How could the key end up on the bear's back?
If you think about it for a moment, the answer comes to mind.
Before Li Banfeng entered the door, he had thrown the key into the overgrown weeds.
The bear rubbed against the weeds to scratch an itch, and just happened to rub the key off, carrying it all the way back to its cave.
The Portable Residence followed the key, and Li Banfeng, along with the Portable Residence, followed the black bear to its cave.
The key issue now was how to retrieve the key from the bear's back.
Seeing the black bear heading back to its cave, Li Banfeng quickly followed, picked up a Stone, and threw it at the bear's back.
He couldn't let the black bear enter the cave; if the key fell into the dark cave, it would be much harder to find.
Li Banfeng wanted to knock the key off with the Stone.
Unfortunately, this was not a distance of five meters; he was dozens of meters away from the black bear, and hitting the bear was already a feat.
The Stone didn't hit the key but struck the back of the black bear's head.
After taking the hit, the black bear roared and turned around to chase Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng also ran; after chasing for a while and realizing it couldn't catch up, the bear stood up on its hind legs, hung its front limbs in front of its chest, and roared at Li Banfeng.
This was a stern warning from a member of the bear family: approach it once more, and it would make you pay with your life.
After the warning, the black bear put down its front limbs, lay down again, and just as it turned to walk towards the cave, the back of its head was struck by another Stone.
Li Banfeng aimed for the key, but he had trouble controlling his strength, always hitting the back of the bear's head.
The enraged black bear put all its strength into knocking down a tree next to the cave, showing its power to Li Banfeng.
Taking advantage of the black bear turning around, Li Banfeng threw another Stone, once again hitting the back of the head.
The black bear shook its head, appearing somewhat dazed.
Li Banfeng looked at the key on the bear's back, feeling anxious.
When the black bear charged, Li Banfeng immediately ran away; as soon as the bear turned, Li Banfeng threw a Stone.
After throwing sixteen Stones in succession, the black bear stopped chasing and didn't return to the cave; it lay on the ground, motionless.
Approaching closer, Li Banfeng discovered that the black bear wasn't dead or unconscious; it was breathing with its eyes open, its head bloodied. Had it given up on itself?
Li Banfeng picked up a Stone.
The black bear roared and immediately got up.
Li Banfeng put the Stone down.
The black bear lay down again, motionless. According to Li Banfeng's understanding, this meant, "Don't throw Stones; let's talk it over."
Li Banfeng mustered up his courage, went behind the black bear, grabbed the key, and ran off.
Only when Li Banfeng's figure had completely disappeared did the black bear get up from the ground and slowly crawl back into its cave.
Li Banfeng, with the key in pocket and covered in dust and mud, walked out of the jungle and down the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, Li Banfeng picked up two Stones, put them in his backpack, and felt their weight, which was about the same as that of the Copper Lotus Flower. The bait must be made to look real; although heavy, a Traveling Cultivator with good physical condition can handle it.
In such a foreign place, Li Banfeng should have been unable to discern directions. Yet Li Banfeng could not only accurately identify directions but also, based on the position of the Sun and footprints on the road, found a main road. This is the talent of a Traveler.
Li Banfeng could run faster than the black bear in complex and harsh terrains; this is also a talent of a Traveler.
Throwing Stones with precision and force, was that a Traveler's talent, or a talent of Home Cultivation?
This would need to be verified in the future, but the pressing matter now was to find He Jiaqing as quickly as possible.
This so-called main road was a fairly flat and spacious dirt road that, from its width, could accommodate two ox carts side by side. Why use an ox cart to measure the width of a road? Because there was indeed an ox cart on the road.
Li Banfeng encountered an old man driving an ox cart and asked him where he could charge his device.
"Electricity? That's hard to find; even the village chief doesn't have it! Go and see in Li Gou!"
Following the old man's introduction, Li Banfeng learned about Medicine King Valley. Medicine King Valley was a large town, divided into Waigou and Li Gou. Waigou was vast, including all the villages under the jurisdiction of Medicine King Valley. Li Gou was the town center; Li Banfeng gave the old man thirty Huan Country Banknotes, and the man drove the ox cart to take him to Li Gou.
The ox cart traveled from morning till dusk, and upon reaching Li Gou, night was falling. Standing on Paifang Street paved with broken stones, Li Banfeng thought, Where should I go next?
Although He Jiaqing had sent an address, Li Banfeng only remembered Paifang Street; to find the exact location, he had to find a place to charge his phone.
There was a small shop by the street with a sign that read 'Feng's Grocery Store,' lit by light. It should have electricity.
Li Banfeng entered the grocery store and saw that there were two candles lit on the counter, then realized that what he had seen wasn't an electric light but candlelight.
The grocery store owner, dressed in a cross-collared robe, stood behind the counter with a smile, "What can I get you?"
Behind the counter was a shelf, densely stacked with various kinds of grocery items.
Li Banfeng asked, "Do you have a place to charge my device?"
"Charge?" The owner seemed to have heard a very unusual word. "We don't have electricity here, why don't you ask at Old Xu's place on Yuanzheng Street?"
Yuanzheng Street? And what place was that? Li Banfeng really didn't want to walk any further.
"Do you know of a person named He Jiaqing living on Paifang Street?" Knowing there wasn't much hope, Li Banfeng still asked.
The owner pondered for a moment and shook his head, "I don't know He Jiaqing, but I do know about the He Family Old House. Just follow the main street east, take the second turning south, walk to Threadneedle Alley, and you'll find a residence with its own entrance and courtyard—that's the He Family Old House."
The He Family Old House? Could it be He Jiaqing's home? Very likely! The owner seemed like a nice guy, so to express his gratitude, Li Banfeng decided to buy something from his store.
What would be appropriate to buy? Li Banfeng looked around for a moment and settled on a feather duster.
The duster had a straight handle, plenty of feathers, and was colorful and eye-catching.
For a first visit, it wouldn't do to show up empty-handed; this feather duster was perfect as a gift for He Jiaqing.
Li Banfeng also chose a top hat. The grocery store's top hats might not have been made of the best materials, but the styles were decent enough. Li Banfeng picked out a black top hat and put it on right away. His climbing hat and the one worn by cart-pullers were a bit too similar. With the top hat, his bearing improved by a notch instantly.
"How much for these two items?" he asked the owner.
Looking at Li Banfeng's attire, the owner smiled and asked, "Will you be paying with Huan Country Banknotes or Ocean Dollars? If you have foreign currency, I can exchange it here too."
In this place, it was always necessary to confirm the type of currency before doing business.
Li Banfeng didn't have Ocean Dollars or any foreign banknotes, so he naturally chose Huan Country Banknotes.
The top hat cost thirty-one and six, and the feather duster seven and eight.
Li Banfeng lowered the brim of his hat, carrying the feather duster, he looked like a mysterious gentleman weaving through the night as he left the main street for the alleyways.
The He Family Old House was easy to find in this narrow alley. The residential houses were connected one after another with almost no gaps between their walls, but there was only one residence with its own entrance and courtyard.
The house was surrounded by a blue stone wall, enclosing a yard with a flower garden. Behind the garden stood a Second Layer western-style house. It featured green bricks, red tiles, and vines hanging from its walls, exuding luxury and uniqueness.
In this small town, such a residence was indeed eye-catching.
Was this really He Jiaqing's home? Jiaqing's family seems to be doing quite well! Then why did he move Stones back then?
It was just that the house faintly smelled of fish, which made Li Banfeng feel slightly uncomfortable. He disliked eating fish; even if he went a month without meat at the welfare home, he wouldn't touch fish. There were no fishmongers nearby, so where did the fishy smell come from?
Li Banfeng reached the iron gate and wasn't sure how one was supposed to knock on such a gate. For such a large estate, there should at least be a guard, right?
After looking for a while, Li Banfeng saw no guard. He pushed on the iron door, and with a CREAK, the door's hinge made a grating sound as it opened.
Would it be appropriate to just go in like this? Jiaqing surely wouldn't mind, and if this isn't Jiaqing's home, I can always pretend I got the wrong place. I doubt anyone would make a fuss.
Li Banfeng crossed the yard and came directly in front of the western-style house.
Next to the first-floor French window, a figure suddenly appeared and then vanished just as quickly. The figure only flashed by the window for a moment—a past Li Banfeng wouldn't have even noticed this fleeting figure. But today's Li Banfeng saw it very clearly; his vision was no longer the same.
There were people in this house, and judging by the speed of movement, they were definitely not ordinary.
Li Banfeng's right hand held the feather duster while his left gently knocked on the door.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
The knocks were gentle and slow, very dignified.
MEOW!
A black cat suddenly jumped from the Second Layer to the door, looked at Li Banfeng, twitched its tail, and then stepped back twice.
Li Banfeng was startled, then heard a familiar voice from inside the door, "Is that you, Ban Feng?"
It was He Jiaqing's voice!
Li Banfeng exhaled and said loudly, "It's me, open the door."
After nearly half a minute, the door opened.
Li Banfeng frowned, "Why did it take so long?"
He Jiaqing stood at the doorway, staring at Li Banfeng for a long time, "Brother, you finally came."
"I'm here," Li Banfeng said as he took off his backpack, forcing a bitter smile. "It sure wasn't easy getting here."
He Jiaqing casually took the backpack, "Why are you carrying such an old backpack?"
Li Banfeng was taken aback, "This backpack is old?"
He Jiaqing laughed, "Isn't it old? It's coming apart at the seams. Where did you buy this broken thing?"
"Where did I buy it?" Li Banfeng's eyebrows relaxed, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile. "I've forgotten, I think it was a free gift with a phone top-up."
He Jiaqing weighed the backpack, asking, "Is the stuff inside?"
Li Banfeng shook his head, "Not in the backpack, I left it at the train station."
ps: Thank you, dear readers, thank you to every reader for their comments and replies. A single word or a sentence makes Shala extremely happy.