Deliberate Calculation

Ma Wu bought more than twenty truckloads of coal from a group of coal bosses in Yellow Earth Bridge and quickly shipped them out.

Coal was cheap in Yellow Earth Bridge, but with transportation costs, there was little profit left. However, Li Qi and Ma Wu had an agreement with the Guanfang Hall that would save them half the transportation costs, so they still made a lot of money.

Ma Wu did the math and made a suggestion. "Seventh Brother, why don't we just become middlemen? It's less troublesome than mining coal ourselves."

Li Banfeng said, "We still have to mine the coal ourselves; we're not here for this kind of business."

Ma Wu was just saying that; the key is still to boost the popularity of Yellow Earth Bridge.

The train was repaired, the buyer was contacted, and enough coal had been mined. Ma Wu immediately arranged for loading and delivery.

By evening, the twenty wagons were full, Ma Wu sat in the driver's cab, and the Carriage Driver pulled the wagon beside him.

When Li Qi didn't come, the Carriage Driver asked, "Brother Ma Wu, what happened to Seventh Brother?"

Ma Wu said, "Seventh Brother originally said he was coming, but he had a couple more drinks tonight and went to sleep. I could tell he was really tired, so I didn't call him."

The Carriage Driver nodded. "Let him stop singing. It's just one coal delivery, the two of us can go."

Ma Wu looked at the Carriage Driver and said, "Brother, why do you insist on pulling the cart? Wouldn't it be better to take the train?"

The Carriage Driver laughed and said, "I feel more secure pulling this one. Don't worry, I'll go faster than you!"

The Small Train, puffing out steam, passed the West Bridge and traveled relatively smoothly, but suddenly slowed down when it reached the town.

Ma Wu asked the driver what was wrong.

The driver was covered in sweat, unable to find the cause. The shovel used for adding coal was almost sparking, but the train's speed just wouldn't increase.

The Carriage Driver, who had been jogging beside the train, had switched to walking. Sensing the danger, Carriage Driver said, "Fifth Brother, tell your men to fix the train quickly so we can get out of here as soon as possible."

Not long after, the train stopped. Ma Wu called a mechanic to repair the train, while the Carriage Driver, using his skill of Auspiciousness and Avoiding Calamity and avoiding misfortune, sensed the direction from which danger was approaching.

Chuanzi quickly found the problem: a bearing ball had fallen off at the front of the vehicle, preventing the axle from turning. It was like trying to move forward while braking, so naturally, the vehicle couldn't go fast.

"Thankfully, it was discovered early, and the axle is fine!" Chuanzi took out spare parts from the carriage, replaced the bearing, and the train continued on its way.

After running for a short while, the steam drum leaked, the steam pressure dropped instantly, and the train could no longer move.

The Carriage Driver, pulling the rickshaw, said, "Brother Ma Wu, what did I tell you? I can go faster than you. Your rickshaw is really useless."

Ma Wu was used to it; delivering coal at Yellow Earth Bridge had never gone smoothly.

That's the good thing about steam locomotives; if they break down, they can be repaired immediately.

Chuanzi climbed onto the steam drum, found the leak, and, relying on his cultivation, endured the high temperature and pressure to directly glue the leak shut.

With coal and water added, the train continued its journey.

After running less than 300 meters, the carriage and the locomotive detached.

The Carriage Driver lowered the crossbar and laughed, "I've never liked this train. It's slow and has a lot of problems."

Don't rush on your way. Let the brothers check it out properly. If it really can't go any further, I'll pull the train across. The Carriage Driver wasn't bragging; he really can pull a train.

And he really wanted to try pulling it; with so many carriages behind him, pulling it would be much more fun than pulling a rickshaw.

As everyone checked their own malfunctions, a cold wind blew by, and a melody, accompanied by singing, reached their ears. The melody was beautiful, and the singing was even more beautiful. After listening for a while, everyone was captivated, and in the blink of an eye, a large number of them fell asleep.

Ma Wu roused himself and used his Joy Cultivation Technique to encourage those around him not to fall asleep.

With his fourth level of cultivation, he was already considered a mid-level cultivator. Influenced by the technique, several people around him actually managed to resist their drowsiness.

They struggled to stay afloat here, while the Carriage Driver, pulling his rickshaw, had already found the source of the song.

The singing came from a teahouse that had been abandoned for many years on the side of the street.

In Pro State, teahouses usually have young Wife singing, mostly playing the pipa, and some playing the sanxian, but very few playing the erhu, because the erhu is really too difficult to learn.

This young woman was playing the pipa and singing, currently performing "The Crow Matches Phoenix." The Carriage Driver stood at the teahouse entrance, quietly waiting for the song to finish, and then called out to the inside, "Young lady, your singing was quite good!"

Having the means and skill is evident.

We're in a rush to do business today, so we really don't have time to listen to music. But after we're done, I'll come over and support you. I'll let you sing a hundred songs in a row, and I'll give you a dollar for each song. How about that?"

The pipa music stopped abruptly, and the Carriage Driver sneered, "Young lady, I see you're quite sensible. I'll spare your life today, but don't cause me any more trouble in the future."

The Carriage Driver pulled the rickshaw back to the railway tracks. The train was repaired, and those who hadn't slept were no longer sleepy, while those who had been sleeping woke up.

Ma Wu asked the Carriage Driver, "Have you found the singer?"

The Carriage Driver nodded and said, "Found her. We gave her a good scolding, and she won't dare come again."

"I won't dare come again next time—" Ma Wu looked into the distance, "But what about this time?"

Behind the Train Head, there was no one there.

Twenty carts of coal, along with the carriages, have all disappeared.

Li Banfeng sat in his Portable Abode, opened his Pocket Watch, and was calculating the time.

The old man coughed and said, "No need to calculate, we've arrived at our destination."

This is very rare. When Li Banfeng was in his Portable Abode, the old man rarely reminded him of the situation outside.

The current situation definitely warrants a reminder, because if we don't, the keys will be hard to find.

Before the coal-carrying Small Train departed, Li Banfeng claimed to be drunk and pretended to be asleep.

Actually, he wasn't asleep. He hid the key in the coal pile and followed the Small Train to the Train Station.

Li Banfeng suspected that the twenty cartloads of coal might be stolen, so he decided to go with them.

Let's find out who stole the coal and where they'll take it.

Now that the old man had said they had arrived at their destination, Li Banfeng immediately walked out of Portable Abode and fell into the water with a splash.

"That old bastard, he tricked me again!"

Li Banfeng poked his head out of the river. At first, he thought Portable Abode was playing another prank, until he found the key in the water and realized that the old man was right and he had indeed arrived at the destination.

This is the Coal Sand River.

Li Banfeng remained in his Portable Abode and was unaware of the specific details of the incident, but one thing was certain: the other party had stolen the coal—twenty wagons, twenty wagons of coal—which had all been stolen and then thrown into the Coal Sand River.

This river, carrying large amounts of silt and coal slag, became the location for the other party to sell stolen goods.

After putting away the keys and wiping his face, Li Banfeng swam to the shore from the icy river.

He took off his top hat, wrung out the mud, put it back on, patted his Tang Blade, and laughed, saying, "Brother, I know what difficulties you faced back then."

Tang Blade said with deep feeling, "My lord, the fact that they dare not use force proves that they cannot defeat us, but now we do not know who to fight."

Li Banfeng was quite confident. "We'll find them soon. Once we find them, we need to act quickly. They're too cunning; we can't give them time to prepare."

After entering Portable Abode and changing his clothes, Li Banfeng asked the old man, "Who stole the coal just now?"

"Seventh Brother, I have my rules. Inside the train is inside, and outside the train is outside. Have you ever seen a train that tells passengers what's happening outside?"

Li Banfeng said, "Isn't this still your fault?"

"Why blame me?"

"If you had a car window, I wouldn't need to ask you; I could see it from the window myself."

"You've got a skill to get the car window down!"

There really are car windows?

"Where can we get this?"

The old man snorted and said, "Wherever you go, I'll follow. Only if you encounter it can I see it. The key is that you have to give me some clues so I know where to look."

"A clue?" The old man gave a wry smile. "If only I remembered a clue, I'd forgotten what the car window looked like."

Li Banfeng lay on the bed for a short rest when the projector came to his side: "Seventh Director, I have something to show you." "What is it?"

The projector mysteriously went to the Eighth House, Li Banfeng followed.

"Aren't you used to staying in the Fifth Chamber? Why did you come to the Eighth House?"

The projector said, "It's best not to watch this scene in Fifth Chamber."

Li Banfeng laughed, "What shady stuff have you filmed this time?"

Behind the camera, lights flickered, and the image was projected onto the wall.

It's a coal pile.

The coal piles moved forward on the Small Train, and from their perspective, the scenery on both sides of the railway was slowly receding.

Upon reaching the town, the Small Train began to slow down, constantly starting and stopping, as if it had malfunctioned.

During a parking session, a figure appeared on the roadside. The figure was of medium build and had long clothes. The figure circled around the car.

I feel like I've seen this person somewhere before.

Li Banfeng stared at it carefully for a moment, and then the screen suddenly went dark.

After waiting for more than a minute, the scene reappeared, with a shimmering wave rushing towards the viewer, and the camera angle shifting to the river.

The image freezes, and the story ends here.

Li Banfeng looked at the projector and said, "Is this the scene outside the house?"

"It should be."

"How could you possibly have recorded the scene outside the house?"

After careful consideration, the projector replied, "Seventh Director, you've always said that the girl isn't what I imagined, and I think you're right."

Li Banfeng's cheek twitched. "That girl let you see the scene outside the house?"

"I can't say exactly what happened. At the time, I was filming a beautiful love story with her. I was taking a close-up of her face, and in the reflection of her pupils, I discovered this scene."

I've always firmly believed that this girl is a character I imagined; I thought it was artistic inspiration blossoming in my mind and reflected in the girl's eyes.

This scene, so clear and so realistic, had absolutely no connection to my thoughts.

I realized this might be a real-life scenario.

I secretly recorded this scene; no one knows about it, including the girl.

That Fifth Chamber daughter, who may actually exist.

Fifth Chamber daughter-in-law

Who exactly is she?

Why was she able to focus her attention outside of her Portable Abode?

If this footage is real, the key clue lies in the man who appeared next to the train carriage.

A man whose clothes have very long hemlines.

He used some kind of magic weapon or Spiritual Object to send the carriage, along with the coal, into the Coal Sand River.

Li Banfeng left Portable Abode and followed the railway tracks to the scene of the incident.

He searched the area around the railway tracks for a long time but found nothing unusual.

Just as he was about to leave, a scratch on the rails caught his attention.

Are these scratches left by a train malfunction?

No.

The scratch is clear and straight, so it definitely wasn't left by a wheel.

Someone has marked this place.

This was the location the other party had chosen in advance, and he had prepared his magic weapon nearby.

Steam Train require a certain amount of time to stop due to inertia.

What sect does this person belong to? How could he calculate the location of the attack so accurately?

Li Banfeng returned to the mine and saw Ma Wu sitting in the workers' shed, drinking alone.

Upon seeing Li Banfeng arrive, Ma Wu recounted the entire incident:

"Even though he had clearly seen the woman singing, the Carriage Driver went up to reason with her."

She attacked us, and this guy still has the nerve to reason with us? I really don't know what to say about this.

If Brother Qiu were here, he'd break this woman's bones!

Li Banfeng was also somewhat dissatisfied with some of the Carriage Driver's actions.

When the singing woman was mentioned, Li Banfeng asked, "Have you found out who she is?"

Ma Wu shook his head and said, "At that time, only the coachman went to negotiate in front of the teahouse. He did not enter the teahouse and was playing his tricks outside the door.

But I suspect this woman is the Little Qin, that the coal mine owners mentioned; she's the mastermind behind them.

Her purpose was very clear: first, to control the popularity of Yellow Earth Bridge and make the Carriage Driver feel insecure about their position as local deities.

Secondly, they controlled the economy of Yellow Earth Bridge. All coal transactions in Yellow Earth Bridge had to go through these few coal mine owners; otherwise, the coal could not be shipped out smoothly.

3

After having a few drinks with Ma Wu, Li Banfeng took the opportunity to return to Portable Abode.

Based on Ma Wu's description, Li Banfeng basically reconstructed the scene at that time.

He took the projector to Eighth House and wrote down Ma Wu's description on a piece of paper.

The camera panned across the screen, and the paper entered the projector, displaying the entire image on the wall.

The train stopped, Little Qin, began to sing. Most people fell asleep, while some tried their best to stay awake. It was clear from this that Little Qin was either a Sleep Cultivator or Dream Cultivator.

The Carriage Driver went to the teahouse to negotiate with Little Qin.

This not only diverted the Carriage Driver's attention but also drew everyone's attention.

A man with a long robe seized the opportunity to use his skills to move all the train carriages to the Coal Sand River.

The train had to stop at a very precise time, firstly because the mysterious person was lying in ambush nearby, and secondly because the stopping point had to be at a suitable distance from the teahouse.

You can't go too far from the teahouse, otherwise you won't be able to hear Little Qin's singing.

They also couldn't be too close to the teahouse, otherwise the Carriage Driver wouldn't go far and wouldn't leave the mysterious person any room to make a move.

His calculations were incredibly accurate.

This mysterious person is likely a Calculation Cultivator.

Are they Xiao Qin's subordinates?

Or is he the real mastermind?

Li Banfeng said to the projector, "Let's recreate the whole process again. We need to develop a strategy."

,

The projector recreated the entire process, and this time the opponent was very special, so not a single detail could be missed.

The hem of the garment is very long.

Etc.

That doesn't seem to be the hem.

This is an apron!

Where have I seen this apron before?

The next morning, Ma Wu changed into a white suit, wore a black shirt and a white tie, and dressed neatly, ready to set off.

Judging from his outfit, you can easily guess what he's up to.

"You're going to see Little Qin."

Ma Wu nodded and said, "This woman stole my things, she has to return them."

"You definitely can't go alone."

"I know her cultivation level is not low, but I have my own methods. I must get my revenge." Ma Wu was getting a little carried away.

Li Banfeng said, "Even if she is reluctant to kill you, she will not let you control her. You may not be able to get over this, and you might even lose your life."

She still has many subordinates, some of whom are ruthless. Since we're going to take action, we have to wipe them all out.

At this moment, Ma Wu was indeed not calm, but no matter how impulsive he was, he still listened to Li Qi.

"Alright, let's go together, I'll bring all the brothers along."

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "The brothers don't need to go yet. Let them guard the mine. In case we have to fight later, they might burn down our backyard. I'll go and call the Carriage Driver so he can come with us."

Ma Wu sighed and said, "I really don't trust that Carriage Driver."

Li Banfeng said, "He has cultivation at the Cloud Realm level. With him around, we won't be at a disadvantage in terms of combat strength."

After agreeing on the tactics, the Carriage Driver pulled the cart and set off with Li Banfeng and Ma Wu.

Sitting in the rickshaw, Ma Wu looked helpless. "Brother, we have important business to attend to today, can we not take this rickshaw?"

The Carriage Driver laughed and said, "The more critical the moment, the more we need to keep this carriage with us."

"Is your vehicle a magical treasure, or a weapon?"

"It's more important than magic weapons and armor. With it by my side, I have confidence."

Ma Wu looked around and said, "You don't see many rickshaws in Yellow Earth Bridge. If you pull one like that, it will be too conspicuous."

The Carriage Driver shook his head. "It's not conspicuous at all. You can just sit in the car and enjoy the scenery. No one else can see you or my car."

The Carriage Driver was truly skilled; he concealed Li Banfeng and Ma Wu, making his rickshaw invisible to ordinary people.

His figure was not even clearly visible.

As they approached the North Bridge, the Carriage Driver turned to the two men and said, "Brothers, although we're prepared to take a taxi, let's make things clear first when we meet, and try to avoid any physical violence if possible."

Ma Wu rubbed his forehead, not wanting to speak.

Li Banfeng said, "Brother, this matter is hard to explain. Since we're here, we must get a result."

The Carriage Driver sighed, "We can't kill all the people from North Bridge, otherwise we won't be able to defend this territory."

Ma Wu said, "I read in a book that as long as there are still a hundred people on the Proper Land, it will not turn into Old Land."

"Brother, we have over two hundred miners, what are you afraid of?"

The Carriage Driver said in a low voice, "They're newcomers; this amount probably won't be enough."

Newcomer?

Is there really a distinction between newcomers and veterans?

The Carriage Driver didn't explain further. When they arrived near the town, the two got out of the car.

Li Banfeng led the way, taking the Carriage Driver and Ma Wu to the pancake stall. The Carriage Driver ordered a pancake and asked about Little Qin's residence.

The uncle selling jianbing guozi wiped his hands with his apron and pointed to a small courtyard on the side of the street. "Gentlemen..."

Little Qin lives in that courtyard. When you come in, don't mention listening to music; just say you've come to buy wine.

The young lady warmed a pot of fine wine for the three of them and prepared two snacks to accompany it. As they ate and drank, Little Qin sang a song for them.

"If you think the girl sang well, the three of you can give her a little extra money. If you don't like it, you can just settle the bill for the drinks when you leave; it won't cost much."

As they were talking, the Carriage Driver finished a jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe), and said to the uncle, "Make another one."

The uncle thanked him repeatedly, took a brush, wiped the pan, cracked an egg on it, sprinkled on some chopped green onions, and asked, "Would you like crispy fried dough sticks or fried dough sticks?"

"Give me a fried dough stick."

After the pancake was rolled up, the uncle added, "Little Qin relies on her voice to attract business; she's not running a shady business. The three of you should be mindful of your words."

The Carriage Driver nodded repeatedly, and in a few bites, he finished another pancake. "Make another one."

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "Didn't we have breakfast before we left?"

The Carriage Driver ate while mumbling, "Delicious, this is so delicious."

Yes, this pancake is delicious.

Li Banfeng thought it was delicious the last time he came to North Bridge.

The ingredients themselves aren't particularly expensive; the key is the seasoning and cooking time, which are all perfectly controlled. A little too much or too little, and it just doesn't taste the same.

How can you control the seasonings so accurately?

How could he calculate it so accurately?

After eating three jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes), the Carriage Driver still wanted more. Li Banfeng said to the Carriage Driver, "Let's go to Miss Xiaoqin's place to order some dishes first. You can eat here at your leisure."

The Carriage Driver nodded. "You may go ahead!"

After the two men left, the pancake vendor wiped his hands with his apron and asked the Carriage Driver, "Are you full?"

The Carriage Driver wiped his mouth, looked at the pancake stall, and laughed, "Your apron is quite long; it's dragging on the ground."

The pancake vendor adjusted his apron. "It's clean, it didn't touch the ground."

The Carriage Driver said, "Give me another one."

The uncle quickly left some batter, and the Carriage Driver lowered his voice. "Friend, this piece of land is mine. After you finish making this pancake, you should go."

The man was taken aback. "I've been setting up this stall here for many years."

The Carriage Driver took out a rolled-up pipe, tapped it twice, and put it in his mouth, saying, "No matter how many years it's been here, this land has an owner. The deed is with me. Don't you understand the rules?"

"I don't really understand the rules you're talking about."

While the Carriage Driver and the pancake vendor were still chatting, Ma Wu had already entered Little Qin's courtyard.

"Miss Qin, please bring some wine."

Little Qin came out of the house. She was wearing a purple floral cotton-padded jacket and had her hair in two braids. She wasn't a top-tier beauty, but she was still a pretty girl next door.

"Sir, how much wine would you like?"

Ma Wu said, "Give me half a jin to try first, then I'll make two side dishes."

The girl and Ma Wu looked at each other for a moment, smiled sweetly, and went back to the kitchen to cook.

Li Banfeng didn't go to Xiaoqin's courtyard; instead, he went to Hu Manchun's small building, where Hu Manchun had a big smile on her face.

He went out to greet Mr. Li: "Boss Li, are you buying coal again this time?"

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "We need to buy coal, and we also want to buy two truckloads of yellow soil."

Loess refers to the yellow clay that is a specialty of Yellow Earth Bridge.

"Loess is easy to deal with, there's plenty of it, but soil comes in different colors, so please wait while I show you a sample."

Hu Manchun went to get the soil samples, Li Banfeng prepared to get started.

The tactics had been planned in advance, and the operation was divided into three lines.

On the front line, Ma Wu did his best to hold off Miss Qin.

On the second line, the Carriage Driver accepted a pancake vendor.

On the third front, Li Qi recruited a group of coal mine owners.

Do not kill many people, only the leaders. If their subordinates are willing to surrender, the rest will be spared.

After picking up the coal mine owner, Li Banfeng immediately went to support Ma Wu.

Ma Wu could definitely hold out for a while. The fact that this Little Qin's singing couldn't bring Ma Wu down proves that the difference in their cultivation levels is not significant.

Whether the Carriage Driver can accept the pancake seller depends on his own ability. If he can't even do this, it proves that the Carriage Driver is not up to par. Li Banfeng and Ma Wu should retreat immediately, and this business deal ends here.

In Little Qin's courtyard, the wine and dishes were all served, Ma Wu didn't touch his chopsticks, his eyes fixed on the girl.

Little Qin blushed and said, "I'll go get the pipa and sing a song for you, sir."

Ma Wu shook his head and said, "Don't rush to sing, talk to me for a while first."

The girl bit her lip. "Sir, I'm not a brothel clerk."

Ma Wu smiled and said, "You're a decent girl, I can tell. I just want someone to talk to."

The girl looked up at Ma Wu, her eyes now bloodshot.

Ma Wu poured a glass of wine and held it to the girl's lips. "Want to have a drink with me?"

Ma Wu has prepared the food and drinks, but Hu Manchun hasn't brought the soil samples yet.

Li Banfeng didn't wait any longer. He went around the screen in the living room to the back room and found that no one was there.

I went up the stairs and found no one on the second or third floor.

That kid got away!

Ignoring Hu Manchun's whereabouts, Li Banfeng immediately went to Song Shilong's house and barged inside.

That's really strange.

There was no one at Song Shilong's home either.

The Carriage Driver was still arguing with the pancake vendor, who no longer bothered to hide his intentions and bluntly said, "Sir, with your skills and this carriage, you could earn cultivation points anywhere. Why bother fighting over this wretched place?"

The Carriage Driver frowned and said, "How can this be called a dispute? This is my land, and my deed is buried here."

The pancake vendor chuckled, "If you dig out the contract and leave a piece in your car, your cultivation level won't drop. You can still cultivate in a different place."

The Carriage Driver paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Alright, you know me inside and out, so I won't lose my cultivation level."

But what right do I have to dig up the contract?

The pancake maker neatly placed the spatula on the stand, extinguished the fire, and carefully collected the batter. As if obsessively tidying up the stove, he smiled and said to the Carriage Driver:

"Sir, if you don't want to leave, then I'm leaving."

The Carriage Driver said, "I'm looking forward to you leaving. The farther you go, the better. Take that Little Qin with you, and don't let me see you again."

The pancake vendor chuckled, "If I leave, everyone from North Bridge will be gone. They're all at the Train Station now. I can give the order, and they'll all be on the train and gone. Yellow Earth Bridge will be Old Land."

Once the Yellow Earth Bridge truly turns to Old Land, your status will be gone;

"You've lost your rank and your strength has been severely depleted. If we fight to the death then, it's hard to say who will win."

The Carriage Driver sneered, "Are you trying to scare me?"

"I'm not kidding you, this is what I calculated," the pancake vendor said seriously, looking at the Carriage Driver. "I've been working on this problem for a long time. If your rank really drops, I'm confident I can beat you."

The Carriage Driver gritted his teeth and said, "There are two hundred workers in the mine. According to the rules, a region can only be turned into Old Land if there are less than one hundred people within a hundred li."

The pancake vendor laughed, "Don't try to fool me with this kind of thing. Newcomers start new businesses, old people Old Land."

One hundred native Yellow Earth Bridge residents can truly protect this Proper Land Yellow Earth Bridge; two hundred outsiders probably wouldn't be enough.

They have no roots here. I've calculated it carefully for you; you'll need to find 3,368 new recruits to hold this territory. Are those 3,368 people so easy to find? If they were, you would have found them already, wouldn't you?

The Carriage Driver was sweating.

The pancake vendor loosened his apron. "Sir, I'll say it again, you have real skills, you can get by anywhere. As long as you're willing to give me your place, I have some good stuff to offer you."

The Carriage Driver spat and said, "Do you think I'm so easy to manipulate?"

Li Banfeng visited more than a dozen coal mine owners, but all their homes were empty, with not a single person left. Realizing something was wrong, Li Banfeng hurried to Miss Qin's house to pick up Ma Wu. When he arrived at the girl's house, Li Banfeng saw the uncle selling pancakes.

The middle-aged man clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Seventh Master."

Li Banfeng smiled, "You recognize me?"

"I wouldn't dare say I know you, but I've heard of your reputation. In Pro State, you're a hero, and that's how we regard you!" The uncle gave Li Banfeng a thumbs up.

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "Stop with the pleasantries. You were prepared for my arrival today. It seems there was a traitor among my men who leaked the news."

The older man shook his head and said, "Seventh Master, your men are all clean and honest; none of them associate with me. You can rest assured about that."

The reason I took precautions in advance is because I calculated that you might come in the next few days.

"You've had your fortune told?" Li Banfeng chuckled. "You can tell fortunes?"

"It's not fortune telling, it's arithmetic," the uncle shook his head and said, "I robbed your coal twice. Given Seventh Master's past behavior, you definitely can't tolerate this."

Based on what I've heard and after careful calculation, I know you'll definitely have to come to North Bridge within the next three to five days, and once you do, there will certainly be bloodshed. So I made preparations in advance and sent everyone from North Bridge to the Train Station.

I just didn't expect you to arrive so quickly, and to find me so easily. You handed me over to the Carriage Driver, telling Fifth Master to deal with Miss Qin, and that by taking care of my leaders, we'd be all wiped out.

Li Banfeng frowned and asked, "You calculated all of this?"

The pancake maker pulled out a stack of papers from under the batter. "Here's the calculation sheet. You can take a look. It's a pity you were too fast and I was too slow. I almost ended up in your hands today."

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "He really is a Calculation Cultivator, and he's especially good at calculating probabilities. Since we've made things clear, let's settle this today."

The uncle shook his head and said, "Seventh Master, if we calculate it this way, both our families will lose out. If you insist on fighting me, I'll immediately send someone to the station to tell those guys from North Bridge to board the train."

"With them gone, your two hundred-plus outsiders couldn't hold onto Yellow Earth Bridge. Yellow Earth Bridge turned into Old Land, and nobody made any money in this business!"

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "I'll go to the station right now and stop them from leaving."

"Seventh Master, the train station is Outer State territory. Do you dare to make a move there?"

Li Banfeng calmly replied, "What's there to be afraid of?"

"I'm impressed! I truly admire you," the uncle nodded. "But I have an even better idea. I wonder if Seventh Master would like to hear it?"

"What idea?"

"Business is business, no matter who you do it with. The Carriage Driver is gone, but we can pick up the business again and have a good talk. I don't want Yellow Earth Bridge to become Old Land. I want to bring people back to Shengyun."

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "What's the use of telling me this? I've signed a contract with the Carriage Driver; this business can only be done with him. He's the Local Earth God!"

"Seventh Master, your contract may be invalid. The Carriage Driver has already run away; he breached the contract first."

"They ran away?" Li Banfeng didn't believe it.

The Carriage Driver's cultivation is so high, there's no reason for him to run away.

The pancake vendor, holding up an iron certificate, said, "This is a deed for the Yellow Earth Bridge area. You should recognize it. If you still don't believe me, I also have Paper Contract left by the Carriage Driver."

If you still don't believe me, there are wheel tracks on the ground. These tracks lead all the way to the South Bridge, South Bridge connects to the new land. If I'm not mistaken, the Carriage Driver has already gone quite a distance along the new land!"

P. S.: The Carriage Driver was indeed an apprentice of the Train Grandpa, but his temperament was quite different.