Chapter 580: You Came Out to Sell Again?

The Yanghuitai Coal Mine, near the South Bridge of Huangtu Bridge.

Back then, when Huangtu Bridge was a significant district, Yanghuitai was a large coal mine, supporting dozens of coal merchants and tens of thousands of workers.

Later, when the harbinger of misfortune took over Huangtu Bridge, the Yanghuitai Coal Mine experienced dozens of accidents one after another. Several mine shafts collapsed, many workers were killed or injured, coal merchants dared not do business there, and the coal mine gradually fell into disuse.

Ma Wu was somewhat superstitious; after taking over Huangtu Bridge, he never managed to get the Yanghuitai Coal Mine operating again. Now, this coal mine has been occupied by this group of rickshaw pullers.

The rickshaw pullers parked their vehicles next to the coal mine, picked up some coal lumps, and threw them into their sheds. These coal lumps had been left there for many years and were already weathered. Although they didn't burn well, their rickshaw sheds weren't particular about fuel. In fact, even this weathered coal was considered good fuel for these rickshaws. When coal wasn't available, they could burn firewood. If there was no firewood, they could manage by picking up scraps of cloth, waste paper, or leaves.

Two rickshaw pullers counted their numbers; they had a total of eighty-five people. Eighteen were lost during their encounter with Li Banfeng, leaving over sixty. Losing men wasn't a concern; they could always find replacements. The crucial thing was that all their rickshaws had been recovered.

The rickshaw leader showed a slight smile, and his subordinates also smiled. After their smiles faded, the subordinates each put coal into their rickshaws, then took turns adding water at the nearby well. After more than an hour of burning, the steam pressure in the rickshaws reached the required level.

The rickshaw pullers all looked up, faces towards the sky, mouths wide open, emitting a long whistle similar to a steam whistle, and exhaling white mist. Tang Shijiang was very familiar with steam engines; he knew this was the process of venting excess steam to maintain stable pressure. However, this process was difficult to understand: why did the rickshaw pullers vent steam by exhaling when burning coal in their rickshaws?

After venting the steam, the rickshaw leader entered his rickshaw and fell asleep. The other rickshaw pullers also entered their rickshaws and fell asleep. The coal mine became silent, with only a few rickshaw pullers remaining, patrolling the area with their vehicles. Although their numbers were few, their patrol method was extremely meticulous. The first layer of sentries patrolled around the coal mine, the second layer patrolled among the residential houses surrounding the coal mine, and the third layer patrolled the main streets leading to the coal mine. This three-tiered surveillance was a tight defense, leaving almost no openings.

After resting for a moment, the rickshaw leader suddenly awoke. He saw a rickshaw puller arrive at the coal mine with a rickshaw, stopping in front of him. That rickshaw puller pointed into the distance, seemingly delivering a message to the rickshaw leader. The rickshaw leader remained silent.

The rickshaw puller waited for a moment, then simply spoke: "A rogue just came and stole a brother's rickshaw. I reckon this rogue was sent by North Bridge."

"Rogue? Brother?" The rickshaw leader chuckled. Laughter echoed from all the surrounding rickshaws. The rickshaw puller who came to report lowered his voice and said, "It doesn't seem to be working."

Indeed, it wasn't working. These rickshaw pullers had a special way of communicating, neither through gestures nor language, and his actions just now clearly exposed a flaw.

"So it's not working, so what? We're already here!" As the words fell, Li Banfeng leaped out of the rickshaw shed. This rickshaw was one Li Banfeng had seized. Tang Shijiang was pulling the rickshaw, having altered his appearance using his Gongfa. Li Banfeng was seated in the rickshaw. It was indeed time for him to act now that they had reached this location. From this distance, he could directly strike the rickshaw leader with his technique.

However, the surrounding rickshaw pullers also awoke. Without their leader's command, they simultaneously emerged from their rickshaws, pushing them into a circular formation, and quickly surrounded Li Banfeng.

While Li Banfeng fought the group of rickshaw pullers, Tang Shijiang approached the rickshaw leader. The rickshaw leader stared at Tang Shijiang for a moment, seeing through his disguise: "Senior Brother, earlier, when I went to Black Rock Slope to discuss the Huangtu Bridge matter with you and asked for your assistance, I saw you were quite troubled, so I didn't say much. I know you have a friendship with Li Qi, so whether you helped me or not didn't matter; I wasn't going to force you. But for you to come causing trouble for me today, that's wrong. We'll have to have a proper discussion in front of our Master."

Tang Shijiang stretched his limbs; his originally hunched, tall frame slowly straightened. "I didn't quite understand what you just said. I do have a junior brother who pulls rickshaws in Yaowang Ditch, and I genuinely look down on him. However, since we're from the same master's lineage, that bond cannot be ignored. But as for which master's lineage you belong to, I can't tell. If your master wishes to discuss this with me, tell him to come to Black Rock Slope. I'd very much like to meet him, and he can pick up your corpse while he's at it."

The rickshaw leader's eye twitched. "Since it has come to this, our ties are severed!"

Tang Shijiang said impatiently, "How can you be so shameless? We never had any ties to begin with!"

As the words fell, the rickshaw leader pulled his rickshaw and charged forward, unleashing the 'Trample Ten Thousand Rivers' technique with a kick towards Tang Shijiang. An iron shield appeared before Tang Shijiang, easily blocking the attack. "Don't even mention it, the quality of this 'Trample Ten Thousand Rivers' is quite similar to my Junior Brother's."

The rickshaw leader was somewhat surprised; he hadn't seen where Tang Shijiang had produced the iron shield. For a Gongxiu, such swift action was truly rare.

The rickshaw leader, using the 'Ride the Wind, Drive the Clouds' technique, pulled his rickshaw and flew into mid-air, scattering a shower of javelins from his vehicle towards Tang Shijiang's head. A bag emerged from the top of Tang Shijiang's head, collecting all the javelins. Then, a long spear shot out from the bag, thrusting towards the rickshaw leader's rickshaw. The rickshaw leader turned the handlebars, dodging the spear. The rickshaw's axle then spewed fire, aiming to burn Tang Shijiang.

A section of pipe extended from Tang Shijiang's back collar, spraying a jet of water that repelled the flames. The water column sprayed onto the rickshaw body, creating layers of white mist. The rickshaw leader desperately dodged with his rickshaw. Water spraying onto the vehicle effectively cooled it down, which was extremely disadvantageous for a steam engine. However, this water jet was difficult to evade; it seemed to have eyes, relentlessly pursuing the rickshaw. Unable to escape, the rickshaw leader pushed through the water jet, circled behind Tang Shijiang, extended his right foot, and prepared to use 'Trample Ten Thousand Rivers' again.

As his foot touched the ground, a row of nails sprouted from the earth, piercing the rickshaw leader's right foot. The rickshaw leader felt an intense pain, and his technique failed to activate. When had these traps been set? How could Gongxiu techniques be used so subtly? The rickshaw puller was momentarily stunned. The nails embedded in his foot quickly formed knots, entangling his right foot to the ground. A large saber descended from above the rickshaw puller's head. The rickshaw puller didn't know where this saber had come from; he could only barely dodge using his 'Carefree and Unrestrained' technique.

Having dodged the saber, an axe then grew from Tang Shijiang's back, sweeping horizontally towards the rickshaw leader's waist. The rickshaw leader had no escape and was cut open across his abdomen by the large axe. Seeing the saber and axe about to strike again, the rickshaw puller used his 'Carefree and Unrestrained' technique, adjusted his right foot, forcibly broke free from the iron nails on the ground, and quickly distanced himself from Tang Shijiang. He locked his gaze on Tang Shijiang, preparing to use 'Galloping Horse Viewing Flowers'.

Around Tang Shijiang, more than a dozen mirrors of various sizes emerged, reflecting hundreds of figures. The rickshaw puller looked through the gaps in the mirrors, feeling dizzy and unable to distinguish which figure was real. 'Galloping Horse Viewing Flowers' failed to take effect. The rickshaw leader seized his rickshaw and crashed into a mirror, shattering it. The mirror fragments transformed into a silver dragon, relentlessly pursuing the rickshaw puller from behind, leaving not a single piece behind. All of them embedded themselves in the rickshaw puller's body.

Throughout their engagement so far, if Tang Shijiang had evaded even a single step, the rickshaw puller could have used the advantage of a Luxiu to overwhelm and kill his opponent in one go. But Tang Shijiang hadn't moved an inch. He stood his ground, countering every move, always meeting the rickshaw leader head-on. This was a disciple of Old Man Steam Train: tough-minded and with formidable techniques.

The rickshaw puller turned the handlebars, pushing his rickshaw, and once again charged towards Tang Shijiang. Shears extended from the rickshaw shed; let's see how Tang Shijiang would defend himself. Tang Shijiang put on a pair of iron gloves, grasped the shears with his right hand, and twisted them off the rickshaw shed. With his left hand, he directly tore open the rickshaw shed and ripped a pipe from its center. The rickshaw emitted a loud noise and began to shake uncontrollably.

This was the experience of a top-tier Gongxiu. When Tang Shijiang sprayed water onto the rickshaw shed earlier and saw mist forming, he was able to deduce the temperature variations across different parts of the shed from the density of the mist. Through these temperature changes, Tang Shijiang located the steam pipe. Wearing iron gloves, he ripped the steam pipe apart. With the steam pipe broken, the steam pressure rapidly dropped, and the rickshaw puller's speed decreased accordingly. Under these circumstances, for the rickshaw leader to continue fighting Tang Shijiang would be suicide.

The rickshaw leader tried to escape with his rickshaw, but Tang Shijiang grabbed onto the shed and gave chase. If the rickshaw puller slowed down even a little, Tang Shijiang could dismantle the rickshaw. But with the steam pipe leaking, the rickshaw puller couldn't go any faster.

At this critical moment, the rickshaw puller repeatedly whistled, calling for his subordinates to come and assist him in the fight. No battle tactics or commands were needed; with just one whistle, the rickshaw pullers who were still entangled with Li Banfeng immediately changed their formation and advanced to surround Tang Shijiang. Their tactical awareness remained unified; everyone at this moment had only one thought: to do everything in their power to stall Tang Shijiang and save the rickshaw leader. However, while their intentions were unified, their actions ran into trouble.

Tang Shijiang scattered twenty screws onto the ground. These screws scurried across the ground, racing towards the rickshaw wheels. One screw latched onto each wheel, passing through the spokes and piercing the rickshaw shed, locking the wheels. Out of more than sixty rickshaw pullers, over forty quickly changed their formation. However, twenty couldn't keep up with the rhythm; their movements were slow because they couldn't push their rickshaws. The 'Train Formation' was most vulnerable to uncoordinated action. These twenty lagging individuals effectively became isolated within the formation.

The rickshaw pullers pulled tools from their sheds, intending to extract the screws that had locked their wheels. But Li Banfeng wouldn't give them the chance. Taking advantage of their disordered positions, he flashed among them, killing all twenty rickshaw pullers. Losing so many men at once severely reduced the combat effectiveness of the 'Rickshaw Formation'.

But the rickshaw leader had no other option. With Tang Shijiang still holding onto the rickshaw shed from behind, he could only order the remaining rickshaw pullers to fight Tang Shijiang to the death. Tang Shijiang had plenty of screws, but he didn't use many, only scattering twenty. This was Old Man Steam Train's formation, and Tang Shijiang knew it inside out. His only goal was to make some rickshaws mobile while others were immobilized, using his own methods to force the formation to expose its weaknesses. This was a pre-arranged tactic between the two: as soon as the formation showed an opening, Li Banfeng would immediately act. He leaped through the formation for a moment, killing another twenty rickshaw pullers.

Only over twenty rickshaw pullers remained. To form a proper formation, at least twenty people were needed. If Li Banfeng continued killing, the 'Rickshaw Formation' would cease to exist. The rickshaw leader whistled again. This time, he didn't order the rickshaw pullers to change formation. He told the rickshaw pullers to stand still, and everyone simultaneously used the 'Sever Path, Open Road' technique. This was their last resort, and also a desperate measure.

As Tang Shijiang pursued the rickshaw from behind, a dirt wall suddenly appeared before him, blocking his path. The 'Sever Path, Open Road' technique could open paths, but naturally, it could also block them. A single dirt wall was nothing to Tang Shijiang; he simply crashed through it and continued his pursuit. However, with more than twenty rickshaw pullers exerting their strength together, over twenty dirt walls appeared before him in total. After crashing through the tenth wall, Tang Shijiang's speed slowed down.

The rickshaw leader continued to push his way out using 'Unimpeded Movement,' shaking off Tang Shijiang behind him. He gained an opportunity to escape, but it came at a heavy cost. The remaining twenty-odd rickshaw pullers, activating their techniques in place, were essentially offering themselves up to Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng, of course, showed no mercy. He killed every single one of these rickshaw pullers, then turned to pursue the rickshaw leader.

The rickshaw leader burst out of the coal mine, gathered the five rickshaw pullers who had been patrolling outside, and fled for his life with all his might. Out of the entire group of rickshaw pullers, only these five survived. These five, along with himself, became the only remaining hope for this mission.

They hadn't fled far when a bamboo forest suddenly appeared ahead, blocking their path. Where did this bamboo forest come from? The bamboo grew densely. For a Luxiu alone, it wouldn't be much of an obstacle; they could weave through it and burst out in a few steps. But for this group of rickshaw pullers, the bamboo forest posed a problem, because while they could pass through, their rickshaws could not easily.

Xiao Chuanzi and Xiao Genzi were hiding in the bamboo forest, observing the movements outside. Chuanzi whispered, "Genzi, who taught you this technique? What level of cultivation are you at now?" Xiao Genzi chuckled, "We both entered the Daoist sect together, don't you know what level of cultivation I am?"

Initially, because he invented the home projector, Xiao Chuanzi's Gongfa was widely recognized in Puluo State, causing his cultivation to surge. Coupled with elixirs occasionally rewarded by Li Banfeng, he was now a fourth-tier Gongxiu. He had thought Xiao Genzi's cultivation was definitely not as high as his, at most around the third tier. But tonight, Xiao Chuanzi realized he had underestimated Genzi. With a bag of seeds and a bucket of golden liquid, Xiao Genzi had grown an entire bamboo forest in just over ten minutes. This method even astonished Ma Wu.

Astonishing as it was, this was no time for idle chat. "Stay sharp, they're entering the forest!"

The rickshaw leader originally intended to bypass the bamboo forest to observe it, but he found that the forest was quite large. Li Banfeng was about to catch up; they couldn't bypass it, so they could only force their way in using 'Sever Path, Open Road'. Ma Wu and Genzi covered Xiao Chuanzi, who began setting traps on the path. A fourth-tier Gongxiu's methods were quite limited against cultivators of the 'Clouds Above' tier. However, Xiao Chuanzi was well-prepared; many of his traps were pre-made and could take root immediately upon deployment.

The rickshaw leader's situation was not good. He had forcibly blocked the steam pipe, but little steam pressure remained, and his stamina was also running low. After moving through the bamboo forest for a moment, one of his subordinate rickshaw pullers fell into a pit. Ma Wu used his Huanxiu technique, causing the rickshaw puller to burst a blood vessel due to extreme anxiety. Another rickshaw puller was struck down by falling rocks. Before he could get up, Genzi poured a bucket of golden liquid over him. Both he and his rickshaw were corroded, and he quickly lost his life.

Li Banfeng pursued them into the bamboo forest, first killing two rickshaw pullers, then catching up to the rickshaw leader just outside the bamboo forest. The rickshaw leader stopped fleeing. He turned his rickshaw, positioning it as a shield in front of him, and stared intently at Li Banfeng. This was to be a decisive battle with Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng waved his hand behind him, signaling Ma Wu and the others to stay as far away as possible, to a place where they couldn't see the rickshaw puller and the rickshaw puller couldn't see them. Otherwise, 'Galloping Horse Viewing Flowers' might affect them. The rickshaw leader looked at Li Banfeng and said, "Brother, I never thought we'd reach this point."

Li Qi sighed, "I didn't want it to come to this either. How about this: you put down your rickshaw, and release Miss Xiao Qin. Then, we can let this matter go."

The rickshaw leader laughed. "Brother, I've been through a lot in the jianghu for many years. You think I'm a rookie? If I put down my rickshaw now, would you really spare my life?"

Li Banfeng also laughed. "If you don't put down your rickshaw, I can't spare your life either. Do you think I'm a rookie? Who are you calling 'Brother'? Do I even know you?"

The rickshaw leader knew he couldn't keep up the pretense. If he waited any longer, Tang Shijiang would arrive, and then there would be no chance of escape. "Let's have a contest right here, using only one move, no other tricks. We'll both use 'Galloping Horse Viewing Flowers'. Right now, you stare at me, and I'll stare at you. In a moment, we'll both move simultaneously. Let's see whose footwork is faster, and who can snatch their life from this situation!"

This was the rule set by the rickshaw puller: both sides would stare at each other, locking their gazes. Then, they would act simultaneously. The one with faster movement would disappear from the other's sight first, and 'Galloping Horse Viewing Flowers' would immediately take effect, allowing them to blast their opponent to death.

Li Banfeng actually didn't need to gamble with him; his condition was much better than the rickshaw leader's. But he agreed.

"We are both good lads from the Luxiu lineage," Li Banfeng said, staring at the rickshaw leader. "Let's have a fair and honorable fight right here today!"

The rickshaw puller nodded. "A gentleman's word is as good as gold. We'll have a fair duel, with no regrets, whether we live or die." The two men took their stances, standing face to face. A cold wind blew through, kicking up dust. Neither man blinked.

The rickshaw puller's eye twitched, and he lifted his right foot. Li Banfeng tapped his toes to the ground, moving first. He was about to leave the rickshaw puller's sight, but unexpectedly, the rickshaw puller stayed put, suddenly squatting down and hiding behind the rickshaw shed. This move was cunning and devious, because Li Banfeng could no longer see him. Not being able to see meant his line of sight couldn't be locked, so Li Banfeng couldn't activate his 'Galloping Horse Viewing Flowers' technique.

However, the rickshaw shed had a mechanism that could reveal a hole, allowing the rickshaw leader to lock onto Li Banfeng at any time. The rickshaw puller smiled. The initiative was now his. All he needed to do was wait for the right moment to blast Li Banfeng to death. To be honest, this battle had incurred significant losses, but if Li Qi was eliminated, it would certainly be a great achievement for him. While in Neizhou, he had heard rumors about Li Qi. All the rumors described Li Qi as an extremely difficult opponent. After actually engaging him, he found Li Qi to be not only difficult but also fierce. In a single battle, Li Qi had almost wiped out the 'Fire Wheel Gang' he had painstakingly built up. But what did that matter? He was, after all, just a reckless young man. He had no idea what a true duel entailed. He thought a duel was about basic strength and luck. How could he know the depths of strategy involved, or the many techniques employed in a true duel?

The rickshaw leader felt a chill down his spine. He looked back and saw a black-clad figure holding a Tang blade, which had pierced his back. They had agreed on a duel, so why did he bring an accomplice? The Tang blade twisted and churned within the rickshaw leader's body, tearing his internal organs to shreds. The rickshaw leader instantly lost the ability to resist.

Li Banfeng walked up to the rickshaw puller and opened the door to his Portable Abode. "A duel? You're quite amusing!" Li Banfeng lifted the rickshaw leader and tossed him into the Portable Abode. The rickshaw was a bit large and couldn't fit through the door. Old Man chuckled, "Leave it to me." An invisible force surged forth, twisting and deforming the rickshaw, which was then sent through the door along with the leader.

Li Banfeng closed the door and returned to the bamboo forest, beckoning Ma Wu and the others. Ma Wu, Chuanzi, and Genzi walked out together. Chuanzi asked, "What about the rickshaw puller?"

Li Banfeng replied, "Dealt with him, including the corpse."

Genzi chuckled, "Master Qi is always so efficient. We were just worried about him; I was even thinking of creating two bamboo figures to help Master Qi out..."

As they were chatting and laughing, Ma Wu, with a worried expression, murmured, "That's not right."

"What's not right?"

"The numbers don't add up," Ma Wu said, calculating carefully. "Six people entered the bamboo forest earlier. Genzi and Chuanzi killed one, Chuanzi and I killed one, Old Qi killed three... where's the last one?"

Li Banfeng was startled and quickly inspected the vicinity. There were two sets of rickshaw tracks heading into the distance. "Oh no, these people are special; not a single one can be allowed to escape!" The rickshaw pullers' movements were so uniform that Li Banfeng suspected they might be replicas of a certain life form. Li Banfeng had once heard Qiu Luoye speak of such a situation: a person from Neizhou had transformed into a house, and appeared in Puluo State. One house quickly multiplied into an entire area of houses. The peddler called this 'spawning'. If Li Banfeng's guess was correct, letting one escape would be equivalent to letting an entire nest escape.

"Chase them immediately!" Li Banfeng told Ma Wu. "Call all our people; we can't let this person leave Huangtu Bridge!"

He first pursued along the tracks, following them from the coal mine all the way to the Meisha River. An old man was fishing for coal cinders in the river. Li Banfeng approached and asked, "Did you see a rickshaw puller?"

The old man nodded. "Yes, I saw one pulling a rickshaw, heading east in a hurry."

Li Banfeng chased eastward. After a while, he saw a woman selling wontons, pushing her cart and calling out for customers. "Elder sister, did you see a rickshaw puller?"

The woman thought for a moment. "Someone pulling a rickshaw just passed by; it looked like they went onto East Bridge!"

Li Banfeng quickly chased to East Bridge. Ahead, a peddler was walking on the bridge, shaking a rattle drum and pushing a cart. Li Banfeng asked, "Did you see a rickshaw puller go onto the bridge?"

The peddler thought for a moment and asked, "What kind of rickshaw puller? Male or female? Pulling a rickshaw or pushing a cart?" Hearing this, Li Banfeng knew the peddler hadn't seen the person he was looking for.

Li Banfeng continued to pursue, took two steps, then retreated. He stared at the peddler for a moment and asked, "You're out selling again?"

The peddler nodded with a smile. "Indeed! I haven't been around lately, and I heard you've been selling on my behalf. You've really gone to a lot of trouble."

"You're still smiling?" Li Banfeng frowned. "Where have you been?"

The peddler pointed behind him. "I went to find him." Only then did Li Banfeng notice that another person was standing behind the peddler. This person appeared to be around fifty years old, with a very round face and fairly regular features. His eyes were a bit small, his eyebrows thick, his nose bridge slightly low, and his nose tip very round, giving him a very kind appearance. He recognized Li Banfeng and stepped forward to greet him: "Li Bufeng, we meet again!"

Dear esteemed readers, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Shala extends her greetings to all of you!