Chapter 9: Three-Headed Fork

After receiving He Jiaqing's warning to abide by the train's rules, Li Banfeng quickly closed the curtains and locked the compartment door. He took out two cups of instant noodles and poured in some hot water from the vacuum flask in the compartment. He let the noodles soak for a while and then ate them.

The delicious taste seemed to leave an imprint on his soul. Instant noodles always tasted better on a train.

After finishing his meal, Li Banfeng got comfortable in his seat and messaged He Jiaqing.

Li Banfeng: Tell me now. What exactly is going on?

He Jiaqing: I'm trapped in Medicine King Gully. I'll explain in person when you get to my place.

Li Banfeng: Then tell me this first. Where exactly is Medicine King Gully? Is it still in Eastern Yue Prefecture?

He Jiaqing: It's not in Eastern Yue Prefecture. It's in Puluo Province. Without that package, I can't get out.

Li Banfeng: What is that place?

He Jiaqing: Bro, I'm exhausted. I can barely hold on. Let's talk when we meet.

Li Banfeng: What exactly is in this package?

He Jiaqing: Let me rest for a bit. I promise I'll tell you. Just remember, do not open the package.

That was his last text message.

Li Banfeng took the package out of his backpack and set it on the meal table. He stared at it quietly for a long while.

If he were to say that he wasn't curious, that would be a lie. If he were to say he wouldn't open it, that would also be a lie. He was most certainly going to open it. The question was

when

.

Li Banfeng was convinced that what lay inside the package was a rare treasure. However, he remembered the conversation that the man with wide lightbulb-like eyes had on the phone. He had called the man on the other end of the line Deputy Xiao, and Deputy Xiao had said that this item could cause the deaths of many.

Could it be some kind of poison or a biological weapon, like a pathogen or virus?

Li Banfeng had not received any new text messages from He Jiaqing. It appeared he really was exhausted.

Li Banfeng was really tired too. Back in the dorm, he hadn't been able to fall asleep no matter how hard he tried. Yet, here in the train carriage, an intense drowsiness washed over him rapidly; he found it hard to resist.

He pulled out his phone and searched for information about Puluo Province, Medicine King Gully, and Greenwater Bay. The search results were random and inconsistent, nothing definitive. He looked for a long time but didn't find anything useful.

The compartment was dimly lit. The light fixture used an old type of bulb, one that he had rarely seen during his childhood. It cast a hazy yellow glow that made his eyelids heavy. The window curtains were drawn tightly, without even the slightest gap. All Li Banfeng could see through the curtains were faint shadows of the scenery going by outside.

The steam train's huffing and puffing, the rhythmic clatter of its wheels on the train tracks, and the occasional whistle when it released some steam—these sounds formed hypnotic white noise that lulled Li Banfeng into a semi-conscious state. He stepped into the bedroom and dropped onto the berth, falling asleep instantly.

Li Banfeng had no idea how long he had slept. At some point, he woke up to drink water and use the restroom. Then he went back to sleep.

He kept sleeping until someone pounded on his compartment door, jolting him awake.

A woman called out, "Sir! Sir! Please open the door. Just let me stay inside for a bit, just a little while!"

She sounded very anxious, frantic, and on the verge of tears.

Then a child pleaded, "Mister, please open the door. Please open the door!"

The child began to cry. However, Li Banfeng didn't open the door.

The train announcement had made it clear that passengers were not to let strangers into their compartment unless absolutely necessary.

Additionally, there was one critical issue.

How does the woman know I'm a man? And how does the child know I'm an adult?

Li Banfeng hadn't left his compartment since he boarded the train. Aside from the train attendant who dropped by to check his ticket, he hadn't seen anyone else.

"Sir, I'm begging you. Just let me stay a while. I'll leave soon after!"

"Mister, please open the door..."

Knock, knock, knock!

The knocking grew more frantic, and the sobbing more pitiful. Nevertheless, Li Banfeng stayed silent.

Meanwhile, the steam train was slowing down. There was another train announcement.

「Dear passengers, we are arriving at Three-Headed Fork Station. If this is your stop, please pack up your belongings and prepare to disembark.」

The woman outside Li Banfeng's compartment shouted until her voice grew hoarse. "I'm begging you, sir! Let my child hide inside! I won't go in!"

What is going on? Why must they hide in my compartment of all places?

Li Banfeng stepped toward the door, intending to peek through the gap between the door and frame. However, he suddenly heard a man's voice.

"Just kick the door down. There's no way he'll open it!"

Li Banfeng quickly backed away from the door and looked around for something he could use as a weapon.

There are three people outside? There's even a man with them!

He had underestimated how dangerous it was to be on this train.

"Kick down the door now! If we wait any longer, it'll be too late!" exclaimed the man.

Would he really do it?

Li Banfeng thought.

I don't think so. If he was going to, he'd have done it already.

The inaction inside and outside the compartment led to a deadlock.

Hissssssss.

The train let out a long puff of steam before coming to a halt.

Clatter!

A train attendant opened the train car's outer door and lowered the step ladder for disembarking.

The woman outside Li Banfeng's compartment screamed furiously, "Open the door! Open it! I told you to open it! Are you going to open it or not?!"

The compartment door shook intensely. She had started kicking it.

Li Banfeng remarked inwardly,

That's odd. Why is she the one kicking the door?

He couldn't see outside the compartment, but he could tell from the rhythm of the sounds that the person yelling and the person kicking the door were one and the same. It was the woman!

The compartment door was shaking so violently that it could give way at any moment. Li Banfeng gripped the only weapons he could find in the compartment: some

latiao

and the vacuum flask.

At this moment, his neck itched. But he couldn't spare a hand to scratch it!

Crap. It's so damn itchy. Why now of all times??

Li Banfeng put down the vacuum flask and gave his neck two good scratches. Then he picked the vacuum flask back up again.

Bam! Bam!

Just as the compartment door was about to give way, someone else spoke outside the compartment. "We've arrived at your stop. Please disembark immediately."

Li Banfeng recognized the person's voice.

It's the attendant!

Knowing that the attendant was dealing with the woman, Li Banfeng relaxed a little. He set the vacuum flask down and scratched his neck again.

The woman shrieked, "I'm not getting off the train! I'll find a way to buy another ticket. I can't get off at the Three-Headed Fork. The Peddler left; he's not there anymore. I have to stay on until the next stop! I need to go to the Ridge of Bottomless Stomachs!"

Li Banfeng was dumbfounded.

A peddler?

Why does she need to go to the Ridge of Bottomless Stomachs just because a peddler left?

Then a scuffle broke out outside the compartment.

The woman screamed, "I'm not getting off!"

The child cried, "No! Not getting off!"

The man yelled, "We'll pay soon!"

The voices of the woman, child, and man all rang together amid the sounds of the scuffle. The noises gradually moved further and further away. It appeared the attendant was forcing them off the train.

Moments later, the attendant pulled up the step ladder and shut the train door.

Li Banfeng sat back down and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He scratched his neck and started piecing the situation together.

So those three wanted to get into my compartment to avoid paying for tickets. If I had let them in, they probably would've taken over the whole compartment, and that would've been the least of my worries. They had the nerve to kick my door and get into a scuffle with the attendant. And they had no money for tickets... If I had let them in, they definitely would've tried to rob me.

Then if I couldn't fight them off, they would have taken everything: my money, my cup noodles, my latiao, my chips, and even He Jiaqing's treasured item. Everything else I could live without, but the one thing I can't let anyone take is my cup noodles. I wouldn't be able to survive this trip without them!

Sitting by the window, Li Banfeng took a few gulps of water and tried to calm his nerves.

Choo choo~ Choo choo~

After a ten-minute stop, the steam train started moving again. Li Banfeng's neck just kept getting itchier. It seemed like he was getting a rash.

He took out his phone to check the time, but someone hit his window.

Who hit the window? Is it those three from earlier?

Heavy, muffled thumps echoed one after another.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The train kept accelerating, yet someone was still hitting his window.

Someone's chasing the train and hitting my window? How fast is he running?!

Li Banfeng backed away from the window in alarm. He considered opening the curtains to look. However, he remembered the warning in the train announcement and decided against it.

The train passed by a streetlamp, and under its light, a silhouette appeared on the window curtains. The silhouette Li Banfeng saw had the palm of a large hand, muscular arms, a wide chest, and shoulders even broader than that chest. Resting on top of those extremely broad shoulders were three heads. He only saw the silhouette for an instant as it flashed past, but he was certain of what he saw.

Is that the same person that kicked my door earlier? It seems like it!

Li Banfeng had thought there had been three people outside his door earlier. But in reality, it had been one person with three heads! The conversation between the woman, child, and man had actually been between the three heads, each one speaking in turn.

This place is called the Three-Headed Fork. Is there a connection between this three-headed man and the Three-Headed Fork?

As the train passed a row of streetlamps, the silhouette of the three-headed man kept flickering across the window curtains. He gripped the exterior frame of the train window with one hand, leaving the rest of him to dangle in midair. The exception was his other hand. He just kept slamming it onto the window. The glass seemed like it could shatter at any moment.

Li Banfeng picked up his

latiao

and vacuum flask again, preparing himself for battle.

Suddenly, someone extended a pole down from the roof of the train and jabbed the three-headed man more than a dozen times, pushing him off the window. It was the train attendant.

After successfully pushing the three-headed man off the train, the train attendant retracted the pole, calmly leapt onto the chain link between the train cars, and went back inside.

Li Banfeng stood in the center of his compartment, not daring to stay close to either the door or the window.

Buzzz.

There was another train announcement.

「Dear passengers, welcome aboard Train 1160. Passengers who have already boarded, please refrain from moving about in the train unnecessarily. ...」

Li Banfeng's neck grew itchier and itchier. After scratching it a few more times, he realized that he had scratched through the surface of his skin, causing it to bleed.

What's going on? Why is it only my neck that itches? Am I going to grow two more heads too? What if I really do?

"Then let them grow! It's lonely being alone!"

"We've always been by your side. If you grow them, we can keep you company and chat with you!"

Li Banfeng just heard two people speaking right beside his ears.