frowned and replied with four words: "Do not speak of what is improper!"

It was useless to talk to him; this person was not normal.

Someone who kneels to a gate couldn't be normal either.

Li Li Banfeng continued walking up the mountain; the situation of the households on the mountain was basically the same—gates were all closed, and knocking on doors brought no response.

He encountered a few people pushing carts or dumping dirty soil, but they all hid far away when they saw Li Li Banfeng.

Occasionally, he encountered a few who didn't avoid people, but when Li Li Banfeng asked a question, they would respond with pedantic jargon, saying a lot without providing any useful information.

The people on this mountain were sick, very sick.

Li Li Banfeng stopped asking for directions and directly climbed over this high mountain along the mountain path.

Walking north along the mountain col for more than ten miles, another high mountain blocked his path ahead.

Following the mountain road to the hillside, Li Li Banfeng saw the familiar architecture again.

Earth-red high walls, vermilion gates, and dozens of people kneeling in front of the gate.

The formation of this household was even more exaggerated than before; Li Li Banfeng scanned the crowd and saw a familiar face.

That person was wearing white; could it be...

Walking closer and observing for a long time, Li Li Banfeng asked, "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

The man in white snorted coldly, "Do not look at what is improper!"

Li Li Banfeng was bewildered.

Did I walk back again?

Is it them who have a problem, or do I have a problem?

Creak, creak, creak, the gate opened.

The teenager of seventeen or eighteen from yesterday came out again.

"My Master says, your opportunity has not yet arrived; you should go back."

The crowd looked at the teenager with astonishment and disappointment.

The man in white asked, "We have gone through all kinds of hardships, coming to seek instruction day and night; why do you say our opportunity has not yet arrived?"

The teenager replied expressionlessly, "This is my Master's will."

After speaking, the teenager left.

The crowd was very dejected, and some even shed tears.

"Go back? Are we just going back like this?"

"What else can we do if we don't go back? This is the Sage's decree."

"I have waited bitterly for eight years just to see the Sage once, and now you tell me to go back; how can I be reconciled to this?"

"What does it matter if you waited eight years? I have waited here for a full eleven years!"

The crowd complained endlessly, and the man in white spoke up: "The Sage refuses to see us because our sincerity is not enough; whether it's ten years or eight years, ask yourselves, besides waiting here bitterly, have we ever shown the perseverance and determination to seek knowledge!"

Someone nearby asked, "In your opinion, what should we do?"

The man in white said, "From today on, I will kneel here and not rise; if the Sage does not see me for a day, I will kneel for a day; if the Sage does not see me for a year, I will kneel for a year."

Li Li Banfeng was shocked upon hearing this.

This person is so pathetic!

PS: What place is this?

(End of chapter)