"Huh? What nonsense is this?" Li Huowang frowned as he walked into the forest where the fool was.
As soon as he entered, Li Huowang's pupils contracted. He saw the fool squatting before a small burial mound with the old beggar from earlier, both of them munching away on something. Atop the small mound were a few sheets of yellow paper, pressed down securely with a stone.
Suppressing his anger, Li Huowang rushed over and kicked the fool to the ground. "Get up! How dare you eat offerings made at a grave! Are you sick of living? Didn't I tell you not to talk to this beggar?!"
The fool scrambled to his feet, looking aggrieved. "I didn't... didn't... didn't talk to him."
"Kneel! Kowtow and apologize right now!" Li Huowang ordered harshly.
After watching the fool bang his head heavily on the grave mound a few times, Li Huowang reached out and forcibly pulled him up.
This damned place has all sorts of things; I can't afford to take risks. If this isn't handled well, trouble will find us immediately.
SHIING! Li Huowang drew the longsword from his back and pointed it straight at the old beggar's nose. With a cold gaze, he said, "I don't care what your purpose is—stay away from my people! Or don't blame me for what happens!"
Without waiting for a reply, he pulled the fool along and left at once.
"I'm not a beggar, I'm a monk," the man mumbled under his breath, continuing to squat there and eat the offerings left for the dead.
Back on the road, the group set off again. Li Huowang looked grim and began warning the others. "Don't sleep too soundly these next few nights. Trouble might be coming."
Even though the fool had kowtowed and apologized, who knew what temper the thing inside that grave had? I can't risk it.
When the others heard Li Huowang, they immediately understood and nodded slightly.
As the sun set and night fell, the travelers on the road went into the nearby woods to gather firewood. Gathered around the two donkey carts, Li Huowang built the bonfire high and blazing. He also had the others chop plenty of extra wood from the forest.
Tonight there was no moon, and the surroundings were pitch-black. The branches swayed in the breeze, as if countless things hid among them, spying on the people around the campfire. As time went on, everything gradually quieted down as the others fell asleep.
But Li Huowang didn't sleep. He remained eerily still, as if waiting for something.
Besides the surrounding woods, he had to focus most of his attention on the old beggar.
If something comes for us, it'll definitely target him first. But if it does come, all the better. I can use this as a chance to see what this guy is really all about.
After a long wait, the first half of the night passed. They were now in the latter half, the time when sleepiness was hardest to fight.
"Senior Brother Li... over there... Was there a face just now?" a boy named Gouwa, on night watch with him, asked in a trembling voice.
Li Huowang glanced over quickly but saw nothing in the darkness.
"Are you sure?" he asked in a very low voice.
Gouwa gulped. "Not sure. Maybe... maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me."
"Don't talk. Stay quiet." Li Huowang pretended to stare at the fire, using his peripheral vision to glance in that direction.
After waiting quietly for a moment, he saw an ugly face slowly appear from the darkness, a cruel grin on its lips. The face was illuminated by the faint glow of the fire. But what truly made Li Huowang's scalp tingle was that more heads began to emerge behind the first one. Stripes of white light flickered beneath the heads, appearing and disappearing.
Wait, white light?
Li Huowang shot to his feet, grabbed a burning log from the bonfire, and hurled it over. "Stop right there! Who are you?!"
Li Huowang's shout was like a thunderclap in the quiet, waking everyone from their sleep.
When the rolling log landed near the heads, he saw they all had feet and cast shadows. Li Huowang immediately realized these were living people.
Not only did Li Huowang see them, but the others also saw them—and the machetes in their hands. "Bandits! Run!"
That panicked shout plunged the group into chaos. Everyone grabbed their valuables and scattered.
"Damn it! We've been spotted! Get the horses!" Soon, hoofbeats rang out as the bandits, blades in hand, charged after the travelers.
"Run for the woods! Their horses can't move fast in there!" the old beggar shouted.
Hearing his shout, the others scrambled off the main road and dove into the surrounding forest. They managed to escape, but people like Li Huowang with donkey carts could not. A donkey could never outrun a horse.
Hearing the hoofbeats closing in from behind, Li Huowang spun around. He saw a shaggy-bearded bandit on a tall horse swinging his blade at an old woman.
No way to dodge! Li Huowang instantly pulled out an elixir and shoved it into his mouth. A surge of heat flooded his entire body.
Just as Li Huowang pushed off his feet and dashed toward the bandit—
The old beggar suddenly darted out from the side and shoved the falling old woman out of the way.
On horseback, Gao Deqiu glanced dismissively at the old beggar. He didn't even bother to raise his blade; instead, he tugged the reins, making the horse rear up to trample the man. A cruel grin spread across his face as he anticipated the bloody scene to follow. Besides women, this was his only real hobby as a bandit.
But in the next instant, he saw a figure charge forward and land a heavy punch right on the horse's head.
THUD! With an anguished scream, the charging horse was knocked sideways, its forward momentum completely broken. Gao Deqiu, now falling from his horse, could only watch with widening eyes as his mount's skull caved in.
The next moment, with a dull thud, his own head met the same fate.
Seeing their comrade attacked, the other bandits put their fingers to their lips and whistled for backup.
However, after Li Huowang took the elixir refined by Master Danyang, the bandits quickly realized they had provoked someone they couldn't afford to offend.
Muffled grunts and thuds echoed along the dim dirt road. After losing several of their men, the bandits fled in a panic.
"Retreat! This one's tough! He might be from the Astrological Bureau!"
Li Huowang stood there, his fists dripping with blood, panting heavily. He turned and looked at the old beggar behind him.
After that display, I'm certain—this guy isn't a tiger playing dumb. He's just a pig, completely helpless.
Under Li Huowang's gaze, the old beggar stood up. He walked over to one of the people killed by the bandits, knelt, and pressed his hands together, chanting quietly.
As Li Huowang drew closer, he could hear what the man was chanting.
"Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha..."
He repeated the "Amitabha" over and over, his pronunciation sloppy. After chanting dozens of times, the old beggar walked to the edge of the forest and began to dig at the ground with his bare hands.