Chapter 296

Deep night, Li Banfeng sprinted down the railway.

He ran faster than the train.

The reason he took the train was mainly to cross the border.

You could get a travel permit, run straight back, and still cross the border.

But border checkpoints only opened at fixed times, their locations changed, and identity verification was extremely strict; Li Banfeng was desperate to find the key and didn't want to waste time on this.

The train departed at five p. .; under normal circumstances, it should still be within Heishipō territory—whether he could catch up depended on Li Banfeng's skill.

In the past, traveling between Lüshuicheng and Heishipō, he always took the train; as a traveling cultivator, Li Banfeng knew the route intimately. After running over two hours, by ten p. ., he faintly saw the train's silhouette.

He adjusted his stride, silently recited the incantation, reached the train's rear, and leapt onto the last carriage.

After boarding, Li Banfeng continued reciting the incantation: "Don't encounter the conductor, don't encounter the conductor…"

His luck held; the train ran over an hour, crossed the Heishipō border, and he encountered no conductor.

…

As midnight neared, the Lu family's main hall remained filled with waiting figures.

Ling Miaoying's gathering hadn't broken up yet; after dinner, he accompanied the Border Inspector to the theater.

Tan Fucheng said to Ma Wu: "Fifth Master, it seems tonight's no go. If Ling Miaoying takes the Border Inspector to a brothel, we'll wait till dawn for nothing."

Ma Wu nodded: "This matter can't involve Waizhou. As long as the Border Inspector is present, they won't dare act."

Tan Fucheng was right: Ling Miaoying took the Border Inspector to the theater, watching until two a. ., then went straight to Fusheng Shuyu.

Shuyu was a special establishment in Puluozhou; in such places, the girls were called "Mr.," tea cost three yuan, wine service cost three yuan, and an overnight stay cost three yuan—hence the name "Changsan Shuyu."

The "three yuan" here meant three silver dollars; in Puluozhou, such fees were far higher than elsewhere, placing them among the highest tier.

Ling Miaoying and the Border Inspector entered the shuyu—tonight was truly over.

But Lu Dongtang refused to give up, ordering his spies to keep gathering intel.

…

Inside Fusheng Shuyu, Ling Miaoying settled the Border Inspector, changed clothes, slipped out the back door silently, crossed two alleys, and entered a small building.

Tu Yinghong had been waiting inside; she wore a black Zhongshan suit and a peaked cap, dressed as a man.

Seeing Ling Miaoying, Tu Yinghong whispered: "The Lu family has been watching you. Still going to act tonight?"

Ling Miaoying scoffed: "With their pitiful tricks, do you think I don't know? As long as the Border Inspector is around, they can only wait."

Ma Wu went to the Lu family; Xiaoyao Wu now has only Li Qi left. Tonight, we must retrieve the item!"

"I've arranged two helpers waiting across the street—I'll bring them along."

Tu Yinghong shook her head: "No. The Iron Ruler's secret can't be exposed."

Ling Miaoying nodded: "Then let them wait outside as backup."

The two left the building; at half past three a. ., they arrived at Xiaoyao Wu.

The dance hall had long disbanded; most of the staff followed Ma Wu to the Lu family. Only a few gatekeepers remained.

Ling Miaoying found a secluded spot, pulled out a music box, wound the spring, and placed it on the ground.

He and Tu Yinghong both covered their ears; the tiny figure on the tray spun briefly, and the music box emitted a sound.

It played a Western tune—soft, yet strangely sentient, drifting toward the entrance of Xiaoyao Wu.

The gatekeepers, already drowsy, heard the music—not only did they grow suspicious, they gradually fell asleep.

Ling Miaoying retrieved the music box, entered Xiaoyao Wu with Tu Yinghong, passed through the dance hall, and climbed to the second floor.

He had spies in Xiaoyao Wu and knew exactly which room Li Qi usually occupied.

At the room's door, Ling Miaoying pulled out a palm-sized projector, placed it against the corridor wall, lit the candle inside, wound the spring, flipped the switch—the projector began turning, projecting Ling Miaoying's image onto the door.

The image held a key, gently inserted it into the lock, and opened the door.

The image was tangible—it could even use the universal key to open the door.

If someone inside sensed something and hid behind the door to ambush, they could only strike the image, never Ling Miaoying.

The door opened; Ling Miaoying sent the image inside to scout—no one was in the room.

He and Tu Yinghong exchanged glances, then entered together.

Li Qi was indeed not in the room. Ling Miaoying retracted the projector from outside, closed the door, and with Tu Yinghong, searched the room thoroughly—neither the Iron Ruler nor the pistol was found.

Tu Yinghong said: "Did we get the wrong room? This place has barely any clothes—it doesn't look like anyone lives here."

Ling Miaoying shook his head: "The room's correct—I trust my spy. I fear Li Qi carries the items on his person."

Tu Yinghong said: "If he has them on him, fine—we wait here for him."

Ling Miaoying frowned: "Could he have gone to the Lu family too? Then we'd have to wait until…"

Mid-sentence, Ling Miaoying suddenly froze.

His ear twitched. "There's movement outside!"

Li Banfeng, panting, arrived at the entrance of Xiaoyao Wu.

He had returned.

This freight line was unusual: after crossing the Heishipō border, it passed through Huangtuqiao territory, crossed the Lüshuwan border, and went directly to the yard for unloading.

Li Banfeng didn't wait for the yard; as soon as he crossed Lüshuwan border, he jumped off and ran toward Lüshuicheng. After over two hours, he entered the city and reached Xiaoyao Wu.

His legs were nearly broken.

The Train Eunuch always looked down on the trainmen's footwork—but without it, Li Banfeng could never have had such endurance.

He pushed open the gate and strode into the dance hall.

The gatekeepers were all asleep—didn't Li Banfeng see them?

He saw them.

He didn't care.

Gatekeepers dozing off at night was perfectly normal.

Halfway up the stairs, the Qiansi Earring suddenly warned: "Master, there's someone in your room."

The Qiansi Earring's level was far below Ling Miaoying's; only at this proximity did she barely detect Tu Yinghong's breathing.

"How many?"

"One."

High-level stealth cultivators could mask their presence entirely; the Qiansi Earring could barely sense Lu Xiaolan's location in Xindi, but in Xiaoyao Wu, it detected nothing of Ling Miaoying.

Li Banfeng didn't stop—he kept climbing.

Ling Miaoying pulled a thumb-sized spool from his sleeve, unwound a thread, hooked one end on the doorframe, and tied the other around a table leg.

Throughout the process, Ling Miaoying made not a single sound.

The thread was so fine it was nearly invisible—if Li Banfeng pushed the door open and walked straight in, his head would be sliced in half.

Ling Miaoying and Tu Yinghong stood against the wall, silently waiting for Li Banfeng to open the door.

Footsteps grew closer—now right at the door.

Both Ling Miaoying and Tu Yinghong prepared to strike.

Unless absolutely necessary, they didn't want to kill Li Qi immediately—they'd first try to extract the Iron Ruler's and pistol's whereabouts.

Tu Yinghong carried over a dozen weapons; within minutes, she could make Li Qi beg for death.

But unexpectedly, Li Qi didn't open the door—his footsteps moved deeper into the corridor.

What's going on?

Clatter, clatter, stubborn~

He seemed to have opened another room's door.

Tu Yinghong looked at Ling Miaoying.

Ling Miaoying frowned slightly—he realized he might have gotten the wrong room.

Had his spy misinformed him? Or had he misidentified the location?

Or perhaps the man outside wasn't Li Qi at all.

No way to verify now; Ling Miaoying signaled Tu Yinghong to stay still—he could move silently, but she couldn't.

Ling Miaoying gently pushed open the door and walked alone deeper into the corridor.

Based on the sound he'd heard, the man had entered the room at the corridor's end.

Ling Miaoying slipped silently to the door, placed the projector on the floor, and again projected the image to open the door.

The image used the universal key to open the door—Li Banfeng was inside, waiting.

The image was so lifelike, Li Banfeng saw no flaw—he truly believed it was Ling Miaoying entering.

He raised his pistol and fired first.

Click!

The pistol didn't fire—in Puluozhou, gunpowder was unreliable.

But the sound reached Ling Miaoying's ears.

It was the hammer strike.

Ling Miaoying knew that sound too well—it was the unique click of his own pistol.

Li Qi was inside—he was right.

One bullet failed to fire; logically, Li Qi would fire a second shot immediately.

The second shot would hit only the image—harmless to Ling Miaoying.

Ling Miaoying smiled, ready to let the image engage first, then summon Tu Yinghong to subdue Li Qi.

As the thought formed, a scream suddenly erupted from inside the room:

"Huh~ Yaaah!"

He didn't fire a second shot.

Against anyone else, Li Banfeng would have fired a second shot.

Against Ling Miaoying, Li Banfeng had another plan.

Ling Miaoying was a Kui Xiu; Li Banfeng used the Deep Courtyard Technique, channeling part of his wife's power, and let out a howl.

This howl could damage others' hearing, especially severely harming Kui Xiu.

He had tested this move on Lu Xiaolan, so he was confident.

He had also tested it on Ling Miaowen, though he didn't know it.

Upon hearing the howl, Ling Miaoying's vision blurred; she clapped a hand over her ear, and blood began to flow.

Bleeding from the ear wasn't fatal—Li Banfeng's voice wasn't as strong as his wife's, and he hadn't had time to sing a full song, so it wouldn't seriously injure Ling Miaoying.

But blurred vision? That was trouble.

Li Banfeng hadn't yet determined which image was real; he drew Tang Dao, which slashed directly at Ling Miaoying's illusion, severing its head in one stroke.

"Every cut takes the enemy's head!" Tang Dao exulted, but Li Banfeng sprinted out of the room to check if Ling Miaoying had any allies.

He saw another Ling Miaoying crouching outside the door.

How could there be two Ling Miaoyings?

Was the first one fake?

Is this one real?

Is the real one lying in wait here?

Li Banfeng's hairs stood on end; in extreme tension, his pupils contracted sharply.

He used his toes to shift his ankles, his ankles to shift his calves, his calves to shift his thighs—employing the special step technique taught by Huo Che Eunuch—to swiftly reposition himself and evade Ling Miaoying's ambush.

Li Banfeng moved with incredible speed; Ling Miaoying, her vision blurred from injury, failed to see his form.

Thud!

A stumble.

Li Banfeng's legs went weak; he nearly fell.

Pfft!

A muffled thump.

Ling Miaoying's blood gushed forth; her abdomen exploded.

PS: First use of the technique—still consumed too much energy.

(End of Chapter)