How did the key end up on the bear's back?
With just a moment's thought, the answer became obvious.
Before going through the door, Li Banfeng had tossed the key into the tall grass.
The bear must have rubbed an itch in that very patch of grass, snagged the key, and carried it all the way back to its cave.
The Portable Abode followed the key, so Li Banfeng and the Portable Abode ended up following the black bear to the cave.
Now the crucial question was: how was he supposed to get the key off the bear's back?
Seeing the black bear about to head back into the cave, Li Banfeng hurried after it, snatched up a rock, and hurled it toward the bear's back.
He couldn't let the bear enter the cave. If the key fell off inside that pitch-black cavern, trying to find it again would be nearly impossible.
Li Banfeng wanted to use the rock to knock the key loose.
Unfortunately, this wasn't within five meters. He was dozens of meters away from the bear; managing to hit the creature at all was already no small feat.
The rock missed the key and smacked right against the back of the bear's head.
Taking a heavy blow, the bear let out a roar, spun around, and gave chase.
Li Banfeng ran as well. After chasing for a short distance, the bear realized it still couldn't catch up. It rose onto its hind legs, front paws dangling before its chest, and roared furiously at Li Banfeng again and again.
This was a stern warning from a creature of the Ursidae family: come near it once more, and it would claim his life.
Warning delivered, the black bear dropped back down on all fours. But the moment it turned toward the cave, another rock struck the back of its head.
Li Banfeng had been aiming for the key, but he couldn't control his throwing force properly, consistently striking the back of the bear's head instead.
Enraged, the bear summoned all its strength and rammed into a tree beside the cave, knocking it down in a display of sheer might.
Taking advantage of the bear turning around, Li Banfeng threw another rock, scoring yet another hit on the back of its head.
The black bear shook its head, looking somewhat bewildered.
Li Banfeng glanced at the key on the bear's back, feeling rather anxious.
Whenever the bear charged, Li Banfeng fled immediately. As long as the bear turned away, Li Banfeng threw a rock.
After sixteen rocks in a row, the bear stopped chasing, nor did it head back to the cave. It simply sprawled out on the ground, completely still.
Li Banfeng walked closer and saw that the bear wasn't dead, nor had it fainted. Its eyes were open, it was still panting, and the back of its head was a bloody mess.
Had it given up on life?
Li Banfeng picked up a rock.
With a roar, the black bear scrambled right back up.
Li Banfeng set the rock down.
The bear sprawled back onto the ground, unmoving.
As Li Banfeng interpreted it, the message was: *Don't throw rocks, we can talk things out.*
Steeling his nerve, Li Banfeng stepped behind the black bear, snatched the key away in one swift grab, and turned on his heel to flee.
Only after Li Banfeng's figure had completely vanished did the black bear push itself up from the ground and crawl slowly back into its cave.
Pocketing the key, covered in dust and muddy water, Li Banfeng walked out of the forest and made his way down the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, Li Banfeng picked up two rocks, put them into his backpack, and weighed them in his hands. They felt about as heavy as the bronze lotus.
The decoy had to be convincing. Heavy though they were, a journey cultivator possessed great physical strength and could easily shoulder the burden.
Having arrived in such an unfamiliar place, Li Banfeng normally shouldn't have been able to tell directions.
Yet not only could he pinpoint his bearings accurately, but based on the sun's position and tracks on the ground, he even found a main road.
This was the talent of a journeyer.
Being able to outrun a black bear across complex, treacherous terrain was also the talent of a journeyer.
As for throwing stones both accurately and hard—was that a talent of a journeyer or a Dwelling Cultivator?
That would have to be tested later. The pressing matter at hand was finding He Jiaqing as quickly as possible.
The so-called main road was just a reasonably flat and wide dirt path. Judging by its width, two ox carts could pass side by side.
Why measure the road's width in ox carts?
Because there really was an ox cart on the road.
Li Banfeng came across an old man driving an ox cart and stepped forward to ask where he could find a place to charge his phone.
"Electricity? That won't be easy to find. Even the village chief's house doesn't have it! Go check out Ligou!"
From the old man's explanation, Li Banfeng gained some understanding of Yaowanggou.
Yaowanggou was a town—a very large town, divided into Ligou and Waigou.
Waigou was vast, encompassing all the villages subordinate to Yaowanggou.
Ligou was the town's core area. Li Banfeng gave the old man thirty yuan, and the old man drove the ox cart to bring him to Ligou.
The ox cart ambled along from morning until dusk. By the time they reached Ligou, night was falling. Standing on the gravel-paved Paifang Street, Li Banfeng wondered where to head next.
Although He Jiaqing had sent his address, Li Banfeng only remembered as far as Paifang Street. To find the exact location, he needed to find somewhere to charge his phone.
There was a small shop by the roadside with a sign reading "Feng's Grocery Store." A light was on inside, which suggested there ought to be electricity.
Li Banfeng entered the grocery store and saw two candles burning on the counter, only then realizing that what he had seen earlier was candlelight, not an electric lamp.
Wearing a long gown with a diagonal placket, the shopkeeper stood behind the counter and greeted him with a smile. "What can I get you, sir?"
Behind the counter stood a shelving unit densely packed with all kinds of sundry goods.
Li Banfeng asked, "Is there a place around here to charge a phone?"
"Charge?" The shopkeeper sounded as if he had heard an utterly bizarre word. "We don't have electricity here. Why don't you try asking at Old Xu's place on Yuanzheng Street?"
Yuanzheng Street?
Where on earth was that?
Li Banfeng really didn't want to walk any farther.
"Do you know if anyone named He Jiaqing lives on Paifang Street?" Knowing there was little hope, Li Banfeng asked anyway.
The shopkeeper pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know any He Jiaqing. I do know the He family ancestral residence, though. Follow the main street eastward, turn south at the second intersection, and go down Xianchuanzi Alley. There's a private, freestanding courtyard house there—that's the He family ancestral residence."
The He family ancestral residence?
Could that be He Jiaqing's home?
Very likely!
The shopkeeper was a decent man. To express his gratitude, Li Banfeng decided to buy something from his shop.
What would be suitable?
Li Banfeng looked around for a moment and took a fancy to a feather duster.
This feather duster had a very straight pole and thick feathers of various colors—quite presentable.
One couldn't show up empty-handed on a first visit. This feather duster made a fitting gift for He Jiaqing.
Li Banfeng also picked out a fedora.
The fedoras in the grocery store were not made of the finest material, but the style was passable. Li Banfeng picked a black fedora and put it on right away.
His hiking hat looked a bit too similar to what rickshaw pullers wore, but once he put on the fedora, his air of refinement instantly leveled up.
"Boss, how much for these two items?"
The shopkeeper looked at Li Banfeng's attire and asked with a smile, "Will you be paying in Huan Country notes or silver dollars? If you have foreign bills from other countries, I can exchange them here too."
In this place, doing business always required confirming the currency first.
Li Banfeng had no silver dollars or foreign bills, so naturally he chose Huan Country notes.
The fedora was thirty-one yuan and sixty cents, and the feather duster was seven yuan and eighty cents.
Tugging his brim low, feather duster in hand, Li Banfeng walked from the main street into the alleyway like a mysterious gentleman navigating through the night.
The He family ancestral residence was easy to find. In this narrow alley, the houses were lined up wall to wall with almost no gap between them; there was only one standalone courtyard estate.
Four bluestone walls encircled a courtyard with a flowerbed. Behind the flowerbed stood a two-story Western-style house of blue bricks and red tiles, with creeping vines hanging down its walls, exuding a luxurious distinctiveness in every detail.
In this small town, such an estate was truly eye-catching.
Was this really He Jiaqing's home?
Jiaqing's family was quite well-off!
Then why had he been hauling rocks back then?
However, the residence carried a faint fishy smell that made Li Banfeng slightly uncomfortable.
He didn't like eating fish. Back at the welfare home, even if he went a month without meat, he still wouldn't touch fish.
There was no fishmonger nearby either. Where was this fishy stench coming from?
Li Banfeng arrived before the wrought-iron gate, not quite sure how one was supposed to knock on a gate like this.
A residence this grand should have a guard at least, right?
After looking around for a moment, Li Banfeng didn't see any guard. He gave the iron gate a nudge—*creeeak*—the hinge groaned with a harsh grinding sound, and the gate simply pushed open.
Was it proper to just walk in like this?
*Jiaqing definitely won't mind. If it isn't Jiaqing's home, I'll just say I took a wrong turn; nobody's likely to make a fuss about it.*
Li Banfeng crossed the courtyard and walked straight up to the entrance of the Western-style house.
Beside the French window on the first floor, a silhouette suddenly flashed into view and vanished just as quickly.
The figure had only flickered by the window for a split second. The old Li Banfeng wouldn't have noticed such a fleeting glimpse at all.
Yet today, Li Banfeng saw it with absolute clarity. His vision was profoundly different from before.
There was someone in this house, and judging by their movement speed, they were definitely no ordinary person.
Gripping the feather duster in his right hand, Li Banfeng knocked gently on the door with his left.
*Knock! Knock! Knock!*
The knocks were soft, slow, and full of gentlemanly composure.
"Meow!"
A black cat suddenly leapt down from the second floor to the doorway, glanced at Li Banfeng, flicked its tail, and took two steps back.
Li Banfeng froze. Suddenly, a familiar voice came from inside: "Is that Banfeng?"
It was He Jiaqing's voice!
Li Banfeng let out a long breath and called loudly, "It's me! Open up!"
After waiting nearly half a minute, the door opened.
Li Banfeng frowned. "What took you so long?"
Standing at the doorway, He Jiaqing stared at Li Banfeng for a long while. "Brother, you finally made it."
"I'm here," Li Banfeng took off his backpack and gave a wry smile. "It wasn't an easy trip getting here."
He Jiaqing casually took the backpack. "Why are you carrying such a beat-up bag?"
Li Banfeng blinked. "Is it beat-up?"
He Jiaqing chuckled. "How is it not? The seams are coming apart. Where did you buy this piece of junk?"
"Where did I buy it?" Li Banfeng's brow relaxed, the corners of his mouth curving into a smile. "I forgot. I think it came free when I topped up my phone balance."
He Jiaqing weighed the bag in his hands and asked, "The goods are in the bag?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Not in the bag. I left them in storage at the train station."
Chapter 23