Chapter 283: They Want My Train (Bonus Chapter, Requesting Monthly Votes)

The Train Eunuch asked Li Banfeng if he still wanted to leave.

Li Banfeng certainly wanted to leave.

Zhao Dajun was still earnestly admiring the peaches he had meticulously calculated when the Train Eunuch coughed.

Huh-chii~

A cloud of steam instantly dispersed, and the Li Sha teacher, who had been perched before Zhao Dajun, suddenly aged fifty years.

The peaches were fully ripe.

Seeing the once smooth and taut peaches suddenly sag and wilt, Zhao Dajun was terrified and cried out aloud.

As he screamed, the Li Sha teacher vanished, and the entire villa shattered.

The garden also crumbled, and even the lake outside the villa disappeared.

Around them, only wasteland remained. Li Banfeng said, "So Zhao Dajun's meticulously constructed dream is gone?"

The Train Eunuch nodded and said, "He woke up."

After a moment of silence, the Train Eunuch said, "Was I too cruel?"

Li Banfeng nodded: "A little."

A light breeze blew, and the two men grinned wickedly.

"Hohohoho, being cruel is exactly right."

"Hehehehe, such a fine peach, and he still wanted to fix it—don't you think he deserved it?"

As they laughed heartily, the wasteland suddenly receded, and a new villa appeared before them.

Zhao Dajun had rebuilt the dream.

He was writing equations on the wall, still dissatisfied with the bedroom design.

Soon, the garden returned, the lake returned, and the teachers returned as well.

The Train Eunuch took Li Banfeng and left Zhao Dajun's station.

"Did you see? He woke up, but in an instant, he fell asleep again."

Li Banfeng looked back at the dream world slowly returning to its original state; he could imagine Zhao Dajun's condition in the real world.

He opened his eyes, rolled over, and fell asleep again.

"Senior, I have no dream cultivation technique—how did I enter someone else's dream?"

The Train Eunuch turned his head and said, "Because I have a technique."

"Why did you bring me here?"

The Train Eunuch shook his head: "You still don't understand—I didn't bring you in."

As he spoke, the Train Eunuch stopped again.

Ahead stood a simple two-story house, its style typical of Pulu Province.

A girl, thirteen or fourteen, stood dazed on the second-floor balcony; from the first floor came shouts and wails.

Her eyes were bloodshot, her fists clenched tightly.

Her father was beating her mother.

The girl gritted her teeth, grabbed a wooden stick beside the bed, and went downstairs.

The father, who had been beating his wife, revealed a cruel smile—he struck harder and harder, ready to kill her at any moment.

The girl swung the stick down.

When the first blow landed on his head, he was shocked, even terrified.

When the second blow struck, he saw blood.

On the third blow, he began to scream and beg for mercy.

The girl gripped the stick with both hands, teeth clenched, striking again and again.

She was too short; by normal logic, she couldn't reach his head, and with her clumsy movements, she shouldn't have hit him at all.

But Dream Qian Lodge had no nightmares—every strike landed perfectly.

The Train Eunuch blew the whistle and said to Li Banfeng, "She can't leave either."

The next stop: a woman won twenty consecutive rounds at the mahjong table.

The next stop: a man slept with twenty people in one room.

The next stop: a man knelt on the ground and bowed twenty times to another person.

Li Banfeng frowned: "Bowing—is that a good dream?"

The Train Eunuch said, "I've been to this dream. This man dreamed of going to Jianren Gang his whole life, but never made it—until now, in his dream, he finally did, and he was overjoyed."

"Their hearts are trapped in their dreams, so they can never leave. Do you understand what I mean?"

Li Banfeng nodded: "I understand."

"You still don't want to stay here?"

"No."

The Train Eunuch set Li Banfeng down by the roadside and slowly swung his arms: "You don't want to stay—then why come to Dream Qian Lodge?"

Li Banfeng didn't know how to explain to this mad old man: "You carried me here—I never wanted to come."

The Train Eunuch paused, his hissing breaths gradually fading, like a train shutting down.

He looked intently at Li Banfeng: "I brought you to Dream Qian Lodge because I saw your dream. You had already entered a dream before you saw me—I only delivered you to where you belonged."

"I had already entered a dream before I saw you?" Li Banfeng couldn't grasp the process.

The Train Eunuch asked, "Do you remember what happened then?"

Li Banfeng recounted the scene to the Train Eunuch.

The Train Eunuch stared at Li Banfeng: "You were searching for new land at Heishi Slope, a crane operator gave you the wrong direction, and you wandered into Neizhou?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

It sounded absurd, but that was exactly what happened.

The Train Eunuch's eyes locked onto Li Banfeng, his piercing gaze seeming ready to pierce through his body.

Under such pressure, if the Train Eunuch suddenly accelerated and vanished from Li Banfeng's sight at an incomprehensible speed, Li Banfeng would become a pile of pulp.

Under immense pressure, Li Banfeng couldn't help but shiver.

The Train Eunuch suddenly stepped close to Li Banfeng: "You want my train, don't you?"

Where did that come from?

Isn't my train already in your hands?

As Li Banfeng pondered how to answer, the Train Eunuch suddenly sneered: "Your master wants me to build him another train, doesn't he?"

Li Banfeng shook his head and answered honestly: "I have no master."

"They still won't give up? They really want my train so badly?" Huh-chii! Huh-chii! The Train Eunuch's breathing quickened.

Li Banfeng picked up some clues: "You mean people from Neizhou want your train?"

The Train Eunuch didn't answer, continuing as if speaking to himself: "They sent so many people, trying to steal my dream, thinking I was asleep and easy to trick?"

"Senior, there might be some misunderstanding between us."

Two clouds of steam erupted from the Train Eunuch's ears: "So many people were sent before—none succeeded. Why do they think you will? Because you're a Traveling Cultivator, one of my Dao sect, and you seem somewhat talented—they think you can get close to me?"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "We're not even close."

"That's right—we're not close. I don't even know your name, and you want me to teach you how to build a train?" Huh-chii! Huh-chii! Huh-chii! The Train Eunuch was ready to sprint.

"I never wanted to learn how to build a train—I'm not a Craft Cultivator." Li Banfeng prepared to flee; faced with this madman, he saw no better option.

"We've never met, and you want me to teach you how to ride a train? Pure fantasy!" The Train Eunuch burst into laughter.

Li Banfeng shook his head: "I never fantasized."

After laughing, the Train Eunuch pulled out a toy train, over a foot long, and said to Li Banfeng: "Many think building a train means starting with the body—I think differently. I start with the wheels!"

After laughing, Train Uncle pulled out a toy train over a foot long and said to Li Banfeng, "Many people think you should build the train body first, but my thinking is different—I build the wheels first!"

The Train Eunuch immediately tucked the model away and roared: "You're here to steal my techniques! I was right not to mistrust you!"

Li Banfeng flew into a rage and shouted at the Train Eunuch: "Old man, listen carefully to what I'm about to say!"

Smoke curled from the Train Eunuch's head: "Speak—I'll hear how you twist this!"

Li Banfeng stared straight at the Train Eunuch: "Are we brothers?"

"Are we?" The Train Eunuch looked confused.

Li Banfeng said: "I'll take the loss—you be the elder brother."

The Train Eunuch blinked: "Did I really get the better deal?"

"Whether I lose or you gain, brothers don't count such things," Li Banfeng said with sincere earnestness. "Given our brotherhood, from now on, neither of us mentions trains. Deal?"

The Train Eunuch fell silent for a moment, then asked Li Banfeng: "Is this a Foolish Cultivation trick?"

"Is it?" Li Banfeng shuddered.

The Train Eunuch murmured: "Are Foolish Cultivators still alive?"

Li Banfeng nodded seriously: "I heard they're extinct."

The Train Eunuch looked at Li Banfeng: "If it's not a Foolish Cultivation trick, then what you just said was sincere?"

Train Uncle looked at Li Banfeng and asked, "If it's not a Fool's Skill, then what you just said was sincere?"

"Good! Then I'll follow you—if we're brothers, we won't speak of trains again," the Train Eunuch nodded firmly. "Let's talk about the rails instead. Why did I start with the wheels? To choose the rail type. There are many kinds of rails—the most common are..."

"Good! Then I'll follow you—since we're brothers, we won't talk about trains anymore," Train Uncle nodded firmly, "Let's talk about the rails instead. Why did I build the wheels first? To choose the type of rail—there are many types, the most common are…"

This old man was erratic, moody, and utterly unpredictable.

This old man is erratic and moody, truly hard to fathom.

But Li Banfeng understood him.

He wanted someone to talk to.

"Big brother, let's not talk about the train or the rails. I don't want to learn, and I can't learn—but someone else can learn, and someone is watching."

The Train Eunuch paused, then suddenly laughed: "I know they're watching. When I first drove the train into Huineizhou, they knew."

They don't like anyone wandering through their territory, but they can't catch me, so they tried to buy me off."

They gave me elixirs, land, and a high status—by old standards, I was practically a regional lord."

I didn't care. We Traveling Cultivators value freedom—to go wherever we please. Why should we be bound by them?"

Later, they turned their eyes to my train. I sold the train, but they still watched me."

I wanted to play with them a little longer, but unfortunately, I slipped up this time. They trapped me."

Li Banfeng grew tense: "Can they see your train?"

"They can't see it. Most of the time, I can't see it either."

Li Banfeng relaxed.

"But I can see the key. Hehehe…" The Train Eunuch suddenly grinned with a sinister edge.

If not for his hat, Li Banfeng's hair would have stood on end.

The surroundings changed. The dense forest vanished, replaced by nothing but barren rocks.

Whose dream is this?

The Train Eunuch's?

Did he see the key on me?

Not necessarily.

This is a dream—our dreams have intertwined—but our physical bodies are likely far apart.

The key is inside my physical body. He shouldn't be able to see it.

The Train Eunuch glanced at Li Banfeng's hand and asked, "Why do you always keep touching your pant pocket? Is there something inside?"

Li Banfeng didn't answer. He didn't know what to say.

The surroundings grew even more desolate. Not even a grain of sand remained—only pure emptiness, with no chance of hiding.

The Train Eunuch lowered his voice: "Don't be afraid. Right now, they can't see us. No one can see us. Let me ask you again—you must tell the truth. Do you really not want to stay here?"

Li Banfeng nodded: "No."

The Train Eunuch sighed: "Your cultivation base is too low. Leaving Huineizhou is extremely hard. But we can take a gamble."

"What kind of gamble?"

The Train Eunuch said: "If your entire self enters Huineizhou, you'll never escape. Stay here and keep me company."

"But if only your dream enters Huineizhou, I still have a way to get you out."

Li Banfeng asked: "Why are you helping me? Just because I'm a Traveling Cultivator?"

The Train Eunuch smiled: "They think that's why. They believe capturing a Traveling Cultivator will win my trust. But I don't think that way."

"Then how do you think?"

"When you get out, you'll know how I think."

PS: The Train Eunuch is a bit mad—but he's not foolish.

Shala added another chapter—vote for Shala!

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(End of Chapter)