Chapter 1482: Hundred Steps (Part 5)

“Husband, don’t I know your body well enough? Now that your physique is becoming more robust, it’s the perfect time for promotion.”

“There’s no rush right now.” Li Banfeng left the Portable Residence.

Hong Ying asked beside him, “Xiaowan, why have you changed your attitude? You used to worry about Qi Lang promoting too quickly, why are you urging him today?”

“Because I’m afraid he’ll mess up!” said the phonograph in a heavy tone, knowing Li Banfeng’s temperament.

Back on the ship, Li Banfeng went to the dining room for dinner.

The Boat Master offered Li Banfeng a bottle of foreign wine, but Li Banfeng waved it off, saying, “I won’t drink tonight.”

“It’s a gift from the ship. You can keep it, and when you want to drink, the staff will prepare the utensils for you.”

Li Banfeng accepted the bottle, and the Boat Master calmly left the dining room, swiftly heading to the engine room.

Upon entering the engine room, the Boat Master’s legs weakened, his former calm and composure vanished.

He took out a photo of Li Qi, saying to the Chief Engineer, “It’s him, it’s definitely him, he’s back…”

The crew summoned the stoker, who was also frightened upon hearing Li Qi had returned.

The Chief Engineer remained calm: “Chief, brothers, we can’t let on now, even if we’re scared to death, we absolutely can’t reveal it, or we’ll leave our lives on this ship! If you trust me, follow my lead. Chief, while on the ship, eat and drink as usual, and don’t say anything to the crew up top. As for tonight’s work, do as we always do. By late night, we’ll almost reach the Hundred Streams. By then, they should be deep asleep, and I’ll lower the dinghy, we’ll follow the ocean current straight to Iron Nose Island, stay a month, then go home.”

Everyone pondered for a while, the Boat Master sighed, “Are we really going to abandon the ship?”

The stoker stomped his foot, “What is there to keep? Is this our ship? It’s the shopkeeper’s ship! He’s not around anymore, why should we guard the ship? Let’s leave!”

The Boat Master said again, “What if Li Qi catches up? We’re leaving him stranded at sea!”

The Chief Engineer reassured, “Don’t worry, he can’t catch up. You’ve forgotten where we’re headed. Once at the Hundred Streams, a hundred ocean currents converge there, leading to over thirty islands. How could Li Qi know where we’re going?”

The stoker nodded, “That’s right, once at the Hundred Streams, wherever we go is reasonable, Li Qi will certainly not find us!”

The Boat Master was still hesitant, “The issue with the Hundred Streams is that it’s not our intended route. They’re headed for the Border Line in the south, while the Hundred Streams is to the east!”

The Chief Engineer was unconcerned, “Chief, I’ve checked the deck, they don’t know the sea routes. If we change direction tonight, they won’t notice.”

The Boat Master deliberated again and ultimately nodded.

The stoker and Chief Engineer gathered their crew, packed up, the crew quarters were below deck, and moving quietly would not alert those in the cabins.

Soon after, dozens of crew members boarded the dinghy, rowing together, swiftly distancing themselves from the passenger ship.

Li Banfeng arrived on the deck, unaware of where these crew members were headed.

Fishing?

That many shouldn’t be needed, right?

Although suspicious, Li Banfeng was too busy to care as he had urgent matters to attend to; he needed to practice the Hundred Steps Skill.

He took a dozen wooden sticks onto the deck.

His wife was right; he was going to mess up.

His Traveling Cultivator hadn’t reached the Cloud Top Third Layer. Could he learn the third Cloud Top Technique?

Logically, he couldn’t.

But Li Banfeng gave himself a reasonable explanation.

First, he asked himself, “Am I a Cloud Top Third Layer Cultivator?”

Then, with a pat on his conscience, he answered, “Yes!”

Then he asked himself again, “Should a Cloud Top Third Layer Cultivator learn three Traveling Cultivator Cloud Top Techniques?”

And with a pat on his conscience, he answered, “Yes!”

So he went ahead and learned.

The passenger ship’s deck wasn’t very long, about a dozen meters at most. Li Banfeng wasn’t greedy; it was enough.

He first planted a wooden stick at the cabin door, then ran quickly to the bow and set another stick.

Looking back at the path, Li Banfeng felt nothing.

Don’t stop, keep planting!

Tried a dozen times, snapped several sticks, Li Banfeng still felt nothing. He wasn’t sure if it was the method or lack of rank.

The feeling suggested it wasn’t the method or rank, probably the speed.

The deck was too short, Li Banfeng couldn’t build up speed.

He gathered the usable sticks and walked to the cabin roof.

He planned to rush down from the roof, build speed in the air, and then perform the technique on landing.

Li Banfeng looked at the roof, chose where to plant the sticks, ready to dash down when he suddenly sensed impending danger.

“You’ve started learning the Hundred Steps Vertically, what cultivation level do you have now?”

It wasn’t impending; the danger had arrived.

Li Banfeng raised his head, seeing a man in a robe embroidered with Copper Coins, wearing a bamboo hat adorned with Copper Coins, standing on the passenger ship’s deck.

Mr. Kong Fang, he had finally arrived.

The Copper Coins below the hat brim were densely packed, Li Banfeng still couldn’t see Mr. Kong Fang’s face.

For fairness, Li Banfeng lowered the brim, preventing Mr. Kong Fang from seeing his face.

After a moment of silence, Mr. Kong Fang said, “Name your price.”

“What price?”

“The fee for leaving the Underground City,” Mr. Kong Fang pulled out a large string of Copper Coins from his sleeve, “Negotiations about money are easy, and matters beyond money are also negotiable.”

PS: How did Mr. Kong Fang find Li Banfeng?