Chapter 750: The Most Complex Taoist Sect in the World

Old Train claimed Little Train had no house repair skills.

The Wife stated that all her house repair skills originated from the house itself.

Was the Wife being dishonest, or was Old Train intentionally probing?

Or perhaps Little Train had developed new capabilities during Old Train's confinement?

Or were there other unknown entities within the Portable Residence?

Goosebumps prickled Li Banfeng's skin as he suddenly heard Old Train declare, "That's why Little Train cannot function as a residence for house repair!"

Li Banfeng nodded. "Yes! It truly cannot!"

Old Train then asked, "So, are you a house repairer after all?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Certainly not. I am a genuine travel repairer!"

"That's right, house repairers are no good! Heheheh," Old Train chuckled, and Li Banfeng joined in the laughter.

After their shared laughter, Li Banfeng swiftly changed the subject. "Brother, I've recently been searching for Lai Wuju's whereabouts. If that person is still alive, they pose a significant threat to Purozhou."

Old Train pondered for a moment. "Lai Wuju followed Cong Shixiang back then. After the imperial court was defeated, Cong Shixiang went to Jianren Gang. I've been to Jianren Gang many times and never saw Lai Wuju. If such a formidable figure as Lai Wuju were still around, that saint wouldn't be so quiet. So, I believe Lai Wuju is either no longer in this world or, as rumored, went to Wanshengzhou."

"What exactly is Wanshengzhou?"

Old Train shook his head. "I've never been there. There are many places in this world similar to Purozhou, and I can't possibly visit them all. Moreover, the path to Fangshengzhou is extremely difficult. Lai Wuju has vanished for so many years; it's unlikely he'll ever reappear. You shouldn't worry too much about that matter. I'm planning to stay in Suihuangyuan for a while because I sense trouble brewing here. I believe Suihuangyuan harbors dangers."

As Old Train spoke, Li Banfeng also shivered. "Yes, there's danger, and it arrived quite suddenly."

"Not sudden at all!" Old Train said, looking at Li Banfeng. "Yao Xin hasn't just arrived; he's been here for quite some time, and I don't trust him."

Li Banfeng asked, "Are you concerned that Old Yao won't be able to train the Suihuang Iron Cavalry?"

Old Train shook his head. "I'm worried he'll let the people from Neizhou in."

Li Banfeng frowned slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

Old Train chuckled repeatedly. "Because he was originally a member of the imperial court. Why should I trust him? Heheheh!"

This laughter struck Li Banfeng as somewhat unfamiliar.

With a mysterious expression, Old Train told Li Banfeng, "It's not just Yao Xin; I don't trust Zhao Xiaowan either. She once used the alias Huang Yuxian and fought a battle in Suihuangyuan. Although she drove back Neizhou, I still don't trust her. Do you know where Zhao Xiaowan is?"

Li Banfeng looked at Old Train, silently.

The Portable Residence whispered into Li Banfeng's ear, "A Qi, keep your distance from him!"

Li Banfeng asked Old Train, "Brother, has something happened to you?"

Old Train's eyes darted left, then right, a hint of fear on his face. "Do you sense that I'm different? I knew it would be like this after I retrieved it."

Li Banfeng asked, "What did you retrieve?"

"I retrieved the other half!"

Li Banfeng's entire face, from his eyebrows to his ears, twitched violently, so much so that his top hat nearly fell off.

Little Train urged, "A Qi, move even further away from him!"

"Don't worry!" Old Train waved a hand, seeing Li Banfeng widen the distance. "I haven't retrieved everything, just a portion."

He said "you all."

Could he now see Little Train?

"Brother, didn't you say you weren't in a hurry to retrieve the other half?"

Old Train explained, "Ayi was chasing me relentlessly; I had nowhere to run. I had no choice but to flee to Waizhou. But even there, she continued pursuing me, so I took flight. When I flew, she couldn't catch me. However, unlike you, I can't fly for too long; I don't possess the skill of riding the wind and clouds."

Li Banfeng asked, "If you don't have the skill of riding the wind and clouds, how did you manage to fly?"

Hearing this, Old Train looked a little proud and chuckled again. "I possess an Engineering Repair skill, one very similar to riding the wind and clouds. It's called 'Wooden Kite Soaring.' It flies very fast. However, I lack the physique of an Engineering Repairer, so flying is quite strenuous. You saw how difficult it was when my shadow flew. So, I thought, if I could retrieve a bit more of my physical body, I'd be able to fly for a much longer time—even longer than a Travel Repairer. That's why I retrieved a part of myself."

Li Banfeng asked, "Where did you retrieve it from?"

"I went to... heheheh!" Old Train chuckled. "Trying to trick me? You protect Sun Tiecheng so fiercely; you must have learned many techniques from him, haven't you? You want to know where my other half is so you can then make a move, right?"

Li Banfeng heeded Little Train's advice and continued to put more distance between himself and Old Train.

Old Train lowered his head, his body trembling for a moment. "Suihuangyuan... it holds danger."

Li Banfeng nodded. "Yes, there is danger. The danger appeared after you arrived."

"Am I the danger? Is it truly me?" Old Train's face was filled with dread, his teeth chattering, and he stammered. "It seems... it really is me. Old Seven, please don't blame me. I don't want this either. I have to retrieve the other half of my body eventually, but I dare not take it all back at once. I can only take a portion. My soul is complete; I can suppress this body. By retrieving it little by little, I'm sure I can gradually bring it under control."

"This truly isn't your fault!" Li Banfeng shook his head. "Brother, please leave Suihuangyuan for now and find a safe place to recuperate for a period."

"I'll do as you say, as you say..." Old Train turned and vanished into the night.

Where had he retrieved the other half from?

Undoubtedly, it had to be the Dark Star Bureau!

Li Banfeng gripped the gold bar, intending to contact Ayi, but there was no response from her side.

After a brief moment of reflection, Li Banfeng had already formed a clear deduction.

Old Train, with no escape from Ayi's pursuit, had fled to Waizhou, gone to the Dark Star Bureau, and retrieved a portion of his body there.

That retrieved part of his body had previously been restraining Ayi and the Celestial Maiden in Cell No. 6.

Now that the power restraining Ayi had weakened, it was highly probable that Ayi and the Celestial Maiden had escaped from the Dark Star Bureau!

Ayi, by sheer chance, had actually caused this to happen. She had…

Wait!

Was Ayi's intervention merely a coincidence?

Old Train had so many routes he could have taken, so why did he specifically go to Waizhou?

Did he genuinely want to go to Waizhou, or was he coerced there by Ayi?

Was Ayi being underestimated?

Could it be that she intended to rescue Ayi?

He needed to return to the Dark Star Bureau immediately to check.

Li Banfeng prepared to head to Iron Gate Fort, cross the New Land, and proceed to Yuezhou.

He hadn't gone far when Li Banfeng stopped.

Iron Gate Fort was impassable.

To prevent Neizhou from invading via the New Land, Ayi had placed an extremely formidable boundary line at Iron Gate Fort's New Land entrance, one that even a dark bridge cannon might not be able to traverse.

What now?

Go back by train?

The train was too slow, so Li Banfeng devised a faster method.

He ran back to Green Water City and directly boarded the peddler's cloud.

Arriving at the white house on the cloud, Li Banfeng knocked directly. "Sister-in-law, I'm here."

From inside the house, the familiar voice of a woman replied, "What are you doing here? Your senior brother isn't at this residence!"

"It's fine if Senior Brother isn't home; I specifically came to see you, Sister-in-law. I want to go to the Dark Star Bureau, to the staircase area. Just drop me right in front of Ayi's door; I promised to bring her some delicious food."

The woman retorted angrily, "If you want to go to the Dark Star Bureau, why did you come to me? Who do you think I am? What kind of place do you think this is?"

If Cell No. 6 truly held Ayi and the Celestial Maiden, then what was the identity of the woman in this house?

If Ayi and the Celestial Maiden had already escaped, would this woman still transport him to the Dark Star Bureau?

"Sister-in-law, you're in the master bedroom, aren't you? I truly have an urgent matter. I'm coming in. I've prepared everything; you just need to take me there."

Li Banfeng pushed open the door to the master bedroom, took a single step inside, and found himself directly in the stairwell.

The glove opened the large iron door of the stairwell, and Li Banfeng saw Cell No. 6. He first called out, "Sister, are you there?"

There was no response from inside the cell.

Had Ayi truly escaped?

Li Banfeng turned to leave when he suddenly heard a voice from inside the cell. "You came for me? Did you bring me something delicious?"

Ayi was still there?

Why hadn't she responded moments ago?

Li Banfeng had brought a variety of delicious foods: smoked meat from Desheng Smoked Meat Shop, roasted chicken from Zuixian Restaurant, vegetarian dishes from Qingxin Vegetarian Restaurant, and lamb noodles from Lanyang Village.

Ayi reached a hand out from the cell door, pulled all the food and drink inside, and then Li Banfeng heard vigorous chewing and crunching from within. After a moment, Ayi sighed repeatedly. "The flavors of Purozhou are truly unforgettable. I'm full now. What did you come to see me about?"

"I wanted to ask if you've seen any acquaintances in the past couple of days."

Ayi chuckled. "I see acquaintances every day. I'm quite familiar with the people from the Dark Star Bureau; they bring me food."

"Do you still lack food from them?"

"Yes, I do. Not just me, but she also lacks it. Nothing else will do; we must eat the food from the Dark Star Bureau. If we don't, both of us sisters would starve."

The Dark Star Bureau's food had such a function?

"Besides the people from the Dark Star Bureau, have you seen any other acquaintances?"

"You're not asking about acquaintances; you're asking about a specific person!" Ayi's tone suddenly turned sinister. "Let me listen carefully. Who exactly do you want to ask about?"

Ayi could hear inner thoughts, and it was too late for Li Banfeng to try and conceal his.

"So, you want to ask about Old Train? I'm quite familiar with him too. He's in this building; I often see him. I want to go out every day, but with him here, I can't. Are you worried he harmed me, or perhaps worried I harmed him?"

Li Banfeng chuckled. "We're all old friends; saying that makes us seem distant. I merely thought of Old Train just now."

He quickly altered his internal thoughts, repeatedly chanting the name Lai Wuju in his mind.

Ayi quickly picked up on the name. "You mean Lai Wuju came to find me? You know about this?"

What was happening?

Li Banfeng was stunned. He had only intended to change the subject, never expecting to uncover such a significant hidden secret.

"Sister Ayi, did Lai Wuju truly come to see you?"

Ayi replied, "That's a secret between Lai Wuju and me; I can't tell anyone. First, tell me how you found out about it."

Li Banfeng said, "I just took a random guess."

"You can guess that accurately?" Ayi smiled. "Little brother, don't lie to me. Someone must have leaked this information to you. Was it Old Train?"

"It wasn't Old Train, just a casual remark," Li Banfeng shook his head repeatedly. "Lai Wuju is still alive?"

"Alive, of course! Who told you Lai Wuju was dead?"

Li Banfeng then asked, "When did he come to see you?"

"Didn't I just tell you? It's a secret; I can't tell you. Stop trying to trick information out of me. Neither subtle persuasion nor overwhelming evidence will work on me. I'm not falling for your tricks!"

Regardless of whether she fell for it, he had to keep pushing.

"Sister, how has Old Train been lately? He's set up so many traps here; I'm genuinely worried he might hurt you all."

"Oh, you care so much about your sister, do you?" Ayi said with a playful sigh. "Old Train is indeed unreasonable, always keeping us trapped like this. Who knows until when? Why don't you go and persuade him?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "Alright, I'll go find him now."

Ayi chuckled. "Silly boy, this building has thirty-six floors. Are you really going to search floor by floor? Let me make some inquiries first to find out where he is, and I'll tell you once I have the information."

Li Banfeng stood by the door, waiting, when he suddenly heard Ayi's impatient voice. "What are you doing? Are you trying to rush me to my grave? Didn't I tell you I need to make inquiries? That takes time."

"Sister, if I need to find you, how should I contact you?"

"Didn't I give you a piece of gold?"

"That piece of gold doesn't work. I tried to contact you before, but couldn't get through. I guess you don't care much about me, Sister!"

"Oh, you ungrateful brat!" Ayi exclaimed, genuinely annoyed. "Is that how you talk to your sister? Don't even talk about finding me; even if you went to Changsan Brothel to find a girl, you'd have to see if she's free, wouldn't you? People are sleeping; you can't just drag them out of bed! Don't I have other things to do? Don't I need to eat and sleep? Don't I still have to take care of her? If I came out every time you called, what would that make me?"

Li Banfeng quickly clasped his hands in a gesture of respect. "Sister's admonition is sound. I shall await your news, then. I'll take my leave for now."

"Next time you come, bring some more smoked meat, and an extra bowl of noodles. I really like that flavor."

Li Banfeng chuckled. "Sister, you've certainly found the right person. If anyone else went to buy them, those noodles would be sold by the strand!"

Ayi laughed. "I've had noodles like that too. The customs of Purozhou are still so simple!"

Li Banfeng left the stairwell and returned to his office. The room was spotlessly clean, indicating Chen Changrui's meticulous effort in this regard.

Ayi was still in the Dark Star Bureau. Did this mean that Engineer Old Train's power remained undiminished, still capable of holding her captive?

But if Engineer Old Train's power was undiminished, why was Travel Repairer Old Train able to retrieve a portion of his body? It didn't add up logically.

Alternatively, perhaps Travel Repairer Old Train had visited, severely weakening Engineer Old Train's body, and Ayi was simply unaware of it yet.

Could Ayi truly be unaware of this?

In the Dark Star Bureau, particularly within the stairwell, what could possibly be hidden from her?

Or perhaps the portion of power Old Train took was quite limited, meaning Engineer Old Train's weakening wasn't severe, and he could still barely maintain control over Ayi.

This explanation seemed the most plausible, but the future implications were difficult to ascertain.

How much longer could Old Train hold out? What if Ayi did escape?

If Ayi were to escape, she would likely bring the Heavenly Beings with her. Would this outcome be beneficial or detrimental to Purozhou?

As Li Banfeng pondered this, he suddenly heard an argument outside his door. "How long has this air conditioner gone uncleaned? Didn't I tell you that internal operations needed a thorough overhaul? Did my words go in one ear and out the other?"

"But I don't think air conditioners need cleaning—"

"You don't think they need cleaning? Go ahead, take down the filter yourself and see how severe the dust buildup is, and what a terrible impact it's having on the bureau's office environment!"

The Logistics Director was lecturing a newcomer.

Old Sun had retired, and a new young person named Lu Jinglei had taken over logistics.

The Logistics Director appeared to be discussing the air conditioner, but Li Banfeng understood that the true reason had little to do with it. Lu Jinglei had undoubtedly offended the director in some other way.

To his surprise, the young woman had a temper. She promptly found a ladder, and right in front of the Logistics Director, dismantled the office air conditioner, taking out the filter. "Director, please take a look," she challenged, "is it clean or not?"

The air conditioner filter was spotless.

The Logistics Director's face darkened. "I wasn't just talking about the air conditioner. I was talking about your attitude. Can't I say a couple of things to you?"

"You can criticize me however you wish, but what you originally told me was to use limited funds to focus on urgent logistical issues."

The Logistics Director asked, "Isn't cleaning air conditioners a logistical issue?"

"It is a logistical issue, but not an urgent one. I spot-checked yesterday, and the office air conditioners are all clean. Do you think it's appropriate to spend limited funds on trivial matters?"

Cornered by a few retorts, the Logistics Director, barely restraining his anger, was about to lash out at Lu Jinglei when he suddenly saw Li Banfeng, smiling, push open his office door and step out.

The Logistics Director's expression immediately changed. "Director Li, you're back. I'll arrange for your office to be cleaned right away."

"No need for cleaning. My office is spotless; I was just about to commend you."

The Logistics Director glanced at Lu Jinglei, a ripple of suspicion crossing his mind.

Lu Jinglei was also responsible for daily cleaning. Director Li's office hadn't been cleaned in a while, so how had it suddenly become spotless today?

Could it be that Lu Jinglei knew Director Li was returning today?

That shouldn't be possible; not even Director Chen was aware of Director Li's movements.

Lu Jinglei stood with her head held high, lips pursed, saying nothing.

The Logistics Director's heart thumped. This young woman was so audacious; her background couldn't be simple.

When did she clean all the air conditioner filters? And where did the funds for this come from?

Li Banfeng asked Chen Changrui to retrieve some files, though not concerning the stairwell, as Chen Changrui couldn't provide any useful information on that area.

He requested information on house repairers, including recluses from Waizhou.

House repairers' techniques originate from house spirits, and house spirits' techniques originate from the houses themselves. Li Banfeng wanted to clarify one point: where did the houses' techniques come from?

Chen Changrui provided very little information, which somewhat displeased Li Banfeng, leading him to believe Old Chen was once again playing games.

It wasn't Old Chen's fault, however. Because Li Banfeng himself was a house repairer, he had overlooked one crucial fact: house repair was an extremely obscure discipline.

The number of house repairers and recluses was very limited, and they preferred to stay hidden within their residences. Places like Iron Gate Fort maintained extreme vigilance against outsiders, making investigations by Waizhou difficult. For all these reasons, the Dark Star Bureau possessed very little information on house repairers.

Despite the scarcity, Li Banfeng managed to glean some useful information from the available data.

The Dark Star Bureau had conducted some analysis and research on the source of dark energy in house repairers' residences.

A residence's dark energy derived from two essential elements, both indispensable.

First, the house repairer.

The house repairer could awaken the residence's ability to gather dark energy, enabling it to evolve in a fixed direction. Simply put, the residence and the house repairer upgraded together on their cultivation path.

Due to this fixed evolutionary direction, house repairers acquired specific abilities from the dark energy during their upgrade process.

Residences could not utilize these abilities independently. Instead, they would facilitate the transfer of abilities between non-living and living entities via dark energy conduction mediums, ultimately achieving shared ownership of these powers.

Translated into the language of Purozhou, this meant that the residence, through its house spirit, imparted a portion of its techniques to the house repairer. Then, working in conjunction, both the residence and the house repairer could jointly manifest the abilities of these techniques.

The Dark Star Bureau had concluded that recluses were the dark energy users with the most intricate dark energy mechanisms. Now, even Li Banfeng found the subject complex to research himself.

The second factor was the guiding environment.

For a residence to achieve fixed-direction evolution, it required a special guiding environment—a concept even more complex.

Research on recluses in Waizhou had found that after consuming a guiding agent, a recluse could cause their residence to undergo chaotic evolution. This resulted in a special type of recluse who possessed different levels and combat capabilities, but whose techniques were extremely disorganized.

The fundamental reason for the emergence of chaotic recluses was that their residences were situated in non-guiding environments.

In contrast, truly successful recluses had their residences located in specific geographical areas—places that possessed a guiding environment.

Were Li Banfeng's techniques chaotic?

Certainly not.

The Wife had encountered powerful house repairers, and the techniques Li Banfeng was learning perfectly aligned with her understanding of such practitioners.

So, the question arose.

Was the Portable Residence situated in a guiding environment?

Clearly not.

The Portable Residence had always accompanied Li Banfeng wherever he went and had never been in a fixed environment.

So, where did the Portable Residence's techniques come from?

And where did Li Banfeng's techniques come from?

Even late into the night, Li Banfeng couldn't find a reasonable explanation.

Leaving his office, Li Banfeng saw Mi Jian still busy.

She wasn't busy with her own tasks; she was diligently cleaning. After tidying her own workstation, she moved on to Zhong Er's.

Li Banfeng asked, "It's so late, why aren't you going home yet?"

"Director Li, I'll leave as soon as I finish tidying up."

"The cleaning staff can take care of it first thing tomorrow morning."

"It's a small task; it's no trouble at all."

Seeing how meticulously she was cleaning, he suspected she missed Zhong Er. Li Banfeng decided to send Mi E to Purozhou for a few days on a business trip, allowing the two to meet.

He hadn't returned to his own apartment in a long time. As Li Banfeng pushed open the door, he vaguely detected a faint scent of dust.

He summoned all the ghost servants who lived in his apartment. "I usually tell you to keep things clean. What has this room become? The dust is suffocating me!"

The ghost servants exchanged glances, then quickly picked up their tools and began cleaning.

In truth, they cleaned regularly, but it was quite normal for an apartment to have a faint dusty smell after being unoccupied for an extended period. Usually, Li Qi wasn't particular, so they had no idea what had happened to make him suddenly so fastidious about cleanliness.

Li Banfeng returned to the Portable Residence, and his mood improved considerably because it was impeccably clean inside.

But then he reconsidered. House spirits were known for their cleanliness, and with two house spirits, the external environment could certainly not compare to the Portable Residence.

Why, then, was he so repulsed by the apartment's cleanliness today?

Was the apartment truly that dirty?

The next day, Li Banfeng returned to the Dark Star Bureau to continue researching information related to house repairers. He discovered some anomalies: certain residences not located in guiding environments had still undergone directional evolution.

Li Banfeng isolated these anomalies and analyzed them for an entire day. By the time work ended that evening, he felt lightheaded and wanted to take a walk. Suddenly, he noticed staff from all departments carrying plastic bags and heading out of the building.

"What are you carrying those bags for?"

Haitangguo replied, "Director Li, we are conscientiously maintaining the bureau's environmental hygiene. Any trash we create ourselves, we take with us after work."

"Isn't that the cleaning staff's job?"

Huajia replied, "The cleaning staff performs their duties every morning, but any trash generated in the afternoon stays in the bureau overnight, which severely impacts the office environment."

Li Banfeng frowned. "How serious can it be?"

Juzi stated very seriously, "It's extremely serious. A good environment is a crucial factor in improving work efficiency, whereas a dirty and cluttered environment is a potential hidden danger that can lead to work errors."

Everyone agreed with Juzi's assessment, and even Chen Changrui carried a trash bag out of the office building.

Li Banfeng returned to his office and glanced at the scattered documents on his desk. Perhaps they needed to be organized.

After organizing his documents, Li Banfeng went downstairs and saw the impeccably clean lobby. He felt that the Dark Star Bureau's hygienic conditions were no worse than those of the Portable Residence.

This starkly highlighted how subpar his apartment's environment was. "It's good that the bureau's environment is better; it's quite good, actually," Li Banfeng muttered to himself as he walked out of the office building. By the main entrance, he saw Wowotou standing, covered in mud.

Wowotou was a key member of the security team, so Li Banfeng quickly asked, "What happened to you?"

"I was on a mission and encountered a silt manipulator, or a 'mud repairer' as they're called in Purozhou. I've already gathered clues, but my clothes..."

"Stop!" Li Banfeng's eyebrows shot up. "Can such things be discussed out in the open?"

Wowotou himself realized the impropriety. "I want to return to the bureau to report, but I'm too dirty, and I'm afraid of affecting the bureau's environment."

A thought suddenly clicked in Li Banfeng's mind, and he became fully alert.

He walked back into the lobby and beckoned to Wowotou. "Come inside and speak."

"I... I don't think that's appropriate—"

"I told you to come in!"

Wowotou knew Director Li was angry, but despite taking a few steps forward, he still couldn't bring himself to enter.

Something was wrong!

Li Banfeng returned to his office, clutching the gold bar. After waiting for a while, he heard Ayi's voice. "Little brother, what do you need me for?"

Li Banfeng asked, "Sister, where exactly are you?"

"I'm still in the same old place, heheheh!"