Choo choo! Choo choo!

A pitch-black steam locomotive chugged along the tracks, spewing white steam.

Clang! Clang!

The crankshaft pulled the connecting rods and turned the wheels at high speed, striking the gaps in the railway tracks with rhythmic clanks.

A shrill whistle pierced the air.

Tooooooot!

A train with just five carriages passed through a tunnel and into a mountain valley. It was headed toward the vast wilderness of Puluo Province.

Inside the third carriage, a beautiful woman was drawing her eyebrows at a dressing table.

Some might wonder, why was there a dressing table in the train carriage? And why was she even doing her makeup on a train? Well, not only could she do her makeup in the carriage, she could even dance in it. That was because she had the entire carriage to herself.

This woman was Zhuo Yuling—the second concubine of Lu Dongliang, the head of the Lu Family. In Puluo Province, the Lu Family was affluent and influential, and it owned this train. That meant Zhuo Yuling was the mistress of this train.

The first carriage carried coal. The second carriage was filled with luggage and train supplies. The third carriage was partitioned into a corridor and two private cabins for guests. The fourth carriage served as a dining car and game room. The fifth was the bedroom of the train’s owner.

Zhuo Yuling combed through her luscious hair, pushing with her other hand to form finger waves[1]. Her eyeshadow was heavy, but her blush was light. Leaving her cheeks fair made her vivid red lips stand out even more.

She wore a blue-green high-collared qipao[2] made of indanthrene-dyed cloth[3], the hem just reaching her knees. There was a slit on both sides of the qipao, revealing the lace of the petticoat she wore underneath. With a snug waistline and subtly padded shoulders, she exuded a glamorous allure.

Zhuo Yuling was nearing forty, but her exquisite attire and makeup made her appear as if she had yet to even reach thirty.

Creak…

Someone pushed open the carriage door. Under the soft yellow glow of the wall lamp, Lu Dongliang, the head of the Lu Family, stepped inside.

Seeing him, the fragmented smile lines on Zhuo Yuling’s face drew together, rising with the beauty mark at the corner of her lips. Her sweet smile was reflected in the mirror on her dressing table.

Zhuo Yuling disliked wearing shoes. She walked barefoot across the dark yellow floral carpet and came to stand before Lu Dongliang.

Gazing into his eyes, she said affectionately, “Darling.”[4]

Compared to her, Lu Dongliang was much older. He was over fifty and dressed in a Western business suit.

He gently pinched Zhuo Yuling’s cheeks. To him, she still looked as charming and lovable as the day they first met. No matter what time it was, seeing her always brought him a bit of comfort. However, it was only a bit, and that was it.

Feeling exhausted, Lu Dongliang took off his jacket, unbuttoned his waistcoat, and loosened his tie. He sat down on the sofa, opened a bottle of foreign alcohol, and poured himself a glass. Halfway through the drink, the gloom in his heart emerged on his face, and he let out a deep sigh.

Zhuo Yuling sat beside him and pulled out a cigarette from a small metal box. She held it between her red lips, struck a match, and lit it. Then she offered the cigarette to Lu Dongliang.

She asked, “What’s troubling you, darling?”

Lu Dongliang accepted the cigarette and took a long, deep drag. “He Jiaqing is coming back tomorrow. Earlier, I was playing mahjong with his eldest aunt, He Yuxiu. And judging by her tone, I think they might be calling off He Jiaqing’s engagement with Xiaolan.”

He Jiaqing was the eldest son of the He Family, a very powerful and tyrannical family in Puluo Province. Lu Xiaolan was Zhuo Yuling and Lu Dongliang’s daughter. If the He Family hadn’t fallen on hard times in recent years, they would never have even entertained the possibility of their eldest son marrying a woman born of a concubine, even if she was from the affluent and influential Lu Family.

Despite the bad news, Zhuo Yuling appeared unworried and smiled nonchalantly. “Darling, didn’t we already discuss this? Xiaolan won’t let He Jiaqing make it back to Puluo alive.”

Lu Dongliang bit down on the cigarette, frowning deeply. “The He Family’s boy is exceptionally gifted. He’s got the Arcane Crimson Lotus. He won’t be easy to deal with. I’m worried that Xiaolan—”

Zhuo Yuling shook her head. “You’re overthinking it, darling. That boy isn’t exceptional;
he’s mediocre. Instead of spending his youth on cultivation, he went off to study in Huan. Four whole years, wasted. And what did he gain from it?”

Lu Dongliang stroked the handlebar mustache above his lip. “He’s young, so he’s too focused on having fun right now. But once he takes over as the head of the He Family…”

Zhuo Yuling stood up and walked over to the gramophone[5]. “Someone who can’t suppress their desire to have fun is a fool. And a fool that acquires a treasure is a dead man walking. As long as he boards the train, he’s as good as dead.”

The gramophone was around one-third of a meter taller than the bedside drawers and had three golden horns extending upward, one large and two small. Zhuo Yuling picked up a metal cup and used it to pour two cups of water into the small horn on the left.

Lu Dongliang looked at Zhuo Yuling and said, “I heard the young master of the Jiangxiang Gang is after the Arcane Crimson Lotus too. He’s a prominent figure in Huan. He won’t be easy to deal with either.”

Zhuo Yuling sneered. “Darling, you mean Xiao Zhenggong? That idiot isn’t even on par with a mediocre person. He’s just a cockroach—a disgusting little cockroach. Without the protection of his father’s name, he would’ve been stomped dead long ago. How could he possibly outwit Xiaolan with that tiny brain of his?”

She bent down and opened the gramophone cabinet, revealing a metal box filled with solidified fat. There was a wick sticking out of the fat, and she set it alight.

Fwoosh!

A pale blue flame flared to life. Soon after, the left horn released a thin puff of steam.

Hisssssss!

The gramophone was powered by steam.

Puluo Province was a special place. Fuel couldn’t be stored in large quantities, nor could electricity be used on a large scale. Consequently, steam engines were used to their fullest potential there.

Driven by gears and powered by bursts of steam, the gramophone’s turntable began to spin. Zhuo Yuling picked up a vinyl record and placed it onto the turntable.

Lu Dongliang stubbed out the cigarette and leaned back into the sofa. “It’s not that I don’t trust Xiaolan. I’m just worried that—”

“But you don’t trust her, darling,” Zhuo Yuling refuted him with a helpless smile. “Ever since I gave birth to her, you’ve never once looked her straight in the eye.”

As she spoke, Zhuo Yuling lowered the gramophone’s stylus onto the record.

Amid the faint crackle of static, a smooth cello prelude began to play. Once the prelude was done, the distinct notes of a piano took over, accompanied by the soft stirrings of a violin. The gentle melody and relaxing tempo of the instruments welcomed a deep and steady vocal.

「The moonlight~ is so faint and blurry.

The earth~ is shrouded in the foggy night.

The one who visits my dreams…

My dear~ where are you? ♪」

It was “Dream Lover,” Zhuo Yuling’s favorite song.

This old gramophone needed neither electricity nor magnetic discs to play music;
all it needed was friction between its stylus and the record.

Zhuo Yuling walked over to Lu Dongliang with slow, deliberate steps. She pulled him to his feet and buried her head in his chest. Wrapping her arms around him, she swayed slowly to the beautiful song.

Lu Dongliang wrapped his arms around Zhuo Yuling’s slender waist, but the song wasn’t enough to wash away his concerns.

Still wearing the same worried expression, he asked, “If He Jiaqing dies, wouldn’t the Arcane Crimson Lotus be lost in Huan?”

Zhuo Yuling furrowed her brows slightly. She didn’t want to talk about such trivial matters right now.

“Xiaolan has already looked into it. He Jiaqing has a friend named Li Banfeng. He knows where the Arcane Crimson Lotus is. Once He Jiaqing is dead, Xiaolan will find Li Banfeng and figure out a way to get her hands on the Arcane Crimson Lotus.”

Lu Dongliang didn’t quite catch the unfamiliar name. “What did you say was the name of He Jiaqing’s friend? Li… what?”

“Li Banfeng.”

“Banfeng? Half crazy?[6]” Lu Dongliang paused in surprise. “What a strange name.”

Zhuo Yuling chuckled. “You don’t need to remember his name, darling. It’s not important. Once Xiaolan gets the Arcane Crimson Lotus’ whereabouts out of him, he’ll be gone from this world.”

“What kind of person is he? Another mediocre person?” Lu Dongliang asked. He was being very prudent, afraid that mishaps might appear at every stage of their plan.

Zhuo Yuling laughed coldly. “Mediocre person? He doesn’t even count as a person.”

Lu Dongliang gently caressed Zhuo Yuling’s hair. “So, he’s like Xiao Zhenggong then, just another cockroach?”

Zhuo Yuling shook her head. “He’s even worse than a cockroach.”

That only piqued Lu Dongliang’s curiosity even more. “Just what kind of person is he?”

“How should I put it…”

Zhuo Yuling didn’t quite know how to describe Li Banfeng.

A wisp of black ash drifted from the gramophone’s fuel chamber and landed on Lu Dongliang’s collar. The gramophone’s filter probably needed cleaning.

Zhuo Yuling brushed the ash from Lu Dongliang’s collar with her finger. Gazing at the smudge on her fingertip, she wore a small smile. “He’s as insignificant as this bit of ash. No parents, no relatives… He has nothing. He grew up in an orphanage and had to work various jobs so that he could go to university—moving bricks, hauling sacks, and even running a street stall. When someone like that dies… that’s all there is to it. It’s just like blowing away this bit of ash. No one would care.”

Zhuo Yuling gently exhaled and blew the bit of ash off her fingertip.

Tooooooot!

The train whistle rang, accompanied by a sudden jolting of the train.

Despite that, Lu Dongliang’s steps remained steady. That was a foundational skill of Wanderlust Cultivators.

A fine layer of wool-like hair grew from the soles of Zhuo Yuling’s bare feet, anchoring her firmly to the carpet. That was something characteristic of Physique Cultivators.

Once the jolting was over, the couple continued their slow dance in each other’s arms.

***

The next day.

Room 606, Dormitory Building 6, Yuezhou University, Yuezhou City, Eastern Yue Prefecture[7], Huan[8].

Li Banfeng was in bed, having an afternoon nap and enjoying a sweet dream.

In his dream, he was out at sea on his very own yacht. He had a group of beautiful young women by his side, and they were enjoying the sea breeze together. The latest winner of the Golden Yuan Award for the best actress took his hand and led him into the yacht’s cabin…

Clutching his pillow, Li Banfeng drooled gleefully, about to have the greatest time of his life in his dream.

Then suddenly, a cry rang in his ear.

“Banfeng, save me!”

1. The finger wave is a hairstyle that was popular in China during the 1930s, influenced by the West. ☜

2. Also known as cheongsam. It’s a Chinese dress that was popular in China during the 1920s to 1960s. ☜

3. This symbolises the presence of Western influence and technology in China, as indanthrene dyes were mainly imported from Europe during the 1920s to 1930s and used in modern textile mills and dyehouses. ☜

4. The raw used for this is 老爷, which is a respectful form of address. It normally translates to either “master” or “my lord”, but the setting isn’t ancient China, so it seems quite awkward to use either of those. We’ve opted for a more intimate form of address instead. ☜

5. Also known as a record player. Plays those big vinyl discs. ☜

6. In Mandarin, Li Banfeng’s given name is pronounced the same way as the characters for “half crazy”. ☜

7. The character used here is 省, which means province. This “province” is the modern-day version. The “province” in “Puluo Province” is 州, indicating this “province” is the version used in olden times. However, since both 省 and 州 translate to province in English, we have no choice but to differentiate them by function rather than by literal meaning. To avoid confusion, 州 is translated as Province (since it represents a world-level domain), while 省 is translated as Prefecture (since it functions as a smaller regional division within that domain). ☜

8. Just to clarify, this is meant to be a country. Note on Huan: Interestingly, Huan was thought to be a mythical state of Korea, with mentions in historical documents dating back to the 17th century. However, the claims were largely dismissed in the 20th century. ☜