Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

Chapter 517 - 362 You Really Can’t See?_2

"What’s so good about this thing? Why don’t you go to the city to watch movies instead?"

"It depends on where you are. Willow Pond Village is in the outskirts; a trip to and from Black Stone City takes a whole day. The cheapest movie ticket costs three yuan, and with food and drinks, you’ll have to spend at least eight or ten yuan a day. Farmers are reluctant to spend this money."

"A foreign film costs only ten cents. Especially the children in the village, they really love it."

Five children were lying on the glass lens, watching intently as the person showing the foreign films played his rattle leisurely and narrated the story.

Today’s tale was about Wu Song killing a tiger. Wu Song had just drunk eighteen bowls and hadn’t even reached Jingyang Ridge when the person showing the films started hurrying people away. "Alright, that’s enough for today. Everyone go home."

The onlookers dispersed, but the five children who were watching the foreign films didn’t leave.

It was apparent that the children hadn’t had enough, but in reality, they couldn’t move anymore.

No one knew what they had seen, but the foreign films inside the cabinet were all imbued with the techniques of Illusion Cultivation.

The person showing the films pushed the cart forward, and the five children followed behind it.

When they reached a deserted place, the person opened the cabinet door, and the five children lined up and all entered the cabinet.

The person showing the films closed the door and pushed the cart away from Willow Pond Village.

Li Banfeng was following right behind him, ready to act once they reached an appropriate place.

Meanwhile, Luo Zhengnan had already arrived at the residence of the person showing the films but found no fortune-tellers around.

Luo Zhengnan felt uneasy, realizing something was amiss.

He sneaked into the yard and searched each of the three tile-roofed houses but found no one inside.

Could it be that they had already ’shipped out’ the goods?

If that was the case, things weren’t too bad yet.

What truly worried Luo Zhengnan was the possibility that information had been leaked, and the other side was prepared.

If that were the case, Li Banfeng would be in danger.

Luo Zhengnan immediately left the yard and returned to his residence. There, he took out a dial from a box, attached it to his back, and mounted an antenna on top of his head. Then, he hurried to send a message to Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng was carrying a simple telephone, which didn’t have an antenna attached, so it was uncertain how the signal would be.

As it turned out, the signal was quite good. The telephone vibrated, but the message arrived a bit too late.

Li Banfeng had already encountered an ambush.

He had been following the person showing the foreign films, seeking a suitable opportunity to wring some information out of that person’s mouth.

But the person had been prepared and led Li Banfeng straight into an ambush.

Five people emerged. Including the man showing the films, there were six in total, and they had Li Banfeng surrounded.

Among them, a middle-aged man in his fifties wearing a suit and tie asked Li Banfeng, "Are you with the He Family?"

Li Banfeng didn’t answer. Instead, he scrutinized the man. His garb was somewhat peculiar.

In Puluo State, many people wore suits. However, their suits differed from authentic ones. These suits were nipped at the waist, featured long lapels and short collars, and bore a strong Puluo style.

Li Banfeng was wearing a typical Puluo suit, but this middle-aged man was clearly dressed in a traditional suit, which was quite uncommon in Puluo State.

Seeing that Li Banfeng remained silent, the middle-aged man disclosed his identity. "I am a commissioner from the Defense Agency, acting on orders from the Border Defense Envoy. I would like you to accompany me to the Defense Agency to answer a few questions.

"You have no need to worry. We will give you the opportunity to clarify the facts. We will not let a single bad person go, but we will not wrong a good one either."

Indeed, this man was from an Outside Province.

Li Banfeng chuckled, "You want me to clarify the facts? Aren’t the facts already in front of you?"

The middle-aged man frowned slightly, "I do not know what ’facts’ you are referring to?"

With a sudden stomp, Li Banfeng crushed a stone. The flying fragments shattered the showman’s cart.

Inside the cabinet sat five children. Affected by an Illusion Technique and the jolting journey, they were plunged into intense dizziness. They were all semi-conscious, with vacant expressions, and various types of vomit stained the corners of their mouths.

Li Banfeng pointed at the cart, "Can’t you see?"

The middle-aged man fell silent for a moment, then shook his head, "Truthfully, I see nothing. I only saw you, just now, attack an honest and upright businessman."

Li Banfeng pointed to the person showing the films, "You claim he’s an honest and upright businessman?"

The middle-aged man nodded, "I keep track of who’s honest and who is not. You must come with me to the Defense Agency right now, or else I will have to take extreme measures."

Li Banfeng was silent, contemplating his next move.

The person showing the films belonged to the Jiang Xiang Gang and was very professional—that was certain.

The man in the suit was indeed from the Defense Agency—that too was beyond doubt.

The four men with him were his subordinates, and although their cultivation levels were surely not low, to what extent could they be high?

Li Banfeng hadn’t sensed danger before entering the ambush, a sign that these four men could conceal their ill intentions.

Was it their cultivation level discrepancy that allowed them to mask their malice?

As a Seventh Layer Traveling Cultivator, if they were concealing their malice using only their cultivation level gap, their level would have to be at the Ninth Layer.

Ninth Layer Cultivators wouldn’t demean themselves by acting as henchmen for others.

Most likely, they used some Magical Treasure or Spiritual Objects to hide their malice.

Of course, these were just Li Banfeng’s own speculations; perhaps these men were specialized tools, especially cultivated by the Outside Provinces.

The wisest action now would be to run immediately.

It was much more difficult to confront so many people, but with the speed of a Seventh Layer Traveling Cultivator, it would be much easier to flee.

However, by their attitude, they didn’t seem the least concerned that I might run away.