With no phone and no internet, and the train broken down, Li Banfeng simply stayed quietly in his compartment.
Li Banfeng merely felt a bit bored, but the other passengers were not having nearly as easy a time.
The next morning, they could still endure it.
By noon, they were barely holding on.
By evening, they were past their limit.
There was a special class of people for whom going without food for even a single day could cost them their lives.
These people were called Food Cultivators.
"Let me off the train! Fuck your ancestors, I'm starving to death!" A Food Cultivator was scuffling with a conductor.
"Don't give me that bullshit about regulations! I want food! I'm not going to starve to death here!" Another Food Cultivator rushed forward.
Fierce as the brawl was, Li Banfeng could tell the conductors' demeanor remained exceptionally restrained.
"Sir, please return to your compartment!"
*Thud!* A dull impact, and the passenger's language grew considerably less heated.
"Sir, the train has not reached a station. Passengers may not disembark midway."
*Thud!* Another dull impact, and the other passenger's temper stabilized a bit as well.
"Sir, on behalf of the entire crew, we express our deepest apologies."
*Thud!* A third dull impact, and the third passenger went entirely silent.
*Clang!*
The conductors escorted the passengers back to their compartments one after another.
*Clang!*
The conductors shut the compartment doors one by one.
On the first day, Li Banfeng heard six incidents like this alone.
An acceptable number.
Aside from Food Cultivators, going hungry for a day was bearable for everyone else.
By dusk on the second day, things began to spiral out of hand.
"Brother, look at how handsome you are, and with such a kind heart—just let me step down for a minute, will you? I'll be right back up."
"Ma'am, the train has not reached a station. Passengers may not disembark midway."
"Brother, just for a moment, five minutes—I won't even need five minutes!"
"Ma'am, those are the rules. I am merely following regulations."
"Rules are dead, but people are alive! Brother, a man like you is just my type—can't you spare your little sister five minutes?"
"Thank you for the compliment, ma'am. Please return to your compartment immediately."
"I'm getting off this fucking train! I'm not going to starve to death here! I'll fucking kill you!"
*Crash! Bang!*
"Someone help! He's hitting a woman! Are there any men with balls left in Puluo Province? Fight him!"
Puluo Province!
So this was Puluo Province!
Li Banfeng slurped a mouthful of instant noodles, genuinely curious to see what this Puluo Province was really like.
That night, the conductors weathered thirteen mob attacks, yet still managed to usher all the passengers back into their compartments.
By the third day, things turned quieter instead.
It wasn't that they didn't want to cause trouble; they no longer had the strength.
After three days without food, not many had the energy left to make a fuss.
And even if they did have strength, they couldn't afford to waste it—they knew they were no match for the conductors.
Li Banfeng stayed inside his compartment the whole time, barely moving around. Two bowls of instant noodles a day were enough for him.
Yet this was no way to hold out indefinitely. Come nightfall, with only five bowls of instant noodles remaining, Li Banfeng began to feel anxious as well.
Just how long was this train going to stay halted?
*Knock, knock, knock!*
A knock sounded at the door. Li Banfeng's brow twitched, and his guard went up.
He had known starvation.
He knew that starving people were capable of anything.
The knocking was very light, and the voice of the person outside was cultured and polite.
"Friend inside, I'd like to beg for a bite to eat. I don't ask for much—just a mouthful. Not for me; I can endure it. I just want to give my wife and child something to eat."
Li Banfeng stood a step from the door, holding spicy strips and a thermos flask, waiting for the person's next move.
The man made no move at all. His tone remained gentle and polite. "Friend, I know food is precious. I won't take it for free. I'll buy it."
Buy?
Under these circumstances, how much money could possibly buy food?
The man seemed to realize that was inappropriate as well and hastily corrected himself: "I'll trade food for it. I beg you."
Li Banfeng spoke up. "If you have food, why do you need to trade with me?"
"Because my child is afraid to eat this."
"What is it?"
"I can hand the food to you first. You only need to open the door a crack."
Li Banfeng's heart beat fast. After a moment of silence, he turned the lock and opened the door a sliver.
This was not reckless; it was careful calculation.
He would not let the man enter the compartment, but he had to give him a chance to negotiate.
Though he hadn't seen the man's face, he could sense a distinct aura from his voice alone.
Every word the man spoke was humble, yet beneath that humility lay composure and calm.
As an orphan who had fought back against bullies, Li Banfeng had dealt with people of all stripes.
He had an instinctive premonition that this man was capable of entering his compartment—and could do so without alerting the conductors.
The door couldn't stop him at all. Rather than holding out desperately behind it, it was better to show some good faith in negotiation.
Through the crack, the man first passed his "food" inside.
The moment he saw that "food," Li Banfeng praised himself inwardly.
*Li Banfeng, you are a brave man.*
*You didn't even scream out loud!*
It was a blackish-green object, flesh remaining on some parts, while other parts were reduced to bare bone.
Judging by the arrangement and number of bones, it was a human hand.
"Whose hand is this?" Li Banfeng asked.
"My own," the man answered calmly.
Li Banfeng looked at that hand, nearly half gnawed away, then turned back, brought two bowls of instant noodles, and slid them through the crack.
This clearly exceeded the man's expectations; he hadn't dared hope for even a single bowl—he truly had only wanted a bite to eat.
"Not so much, you don't have to..."
"Take it. Take the hand back too." Li Banfeng handed the hand back to the man. "Find a hospital. Maybe they can still reattach it—they should be able to."
Li Banfeng locked the compartment door. From outside came an unending stream of thanks:
"Thank you, thank you, thank you..."
The voice was deep and polite, but no longer so composed.
It trembled, as though on the verge of tears at any second.
As the voice faded into the distance, Li Banfeng returned to the berth, unzipped his backpack, and took stock of his remaining food.
Three bowls of instant noodles, a canister of potato chips, a pack and a half of spicy strips.
It could last two days; rationing carefully, perhaps three.
And what then, once three days had passed?
At daybreak, a train whistle blared, jolting the listless passengers awake.
The train had started moving.
*Chuff... chuff...*
Listening to the rhythmic chuffing of the steam engine, Li Banfeng felt it was the most beautiful music in the world.
*Rumble!*
The train jolted violently, the fierce shudder throwing Li Banfeng straight off the berth.
Instant noodles, potato chips, spicy strips, backpack—everything crashed to the floor.
*Rumble! Clatter!*
The train continued to shudder. Li Banfeng covered his head and curled into a corner of the compartment, doing everything he could to protect his vitals.
He thought the train was derailing again.
After a spell of jarring bumps, the train gradually smoothed out. Li Banfeng heard the announcer's voice: "The malfunction has been cleared, and the train is currently operating safely. As the track is rough, passengers are requested not to move about at will."
Li Banfeng let out a long breath and quickly gathered up the food.
The instant noodles, potato chips, and spicy strips were all intact.
The backpack was gone!
He Jiaqing's parcel was still inside it!
Startled, Li Banfeng hurriedly searched all around.
The compartment remained pitch-black; power had not been restored.
After searching for a good while, Li Banfeng finally felt the backpack under the berth.
The space beneath the berth was very narrow. Li Banfeng reached in and pulled hard; the backpack came out, but the parcel inside had gotten wedged beneath the berth.
He had pulled too hard, forgetting that the backpack was unzipped.
He reached under again toward the parcel, only to find it was jammed tight.
Li Banfeng shoved his whole arm beneath the berth and yanked with all his might.
*Riiip!*
The parcel came free.
The cardboard box outside was torn.
A layer of bubble wrap inside the cardboard box was torn as well.
Was the item inside alright?
Holding the parcel, Li Banfeng moved to the window.
He ought to open it and check. It was already torn anyway; if the object inside was damaged, he would at least have to let Jiaqing know.
By the intermittent light filtering past the curtains, Li Banfeng opened the parcel.
He opened the cardboard box, removed the bubble wrap, and found a layer of tin foil wrapped inside.
He peeled away the tin foil; inside was wrapped in yellow paper.
He stripped off the yellow paper; inside was wrapped in oilpaper.
He took off the oilpaper; inside was a layer of silk.
When he lifted the silk, Li Banfeng finally saw what the object truly was.
What on earth was this?
In the dim light, Li Banfeng couldn't tell at first.
It looked like a flower.
It seemed to be a lotus flower cast in bronze.
Chapter 13