Chapter 54 - Wandering God
Boom!
The sound of the wooden bat hitting the ground heavily could be heard amidst a cloud of dust and dirt. The heavy bat was raised up and then smashed down toward the ground, again and again.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang was being propped up by Bai Lingmiao as they observed Simpleton swinging the club around. Even though the wound on Li Huowang’s neck hadn’t completely healed, after resting for a few days, he could finally muster enough strength to stand.
“Stronger! Swing it harder!” Li Huowang shouted.
By the campfire, Lu Zhuangyuan took two buns and chuckled as he walked over. “Young Taoist, what are you doing? There’s so much noise.”
Under Simpleton’s attacks, the surrounding forest had been reduced to a mess of leaves and broken tree branches.
“Nothing much. I felt that it was a waste to let him only carry luggage considering how strong he is. So, I’m training him,” explained Li Huowang.
“Oh, that’s good, that’s good,” Lu Zhuangyuan nodded and walked away.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang returned his gaze to the shirtless Simpleton, who was drenched in sweat, and he continued training him. Even though he might be a little... lacking in terms of brains, his body was incredible. Li Huowang sighed as he observed Simpleton’s massive back and waist.
What a strong body! Sure, he might not be able to fight off the supernatural stuff, but at the very least, he should be able to fend off the bandits quite easily.
This was Li Huowang’s plan. He wanted to strengthen their abilities. Relying solely on the Wandering Gods and Dan Yangzi was not possible, as the side effects were far too harsh. Even in a world with many bizarre cultivation techniques and powers, he still knew the value of traditional fighting methods.
It might appear barbaric, but it was still better than nothing.
Even if they were not fighting enemies, at the very least, if Li Huowang started suffering from hallucinations again, they could still protect him.
“Alright! That’s one hundred! You can rest now,” said Li Huowang.
Hearing this, Simpleton threw his club and walked toward the campfire, panting heavily. Then, he picked up his large bowl and started eating without any restraint.
Soon, half a kilogram of noodles had been devoured by him. Even so, Simpleton was visibly hungry and returned to the black pot to get more noodles.
When Li Huowang saw how Simpleton downed yet another half a kilogram of noodles, he felt somewhat impressed.
So it’s true that someone who is weak in the mind would have an extremely strong body. Luckily, I have quite a bit of money or I would go broke just trying to feed him.
At that moment, he thought about something and took out the bronze bell. Looking at it, Li Huowang recalled the Wandering God that had been crushed to bits by Jian Dun and his Buddhas.
Can I still use it?
However, when he thought about it, he realized that there was no such thing as impossible in this bizarre world.
“Come and support me; I need to go into the forest,” Li Huowang told Bai Lingmiao.
They walked into the forest far enough away so that they could not hear the sounds coming from around the campfire. Only then did they stop.
“You go back first,” said Li Huwang. However, this time, Bai Lingmiao did not heed his order.
“You can just go to the toilet. I will turn around...” said Bai Lingmiao.
Li Huowang didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. “I’m not going to the toilet. You go back first; come back here after 15 minutes.”
He waited until he was the only one remaining in the forest before he leaned against a white birch tree. Then, with one of his hands on his forehead, he shook the bell.
Soon, the edges of the world started twisting and turning. However, this time, they did not congregate back together.
Seeing this, Li Huowang decided to shake the bell even harder.
Don’t tell me it’s unusable now?
Just as he had this thought, the squiggly lines started to congregate before forming a new Wandering God. Then, the new Wandering God hummed curiously.
Li Huowang asked it some questions he had, and in response, the Wandering God hummed emotionlessly, almost as if it was not the one who had been killed by the Buddhas.
Enduring the headache, Li Huowang talked faster and managed to gather some surprising pieces of information.
Firstly, the Wandering Gods had names. It was just that humans couldn’t produce the sounds required to call out their names. Even they didn’t know why they were called the Wandering Gods by the first person that saw them.
Secondly, the Wandering Gods did not have any concept of death, or to be more accurate, they were not living beings. Not only did they not have the concept of death, but they also did not have the concept of numbers.
No concept of numbers?
Li Huowang thought about it as he shook his head, causing the nausea and confusion to become even stronger. Soon, he started seeing double of everything around him, including the Wandering God.
Seeing how the Wandering God in front of him had split into two, Li Huowang seemed to have realized something as he shook the bell even harder. Every time he shook it, the Wandering God in front of him split into more and more bodies, until the confused Li Huowang could see 20-30 of them.
Blegh!
He could not handle the nausea anymore and vomited.
Soon, the sound of the bell faded and everything around him returned to normal. The Wandering Gods had all disappeared.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang vomited the meal he had just eaten until there was nothing left in his stomach. He kept vomiting until he almost started vomiting bile.
Standing up shakily, he wiped his mouth and panted while looking at the bell.
If I had known this beforehand, I wouldn’t have needed to mutilate myself to summon Dan Yangzi.
He stored the bell as he pondered.
No, every time I give one of them an order, I need to sacrifice three months of my lifespan. Using so many of them would’ve probably cost me at least ten years of my life.
Li Huowang slowly walked back to the camp as he supported himself with the help of the trees.
Just as he reached the roadside, he saw everyone, including Lu Zhuangyuan, huddled together.
“Come here, everyone! All of this is good stuff! If anything here is of bad quality, then I, Zu Dexi, swear that I will suffer from endless misfortune and my descendants will all live like livestock!”
Li Huowang went over and saw that it was a merchant and his mule cart. He was advertising his wares.
Bai Lingmiao and Chun Xiaoman were on one side, gazing at some needles.
“This is such a dangerous world, and you are out here selling all this stuff on your own? Aren’t you afraid of being robbed?” asked Li Huowang.
In the face of Li Huowang’s question, the man who had a mole at the edge of his lips smiled and didn’t bother explaining himself.
“Taoist, do you need some cinnabar? I have plenty right here!” said the merchant.
Lu Zhuangyuan approached Li Huowang and whispered to him with disgust in his voice. “The bandits would never rob him! After all, he’s in the same line of business as the bandits. The bandits would rob stuff from people while he would purchase it from them!”
“I see...” Li Huowang nodded. That’s true. The mountain bandits would also need to sell off their items to be able to get money and food. These kinds of merchants that traveled around on their own would be their best option for privacy.
“Taoist, if you don’t want any cinnabar, then how about something else? I have quite a few options!” Zu Dexi didn’t even blink as he continued to peddle his wares.
Li Huowang thought about it and asked, “You have other options? Do you have something that I can use to kill people with?”
Everyone else turned and stared at Li Huowang the moment he said that.
On the other hand, Zu Dexi excitedly clapped his hands and started rummaging around in his mule cart. “Yes! Yes, I do!”
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