The train stopped at Pants Belt Pit for half an hour, during which five women and two men took turns outside Li Banfeng's window to pitch their business to him.
Li Banfeng was a man of strong will, so no business deals were struck.
But it wasn't just them he had to deal with, but also the surrounding passengers.
Among them, some had already struck deals, some had invited others into their carriages, and some had even conducted their business right at the train windows. Li Banfeng could hear their voices.
During this long half-hour, Li Banfeng bit his finger, but he never opened the window.
He had to hold on. He just had to make it until tomorrow morning, and then he'd be at He Jiaqing's home. Once at his place, I must find someone to serve me. If I can't find someone satisfactory, I'll make He Jiaqing serve me personally.
As the sound of the steam whistle signaled departure, Li Banfeng breathed a sigh of relief and silently cheered for his own willpower. However, the train had not gone far when it suddenly came to a halt.
Have we arrived?
The ticket indicated that they would arrive at seven in the morning the next day. The timing of the steam train might not be precise, but it was impossible to be this early.
SCREECH~~
A grating sound of electric current rang out, and the announcer's voice came through once more:
"Due to a train malfunction, we are currently making an unscheduled stop. Please, passengers, remain in your carriages and do not move about arbitrarily. I apologize for the inconvenience on behalf of all the crew members."
Steam train malfunction, stranded in the middle of nowhere.
The lights suddenly went out, plunging the carriage into complete darkness.
Li Banfeng tried to use his cellphone flashlight, only to find that he couldn't turn it on.
His cellphone was nearly out of power. It had been low before, and Li Banfeng couldn't be bothered to charge it. Now it was at less than five percent and about to shut down.
Li Banfeng hurriedly plugged in the charger, but the phone didn't show any sign of charging.
The lights were out, and the power outlets were dead. The train had cut off all power.
Li Banfeng looked at his phone. Not long after, it signaled it was going to shut down automatically.
Out of power? What am I going to do now? How will I find He Jiaqing's home!
Actually, his current concern should not have been about the cellphone.
What he should be most worried about was when the train could be fixed.
On this railway, a train malfunction could mean a repair time of three to five hours, or even three to five days.
In reality, Li Banfeng needn't have worried. His situation was still decent; he had instant noodles. Meanwhile, most of the other passengers hadn't brought any extra food.
A wave of panic slowly began to spread throughout the train.
At the Dark Star Bureau, Captain Chen Changrui, with large headphones on, leaned back in his office chair with his eyes closed.
More than an hour later, two ten-centimeter-long bright silver centipedes crawled out of the headphones and lay rigid on the desk.
The centipedes were exhausted, as was Captain Chen.
Captain Chen took off the headphones, opened his eyes, pulled out a cigarette from a pack, took a deep drag, then blew the smoke over the centipedes.
After finishing the cigarette, Captain Chen regained some energy, and the centipedes seemed to revive a bit as well.
Secretary You Xuehan waited for Captain Chen's orders.
Two hours earlier, when the Information Department lost Li Banfeng's signal, the Public Security Team had no choice but to employ the Captain's special abilities.
Captain Chen took out another cigarette and said to You Xuehan, "Dumpling, tell the Information Department it's not a problem with their equipment. Li Banfeng's cellphone is completely dead."
"Dumpling," You Xuehan asked, "Captain Chen, isn't there any other way to track him?"
"What other way could there be?" Old Chen shook his head. "Train 1160 is untraceable."
You Xuehan thought for a moment. "We can track other people on the same train as him."
"There's no need for that," Old Chen packed up the two silver centipedes and stood up. "We don't know when he'll get off. Maybe by early tomorrow, he won't be on the train anymore."
"Captain Chen, the higher-ups value the item Li Banfeng has in his possession," You Xuehan reminded him.
Old Chen chuckled softly and lit another cigarette. "Li Banfeng took something from Lucky Star, and it's destined that he will encounter three strokes of good fortune. Now that his cellphone is out of power, this is his good fortune coming his way. Knowing this is Lucky Star's arrangement, yet we insist on tracking Li Banfeng—isn't that blatantly going against Lucky Star? Why bother?"
"A cellphone being out of power is also considered good fortune?" You Xuehan was puzzled.
"With the cellphone out of power, those trying to find him won't be able to. And it's not just us looking for him. There are quite a few who not only want his item but his life as well."
You Xuehan was taken aback. "Who wants his life?"
Old Chen smiled meaningfully without answering. He put on his coat, walked to the office door, then turned to You Xuehan. "Dumpling, go home. Take a good rest for a couple of days. Tell the brothers to rest too, especially Light Bulb. Everyone makes mistakes on a mission; he needs to let this one go quickly."
"What about Deputy Captain Xiao?" You Xuehan asked cautiously.
"Let him be," Captain Chen didn't say more, leaving the office with a cigarette in his mouth.
In Yuezhou South District, within a villa, Xiao Zhenggong pushed away the blond-haired, blue-eyed woman in his arms and picked up the phone.
"Sect Leader, the kid's signal is gone. We might as well have our men take action directly on the train."
"You can't make a move on Train 1160!" Xiao Zhenggong frowned deeply. "Wait until he gets off."
"The train has malfunctioned. There's no telling when it will be fixed."
"If I tell you to wait, then wait. Whoever dares to act on the train, don't blame the sect rules for being merciless!"
The call ended.
On the other end of the line, there was no phone, just a man with an antenna sticking out of his head.
The man pulled the antenna out of his skull, wiped the blood off it, put it back into its box, and then burst into a tirade:
"Damn it, what are you being so arrogant about? You've been messing around in the Outside Provinces for half your life, what the hell do you know? If it weren't for your old man, what kind of Sect Leader would you be?"
A man beside him, wearing a peaked cap, stepped forward and asked, "Hall Master, what should we do about this?"
"What else can we do? Find a few sharp brothers to block him at the station. Remember, get the item first, then go for his life."
The Hall Master had a hole in his skull, specifically for inserting the antenna. Now that the antenna was removed, the hole remained and could be used again next time.
The Hall Master found a stopper to plug the hole temporarily. Then, taking two adhesive tape strips, he stuck them in a crisscross pattern over the stopper.
Xiao Zhenggong went to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of red wine.
He had just taken a sip when he crushed the wine glass in his hand.
Li Banfeng, you're really lucky, buying Lucky Star instant noodles and getting three strokes of good fortune. The train broke down, and while others went hungry, you had instant noodles to eat. That's your first stroke of good luck. Your phone battery died, allowing you to evade tracking. That's your second. Where's the third one? Could it be the Peddler? You shouldn't run into the Peddler; he's still at Greenwater Bay. But when will the train be repaired? You won't actually manage to encounter him, will you?
Thinking this, Xiao Zhenggong grabbed another glass and poured himself a strong drink.
The blond woman walked out from the bedroom and placed her hand on Xiao Zhenggong's shoulder, speaking slowly in Mandarin with a Yue Dong accent, "Head Xiao, are you in trouble?"
"There's a bit of trouble," Xiao Zhenggong sighed. "The thing I want has been sent to Puluo State."
The blond woman kissed Xiao Zhenggong on the cheek. "Big things are about to happen in Puluo State. I heard that the Head of the He Family, He Haiqin, is on his last legs."
Xiao Zhenggong pondered for a while, then said to the blond woman, "Have your brother take action. Save He Haiqin first."
The blond woman smiled. "You know his price isn't cheap."
Xiao Zhenggong took a sip of his drink and pinched the woman's cheek. "Price is negotiable."
The blond woman reminded him, "You better think it through. Doing this will offend the Lu Family!"
"No choice! A simple matter was screwed up by that bastard Li Banfeng!" Xiao Zhenggong clenched his teeth and downed the drink.
「In Puluo State, Greenwater Bay, the He Family Mansion.」
The Head of the He Family, He Haiqin, lay in bed, relying on his Food Cultivator cultivation to forcefully eat a bowl of rice and barely cling to his last breath.
Dark green pustules the size of peas covered his body, each one translucent and seemingly about to burst at the slightest touch.
He Haiqin's wife, Yan Yulin, tended to him carefully as his sister, He Yuxiu, pushed open the door, bringing in a slight breeze.
Indeed "burst at the slightest touch"—just that slight breeze popped a pustule on He Haiqin's face, and green liquid began to flow.
A pained expression crossed He Haiqin's face, and his wife, Yan Yulin, reproached He Yuxiu, "Yuxiu, please be gentler."
He Yuxiu sat by the bed and said to Yan Yulin, "Sister-in-law, Physician Chu encountered an unexpected situation on her way; she won't be able to make it today."
"What kind of unexpected situation?" Yan Yulin was startled.
He Yuxiu's expression grew serious. "I heard she was intercepted by the Lu Family!"
Yan Yulin's voice trembled slightly. "What do we do now? Jia Qing hasn't returned. Yuxiu, can you think of something?"
He Haiqin had been tormented by this strange rash for two whole years, relying solely on Medicine Cultivator Chu Peiying to sustain him.
He had a sudden attack today, and with Chu Peiying delayed on the road, it looked like He Haiqin couldn't hold on much longer.
He Yuxiu said to Yan Yulin, "Sister-in-law, Jiang Xiang Gang sent a physician who supposedly has some real skill. He's waiting outside; let's have him try."
"Which physician?" Yan Yulin saw a glimmer of hope.
He Yuxiu lowered her voice. "He's not very famous, but he's genuinely skilled. His name is Cui Tiq."
"What name?" He Haiqin suddenly spoke up.
"Cui Tiq," He Yuxiu answered cautiously.
"A foreigner?" He Haiqin was quite displeased. "I don't want to see him!"