The Overlord of Puluo

Bai Zhiming had once been one of Liao Zihui’s most trusted subordinates. Liao Zihui had promoted him again and again, recommended him whenever the chance came, and eventually helped him rise all the way to Deputy Commissioner.

Bai Zhiming had never forgotten it. He was fiercely loyal to Liao Zihui, and he was good at getting things done.

After reaching Kinless Township, he spent only two days to uncover a few clues. He quickly sent word back through a Surveillant. Madam Kinless, the land deity of Kinless Township, was nowhere to be found, and something bad had most likely happened to her.

Liao Zihui carefully confirmed the details with Bai Zhiming. ”Could Madam Kinless have gone somewhere else to deal with something and simply be away from Kinless Township for now?”

”It’s possible,” Bai Zhiming replied, ”but very unlikely. Madam Kinless rarely has anything to do with other people, and she almost never leaves her own territory.”

Liao Zihui picked up the map and thought for a long while. ”Could the two territories have joined into one because Qiu Luoye killed Madam Kinless? Is that why the boundary line between them disappeared?”

Bai Zhiming nodded. ”Commissioner, that’s what I think too. But it’s hard to communicate with Qiu Luoye, so I haven’t been able to confirm it yet.”

Liao Zihui thought for a moment, then asked, ”Where did all those people who came out of Qiu Luoye’s territory go?”

”Most of them have gathered at the train station. The route from Kinless Township to Ink Fragrance Shop has been cut off, but the other lines are still running. He Yuxiu, Lu Chunying, Ma Junyang, and the others are helping them apply for travel permits.”

They are at the train station and they can’t cross the boundary line to other territories! It’s all a misunderstanding! A serious misunderstanding!

Li Qi had no way to control the boundary lines at all. The boundary line had disappeared simply because the two territories now belonged to the same person.

Liao Zihui let out a long sigh of relief. So this was nothing more than a conflict between land deities in Puluo Province. The situation was far less serious than he had first thought, and the Border Control Office could hardly be blamed for any of it.

Of course, they still needed to verify a few things. He would have Liu Guocai, the Border Controller of Kinless Township, contact Li Qi himself and discuss rebuilding the railway. Through this, they would know Li Qi’s attitude towards them.

However, these were all things to discuss later on. For now, the issue at hand was solved. Liao Zihui felt this great weight finally lifted from his shoulders. Feeling lighter all over, he looked out at the setting sun, cleared his throat, and could not help humming a little tune. ”At the ends of the earth, by the farthest seas... searching, searching for a kindred soul, little sister...”

”Commissioner!” Ling Sujun suddenly burst into the room. She caught Liao Zihui swaying his hips as he sang and danced, and it was a little awkward.

Liao Zihui quickly composed himself and frowned. ”Don’t you know how to knock before coming in? Where are your manners?”

”I am sorry, Commissioner. An urgent call came from the higher up. They said you have to take it at once.”

Communication devices suffered heavy interference in Puluo Province, so people needed special forbidden items, or enchanted artifacts, to communicate over long distances.

Liao Zihui went to the communications room and picked up two palm-sized bronze bells, one in each hand. He held one to his ear and the other to his mouth, then smiled.

”Director Du, how long has it been since we last spoke? The last time I went back to give my report, I left in such a hurry that we never even got the chance to sit down together...”

After a little small talk, they got down to business. Liao Zihui had barely said a few words when he realized something was wrong.

”Director Du, this isn’t what you think...”

He tried to explain for a while, but eventually stopped talking. Some things had already been decided, and it was too late to explain now. Director Du had called only to give Liao Zihui a warning that someone from the Outer Provinces was already on the way.

Liao Zihui left the communications room with a dark expression. When he returned to his office, he told Ling Sujun, ”Call Tang Huanjie and Liu Guocai in here.”

At the Border Control Office, Liao Zihui usually addressed his subordinates by their titles. Sometimes, when he was being friendly, he would call them by their given names. It was rare for him to call them by their full name.

Soon, Tang Huanjie and Liu Guocai came into the office. Liao Zihui told Ling Sujun to leave, then had the door locked behind her.

The two men sat there uneasily for quite some time before Liao Zihui finally asked, ”Which one of you skipped the chain of command?”

Skipping the proper chain of command was something neither the Border Control Office nor the Outer Provinces took lightly. The two men exchanged a glance and both shook their heads.

”Still won’t admit it?” Liao Zihui smiled. His eyes moved over their faces as he lowered his voice. ”This isn’t the Outer Provinces. This is Puluo Province. Do you really think I wouldn’t dare touch either of you?”

Liao Zihui’s face seemed to darken all at once. It was no illusion. His face had really turned black, and layers of dark clouds were swirling around his body.

A crushing pressure descended on the two men. They trembled from head to toe, sweat pouring off them like rain.

Tang Huanjie shook his head again and again. ”Commissioner, I would never do something like that!”

Liu Guocai stayed silent for a long while before finally looking up. ”Commissioner, it was such a serious matter. I was afraid something would go wrong, and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to take responsibility for it.”

It was him! Liu Guocai was the one who skipped the chain of command.

Liao Zihui stared at him for a long moment. Liu Guocai was so frightened he was nearly wetting himself.

After a brief silence, Liao Zihui finally spoke. ”Guocai, why did you have to do this? If it was too much for you to handle, we could have taken responsibility for it together. But you rushed to report it to our superiors, and now you have put all of us in a difficult position.”

The Liao Zihui they knew was back, and Liu Guocai quietly breathed a sigh of relief. ”I... I was just scared...”

”What were you so afraid of?” Liao Zihui smiled. ”We have figured out what happened. Two land deities fought, their two territories became one, and the boundary line between them disappeared. All the other boundary lines are still there. This had nothing to do with Li Qi.”

Liu Guocai quickly stood up. ”Commissioner, this was all my fault. I will explain everything to the higherups right away. I am willing to accept whatever punishment.”

Liao Zihui sighed. ”It’s too late for that. Our superiors are taking this very seriously. They’re sending an investigation team, and I heard that the Balancer is coming too. That will make things much harder for us.”

Liu Guocai responded, ”I will contact the higherups and explain clearly.”

”No need,” Liao Zihui said, shaking his head. ”There were plenty of things we didn’t handle properly. Having our superiors come and point out where we went wrong isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Once they reach Kinless Township, you will be in charge of hosting them. You better not make any careless mistakes.”

Liu Guocai gave his word in front of everyone. ”Don’t worry, Commissioner. I won’t let anything go wrong!”

Tang Huanjie and Liu Guocai left the office. As Liao Zihui watched Liu Guocai walk away, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Liu Guocai was still badly shaken. When they reached the stairs, he lowered his voice. ”Deputy Commissioner Tang, do you think I should speak to Commissioner Liao alone?”

”What did you just say?” Tang Huanjie asked and glanced at his watch. ”I have got a dinner to get to, so let’s talk another time.

***

At Flower Lake Park, He Jiaqing had dyed his hair completely white and dressed himself up as an old man in his sixties. He was exercising beside the outdoor fitness equipment.

Blockhead sat beside the outdoor walking machine and lowered his voice. ”I am heading to Puluo Province in a couple of days.”

”What are you going there for?”

”Xiao Zhenggong is going to Kinless Township in Puluo Province on a mission as a Balancer. He needs an assistant, and the bureau assigned me.”

He Jiaqing stepped onto the waist-twisting machine. ”What happened in Kinless Township?”

”A new piece of land appeared near Kinless Township, and the boundary line between that land and Kinless Township somehow disappeared. I heard it has something to do with a man named Li Qi...”

Blockhead told He Jiaqing everything he knew. He Jiaqing warned him, ”Puluo Province is nothing like the Outer Provinces. Be very careful.”

After Blockhead left, He Jiaqing immediately went to find He Haisheng. ”Third Uncle, I need to make a trip to Puluo Province. I will leave things in the Outer Provinces to you for now.”

He Haisheng looked worried. ”The one from Sage’s Peak is still watching you. Going back to Puluo Province now could be dangerous. The moment you show yourself, you might run into their people.”

”I have to go back. This is too important!”

He Haisheng glanced at the sweat on He Jiaqing’s forehead. ”Jiaqing, you don’t look well. Why don’t you wait a few days before going back?”

”I can’t wait. I have to leave today.”

He Haisheng helped He Jiaqing arrange his train ticket and travel permit. He Jiaqing changed both his identity and appearance, then boarded the train that very night.

As soon as he reached Kinless Township, he headed straight for the abandoned village where Qiao Shaofen lived.

This was a forbidden area in Kinless Township, and very few people would normally dare to come here. He Jiaqing walked around the entrance to the village, then picked up a hard, dried lump of mud from the weeds.

He sniffed it and knew where it had come from. It was what remained of Qiao Shaofen’s corpse.

Things were turning out more and more like he had expected. He Jiaqing entered Qiao Shaofen’s bedroom and crawled under the bed to take a look.

Li Banfeng had restored the scene almost perfectly, but He Jiaqing still spotted something that gave it away. He had already guessed what had happened, but he still wanted to make sure.

He opened the hidden compartment. It was completely empty. The land deity seal was gone.

There was a hole beneath the compartment as well. Obviously, the deed had already been dug out.

He Jiaqing slowly crawled out from under the bed and stood beside it for a long while, staring blankly ahead.

A wave of dizziness hit him, and he sank down beside the bed. He clenched his fists. Then his eyes reddened, and tears began to fall.

He could endure anything! He could endure it even when he lost an ear. He just couldn’t endure this! This was the foundation of his entire plan.

He Jiaqing wiped his tears and finally burst out cursing. ”Robber! Shameless robbery! If you want to kill someone, then focus on killing! Why would you steal their things too? I never steal from other people! I hate this kind of shameless robbery more than anything!”

As He Jiaqing was overwhelmed with hatred and anger, he muttered, ”Li Banfeng, if you don’t give the deeds back to me today, I will kill you!”

***

Achoo!

Li Banfeng was eating noodles when he suddenly sneezed.

Who’s thinking about me?

Right after the sneeze, another shiver ran through him. This time, he understood. Wifey is thinking about me. She is waiting for me to come home and oil her up. Whenever I am done piling her up, I would get this cold shiver. I get a good feeling out of it and wifey gets to enjoy it as well.

The thought made Li Banfeng a little impatient to get home. He walked up to the counter and asked the owner, ”How much?”

The owner was still the same old lady. She took two hundred yuan from behind the counter and handed it to Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng checked the bills and nodded. ”Keep the change.”

The old woman respectfully walked Li Banfeng to the door.

Li Banfeng found a quiet spot, hid the key, and entered the Pocket Dwelling. He first pressed the Gramophone down, then picked up the oil can.

The Gramophone cried out, ”Madman! Slow down! I... I am not ready...”

***

He Jiaqing arrived at the noodle shop and looked around. The old lady who owned the shop came over. ”Here for some noodles?”

”I am looking for someone,” He Jiaqing said with a smile. When he did not see Li Banfeng anywhere, he turned to leave, only to spot someone walking through the door.

The man wore a grayish-white overcoat and a matching fedora. He Jiaqing thought he looked familiar, but for a moment, he could not remember who he was.

Chu Shaoqiang took off his hat. ”Jiaqing, what a coincidence. I was just looking for you. Come, sit down and have a bowl of noodles with me.”

Author’s Note:

PS: Jiaqing should have listened to his third uncle. He should not have come to Puluo Province, but those two pieces of iron deeds are just too important to him.