At dawn, Chief Border Defense Envoy Cheng Mingke of Black Stone Slope had just woken up.
The Defense Agency of Black Stone Slope had one Chief Border Defense Envoy and twenty-eight Deputy Border Defense Envoys. Except for those on external duty, all staff of the Defense Agency, including Border Defense Envoys, lived on the premises.
Cheng Mingke hadn’t even had time to wash up when his secretary, Tong Lingzhu, reported an emergency situation, "Officer Cheng, the Jiang Xiang Gang has lost contact."
"Who’s lost contact?" Cheng Mingke thought his subordinate was referring to the newly appointed Hall Master Fu Botai. It was normal for Fu Botai to be away these last two days as he was supposed to connect with the Sage at Sage Peak.
But what Tong Lingzhu referred to wasn’t Hall Master Fu Botai. "The entire Hall Entrance has lost contact; not a single person can be found. Two helms in the city are also out of contact, leaving only one helm outside the city still manned."
Cheng Mingke said in astonishment, "What did the helm outside the city say?"
"They don’t know anything."
The helm outside the city hadn’t lied; that helm only had one Helm Master and one Staff Bearer.
There was no need to ask further. One could easily guess the status of these two individuals. They were the least favored in the Hall Entrance, relegated to the outskirts of the city.
Unfavored within the Gang, on the ledger of life, they had been granted a favor. The day before, the Hall Entrance received a message to gather everyone at the Granary to contact the Sage along with the Hall Master.
This was an excellent opportunity to earn merits. Who would think of these two at such a promising time?
Because they were not considered, these two happened to save their own lives.
Chief Border Defense Envoy Cheng Mingke’s expression was grave. He immediately ordered all transport to and from Black Stone Slope to be halted and for city-wide searches for the members of Black Stone Hall.
Once the order was given, trains and ferries ceased operations, and checkpoints along the Border Line all closed. Such was the authority of a Border Defense Envoy.
There were boundaries all over Puluo State, and leaving home required a Guide Token. It was rare for people to go out normally, so shutting down the transportation shouldn’t have caused much of an impact.
If this were Medicine King Valley, a temporary shutdown wouldn’t be a problem.
But Black Stone Slope was unique, a purely industrial city.
Various factories’ products awaited shipment, all piled up at the station.
Some raw materials, which Black Stone Slope doesn’t produce itself, were transported from outside. With transportation cut off, many factories stopped production.
But that wasn’t the most critical issue.
Food was limited in Black Stone Slope. Several villages in the distant suburbs each farmed barely enough grain for self-sufficiency, and Black Stone Slope’s food supply was imported.
With transportation cut off, the food sources for Black Stone Slope were severed.
Did such a big city have no food reserves? They did, but these reserves weren’t in the hands of the residents.
The people of Black Stone Slope didn’t store food at home, usually eating at factory canteens. If they had extra money, they’d dine out. Now with the food sources cut off, canteens stopped cooking and restaurants closed, leaving many people hungry.
Cheng Mingke, recently arrived in Black Stone Slope, was reminded by his secretary Tong Lingzhu, concerned he might not be aware of the situation, "Officer Cheng, the transportation of Black Stone Slope cannot be interrupted for too long. This city is quite different from other places."
Cheng Mingke calmly said, "I know transportation is very important to Black Stone Slope. Precisely because it’s important, they should learn to cherish it. An entire Hall Entrance has vanished just like that. I don’t believe no one knows any clues, yet the notice has been posted for so many days with no response. This proves they simply don’t take the Defense Agency seriously."
Tong Lingzhu dared not persuade further. The Jiang Xiang Gang had an inconspicuous presence in Black Stone Slope, their actions always very secretive. Members of the Gang often disguised themselves as fortune tellers, temple attendants, nuns, face readers, and medicine vendors.
Even more fatal was the fact that the Defense Agency didn’t want to be openly connected with the Jiang Xiang Gang. The notice was written very subtly, only mentioning that Fu Botai and others were missing, leaving the citizens puzzled as they looked at the photos on the notice, not knowing who Fu Botai was.
Yet Cheng Mingke was confident. He firmly believed the investigation would have a clear outcome.
The situation inside the city was tense, and it affected the outside as well. Many major families’ businesses depended on Black Stone Slope.
The Lu Family delegated their business in Black Stone Slope to Li Banfeng and Ma Wu, but Ma Wu had no mind to attend to business affairs now.
He was wholly focused on cutting filmstrips in Xiaoyao Lodge.
Editing filmstrips was a skilled job, requiring both cutting and splicing proficiency. Ma Wu was by no means an expert in this area. However, he had to be the one to cut this particular filmstrip because it was brought back by Li Banfeng.
The filmstrip recorded the whole process of people Showing Foreign Films in Willow Pond Village, kidnapping children, and meeting with Jiang Xiang Gang Hall Master Fu Botai.
Yes, the Hall Master was indeed Fu Botai.
Ma Wu had compared it repeatedly with the photos on the notice.
The reason he took the editing upon himself was that Ma Wu didn’t want to leak any traces of Li Banfeng’s whereabouts.
After completing the editing, Ma Wu made a copy of the filmstrip and handed it to Shen Rongqing.
Shen Rongqing watched the filmstrip, his veins throbbing.
There was no sound, but Shen Rongqing could see Fu Botai’s lip movements.
"He says he can’t see. Fine, this time let’s make sure the whole Puluo State sees! Add extra copies to the newspapers for the next few days!"
「」
"Add extra copies to the newspapers!" Bai Qiusheng gave orders to the editor of the Night-blooming Jasmine. "Expose Fu Botai’s dirty secrets, reveal all the misdeeds of the Jiang Xiang Gang over the years!"
Yu Wenqi was somewhat concerned, "Right now, many people can barely afford food; the price of rice is skyrocketing. How many can still afford to buy a newspaper?"
"Charge them nothing!" Bai Qiusheng slammed the newspaper on the table. "We’ll distribute it for free, we must make this clear!"
「」
Chief Border Defense Envoy Cheng Mingke slammed the newspaper on the table, "There are really people trying to stir trouble. Seal up this newspaper office."
Tong Lingzhu hurriedly advised, "Officer Cheng, we cannot intervene in this matter. There’s no precedent in Black Stone Slope, indeed no precedent throughout the whole Puluo State."
"They need to learn to respect. The precedent starts with me." Cheng Mingke’s demeanor remained composed as he silently watched out the window.
Beneath the Defense Agency building, Li Banfeng looked up at the tall structure, lowered his hat brim, and slipped away quietly.
That evening, many households in the city received a small bag of rice.
The rice wasn’t much, barely enough for two or three days. As everyone discussed who might have sent the rice, some people actually saw the delivery man.
"He said his surname was En, called himself Benefactor."
But where did this rice come from?
「」
The next day, as dawn broke, Cheng Mingke was still half-asleep when someone knocked on the door.
He thought it was his secretary, Tong Lingzhu, and adjusted his appearance a bit before opening the door. To his surprise, it was Du Zhaohui, the Deputy Border Defense Envoy responsible for logistics.
"Officer Cheng, our canteen has been robbed."
Cheng Mingke looked at Du Zhaohui in astonishment.
"Is it just some food that has been stolen? If it’s gone, it’s gone, just be more careful in the future."
"It’s not just a little food, the canteen’s entire stock of grain has been stolen."
Cheng Mingke was stunned and went to check the canteen’s storage.
Oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar were untouched, but not a single grain was left behind.
Cheng Mingke was a bit irritated, "How could so much grain be moved out? What were your people doing?"
Feeling wronged, Du Zhaohui said, "I checked the warehouse just last night..."
"Enough said, order someone to purchase grain immediately."
Du Zhaohui personally took people to the Rice Shop, where the shop owner said with a smile, "Lord Du, you’re coming to buy grain? Your folks eat too? This sure is something new. I don’t have any rice here. Look elsewhere."
Du Zhaohui was angry, but having spent many years in Black Stone Slope, he knew the temper of its people.
After visiting more than a dozen Rice Shops, he hadn’t managed to buy a single bag of rice. No matter how much he offered, the shops all said they had none.
Without grain to bring back, Cheng Mingke still wasn’t worried. "Tonight we’ll distribute canned goods and biscuits. Tomorrow morning a wagon of grain will arrive at the station, and I will send someone specifically to bring the grain back. Have your men guard the warehouse closely."
At eight in the morning, a train pulled into the station, which had been closed for many days.
The train was carrying grain, coal, and medicine, all specially prepared for the Defense Agency.
Li Banfeng, disguised as a loader with the gift of being easily overlooked due to Home Cultivation, hid in a corner of the platform, waiting for the right moment to act.
This information came from Luo Zhengnan, who had discovered only yesterday that a batch of supplies was to be delivered to Black Stone Slope.
Li Banfeng had been waiting at the station since last night; unexpectedly, the train was only arriving now.
The previous night, when stealing grain from the canteen, Li Banfeng had sneaked into the warehouse, used his Gloves to unlock the door, transferred the grain into the Portable Residence, and easily taken it out.
Now that dawn had broken, the area around the train station was under tight security.
The Little Train was waiting right at the entrance of the station, ready to load the cargo offloaded at the platform directly onto the Little Train and transport it to the Defense Agency.
While he observed the situation, he noticed something wasn’t right with the train.
But this train was running very powerfully, HUFF! HUFF! it went continuously, seemingly with no intention of stopping.
Not only did Li Banfeng not understand, the other station workers were also baffled.
The signalman frantically waved his flags, signaling for the driver to stop.
The driver was petrified and kept gesturing frantically at the platform from inside the driver’s cabin.
The train was out of control!
Near the platform, several Cultivators sent by the Defense Agency sprung into action. One burly man leaped onto the tracks, roared, and his body size doubled. He braced his hands against the locomotive’s front, trying to force the train to a stop.
"Quite a strong fellow," someone next to Li Banfeng commented, "That’s a bear."
Li Banfeng was taken aback.
Based on his appearance, the man was in his forties, and from the look of his clothes, he appeared to be a mechanic.
He raised his eyebrows at Li Banfeng, signaling him not to worry.
His judgment was correct; the man on the tracks was a Body Cultivator, truly, a bear.
The burly man slid several tens of meters, but the train didn’t stop or even slow down.
The burly man leaped off the tracks, unable to hold on any longer.
The bones in both his arms were broken. If he continued to hold on, he would be crushed under the train’s wheels.
The train sped past the station, and the middle-aged man quietly left with Li Banfeng.
Once outside the station, the middle-aged man, with Li Banfeng in tow, chased after the train. They leaped onto the moving train one after the other.
Sitting in the carriage, the middle-aged man said to Li Banfeng, "Young man, you must be the Benefactor, right?"
Li Banfeng didn’t respond.
The middle-aged man laughed, "I know Benefactor isn’t your real name; I should probably call you Boss Ye."
Li Banfeng became even more startled, listening as the middle-aged man continued, "My surname is Tang, name Tang Shijiang. I like people with guts. If you think highly enough of me, just call me Brother Tang."
As they talked, the train had already covered seven or eight miles.
Tang Shijiang produced a handful of screws from his bosom, each one able to move. He drove each screw into a burlap sack filled with grain, then with the sacks attached, sent them flying out of the carriage and far away from the tracks.
Li Banfeng said, "Brother Tang, all this grain belongs to the Defense Agency. They will surely track down each bag. Throwing them out like this, without even changing the sacks, will anyone dare to pick them up?"
"They’ll dare!" Tang Shijiang laughed. "The people in my territory have guts. Whoever doesn’t dare to pick them up doesn’t deserve to live in Black Stone Slope!"