Li Banfeng didn't sprout three heads. Less than an hour after the train left Three-Head Fork Station, the strange itch on his neck gradually disappeared.
He had scratched so fiercely before that both sides of his neck were covered in bloodstains.
Though he didn't actually grow them, it didn't mean there wasn't a tendency for them to appear. If he had stayed at Three-Head Fork a bit longer, I suspect I really would have grown three heads. Just now, I clearly heard two voices talking beside my ear; it definitely wasn't me talking to myself. I'm not crazy; the doctor said so. I really am not insane. What was that just now? Why did I hear two people talking? Am I schizophrenic? If I'm already schizophrenic, then I don't need to worry about becoming schizophrenic anymore. This is good news!
Thinking this, Li Banfeng felt much calmer.
But there's something inexplicable: why are there people with three heads in this world? Assuming they are conjoined twins, that explanation is reasonable! Then why did I just have the tendency to grow three heads?
After pondering for a while, Li Banfeng found two reasonable explanations.
The first explanation: I'm a conjoined twin too, I just never knew it! The second explanation: the place Three-Head Fork brings about special changes in people.
The first explanation was temporarily unverifiable, but the second explanation had logical problems.
If Three-Head Fork can cause people to undergo special changes, why would the train still stop here? Does this place cause changes in everyone, or just in specific people?
For now, this question could only be researched online.
Li Banfeng crawled into his berth in the train compartment. Accompanied by the rhythmic clatter of the wheels on the rails and the swaying of the train, he took out his phone. He searched for information about Three-Head Fork station, but all he found was a bunch of information on the Three-Headed Dragon.
Turns out the Three-Headed Dragon isn't just a monster; it's also some kind of tool... Do I really have the mental space for this right now?
Li Banfeng then searched for information related to train number 1160.
He found no results; there was no information about train 1160 on the internet. Nor was there any news about the earlier derailment.
Impossible! How can such a major incident like a derailment have no news coverage at all? Could it be that there wasn't any derailment, and Old Chen deliberately tricked me?
Li Banfeng wanted to search again, but his phone had lost signal. He sighed, opened a pre-cached novel, and quietly waited for the phone signal to return.
Actually, reading a novel amidst the rhythmic pulse of steam and machinery had its own unique charm. Li Banfeng read for several hours straight and, at daybreak, fell asleep again.
When he woke up, it was already noon the next day. The train arrived at the station, and the broadcast announced, "Dear passengers, we have arrived at Hai Chi Ridge Station."
This station was not like Three-Head Fork. It was bustling with activity, and the sounds of vendors hawking their wares could be heard even through the glass.
"Freshly fried dough twists!"
"Soy milk, deep-fried dough sticks, fried glutinous rice cakes!"
"Millet porridge, tea eggs!"
Through the curtains, Li Banfeng saw groups of figures passing by the window; they were probably vendors pushing their carts back and forth, calling out their offerings.
These calls penetrated his ears, drilled into his brain, and then from his brain into his stomach. Li Banfeng was hungry.
He really wanted to open the window and buy something to eat, especially two tea eggs.
But after exercising considerable self-control, he didn't open the window and instead prepared two boxes of instant noodles for himself.
After eating two boxes, he still felt hungry.
He couldn't help but prepare another bucket.
After eating that, he still felt hungry.
Should I prepare another bucket? No, I can't wait any longer!
Li Banfeng's stomach felt as if a hundred hands were clawing from within, desperate to reach out through his throat to find food.
Tearing open an instant noodle packet, he grabbed the dry noodle cake and began to chew it, dipping it into the seasoning.
The train stopped at Hai Chi Ridge station for over twenty minutes.
When the train started moving again and had been traveling for more than an hour, Li Banfeng finally put down the noodle cake in his hand.
The uncontrollable appetite has finally subsided. I must have left the territory of Hai Chi Ridge.
In front of him lay eight empty instant noodle containers; five of them he had chewed and eaten dry.
Li Banfeng felt his stomach bloating, and he wanted to vomit. He retched for a while, but nothing came up.
The digestive burden from the excessive food intake made Li Banfeng lie down on the bed again.
CLICK-CLACK!
The sound of a message notification reached his ears. The signal on his phone had returned, and Li Banfeng saw a message from He Jiaqing.
"Medicine King Valley, Li Gou, Paifang Street, Threadneedle Alley, Number Twenty-One." He Jiaqing had sent his address to Li Banfeng.
"Bro, come straight to my place after you get off. I can't pick you up tomorrow."
"Where exactly is your place? And why are there people with three heads?!"
He Jiaqing didn't reply.
Medicine King Valley, Hai Chi Ridge... none of these place names could be found online.
Li Banfeng opened the map on his phone, hoping to confirm his location, or at least to know which direction he was heading. The map showed a blank space, unable to provide a location.
Frustrated, Li Banfeng tossed his phone aside.
The phone battery was low, and there was an outlet next to his berth. However, Li Banfeng was too lazy to charge it, so he turned over and went back to sleep.
At dusk, a cloyingly sweet scent wafted through the air. This sweet scent carried a certain restlessness, waking the sleeping Li Banfeng.
So sweet! It was a kind of sweetness that could almost be touched—tangible, elastic, and also very warm.
Li Banfeng took out his ticket to check the station name.
Is this Greenwater Bay? Is the water in Greenwater Bay sweet?
He checked the arrival time for the station again. No, that's not right. The arrival time for Greenwater Bay was 3 p.m., and although the steam train is often delayed, it's now past 6 p.m. This must be the next stop after Greenwater Bay: Pants Belt Pit. The name is quite indelicate. I can't fathom why a place called Pants Belt Pit would smell so sweet.
He approached the bed and was trying to look outside through the curtains when someone tapped on the window. "Sir, do you require service?"
"What service?" Li Banfeng's body shuddered.
"Train service. Twenty minutes, two hundred yuan. Specially to relieve you of your journey's fatigue."
Only two hundred yuan! What a conscientious price!
The twilight's afterglow cast the slender shadow of someone outside onto the curtains.
The voice was sweet, the cosmetics sweet, plus the girl's sweet sincerity. I've found the source of the sweetness in the air.
Li Banfeng restrained the urges within him and responded through the window, "No, thank you."
The woman outside did not leave. Besides sweet sincerity, she possessed sweet patience. "Sir, is this your first time here? Don't worry, I can do it without entering your compartment."
"Without entering the compartment, how do you provide the service?" My imagination is somewhat lacking.
"Just open the window a crack and give me the part that needs service."
The part that needs service... Li Banfeng imagined the scene: he stood at the window, his "needing part" extended outside. That's not quite right...
"If the service isn't satisfactory, I won't charge you!"
The girl had said so much. Honestly, how could Li Banfeng refuse?
Li Banfeng was battling the torment and struggle in his heart. Beyond the thick curtains, he could already picture a shy, girl-next-door type staring at him with big, watery eyes.
Again, the pure, sweet voice came from outside, "Big brother, I'm sincere. If you think I'm not good, I won't charge you!"
Li Banfeng nodded and said, "Big brother knows, Big brother knows you're sincere! Big brother thinks you're good!"
He was on the verge of losing control. In the instant before opening the window, he remembered the Three-Headed People from before.
What if this girl also has three heads? Triple the joy? One head provides the service, while the other two ask: 'Sir, are you satisfied?' 'Big brother, I'm good at this.' Girl, my imagination is truly impoverished!
After much thought, he declined the girl's enthusiastic offer. He deliberately lowered his voice, making it sound hoarse and weathered. "We're not quite suitable, girl. You're too young. Let's meet again if fate allows."
The girl did not persist. The stop was short, and she needed to find her next customer quickly.
Li Banfeng had just calmed his thoughts when another woman knocked on the window. Her voice was much more mature than the previous one. "Sir, I'm the right one for you. Age-appropriate, price-appropriate. Fifteen minutes, one hundred yuan. Service guaranteed to your satisfaction."
"Ma'am, I'm a highly educated person. Such vulgar transactions aren't for me," Li Banfeng resisted to the end.
"Higher education... I understand!" The lady outside adjusted her voice. "Classmates, class will now begin."
The mature voice, carrying intellect and authority, made Li Banfeng shudder again.
He imagined the woman outside the window. She was a young teacher dressed in a gray suit, wearing glasses, pointing at the blackboard and gently teaching each knowledge-thirsty pupil.
The teacher outside the window called loudly, "Come, classmates, read after me: Service!"
The classmates recited, "Service!"
The teacher outside was not quite satisfied. "Classmates, your voices aren't loud enough! Join me one more time: Service!"
"Service!" This time, the classmates' voices were loud and in unison.
The sonorous voices of the pupils echoed repeatedly outside the window, intimidating Li Banfeng into retreating step by step.
Li Banfeng was on the brink of giving in.
Again, the intellectual call reached him, "Fellow student, my teaching quality is first-rate. If you don't believe me, open the window and take a look at the teaching materials and lesson plans I've meticulously prepared."
The teacher spoke again. I should listen to my teacher!
Li Banfeng placed his hand on the window and slowly touched the latch.
Trembling all over, Li Banfeng gritted his teeth and once again resisted the temptation, adjusting his vocal pitch. "Sister, you've got the wrong client. I'm actually a woman."
Changing his voice was one of Li Banfeng's skills. He had once impersonated a female streamer and earned quite a few donations.
The woman outside scoffed and left.
Li Banfeng washed his face with cold water, trying every means to extinguish the fierce blaze in his heart.
I mustn't open the window. I have to adhere to the train rules.
But no matter how much cold water he used, the fire continued to burn in the sweet air, growing fiercer by the minute.
Li Banfeng had completely lost control. The allure of Pants Belt Pit was simply too strong.
If just one more person came to the window to state a price, Li Banfeng would unhesitatingly open it and make the deal.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Someone was indeed knocking on the window.
Li Banfeng's eyes were bloodshot as he pressed his hands on the window latch.
No matter who it is, this deal has to be made! Even if it means risking my life, this deal has to be sealed!
The voice outside reached his ears. "Ma'am, do you need service? Twenty centimeters. You set the time. Guaranteed satisfaction before we depart. Just eighty yuan."
Li Banfeng pulled his hands back. This deal can't be done.
Listening to the man persistently knocking on the window, Li Banfeng felt the air wasn't so sweet after all.
He took out his ticket and checked the itinerary again.
Indeed, this place is called Pants Belt Pit. Such a straightforward name for such a strange place... Jia Qing, once I've sorted out things for you, I might as well just live here in the future. The next stop is Medicine King Valley. Jia Qing, we'll see each other soon.
PS: Dear readers, there's more at five. Give Shala some encouragement—even just a word will do! Shala will take everyone to Pants Belt Pit.