"Find something?" Li Huowang's mind raced when he heard Abbess Jingxin's words.
On the other hand, when she saw that his expression turned more serious, she explained, "Don't think I'm just taking advantage of your problem."
However, this just made Li Huowang's mood even heavier. He thought for a while, then said, "Abbess Jingxin, this should be your final condition, right?"
He saw her nod in agreement, then took a deep breath and said, "Sure! It's a deal. What do you need?"
He wasn't afraid of there being conditions; rather, he was more wary of the other party making empty promises. However, as long as there were conditions set, they were still in the realm of negotiation.
At least, from what he had seen so far, Li Zhi had not lied before he died. In a certain sense, the nuns belonging to the Benevolent Nunnery were indeed good people. It was not easy to find such people in this strange world.
He had no other choice now. Dan Yangzi might end up possessing him first if he continued to look for other methods.
"A pair of eyes. An extremely peculiar pair of sinister eyes. There is a forest about two hundred miles to the east of Henghua Mountain. Head there and bring this sinister thing back," Jingxin stated her final condition.
"Sinister? What sort of sinister? What sort of abilities does it have?" asked Li Huowang. He wanted to know what sort of foe he was about to face.
"It's called the Eighteenth Lunar. That thing is very strange. Every year, on the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month, it transforms. At that time, its appearance and supernatural abilities change. I don't know what it looks like right now, so just remember that it's red in color. You will have to figure out a method to deal with it yourself. You even carry the Profound Records on you, and you think you can't deal with that thing? Besides, do you think that Master of yours who attained Immortality will let you die?"
Eighteenth Lunar? That's a name?
Li Huowang was troubled. This was it? He wasn't given any hints and he had to go completely unprepared to deal with some kind of sinister being. He was going in completely blind.
He did not want to give Dan Yangzi a chance to make a move again. If he did, then he wasn't sure who this body would belong to at the end.
"Can I enlist the help of the other nuns in the nunnery? Other matters can be negotiated," probed Li Huowang.
"Hehe, they're all very lazy. Feel free to try persuading them. But, I'm guessing you don't even have the money to hire them to come down the mountain, right? Hehe," Abbess Jingxin softly mocked her juniors.
Now that a target was established, Li Huowang did not wish to procrastinate further. He re-confirmed the location of the Eighteenth Lunar with Jingxin, then bowed and turned to leave. "I won't disturb Abbess's meal any further. I will go down now and have others bring the gold up."
"Ah, right. I smell persimmon biscuits as well. I really like them; remember to bring me some," said Jingxin.
"Understood," said Li Huowang. Since he had already handed over all his gold, a little bit of food did not make much difference.
As he left, the room once again fell into darkness. However, this did not affect the blind Jingxin. She reached out with her right hand and used her blackened fingers to rummage through the greasy folds of fat on her body.
After a long while, there was a rippling sound with a foul odor. A bald old man with frail limbs was pulled out from within.
This old person seemed to be on the verge of death. His eyes and mouth appeared slanted, and he seemed to be mumbling from time to time.
After taking him out, Jingxin pulled him into a gentle embrace with her pus-covered arms. Then, she started feeding him from the bowl, mouth to mouth.
"Son, did you hear that? In a few days, you will have some persimmon biscuits to eat. Hehe, are you happy? I still remember that you loved eating them back when you still wore open-crotch pants," said Jingxin.
However, the old person had no reaction to Jingxin's voice, and just reflexively spat out the stuff in his mouth.
Jingxin did not seem to notice this, and just continued to repeat her actions. "See, he's just like you. That kid is also a Strayed One. But he's going to have a much harder time than you. You have a mother, but he doesn't. Who knows what sort of fate awaits him. Ah, that kid is so pitiful..."
Meanwhile, back in the Penglai Inn, Bai Lingmiao was completely naked, as she rested her hands on the edge of the wooden tub. She sighed, "I wonder how Senior Li is doing. It would have been good if I could have gone up with him."
Should I tell him? If I do, won't he worry about me? But he already has enough to worry about for now.
Bai Lingmiao contemplated for a long while, until the water in the tub started getting cold. Then, she stood up from the water filled with floating petals, put on her clothes and walked toward the bedroom.
Forget it. No matter what, if he still hasn't come down after three days, then I'm definitely going up to find him. Who says I'm a burden?
The door creaked as Bai Lingmiao closed it. Once it was fully closed, a strange woman was revealed behind the door. She was wearing a red veil, had colored ribbons on her dress, as well as red embroidered shoes.
Seeing her, Bai Lingmiao pulled back the sheets, and mischievously slid in. Then, her hands firmly embraced the person under the sheets. "I like Sister Xiaoman the most. You're so fluffy. Hugging you is just so comfortable."
Xiaoman turned around and faced the white-haired girl. They were so close that they could even feel each other's soft breathing.
"What's so good about this thing; it's just some black hair. Others treat me like I am some weird creature. Even a man in his sixties won't dare to marry me," said Xiaoman.
"Don't worry, Sister Xiaoman. You will definitely be able to find the man of your dreams," said Bai Lingmiao as she reached out to gently stroke her black hair.
"No need. I hate men. I want to remain unmarried. I can live independently without any man!" declared Xiaoman firmly.
"Why would you want that?" Bai Lingmiao's eyes widened with surprise. She had wanted to ask if it was because of her father, but she couldn't get those words to come out of her mouth.
Meanwhile, Xiaoman turned around, showing her back to Bai Lingmiao who reached out to gently hug her.
"Sister Xiaoman, if you have no place to go to in future, then come to my house. How about being the godmother to my children?" offered Bai Lingmiao.
Xiaoman did not respond directly. There was a look of hesitation in her eyes as she stared at the wall before her. "Are you really planning to marry Senior Li?"
However, Bai Lingmiao did not answer her, only hitting her back shyly.
"Why don't you give it some more thought? This is for your own good. Even though Senior Li has been kind to us, you don't necessarily have to repay him like that. After all... he's that sort of person," Xiaoman tailed off.
Chapter 86 - Departure
"What sort of person? Isn't Senior Li quite good?" asked Bai Lingmiao. Those words made her feel rather unhappy; she felt as though her own belongings were being defamed.
"He..." Xiaoman hesitated. "Do you really think Senior Li has no issues? If that really was the case, then why would Baldy capture him to be used as a guiding drug ingredient in the first place?"
The room fell silent. They all knew each other quite well after having spent some time together. And so they knew that when compared to their physical issues, Li Huowang suffered from the much more thorny mental problems.
It was just that everyone consciously avoided the topic.
Bai Lingmiao's expression was gloomy. "So what? If he's like that, then am I much better? Everyone calls me a White-Haired Goblin back at home. Others are also afraid when they see me. But Senior Li has never looked at me differently, and he even saved me on multiple occasions. Someone like me couldn't even dream of being able to find someone like Senior Li. I'm already overjoyed that he doesn't despise me."
Hearing this, Xiaoman no longer continued on this topic. She just sighed lightly and closed her eyes. "Go to sleep."
The bedroom gradually became quiet, with the only sound being from the two's soft breathing.
When Xiaoman heard the breathing behind her getting shallow, she turned around and looked at the delicate girl before her.
Xiaoman looked at her long eyelashes and reached out to caress her cheek. The sensation was like a boiled chicken egg that just had its shell peeled, making her feel infatuated.
"I... know... don't rush..." Bai Lingmiao mumbled in her sleep.
Hearing this, Xiaoman's brows quivered under her dense hair, as she leaned her cheek over.
Bang!
At that moment, the door was suddenly kicked open, causing Xiaoman to instantly sit up. Then, she pulled out a dagger from under her pillow and stood before Bai Lingmiao.
"Senior Li? You've come down from the mountain?" Xiaoman exclaimed in surprise as she looked at the young man before her. The one who had opened the door was Li Huowang, who had just returned from Henghua Mountain.
"Where's all the gold?" Li Huowang got straight to the point.
"It's all with Simpl... with Gao Zhijian. He's guarding it," replied Xiaoman.
Li Huowang glanced at Bai Lingmiao, who was still half-asleep before turning around and walking off in the direction of the other guest rooms.
"What happened? Was someone here?" Bai Lingmiao sat up drowsily.
Xiaoman gently laid her back down before saying in a soft voice, "It's alright... go back to sleep. We'll talk about it tomorrow."
The next day, Xiaoman pulled Bai Lingmiao's hand and brought her to another guest room where they saw Li Huowang. She immediately noticed the mud on his shoes. From the looks of it, their Senior Li had been outside all night long.
"You are here? Have a seat. Let me tell you about the next steps of our journey," said Li Huowang as he opened a map.
"This is where we're going next; I need to retrieve something from there first. After that, I'll send all of you home," said Li Huowang as he pointed at a spot on the map.
After saying that, Li Huowang didn't wait to hear anyone's opinion. He directly rolled up the map and headed toward the door. "Pack your things. We're leaving at noon today."
"Senior Li! What happened on the mountain? Is it dangerous where we're headed?" asked Bai Lingmiao as she followed after him.
Meanwhile, Xiaoman turned to the others and asked, "What happened? What is Senior Li up to? Why did he come back?"
"How would I know? Senior Li never consults us with anything. It's already unprecedented for him to have given us a heads-up today," Puppy said gloomily.
"Why the long face? We're only leaving, right?" asked Xiaoman.
Tears streamed down Puppy's face upon hearing this question. "Senior Li gave away all the gold! If I had known he would do that, then I wouldn't have gone to the brothel earlier. I should have bought myself a wife first!"
"What?! He gave it all away? Didn't any of you try to stop that from happening? Don't you know that Senior Li has mental problems?" Xiaoman shouted anxiously.
"I did try to stop him! I tried to block him yesterday when he was giving it away! But I could only do so much," replied Puppy.
Xiaoman turned and hurried outside, but her actions were in vain. The gold had already been sent to the Benevolent Nunnery during the last night.
"Don't worry, I kept some for the journey," said Li Huowang.
With heavy hearts, Xiaoman and the others once again set off on a journey; they had little say in this decision.
Li Huowang had killed the water bandits and taken the gold. Thus, none of them had the authority to stop him even if he wanted to give it all away. It was just that the sudden transition from being extremely wealthy to being penniless was truly hard for them to adapt to.
Late at night, Xiaoman opened her eyes to see a statue-like Li Huowang sitting by the campfire as he looked at the red bamboo slip. Then, she gently crawled out from under the blanket and walked toward the mist-covered forest.
In a secluded grassy area, she took out a book and a long knife from her waist. Then, she struck a fighting posture and began to learn from the book.
The blade in her hand danced through the air. Though she was still quite unskilled, her eyes shone with determination as she practiced seriously.
Whoosh~
At that moment, she stopped her blade as she was startled by Li Huowang's sudden appearance.
He was still the same; his neck was full of scars, and he had an exhausted expression on his face.
"Where is this book from?" Li Huowang stepped over and flipped through the book on the ground. There were only a few small figures showing a person wielding swords on it without any words. It looked like a sword-fighting manual.
"Didn't you ask us to buy the things that we wanted previously? I found an escort from the escort service, and used some gold to buy this book from him," Xiaoman replied.
"Anyone who becomes an escort these days has at least some level of skill. I spent quite a bit to buy this. It is genuine," She chuckled softly and continued. "After I killed my dad, I've been thinking; back then, if I had a blade in my hand, would he still have dared to sell my sister and me? And so, I want to become stronger, strong enough to protect myself and others."
Hearing this, Li Huowang nodded silently, then turned back toward the campfire.
Xiaoman hesitated as she looked at his back. Finally, she yelled, "Senior Li, Junior Bai truly cares about you a lot. Please don't let her down!"
Li Huowang did not stop as he took large strides out of the forest. "Show this book to the others as well. Perhaps they may also be able to learn something from it."
Even with a horse carriage, two hundred miles still took quite some time to cover; they had already been traveling intermittently for several days.
As they approached their destination, Li Huowang had the others wait in a small village close by.
At this moment, the others were bored and were playing card games in the courtyard of a moderately-sized farmhouse.
Puppy sneezed and asked Sun Baolu, who sat in front of him, "Where has Senior Li gone? I haven't seen him all day long. We're almost there already, so why are we waiting here? This isn't his usual style."
Chapter 87 - Forest
Sun Baolu listened to Puppy as he took out a playing card from his hand and played it. "I saw Senior Li go to the village blacksmith. It seemed like he was preparing something. Right, Puppy, didn't Senior Li ask you to gather some information? And you're out here playing cards? Aren't you afraid that he'll scold you when he returns?"
"What 'Puppy'?! Call me Cao Cao!" said Puppy as he played a card. "This small village isn't all that big, so there's no need to go through so much trouble. Moreover, I brought back those two kids to question them, and finished it quickly. The village elders all told us that there are man-eating worms in the woods to the west and advised us not to go there."
"You guys want to go there? You shouldn't... You really shouldn't... Ten years ago, my mom saw flying worms circling the skies in that area!" The host, who had been observing their card game, interjected.
"Ah, don't worry! Senior Li is very powerful. With him around, those worms or whatnot won't even be able to approach us. Ah, hold on, who just played this card? Hahaha, I won. Alright, all the eggs in your noodles will belong to me," said Puppy.
"Come take a look; Senior Li is back," said one of the guiding drug ingredients.
As soon as they heard those words, the others turned around to see Li Huowang carrying a large leather bag while walking into the courtyard.
Surrounded by the group of curious guiding drug ingredients, Li Huowang placed the leather bag on the table and opened it in front of them. Inside, there were rows of neatly arranged items. These were brand-new weapons custom-made for him.
There was a pair of large black pliers, sharp awls, small fingernail-sized shovels, and long barbed needles. These strange-looking objects were unsettling to even look at.
At that moment, Puppy picked up a spoon with very sharp edges and played with it. "Senior Li, what are these items for? Rather than weapons, they seem more like torture tools. For example, this. It can't kill people, but it would definitely be able to gouge out someone's eyes-"
Puppy abruptly stopped, scared by his own words. He immediately thought of the events that occurred on the island made of reeds. That person had used pliers to pull out his own teeth and burst his own eyes.
At that moment, Li Huowang reached out to retrieve the object in Puppy's hand as he asked, "How's the information gathering?"
"It... it's done. There are said to be man-eating worms there. The people around here avoid going there. The worms are also very quiet and never come out." Fear was clearly visible in Puppy's eyes as he looked at the objects on the table.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang picked up a small shovel and gestured a few times with it toward his fingernail. Then, he placed the items on his back and said, "Let's go."
"It's already noon. Why don't we rest the night before going?" suggested Sun Baolu.
However, this suggestion was met with an ice glare from Li Huowang. "I said let's go!"
Soon, the wheels of the carriage started to turn and roll toward the forests infested with man-eating creatures.
As the moon rose up, Li Huowang and his group finally arrived at their destination.
There was an extremely dense bamboo forest before them, and fireflies could be seen twinkling in and out of sight. A small path winded through, making it look like a snake that had burrowed into the bamboo forest. The weeds on the path suggested that it hadn't been used in a long time.
Li Huowang didn't rush in recklessly. According to Abbess Jingxin, the Eighteenth Lunar was an evil being that had multiple forms. Nobody knew what form it had right now or what kind of threat it would pose to them.
He stood at the edge of the forest and spent some time observing in silence.
Time passed slowly, and everything appeared to be normal inside the forest—all the creatures within remained unchanged, and Li Huowang even saw some rats gnawing on the bamboo.
It was only at dawn that Li Huowang ceased his observation.
As he ate the noodles in his bowl, Li Huowang told the others, "From the looks of it, the periphery is fine. We will enter the forest after this meal. Once we are inside, don't do anything else. There's only one thing all of you need to do: if... and I mean, if..."
His expression turned serious as he paused. "If my behavior turns abnormal, then keep an eye on me, and don't let me wander around."
Yes, the reason Li Huowang had brought them along this time was this.
As the effects of the Black Taisui were gradually wearing off, Li Huowang felt his surroundings becoming more and more unreal, and he felt like he might be engulfed in hallucinations at any moment.
He needed them to accompany him inside, just in case.
Upon hearing this unusual request, the others exchanged glances and nodded.
"Even if my behavior turns abnormal, it shouldn't be for a long period of time. It'll be fine once I'm back to normal," continued Li Huowang.
Once he finished speaking, he drank a mouthful of soup. At that moment, a delicate white hand reached over and plucked at his hair, causing him to feel pain in his scalp.
"What are you doing?" Li Huowang was displeased with the owner of the hand, Bai Lingmiao.
"My mother once said that white hair has to be plucked. If you leave them be, more white hair will grow on your head," replied Bai Lingmiao. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
Hearing this, Li Huowang hastened the pace at which he devoured his noodles.
Meanwhile, Bai Lingmiao sat down cross-legged beside him and reached out toward the red bamboo slip on Li Huowang's back. "Senior Li, you've been carrying this thing all this time—"
However, Li Huowang suddenly stood up before she could touch it. He finished the soup in one gulp and tossed the bowl into the empty pot. "Let's go into the forest."
Everyone was well-fed, and they followed Li Huowang down the small path. Despite it being early morning, once they stepped into the forest, the surroundings turned dark. The dense bamboo thicket acted as a barrier that tightly blocked out the sunlight coming from above.
Thus, they took out the dark-green glowing stones, using them to brighten their surroundings.
However, when this green-colored light illuminated the bamboo forest, it caused the green bamboo around them to take on a sickly hue, making the onlookers feel unsettled.
Amidst the swaying of the bamboo trees, there seemed to be something hiding in the depths of the dense bamboo forest, watching them.
Li Huowang strained his eyes to make out what it was but could not see anything. Right as he was about to turn around, he felt a prickling sensation on his back.
Is this the power of the Eighteenth Lunar? Is it watching me from within the forest? What form has it taken??
The others could also feel that strange sensation.
The only sounds that could be heard around them were that of shoes stepping on the weeds. Nobody said anything, the atmosphere growing tense.
"Senior Li... do you... feel like the bamboo above is growing closer to us?" said one of the guiding drug ingredients.
Hearing this, everyone slowly looked up. The surrounding bamboo trees were completely bent, with their sickly-colored tips pointing directly at them.
Chapter 88 - Rules
"Don't move! Everyone, stay still!" Li Huowang's voice rang out in the eerie bamboo forest, causing everyone to freeze in place.
They remained motionless while gazing at the row of bamboo tips above them, afraid that those things might pierce straight down.
"Stay still," said Li Huowang as he took a step forward with his right foot.
The others held their breath anxiously as they watched this scene. However, they all heaved a sigh of relief when they saw that there were no changes in the bamboo.
Then, Li Huowang took a few more steps forward and even circled around, but the bamboo remained the same, showing no changes.
"Could it... be that the bamboo in this wretched place just grows in a strange manner?" Puppy wondered out loud.
However, Li Huowang did not dare to gamble on whether that really was the case or not. He immediately shook the bell in his hand to summon a Wandering God and then commanded it to swiftly inspect the surroundings of the forest.
After a while, the Wandering God returned before Li Huowang and indicated that there were no issues. Only after this did Li Huowang's apprehension reduce slightly.
However, he wasn't relieved because of what the Wandering God had told him, but because that strange feeling like he was being watched had vanished.
Li Huowang did not immediately dismiss the Wandering God, choosing to continue deeper into the forest while it was still around. While the ringing of the bell caused everyone to feel dizzy, it was definitely better than being ambushed by the so-called Eighteenth Lunar.
"Stay close; let's quickly pass through this forest," said Li Huowang as he continued to shake the bell while walking deeper into the forest. At the same time, he flicked open the clasp of the leather bag, revealing the torture tools within. These objects gleamed with a cold light as they reflected the light given off by the glowing stones.
At this moment, everyone had gripped their weapons and held their breaths. They closely followed one another, scared to fall behind.
As time passed, the bamboo tips above them bent even more, with their tips eventually starting to touch the top of their horse carts. The sound of the bamboo tips scraping against the carriage roof was sharp and grating, making everyone feel even more oppressed. Even so, the Wandering God told them that there was no sign of any enemies.
As they walked through this bizarre bamboo forest, everyone felt as though they were traversing through a large mouth with the bamboo tips acting as the teeth.
Under such conditions, Li Huowang did not know how far they had walked either; the dizziness was causing him to lose the perception of time.
At that moment, he suddenly saw light in the distance.
An exit!
Excited, he swung his sharp sword and cut down an area of bamboo, allowing the sunlight to come in and illuminate the path.
The brightness of the sunlight made everyone squint instinctively due to how blinding it was. Based on the position of the sun, they could tell that it should be afternoon by now.
When they were finally able to see better and turned to look ahead, their eyes widened involuntarily; there was actually a village at the back of this peculiar forest.
In the distance, the rows of blue-tiled houses were scattered around and arranged irregularly. It was not that much different from the other villages that Li Huowang had seen along the way.
There was a clear pond by the entrance of the village. At this time, several young women were washing their clothes and chatting cheerily at the pond.
"Senior Li, are you sure this is the place? Did we make a mistake?" asked Xiaoman as she frowned.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang quickly recalled the location that Abbess Jingxin had given him, then stored the bell before heading toward the village.
"Follow closely, don't let down your guard. Perhaps this is just an illusion created by the Eighteenth Lunar," warned Li Huowang.
"The Eighteenth Lunar... could it be referring to a village?" Bai Lingmiao mumbled.
This thought had also appeared in Li Huowang's mind. After all, the only piece of information he had obtained from the Abbess was that this evil being was red in color.
As they approached the village, the first to notice them were naturally the women washing their clothes. They picked up their clothes and whispered amongst themselves as they walked back toward the village.
Such a large group of people wearing black-veiled bamboo hats would naturally draw the villagers' attention. Soon, groups of burly youngsters carried farming tools on their backs as they approached, watching them vigilantly.
"Outsiders! What brings you to our Wu Family Village? Are you just passing through or are you visiting relatives?" An elderly man with a goatee yelled from a distance.
Li Huowang's gaze swept over the faces of the villagers, but he couldn't find anything abnormal. This seemed to be just like any other village, if judged based on their appearance alone.
Could the Eighteenth Lunar be here?
When the village chief shouted a second time, Li Huowang brought his people over, bowed to them, and opened his map. "Elder, may I trouble you to check if your village corresponds to the location on this map?"
"What? Asking for directions?" The old man took the map and conversed with the others in hushed tones.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang kept his eyes on their faces, observing their expressions.
After a while, the village chief handed the map back with both hands. "Outsiders, you have found the wrong place. The location on this map is about ten miles away from here."
We found the wrong place? Or have we not arrived yet?
Li Huowang quickly ran a mental calculation of the distance from the Benevolent Nunnery to here. Abbess Jingxin had said that it was about two hundred miles, and he was no machine either. Thus, it would be normal for there to be some human error.
"Haha, my apologies for the mistake, I actually found the wrong place." Li Huowang clasped his hands together and once again bowed to the people before him. "However, the sun is about to set quite soon, Elder. Could you allow us to stay for the night? We have been on the road for half a month, and we are quite exhausted."
"Well..." The chief looked at Li Huowang's group warily.
"Elder, if it's convenient, then please." Li Huowang smiled and leaned over, grabbing the chief's hand underneath his gown.
At that moment, the chief felt something on his palm causing his expression to change as he pinched it with his fingers.
"Alright, our west wing is still vacant. You guys can stay there. Remember, just one night," said the chief.
Soon, the two horse carriages were advancing along the moss-covered stone path toward the village. Puppy leaned over and whispered, "Senior Li, isn't this the wrong place?"
Li Huowang gave the villagers peeking out through their doors a sideways glance. "Perhaps it isn't a mistake? What if this is the place we're looking for?"
The most important lesson Li Huowang had learned after being out for so long was to always take the words of others with a grain of salt.
Since the Eighteenth Lunar could change into any shape, then a village was undoubtedly an extremely convenient place to hide in. He didn't know whether or not it consumed people. If it did, then this village would probably be a suitable feeding point.
As they walked, he started to scan the entire village for any hint of redness. But even as they reached the village entrance, he found no trace of red.
Right as they reached the entrance, the village chief clasped his hands together and looked at them. "First, let me explain something. The Wu Family Village has many rules that are passed down from the previous generations, and they cannot be changed. You guys may stay the night, but you must follow those rules. If not, it would be better for you to leave now."
"Rules?" questioned Li Huowang.
Chapter 89 - Wu Family
After some pondering, Li Huowang nodded. "Elder, could you please tell us what these rules are?"
"First. In our Wu Family Village, you're not allowed to talk back to those older than you, especially me," said the goateed village chief as he raised his index finger.
"That is a rule?" Li Huowang and the others were completely dumbfounded. They had expected there to be some peculiar rules, but they seemed quite ordinary.
"Aren't these only household rules? You want to use your household rules to restrict outsiders?" argued Puppy. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
But Li Huowang tapped Puppy's head beside him and then said to the village chief, "Please continue. We're listening."
"Second. Whenever any animals from the nearby forest come out, be it a mouse or an owl, you must not harm them or step on them. If you encounter them on the road, then you must give way. They have done many favors for our Wu Family in the past. Third. You guys are outsiders, and thus your group's men aren't allowed to talk to the females of our village. This rule didn't exist previously. But recently, a peddler took away two wives from here! Ah, my blood boils just thinking about it..."
As the village chief incessantly droned on about the rules, Li Huowang and the others gradually learned about the various rules of the Wu Family Village. Even trivial stuff like how they shouldn't litter had been mentioned.
"Damn, this village has too many rules. We might as well not stay here," muttered one of the guiding drug ingredients.
"Shh, continue listening," whispered Li Huowang.
At this point, the village chief's list was drawing to an end. "Eleven, don't light up fires at night, and don't go outside at night either. And lastly, no matter what time it is, never talk to someone with your back facing them; always turn around, and only answer them once you see their face. Never speak to someone who has their back turned to you."
Li Huowang frowned slightly upon hearing these rules. The last two made him feel that something was amiss.
"What happens if I end up breaking these rules? What will happen?" asked Li Huowang.
"Break the rules?!" The village chief's eyes widened fully, and then he confidently continued, "You'll be fined, of course! A silver piece each time you break the rules! Even more if it's a repeat offense! You will be fined until you dare not break them anymore! Don't think that I'm bullying you just because you are outsiders. Even our own villagers are treated the same way."
Li Huowang felt that he had some sort of misconception. Could it be that he had misunderstood something?
At that moment, Li Huowang felt someone tugging at the hem of his robes, causing him to look back at the goateed elder. He nodded as he said, "Rest assured, Elder. We are reasonable people."
"That's good. I wouldn't have bothered helping all of you if not for the fact that I saw you traveling with two kids. I'm getting old; I can't bear seeing children suffer," said the chief. Then, he turned around and walked back to the courtyard.
Meanwhile, the two horse carriages stopped within the courtyard, while Li Huowang's group brought their bedding into the musty and smelly west wing.
By the time they were done cleaning and arranging everything, the sun was already setting in the west.
At that moment, the chief came in with a smile. "Ah, youngsters, are you going to have dinner here? I'll get my wife to prepare some extra."
Have dinner?
Li Huowang's heart tightened. Others' food wasn't usually so delicious to eat.
Li Huowang thought for a moment, then nodded, "Thank you, Elder."
Then, he glanced at Xiaoman as he watched the elder leave with hands behind his back. "Go to the kitchen and help the host family."
"Alright." Xiaoman nodded and left.
The village chief had a large family—six sons, two daughters, and even more grandchildren. Thus, dinner-time was a bustling affair with over a dozen people.
This was also the reason why he dared to take Li Huowang's group in. In the village, nobody dared to provoke those who had a lot of sons.
Even though they stayed in a massive mansion, the Wu Family's dinner was quite simple. They were having plain steamed rice along with their own homegrown vegetables. It seemed rather miserly.
By the time Li Huowang arrived, they had already started eating—they didn't have any notion of a host having to wait for the guests. In fact, many of the plates were already empty.
"The rice is over there, so help yourselves. We don't have too many formalities when we are eating," said the chief.
Li Huowang shook his head. "No problem."
He led his group to the corner where the steamer was placed as he started counting in his head. Just as he had counted to ten, the sound of bowls shattering rang out behind him.
When he turned around, he saw the dozens of people, including the village chief, all lying on the floor, unconscious.
Hehe, that peddler's knockout drugs are quite effective. You truly get what you pay for.
He didn't bother checking whether these people were under the so-called Eighteenth Lunar's manipulation or whether they were plotting against him. After all, whoever struck first held the advantage.
Then, with a wave of his hand, the others quickly rushed toward the east wing of the main house to search for clues.
"Start with anything written, then look for other abnormal objects. Pay extra attention to the strange things, like Buddhist amulets or Deities. I want to see what they are up to!" Li Huowang instructed.
They searched everywhere, even flipping through the entire courtyard as a group, yet they found nothing. There was nothing unusual.
How could there be nothing?
Li Huowang stood in the hall, frowning as he thought about these questions.
After an entire day's work, he hadn't found anything in the bizarre forest besides this village.
Could the Eighteenth Lunar be in the forest we were in previously? No, I checked there already. This village is surrounded by the bamboo forest. If the Eighteenth Lunar is hiding, then it must be here.
"Does finding their silver count for anything?" Puppy carried out some silver pieces. However, he sighed helplessly when he saw Li Huowang merely glance at him, and then dejectedly carried the silver back.
Li Huowang noticed the dusky color of the sky, and then instructed again, "Bring the fire starter and start a fire."
"Senior Li, weren't we told not to light any fires?" Bai Lingmiao was confused.
Hearing this, Li Huowang's eyes narrowed, while his right hand touched the row of torture tools on his waist. "I want to see what happens after I light it."
If there were any other suspicious things about this village, than they would be the rules mentioned by the goateed man.
Whoosh~
The candle lantern found from the search earlier was rapidly lit on fire, illuminating the entire Wu Family courtyard.
In the hall filled with people lying on the floor, Li Huowang sat quietly and waited. The sky was gradually getting darker. There was no moon tonight; it was as though a giant black cloth was covering the sky.
However, the darkness fell just like that, and nothing happened.
"Ha~" Puppy yawned, then leaned against a pillar and started to doze off.
His yawns seemed to be contagious, making the others yawn as well.
At that moment, a trace of doubt appeared in Li Huowang's heart as he looked at the unconscious Wu Family members lying on the ground.
Could I have really come to the wrong place?
Just as he was starting to have such thoughts, a mischievous giggle sounded from beyond the courtyard wall, "Hehe, you broke the rules."