The Overlord of Puluo

The train stopped at Girdle-Slipping Hollow for half an hour. During that time, five women and two men came to Li Banfeng’s window to offer their services to him. Li Banfeng was a man of strong will, so he did not accept any of their offers.

However, it wasn’t just them he had to deal with. Some of the other passengers had accepted the offers. Among them, some invited the workers into their compartments, and others did the deed at the window. Li Banfeng could hear them loud and clear.

Throughout that long half hour, Li Banfeng bit his finger but never opened his window.

Endure. I have to endure it. Come tomorrow morning, I’ll get to Jiaqing’s place. And he’s gonna have to find someone to perform some services for me. And if he can’t find someone to satisfy me, then he’ll just have to do it himself.

The train whistle blew as it left the station. Li Banfeng let out a long breath and quietly praised himself for having strong willpower.

However, it wasn’t long before the train came to a sudden halt.

Have we arrived at the next stop?

The ticket stated the scheduled arrival time was 7 AM. The time estimates for steam trains weren’t very accurate. Nevertheless, the train couldn’t possibly have arrived at the next stop so much earlier than scheduled.

Crackle~

The speaker came alive with a piercing sound, followed by the train announcer’s voice.

「Due to a mechanical fault, the train has to stop here temporarily. All passengers are asked to remain in their compartments. Please do not move about in the train unnecessarily. On behalf of all the train staff, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.」

A malfunction had occurred; the train had broken down in the middle of nowhere. The lights suddenly went out, plunging the compartments into darkness. Li Banfeng tried to use his phone as a flashlight, but the torch function wouldn’t turn on.

His phone was about to die. It hadn’t had much battery left earlier, but Li Banfeng hadn’t bothered to charge it. Now, it had less than five percent battery left and was about to shut down. He quickly plugged in the charger, but his phone didn’t react the way it normally did when charging.

The lights were out, and the power outlets were down too. The electricity had been cut off.

Li Banfeng looked at his phone. A moment later, it displayed a warning that it was about to shut down due to low battery.

The battery’s flat? What am I going to do now? How am I going to find He Jiaqing’s place?!

In truth, the dead phone should be the least of Li Banfeng’s worries. The thing he should really be worried about was when the train repairs would be complete. On this railway line, it could take anywhere from three to five hours or even three to five days to fix a train malfunction.

Nevertheless, Li Banfeng didn’t actually need to worry too much since he still had cup noodles. He was better off than the other passengers. Most of them hadn’t brought extra food.

A wave of panic gradually spread through the train.

***

At the Dark Star Bureau, Chen Changrui—the captain of the Public Security Team, also known as Old Chen—had on a massive pair of headphones as he half-reclined in his office chair with his eyes closed.

Over an hour later, two ten-centimeter-long shiny silver centipedes crawled out from the outer part of the headphones and lay stiffly on the table. The centipedes were exhausted, and so was Chen Changrui.

As he opened his eyes, he took his headphones off. Then he picked up a pack of cigarettes and pulled one out. Placing it to his mouth, he took a long drag and blew the smoke over the centipedes.

After finishing the cigarette, Chen Changrui looked like he had regained some energy. The two centipedes seemed a little more lively too.

You Xuehan, his secretary, was nearby, awaiting his instructions.

Two hours ago, the Intelligence Department had lost track of Li Banfeng’s signal. Left with no other choice, the Public Security Team had resorted to using Chen Changrui’s special ability.

Chen Changrui lit another cigarette and said to You Xuehan, ”Tangyuan, tell the folks in Intelligence that the issue isn’t with their equipment. Li Banfeng’s phone is dead.”

You Xuehan, code-named Tangyuan, asked, ”Captain, isn’t there any other way to track him?”

”What other way could there be?” Chen Changrui shook his head. ”Train 1160 is untraceable.”

You Xuehan thought about it for a moment. ”We could try tracking the other passengers who are in the same train car as him.”

”There’s no need for that,” Chen Changrui replied, putting away the two silver centipedes and getting to his feet. ”We don’t even know when he’ll get off the train. For all we know, he might be gone by tomorrow morning.”

You Xuehan reminded him, ”Captain, the higher-ups are very concerned about the item Li Banfeng has.”

Chen Changrui chuckled and lit yet another cigarette. ”Li Banfeng took something from Lucky Star, so he’s destined to receive three strokes of good luck. His phone dying—that’s the first stroke. We know Lucky Star did that. If we keep trying to track Li Banfeng, won’t we be openly defying Lucky Star? Why bother?”

You Xuehan was puzzled. ”A dead phone counts as good luck?”

”If his phone is dead, those looking for him can’t use it to track him anymore. And we’re not the only ones after him. There are many people looking for him, and they don’t just want that item he’s carrying. They want his life.”

You Xuehan was taken aback. ”Who wants his life?”

Chen Changrui didn’t answer; he just smiled mysteriously. He put on his coat and walked to the office door.

Then he turned back and said, ”Tangyuan, go home. Rest up for a few days. Tell the others to do the same, especially Lightbulb. Everyone has off days during missions. Tell him to let it go.”

”What about Deputy Xiao?” You Xuehan asked cautiously.

”Let him be.”

Chen Changrui left it at that and walked out of the office with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

***

The southern region of Yuezhou.

Inside a villa, Xiao Zhenggong pushed aside the blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman in his arms and answered the phone.

—Boss, we lost that guy’s signal. Why not just have our people take him out on the train?

”We can’t make a move on Train 1160!” Xiao Zhenggong furrowed his brows. ”Wait until he gets off.”

—The train broke down. No idea when it’ll be fixed.

”When I say wait, you wait. If anyone makes a move on the train, don’t blame the sect rules for being ruthless!”

The call ended there.

***

The thing on the other end of the line wasn’t a phone. Instead, it was a man with an antenna stuck into his head.

The man pulled the antenna out of his skull, wiped the blood off it, and put it away in a case. Then he burst into a tirade.

”Motherfucker, who do you think you are, acting so arrogantly? You’ve been drifting around in the Outer Provinces for half your life. What the fuck do you know? If it weren’t for your old man, there’s no fucking way you could ever become the gang leader!”

A man wearing a Gatsby cap[1] stepped over to him and asked, ”Hall Master, what now?”

”What else? Find a few quick-witted brothers and go wait for him at the station. Remember, get the goods first, then take his life.”

The hall master had a hole in his skull just for plugging in the antenna. He had taken out the antenna, but the hole remained. He would need to use it again in the future.

The hall master grabbed a stopper and plugged the hole. Then he took two strips of tape and crisscrossed them over the plug.

***

Xiao Zhenggong walked over to the wine cabinet and poured himself a glass of red wine. He took a sip. Then he crushed the wine glass in his hand.

Li Banfeng, you’re really lucky. You bought Lucky Star’s instant noodles and got three strokes of good luck.

The train broke down. Everyone else has to go hungry, but you have noodles to eat. That’s your first stroke of good luck.

Then your phone died, which let you avoid being tracked. That’s your second stroke of luck.

What’s your third stroke of luck going to be? Could it be the Peddler? But you shouldn’t be able to run into him. He’s still at Greenwater Bay.

But when will the train be fixed? Could this somehow allow you to meet him?

Xiao Zhenggong picked up another glass and poured himself a shot of liquor.

The blonde woman walked out of the bedroom and placed her hand on Xiao Zhenggong’s shoulder.

Speaking in Mandarin with an Eastern Yue accent, she said slowly, ”Boss Xiao, has some trouble occurred?”

”There is indeed a bit of trouble.” Xiao Zhenggong sighed. ”The thing I wanted ended up in Puluo.”

The blonde woman kissed Xiao Zhenggong on the cheek. ”Something big is about to happen in Puluo. I heard He Haiqin, the head of the He Family, can’t hold out for much longer.”

Xiao Zhenggong paused in deliberation. Then he said, ”Have your younger brother step in and save He Haiqin. Get him out of there first.”

The blonde woman smiled. ”You know his price won’t be cheap.”

Xiao Zhenggong took a sip of liquor and pinched her cheek. ”The price won’t be a problem.”

The blonde woman warned him, ”You sure about this? Doing that will offend the Lu Family!”

”There’s no other way! That asshole Li Banfeng ruined everything!”

Xiao Zhenggong gritted his teeth angrily and then downed the rest of the liquor in his glass.

***

The He Family Manor, Greenwater Bay, Puluo Province.

He Haiqin was lying in a hospital bed. He forced down a bowl of rice, extending his life just a little bit longer by relying on his cultivation power as a Gourmandism Cultivator. There were pea-sized blisters filled with intensely green pus all over his body. Each one was clear and glistening, seemingly delicate enough to rupture with a single breath.

His wife, Yan Yulin, tended to him with great care.

At this moment, his older sister, He Yuxiu, pushed open the room door, letting in a rush of air.

The blisters on He Haiqin’s skin were truly delicate. That rush of air ruptured one of the blisters on his face, causing green pus to trickle down. He Haiqin’s face crumpled in pain.

Yan Yulin reproached He Yuxiu, ”Sister-in-law, please be gentle.”

He Yuxiu sat beside the hospital bed and said to Yan Yulin, ”Yulin, something happened to Physician Chu on the way here. I’m afraid he’s unlikely to make it today.”

”What happened?” Yan Yulin asked in alarm.

He Yuxiu’s expression turned grim. ”I heard he was intercepted by the Lu Family!”

Yan Yulin’s voice shook as she spoke. ”What do we do now? Jiaqing’s not back yet. Sister-in-law, you have to think of something!”

He Haiqin had been tormented by these strange blisters for two whole years. He had been relying entirely on the medicine from Chu Peiying, a Medicine Cultivator, to keep the blisters at bay. However, his condition suddenly worsened today. Now that Chu Peiying was stranded somewhere, that meant there wasn’t much hope left for He Haiqin.

He Yuxiu turned to Yan Yulin and said, ”Yulin, the Jiangxiang Gang sent over a physician. Word is, he’s pretty capable. He’s waiting outside. Why not let him give it a try?”

Yan Yulin’s eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope. ”Who is the physician?”

He Yuxiu lowered her voice and replied, ”He’s not well known, but he’s the real deal. His name is Cedric.”

He Haiqin suddenly asked, ”What’s that name?”

”Cedric,” He Yuxiu answered cautiously.

”A Westerner?” He Haiqin scowled in displeasure. ”I don’t want to see him!”

1. Gatsby caps, also known as newsboy caps, were popular in China during the 1920s-1930s, when there was greater Western influence in clothing choices. ☜