Chapter 98: The Virtuous and Simple Village of Lan Yang

Lush Water Bay has the largest city in Pulu Province.

But Lan Yang Village doesn’t look like a city at all.

Lan Yang Village isn’t a city—it’s not even close. The real city is Lush Water City; Lan Yang Village is barely a distant suburb.

Li Banfeng stood by the roadside, gazing out—he felt this place didn’t even resemble a normal village. The houses were clearly far denser than a typical village, and he saw almost no farmland.

If you called it a town, Lan Yang Village still didn’t look like Li Gou or Yao Wang Gou.

The houses here were shabbier, dirtier, and more haphazard than Li Gou. Many were built from stacked bricks and stones—sturdy enough—but many others were pure wooden huts with no foundation at all, and plenty were just thatched sheds…

As Li Banfeng was observing the strange appearance of Lan Yang Village, he suddenly heard a roar beside his ear.

Huff~ Clang! Huff~ Clang!

What’s going on!

Li Banfeng flinched, thinking a train was coming.

He turned around—there really was something approaching, and it was a big one.

It wasn’t a train, because there were no rails.

Its shape resembled a train: a cylindrical, jet-black locomotive, eight or nine meters long, over three meters tall, with a diameter of more than two meters.

But beneath it weren’t train wheels—instead, two massive rollers.

Li Banfeng recognized them—he was looking at a road roller.

But he’d never seen this model before; it was a steam-powered road roller.

Workers stood atop it, shoveling coal into the boiler.

The boiler had just heated up; the pressure wasn’t enough yet, so the valve hissed and puffed steam, and the connecting rods hadn’t started moving.

A road roller here, near Lan Yang Village?

This struck Li Banfeng as utterly novel.

As Li Banfeng moved closer to take a better look, a young man in his early twenties, wearing suspenders and carrying a cane, with a thin mustache above his upper lip, approached him.

Judging by the mustached man’s attire, he seemed respectable.

“From outside?” the mustached man greeted him.

Li Banfeng nodded.

“First time in Lan Yang Village?”

Li Banfeng didn’t deny it.

The mustached man smiled warmly: “Do you have money?”

Are all the people in Lan Yang Village this friendly?

They just ask such a blunt question right away?

Is this how they greet newcomers here?

Li Banfeng nodded: “Yes.”

“How much?” The mustached man pulled a dagger from his pocket and pressed it against Li Banfeng’s stomach.

Are these people this straightforward?

This is a public street—there are pedestrians ahead, a road roller behind.

He just casually pressed a knife to my stomach?

No one’s stopping him?

Ahead, a woman saw Li Banfeng being robbed on the street, immediately picked up her child, and went inside.

That woman clearly had a soft heart—she couldn’t bear to see a stranger from afar being bullied.

A man stood nearby, arms crossed, grinning at Li Banfeng.

That man clearly had a kind nature—he was encouraging me with his smile, giving me courage and confidence.

A few workers on the road roller glanced toward Li Banfeng, then went back to their work, as if nothing had happened.

These workers were all hardworking, life-loving, and focused on their craft.

The mustached man pressed the dagger tightly against Li Banfeng’s stomach and barked: “I asked you—how much money do you have?!”

This mustached man was clearly very dedicated to his profession.

Li Banfeng said: “I have a lot of money—but I might not give it to you.”

The mustached man grinned, baring his teeth: “You don’t want to give it? You’ve lived long enough?”

Li Banfeng smiled too: “I could give it—but first, tell me, do you have cultivation?”

“If I don’t have cultivation, you won’t give me money?” The mustached man glared, raising the dagger to stab Li Banfeng’s stomach.

Li Banfeng stepped back, dodged the blade, and kicked out—right into the mustached man’s groin—then scolded: “No cultivation, and you still go rob people?”

The mustached man felt something tear—his face turned deathly pale. He pointed the dagger at Li Banfeng: “Don’t come closer—I have cultivation!”

“If you have cultivation, why didn’t you say so earlier? Why lie to me?” Li Banfeng kicked again—right into his groin.

The mustached man felt something snap. He trembled, staring at Li Banfeng: “I have high cultivation—I just didn’t want to hurt you.”

“How high? Explain clearly!” Li Banfeng kicked again—still his groin.

The mustached man felt that thing shatter. His voice shook: “I’m about to reach a level!”

So he hadn’t even reached a level yet.

“What sect?” Li Banfeng kicked again.

This time, the mustached man didn’t feel much pain.

He felt that thing was already gone.

“I’m a Farming Xiu…”

“A Farming Xiu who doesn’t farm, and goes out to rob?!” Li Banfeng kicked again—the mustached man rolled his eyes and collapsed to his knees.

Li Banfeng snatched the dagger from the mustached man, smiled, and turned to the bystander who’d been watching.

“Brother, do you have money?” Li Banfeng greeted him warmly.

The brother didn’t answer—he turned and ran.

Why run? Isn’t this how people greet each other in Lan Yang Village?

Li Banfeng dragged the mustached man down a narrow alley, confirmed no one was around, and shoved him into his Personal Dwelling.

“Wife, it’s mealtime!”

The mustached man screamed, trying to escape.

Li Banfeng raised the cane and smashed his leg, then handed him over to the phonograph.

Steam curled as the phonograph devoured the soul, its needle rubbing across the record.

Is this… brushing teeth?

Li Banfeng asked: “Wife, how was today’s dish?”

Hssss~

His wife sighed in delight: “Fresh, sweet, crisp—deliciously lingering… but not nearly enough to eat~”

Not enough? That was inevitable—Li Banfeng was used to it.

While the copper lotus cleaned up the corpse, Li Banfeng examined the mustached man’s belongings.

Though he’d taken up highway robbery, this man was actually quite wealthy.

His wallet held over eight hundred yuan in cash, plus six silver dollars.

Those six silver dollars were worth over three thousand yuan—so much money, why rob? He could’ve found a job, or even started a small business.

The mustached man’s dagger was worthless—Li Banfeng tossed it away as trash.

But his cane was excellent. Li Banfeng swung it, and something occurred to him.

Every time he picked up a feather duster, he always felt like a civilized gentleman.

Now that he thought about it, maybe he shouldn’t have been holding a feather duster—he should’ve been holding a cane like this.

Yes—it’s the cane!

Li Banfeng remembered the guests at the Immortal Music Dance Hall—they all carried canes.

In Pulu Province, people of status all carried canes.

A cane plus a suit and top hat—that’s the complete gentleman’s attire.

After disposing of the corpse and gaining a red elixir, Li Banfeng took up the cane, picked up the trash, and left his Personal Dwelling.

He needed to find somewhere to eat, and to observe Lan Yang Village further.

Among the crowded houses, there were many restaurants. Li Banfeng found a noodle shop—the lamb noodles cost five yuan, a fair price, so he ordered a bowl.

After eating, he went to pay—the shopkeeper demanded three hundred and thirty yuan.

Li Banfeng blinked: “Wasn’t it five yuan?”

The noodle shopkeeper replied: “Each noodle is five yuan. We cooked you sixty-six noodles—for the auspicious meaning of ‘six six, great fortune.’ Total: three hundred and thirty yuan.”

Li Banfeng stared at the shopkeeper: “You sell noodles by the strand?”

The shopkeeper nodded: “Always have!”

Li Banfeng widened his eyes: “Always sold by the strand?!”

The other diners in the restaurant all turned to Li Banfeng, nodded in unison, and chorused: “This shop has always sold noodles by the strand—it’s a decades-old reputation, never changed!”

Li Banfeng looked around and said to the shopkeeper: “Are all these people your shills? Am I the only one actually eating here?”

The shopkeeper frowned: “What do you mean ‘shills’? Everyone here is a regular customer—they’re speaking the truth!”

The crowd chorused: “We’re speaking the truth!”

Li Banfeng stood up: “Selling noodles by the strand—is that called fair?”

The shopkeeper nodded: “Sell by the strand, that’s fair!”

“Then we’d better calculate the price properly!” Li Banfeng swung his cane.

“Calculate? Fine, let’s calculate!” The shopkeeper swung his rolling pin.

“Let’s calculate together!” Other diners grabbed whatever they could and surged forward, surrounding Li Banfeng.

……

After fifteen minutes of fighting, the noodle shop was stained with blood.

Several tables were shattered; cups, bowls, plates, and dishes lay scattered everywhere.

The shopkeeper’s head bled; several other diners were also injured.

Li Banfeng’s cane broke, but he eventually reached an agreement with the shopkeeper on the price.

Twenty yuan per strand, for the auspicious meaning of “six six,” totaling sixty-six strands—this bowl of noodles cost one thousand three hundred and twenty yuan.

The other diners nodded in agreement: “This price is fair; that’s the rule in Lanyang Village—let’s settle on it!”

Li Banfeng agreed: “Agreed!”

The shopkeeper counted out one thousand three hundred and twenty yuan and handed it to Li Banfeng: “Count it yourself.”

Li Banfeng counted it twice, tucked the money into his wallet, raised his top hat, and bowed in a gentleman’s gesture: “I’ll come back for noodles here next time.”

“Next time, we charge by bowl!” The shopkeeper had lost a front tooth and spoke with a lisp.

Li Banfeng walked outside the noodle shop and tossed the broken half of his cane into the trash pile.

He looked around and sighed: “Lanyang Village is a fine place—people here are genuinely simple and honest.”

With such honest folk, shouldn’t I hire a guide to learn more about this place?

As he sighed, he suddenly spotted a well-dressed man rummaging through the trash for food.

He was indeed well-dressed—his shirt, pants, and leather shoes were made of fine materials with meticulous craftsmanship.

He could have pawned that outfit for several meals—why scavenge in the trash?

He searched earnestly; he was truly hungry. He picked up half an apricot and shoved it into his mouth. Seeing a few grains of rice, he carefully picked them up with his fingers and put them in his mouth.

Anything edible, he didn’t let slip away.

Li Banfeng watched the man for a moment and realized he looked familiar.

“Ma Wu?” Li Banfeng called out.

The man had just picked up half a steamed bun. Hearing “Ma Wu,” he shoved the bun into his mouth and ran off.

PS: Dear readers, today’s another ten thousand characters—Shala’s been pushing hard, right?

I’m suffering from a bad cold and can’t hold on much longer—dear readers, please leave comments and vote!

(End of Chapter)