The Unruly Immortals

Just as the beautiful woman's head was about to knock the carpet, Li Huowang reached out to help her up.

"Madam is too polite. As fellow disciples in distress, it's only right to help each other. Such a grand gesture is too much," he said.

The grateful woman, after being repeatedly stopped by Li Huowang, finally gave up and sat down beside him.

Still feeling the aftereffects of fear, she said to Li Huowang, "After Bao'er went missing again, we almost turned Qingqiu upside down but still couldn't find him. My heart had died; I truly thought I would never see him again. Thanks to the Bodhisattva's blessing, Bao'er finally came back safe and sound."

Having said that, she took out a string of Buddha Beads from her sleeve and turned them while bowing to the north.

Seeing this action, Li Huowang was puzzled, "May I ask which Bodhisattva you are praying to?"

Perhaps because of all that had happened before, Li Huowang was especially sensitive to such superstitious matters. In this place, there were definitely issues with these things.

Wu Yue seemed to misunderstand Li Huowang's meaning, thinking that he was taunting her, and she explained somewhat helplessly, "Honored Sir, that wasn't my intention. It's all thanks to your efforts that Bao'er could return, not some vague and ethereal Bodhisattva."

"Since I married into Qingqiu, I stopped praying to the Bodhisattva. It's just that I've been a Buddhist all my life; it's a habit I picked up since I was a child and find somewhat hard to change," she continued.

"No no no, I'm not teasing you. I'm genuinely curious, which Bodhisattva exactly are you praying to?" Li Huowang asked earnestly while holding a cup of honey water.

At these words, Wu Yue was taken aback. "The Bodhisattva... isn't she the Bodhisattva who relieves suffering and distress? Is there a distinction between Bodhisattvas?"

Seeing how Sun Baolu's mother responded, Li Huowang sighed inwardly and thought: "There are too many fools in these worlds, believing anything indiscriminately. It's nothing but blind faith, no different from the folly of those who follow Master Danyang."

However, considering it from another angle, for Baolu's mother, it might be a blessing in disguise. After all, in this already maddened world, praying to an ineffectual false Bodhisattva is undoubtedly safer than praying to a real "Bodhisattva."

"Madam, please sit. I was merely curious and asked casually. By the way, earlier I saw Baolu embracing a young woman. Is she his sweetheart?" Li Huowang steered the conversation, attempting to ease the somewhat tense atmosphere.

"Yes, that's his older sister. She's been attached to him since childhood. They had a childhood betrothal. When Bao'er went missing, she was truly heartbroken," she replied.

"Older sister?" Li Huowang was surprised by her response. Her son was involved in an improper relationship, yet she seemed unperturbed. Moreover, the woman Sun Baolu had embraced earlier clearly looked like a Qingqiu person, not at all the same race as Sun Baolu.

"They don't have the same father. I was pregnant with Baolu when I married from Liang State to Qingqiu, and Zhuo'er had already been born. Though they're half-siblings, they grew up close, so we arranged their marriage to further strengthen family bonds," she explained.

Seeing the woman's skin color, which distinctly differed from the Qingqiu People around her, Li Huowang visibly guessed as much.

Just then, a dark-skinned and sturdy Qingqiu man approached with a smile, raising his Ox Horn Cup towards Li Huowang.

He said a bunch of clipped Qingqiu words to Li Huowang and then extended the Ox Horn Cup towards him once more.

Wu Yue hastily translated, "My husband says thank you for saving his second son and wishes that the eternal heavens bless you with immortality."

"The Qingqiu people have quite a unique way of toasting." Li Huowang nodded to him and likewise raised his Ox Horn Cup to bump against the other's cup.

Taking advantage of the interval while drinking honey water, Li Huowang observed the couple in front of him. Truth be told, Sun Baolu's parents didn't match at all.

The man was short and stocky, with a face so round it almost resembled a large pancake; a little more hair and he could be mistaken for a monkey. He didn't seem to match Sun Baolu's beautiful mother at all, making Li Huowang wonder how he managed to marry her.

"Could Sun Baolu's mother have been bought by his father?" Li Huowang speculated wildly in his heart, associating the woman with previous slave trades he had encountered.

"Brother Li!" A drunken Sun Baolu stumbled over from nowhere, collapsed into Li Huowang's embrace, and started sobbing uncontrollably. He was also slurring his words in his inebriated state.

"Brother Li! I can't bear to part with you all! I'm not going home! I want to accompany you to Liang State!!"

Seeing his son in such a state, Sun Baolu's father hurriedly put down his ox horn cup and dragged him outside the tent to sober up.

Observing Sun Baolu's slightly disheveled retreat, Li Huowang chuckled and didn't take it to heart.

Sun Baolu was talking nonsense. He was home, and his family was harmonious. How could he possibly continue on with him?

Besides, the road he had left to travel wasn't long. Past Qingqiu lay Liang State, which didn't seem too far on the map.

If Niuxin Mountain wasn't far from here, perhaps he could find time to visit in the future.

Li Huowang sat back down cross-legged and grabbed another piece of lamb chop sprinkled with black seasonings, taking a big bite.

Soon, a delicious fragrance wafted through the air, and the rich juice of the meat exploded in Li Huowang's mouth. He found to his pleasure that this lamb chop was particularly delicious.

Whether it was due to an enhancement in his senses or not, Li Huowang, who had lived in two different worlds, truly felt that this was the tastiest lamb chop he had ever eaten.

The tender and smooth lamb meat, seasoned with a salty and sour sauce, made each bite an incredible delight.

No wonder no one was talking. Everyone was too busy gnawing on lamb and ox bones.

Faced with such a feast, Li Huowang could not waste it and immediately set aside everything to gorge himself.

Although the dances of the Qingqiu men, who were circling around shaking their heads, were not particularly appealing, their exaggerated movements lifted the atmosphere of the entire tent, bringing smiles to everyone's faces, including Li Huowang's.

After everyone had their fill of food and drink, they too began to dance, arm in arm with the Qingqiu People.

Lv's Troupe was particularly eye-catching. After all, their main profession was opera singing. Their novel singing styles and movements drew cheers from the surrounding Qingqiu People.

With a smile on his face, Li Huowang watched everything before him. "They look so happy. Why is it that when they are around me, there is only sadness and pain?"

As Li Huowang watched, somewhat lost in thought, his sharp senses detected someone staring at him.

It was the gaze of Sun Baolu's mother. He slowly turned to look at her and found her looking back, her face clouded with a heavy burden of concern, lacking her previous composure.

"Madam, is there something you wish to discuss with me?"

Li Huowang's words finally made Wu Yue, who had been hesitant, make up her mind,

"Benefactor, this is our first meeting, and I'm not sure if it's appropriate to speak my mind, but why don't you reconsider going to Liang State and just stay in Qingqiu instead? It's not a good place."