Chapter 278: New Land Train

"Seventh Master, there's nothing much going on at the newspaper office—I'll accompany you around the city." Bai Qiusheng was packing up to leave, but Li Banfeng didn't want him along.

Sometimes, Li Banfeng preferred to go alone; having someone with him made serious tasks inconvenient, and returning to Suishenju was inconvenient too.

Yesterday, Yuwen Qi said a new dance hall had opened in the east city, with over a dozen dancers, all naked, dancing together.

Li Banfeng wasn't interested in watching girls dance—he wanted to observe the customs of Heishipo.

Such places weren't suitable for company; others would misunderstand and think Li Qi had low taste.

If anything happened in his pants, they'd think Li Qi lacked stamina.

"Get me a map. I'll walk alone. Mark any new landmarks."

Bai Qiusheng handed Li Banfeng a map: "Seventh Master, this is the latest map, but in Heishipo, maps aren't always reliable."

Especially near Xindi, you must be extremely careful—I've marked the entrances you can enter, but don't go anywhere I didn't mark."

Over the years, Heishipo has opened too many coal and stone mines; some mountains have been completely dug away, and places that weren't entrances have become entrances."

Don't go to any of these places—they're all dangerous. Some spots aren't even marked on the map, and I can't remember them all. You'd better avoid them too. And remember well what I told you about Xindi…"

Bai Qiusheng rambled on at length, and Li Banfeng listened intently.

In truth, Bai Qiusheng only worried about two things: that Li Banfeng would get lost, and that he'd encounter strange creatures in Xindi.

To Li Banfeng, these worries were unnecessary.

He was a Traveling Cultivator—he rarely got lost.

As for Xindi, from Bai Qiusheng's description, the outer layer of Heishipo's Xindi was no different from Lüshuicheng; as for the inner layer, Bai Qiusheng had never been there, and Li Banfeng had no intention of going deep yet.

Originally, he planned to walk to Xindi.

But some temptations were irresistible—like a small train suddenly emerging from an alley.

Around ten in the morning, the train was nearly empty; Li Banfeng bought a few magazines, rode while flipping through them, and without noticing, reached the terminal.

He followed the map and switched to another train.

Anyone who regularly took buses knew that knowing how to walk and knowing how to transfer were two different things.

Li Banfeng switched trains six times, never reaching the edge of Xindi or finding the dance hall in the east city—he was lost.

Heishipo's architecture was similar, and the city's development was relatively balanced, with no prominent landmarks; Li Banfeng could roughly tell he was in the south city, but couldn't pinpoint his exact location.

"Why is there not a single landmark…"

Ahead was a construction site; a crane operator was smoking by the roadside.

Li Banfeng walked up and greeted him: "Brother, how do I get to Xindi?"

"Why go to Xindi?"

"Hunting!"

"What kind of hunting? That's a death game—get a real job instead!"

The brother was friendly, took Li Banfeng to the roadside, and pointed: "Go straight down this road, turn left at the first intersection, turn right at the third, then go straight to the end and turn left—you'll see the Xindi entrance. Only follow this route—never go anywhere else. If you get lost, people die!"

Li Banfeng thanked him and gave the driver ten yuan.

The driver frowned: "What's this? You pay for asking directions?"

Li Banfeng smiled but didn't answer—he never let anyone do anything for free, no matter how small.

Seeing Li Banfeng walk away, the driver pocketed the money, though he was secretly pleased.

Another driver climbed down from the crane and shouted: "Shift change!"

The new driver got on and operated the machine to lift stones.

The ground supervisor yelled: "Right, to the right, a bit more right—I told you right, you damn fool…"

The man in charge below shouted: "Right, to the right, a little more right—I told you to go right, you fucking—"

The crane's grabber veered off, nearly hitting someone; the supervisor roared: "What the hell, I said right—do you even know which way is right?"

The crane operator raised his left hand: "Isn't this right?"

The supervisor yelled: "Are you kidding me?"

The crane operator thought, then raised his right hand: "Maybe it's this way…"

The crane operator thought for a moment, raised his right hand: "It's probably this way…"

Li Banfeng walked quickly and, following the crane driver's directions, soon entered a train station.

In Heishipo, train stations were common, but this one seemed abandoned—the tracks remained, half the platform had collapsed, and the ticket office was completely ruined.

Li Banfeng was curious: where did this track lead?

Building a railway inside Xindi was unrealistic; even if someone dared to lay one, no one could maintain it.

But as he stood beside the tracks and looked south, Li Banfeng realized he'd been wrong.

The tracks stretched southward into endless darkness—was there really a railway to Xindi?

Probably it only reached the edge of Xindi, to help hunters transport goods.

But why was such an important railway abandoned?

As he pondered, he suddenly heard a whistle behind him.

As he pondered, suddenly a train whistle sounded behind him.

Was there still a train running?

Li Banfeng startled, quickly moved away from the tracks, and looked closely—no train had come; instead, an old man stood there.

The old man had a high forehead, round cheeks, and a sturdy frame; he was stepping in place on the tracks.

The old man had a high forehead, round cheeks, and a sturdy frame, stepping in place on the railway tracks.

He turned his head and exhaled.

"Woo~" Then he imitated a train whistle—perfectly.

"Woo~" Then he mimicked a train whistle again, perfectly.

He swung his arms in sync, as if the train was about to depart.

Li Banfeng looked at the old man with pity and sighed softly.

There was a clear difference between madness and insanity.

This old man actually thought he was a train—how absurd.

I've never thought I was a train. Sometimes I've felt like a plane or a tank, but that's fundamentally different from a train—trains run only on tracks, not free…

As Li Banfeng pondered, the old man suddenly spoke to him: "Get on!"

As Li Banfeng was thinking, he suddenly saw the old man say to him: "Get on!"

"The train's about to leave—aren't you getting on?"

No wonder this old man was crazy—he wanted me to board!

How could I possibly get on?

Li Banfeng looked at the old man and sneered: "I haven't bought a ticket yet!"

"Buy it on the train!" The old man suddenly appeared before Li Banfeng—Li Banfeng hadn't seen his movement at all.

He slung Li Banfeng onto his back and sprinted along the tracks, muttering as he ran:

"Huff, huff, huff, woo, woo~"

Li Banfeng growled: "Where are you taking me?"

"Don't move, or you'll fall and die!"

The old man moved fast—so fast Li Banfeng couldn't make out the scenery on either side.

What level of cultivator was this?

Where was he taking me?

Li Banfeng silently drew his scythe, when the old man chuckled: "Stop fidgeting—I'll throw you off and watch you turn into a flower."

Li Banfeng silently drew his sickle, when suddenly the old man laughed: "Still fidgeting? Think I won't throw you off and watch you turn into a flower?"

The old man's words carried a lot of meaning—break them down.

He could throw Li Banfeng off; with his speed, Li Banfeng might not even see his form.

If the old man looked at Li Banfeng at that moment, Li Banfeng would turn into a flower.

That was the fifth-layer technique of Traveling Cultivators: Galloping Through Flowers.

According to the glove's description, this technique was typically used by high-level cultivators to crush low-level ones.

Li Banfeng was now facing a high-level Traveling Cultivator who could crush him.

What did he want?

Li Banfeng's only hope now was Suishenju—if he got the chance, he'd immediately enter it. Even if the old man took the key, it wouldn't matter.

He strained to observe the scenery on both sides—if he saw trees or thickets, he'd act immediately.

But the old man sped up further—he had passed the end of the tracks and kept racing forward; Li Banfeng's vision blurred. In desperation, the old man suddenly let out a long howl: "Ssshh~"

But the old man's speed kept increasing—he had already passed the end of the tracks and kept sprinting forward; Li Banfeng's vision grew blurrier, and as panic rose, the old man suddenly let out a long howl: "Ssshh~"

He dropped Li Banfeng on the ground and said seriously: "Station reached. Pay your fare."

Li Banfeng replied seriously: "How much is the ticket?"

"One hundred and fifty for hard seat!"

Hard seat?

Li Banfeng snapped: "Do you have other classes?"

The old man unfolded a stretcher from his back: "Two hundred and eighty for hard sleeper!"

"Do you have soft sleeper?"

Do you have soft sleepers?

The old man unfolded a mattress from his back: "Soft sleeper, three hundred and thirty!"

Fine.

Li Banfeng gave the old man two hundred yuan; the old man waved it off with a grand gesture: "No need for change, wu-wu~ huff-huff~"

He swung his arms and "drove" off.

Fuck, gave him two hundred and still no change.

I should've chosen the sleeper berth.

Wait, this wasn't even my choice!

What the hell is this old lunatic bringing me here for?

Li Banfeng looked around at the surroundings.

It was a dense forest, vaguely familiar, yet he couldn't recall where he'd seen it before.

Could he find the old man's footprints?

He seemed to spot some footprints.

There was a row of them, deep and clear.

Li Banfeng followed the footprints back, when suddenly a sharp cry came from behind:

"Woo-oh, wu-wu~ huff! Huff! Huff!"

Shit!

The old bastard is back.

He's not one-way—he's round-trip.

This old man actually has a fixed route.

Li Banfeng didn't dare think further; he immediately left the trail of footprints and ran for over ten miles without stopping.

While running, Li Banfeng wondered: if I hadn't run, and just told the old man I wanted a ride and gave him the fare, would he have carried me back again?

Forget it—I'm normal. I can't take a madman seriously.

If he has another episode, who knows where he'll drag me off to.

The old man hadn't followed. Li Banfeng looked around.

The place felt even more familiar—he was certain he'd been here before.

After walking ten miles east, climbing over a mountain, and trudging across a wasteland for an hour, Li Banfeng saw a village.

At the village entrance, a massive Suoefuren was patrolling; Li Banfeng thought it was a swallow, but when he got closer, he realized it was Qiaocui.

"Seventh Master, you're back!" Qiaocui greeted him warmly.

A real village!

How did the old man know about Zhengjing Village?

Why did he bring me back here?

From the perspective of Zhengdi, Lüshuibay and Heishipo aren't close—but from the perspective of Xindì, the distance between them isn't far.

"Seventh Master, tell Wu Lang to come over to my place tonight."

Li Banfeng froze: "Wu Lang is back in the village?"

"Mm, he's filming by the lake right now."

Why is he back in the village?

Li Banfeng entered the village and saw Ma Wu wearing a black Zhongshan suit, adjusting a camera by the lake—Blood Spear Detective seemed to be filming again.

A few others were setting up props; several actors, already made up, waited in position. Li Banfeng asked: "Wu Lang, weren't you supposed to be handling coal and ore deals? Why are you back in the village?"

Ma Wu replied: "Aren't urgent matters first? Why are you back too?"

Li Banfeng said: "I, uh..."

He didn't explain.

Glancing at the set, Li Banfeng spotted Bai Qiusheng.

Bai Qiusheng was revising the script.

This was Ma Wu's habit—he always kept a screenwriter nearby during filming.

Li Banfeng lowered his hat brim and asked: "You're back too?"

Bai Qiusheng stood up: "Seventh Master, word came of an emergency here, so I returned ahead of schedule."

"I see..." Li Banfeng nodded, pulling his hat brim even lower.

PS: Who is this Bai Qiusheng?

Dear readers, Happy Lantern Festival

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(End of Chapter)