Boss Lu took Yu Yaoming to Lu's Bookhouse. It was a bookstore newly opened in Yunxiu District of Yuezhou City. The signboard still read "Lu's Bookhouse," and the layout inside was largely identical to the one in Puluo Province.
Yu Yaoming had been tucked away in the second-floor storeroom, devouring a bowl of beef over rice ravenously.
"Take it easy. There's more when you finish." Boss Lu placed a box of meat pies in front of Yu Yaoming.
Yu Yaoming snatched a pie and swallowed it in two bites, choking so hard his eyes rolled back in his head.
Boss Lu brought over a bowl of mutton soup and chuckled. "Mutton soup and meat pies from Qianyue Tower in Green Water City. Have a taste."
Yu Yaoming drank a couple of mouthfuls of soup, washing down the meat pie. "Great pie, great soup, truly delicious! What sort of place is Green Water City?"
Boss Lu smiled. "You've never been to Puluo Province?"
Yu Yaoming shook his head. Far from visiting, he had never even heard of it.
Boss Lu sensed that Yu Yaoming wasn't telling the truth. "If you've never been to Puluo Province, from whom did you learn your abilities?"
Yu Yaoming froze for a moment. "You mean the power of wisdom? I acquired that myself through research!"
"Acquired it yourself?" Boss Lu chuckled. "Have you ever been to a place similar to Puluo Province? Like a foreign equivalent of Puluo Province?"
Yu Yaoming shook his head. "I don't even know which country Puluo Province is in."
"I'll take you to Puluo Province to see for yourself." Boss Lu rose, walked to the storeroom door, took out a sheet of white paper, lifted a writing brush, and drafted an official clearance document.
The body of the document was written in tiny regular script, while the heading was slightly larger. Yu Yaoming caught sight of the two words: "Border Clearance."
In an instant, the document was completed. Boss Lu's hand suddenly produced a massive seal, which he stamped onto the paper.
Both the size and the material of the seal were most peculiar.
The seal vanished in the blink of an eye. Taking the clearance paper, Boss Lu went to the door and slipped it through the gap beneath the doorframe. There was no telling who picked it up from the outside.
After a short wait, Boss Lu opened the storeroom door and led Yu Yaoming out.
Outside, it was still the bookstore, the furnishings virtually indistinguishable from before. Yet once they stepped outside the shop, Yu Yaoming was dumbfounded.
The wide street in front of the bookstore had disappeared, replaced by a dirt path.
The stream of car traffic was gone; only once in a while did an ox cart or two pass by.
Across the road lay vast expanses of farmland. In the autumn harvest season, many farmers could be seen working in the fields.
Yu Yaoming asked, "How did you move your bookstore from the city into the countryside? Did you use a wormhole? A wormhole connecting two different spaces!"
Boss Lu laughed. "You think it was just moved from the city to the countryside?"
Yu Yaoming indeed thought so. He was a son of peasants, born in the countryside, so none of these sights were unfamiliar to him, even if the clothes people wore were slightly unusual.
Boss Lu said, "This is Taoyuan Town. Neither prominent clans nor underworld gangs can stick their hands in here. It is the most peaceful, pristine place in all of Puluo Province."
"We're already in Puluo Province?" Yu Yaoming remained unwilling to believe it.
Boss Lu closed the front door of the bookstore. "Let me take you to another place."
Leading Yu Yaoming, he circled once around the third row of bookshelves and returned to the entrance. Once more, he pushed open the front doors, and the scene outside changed yet again.
The sprawling farmland was now a sprawling district of two- and three-story buildings. Further in the distance stood a few taller structures. Boss Lu pointed toward a five-story building. "That's the Paramount, the landmark of Puluo Province."
"A five-story building can serve as a landmark?" Yu Yaoming felt the remark sounded somewhat rude and quickly clarified, "I'm merely curious, no offense intended."
Boss Lu shook his head with a laugh. "There are taller buildings too, like the Peace Mansion. The people of Puluo Province have their own tastes; we don't believe taller is necessarily better."
Yu Yaoming wanted to go closer to the Paramount for a better look. But the moment he stepped onto the road, he heard a crisp ringing: *Ding! Ding!*
A rickshaw puller hurried past him with his cart. Stunned, Yu Yaoming muttered, "In this era, such means of transport still exist?"
Boss Lu said nothing more. Watching for a moment, Yu Yaoming finally realized there wasn't a single automobile on the street.
"In the Huan Country, how could there possibly be a place so—" He hesitated, unsure if he should use the word "backward."
Boss Lu said it for him. "This isn't the Huan Country, nor can Puluo Province be described simply as backward. Here, certain technological methods are constrained, so we can only develop our own civilization through other avenues."
"The avenues you mention are—" Before he could finish, Yu Yaoming saw a woman step out from a nearby teahouse.
She wore a teal short-sleeved qipao adorned with peony and cloud motifs. The cut was light and flattering, tailored to her silhouette. The frog closures, piping, and embroidery were exquisitely crafted, highlighting both her graceful figure and dignified bearing.
Her hairstyle was the finger-wave perm most fashionable in Puluo Province, the ridges flowing gracefully from left to right in perfect harmony with her delicate features. She looked just like a talented society lady who had walked right out of a motion picture.
"A talented socialite... that description truly suits her," Yu Yaoming couldn't resist murmuring aloud. He had never seen a woman so otherworldly and refined.
Boss Lu asked beside him, "Why do you think she's talented?"
*Indeed, why?*
Yu Yaoming didn't know her at all. Why had he concluded she was talented?
It was the book.
She held a book in her hands—a hardcover volume with a sturdy binding.
Yu Yaoming couldn't make out the title, but he felt the book suited her exceptionally well.
"Wisdom matches her temperament so seamlessly. Such a woman is bound to be brimming with talent." Yu Yaoming was a professor of physics, but he was also a man, and he couldn't help stealing a few more glances at this beauty.
The beauty seemed to notice Yu Yaoming's gaze and smiled at him.
Embarrassed, Yu Yaoming lowered his head.
*Was she greeting me?*
*How could she? She doesn't know me. My appearance is so ordinary—how could she take a liking to me?*
*Perhaps because of intellect? Could she also sense the aura of wisdom on me?*
*Perhaps that really is it...*
Yu Yaoming raised his head again, a hint of confidence and anticipation in his eyes. He still believed in the power of wisdom.
Then he watched the talented socialite stroll up to a steamed bun stall.
She ate six whole steamer baskets of buns, taking less than two minutes from start to finish.
Not small steamer baskets—giant ones.
Yu Yaoming's mouth fell open. From that moment on, for the next ten-odd minutes, his jaw never closed.
During that time, a dragonfly flew straight into his mouth, yet his jaw stayed slack.
Once full, the socialite wiped the grease from her lips, resumed her dignified stride, and entered a nearby jewelry shop.
Peering through the shop's front window, one could see the socialite raise the book in her hand and smash the display glass to pieces.
A burly brute rushed forward to seize her. She swung the book and sent the brute flying from the shop right onto the pavement outside. His cheekbone collapsed, his face caved in, and he lay flat on the ground, lifeless or barely clinging to life.
The socialite produced a burlap sack from her qipao, swept the jewels from the counter inside, hoisted the sack over her shoulder, and marched out of the jewelry shop.
Six burly men charged out of the shop in pursuit. The young woman swung her book and engaged them in combat.
Boss Lu remarked with a sigh, "Using a book as a shield can fend off most edged weapons. Especially hardbound books—striking a head with one of the corners can pierce right through the skull. Look, that man's brain matter is already leaking out. A book can also be broken down into individual parts; every single page can be ripped out and used as a razor-sharp blade. Paper edges are astonishingly sharp. Look, that man's throat has been slit. Pages can also conceal poison, deployed between openings and closings to ambush enemies. Look at that other man—his eyes are bleeding, he's been poisoned. Do you see? That is the power of books! That is the power of wisdom!"
While they spoke, the socialite had already knocked down all six bruisers and sprinted down the street.
By Yu Yaoming's reckoning, at least three of the six men were dead.
A gaunt old man caught up to her, holding a long-stemmed pipe. Taking a deep drag, he blew a plume of smoke straight at the socialite.
Flames erupted over her body. She possessed techniques to protect herself, but she couldn't protect her clothing; her qipao was incinerated clean away.
With her clothes burned off, she didn't care much, but when the sack tore open, she was heartbroken.
Naked, she scooped up a few pieces of jewelry from the ground and sprinted off once more.
The old man chased after her with pipe in hand.
Qin Xiaopang dashed in from around the street corner. Once he understood the situation, he rallied a few men to box the woman in.
Professor Yu Yaoming was no softhearted man himself—he had killed people at academic conferences!
Yet for some reason, his mouth simply wouldn't shut. Pointing toward the robbed jewelry shop, he sputtered at Boss Lu, "Mmh, ah, ah!"
Boss Lu nodded. "That's how Puluo Province is."
"Ay-ah, oo-ay-ah, ah-ah?"
"Don't worry. Even if she gets caught, she won't necessarily be beaten to death. She might be sent to an upscale brothel to receive clients and pay off her debt, or someone might take her in as a guard because of her martial skills."
"Ay-ah, hah, hah, yah?"
"Puluo Province has no laws."
"Oo-hah, mmh-ah-ah..."
Boss Lu sighed. "Because the Lord of Puluo likes Puluo Province just the way it is."
***
"What is the Puluo Province called over in your homeland?" Li Banfeng held a notebook. He was interrogating Goncharova. Through legitimate channels, the Birch Hermitage had become the single most vital breakthrough for investigating Du Wenming, since the Dark Star Bureau had already captured an existing senior member.
Goncharova proved very cooperative. "In our country, there is a place called the Land of Slumber that resembles Puluo Province. I grew up in the Land of Slumber."
"Was your power also acquired in the Land of Slumber?"
Goncharova shook her head. "I don't know where the fountainhead of power lies. According to the people of Belobog, the descendants of Chernobog carry a base, wretched bloodline. It is the curse upon our destiny."
Li Banfeng didn't understand. "What do Belobog and Chernobog mean?"
Goncharova's spoken Huan language was poor, and expressing herself was an uphill struggle. Shen Jingye suggested that Li Banfeng call in a translator, but Li Banfeng refused.
Ever since the incident with Ninth Branch, Li Banfeng would never easily trust a translator again. He preferred to listen to Goncharova's clumsy descriptions.
"Two groups of people live in the Land of Slumber. One consists of the people of the light god Belobog; their bloodline symbolizes happiness and virtue. The other consists of the descendants of the dark god Chernobog—that is us. Our bloodline symbolizes disaster and pestilence."
Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "The people of the light god are the Ravshan, and the descendants of the dark god are the indigenous people of the Land of Slumber. Is that what you mean?"
Goncharova nodded. "You can understand it that way. From the day all Chernobog people learn to speak, we must learn to repent—to repent for our bloodline. Once we reach ten years old, we must repent not only with words, but through deeds. We must join our parents in the coldest, harshest climates, performing the most grueling labor, until the day we die, to atone for our sins."
Inside Li Banfeng's pocket, the projector carefully recorded every word, convinced that this narrative alone was enough to make a movie.
Li Banfeng asked, "Did you never think of resisting?"
"Some people did, but most didn't dare. The people of the light god Belobog have powerful weapons, and they are very strong. In the dead of winter, they often strip naked and wrestle in the snow, even fighting polar bears. We were all terrified of them. A few among us resisted, but none ever succeeded. All rebels were put to death in the most brutal manners."
"Did your rebellions fail because of their strength?"
"No, actually, they weren't strong at all. We just imagined them to be too mighty." As Goncharova said this, she couldn't stop gritting her teeth. "Until one day, war broke out in the Land of Slumber. The true bloodline of the dark god Chernobog invaded, and only then did we realize they were utterly fragile."
"What was the true bloodline of Chernobog?"
Goncharova shook her head. "I don't know how to describe them. When that war broke out, I was still very young. I remember them spewing black smoke and fire, some resembling giant dragons and others looking like unknown monsters. In less than a month, the people of the light god Belobog were defeated, and more than half of the Land of Slumber was occupied by those monsters."
Giant creatures spewing fire and black smoke sounded rather like the Centipede Workshop Li Banfeng had encountered.
According to Li Banfeng's understanding, that pack of monsters was likely people from the Inner States. He just didn't know whether their Inner States was the same group of people facing Puluo Province.
"What happened later? How did the war end?"
"The people of Belobog conscripted our people together to form a suicide squad. My father joined the battle. The war lasted for two full years. Our people were practically wiped out, but the monsters retreated. They took half of the Land of Slumber, and the other half remained."
Li Banfeng said, "So you had a homeland of your own?"
"No. The remaining half of the Land of Slumber still belonged to the people of the light god Belobog."
"Didn't you have your own army?"
"That wasn't our army. From the troops, they selected a few who had achieved military merits and were willing to submit to them. They washed away their sins and made them people of the light god. Those men became accomplices to that group, and they treated us even more brutally than their masters did."
That part, Li Banfeng could readily imagine.
"Didn't your father fight in that war too?"
"He died on the battlefield. In the end, my mother and I gained nothing. The only thing my father left me was his power. He left the method to obtain that power to my mother, and my mother taught it to me."
"What was the method?"
Goncharova was reluctant to speak, but gazing at the expressionless Li Qi, waves of chill washed over her, making her abandon any thought of concealment.
"Deep within the Land of Slumber, there is a flower that resembles a wind chime. It blooms only once a year, and the flowering period lasts only a single night. On the night it blooms, one must prepare the fish oil of a white-eyed fish and the blood of a unicorn deer, sing a hymn blessing the God of Melody, and then ingest ten wind chime blossoms. Only then can one obtain the power of the God of Melody."
"Why didn't your father tell you this method earlier?"
"Because the method is dangerous. My mother told me that many who consumed the wind chime flowers died; very few survived. But my teacher told me that if I wanted to break free from the chains on me, I needed sufficient power. So I decided to take the risk."
"Who is your teacher?"
"Migelov, president of the Birch Hermitage. Risking his life, he led a group of us blessed by the gods out of the Land of Slumber and brought us hope. He wants to give us a home that truly belongs to us."
Li Banfeng didn't quite grasp her logic. "If you want to build a home of your own, why did you leave your homeland?"
Goncharova explained, "The Land of Slumber doesn't belong to us. We need to find a better homeland."
"Have you found one?"
"We have, right in Puluo Province! Its environment resembles the Land of Slumber, yet it isn't enslaved by the outside world. One day, it will become our land!"
As she spoke, Goncharova grew exceedingly agitated. Once the words were out, she felt a twinge of regret.
She remembered something: according to her information, Li Qi seemed to come from Puluo Province.
Li Banfeng smiled pleasantly. "It's all right, madam. Keep going. Aside from Puluo Province, could you find no other place?"
Seeing Li Banfeng smile so sincerely, Goncharova truly believed he had left Puluo Province behind and harbored no deep attachment to it.
Little did she know that the last shred of sympathy Li Banfeng felt for her had vanished completely.
Goncharova said, "There is no better place than Puluo Province. Other countries, like Amican, Ingli, and Austrilia, also have regions similar to the Land of Slumber. Their living conditions are slightly better than ours, but in essence, nothing is different.
"Only Puluo Province is an exception. But the president also warned us that Puluo Province is so special because its people are tougher than those elsewhere. They also fought a war against the dark gods, and they emerged victorious. Trying to conquer the formidable Puluo Province is a daunting task."
*Puluo Province fought a war against the dark gods?*
It seemed the "dark gods" Goncharova spoke of referred to the Inner States.
*Puluo Province won against the Inner States?*
"When did the war between Puluo Province and the dark gods take place?"
Goncharova said, "I don't know. Puluo Province has no recorded history. What the president heard were merely rumors, but it shouldn't have been too long ago. Perhaps twenty or thirty years, or maybe a bit earlier."
Shen Jingye reminded Li Qi from the side, "Don't forget our main business. Ask about Du Wenming."
The matter of Du Wenming had to be investigated starting from their leadership.
Following Goncharova's confession, Li Banfeng obtained a list of the six elders of the Birch Hermitage, as well as the identities of the three chiefs of Xuehuapu.
The first chief was the peddler; this was a well-acknowledged fact.
The second chief was Mr. Kongfang, a direct disciple of the peddler. As for his pathway, cultivation stage, or abilities, Goncharova knew nothing.
The third chief was Du Wenming, nicknamed the Silver Dollar Traveler in Xuehuapu, also a direct disciple of the peddler.
Du Wenming was a Dance cultivator. Was the peddler a Dance cultivator as well?
Holding a rattle drum, shaking it as he danced...
It wasn't an impossible picture.
Li Banfeng asked Goncharova, "Have you ever seen the peddler?"
"Never," Goncharova shook her head. "I went to Puluo Province several times, and every time I wanted to find the peddler, but I never encountered him."
"Have you encountered Mr. Kongfang?"
"Neither. The highest-ranking figure from Xuehuapu I've ever met is Du Wenming."
"Did you cooperate with Xuehuapu purely because of a lack of funds?"
"Yes. Our research requires colossal expenses. Xuehuapu was willing to supply us with funding, but only on the condition that we share our technology with them."
"What sort of technology?"
Goncharova shook her head. "I don't know. In the Hermitage, no one knows what that secret technology truly is except the president. We only know it is the key to conquering Puluo Province."
*The key to conquering Puluo Province!*
Migelov possessed a set of photographs detailing the derivation process for researching the nature of the Boundary.
Judging by this, the research the Hermitage sought to conduct concerned methods of controlling the Boundary, aiming to use that to control Puluo Province.
Naturally, this was not limited to theoretical inquiry; among the photographs, Li Banfeng had also seen a crude design diagram—an apparatus or structure meant for breaching the Boundary.
This series of research endeavors demanded massive capital, to the point that both Xuehuapu and the Birch Hermitage had been drained of funds.
Du Wenming appeared to have lost patience with the Hermitage as well. His abduction of Yu Yaoming was most likely out of an eye for the professor's research results.
Of course, Yu Yaoming's expenses were by no means small either, requiring expensive Heavenly Heart Stones and massive amounts of costly equipment.
Fortunately, neither the stones nor the equipment had gone to waste; Li Banfeng had kept them all safe on their behalf.
Between Yu Yaoming and the Birch Gang, which one had found the correct answer?
Regardless of who it was, Li Banfeng could sense that he was getting closer and closer to the right answer.
If only he could conduct an experiment.
***
Boss Lu led Yu Yaoming to the edge of Lüshui Bay. "Not far ahead lies Mazhu Village. Mazhu Village belongs to Yaowanggou."
Yu Yaoming assumed he would see novel things in Mazhu Village as well, so without a second thought, he stepped forward.
Boss Lu caught him in a firm grip and pointed ahead. "There is a Boundary there. Walking across like that is suicide."
Yu Yaoming looked closely. Across the barren hills, there was indeed a line where not a blade of grass grew.
Boss Lu picked up a pebble and tossed it across.
The instant the pebble crossed the Boundary, it disintegrated into a puff of dust.
"That is the Boundary." Boss Lu dusted his hands off. "See its power?"
Yu Yaoming wasn't overly surprised. "I've felt that sensation before. The feeling of turning to ashes."
Boss Lu shook his head. "I don't want you turning to ashes. I want you to find a way to cross the Boundary."
Yu Yaoming thought for a moment. "You already have a method. Your bookstore already possesses the ability to cross the Boundary."
"Not by relying on my bookstore, but an actual passage—the wormhole you spoke of." Boss Lu took out a blueprint. "This is the laboratory I chose for you. Take a look and see if you're satisfied. Tell me all the experimental apparatus you need; I can have them delivered to you within a short time. I will provide you with sufficient assistance. I am far more dependable than Du Wenming."
Yu Yaoming pondered for a while. "I've known Du Wenming for a considerable time. He gave me a great deal of help, which enabled me to achieve my current research results."
Boss Lu smiled faintly. "We haven't known each other long, but Du Wenming is finished. In the words of the Outer States, he's stone-cold dead. Right now, the only one who can provide you with assistance is me."
***
Du Wenming caught two fish from the fishpond and roasted them over a fire.
He was penniless now, with nowhere to go. Aside from these fish, he had nothing left.
With his cultivation, procuring some money shouldn't have been difficult, but many people were searching for him. The moment he showed his face, he had to be prepared to be caught.
If one day all the fish in the pond were eaten, where could he go?
*All the fish eaten...*
Du Wenming laughed. Suddenly, he felt his thoughts were absurd; everything before his eyes was absurd. In just a few short days, he had fallen to such a plight.
Who on earth had caused this? Where had he taken the wrong step? Du Wenming rubbed between his eyebrows, mentally recounting his recent experiences, when a crisp, pleasant clinking reached his ears.
*Clatter, clatter...*
It was copper coins!
Du Wenming sprang to his feet at once and bowed deeply. "Senior Brother!"
A handful of copper coins landed in Du Wenming's hand. From the darkness came a man's voice: "The Silver Dollar Traveler, without a single silver dollar to his name. A truly wretched state."
Du Wenming lowered his head. "This junior brother is incompetent, bringing shame upon the settlement."
The voice belonged to the second-in-command of Xuehuapu, Mr. Kongfang.
"Outside, we don't speak of settlement matters. I came to find you for the sake of our fraternal bond. In two days, Feng Chongli is coming to Yuezhou on business, accompanied by several attendants. You will blend in among them and return with him to Puluo Province. Together, we shall accomplish great things."
Du Wenming let out a bitter laugh. "After how badly things turned out in Yuezhou, what great things are left to do once I return? What could be more important than the Boundary?"
Mr. Kongfang said, "The settlement has tracked down the whereabouts of the Xuansheng Red Lotus. This matter is just as important as the Boundary."
"Isn't the Xuansheng Red Lotus in Li Qi's hands? Does that even need investigating?"
"We might have gotten some things wrong before. The red lotus is very likely not in Li Qi's hands. Sun Tiecheng—do you know of this man?"
Du Wenming thought for a moment. "I've seen his name in some files."
"Sun Tiecheng was once the castellan of the City of Fools who struck terror into all of Puluo Province. Word has it he took not only the red lotus, but also the iron-sinew bamboo. Iron-sinew bamboo is the primary ingredient for concocting initiation medicinal powder."
Du Wenming looked up. "Is he aiming to seize the position of First Chief?"
"Indeed!" Mr. Kongfang sneered. "No matter how ruthless Sun Tiecheng might be, for the sake of our First Chief, we certainly cannot spare him!"
Chapter 573