The Unruly Immortals

Li Huowang stared at the seventy-nine lifespan beads in the blood-stained water, his heart unable to calm for a long time, "What does he mean by giving me these Yangshou Pills?"

Perhaps he wanted Li Huowang to consume these Yangshou Pills, or maybe he wanted to explain why he had become like this.

This question was destined to remain unanswered, as the evil spirit was already dead, and was so dead that it couldn't possibly be deader.

With his longsword in hand, pointed towards the corpse in front of him, Li Huowang paused for a moment before his sword came down, dismembering the evil spirit's corpse completely, to ensure it would not stir again.

Afterward, he bent down, placed the seventy-nine Yangshou Pills into a gourd, then turned to the petrified elders and said, "Don't stop! Keep moving!"

The elders looked exhausted, but their nauseating actions earlier made Li Huowang feel not the slightest inclination toward the respect for the aged and the love for the young.

If it were not for his inability to move so many children himself, he would have slain them one by one with his sword a long time ago.

As they moved slowly, Li Huowang and the group gradually left the cave.

However, just after emerging from the cave, Li Huowang began searching the dim underworld, determined to eliminate any lingering threats.

If the other party had previously intended to use infants for alchemy, then he surely had some pill recipe or cultivation technique.

Without destroying that thing, Li Huowang couldn't feel at ease, fearing that once he left, another evil spirit might repeat the same horrors.

In his search, Li Huowang stumbled upon new findings, such as an alchemy furnace the size of a watermelon, placed next to a much larger alchemy furnace.

There were many infant corpses beside the furnace, indicating the evil spirit had been using this large furnace for alchemy.

But unlike Master Danyang, this evil spirit's alchemy required bone removal before beginning.

Looking at the small pill furnace, Li Huowang suddenly recalled a skill he had learned from Master Danyang himself, alchemy.

With these items in hand, he could replenish the elixirs that had already been used up.

Following this, Li Huowang found some books written in strange characters within the limestone cave.

Perhaps these were the evil spirit's writings, and Li Huowang didn't know if they contained any pill recipes using children for alchemy, but he burned them all regardless.

After various searches, when a grey-white stone tablet appeared before him, Li Huowang's face showed a trace of bewilderment.

"Heavenly Book? Another Heavenly Book?"

"Where do these things come from? Why are they everywhere?" Li Huowang pondered, holding the heavy Heavenly Book in his hands.

"Could it be that the pill recipe that the evil spirit used to alchemize infants came from this?"

Li Huowang looked closely, only to find that this Heavenly Book was identical to the one Master Danyang had received, not a single character different, still a Buddhist scripture preaching goodness to people.

"Could it be that you know what this is?" Li Huowang turned to Hong Zhong, who was sneaking peeks in his direction, and asked.

Hong Zhong smiled mysteriously, shook his head lightly and responded, "Hehe, don't know, hehe, don't know."

Li Huowang threw the Heavenly Book into the cold underground river with a flick of his hand.

This action instantly made Hong Zhong anxious.

"Hey! Why do you do this! That thing could be a treasure! Quickly pick it up."

"If it's such a treasure, then you fetch it yourself," Li Huowang replied.

After speaking, Li Huowang picked up a child who was wailing loudly and boarded the small boat they had arrived in.

The boat was small, and rowing against the current was hard, so it took several trips to get everyone to shore.

When Li Huowang returned to Cangshui County with a group of old and young, the entire county exploded with noise.

At that moment, Li Huowang looked extremely terrifying, yet all their focus was on the crying children.

The families who had lost their children were always the first to rush forward.

Those who found their children knelt down before Li Huowang in worship, while those who hadn't could only collapse on the ground and weep loudly.

County Magistrate Lou, along with a crowd, was about to pay a great tribute to Li Huowang, "Many thanks to your Excellency! You are the great benefactor of Cangshui County!"

"Don't be in a hurry to pay tribute, the matter isn't over yet." Then Li Huowang recounted the matter with the elderly people to County Magistrate Lou.

"What? You mean those elderly people are accomplices of the evil spirit?"

County Magistrate Lou looked at the elderly people and was greatly shocked; he had previously thought they were saved by his Excellency.

"If according to the laws of Da Liang, what would be the fate of them for what they have done?" Li Huowang asked, looking at the old people standing there in fear and trepidation.

"They should be punished by dismemberment by carts!" County Magistrate Lou's eyes became exceptionally cold.

"So, just like that, they should be torn apart by horses? Seems somewhat trifling, doesn't it? Besides, they are all so old, why not just behead them?"

County Magistrate Lou unusually retorted, "What are your Excellency's words? What does a criminal's age have to do with their crimes? Right is right, and wrong is wrong. If they were spared because of their youth, wouldn't the infants wailing under the Yellow Springs feel even more wronged?"

Li Huowang pondered this carefully and gave a salute to County Magistrate Lou. "County Magistrate Lou has a point. Then I'll leave you to your duties. I'm leaving."

County Magistrate Lou hastily held on to Li Huowang, "Why the hurry, your Excellency? Please allow me the opportunity to welcome and purify your Excellency from the journey."

Looking at his tattered clothes and the bloodstains on them, Li Huowang nodded his head.

"Alright, I haven't slept for two days. I'll take a rest, and may I trouble the county magistrate to have a few garments made for me."

When Li Huowang returned to the inn, he almost immediately fell asleep, unable to suppress the overwhelming exhaustion despite the severe pain all over his body.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he was woken up by a growling stomach.

He rubbed his eyes and looked outside the window; it was still daytime, but he didn't know which day's daytime it was.

"Taoist, you've slept for a whole day and night. That official came earlier to check on you, but seeing you asleep, he went back."

Li Huowang glanced at the Monk who was grinning broadly, "You seem very happy?"

"Of course, I'm happy. We've done a good deed, and a significant one at that! Shouldn't we be happy after doing a good deed?"

"We should, we should," Li Huowang replied perfunctorily, bearing the pain as he sat up, took off the smelly clothes from his body, and put on new garments from the stool beside him.

County Magistrate Lou had evidently made an effort; the new garments were clearly tailored to fit Li Huowang, just like the dark red Taoist robe he had worn.

And he had not just made one, but had the tailor make five identical garments.

"Ah, County Magistrate Lou has been thoughtful," Li Huowang said while dressing.

After getting dressed, Li Huowang walked toward the back courtyard, ready to get into his carriage and leave.

"Taoist, that official still wants to invite you to a meal, won't you go?"

"No, it's a waste of time. Now that the trouble is dealt with, I should hurry back to Yinling. The journey is not a short one." At that time, to Li Huowang, everything else seemed insignificant.

Just as Li Huowang arrived at the stables in the back courtyard, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

His carriage had been washed clean, its wheels were free of mud, and the horse's coat was slick and obviously combed through.

All sorts of dried goods and sausages surrounded the carriage, while Mantou lay among the goods, gnawing on a big bone.

"Woof woof!" Seeing its master return, Mantou excitedly ran over, wagging its tail incessantly. Having not seen it for several days, it seemed to have gained a little weight.

Seeing all this, the Monk laughed again and said to Li Huowang, "Taoist, look, what did I say? Good people receive good karma, right?"