Chapter 771: That Is a Debt

Li Banfeng arrived at the village chief's house, where the three sisters were already deep in their drinks.

Ayi added a seat for Li Banfeng. "Brother," she said, "I spoke without restraint earlier. Please don't hold it against me. I'll toast you first as an apology."

Jiu'er chimed in, "A'qi, Ayi says her craft isn't as good as Old Train's, so she refuses to go to the Dark Star Bureau."

Li Banfeng responded, "Isn't your craft superior to Old Train's?"

Ayi impatiently shook her head. "Why does everyone ask about this? My craft is not as good as Old Train's. Anyone who says it is is just talking nonsense. I really don't know where you heard such rumors."

Whether it was a rumor or not, Li Banfeng ignored it. "If you don't go to the Dark Star Bureau," he asked, "how can you rescue your mother?"

Ayi, gnawing on a roasted chicken, said, "Only the one who caused the problem can solve it. Old Train is the one holding my mother captive, so he's the one who needs to take action."

Jiu'er scoffed, "Is Old Train that easy to find?"

Ayi put down the chicken, licked her fingers, and said, "I know where Old Train is. He's at Yellow Earth Bridge."

Li Banfeng's heart tightened. "What's he doing at Yellow Earth Bridge?"

Ayi took a sip of wine. "Yellow Earth Bridge used to be Old Train's territory. It was later passed to Che Wushang, and then Qin Bulou took it. You should know about this."

Li Banfeng certainly knew; he had been involved in all the latter events. "Is Old Train trying to reclaim the territory for Che Wushang?" he asked.

Ayi took another jar of wine and filled everyone's cups. "Logically, he shouldn't do that," she explained. "According to the peddlers' rules, someone of Old Train's cultivation level isn't supposed to get involved in disputes between local gods. But you know Old Train's temperament; when he goes mad, he's reckless. So, it's hard to say what the outcome will be. As for the power difference between the two sides, we both know Qin Bulou wouldn't stand a chance if they truly fought. And if Old Train really breaks the rules, the peddlers probably won't let him off either."

Jiu'er put down her wine bowl, looking at Ayi. "Since you know Old Train is terrifying when he goes mad, how can you dare to let him go to the Dark Star Bureau? If he fully recovers his body and goes mad again, who will be able to control him then?"

Ayi tilted her head, frowning at Jiu'er. "You little wretch, whose side are you on?"

Jiu'er sneered, "I'm already married, so whose side do you think I'm on?"

Ayi scoffed, "You're someone's ninth concubine, and you have the nerve to say you're married?"

Jiu'er didn't back down. "What's wrong with being the ninth? It's certainly better than being all alone like you!"

Ayi angrily retorted, "Who are you calling all alone?"

Jiu'er laughed. "Your wives all ran away, so what else are you but alone?"

"Oh, you wretch!" Ayi pulled out her pistol.

Jiu'er didn't show weakness; she plunged two chopsticks into the ground, preparing for her Hundred-Pace Traverse.

The two glared at each other. Tang Dao interjected, "Home is not a place for reasoning; home is a place for life-and-death decisions!"

Zhao Xiaowan almost burst out laughing. Fortunately, Ayi didn't hear Tang Dao's comment, or she would have taken it seriously.

Li Banfeng kicked Tang Dao, then appeased Ayi and Jiu'er. "Don't rush to fight yet," he said. "We need to clarify something: what will Old Train become if he fully recovers his craft mastery?"

Ayi put away her pistol, smiling. "He'll go completely mad, comparable to the two of us."

"I'm not mad; I've seen a doctor," Li Banfeng said, looking at Ayi. "But if Old Train goes completely mad and causes trouble in Prozhou, how should we deal with it?"

Ayi, gnawing on a chicken leg, shook her head. "That's not my concern. Prozhou is Prozhou, and Hulu Village is Hulu Village. Everyone lives their own lives; I can't manage that much."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "No, you must take responsibility for Prozhou. Once I rescue A'yu, I'll settle her in Hulu Village, and you must be responsible for her actions. You cannot let her harm Prozhou."

Ayi thought for a moment, then muttered, "She's my mother; if she wants to do something, it's hard for me to stop her."

Li Banfeng's face darkened. "If you say that, this deal won't work out."

Ayi considered for a moment. "Alright, I agree!"

Li Banfeng added, "If Old Train really goes mad, we'll have to find a way to control him."

Ayi looked unwilling. "His affairs are my responsibility too?"

Jiu'er scoffed, "Oh, didn't you say before that you'd marry no one but him? Now that he's down and out, you want to abandon him? Isn't that heartless after the fact?"

"You talk too much!" Ayi glared at Jiu'er, then turned to Li Banfeng.

She knew in her heart that if she didn't agree, the deal would fall apart.

Ayi straightened her posture, patted her chest, and said earnestly, "Alright, let's make this clear: as long as my mother can be rescued, I will absolutely not let her cause harm in Prozhou in the future. And as for Old Train, if he goes mad because of this, I, Ayi, will stake my life to help you subdue him."

Li Banfeng said, "Words alone aren't proof."

Ayi declared, "Let's put it in writing!"

Li Banfeng took out a contract paper.

Ayi continued, "We also need to be clear: suppose I help you open the path to Dingye City, but you ultimately fail to rescue my mother. Then our agreement becomes void, our friendship is completely severed, and from then on, we will be sworn enemies. Do you agree to this?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I don't agree."

Ayi froze, a vein throbbing in her forehead. "What do you mean?"

Li Banfeng explained, "Because that scenario is impossible. Before you open the path to Dingye City, I will first rescue your mother and send her to Hulu Village."

Ayi thought she had misheard.

Zhao Xiaowan clarified, "My husband means we will give you the reward first, and then you perform the task."

Ayi was stunned for a long time, then stood up and asked, "Brother, is that true?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "It's true!"

Ayi added, "The Brotherhood people have deceived me plenty of times over this matter."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I'm not deceiving you."

Ayi picked up the wine jar, gulped it down, and then smashed the jar to pieces. "Brother," she declared, "if you truly send my mother back, I'll go with you to fight the Scamp Troop. If we can't take it down, I'll leave my life in Dingye City!"

Jiu'er grabbed another wine jar. "Sister, that's the spirit! For our mother, let's fight together!"

"Who's your mother!" Ayi roared, making Jiu'er flinch.

Ayi drank half of the jar, then told Jiu'er, "That's our eldest sister. We swore an oath, head-to-ground, so we must be loyal. Today, to rescue our eldest sister, I'm risking my life."

Hearing this, Jiu'er's eyes reddened. "Sister, you're truly loyal! Although we and our eldest sister aren't blood-related, we're closer than blood. I'm staking my life too!"

Li Banfeng pondered a question. He quietly asked Zhao Xiaowan, "My dear wife, are those three actually blood relatives?"

Zhao Xiaowan was speechless. Even with her intelligence, she couldn't understand the logic.

Ayi shed tears and embraced Jiu'er. "Good sister, I've never forgotten the oath we swore years ago. We don't ask to be born on the same year, month, and day, but we do ask to die on the same year, month, and day!"

Jiu'er wiped her tears and said, "Well, Sister, it seems like our eldest sister and I are already dead."

Ayi puffed out her chest. "Don't be afraid! I'll die with you!"

Li Banfeng took a sip of wine and shook his head. "Stop talking nonsense. You can't die; you must come back alive. You have to keep an eye on A'yu."

***

Back at home, Li Banfeng heard the voice of his Portable Abode. The old man was very angry: "A'qi, come to the third room!"

Li Banfeng arrived in the third room. The old man shielded the room's interior. "Ayi speaks beautifully, but don't listen to her," he warned. "She's a completely untrustworthy person."

Li Banfeng asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Her craft is superior to Old Train's. Old Train told me himself, and I remember it clearly! When it's time for her to contribute, she finds all sorts of excuses, claiming her craft is not as good as Old Train's. She wants to rescue her mother but doesn't want to go to the Dark Star Bureau herself, making us take all the risks for her. How dishonest can one person be!"

Li Banfeng considered. "Perhaps she genuinely can't solve Old Train's craft."

"What's there to solve? The mechanisms of all crafts are the same! I'm telling you, if Old Train truly recovers completely, the consequences might be unpredictable. I didn't want to rescue him in the first place. If he turns Prozhou upside down, you'll regret it when it's too late!"

It would be a lie to say he wasn't worried, but Li Banfeng had to go to Yellow Earth Bridge to find Old Train.

***

Yellow Earth Bridge, North Bridge.

The local god, Qin Bulou, was making pancakes at a street stall.

Li Banfeng bought a pancake and asked for an extra egg.

After the pancake was made and he took the money, Qin Bulou still hadn't recognized Li Banfeng.

"Old Qin!" Li Banfeng coughed.

Qin Bulou looked up at Li Banfeng, his eyes wide with a blank stare.

"It's me." Li Banfeng lifted the brim of his hat.

It took Qin Bulou a long time to recognize him. "Seventh Master, you're here!"

Li Banfeng hadn't used his Residence Craft talent on him. Qin Bulou's failure to recognize him was entirely due to his own troubled mind.

"Old Qin, what's wrong? Have you lost your spirit?"

"My spirit isn't lost, but everything else is almost gone," Qin Bulou said with a bitter smile. "An elder has arrived at Yellow Earth Bridge, probably to get justice for Che Wushang. My territory is almost gone, and my life is almost gone. In a few more days, perhaps only my spirit will remain."

Li Banfeng understood what he meant. "Where is this elder?"

Qin Bulou pointed towards East Bridge. "There's an old factory district over there; that elder is staying there. I don't know when he'll come for me, or what I should do when he does. I sent people to find the peddlers, hoping they could give me justice, but it's been so long, and there's no news. I wanted my daughter to leave first, but she refused. I'm really afraid of that elder..."

Li Banfeng, eating his pancake, said, "You're afraid, yet you're still running this stall here?"

Qin Bulou smiled. "What else can I do? Go back inside and wait to die? If I die on the street, at least someone will see it, and at least someone will know there was a local god like me."

Li Banfeng finished his pancake, tore off a piece of coarse paper, and wiped his hands. "Then keep running your stall here and wait for my news."

Qin Bulou was startled. "Seventh Master, are you going to—"

Li Banfeng didn't say anything more; he walked directly towards East Bridge.

Qin Bulou stood in the wind for a long time. He hadn't expected that, after offending someone like Old Train, besides the peddlers, someone else would actually care to intervene.

***

When Li Banfeng reached the old factory district, he found it even more dilapidated than the Soda Kiln factory area. Although Ma Wu had invested heavily in Yellow Earth Bridge and Qin Bulou managed it diligently, Yellow Earth Bridge's reputation was too poor and its population too small for significant short-term results.

Eighteen Wheels was drawing blueprints in one of the factory buildings. When he saw Li Banfeng enter, Old Train flinched.

"What are you doing here?"

"Brother, what kind of talk is that? Can't I be here? I bear no ill will."

Li Banfeng truly bore no ill will; he had even bought some wine and dishes for Old Train at North Bridge.

Old Train looked behind Li Banfeng. "You didn't bring anyone else, did you?"

"No." Li Banfeng shook his head, unsure what Old Train was so afraid of.

Even if Li Banfeng had brought people, who could possibly be worthy of Old Train's fear?

The two cleared off a machine tool, set out dishes, poured wine, and began to eat and chat.

Old Train said, "Old Seven, I'm glad you came to see your brother. But let's not talk about anything else."

Li Banfeng smiled. "Why can't we talk about it?"

Old Train shivered again. "Old Seven, you really didn't bring anyone else, did you?"

"No." Li Banfeng himself felt no ill will, nor did he sense any. He truly didn't understand why Old Train's premonitions of good and bad fortune were acting up so frequently.

Old Train said, "I know you have some connection with him, but we need to be clear about some things. My cultivation is no longer what it once was; I cannot get involved in territorial matters."

He doesn't want to get involved? This was different from what he had expected.

Li Banfeng smiled. "Brother, your words put my mind at ease. But if you don't want to get involved, what are you doing at Yellow Earth Bridge?"

Old Train retrieved several blueprints. "Yellow Earth Bridge was once a good place, and now it's become like this. I just can't stand to see it. I wanted to help them. These are my latest machine designs. When you have a chance, pass them to Qin Bulou and tell him to build more factories. I know Yellow Earth Bridge is short on manpower, but these machines don't require many people. Plus, this place has a lot of coal; as long as there's coal, the machines won't stop running. Qin Bulou is clever; he should know where to build the factories. If he works steadily for a few years, Yellow Earth Bridge can still recover."

Li Banfeng took the blueprints and looked them over. He didn't understand craft techniques, so he couldn't make sense of them.

The Glove estimated their value and whispered, "Master, these are excellent."

Li Banfeng put away the blueprints. "Brother, why don't you give these excellent machines directly to Qin Bulou?"

Old Train shook his head. "Qin Bulou is afraid of me. I don't want to scare him. He's not the only one afraid of me; I even remember Little Train being afraid of me. Actually, it's not a big deal to explain things, but there are many misunderstandings here that haven't been cleared up."

Old Train's words were disjointed, and Li Banfeng didn't quite understand them. But seeing that Eighteen Wheels didn't want to explain further, Li Banfeng didn't press the matter. "Brother," he said, "I have something urgent I'd like your help with."

Eighteen Wheels shook his head. "I also have something urgent right now. In the next few days, I need to help someone with a major task. Let's talk about it after that's done."

Helping someone with a major task. Li Banfeng remembered something: the peddler had said he found him help. It seemed Old Train was the one helping him attack the Scamp Troop.

"Brother, we might be talking about the same thing."

Eighteen Wheels, head lowered and eating, suddenly uttered three words: "Trying to trick me?"

Li Banfeng suddenly felt a surge of danger. "Brother, you're overthinking it."

Old Train slowly raised his head, looking at Li Banfeng. "Are you afraid of me too?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "A little bit, yes."

The two gazed at each other for a moment, then Old Train suddenly smiled. "It's good that you're afraid of me. Being afraid of me isn't a bad thing; only if you're afraid of me can you guard against me."

After his smile faded, Old Train became expressionless and continued eating.

The two remained silent for a while before Li Banfeng asked again, "Brother, how profound is your craft mastery?"

"Quite high," Old Train said, a flicker of excitement in his voice, his earlier chill completely gone. "I am a Grandmaster of Craft Cultivation. I've even reformed some of the paths of the Craft Cultivation Dao sect. This is a monumental achievement, founding my own school. Whether in Prozhou or Innerzhou, no one disputes my craft when it's mentioned!"

Li Banfeng nodded. "That's what I've heard too. Everyone respects it!"

The two drank a bowl, and Old Train smiled with satisfaction.

Li Banfeng then asked, "Brother, how does Ayi's craft compare to yours?"

Old Train stopped smiling.

He lowered his head again, slowly eating. "Her craft is a bit better than mine."

"Really?"

"Is it possible it's false?"

A cold wind blew into the dilapidated factory building, and a chill surged from Li Banfeng's spine to the top of his head.

"Hehehe..." Old Train slowly raised his head, his eyebrows inverted, the corners of his mouth turned up in a twisted smile, as he looked at Li Banfeng. "Do you think I'm lying to you?"

The Portable Abode warned from nearby, "A'qi, be careful."

Li Banfeng remained calm. "Brother, I do think you might have lied to me."

Old Train took a sip of wine and pursed his lips. "Actually, being deceived by me isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've deceived many people—so many that I can't even remember how many. Do you think I'm a bad person?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "It's hard to say. I don't remember how many people I've deceived either, and I don't think I'm a bad person."

"Brother, you're an honest man," Old Train sighed. "I remember one time when I deceived the most people: I deceived all of Prozhou."

"About what?" Li Banfeng was very interested.

Old Train lowered his voice. "I made a Little Train; you know about that, right?"

"I know."

The question lacked logic. When they first met, Old Train already knew Little Train was in Li Banfeng's possession. But since he asked, Li Banfeng just went along and answered.

"Hehehe!" Old Train chuckled. "That's why I say you're an honest man; you never lie to me. Many people knew about Little Train before, but they only knew it could fight. They didn't know Little Train had other abilities. One day, I told them that my Little Train had suddenly grown up. After growing up, it could cross boundaries. At first, they didn't believe it. They didn't believe a train could grow, nor did they believe a train could cross boundaries. Actually, I didn't want to tell anyone about crossing boundaries. It was quite risky. But I had done some things and left traces, and someone already suspected me. Rather than waiting for that person to find out, it was better for me to say it myself. The more I said it, the more people believed it. They asked me why this Little Train could cross boundaries? I didn't tell them that. I just said one thing: 'This train wasn't made by me alone.' That was true. Many people helped me when I made Little Train, including Ayi. I also told them that Ayi's craft was superior to mine. Then, everyone who heard this believed it, even Little Train."

The Portable Abode let out a puff of steam behind Li Banfeng.

Old Train smiled; he heard the sound of steam. "You must be very angry that I deceived you, right? Actually, what Ayi helped me with had nothing to do with boundaries. Little Train can burn anything it sees – coal, oil... even picking up some firewood can keep it burning. That's Ayi's contribution."

Li Banfeng asked, "Why did you deceive them?"

Old Train's cheek twitched. "Because someone was unhappy. Because someone said boundaries were insurmountable. I'm a journey cultivator; I couldn't stand that. That person and I gradually became adversaries. That person kept an eye on me, and on Little Train, which became a bit troublesome for me. At first, I had ways to avoid that person, but later I couldn't. That person had a sworn sister, who is Ayi's mother. Ayi's mother had exceptionally good eyesight; nothing I did could escape her notice. By involving Ayi, Ayi's mother naturally became apprehensive. I thought if I complicated the situation, the matter would pass. I figured that person wouldn't investigate Ayi; out of respect for her mother, that person shouldn't suspect Ayi. I even admitted that those things were my doing. Strictly speaking, it had nothing to do with Ayi. And I thought Ayi's craft was still far from capable. She certainly didn't have the ability to cross boundaries, so she wouldn't be a threat to that person. It turns out I was wrong. I underestimated Ayi. She did have that ability. Although her method wasn't the same as mine, she could indeed cross boundaries. That was it. That person found out about Ayi's true abilities, considered her a threat, and wanted to eliminate her. This was my mistake. I had to protect Ayi. I fought that person desperately, but I couldn't defeat her. The only one who could defeat her had left Prozhou at the time. I didn't know what to do. Ayi's mother sacrificed her own life and completely followed that person, which is how Ayi's life was saved. Since then, I owed Ayi a life. Since then, Ayi has always said she would marry me. You don't actually think she's interested in my old bones, do you?"

At this point, Old Train stared intently at Li Banfeng. "She's come to claim my life. She wants me to repay her mother's life. Do you understand?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "I understand now, Brother. Can you tell me who that person is?"

"Hehe~" Old Train chuckled. "Trying to trick me again? I won't tell you!"

Li Banfeng ate a piece of beef and took a sip of wine. "Even if you don't tell me, I can guess. That person is the Heaven Maiden."

Old Train gritted his teeth. "She's a scourge on Prozhou!"