Chapter 78 - The Aftermath
Along the shore of the island made of reeds, Li Huowang stood, holding the blood-red, foul-smelling bamboo slip.
Meanwhile, the others stood nearby with pale faces, huddled together as they looked at him. They had not yet recovered from the shock they had just experienced.
Li Huowang’s expression was conflicted.
He could simply toss this nauseating bamboo slip into the muddy lake, never allowing it to see the light of day again.
This seemed like an excellent choice. No matter who wrote this bamboo slip, Ba-Hui’s powers were not borrowed so easily, and leaving it in this world would only bring endless suffering to others.
However, after pondering for a long time, Li Huowang placed the blood-stained bamboo slip inside his clothes.
While the various methods recorded on the bamboo slip were incredibly gruesome, they were also very effective. If even a common bandit like Yuan Er could use it, then it would probably be possible for himself as well.
There was no harm in being prepared. He might even be able to make use of it in some extreme situation. After all, if he did not want to completely turn into Dan Yangzi, then he had to find another alternative for when he faced danger in the future, even if the price to pay was very high.
Li Huowang turned back to look at the others. “Bring the boat over, load up the gold, and the dead bodies of our two brethren. Let’s leave this wretched place.”
Their troubles had been unexpectedly resolved, and they had no need to continue staying in this place filled with corpses.
Sun Baolu was quite capable and managed to push the boats used by the bandits for pillaging ashore. Meanwhile, the rest of them carried the bodies of their fallen comrades and the gold jewelry and loaded up the boats.
“Board the boat with us, row the oars, and take us to the other side of this lake,” said Li Huowang, looking menacingly at the youth before him.
“Can... can you spare my life if I bring you out?” The terrified youth stuttered. However, when he saw Li Huowang reaching for the hilt of the sword on his back, the youth scrambled onto the boat in fear.
The youth rowed the oars, turning the boat toward the dense field of reeds. At the same time, the others also began to clumsily row the boat.
It was very quiet within the dense field of reeds. No one made any sound apart from the rhythmic splash of oars in the water. The recent events had left everyone feeling unsettled.
“Lo... Lord, I’m Yuan Fu,” the youth rowing the oars suddenly spoke.
Li Huowang frowned but did not reply. His eagle-like eyes continued scanning the pitch-black surroundings.
“Lord, I know that it’s not a good thing to kill and loot on the waters. I never joined my dad when he engaged in those activities,” the nervous youth tried to explain. “Actually, I want to go to the capital to take the examination and become a government official; I’m already fed up with this place. Lord, where are you going? I’m very familiar with this area and can lead the way for you.”
This finally caught Li Huowang’s attention, and he looked down at the youth rowing the boat. “How much do you know about the Nunnery at Henghua Mountain?”
This was their next destination, and there was a chance that he could learn something about it. After all, Henghua Mountain should not be too far away from this lake.
“Nunnery? I know about it. I met the nuns there once when I was working with my older brother and we were about to finish a deal on the boat. However, at the last moment, my brother decided not to go through with it,” explained the youth. “At that time, he told me this: Based on our great-grandfather’s command, we cannot rob these three groups—black-clothed nuns, bald heads rearing birds, and drum-wielding deities.”
“Is there anything special about how the nuns look?” asked Li Huowang.
“They are very fat. Just one of them is probably three times my weight. Also, they are very lazy. They would rather sit than stand, and would lie down at any given opportunity,” replied Yuan Fu. “Also, they release this extremely dirty and vile stench around them. Once, when one of those nuns took off her shoes, I could smell the stench from the adjacent boat. Lord, are you looking for these nuns? I can show you the way.”
Fat, lazy, smelly. It was quite difficult for him to associate these descriptors with nuns.
Li Zhi said that they could be considered somewhat good people? But does this world even have these so-called good people?
After everything he had been through, Li Huowang had serious doubts about this.
After drifting through the field of reeds for a long time, the vast expanse of the lake once again appeared before them. The small boats reached the shore just as the sun began to rise. They had actually spent an entire night on that island, from dusk till dawn.
When the sunlight illuminated their faces, they were finally able to release the heavy burdens in their hearts. Exhausted from a long night of rowing, they all panted and fell to the ground.
Li Huowang said, “Don’t rest yet. Go to the woods and gather some firewood, and then cremate these three people. Otherwise, they will start to rot.”
The rest of them looked toward their three drowned companions, then mustered their strength to stand up before walking toward the nearby forest.
However, Li Huowang stopped Xiaoman, who was clutching her arm. There was a large region on her right arm that had been torn apart, exposing her bloodied muscles to the air.
“Are you alright?” Li Huowang took out a pill from his waist and handed it to her.
But Xiaoman did not take the pill. “I’m fine. I’m lucky enough just to be able to survive. I’ll just use some wood ash to cover this small wound, and it will be okay.”
Having spent all this time together, Li Huowang had come to understand her unyielding personality and did not push further.
Soon, three large bonfires were built by the shore. Then, Li Huowang carried each of the three corpses and placed them in the flames.
Everyone watched as their companions, who had been alive just yesterday, were gradually engulfed by the flames.
The flames slowly burned out as the sun rose higher in the sky.
Once the flames died out, Li Huowang used his sword to poke through the ashes and broke down some of the larger bones into smaller pieces. Then, he packed the bones together with the ashes inside ceramic urns.
His mood grew more and more depressed as he looked at the ash-filled urns. The events of last night had left his mind in turmoil.
At that moment, Bai Lingmiao, with her eyes already covered, reached out with both hands to gently tug at his sleeves. She had come over upon sensing his unease and was trying to comfort him.
“I’m fine. There’s no need to comfort me,” Li Huowang said as he bent down to pick up the three urns before passing them to Simpleton.
Meanwhile, Yuan Fu was like a loyal dog as he stood beside Li Huowang. “Lord, do you want to rest for a while? If not, I can directly bring you to find the nuns.”
Hearing this, Li Huowang shook off the ashes on his sword, swung it in the direction of the voice, and then resheathed it in a single smooth motion.
“Let’s go,” said Li Huowang.
On the other hand, Yuan Fu’s eyes widened with disbelief as he clutched his bleeding neck. He opened his mouth to try and say something to Li Huowang’s departing figure, but only coughing noises came out.
Finally, he staggered a few steps behind before his body crumbled onto the floor, the life in his eyes slowly dissipating.
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