Chapter 767: Wisteria and Pine Overlapping Shadows

Li Banfeng agreed to A Yu's price. "I'll head to the Old Train now and check on the television."

"Little brother, you must be careful! I wish you swift success!" A Yu's voice was loud and muffled, as if she were eating pastry again.

Li Banfeng was displeased. "Don't just offer words of encouragement; at least lend a hand."

"Lend a hand again? You're quite particular. Which hand do you want your sister to lend?"

"You need to tell me where the Old Train is."

"That's not lending a hand; that's using your sister's eyes and ears. Let me see where this old thing is hiding." A Yu searched for a long time, then told Li Banfeng, "You can try the sixth floor first."

Li Banfeng sensed great fortune on the sixth floor. Just as he was about to set off, A Yu spoke again, "Little brother, don't go to the sixth floor yet. That old fellow seems to have run off."

After waiting a moment, A Yu said, "Go check the seventeenth floor."

The seventeenth floor also indicated great fortune. Li Banfeng stepped towards the stairs, but A Yu called out again, "Wait a moment, he's not on the seventeenth floor. He's run off again."

Li Banfeng frowned. "Sister, can't we be more straightforward?"

"I want to be straightforward with you, but the problem is Old Man Eighteenth Wheel is utterly useless. Last time he reunited with himself, he must have lost so many good things that he doesn't even dare to meet me now."

The Artificer Old Train's power seemed to have significantly diminished, and he no longer had the ability to directly confront A Yu. Based on this, taking the television from him should not be particularly difficult.

A Yu heard a sound again. "On the thirty-sixth floor, no mistake this time!"

The thirty-sixth floor was the top floor. Li Banfeng sensed it, and it also indicated great fortune.

"Sister, this time there's truly no mistake, right?"

"Truly no mistake, little brother. But whatever you do, don't be reckless. Eighteenth Wheel is ultimately not easy to deal with."

Li Banfeng departed.

A faint sound of footsteps came from Cell Number Six.

A Yu sighed softly. "Come, get up and walk around. Lying there all day, I might not even know if you've completely run out of breath someday. You spend your days scheming against that boy, and now he's delivered himself to our doorstep. Do you think I can trust him? Who else can I trust? What if he betrays me? Even if he betrays me, I still have to help him. If he wants to fight the Traitors' Camp, I absolutely must help him!"

Li Banfeng arrived on the thirty-sixth floor. Pushing open the heavy iron door of the stairwell, Li Banfeng saw bright sunlight and a vast expanse of blooming flowers. This was a garden. Although Li Banfeng knew little about flowers, he knew that in late autumn, so many flowers should not be in bloom. And where did the sunlight come from? Although the thirty-sixth floor was the top floor, it wasn't an open-air rooftop. This was clearly an illusion, or some other technique.

Li Banfeng walked deeper into the garden. The layout of this garden was very complex. After walking a short distance, Li Banfeng came to a crossroads with three possible paths. To the left was a pine forest, with trees of the same variety, almost identical in height and thickness, all covered in white snow. Straight ahead was a pond with a small boat, surrounded by blooming lotus flowers that stretched all the way to the opposite bank, where a dazzling array of flowers and thick mist lay. To the right was a long corridor, its framework made of wooden beams and pillars covered in purple vines. Some vines were alive and blooming with flowers, appearing vibrant, while others had withered years ago, looking like ropes binding the framework. The corridor was about eight meters wide, with wooden planks laid over a gravel path. This unique design seemed familiar to Li Banfeng. As he was deciding which path to take, a train whistle suddenly echoed from the corridor.

Was the whistling Old Train in the corridor?

The corridor curved amidst the flowers, and Li Banfeng couldn't see its end. He walked along the corridor, carefully sensing the direction of fortune and peril. There was danger, and it was significant, but still within a manageable range. The corridor's scenery was beautiful; the deeper he went, the denser the vines became, and the more varieties of flowers bloomed on them. However, the sounds and sights were discordant: in a flower-filled corridor, train whistles became more frequent, and he could occasionally hear the sound of the engine hissing. If he closed his eyes, it would feel as if he had arrived at a train station. Most unsettling was the smell: hot steam and pungent machine oil mixed with intermittent flower scents, wafting across Li Banfeng's face with the corridor's breeze.

Li Banfeng considered deactivating his All-Senses Perception, as the chaotic odors were affecting his judgment. But if he truly ignored his sense of smell, which judgment—from Golden Eyes and Autumn Hair or Insightful Hearing—would be the true one?

Reaching the end of the corridor, Li Banfeng saw a wall made of flowers. The heat vanished, the train whistle vanished, and the smell of machine oil also vanished. All sensations related to a train station disappeared. But danger was approaching. Li Banfeng suddenly launched himself into the air.

Almost simultaneously, the flower wall shattered, and a black steam train burst through it. The train's exhaust port suddenly spewed a large amount of steam, like a silver dragon, chasing Li Banfeng in the air. Li Banfeng was not in a hurry to dodge; he didn't even activate his Benevolent Heart, Generous Soul. He charged directly towards the train, straight through the steam.

There was something in this train. Behind him, the green vines on the beams and pillars grew wildly. This was clearly a pre-arranged trap; if Li Banfeng dodged the steam, he would be entangled by the vines. But Li Banfeng felt there was no need to dodge this steam at all. The temperature was a bit high, but not enough to injure him. He calmly stood on the train's front, watching the vines that continuously attacked and pursued him. The vines were not fast and, despite their apparent density, had many gaps. Li Banfeng could easily avoid them with simple steps, without even needing to use his Carefree and At Ease technique.

Li Banfeng used his All-Senses Perception to carefully distinguish the flower scents. The flowers on the vines were poisonous, but their toxicity was not strong enough to harm him; even without returning to his residence, his cultivator physique could withstand it. All the attacks in this garden were aimed at this train.

The train's outer shell was extremely hard. The Tang Dao, modified by Red Lotus, could easily penetrate a magic-grade armor, yet it only left a scratch when Li Banfeng struck the train.

"This is ridiculous!" The Tang Dao questioned its own effectiveness and its understanding of hardness.

The Scythe exclaimed, "This is the power of the Old Train; we can't even comprehend it."

Li Banfeng stared at the train, silent. He was certain that the train beneath his feet was not the Old Train, although its toughness still surprised him. He was also certain that the garden's owner was not well-prepared; they hadn't anticipated such a strong enemy. The scope of their setup was vast, but the methods were very hasty.

It seemed that simply leaving this train would allow him to escape the garden's siege. But Li Banfeng remained on the train, using Golden Eyes and Autumn Hair to observe its internal structure. The train's internal structure was very peculiar; there were no connecting rods or pistons, nor even coal or fire. Li Banfeng pushed Golden Eyes and Autumn Hair to its limit, yet some areas remained unclear.

The train passed through the corridor and then plunged into the pond, moving from the surface all the way to the bottom. Li Banfeng held onto the train, falling into the pond water. If he let go now, he worried the train would immediately vanish. The pond water was cold and slimy, but Li Banfeng's clothes didn't get wet. The water was fake, and it was also toxic. Li Banfeng held his breath and followed the train as it passed through the pond and leaped out of the water.

When the train reached the shore, the flowers on the bank immediately burst into flames. The train, covered in "pond water," promptly caught fire and entered the pine forest in a blaze. The entire forest was ignited; apart from thick smoke, everything around was consumed by flames. Li Banfeng kept his eyes fixed on the train, concentrating all his attention on Golden Eyes and Autumn Hair. Why couldn't he see inside? Why was it so well hidden?

At the end of the forest, a small mountain made of molten lava appeared. The train was about to crash into the mountain. Li Banfeng didn't even glance at the mountain. He had only one thought: What exactly is inside this train? I must see it clearly this time!

Boom!

Li Banfeng stomped the train, shattering it with a single step of Shattering the Thousand Rivers. He wanted to see beyond the mountain, so he flattened it. He wanted to see what was inside the train, so he crushed it.

The entire garden shook, and even the Dark Star Bureau building outside the garden vibrated.

A Yu exclaimed, "What is he doing? Making such a huge commotion? How many people will that attract?"

Hai Tangguo, on duty at the bureau, was startled by the booming sound. She picked up the duty phone, about to report the situation, when she suddenly noticed a stain on the handset. When did that get there? Ju Zi had been covered in mud when she returned from her mission and had touched Hai Tangguo's desk phone. That girl really was messy! Hai Tangguo quickly grabbed a rag and scrubbed the phone for a long time until it was finally clean. But while the phone was clean, Ju Zi had left several handprints on the desk. Hai Tangguo picked up the rag and continued to clean.

A Yu murmured, "Clean it, girl, the cleaner the better. Quickly forget what just happened. Li Qi, truly, it's just a battle; does it have to be this dramatic?"

Other departments also had duty officers, all now busy cleaning.

In the garden, Li Banfeng's stomp had created a watermelon-sized hole in the train's outer shell. The lava mountain collapsed with a roar. Teapot had already prepared his defenses, ready to block the lava with a water curtain. It was thought the scorching lava would destroy the entire garden, but unexpectedly, after the lava landed, it transformed into black stones and red bricks, scattering everywhere. Simultaneously with the lava, the train's metal casing also fell off.

The train engine also turned into a pile of black stones. Amidst the stones, a woman clutched her chest, spitting blood, and struggled to her feet, trying to run towards the burning forest. She was the key to the train, its source of power and materials. Li Banfeng recognized her: it was the Painter Mu Yuejuan!

The lakes, forests, corridors, train, and lava mountain were all painted by Mu Yuejuan. The black stones and red bricks on the ground were solidified ink and cinnabar. The reason the train was so sturdy was that Li Banfeng was in Mu Yuejuan's painted world, where the ink she used was the strongest material. Mu Yuejuan created a sturdy train to make a hiding place for herself. When Li Banfeng discovered this hiding place, she directed all her attacks around the train, aiming to shock and harm the invading enemy.

Although this move was used hastily, Mu Yuejuan actually had confidence in its success. First, the train was hidden very deeply. Normally, a cautious person arriving in an unfamiliar place wouldn't follow a single path to the end, especially that peculiar corridor; most people would turn back halfway. Unexpectedly, Li Qi didn't turn back; he just kept going until he found the train. Finding the train wasn't a problem either, as Mu Yuejuan focused all her attacks on it, confident that even if she couldn't seriously hurt Li Qi, she could scare him away.

But Li Qi was neither scared away nor seriously hurt; he didn't even expend much physical or mental energy. Given this situation, Mu Yuejuan decided to get ruthless. She created a lava mountain with cinnabar and ink, intending to drag Li Qi through the lava. It was her painted lava mountain, so it wouldn't burn her, and even if some lava occasionally went out of control, Mu Yuejuan's sturdy train could withstand it. But Li Qi was flesh and blood; how long could he endure in the lava?

To her astonishment, Li Banfeng's single stomp of Shattering the Thousand Rivers had such immense power that it directly shattered the train and injured Mu Yuejuan. The injured Mu Yuejuan was unable to maintain the lava mountain and could only flee deeper into the forest. Li Banfeng appeared before Mu Yuejuan and called out, "Senior, don't rush off. I mean you no harm."

Mu Yuejuan didn't listen. She grabbed a mass of ink and threw it at Li Banfeng. Her slender, jade-like fingers trembled as she painted hundreds of black snakes that surrounded Li Banfeng. This was finger painting, which Li Banfeng had encountered when learning painting from Hong Ying, but he had never seen such exquisite skill as Mu Yuejuan's. With a flick of her finger, without any superfluous movements, each snake, from head to tail, was vividly lifelike, with even their tongues and fangs clearly depicted. The ink she used was poisonous, and these hundreds of black snakes were also poisonous. Given Li Banfeng's cultivation, a bite wouldn't be fatal, but it would certainly affect his movements. After painting the venomous snakes, Mu Yuejuan continued to flee, only to see Li Banfeng vanish from the pile of snakes.

"No good, Brief Encounter!"

Mu Yuejuan didn't pursue Li Banfeng's trail. She splattered a large amount of ink, attempting to conceal her form. As long as she was hidden, Li Banfeng couldn't observe her, and the Brief Encounter technique wouldn't work. Her reasoning was correct, but the prerequisite was sufficient speed. The ink was still in the air, not yet fallen, when Mu Yuejuan exploded. From the back of her head to her waist, her entire spine was blasted into a bloody mess. Having just suffered a Shattering the Thousand Rivers and then a Brief Encounter, Mu Yuejuan was severely injured, her steps faltering. She waved her hand, summoning the small snakes she had painted. The snakes densely covered her back. This was the painted world, where all painted objects favored Mu Yuejuan. These small snakes, which were venomous to Li Qi, became healers on Mu Yuejuan's body, stopping bleeding and healing wounds.

Taking advantage of Li Qi's momentary absence, Mu Yuejuan ran into the forest, concealing her form. If she could hide for a few minutes, Mu Yuejuan would recover seventy to eighty percent in the painted world, and then she would certainly find a way to deal with Li Qi. The sharp pain from her wounds made Mu Yuejuan sigh internally: just recently, Ai Yeqing had said that Li Qi had some cunning, but one couldn't fight him directly. Now, seeing Li Qi's combat power, capable of beating her so badly within a painting, it was truly hard to say who would win in a direct confrontation with Ai Yeqing. To subdue Li Qi, she really needed a good plan.

"Senior, I remember you." Li Qi's voice suddenly echoed in her ear. Mu Yuejuan was terrified. What would happen if he remembered her? Was he trying to trick her out? She absolutely couldn't fall for his trick.

Li Banfeng was currently thinking about the same question: What would happen if he remembered? The author of "Floating Clouds Inquiring the Post Station" claimed he always forgot the appearance of pretty girls, either forgetting entirely or remembering incorrectly. But what if he remembered, and remembered correctly, what would be the consequence?

Mu Yuejuan exploded out of the tree. Her clothes were torn, and nearly half of her flesh was gone. Her left hand was blown off, falling directly into the pond. Eighty percent of the small snakes on her back were pulverized, and the remaining twenty percent were blown away, some flying outside the forest.

Hai Tangguo, who had been dozing, woke with a start. She was about to go check the stairwell when she realized her chair was dirty. There seemed to be a shoe print on the chair. Which ill-mannered person stepped on my chair? Hai Tangguo was furious and scrubbed it more than a dozen times.

A Yu sighed, "Clean it, girl, don't run around recklessly. If you go to the wrong place, you'll lose your life. Li Qi, really, it's just a fight; does it have to be this dramatic?"

Mu Yuejuan lay on the ground, still trying to understand why she had exploded again. In the common understanding of traveler cultivators, the Brief Encounter technique was divided into three steps. First, appear before the opponent to make them aware of one's presence. Second, disappear from the opponent's sight. Third, focus one's gaze on the opponent to make them explode. Among traveler cultivation techniques, Brief Encounter was relatively cumbersome, difficult to master, and consumed a lot of stamina, with generally moderate power. Therefore, most high-level traveler cultivators only used this technique for surprise attacks, not as a killing blow.

The Old Train had improved the first and second steps, significantly increasing its speed, which greatly improved the power of Brief Encounter. Hong Ying, with her extraordinary talent, used the technique with ease, making her Brief Encounter quite formidable. However, "Floating Clouds Inquiring the Post Station" gave Li Banfeng another hint: Brief Encounter wasn't three steps, but four. Building on the first three steps, the fourth step was added: after the opponent had exploded once, concentrate one's mind on the opponent, mentally reconstruct their appearance, and cause a second explosion. This process was not easy; the mental image of the person had to be very close to the real person. The closer it was, the greater the power of the second explosion. Li Banfeng was not familiar with Mu Yuejuan, so he couldn't remember many details of her facial features and figure. Moreover, Mu Yuejuan didn't have a "loudspeaker and stylus," so Li Banfeng found her unattractive, which meant that in Li Banfeng's impression, Mu Yuejuan's beauty was diminished. Considering all these reasons, the Mu Yuejuan in Li Banfeng's mind was only thirty percent similar to the real Mu Yuejuan. But even with this thirty percent similarity, the power of the explosion was far beyond the first. The first explosion only injured Mu Yuejuan, and that was compounded by the previous Shattering the Thousand Rivers kick. The second explosion, without the protection of the small snakes, would have cost Mu Yuejuan her life.

She struggled to her feet, still wanting to escape, when she suddenly felt something pressing against her lower back.

"What is this?" Mu Yuejuan was startled.

"Don't overthink it," Li Banfeng said with a stern expression. "It's a knife!"

Li Banfeng held the Tang Dao against Mu Yuejuan's lower back. Mu Yuejuan had only her right hand left, and there was some fresh blood in her palm. She still wanted to try to fight for her life, but Li Banfeng warned her, "Don't make any rash moves. I can draw my blade faster than I can use a technique." The Tang Dao's edge flashed as it sought a place to cut on Mu Yuejuan's neck.

Mu Yuejuan considered her options and decided to take a softer approach. Her voice trembled, "Seventh Master, it seems we don't have much of a grudge, do we? Ma Wu is your brother, and I helped you when you came to me for his promotion to the Clouds."

Li Banfeng said, "Let's not talk about the past for now. Today, I didn't intend to kill you; you were the first to attack me."

Mu Yuejuan quickly explained, "Seventh Master, I'm trapped by the Dark Star Bureau. I haven't been to Outer Prefecture many times, and being trapped in this place, I truly don't know the consequences. I was terrified, and you're with the Dark Star Bureau. Do you think I could not be wary of you?"

Mu Yuejuan's words weren't entirely unreasonable. Li Banfeng said, "First, clearly explain the circumstances. Why did you come to the Dark Star Bureau?"

Hearing Li Banfeng's tone soften slightly, Mu Yuejuan pitifully explained, "It was an order from the Brotherhood Alliance."

"Brotherhood Alliance?" Li Banfeng thought for a moment. He seemed to have seen Mu Yuejuan not long ago. "Weren't you with Ai Yeqing? I remember you joined Snowflake Shore."

Mu Yuejuan didn't deny it. "I did stay with Ai Yeqing for some days, but that good-for-nothing didn't want to do anything proper; he just wanted to hide somewhere and waste his life away. I didn't want to waste my time with him, so I simply left Snowflake Shore and joined the Brotherhood Alliance. To my surprise, as soon as I joined, they sent me to the Dark Star Bureau to retrieve something, and then I got trapped here."

Li Banfeng was very curious. "What did you come to retrieve from the Dark Star Bureau?"

Mu Yuejuan said, "One of my own paintings."

Li Banfeng was confused. "Your own painting? You came to the Dark Star Bureau to get it? Are you joking?"

Mu Yuejuan sobbed, "How could I joke with you, Seventh Master? I'm almost dead! My clothes are gone, and half my flesh is gone. Please, at least let me put on some clothes and treat my wounds; I can barely stand."

Li Banfeng retracted his Tang Dao. Mu Yuejuan didn't dare to act rashly. She first used her own blood to paint a cloak, wrapped it around herself, then picked two pinecones from a nearby pine tree, peeled out the pine seeds, and placed them inside the cloak, letting the pine seeds heal her wounds.

"Why aren't you painting snakes anymore?" Li Banfeng thought those black snakes seemed more effective.

Mu Yuejuan shook her head. "I can't paint them anymore. Those snakes are my ultimate technique, and they consume too much stamina. These pine seeds are readily available."

"Tell me about your painting. What kind of painting is it? Why is it at the Dark Star Bureau?"

Mu Yuejuan was reluctant to speak. Li Banfeng smiled reassuringly. "Senior, are your wounds almost healed?"

"Seventh Master, that painting is my most special artwork. As long as you find the correct path within it, you can travel through all my paintings."

Li Banfeng thought for a moment. "I remember Liao Zihui gave me a similar painting."

Mu Yuejuan shook her head. "That painting is far from it. Finding me in that one relies on luck, and some hidden artworks are not connected to it. But the painting I'm looking for is different; it can connect to all my works. This painting is my bane, because once someone takes it, all my possessions, including myself, are in their hands."

Li Banfeng considered this, and indeed, it made sense. "If that's the case, why do you still keep it? Why didn't you destroy it?"

Mu Yuejuan shook her head. "I wouldn't dare. I've been on this path of painting cultivation for so many years, and some aspects of my cultivation are beyond my control. This painting is the foundation of my cultivation. I don't know the consequences of destroying it. I tried to hide it, but then Xiaoshi Hands of Laughter took it. Later, I heard he sold it. I searched for many people to buy it back, but only learned from Old Woman Ku that it had fallen into the hands of the Dark Star Bureau. Old Woman Ku told me to retrieve it myself; she sent me to the Dark Star Bureau. But as soon as I found the painting, the Bureau's mechanisms activated and trapped me."

"How could it trap you?" In Li Banfeng's impression, apart from Xiaoshi Hands of Laughter, Mu Yuejuan was the best at escaping. As long as she had one of her paintings, she had a chance to escape.

"This place is too unique," Mu Yuejuan couldn't understand the reason either. "This garden you're in, 'Layered Shadows of Vines and Pines,' is my masterpiece, connected to over thirty of my paintings. But once I got here, the mechanisms activated, and I couldn't connect to any of my paintings. I couldn't even leave this painting. In this situation, I'm not boasting to you, but if I could have connected to just one more painting, I wouldn't have been beaten so badly by you. I couldn't get out, and I attacked you in a panic. Please be magnanimous, don't hold it against me, and let me live. Let's find a way out of here together."

"I know the way. I should be able to get out." Li Banfeng looked at the path he had taken, pulling down the brim of his hat.

He knows a way out? Is that true? Mu Yuejuan thought it likely; traveler cultivators were known for their sense of direction, a natural talent of their sect. Judging by his combat power, Li Qi's cultivation was terrifyingly high, so he might indeed have a way out.

Li Banfeng wasn't in a hurry to leave. "I need to know how I got here first. Where is your painting hidden?"

"On this very floor, in a large room. The room has many things, and my painting is in a glass display case."

"Besides that painting, what else did you see? Did you see a television?"

"I saw a phonograph, and I think a television too."

"Did you see a train engine?"

"No, how could a train engine be inside a room?"

Li Banfeng realized where he was. A Yu hadn't pointed him in the wrong direction, but why did he encounter Mu Yuejuan here? Was it just a coincidence?

"Looks like she found me a helper."

Mu Yuejuan was startled. "What helper? Seventh Master, you don't need a helper. I'm already convinced."

"You are the helper," Li Banfeng told Mu Yuejuan. "Let's make a deal. I'll take you out, and you give me that painting."

"Give it to you? That's the foundation of my cultivation!" Mu Yuejuan didn't want to agree. "Can we discuss the price?"

Li Banfeng smiled, his form suddenly vanishing. "Senior, what price do you think is appropriate?"

Mu Yuejuan trembled. "You name the price, Seventh Master! Whatever you say!"

A contract landed in front of Mu Yuejuan. "Give me the painting, and do one more thing for me. Agree, and sign the contract."