The Overlord of Puluo

How had the key ended up on the bear’s back? This was a question that only needed a moment of thought to figure out the answer.

Before entering the Pocket Dwelling, Li Banfeng had tossed the key into a messy patch of tall grass.

The black bear had rolled around in it to scratch its back and just so happened to get the key lodged in its fur. So, when the black bear returned to its cave, it unknowingly brought the key with it.

The Pocket Dwelling, with Li Banfeng inside, followed the key and ended up in the black bear’s cave.

Now, this was the real question: how was Li Banfeng going to retrieve the key from the black bear’s back?

Seeing the black bear head back into the cave, Li Banfeng rushed forward, picked up a rock, and threw it at the black bear’s back.

He couldn’t let the black bear enter the cave. If the key fell off in that pitch-black cave, it would be far too difficult to find.

Li Banfeng threw that rock at the black bear’s back in the hopes that it would knock the key off.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t within five meters of the black bear. It was dozens of meters away, so it was already quite the feat that he managed to hit it at all.

The rock missed the key and struck the back of the black bear’s head instead.

The black bear let out an angry roar and turned around to chase Li Banfeng again.

Li Banfeng turned and fled. The black bear gave chase for a while before realizing it still couldn’t catch up to him. Furious, it reared up on its hind legs, with its forelegs hanging down in front of its chest. It unleashed a string of explosive roars at him.

That was how bears gave stern warnings. If Li Banfeng dared to approach the black bear again, then he would pay with his life.

After delivering its warning, the black bear dropped its forelegs back onto the ground. However, just as it turned toward the cave again, the back of its head was hit with another rock.

Li Banfeng had aimed for the key, but he could not accurately gauge the amount of strength he needed to hit the key. So, he ended up hitting the black bear’s head again.

The black bear flew into a rage. It charged and knocked down a tree beside the cave to show Li Banfeng just how powerful it was.

However, when the black bear turned away once more, Li Banfeng seized the opportunity to hurl yet another rock at it, hitting the back of its head yet again.

The black bear shook its head, looking a little dazed from the blow.

Li Banfeng glanced at the key on the black bear’s back, feeling a little anxious.

The black bear charged at him, and Li Banfeng fled immediately. But every time the black bear turned away, he threw another rock.

After throwing sixteen rocks in a row, the black bear finally stopped chasing Li Banfeng, but it didn’t return to the cave. It fell forward and just lay sprawled on the ground.

Li Banfeng approached and saw that the black bear wasn’t dead or unconscious. Its eyes were still open, and it was panting heavily. The back of its head was covered with blood.

Had the black bear given up completely, giving in to despair?

Li Banfeng picked up another rock.

The black bear let out a roar and immediately sprang to its paws.

Li Banfeng put the rock back down.

The black bear lay down on its stomach again and stayed completely still.

To Li Banfeng, the black bear’s actions clearly meant: Don’t throw any more rocks. We can talk this out.

Summoning his courage, Li Banfeng crept up behind the bear, snatched the key off its back, and turned to run.

The black bear watched Li Banfeng vanish into the distance. Once he was gone, the black bear finally got up and crawled into the cave.

With the key safely tucked away, Li Banfeng walked out of the forest covered in dust and mud. He then made his way down the mountain. When he got to the bottom, he picked up two rocks and put them in his backpack. Weighing the backpack in his hands, Li Banfeng concluded that the two rocks weighed about the same as the bronze lotus flower.

The decoy had to be convincing, so he had to make the backpack very heavy. Nevertheless, he could handle it. Wanderlust Cultivators had strong physiques after all.

If someone were to wake up and find himself somewhere deep in the wilderness, it would be a reasonable expectation that he would have no idea which direction he should take to return to civilization.

Yet, Li Banfeng accurately picked the right direction. He even used the position of the sun and the tracks on the ground to find a main road.

That was a characteristic ability of Wanderlust Cultivators.

His impressive feat of outrunning a black bear in rough terrain was also due to the characteristic abilities of Wanderlust Cultivators.

However, were his accurate and ruthless rock-throwing skills also part of the characteristic abilities of Wanderlust cultivators or perhaps those of Homebound Cultivators?

Li Banfeng would have to do some experiments later to find out. Right now, he urgently needed to find He Jiaqing.

The main road that Li Banfeng found was really just a fairly smooth and wide dirt path. Judging by its width, two ox carts could travel side by side on it.

Why use ox carts as the measurement for the width of the road? That was because there was an ox cart on the road.

Li Banfeng went up to the old man driving the ox cart and asked where he could find a place to charge his phone.

The old man replied, ”Charge? Electricity’s a rare thing these days. Even the village chief doesn’t have it in his home! Try your luck in the Inner Gully!”

Hearing that, Li Banfeng gained a basic understanding of Medicine King Gully’s layout.

Medicine King Gully was a town, a very large one. It was divided into the Inner Gully and the Outer Gully.

The Outer Gully was vast, encompassing all the villages under Medicine King Gully’s jurisdiction.

The Inner Gully was the heart of the town. Li Banfeng gave the old man thirty yuan, and the old man gave him a ride there on his ox cart.

They traveled from morning until evening, and by the time they arrived at the Inner Gully, night was about to fall. Li Banfeng got off the cart and stood on the gravel-paved Memorial Arch Street, wondering where he should head next.

He Jiaqing had sent him his home address, but Li Banfeng only remembered Memorial Arch Street. To get the full address, he needed to find somewhere to charge his phone.

There was a small shop on the street with a sign that read, ”Feng’s General Store.” The lights were on, so the store probably had electricity.

Li Banfeng entered the store and saw two candles burning on the counter. That was when he realized the lights he saw earlier weren’t electric; they were from candle flames.

Dressed in a changshan[1], the shopkeeper greeted Li Banfeng with a smile from behind the counter. ”What would you like?”

Behind the shopkeeper, there was a shelf densely packed with all kinds of goods.

Li Banfeng asked, ”Is there anywhere I can charge my phone?”

”Charge?” the shopkeeper uttered, finding the word extremely strange. ”We don’t have electricity here. Maybe try Old Xu’s place on Yuanzheng Street?”

Yuanzheng Street?

Where’s that?

Li Banfeng really didn’t want to walk any farther.

”Do you know someone named He Jiaqing who lives on Memorial Arch Street?” Li Banfeng asked, even though he knew the chances were slim.

The shopkeeper thought for a moment, then shook his head. ”I don’t know anyone named He Jiaqing, but I do know the He Family’s old residence. Head east down the main street. At the second intersection, turn and head south. When you reach Threaded Lane, there’s a standalone residence with a courtyard. That’s the He Family’s old residence.”

The He Family’s old residence?

Could that be where He Jiaqing lives?

The possibility is high!

Thinking that the shopkeeper was a good person for answering his questions, Li Banfeng decided to buy something to show his appreciation.

What would be appropriate?

After browsing for a while, he settled on a feather duster.

It had a straight handle and many chicken feathers of various colors. For a feather duster, it looked quite impressive.

This was Li Banfeng’s first time visiting He Jiaqing’s home. He obviously couldn’t show up empty-handed. This feather duster seemed like a very appropriate gift for He Jiaqing.

He also decided to get a fedora.

The fedoras in the general store weren’t made of high-quality materials like those in hat stores, but the designs were fairly decent.

Li Banfeng picked out a black one and put it on.

His hiking hat had made him look like a rickshaw puller. After swapping it out for the fedora, his entire demeanor changed; he seemed much more sophisticated.

”Sir, how much for these two?”

The shopkeeper glanced at Li Banfeng’s outfit. He smiled and asked, ”Are you paying with Huan yuan or silver dollars? If you’ve got bills from other countries, I accept those too.”

In a place like this, merchants always had to confirm the currency of payment before making a trade.

Li Banfeng didn’t have any silver dollars, nor did he have any foreign currency. Naturally, he chose to pay with Huan yuan.

The fedora cost thirty-one yuan and six mao, and the feather duster came to seven yuan and eight mao.

Li Banfeng lowered the brim of his fedora and carried the feather duster, walking through the main street like a mysterious gentleman stalking the night. At the end of the main street, he stepped into a lane.

Li Banfeng found the He Family’s old residence very easily. Residences were cramped together in the lane so closely that their walls nearly touched. There was only one standalone residence.

Enclosed by four bluestone walls, the residence had a courtyard with a flower garden at the front, and at the back, there was a two-story Western-style house made of gray bricks and red tiles. Vines draped down its walls, exuding a quiet opulence.

In Medicine King Gully, a residence like that was undoubtedly eye-catching.

Is this really Jiaqing’s home?

So, Jiaqing’s from a pretty wealthy family!

Then why did he work as a laborer moving rocks back then?

Li Banfeng felt a little queasy. There was a fishy smell lingering around the residence.

He disliked eating fish. He loathed it so much that when he was a kid at the orphanage, he refused to eat fish even after having a month without any meat to eat.

There aren’t any fishmongers nearby either, so where’s the smell coming from?

Li Banfeng stood before the residence’s wrought iron gate, unsure how he was supposed to knock on a gate like this.

A residence as grand as this should have someone guarding the gate, right?

He looked around for a while but didn’t see anyone, so he just gave the gate a push.

Creeeak.

The hinges groaned as the gate swung open.

Is it okay for me to just walk in?

Well, Jiaqing definitely wouldn’t mind. But if this isn’t his house, I could just say I made a mistake. I doubt anyone would make a fuss.

Li Banfeng walked through the courtyard and headed straight to the front door of the Western-style house.

A figure suddenly appeared by the floor-to-ceiling window on the first floor and then vanished just as quickly.

The figure had only flickered into view briefly. Li Banfeng of the past wouldn’t have noticed it at all.

However, Li Banfeng of today saw it very clearly. His vision had improved immensely.

There was someone inside the house, and judging by the way they moved, they definitely were not an ordinary person.

Li Banfeng gripped the feather duster in his right hand and gently knocked on the front door with his left.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The knocks were soft and unhurried, quite dignified and classy.

”Meow!”

A black cat suddenly leaped down from the second floor and landed by the door. It glanced at Li Banfeng, swished its tail, and took a couple of steps back.

A familiar voice called out from inside the house, ”Is that you, Banfeng?”

Li Banfeng froze.

It’s He Jiaqing’s voice!

He let out a breath of relief and replied loudly, ”It’s me. Open up.”

Nearly half a minute later, the door finally opened.

Li Banfeng frowned. ”What took you so long?”

He Jiaqing stood in the doorway and stared at him for a long while. ”Bro, you finally made it.”

”Yeah,” Li Banfeng said, taking off his backpack with a wry smile. ”It wasn’t easy getting here.”

He Jiaqing casually took the backpack and asked, ”Why are you carrying such a raggedy bag?”

Li Banfeng blinked. ”Is it that bad?”

He Jiaqing laughed. ”Of course, it is. The seams are coming apart. Where’d you even get this lousy thing?”

”Where did I get it?” Li Banfeng’s knitted brows loosened, and his lips curved into a smile. ”I don’t remember. Think it was a freebie when I topped up my phone credit.”

He Jiaqing weighed the bag in his hand and asked, ”Is the item inside?”

Li Banfeng shook his head. ”No, I left it at the train station.”

1. It’s a long robe. See translator’s thoughts for pictures. Changshan are traditional Chinese clothing for men. They were considered formal dress and remained popular until the mid-20th century, in favor of Western-style suits and the Zhongshan suit, also known as the Mao suit (Mao as in Mao Zedong). ☜