Li Feng felt the voice was somewhat familiar. Looking up, he saw it was the burly man he had met in Kunyang Town, now staring at him with a look of surprise.
Why him?
Li Feng hadn’t expected to meet this burly man here. How could he be in this place?
“Brother, I thought I was fast, but you’re even faster,” the burly man said, patting a package on his motorcycle and grinning at Li Feng. “I thought I was the first to leave Kunyang Town, but it turns out you beat me to it.”
“Where are you headed, brother?” Li Feng asked.
“Sigh, I don’t know where to go. I thought I’d have a chance to make a living in Dumen, but Dumen got wiped out. With no job now, I’ve got to find another,” the burly man said with a sigh.
“You joined Dumen just for a living? Aren’t you from Kunyang Town?” Li Feng asked, puzzled.
“Brother, when did I ever say I was from Kunyang Town? I’m a proud son of Qilu Province,” the burly man said, thumping his chest. “Do the folks in Kunyang Town look as tall and mighty as me?”
“Qilu Province? If you’re from Qilu, why show up in a small place like Kunyang Town?” Li Feng realised the man’s accent was indeed from Qilu Province, so he wasn’t lying about his origins.
Initially, Li Feng had been suspicious about why this burly man would appear here out of nowhere, but now he was starting to believe him.
“Sigh, I left home to find work. My hometown’s poor, and I’ve always eaten more than others since I was a kid, so I had to look for jobs elsewhere. But many bosses wouldn’t hire me. A few years ago, I heard in Yangcheng that there was food to be had in Kunyang Town, so I came to try my luck.”
The burly man looked helpless, as if seeing Li Feng gave him someone to vent to. “Dumen was good, at least I could eat my fill, but now Dumen’s gone, and I’m out of food again. So I had to leave Kunyang Town to try my luck elsewhere.”
He glanced at Li Feng and added, “I didn’t expect you to move faster than me. I thought I was the first to leave Kunyang Town. But I’ve got to say, brother, your decision was wise. The whole town’s locked down now. It’s not easy to leave even if you want to.”
“Locked down? You’re saying Kunyang Town’s been sealed off?” Li Feng was taken aback.
“Yeah, by some armed police,” the burly man nodded.
Li Feng chuckled inwardly. The armed police in Nanling Province were too slow. What was the point of sealing off Kunyang Town now?
“Brother, hop on. I’ll give you a ride,” the burly man said, patting the back seat of his motorcycle.
“Alright,” Li Feng agreed, getting on without hesitation.
The burly man’s presence here suggested two possibilities. Either he was telling the truth, having joined Dumen for food and meeting Li Feng by chance, or he was an exceptional actor with ulterior motives, approaching Li Feng with a hidden agenda.
But between the two, Li Feng leaned toward the first. With two lifetimes of experience, he trusted his judgement.
Vroom, vroom, vroom…
The burly man started the motorcycle and rode forward, asking as he drove, “Brother, where are you headed?”
“To a nearby town to grab some food first,” Li Feng replied.
“Haha, same here,” the burly man laughed, speeding up.
Soon, they arrived at a small town, and the burly man parked his motorcycle in front of a noodle shop.
“Boss, ten bowls of Yangchun noodles,” he called out to the shop owner before getting off, then turned to Li Feng with a sheepish look. “Brother, how many bowls do you want?”
Before Li Feng could answer, he muttered to himself, “Brother, with your build, two bowls should be enough.”
“No, I want twenty bowls,” Li Feng said, shaking his head.
“What?” The burly man looked at Li Feng in disbelief, shocked. “Brother, did you misspeak? Twenty bowls? Can you eat that much?”
“Of course,” Li Feng said with a smile, walking into the noodle shop and telling the owner, “Boss, I want twenty bowls of Yangchun noodles.”
“This…” The owner glanced at Li Feng, then at the burly man who followed, uncertain. “How many of you are there?”
“Just the two of us,” Li Feng replied.
“But…” The owner hesitated, eyeing them suspiciously, wondering if they were joking. One wanted ten bowls of Yangchun noodles, the other twenty. Could they really eat that much?
“Boss, don’t worry, just cook the noodles. You’ll get your money,” Li Feng said, placing two hundred-yuan bills on the table.
“…Alright,” the owner said, caring only about the money. He took it and went to cook.
“Brother, can you really eat that much?” the burly man asked, sitting across from Li Feng, still incredulous. He considered himself a big eater, but even for him, twenty bowls of Yangchun noodles was a challenge. With Li Feng’s build, how could he manage it?
Li Feng didn’t answer. Let alone twenty bowls of noodles, he could handle twenty bowls of meat. A martial cultivator’s appetite was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
Soon, the owner brought out bowl after bowl of Yangchun noodles. Li Feng gestured for the burly man to dig in, then grabbed a bowl and started eating.
These past few days, Li Feng had been either in the Hundred Thousand Mountains or Kunyang Town, and it had been a while since he’d eaten anything this delicious. Though it was just plain Yangchun noodles, he found them exceptionally tasty and ate quickly.
“This…” The burly man stared at Li Feng in disbelief. He’d only eaten two bowls when he looked up to see Li Feng already on his sixth. The speed left him dumbfounded. He’d always been a big eater, consuming enough for three people, but he’d never seen anyone outeat him.
Earlier, he thought Li Feng was just posturing, that there was no way he could finish twenty bowls, and out of respect, he hadn’t called him out. But now, seeing Li Feng’s eating speed, he was shocked and started to believe Li Feng might actually manage it.
In the moment the burly man was lost in thought, Li Feng was already on his tenth bowl. Seeing this, the burly man’s shock turned to excitement.
“Amazing!” Li Feng finished all twenty bowls, wiped his mouth, and looked at the burly man, only to be startled by his gaze.
The burly man was looking at him as if he were a beautiful woman.
Li Feng shivered. He wouldn’t want to…
“Brother, take me under your wing,” the burly man suddenly stood, bowing deeply to Li Feng.
“Brother, what are you doing?” Li Feng asked, confused.
“Brother, I’ve never met anyone who can outeat me. I’ve decided to follow you from now on,” the burly man said, as if making a monumental decision, looking at Li Feng intently.
“Follow me?”
“Yes, I’ll follow you. Just keep me fed, and I’ll do anything,” the burly man said.
Li Feng’s heart stirred, and he asked, “Are you sure you want to follow me?”
“Yes,” the burly man nodded.
“Alright, you’ll follow me from now on. By the way, what’s your name?” Li Feng asked.
“I’m Bu Meng.”
“Not fierce?” Li Feng was taken aback. Was there such a strange name in this world?
“It’s Bu Meng, as in step-by-step,” Bu Meng said, waving his hand. “I’m very fierce.”
Li Feng chuckled. Whether Bu Meng was fierce or not, he didn’t know, but he liked the guy and didn’t mind taking him on as a follower.
“By the way, boss, I don’t know your name yet,” Bu Meng said, changing how he addressed Li Feng now that he’d decided to follow him.
“I’m Li Feng,” Li Feng said with a smile.
“Oh, Li Feng… Wait, what? Li Feng?” Bu Meng’s eyes widened in disbelief, pointing at Li Feng shakily. “You, you’re that Li Feng?”
“That’s right, Bu Meng. Do you still want to follow me?” Li Feng asked.
“Of course! Why wouldn’t I? If you’re Li Feng, that means you’re strong. Following a strong person is my dream,” Bu Meng said eagerly.
He paused, then looked at Li Feng nervously. “Li Feng, uh, no, boss, I said some bad things about you before. You won’t hold it against me, will you?”
“What do you think?” Li Feng asked with a smile.
“I, I…” Bu Meng scratched his head, at a loss, his burly frame making the scene quite comical.
“Alright, I’m not that petty,” Li Feng laughed. He knew that the success of this operation in Kunyang Town owed a lot to Bu Meng. Without him, taking down Dumen wouldn’t have been so easy.
“Really?” Bu Meng was overjoyed. He’d decided to follow Li Feng because of his eating prowess, seeing him as a kindred spirit. Finding a job had always been hard, so sticking with Li Feng to eat well seemed like a good plan.
But he hadn’t expected Li Feng to be *that* Li Feng, the one who gave Dumen such a headache. This thrilled him. His grandfather had always said that following the strong would lead to success, and in his eyes, Li Feng was a strong man.
Li Feng nodded. “But Bu Meng, if you follow me, be prepared. I don’t take in weaklings. Your current strength is still weak in my eyes. You’ll need to undergo my special training.”
“Don’t worry, boss. I, Bu Meng, can handle any hardship. Just keep me fed every day,” Bu Meng said eagerly.
“Haha, I, Li Feng, won’t let my followers go hungry. And you don’t need to call me boss. Call me Young Master Feng,” Li Feng said with a laugh.
At this moment, Li Feng had no idea that this Bu Meng, who followed him for a full stomach, would become his right-hand man and vanguard general.
“Yes, Young Master Feng,” Bu Meng said, delighted.
“Eat your noodles, and then we’ll go,” Li Feng said.
“Alright, alright,” Bu Meng sat down, grabbing the remaining bowls of Yangchun noodles and wolfing them down.
“Young Master Feng, let’s go,” Bu Meng said, standing up after quickly finishing his noodles.
“Good.”
Li Feng didn’t hesitate, leading Bu Meng out of the noodle shop. Meanwhile, the shop owner emerged from the kitchen, looking at the stack of empty bowls and muttering, “Even pigs couldn’t eat as much as them.”
Li Feng didn’t know the owner had compared them to pigs. After leaving the shop, he had Bu Meng drive to the town’s bus station.
“Young Master Feng, where are we going?” Bu Meng asked after getting on the bus, glancing reluctantly at his motorcycle. He’d saved up for two years to buy it, and now he was leaving it behind? But since Li Feng was his boss, he had to obey.
“We’ll head to Yongzhou first, then fly from Yongzhou to Tianhai City,” Li Feng said, patting Bu Meng’s shoulder. “Out with the old, in with the new. When we get to Tianhai City, I’ll get you a car.”
“I’m fine with a motorcycle,” Bu Meng said, shaking his head.
Li Feng smiled, leaning back in his seat, his gaze turning toward Tianhai City. After being away for so long, he wondered how things were there.
