The Unruly Immortals

The village had a well, and there was also a stove inside the earthen building; setting up a pot on the stove allowed one to enjoy comfortable hot meals here.

After taking a sip of wild vegetable soup and biting into a coarse grain mantou, Li Huowang felt immensely comfortable, as if the blister at the corner of his mouth had significantly reduced in size.

Swallowing the food in his mouth, Li Huowang looked up and asked Gao Zhijian, who had stood guard the previous night, "Last night, there wasn't anyone who came to probe around, was there?"

"No... No... Nobody... not... a... single... person."

Casting another glance at the mantou sitting quietly under the table without any anomaly, Li Huowang once again thought of the somewhat strange wedding feast from the previous night.

Even though there seemed to be no abnormalities for the time being, he still felt that the man's gaze was somehow off, as if he had started to confuse the meanings behind people's looks.

The man's gaze was definitely not one of benign curiosity, but rather a mix of taboo and vigilance.

"Let's rest for the day and continue our journey tomorrow morning. Dog Wa, go gather some dry food in the village in the afternoon. The main food supply on the wagon is running a bit low, Gao Zhijian and Chun Xiaoman, follow him and don't be careless."

"Alright, leave these small matters to me, Cao Cao."

Glancing over at Bai Lingmiao, who was whispering secretly to Chun Xiaoman, Li Huowang said no more and buried his head in his meal.

That afternoon, taking advantage of his rare free time, Li Huowang took out the "Fire Coat True Scripture" and practiced it once again.

However, he still had no good way to gather compassion in his heart.

Just as he reluctantly managed to condense the white wax into a ball, he suddenly perceived keenly that someone outside was watching where he was staying.

When Li Huowang quickly put away the "Fire Coat True Scripture" and opened the window, he saw the Village Guardian from the previous night's encounter standing outside with a runny nose, grinning broadly.

"Him? Can I pry something out from him?"

Making a quick decision, Li Huowang hurried downstairs, took a few coarse grain mantou intended for dinner from the kitchen, and walked toward the Village Guardian.

Li Huowang lifted a mantou in front of him and dangled it, as the man's eyes followed it intently. "I have a question for you. Answer it correctly, and this mantou is yours, how about that?"

"Good~!!" The simple-minded Village Guardian eagerly nodded his head.

"What's your name?"

"Don't know, me mum said me surname is Hua."

"Very well, this mantou is yours."

Seeing that answering could indeed yield a mantou, the surnamed Hua Village Guardian immediately became so delighted that snot bubbles appeared.

"How about another question? During the feast yesterday, who was that man banging the gong? What does he do?"

"Monkey, Monkey Er, he's a soldier. Monkey Da is getting married, so he rushed back."

"A soldier?! That lad is from Huo Shu's army?" This meant he could be an official government person, right?

Having been in this world for such a long time, aside from the Great General of the Border Pass, he had never come into contact with any officially sanctioned people.

Li Huowang still had some doubts about this; facing this mad world and those inexplicable evil spirits, he wondered how the government officials maintained order and resolved problems.

In the face of this question, the simpleton Hua said nothing, his eyes fixed longingly on the mantou in Li Huowang's hand.

Once he received the mantou, he began to talk again, "I don't know what kind of soldier he is, he's just a soldier. He has a very big iron spear, so big I can't move it, it's very heavy."

Bai Lingmiao's brows were slightly furrowed as his gaze followed the path, looking from a distance at the stone lions in front of the Hou family's gate, "Where is he now?"

"He left after Big Monkey got himself a wife—he left."

Learning that the man had left, Li Huowang felt a bit more at ease. No matter what the man's background was, as long as he wasn't one of those messy evil spirits, it was fine.

Moreover, he shouldn't have any more dealings with that man. If he hadn't guessed wrong, then the current ruler must be at his wits' end about the reason for the corruption's dissipation.

Just then, Li Huowang slightly turned his body, and an old voice came from behind him, "Simpleton, are you here eating someone else's bread?"

Li Huowang recognized the person—it was the father of the groom from last night, who still wore his watermelon hat and hadn't removed his silk clothes. "I pay my respects to the elder."

"Oh come now, you have all came to my place to eat, Taoist Master, please don't stand on ceremony with me. It creates such an estrangement."

While the two were chatting, the village guardian next to them, seeing there was no mantou left, walked away with his feet turned inward.

Watching his dirty back, Li Huowang asked the old man beside him, "Elder, this village guardian claims to ward off disasters, but can he really stop them? Has he ever helped you ward off any disasters before?"

Although Gao Zhijian had only mentioned it casually, anything could happen in this world.

"Eh, what disaster? If there really was a disaster, could such a fool stop it? A couple of years ago when there was a drought, he didn't eat any less."

"The village just has this saying, to prevent such a rootless fool from starving to death. Anyone with clear eyes can see it."

"Elder, you're benevolent."

"What benevolence is there? It's just the rule passed down from our ancestors. A village can only support one fool. More than that and there wouldn't be enough grain. That Taoist Master there, do you have to pass through Ji City when you escort a convoy?"

Hearing him suddenly switch to this topic, Li Huowang was rather surprised. He realized the man had not come upon him during a casual stroll but had specifically sought him out.

"My eldest daughter also lives there. Could you take a message for her? It's nothing else, just tell her that her younger brother is about to get a concubine, and the family is soon to have another mouth to feed. How much silver would it take?"

"Elder, you're too courteous. After eating at your table, I am your guest. What's the need for silver to pass on a message to the host?"

Hearing Li Huowang say that, the old man didn't demur, and simply told him the location of his daughter's home.

After making a note of it, Li Huowang suddenly remembered something, "Didn't your second son just happen to leave earlier? Why not let him deliver the message? He could get there much faster on horse than our escort carts."

"The second son, he has to return to his camp, he can't go to his sister's place. He can't afford to. He had to beg for the days off he just took. Ah, I don't even know if they're going to fight another war."

"Elder, what rank does your son hold in the camp? He must be a high official, right?"

Li Huowang's question clearly scratched an itch, as the old man spoke with a volume louder, proudly boasting.

"My, my, he's quite something. He serves in the camp as a close-quarters fighter."

"Close-quarters fighter? What's that?"

"Ah~! Don't you know~? Actually, I didn't know myself until the younger told me. He said, this close-quarters fighter is the bodyguard beside the Great General."

"You know, like in the saying, 'When short-armed soldiers collide, you'll come to know.' It refers to the clash between generals."

"Now tell me, someone who stands beside the Great General, can his rank be low?"

"Just look at our big house, my ox cart, and those two stone lions at my door; all of that was arranged by my son."