He Jiaqing reminded Li Banfeng that he must abide by the rules on the train.
Li Banfeng quickly closed the curtains and locked the compartment door.
He took out two cups of instant noodles, fetched some hot water from the tea stove in the compartment, and prepared them for his meal.
It seemed like a brand imprinted on the soul—on a train, instant noodles became extremely delicious.
After eating, Li Banfeng sat on the chair and replied to He Jiaqing’s message, "Tell me now, what exactly is going on?"
He Jiaqing replied, "I’m trapped in Medicine King Valley. When you get to my place, we can talk face to face."
"First tell me, where exactly is Medicine King Valley? Is it still in Yuedong Province?"
"Not in Yuedong Province, it’s in Puluo State. Without that item, I won’t be able to leave."
"What’s Puluo State?"
"Brother, I’m completely drained, barely holding on. Let’s wait until we meet to talk."
"What’s in that package?"
"Let me rest a bit first. I’ll definitely tell you, but you must remember, do not open the package."
He Jiaqing sent no more messages.
Li Banfeng took the package out of his backpack, placed it on the dining table, and stared at it silently for a long while.
To say he wasn’t curious would be a lie. To think he wouldn’t open it was impossible. The only question was when.
Li Banfeng was certain that inside was a rare treasure.
But then he thought of the Big-eyed Man’s phone call, and how the man called Chief Xiao had mentioned that this item could kill many people.
He Jiaqing sent no more messages; he was indeed spent.
Li Banfeng was also completely exhausted. He could never sleep well in his dorm, but now in the compartment, sleepiness struck swiftly and irresistibly.
He took out his phone and began to search for information on Puluo State, Medicine King Valley, and Greenwater Bay.
The information on his phone was all over the place and hard to distinguish. Li Banfeng searched for a long time but couldn’t find anything valuable.
The lighting inside the compartment was dim; the lampshade seemed to house the kind of light bulb rarely seen even in his childhood, casting a heavy yellow glow that made his eyelids droop.
The curtains were tightly closed, seamless, allowing only the shadows of the receding scenery to be seen.
The rhythmic chuffing of the steam train, the clatter of wheels on the track, and the occasional whistle created a hypnotic white noise. Li Banfeng unconsciously wandered into the bedroom, lay down in his bunk, and fell asleep.
He couldn’t remember how long he had slept. He had gotten up to drink water and use the toilet at some point. It wasn’t until a series of loud knocks on the door jolted him fully awake.
"Big Brother, Big Brother! Please open the door, let me stay inside for a while, just a while," a woman’s voice came from outside the compartment door—urgent, flustered, and tinged with sobs.
A child was also pleading, "Uncle, please, open the door, please."
The child started to cry.
Li Banfeng didn’t open the door.
The train announcement had said not to let strangers into the compartment unless necessary.
And there was another key issue.
Since boarding the train, Li Banfeng hadn’t left the compartment and, aside from the ticket-checking conductor, he hadn’t seen anyone else.
"Big Brother, I’m begging you, let me in for a while; I’ll leave in just a bit!"
"Uncle, open the door..."
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
The knocking on the door grew more urgent, the cries more pitiful.
Li Banfeng didn’t respond. At that moment, the steam train was slowing down.
The announcement sounded, "Dear passengers, we will soon reach Three-Head Fork Station. Passengers disembarking here, please collect your belongings and prepare to get off."
"I’m begging you, Big Brother, let my child hide inside for a bit. I won’t come in!" the woman outside the door shouted hoarsely.
Li Banfeng approached the door, intending to peek outside through a crack, when he faintly heard a man’s voice, "Kick the door down; he’s not going to open it!"
Li Banfeng quickly retreated from the door, looking around for any potential weapon.
"Kick the door down! If you don’t do it now, it’ll be too late!" the man’s voice came again.
Inside and outside the door, both sides were at a standoff.
HISS.
With a long discharge of steam, the train came to a halt.
CLATTER!
Li Banfeng heard the sound of carriage doors opening; the conductor had lowered the boarding steps.
"Open up! Open up! I’m telling you to open the damn door! Are you going to open it or not..." the woman screamed frantically.
The door shook violently as she began to kick it.
Even though he couldn’t see, he could tell from the rhythm of the sounds that the person cursing and kicking was the same one—the woman!
The door shook violently and looked like it could be kicked open at any moment.
Li Banfeng readied the spicy strips and the thermos from the compartment, the only two makeshift weapons at hand.
His neck felt a bit itchy.
Li Banfeng couldn’t spare a hand to scratch it!
Li Banfeng put down the thermos, scratched his neck viciously twice, and immediately picked the thermos back up.
BANG! BANG!
The door was about to be kicked open when another voice came from outside the carriage, "You’ve arrived at your station. Please get off immediately."
It was the conductor’s voice!
The conductor was warning the woman that she had reached her station.
Li Banfeng’s heart calmed slightly. He put down the thermos and scratched his neck a few more times.
The woman screamed, "I’m not getting off! I’ll find a way to pay the fare. I can’t get off at Three-Head Fork! The Peddler has already left. I need to get off at the next station. I need to go to Hai Chi Ridge!"
Li Banfeng was still puzzled when he heard a scuffle and shoving from outside the carriage.
The woman shouted, "I won’t get off!"
The child yelled, "We won’t get off!"
The man shouted, "We’ll pay the fare in a moment!"
The voices of the woman, child, and man rose together. The sounds of struggling and collision never ceased, but they grew more distant as the group seemed to continue fighting with the conductor all the way off the train.
Soon after, the conductor retracted the boarding steps and closed the train door.
Li Banfeng sat back down in his seat and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Scratching his neck, he tried to piece together what had just happened.
Sitting by the window, Li Banfeng took several sips of water to calm his nerves.
HUFF. HUFF.
After stopping for about ten minutes, the steam train started up again.
Li Banfeng took out his phone, just about to check the time, when he suddenly heard tapping on the window.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Repeated dull thuds.
The train picked up speed, yet the tapping continued relentlessly.
Li Banfeng was greatly alarmed and dared not continue to sit by the window.
He wanted to lift the curtain to see, but remembering the broadcast’s warning, he didn’t dare.
As the train passed under a streetlight, the light projected the outsider’s silhouette onto the curtain.
Li Banfeng saw broad palms, strong arms, a wide chest, and shoulders even broader than the chest.
On those broad shoulders, there were three heads. Although it was only a fleeting glimpse, Li Banfeng was certain he hadn’t seen wrong.
This place was called Three-Head Fork.
As the train passed a row of streetlights, the Three-Headed Person’s silhouette repeatedly flashed upon the curtain.
He clung to the outside of the window with one hand, his body suspended in the air, while his other hand kept pounding on the window.
The window glass looked like it could shatter at any moment.
Li Banfeng once again picked up the spicy strips and the thermos, ready for a fight.
Suddenly, a pole extended down from the roof of the train, prodding fiercely more than a dozen times, knocking the Three-Headed Person from the window.
It was the conductor.
The conductor prodded the Three-Headed Person off the train with the pole, then withdrew it. He calmly jumped to the platform between the carriages and re-entered one.
Li Banfeng stood in the middle of the compartment, not daring to get too close to the door or the window.
CRACKLE...
The PA system came alive again: "Dear passengers, welcome aboard Train 1160. Passengers who have boarded, please do not move around unnecessarily..."
Li Banfeng scratched it a few times and realized the skin had broken; he was bleeding.
"Let them grow then! It’s so lonely being just one!"
"We’ve always been here with you, perfect for keeping you company!"
Li Banfeng felt as if he heard two people talking right beside his ear.