Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo' Chapter 1443: Smoke Land (Part 3)

Where did the guide come from?

Could there really be a more professional guide than Juanzi?

Upon hearing that she didn’t have to trek through the Smoke Land, Xiao Yeci was quite delighted, “Benefactor, if there’s a place I can manage, you must take me along.”

On the afternoon of the second day, Liang Wucui brought the guide.

Li Banfeng had previously taken three days because he was observing carefully and moved slowly, but Liang Wucui moved quickly this time as they borrowed Spiritual Objects from Qiu Zhiheng, carrying the guide as they ran all the way.

“What a pity, we missed the scenery along the way.” Liang Wu was somewhat sorrowful.

Liang Cai handed over the guide to Li Banfeng. The guide was a middle-aged man with a vacant look and crooked mouth, seemingly quite ill.

Liang Cai said, “Seventh Master, this guy is a troublemaker who stirred up trouble at an inn, the Cultivator Above the Clouds Old Tan Jinxiao, who had opened three businesses. He was injured by Tang Changfa and Qiu Zhiheng working together, and it’s hard for him to recover for the time being. He wants to be a guide for you, Seventh Master, to make up for his wrongs and exchange for his life.”

Li Banfeng examined Tan Jinxiao carefully. The man was unsteady on his feet, his speech slurred, seeming entirely devoid of combat power, and even appeared mentally unclear.

“Can he really serve as a guide in his condition?”

Liang Cai confidently said, “Seventh Master, rest assured, he can still distinguish right from wrong.”

Liang Wu coughed twice, “Don’t pat too hard, that’s my chest too.”

Liang Cai specifically tested Tan Jinxiao: “Old Tan, what do you do if you’re hungry?”

“Eat!” Tan Jinxiao answered loudly.

Liang Cai nodded, “Seventh Master, you see, he can tell right from wrong, no problem!”

Li Banfeng asked Tan Jinxiao, “If we don’t go through the Smoke Land, where do you plan to take us?”

“The Underground City!” Tan Jinxiao responded crisply.

Li Banfeng looked at Juanzi.

Juanzi shook her head repeatedly, “I know of such a place, but I’ve never been to the Underground City, and I don’t even know where its entrance is.”

“The entrance is nearby.” Tan Jinxiao glanced at Juanzi and then at Li Banfeng, “Hungry, eat!”

Li Banfeng took a can from his backpack, while Xiao Yeci was still puzzled, wondering how many cans were exactly packed as even with eight people, including Liang Wucui, the food was ample.

After eating their fill, Li Banfeng confirmed one more thing, “Can ordinary people pass through the Underground City, is there smoke in the Underground City?”

Xiao Yeci blushed, the question was clearly on her behalf, being the only one with inferior physique, should the Underground City also be filled with smoke, there was no need for her to take the risk.

Tan Jinxiao looked at Li Banfeng, “The smoke from the Underground City has all gone to the Smoke Land; ordinary people shouldn’t go through the Smoke Land, they’d surely be smoked to death.”

From his explanation, Li Banfeng could roughly imagine the conditions in the Underground City.

“Since you want to go to the Underground City, let’s set off now,” Tan Jinxiao said, glancing at the cave entrance, “You can definitely make it before nightfall.”

The group packed up lightly and followed Tan Jinxiao heading northwest, walking for over two hours until they reached a dead end.

No mountain or river encountered, what stood before them was a cliff.

Standing at the cliff edge and looking down, they could barely see thirty meters deep, further down was a blanket of mist, obscuring how deep it was or what was below.

Xiao Yeci tossed a stone over the cliff, waited a while, and heard no sound of the stone hitting the ground.

“Benefactor…” Xiao Yeci, face pale, looked at Li Banfeng, unable to speak before Tan Jinxiao stepped off the cliff, hovered momentarily, then disappeared.

Did he fall to his death, or did he fly away?

Liang Wucui couldn’t explain, “Seventh Master, Qiu Zhiheng told us he couldn’t fight, we didn’t know how he just flew…”

Dusk was nearing and the Heavenly Light would soon arrive, now it seemed it was too late to return to the cave as they all apparently had to wait for the Heavenly Light.

Li Banfeng wasn’t anxious; he knew Tan Jinxiao hadn’t flown.

Beside the cliff was a hidden staircase, Tan Jinxiao had descended it. Covered by Illusion Techniques, ordinary people couldn’t see it, thus they thought Tan Jinxiao vanished, but using Golden Gaze Autumn Hair, Li Banfeng could see everything clearly.

“In a moment, I will descend the cliff, remember that I’m not falling, I’m walking down. Don’t worry if you can’t see me, there are stairs beside the cliff. Once I step onto them, you might lose sight of me, but just follow the stairs, you’ll catch up…” Li Banfeng briefly explained, then began descending steadily along the staircase.

The staircase was narrow, but even if he misstepped and fell, Li Banfeng wasn’t concerned; he could fly.

But the others didn’t have that capability, they proceeded gingerly.

They couldn’t see the staircase, probing down with their feet, Liang Wu accidentally missed a step, nearly scaring the soul out of Liang Cai.

“Scared me to death, be careful!”

“Don’t be afraid, my sister,” Liang Wu consoled Liang Cai, “If I scare you to death, I’ll have your body, and you’ll have freedom. It would be a win-win for us.”

Liang Cai spat, “Later, I’ll borrow something from Seventh Master to gag you, I’ll have peace, you’ll be comfortable, that’s also a win-win.”

After descending dozens of meters, Li Banfeng saw a cave with his Golden Gaze Autumn Hair, where Tan Jinxiao stood waiting at the entrance.

The group entered the cave together, and it was then they emerged from the Illusionary Realm and saw the entrance to the Underground City.

A vast cave several meters wide, inside was a broad, smooth road. It was unimaginable that from the cliff, they couldn’t see the cave at all.