Peak of the Sages

Li Banfeng slept straight through until dusk. When he got up to look, it was already six in the evening. He had truly missed his stop. Well, missed was missed. With the lingering exhaustion of the Judge's Brush still weighing on him, Li Banfeng couldn't be bothered to dwell on it. Yet once he stepped out of the Portable Abode and picked up his key from beneath the berth, he was forced to dwell on it after all. On his berth, one above the other, lay two young women. To be precise, it was no longer his berth. It belonged to these two ladies, and Li Banfeng should have disembarked long ago. Seeing the two girls intimately tangled together and rubbing against each other, Li Banfeng hastily explained, "I went into the wrong compartment. Please, don't mind me..." Shrill screams pierced the compartment, quickly drawing the train attendant over. The two female passengers explained that Li Banfeng had suddenly crawled out from under the berth. Li Banfeng explained that he was supposed to have gotten off long ago and had simply overslept. The attendant stared at Li Banfeng. "You overslept under the berth?" Li Banfeng tried explaining for quite some time, but failed to produce a single plausible excuse. Gritting his teeth, the attendant snapped, "Riding past your destination and harassing other passengers—your conduct is utterly vile! A fine of three thousand!" "Three thousand is easy enough." Li Banfeng paid up front. The attendant counted the bills, shoved the money into his pocket, and gave no receipt. Then he produced an iron rod. Li Banfeng glanced out the window at the scenery whipping backward, judged the train's speed, and waved his hand at the attendant. "Listen to my explanation first. I hold a universal travel permit, valid throughout Puluo Province. Let's just wait until the next stop..." Thwack! The attendant shoved the door open and thrust Li Banfeng out with a jab of the rod. Li Banfeng tumbled onto the gravel beside the tracks and scrambled to his feet. The moment he went flying from the train, he caught the shouts of the two young women. It sounded like they were yelling, "Fall and break your neck, you pervert!" Pervert... Isn't this ruining my good name? And ruined it truly was. The two girls went around weeping and lodging complaints, which eventually alarmed the trainmaster. The trainmaster was incandescent with rage. He confiscated the three thousand from the attendant and cross-checked the ticket information. After verifying the details, the attendant reported, "This passenger's name is Ma Junyang." Both Li Banfeng's train ticket and travel permit had been issued under Ma the Fifth's identity. The trainmaster fumed, "I've heard of that man. He slept with his own sister-in-law! The most shameless creature in all of Puluo Province—no surprise he'd pull a stunt like this!" *** Li Banfeng walked along the railroad tracks up the hillside. He walked for a long time without seeing a soul. It was nothing but mountains here, peak after peak, every one looking as though cast from the exact same mold, barely distinguishable from the last. After walking for more than three hours, Li Banfeng stopped. According to his prior assumptions, his greatest concern had been running into a border line. Li Banfeng still remembered the lethal power of border lines. A single misstep could reduce a person to ash. Railways were capable of cutting through border lines, but border-jumpers never dared follow the tracks because checkpoints were stationed along them. Li Banfeng had no fear of checkpoints; he carried a valid travel permit and was no smuggler. What brought him to a halt right now was not a border line, but a patch of grass that had been worn bald. Why would turf near the railway be worn bald like that? One possibility was that something had fallen from the train, slammed onto the grass, and worn it down to the dirt as it skidded across. Li Banfeng felt his back. Traces of crushed grass still clung to his clothes. This was the exact spot where he had landed when he fell from the train. He had walked in a circle. A fourth-tier journey cultivator, walking along the railway for three hours, had actually returned to his starting point. Logically, this made no sense. Could this railway line be running in a circle? A railway couldn't run in a loop; he was the one walking in circles. Li Banfeng pondered for a moment and moved away from the tracks. There might be some kind of power surrounding the railway interfering with his sense of direction. Yet if he didn't follow the tracks, where else could he go? Li Banfeng looked up at the night sky. On a clear night, there were plenty of ways to determine orientation. He quickly located true north and set off in that direction. Less than ten li out, a towering mountain blocked his path. This peak stood taller than the surrounding mountains, and structures could be vaguely discerned on its slopes. Scaling a mountain was no hardship for Li Banfeng. He sprinted up the trail and soon reached the buildings on the slope. The architectural style struck him as unfamiliar. Earthen-red brick walls, vermilion gates, and on those gates were rust-flecked door studs alongside a massive pair of knockers. Such vibrant red architecture ought to evoke celebration, yet all Li Banfeng felt from top to bottom was a heavy, suffocating deadness. Under normal circumstances, Li Banfeng would have steered clear of such a residence. But he needed to ask for directions. Stepping up to the entrance, he lifted a knocker and tapped twice. Clang, clang. A youth of seventeen or eighteen opened a side door. The lad wore an old-fashioned robe with an angled lapel and a round-topped skullcap, looking unnervingly aged for his years. Standing in the doorway, he looked Li Banfeng up and down before asking, "Who causes an uproar here?" Quite a formal tone. Li Banfeng replied, "I'm a passing traveler, hoping to ask what place this is." "Wait here a moment while I consult my master." The youth walked off. I just asked what place this is. Does that really need clearance from your master? Li Banfeng waited outside the gate for nearly half an hour before the youth emerged again. "My master says: see no impropriety, hear no impropriety, speak no impropriety, do no impropriety. Return another day." What kind of nonsense is this? I came to ask for directions. How does that qualify as improper? Just as Li Banfeng was about to speak, the youth shut the door in his face. Try somewhere else? There were quite a few houses nearby, all built in much the same style and utterly devoid of life. Forget it. This place was remote, nothing like Lüshui City. Knocking on doors in the dead of night was indeed poor form; no need to frighten anyone. Li Banfeng found a suitable spot, concealed the key, and returned to the Portable Abode to sleep for the night. The next morning, Li Banfeng emerged from the Portable Abode, intent on asking someone for directions, only to find the paths practically deserted. The residence from last night remained tightly shut. Another house had its gate slightly ajar, but the moment Li Banfeng stepped forward, a loud bang echoed as they slammed it shut. What is going on? I'm not a robber, I'm not a thief, and I'm not a beggar. Why is everyone avoiding me like the plague? Even when he first visited Tiemenbao, people at least answered when asked for directions. Li Banfeng decided to look farther up the mountain. Suddenly, a man clad in a white robe approached with a solemn expression. Finally, a living soul. Li Banfeng hurried over. "Excuse me, could you tell me..." Before he could finish, the white-robed man dropped to his knees with a thud, startling Li Banfeng into a flinch. "I'm just asking for directions, not robbing you! I haven't done that sort of thing in..." The white-robed man glanced at Li Banfeng with utter bewilderment, but ultimately said nothing. His gaze remained fixed on the estate ahead. Only then did Li Banfeng realize the man wasn't kneeling to him—he was kneeling toward the master of that house. What kind of favor could he possibly be begging for to drop to his knees like this? Kneeling to a shut gate won't do you any good anyway. At least wait until someone can see you! Well, if he wanted to kneel, let him kneel. As total strangers, Li Banfeng had no right to stop him, and it didn't prevent him from asking his question. "Excuse me, what is this place?" Without shifting his gaze, the white-robed man said, "Standing upon the Peak of the Sages, yet asking where one stands. How laughable is the ignorance of worldly mortals." Peak of the Sages? Li Banfeng had never heard of it. "Could you kindly tell me the way to the nearest train station?" Li Banfeng had a travel permit; he could buy a ticket. The white-robed man sneered. "A land of sages—how could it tolerate such vulgar contrivances?" Trains count as vulgar contrivances? Li Banfeng kept his tone as polite as possible. "This is my first time visiting this land of sages, and I have urgent business to attend to outside. Please, point me in the right direction." The white-robed man's brow furrowed, and he barked four words back at Li Banfeng: "Speak no impropriety!" Talking to him was pointless. The man was unhinged. Anyone kneeling to a closed wooden door couldn't possibly be sane. Li Banfeng continued up the mountain. The homes higher up were largely identical—all gates barred, with no response to any knocking. He ran into a few people pushing handcarts or dumping refuse, but the moment they spotted Li Banfeng, they steered far clear of him. Occasionally, he met someone who didn't run. Li Banfeng would ask a question, and the other party would rattle off an endless string of classical pedantry, completely devoid of anything useful. The people on this mountain are sick. Thoroughly sick. Li Banfeng stopped asking for directions and climbed straight over the peak along the mountain trail. Following the hollow northward for a dozen or so li, another towering mountain blocked his path. Taking the trail up the slope, Li Banfeng once again saw familiar structures. Earthen-red walls, vermilion gates, and several dozen people kneeling outside the entrance. The spectacle here was even more absurd than before. Li Banfeng swept his gaze over the crowd and caught sight of a familiar face. That man wore white robes... It couldn't be... Walking closer and scrutinizing him for a long moment, Li Banfeng asked, "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" The white-robed man let out a cold snort. "See no impropriety!" Li Banfeng was dumbfounded. Did I walk in a circle again? Is there something wrong with them, or is there something wrong with me? Creak... The heavy gates opened. The youth of seventeen or eighteen from yesterday stepped out once more. "My master says your karmic affinity has not yet arrived. You should return." Shock and disappointment washed over the crowd's faces as they turned toward the youth. The white-robed man asked, "We have endured countless trials and hardships, calling at this gate day and night to seek instruction. Why say our affinity has not arrived?" The youth replied impassively, "This is my master's will." With that, the youth left. Despair fell over the assembly, and several people even began to weep. "Return? We're to go back just like that?" "What else can we do? This is the Sage's decree." "I have waited bitterly for eight years just for an audience with the Sage! To send me away now—how can I accept this?" "What does your eight years amount to? I have waited here for eleven full years!" As the crowd lamented, the white-robed man spoke up. "The Sage refuses to see us because our sincerity is lacking! Whether ten years or eight, let me ask: aside from withering away in idle waiting, when have we ever demonstrated the resolve and perseverance of true seekers?" Someone nearby asked, "In your esteemed view, what should we do?" The white-robed man declared, "From this day forth, I shall kneel here without rising. If the Sage will not see me for a day, I will kneel for a day. If the Sage will not see me for a year, I will kneel for a year!" Hearing this, Li Banfeng was utterly appalled. This guy is beyond shameless!