The Unruly Immortals

"Huff… huff…" Li Huowang gasped for air as he struggled up the mountain, the oil-paper package in his hand swaying with each strenuous climb.

To be honest, the mountain path of Henghua Mountain was really too difficult to tread, with no decent stairs, all pitted and uneven; even after several attempts, it remained unbearable.

The sweat-soaked clothes chafed painfully against Li Huowang's delicate skin.

"Woof! Woof woof!!" Mantou, having already run up to the gates of An Ci Nunnery, turned and wagged its tail at its master.

When he finally reached the gate with heavy steps, Li Huowang found that Mantou was already squatting there, waiting for him; a dog's stamina far surpassed that of a human.

"What are you following for, go down!"

Clearly, Mantou did not understand Li Huowang's words, as it shook its head and wagged its tail, moving beside Li Huowang and affectionately licking his fingers with its tongue.

After resting for a while, leaning on the nunnery's gate couplet, Li Huowang who had caught his breath covered his nose and walked towards the roofless temple in the distance.

The interior of An Ci Nunnery was as ever: filthy, pungent, and dilapidated.

The swamp of partially rotted food that had been in the nunnery before was now almost gone; it was unclear whether it had been eaten or had simply rotted away.

"Why are you bringing a dog up here? The shit here is meant to feed the pigs, not your dog."

Miaoyu, the nun approaching, spoke to Li Huowang, her tone filled with wariness.

"Sister, is Master Jingxin here?" Li Huowang patted Mantou on the head.

Just as Miaoyin was about to open her mouth, a greedy expression appeared on her face, "Give me some of the pastries in your hand, and I'll tell you."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Li Huowang said with a faint smile, bowing slightly to her and then turning to walk towards Master Jingxin's dwelling.

Winding through the decrepit temple, Li Huowang stood in front of his destination.

The wall that should have been torn down had been rebuilt, and inside the room, Li Huowang saw Master Jingxin.

Compared to before, she had returned to her normal bulk, her flesh plumped out again, her wrinkles creeping back onto her forehead.

The only things unchanged were her two pitch-black eye sockets and that toothless mouth that caved inwards.

"Ah, green bean cakes, did you buy them from Fu Shou Zhai at the foot of the mountain? Their green bean cakes are peerless, and not to forget the wife cakes and the bean paste mooncakes."

Watching Jingxin drag her copious flesh along, using her dark hands to push herself toward him, Li Huowang handed over the pastries he was holding.

Master Jingxin, toothless as she was, grabbed the package of pastries and, without bothering to remove the brown oil paper, put it in her mouth to grind with her red gums.

While helping her unpack the oil paper from her mouth, Li Huowang asked, "Master, thank you for your guidance before. If it hadn't been for your help, I'm afraid I would have died long ago."

But at that moment, Master Jingxin wasn't stopping to listen; all her attention was focused on the package of pastries, and her mouth was full.

Li Huowang wasn't in a hurry, standing quietly beside her, watching Master Jingxin eat the pastries.

This package of green bean cakes weighed three and a half pounds, enough for an ordinary household to eat for a long time, but for the Master, it posed no challenge at all.

Just as she was about to finish the last few pieces, Master Jingxin forcefully contained her desire to eat and stopped, wrapping up the remainder with oil paper and putting it aside.

"Your Master is gone? Let me see," said Master Jingxin, stretching out her hands, the nails of which were filled with black grime, towards Li Huowang.

After carefully probing Li Huowang's abdomen, she slowly withdrew her hands.

"Hmm, not bad, your master is indeed gone, those Ao Jing Sect guys are actually quite useful."

Glancing at Master Danyang not far away, Li Huowang nodded in agreement, "Indeed, I must thank you, Master, for your help with this matter."

"Since you're thankful, why don't you buy more? Do you think three and a half catties of snacks are enough to just stuff in my teeth?"

Master Jingxin, dissatisfied, picked up the remaining pastries again, greedily sniffed them, and then stuffed them into the folds of her flesh.

"Alright, I will definitely bring more on my next visit."

"That's what you said, and I'll hold you to it—I hate it most when people break their promises about food."

The tone of their conversation had clearly changed from before, becoming much more intimate.

"By the way, Master, you previously sent Sister Bai to convey a message, asking me to come back. Is there anything you wish to instruct?" Li Huowang asked, prompting Master Jingxin to fall into deep thought.

After contemplating for a long time, she finally spoke again, "Where are you heading next?"

"I'm taking the other junior brothers and sisters home."

"And after that?"

"I'm going to look for a way to resolve the Xinsu issue." When he spoke these words, Li Huowang's tone was very calm but also very determined.

Master Jingxin was not at all surprised by Li Huowang's answer. "You really are stubborn, child. Go ahead and search. Perhaps when you run into a dead end, you'll turn back."

"Let's talk about that when I hit a dead end. If I keep hovering between reality and illusion, it's barely better than being dead."

"Hmm, well said, very well said..."

Seeing her reaction, an idea flickered in Li Huowang's mind, "Does Master have any guidance on how to break free from Xinsu?"

"What guidance can I give? If I could have given guidance, my son wouldn't have gone mad. You continue your search, I won't stop you. Tell you what, I'll sell you a weapon for self-protection on the road."

"A weapon?" Li Huowang followed Master Jingxin's pointing finger and looked towards the pitch-black corner of the room, where a longsword was leaning in the filthy corner.

Li Huowang walked over and reached out to grab it, barely lifting it—this sword was very heavy.

As Li Huowang held the sword and approached Master Jingxin, he grasped the hilt and gave it a light pull. In that moment, a highly concentrated evil Qi filled the entire room.

A wave of heat surged into Li Huowang's head, making his eyes redden and his body shake uncontrollably. He felt something continually flowing from the sword hilt into his body.

Li Huowang used all his strength to sheathe the sword again, and everything slowly returned to normal. He caught his breath, still shaken.

"It's a military weapon; a bit of evil Qi is quite normal. Ordinary people can easily be harmed by it, but with your Xinsu, this bit of minor evil Qi can't scatter your confusion."

"This sword can kill people and exorcise evil; it's perfect for self-defense on the road. From now on, don't use the 'Great Thousand Record.' It looks painful to watch."

Li Huowang was shocked as he looked at the longsword in his hand. Even though he knew nothing about these matters, he knew, just from that instant, that this sword was extraordinary, definitely a treasure.

"Master, did you just say you want to sell this sword to me? But I cannot afford it right now."

"No problem, you can sign a debt note—30,000 taels of gold should suffice, with interest included. Additionally, and I mean just in case, if you do find a way to break free from the Xinsu, you must tell me."

Li Huowang looked at the Master before him with a very complicated expression. He could tell that the former part was all jokes. What she really wanted was the latter part.