Shi Kefa arrived in Heyang County under a sky that looked suspiciously innocent.
The city gates stood open. The streets were clean. The people… calm. Too calm.
That alone made him uneasy.
Before his horse had fully slowed, the Heyang County Magistrate, Feng Juan, was already hurrying out to greet him, sleeves fluttering, smile plastered on like it had been rehearsed in front of a mirror.
They exchanged the usual pleasantries—bows, titles, mutual flattery polished to bureaucratic shine—
—and then Shi Kefa cut straight through it like a blade.
"What's the grain price here?"
No preamble. No warming up. No mercy.
Feng Juan froze.
Just for a heartbeat.
But in that heartbeat, a thousand thoughts screamed through his skull.
So fast? Right at the throat? This is the Judicial Commissioner from Xi'an—famed for flaying corruption alive. Is he probing me? Has the court noticed something? Damn it, I knew the numbers were too neat—
"Eighty wen per dou," Feng Juan answered, forcing his voice steady.
Shi Kefa nodded slowly, eyes sharp.
"Eighty wen," he repeated. "That's basically a normal-year price."
Feng Juan swallowed.
"Grain yields have tripled," Shi Kefa continued, tone calm, deadly calm, "yet prices haven't collapsed. That only happens if the surplus is being shipped out—or if you're feeding an unusually large population."
He looked straight at Feng Juan.
"You've taken in a lot of refugees."
It wasn't a question.
Cold sweat exploded down Feng Juan's back.
He knows. He absolutely knows.
If this turns into an investigation, if troops come down—
His vision blurred.
No, no, no—calm down. The whole family's already here. Worst case? We hide behind Dao Xuan Tianzun's golden hand. No one dares touch that.
"Magistrate Feng?" Shi Kefa said mildly.
Feng Juan jolted.
"Yes—yes, sir?"
"Why is your nose bleeding?"
"…Ah."
Feng Juan lifted a sleeve and wiped briskly. Fresh red smeared, then vanished.
"Old ailment," he said quickly. "Since childhood. Nothing serious. Seasonal. Very… nose-like."
Shi Kefa stared at him for a beat.
Then—
WOOOO—
A deep, thunderous whistle tore through the air.
The ground vibrated.
The city gate guards shouted in alarm.
Shi Kefa nearly leapt out of his boots.
"What—what in the name of the ancestors is that?"
From beyond the gates came a colossal iron beast, belching smoke, wheels screaming against metal rails as it rolled forward with all the subtlety of a charging war elephant.
Feng Juan turned, visibly relieved to change topics.
"Oh, that? That's the local train."
"…The what."
"The train," Feng Juan repeated patiently. "It runs between Gao Family Village in Chengcheng County and Heyang County."
Shi Kefa stared as the iron monster clanked closer.
"You… you built a road for that thing?"
"Yes! Just finished yesterday." Feng Juan's chest puffed up with pride. "Tens of thousands of laborers. Several months of nonstop work. Laying the railway nearly killed us."
Shi Kefa blinked.
Railway. Train. None of these words were present in any classical text he had ever memorized.
Before he could recover, Feng Juan pressed on.
"Sir, about those refugees—more than thirty thousand elderly, weak, women, and children, yes?"
Shi Kefa nodded cautiously.
"The distance to Gao Family Village is over forty li. They could walk it, but—" Feng Juan gestured grandly at the iron beast. "Why not take the train?"
"…Take it?"
"You could load a thousand of the slowest among them," Feng Juan said breezily. "Save time. They won't drag the rest down."
Shi Kefa inhaled sharply.
"What did you say?"
"A thousand."
"…A thousand people?"
"Yes."
"…At once?"
"Yes."
Shi Kefa felt his worldview tilt.
"This… this must be a divine carriage bestowed by—by Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
At the name, Feng Juan's shoulders visibly relaxed.
Ah.
So you know Him too.
Good. Very good.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun once bestowed a divine carriage that could travel one hundred and twenty li per hour," Feng Juan said reverently. "But later, Young Master Bai of Gao Family Village developed something better—something mortals could build."
Shi Kefa's head snapped back.
"Mortals?"
"Yes. Steam trains. A bit slower—only thirty li per hour. From here to Gao Family Village, just over an hour."
Shi Kefa went silent.
A vehicle that could carry a thousand people.
Faster than horses.
Not immortal magic.
Built by humans.
His pulse hammered.
"I must ride it," he said abruptly.
Feng Juan bowed.
"I'll take the first train," Shi Kefa declared. "Load a thousand of the weakest with me. The rest will walk under escort."
Moments later, Shi Kefa found himself aboard the train.
The carriage was massive—iron ribs, wooden benches, packed shoulder-to-shoulder with refugees who stared around in awe, fear, and disbelief.
With a shrill whistle, the train lurched forward.
Chug. Chug. Chug.
It moved.
Not pulled by oxen.
Not drawn by horses.
Just… iron. Smoke. Fire.
Shi Kefa's heart pounded.
His old instincts—sharpened during his years in the Embroidered Uniform Guard—refused to stay seated.
Investigate.
He rose.
At the very front carriage, he pulled open a small door.
Ahead lay the locomotive.
Iron hooks linked carriage to engine. At fifteen kilometers per hour, the motion felt… manageable.
Before sanity could object, Shi Kefa leapt over the coupling and pried open the cabin door.
Heat slammed into him like a wall.
Inside, two shirtless middle-aged men shoveled coal into a roaring furnace. Their bodies were black with soot, sweat pouring, eyes shining like lit coals.
"Ah—!" Shi Kefa exclaimed. "This thing runs on burning coal?"
The men nearly dropped their shovels.
"Unauthorized personnel aren't allowed in here!" one barked—then froze at Shi Kefa's robes. "I—I mean—Sir, it's dangerous. Please leave."
"I'll just look," Shi Kefa said hurriedly. "Just one glance."
The stokers exchanged a look.
"…What's there to look at?" one muttered. "We just boil water."
"…Boil water?"
"Yes. Fire heats water. Steam pushes the mechanism. The mechanism turns the wheels."
He shrugged.
"That's it."
Shi Kefa's brain stopped.
"What?"
"Boiling."
"What?"
"Water."
He stared at the pipes. The furnace. The roaring iron heart.
"This… this terrifying thing…"
"…is just boiling water?"
The train thundered on.
Shi Kefa stood there, mind shattered, watching the future hiss and churn before his eyes.