Iron Gate Fort

Li Banfeng stayed in his Portable Abode for a full sixteen hours before emerging.

I've been staying for so long after careful consideration.

First, he wasn't sure if Ling Miaoying would get hooks, so he had to have his Wife clean them up.

Fortunately, his Wife didn't find any hooks on him.

Secondly, he was unsure whether Ling Miaoying would chase after the train, or when the train would stop.

If Ling Miaoying catches up to the train, or if the train stops directly in Green Water City and Li Banfeng quickly appears, then his situation will be the same as if he hadn't escaped; he will still be under Ling Miaoying's control.

In terms of cultivation, Li Banfeng was far inferior to Ling Miaoying, and there was also a gap in experience. Even when it came to comparing magic weapons, Li Banfeng did not gain the upper hand. Under Ling Miaoying's control, Li Banfeng was definitely going to die.

The only thing we can rely on is the Portable Abode. Staying Portable Abode for a while longer is the wisest choice.

But what if Ling Miaoying got on the train and picked up the key?

Isn't Li Banfeng afraid?

He was afraid, but being afraid was useless.

If Ling Miaoying really finds the key and wants to pick it up, Li Banfeng won't be able to stop him at all.

Therefore, Li Banfeng prepared for the worst.

If Ling Miaoying picked up the key, he would probably take it back to study it. After studying it for more than ten hours, he would definitely be tired and would keep the key somewhere.

It's 2 a. m. now, Ling Miaoying is most likely asleep. This is the best time Li Banfeng can think of to escape.

When Li Banfeng came out of his Portable Abode, he found himself still on the train.

This means that Ling Miaoying did not pick up the key.

This is a relatively ideal situation for Li Banfeng.

All he needs to do now is stay quietly in the carriage until the train arrives at the station, then get off and figure out how to get back to Green Water City.

The last time Li Banfeng took the train, he never opened the curtains to look outside.

This was a rare opportunity, Li Banfeng stood on the edge of the carriage, carefully admiring the scenery outside.

There wasn't much scenery to admire; the night was deep and the sky was dark, and all you could see were the outlines of trees rushing past on both sides of the road.

After watching for a moment, the train conductor reminded him, "The train is going into the tunnel, you should lie down first."

Li Banfeng quickly lay down in the coal pile with the train attendant.

When did this train conductor arrive?

Li Banfeng was completely unaware.

After the train passed through the tunnel, the conductor stood in front of Li Banfeng and asked, "Why are you on this train?"

After a moment's thought, Li Banfeng gave a very reasonable explanation. "I have a ticket!"

He handed the ticket to the train conductor.

The train conductor checked the ticket and returned it to Li Banfeng, saying, "This isn't a ticket for this train."

"Really?" Li Banfeng examined the ticket carefully, then looked at the train closely, and asked in shock, "What's the train number? Did I get on the wrong train?"

Li Banfeng felt his acting was very realistic, but it failed to impress the train conductor.

The train conductor said expressionlessly, "This is Train 1151, and you need to take Train 1173."

And this is a truck; you're supposed to take a passenger bus.

Upon hearing this, Li Banfeng quickly put away his ticket and apologized repeatedly, saying, "This is my first time taking a train. I accidentally got on the wrong train. I'll get off at the next stop."

The train conductor had a different opinion from Li Banfeng: "If I let you go to the next station, it would be a serious dereliction of duty on my part."

Li Banfeng thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll get out of the car immediately when the car makes an emergency stop."

There are no plans for this train to make an emergency stop.

"Then I'll trouble you to arrange temporary parking."

The train conductor shook his head again. "Arranging a temporary stop arbitrarily is also a dereliction of duty on my part."

Li Banfeng frowned slightly and asked, "So what do you plan to do?"

"I suggest you get off the bus immediately."

"How am I supposed to get out if you don't stop the car!"

Woohoo~

A whistle sounded, and an iron pole extended from the carriage.

Li Banfeng was shoved off the train by the conductor and fell into the woods next to the tracks.

Before being stabbed, Li Banfeng tried to resist, but failed.

In Pro State, Li Banfeng truly learned the ironclad rule: never offend the flight attendants.

What place is this?

Li Banfeng patted the dust off his clothes and tried to determine the direction.

He could tell the direction, but Li Banfeng didn't know his location.

Should we walk back along the railway?

Li Banfeng had only taken a few steps when a sudden, inexplicable chill swept over him.

There is danger.

The source of the danger is not difficult to determine.

Ling Miaoying must suspect that I'm on this train, and he might be chasing me along the way.

Ling Miaoying didn't know where I was getting off the train, so getting away from the railway as soon as possible was the safest thing to do.

Li Banfeng studied the techniques for Auspiciousness and Avoiding Calamity, and traveled through the forest. He walked a long way, for an entire night.

The forest path was difficult to traverse and fraught with danger. Li Banfeng, being a newcomer, proceeded with extreme caution.

At daybreak, Li Banfeng emerged from the forest, passed through a canyon, and finally saw signs of human habitation.

The entrance to the canyon has eight large gates, very extravagant gates.

Each gate, five meters wide and eight meters high, opens in a straight line, one on the left and one on the right, and is embedded in the four door frames, sealing off the entire canyon.

Although they weren't very close, Li Banfeng could tell that these doors were very thick and made of sturdy materials.

How many people would it take to push open this door?

What's going on behind the gate?

Could it be Secret Realm?

Or perhaps a tomb?

Or perhaps...

Huff~ Huff~

What was that sound?

The train is catching up?

Ling Miaoying caught up with us?

Li Banfeng heard the distinctive hissing sound of Steam Train and shuddered in fright.

Looking around, Li Banfeng didn't see the train, but he did see the entrance to the canyon, with the leftmost gate open.

Huff~ Huff~

He didn't see the person who opened the door, but only saw black smoke and white mist billowing from the door panel.

Steam gate?

Is there such a structure?

Waaah~

After two blasts of the steam horn, the gate opened completely.

Li Banfeng took a few steps toward the gate, unaware of any danger.

He needed to ask someone for directions, and also wanted to see who was controlling the steam gate.

But when he got to the back of the door, he didn't see anyone, only a huge clock.

The clock is two meters tall, and its huge pendulum swings back and forth, reflecting Li Banfeng's entire body.

Numerous gears extend from the back of the dial, driving a large connecting rod that controls the gas valves on the pipeline.

Li Banfeng had studied mechanical fundamentals in college, and after looking at it for a long time, he seemed to have figured out some clues.

This clock has both timekeeping and timer functions.

It is now seven o'clock in the morning. When the time comes, the clock's mechanical mechanism will automatically open the gas valve, and the steam engine will drive the gate to open.

Wow, that's high technology!

Li Banfeng had been in Green Water City for so long, but he had never seen such a steam-powered automatic door.

The steam door is made with great precision. It does not require human operation to open or close. There is a limit switch on the door hinge. When the door is opened to the correct position, the steam valve will close automatically.

Surely someone has to do the job of operating the boiler?

Please don't tell me there are steam robots.

Li Banfeng followed the direction of the smoke and found the chimney, which led him to the boiler room.

There are indeed boilers running in the boiler room.

There were five men in total: two were adding coal, two were adding water, and one was reading the meter, recording the temperature and pressure.

Li Banfeng walked to the door and asked, "Excuse me, gentlemen, where is this place?"

The boiler room was very noisy, and several people looked at Li Banfeng, seemingly unable to hear what he was saying.

Li Banfeng called out again, "Gentlemen, I'm asking for directions!"

The group of people still didn't hear clearly. They pointed to the sign at the door, which read, "No Trespassing."

Li Banfeng turned and left.

You don't necessarily have to ask these specific people for directions.

In such a large village, it doesn't matter who you ask.

They're busy with their work, so there's no need for us to bother them.

The village has many houses, which are very close together and have a very similar style. They are all two-story buildings with flat roofs, and each building has a large, black iron gate.

Each floor of the small building is about 70 or 80 square meters, and the two floors together are about 150 or 160 square meters. The distance between the small buildings is also about five meters.

How come this village is built so neatly?

Perhaps Li Banfeng arrived too early, because there wasn't a single pedestrian on the road.

With no pedestrians around, who can I ask for directions?

Li Banfeng arrived at the door of a small building, knocked on the dark iron gate, and waited for a while, but no one answered.

If one doesn't respond, then go knock on the next one.

The next one shouldn't be either.

After knocking on more than a dozen doors, one finally responded.

Splash~ Splash~

The peephole cover on the iron gate was opened.

Splash~ Splash~

The person inside looked through the peephole for a long time, then opened a small window in the iron gate.

Who are you looking for?

A young man stood behind the door, and Li Banfeng could see most of his face through the small window.

His skin was very fair, as if he hadn't been in the sun for a long time. His hair was a little long, but it was neatly styled. His upper lip was bluish-black. He shaved regularly, but not very often.

Li Banfeng felt a sense of familiarity with this person's appearance.

But the young man didn't find Li Banfeng friendly; his eyes darted around, trying to avoid Li Banfeng's gaze.

It's obvious he doesn't like strangers.

"I'm here to ask for directions," Li Banfeng said. "I want to know what this place is?"

The young man replied, "This is Iron Gate Fort."

Iron Gate Fort?

The Back Third points?

I actually followed the train to this place.

How can we get back now?

Go to the station to buy a ticket?

Li Banfeng has Travel Permit, round-trip Travel Permit for Black Stone Slope and Green Water City.

But would this thing work in Iron Gate Fort?

Even if it worked, Li Banfeng didn't really want to go to the train station. Since coming to Pro State, his experiences at the train station hadn't been pleasant.

Let's go back from Xindi.

Yao Lao marked the location of Iron Gate Fort on his map.

"Excuse me, how do I get to Sun Hung Kai Properties?"

Which new piece of land are you asking about?

Li Banfeng recalled the markings on the map, "I'm going to Peach Blossom Lake New Land."

The man thought for a moment and said, "Go out of the fort first, then turn right at the main gate and go straight."

After walking for about ten minutes, you'll come to a fork in the road. At the intersection, you'll see a large willow tree; it's very big and easy to spot.

When you are facing the willow tree, turn left at the fork in the road and keep walking straight ahead without turning outwards. After walking for about half a day, you will see Peach Blossom Lake.

Facing Peach Blossom Lake, turn halfway around from left to right, walk to a large rock, jump into the lake, and you'll see the new land at the bottom.

When giving directions, use front, back, left, and right; don't use east, west, north, or south.

Distance is measured in time, not in miles or meters.

Li Banfeng felt increasingly comfortable with this person.

"Thank you." Li Banfeng took out a banknote and stuffed it into the man's hand.

The man lowered his head. "I don't want money!"

He was easily shy and easily flustered. Li Banfeng felt as if he had seen an old friend.

I really wanted to chat with him a bit more, but the man opposite me didn't seem to want to talk.

Li Banfeng stuffed the banknotes into the crack in the door and turned to leave.

The man called out from behind, "Wait a minute."

Li Banfeng and others.

The man opened the door and chased after her, saying, "I don't want your money. I forgot to tell you earlier, if you can't swim, don't go to Peach Blossom Lake, you'll drown."

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "Thank you, this money..."

"I don't want it!" This person was a bit stubborn, the kind of stubbornness unique to otaku.

He turned to go home when he suddenly saw an old man driving a donkey cart into the village.

The donkey cart was loaded with sacks. The young man walked up to the cart and asked, "How much is a pound of white rice?"

This old man sells grain.

"Two dollars and fifty cents!" The old man stopped the donkey cart.

The young people thought it was too expensive, but they didn't say much.

He rarely haggles when buying things.

"Give me a bag."

The old man handed a bag of rice to the young man. "Fifty jin a bag, one hundred and twenty-five yuan."

The young man nodded, counted the money, and gave it to the old man.

He pays first when he buys something.

The old man handed a bag of rice to the young man, who opened the bag and looked inside. "This rice has a lot of sand in it, could you exchange it for another bag...?"

"They're all the same, why bother changing them!" The old man drove off in his donkey cart.

He's not good at negotiating when buying things.

Especially when money has already been paid.

These features are too obvious.

This is a trait that almost every otaku has.

Looking at the man, Li Banfeng couldn't help but ask, "Are you House Cultivator?"

The man glanced at Li Banfeng, said nothing, picked up the rice, and went home.

The old man driving the donkey cart chuckled, "Is this your first time in Iron Gate Fort? Iron Gate Fort is inhabited entirely by House Cultivator!"

Are they all House Cultivator?

Then we should stay in this nice place for two more days.

Anyway, Ling Miaoying couldn't possibly know I was here. This is a great opportunity to learn about the House Cultivator.

P. S.: Iron Gate Fort, a truly desirable place.