The Unruly Immortals

Juyi Hall was peaceful, and Li Huowang carefully examined the "Great Thousand Record" in his hands, his fingers gently caressing its surface a few times.

When the item was once again securely fastened at his waist, Li Huowang felt a comforting sense of security in his heart.

Although every use of the "Great Thousand Record" came with a great cost, in critical moments, the artefact invariably proved to be immensely useful.

After all, enduring torment was still better than death.

"Oh, Taoist Master! You're practically a living deity to us of the Lv Family! If it weren't for your help, our entire family truly might have perished here!"

"I was utterly bewitched before, to have run away like that! I... deserve a beating! I deserve it!"

Looking like a refugee, Top Scholar Lv did not hesitate to lift his filthy palms and repeatedly slapped his own face hard.

"Enough, enough, are your people all right?"

Hearing Li Huowang's interjection, Top Scholar Lv embarrassingly lowered his hands.

"That bandit named Golden Dragon, his mother loves opera. None are dead, it's just... my daughter-in-law... she suffered a great deal..."

Suddenly remembering something, Top Scholar Lv's body jerked violently, and he said with unwavering conviction, "Taoist Master, we won't go anywhere else from now on, we'll follow you! We'll never forget the grace of being saved! From now on, Lv's Troupe is at your personal service!"

"What do I need a performance troupe for? I can't even understand it," Li Huowang replied.

Before Li Huowang could finish speaking, an overwhelmed Top Scholar Lv knelt down promptly and kowtowed fervently to him.

"Alright, alright, if you want to follow, then follow. We can't stay here any longer. Do you still have your opera props? Pack up and let's move quickly."

Having been with them for some time, Li Huowang had long understood the other's intentions—they wanted him to act as a bodyguard. And as it happened, they would be needed shortly.

Upon hearing these words, Top Scholar Lv immediately got up from the ground and rapidly patted his chest.

"Everything's here! And I also know where their horse stable is! I'll lead all their horses over right now!"

No sooner said than done, Top Scholar Lv, eager to prove his worth to Li Huowang, hurriedly led his family members toward the cave's entrance.

Having dealt with Top Scholar Lv, Li Huowang looked up at the cave Chun Xiaoman had just rushed into, a flicker of complexity in his gaze.

He turned to Gao Zhijian and said firmly, "Go in and rush them along. This is a bandit nest and it's not safe. Tell them to come out quickly; we need to leave."

Gao Zhijian nodded, discarded the iron club in his hand, picked up a bandit's Wolf Fang Club from the ground, and hefted it onto his shoulder as he made his way toward the cave.

However, before he could enter, Chun Xiaoman appeared with Bai Lingmiao, both with red eyes, as if they had just been crying, coming out from within.

"What's wrong?" Li Huowang frowned.

Chun Xiaoman bent down to strip the clothes off a bandit on the ground. "You should come and see... These... these bandits are inhuman! They're utterly beastly!"

Seeing Bai Lingmiao also bending over to strip off clothes, Li Huowang stepped into the cave.

Before long, in the depths of the cavern, Li Huowang encountered several women, utterly naked, with numb expressions and trembling bodies, huddled on the ground.

There were also a few X-shaped wooden frames nearby,

From the ropes on the wooden frames, as well as the women's bruised wrists and ankles, it was evident that they had only recently been released by Bai Lingmiao and the others.

With the aid of others, these women were dressed in bandits' clothing and brought into the brightly lit Juyi Hall.

If the women seized on Reed Island still held some status, then the women in the bandits' lair were truly treated as tools for sexual gratification.

If only that were the end of it. According to Top Scholar Lv, the lair was a dreary place, and the bandits, bored with nothing to do, would use these women as playthings.

The fate of those women was even more tragic, they were discarded after being played with, replaced by a new one. As long as they could be plundered, there was never a shortage of women.

Hearing those disgusting descriptions, Li Huowang turned his head, his gaze filled with murderous intent as he looked at the collapsed rock face.

With a flip of his hand, the Taoist Bell appeared in his grasp. "Ding ding ding!"

As the piercing bell sound rang out, the figure of the demon lord, formed by lines, quickly appeared in front of Li Huowang.

"Execute!" Li Huowang pointed forcefully at the rock wall with his hand.

The demon lord quickly nodded, turned, and disappeared into the collapsed rock face.

After a while, Li Huowang's sharp senses picked up faint screams emanating from within the wall.

Half a stick of incense later, the demon lord re-emerged from inside the rock face, nodded at Li Huowang again, and quickly dissipated.

As the bell sound gradually faded away, Li Huowang turned his head and said to the women behind him, "Don't worry, all those bandits are dead, not one left."

But faced with this news, these women showed no emotion on their faces—no excitement, no sorrow, no joy, just numbness.

Li Huowang looked at them pityingly; the damage they had sustained was too great, almost equating them to broken people.

"Wait, is this what pity feels like?"

Li Huowang froze, then immediately reached into his bosom and took out the "Fire Coat True Scripture."

As he read the obscure incantations with the emotions he felt at that moment, the white wax quickly condensed into fire-bearing insects.

The insects crawled up Li Huowang's pant leg towards the wound on his abdomen.

With a sizzling sound, the gruesome wound was quickly cauterized and sealed together.

In this moment, the missing part of the "Fire Coat True Scripture" was finally complete.

The thing Jiang Yingzi had left him could finally come into play.

This should have been a joyous occasion, but it wasn't the time to feel joy.

Li Huowang looked at the listless women, firmly imprinting the emotions in his heart at that moment to prevent forgetting them in the future.

After ransacking the entire bandit lair, the group left that morbid place under the moonlight.

Just as Top Scholar Lv had mentioned, there were indeed many horses belonging to the bandits, and they had also found some blankets and food supplies in the cave.

However, there was everything but silver; it seemed that the place where they hid their silver must have been behind the collapsed rock face.

There were no more living people in that cave, and they would be buried there forever with the bandits killed by the demon lord.

That evening, the group didn't sleep and hurriedly made their way until noon the next day, only resting once they had left the bandit lair far behind.

When others slept, it was Li Huowang and Mantou who stood watch.

When they woke up in the evening, Li Huowang immediately fell asleep.

When he woke again, it was already the following morning.

He rubbed his eyes and looked around to see Bai Lingmiao distributing porridge to the women.

The voices of Sun Baolu and Dog Wa talking reached Li Huowang's ears.