Chapter 23: Finally Found You

How did the key end up on the bear's back?

A moment's thought provides the answer to this question.

Before entering the door, Li Banfeng threw the key into a patch of tall grass. The bear rubbed against the grass to relieve an itch, accidentally snagging the key, and carried it all the way back to its cave. Since his Portable Abode follows the key, Li Banfeng and his Portable Abode followed the bear to its cave.

Now, the crucial question was: how to retrieve the key from the bear's back?

Seeing the bear about to re-enter its cave, Li Banfeng quickly caught up, picked up a stone, and threw it at the bear's back. He couldn't let the bear enter the cave; if the key fell into the dark abyss, finding it again would be incredibly difficult. Li Banfeng hoped to knock the key off with the stone. Unfortunately, he was dozens of meters away, not within five meters, so hitting the bear at all was a challenge.

The stone missed the key, striking the bear on the back of its head. The bear roared from the impact, spun around, and began chasing Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng ran, and after a while, the bear realized it still couldn't catch him. It stood on its hind legs, front paws hanging at its chest, and roared repeatedly at Li Banfeng. This was a severe warning from a bear: approach it again, and you would pay with your life.

After the warning, the bear lowered its front paws, lay back down, and as it turned to walk towards the cave, another stone hit it on the back of the head. Li Banfeng intended to hit the key, but his aim was consistently off, always striking the bear's head. The enraged bear mustered its strength, knocked down a tree next to the cave, showcasing its power to Li Banfeng. As the bear turned, Li Banfeng threw another stone, again hitting its head. The bear shook its head, looking somewhat confused. Li Banfeng, seeing the key still on the bear's back, grew anxious.

The bear charged, and Li Banfeng immediately fled. Whenever the bear turned, Li Banfeng threw a stone. After sixteen consecutive throws, the bear stopped chasing, didn't return to its cave, and just lay on the ground motionless. Li Banfeng approached and saw that the bear wasn't dead or unconscious; its eyes were open, and it was still breathing, its hind head a bloody mess. Had it given up?

Li Banfeng picked up a stone. The bear roared and immediately got up. Li Banfeng put the stone down. The bear lay back down, motionless. As Li Banfeng understood it, this meant: "Don't throw stones; we can talk this over." Li Banfeng mustered his courage, went behind the bear, grabbed the key, and ran off. Only when Li Banfeng's figure completely disappeared did the bear get up and slowly lumber back into its cave.

Li Banfeng, clutching the key and covered in dust and mud, emerged from the jungle and descended the mountainside. At the foot of the mountain, Li Banfeng picked up two stones and put them in his backpack, gauging their weight. They were about the same as the copper lotus. The bait had to be realistic; although heavy, a traveler cultivator's physical condition was good enough to carry it.

Having arrived in such an unfamiliar place, Li Banfeng should have been unable to discern directions. Yet, not only could he accurately identify directions, he also found a main road by observing the sun's position and footprints on the ground. This was a traveler's innate talent. Li Banfeng could run faster than a bear in complex and harsh terrain; this was also a traveler's talent. Was striking stones accurately and powerfully a traveler's talent or a homebody cultivator's talent? These questions needed to be verified later. For now, the urgent task was to find He Jiaqing as quickly as possible.

This so-called main road was a relatively flat and wide dirt path. From its width, two ox-carts could pass side by side. Why measure the road's width by ox-carts? Because there really was an ox-cart on the road. Li Banfeng encountered an old man driving an ox-cart and asked him where he could charge his phone. "Electricity? That's hard to find around here, not even the village chief has it! Try Ligou!"

According to the old man's description, Li Banfeng gained some understanding of Yaowanggou. Yaowanggou was a large town, divided into Ligou and Waigou. Waigou was extensive, encompassing all the villages under Yaowanggou's jurisdiction. Ligou was the town's center. Li Banfeng paid the old man thirty yuan, and the old man drove him to Ligou by ox-cart.

The ox-cart traveled from morning until dusk. By the time they reached Ligou, night was falling. Standing on the stone-paved Archway Street, Li Banfeng pondered his next move. Although He Jiaqing had sent an address, Li Banfeng only remembered "Archway Street." To find the exact location, he needed to charge his phone.

There was a small shop by the street, with a sign that read "Feng's General Store." It was lit, so it should have electricity. Li Banfeng entered the general store and saw two candles burning on the counter, realizing then that what he had seen earlier were not electric lights, but candlelight. The store owner, dressed in a slanted-lapel long gown, stood behind the counter, smiling in welcome. "What can I get for you?" Behind the counter was a shelf, densely packed with various miscellaneous goods.

Li Banfeng asked, "Do you have a place to charge a phone?"

"Charge?" The owner seemed to have heard a very peculiar word. "We don't have electricity here. You could try asking at Old Xu's place on Yuanzheng Street?"

Yuanzheng Street? Where was that? Li Banfeng really didn't want to walk any further. "Do you know someone named He Jiaqing who lives on Archway Street?" Knowing it was a long shot, Li Banfeng still asked.

The owner thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know He Jiaqing, but I do know the Old He Residence. You can walk east along the main street, turn south at the second intersection, and when you reach Xianchuanzi Alley, there's a house with its own private courtyard. That's the Old He Residence."

The Old He Residence? Could it be He Jiaqing's home? Very likely! This owner was kind, and to express his gratitude, Li Banfeng decided to buy something from his store. What would be suitable? Li Banfeng looked for a moment and then decided on a feather duster. This feather duster had a straight handle, many colorful feathers, and looked very impressive. It wouldn't do to arrive empty-handed for a first visit, and this feather duster seemed like a perfect gift for He Jiaqing. Li Banfeng also chose a top hat. The general store's top hats weren't of the best material, but the style was decent. Li Banfeng picked a black one and put it on immediately. His hiking hat had somewhat clashed with a rickshaw puller's style; with the top hat, his demeanor instantly improved.

"Boss, how much are these two items?"

The owner looked at Li Banfeng's attire and smiled, asking, "Are you paying with Huan Kingdom currency, or silver dollars? If you have foreign currency, I can exchange it here too." In this place, before doing business, it was customary to confirm the type of currency. Li Banfeng had neither silver dollars nor foreign currency, so he naturally chose Huan Kingdom currency. The top hat was thirty-one yuan and six jiao, and the feather duster was seven yuan and eight jiao.

Li Banfeng pulled down the brim of his hat, carried the feather duster, and walked from the main street into a small alley like a mysterious gentleman traversing the night. The Old He Residence was easy to find. In this narrow alley, residences were built one after another, with hardly any space between walls, but there was only one house with its own private courtyard. Four sides of bluestone walls enclosed a garden, and behind the garden was a two-story Western-style house with green bricks and red tiles. Vines draped down the walls, exuding a luxurious elegance everywhere. In this small town, such a residence was truly eye-catching. Could this really be He Jiaqing's home? Jiaqing's family must be well-off! Why did he bother moving stones back then?

However, a faint fishy smell from the residence made Li Banfeng slightly uncomfortable. He disliked eating fish; even if he went without meat for a month in the orphanage, he wouldn't touch fish. There were no fish sellers nearby, so where was the fishy smell coming from? Li Banfeng arrived at the iron gate, unsure how to knock on such a door. A mansion this large should at least have a gatekeeper, right? After observing for a moment, Li Banfeng didn't see a gatekeeper. He pushed the iron gate, and with a creak—a grating sound from the hinges—the gate simply opened.

Was it appropriate to just walk in? Jiaqing certainly wouldn't mind me. If it wasn't Jiaqing's home, then I'd just assume I made a mistake, and probably no one would mind. Li Banfeng walked through the courtyard and directly to the front door of the Western-style house. By the French window on the first floor, a figure suddenly appeared and then vanished. The other person only flashed by the window for a moment; the old Li Banfeng wouldn't have noticed such a fleeting figure. But today, Li Banfeng saw it very clearly; his eyesight was vastly different from before. There was someone in this house, and judging by their speed of movement, it was definitely not an ordinary person.

Li Banfeng gripped the feather duster in his right hand and gently knocked on the door with his left. Knock! Knock! Knock! The knocking was soft and slow, very dignified. Meow! A black cat suddenly jumped from the second floor to the door, glanced at Li Banfeng, wagged its tail, and retreated two steps. Li Banfeng paused, then heard a familiar voice from inside the door: "Is that Banfeng?" It was He Jiaqing's voice! Li Banfeng let out a sigh of relief and called out loudly, "It's me, open the door."

He waited for almost half a minute before the door opened. Li Banfeng frowned and said, "Why did it take so long?" He Jiaqing stood at the doorway, staring at Li Banfeng for a long time. "Brother, you're finally here."

"I'm here," Li Banfeng took off his backpack and smiled wryly, "It wasn't an easy journey." He Jiaqing casually took the backpack. "Why are you carrying such a ragged bag?" Li Banfeng was taken aback. "Is this bag ragged?" He Jiaqing laughed, "Of course it is! The seams are undone. Where did you buy this worn-out bag?" "Where did I buy it?" Li Banfeng's frown eased, and the corners of his mouth turned up as he smiled. "I've forgotten, I think it was a gift for topping up phone credit." He Jiaqing weighed the bag and asked, "Are the items inside the bag?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "Not in the bag. I left them at the train station."

PS: Thanks to all my readers, thanks for every comment and reply. A single sentence, even a single word, makes Salad incredibly happy.