Chapter 88 - Rules
“Don’t move! Everyone, stay still!” Li Huowang’s voice rang out in the eerie bamboo forest, causing everyone to freeze in place.
They remained motionless while gazing at the row of bamboo tips above them, afraid that those things might pierce straight down.
"Stay still," said Li Huowang as he took a step forward with his right foot.
The others held their breath anxiously as they watched this scene. However, they all heaved a sigh of relief when they saw that there were no changes in the bamboo.
Then, Li Huowang took a few more steps forward and even circled around, but the bamboo remained the same, showing no changes.
“Could it... be that the bamboo in this wretched place just grows in a strange manner?” Puppy wondered out loud.
However, Li Huowang did not dare to gamble on whether that really was the case or not. He immediately shook the bell in his hand to summon a Wandering God and then commanded it to swiftly inspect the surroundings of the forest.
After a while, the Wandering God returned before Li Huowang and indicated that there were no issues. Only after this did Li Huowang’s apprehension reduce slightly.
However, he wasn’t relieved because of what the Wandering God had told him, but because that strange feeling like he was being watched had vanished.
Li Huowang did not immediately dismiss the Wandering God, choosing to continue deeper into the forest while it was still around. While the ringing of the bell caused everyone to feel dizzy, it was definitely better than being ambushed by the so-called Eighteenth Lunar.
“Stay close; let’s quickly pass through this forest,” said Li Huowang as he continued to shake the bell while walking deeper into the forest. At the same time, he flicked open the clasp of the leather bag, revealing the torture tools within. These objects gleamed with a cold light as they reflected the light given off by the glowing stones.
At this moment, everyone had gripped their weapons and held their breaths. They closely followed one another, scared to fall behind.
As time passed, the bamboo tips above them bent even more, with their tips eventually starting to touch the top of their horse carts. The sound of the bamboo tips scraping against the carriage roof was sharp and grating, making everyone feel even more oppressed. Even so, the Wandering God told them that there was no sign of any enemies.
As they walked through this bizarre bamboo forest, everyone felt as though they were traversing through a large mouth with the bamboo tips acting as the teeth.
Under such conditions, Li Huowang did not know how far they had walked either; the dizziness was causing him to lose the perception of time.
At that moment, he suddenly saw light in the distance.
An exit!
Excited, he swung his sharp sword and cut down an area of bamboo, allowing the sunlight to come in and illuminate the path.
The brightness of the sunlight made everyone squint instinctively due to how blinding it was. Based on the position of the sun, they could tell that it should be afternoon by now.
When they were finally able to see better and turned to look ahead, their eyes widened involuntarily; there was actually a village at the back of this peculiar forest.
In the distance, the rows of blue-tiled houses were scattered around and arranged irregularly. It was not that much different from the other villages that Li Huowang had seen along the way.
There was a clear pond by the entrance of the village. At this time, several young women were washing their clothes and chatting cheerily at the pond.
“Senior Li, are you sure this is the place? Did we make a mistake?" asked Xiaoman as she frowned.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang quickly recalled the location that Abbess Jingxin had given him, then stored the bell before heading toward the village.
“Follow closely, don’t let down your guard. Perhaps this is just an illusion created by the Eighteenth Lunar,” warned Li Huowang.
“The Eighteenth Lunar... could it be referring to a village?” Bai Lingmiao mumbled.
This thought had also appeared in Li Huowang’s mind. After all, the only piece of information he had obtained from the Abbess was that this evil being was red in color.
As they approached the village, the first to notice them were naturally the women washing their clothes. They picked up their clothes and whispered amongst themselves as they walked back toward the village.
Such a large group of people wearing black-veiled bamboo hats would naturally draw the villagers’ attention. Soon, groups of burly youngsters carried farming tools on their backs as they approached, watching them vigilantly.
"Outsiders! What brings you to our Wu Family Village? Are you just passing through or are you visiting relatives?" An elderly man with a goatee yelled from a distance.
Li Huowang's gaze swept over the faces of the villagers, but he couldn’t find anything abnormal. This seemed to be just like any other village, if judged based on their appearance alone.
Could the Eighteenth Lunar be here?
When the village chief shouted a second time, Li Huowang brought his people over, bowed to them, and opened his map. “Elder, may I trouble you to check if your village corresponds to the location on this map?”
"What? Asking for directions?" The old man took the map and conversed with the others in hushed tones.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang kept his eyes on their faces, observing their expressions.
After a while, the village chief handed the map back with both hands. "Outsiders, you have found the wrong place. The location on this map is about ten miles away from here."
We found the wrong place? Or have we not arrived yet?
Li Huowang quickly ran a mental calculation of the distance from the Benevolent Nunnery to here. Abbess Jingxin had said that it was about two hundred miles, and he was no machine either. Thus, it would be normal for there to be some human error.
“Haha, my apologies for the mistake, I actually found the wrong place.” Li Huowang clasped his hands together and once again bowed to the people before him. “However, the sun is about to set quite soon, Elder. Could you allow us to stay for the night? We have been on the road for half a month, and we are quite exhausted.”
“Well...” The chief looked at Li Huowang’s group warily.
“Elder, if it’s convenient, then please.” Li Huowang smiled and leaned over, grabbing the chief’s hand underneath his gown.
At that moment, the chief felt something on his palm causing his expression to change as he pinched it with his fingers.
“Alright, our west wing is still vacant. You guys can stay there. Remember, just one night,” said the chief.
Soon, the two horse carriages were advancing along the moss-covered stone path toward the village. Puppy leaned over and whispered, “Senior Li, isn’t this the wrong place?”
Li Huowang gave the villagers peeking out through their doors a sideways glance. “Perhaps it isn’t a mistake? What if this is the place we’re looking for?”
The most important lesson Li Huowang had learned after being out for so long was to always take the words of others with a grain of salt.
Since the Eighteenth Lunar could change into any shape, then a village was undoubtedly an extremely convenient place to hide in. He didn’t know whether or not it consumed people. If it did, then this village would probably be a suitable feeding point.
As they walked, he started to scan the entire village for any hint of redness. But even as they reached the village entrance, he found no trace of red.
Right as they reached the entrance, the village chief clasped his hands together and looked at them. “First, let me explain something. The Wu Family Village has many rules that are passed down from the previous generations, and they cannot be changed. You guys may stay the night, but you must follow those rules. If not, it would be better for you to leave now.”
“Rules?” questioned Li Huowang.
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