On the train from Greenwater City bound for Wuqin Village, the famous actor Zhou Changhong sat in his private compartment, reading the newspaper and sipping tea.
The day after returning to Greenwater City, he set out again.
After boarding the train, Zhou Changhong dozed off, sleeping for a good portion of the day. At dusk, he emerged from his sleeping bunk, brewed a pot of tea, and continued reading his paper.
There was a knock at the door from outside. "Sir, ticket inspection. Please open the door immediately and present your ticket."
Zhou Changhong sat in the compartment, holding his tea, motionless.
"Sir, please open the door right now and present your ticket," the attendant knocked a second time.
Still, Zhou Changhong remained motionless, seated in the compartment as if he were a clay statue, making no sound whatsoever.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! The attendant knocked a third time.
"Sir, you must comply with the ticket inspection. If you don’t open the door, I will have to take forceful measures!"
Finally, there was movement inside the compartment. Zhou Changhong moved, flipped the newspaper over, and continued drinking his tea.
Outside the door, Li Banfeng, who was impersonating an attendant, used his Silk-pulling Earrings to listen to the sounds inside the compartment.
Zhou Changhong’s actions baffled Li Banfeng.
Just as Li Banfeng was about to use the Unobstructed Technique to enter the compartment, the real attendant, carrying an iron rod, came over. "Sir, is this your compartment?"
Li Banfeng checked the compartment number and replied, "It seems I went to the wrong one."
The attendant, holding the iron rod, pointed at Li Banfeng’s forehead. "Please present your ticket!"
Li Banfeng took out his ticket.
The attendant looked Li Banfeng up and down and asked, "What’s the situation with your outfit?"
Li Banfeng, dressed in the uniform of a train attendant, pondered for a moment before saying, "Does the train have a dress code for passengers?"
"No," the attendant returned Li Banfeng’s ticket. "Please go back to your compartment!"
Li Banfeng returned to his own compartment. He knew where the problem lay.
Li Banfeng’s compartment was next door. He pressed the Silk-pulling Earrings to the compartment wall and quietly listened to the activities next door.
Zhou Changhong blinked his eyes and smiled.
He leisurely finished his whole pot of tea, then waited for over half an hour before murmuring softly, "Miaoying, it seems I’ve been targeted on the train. Why isn’t everything ready on Wuqin Village’s end yet? How exactly are you handling things?"
The previous conjecture was correct; Zhou Changhong had identified the fake attendant.
However, Li Banfeng hadn’t anticipated that this man’s status was even above Ling Miaoying’s.
According to Ling Miaosheng, Ling Miaoying was indeed working for an important figure from an Outside Province.
Zhou Changhong spent most of his time in Puluo State; in recent years, he’d had an uninterrupted string of film roles.
After waiting a moment, Li Banfeng heard Zhou Changhong in the next compartment say, "The film crew is a bit understaffed. Although the people from Wuqin Village are reliable, not many are knowledgeable. Get another group from Greenwater City."
Wuqin Village was a Back Three-Land territory of Puluo State. Not much was known by the public about the place, other than that most of its inhabitants lived without family ties.
After a pause, Zhou Changhong added, "I brought the item with me. There must be no mistakes with this filming; it must wrap up within ten days!"
After saying this, Zhou Changhong went silent again.
Li Banfeng took off the Silk-pulling Earrings and sat in his compartment, deep in thought.