Under the influence of alcohol, Zhao Qin shared quite a lot of things with Li Huowang; it was almost as though he was trying to dissuade Li Huowang from becoming an escort.
However, Li Huowang's attention was drawn to a name that Zhao Qin mentioned. "Leader Zhao, what was that Surveillance Bureau that you mentioned?"
Though Li Huowang had been here for a couple of months, it was still the first time he heard of some terms. It was a good opportunity for him to learn more.
"The Surveillance Bureau is supposedly a group of highly-skilled individuals appointed by the Emperor. Whenever there are sinister affairs that the local enforcement cannot manage on their own, they are the ones that are called upon to handle it," explained Zhao Qin.
Li Huowang was not surprised by this. Since the Si Qi dynasty was so stable, there had to be some people who could manage these sorts of strange powers.
However, he did not know if these people were specially trained by the palace, or recruited from outside.
When Zhao Qin saw that Li Huowang did not reply, he continued, "But even then, they are not always reliable. One such example was four years ago; there was a town which was completely slaughtered mysteriously."
"Tsk, tens of thousands of people, gone in just a single night," Zhao Qin lamented, not noticing that the fingers that Li Huowang was using to hold the cup had gone pale.
Wang Chengxing chimed in, "I heard about that incident too. It was rather tragic; some victims weren't even left with complete bodies. How could they do such a thing? Aren't they also birthed by their parents? They're worse than animals."
At this point, Li Huowang saw Jiang Yingzi approach him with a fierce expression. "Do you see how others talk about you?! What right do you have to live?! Why don't you go and die?!"
Li Huowang's chest heaved up and down.
Others may not have noticed this change, but Bai Lingmiao was able to sense that something was amiss. She quietly changed seats with Xiaoman and cupped Li Huowang's trembling hands, "Senior Li, are you alright?"
Li Huowang took a deep breath and smiled at Zhao Qin, "Leader Zhao, let's not discuss state affairs. Such matters are not something that us ordinary folk should be concerned with."
"That's right! Let the important people worry about them. Let's drink! Here's another toast to Brother Li!" said Zhao Qin.
"Cheers!" said Li Huowang as he picked up the pot of wine and poured it directly into his mouth. However, he could not handle alcohol, even more so because this was strong liquor.
That night, Li Huowang didn't even know when he became drunk. That dazed feeling was not bad; there was no need for him to think or worry about anything.
"Li Huowang... Li Huowang!"
He woke up abruptly to a voice. When he opened his eyes, he was staring right at Jiang Yingzi's face that was filled with hatred.
Any normal person would be startled if they woke up to see a blood-stained girl with severed limbs.
However, Li Huowang was already used to it.
After a moment, he looked at Dan Yangzi who was floating on the ceiling, and then propped himself up on the bed.
He was wearing simple clothes when he got up, but immediately sat back down while holding his head in agony.
I really can't handle alcohol...
It was the first time Li Huowang had felt the pain of a hangover; he had a feeling that the extreme pain could perhaps be due to his heightened senses.
At that moment, the door creaked open as Bai Lingmiao carried a basin and walked in. When she saw Li Huowang sitting on the bed while holding his head with an agonized expression, she quickly approached him before placing the basin on the table.
The water splashed around as she wringed the wet handkerchief. Then, she went behind him and used one hand to support Li Huowang's head, while lightly wiping his face.
When she was cleaning his neck, Li Huowang looked up at her face which was barely inches from his own. "Where are we?"
"We are still in the escort office. Leader Zhao told me to tell you that when you wake up, you shouldn't hurry to leave. He has already sent people to look for the sword techniques that you requested," replied Bai Lingmiao.
Li Huowang glanced at the two swords placed beside his red Taoist robes, and nodded.
Seeing this, Bai Lingmiao seemed to understand what Li Huowang wanted. She walked across and placed that longsword into Li Huowang's hands.
This was the first time he was carefully examining this sword after he had obtained it.
The sword was three feet and two inches long, and about half a finger in width. It was in predominantly darker colors, and a dark-purple silk tassel that was slightly longer than an inch hung on the black hilt. The hilt had a carving of a ferocious beast with bared fangs. When he touched it, it felt as though his fingers were being cut by something sharp.
At first glance, this sword seemed very ordinary. There was nothing that made it seem like a powerful weapon.
Li Huowang thought about it for a moment, but finally decided not to draw the sword. Not because of the noise it would make, but because the feeling he got from it was different.
For some reason, this thing gave him an unsettling feeling, just like the Profound Records.
Abbess said that this sword will not be able to threaten me. Even so, I feel that it's better to not unsheathe it if not necessary.
"Senior Li, can you walk? If not, I'll bring your breakfast here," asked Bai Lingmiao.
"No need, I just needed some rest. Without Dan Yangzi rushing us from behind, we can take our time," said Li Huowang.
Just as he finished speaking, a creepy sound of three people laughing rang out from the ceiling.
Li Huowang looked up to see his Master's three heads staring at him together, their gazes full of ridicule.
"What're you laughing at?!" shouted Li Huowang.
"Senior... Li?" Bai Lingmiao glanced at the empty ceiling, then back toward Li Huowang, feeling uneasy.
"Nothing, let's go eat," said Li Huowang as he placed his right hand on her shoulder while stumbling toward the exit.
When they stepped outside, the sun was already shining brightly.
At this moment, the entire escort office, both in the front and the backyard, was quite lively.
From the looks of it, Zhao Qin had given everyone some instructions; anyone that saw Li Huowang treated him very respectfully.
Li Huowang looked past the wooden pillars on his right, toward the bustling martial arts training ground. He could see Puppy, Gao Zhijian, Chun Xiaoman, Sun Baolu and the others. They seemed to be gesticulating with some escorts.
"What are they doing?" Li Huowang was puzzled.
"Earlier, Puppy requested them to give him some pointers. In the end, the rest came over to join the party, and it became like this," replied Bai Lingmiao.
"Ah, he really knows how to get the small advantages. Right, go to the inn and let Troupe Leader Lu know about where we are. He may think that we have left him behind if he doesn't see any of us," instructed Li Huowang.
"Okay, got it."
At that moment, Li Huowang glanced toward Dan Yangzi, and then asked, "Is there any trouble with the Immortal families?"
Bai Lingmiao blinked. "No. Why do you ask, Senior Li?"
"That's good. Let me know if there's anything. Remember, you're not Li Zhi. If anything happens, I'll think of a solution," said Li Huowang.
"Okay."
Once the surroundings fell silent, the two of them enjoyed this rare moment of tranquility while walking slowly toward the kitchen.
Given their travels, it was hard to have moments like this.
As they walked, Bai Lingmiao slightly leaned on Li Huowang, a sweet feeling welling up in her heart.
"If there's anything, don't hide it from me. Even if it's very difficult, we can think of a solution together. Moreover, right now... you're all I have," said Li Huowang.
"Mm..."
Chapter 146 - Practice
"Eat... eat... eat..."
As he watched Gao Zhijian stutter and struggle to speak, Li Huowang sighed in frustration. Then, he reached out to take the two books from the big chap's hands. "Alright, that's enough. You can leave."
After the disheartened Gao Zhijian went out, Li Huowang turned his attention back to the two books.
One of them was a regular paper book, while the other was encased in a semi-transparent wax cover. The wax-covered book was the Fiery Scripture that Jiang Yingzi had given him, along with her translations.
The Fiery Scripture was a good object. Despite the excruciating pain it caused during the healing process, it would be valuable in saving lives if any of them suffered from any external injuries in future.
It would be quite a waste if he did not learn how to make use of such a good item. However, Li Huowang had become almost completely illiterate. He could not even read the written translations, let alone the strange words written in the Fiery Scripture.
Things can't go on like this. I can't remain illiterate my entire life. I must re-learn how to read.
Li Huowang helplessly stuffed the Fiery Scripture back into his pocket.
While it was right to think that way, it would take several years to systematically learn a language from scratch. Even if he hired someone else to help him translate, it would still take several months, and he didn't have the luxury of time.
It was even more tiring when he had to ask Simpleton to teach him, since he was the only person who was literate in their group. However, he could stutter on two sentences for over ten minutes.
Even so, Li Huowang was unyielding; he re-opened the translated text, "Wood.. mouth... person..."
Currently, he could recognise only the most simple characters on the page.
"Haha, this is really returning all we have learnt to the teacher," Li Huowang mocked himself. He had assumed that after Dan Yangzi's death, the knowledge that he had lost would return to him. But from the looks of it, that was clearly not the case.
Just then, someone knocked on the wooden door. "Brother Li, are you there? I've found the sword manual you had wanted."
Li Huowang perked up, and stood up to open the door. The matter about the Fiery Scripture had to be pushed back. He had waited here for so long, just for all these sword techniques.
Soon, Zhao Qin had passed the sword manual to Li Huowang.
There were four large characters written on it, but Li Huowang could not understand them.
"I noticed that Brother Li uses a three-foot long sword, and so I picked this manual that matches it. It is a sword technique from the Duan Clan, so it's suitable for you. This sword technique was created by the genius, Duan Si. It's different from the other techniques as it focuses on straightforward strikes rather than finesse," explained Zhao Qin.
"Duan Clan sword technique?" Li Huowang mumbled to himself, then flipped open the manual. He saw that most of it was illustrations, with only sporadic written annotations. When he saw this, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"No worries, you can have your Leader Zhao instruct you about this. Just memorize the key points and you should be fine," said Zhao Qin.
Li Huowang turned toward Zhao Qin. "Leader Zhao, I've not learnt to use a sword before this. Could you give me some pointers on how to start?"
"Oh? You've never used a sword? Not even the basics?" Zhao Qin was puzzled as he looked at the two swords on Li Huowang's back. But as an experienced escort master, he was quickly able to figure it out.
He placed his hand on Li Huowang's shoulder and gestured outside, "It's alright. Sword techniques can be picked up by anyone. I may be no genius, but I will be able to teach Brother Li for a few days."
As they spoke, they walked toward the martial arts training grounds where Li Huowang saw Xiaoman practicing with Puppy and the others.
At that moment, he shouted toward Xiaoman, "Xiaoman, come here!"
When he saw this, Zhao Qin nodded in approval. "Good choice, Brother Li. It's best to have a partner to practice with. Otherwise, there won't be anyone for you to spar against in future."
Meanwhile, Xiaoman was rather excited as she gripped her own sword. She seemed to understand the reason behind why Li Huowang was calling her over.
In the following days, Li Huowang began his life of training to be a swordsman.
With the guidance of an experienced person like Leader Zhao who taught patiently, the two students learnt eagerly. Both Li Huowang and Chun Xiaoman progressed quite fast.
Clang!
Sparks flew into the air as both Li Huowang and Chun Xiaoman were knocked back a few steps.
Chun Xiaoman gripped her sword tightly, then stepped forward with her right foot before charging ahead.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang twisted his body to dodge her attack. When he saw her wooden sword miss its target, he quickly counter-attacked, launching a series of blows.
Li Huowang's quick movements disrupted Chun Xiaoman's rhythm, causing her to make mistakes. Not long after, her sword was knocked out of her hands, and her defeat was greeted by cheers all around.
Impressed, Zhao Qin approached Li Huowang, "Brother Li, you have remarkable aptitude. In just a short fifteen days, you've already trained to this level. You're a martial arts genius!"
This was not just flattery. As the leader of an escort office, he had seen far too many seedlings before; however, there were few that were like Li Huowang.
"You're too kind, I still have a long way to go," Li Huowang replied modestly. Only he understood why his progress was so much faster than Chun Xiaoman.
Ba-Hui's attention had not just enhanced his sense of pain, but also his other senses. These enhanced senses allowed Li Huowang to learn quite efficiently. While he did not know if they would impact him negatively in the future, they were at least beneficial for him currently.
At that moment, he passed the bamboo sword in his hand to Sun Baolu, then turned back to Zhao Qin. "Leader Zhao, it has been troublesome for you these few days. We've spent too much time here and cannot dawdle further. We ought to set off. I'll visit if I'm back."
The master may be able to help them get a foot into the door, but in the end cultivation was dependent on the individual. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
Since he was already on the path of swordsmanship, there was no need for Li Huowang to continue wasting his time here. There wasn't much that Zhao Qin could teach him, since he did not use a sword.
"Alright! Brother Li, please follow me. I want to give you something," said Zhao Qin.
In Zhao Qin's office, a bunch of paper and ink were arranged neatly.
He picked up the brush and started to write. Then, he blew dried the letter and placed it within an envelope.
"This is my letter of guarantee. In the escort trade, I do have some influence. Brother Li can go to any escort office and use this letter to receive escort missions," said Zhao Qin.
Li Huowang accepted the letter and clasped his hands toward Zhao Qin. "Thank you for your guidance these past few days."
After much consideration, Li Huowang finally felt that they could take on some escort missions.
Puppy was right; since they had to travel, they might as well make a living out of it; it would be killing two birds with one stone.
"Brother Li is too kind. This is nothing. You are my benefactor who finally allowed my wife to recognize me! I won't ask where you're going or what you're doing. If you ever come back to this town, then be sure to come and visit!"
Chapter 147 - Hou Shu
"Benefactor Li, let's meet again!"
"Safe travels!"
"Take care of yourselves!"
The entire escort office came out to send off Li Huowang and the rest. With this, they had officially left the Longteng Escort Office.
As he saw them traveling further and further away, Wang Chengxing stopped smiling and glanced at his Master. "Master, did you see the sword on that person's back? It was not something you can see everyday. I could feel dense killing intent from it."
Zhao Qin frowned and nodded. "Of course I did. I also know whose personal sword it was. It belonged to General Zixiong."
"What? General Zixiong's personal sword? Then why did you not do anything for the past half a month?" asked Wang Chengxing.
"And what would you have liked me to do? Steal it? Ask him where he got it? Or report him?"
Wang Chengxing remained silent as Zhao Qin continued to chastise him. "You think I am blind? Do you think I couldn't tell that there was something wrong with him? The red bamboo slips on his waist, the various torture tools, and that gourd. Heck, even the comrades around him were all malformed in one way or another. This matter is not something I should interfere in. He improved Fengxia's condition and in return I acknowledged his request to get him a sword training manual. I even gave him a letter of recommendation from me. At the very least, everyone earned something. This was the best case scenario. While we must always make sure to see through everyone's intention, we mustn't say it out loud all the time."
"I understand, Master. It's my fault for thinking too rashly," said Wang Chengxing.
Meanwhile, back in the carriage. The horses were already restless from not traveling for half a month. The moment they were out of the city gates, the horses ran joyfully.
"Ho... Hold on!" Zhao Wu handled the reins and calmed the horses down, maintaining a constant speed.
Then, he turned around and asked, "Senior Li, where should we go now?"
"To the border. We've done everything we needed to in the kingdom of Si Qi, and so it's time to leave. The situation here is getting more and more chaotic, so it's best if we reach the Liang Kingdom soon," replied Li Huowang.
As he spoke up to this point, Li Huowang felt uneasy; he turned to Bai Lingmiao. "Since even the kingdom of Si Qi is about to get involved in the war, would the Liang Kingdom also be affected? Your house—"
However, even before Bai Lingmiao could answer him, Lu Zhuangyuan overheard his words and approached him. "Hai! Young Taoist, you are thinking too much. The Liang Kingdom is at least four to five times larger than the kingdom of Si Qi. Also, the emperor of the Liang Kingdom is a powerful individual. If there really is a war, then it would be them waging it against another kingdom and not the other way around."
With this, Li Huowang now knew that the Liang Kingdom was a major kingdom compared to the others. It was clear that Lu Zhuangyuan had done his homework beforehand.
Just then, Li Huowang realized something was different about Lu Zhuangyuan. "Troupe leader Lu, did something good happen to you?"
Compared to aged and wrinkled appearance from before, he looked like he had become a few years younger and there was a constant smile hanging on his mouth.
"Hehe, oh it's nothing, hehehe." Lu Zhuangyuan wanted to endure but the smile on his face sold him out.
Then, he climbed up his horse carriage and grabbed a sack. "Here, have some eggs."
Two red eggs were passed into Li Huowang's hands. It was not only Li Huowang who got them, everyone else did as well.
Lu Zhuangyuan was not someone who would be generous enough to give everyone eggs for no reason. After a moment, Zhao Wu realized the meaning behind the red eggs.
"Brother Juren! Is your sister-in-law pregnant? Congratulations! May she give birth to a healthy son," congratulated Zhao Wu.
Faced with his well-wishes, Lu Juren's smile was unnaturally forced. On the other hand, Lu Zhuangyuan took charge of the situation quite naturally.
"Did you see my daughter-in-law's stomach? The bulge is sharp and recently, she has been craving sour food. It seems that I'm having a grandson this time around!" said Lu Zhuangyuan, his voice full of joy.
As she heard his words, Luo Juanhua sat on the horse carriage, looking just like a proud general returning victorious from a war.
"Everyone, please join us in the full moon celebration when the time comes." The more Lu Zhuangyuan spoke, the happier he became, while his eyes became slanted from smiling so much.
Li Huowang munched on his eggs while observing the difference in the father-son duo. He felt that something was amiss, to the point that the egg tasted weird. But he decided to ignore them; he was not interested in gossip and was too lazy to be bothered by it. He just leaped onto the horse carriage and unfurled his map.
"The next kingdom is... The next one..." As Li Huowang stared at the strange blocky character, he felt stunned. He had never really thought about how impaired he would be from becoming illiterate.
He sighed and popped his head out from the carriage. "Troupe leader Lu, what's the next kingdom on our way to the Liang Kingdom?"
"I think it's called the Hou Shu Kingdom," replied Lu Zhuangyuan.
"Hou Shu?" mumbled Li Huowang as he stared at the words on the map.
"Troupe leader Lu, do you know any famous sects in Hou Shu Kingdom? Or maybe dangerous evil beings?" asked Li Huowang.
"Hai~ Young Taoist, you are asking me questions I don't know the answer to. I'm not that knowledgeable. It's already very good of me to know that the kingdom next to the kingdom of Si Qi is Hou Shu."
That's a fair point. He's a performer so it's natural that he wouldn't know details pertaining to another country.
"Do any of you know anything about Hou Shu?" Li Huowang turned to the rest of his group.
It would be better for him to understand the places they would be arriving at.
However, he was disappointed when everyone shook their heads. From the looks of it, none of them were captured from Hou Shu.
"Senior Li, I remember that one of the assistants was from Hou Shu, but he drowned last time," said Xiaoman.
Hearing this, Li Huowang sighed.
They could only take one step at a time. At the very least, things were much better off than the last time. He was no longer in danger of being possessed by Dan Yangzi. They also had more methods of self defense compared to when they first walked out of the Zephyr Temple.
As Li Huowang leaped down from the horse carriage, he saw Lu Zhuangyuan smiling sheepishly while approaching him.
"Aiya~ My brain is really getting old. I almost forgot the story of Hou Shu that my blind second uncle used to tell me when I was younger. He told me that the people of Hou Shu do not prefer to watch traveling performers like us. I recall him saying something about them instead preferring to watch Nuo Opera."
"Nuo Opera?" asked Li Huowang.
"Yeah, Nuo Opera is a weird name. My second uncle even said that they don't have to put on makeup. When they perform, all they need to do is to cover their heads with a red cloth and wear different wooden masks to perform," explained Lu Zhuangyuan.
Li Huowang stopped him; he was not interested in listening to the difference in theater performances between different kingdoms. The people of Hou Shu could watch any type of theater performance they liked and it wouldn't matter to him. He was not like Lu Zhuangyuan, who was trying to steal some of their business.
Chapter 148 - Nuo Opera
Soon, they arrived at the border of the kingdom of Si Qi.
As could be expected, the borders were being controlled by the military in order to prevent spies from entering the kingdom.
The border was being tightly monitored. None of the people here had smiles on their faces.
After a while, the two groups managed to leave the border peacefully with the help of some pieces of silver.
The kingdom of Si Qi was a place filled with rivers and lakes. After exiting the kingdom, everything around them started to become barren; the trees were slowly replaced by sand dunes.
By the tenth night of their travels, there were no more trees in sight.
The further they traveled, the more barren it was. Li Huowang had a feeling that this was Hou Shu's natural terrain.
"Whew~" Zhao Wu sighed, his breath condensing into a white vapor from the cold air. He was the one on night duty tonight. He rubbed his cold palms and continued to breathe into them for some warmth.
Given that it was almost summer solstice, it shouldn't be this cold. But out in the desert, there was not a single object blocking the wind. Additionally they couldn't get any firewood to chop, and so there was no fire. Thus, it was natural for it to be cold.
Zhao Wu turned around and stared at Li Huowang cuddling Bai Lingmiao while sleeping. At this moment, he felt envious of Li Huowang.
He looked down at his fragile and deformed body; he felt inadequate. He wanted a wife, but no one would marry him due to his condition.
After a while, he took another breath of the cold, dry air, feeling sleepy. He tried keeping himself awake by using a small rock to write words onto the sand.
Some of them were taught to him by Li Huowang while others by Gao Zhijian.
I need to learn how to read. I must!
Zhao Wu's eyes were filled with determination. He needed to prove to his father that he was not a waste of resources!
After he learned how to read and write, he would become a fortune teller in a temple and help people write letters to earn money.
If he could read, then he would be able to study a lot and even try his luck on the examination to become a minister!
By then...
Just as he was thinking about his future, he felt someone move behind him, the sudden change sending shivers down his spine.
He started to tremble in fear and was about to shout to wake everyone up when a hand without fingernails covered his mouth.
"Don't shout, it's me!"
Hearing Li Huowang's voice calmed him down. Zhao Wu whispered. "Senior Li, what's wrong?"
Zhao Wu scanned his surroundings but didn't see anything besides the dark sand dunes.
"Shh~ Something is crawling toward us. Let me check and see if it's alive," said Li Huowang.
Then, Li Huowang cleared his throat and shouted in a certain direction. "Three men and four youths walk on the shore, swim out the river and anger the sea serpent. I wonder what method it is today?"
Li Huowang's voice echoed across the sand dune and into the night sky. His voice was so loud that everyone else woke up.
"Is the spring book open?" A hoarse voice asked from further away.
"The spring book is open!" replied Li Huowang.
"Shoulders together, throw me a vine?"
Li Huowang bowed in the direction of the voice. "A golden pagoda facing the green hut with sand at the back! Meat dumpling vine!"
"Oh, so it's Taoist Li, are you passing or visiting?" asked the voice.
"We are passing, may I know your name?" replied Li Huowang.
However, after Li Huowang asked for their name, there was no reply. It was only after the sky brightened up that Li Huowang felt them leave.
"To think I had to use the codeword so soon after learning them." Li Huowang mumbled to himself. Even though he had detected someone approaching them last night, Li Huowang wasn't sure if the owner of the voice was alone or the leader of a group of bandits.
Being able to avoid fighting by just saying a few words was an excellent outcome. After all, Li Huowang didn't know what kind of fighting methods the bandits would have, especially those of a supernatural source.
When Lu Zhuangyuan heard about what had happened from Li Huowang, he felt quite afraid.
"Yikes. We've only been here for a few days and were already intercepted by bandits. It seems that Hou Shu isn't a safe place to be," said Lu Zhuangyuan.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang sat down as he continued to practice the codewords a few more times. "Who cares if it's safe or not? We are just passing by the kingdom. Let's hurry up and move. If we travel faster, then we can reach the town before nightfall."
After this incident, their travels were rather peaceful. Even though it was still barren, at the very least they were not intercepted by bandits.
Just as Lu Zhuangyuan was trying to butter up Li Huowang, they encountered a group of people.
"Dad, why does that horse look so weird? It even has two humps on its back." asked Lu Xiucai.
"Are you stupid? That's a camel," replied Lu Zhuangyuan.
Ding ding ding~
The bell hanging on the camel's neck rang incessantly as they slowly walked on the hardened path. Li Huowang took a glance and saw that the riders had their faces covered to prevent the sand from entering their eyes.
The appearance of the camels was like a signal as more and more groups of people started appearing on the hardened path.
Li Huowang and the rest finally reached the first town in Hou Shu before nightfall.
Just as they had entered the town, they immediately realized the difference between Hou Shu and the kingdom of Si Qi. Both the buildings and the clothing of the people of Hou Shu were a lot more coarse. Many of them also covered their faces, not necessarily to keep the sand out of their eyes.
At the very least, Li Huowang's group of people in black veils were not that conspicuous.
"Let's go and find an inn. We've been traveling for many days and it's time to rest," said Li Huowang.
Hearing this, all their tired faces instantly lit up. It was purely torture to travel without fire and a supply of water.
All of them followed each other closely as they merged into the crowd.
The nearby stalls were selling food. The tantalizing smell of skewers and noodles was good enough to entice all of them.
Soon, they arrived at an empty plaza; this was most likely the center of the town.
At that moment, the sound of drums and cymbals instantly attracted their attention within the crowd.
"Is that a group performing Nuo Opera?" mumbled Li Huowang as he watched the three performers jumping around from within the crowd.
Shaking their heads, twisting their body, squatting, snaking their arms, running around, and jumping. The three performers had their heads covered with red clothes while they donned wooden masks. Their dance was eccentric and non-humanlike; it was as if a monster had come up with the choreography for the dance.
At the same time, the chaotic sound of the musical instrument accompanied their strange dance. Occasionally, there was even the sound of a horn.
The sound of the black horn being played was akin to the sound of a crying ghost.
Drums, cymbals, horns, and their strange dance—all of them made Li Huowang feel uncomfortable.
On the other hand, the rest of the townsfolk were in a trance as they sat there and silently enjoyed the show.
"What is this? Is this a performance?" Lu Zhuangyuan, who worked in the same line of business, said distastefully.
He had just said that when the three performers twisted their bodies even more wildly. As they twisted, sharp white fangs protruded out from the opening in the wooden mask where the mouth was supposed to be. It was like the white fangs had grown like a sprout.
However, there were not two, but sixteen white fangs!
The white fangs trembled and shook, following the beat of the drum.
"This is... Teeth play?"
Their teeth play was amazing. Li Huowang saw the white fangs retracting and extruding from their mouth fluidly, almost giving him the impression that the white fangs were indeed grown in their mouth.
Chapter 149 - Old Friend
Their limbs twisted and danced while the white fangs fluidly protruded and retracted from their mouths, following the rhythm of the musical instruments.
Li Huowang stood there, just watching their performance from afar. At this moment, he didn't feel like a spectator, but a tree watching wild beasts.
After some time, a high pitched voice rang out from behind their wooden masks as they began to sing in an unknown language.
Li Huowang and the rest did not recognize it. However, the singer's tone fluctuated high and low along with the musical instruments; it had its own charm.
After listening to them singing for a little longer, Li Huowang continued walking. Regardless of how weird their performance was, it had nothing to do with him.
He had just taken a few steps when he noticed Lu Zhuangyuan just standing motionlessly.
"No need to worry about us, please go ahead. Hmph! I want to see what's so special about their show," said Lu Zhuangyuan. For some reason, a burning sense of competition had been ignited within Lu Zhuangyuan.
Maybe it's because they are performers as well?
"Dad, why don't we watch their performance next time? We are in foreign lands and it might not be safe," suggested Lu Juren.
Lu Zhuangyuan's eyes widened and he brought his smoke pipe up to hit him. "Are you trying to control your father? There are so many people on the street. Why wouldn't it be safe?"
While they argued, Li Huowang brought the rest of them and departed.
After fifteen minutes, they finally found an inn and booked their rooms.
In an old musty room, Li Huowang placed his belongings on the table and sighed.
Two swords, the Profound Records, the sacred text, and all his torture tools. All of them added up, making it so that his traveling gear was not light at all.
At that moment, he poured some water from the teacup and drank it before frowning.
When Bai Lingmiao, who was arranging the sheets, saw him frown, she asked. "What's wrong?"
"Here, taste this. Do you think the water tastes weird?" Li Huowang passed her the cup of water.
Bai Lingmiao tasted it and was astonished. "You are right. There's an earthy taste to it."
"I thought it was due to my heightened sensitivity, but it seems that the quality of Hou Shu's water is subpar," said Li Huowang as he opened the window. "I need you guys to go out tomorrow and gather some information. It would be best if you can obtain a map so that we don't have to make any unwanted detours."
"Okay. As you wish." Bai Lingmiao finished arranging the bed before taking off Li Huowang's Taoist robes. "When we were tying up the horses, I saw a well nearby. Since we have some time, I will go wash your clothes. Also, I recall that one of the assistants who died used to live in this town. We can send her ashes back home."
Li Huowang suddenly remembered that someone did say that one of the dead assistants was from the Hou Shu Kingdom.
"Who's taking care of the ashes? I will go and send them back home now," asked Li Huowang.
"Now? It's already quite late. Why don't we go tomorrow?" suggested Bai Lingmiao.
But in the end, Li Huowang still took the ashes and exited the inn with Yang Xiaohai and Bun. He was not someone who delayed such small tasks.
He needed Yang Xiaohai to come with him, because the dead assistant was his friend; Yang Xiaohai knew where her house was.
At the same time, Li Huowang's other purpose in bringing Yang Xiaohai with him was to have at least one person beside him in case he got caught up in his hallucination once again. Li Huowang required at least one person by his side. Then, at the very least, that person could run back and call the others.
At this moment, Yang Xiaohai held the ashes as he told Li Huowang about the dead assistant.
"Back in Zephyr Temple, we used to call her Liar Mao because she loved to lie. She kept saying that her house was larger than the Zephyr Temple and that her family had over a hundred goats and cows. She also said that she was the only daughter in their house, and so everyone loved her. Her father would kill as many goats as she wanted and they had unlimited mutton to eat," explained Yang Xiaohai.
Li Huowang stared at the ash jar. "The assistant was a girl?"
"Yeah. Do you not remember her, Senior Li?" asked Yang Xiaohai.
Li Huowang shook his head. He never remembered any of the assistants' names; he had never paid attention to the hardworking children.
"Sigh... Such a pity. She had already managed to escape the Zephyr Temple and yet, she drowned." Li Huowang pitied her.
"Do you know how disgusting those words sound when you say them? Do you have any qualifications to say those words? Do you know how just many people you strangled to death with your own hands?"
Jiang Yingzi's words annoyed him, causing Li Huowang to lose his patience. "Shut up!"
Hearing those words, Yang Xiaohai jumped up from surprise. Even though he had seen Senior Li talking to himself so many times, it was still quite unnatural to him.
Li Huowang's face was gloomy as they silently walked toward the dead assistant's house. He tried to ignore the illusions, but it was not so simple this time.
They walked further and further away from the town center until they reached the border of the town.
At this moment, the sun was setting and there were very few people out on the streets. Many of them were hurrying back to their homes.
Just as Li Huowang was about to ask if Yang Xiaohai really knew the way, a joyous shout rang out from behind them.
"Hey! Taoist! Taoist, it's me!"
Hearing the shout, Li Huowang turned around and was surprised to see who it was.
It was the old monk that stayed behind in the Righteous Monastery, Monk!
Compared to his clean and well-groomed look from back then, he was now back to his old disheveled self.
"Monk, how did you get here? Weren't you staying at the Righteous Monastery?"
Monk grumbled and lamented. "Don't talk about it. I was so bored back in the monastery. Not only could I not do anything, they even forced me to read the sutras. I couldn't stand it any longer and just left. Wait, where are you guys going?"
"We... are sending something to someone. Let's go together. By the way, did the Monks from the Righteous Monastery try to stop you from leaving them?" asked Li Huowang.
"No. Not only did they not harass me, but they even gave me some money. The monks were all good guys," said Monk.
"Heh." Li Huowang snorted, too lazy to argue.
Having met an old face, Li Huowang felt happy. It was much more relaxing to be with simple folks.
As they talked, Li Huowang and Monk continued walking. Li Huowang kept talking about the past and Monk was somehow able to keep the conversation going.
Just as they were happily talking to each other, Yang Xiaohai's voice brought them back to reality. "Senior Li... We are here."