The village was gone, and no one cared.
But when Li Banfeng stormed into the ticket office, someone started to care.
The world was far too strange for Li Banfeng, and there was still so much for him to adapt to.
Xiao Yeci urged, "Benefactor, let’s hurry on. That old hag is from Jiang Xiang Gang, and she likely wasn’t lying about that."
Li Banfeng turned around and asked, "What exactly is Jiang Xiang Gang’s background?"
Xiao Yeci paused for a moment.
"Jiang Xiang Gang is a big faction. They have disciples in Medicine King Valley, Greenwater Bay, and Hai Chi Ridge, but they generally avoid Pants Belt Pit. The people of Pants Belt Pit would kill a member of Jiang Xiang Gang on sight."
Hearing these familiar place names, Li Banfeng became interested. "What is the vendetta between Pants Belt Pit and Jiang Xiang Gang?"
"Jiang Xiang Gang has all sorts of people. Many are robbers like that old hag, who kill and plunder. There are also many who set traps to swindle money. Pants Belt Pit doesn’t concern itself with such matters, but there’s one type of person they absolutely cannot tolerate."
"What kind of person?"
"Human traffickers, those who kidnap people for sale. Pants Belt Pit has many Lust Cultivators. Although they rely on seeking pleasure for their practice, Lust Cultivators have special constitutions that make it difficult to have children. If they can have one, it’s considered a great blessing. Lust Cultivators place great importance on children. Human traffickers make their living by selling children, so naturally, Lust Cultivators cannot tolerate them. There are particularly many human traffickers in Jiang Xiang Gang, which is why Pants Belt Pit and Jiang Xiang Gang are at such odds."
The significance Lust Cultivators placed on children gave Li Banfeng a new perspective on them.
Xiao Yeci reminded, "Benefactor, you need to be extra cautious. Once the people from Jiang Xiang Gang find out about the old woman’s death, they will surely investigate. If they trace it back to us, they will definitely seek revenge."
Li Banfeng smiled bitterly to himself.
"The old lady stays at home all day. Does Jiang Xiang Gang really care about her?"
"They do care. I’ve seen it in the newspapers," Xiao Yeci patiently explained. "There was once a Poison Cultivator in Jiang Xiang Gang who hid in the mountains to refine poisons, often kidnapping villagers to test his concoctions. Eventually, the villagers couldn’t bear it anymore, pooled together money, and hired two Blade Guests to go up the mountain and kill the poisoner. They thought they could finally live in peace. But to their horror, Jiang Xiang Gang retaliated. They wiped out the entire village, leaving no one alive."
Li Banfeng was horrified and exclaimed, "Surely someone would take care of such matters? I’ve seen people in uniforms! Don’t they intervene?"
"People in uniforms..." Xiao Yeci pondered for a while. "Are you talking about Patrol Officers?"
Li Banfeng didn’t dwell on the terminology and continued to ask, "With such a major incident, wouldn’t the Patrol Officers intervene?"
"They are supposed to take care of it, but they’ll only make an effort for show. Patrol Officers are under the Border Defense Envoy, and they act on orders from the Envoy. If the Envoy instructs them to inspect the village, they’ll take a look, record the incident, and consider their job done."
"Who is the Border Defense Envoy?"
"The Border Defense Envoy hails from the Outside Provinces." Xiao Yeci looked over Li Banfeng, surprised at his lack of common knowledge.
Yet, Xiao Yeci did not deceive Li Banfeng. Along the way, she enlightened him with extensive knowledge about Puluo State.
"For external matters, consult the Border Defense Envoy; for internal matters, look to the flags. That is the rule of Puluo State!"
This one sentence nearly summed up the entire order of Puluo State.
Puluo State consists of many towns—exactly how many, even Xiao Yeci could not say.
Matters between towns are referred to as external matters, while those within a town are internal matters.
Medicine King Valley is one such town, a very large one indeed. If residents want to leave Medicine King Valley by legal means, they must go through the Border Defense Envoy.
The Border Defense Envoy, dispatched from the Outside Provinces, are administrators tasked with maintaining public order, focusing primarily on controlling the movement of people between towns.
"If you want to go to Pants Belt Pit, you need a Guide Token. Without it, you can neither ride in a carriage nor board a ship. Even if you walk, you can’t get past the checkpoints!"
Through Xiao Yeci’s explanations, Li Banfeng learned how to obtain a Guide Token. To get a Guide Token, one must contact the local Border Defense Envoy and the one in the destination area. Only if the local Envoy agrees to let you go and the destination Envoy is willing to accept you might you get a Guide Token. Without a Guide Token, one doesn’t qualify to leave Medicine King Valley legally. This is also the prime duty of the Border Defense Envoy and his Patrol Officers.
Li Banfeng being chased in the streets might not concern the Patrol Officers. But if Li Banfeng tried to cause trouble at the station, the Patrol Officers would definitely intervene, because the station is a key area managed by the Border Defense Envoy.
"Without a Guide Token, you can’t even leave Medicine King Valley?"
Xiao Yeci shook her head. "Not everyone is stopped from leaving. Peddlers come and go freely; no one can bar their passage."
"’External matters are handled by the Border Defense Envoy,’ I understand that much," Li Banfeng said. "But what does ’internal matters depend on the family flags’ mean?"
Xiao Yeci explained, "Matters within a town are handled by the families within that town. Whichever family’s flag is strongest, their word holds sway. Last year, an incident occurred at Hai Chi Ridge involving a tofu pudding vendor surnamed Wang, and a fried dough stick vendor surnamed Liu. Both were poor folks who, in theory, shouldn’t have been able to stir up any trouble. But one day, they got into a fight over business at the station, and it really escalated. Old Wang, the tofu pudding seller, hit Old Liu, the fried dough stick seller. Old Liu couldn’t swallow his pride, and after leaving the station, he fought Old Wang again. Within the station, they were under the control of the Patrol Officers and fought with restraint. But outside the station, the Patrol Officers didn’t get involved. They fought viciously, and Old Wang, the tofu pudding seller, was gravely injured.
"This alerted the prominent Wang Family of Hai Chi Ridge. Although Old Wang was poor, he was still a member of the Wang Family, and they sought revenge. Old Liu was also gravely injured. The Liu Family, who also had influence in Hai Chi Ridge, were incensed, sparking a conflict with the Wang Family. The conflict lasted a month and left many from both families dead or wounded. It wasn’t until the Chu Family, one of the Four Great Families of Puluo State, mediated that things calmed down."
"The Chu Family can manage the Wang and Liu families?"
Xiao Yeci said, "The Chu Family is different; they’re one of the Four Great Families of Puluo State, along with the Ma Family, the He Family, and the Lu Family."
Li Banfeng did not let his attention wander and listened carefully to Xiao Yeci’s narration.
What was meant by ’internal matters depend on the family flags’ referred to the flags of these various sized families. The large families commanded influence throughout Puluo State, while the smaller families had a certain influence within specific regions. These families, large and small, had different levels of influence throughout Puluo State, and they used their influence to control the order within the entire state.
There indeed was a relationship, but Xiao Yeci couldn’t explain it clearly.
She went on explaining the common knowledge about Puluo State for several hours until her throat was hoarse.
Thirty li of mountainous roads, muddy and uneven, were nothing to Li Banfeng, but for the utterly exhausted Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying, the journey had been exceptionally difficult.
Upon reaching Li Gou, as the sky brightened, Li Banfeng first headed to Feng’s Grocery Store. The front gate was tightly shut. He knocked for a long time, but no one answered.
Next door, Yu Nan, the owner of Yu Family Cloth Store, dressed in a cheongsam and holding a lady’s cigarette, took a puff and gently released a cloud of smoke. She took the initiative to strike up a conversation, "Their store has been closed for several days. I have no idea where they’ve gone off to have some fun."
The female owner had a long face, a high nose bridge, almond-shaped eyes, a full forehead, and a round jaw. The tight cheongsam barely contained her ample bosom and the roundedness below her waist. Just as He Jiaqing had described, she was a beauty who seemed to have stepped right out of a Month Plate.
Li Banfeng turned back to look at Xiao Yeci. "Where are you headed? I’ll drop you at the doorstep."
Xiao Yeci said, "We’re going to the He Family Old House. I’ve heard it’s nearby on this main street."
"You mustn’t go there; it’s deadly," Li Banfeng hastily advised upon hearing that the mother and daughter intended to visit the He Family Old House.
Upon hearing of the dangers in the He Family Old House, Xiao Yeci was troubled. "Benefactor, what exactly is going on inside the He Family Old House? We’ve traveled thousands of miles to get there, and now you’re saying we can’t go..."
Li Banfeng paused for a moment, his expression gentle. "When I say you mustn’t go, it’s because you’ll die if you do. Do you really wish to die that much? If you’re so intent on dying, why bother going through all this effort to escape? Dying here or there, what’s the difference? I can also see you off on your way."
Xiao Yeci looked at Li Banfeng, unsure of how to respond.
Li Banfeng watched Xiao Yeci calmly. He really might take action.
Lu Chunying stepped in front of Li Banfeng. "Benefactor, we won’t go! We’ll listen to you!"
Xiao Yeci hesitated.
Xiao Yeci looked at Li Banfeng earnestly, hoping he would offer her more advice.
Li Banfeng smiled slightly, speaking kindly, "Pay up."
"Uh..."
"A thousand. Trying to skip out on the bill?" Li Banfeng became less kind.
PS: Yesterday, I received over two hundred messages. Shala truly appreciates the support from all the readers!