Belt Ridge

Chapter 10: Belt Ridge

Li Banfeng had not grown three heads. Less than an hour after the train left Three Heads Junction Station, the intense itch in his neck gradually faded.

He had scratched too hard earlier, leaving bloody marks on both sides of his neck.

Though he had not actually grown them, that did not mean there had been no sign that he might.

If he had stayed at Three Heads Junction a little longer, Li Banfeng suspected he really would have grown three heads.

He had clearly heard two voices speaking beside his ears just now. It definitely had not been him talking to himself.

He was not crazy. The doctor had said so. He really was not crazy.

Then what had just happened? Why had he heard two people talking?

Had he developed schizophrenia?

If my mind had already split, then I would never have to worry about my mind splitting again.

That was a good thing!

Thinking this, Li Banfeng felt considerably more at ease.

But there was one thing he could not explain. Why were there people in this world with three heads?

Just treat them as conjoined people. That was a reasonable explanation!

Then why had I shown signs of growing three heads just now?

After pondering for a long while, Li Banfeng came up with two reasonable explanations.

The first explanation: I am also a conjoined person, except I never knew it myself!

The second explanation: Three Heads Junction causes people to undergo peculiar changes.

The first explanation could not be verified for now, but the second had a logical problem.

If Three Heads Junction could cause peculiar changes in people, why would the train stop there?

Did this place cause changes in everyone, or only in certain people?

For now, he could only investigate that question online.

Li Banfeng curled up in his sleeper berth. Amid the rattling and swaying of wheels against rails, he took out his phone and searched for information on Three Heads Junction Station. Instead, he found a heap of information about Three-Headed Dragons.

So a Three-Headed Dragon was not just a monster, but some kind of tool...

Why the hell do I still have the mood to look at this?

Li Banfeng switched to searching for information related to the 1160 Train.

He found nothing. There was no information online whatsoever about the 1160 Train.

There was not even any news about the earlier derailment.

That was impossible!

How could something as major as a derailment not even make the news?

Could it be there had never been any derailment at all, and Old Chen had tricked him again?

When Li Banfeng tried to search again, his phone had already lost its signal.

Li Banfeng sighed, opened a novel he had cached earlier, and quietly waited for his signal to return.

It had to be said, reading a novel amid the rhythmic pulse of steam and machinery had a special flavor. Li Banfeng read for several hours straight, then drifted back to sleep around dawn.

When he woke, it was already noon the next day. The train arrived at a station, and the broadcast announced, "Dear passengers, Sea Eat Ridge Station has arrived."

This station was unlike Three Heads Junction. It was bustling, and even through the glass, he could hear all kinds of hawking.

"Fresh-fried twisted dough!"

"Soy milk, fried dough sticks, fried rice cakes!"

"Millet porridge, tea eggs!"

Through the curtain, Li Banfeng saw clusters of figures passing by the window. They were probably vendors pushing their carts back and forth, calling out their wares.

The cries of hawkers burrowed through his ear canals into his mind, then burrowed from his mind into his stomach.

Li Banfeng was hungry.

He truly wanted to open the window and buy something to eat, especially a couple of tea eggs.

But after restraining himself again and again, he did not open the window. He made himself two cups of instant noodles instead.

After eating two cups, he still felt hungry.

Unable to resist, he made another cup.

After eating it, he was still hungry.

Then make another one?

No, I can't wait any longer!

It felt as if a hundred hands were clawing at Li Banfeng's stomach, desperate to stretch out through his throat in search of food.

He tore open another pack of instant noodles, took the noodle cake in hand, dipped it in seasoning, and began chewing it dry.

The train stopped at Sea Eat Ridge for more than twenty minutes.

By the time it started moving again and had traveled for over an hour, Li Banfeng finally put down the noodle cake in his hand.

The uncontrollable hunger had finally subsided. They must have left Sea Eat Ridge's territory.

Eight cups of noodles sat before him, all empty. He had dry-chewed five of them.

Li Banfeng felt his stomach swelling in waves. He wanted to vomit. He dry-heaved for a long while, but nothing came out.

The digestive burden from all the excessive food made Li Banfeng lie back down again.

Click-click!

A message notification reached his ears.

His phone signal had returned. Li Banfeng saw a message from He Jiaqing.

"Medicine King Gully, Inner Gully, Pailou Street, Line Skewer Alley, Number Twenty-One." He Jiaqing had sent Li Banfeng his home address.

"Brother, come straight to my place after you get off. I can't pick you up tomorrow."

"Where the hell is your home? Why are there people with three heads there too?"

He Jiaqing did not reply.

Medicine King Gully, Sea Eat Ridge... not one of these place names could be found online.

Li Banfeng opened his map app, wanting to confirm his location. At the very least, he needed to know which direction he was traveling.

The map was completely blank and could not determine his location.

Irritated, Li Banfeng tossed his phone aside.

His battery was running low. There was an outlet beside his berth, but Li Banfeng could not be bothered to charge it. He turned over and went back to sleep.

At dusk, waves of cloying sweetness drifted through the air.

That sweet, cloying scent carried a certain restless agitation, waking Li Banfeng from his sleep.

So sweet!

It was a sweetness he could almost touch, sweet with texture and springiness, and it was warm as well.

Li Banfeng took out his ticket and looked at the station name.

Was this Green Water Bay?

Was the water in Green Water Bay sweet?

He checked the arrival time again.

No.

Green Water Bay's scheduled arrival time was three in the afternoon. Though steam locomotives were often off schedule, it was already past six.

This should be the stop after Green Water Bay: Belt Ridge.

The name was rather vulgar. Li Banfeng could not figure out why a place called Belt Ridge would smell so sweet.

He came to the bedside and, through the curtain, wanted to see what was outside when he suddenly heard someone knock on the train window. "Sir, would you like a service?"

"What kind of service?" Li Banfeng's whole body jolted.

"Train service. Twenty minutes, two hundred. Specially to relieve your travel fatigue."

Only two hundred!

What a conscientious price!

The fading light of dusk cast the graceful silhouette of the person outside onto the curtain.

A sweet voice, sweet cosmetics, and the girl's sweet sincerity on top of it all.

Li Banfeng found the source of the sweetness in the air.

Suppressing the urge in his heart, Li Banfeng replied to the person outside, "No, thank you."

The woman outside did not leave. Besides sweet sincerity, she also had sweet patience. "Sir, this is your first time here, isn't it? Don't worry, I don't have to enter your carriage."

"If you don't enter the carriage, how will you provide the service?" Li Banfeng's imagination was somewhat lacking.

"Just open the window a crack and give me the part you need."

The part I need...

Li Banfeng imagined the scene.

He stood before the train window and sent the part he needed outside.

"That doesn't seem right..."

"If the service isn't satisfactory, I won't charge you!"

The girl had put it that way. Putting a hand over his heart, how was Li Banfeng supposed to refuse?

Li Banfeng was struggling against the torment and conflict in his heart. Through the heavy curtain, he could already see a shy girl-next-door staring at him with large, watery eyes.

The sweet and pure voice outside sounded again. "Big brother, this little sister is sincere. If you think this little sister isn't good enough, this little sister won't take your money!"

Li Banfeng nodded. "Big brother knows. Big brother knows you're sincere! Big brother thinks you're very good!"

He was about to lose control. Just as he was about to open the window, he remembered the Three-Headed People from earlier.

What if this girl had three heads too?

Triple the pleasure?

One head provided the service, while the other two asked:

"Sir, are you satisfied?"

"Big brother, this little sister can do it."

Girl, my imagination really is lacking!

After weighing it over and over, he politely declined the girl's generous offer. He deliberately lowered his voice, making it sound dry and weathered. "We aren't very suitable for each other, miss. You're too young. If fate allows, we'll meet again."

The girl did not persist. The stop was limited, and she had to hurry to find her next customer.

Li Banfeng had only just calmed himself when another woman knocked on the window. From her voice, she sounded much more mature than the last one. "Sir, I'm suitable for you. The age is right, and the price is right too. Fifteen minutes, one hundred yuan. Satisfaction guaranteed."

"Madam, I received a higher education. This kind of vulgar transaction is not suitable for me." Li Banfeng was making his final stand.

"Higher education... I understand!" The woman outside adjusted her voice. "Students, class is now in session."

The mature voice carried intellect and authority, making Li Banfeng's body shudder once again.

He seemed to see the woman outside the train window: a young teacher dressed in a gray business suit, wearing glasses, pointing at writing on a blackboard as she gently instructed every student thirsty for knowledge.

The teacher outside called loudly, "Come, students, repeat after me: service!"

The students recited, "Service!"

The teacher outside was not very satisfied. "Students, your voices aren't loud enough. Repeat after me once more: service!"

"Service!" This time, the students' voices were loud and orderly.

The students' ringing recitation echoed repeatedly outside the window, startling Li Banfeng into retreating step by step.

Li Banfeng was nearly unable to hold out.

The intellectual summons came from outside again. "This student, I guarantee that my teaching quality is first-rate. If you don't believe me, open the window and look at the teaching materials and lesson plans I prepared with such care."

The teacher spoke again.

You had to listen to the teacher!

Li Banfeng placed his hand on the window and slowly felt for the latch.

His whole body trembling, Li Banfeng gritted his teeth, resisted the temptation once more, and adjusted his voice. "Sister, you've got the wrong business. I'm actually a woman."

Changing his voice was one of Li Banfeng's specialties.

He had once pretended to be a female streamer and received quite a bit in tips.

The woman outside snorted coldly and left.

Li Banfeng washed his face with cold water, trying every possible way to extinguish the raging Fierce Flame in his heart.

He could not open the window. He had to obey the train's rules.

But no matter how much cold water he used, that flame continued burning in the sweet air, blazing ever fiercer.

Li Banfeng completely lost control.

Belt Ridge's killing power was too strong.

If just one more person came to the window and named a price, Li Banfeng would open the window without hesitation and make the deal.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sure enough, someone slapped the train window.

Li Banfeng's eyes were bloodshot as he pressed both hands against the window latch.

No matter who had come, he had to make this deal!

Even if it cost him his life, he had to make this deal!

A voice outside reached his ears:

"Madam, would you like a service? Twenty centimeters, you set the time. I guarantee your satisfaction before the train leaves. Only eighty yuan."

Li Banfeng withdrew his hands.

This deal could not be made.

Listening to the man outside continuously knocking on the window, Li Banfeng felt that the air was not actually all that sweet.

He took out his ticket and checked the itinerary again.

That was right. This place really was called Belt Ridge.

Such a blunt name, such a bizarre place...

Jiaqing, once I finish helping you with your business, I might as well live here from now on.

The next stop was Medicine King Gully. Jiaqing, we would meet soon.

PS: Dear readers, there will be more at five. Give Salad a little encouragement—even a word will do. Salad will take everyone to Belt Ridge.

(End of chapter)