Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'-Chapter 576 - 400 Just Cooperation, Not Friends

The two Judge’s Pens were simply collected by the Portable Residence.

The Gloves sighed. "When it comes to quick hands, it really has to be our Old Master!"

Li Banfeng shouted angrily, "Old Man, I brought these back! You say you’re confiscating them, and just like that, they’re gone? At least tell me what they’re for!"

The Portable Residence chuckled. "These are rail tracks. They’re no use to you, but they’re of great use to me."

Rail tracks!

Rail tracks worth an entire Hundred Joy Gate!

No wonder they were the Chu Family’s most prized treasures.

Li Banfeng patted the Gloves and smiled. "You’ve made a great contribution this time. A hefty reward is in order."

The Gloves stood on their index finger, planted on the ground, shaking their head. "Serving the Master is our duty. As for rewards, the Master is being too formal."

Xie Juncong was the leader of the Ghost Hand Sect, a true patriarch of thieves. The Gloves’ ability to steal from him undetected astonished Li Banfeng.

But he couldn’t let his astonishment show. Li Banfeng kept his expression calm. Now that he had six rail tracks, there were a few things he needed to confirm with the Portable Residence.

"Old Man, back when you only had two rail tracks, you could detach from the key and go wherever you pleased. Now that you have six, do you have even more abilities?"

The Portable Residence coughed. "That’s not called ’going wherever I please’; it’s ’following you.’ I can only follow you, or follow the key. That rule cannot change. Back then, I had two rail tracks; now I have six. Naturally, there’s a difference. Now, I can travel from the tangible to the intangible."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "We’re all on the same side here; don’t speak in riddles."

"To put it plainly," the Portable Residence continued, "it means vagueness. I can go to some vague places now too. With two rail tracks, I could only go to places you could see; Black Stone Slope is an example."

At that time, Li Banfeng had been staring at a photo of Black Stone Slope, and in an instant, he was transported to the studio of the Night-blooming Jasmine Newspaper Agency on Black Stone Slope.

"But what about Oil Lake then?"

The Portable Residence replied, "Places seen in dreams also count."

The Gloves harrumphed. "That was the Old Master wanting to steal oil, taking advantage of the Master’s dream to deliberately bend the rules for himself..."

"Silence!" the Portable Residence roared. "I am not like you!"

The Gloves sneered. Li Banfeng asked, "And what happened after you got four rail tracks?"

"With four rail tracks, I no longer need you to have actually seen a place. As long as you can infer its location from seeing a similar place, that works too."

The explanation was a bit convoluted, but Li Banfeng understood.

In Medicine King Valley, the Portable Residence hadn’t missed a single inch of ground, forcefully breaking through the Deathgate Formation. Li Banfeng had initially only found one bloodstain; the subsequent ones were all found based on his deductions.

This meant that with an extra pair of rail tracks, the Portable Residence could handle destinations with greater ambiguity.

The more rail tracks, the greater the ambiguity, and the more intelligent the Portable Residence became.

Li Banfeng asked, "With six rail tracks, how ambiguous can it get?"

The Portable Residence said, "There are some places you may not have seen, but as long as I’ve been there and can still remember it, and it’s not too far, and you can describe it clearly, then we can go." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Li Banfeng grew excited. "Where have you been?"

"Too many places! I’ve been to almost every territory in Puluo State!"

"Doesn’t that mean you can go to any place I can clearly describe, as long as it’s not too far?"

"Only if I remember those places."

"Which places do you remember?"

"Most of the places I’ve been to, I no longer remember."

Li Banfeng’s excitement deflated. "Old Man, are you messing with me? How can a train forget places it’s been to?"

"The train doesn’t need to remember too many places; remembering the stations is enough. You’ve only built one station, and I do remember that one."

Li Banfeng was speechless. The Gloves harrumphed. "There wasn’t even a station at Oil Lake, yet you still went to steal oil, didn’t you? In the end, it all depends on whether our Old Master *wants* to remember!"

The Portable Residence erupted in rage. "I went to Oil Lake because Ah Qi saw it in his dream!"

Li Banfeng didn’t dwell on the issue. The Portable Residence possessed Spiritual Wisdom, so it was natural for it to have its own thoughts. Although Li Banfeng had faced considerable dangers at Lian Bud during his trip to Oil Lake, the Portable Residence had managed to gather enough fuel afterward by meticulously covering every inch of ground.

This also reminded Li Banfeng of something. He glanced at the fuel in the Third Room. Only five barrels remained—not much at all.

"Should we go to Lian Bud’s place and get some more fuel?"

The Portable Residence agreed with this. "I’ve known Lian Bud for many years. Due to certain matters, it’s not convenient for me to meet him now. How about you go chat with him for a bit on my behalf?"

Li Banfeng was puzzled. "Chat about what?"

"Just a casual chat will do."

Li Banfeng still didn’t understand. The Gloves chimed in, "Master, what the Old Master means is for you to keep Lian Bud busy so he can go steal more oil."

The Portable Residence seethed with fury. "I am not the kind of person you make me out to be!"

The Gloves roared with laughter. "The Old Master certainly has high moral standards."

SWISH!

A canister flew through the air and landed squarely on the Gloves, silencing their laughter abruptly.

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly.

He wants me to keep Lian Bud busy.

Is Lian Bud so easy to keep busy?

I’ll deal with the Border Defense Envoy’s matter first.

He Jiaqing had just left a comic convention, a fox tail playfully stuck in his hair.

The buttons on his chest vibrated. He Jiaqing clutched a button and heard Wan Jinxian’s voice.

"Jia Qing, Xie Juncong obtained that pair of Judge’s Pens."

He Jiaqing smiled. "Good news. Send them to Yuezhou in a few days. I’d like to study them carefully."

"Jia Qing, here’s the situation. Xie Juncong said he did get them, but then Li Qi stole them."

"Stolen? Someone stole from Xie Juncong?" He Jiaqing found it hard to believe.

"That’s what Xie Juncong claims. I don’t believe it either. Who else could steal from him? Besides, Li Qi is doing business with us now; he should be considered a friend. Why would he steal from us?"

He Jiaqing mused for a moment. "Doing business is one thing, but whether we’re friends is another matter entirely. Li Qi is very clear on that distinction. You tell Old Xie I’m very angry about this, and he needs to figure out how to get those items back himself."

As he spoke, a girl with fox ears rushed out of the convention hall and snatched the fox tail from He Jiaqing’s hair. "You’d even steal this? Despicable!"

Wan Jinxian ended the communication and turned to Cui Tiq. "That’s the whole story."

Cui Tiq stroked his chin, his thoughts tangled. "I don’t understand the relationship between Li Qi and He Jiaqing."

Wan Jinxian shook his head. "I don’t understand either. Perhaps it’s similar to the relationship between you and me."

Cui Tiq shook his head. "I feel it’s different. According to my information, Li Qi is resisting—resisting for the sake of Puluo State."

"Jia Qing is doing the same thing."

"I don’t see it that way. All I see is him trying every means to strengthen himself."

Wan Jinxian sighed. "You don’t understand Puluo State’s predicament. You don’t realize how powerful the forces from the Inner State and the Outside Provinces are."

"Of course, I understand," Cui Tiq said with a smile. "My country has similar places."

Wan Jinxian was surprised. "You Foreigners have such territories too?"

"Yes," Cui Tiq nodded, "they’re just not called Puluo State."

That sparked another suspicion in Wan Jinxian. "Your Taoist Sect isn’t from Puluo State, but from your country?"

This detail was crucial; Wan Jinxian had always been uncertain about the origin of Cui Tiq’s cultivation level.

If Cui Tiq’s cultivation level came from a foreign country, it would prove that Disease Cultivation might not have been created by the Greenwater Beggar.

"Taoist Sect..." Cui Tiq shook his head. "If the people from my homeland had the concept of a Taoist Sect, they would have had the means to resist."

They don’t have a Taoist Sect there?

"From what you’re saying, your homeland also suffers greatly from oppression?"

Cui Tiq nodded. "If you heard the stories from my homeland, I guarantee you’d weep. I guarantee you’d think Puluo State was Heaven in comparison. Human nature is the same everywhere. That’s why I detest humanity. One day, I will ensure every single life ends at my hands."

"You’re insane—utterly incurable," Wan Jinxian could think of no better description.

"I’m not insane, Senior Brother. Most people in this world die from illness. Dying from illness is considered a peaceful end. If I cause them to die from diseases I create, it aligns with natural laws and, arguably, with humanity’s own unconscious desires. I believe we should accomplish this grand undertaking together."

Wan Jinxian nodded. "Alright, I can help you. First, cure the blisters on my body."

Cui Tiq laughed. "Senior Brother, don’t fret over that little blister. It’s a gift from the Ancestral Master. My willingness to share it with you is proof of my generosity towards you."

Wan Jinxian said no more and rose to leave.

Once he had left the hospital, Cui Tiq used a probe to lance a spot on his own nose, and a little greenish pus oozed out.

This pus was what had emanated from Wan Jinxian.

Cui Tiq examined the pus’s texture with his fingers, then tasted it. He closed his eyes, sensing it for a long moment before reaching a conclusion and murmuring, "He’s resisting, and with some success. My Senior Brother is formidable—strong in both cultivation level and willpower. If he continues to resist like this, what will be the outcome?"

SLURP.

Cui Tiq swallowed the pus.

Back at his residence, Wan Jinxian’s butler brought him a box of Silver Yuan. "Master, the house in Peaceful Garden has been sold."

He had already sold six mansions in Greenwater City; only this one remained.

This one can’t be sold; otherwise, he would have to sleep on the streets.

He needed money. He wanted to buy elixirs. He wanted to advance.

The blisters on his back flared up with an intermittent itch.

Wan Jinxian clenched his teeth. Once I reach the Eighth Layer, I should be able to get rid of these blisters.

Inside the Chu Family Mansion, Chu Huaijun bit down on a cigar, quietly listening to his servant report on the Three Heroes Gang’s movements.

Bao Yingchen was dead. Yang Xingbo was dead. Dong Kaibin was also dead. The influence he had cultivated within the Three Heroes Gang had been completely wiped out.

The most infuriating part was that Bao Yingchen’s death was being blamed on him.

The He Family, Lu Family, Qingyun Society, Hundred Flowers Gate, White Crane Gang—all sorts of families and gangs were willing to testify, all claiming Bao Yingchen had been treacherously struck down by Chu Huaijun.

Chu Huaijun sent men to find Shen Jinzhong and demand an explanation.

Shen Jinzhong had sent over the heads of Dong Kaibin and his men; the explanation was crystal clear.

The days of the Three Heroes Gang were numbered. By wiping out this gang, they would finally understand who truly ruled Puluo State!

Chu Huaijun extinguished his cigar and summoned his attendants. "Yingchun Tower. Prepare a banquet. Tomorrow night, I’m treating the Chief Envoy to dinner."