The Unruly Immortals

"Ha, Li Huowang, be careful, this lad is deceiving you." Li Huowang looked up and saw Hong Zhong who had spoken.

Seeing Li Huowang looking at him, the faceless, eyeless Hong Zhong sat atop Peng Longteng's head, baring that row of ghastly white teeth.

Li Huowang's lips twitched slightly, but he said nothing to the people around him.

His own resolve was still not strong enough; in the face of these hallucinations, he was yet unable to remain impassive.

As for the words that left his mouth, Li Huowang let them go in one ear and out the other, when it came to Hong Zhong, using the past saying, he wouldn't even believe his punctuation marks.

Li Huowang's gaze shifted from Hong Zhong to Bai Sai, who was beside him. He was very concerned about a detail in the latter's words.

"Patriarch Bai, you mentioned that they came looking for trouble because your son picked up a stone. Can you tell me what kind of stone it was?"

Bai Sai furrowed his brows and reminisced for a moment before gesturing the size with his hands in the air for Li Huowang.

"An orange stone. About this big, it feels very warm to the touch. The lad found it in the field, brought it home, intending to use it to warm his grandmother's knees."

"Is that stone still here? May I take a look?"

Bai Sai sighed dejectedly. "Our whole family was being marched off, is there still a chance for anything to run? That thing was snatched away by the kid with the wooden mask long ago."

"A fist-sized stone that emits its own heat?" If the stone was some kind of heavenly treasure, then this was an incident of an evil spirit disguised as the Astrological Bureau snatching treasures.

Yet, none of this seemed right. Putting himself in their shoes, Li Huowang realized that if he were the one snatching treasures, he would either steal them or, if that failed, brazenly rob them and then wipe out these people completely.

Dragging these people along the road to the Capital City with wooden cangue, the very idea defied logic. The other party must have had their reasons for doing so.

Li Huowang stood still and addressed Bai Sai once again, "Patriarch Bai, and the man with the wooden mask you mentioned, how tall was he?"

It sounded like the vision of White Impermanence he had seen earlier was conjured by this person.

"Hmm, roughly your height, with a young voice. If someone disobeyed on the journey, that bastard could make people see terrifying things in their minds that they wouldn't normally see."

Hearing Bai Sai say this, a visible fear appeared in the eyes of many in the crowd. It seemed they had been tortured by the masked man's ability.

Li Huowang nodded silently, it seemed that the huge White Impermanence he had seen before was fake, created by that person through some means.

It didn't seem exactly like a trick to the eyes, for normally such tricks couldn't deceive him at his current level.

With too little information to understand what exactly had happened, Li Huowang was utterly confused.

"Alas, benefactor, since we've escaped, let's not worry about that and just hurry away. If that person holds a grudge and comes back, it could be really troublesome." Bai Sai was very anxious, clearly concerned for the whole Niuxin Village.

Li Huowang actually wanted to ask more, but hearing the other person say that, he stopped pressing the matter.

Regardless, these people were Bai Lingmiao's family, and he was definitely going to save them.

Without the wooden cangues, everyone walked much more freely, expressions of having survived a great ordeal on their faces.

They kept walking until noon, when the elderly and children in the crowd could no longer hold on, and they were forced to stop and rest.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," a child said, tugging at the hem of his mother's clothes.

Everyone was hungry, not just the children; the adults were too, they simply didn't speak of it.

Though Li Huowang did bring some dry food on horseback, it wasn't nearly enough for so many people—it probably wouldn't even fill the gaps between their teeth.

Seeing their empty-handed appearance, they obviously had no food. Li Huowang pondered for a moment and said, "We should reach a village tomorrow where we can buy food. As for today…"

At this point, Li Huowang patted the slender neck of his horse and suggested, "Let's just slaughter the horse."

The meat from one horse would be enough for many people.

Upon hearing this, Bai Sai immediately shook his head. "Benefactor, what are you saying? If it's just to stave off our hunger, there is no need for the Benefactor to kill his own steed."

Afterward, he turned and called out to the crowd. "That... Liangzi! Take the people from the third and fourth rooms to the forest to find some food! And be quick!"

"Aye!" A robust young man, along with some others, headed toward the forest.

Just as Li Huowang was about to offer assistance, he was quickly stopped by others. "Benefactor, please have a seat; for such trivial matters, let the younger generation handle it. Feng, the Benefactor is sweaty, go and fold some large leaves to fan the Benefactor!"

Unable to refuse them, Li Huowang was forced to sit down and enjoy the fanning from a plump young girl.

Li Huowang had initially thought they were just heading into the forest for some wild fruits or vegetables, but after an hour, accompanied by the rustling of leaves, they actually returned carrying two deer and holding several hares.

Seeing Li Huowang's surprised expression, Bai Sai explained with pride, "We make a living off the mountain. Since we live near Niuxin Mountain, we Bai Family members are naturally adept hunters. It's not surprising for us to catch some animals."

After he finished speaking, he hurriedly instructed his clansmen to start a fire, and personally carried the most delicious part of the venison on a flat rock to Li Huowang.

Looking at the faces before him, eager to please yet filled with anticipation, Li Huowang really felt awkward; he had never been treated this way by others.

Only after Li Huowang grabbed a piece of venison with his hand and stuffed it under his Copper Coin mask into his mouth, did the others start to eat what was left.

During the vigil that night, Li Huowang once again enjoyed special treatment.

"Benefactor, please go to sleep. The young ones can keep watch tonight, they are full of vigor, and common evil spirits dare not approach."

"Young people are full of vigor?" Li Huowang glanced at the youngsters around the fire. "Chief Bai, is there some reasoning behind this?"

"Uh... reasoning? There's no particular reasoning to it; that's just what my father taught me."

Hearing this, Li Huowang sighed in disappointment. After all that talk, it was just hearsay again. Why were these people so superstitious?

As Li Huowang slowly closed his eyes, the surroundings gradually quieted down, with only the crackling of burning wood and increasingly even breathing.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Li Huowang, in a drowsy state, sensed something approaching him.

When he abruptly opened his eyes, he found himself in a hazy mist. Realizing that neither Hong Zhong nor the Monk and the others were around, Li Huowang immediately understood he wasn't in a real place.

"Who?" "Who?" "Who?" Li Huowang's echoes spread further and further in this nebulous world.

Within the dimness, the enormous figure of White Impermanence appeared and disappeared in the thin fog; it wasn't walking out, but being hoisted by the neck with a rope.

"Who are you?" "Who are you?" "Who are you?" An eerie echo surrounded Li Huowang, resonating continuously.

"Why do you thwart my affairs?" "Why do you thwart my affairs?" "Why do you thwart my affairs?"