The Unruly Immortals

Looking at Bai Lingmiao before him, Li Huowang appeared somewhat hesitant at this moment, unsure whether to take her along with him up the mountain.

Her ability to "leap into the spirit" could indeed be helpful to some extent, but he didn't want to put her in danger.

At this point, others began to persuade him as well,

"Right, Brother Li, let us go with you too."

"If something happens, we can help out; you said those nuns aren't in any danger, right?"

"Exactly, not to mention anything else, but if… if you fall ill again, there'll be people around to take care of you."

Gouwa's last words made Li Huowang relax. "Baolu, go park the carriage behind the inn. We're heading up the mountain."

Black Taisui's power to suppress illusions was quickly fading, and he could fall into a delusion at any moment; he now couldn't be without people by his side.

Hearing this, smiles immediately appeared on the faces of the rest, and they hurriedly followed along.

The mountain path was winding, but for Li Huowang and his companions, it was a well-trodden route.

After resting halfway up the mountain, they finally made it to the gate of An Ci Nunnery before dark.

Looking inside from here, An Ci Nunnery still looked dilapidated as before, with weeds growing in the cracks of the stone slabs on the ground, and the hole-riddled roofs of distant temples remained unrepaired.

Looking at the couplets on either side of the mountain gate, Li Huowang's heart began to thump involuntarily.

He had fought tooth and nail for this day.

The thought of being able to break free from his strange master sent Li Huowang to the brink of being unable to contain his excitement.

Standing in place and taking a deep breath, Li Huowang turned around and began to lay the groundwork with the others.

"The inside of An Ci Nunnery is very dirty and messy, and the nuns there are very fat. Don't freak out when you get in; got it?"

After receiving a firm response from everyone, Li Huowang took a deep breath and with a single hand holding 'the eyes of the 18th of La month,' he started walking inside.

No sooner had they entered the mountain gate than an overpowering stench of decay hit them like a wall.

"What are these nuns up to? It smells even worse than before," said Li Huowang, frowning tightly and covering his nose, bracing against the stench as he rushed inward.

At this moment, the rest of the Medicinal Guides began to regret their decision. There was no danger, but this was almost worse than danger itself; it was simply too foul.

Stepping into the first temple of An Ci Nunnery, Li Huowang's right foot immediately felt soft, and upon quickly lifting it, he realized that he had stepped onto a soft peach crisp.

"Watch your step. The people here aren't too fond of tidying up."

Li Huowang lifted his eyes to see the dust-covered Bodhisattva unchanged and proceeded to circle behind the statue at the altar.

As expected, behind the Bodhisattva lay a towering lump of flesh—a fat nun who had donned a jumbo helmet on her head, dozing off while eating in a hazy state.

"Goodness gracious, is… is that a person?" the rest of the group, following Li Huowang, were shocked by the sight.

Having learned from the previous experience, Li Huowang didn't plan to wake her up, knowing it likely wouldn't work.

The group passed through a side door in the adjacent wall and officially entered the interior of An Ci Nunnery.

But just a few steps in, Li Huowang and his companions found that there was no place to set foot.

As far as the eye could see, the ground and the roof were covered with all sorts of rotten food, and to their right was even a mountain of moldy Mantou, with various flies and maggots crawling all over it.

Yet despite everything, there was not a trace of meat in this food, it was all vegetarian.

Looking at these things, Li Huowang immediately realized that these were clearly what he had exchanged for the gold he had sent over earlier.

After getting the money, the first thing these nuns did was to buy all sorts of food.

"Step over," Li Huowang extended his foot and stepped into the rotting food, moving forward slowly, as if in a swamp.

The others showed discomfort, especially Bai Lingmiao, who loved cleanliness the most.

But when she looked towards the figure in the distance, she gritted her teeth, lifted her foot and followed.

"Why would these nuns buy so much food only to let it rot? Such a waste! It's a year of famine now, this food could have saved many lives!"

As a former beggar, the scene before him was unbearable for Taoist Boy to witness, and he rarely spoke up.

Li Huowang glanced at the little Taoist Boy, "Because they are greedy."

Taoist Boy pursed his lips and said nothing more.

After walking for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Li Huowang led the others to where the nuns had been dining, and they saw the other nuns.

"Ugh~" A fat nun vomited in front of Li Huowang, bringing up everything from her stomach.

Despite sweating profusely from vomiting, she did not bother to wipe the sweat from her face and continued to use her belly as a table to gobble up more food crazily.

"Master Miaoyin, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Li Huowang greeted the fat nun.

Miaoyin opened her mouth, and the remnants of food mixed with saliva sprayed toward Li Huowang's face. "It's you, huh? Need me to guide you again? The price has gone up this time, at least one liang of gold."

"No need, may I ask if Master Jingxin is still in her original room?" Li Huowang stepped back as much as he could, trying to stay beyond her reach.

Seeing no gold forthcoming, Miaoxin's face, which had been filled with extreme greed, quickly turned to disappointment, "Nonsense, she's so fat she can't even walk, where could she go?"

Li Huowang nodded and turned to continue on the previous path.

The others followed closely behind Li Huowang, continuing to make their way through the swamp of rotting food,

But Taoist Boy, who was at the very end, couldn't help himself when he passed by the gluttonous nuns.

"What a waste you're making! Do you know how many people outside are starving, even dying of hunger? Do you understand how painful it is to be hungry?"

Miaoyin answered as if it were a matter of fact. "Yes, that's why we can't waste, didn't you see it's all rotting? If we don't eat it now, there'll be no chance."

Having said that, she turned her head, opened her mouth, and regurgitated what she had just swallowed, her eyes filled with greed as she continued to devour voraciously.

Following the original path, passing through the pigsty, Li Huowang finally arrived in front of Master Jingxin's room. It was in this relatively secluded place that the ground wasn't covered with as much rotting food.

Arriving there, they felt much better; the stench still lingered, but they had gradually gotten used to it.

Li Huowang, holding a luminous stone, had just walked in when he saw Master Jingxin stuffing something into the folds of fat on her body.

"Ah, it's you, kid? How goes it? Did you find the eighteenth day of the last lunar month?"

Li Huowang, with a serious expression, nodded and opened the lacquer box he held in his hand.

Though she was blind, Master Jingxin seemed to sense something, her loose, flabby face immediately revealing an extremely greedy smile.

As the loose folds of fat on Master Jingxin's body began to shift in Li Huowang's direction, the entire house seemed to tremble.