Chapter 56 - Beyond the Border
“Senior Li, are you okay?” Bai Lingmiao instinctively grabbed Li Huowang’s hand when she saw that his expression seemed off.
Li Huowang smiled and shook his head. “I’m fine, just a little worried about the outside world; after all, we’re about to go outside the border. Let’s go and help the Lu Family tear down the stage so that we can leave.”
However, despite his words, Li Huowang’s expression was quite cold. His temperament seemed to be becoming more and more like Dan Yangzi’s.
This change caused a chill to run down Li Huowang’s spine.
When he recalled how the others saw him devouring the Buddhas from the inside out instead of Dan Yangzi, that conjecture was no longer just a simple assumption; it was gradually becoming a reality.
If it was just his personality, then that would still be alright. However, Li Huowang was more worried that as time passed, he would completely become Dan Yangzi himself.
If that’s the case, then everything before now makes sense. Dan Yangzi is not protecting me, but protecting himself!
Even just the thought of this possibility left Li Huowang feeling restless. That old fogey, Dan Yangzi, was definitely at the top of his list of the people he hated the most in this world. He did not want to become Dan Yangzi; he would rather die!
Li Huowang suddenly felt like returning to the Righteous Monastery, even if he had to face hardships; he wanted to get those monks to conduct the Great Fast and get rid of Dan Yangzi.
But that was just wishful thinking.
There had still been hope for negotiation before, but after he killed those seven Buddhas, those monks would probably seek revenge the moment they laid their eyes on him. Those ‘monks’ were not true monks; they were not vegetarian nor did they chant scriptures.
They were capable of just about anything.
According to what the Abbot had described before, there were many other sects besides the Righteous Monastery. He could only think of getting a solution for his problem through them; whatever the Righteous Monastery could achieve, the other sects could achieve as well.
Li Huowang walked to the front of the donkey cart and opened the map to study it carefully.
Originally, he had planned to not interact with people from sects because of the bad impression left behind by the Righteous Monastery.
But there was no other way now.
Since the Righteous Monastery had a way to get rid of Dan Yangzi, the other sects should be able to do so as well.
While he did not know what they wanted, based on their actions, he could deduce that the Righteous Monastery wanted something from him.
Is it the sacred text left behind by Dan Yangzi?
If he did not want to turn into Dan Yangzi, he had to find a way to get rid of Dan Yangzi using the other sects.
If there’s no other choice, then I’ll just use the sacred text to exchange with them.
Li Huowang silently came to a decision; at the moment, the sacred text was his only bargaining chip.
By the time they arrived at the small town close to the border pass, he was starting to feel slightly uneasy. The small town was bustling with merchants and people wearing different styles of clothing; they had all come here to engage in trade.
When Li Huowang saw the border pass in the distance, he turned to Lu Zhuangyuan and said, “Old man, looks like we’ll be parting ways here.”
Lu Zhuangyuan expressed his gratitude by shaking Li Huowang’s hand. “Young Taoist, you’ve worked hard. If not for you accompanying us on the way, we would have suffered many hardships.”
The Lu Family troupe naturally could not cross the border. Once they arrived at the border pass, they would return to their village through another route. After making the necessary repairs and recuperating at home, they would repeat their journey, traveling through the empire once again. This was the fate of their theater troupe. If they wanted to break free from this life of wandering, they had to buy a theater building and settle down.
“Have a safe journey. I don’t know what you are up to, Young Taoist, but we wish you great success! Here, take some salted duck eggs for your trip,” said Lu Zhuangyuan.
In response, Lu Xiucai reluctantly placed a jar of salted duck eggs onto the donkey cart.
“Thank you for your well-wishes. If fate allows it, then we’ll come and watch the Lu Family’s performance once again. After this trip, I must say that I’ve become quite addicted to your plays,” said Li Huowang.
After they exchanged their farewells, the donkey cart, now full of the necessary rations, gradually approached the border pass.
Lu Zhuangyuan watched their departing figures and took a puff of smoke from his pipe before tapping it onto the head of his younger son, who had a reluctant look in his eyes.
“Don’t think about that fair-skinned girl. Our family is from a humble background. We’ll get a matchmaker to find a suitable match for you back at home,” said Lu Zhuangyuan.
“Dad, what are you saying? I didn’t have any such thoughts.” Lu Xiucai frantically denied, then turned around and hurried toward the busy street.
“Dad, how could you bear to give him an entire jar of salted duck eggs when you are usually so stingy?” Lu Juren asked while carrying his daughter, feeling curious.
“What nonsense? Don’t think of me as stingy. Remember, we should be generous when necessary. This Taoist is not an average person. If we make good relations with him, then our Lu Family will have made a very valuable connection,” replied Lu Zhuangyuan.
After some twists and turns, they finally exited the border. Li Huowang looked around and felt something was different despite the fact that they were still surrounded by forests.
They were not alone on the road; there were quite a few horse carts, as well as people carrying loads on shoulder poles. It was easy to differentiate where they were from based on the way they wore their clothes. Those from the Qi kingdom had the left lapel of their hanfu over the right, while those from the kingdom of Si Qi were the opposite, having the right lapel of the hanfu over the left.
Li Huowang thought for a while before opening the jar Lu Zhuangyuan had given him; it was filled to the brim with salted duck eggs.
Puppy came over and said with a surprised expression, “Duck eggs and salt are quite valuable nowadays. That old man, Lu Zhuangyan, is really generous.”
Li Huowang closed the jar; his impression of that old man had improved greatly.
“Forget about the useless things. Whoever lives in the Si Qi Country, get ready to go back home,” said Li Huowang.
Everyone looked at each other, and then Xiaoman, who was covered in black hair, raised her hand. Then, she spoke in a trembling voice, “I am from Si Qi.”
As soon as she spoke, the surroundings became quiet; the others knew about the grievances she had with her parents and what she intended to do when she returned home.
“Sister Xiaoman, how about...” Bai Lingmiao wanted to persuade her despite feeling slightly hesitant.
However, she was interrupted by Li Huowang, “Alright, then you should be more familiar with this place. Tell us, what kind of place is the kingdom of Si Qi? Is there a big sect like the Righteous Monastery there too?”
Xiaoman, whose face was covered by a black bamboo hat, took a deep breath. “I don’t know. Though I stayed there, I never left the village in over ten years. However, when I was nine, I saw some God-summoning Shamans at the village entrance.”
“God-summoning Shamans...” Li Huowang was a little taken aback. The God of Happiness had left a deep impact on him.
“Then do Shamans have any places they frequent?” asked Li Huowang.
“No. I have heard that Shamans mostly stay within their own houses, offering sacrifices to their Immortal families,” replied Xiaoman.
“Immortal families? Do they have any specific names?” Li Huowang’s mind flashed as he heard more about the bizarre things belonging to this world.
“Hong, Huang, Bai, Liu, Bei. I’ve heard of five different Immortal families; however, I don’t know what each of them represents.”
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