The Unruly Immortals

Seeing Li Huowang dining in the hall, Top Scholar Lv instinctively shrank a head shorter and naturally plastered a flattering smile on his face.

"Taoist Master, please don't laugh. That wasn't an argument. It was just disciples of the Pear Garden debating over opera, haha, live and learn, right?"

The corners of Li Huowang's mouth lifted slightly, "How did it go? Arguing with those locals didn't give you a hard time, did it?"

At that moment, Top Scholar Lv had a belly full of joy with nowhere to share it, and as soon as Li Huowang struck up a conversation, he rolled up his sleeves, lifted his right foot onto the stool and immediately began to brag nonstop.

"Taoist Master, as you know, when it comes to singing opera, I've sung for more than thirty years. Could I be intimidated by a few lads in their twenties?"

"When I first arrived, they tried to intimidate me but, as a fellow performer, do you think I would be afraid? Slap, slap, slap! I plopped my butt onto their chest, shouted out a line, 'Your singing's off-tune!' Hehe, guess what happened next?"

"What happened?" Li Huowang engaged, motivating Top Scholar Lv to continue his endless tale.

"Hey! Those three young fellows were instantly overawed by me, and the youngest even asked, 'Where is the tune off?'"

"He even wanted me to teach him, but how could I just teach anyone like that? I just sat there giving him the cold shoulder, not even serving tea, let him dream on."

"Ah, you should've seen the way they looked at me then, oh~ So respectful! They all called me Senior!"

"But fair is fair, I didn't lie—their tunes were indeed starting too high. As their senior, I should help the younger generation. Don't you agree that's the right thing to do?"

Listening to Top Scholar Lv's colorful boasting, Li Huowang thought his way with words was too good to be wasted on anything but storytelling.

Li Huowang had finished his meal, and Top Scholar Lv's story was also done.

Top Scholar Lv, with his face aglow, picked up his teacup, took a comfortable sip, and felt extremely satisfied.

"Band Leader Lv, what opera were they singing? It seemed rather strange," Li Huowang said, scooping the last bite of rice into his mouth.

"Oh, they were singing 'The Great Nuoxi Exorcising the Twelve Demons.' That's an old play, said to have been passed down for thousands of years. Because it's an ancient play, that's why the tunes are so strange."

"Who is the Great Nuoxi?" Li Huowang started picking his teeth with his chopsticks.

"I don't know either. Based on the lyrics those youngsters were reciting, it seems like some Immortal."

"It's said to have taken place right in this region of Huo Shu. Many years ago, it was the Ghost Kingdom, where people lived no better than animals, brought into this world only to be eaten."

"Then, the Great Nuoxi arrived and drove away the twelve most fearsome ghosts in the Ghost Kingdom. He also taught ancient humans to stand upright and walk, to speak, and to write. He even taught them how to make fire,"

"It's a mythical story then..." Li Huowang's eyes narrowed slightly, as he imagined the three masked performers from the Nuoxi.

"The person from last night, does he have anything to do with this Nuoxi?"

It was no wonder Li Huowang was suspicious of them. As soon as he arrived in this town, he witnessed their strange Nuoxi performance and that eerie tooth-playing.

"Wait, tooth-playing?" Li Huowang recalled the Copper Coin mask the person had worn last night, which would have perfectly concealed the teeth if it were worn.

With this thought, he glanced at Band Leader Lv beside him, "Band Leader Lv, those three lads performing the Nuoxi, did they take off their masks when they spoke to you?"

"No, from the moment they saw me, they were too busy even to remove their makeup. They rushed to serve me tea with utmost reverence!" Band Leader Lv was radiating smugness.

"Could it really be them? But there were clearly only three of them, could the person last night have been deliberately misleading me?" Li Huowang's brows gradually furrowed.

"Taoist! Taoist!" A loud voice interrupted Li Huowang's train of thought.

He looked up to see a scruffy Monk at the doorway, beaming at him with joy.

"Where have you been? Why are you only coming out now? I couldn't find you this morning."

Li Huowang put down his chopsticks and walked over to him, scrutinizing him carefully. "Looking for me? Is something the matter?"

"Of course, there's something. Come on, I've found a fun place!"

This statement from the monk reminded Li Huowang of some unpleasant memories; the last time the monk had said the same thing, he ended up being taken to the Bloody Buddha.

However, it was also that time which allowed Li Huowang to see through Zhengde Temple's disguise. In a way, the monk could be considered his half a lifesaver.

Glancing at the strong sunlight outside, Li Huowang stepped out. "Alright, let's go."

No sooner had he spoken than there was a disturbance behind him.

"Hehehe..."

"Hehehe..."

Li Huowang instantaneously turned his head, looking towards the source of the two snickering voices.

There stood Master Danyang and Jiang Yingzi, together at the corner of the wall, bearing an eerie smile on each of their four faces, laughing mockingly there.

"Taoist! Come on!" The monk, already walking on the street and against the sunlight, kept urging Li Huowang.

"The monk? Could it be him?" Li Huowang became contemplative as he looked at the distant figure.

Even though several probes had been made yesterday, the monk's sudden appearance here was indeed abrupt.

"Could it be some sort of illusion? But such tricks are generally ineffective against me, and my perception has increased so much by now. If he were fake, he should have been discovered already."

"Wait, why should I be influenced by those two illusions? They're all fake." At this moment, Li Huowang's mind was inexplicably muddled, plunging him into self-doubt.

"Taoist! Hurry up, will you? What are you dawdling for?"

Seeing the monk was almost hoarse from shouting, Li Huowang took a deep breath and walked over.

No matter whether he was real or not, he would have to conduct further probes.

If he was the real monk, then all the better; but if he was an imposter, then this was the perfect opportunity to take action, to figure out his intentions and whether someone was behind him.

Last night, the man's escape had emboldened Li Huowang in his approach to handling matters.

The streets were still crowded that afternoon, likely due to the town's location at the Border Pass, with mules, horses, and camels constantly brushing past Li Huowang.

"Monk, where are we headed?" asked Li Huowang, his hand covertly resting on the Great Thousand Record.

"Not far, we're almost there, look, right there."

Li Huowang followed where the monk pointed and saw three people wearing wooden masks performing a play.

"Heh heh, what do you think? You haven't seen this before, have you?" the monk said, his enthusiasm brimming.

"Nuoxi... Is this 'fun place' you mentioned just this?" Li Huowang asked, looking somewhat speechless.

"If you've seen it, why not watch it again? This play can only be found here; it's not available anywhere else! You'll want to see it again in the future and won't be able to. Oh look, they're packing up."

The monk expressed his disappointment, but Li Huowang's spirits lifted because he noticed the three performers were taking off their masks.