Sage Peak

Li Banfeng slept until dusk, and when he got up, it was already six o'clock in the evening.

I really missed my stop.

What's done is done. The lingering influence of the Judge's Brush still exists, so Li Banfeng didn't bother to think about it anymore.

After leaving Portable Abode and picking up the key from under his sleeping quarters, Li Banfeng couldn't help but have some doubts.

Two women were sleeping on his bunk, one on top of the other.

To be precise, this wasn't Li Banfeng's sleeping quarters; these were the two young women's sleeping quarters. Li Banfeng should have gotten off the bus long ago.

Seeing the two girls arguing, Li Banfeng hurriedly explained, "I went to the wrong carriage, please don't mind..."

A piercing scream rang out from the carriage, and the train attendant rushed over.

The two female passengers explained that Li Banfeng suddenly crawled out from under the sleeping berth.

Li Banfeng explained that he should have gotten off the bus long ago, but he overslept.

The train conductor looked at Li Banfeng and asked, "Did you oversleep under the berth?"

Li Banfeng explained for a long time but failed to provide a reasonable explanation.

The train conductor gritted his teeth and said, "Traveling beyond your stop and disturbing other passengers is extremely egregious behavior. You will be fined three thousand."

"Three thousand is no problem." Li Banfeng paid the money first.

The train conductor counted the money, put it in his pocket, and didn't give a receipt.

He took out the iron rod.

Looking out the window at the rapidly receding scenery, Li Banfeng estimated the train's speed and waved to the conductor, saying, "Let me explain first. I have a general Travel Permit, valid throughout Pro State. Let's wait until the next station..."

Bang!

The train conductor opened the door and shoved Li Banfeng out with a pole.

Li Banfeng rolled over beside the railway tracks and got up.

The instant he jumped off the train, Li Banfeng heard the two girls shouting.

They seemed to be shouting, "Smash this scoundrel to his death!"

Rogue...

Isn't this ruining my reputation?

This incident really damaged their reputation. The two girls cried and complained everywhere, eventually alarming the train conductor.

The train conductor was furious. He took the three thousand yuan from the train attendant and checked the ticket information.

After verifying the information, the train attendant reported to the train conductor, "This passenger's name is Ma Junyang."

Li Banfeng's train ticket and Travel Permit were both obtained using Ma Wu's identity.

The train conductor angrily said, "I've heard of this man. He slept with his own sister-in-law. He's the most shameless man in Pro State. It's not surprising that he would do something like this."

Li Banfeng walked along the railway on the hillside for a long time without seeing a single person.

This place is all mountains, one after another, and each mountain looks like it came from the same mold, with not much difference between them.

After walking for more than three hours, Li Banfeng stopped.

According to his previous plan, his biggest worry was encountering the border.

Li Banfeng still remembers the power of the border; a single misstep could lead to annihilation.

The railway can cross the border, but illegal immigrants dare not walk along the railway line because there are checkpoints on the railway.

Li Banfeng wasn't afraid of the checkpoint; he had Travel Permit, and he wasn't an illegal immigrant.

What stopped him from going any further was not the border line, but a patch of grass that had been worn bare.

How did the grass near the railway get worn bare?

One possibility is that something suddenly fell off the train and landed on the grass, and as it slid along, it wore the grass bare.

Li Banfeng touched his back, which seemed to still be covered in Cao Ye.

This is where he fell from the train.

We've gone back to where we started.

The four-story Travel Cultivator walked along the railway for three hours and somehow ended up back where he started.

This doesn't make logical sense.

Could it be that this railway line is just going in circles?

The railway can't draw circles; I'm the one drawing circles.

After a moment's thought, Li Banfeng moved away from the railway.

There may be some force around the railway that interfered with his judgment of direction.

If we don't follow the railway, where else can we go?

Li Banfeng looked up at the starry sky. On a clear night, there are many ways to determine direction.

He quickly found due north and walked along it. After less than ten miles, a high mountain blocked his way.

This mountain is higher than the surrounding mountains, and some buildings can be vaguely seen on its slopes.

For Li Banfeng, climbing mountains was not a difficult task. He ran along the mountain path and soon found the house on the hillside.

The architectural style of these houses felt somewhat unfamiliar to Li Banfeng.

The walls were made of reddish-brown bricks, and the gate was made of vermilion. The gate had rusty door nails and a pair of huge door knockers.

This bright red building should have given people a festive feeling, but Li Banfeng always felt that the building exuded a heavy, deathly stillness.

Under normal circumstances, Li Banfeng stay away from such people.

But he had to ask for directions.

Reaching the door, he pulled the door knocker and knocked twice. A boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old opened a side door.

The boy was wearing a Slanting Placket Changshan and a small, Small Round Hat, which made him look particularly old-fashioned.

He stood at the doorway, looked Li Banfeng up and down, and asked, "Who's making a scene here?"

The question was asked quite formally.

Li Banfeng replied, "I'm just passing through and wanted to ask what place this is?"

"Please wait here while I ask my master."

The boy is gone.

I'm just asking where this place is. Do I need to ask your master for permission to do this?

Li Banfeng waited at the gate for nearly half an hour before the boy came out again. "Master said, 'Do not look at what is improper, do not listen to what is improper, do not speak what is improper, do not do what is improper.' Come back another day."

What's going on?

I was just asking for directions, how did that constitute indecent assault?

Just as Li Banfeng was about to ask a question, the boy had already closed the door.

Should we ask again somewhere else?

There are many other houses around, all with similar styles, and all of them look lifeless.

Forget it, this place is quite remote, not the same as Green Water City. Knocking on the door in the middle of the night is really impolite, so let's not scare them.

Li Banfeng found a suitable place, hid the key, and went back to Portable Abode to sleep for the night.

The next morning, Li Banfeng left Portable Abode, intending to ask someone for directions, but found that there were hardly any pedestrians on the road.

The house he encountered last night still had its door tightly shut. There was another house with its door ajar. As Li Banfeng walked forward, that house slammed its door shut.

What kind of situation is this?

I'm not a robber, I'm not a thief, and I'm not a beggar, so why are you all avoiding me?

Even if it's your first time visiting Iron Gate Fort, at least someone will answer your questions when you ask for directions.

Li Banfeng was about to go up the mountain again when he suddenly saw a man in a white shirt walking over with a solemn expression.

Finally seeing someone, Li Banfeng quickly stepped forward to ask for directions, "Excuse me, this is...?"

Before he could finish speaking, the man in White Clothes suddenly knelt down on the ground, startling Li Banfeng.

"I was asking for directions, not robbing you. I haven't done that in a long time..."

The man in White Clothes glanced at Li Banfeng with a surprised expression, but ultimately said nothing.

His eyes remained fixed on the house in front of him, and Li Banfeng realized that he was not kneeling to himself, but to the owner of the house.

What could he possibly want from someone that made him kneel down?

Kneeling in front of the door won't do any good. At least wait until people see you before you kneel.

Let him kneel if he wants; they're complete strangers, so Li Banfeng didn't want to stop him. He didn't delay asking for directions, "Excuse me, where is this place?"

The man in White Clothes, his eyes fixed on the spot, said, "To be standing on the Sage Peak, yet still asking where one is, is laughable in the ignorance of the world."

Sage Peak?

Li Banfeng had never heard of this place.

"Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the nearest Train Station?" Li Banfeng had Travel Permit and could buy a ticket.

The man in White Clothes sneered, "How can such a vulgar creature be tolerated in this Sage Land?"

Are trains considered mundane?

Li Banfeng tried to be as polite as possible. "This is my first time in this Sage Land, and I have something urgent to do. Could you please give me directions?"

The man in White Clothes suddenly frowned and replied to Li Banfeng with four words: "Do not speak of what is improper!"

There's no point in talking to him; he's not normal.

A person kneeling before the gate cannot be normal.

Li Banfeng continued walking up the mountain. The houses on the mountain were all in the same situation: the gates were all closed, and no one answered when he knocked.

When they encountered a few people pushing carts or dumping dirty soil, they all kept their distance from Li Banfeng.

Occasionally, he would encounter a few people who didn't shy away from others. Li Banfeng would ask them a question, and they would launch into a long, rambling speech, but not a single useful word would come out.

The people on this mountain are sick, seriously ill.

Li Banfeng stopped asking for directions and went straight along the mountain path to cross the high mountain.

After walking north along the mountain pass for more than ten miles, another high mountain blocked the way ahead.

Following the mountain path up the hillside, Li Banfeng saw the familiar buildings again.

The walls were a deep reddish-brown, the gate a bright reddish-brown, and dozens of people were kneeling in front of it.

This place was even more extravagant than before. Li Banfeng glanced around the crowd and spotted a familiar face.

That person was dressed in White Clothes, could it be...?

Approaching closer and scrutinizing him for a long time, Li Banfeng asked, "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

The man in White Clothes scoffed, "Don't look at what you shouldn't!"

Li Banfeng was bewildered.

Have I come back again?

Is the problem with them, or with me?

The door creaked open.

That seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy came out again yesterday.

"Master said that your time has not yet come, so you should go back."

Everyone looked at the boy with surprise and disappointment on their faces.

The man in White Clothes asked, "We have gone through countless hardships, visiting day and night to seek your guidance. Why do you say our opportunity has not yet arrived?"

The boy replied expressionlessly, "This is Master's will."

After saying that, the boy left.

Everyone was very disappointed, and some even shed tears.

"Go back? We're just going back like this?"

"What can we do if we don't go back? This is the will of the sage."

"I have waited eight long years just to see the Sage, and now I am being asked to go back? How can I accept this?"

"So what if you waited eight years? I've waited here for a full eleven years!"

Amidst the murmurs of complaint, the man in White Clothes spoke up, "The sage refuses to see us because our sincerity is insufficient. Whether it's ten years or eight, what have we done besides waiting here in vain? Have we ever demonstrated any perseverance or willpower in our pursuit of knowledge?"

Someone nearby asked, "In your opinion, what should we do?"

The man in White Clothes said, "From this day forward, I will kneel here forever. If I do not see the Sage for a day, I will kneel for a day; if I do not see the Sage for a year, I will kneel for a year."

Li Banfeng was shocked to hear this.

That person is so despicable!

P. S.: What place is this?