Chapter 38: Sleep-time Song

Li Banfeng had the coachman drive the carriage to a deserted area in Outer Gully and asked him to unload the goods.

Chun Sheng had already paid the coachman sufficiently, so the coachman didn't ask further questions. He simply placed the cartload of items near the edge of the woods and then drove away.

Li Banfeng looked around to ensure no one was present, then strained with all his might and hoisted the four-poster wooden bed onto his shoulders.

It truly was remarkable; a Traveler cultivator's carrying capacity was excellent. Even while carrying such a large wooden bed, Li Banfeng could still free a hand to retrieve his keys.

This solid wood bed was genuinely heavy. That fellow named Chun Sheng, who managed to load such a large bed onto the carriage by himself, clearly wasn't an ordinary person.

Li Banfeng moved the bed into his Portable Residence. The Portable Residence itself wasn't large, only about six or seven square meters, so with a 1.5-meter bed, the space became a bit cramped.

Li Banfeng then carried the phonograph inside, considering where to place it.

Should he place it opposite the bed and listen to music while lying down? Enjoying the beautiful music while watching the steam puff out would indeed be quite pleasant.

However, after one song finished, he would have to get out of bed to change the record. If the two cups of water boiled dry, he'd have to get out of bed to refill them. Frequently getting out of bed while listening to music would somewhat diminish the experience.

Li Banfeng placed the phonograph by the bedside. Lying in bed, he could reach out and change records, add water, extinguish the fire, or wind the spring, all without having to get up.

This was a good idea; he decided on that.

After moving the phonograph, he spread out his bedding, dusted with a feather duster, and neatly folded the clothes the boss had given him, placing them beside his backpack for now.

There were still many things he needed to acquire: a wardrobe, a utility cabinet, a set of table and chairs...

Li Banfeng's eyelids felt heavy; he was getting tired.

After descending the mountain, he and Little Fatty had rested for a day at the inn, returning to Inner Gully only on the second day. It was just after dusk, with darkness just setting in, so Li Banfeng shouldn't have been this exhausted.

Could it be that the residual toxins in his body hadn't been fully cleared? That shouldn't be the case! Wasn't it said that Dwelling cultivators recovered the fastest?

No matter how tired he was, he had to go see Little Fatty. After being in this place for so long, if there was anyone who could be considered Li Banfeng's friend, it would truly have to be Qin Little Fatty.

Arriving at the steamed bun shop at the street corner, Qin Little Fatty was still eating voraciously, with several stacks of steamers piled up by his table.

"Why were you gone so long?" Qin Little Fatty's mouth was full of steamed buns, making his speech a bit slurred.

"I discussed the price with Shopkeeper Feng," Li Banfeng said, pulling up a chair and sitting down. He then instructed the shopkeeper to bring two more baskets of steamed buns.

The bun shop wasn't large, but the steamed buns were exquisitely made. With beef filling, a single bite, followed by a gentle slurp, filled the mouth with savory broth. Paired with two cloves of smashed garlic, it was authentic cuisine, simple yet pure.

Li Banfeng ordered a pot of wine. He didn't know which wine was good in this shop, as he hadn't heard of any of the local wine names. He simply asked the waiter to bring the best one.

Qin Little Fatty felt a little pained. His elixirs hadn't been sold yet, so even the wine in a steamed bun shop felt somewhat luxurious to him.

"Brother Qin, don't worry, this meal is on me," Li Banfeng said, pouring himself a cup and taking a sip. The wine was strong; he savored it in his mouth for a while before swallowing.

Seeing Li Banfeng's generosity, Qin Little Fatty lowered his voice and asked, "What price did you get for them?"

Li Banfeng made a gesture: "Six thousand."

There was no need to hide this from Qin Little Fatty; if he wanted to sell goods through Shopkeeper Feng in the future, he would likely get a similar price.

Qin Little Fatty shook his head upon hearing this. "Brother Li, forgive me for saying this, but you sold it for too little. This isn't an ordinary item; you really don't know the ropes here."

"What do you mean?"

It was late, and there was no one else in the bun shop. Qin Little Fatty lowered his voice to a whisper: "Just now, I ran into an acquaintance here at the bun shop and inquired about the market. I really did get some useful information.

"The wealthy families in Pro Prefecture buy hundreds, even thousands, of elixirs each year. At the end of the year, these are specifically awarded to deserving younger family members for their achievements.

"A large family works themselves to the bone all year, hoping to earn more elixirs to exchange for cultivation. But what about those who haven't earned any achievements? They have to buy them at high prices on the market.

"Market prices are different from the apothecaries. If an apothecary sells for ten thousand, the market price is at least twelve thousand. Some even go for fifteen thousand, eighteen thousand, or even twenty thousand. You sold yours for six thousand; you really sold them at a loss."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "If these elixirs can be sold, they're money. If they can't, what use are they to me? I don't lack a few days of cultivation, nor do I know any wealthy young masters."

Qin Little Fatty took a sip of wine. "How about this: after we've rested for a couple of days, I'll take you around Medicine King Gully. We can't get close to the truly wealthy, but I know quite a few young masters from moderately rich families."

Li Banfeng ate a steamed bun and smiled. "Thank you for your kind offer, but I'll be returning to Yue Prefecture tomorrow."

"Yue Prefecture?" Qin Little Fatty hadn't heard of that place.

"Yue Prefecture is a place in the Outer Provinces. That's where I came from."

"You're going back? So soon?" Little Fatty seemed a little disappointed, but after eating two more steamed buns, he felt somewhat relieved.

"That's right, you're from the Outer Provinces, you've seen the world, so you probably look down on Pro Prefecture.

"Someday, I want to go to the Outer Provinces too. If I haven't seen such a good place, I'll have lived this life in vain."

Such a good place?

Was Yue Prefecture a good place?

Li Banfeng did think Yue Prefecture was a good place, but if pressed to explain what made it good, he couldn't quite articulate it.

They ate until the bun shop closed, then said their goodbyes.

Qin Little Fatty said, "You know where I live. If you ever come back to Pro Prefecture, be sure to find me."

The alcohol gradually took effect, combined with his overall exhaustion, and Li Banfeng lay on his bed, about to fall asleep.

As he lay down, he felt as if something was missing, something he hadn't done.

Hadn't he walked twenty li today? He had.

So what else needed to be done?

Li Banfeng sat up halfway, took out the winding crank, inserted it into the phonograph, and fully wound the spring.

Oh, that was it! He had forgotten his pre-sleep music.

He specifically chose a record, wrapped in stiff paper with a colorful illustration on the cover. The cover depicted a patch of red and yellow flowers, with a graceful lady in a long dress dancing in the center.

Li Banfeng took out the record, placed it on the phonograph's platter, and flipped the switch. Amidst a background of static, beautiful singing began:

"The south wind brings coolness!The nightingale sings softly!Flowers under the moon are all dreaming, only the night-blooming jasmine,Releases its fragrance!Night-blooming jasmine!"

He had heard this tune before, but never liked it as much as he did tonight.

Before the song had even finished, Li Banfeng had already drifted off to sleep. He was using the spring-wound mechanism, not the steam engine, because he was worried he might fall asleep at any moment. With the spring mechanism, there was no need to worry about extinguishing a fire, so Li Banfeng confidently fell into a deep sleep.

"I sing for you, I think of you, night-blooming jasmine~~"

The song finished. The needle reached the end of the record. The spring was fully unwound, and the phonograph stopped.

In the pitch-dark Portable Residence, only Li Banfeng's steady and deep breathing could be heard.

Splish-splash~

A splashing sound came from the phonograph, as if someone were adding water to its horn.

Hiss~

A match was struck, igniting the wick in the oil tank.

Hiss~ Hiss~ Hiss~

Puffs of mist spewed from the small horn on the right, and the phonograph's platter began to rotate slowly.

The needle was moved back to its starting position, and amidst the noisy background, the phonograph once again played music:

"To the ends of the earth,Searching for a kindred spirit,The little sister sings, the young man plays the qin,Oh my love, our hearts are one!"

The beautiful singing echoed continuously through the Portable Residence.

Hiss hiss hiss~

The petals of the copper lotus slowly unfurled, and a whirlwind stirred within its heart. The whirlwind swept over the phonograph, and the singing went slightly off-key.

After about ten seconds, the singing gradually returned to normal. The petals of the copper lotus quivered a few times before closing back up.

The phonograph continued to play the sweet melody:

"In life, who doesn't cherish their youth?The little sister is like thread, the young man like a needle,Oh my love, we'll be intertwined and never parted!"

Amidst the song, Li Banfeng slept soundly, a happy smile gracing his face the entire time.

PS: Everyone keeps asking if this book has a female lead. Salad tells you: Yes, she's here! She's here, puffing steam.