The Overlord of Puluo

Three days later, Liao Zihui's secretary, Ling Sujun, arrived at Freewind Wharf with a written order.

The Border Control Office had agreed to Li Qi's demand. Starting from today, the transport fees for all businesses under Li Qi would be cut in half.

Ma Wu was filled with such excitement. He was not even in the mood to flirt with Ling Sujun and went straight to find Li Qi.

Li Banfeng, however, remained perfectly calm. "I am guessing that the Great Families will be knocking on our door soon."

They were bound to come. Li Qi's businesses now enjoyed a fifty-percent discount, while the great families could not even get their fees restored to the original rate. They would certainly try to find a way to sell their goods through Li Qi.

Ma Wu had already worked it all out. "We can help the families we are close to sell their goods and pocket the difference. Big Sis Yuxiu will probably turn up today. Once she does, we can decide how much of a margin to charge her."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "No margin for He Yuxiu. Charge her only enough to cover the labor."

Ma Wu blinked. "Why?"

"Because she earned it. She played a major part in making this happen."

He Yuxiu had indeed played a major part. She had been the strongest fighter in the battle against the Three Heroes Sect, and, even more importantly, she had drawn a great deal of the Border Control Office's attention away from Li Banfeng.

"What about the other families?"

"We'll reward them according to their merit. The more they contributed, the less of a cut we will take."

Ma Wu rubbed his brow. This would take some careful thought, though each family's contribution should be easy enough to check. Even so, he was still worried. "If all the great families start shipping their goods through us, the Border Control Office will lose a lot of money. Won't they come looking for trouble later?"

Li Banfeng smiled. "We won't be short of trouble. As long as they still control the border crossings, this matter isn't over."

As he spoke, he glanced at the sweeper by the door. The man kept his head down and carefully swept the corners of the corridor.

Out of nowhere, Li Banfeng asked, "What's that?"

The sweeper froze. With his face covered in sweat, he gripped the broom tightly. "Master Qi, what do you mean?"

Li Banfeng reached out and touched the figurine. "That's an unusual little thing."

"You mean this?" The sweeper took off the figurine from his waist. "There's a man selling odds and ends downstairs. I saw this little thing and thought it looked nice. It was cheap too, so I bought it for the kids at home."

"He's downstairs?"

"By the roadside. He set up a little stall there. He should still be around."

Li Banfeng went downstairs and found the stall exactly where the sweeper had said. Most of the things for sale were toys, and a small wooden train caught his eye.

"How much is this?"

"Five yuan. No bargaining."

It really was cheap. Li Banfeng bought the wooden train, a jar of glass marbles, and two tin frogs.

Back at Freewind Wharf, Li Banfeng entered the Pocket Dwelling and went straight to the third room.

He took out the wooden train and pushed it back and forth across the floor. "Old man, I brought you a few things."

The Pocket Dwelling did not respond.

Li Banfeng brought out several glass marbles. "I also found these. You mentioned using marbles to pass the time before. They really are quite fun."

Still, the Pocket Dwelling remained silent.

Finally, Li Banfeng took out the tin frog, wound it up, and set it on the floor. It hopped across the room with a steady tick-tock, tick-tock.

"Do you like this one?"

Finally, the Pocket Dwelling spoke. "Spit it out if you've got something to say!"

"I want to ask about the principle behind the boundary lines between regions.”

Li Banfeng waited for a long time before the Pocket Dwelling finally answered. "I have studied them, but I never managed to understand them completely. I still remember a few things, but I have forgotten most of what I knew."

Li Banfeng took out the switch that controlled the boundary lines. "That doesn't make sense. Didn't you make this?"

"I didn't make it. I only modified it. If something breaks, it can sometimes be repaired. If it doesn't work properly, it can be adjusted. Building a new one from scratch is not that easy."

It was the truth. Creating something from scratch was far more difficult than repairing or modifying what already existed.

The Pocket Dwelling continued, “You also need to be careful when using this tool. It worked last time, but there is no telling whether it will work again. People from the Outer Provinces like using little tricks like this.”

Li Banfeng understood. It was no different from separate devices having different passwords.

Still, he was determined to overcome the restrictions of the boundary lines. Even if he had to learn everything from scratch, he was willing to try. “Can you teach me some Artificer Cultivator’s abilities?”

“What do you want to learn those for? Running two businesses at once is not enough for you?”

“I want to build a railway that is not restricted by the boundary lines. Do you know how?”

The Pocket Dwelling chuckled. “Old Train spent years trying to build a railway like that, and even he never succeeded. What makes you think you can?”

“Old Train?” Li Banfeng laughed. “You mean Grandpa Train? You call him that too? Then what does he call you?”

“He calls me Little Train.”

“Ho-ho-ho-ho!” Glove burst into roaring laughter. “Old man, at your age and still called Little Train? Have you no shame?”

A jar came flying at him, but Glove darted aside. “That trick doesn’t work anymore, old man! Ho-ho-ho...”

A vase toppled from the table and struck him squarely.

The Pocket Dwelling sighed. “Qi, you cannot build that railway. Artificer Cultivator’s abilities are not something you can learn overnight. I cannot do it either. I have forgotten far too much.

“We will have to see whether your wife is capable of it. She has always been a quick learner. She will need an assistant, though. There is another clever one in this house, but she might not be willing to help.”

Another clever one? Li Banfeng thought for a moment and remembered the ninth room.

“Old man, are you talking about the Crimson Lotus? I am afraid she still has that old friend of mine in her heart.”

The Pocket Dwelling chuckled. “Qi, you have spent far too little time with Crimson Lotus. You really don’t understand her heart.

“I have never met that friend of yours, but I know there is no room for him in Crimson Lotus’s heart. Her heart belongs only to the person in the heavens. Apart from that person, she has room for no one.”

The one in the heavens?

Li Banfeng remembered Wifey mentioning someone like that before. “You mean the person who let the Heavenly Light shine on me?”

“Exactly. In Puluo Province, the moment anyone lays a hand on Crimson Lotus, she sends word up to the heavens, and the Heavenly Light comes shining down.

“But in here, she cannot send a single message. It drives her frantic. And seeing her fret like that... oh, you cannot imagine how much it delights me.”

Li Banfeng fell silent for a long moment. Then he and the Pocket Dwelling broke into the same knowing grin.

Once the moment had passed, Li Banfeng remembered Grandpa Train. “Where exactly is Old Train now?”

The Pocket Dwelling replied, “Don’t worry about him for now. You cannot get to where he is.”

“Who trapped him?”

The Pocket Dwelling sighed. “I forgot. I am not refusing to tell you. I really cannot remember. Back then, I followed Old Train into a fight with them. They knocked away most of my strength and most of my memories. If we run into them again, I cannot promise I can get you out alive.”

Li Banfeng frowned. “Then what are we supposed to do? You forgot how the boundary lines are made, and we cannot find Old Train. If Wifey has to figure it all out by herself, how long is that going to take?”

The Pocket Dwelling fell silent. He could not think of a good solution either.

Li Banfeng looked up. “I have an idea. I have already started working on it, but I don’t know whether it will help. If you saw a newly formed boundary line, could it bring back some of your memories?”

The Pocket Dwelling went silent for a long while before saying, “We might as well give it a try.”

Li Banfeng returned to the main room and made love to Wifey twice.

Somehow, the Gramophone was sweating. Her voice came out tight with strain. “As long as you didn’t eat the Joysoil, I can still handle you.”

A little later, Glove wriggled out from under the vase. He dusted himself off, glanced around, and froze. The wooden train was gone. So were the glass marbles and the tin frog. Every last toy had vanished.

***

Li Banfeng went out of the Pocket Dwelling.

Back in the main room, Hong Ying had not been able to hear a word the Pocket Dwelling said but she heard Li Banfeng and the Glove clearly.

The moment Li Banfeng was gone, she lowered her voice and whispered to the Gramophone, “Wicked woman, I heard that madman and that rotten glove talking about Old Train and Little Train. Were they talking about the lunatic craftsman and his train?”

The Gramophone gave a cold laugh. “What do you mean by lunatic craftsman? Have you no manners at all? He is a senior of your Daoist path.”

Hong Ying was horrified. “I should have realized sooner. We are trapped in that lunatic’s train! Zhao Xiaowan, how can you not be afraid?”

“What is there to fear? Didn’t that senior treat us well?”

“Did you forget what they were like on the battlefield? Aside from that sundries seller, no one was more ruthless than the old craftsman and his train.”

Pop... crackle... pop...

The Gramophone tapped to a slow rhythm and sang along, “Heyaaaaaaaa~ Wretched womannn, you have been deaf and blind for all these years. Times have long since changed, so stop digging up that ancient history.”

Hong Ying gave a cold snort. “If we leave the past buried, does that mean the grudge between us is over too?”

“Heyaaaaaa~ Wretched woman, now you are really dreaming. Even if you fell into the eighteenth level of hell, the grudge between us would never be over.”

***

He Jiaqing sat in a small tavern, eating lamb skewers, drinking beer, and reading the newspaper.

The place was nearly empty. He had only come in for a meal, but the newspaper was doing a fine job of ruining it. It was three days old and had come from Puluo Province. Across the front page was a great big headline: Seventy-Year-Old Master of the Ghosthand Sect Runs Naked Through the Streets. What Really Happened?

He Jiaqing kept his face as still as he could and read every word. By the end of the article, he felt he had come to know Xie Juncong in a whole new way.

After finishing his meal, He Jiaqing set off for the stadium. On the way, a message arrived from Shen Rongqing.

"Jiaqing, the Border Control Office has cut Li Qi's shipping fees in half. He doesn't need us to move his goods anymore."

He Jiaqing smiled and said, "We can ask him if he sell our goods for us. It's business. We do whatever that brings us money!"

Shen Rongqing sighed. "I spoke to Ma Wu, but he wasn't keen to see me. He said friendship had nothing to do with it. It was all about contribution and reward and he can at most give us a twenty percent discount."

"Twenty percent isn't bad. Li Qi has to make some money too. The important thing is to keep the business going."

Shen Rongqing was still not happy. "But Li Qi cut He Yuxiu's fees in half and only charged her the labor fees. He didn't make any profit from her at all."

"Why would he do that?" He Jiaqing asked. Suddenly, he froze and asked, "What's Li Qi's relationship with my aunt?"

"I hear they have grown rather close. You know what your aunt is like. Once she takes a liking to a man, she might..."

"How dare he!" He Jiaqing became flustered. "If Li Qi sleeps with my aunt, I'll..."

But what could He Jiaqing do? This was a critical moment and he couldn't go back to Puluo Province.

Shen Rongqing asked, "Jiaqing, are we still doing business with Li Qi?"

"Of course we are! Didn't they say it was all about contribution and reward? If there is money to be made, why shouldn't we make it? This deal won't last forever. The Border Control Office might cut his fees in half today, but they might charge him five times as much tomorrow. We have to seize the opportunity while it is here, move as many goods as we can, and make as much money as possible."

***

Ma Wu rounded up nearly a thousand land activators from every corner of Greenwater Bay and gathered them all in Blue Poplar Village.

Li Banfeng then held a grand land activation rally. To make sure everyone knew he meant business, he piled the rewards right in front of them.

“You all know the rules for activating land, and you know my rules too. The bright silver dollars are right here. Your reward will depend on the size of the plot you activate. The carts and horses are ready, so pack your things and get moving.”

Author’s Note:

PS: What method can you use to see newly formed boundary lines?