Chapter 9: Three Forks

He Jiaqing reminded Li Banfeng to strictly follow the train’s rules.

Li Banfeng quickly closed the curtain and locked the cabin door.

He took out two boxes of instant noodles, filled them with hot water from the cabin’s tea heater, and ate them.

It seemed like some kind of imprint left on the soul—on the train, instant noodles became incredibly delicious.

After eating, Li Banfeng sat on the chair and replied to He Jiaqing: “Now tell me, what exactly is going on?”

He Jiaqing replied: “I’m trapped in Yaowang Gou. When you get to my place, we’ll talk face to face.”

“First tell me, where exactly is Yaowang Gou? Is it still in Yuedong Province?”

“It’s not in Yuedong Province—it’s in Puluo Province. Without that item, I can’t get out.”

“What is Puluo Province?”

“Brother, I’m drained—I’m about to collapse. Let’s wait until we meet.”

“What’s inside the package?”

“Let me rest for a bit—I’ll tell you for sure. But remember, don’t open the package.”

He Jiaqing stopped sending messages.

Li Banfeng took the package out of his backpack and placed it on the dining table, staring at it silently for a long while.

To say he wasn’t curious was false.

To say he wouldn’t open it was impossible.

The key was when to open it.

Li Banfeng concluded that something rare and priceless was inside.

But he remembered the phone call from the big-eyed man—the man named Xiao Gang had said this thing would kill many people.

Was it some kind of poison, or a pathogen, a virus—a biochemical weapon?

He Jiaqing didn’t send any more messages—he was truly drained.

Li Banfeng was also exhausted; he couldn’t sleep at all in the dormitory, but now in the cabin, drowsiness hit him hard, impossible to resist.

He pulled out his phone and began searching for information on Puluo Province, Yaowang Gou, and Lüshui Wan.

The phone’s results were all over the place, hard to sort through; Li Banfeng searched for a long time but found nothing useful.

The cabin lights were dim—the lampshades held bulbs he hadn’t seen since childhood, casting a yellow glow that made his eyelids heavy.

The curtains were tightly shut, sealed perfectly; all he could see were the receding shadows of the outside scenery.

The steam train’s wheezing, the clatter of wheels on rails, and the occasional whistle formed a hypnotic white noise, lulling Li Banfeng into the bedroom, where he lay down on the bunk and fell asleep.

He didn’t remember how long he slept—he’d drunk water, gone to the toilet—until a violent knocking at the door jolted him fully awake.

“Big brother, big brother! Please open the door, let me in for just a moment, just a little while!” A woman’s voice came from outside, urgent, panicked, trembling with sobs.

A child was also pleading: “Uncle, please open the door, I beg you!”

The child cried.

Li Banfeng didn’t open the door.

The train announcement had said: never let strangers into the cabin unless necessary.

And there was another critical question.

How did they know I was a “big brother”? How did the child know I was an “uncle”?

Since boarding, Li Banfeng hadn’t left the cabin; besides the ticket inspector, he hadn’t seen a single person.

“Big brother, I beg you, let me in for just a moment—I’ll leave right away!”

“Uncle, open the door…”

Tap-tap-tap!

The knocking grew more frantic, the sobs more heart-wrenching.

Li Banfeng gave no reply—and at that moment, the steam train was slowing down.

The announcement came: “Ladies and gentlemen, San Tou Cha station is approaching. Passengers getting off, please gather your belongings and prepare to disembark.”

“I beg you, big brother, let my child in to hide for a moment—I won’t come in!” The woman outside screamed desperately.

What had happened? Why did they have to hide in my cabin?

Li Banfeng moved to the door, intending to peek through the crack—when he faintly heard a man’s voice: “Kick it down—he won’t open.”

Li Banfeng quickly stepped back from the door, scanning the cabin for anything usable as a weapon.

Were there three people outside?

And there was a man too!

I underestimated the risks on this train.

“Kick it down! If you don’t, it’ll be too late!” The man’s voice came again.

Would he really kick the door down?

I think he won’t—if he would, he’d have done it already.

Inside and outside, both sides were locked in a standoff.

Hssss~

With a long hiss of steam release, the train stopped.

Clatter!

Li Banfeng heard the cabin door open—the attendant lowered the steps.

“Open the door! Open it! I’m telling you to open it! Are you opening it or not…” The woman screamed wildly.

The door shook violently—she started kicking it.

Strange—why was it this woman kicking the door?

Though he couldn’t see, the rhythm of the shouts and kicks made it clear: the same person was screaming and kicking—the woman!

The door shook violently, about to be kicked open at any moment.

Li Banfeng prepared his spicy strips and the cabin’s thermos—his only two handy weapons.

His neck itched.

He couldn’t free a hand to scratch!

No good—it was itching too badly.

Why now, of all times?

Li Banfeng set down the thermos, scratched his neck hard twice, then immediately picked it up again.

Bang! Bang!

The door was about to burst open—another voice came from outside: “You’re at your stop. Get off immediately.”

It was the attendant’s voice!

The attendant was warning the woman she had reached her stop.

Li Banfeng’s heart eased slightly; he set down the thermos and scratched his neck a few more times.

The woman screamed: “I won’t get off! I’ll find a way to pay— I can’t get off at San Tou Cha! The peddler’s already gone—I must get off at the next stop, I must go to Haichiling!”

What peddler?

The peddler’s gone—why must she go to Haichiling?

Li Banfeng was still bewildered when he heard a struggle and shoving outside the cabin.

The woman shouted: “I won’t get off!”

The child shouted: “We won’t get off!”

The man shouted: “We’ll pay later!”

The woman’s, child’s, and man’s voices all rose together—the struggle and impacts never ceased, but the sounds grew distant; they seemed to have fought their way down the train with the attendant.

Soon after, the attendant retracted the steps and closed the door.

Li Banfeng sat back on his chair, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, scratched his neck, and pieced together what had happened.

They wanted to enter my cabin to avoid paying.

If I’d let them in, they’d have taken over the cabin—this was the least of it.

They dared to kick the door, dare to fight the attendant, and had no money—they’d surely rob me once inside.

If I couldn’t beat them, my money, instant noodles, spicy strips, chips, and He Jiaqing’s treasure would all be gone.

Everything else was secondary—but the instant noodles couldn’t be taken; without them, how would I survive this journey?

Sitting by the window, Li Banfeng drank several sips of water to calm himself.

Huff~ huff~

After a ten-minute stop, the steam train started again.

His neck itched more and more—it felt like a rash was breaking out!

Li Banfeng pulled out his phone, about to check the time, when he heard a tapping on the window.

Who was tapping on the window?

Was it those three people again?

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Muffled knocks continued.

The train sped up—but the tapping never stopped.

Is this person chasing the train, tapping on my window?

How fast must he be running!

Li Banfeng was stunned and dared not sit by the window any longer.

He wanted to pull back the curtain and look outside, but remembered the broadcast’s warning and refrained from reaching out.

As the train passed a streetlamp, the light cast the figure of a man outside onto the curtain.

Li Banfeng saw a broad palm, powerful arms, a wide chest, and shoulders wider than the chest.

Upon those broad shoulders sat three heads—though they flashed by in an instant, Li Banfeng was certain he had not imagined it.

Was this the man who had kicked the door outside just now?

It must be!

Li Banfeng had thought there were three people outside the door, but there was only one—a man with three heads!

The conversation he had heard earlier was the three heads of this one man taking turns speaking.

This place is called Three-Headed Fork.

Is there a necessary connection between this three-headed man and Three-Headed Fork?

As the train passed a row of streetlamps, the three-headed man’s figure repeatedly flickered across the curtain.

One hand gripped the outer edge of the window, his body hanging in midair, while the other kept pounding on the glass.

The window glass seemed ready to shatter at any moment.

Li Banfeng picked up the spicy strip and thermos again, bracing himself for battle.

Suddenly, a pole descended from the train’s roof, jabbing repeatedly—ten, fifteen times—until it knocked the three-headed man off the window.

It was the conductor.

The conductor shoved the three-headed man off the train, retracted the pole, calmly leapt to the carriage connection, and returned inside.

Li Banfeng stood in the center of the carriage, neither near the door nor near the window.

Squeeeee~

The broadcast sounded again: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Train 1160. Passengers already on board, please do not move about randomly…”

His neck grew increasingly itchy; Li Banfeng scratched a few times and found the skin had broken, bleeding.

What’s going on?

Why is only his neck so itchy?

Am I going to grow two more heads?

What if they actually grow?

“Let them grow! It’s lonely being alone!”

“We’ve always been with you—we can keep you company!”

Li Banfeng thought he heard two voices speaking beside his ears!

PS: Four updates today—another at midnight.

(End of Chapter)