The Unruly Immortals

As the rooster crowed, the bustling Yinling City gradually awoke, with the calm streets steadily filling with pedestrians, donkeys, and horses.

Everyone was busy with their own affairs, and no one noticed the excited red-robed Taoist sitting on the roof tiles of an inn, nor could anyone comprehend Li Huowang's emotions at that moment.

"Dad?" Li Sui, feeling somewhat surprised, carefully touched Li Huowang's rapidly beating heart with his two feelers.

Although an hour had passed, Li Huowang still couldn't calm down, turning the letter over and over in his hands, reading its contents.

No one could understand what this letter meant to him—it signified that his life would not be mired in endless pain and confusion, that his life was not just filled with suffering and despair, that he still had hope!!

As long as he could find a way to rid himself of Huan Jue from Bei Feng. As long as he could see a light at the end of the tunnel, all the suffering he had endured over the years would be worthwhile!

He too could live like an ordinary person, living a stable life with the one he loved for the rest of his life!

It was at this moment that the persistent notion of death that haunted Li Huowang's mind completely dissipated. At this moment, he had a goal, the only one—he couldn't die; he had to live! He had to live and escape the confusion brought on by Xinsu!

"Huowang, what are you doing on the roof?" Bai Lingmiao's words quickly pulled Li Huowang back to his senses.

He flipped down from the roof and tightly embraced her, looking at her delicate face with a hint of excitement, "I've found a way, I've found a way!"

It wasn't just that his own goals had become clear; Bai Lingmiao's troubles had also been resolved, which was a double blessing.

"Record of Appearance" had mentioned in his mind that he had found a military connection, and they had a method to dispel the Evil Qi!

"What exactly is going on? What are you freaking out about now?" Bai Lingmiao asked, puzzled.

Li Huowang gently shook his head, lightly pecked her rosy lips, and said excitedly, "Let's go! Let's pack up and head for the Capital City!"

In Bai Village, a crowd of people with children in tow surrounded the Bai Family's main hall, eager for the spectacle.

Top Scholar Lv, shedding his past slippery and cunning demeanor, sat regally on a Taishi Chair. In front of him, five boys of varying heights knelt, each holding a cup of tea in their hands.

The tallest one spoke first, "Disciple Zhan Yuansheng, willingly enters under Top Scholar Lv as an apprentice to learn the ways of the Pear Garden. During this period, all silver coins earned shall belong to the Master. In case of natural disasters or calamities, each shall accept their fate. Any who selfishly flee or misbehave and refuse to submit shall be punished with death without discussion!"

After speaking, he held the tea out to Top Scholar Lv, who fought back his smugness, took a sip, and the young man knelt down and earnestly kowtowed three times, solemnly calling him Master.

Then the second, the third, all the way to the fifth apprentice did the same. Afterward, the condescending Band Leader Lv, pretending to be profound, said, "Three years to produce a top scholar, but it takes ten years to produce a lead actor! We may be the lowest of the low, but in every profession amongst the three hundred and sixty, a top scholar can emerge!"

"My apprentices, you must practice diligently and not be lazy! One day you will become a legendary figure whose fame lasts throughout the ages!"

After painting this grand vision, Top Scholar Lv coughed lightly and said to his eldest son, "Candidate, why don't you test their physique first."

When they had all left, Top Scholar Lv leaped down from the Taishi Chair, immediately dropping his pretense, happy as a lark.

A boy holding a handful of sunflower seeds nearby teased, "Band Leader Lv, this Lv's Troupe of yours is getting more prosperous by the day. You might as well buy a theater in Yinling City tomorrow!"

Although this comment was made in jest, it hit Band Leader Lv's soft spot perfectly, and his face bloomed into a smile, "Hehehe, I'll borrow your auspicious words!"

Standing to one side with his wooden crutch, Zhao Wu asked with some confusion, "Band Leader Lv, where did you find all these people? Are their parents willing to let their children follow you to act in plays?"

Generally speaking, those who have even a small patch of thin farmland wouldn't send their children to perform in plays—it's considered shameful to talk about.

"Hehe, whether they're willing or not, first you need to have something to be willing about," Top Scholar Lv, brimming with pride, pulled out the smoking pipe tucked into his back and began puffing away.

"All these are little beggars I met while traveling from place to place. As soon as they hear that they'll be provided with food and shelter, who would refuse? Hey, you guys think it's strange too, right? The Da Liang Kingdom is so prosperous, yet there are still beggars."

"What's so strange about that? Every place has a few unlucky ones. But even owning so much farmland, you could be a landlord. Are you still going to continue performing?"

Top Scholar Lv thought about the fields surrounding Ox Heart Village and felt an itch in his heart, but in the end, he nodded. "Hey, having land and acting in plays aren't mutually exclusive."

In the end, Top Scholar Lv still felt uneasy because, after all, the fields weren't his own. With no landlord Li Huowang around, if one day they decided to drive him out, he'd be helpless.

But if he really built a theater, every brick and tile would be earned solidly. Living there would be solid too.

Actually, he wanted to talk to Miss Bai about this matter as well, but given the recent incidents in her family, he hadn't found the right time.

He planned to wait until Miss Bai was in better spirits before sending his daughter-in-law to feel out the situation. Instead, Miss Bai, much like the Taoist Master, disappeared without a trace.

"Doggy, where on earth has Miss Bai gone? When is she coming back? Do you have any certain news?"

Band Leader Lv inquired of that shifty-eyed fellow. After all, Bai Village was her property; without her around, no one was there to decide how many tenant farmers to hire or what crops to plant.

These individuals behave like Immortals, as if they could live off dew, unconcerned with worldly matters. If they're so detached, they could at least have sorted out my affairs before leaving!

Hearing the question, Doggy couldn't hide his glee. "Ah, right, right, my wife is pregnant. I'm going to be a dad. It's too soon to have the baby though, probably not until after the New Year or next Qingming at least."

Band Leader Lv's face wrinkled with disdain as he looked at Doggy, thinking with disdain, "Did I ask you about this? Just spit it out. What are you showing off for, your becoming a dad? I'm already a grandfather."

"What about Spring Girl? She hasn't been seen around recently either?"

Grabbing a salty melon seed, Doggy threw it in his mouth, and while cracking it open with his teeth, he replied, "How would I know? She's not my wife. Besides, with her foul temper, there's no way I can manage her."

Upon hearing this, Band Leader Lv seemed to also catch the wariness in Doggy's tone and laughed it off before leaving.

Spitting out the melon seed shell from his mouth, Doggy turned away triumphantly and left the Bai Family Ancestral Hall, clear in his mind who was an insider and who was not.

What he had found in the cellar of the Bai Family Ancestral Hall was for sharing with his sworn brothers who had suffered together, certainly not with Lv's Troupe.

As he wandered through the somewhat deserted Bai Village, Doggy headed towards a large courtyard with high walls at the eastern end of the village, grabbed the tiger-headed door knocker, and started banging. "Idiot, open up! Why would you lock the door in broad daylight?"