The Unruly Immortals

By the early morning of the next day, Scholar Lv was awoken by the pain of his injuries. With no money for an inn, he had spent the night holding Tao'er under an eave; now he felt both cold and hungry.

He was beginning to regret why he had squandered all the silver he had won. If only he had saved a little, he wouldn't be in the situation he was facing now.

What made him even more desperate was that he had nowhere to go next. Without the option of returning to Niuxin Village, he was literally left with no place to turn.

"Master, why don't you take me as a concubine....."

"No way!" Scholar Lv refused without hesitation. "I can't stand the thought of you bearing children for another man. Where would that leave my dignity!!"

A rare look of sadness appeared on Tao'er's face. "I don't want to be sold either, but if we have no money for food, we will starve. My father sold me because we didn't have money for food....."

Glancing sideways at her somewhat sallow face, Scholar Lv clenched his teeth tightly and his fists smashed angrily into the ground. If only he had Li Huowang's strength, he would never have fallen to such a low point!

But no matter what, he eventually stood up, pulling Tao'er along with him, and headed towards the inn where Bai Lingmiao was staying.

Just as Bai Lingmiao and Chun Xiaoman were about to set off, Scholar Lv reappeared before them.

He really didn't want to submit to a woman, but the thought of Tao'er being under another man made Scholar Lv clench his fists tightly and grit his teeth as he said, "Miss Bai, I apologize for before, I was wrong. Please let me return to Niuxin Mountain!"

"Is that how you ask for help? What do you call Li Huowang, and what should you call me?" Bai Lingmiao asked with a hint of amusement as she stared at the young man in front of her.

"Li Huowang is my master, and I should call you... call… Master's Wife!"

"That's better. Besides your own father, nobody else is obligated to treat you well in this world. If you want something from someone else, you have to give something in return."

Scholar Lv nodded vigorously, "Yes, Master's Wife is right!"

"Alright, follow me. By the way, where did you get the wife by your side?" Bai Lingmiao now focused her attention on the woman by Scholar Lv's side.

"I bought her. Master's Wife, look over there; it's just like those people, bought from human traffickers," he said.

Bai Lingmiao followed Scholar Lv's pointing hand to look at several emaciated teenagers kneeling by the roadside with dry straw sticking out from behind their collars, as a tall, thin man bargained with others nearby.

Seeing this, Chun Xiaoman immediately remembered something, and her expression turned extremely ugly.

Bai Lingmiao patted her on the back of the hand and then asked Scholar Lv, "How much silver for one person?"

"It depends on their appearance and build. When I bought Tao'er, it cost five taels."

Bai Lingmiao's eyes narrowed slightly as if something occurred to her, "It's true that Niuxin Village could use a few more people... Moreover, some of the cultivation techniques beneath the ancestral temple are not enough when practiced only by the other disciples. To be strong enough, it's best to scale up, just like my grandfather and parents did."

There was a risk of exposure if she directly sought other outsiders, but these helpless boys and girls had nowhere to run, and they would be easier to control.

Even though she was too young to remember, and unaware of exactly what the Bai Family did behind closed doors, Bai Lingmiao recalled a time when her people lived a very comfortable life. As a child, she never lacked for meat or eggs, and she even wore gold bracelets on her ankles.

Moreover, the fact that they forced Li Huowang to the point of burning his skin proved their formidable nature.

With these thoughts in mind, Bai Lingmiao went over and began to negotiate a price with the human trafficker.

Seeing Bai Lingmiao buying all of them, regardless of size or appearance, the trafficker couldn't stop grinning.

"These people are now my servants, right?" Bai Lingmiao asked, looking at the trafficker who was weighing silver on a small scale.

"Hey! What are you saying, Miss? We're not barbarians from Qingqiu. We have an imperial edict from the Emperor himself, forbidding the keeping and selling of slaves within the territory of Da Liang!" After saying this, the trafficker smiled again.

"These are not your servants, these are clearly your godsons and goddaughters! Quick! Hurry and kowtow to your godmother!"

The gaunt and yellow-faced boys and girls seemed to have already become numb, and instantly knelt down, prostrating themselves in front of Bai Lingmiao. "Godmother!"

"Hehehe, miss, this is the bond of indenture for your godsons and daughters, we're square with the silver now," said the gleeful slave trader, completely oblivious to the chill in Bai Lingmiao's eyes behind him.

"Dong dong dong," the sound of drums began, and with Bai Lingmiao singing the Soldier-Shifting Decree, along with the drum beats, Second God slowly walked toward the desolate street on the side.

"I know you hate these kinds of people, don't worry, this guy won't live past tomorrow," Bai Lingmiao patted Chun Xiaoman's hand once more.

"Thank you..." Chun Xiaoman slowly retracted the Taoist Bell from her sleeve.

"There's no need to be so formal. Did we ever need to say thanks before?"

Bai Lingmiao turned around to face the group of gaunt boys and girls, and to be honest, these people really didn't look that great—they were all awkward and odd, with buck teeth and protruding eyes.

But of course, if anyone attractive and robust were still available, they would have been chosen by someone else already; these were the leftovers. Luckily Bai Lingmiao didn't care, as long as they were human, that was enough.

"Don't be afraid, everyone. I bought you to bring back because the village has many fields that need tenants to cultivate. Whatever grain you produce, keep sixty percent for yourselves and hand over forty percent," she said.

At these words, their eyes suddenly lit up. To them, as godsons and daughters, even if they didn't get a share at all, it would be expected—they had encountered a good person!

"Let's go, it's still a long way from Niuxin Mountain," Bai Lingmiao said and directly got onto the horse carriage. A crowd hurriedly staggered after her.

One of the women with a mole under her mouth couldn't bear her hunger and spoke up, "Godmother, could we have something to eat before we set off? We only had a sip of millet porridge yesterday. We don't need much, just a small handful of rice is fine."

As for these people, of course, the slave trader would be as frugal as possible, as long as they didn't starve to death.

"What do you mean by 'a sip'? Don't be so stingy. If you're going to eat, eat your fill!" Bai Lingmiao threw a large bag of dried food straight out.

This scene made Chun Xiaoman instantly smile knowingly. Although Lingmiao's personality had become bolder, she was still kind-hearted as before.

Seeing the mixed grain mantou and meat within, these people immediately became uncontrollably excited, swarming over and devouring voraciously.

"I was here first! Back off a bit!" Scholar Lv squeezed in, and when he came out, he stuffed four mixed grain mantou into Tao'er's arms, then took large bites of the meat he held in his hand.

While nibbling on it, he said to Bai Lingmiao inside the carriage, "Master, these kids are very unruly and have no discipline at all. How about I take charge on the road?"

After calling out for the first time, it became easier to call it out after that.

He had come to realize that what she said was right; without strength, one was utterly useless. It's okay to bow down when necessary, as it wouldn't cause him to lose a piece of flesh.

"No way, you can't get anything done properly, and you can't even hide the dissatisfaction in your heart toward me."

Scholar Lv panicked internally and quickly denied it. "Master, how could I be dissatisfied with you? You are my master's wife, after all."

"That's true. If you were really to mess something up, Li Huowang would make your life a living hell."

That statement made Scholar Lv shudder, and the images that came to mind, filled with gore, made it impossible for him to swallow the meat in his mouth.

Bai Lingmiao leaned her head against the carriage window, looking down at Scholar Lv, "Feeling dissatisfied with being so useless? I have a way that can help you cultivate divine skills, want to give it a try?"

Scholar Lv looked up at Bai Lingmiao, recalling the blind man who easily snatched away lives that night, and nodded vigorously. "Yes!"

"These damned women, who look down on me? What do you mean 'useless'? I am just an undiscovered talent! Just give me a chance and I'll definitely become more formidable than Li Huowang!!"