The Unruly Immortals

After pondering for a while, Li Huowang nodded. "Old man, go ahead, what are the rules?"

"Well, the first one, in our Wu Family village, you're not allowed to talk back to older people, especially to me," the goat-bearded village chief raised his index finger.

"Is that the rule?" Not only did Li Huowang feel astonished, but so did everyone else.

They had thought it would be some bizarre and peculiar rules, but they turned out to be so ordinary.

"Isn't this a household rule? Are we really going to impose our own family rules on outsiders now?"

Li Huowang tapped the dog beside him and said to the village chief, "Please continue, we're listening."

"The second one, since we're by the forest, creatures from the woods come out often, be it a mouse or a night cat, you can't hit them or step on them. If you encounter them on the road, you have to make way for them first, they've been good to our Wu Family."

"This third one, you're guests from outside, so all men are forbidden to talk to the women of our village. This rule didn't exist before, but in the past few years, some peddler abducted two of our daughters-in-law!! Gosh, just thinking about that peddler makes me so angry ..."

As the village chief rambled on, Li Huowang and the others gradually learned about the various customs of Wu Family village, even the petty things like not urinating anywhere had to be mentioned.

"Shallow rivers have many paddies; this lousy village has too many ridiculous rules. Maybe we shouldn't stay here after all."

"Shush, listen quietly."

At this point, the village chief's list of rules was nearly at its end. "This eleventh one is not to light lamps at night, and don't go outside, and the very last one, at whatever time, wait until the other person turns around before speaking, never talk behind their back."

On hearing this, Li Huowang's eyebrows furrowed slightly, these last two rules felt somewhat off to him.

"What if I break these rules? What happens then?"

"Break the rules?!" The village chief's eyes bulged out, speaking confidently, "Fine! For each violation, a fine of one tael, and if you break them again, another fine! Until you dare not break them again! Don't say we bully outsiders, natives are treated the same."

"..." Li Huowang suddenly had the illusion that maybe he had made a mistake.

Feeling someone tugging at his hem, Li Huowang nodded at the old man with a goat beard, "Rest assured, old man, we're all sensible people here."

"Good, that's the way, otherwise seeing you all with two children, I wouldn't have bothered myself, I'm old and can't bear to see kids suffer."

With that, he turned and walked towards the courtyard. Two horse-drawn carriages stopped in the yard, and Li Huowang and his company carried their blankets into a west wing room that smelled a bit musty.

By the time everything was cleaned and tidied up, the sun had already started to tilt westward.

After getting everything in order, the village chief walked in again with a smile, saying, "Young man, are you going to eat dinner here? If so, I'll ask the missus to make some extra."

"Dinner?" Li Huowang tensed up. Other people's cooking is not something to be taken lightly.

After thinking it over, Li Huowang nodded and said, "Please trouble the old man then."

Seeing the old man walk away with his hands behind his back, Li Huowang gave Silver Fragments a meaningful glance, "You go help out in the kitchen."

"Mhm." Silver Fragments nodded her head and walked out.

The village chief's family was also large, with six sons and two daughters, plus grandchildren, when it came to mealtime, it was incredibly bustling with dozens of people.

This was also the reason he dared to take in Li Huowang and the others; in the village, if you had many sons, no one dared to mess with you.

Despite living in a residence with three entrances, what the Wu Family ate was unsatisfying double-steamed rice, and the vegetables were all from their own field, which seemed very frugal.

Moreover, by the time Li Huowang came out, they had already started eating. There was no sign of hosts waiting for guests, and many plates were empty already.

"The food is there, serve yourself. Country folks don't have so many dining rules."

Li Huowang shook his head nonchalantly. "No problem, no problem."

He led his people toward the steaming baskets in the corner, but in his mind, he began to count silently.

Just as he had reached the count of ten in his mind, the sound of bowls shattering rang out from behind him.

When he turned around, he saw that dozens of people, including the village chief, had all fallen to the ground, fast asleep.

"Hehe, that peddler's knockout drug really is something, you get what you pay for."

Whether these people were controlled by the "Evil Spirit of the Eighteenth of the Twelfth Lunar Month" and planning to trap him, Li Huowang didn't bother to distinguish at all. After all, a preemptive move is never wrong.

As Li Huowang waved his hand, the others quickly rushed to the main eastern wing of the house in search of clues.

"First look for written characters, then look for other unusual things. Pay extra attention to the weirder items, like Buddhist amulets and sacred tablets. I want to see what kind of tricks they're really up to," Li Huowang instructed the others.

They searched high and low; the entire three-entry courtyard was turned upside down by Li Huowang and his men, but still, nothing. There was no anomaly.

"How can there be nothing?" Li Huowang stood in the main hall, his brow furrowed, pondering these questions.

After a busy day, except for the forest outside the village chief's place showing some irregularities, nothing was discovered.

"Could the Evil Spirit of the Eighteenth of the Twelfth Lunar Month be in the forest we just looked through? No, that's not right. I've just been there, and the village chief's home is surrounded by a bamboo forest. If the Evil Spirit is hiding somewhere, it must be here."

"Does it count if I found their family's money?" At this moment, Gouwa spoke up, holding some Silver Fragments in his hands.

Seeing the look that Li Huowang shot his way, Gouwa sighed helplessly and walked back dejectedly, still holding the silver.

Looking at the dimming sky outside, Li Huowang spoke up again, "Go get the Fire Sickle and light the fire."

"Brother Li, aren't we not supposed to light fires?" Bai Lingmiao asked, puzzled.

Hearing this, Li Huowang's eyes narrowed slightly, and his right hand touched the row of torture tools at his waist.

"I just want to see what exactly will happen if we do light it."

If there were any other suspicious things about this village, it would be these so-called rules mentioned by the bearded goat.

"Huff~" The candles and lanterns that had been found earlier were quickly lit, and the entire Wu Family courtyard became brightly illuminated.

Li Huowang sat in the main hall full of unconscious people, waiting quietly as the sky grew darker and darker.

There was no moon tonight, and the sky was as dark as if covered by a huge black cloth.

Even so, as dark as it was, still nothing happened.

"Ha~" Gouwa yawned and began to doze off against a pillar.

The others seemed infected by his lethargy and started yawning one after another.

Looking at the Wu Family members lying unconscious on the ground, a hint of doubt crept into Li Huowang's mind. "Did I really come to the wrong place?"

Just as he was thinking this, a playful laugh echoed from the top of the courtyard wall. "Heehee, you've broken the rules."