Chapter 38: Singing Before Sleep

Li Banfeng had the driver drive the carriage to a wilderness area in Outer Gully and told him to unload the goods.

Chunsheng had already paid enough for the carriage, and the driver didn't ask any more questions. He placed the carriage load of items by the edge of the woods and drove away.

Li Banfeng looked around to make sure no one was there, exerted his strength, and hoisted the four-poster wooden bed.

You really have to say, a traveler's load-bearing capacity is quite good. Carrying such a large wooden bed, Li Banfeng could still spare a hand to take out the key.

This solid wood bed was truly heavy.

That clerk named Chunsheng just now was able to move the large bed onto the carriage by himself; it seems he wasn't an ordinary person either.

Li Banfeng moved the bed into the Leaving Suishenju. The Leaving Suishenju itself wasn't large, only six or seven square meters, and with a 1.5-meter bed, the space was a bit tight.

Li Banfeng also moved the phonograph in, thinking about where to put it.

Put it opposite the bed and listen to music while lying in bed?

Enjoying the beauty of the music while watching the steam spray out—that would be quite cozy.

But after one song finished, he would have to get out of bed to change the record, and if the two cups of water burned dry, he would have to get out of bed to add water.

If he had to get out of bed frequently while listening to music, it would lose a bit of the charm.

Li Banfeng placed the phonograph by the bedside. Lying in bed, he could change records, add water, extinguish the fire, and wind the spring with one reach, without having to get out of bed.

This idea was good; it was settled.

After moving the phonograph and spreading the bedding, he wiped off the dust with the feather duster and folded the clothes the shopkeeper gave him neatly, placing them next to his backpack first.

There were still many things to prepare; he needed a wardrobe, a storage cabinet, and a set of table and chairs...

Li Banfeng's eyelids felt a bit heavy; he was feeling sleepy.

After coming down the mountain, he and Xiao Pang rested at the inn for a day and only returned to Li Gully the next day. Now that dusk had just passed and the sky had just turned dark, logically speaking, Li Banfeng shouldn't be this exhausted.

Could it be that the residual poison in his body hadn't been cleared?

That shouldn't be! Didn't they say residential cultivation recovers the fastest?

No matter how exhausted he was, he had to go see Xiao Pang. Having been in this place for so long, if there was one person who could be considered Li Banfeng's friend, it really had to be Qin Xiaopang.

When he arrived at the steamed bun shop at the street corner, Qin Xiaopang was still eating fiercely, and several stacks of steamer baskets were piled up by the table.

"Why did you go for so long?" Qin Xiaopang had a bun stuffed in his mouth, his speech a bit muffled.

"Negotiated the price with Shopkeeper Feng." Li Banfeng pulled up a chair and sat down, instructing the shopkeeper to bring two more baskets of buns.

The bun shop wasn't large, but the buns were made exquisitely—beef filling. Take a bite, slurp gently, and the whole mouth is filled with fresh soup, paired with two cloves of garlic. Authentic food, simple and pure.

Li Banfeng ordered a pot of wine. He didn't know which wine in this shop was good; he hadn't heard of any of the wine names here. He just told the clerk to bring the best wine.

Qin Xiaopang felt a bit of heartache. His elixirs hadn't been sold yet, so even the wine in the bun shop was a bit luxurious for him.

"Brother Qin, don't worry, this meal is on me." Li Banfeng poured a cup and sipped it. The wine was very strong; it brewed in his mouth for a long time before he swallowed it.

Seeing Li Banfeng so generous, Qin Xiaopang lowered his voice: "At what price did you sell them?"

Li Banfeng made a gesture: "Six thousand."

There was no need to hide this from Qin Xiaopang. If he wanted to sell goods to Shopkeeper Feng in the future, he estimated it would be this price.

Qin Xiaopang shook his head upon hearing this: "Brother Li, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but you sold them for too little. These aren't ordinary items; you really don't know the ropes here."

"What ropes?"

The sky was already late, and there was no one else in the bun shop. Qin Xiaopang lowered his voice to the lowest: "I just met an acquaintance in this bun shop and asked about the market, and I really found out something:

The wealthy families in Puluozhou buy thousands of elixirs every year. At the end of the year, they specifically reward the meritorious descendants in their families.

A whole family, after working hard for a year, all want to compete for a few more elixirs to exchange for cultivation. But what if they don't have merit? They have to buy them on the market at a high price.

The market price is different from the medicine shop. The medicine shop sells them for ten thousand, but on the market, it's at least twelve thousand, fifteen thousand, eighteen thousand, or even twenty thousand. You sold them for six thousand; you really sold them at a loss."

Li Banfeng shook his head: "If these elixirs can be sold, they are money. If they can't be sold, what use are they staying with me? I'm not short on those few days of cultivation, nor do I know any wealthy descendants."

Qin Xiaopang sipped his wine: "How about this? After we rest for two days, I'll take you around Medicine King Gully. We can't climb up to the super-rich, but I know quite a few sons of small wealthy families."

Li Banfeng ate a bun and laughed: "Thanks for your kind intentions, but I'm returning to Yuezhou tomorrow."

"Yuezhou?" Qin Xiaopang hadn't heard of this place name.

"Yuezhou is a place in the Outer Continent. I came from that place."

"You're going back? So soon?" Xiao Pang felt a bit disappointed, but after eating two buns, he felt a bit relieved.

"That's right, you came from the Outer Continent and have seen the world; you definitely wouldn't look down on a place like Puluozhou.

One day, I also want to go to the Outer Continent to see. Such a good place—if I haven't been there, I've lived this life in vain."

Such a good place?

Is Yuezhou a good place?

Li Banfeng felt Yuezhou was indeed a good place, but if he had to say what was good about it, he couldn't say.

They ate until the bun shop closed, and the two parted ways there.

Qin Xiaopang said: "You know where my home is. When you come to Puluozhou again, you must come find me."

The effect of the wine gradually took hold, and coupled with his exhaustion, Li Banfeng lay on the bed, about to fall asleep.

Just lying down like this, he felt something was missing.

Did he not walk enough twenty li today?

He walked enough.

Then what else was there to do?

Li Banfeng sat up halfway, took out the crank, inserted it into the phonograph, and wound it fully.

So that was what was missing; it was the music before sleep.

He specifically chose a record. The record was wrapped in hard paper, and the hard paper had a colorful cover.

On the cover was a patch of red and yellow flowers, and in the center of the flowers was a young lady in a long dress dancing gracefully.

Li Banfeng pulled out the record, placed it on the phonograph tray, and flipped the switch. Amidst the noisy background sound, the phonograph played a beautiful singing voice:

The south wind blows cool!

The nightingale sings softly!

The flowers under the moon have all entered dreams; only the night-blooming jasmine exhales its fragrance!

"Night-Blooming Jasmine"!

He had heard this song before, but never liked it as much as he did tonight.

Before the song finished, Li Banfeng had already entered dreamland.

He used the spring; the reason he didn't use the steam engine was because he was worried he would fall asleep at any time.

With the spring, he didn't need to consider the problem of extinguishing the fire, so Li Banfeng entered his dream with peace of mind.

"I sing for you, I ponder for you, night-blooming jasmine~~"

The song finished.

The needle reached the end.

The spring was completely loose, and the phonograph stopped.

In the pitch-black Leaving Suishenju, there was only Li Banfeng's even and deep breathing.

Hua la la~

A sound of water came from the phonograph, as if someone was adding water to the horn of the phonograph.

Chi~

A match was struck, lighting the wick in the fuel tank.

Chi~ Chi~ Chi~

Clouds of water mist sprayed out from the small horn on the right, and the phonograph tray began to rotate slowly.

The needle was moved back to the starting position, and amidst the noisy background sound, the phonograph played the singing voice again:

"At the ends of the earth, at the corners of the sea,

Seeking, seeking a soulmate,

The little sister sings, the young man plays the zither,

Young man, we two are of one heart!"

The beautiful singing voice lingered continuously in the Leaving Suishenju.

Si si si~

The petals of the copper lotus slowly unfolded, and a whirlwind stirred in the center of the lotus.

The whirlwind blew past the phonograph, and the phonograph's singing voice went slightly out of tune.

After more than ten seconds, the singing voice slowly returned to stability.

The petals of the copper lotus trembled a few times and closed back up again.

The phonograph continued to sing the sweet song:

Life, who doesn't cherish, cherish youth?

The little sister is like the thread, the young man is like the needle,

Young man, we are threaded together and never part!

In the singing voice, Li Banfeng slept very soundly, a happy smile always on his face.

PS: Everyone keeps asking if this book has a female lead. Sala tells everyone: Yes, she has arrived! She is spraying steam, and she has arrived.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 39 =====