The Unruly Immortals

"But the people from Ox Heart Village were indeed taken away by the Astrological Bureau."

The words of Arrest Officer Cao sent shockwaves through Li Huowang's heart, "How could this be? Why would the Astrological Bureau take away the Bai Lingmiao's family members?"

But then he quickly regained his composure, "Wait, maybe it isn't the real Astrological Bureau; perhaps it's someone else disguised as them!"

Regardless of whether it's the real deal or an impersonation, neither scenario bodes well for Bai Lingmiao's family members.

Li Wang had already seen from his encounter with Hong Da that these guys from the Astrological Bureau didn't mind killing a few people to get the job done.

As for those pretending, it goes without saying that the outcome can only be between bad and worse.

"Which way did they go?" Li Huowang asked with a grave expression to Arrest Officer Cao; now, all he could do was to chase after them as quickly as possible, not knowing if he could catch up.

"It seems they went towards the Capital City, I'm not sure how far they've gone,"

Seeing Arrest Officer Cao shakily point westward with his hand, Li Huowang tapped his foot on the stirrup and vaulted onto his horse, charging in that direction.

Watching Li Huowang's distant figure disappearing, County Magistrate Wang immediately sighed in relief, and at that moment, the Counselor leaned in.

"My lord, in my opinion, this matter is quite suspicious. Do you think there is something fishy going on between these two groups?"

County Magistrate Wang showed his impatience, "Suspicious or not, what concern is it of ours? Let's take the sedan chair back to the residence!"

"Clip-clop, clip-clop," the sound of horse hooves rang out continuously. Li Huowang rhythmically swayed in the saddle, his mind a tangled mess, various speculations arising incessantly from his heart.

"What if it's not the Astrological Bureau, could it be... "

"Heh... Don't get so worked up, from what I see, this doesn't look like the work of others under their banner."

Li Huowang immediately turned his head to look at Hong Zhong, who was currently lying bored in midair, yawning.

"From what you see? Is there even half a word of truth in your mouth? By saying this, you've made me even more suspicious that the Astrological Bureau might be impersonated by the Oblivion Path."

"Believe it or not, it doesn't matter," responded Hong Zhong, "We, the Oblivion Path, play tricks openly and honestly; we never go by changing places."

Hong Zhong sat up, stretching and yawning. "Hehehe, besides, who says we don't speak the truth? Lying requires a mix of nine parts truth to one part falsehood. If it's all lies, who would you deceive?"

Li Huowang ignored him and continued on the road, beginning to prepare himself mentally for what might come next.

Several days of relentless travel ensued. Although Li Huowang's robust physique was holding up, the horse, after all, was flesh and blood and required rest.

One evening, Li Huowang tied his horse to a tree, then swiftly climbed up and closed his eyes.

He did not know how much time had passed when he was awakened by Black Taishui's whispering voice. When he opened his eyes again, night had thoroughly fallen.

Rubbing his somewhat groggy head, Li Huowang climbed down from the tree and patted the horse on the neck, which had been sleeping standing up.

The sound of horse hooves once again filled the air, echoing far along the desolate dirt road.

As Li Huowang wondered how long this nomadic lifestyle would last, and if he would ever find them, he spotted something.

Using the dim moonlight, Li Huowang crouched by the roadside, examining the dense mess of footprints on the ground.

Observing the number and various sizes of the footprints, Li Huowang instinctively felt that these must be the people he was looking for!

When he saw specks of blood among the footprints, Li Huowang became excited and pulled the reins, "Giddy up!"

Perhaps due to the large number of individuals, their pace was not fast, and after Li Huowang chased on horseback for an hour, the footprints on the ground became clearer and clearer.

In order not to startle the quarry, Li Huowang dismounted, concealed the color of his body within the dirt, and slowly crept forward.

The pitch-black sky was gradually replaced by deep blue. As dawn approached, Li Huowang finally found a group of dozing prisoners nestled together in a forest.

Here, whether men, women, the elderly, or children, all had wooden cangues around their necks, clearly looking like they were important criminals being escorted.

At first, Li Huowang wasn't sure these people were the ones he was looking for, but when he saw a beautiful woman who resembled Bai Lingmiao by about seventy to eighty percent, he knew he hadn't made a mistake.

Seeing that although these people looked haggard and their clothes were tattered, all of them were still intact, Li Huowang felt somewhat relieved.

"Thank goodness, as long as they are alive, there is room for recovery."

Then Li Huowang did not immediately reveal himself, but instead began to look for persons escorting these prisoners around them.

If they were enemies, it would be combat, if they were from the Astrological Bureau, then it would be negotiation. Regardless, he was determined to save these people!

Li Huowang slowly circled the area, but didn't see a single soul.

"It's impossible there's no one watching; if there was no one, the Bai Family members would have already run off."

Just as Li Huowang was puzzled, he suddenly heard an extremely eerie creaking sound behind him, as if something was shaking inside a bamboo tube.

Li Huowang slowly turned his head and saw that the dim forest was now veiled by a hazy white morning mist, from which the creaking sounds emerged.

The squeaking grew closer, and the drowsing Bai Family members started to wake up. Upon hearing the squeaking, they all showed a hint of fear in their eyes, and some children instinctively started to cry.

Li Huowang could even smell a sharp, pungent stench. He could clearly sense something moving in the mist, but he couldn't see what it was.

"A blessing or a curse, a curse can't be avoided," Li Huowang thought, refusing to sit and wait for death. He gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand, held his breath, and cautiously barged into the mist.

As he moved into the mist, the rattling grew louder, and Li Huowang followed the sound.

"Rattle rattle, rattle rattle," with this strange noise, a wooden head wearing a black watermelon hat with cheeks blushed with rouge, wobbled out from the mist.

"Rattle rattle." Every float of the wooden head produced this particularly bizarre sound.

The instant he saw this object, Li Huowang's hairs stood on end, yet he did not immediately make a move because he could feel that the wooden head was not watching him.

"What in the world is this thing!"

Li Huowang clenched his teeth tightly, extremely vigilant of the round wooden head floating closer. Suddenly, a very strong gaze fell from the sky above him, sweeping over his head and making him feel so pressured that even breathing became difficult.

Li Huowang abruptly looked up, and saw a huge, grimacing face bearing a sorrowful smile with a slightly sinister pale complexion, weighing down on him from the hazy mist.

When it fully revealed itself before Li Huowang, he finally saw clearly what it was.