Bitter Medicine Pass

Li Banfeng obtained Travel Permit and bought a train ticket, preparing to go to Yellow Earth Bridge.

Manager Steward Feng's elder brother, Feng Chongli, is still in Yellow Earth Bridge, waiting to do big business. During Li Banfeng's investigation of the railway tracks, Feng Chongli is the most crucial clue.

He didn't tell Qiu Zhiheng why he left, only saying that he would come back as soon as possible.

He went with Steward Feng Li Banfeng Li Banfeng going to Yellow Earth Bridge, to do something.

"My brother has a rule: when doing business with him, you need a witness. This witness must know you and also know him."

Few people know this rule, and he's unwilling to tell others beforehand. Often, after doing business with him, things end unpleasantly because there's no witness.

Li Banfeng asked, puzzled, "Why do we have to find witnesses? What's the point of not finding them?"

"Without a witness, business will change drastically. If it's him buying something, he'll try to negotiate the price down to less than half."

If he's the one selling something, he'll raise the price, possibly doubling it, or he might even renege on the sale altogether.

This witness is related to his spiritual practice; business without a witness seems detrimental to his practice.

"Since witnesses are so important, why weren't these rules explained to others beforehand?"

Steward Feng shook his head and sighed, "I don't know anything about this matter."

Although they were brothers and from the same school, Steward Feng didn't know Feng Chongli very well.

Before leaving, Li Banfeng took a quick look at Yao Lao's residence.

The Wife burned a record and said to Li Banfeng, "Send this to that Local Earth God surnamed Yao. He's a good fighter. As long as we guard our home, this Mourning Star shouldn't be a match for him."

But the Mourning Gate Formation" has already taken shape in Medicine King Gully, and anything can happen unexpectedly. If they encounter a sneak attack from the Mourning Star," this record might come in handy.

The power of Wife's records is beyond question.

"But Yao Lao doesn't have a record player, so what will he use to play records?"

Give him one.

Li Banfeng took a wind-up record player from the Sixth Room; it was bought from Wonderful Sound Phonograph Store.

Li Banfeng often went to Wonderful Sound Phonograph Store to buy record players. The record players from Amikan Country and Wife used the same parts, so he basically left them for Wife to upgrade. If he saw a record player from another country that caught his eye, Li Banfeng would also buy it back as a collection.

This record player was made by Austria and had a very good sound, but Yao Lao didn't like it.

"I really don't like Western things. I'll just put them in the house as decorations."

Li Banfeng placed the record player on the bedside table. "I've wound it up for you. Remember, turn it on during battles; it'll be very useful."

Yao Lao scoffed, "I'm fighting a war, do you think I have the mind to listen to this stuff?"

Li Banfeng then handed Ling Miaoying's duct tape to Yao Lao: "She's injured, use this to stick it on."

Yao Lao examined the tape for a long time. "Is this for sticking to people, or for sticking to tires?"

"Good stuff, keep it and use it!"

Watching Li Banfeng walk away, Yao Lao sighed, "I never make friends with people, why are you giving me so many things?"

Just as he finished speaking, a gentle breeze blew by.

A leaf drifted down, suddenly flying rapidly toward Yao Lao's cheek.

Yao Lao flicked the wine pot, and two ounces of old wine spilled out from the spout.

Above the leaves, the wine was poured, and wisps of smoke rose.

Yao Lao, disguised as a drunken man, followed the trail of blue smoke.

A dozen minutes later, Yao Lao returned to his recliner, scoffed, and said, "Old dog, you sure run fast!"

Yao Lao didn't pay much attention to the bleeding from his left arm and continued drinking.

He took a couple of sips, glanced at the bandage Li Banfeng had brought, and chuckled, saying, "It's a token of your good intentions, give it a try!"

Portable Abode, Hong Ying asked, "Medicine King Gully is the Bitter Medicine Pass back then, right?"

Sizzle~

The record player responded with a single word, "Yes."

Hong Ying murmured, "That person really is Yao Xin."

The same word: "Yes".

"That old geezer is still here."

"He's always been there."

"You knew he was here?"

"Know."

"Does he know you're still alive?"

"Know."

"Have you seen him since that incident?"

"No."

"You hate him?"

"I have never hated this old general. Among the three armies, he is the only one I have never hated."

Hong Ying scoffed, "Then why do you hate me?"

"You are different from him. He is a competent general. He has guarded Bitter Medicine Pass and has held it until today."

Li Banfeng and Steward Feng took the train to Yellow Earth Bridge. Of the entire train, only the two of them got off at this station.

From the moment I got off the train until I reached the station square, I didn't see anyone except for the people checking tickets at the exit.

This place is so desolate.

It may be desolate, but the area is quite large, with several main streets crisscrossing the landscape and railway tracks running through it, somewhat reminiscent of Black Stone Slope, except that the smell of rust and dust is too strong.

The strong smell was to be expected; the rails were rusty, and a Small Train, even more severely corroded, was parked there.

Many of the train wheels were removed, and the remaining few, which bore the weight of the train, were probably too heavy to remove, so they were preserved.

Needless to say, almost everything on the vehicle, except for the steam drum and boiler, was removed.

After walking several hundred meters along the main street, Li Banfeng didn't see a single shop open. Only the windows of one restaurant were still intact. When he touched the windowsill, he found that the dust was more than an inch thick.

Such a large town, almost the size of a small city, has become so desolate.

Li Banfeng asked Steward Feng, "Where can we find your brother?"

Steward Feng said, "I remember there's only one inn still open at Yellow Earth Bridge. Let's go take a look over there."

Steward Feng was a sedentary merchant who rarely went out and wasn't very familiar with Yellow Earth Bridge. The two of them groped their way along, walking from noon until dusk, for more than three hours, before finally finding the inn.

Believe it or not, this hotel is quite large, with seven floors and more than a hundred rooms in total.

The innkeeper was dozing behind the counter when Li Banfeng asked directly, "We're here to see a guest surnamed Feng."

The boss was displeased. "How can I just reveal our customers' business to you? Don't you know our rules for doing business?"

Li Banfeng gave the shopkeeper two Huan Country Notes, and the shopkeeper pointed to the stairs and said, "Room 608, he just came back an hour ago."

When the two arrived at room 608, they knocked on the door. Feng Chongli opened the door, Li Banfeng was stunned for a moment.

He looked at Steward Feng, Feng Xincheng, and lowered his voice, saying, "Did you get the wrong person?"

Feng Chongli said to Steward Feng, "Xincheng, what brings you here? And who is this...?"

Is this really Feng Chongli?

That's not right!

Feng Chongli is the elder brother of Steward Feng.

Steward Feng looks to be in his fifties.

But Feng Chongli looks to be in his thirties. What's going on?

Steward Feng gave a brief introduction to Li Banfeng, Feng Chongli invited the two into the house.

He lived in a suite, with a living room on the outside and a bedroom on the inside.

The three men sat down in the living room, Li Banfeng got straight to the point. "Boss Feng, we've come to see you today because we want to buy a pair of Iron Ruler from you."

Feng Chongli was taken aback and asked, "Are you looking to buy weapons?"

You can call it a weapon, though.

"I don't understand that. Isn't Iron Ruler a weapon?"

Feng Chongli seemed to be testing the waters, so Li Banfeng simply made his point clearer.

"You sold a pair of Iron Ruler rulers to Boss Tu back then. I took a liking to those items, but Boss Tu refused to part with them."

I came to ask you if you still have this.

Feng Chongli looked at his younger brother Feng Xincheng and felt that Li Banfeng was a bit special.

People in the martial arts world speak only three-tenths of what they mean and leave seven-tenths unsaid, always testing each other in their interactions.

Why is this person so straightforward?

Feng Xincheng said, "Brother, Boss Li is here to do business, and I will be his witness."

Although the two brothers were incompatible, Feng Chongli naturally trusted his younger brother's character.

"To be honest, I have two pairs of Iron Ruler. I sold one pair to Boss Tu, and I still have one pair left."

He actually has a pair!

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "I'll take these."

"Don't rush, think about the price first."

Li Banfeng was prepared for the price; Tu Yinghong had gone bankrupt because of it, so something so important certainly couldn't be cheap.

"Name your price."

Feng Chongli held up one finger and said, "One million silver dollars."

Feng Xincheng choked on his tea and almost vomited.

Although Li Banfeng was mentally prepared, he couldn't say a word for a long time.

One million silver dollars?

Li Banfeng asked, "Boss Feng, do you know what the price is for the Bai Le Men, the famous name of Green Water City?"

"Yes, I know. Lu Dongjun was sold to Chu Huaiyuan last year for 800,000 silver dollars."

"You want a million for these Iron Ruler?"

Feng Chongli nodded. "That really is the price."

"Was it the same price when Tu Shumei bought it from you?" Li Banfeng doubted that Tu Shumei had this much wealth.

Feng Chongli took a sip of tea and said, "Please don't ask how much Boss Tu spent."

That makes sense; it's a business deal, the same thing.

Can Li Banfeng come up with one million silver dollars?

Able.

When Li Banfeng sold the Zha Hu Long Spear, he earned 800,000 silver dollars. He kept 600,000 in Iron Gate Fort and kept 200,000 for himself.

During this period of coming and going, I was able to take out 300,000 silver dollars from my Portable Abode. Then I went to retrieve the money from Iron Gate Fort, which brought me to 900,000.

With the businesses in Blue Poplar Village, Decency Village, and Carefree Dock combined, Li Banfeng still had over 600,000 yuan, and he could certainly come up with a million silver dollars.

Li Banfeng said, "I'll give you 30% as a deposit first, and you can pay the rest later. We'll draw up a contract, but you have to let me take the things, okay?"

Feng Chongli pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

Feng Xincheng said from the side, "Brother, I trust Boss Li. I'll vouch for this. No one can carry a million silver dollars on their person. You have to give them a few days to raise the money."

Feng Chongli lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "It's rare for Xincheng to speak up, so I'll give you a discount, a big discount. The price for a Bai Le Men is 800,000."

Bring 800,000 yuan by this time tomorrow. We'll exchange money for goods, verify their authenticity in person, and draw up a contract on the spot.

If you can't bring it, don't come looking for me again. I have other business in Yellow Earth Bridge, and I won't be seeing any more customers after tomorrow.

Feng Xincheng, standing to the side, said, "Brother, what you're doing..."

Feng Chongli's face darkened, and he looked at Feng Xincheng, saying, "I've given you plenty of face."

These two brothers really don't get along.

Feng Xincheng had nothing more to say.

Li Banfeng nodded, lowered the brim of his hat, and led Steward Feng away from Feng Chongli's room.

Steward Feng blushed deeply. "Boss Li, I couldn't help you with this."

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "How can you say I didn't help? I saved two hundred thousand silver dollars!"

Steward Feng pursed his lips and said, "In business, even without me, he should have lowered the price."

But this is too much to ask of him. 800,000 silver dollars, in a single day, in this run-down place, where is he supposed to get it?

Li Banfeng didn't know where to get it either.

After the two ate something, Li Banfeng settled Steward Feng, then booked a room and returned to Portable Abode by himself.

Sitting in his Portable Abode, Li Banfeng counted the cash: a total of 380,000 yuan, still short 420,000 yuan.

He sat on the edge of the bed, silently pondering a solution.

Solution 1: Go out and rob someone.

Yellow Earth Bridge was an unfamiliar place, and Li Banfeng didn't know where to rob. Besides, he couldn't possibly target an innocent family.

Countermeasure 2: Directly seize the Iron Ruler.

That won't work either.

First of all, a fair trade requires mutual consent; why should someone steal from another party?

Li Banfeng was talking to himself when he suddenly heard the glove whisper in his ear, "Master, if you don't want to rob it, I'll go and borrow the things back for you."

Borrow it back...

Li Banfeng patted his gloves. "You're quite good with words."

"Let's go then!" Just as the gloves were about to leave, Li Banfeng shook his head.

"Borrowing is not an option either. Steward Feng is the guarantor of this matter, and he is his own brother. We can't put him in a difficult position."

The record player said, "Hey, my dear husband, what's troubling you so much?"

Li Banfeng sighed, "My Wife, I need to buy some things."

"We have plenty of money; what can't we buy?"

Li Banfeng said, "I want to buy a pair of Iron Ruler; those cost 800,000 silver dollars!"

"Eight hundred thousand? That's a really high number. What kind of good weapon is it?"

"They're not weapons, they're things used in our house."

Clang! Clang!

The record player strongly supported this. "Hey, husband, we should buy things for the house, no matter the cost! Husband, let's get the pills mixed up, the Golden Essence Pill aren't cheap!"

That's one way to do it; high-quality Golden Essence Pill are indeed extremely expensive.

But Li Banfeng still needs to save pills to advance his Travel Cultivator. Obtaining pills is not easy; the production rate of these things is not high.

In this dilemma, the man with the gloves said, "If the master doesn't want to lend the Iron Ruler, then let's lend some money instead."

Li Banfeng gave a wry smile, "Where am I going to borrow so much money?"

"Borrow from me!" As soon as he finished speaking, the glove took two steps back, with the opening facing upwards, and with a whoosh, it spat out a large number of silver dollars.

The silver dollars piled up higher and higher, filling almost half the room.

The man in the gloves said to Li Banfeng, "Four hundred and thirty-three thousand two hundred and twenty-two silver dollars, boss, you count them."

Li Banfeng was stunned for a long time.

The glove spat out another box of gold. "This is what you gave me before. Let me calculate, it should be enough. If not, I have cash; give it all to the boss!"

P. S.: Who dares to say our gloves are heartless?

I'd like to recommend a new fantasy novel, Eastern Sequence, by Cthulhu. Readers who are interested should check it out.