Whoosh! Whoosh!
The deafening blare of a steam whistle jolted Xiao Yeci awake.
She rubbed her eyes and peered toward the porthole. Outside, pitch-black darkness stretched as far as the eye could see.
Yawning, she prepared to roll over and drift back to sleep when the Liangwucai twins burst into her room. Vaulting onto the bed, they pinned Xiao Yeci down and gave her a frantic tickling and scratching all over.
After squirming and struggling for what felt like ages, Xiao Yeci grumbled, annoyed, "Stop messing around, won't you? It's the dead of night—what are you two even making such a fuss about?"
Liangwu chuckled. "Dead of night? Look what time it is!"
Xiao Yeci flicked open her pocket watch. The hands pointed straight to nine.
"Is this morning or night?"
"Morning, obviously! Come on, let's get some breakfast!"
Xiao Yeci buried her head beneath the pillow. "I'm not eating. I'm going back to sleep."
Liangcai hauled Xiao Yeci upright. "Our vessel has docked at an island. Perhaps our souls shall also find a harbor here."
"What harbor? There are plenty of harbors in my dreams!" Still half-asleep, Xiao Yeci stumbled downstairs behind the sisters, arriving at the dining salon on the second deck.
The passenger vessel had three decks of cabins. The first deck housed a grand hall capable of hosting ballroom dances.
The second deck held the dining salon, a cinema, a study, a tearoom, and an observation deck.
The third deck was reserved for sleeping quarters, containing twelve rooms in total—six suites and six single staterooms—offering far superior conditions compared to the soil exchange ship.
Once Xiao Yeci and Liangwucai took their seats in the dining salon, a steward promptly presented the menu.
While the dining room boasted elegant decor, the offerings were sparse. Out at sea, ingredients were severely limited; the edible selections were the same few dishes cycled over and over.
After they placed their order, the steward delivered their food, turned on his heel, and walked away without uttering a single word throughout the entire encounter.
To call the service cold would be an exaggeration, but it certainly could not be described as warm either.
This was not their family business to begin with. From the boat boss down to the deckhands below, every last one was a hired employee. Whether passengers came or went, they earned the same wage. The vessel's master barely visited two or three times a year; whether they did an exceptional or terrible job, he was never around to see it.
The patrons stepping aboard were undeniably wealthy and powerful figures, but the crew members had a sense of propriety. As long as they attended to their duties and caused no offense, they could skate through the voyage without trouble.
Tan Jinxiao arrived for breakfast as well, and Liangwucai asked him in a low whisper, "Where did Seventh Master go?"
"Seventh Master? Wasn't he in your room?"
Liangwu scoffed. "If he were in our room, would we even need to ask you?"
Liangcai chimed in with a scoff of her own. "If he were in our room, would we even bother coming down for breakfast?"
With that, the sisters turned their eyes simultaneously toward Xiao Yeci. "Could he be with you?"
Xiao Yeci choked on her black tea. "How could he possibly be in my room? You both came in and checked! I was all by myself!"
The twins' eyes went wide. "Could it be Juanzi?"
Tan Jinxiao frowned. "Don't talk nonsense! Juanzi spent the entire night studying techniques, only turning in at daybreak."
Liangcai stared at Tan Jinxiao. "And how would you know that?"
"I sleep right next door to her. She was tossing and turning all night—how could I not hear it?"
With his explanation, nobody had any idea where Seventh Master had gone. Growing somewhat worried, Liangwu conferred with Liangcai, "Let's go check Seventh Master's room."
Tan Jinxiao shook his head. "I say, don't the two of you go fretting over nothing. Seventh Master does whatever he pleases. On this ship, nobody can touch a hair on his head."
Xiao Yeci looked out the window. The dining salon's portholes were larger, allowing faint glimpses of lights outside.
"Brother Tan, what's the name of this island?"
Tan Jinxiao replied, "This island is called Black Flour Shop. It specializes in selling black flour."
"Black flour? I've never tasted that before!" Xiao Yeci genuinely wished to sample the local cuisine.
Tan Jinxiao chuckled. "This black flour isn't meant for people to eat; it's fed to machinery! It's a coal depot. We're riding a steamship powered by boilers, so it has to make scheduled stops to take on coal. There's nothing to see on this island—just coal mines. Let's not bother going ashore."
After finishing breakfast, the group strolled out onto the deck. The coaling was nearly complete, and the boat boss had returned from the island.
He walked over to Tan Jinxiao and initiated a conversation. "Honored sir, where might that guest who accompanied you be?"
Tan Jinxiao furrowed his brows. "That's a question with neither head nor tail. Quite a few guests came along with me. Who knows which one you're talking about?"
The boat boss did not recognize Li Banfeng, nor did he recognize Tan Jinxiao. Unless the guests volunteered their background, he never even inquired about their names.
Out at sea, this was how business had to be conducted. Over eighty percent of the patrons boarding this vessel were there to indulge in leisure with their lovers. What they sought was discretion; the crew had no business daydreaming about currying favor with the powerful, so long as they fulfilled their duties.
Yet today, the boat boss acted out of character. "I mean the gentleman who boarded together with you—the guest who calls the shots."
Tan Jinxiao understood. He was referring to Li the Seventh. "What do you want with him?"
"That guest ordered a bottle of liquor yesterday. I wanted to ask whether he drank it, and whether it ought to be added to the tab."
"No need to ask him. Just consider it drunk and put it on the tab."
The boat boss pursed his lips. Finding it difficult to press further, he climbed down the companionway ladder to the boiler room beneath the deck.
The head stoker came forward and asked in a hushed tone, "Boss, is it him?"
The boat boss shook his head. "I didn't see him just now."
As they were speaking, the chief engineer walked over as well. "Boss, I hear the folks over there gossiping. Did something happen aboard our ship?"
The head stoker kept his mouth shut. The boat boss answered, "Nothing happened on the ship, but something happened back in the city. Our master is gone."
"You mean Master Gui?" The chief engineer was startled. "Who said that? Is the news reliable?"
The head stoker lowered his voice. "Dead reliable! Word was stirring around the human market days ago. First Master Gui went mad, wanting to hike the rent, then he waived it entirely. Not two days later, the man vanished into thin air! There's not a single soul left inside the entire Qing Garden! You think that could be fake?"
The proprietor of this passenger vessel was none other than the kingpin of the human market, Zhu Yugui.
The chief engineer was appalled. "Who did it? Was it the Boss?"
The boat boss answered, "Not the Boss, but word came from the Boss's side. The one who did this is a ruthless figure from Green Water City—Li the Seventh."
"Li the Seventh..." The chief engineer racked his brains. He seemed to have heard the name before, yet he could not recall what the man actually did.
"I just saw a photograph of Li the Seventh on Black Flour Island. It seems to resemble one of the guests on our ship quite a bit." The boat boss pulled out the photograph and showed it to the chief engineer.
The chief engineer examined it for a long while before shaking his head. "Boss, you can't even see a face in this photograph. All you see is a fellow in a suit and hat. Countless people dress like that! Who dares say the one on our ship is Li the Seventh?"
The photograph had been clipped from a newspaper, originally a snapshot snapped by a photographer, offering no view of Li the Seventh's face.
The boat boss said, "Still, I heard Li the Seventh came to the Sea Market. Counting the days, it really could be him. I also heard that Guan Huodong, the kingpin of the Sea Market, hasn't shown his face for days. Plenty of people are whispering that he went looking for Li the Seventh a few days ago, and once he went, he never came back."
The head stoker's face turned deathly pale. "Boss, is our ship still sailing?"
"We sail..." The boat boss rubbed his hands together, the thought terrifying him more by the second.
The chief engineer was well along in years and had weathered many storms. Truth be told, he remained calmer than the boat boss. "Boss, we have to sail. If we stay moored here, things will truly go south.
"Think about it: if he isn't Li the Seventh, staying anchored here will offend the guests, and we cannot shoulder that blame.
"And if he really is Li the Seventh, we can afford to offend him even less! If that bloodthirsty devil turns on us, who among us could survive? Black Flour Island is only this big; we wouldn't have anywhere to hide!"
The head stoker asked with a miserable face, "And what if we reach the open sea and he turns on us then? What do we do?"
"Once we're out at sea, we'll have plenty of ways to handle it."
Seeing the chief engineer speak with such assurance, the boat boss made up his mind. He told the head stoker, "Tell the lads to shovel coal and top off the water. Time to set sail."
The head stoker was not an ordinary boiler-stoker; he was the head of the boiler room, overseeing a crew of a dozen men.
Among those dozen men, some shoveled coal, some pumped water, some operated the draft blowers, and others controlled the valves.
Once the steam pressure was reached, the steam turbines turned over, and the passenger vessel gradually pulled away from Black Flour Island.
The chief engineer repeatedly urged the boat boss to keep a close watch on Li the Seventh's movements.
While all these men were searching for Li the Seventh, Li the Seventh was currently inside the companion dwelling teasing Hong Ying.
Li Banfeng sat beside Hong Ying, patting his chest with a clear conscience. "In our household, if we're talking about someone who possesses both brains and brawn, Yingying is the first who comes to mind! Leaving aside earlier matters, just take Room Eight. What a shrewd calculation cultivator that was! Ordinary people couldn't handle him at all, but Yingying pulled off a brilliant scheme and brought Room Eight to heel in one stroke! Who else could match that cunning?"
Ninth Maiden rolled her eyes at Li Banfeng. "Brought him to heel? You mean beat him into submission! If he couldn't calculate an answer, she beat him; she seized him and battered him half to death. That counts as a brilliant scheme?"
Li Banfeng glared at Ninth Maiden. "Tailoring the method to the individual is what reveals extraordinary skill! Yingying possesses great wisdom!"
The Tang dao shook its blade. "General Hong indeed possesses great wisdom!"
Hong Ying scoffed. "No need to flatter me. You just want me to teach you the method for making marks. If you don't call me your good wife, I certainly won't teach you."
Li Banfeng rubbed his hands. "Look at how stubborn you are. Why must you insist on being a wife?"
Hong Ying glared at him. "You heartless man, if I'm not your wife, what else could I be? Your maidservant? I'm not competing with Xiaowan for your favors, but I deserve a proper standing at least! Tell me straight: will you call me wife or not?"
"I won't," Li Banfeng answered just as stubbornly.
"Then don't come looking for me!"
The Tang dao offered Li Banfeng a word of advice: "My Lord, calling her wife is no loss. General Hong's marks are truly formidable."
Li Banfeng glared at the blade. "I already have a wife. How can such a thing be treated as a joke?"
The Tang dao stood upright in the middle of the room, speaking with righteous solemnity: "The Marshal is not a petty soul. If she truly takes issue with it, we shall have the Marshal and General Hong fight an honorable duel. Whichever of them triumphs shall be the mistress of the house, and I shall bear witness!"
Sizzle!
A blast of scalding steam enveloped the Tang dao. Scorched glowing red all over, the blade retreated to Li Banfeng's side. "I shall bear witness alongside my Lord!"
Ignoring the Tang dao, Li Banfeng resumed negotiating with Hong Ying.
When Hong Ying flatly refused to budge, Li Banfeng gave ground. "Even if you won't teach me, at least tell me what use a Travel Cultivator's mark serves. If I learn a Travel Cultivator's mark, can I use Parting by Ten Thousand Li whenever I please? Will I never lose my way again?"
This was an old sore point for Li Banfeng, and the reason he was so determined to learn how to make marks.
Parting by Ten Thousand Li was Li Banfeng's favorite Travel Cultivator technique. On the battlefield, it allowed him to come and go at will, both to strike down foes and to make an escape. Where else could one find such an outstanding method?
Yet the side effects of this technique were simply too severe. With one kick, he never knew where his opponent would land, nor where he himself would end up. The slightest misstep could ruin everything, which was why Li Banfeng never dared use Parting by Ten Thousand Li lightly.
A mark could be used to track people, which meant it could certainly be used for positioning. If he possessed a means of positioning, the technique's drawback would be drastically curtailed.
Hong Ying set down her eyebrow pencil, looking at Li Banfeng with a smug grin. "Seventh Brother speaks the truth. Once you learn my mark, you may use the art of Parting by Ten Thousand Li whenever you please."
Hearing this, Li Banfeng's eyes filled with eager anticipation.
"Heh heh!" Ninth Maiden let out a soft laugh. "A'qi, don't believe her nonsense. Back during the wars, she had to tie a rope around her waist; otherwise, once she used Parting by Ten Thousand Li, even she didn't know where she would fly off to. That isn't something a mark can solve."
Hong Ying looked at Ninth Maiden, a chill creeping into her gaze. "That is merely your ignorance. Later on, when I lost that rope, I could still use Parting by Ten Thousand Li all the same. That was a method I developed from the mark."
Ninth Maiden shook her head. "I don't know what trick you used later, but it certainly had nothing to do with marks. When executing Parting by Ten Thousand Li, one cannot sense direction at all, let alone where the mark is. What good does leaving a mark beforehand do you?"
Hong Ying sneered. "There is profound learning in the Travel Cultivator path here. Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."
Ninth Maiden laughed even louder. "Keep blabbering! Am I not a Travel Cultivator? How could I not understand? Do you think I don't know how to use marks?
"A'qi, if she won't teach you, I will."
He had nearly forgotten.
Ninth Maiden was a Travel Cultivator as well. Since she understood marks, there was no need to badger Hong Ying.
Seeing Li Banfeng sway, Hong Ying hurried to say, "Seventh Brother, every person's mark is unique. Her mark isn't nearly as good as mine!"
Ninth Maiden scoffed. "What makes you say yours is better?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "Indeed, whether it's good or not can't just be settled with words!"
As he spoke, he patted the Tang dao.
The Tang dao straightened its spine and proclaimed from the middle of the room, "General Hong, Ninth Maiden, the time has come to reveal your true capabilities! Both of you lay out your marks, and let us determine the victor on the spot. Neither may hold back!"
Hong Ying turned back to her vanity. "I won't fall for your tricks. I refuse to show mine!"
Ninth Maiden linked her arm through Li Banfeng's. "A'qi, she has no real skill to speak of. Don't listen to her boast. Learn from me instead; I won't demand that you call me wife."
Hong Ying rose and snapped, "Vile wench, why must you always oppose me?"
Ninth Maiden smiled. "Because I am reasonable and considerate. I neither vie nor grasp, and I cherish my A'qi above all. A'qi, let us go!"
Li Banfeng eagerly trotted after Ninth Maiden to Room Nine.
Hong Ying gritted her teeth in fury. "That wretched baggage is deliberately picking a fight with me!"
The gramophone sighed softly. "That grudge of hers is truly difficult to resolve. If she stabs us in the back in the future, it wouldn't come as a surprise."
Hong Ying snatched up a spear beside her. "Then we ought to slay that wretched baggage right away!"
The gramophone entered Zhao Xiaowan's body, took up a comb, and stepped behind Hong Ying to comb her hair.
With every stroke of the comb, Hong Ying's temper melted away. Sitting before the vanity, her cheeks flushed, she kept her head lowered in silence.
"Yingying, some matters are not easily decided, nor should the decision rest with us." Zhao Xiaowan picked up an eyebrow pencil and carefully drew Hong Ying's brows.
***
Inside Room Nine, Li Banfeng diligently studied the mark under Ninth Maiden's guidance. Ninth Maiden began by explaining its essential principles.
She produced two wooden sticks, each about half a foot long, brought over two flower vases, and illustrated her point.
"The core of a Travel Cultivator's mark lies in the resonance between points along a journey. If I thrust the first stick into this first vase, and then advance along the path while holding the second stick, that amounts to placing a mark upon this stretch of the journey."
Li Banfeng asked, "And what is the use of this mark?"
Ninth Maiden placed the other stick into the second vase. "Once this stretch of path has been marked, advance and retreat fall under your complete dominion."
Excited, Li Banfeng asked, "You mean that if I use Parting by Ten Thousand Li at the destination, I can fall back directly to the starting point?"
Ninth Maiden pinched Li Banfeng's cheek. "Oh, A'qi, I told you: stop constantly dwelling on Parting by Ten Thousand Li. Parting by Ten Thousand Li is a flawed technique, and that flaw cannot be mended by anyone.
"The purpose of a mark lies in the mastery of a stretch of road. For instance, if you leave a mark outside a forest and another inside the forest, that entire path falls under your dominion.
"Others walking that path out of the forest might have to travel ten thousand li, whereas you could step outside in two or three strides. Thus, upon that road, advance and retreat, offense and defense, are all governed by you."
Li Banfeng gasped in astonishment. "If I set a starting point in Green Water City and an endpoint in the Under-City, wouldn't that mean..."
Ninth Maiden pinched Li Banfeng's chin. "What kind of sweet dream are you having? If one could make a mark spanning such a distance, Travel Cultivators would have conquered the world long ago!"
"Then how far can it reach?"
"With my capabilities, the farthest I can manage is a hundred paces. Allow me to demonstrate."
Ninth Maiden placed the two vases by the two doorways of Room Nine and told Li the Seventh, "To employ a Travel Cultivator's mark, your foundation in Wind Rising from Still Earth must be rock-solid, and your speed must be blisteringly swift. My body is feeble and this room is too short, so I cannot fully display its scope, but I shall do my best to demonstrate."
Ninth Maiden truly exerted herself. She set the first stick into the vase, flickered instantaneously to the second doorway, and planted the second stick.
"Did it succeed?" Li Banfeng asked with concern.
"It failed." Ninth Maiden shook her head. "I wasn't fast enough just now."
Without retrieving the sticks, she took out a third and dashed to the opposite doorway, tossing it into the vase.
It still failed.
This mark was exceedingly difficult.
Leaving the sticks in place, Ninth Maiden sprinted back across to toss a fifth.
After casting sixteen sticks in succession, Ninth Maiden stood at the doorway and called to Li Banfeng, "It worked."
Delighted, Li Banfeng immediately walked toward Ninth Maiden.
He had been seated in the center of the room. From the center toward the doorway, he took over a hundred strides—yet he simply could not reach it!
The technique's effect left Li Banfeng astounded. Ninth Maiden took a single small step and appeared right before him, hooking her finger under his chin. "A'qi, did you see clearly?"
Indeed, just that one small step.
A distance Li Banfeng could not cover in over a hundred strides, Ninth Maiden crossed in a single pace.
This was absolute mastery over distance.
From one door to the other, the straight line between the two thresholds had fallen entirely under Ninth Maiden's control.
*But what if I don't walk in a straight line?*
Li Banfeng attempted to circle around Ninth Maiden, but after taking over a hundred paces in a detour, he still could not bypass the boundary.
Ninth Maiden laughed. "If it were that easy to skirt around, my mark would have been laid in vain. How long and how wide this path is, I alone decide. However, the longer and wider the road is set, the shorter the duration the technique can be sustained."
The mark lasted for just over a minute. During that minute, Li Banfeng had no way to approach Ninth Maiden, yet Ninth Maiden could approach him at will.
This mark was formidable. Li Banfeng felt it was even more formidable than Mister Kongfang's copper coins.
Ninth Maiden instructed, "A'qi, the vital secret to crafting a Travel Cultivator's mark lies in utilizing supreme speed to tear open a stretch of Unnameable Land between two points. This Unnameable Land is the very road we control.
"A mark is extremely difficult to establish. At my level of cultivation, the odds of success are merely twenty to thirty percent. When you fight in the future, remember this above all: should you fail, never think of starting over from scratch.
"Treat the second stick as the first, treat the endpoint as the starting point, and keep pressing onward. If the second attempt fails, make a third. If you use this technique, you must see it through to the end. In short, never let yourself stop, and under no circumstances allow yourself to chicken out."
Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly. "This is magnificent. I want to learn this!"
Ninth Maiden asked softly, "A'qi, do you truly wish to learn it?"
Li Banfeng gave a knowing smile. "A'jiu, I know you wouldn't teach me for nothing. Go ahead, what are your conditions?"
Ninth Maiden shook her head and tapped Li Banfeng's nose. "Elder Sister has no conditions. I treat you well from the bottom of my heart. It's just that this matter must first be discussed with your wife, and then you must agree to it yourself."
Li Banfeng was puzzled. "I certainly agree! But why do I need to discuss learning a mark with my wife?"
Ninth Maiden handed two wooden sticks to Li Banfeng. "Because a Travel Cultivator's mark is an above-the-clouds technique known as Hundred Steps Traversal.
"If you wish to learn it, you must advance to the third tier above the clouds. That means asking your wife for a Profound Accumulation Pill to assist your breakthrough.
"You have already acquired two Travel Cultivator arts above the clouds. Hundred Steps Traversal will occupy one of your slots. You must think this through carefully."
Li Banfeng gripped the wooden sticks, falling silent.
Advancing to the third tier of Travel cultivation was something he had planned on. Li Banfeng had long intended to break through, and his physique had improved considerably of late; paired with a Profound Accumulation Pill, the breakthrough shouldn't pose much difficulty.
Yet whether it was worth spending a technique slot required solemn consideration.
According to the standard cultivation path, the third tier above the clouds was the ceiling. Beyond that lay the realm of Beyond the Clouds.
If Li Banfeng took that path, this third-tier Travel technique would be the final above-the-clouds art he could ever learn.
Even if Li Banfeng did not tread the path of Beyond the Clouds and continued cultivating above the clouds, how far could he actually go?
Reaching the fourth tier was uncertain, let alone a fifth. Every single above-the-clouds technique was exceedingly precious.
Returning to the main chamber, Li Banfeng asked the gramophone, "Precious Wife, do you think your husband's physique can handle another breakthrough?"
"Break through to what? Husband is already at the third tier above the clouds. Do you wish to ascend to Beyond the Clouds?" the gramophone teased.
Li Banfeng smiled without answering. Hong Ying, listening from the side, caught the hint. "Seventh Brother, did that wench A'jiu really teach you Hundred Steps Traversal?
"Listen to me, Seventh Brother, she teaches poorly! Let me teach you properly. I know I was wrong—please don't be angry with me."
Li Banfeng was not angry. He asked Hong Ying, "What are the Travel Cultivator techniques above the clouds?"
"Carefree and Unfettered, Riding the Wind and Clouds, and Hundred Steps Traversal. Don't you know them all already?"
"Then tell me the ones I don't know."
"I don't know any others! I only ever learned those three!"
Li Banfeng stared at Hong Ying for a long while. The gramophone offered an explanation from the side: "Husband, Yingying speaks the truth. Once she mastered three above-the-clouds techniques, she ascended to Beyond the Clouds. She knows nothing of any other techniques."
That certainly matched Hong Ying's temperament.
Yet when Li Banfeng had asked Ninth Maiden, she too claimed to know only those three. Could such a clever woman also have never bothered to inquire further?
The gramophone believed Ninth Maiden had not lied either. "Husband, cultivators above the clouds in this world are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Inquiring about techniques is harder than ascending to the heavens.
"Old Train was a grandmaster of Travel cultivation. Let us ask our Old Master and see if he knows what other above-the-clouds arts exist for Travel Cultivators."
Everyone fell quiet, awaiting the companion dwelling's reply.
The companion dwelling remained silent for a long time. The glove urged, "Old Master, give us a word whether you know or not. We're all one family here; don't go playing mind games."
Smack!
A chair tipped over, smashing directly onto the glove. The glove went limp and silent. The Old Master finally spoke: "Too many years have passed. I have truly forgotten."
Even the Old Master had forgotten.
If someone could recall alternatives and lay them out for comparison, Li Banfeng would not feel so conflicted.
Now he knew Hundred Steps Traversal was exceptional, but he had no way of knowing whether a superior technique existed, making it hard to decide.
The gramophone advised, "Husband, Hundred Steps Traversal is indeed an excellent technique; Husband will suffer no loss by learning it. Husband's physique has also been in top condition lately. I shall prepare the pills, and we can make the breakthrough today."
"No rush." Li Banfeng took a deep breath. "I'll go attend to matters outside first, and nourish my body a bit more while I'm at it."
"Husband, could this humble servant not know your body? Right now, Husband's physique is robust and vigorous—the perfect moment for a breakthrough."
"There's no rush for this moment." Li Banfeng stepped out of the companion dwelling.
Hong Ying asked from the side, "Xiaowan, why have you changed your tune? You used to always worry about Seventh Brother advancing too quickly. Why are you urging him to break through today?"
"Because I fear he'll do something reckless!" the gramophone replied gravely. She understood Li Banfeng's temperament all too well.
***
Back aboard the ship, Li Banfeng ate dinner in the dining salon.
The boat boss presented Li Banfeng with a bottle of imported liquor. Li Banfeng waved his hand. "No drinking tonight."
"It's complimentary from the ship. Please accept it, honored sir. Whenever you wish to drink, simply have the hands prepare the glassware for you."
Li Banfeng accepted the bottle. The boat boss calmly exited the dining salon, briskly descending into the engine room.
The moment he entered the engine room, his knees went weak. The composure and calm on his face vanished completely.
Pulling out the photograph of Li the Seventh, he whispered to the chief engineer, "It's him. It's really him. He's back..."
A crewman summoned the head stoker. Upon hearing that Li the Seventh had returned, the stoker was petrified as well.
The chief engineer remained steady. "Boss, brothers, we cannot let anything show right now. Even if we're scared to death, we must not reveal a hint of it! The moment we slip up, all our lives will end on this ship!
"If you all trust me, listen to what I have to say. Boss, stay aboard, eat and drink as usual, and say nothing to the boys up top. Tonight's work continues exactly as planned.
"In the dead of night, we should reach the Hundred Confluences. By then, they ought to be fast asleep. I'll lower the dinghy, and we'll ride the current straight to Iron Nose Island. We'll lay low there for a month, then head home on our own."
The men mulled it over for a long while before the boat boss sighed. "Are we really going to abandon the ship just like that?"
The head stoker stamped his foot. "What else do you want? Is this our ship? This is the shopkeeper's ship! Now that the shopkeeper is gone, what are we still guarding it for? Let's pull out!"
The boat boss added, "What if Li the Seventh gives chase? We'd be stranding him out at sea."
The chief engineer said, "Don't worry, he won't be able to give chase. Have you forgotten where we're headed? Once we reach the Hundred Confluences, a hundred sea currents merge into that single spot. Setting out from there, one can reach over thirty islands. How could Li the Seventh possibly know where we've gone?"
The head stoker nodded. "True enough. Once we reach the Hundred Confluences, heading in any direction makes sense. Li the Seventh and his lot will never find us!"
The boat boss remained hesitant. "The trouble is that the Hundred Confluences isn't on our way. They want to go to the border line; the border is to the south, while the Hundred Confluences is to the east!"
The chief engineer was even less worried. "Boss, I went up to the deck and looked. None of those people know nautical routes. If we change direction tonight, they won't be able to tell the difference."
After weighing the matter back and forth, the boat boss finally nodded.
The head stoker and the chief engineer rounded up their respective crews to pack their belongings. The crew's quarters were beneath the deck; as long as they kept their movements light, they would not disturb the guests in the cabins.
Before long, dozens of crewmen filed into the dinghy. Rowing together, they rapidly pulled away from the passenger vessel.
Li Banfeng walked out onto the deck, puzzled by what the crewmen were up to.
*Fishing?*
*Surely that wouldn't require so many people?*
Suspicious as it was, Li Banfeng had no time to dwell on it. He had urgent business at hand: practicing the art of Hundred Steps Traversal.
He brought a dozen wooden sticks up to the deck.
His wife had been right—he was about to do something reckless.
His Travel cultivation had not yet reached the third tier above the clouds; could he learn a third above-the-clouds technique?
By all reason, he could not.
Yet Li Banfeng provided himself with a completely reasonable explanation.
First, he searched his heart and asked: *Am I a cultivator of the third tier above the clouds?*
Then he patted his chest and answered with a clear conscience: *Yes!*
Next, he searched his heart and asked: *Should a cultivator of the third tier above the clouds learn three above-the-clouds Travel techniques?*
Then he patted his chest and answered with a clear conscience: *He should!*
And so, he set about learning it.
The deck of this passenger vessel was not particularly long, measuring roughly a dozen meters by his estimate. Li Banfeng was not greedy; a dozen meters was plenty.
He planted the first wooden stick by the cabin entrance, sprinted toward the bow at blistering speed, and drove down the second stick.
Looking back over the stretch of deck, Li Banfeng felt no resonance whatsoever.
*Don't stop—keep planting!*
He tried more than a dozen times in a row, snapping several sticks in the process, yet Li Banfeng never felt the slightest resonance. He wondered whether something was wrong with his method, or if his rank was simply insufficient.
He sensed it was neither the method nor the rank, but speed.
The deck was too short for Li Banfeng to build up enough momentum.
Gathering the usable sticks, he climbed onto the roof of the deck cabins.
He planned to sprint off the roof, building up speed in midair before landing and unleashing the technique.
Li Banfeng surveyed the roof, picked his spot to plant a stick, and was just about to charge down when he suddenly felt a lethal threat closing in.
"You have already begun learning Hundred Steps Traversal. Just how high is your cultivation now?"
It was not closing in—the danger had already arrived.
Li Banfeng raised his head to see a man wearing a changshan embroidered with copper coins and a bamboo hat draped with strings of coins, standing upon the passenger vessel's deck.
Mister Kongfang. He had finally come.
The copper coins dangling beneath the brim hung dense and thick; Li Banfeng still could not see Mister Kongfang's face.
In the spirit of fairness, Li Banfeng tugged down the brim of his own hat, hiding his face from Mister Kongfang as well.
After a brief silence, Mister Kongfang spoke: "Name your price."
"What price?"
"The price to leave the Under-City." Mister Kongfang drew a long string of copper coins from his sleeve. "Matters of money are open to negotiation, and matters beyond money are equally open to discussion."
Chapter 652