Li Banfeng carried Old Train on his back, sprinting alongside Old Train's shadow.
Back when they were trapped in Dream-Tethering Tower, Old Train had carried Li Banfeng in just this way to flee for their lives.
After running for over a minute, Li Banfeng asked Old Train's shadow, "Can you possess him? Have him run with us!"
Old Train's shadow shook his head. "I can't carry him along. I've used too many techniques today; my stamina can barely hold out."
A shadow created by Shadow Cultivator techniques was distinctly different from the Dwelling Cultivator technique Body and Shadow Comforting Each Other, and differed even more from Li Banfeng's Celestial Concordance technique.
A gale suddenly sprang up. The furnace shifted direction once more, aiming its draft straight toward the Eastern Palace.
Li Banfeng had believed all along that he could withstand the howling wind, but the moment both his feet left the ground, he realized he was being pulled backward uncontrollably.
He was truly going to be sucked into the furnace.
Only one option remained: take Old Train and his shadow back into the companion dwelling together.
Just as Li Banfeng reached for his key, Old Train's shadow stopped him. "You can't! The key will be swallowed by the furnace!"
The shadow's memories were incomplete, but his memory of Little Train had remained intact all along.
If they retreated into the companion dwelling and the key was sucked into the furnace, Little Train would follow the key and be refined into nothing.
And even if not refined, stepping out the door would still land them in the furnace.
With no other choice, Li Banfeng could only keep sprinting forward.
After two strides, he suddenly felt someone shove him from behind.
"Brother, I don't know many techniques, but this one works well enough."
Li Banfeng looked back and saw Old Train's shadow flying rapidly backward behind him, shattering piece by piece amid the tempest.
He had exhausted all his strength; he could hold on no longer.
He hadn't chosen not to possess him because he couldn't carry Old Train—it was because he knew Parting Across a Li.
He could have returned into Old Train's body, but he wanted Li Banfeng to make it out alive.
Shouldering Old Train, Li Banfeng rose into the air and flew out against the wind.
The shadow had always insisted he wasn't Li Banfeng's elder brother, yet just now, he had called him "brother."
Li Banfeng kept looking back toward the Eastern Palace until he flew beyond the Onefold City.
He didn't know where he was flying, and Old Train's shadow hadn't known either.
He flew all the way to the seashore, and together the two of them plunged into the sea.
***
In Boundless City, Qiao Yi looked at Critic before him and made small talk. "You must be Lühuazi's disciple?"
"Huuu..." Critic let out a muffled growl. His appearance was identical to a daolao ghost's, and his behavior matched one as well. He truly couldn't fathom how Qiao Yi had seen through him to recognize Critic.
Qiao Yi couldn't see what Critic looked like, yet he seemed able to read Critic's thoughts. "A hero of our age does not share the same aura as common mortals—let alone when you are impersonating not an ordinary mortal, but a simpleminded, vicious beast. I cherish heroes, and I respect heroes. A grand hero should not cheapen himself in such a manner. Show your true countenance, and let us converse with calm hearts."
"Huuu..." Critic did not fall for it. He bared his short, blunt, sparse teeth at Qiao Yi—a warning unique to daolao ghosts.
Nian Shangyou nudged Qiao Yi from behind. To tell the truth, he couldn't see any special aura about this daolao ghost; he only knew that being injured by a daolao ghost carried dire consequences.
Qiao Yi showed no sign of fear. "I know not what benefits Li Qi promised to bring you to Chaoge to take such risks. Regardless of your path or cultivation, you pose an enormous threat to our Great Shang. Even if I were to let Li Qi walk free today, there is no way I could let you leave."
Critic said nothing. He closed his lips, concealing his ferocious fangs, and waited attentively for Qiao Yi's next words.
Qiao Yi continued, "Killing you would eliminate a future peril once and for all for Great Shang, yet keeping you alive would also preserve a pillar of talent for our empire. That I have spared you thus far—can you perceive the thought behind it?"
Critic stared at Qiao Yi's eyes for a long moment, deeply curious.
Setting aside whether his aura was truly so extraordinary, even if it were, Qiao Yi was already blind—he couldn't even see physical appearances, so how could he see an aura?
And even if auras weren't seen with eyes but perceived through intuition, who had given Qiao Yi the audacity to believe he could kill a Disease Cultivator three layers above the clouds?
When Critic remained silent, Qiao Yi sighed softly. "The world often says that those who discern the times are paragons, yet in this world, how many truly see where the tides lie? The matter of submitting to Great Shang may be deferred to later discussion. For now, we might as well properly discuss this business deal. I tell you the honest truth: Li Qi cannot rescue the Artisan Sect Master. If this deal falls through, I will never permit you and Li Qi to return alive. However, if you and I can conclude a deal in advance right here, whatever reward Li Qi promised you, I am willing to offer double. Once you receive your due, I can also ensure you depart Great Shang in safety."
"Huuu..." Critic let out another growl, tinged with a hint of mockery.
Detecting the ridicule, Qiao Yi produced a string of copper bells from his sleeve. "If mere words make you deem Qiao lacks sincerity, know that there are methods I would rather not employ—for once unleashed, all of Boundless City would likely be reduced to a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood."
Critic examined the copper bells in Qiao Yi's hand intently.
Turn an entire city into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood?
Such efficiency?
He definitely had to see this!
Qiao Yi had not lied. So long as that string of copper bells rang three times, it would bring utter devastation upon Boundless City.
Earlier, he had signed a covenant deed with Li Qi forbidding him from bringing weapons into Boundless City.
Yet this string of copper bells was not a weapon; it was an apparatus used to summon a first-class weapon.
Hidden in the shadows within Boundless City was a first-class weapon, secretly installed by Qiao Yi's orders back when Bao Yingjun governed the city.
The bells' sole function was to awaken the first-class weapon. Bringing them along did not, in itself, violate the covenant deed.
This was precisely why Li Banfeng could never fully trust covenant deeds; figures like Qiao Yi had plenty of ways to skirt around them.
Holding the copper bells, Qiao Yi gave Critic one final warning: "Under Great Shang's old system, weapons are classified into three ranks. I have always felt this classification was far too crude, and thus a new system will soon be implemented. The gulf between first-class weapons is vast, warranting finer distinctions. The weapon here today is an elite among first-class weapons, pinnacle of the top grade. Today, let us appraise it together!"
"Huuu!" Critic grunted eagerly, indicating he couldn't wait.
Nian Shangyou hurriedly stepped to Qiao Yi's side. He knew the terrifying power of this first-class weapon. If it were truly unleashed, not a single person would be spared—except the one holding the bells.
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!
The copper bells rang three times.
Nian Shangyou turned pale, listening closely to the sounds outside.
Critic was thrilled. He wanted to see just how quickly this weapon could slaughter an entire city.
Would its efficiency surpass Fields Strewn with Corpses?
They waited about ten minutes, but nothing happened.
Qiao Yi remembered that the weapon was concealed near the Marquis Manor. After so long, it should at least have breached the manor.
Critic twitched his nose and sniffed for quite a while. He caught no scent of killing, not even the faintest whiff of blood.
With an airy composure, Qiao Yi said, "There is likely not a living soul left in the city. Does Your Excellency still refuse to see reason?"
Critic eyed Qiao Yi askance, profoundly skeptical of his words.
Nian Shangyou grew doubtful as well; in his memory, that first-class weapon never stirred without making a massive racket.
Taking advantage of their doubt, Qiao Yi shook the copper bells three more times.
They waited a good while longer, but still, nothing stirred.
Critic held out a hand, gesturing for him not to hold back and feel free to ring it a few more times.
Qiao Yi shook it over a dozen times in succession, suspecting the bells' chimes hadn't carried far enough.
The sound indeed hadn't carried far—it hadn't even made it out of the Yucui Building.
This was Li Qi's residence; how could it allow him to transmit the bells' chimes outside? Even someone standing right outside the door wouldn't have heard a thing.
After another half hour of waiting, there was finally some activity. Luo Lijun arrived in the rear garden and stood outside the Yucui Building, crying flusteredly, "My Lord, I have an urgent matter to report!"
Qiao Yi sighed deeply. "Alas, to think all the living souls of this city have been plunged into utter ruin. So be it. Things have come to this, beyond all recall. Bring your family and take shelter here."
Luo Lijun didn't understand a single word of his lengthy speech. "My Lord, His Highness the Prince has returned."
Qiao Yi froze for quite some time. "You mean Li Qi is back?"
Luo Lijun nodded repeatedly. "I refer precisely to Prince Pingyuan."
Qiao Yi even took care to verify with her, "Nothing else has occurred in the city?"
Luo Lijun shook her head. "There is nothing else."
Qiao Yi put away the copper bells and said to Critic, "Had you agreed earlier, there would still have been room to maneuver. Now that Li Qi is back, the deal cannot be done."
"Huuu..." Critic let out a low growl, continuing to express his ridicule toward Qiao Yi.
Before long, Li Banfeng stepped into the pavilion and fixed his gaze on Qiao Yi.
Though blind to Li Qi's presence, Qiao Yi could feel the gaze through his Peep Cultivator foundation.
"Your Highness, as agreed, I disclosed the whereabouts of the Artisan Sect Master to you. The intelligence was accurate, and no one barred your way. If you failed to rescue him, Your Highness ought not vent your anger on me."
"Fair point!" Li Banfeng said, then turned to Critic. "Treat Old Qiao."
That single sentence sent chills through Qiao Yi's entire body.
What did that mean?
Li Banfeng was fulfilling the agreement?
He had actually rescued Grandpa Train?
Qiao Yi stood up to leave, intent on returning to Chaoge to ascertain the situation.
Li Banfeng seized Qiao Yi and stopped him. "Brother Qiao, don't be in such a hurry. This Prince is a man of his word. How could I let you leave before your eyes are healed?"
Qiao Yi asked, "When will my eyes fully recover?"
Li Banfeng replied, "At least three days."
In truth, Critic wouldn't have needed even a minute to cure Qiao Yi's eyes, but to depart the Shang State safely, the treatment had to take three days.
At that very moment, Luo Shaojun was already piloting Boundless City away from Chaoge toward Qishuiyao.
Qiao Yi couldn't wait three days, but today, he could not leave the Yucui Building.
Li Banfeng sat beside Qiao Yi. To any onlooker, they looked just like two old friends chatting casually.
"Old Qiao, I know you carry plenty of communication equipment. Those things aren't counted as weapons, so I have nothing to say about you skirting the covenant deed. But don't you dare contact people from Chaoge to pursue Boundless City. Otherwise, not only will your eyes remain unhealed, but you'll also leave your life behind right here."
Qiao Yi murmured, "Your Highness, do not push people too far!"
"Old Qiao, let's be reasonable. Fair trade, debts settled on both sides, each of us fulfilling our end of the bargain—how can you say I'm pushing you too far? Just relax and get your treatment."
Li Qi departed the Yucui Building. Qiao Yi was still pondering the summoning of the weapon.
After fumbling about for a moment, he discovered that the copper bells in his sleeve were gone.
Nian Shangyou searched alongside him, but found no trace of the bells. Anxious and frantic, Qiao Yi attempted to leave the Yucui Building, only for the doors to slam shut.
Qiao Yi and Nian Shangyou tried every means at their disposal, but neither could open the doors.
"Hsss..." Critic let out a hiss, signaling Qiao Yi not to move about recklessly.
This was medical treatment; he needed to cooperate properly.
***
Stepping out of the Marquis Manor, Li Banfeng watched as the glove gingerly spat out the copper bells. "Master, who knows what kind of weapon is hidden inside Boundless City?"
"Put the bells away first and don't let them make any noise. There's no rush; we'll have plenty of time to look into it later."
Li Banfeng entered a courtyard, walked into the bedroom, and looked at Grandpa Train lying on the bed.
His hands and feet could move; when offered water, he could drink; when fed food, he could eat. Yet he remained asleep just like this.
Li Banfeng murmured to himself, "How can I get you to wake up?"
Grandpa Train opened his eyes, sat up in bed, and chimed in, "Yeah, what on earth should we do?"
Li Banfeng pondered for a moment, hitting upon an idea. "Ask the peddler for some soul-returning soup. That ought to work."
Grandpa Train shook his head. "Soul-returning soup is for people who've suffered grave injuries. Look at me—do I look injured? Taking that won't do any good."
Li Banfeng said, "Back when I was struck by heavenly light, soul-returning soup was what brought me back."
Grandpa Train explained, "Basking in heavenly light counts as an injury too. Anyone with eyes can tell I'm just in an unshakeable slumber; drinking soul-returning soup won't wake me."
"Makes sense." Li Banfeng considered further. "How about taking some elixir pills?"
Grandpa Train waved a hand dismissively. "Elixir pills are even worse. You take pills to accelerate your training and boost your cultivation. My cultivation is already this high; what use would that be?"
Li Banfeng felt that wasn't quite accurate. "Some elixir pills are meant for curing ailments!"
Old Train shook his head repeatedly. "That makes even less sense. Look at me—do I look sick to you?"
Li Banfeng blinked. "Seems elixirs aren't suitable either."
Old Train urged, "Hurry up and think of a good way. I'm really in a rush here."
Li Banfeng was getting anxious too. "Stop rushing me. The more you rush me, the less I can think."
Old Train nodded. "Alright then, I won't rush you. I'll sleep a bit longer."
He lay back down on the bed to sleep. Li Banfeng kept wracking his brains: "How do I get him to wake up? Go find the renowned physician Kang Zhenchang? He isn't injured, nor is he sick, so finding a famous doctor wouldn't do any good either. If he's neither injured nor sick, why does he stay in a coma? Could it be because he's lost his mind? If he's mad, who should treat him? Then we can only go to Hulu Village and find Ayi! Ayi is the best at curing madness. But Ayi has no relation or ties to him, so why would she help cure him? Then we'll just marry him off to Ayi as her wife!"
Huuu!
Old Train took a deep, sharp breath, sat straight up in bed, and looked at Li Banfeng with glistening tears in his eyes. "Brother, I'm awake!"
"Brother, you're truly awake!" Li Banfeng clasped Old Train's hand and asked, "Are we still going to Hulu Village?"
Old Train shook his head vigorously. "I'm already awake, so why go to Hulu Village? For your grace in saving my life, I shall etch it deep in my heart. From now on, whatever errand or task you command, this old man will go through fire and water without the slightest refusal!"
Li Banfeng beamed with joy. "What are you saying, Elder Brother? Seeing you safe and sound is more than enough for your younger brother."
Old Train sobbed twice and said, "Brother, you're truly dearer to me than my own flesh and blood. What was your name again?"
Li Banfeng's face fell. "Elder Brother, that's not right of you."
Old Train asked, "How is it not right of me?"
"We're so close, yet you can't even remember my name?"
"Have we met before?"
Li Banfeng said, "Back then, we met in Dream-Tethering Tower!"
Old Train shook his head. "That was half my soul, not me."
"We met in Chaoge too!"
"That was my shadow, not me either!"
"We also met in the Outer States!"
"That was half my body, still not me!"
Li Banfeng was struck speechless.
Old Train chuckled. "So you see, this is our first meeting! What's your name?"
"I'm Li Qi."
"I'm Eighteen Wheels!"
Li Banfeng took a deep breath. "I really am named Li Qi."
Old Train adopted a deadly serious expression: "I really am called Eighteen Wheels! A steam locomotive with a 1-4-1 axle arrangement: two pairs of leading wheels, four pairs of driving wheels, one pair of trailing wheels, plus four pairs on the tender—eighteen wheels in all! We're so close, and you don't even know my name?"
Li Banfeng stared blankly. "Didn't we just meet for the first time?"
Old Train snapped in anger: "I saved your life in Dream-Tethering Tower! I saved your life again in Chaoge! And you tell me this is our first meeting? Where has your conscience gone?"
Li Banfeng looked down and picked up a piece of firewood.
Old Train asked, "What are you picking that up for?"
Li Banfeng answered honestly, "I want to knock you unconscious."
"Why would you do that?"
"Seeing you knocked out would make me feel a little better."
"No need to hit me, I'll knock myself out!" Old Train flopped back on the bed and fell asleep again.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Old Train spent most of his time asleep and only brief moments awake. Li Banfeng had many questions for him, but Old Train spoke incoherently, and nothing useful could be gotten out of him.
***
Upon reaching Qishuiyao, Qiao Yi's eyes were finally healed.
He stared at Critic, studying him intently for a long while. "Young hero, do you truly have no plans to come to Great Shang to realize your grand ambitions?"
Critic smiled and spoke his first words to Qiao Yi: "I will certainly visit Great Shang, and I will certainly realize my grand ambitions. I only hope that when that time comes, you will welcome me just as warmly as you have today."
Qiao Yi departed the Yucui Building. Li Banfeng instructed Luo Lijun to prepare a boat to ferry Qiao Yi back to Chaoge.
"Your Highness, might I have one look at the Artisan Sect Master?" Qiao Yi made a request.
Li Banfeng shook his head. "The Artisan Sect Master is still recuperating in quiet seclusion and cannot receive visitors. There is no rush; you will have plenty of chances to see him in the future."
Qiao Yi said no more. Bringing Nian Shangyou along, he boarded the boat and departed Boundless City.
With his eyesight restored, Qiao Yi was in high spirits, constantly admiring the ocean scenery from the boat.
Beside him, Nian Shangyou said, "My Lord, I suspect Li Qi never rescued Old Train at all. Old Train was trapped deep within the furnace, where even I dared not approach. How could Li Qi possibly rescue him? He is merely putting on a false bluster!"
Qiao Yi shook his head. "If it were truly a false bluster, he would not have paid such a steep price. He is not a man to suffer a loss. Had he failed to rescue the Artisan Sect Master, he would never have agreed to cure my eyes, nor would he have surrendered those two cities."
"Old Train was really rescued by him?" Nian Shangyou still found it hard to believe.
After brooding for a long while, Qiao Yi said, "Once we return to Chaoge, notify the Ministry of War immediately to gather weapons and provisions. Have the Bandit-Quelling Battalion prepare to march and attack White Falcon Commandery."
Taken aback, Nian Shangyou asked, "With such urgency?"
Qiao Yi sighed. "We must make haste. I do not know what the Artisan Sect Master took with him, nor how many state secrets he holds. If he goes to garrison White Falcon Commandery, by the time we want to march, it will be too late."
***
Li Banfeng departed Boundless City with Critic and Old Train. Beneath the glow of the projector, the Luo sisters couldn't see Old Train, yet Critic continually sensed someone beside them—someone bearing the aura of both water and fire at once.
Upon arriving at Qishuiyao, Li Banfeng handed Critic twenty sunflower seeds. "My friend, thank you for your trouble. The reward this time is a bit meager."
Critic shook his head. "Quite the contrary, I feel this reward is far too generous. You know, what I need most right now is popular sentiment, but I cannot stand inside the temple at Daogui Ridge every single day. I have many other things to do."
"I hope you complete your advancement smoothly," Li Banfeng offered his sincere wishes.
Critic said his farewells and glanced toward Li Banfeng's side, constantly sensing that someone over there was watching him.
Once Critic was far in the distance, Li Banfeng put away the projector, and Old Train revealed himself.
He stood beside Li Banfeng, drooling and fast asleep.
Li Banfeng woke Grandpa Train. "Brother, where do we go now?"
Grandpa Train asked, "Where do you think I should head first?"
"I feel there are plenty of places to go. For instance, White Falcon Commandery, or perhaps the stairwell of the Dark Star Bureau."
Grandpa Train said, "To cause trouble, or to attend to serious business?"
Li Banfeng replied in all seriousness, "With a formidable enemy at the gates, who has the mind to stir up trouble? Naturally, it's to attend to serious business."
"If it's serious business, we have to sleep first."
"What does that have to do with sleeping?"
"Only by sleeping can I dream, and only by dreaming can I retrieve my other half-soul from Dream-Tethering Tower."
Only then did Li Banfeng understand why Grandpa Train had spent the past three days sleeping non-stop.
"Are you sure you can get your soul back?"
"Not at all," Old Train shook his head repeatedly. "That woman Meng Qian—she can't beat me in a fight, but the soul-confounding formation in her dreams is too formidable; I can't escape it. Truth be told, sometimes I'm quite terrified. What if I dream of her again and lose this half of my soul as well? What would I do then?"
Li Banfeng thought for a long while and came up with an idea: "How about this: I'll take you to find a place to sleep, and we'll recruit a helper to retrieve your soul."
"A helper for sleeping? What place are you talking about?"
Li Banfeng said, "Pillow City."
Old Train chuckled. "Zhao Lanmeng! But that man is thoroughly lazy. Would he be willing to help me?"
"We can negotiate. We'll listen to his price; we can't expect someone to do work for nothing."
Grandpa Train patted his belly. "Let's find a place to eat something. I haven't eaten in ages."
"Back in Boundless City, I offered you food, and you refused."
"The food in Boundless City is dreadful. The food in Puluo Province has real flavor. At this hour, everyone in Pillow City is probably asleep anyway. Let's find somewhere to eat first; once we're full, it won't be too late to head over."
Li Banfeng agreed. "Fair enough. Let's have a meal in Hulu Village. Ayi has been pining for you all these years."
Old Train's cheek twitched violently. "I'm not eating! I'm not hungry anymore! Let's go straight to Pillow City!"
Li Banfeng was truly bewildered. "What is with you? Why do you get so uncomfortable the moment someone mentions Hulu Village?"
"Brother, you have no idea. There are two people in this world I'm most terrified of meeting, and one of them is Ayi. That girl has no sense—she insists on being my wife! There's a generational gap between us!"
Li Banfeng grew quite curious. "You just said two people. Who's the other one you fear?"
Old Train glared. "As if I'd tell you! If you get hold of my weakness, wouldn't you hold it over my head every single day?"
Chapter 742