The Unruly Immortals

"Creak, creak." The carriage wheels etched two narrow tracks into the ground.

Li Huowang sat on the front board of the carriage, lightly flicking the whip to urge the horses on, while Li Sui, clad in a straw raincoat, sat beside him, curiously peering at the sparrows on the tree branches through the newly hung black gauze beneath his bamboo hat.

Li Huowang tapped on the carriage. "Miaomiao, there's no need to stay inside every day, it's so stifling. It's dusk now; you can come out for some fresh air."

Bai Lingmiao lifted the carriage curtain and softly took a seat beside Li Huowang, removing the white gauze that covered her eyes and looking around her.

Observing her delicate profile, Li Huowang noticed that Bai Lingmiao seemed different. If her eyes were pink before, they had now turned pinkish-white.

What this implied was naturally self-evident.

Li Huowang took her hand and gently pinched it for comfort, "Don't worry, the Capital City is almost in sight. Once we arrive there, we will surely find a way to treat your eyes."

Of the four matters at hand, the issue of self-preservation for Niuxin Village had been temporarily resolved. Next in urgency were Bai Lingmiao's eyes.

This matter was very pressing, but fortunately, solving it was not as difficult as imagined.

Having witnessed the previous great battle between the Astrological Bureau and Oblivion Path, Li Huowang didn't think that in this chaotic world, getting a pair of eyes would be too difficult.

"Senior Brother Li, why do you have me accompany you?" Bai Lingmiao asked in her frail voice.

"Of course you have to come, we're going to cure your eyes. How can we do that if you're not there?" Li Huowang answered as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Oh," Bai Lingmiao murmured, her head bowed softly as she responded.

"Are you tired? There's a village ahead; we can stay there for the night, no need to sleep in the carriage."

"Don't worry, according to our current pace, we should reach the Capital City by tomorrow night. Then you'll be able to see clearly again, and you'll even be able to open your eyes during the bright day."

"Okay, Senior Brother Li, I trust you."

Li Huowang had been to the Capital City before and was very familiar with the route. As the setting sun was about to vanish, a stretch of villages appeared before him.

However, as they drew closer, Bai Lingmiao's face showed a hint of concern. "Senior Brother Li, it's the same here..."

From a distance, it seemed alright, but a closer look revealed that some adobe houses were skewed and looked close to collapse, with overgrown weeds and tangled spider webs indicating that these houses had been uninhabited for some time.

Though Li Huowang's expression was grave, there was no surprise, for this was not the first time he had encountered such a situation.

The natural disaster, despite its short duration, had taken its toll on villages less fortunate, sending some of their inhabitants away.

Even if some villages were lucky and nothing happened, these were merely exceptions.

This wasn't just the story of one or two villages; this was a problem for the whole world, and heaven only knows how many had perished in the process.

"Who are you looking for?" An elderly voice caused Li Huowang to instantly grip the hilt of his sword.

But when he saw the speaker was an old man, his mouth missing several teeth, tremblingly leaning on a walking stick, Li Huowang released his weapon.

There was a piece of black cloth hanging from his right shoulder, signifying that someone in his family had recently passed away.

"Old man, it's me. Do you remember? I stayed here last time," Li Huowang came up to him and snapped his fingers between the old man's eyes before speaking.

After studying Li Huowang's face for a moment, the old man suddenly realized who he was and exclaimed, "Ah, it's you, the young lad! Come, come, come. There are plenty of empty houses in the village now. You can stay as long as you like this time."

After seeing him move forward, Bai Lingmiao quietly approached Li Huowang's side, "Elder Brother Li, do you really know him?"

"No, just some minor tricks. The old man doesn't have a good memory."

As this person led the two of them deeper, gradually other villagers appeared before Li Huowang.

Men and women each carried a large bowl, squatting or standing around under a big banyan tree, chatting while taking advantage of the still dimming daylight to eat.

Seeing Li Huowang's carriage, they all turned their heads to look. Quite a few who were familiar with the old man casually struck up a conversation. "Master Zhao, do you have relatives visiting?"

Although their expressions were normal, black cloth hung from everyone's arms, which Li Huowang noticed were the most he had seen all along the way.

Soon, Li Huowang was brought to a neat clay house with a small courtyard in front. "This belonged to my youngest son. He died a couple of years ago, you can stay here."

"Thank you so much. It's really trouble for you, old man Zhao."

"Ah, what are you saying, it's just a short stay, don't worry about it. No trouble at all."

Watching his retreating figure, Bai Lingmiao said with a hint of sympathy, "Elder Brother Li, it seems that a lot of people died here because of the last disaster."

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang immediately looked towards Zhuge Yuan, who was silently standing in mid-air in the distance, his back facing them.

The speaker had no intention, but the listener took it to heart. Based on Li Huowang's understanding of him, Zhuge Yuan would definitely blame these people's deaths on himself.

"Forget it, it's all in the past, don't mention it anymore. I'll go get some water from the well and cook us something warm to eat."

Since they needed to continue their journey the next day, they had a quick dinner and went to bed after washing up.

Li Huowang thought nothing would happen at night, but during the third watch, he was awakened by Li Sui, who was on night watch duty.

Li Huowang glanced at Bai Lingmiao, who was breathing slowly beside him, and asked Li Sui beside the bed in the quietest voice, "What's the matter?"

"Dad, they're putting on an opera outside."

"Hmm?" Li Huowang took another look at Bai Lingmiao, then quietly slipped out of bed and pushed open the door to go outside.

Soon, under the same banyan tree as before, Li Huowang saw a group of people forming a circle, dancing and moving animatedly.

They weren't strangers; it was the same villagers under the banyan tree from earlier, even the old man who had guided Li Huowang was there.

"Dad, what are they doing?"

"Shh... don't make noise, let me see."

Li Huowang's brows gradually furrowed; it seemed he had inadvertently become involved with a sect he had never encountered before.

However, what puzzled him was that when the old man brought them into the village, he had deliberately checked and hadn't sensed any malice from his "Ten Emotions and Eight Miseries."

"Could it be they are like the Master, barely good people?" Li Huowang thought for a while and eventually decided to observe quietly and see what exactly they were up to.

Regardless of whether they had any malice toward him or not, for now, Li Huowang had no fear.

Due to the distance, what they were chanting could only reach Li Huowang's ears intermittently.

"Enduring endless embarrassment... every single thing going awry... God Yu'er, ah... nothing ever satisfying... always trapped in poverty... God Yu'er, ah... clothing pawned to the last..."