Portable Abode

The Peddler was about to leave, and Li Banfeng hurriedly asked, "When will you come next?"

"Once every three months. Same day, same place. You got anything else?"

Only once every three months.

Three months from now, I don't even know whether I'll still be here.

This chance was hard to come by. He had to buy something, no matter what.

"I'll take two candles!"

The little room was too dark. Candles were a necessity.

The Peddler handed Li Banfeng two candles. "Want some matches?"

Matches meant matchsticks.

Li Banfeng had brought a lighter with him, but it had been jolted loose somewhere along the way.

"One box."

"Two candles and a box of matches. Paying in Huan Country Notes or silver dollars?"

Li Banfeng gave an honest smile. "You still want money?"

The Peddler's brows shot up. "Why wouldn't I?"

One candle cost twenty cents, and one box of matches cost five. Li Banfeng had no small change, so he handed over a one-hundred note.

The Peddler actually gave him change, a whole handful of scattered coins, including even fen coins that had vanished long ago.

Money and Goods Cleared, the Peddler left.

Li Banfeng was troubled.

No phone, unfamiliar with both people and place—where was he supposed to find He Jiaqing?

Too much had happened today. Though he had passed out twice, Li Banfeng still felt exhausted.

And he had barely eaten anything today.

He used the copper key to open the "house." Before entering, he tossed the key into the wild grass. It was well hidden, yet easy to find; within five meters, he never missed.

Entering the pitch-black room, Li Banfeng lit the candle he had bought, took off his backpack, and kneaded his aching shoulders.

Ever since getting off the train, Li Banfeng had kept the backpack on his back. The other things were manageable, but the Copper Lotus was simply too heavy.

He opened the backpack, tore open a cup of instant noodles, and dry-chewed them down.

He had no water on him. Fortunately, he had drunk two bowls of Fruit Dew earlier, so he was not terribly thirsty.

As he ate and recalled everything that had happened today, Li Banfeng felt that his mental problems showed signs of healing.

After getting off the train, I was exposed to the skylight—in other words, struck by a flow of dark-matter radiation. The exact cause is unknown.

The moment I stepped outside, I couldn't move, and two Forward Hats even tried to kill me.

For no reason at all, I became a practitioner of two incompatible paths and gained a house that could move.

If anyone dares call me crazy again, is there any experience crazier than this?

If I can't find He Jiaqing, what should I do?

Go back to the Train Station, buy a ticket, and head straight back to Yuezhou?

What am I thinking? I've already made it to Medicine King Gully. How can I just go back like this? Find somewhere to charge my phone, and won't that solve everything?

Li Banfeng used his backpack as a pillow and lay down on the cold floor.

This room was a little dark, a little small, but it was actually pretty good.

From now on, I'll call it the "Portable Abode."

This is my house.

I have a house now.

Li Banfeng's brows relaxed, and a faint smile appeared.

Though he had no idea how He Jiaqing was doing now.

Though he had no idea where exactly he was.

Li Banfeng was in high spirits.

He fell deeply asleep in the Portable Abode. When he woke, he had no idea what time it was. He had no watch, his phone was dead, and no daylight entered the room. It seemed he had lost all sense of time.

The cold, hard ground had left his whole body aching. He rubbed his neck and moved his arms and legs.

Crack! His bones popped painfully.

Li Banfeng suddenly felt that he was much stronger than usual.

Strength was surging through his body?

Was this what the Peddler had called recognizing the house?

Delighted, Li Banfeng walked several laps around the Portable Abode. Sure enough, his body felt much lighter, and his steps much swifter.

He changed into a dress shirt and slacks.

Compared to a T-shirt, the dress shirt was clearly less out of place.

He still had to carry the backpack, but there was nothing inside it.

Since it held nothing, why carry an empty backpack?

Li Banfeng had a plan.

The two Forward Hats he had encountered at the station were after him. Yet Li Banfeng racked his brains and still could not think of any connection between himself and them.

This was Li Banfeng's first time setting foot in Pro State. The only possible connection was the Copper Lotus.

The Copper Lotus was He Jiaqing's treasure, and He Jiaqing came from Pro State. Someone in Pro State was bound to know that the Copper Lotus existed.

Someone wanted to seize this treasure, so they had turned their eyes on me.

If those people found me again, the best way to escape would be to give them the backpack as bait, then take the opportunity to run.

The backpack was torn. When it had been caught beneath the sleeper berth, Li Banfeng had yanked hard, ripping open seams in quite a few places.

A little damage did not matter. It would not interfere with serious business.

After leaving the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng did not forget the Peddler's warning. The first thing he did was retrieve the key.

Just as he lowered his head to pick it up, he realized he was no longer in yesterday's wilderness.

Before him was still utter darkness, with neither night nor daylight in sight.

Had I not left the Portable Abode?

Li Banfeng was startled, thinking he had been trapped inside the house, but he quickly calmed down.

This was not the Portable Abode. Though he still could not see anything, the smell here was different from the house's.

The Portable Abode had been unoccupied for too long, and it contained only the smell of dust.

The air here seemed fresher, carrying the scent of nature—especially that fresh, fishy stench.

And this place was not completely without light. The light was merely faint.

After sleeping a night in the completely dark house, Li Banfeng's vision was very sensitive. By the weak light, he could make out a few outlines.

Rocks.

Stone walls.

This seemed to be a cave.

Could this be some wild beast's den...

He had guessed right. Beside him, two ghostly green eyes slowly opened.

The instant he saw those eyes, Li Banfeng turned and ran.

Huff!

A muffled roar came from behind him. Li Banfeng immediately heard heavy breathing and footsteps.

What kind of animal is this?

Judging by the footsteps, it had to be huge.

Where am I running to?

Am I running toward the cave entrance?

What if I run into a dead end?

Why did I come to this cave?

Did this beast deliberately lie in wait for me here?

Have I been set up again?

A string of questions churned through his mind, and as he ran, the answers revealed themselves one after another.

First, Li Banfeng had not run in the wrong direction. He saw light ahead. He really was running toward the cave entrance.

As for why he had chosen the right direction, Li Banfeng had no time to think about it.

That glimmer of light was tiny, proving the cave entrance was still far away.

In the wet, slippery cave, Li Banfeng did not think he could outrun a wild beast.

But reality proved that he could!

The cave was indeed slick, but Li Banfeng's footing was steady and fast. Until he burst from the entrance, the beast never caught him.

After reaching outside and running several dozen more meters, the beast finally staggered out of the cave.

Li Banfeng looked back. It was a bear—a gigantic black bear standing on all fours, its height reaching Li Banfeng's shoulders.

Li Banfeng had seen plenty of bears at the zoo, but never one so absurdly large. He ran for his life, wanting only to shake off the black bear as quickly as possible.

Yet that did not seem very difficult.

On the rugged mountain path, Li Banfeng ran like the wind. After chasing him for a while, the black bear gradually slowed.

It stopped chasing because it could not catch him.

The black bear was unwilling to lose its prey, but it was not stubborn. It roared twice at Li Banfeng's retreating back, then turned and went back into the cave.

It stopped chasing!

I made it!

Having survived the disaster, Li Banfeng was overjoyed!

I made it!

Did I really make it?

If I can keep this life of mine, then that will count as success.

But where was the key?

Li Banfeng turned around and looked at the black bear's back.

Though it was far away, Li Banfeng's eyesight was much better than before.

He saw a faint golden gleam flickering on the black bear's back.

The key was stuck to the black bear's back.

P.S. There will be another chapter at five this afternoon.

Dear readers, please leave a comment. Just one comment per chapter will do.

"Judge of the Lantern" has a chance to break into the circle at Lv. 3. Its breakout index is high enough, and it has enough followers, but the comment count is not enough, leaving it stuck at Lv. 2. Whenever Salad thinks of this, Salad aches for Zhiqiong, the pain slicing like knives.

Dear readers, leave Salad a message—even one word will do, even one emoji. Thank you all.

(End of this chapter)