Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

Chapter 905 - 518: Outside Provinces Are So Much Fun_4

After walking for most of the day in Worry-Free Plain and re-entering New Land at dusk, He Jiaqing had already arrived at Iron Gate Fort.

At Iron Gate Fort, he descended into the lake, then entered New Land again. After a full day of trekking, He Jiaqing finally arrived at Flower Lake Park.

He came to Yuezhou hoping to seek help from Li Banfeng. Only through Li Banfeng could he gain Cui Tiq’s trust.

But how should he persuade Li Banfeng? How could he get him to join this cooperation?

He Jiaqing couldn’t think of a reason to start the conversation.

Perhaps there was someone who could give him a hand.

He pulled up his coat collar, trying to cover the bandages on his face, and headed towards Yuezhou University.

A few hours later, in the waters of Flower Lake Park, a drop of blood-tainted pus quivered slightly.

More and more pus gathered, forming a mass of viscous matter on the lake’s surface.

As the floating mass converged, a face full of sores emerged.

"So this is Outside Provinces." The face on the lake’s surface opened its eyes, glancing around at the surroundings.

The floating mass gradually merged into a human shape, turning into the ragged Greenwater Beggar.

The Greenwater Beggar crawled onto the lakeshore, took a couple of steps along the lake, when suddenly he heard someone shout behind him: "Where are you from? What are you doing?"

The Greenwater Beggar turned around and saw a man walking towards him.

"I’m asking you what you’re doing? Can’t you hear me?" The man shouted loudly.

The Greenwater Beggar shook the begging bowl in his hand: "I’m a beggar."

"Who let you in this park? Get out of here right away!" The man stepped forward and gave the Greenwater Beggar a shove, causing him to stagger.

Green Flower looked at the man in surprise: "You pushed me?"

The man glared at Green Flower: "So what if I did?"

Green Flower, having a Martial Cultivator background, was pushed only because he was unprepared.

This man seemed to have some status. If he matched with Puluo State, he should be someone from the Defense Agency, right?

"The higher-ups are coming for inspection soon, and now there’s a beggar here; isn’t this just trouble? Where’s the security? How did he get in!" The man looked around but didn’t see any security, only the Greenwater Beggar standing there dumbfounded.

"Are you still not leaving?" The man stepped forward to push the Greenwater Beggar again, but this time he couldn’t muster the strength.

His hand felt somewhat numb, somewhat soft.

It had indeed gone soft; from the elbow down, most of his forearm hung slack, as if it had no bones.

"Uh, gurgle..." The man opened his mouth, trying to call for help, but his voice was choked with pus and blood, and his jaw hung loose, unable to close.

His face collapsed instantly, and his head dropped to his chest like a lump of flesh, with all sorts of viscous liquids flowing from his mouth and nose.

Not only did the face collapse, but all his bones were being ravenously eaten by the disease, riddled with countless holes, turning soft, turning brittle, until they became a pile of powder.

The disease in the powder continued to corrode his body until it became a puddle of pus.

Under the corrosion of the pus, his clothes also turned to slime, seeping into the soil along with the pus.

The Greenwater Beggar paid no mind to the pool of pus on the ground. Holding his begging bowl, he continued to wander the park.

When he walked out of the park, the Greenwater Beggar looked at the traffic and crowd on the roadside and couldn’t help but sigh in admiration: "There are so many people in Outside Provinces, even more than in Greenwater City. I can kill as many as I want, and after all, there won’t be..."

Bang!

A man pushed the Greenwater Beggar from behind, once again making him stagger.

"Who told you to beg here? Get out right away! Or I’ll arrest you now!"

Push me again?

Green Flower turned around to see a young man and woman standing behind him, who didn’t seem very old but appeared to have considerable status. The balloon sellers, sausage vendors, and cotton candy sellers all seemed afraid of them.

The man shook his head with his hands behind him, yelling furiously: "I’m asking you a question! Who allowed you to beg here?"

Looking like this, they seemed somewhat like patrol officers, but patrol officers weren’t usually this arrogant.

It was also possible they were from a powerful family.

The Greenwater Beggar smiled and asked: "Which family do you belong to?"

The man was taken aback, raising his eyebrows: "Why do you ask? What’s it to you?"

The Greenwater Beggar praised: "People from other provinces are really remarkable. In my place, there are very few who dare to push me."

"Why I pushed you..." Before the words were finished, the man started coughing violently.

Initially thinking it was just the wind, the woman next to him didn’t pay much attention and continued urging the Greenwater Beggar to leave quickly.

The man coughed more severely, his body trembling incessantly, almost falling down, but still couldn’t stop.

The woman stepped forward to support him, seeing his face turning bluish-purple, eyes full of blood, still coughing, unsure of how to handle it.

The Greenwater Beggar turned and left, laughing as he walked: "This place is interesting, people are quite amusing, and there are no peddlers here,

once I become Li Qi, I’ll have some fun for a few more days."

...

Ma Wu arrived at the Soda Kiln, first rented a courtyard to stay, and then gathered a group of friends to inquire about the news.

The Qingyun Society and the Hundred Flowers Gate had a conflict, resulting in a casualty, which was the only major incident recently at the Soda Kiln.

But this wouldn’t warrant the Balancer’s intervention.

Ma Wu asked Yan Songan, the Border Defense Envoy of Soda Kiln, but Yan Songan was evasive and wouldn’t say much.

The more he wouldn’t say, the more it proved the seriousness of the situation. In such circumstances, Ma Wu certainly couldn’t allow Li Qi to come to the Soda Kiln.

At night, Ma Wu was thinking about what other channels he could use to gather information when he suddenly heard that Yan Songan requested an audience.

Ma Wu quickly welcomed Yan Songan into the main hall: "Brother Yan, you dismissed me with clichés during the day, and now you visit alone at night. What exactly does this mean?"

"There’s only one meaning, I want to find a suitable place to talk with you." Yan Songan looked around, feeling that the living room was not suitable.

Ma Wu invited Yan Songan into the study, and Yan Songan lowered his voice: "Indeed, there’s trouble at the Soda Kiln. I can’t articulate how big the problem is, but I do know something about where it originated."

Yan Songan informed Ma Wu of the location of the abandoned factory.

Ma Wu was a bit hesitant, wanting to take a look but unsure if he should go there.

If he just tells Old Qi about this place, it’s still hard for Old Qi to make a decision.

But if he charges in himself, he must consider his own strength.

Ma Wu is currently a Fourth Layer Lust Cultivation practitioner, accompanied by several guards, all at the Fifth or Sixth Layer.

Dealing with small figures is not a problem, but since even the Border Defense Envoy doesn’t know the inside story, the person in the abandoned factory is certainly not a minor figure.

Ma Wu deliberated for half the night, and around two in the morning, he suddenly detected a fragrance.

It seemed like the scent of rouge, whose scent was it?

Ah Qin was asleep, Huoling was also asleep, and they didn’t use this kind of rouge.

No, this wasn’t rouge, it was body fragrance.

Ma Wu quickly got up, embracing the woman behind him.

The woman in Ma Wu’s arms teased: "Wulang is so heartless, he actually forgot about me."

Ma Wu kissed Feng Daiku’s cheek, softly saying: "That is my fault, I should be punished properly."

Feng Daiku had arrived at the Soda Kiln.

As Ma Wu acted, he thought: Feng Daiku is the local deity of Pants Belt Pit, how could she just come to the Soda Kiln without the local deity of Soda Kiln doing anything?

Feng Daiku patted Ma Wu’s cheek: "Why did you stop? Do you have something on your mind?"

Ma Wu shook his head and said: "After not seeing each other for many days, I just want to savor it a bit."

"Savor what?" Feng Daiku laughed, "Could it be it has changed in flavor? Come on, tell me, what’s on your mind?"

Just as Ma Wu was about to elaborate, Feng Daiku patted his cheek again: "Why have you stopped again?"

"You’re deliberately testing me." Ma Wu didn’t stop and, with steady breath, recounted the events.

Feng Daiku wiped the sweat from Ma Wu’s face and gently asked: "Wulang, do you really want to go?"

Ma Wu nodded: "I really want to take a look."

Feng Daiku shifted positions with Ma Wu, hooking his nose: "Since you want to go, I’ll accompany you."

PS: Does Feng Daiku really care that much for Ma Wu?