Both our donkey carts and the rest of our belongings are now at the bottom of the lake. We have to gather the money needed for our travels from this village.
Li Huowang planned what they had to do next as he observed the meat boiling in the pot.
No matter what had happened, it was all in the past now. He needed to let go of it and plan for the future.
The most important issue he had to deal with right now was to find the things that they needed from the village and leave with his group.
And I need to be fast. We cannot stay here for too long. After all, the only thing worse than a village filled with corpses is a village filled with decomposing corpses. A dead person might not be able to move, but they could end up killing someone in a different manner.
Li Huowang opened his mouth and chomped on a piece of meat at the end of his sword. Then, he looked at his companions who were eating voraciously and said, "Eaten enough yet? We have work to do once you have all eaten your fill."
After they had dried their clothes, they followed Li Huowang out of the communal kitchen as they held the meat and continued eating.
Li Huowang did not wander around the village like a headless fly. Instead, he walked straight to the ancestral hall of the Yuan family. The village was built like a maze, and he needed a guide.
"Don't ... ! Don't kill me!"
The youth that was scared shitless to the point of peeing himself was still hiding inside the hall. Li Huowang pointed his sword and cornered him, the youth's thin face filled with fear.
Li Huowang didn't bother wasting any words on him. "Where do you hide the money you rob from others? Take us there."
"Warehouse! It's all in my great-grandfather's warehouse! We keep all of the money there!" The youth spilled everything he knew instantly. The blood on Li Huowang's robes was still wet. Even the bloody stench coming from Li Huowang was enough to cause the youth to pee himself a little. He was so scared that any and all thoughts of fighting back had evaporated from his mind.
It was already dark, so the group held out their glowing stones to light up the path. They followed the youth as they navigated the village.
Under the dark blue-green glow of the stones, the bloody scene around them looked extremely grotesque. The youth's body trembled at the sight of his surroundings.
At that moment, the youth's body suddenly froze before he kneeled down beside the corpse of a woman and started crying woefully.
Seeing this, Li Huowang walked over and squatted down. He saw that the woman only had half of her face left. She looked young, and her eyes filled with terror and despair.
"Who is she?" Li Huowang asked coldly.
"She... she is my wife!" The youth's voice trembled. "I loved her! But now she's dead! Even my parents are dead!"
He cried even more loudly as he thought about how they had died.
Hearing his shrill cries, Li Huowang's expression became ruthless as he swung his right arm.
Shriak!
"AAAAAH!" One of the youth's ears was cut off in an instant as he cried out in pain and despair.
"Guide us! Did I tell you to stop?" Li Huowang roared aggressively.
At that moment, he sensed someone gently tugging at his sleeves, causing Li Huowang to swing his arms in irritation.
"Do you pity him? Do you think he's some great romantic? Why don't you ask him where his wife came from?" asked Li Huowang, irritated.
Sensing everyone's gazes, the youth said awkwardly, "My father got her for me. All the wives in the village were abducted from the outside. Even my grandmother and mother were captured from outside."
Bai Lingmiao's mouth fell open in shock as she looked at the corpses of the women around her.
Meanwhile, when the youth saw Li Huowang once again raise his bloody sword, he shivered in fear and hurriedly got up before continuing to show them the way.
Seeing how shocked Bai Lingmiao was, Xiaoman walked to her side and gently placed her hairy hand on Bai Lingmiao's shoulder before hugging her. "The women of a bandit camp are the same as the rest of the bandits. Don't think about it too much."
"But why did they accompany the rest of them to go and rob people? In the first place, they were also captured by them!" Bai Lingmiao was exasperated. She remembered that some of the bandits they encountered earlier had been women.
"Both humans and dogs can be trained," said one of the guiding drug ingredients.
Hearing this, Li Huowang turned around; however, he couldn't find out who had said that, causing him to sigh, "Sigh..."
They followed the youth and walked along the twisting paths for a while before arriving at a house whose door was securely locked with a sturdy padlock.
At the same time, their surroundings were no longer filled with buildings made from reeds. Instead, the houses around them were all made of wood.
This must be the most important area of the village.
Jiang!
Sparks flew as Li Huowang sliced the padlock in half. Then, he kicked the door open before grabbing the youth and using him as a shield as he entered the house.
Rather than a house, it would be more appropriate to call it a warehouse. Wooden shelves lined the wall neatly, and rows of wooden boxes sat upon them.
When the youth opened one of the boxes under Li Huowang's instructions, a brilliant glow enveloped the room. It was a box filled with silver pieces.
They opened the boxes one by one. The more they opened, the more shocked they were.
Aside from the silver pieces, there were even boxes filled with gold jewelry. These were most likely taken from the female victims.
There were other types of valuables as well, such as silk, iron ingots, and books. The warehouse was filled with valuables that the bandits had robbed from others over the years.
"Oh my heavens! I've never seen so much money in my life. Just imagine how many wives I can marry with all this money," Looking at the mountains of silver pieces, Puppy's voice shook, his eyes filling up with greed.
On the other hand, Li Huowang was more interested in the books than the money.
He flipped through some of them and realized that they were books to teach others how to read and write, as well as some Buddhist scriptures.
That damned geezer's method to summon the water monster using a pair of boy and girl infants as sacrifices... It doesn't seem like he learned it from the books. Did he learn it orally from his ancestor?
Li Huowang was rummaging through the books when he was stunned by the final book he saw at the bottom of the pile.
He picked up the book and gazed intently at the words on the cover, trying to recall something. "What does it say?"
"Senior Li, should we move everything in the boxes outside? I don't think we can carry all this," Bai Lingmiao asked as she walked over.
Li Huowang showed the book in his hand to Bai Lingmiao. "Look at the words on the cover. Do you recognize them?"
Bai Lingmiao was confused. "Senior Li, I'm illiterate."
Just as she said that, a stuttering voice came from her back.
"Hua... Hua... Huayan Sutra!"
Li Huowang raised his head and saw Simpleton standing behind Bai Lingmiao.
"Are you sure it says Huayan Sutra?" asked Li Huowang.
"Yes!" confirmed Simpleton.
After confirming it, Li Huowang slowly felt the words with his fingers, his eyes filled with uncertainty.
"Is this the character for 'Yan'? Why... why can't I even recognize the character for 'Yan' now?"
Chapter 76 - Bamboo Slips
I can't let Dan Yangzi come out again.
This was the conclusion Li Huowang arrived at after carefully pondering the series of events that followed each of Dan Yangzi's appearances.
Li Huowang noticed a clear pattern when comparing Dan Yangzi's first appearance when Li Huowang encountered the God of Happiness, his second appearance when Li Huowang was dealing with the Buddhas, and his third appearance from today.
The first time, he could vaguely hear Dan Yangzi's voice.
The second time, he could clearly see his appearance.
And now, during the third time, not only could he interact with Dan Yangzi, but Dan Yangzi could also use his killing intent to control Li Huowang's emotions, and even cause him to not be able to recognize some common words.
No matter what Dan Yangzi had become, his influence on Li Huowang was growing stronger with each appearance.
One thing was clear—Dan Yangzi had never been kind-hearted. Everything he had done was in order to seize Li Huowang's body. While Li Huowang might not die under his protection, it probably would not take long before Li Huowang turned into him completely.
Li Huowang absolutely could not accept that situation—he would rather die than turn into the person he hated the most.
At that moment, a pair of fair-skinned hands stretched out and gently held his right hand.
Frowning, he looked up to see that pair of pink eyes filled with concern and gently shook his head. He did not explain anything.
Then, Li Huowang picked up the Huayan Sutra, opened it to a random page, and scanned it briefly.
This book is useless.
Once Li Huowang came to this conclusion, he casually tossed the Huayan Sutra back into the wooden box.
After looking through its contents, Li Huowang recalled that back in the Righteous Monastery, this was the book recited by different monks—this was just a widely circulated scripture that was probably available in any random bookstore. By comparison, the gold jewelry and the silver pieces were definitely more valuable.
When Li Huowang looked toward all the valuables once again, he saw Puppy and the others excitedly pulling the box full of valuables out of the house. But it could be seen that it was quite laborious; after all, the valuables were made of metal.
"Don't take the silver pieces. Just take the gold accessories. All that gold will be enough to cover our expenses on the journey," advised Li Huowang.
Hearing this, Puppy jumped up anxiously. "Senior Li! These are silver pieces! Shiny silver pieces!"
Li Huowang kicked the heavy box with his foot, then said, "Do you know just how heavy these silver pieces are? We still need to take the boat. If the boat capsizes, do you plan to swim with all these silver pieces? All this gold will be enough to feed us for a lifetime. Don't be too greedy and let's hurry."
But Puppy was still reluctant, and started to stuff silver ingots into his clothes. "Then at least let me take some. This silver will be enough to buy a few wives and cows."
Li Huowang could not be bothered with him. He just took all the gold then turned around to leave with the others.
Meanwhile, Puppy tried to catch up to them but started panting after taking just a few steps. As he saw the rest of them get further and further away, he stamped his foot in frustration, and hastily threw away some of the silver ingots before once again trying to catch up to them.
Just as Li Huowang stepped out of the warehouse and was about to bring the others outside, he paused, then walked toward the kitchen.
Not long after, he emerged again, this time carrying their two fallen brethren's bodies in his hands.
"Go to the village and find a few jars. When we go out, cremate them and collect their ashes. Even if we can't bring them back to their families alive, we should at least return their remains," instructed Li Huowang.
"Yes, Senior Li," replied one of the guiding drug ingredients.
Just as they were about to move to find jars, a beam of blood-red light streaked from the side, whistling toward them. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
"Dodge!" Li Huowang immediately tensed up and instinctively flung himself backward.
The beam of red light streaked past his chest and easily cut the two dead bodies in half.
Seeing this, Li Huowang was drenched in cold sweat. If it hadn't been for their bodies, he would have been the one cut in half.
"Find cover! There are still others inside the stockade!" shouted Li Huowang.
At the same time, Li Huowang took out the bell with one hand, held his sword in his other hand, and cautiously peeked his head out from behind a large vat. He noticed some blood-stained white fragments in the distance.
What was it that just attacked us?
He soon received the answer to that question.
Dull footsteps sounded, and a person slowly walked out from the shadows.
Xiaoman threw a piece of glowing stone at the new arrival's feet, illuminating his face. They all recognized this person; he was the boat captain from earlier.
This guy's not dead?!
This was the only thought going through everyone's minds, including Li Huowang's.
Meanwhile, blood was flowing out of Yuan Er's mouth as he held a peculiar and reddened bamboo slip in one hand and a black iron plier in the other.
When Li Huowang saw Yuan Er bleeding from the mouth, he immediately realized what those white things were.
"Come out! Come out! Taoist! You also have your moments of weakness, huh!" shouted Yuan Er.
Yuan Er's eyes were bloodshot as he reached the pliers into his mouth, clamped down onto his incisor before yanking it out.
Then, he moved his bloody mouth and chanted something toward the blood-red bamboo slip. As he did that, the tooth was rapidly enveloped by a bloody mist before shooting into a room beside him like a shooting star.
Xiaoman's cries rang out from within, making Li Huowang's heart skip a beat.
Ring ring ring!
The clanging sound of the bell rang out, and two Wandering Gods appeared as they flew straight toward Yuan Er while staying close to the ground.
"Pah!" Yuan Er once again spat out a large mouthful of blood toward the ground and raised the pliers in his hand. However, this time, he did not try to yank out his teeth; instead, he stabbed it straight into his one remaining eye.
With a pop, his eyeball burst, and a strange light started to envelope the surroundings, causing the two Wandering Gods to fall to the ground. It was almost as if they were stuck to the ground.
"Die! All of you, die!" After hollering loudly, Yuan Er took out a small knife from his waist and stabbed it into his own throat. Despite the extreme pain causing his entire body to shudder, he mutilated himself, cutting off pieces of his own flesh.
At that moment, the bell rang out once again, causing a dozen Wandering Gods to converge from all directions as they sped toward Yuan Er.
However, when Yuan Er placed the pieces of his sliced-up flesh onto the bamboo slip in his hand, all the Wandering Gods around them vanished.
At the same time, when Yuan Er's sliced-up flesh was rolled up within the bamboo slip, that inanimate object suddenly came to life.
Then, the bamboo slip began to speak in a duck-like voice using Yuan Er's tongue and vocal cords as its own.
When this strange duck-like voice rang out, there was a sudden change in the surroundings.
"A tongue to turn the wheel of reincarnation! An eyelash for the boundless universe! Words cannot describe the intricacies of the realm! The sinister Heavens reveal what was hidden! My Master, the highest authority! Who dares disturb it?!"
Chapter 77 - Ba-Hui
"A tongue to turn the wheel of reincarnation! An eyelash for the boundless universe! Words cannot describe the intricacies of the realm! The sinister Heavens reveal what was hidden! My Master, the highest authority! Who dares disturb it?!"
As the wooden bamboo slip used Yuan Er's human tongue to speak these words, everything around them started to distort. Everyone on the island felt their five senses undergo some sort of change simultaneously.
Sight, taste, smell, hearing—they all gradually morphed together into a novel sensation that went beyond ordinary human understanding.
Through this extraordinarily peculiar sensation, Li Huowang and the others transcended the boundaries of human perception.
In the deepest parts of the sky, within an unfathomable expanse of the dark abyss, there were countless realms that were even deeper and darker, their suns revolving. Something could be seen moving within.
At that moment, Li Huowang smelled a gaze being shot from that thing and felt a terrifying aura that made him shudder uncontrollably. He also saw a strange melody being produced when that thing moved even the slightest bit.
Boom~ Boom Boom~ Boom!
Though Li Huowang had a feeling that the thing was extremely far from himself, its melody was so entrancing and clear. He could not find a real-life equivalent of this melody. The only thing that even came close was the sound of thunder that had preceded the appearance of the God of Happiness. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
But this thing was way stronger than the God of Happiness. By comparison, the God of Happiness was so weak that it was like comparing a grain of sand to a mountain.
This conclusion came to Li Huowang almost reflexively, as if he did not even need to understand his senses or what that thing was.
Should I attempt to commit suicide to let Dan Yangzi out? No! Dan Yangzi is nothing compared to this thing! The difference between them is too great!
Li Huowang was filled with despair when he thought up to this point.
An ordinary person had no ability to resist before that thing.
Just as Li Huowang had lost all hope and was waiting for his death, his five morphed and distorted senses inexplicably returned to normal.
"Eh?"
Before Li Huowang could understand what was going on, he gathered his strength and decisively grabbed his sword before quickly dashing toward Yuan Er.
Presently, Yuan Er was completely blind in both eyes and was barely breathing. The only movement he made was a turn of his head before it was completely severed by Li Huowang's sword.
The moment Yuan Er's severed head landed on the ground, everything around them returned to normal.
Li Huowang stood there, panting with his sword in his hand. Still shaken, he was looking up at the dark sky.
It was gone now, almost as if everything from before had been an illusion.
But Li Huowang knew that it hadn't been an illusion; that thing truly existed.
He attempted to remember and piece together the things he had experienced and felt, but realized that he couldn't recall the sensation of that thing with his current senses.
Despite the fact that danger had passed, the island fell into an eerie silence.
Everyone was frozen in their spots, their eyes filled with fear. They too had seen the thing that Li Huowang saw. Their faces were deathly pale, and their bodies began to shake involuntarily. They all felt extremely cold—as if an icy chill had gripped their hearts.
That's it? Yuan Er gave his all just to try and scare us?
As he looked at the others who were unharmed, a trace of doubt arose within Li Huowang's heart. Oddly, the currently safe environment made him feel even more uneasy.
Li Huowang took a deep breath, then used his bloody sword to open the blood-red bamboo slip that had curled up. He found that the pieces of flesh inside it had all withered into black powder.
Li Huowang knelt down cautiously and began to examine the contents of the red bamboo slip.
The black words carved on the red bamboo slip were very small and seemed very strange. He had not seen these words before. But when he focused, he found that he could actually make out what they said.
"White pill... Precious dew... Swallow abdomen... Pluck bones..." muttered Li Huowang.
This was an extremely evil bamboo slip that recorded various methods of using extreme pain and other sacrifices to trade for something with an entity.
The easier methods involved inserting bamboo pieces under one's fingernails and prying them upward, using the leverage to pull out an entire fingernail.
One of the more severe methods involved chewing on a bunch of rusty iron shards and swallowing them.
As he read further, he saw that they even taught the reader how to sacrifice the flesh and bones of one's own blood relatives, using them to make transactions with some entities.
The more he read, the more gruesome and horrifying the methods grew; it was almost to the point that they went beyond Li Huowang's tolerance. By the time he finished reading half the bamboo slip's contents, Li Huowang could not stop himself from vomiting.
All the pork from before was vomited. However, despite his deathly pale face, he endured his nausea, gritted his teeth, and continued reading.
He would not be at ease if he failed to find out what Yuan Er had been trying to do. After all, if he placed some sort of curse on them, there would be quite a lot of trouble.
He continued to read while suppressing his disgust before finally finding the method that Yuan Er had been trying to use.
It was the fourth-to-last method on the bamboo slip.
Yuan Er hadn't just been trying to scare us. He wanted to summon something over but failed.
Ba-Hui.
That was the name of the thing that Yuan Er wanted to summon, and it was said to be the source of all types of suffering mentioned on this bamboo slip.
Yuan Er had failed in summoning it—he could not pay the price of summoning it.
As per the requirements written on the bamboo slip, it could be said that while his body was in extreme pain, his inner suffering was still not enough, even though his entire family had just died.
Summoning Ba-Hui required the utmost physical and mental agony.
Li Huowang turned around to glance at Yuan Er's head, which was missing eyes and teeth. It seemed that he had just recently learned about the usage of this bamboo slip and was not yet proficient with using it.
But this was normal. Each method on the bamboo slip would bring the user closer to death, and one would probably not be able to live long enough to become proficient in it.
Despite the immediate danger having passed, Li Huowang was still not at ease. He did not care where the bandits had obtained this disgusting bamboo slip. What made him more concerned was who had written it.
Could there be another sect similar to the Righteous Monastery?
Unlike the monks who practiced techniques related to the flesh and blood, could it be that this sect cultivates techniques related to the ultimate suffering?
But if they practiced such techniques according to the contents written on the bamboo slip, there probably wouldn't be many survivors left.
Unless... their sect has some method to undergo all the suffering without dying.
Li Huowang began to wildly conjecture as he continued to look at the bamboo slip.
At this point, Li Huowang came to understand that despite his darkest suspicions about this place, he had still been too optimistic.
This place was much more dangerous than he had ever imagined. He already knew about unique existences like the Immortal families and the God of Happiness.
But today's experience was quite an eye-opener for him. He realized that there were some far more terrifying things out there.
Dazed, Li Huowang mumbled to himself. "Ba-Hui..."
Chapter 78 - The Aftermath
Along the shore of the island made of reeds, Li Huowang stood, holding the blood-red, foul-smelling bamboo slip.
Meanwhile, the others stood nearby with pale faces, huddled together as they looked at him. They had not yet recovered from the shock they had just experienced.
Li Huowang's expression was conflicted.
He could simply toss this nauseating bamboo slip into the muddy lake, never allowing it to see the light of day again.
This seemed like an excellent choice. No matter who wrote this bamboo slip, Ba-Hui's powers were not borrowed so easily, and leaving it in this world would only bring endless suffering to others.
However, after pondering for a long time, Li Huowang placed the blood-stained bamboo slip inside his clothes.
While the various methods recorded on the bamboo slip were incredibly gruesome, they were also very effective. If even a common bandit like Yuan Er could use it, then it would probably be possible for himself as well.
There was no harm in being prepared. He might even be able to make use of it in some extreme situation. After all, if he did not want to completely turn into Dan Yangzi, then he had to find another alternative for when he faced danger in the future, even if the price to pay was very high.
Li Huowang turned back to look at the others. "Bring the boat over, load up the gold, and the dead bodies of our two brethren. Let's leave this wretched place."
Their troubles had been unexpectedly resolved, and they had no need to continue staying in this place filled with corpses.
Sun Baolu was quite capable and managed to push the boats used by the bandits for pillaging ashore. Meanwhile, the rest of them carried the bodies of their fallen comrades and the gold jewelry and loaded up the boats.
"Board the boat with us, row the oars, and take us to the other side of this lake," said Li Huowang, looking menacingly at the youth before him.
"Can... can you spare my life if I bring you out?" The terrified youth stuttered. However, when he saw Li Huowang reaching for the hilt of the sword on his back, the youth scrambled onto the boat in fear.
The youth rowed the oars, turning the boat toward the dense field of reeds. At the same time, the others also began to clumsily row the boat.
It was very quiet within the dense field of reeds. No one made any sound apart from the rhythmic splash of oars in the water. The recent events had left everyone feeling unsettled.
"Lo... Lord, I'm Yuan Fu," the youth rowing the oars suddenly spoke.
Li Huowang frowned but did not reply. His eagle-like eyes continued scanning the pitch-black surroundings.
"Lord, I know that it's not a good thing to kill and loot on the waters. I never joined my dad when he engaged in those activities," the nervous youth tried to explain. "Actually, I want to go to the capital to take the examination and become a government official; I'm already fed up with this place. Lord, where are you going? I'm very familiar with this area and can lead the way for you."
This finally caught Li Huowang's attention, and he looked down at the youth rowing the boat. "How much do you know about the Nunnery at Henghua Mountain?"
This was their next destination, and there was a chance that he could learn something about it. After all, Henghua Mountain should not be too far away from this lake.
"Nunnery? I know about it. I met the nuns there once when I was working with my older brother and we were about to finish a deal on the boat. However, at the last moment, my brother decided not to go through with it," explained the youth. "At that time, he told me this: Based on our great-grandfather's command, we cannot rob these three groups—black-clothed nuns, bald heads rearing birds, and drum-wielding deities."
"Is there anything special about how the nuns look?" asked Li Huowang.
"They are very fat. Just one of them is probably three times my weight. Also, they are very lazy. They would rather sit than stand, and would lie down at any given opportunity," replied Yuan Fu. "Also, they release this extremely dirty and vile stench around them. Once, when one of those nuns took off her shoes, I could smell the stench from the adjacent boat. Lord, are you looking for these nuns? I can show you the way."
Fat, lazy, smelly. It was quite difficult for him to associate these descriptors with nuns.
Li Zhi said that they could be considered somewhat good people? But does this world even have these so-called good people?
After everything he had been through, Li Huowang had serious doubts about this.
After drifting through the field of reeds for a long time, the vast expanse of the lake once again appeared before them. The small boats reached the shore just as the sun began to rise. They had actually spent an entire night on that island, from dusk till dawn.
When the sunlight illuminated their faces, they were finally able to release the heavy burdens in their hearts. Exhausted from a long night of rowing, they all panted and fell to the ground.
Li Huowang said, "Don't rest yet. Go to the woods and gather some firewood, and then cremate these three people. Otherwise, they will start to rot."
The rest of them looked toward their three drowned companions, then mustered their strength to stand up before walking toward the nearby forest.
However, Li Huowang stopped Xiaoman, who was clutching her arm. There was a large region on her right arm that had been torn apart, exposing her bloodied muscles to the air.
"Are you alright?" Li Huowang took out a pill from his waist and handed it to her.
But Xiaoman did not take the pill. "I'm fine. I'm lucky enough just to be able to survive. I'll just use some wood ash to cover this small wound, and it will be okay."
Having spent all this time together, Li Huowang had come to understand her unyielding personality and did not push further.
Soon, three large bonfires were built by the shore. Then, Li Huowang carried each of the three corpses and placed them in the flames.
Everyone watched as their companions, who had been alive just yesterday, were gradually engulfed by the flames.
The flames slowly burned out as the sun rose higher in the sky.
Once the flames died out, Li Huowang used his sword to poke through the ashes and broke down some of the larger bones into smaller pieces. Then, he packed the bones together with the ashes inside ceramic urns.
His mood grew more and more depressed as he looked at the ash-filled urns. The events of last night had left his mind in turmoil.
At that moment, Bai Lingmiao, with her eyes already covered, reached out with both hands to gently tug at his sleeves. She had come over upon sensing his unease and was trying to comfort him.
"I'm fine. There's no need to comfort me," Li Huowang said as he bent down to pick up the three urns before passing them to Simpleton.
Meanwhile, Yuan Fu was like a loyal dog as he stood beside Li Huowang. "Lord, do you want to rest for a while? If not, I can directly bring you to find the nuns."
Hearing this, Li Huowang shook off the ashes on his sword, swung it in the direction of the voice, and then resheathed it in a single smooth motion.
"Let's go," said Li Huowang.
On the other hand, Yuan Fu's eyes widened with disbelief as he clutched his bleeding neck. He opened his mouth to try and say something to Li Huowang's departing figure, but only coughing noises came out.
Finally, he staggered a few steps behind before his body crumbled onto the floor, the life in his eyes slowly dissipating.
Chapter 79 - Market
"From now on, you'll be called Gao Zhijian," Li Huowang said to Simpleton, who was carrying a wooden rod.
"I... I... I..."
Li Huowang reached out to press down on Simpleton's thick finger that was pointing at his own chest. "Don't go 'I...' anymore. Remember, you're no longer Simpleton. This is your new name. Gao Zhijian. Got it? Aren't you literate? Break off a tree branch and write it on the floor until you memorize it."
"Oh..." Simpleton, who had no say in picking his own name, dejectedly turned toward the forest and walked over.
On the other hand, Li Huowang sighed as he looked at that towering figure walking away.
Whatever it is, since I previously said that I will give him a name, then I have to deliver. Let this be his gift for coming back from death's door.
In fact, Li Huowang had wanted to give Simpleton a name for a long time. After all, calling someone a simpleton and ordering him around like a fool sounded quite bad. It was only that he had not thought of a suitable name until now.
Simpleton was a little lacking in terms of intelligence, so Li Huowang had decided to give him the name, 'Gao Zhi' in the hopes that the fellow could find some intelligence from his name. Meanwhile, 'Jian' represented Li Huowang's expectations of him persevering through the difficulties in his difficult life.
"Senior Li! Senior Li! Can you give me a name too? While it doesn't sound good for him to be called 'Simpleton', 'Puppy' isn't much better either," asked Puppy.
Frowning, Li Huowang turned to look at the shifty-eyed youth beside him. "While he is somewhat slow, are you as well? You're already so mature, but you still can't pick a name for yourself?"
Li Huowang turned back toward the bonfire, but Puppy persistently followed behind him. "Ah, Senior Li, you're literate, so the name you come up with will definitely be better than whatever a cattle-herder like me would be able to come up with. I'm not greedy; just giving me a reputable-sounding name will do. Of course, the greater, the better."
Li Huowang chuckled, "Ke ke... you want a reputable name? Can you handle 'Cao Cao'?"
It was evident that Puppy did not understand Li Huowang's meaning, and excitedly clapped his hands together, leaping with joy. "Alright! Cao Cao is a good name; it sounds quite festive! From now on, I'll be called Cao Cao!"
Puppy did not wait for Li Huowang to continue, and dashed back toward the crowd, excitedly announcing his new name.
The others naturally did not understand the meaning behind this name either, and just congratulated him. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Witnessing this comical scene, Li Huowang could only shake his head silently.
Li Huowang looked up to see the gradually brightening skies. He said, "Stop dawdling around, and let's set off. Our aim is to reach the town today. When we get there, we'll have a good meal. Haven't you guys had your fill of these wild vegetables these past few days?"
His words made all of them feel invigorated, and they eagerly swallowed their saliva.
Their dry rations and donkey cart had all drowned in the lake. While they had a lot of gold, there was nobody to buy rations from in these remote areas.
Without rations, they could only survive by eating wild vegetables like the old monk from back then. There were quite a few times when the vegetables were not enough for them to even feel full. Due to this, the guiding drug ingredients had become noticeably skinnier. And so, as soon as they heard that they would get proper food, they started moving with renewed vigor. Under the allure of getting to fill their stomachs, they covered a distance which would normally take half a day in just four hours.
A bustling little town sat at the foot of a large mountain peak shrouded within clouds. To a certain extent, it was even a little overly busy. Li Huowang's group went in but could barely find a place to stand.
Li Huowang turned around slightly, sidestepping a shoulder pole, and then quickly raised his right foot to avoid stepping on the chicken droppings on the ground before pressing on toward the sounds of peddling in the distance.
Is this place really so good? Why are there so many people here?
There were many people squatting down on the narrow stone-paved road, both buyers and sellers haggling in loud voices. People were selling things like hand-woven baskets, wild game from the mountains, home-grown vegetables, chickens, dogs, and even tree saplings.
The buyers and sellers were conversing so loudly that Li Huowang felt as though a thousand flies were buzzing around him.
"Senior Li, I, Cao Cao, know the reason! It's the first day of the month, so there's a larger crowd today since everyone from the nearby villages is gathering here," Puppy explained.
Li Huowang nodded. He had forgotten that the people here often gathered at such large markets on the first and fifteenth day of each month, facilitating trade.
Li Huowang suddenly had an urge as he looked at the bustling crowd—he wanted to ring the bronze bell and see how many Wandering Gods there were in this large market.
However, this was just a passing thought. He was not a kid anymore, and he had much more pressing matters to attend to.
Li Huowang gradually moved his gaze from the dense crowd and looked toward the buildings in the distance. Finally, his gaze settled on the towering mountain peak up ahead.
That was Henghua Mountain. The Nunnery at the top of that mountain was Li Huowang's destination. There, he may perhaps be able to get rid of Dan Yangzi, who was gradually eroding away his body.
Li Huowang was just about to set off but saw that the others had stopped before a stall. They were staring intently at the objects displayed. Even the drool hanging from Simpleton's mouth seemed to be hanging longer.
"What's this?" Li Huowang walked over and tapped on the golden-brown round biscuit.
"Senior Li, this is Guokui, a type of flatbread. It can be eaten," said Bai Lingmiao as she tried her best to stop drooling but still failed.
Seeing their eager looks, Li Huowang felt a pang of sadness. At the end of the day, these people were a pitiful and unfortunate group.
Li Huowang took out some of the gold jewelry from Simpleton's bag and used his sharp sword to quickly divide it into small pieces the size of golden beans.
"Buy! Go and buy whatever you want. We have money now, so buy anything you like from this market!" said Li Huowang as he placed the golden beans in the hands of everyone besides Gao Zhijian.
In an instant, everyone's faces became flushed with excitement.
Meanwhile, he watched the nouveau-riche guiding drug ingredients rush to the stalls and buy all sorts of things that they could or couldn't use.
Then, Li Huowang turned to Gao Jianzhi who was munching on the flatbread, and said, "Follow me. Since we have money now, we should make some upgrades."
Soon after, there were two brand-new horse carriages beside them. The horses were tall, healthy, and very intelligent. Once he gently tugged on their reins, the horses would follow steadily without struggling or trying to go in other directions. This was completely different from those two old and sickly donkeys they had before.
When the others finished making their purchases and gathered around the carts, Li Huowang noticed that their clothes and shoes had all been replaced by new items. At the same time, they were carrying all sorts of food and treats; even Bai Lingmiao was no exception.
Everyone had extremely joyous expressions on their faces, and one could easily imagine just how happy they were.