The Unruly Immortals

After Bai Lingmiao delivered those two bowls of rice, Li Huowang saw that the two wheat workers were so excited their hands were shaking, continuously bowing and thanking Bai Lingmiao and saying something to him.

Compared to Li Huowang's group, who still needed wild vegetable soup to cut through the greasiness, the two wheat workers had no such worry. They held the bowls with an almost reverent expression, eating the cured meat rice one bite after another.

The rice in the bowls was quickly devoured, but the cured meat was picked out and carefully wrapped in cloth by the two men, apparently planning to save the meat for later.

The older wheat worker ran to the stream by the field and washed the two bowls spotlessly clean, then with a few teeth missing, he smiled and brought the bowls to Li Huowang.

The old wheat worker seemed to want to say something, but his inept tongue couldn't form the words, and it was Li Huowang who broke the silence first.

"Old man, with such abundant harvests in the fields of Da Liang, and at your age, why do you still have to do field work?"

"That... all that belongs to the landlord, no matter how good the harvest, it has nothing to do with us. I can't even get a single grain of rice."

After finishing his words, it was as if the old wheat worker had broken down the barrier between them, and he smiled at Li Huowang again.

"Taoist master, thanks for the grain, it's rich in flavor. One meal feels like three."

"Don't mention it, a meal is nothing. Do you always thresh wheat around here? Have you been to Pi County?" Li Huowang finally revealed his purpose.

"Why wouldn't I have gone? A lot! Eh— I've worked through all the grain fields in Pi County over these years!"

When the conversation turned to a topic he knew well, the wheat worker's confidence instantly returned; his callused hands gesturing in the air.

"Let me tell you, cutting wheat is a skilled job. Those young greenhorns without any tricks can't cut as well as I do! Take holding the sickle's handle for example, too high won't do, too low neither; it must be just right...."

Li Huowang looked up and interrupted him, "Old man, have you been to Pi County recently?"

"Been there! Was just there before. I'm on my way back to pick up my nephew now. Otherwise, I would have cut all of Pi County's grain fields by myself! As for cutting wheat, it requires skill—"

"Really been there? Didn't you notice anything unusual about the people there?"

Li Huowang wasn't worried that there was a problem there, but rather that the problem might not be big enough.

If the problem wasn't significant enough to draw the attention of the Astrological Bureau, then his journey would have been in vain.

Moreover, he needed to be clear about the timing. If the Astrological Bureau's officials had already visited, then his trip would have been useless.

Seeing Li Huowang's serious expression, the old wheat worker grew nervous. He scratched his head and hesitantly said, "The people there, what's different about them? They gave us the right amount of money, and the food was decent. But well... they all prefer to stay inside. They don't come out much. They leave the money and meals outside the door for us to take."

Nervous, with pale complexions, and preferring to stay indoors? Li Huowang silently analyzed these three odd pieces of information in his mind.

Regardless, it seemed that the Astrological Bureau had yet to come to address the situation.

Li Huowang thought of everything he had encountered before and added this to the issue at hand.

"Anything else? Do they look... any different from ordinary families?"

"No difference. How can people look different from each other? They all have one nose with two holes."

Li Huowang of course knew people were all the same, but he now suspected that those living in Pi County might not be human.

"No matter what's actually happening there, it's better for the issue to be serious," Li Huowang thought to himself.

Seeing that the other party was no longer engaging, the old wheat worker thought for a moment, then turned and walked toward his nephew.

"But just as he was halfway through speaking, the old wheat customer turned back, 'Oh right, there's one more thing, in Pi County, oh, they're pretty harsh on kids, really harsh!'"

"When I'd just collected my money, passing by a house's window, oh, those kids crying inside...tsk tsk tsk, it was so pitiful to listen to."

Li Huowang thoughtfully stroked his chin. "Are they really beating children? Or could they be using the children for something else?"

In his mind, he couldn't help but recall the method pirates used to summon the River God using boys and girls. In this utterly mad world, Li Huowang always prepared for the worst.

And after hearing what the other had said, Li Huowang had a new layer of worry in his heart.

He hoped the situation in Pi County was big enough to draw the Astrological Bureau's attention. But he also hoped it wasn't so substantial that it would put them in danger.

By the time Li Huowang came back to his senses, the old wheat customer had already left, and night had already fallen.

Li Huowang shook his head and got up to go wash up in the creek by the field. "The more I think, the more confused I get. Forget it, I'll just see the real situation when I get there and then make plans."

The two wheat customers went their separate ways the next day, since the wheat in Pi County had been harvested and it wasn't on their way. They needed to rush to other places' wheat fields.

As time passed day by day, and they encountered other travelers on the road, Li Huowang always tried to probe for information about Pi County from them.

Unfortunately, these people either didn't know or just said that Pi County was suffering from an epidemic, advising Li Huowang and his companions not to go there, and he got no useful information.

The only consolation on the journey was that they didn't encounter any horse thieves or bandits along the way. Maybe Da Liang was diligent in getting rid of bandits.

Finally, with a somewhat uneasy heart, they reached Pi County.

"Is this Pi County?" Standing on a slope, Li Huowang used his fully healed new eyes to look down at the square county city below

Today was an overcast day, the whole sky was a dismal gray, setting off Pi County to look even more sinister.

Seeing the state of the county city, Li Huowang finally understood why it was called Pi County.

Because the general shape of the county city was that of the character "Pi", so it was called Pi County.

"This place doesn't look peaceful at all, everyone stay alert," Li Huowang said to the others before starting to walk towards this so-called Pi County.

As soon as they entered the county, Li Huowang immediately felt something was amiss, comparing to the previous county city, there were too few people here.

The streets were eerily empty, and occasionally some people hurried past them.

Li Huowang felt many eyes watching him; these gazes came from behind windows. Glancing around, he could imagine many people bending over, sneaking glances at them, the outsiders.

Just then, a woman in hemp clothes with her hair coiled up, looking very haggard and holding a child, came towards them.

As she drew near, she was clearly frightened by Li Huowang and his party, biting her lower lip tightly and hugging the crying child in her arms as she hurried past along the edge of the houses.

When the woman was at her closest distance, Li Huowang almost closed his eyes and oddly sniffed his nose.

"Ow woof..." Mantou, with his red tongue sticking out, sat on the ground, pawing at the hem of Li Huowang's clothes with his two white front paws.

Li Huowang patted Mantou on the head.

"You smell it too, don't you? That's right, there's a scent of blood and rust on her."