The Unruly Immortals

While everyone else was enjoying the delicious food, Li Huowang was also not surprised.

He sat alone in the distance, gnawing on the fattiest lamb leg, pondering over his own matters, completely isolating himself from everything outside.

"Although the Nascent Soul said that the Astrological Bureau is strict on the outside but lax on the inside, and it's not difficult to get in, I still need to find a way."

"First off, how should I make contact with them? I can't just ask around on the streets, can I? I'm not sure if just wearing a mask will completely hide my identity as Xinsu."

"Even if the mask can hide my identity in front of Han Fu, it may not work with everyone."

"But right now, I don't know anything about the situation in Liang State, so it's useless just to speculate here. I must adapt to the situation based on reality."

"As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. As long as I can take that first step, everything that follows will be much easier."

As Li Huowang was deeply engrossed in his thoughts, his keen hearing picked up the sound of cloth shoes pressing on the grass.

Looking up, Li Huowang saw Top Scholar Lv's wrinkled old face and that trademark ingratiating smile. "Taoist Master, do you have a moment? Hehe, this old man has a small matter to discuss with you."

"Oh? Let's hear it," Li Huowang said, putting the bone in his hand down and looking at Band Leader Lv in front of him.

In dealing with Black Taisui lately, he had almost forgotten that there was a theatre troupe following him.

"As you know, Taoist Master, back in Huo Shu during the wars, we had to abandon our prop boxes along with the costumes and musical instruments."

"But after all, we are a theatre troupe, and without our tools of the trade, things just won't do. So, I was hoping to get some credit from you to procure these items again and set up our stage. What do you think... How about it?"

Hearing that this was what the other party wanted to discuss, Li Huowang appeared rather indifferent. The gold box given to him by Sun Baolu's mother was worth quite a bit of money; he wasn't going to quibble over such a trivial matter.

"Alright then, go get the money from Bai Lingmiao," he said.

"Ay—ay—hehehe, Taoist Master, hold on, don't rush. I haven't finished speaking. Please take this," Top Scholar Lv said as he took out a crumpled piece of paper, imprinted with a red handprint, and handed it to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang took the crumpled note and struggled to read the scribbled characters.

"What's this? Ghost Drawn Talismans?"

Band Leader Lv's face turned red. "This is an IOU; please be patient with me. I don't recognize many characters, but it doesn't matter, the handprint is enough!"

"Taoist Master, you have shown us kindness, and we can't just take from you without giving back. These days, we eat your food and use your supplies. How about this arrangement?"

"Until the money is paid off, you are the boss of Lv's Troupe! From now on, half of the silver that Lv's Troupe earns will go to us and the other half to you."

"Half to me? Then you'll never be able to repay this debt. There's no need for such trouble; you don't have to return that silver," Li Huowang said as he stood up, intending to hand the paper back.

"Ay, ay—!" Top Scholar Lv hunched his back, blocking Li Huowang with his smoking pipe, "We have to be clear about debts and obligations. If you put it that way, we truly wouldn't dare to borrow your silver."

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang no longer insisted and put away the paper with the red handprint in his hand.

Witnessing this scene, Band Leader Lv's face lit up with joy, and he hastily greeted the members of Lv's Troupe, who had already been waiting. They stood reservedly side by side and bowed to Li Huowang in unison, "Greetings, boss!"

Li Huowang couldn't be bothered to guess at Band Leader Lv's little schemes. Looking at the people before him, Li Huowang only knew that he had acquired another hen that laid eggs. Although the hen was thin and didn't lay eggs often, at least it was a steady trickle.

"Alright, go back and eat. Take a rest after your meal and then hit the road, the sooner we leave Qingqiu, the better."

"You got it, boss!"

Watching them walk away cheerfully, Li Huowang shook his head wordlessly and picked up his still-warm wild vegetable and mutton offal soup to drink.

Top Scholar Lv's face, rarely showing a hint of pride, beamed as he contentedly led the others back. "Everyone always talks about Da Liang, Da Liang. I never imagined this old man would have the chance to experience it."

Of course, Lv Elevated Man was not pleased, wearing a gloomy expression as he leaned close to his father, "Dad, you sold us off and you're still happy about it."

"Ah, you youngster," sighed Top Scholar Lv as he looked at his eldest son. He took out his smoking pipe, lit it from the nearby bonfire with a few puffs, and started to smoke.

"And what do you suggest, then?"

"I want to go back. I don't want to go to Da Liang anymore, I.... I don't want to perform plays anymore." Lv Elevated Man, with a furrowed brow, looked up at the pregnant Luo Juannhua and spoke out.

"You!" Top Scholar Lv, immediately raising the smoking pipe in anxiety, saw his son standing firm with a neck that wouldn't duck, and sheepishly put it back down.

"You don't want to perform plays, you say it so lightly! If you don't perform, what will you do? Our family doesn't even have a single patch of farmland, are you planning to beg for a living?"

"Besides, you have to be able to make it back first. Right now, between here and there, soldiers are fighting so fiercely that they're nearly beating their brains out. Are you going back to mourn the dead?"

At this, Lv Elevated Man halted in his tracks, his eyes filled with a trace of yearning as he said, "Dad, maybe they've stopped fighting! We haven't seen any battles on our way here."

"Hmph! Stopped fighting, did they? If they hadn't killed you, there's never been a time when an uprising started and then stopped halfway!"

Seeing Lv Elevated Man's face still twisted with conflict, Top Scholar Lv let out a soft sigh, "Son, believe me, I'm not living the life of a dog at my age."

"You think the calamity of war is over just like that? It's not so easy. Calamities usually come in pairs."

"After the calamity of war, with so many dead and no one to bury them, eight or nine times out of ten, a plague follows closely behind. And after the plague, the survivors are left with no money in their pockets and no food in their fields. With food as valuable as gold, people are driven to selling their sons and daughters just to survive. Who's going to come watch plays then? Without an audience, what will we eat and drink? Are we supposed to crawl on the ground and gnaw on the dirt?"

As he spoke, Top Scholar Lv's tone softened a bit. "Son, don't look down on performing plays. If it weren't for that, I would have starved to death long ago. There wouldn't be any of you. We can't forget where we came from."

Lv Elevated Man knew his father made sense, but he still felt that the decision that had been made was a bit outrageous.

"But Dad, no matter what, is selling us all off to the little Taoist Master really necessary? Now we've literally become his servants!"

Top Scholar Lv glared at his eldest son, then glanced over at Li Huowang, who was distant and eating, and tugged on Elevated Man's sleeve to hurry along a few steps.

Once they were a bit further away, he lowered his voice even more and said, "Servants? Have you ever seen a servant who gets to eat meat every day?"