"Fifth Brother, come in quickly! Where have you been these past few days? Your sixth sister and I were so worried about you. We thought something had happened!"
Upon seeing the shirtless boy helping Zhao Wu inside, Li Huowang stepped forward to follow, sensing that things were not so simple.
"Why are you back?" The moment Li Huowang heard the man at the abacus speak in an indifferent tone, he knew his guess was correct.
The excitement on Zhao Wu's face from just moments ago gradually vanished. With a trembling voice, he said, "Dad, I was abducted. They put a sack over my head and took me to a faraway place. It was these friends of mine who brought me back."
Looking at the several black-hatted figures at the door, Zhao Wu's father waved his hands impatiently. "Disperse, all of you! With you crowding the entrance, how are we supposed to do business?"
The man's attitude irked Li Huowang. What do their family problems have to do with us outsiders?
He snatched the Longsword from Zhao Wu's hand and raised it high. A cold light flashed as the sharp blade struck the wooden counter, almost splitting it in two.
"What are you doing? The town's arrest officer is my relative!" Zhao Wu's father yelled, stumbling back in fear.
Li Huowang pulled out a tael of silver with his right hand. In front of the man, he slowly shaved a small piece from it with the gleaming blade, then pushed the Pieces of Silver toward him. "For rice!"
In the small backyard of the rice shop, Zhao Wu was pouring tea for Li Huowang. "Brother Li, please calm down. My dad is just like that, but he has a good heart."
Li Huowang downed the tea in one gulp. Whether the man had a good heart or not didn't concern him. He hadn't come here just to drop off Zhao Wu, anyway.
"These notes with last words are for delivery within the country. Since you're familiar with Jianye City, find a reliable courier service and have them sent," Li Huowang said, pushing seven or eight paper notes across to Zhao Wu.
Zhao Wu accepted them with both hands and nodded solemnly. "Brother Li, rest assured. I guarantee I'll get it done!"
"Alright, that's settled then. You stay home and behave. We're leaving," Li Huowang declared, rising to his feet.
"You're leaving so soon? Why not stay for lunch? I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for all of you."
Zhao Wu was clearly reluctant to part. This farewell might mean they would never see each other again.
"Forget it. Don't go to the trouble." Li Huowang patted Zhao Wu on the shoulder. Considering his father's earlier attitude, that meal would likely be anything but peaceful.
"Keep practicing the characters I've taught you, especially your name. If you can write your own name, at least you're not completely illiterate."
As Li Huowang was giving his final piece of advice, one of the Medicinal Guides, a woman covered in black hair, suddenly rushed forward. She leaned in and whispered into his ear, "When you get home, you should investigate. You might not have been abducted. You might have been sold by your own father!"
Her words silenced everyone. When Zhao Wu's third brother came out carrying a sack of rice, Li Huowang gestured for the Fool to take it and led the others away.
On the bustling street, Li Huowang and his companions began looking for an inn.
"Why do you think Zhao Wu was sold by his father?" Li Huowang turned and asked the woman who had just whispered to Zhao Wu.
The woman, who suffered from hirsutism, had been remarkably quiet and reserved throughout their journey, hardly speaking to anyone. Li Huowang was surprised she had spoken up so suddenly.
"Even a vicious tiger won't eat its own cubs. He can't be that evil," Li Huowang said.
At his words, the woman's body began to tremble inexplicably. Her voice filled with sorrow, she said, "It's true that tigers don't eat their young, but people are far more venomous than tigers! I know because I was sold by my own parents!"
Upon hearing this, everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at her in shock.
"Two taels of silver. Just two taels! He sold me like livestock, without even a single glance back."
Sensing the woman's anguish, Bai Lingmiao went over, gently hugged her, and patted her back comfortingly.
After a moment's thought, Li Huowang spoke again. "If he sold you, are you still going back?"
"I'm going back!" the woman hissed through clenched teeth.
Seeing her chest heaving with emotion and the raw hatred in her voice, Li Huowang immediately guessed that her reasons for returning were likely very different from those of Bai Lingmiao and the others.
"Donglai Inn. We'll stay there tonight." Li Huowang pointed to a signboard on the left side of the street and led the way inside.
"Welcome, honored guests! Are you here for a meal or a room for the night?"
"Rooms. How much are they?"
"We have three classes. Class A rooms are ninety Wen, food included. Class B rooms are sixty Wen, without food. Class C rooms are twenty Wen, but you'll have to share with others."
"Sir, with seven adults and five children, you have twelve people in total. You could take four Class B rooms. Our rooms are spacious, so three people can stay in one without a problem. It would also be safer for two adults to sleep with one child."
"Fine, we'll do as you suggest."
"Alright! Twelve esteemed guests in four Class B rooms! Right this way, upstairs! Watch your step."
「Nightfall.」
Li Huowang leaned against the window, watching the people of this ancient era walking on the street below. After a long day of travel, he finally had time to sit down and properly observe this world that was so completely different from his past. There were strong men leading horses, scholars carrying fans, children with paper lanterns, and hunchbacked peddlers with food balanced on their carrying poles.
Everything here was so real, yet felt so utterly out of place to him. Face after face flashed before his eyes. As he watched, Li Huowang suddenly drifted into a daze. The next second, his muscles tensed—he saw Yang Na on the street!
That delicate face was now streaked with tears, her expression so sorrowful that she was gasping for breath. "Huowang, you have to wake up!"
Startled and breaking out in a cold sweat, Li Huowang stumbled back a step, then lunged toward the window again to look down.
But it wasn't his childhood sweetheart, Yang Na. It was just a young woman who bore a passing resemblance to her.
Of course. I've grown up so much. If Yang Na were real, how could she still be a young girl?
Li Huowang slid down the wall, his back scraping against it as he stared blankly at the wooden beams above. Is the Huan Jue starting again?
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK. The sound came from the door.
"Come in, it's not locked." Li Huowang had expected Gouwa, his roommate, but it was Bai Lingmiao who entered.
She approached with a smile, holding a lotus-leaf-wrapped package. Presenting it to Li Huowang, she opened the leaves to reveal several steaming hot buns inside. "Brother Li, you must be hungry. Have some buns."
Li Huowang grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing greedily.
Bai Lingmiao knelt to Li Huowang's left, holding the buns and watching him quietly. As soon as he finished one, she thoughtfully handed him another.
"This place is unusual, huh? Selling buns so late at night," Li Huowang remarked.
"Selling buns late at night isn't that uncommon, is it? What's really strange is the Fool. He actually dips his buns in vinegar!"
"Haha, I wonder where he's from to have a habit like that."
As Li Huowang was chatting with Bai Lingmiao, something suddenly occurred to him. "I didn't give you any money. Where did you get the money for the buns?"
Bai Lingmiao's gaze darted away evasively. First, she placed the remaining buns on her lap. Then, she took out several large pieces of silver from her waist, held them in both hands, and presented them to Li Huowang.
"Brother Li, I pawned the golden anklet. You're carrying too much of the burden alone. I can't do much else, but this is one way I can help."