The Unruly Immortals

"An epidemic?" Li Huowang, who was just about to leave, was instantly captivated by the casual conversation he overheard, his intuition telling him this might be what he was searching for.

Completely ignoring Lv's Troupe on the stage, Li Huowang hurried over to the two men—one tall, one stout—eager for them to continue their discussion.

However, to Li Huowang's frustration, they were talkative when he was listening in unintentionally, but they clammed up when he started to pay close attention.

Li Huowang walked straight over to the stout man, nudging his shoulder lightly with his arm. "My friend, may I ask what's happened in Pi County? How did the epidemic start? I've never heard of anything before."

The stout man, engrossed in the opera on stage, was visibly annoyed at being questioned by Li Huowang. "What's it to you? Who are you?"

When the stout man saw the two silver fragments Li Huowang handed to him, his eyes lit up. The discourtesy on his lips was swallowed back down.

"I'd be obliged if you could tell me; my maternal uncle lives in Pi County. Hearing about the epidemic there has me truly worried, which is why I approached so abruptly."

Regardless of whether the man believed the lie Li Huowang had spun, he seemed eager to help, at least for the sake of the silver.

"Hey, lad, why didn't you say so earlier? I thought it was something serious." A plump hand, hidden in the man's sleeve, reached out to take the two silver fragments.

"Don't worry, your maternal uncle is fine. Pi County isn't having an epidemic. Everyone's alive," the man in the watermelon hat paused slightly before continuing.

"But I'll tell you this, if you're really close to your maternal uncle, you'd best get him out of Pi County. There's something off about the place's feng shui."

As he spoke, he lowered his voice unconsciously, as if afraid of being overheard by something.

"I tell you, when I last went there on business, I noticed the locals seemed neurotic, all with poor complexions. I have no idea what got into them, but with those ghostly looks, it's no wonder people say Pi County has an epidemic; they look worse than the sick."

"The entire town looks neurotic, with poor complexions?"

Li Huowang stood still and mulled over this for a moment before asking again, "Aside from that, is there anything else unusual about Pi County?"

Although nothing in this world was too strange to happen, just those two details were not enough to ascertain what afflicted the people of Pi County.

"I couldn't say; I was just passing through and didn't stay long. If you're really worried, why don't you go to Pi County and see for yourself? It's only about a ten-day journey, nothing much. Look, I came back, didn't I?"

"A ten-day journey?" After considering for a moment, Li Huowang turned and headed toward the inn.

When Bai Lingmiao's map was spread in front of Li Huowang, he quickly found Pi County's location, which happened to be on the way to Niuxin Mountain.

After thinking it over carefully, Li Huowang decided he would still go and take a look.

The behavior of an entire town's population turning strange was no small matter, and the chances of encountering someone from the Astrological Bureau were high if he went.

Moreover, this was now his only option. He didn't even have a backup plan.

Just then, Scholar Lv barged in excitedly from outside, about to speak, when Li Huowang looked up and said, "Tell your father. After today's performance, stop. We'll continue on our journey tomorrow."

Scholar Lv, holding a copper coin, nodded repeatedly and dashed back outside.

The others were used to Li Huowang's sudden departures and got the ox cart and the newly purchased horse cart ready, placing everything they needed on board.

They were indifferent or perhaps afraid to ask where Li Huowang was going or what he was intending to do; their role was simply to follow.

If there was any change from before, it was that Lv's Troupe, previously downcast, had now undergone a transformation.

Every member was flushed with a healthy glow, their spirits, which had been crushed by competitors before, having returned in full.

"Hehehe~ Little Taoist Master, Little Taoist Master~ As we agreed before, this is your share, and this is mine."

Top Scholar Lv happily stretched out his hand, holding a handful of Copper Coins mixed with Pieces of Silver, and offered it to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang sized up Top Scholar Lv, who was smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum, "What? Did you get so much in rewards?"

He knew that in the past, Lv's Troupe, with their constant singing, had never gotten so much in rewards.

"Hehehe, after all, this is Da Liang ah, those people are all rich, all rich~"

Top Scholar Lv said cheerfully, placing the Copper Coins and Silver on the ox cart.

Seeing that Li Huowang didn't refuse, Zhao Wu, the cart driver, took out a thick thread and started stringing the scattered Copper Coins one by one.

Of course, Li Huowang didn't refuse. Although the Silver wasn't much, it was a steady trickle that spared him the need to waste time on these daily trivialities.

Moreover, with this Silver, the others could eat better. "Tonight, let's take out the cured meat and make a cured meat stew with rice," he said.

As soon as he finished speaking, a clear sound of swallowing saliva entered Li Huowang's ears. Logically speaking, after eating so much meat on the Qingqiu grasslands, they shouldn't be drooling like this.

"Whose voice is that? Didn't you eat today?"

Li Huowang turned his head, only to find that the person was not one of his own, but an old peddler with grizzled hair and a gaunt body, accompanied by a simple-looking young man.

It seemed they were just fellow travelers on the same path.

As if sensing someone looking at him, the old peddler pretended to look casually towards the harvested rice field on the other side.

"Gurgle~" His stomach rumbled, and the old peddler put his hands down from the shoulder pole and grabbed the twine of his pants, tightening it a little on each side.

Li Huowang glanced over their patched and worn clothes and continued on his way.

Along the way, except for Doggy's incessant chatter, no one else spoke.

As the sun tilted westward, the ox cart gradually came to a stop, and as usual, everyone began to divide the tasks for cooking dinner.

"Brother Li, look quick! There's Shepherds Purse by the roadside ah, we can make a wild vegetable soup, perfect for cutting through the greasiness of the cured meat!"

Li Huowang, who was looking at a map, didn't pay attention to who had spoken.

Right now, his focus was all on the map in his hands, heaven knows if the scale of this map is correct—if they took a wrong turn, that would cost them several extra days of travel.

Dinner was ready soon. Today's dinner was cured meat stew with rice, accompanied by wild vegetable soup.

Looking at the large bowl of shiny rice in front of him, with red and white slices of cured meat mixed within, Li Huowang looked up again at the two peddlers squatting in the distance.

They were swallowing coarse-grain buns they had taken out of their bags, using the fresh and cool water they had just scooped up from the stream.

The young peddler kept staring straight at the rice in Li Huowang's hands but was soon pressed down by the old peddler.

"Go get two bowls of rice and take them over," Li Huowang said to Bai Lingmiao beside him.

"Hmm," Bai Lingmiao nodded and turned toward the pot.