Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 137
>Chapter Title: Sword
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“Huff～Huff～” Li Huowang panted heavily as he arduously climbed the mountain, the oil-paper package in his hand swaying with every step.
Truth be told, the mountain path of Heng Hua Mountain was truly too treacherous, full of pits and hollows with no proper steps. Even after walking it several times, he still couldn’t get used to it.
His sweat-soaked clothes chafed against Li Huowang’s tender skin, causing it pain.
“Woof! Woof woof!!” Mantou, who had already reached the mountain gate of An Ci Nunnery, turned back toward his master, wagging his tail.
By the time he dragged his heavy legs up to the mountain gate, Li Huowang saw that Mantou was already squatting there waiting for him. A dog’s stamina was far better than a human’s.
“What are you following me for? Go on down!”
Clearly, Mantou didn’t understand Li Huowang’s words. He shook his tail and came up beside Li Huowang, affectionately licking his fingers with his tongue.
After resting against the women’s script couplet on the mountain gate for a bit and catching his breath, Li Huowang covered his nose and headed toward the roofless temple in the distance.
Inside An Ci Nunnery, things were the same as always: filthy, foul-smelling, and dilapidated.
However, the semi-rotted food swamp that had been there before was mostly gone now. No one knew if it had been eaten or simply rotted away completely.
“Why’d you bring a dog up here? The shit in the nunnery is all used to feed the pigs. You can’t use it to feed your dog.”
Nun Miaoyu, coming toward him, spoke to Li Huowang with clear wariness in her tone.
“Senior Sister, is Abbess Jingxin around?” Li Huowang stroked Mantou’s head with his hand.
Just as Nun Miaoyu opened her mouth, a greedy expression appeared on her face. “Give me a share of those pastries you’re holding, and I’ll tell you.”
“I’m afraid that won’t do.” Li Huowang smiled faintly, cupped his hands toward her, and turned to head toward Abbess Jingxin’s dwelling.
Winding through the dilapidated temple buildings, Li Huowang arrived before his destination.
The wall that should have been torn down had been rebuilt. Li Huowang spotted Abbess Jingxin inside the room.
Compared to before, she had returned to her normal state. Her fat once again puffed out her skin and flesh, and wrinkles had crept back across her forehead.
The only things that hadn’t changed were her two pitch-black eye sockets and her toothless mouth, caved inward.
“Ah～ mung bean cakes! From Fu Shou Shop down the mountain? Their mung bean cakes are one of a kind, along with their wife cakes and red bean paste mooncakes.”
As he watched Abbess Jingxin drag her mass of flesh along the ground with her grimy black hands and crawl toward him, Li Huowang handed over the pastries he was carrying.
Abbess Jingxin had no teeth. She grabbed the package of pastries and shoved them into her mouth, brown oil paper and all, grinding them with her red gums.
As he reached into Abbess Jingxin’s mouth to help peel away the oil paper, Li Huowang asked, “Abbess, thank you for your guidance before. Without your help, I fear I would have died long ago.”
At the moment, Abbess Jingxin wasn’t pausing at all, devoting her full attention to the pastries, her mouth stuffed full.
Li Huowang wasn’t in a hurry. He stood quietly to the side, watching her eat.
This package of mung bean cakes weighed three and a half jin. A normal family could make it last a long time, but it posed no challenge at all to the abbess.
When only a few pieces were left, Abbess Jingxin forced herself to stop. She wrapped up the remaining mung bean cakes in the oil paper and set them aside.
“Your master’s gone? Let me see.” Abbess Jingxin reached out her hands toward Li Huowang, nails black with filth in the crevices.
After carefully feeling around Li Huowang’s abdomen, she slowly withdrew them.
“Hmm, not bad. Your master is indeed gone. Those Ao Jing Sect folks really came through.”
Glancing at Danyangzi not far away, Li Huowang nodded in agreement. “Indeed. For this, I must thank you again, Abbess.”
“If you’re thanking me, why not buy more? Did you bring just three and a half jin of pastries to pick my teeth?”
Abbess Jingxin grumbled in dissatisfaction, picking up the remaining pastries again to greedily sniff them before stuffing them into the folds of her fat.
“Alright, next time I visit, I’ll definitely bring some.”
“That’s what you said. I’ll remember it. When it comes to food, I hate it most when people don’t keep their word.”
The tone of their conversation had clearly changed from before, becoming much more intimate.
“Right, Abbess, you had Junior Sister Bai pass a message asking me to come back. Is there something you need me to do?” As soon as Li Huowang said this, Abbess Jingxin fell into thought.
She pondered for a long time before speaking again. “Where are you headed next?”
“Taking the other senior brothers and sisters home.”
“And after that?”
“Finding a way to resolve the heart element.” Li Huowang’s tone was very calm when he said this, but also very resolute.
Abbess Jingxin wasn’t surprised at all by Li Huowang’s answer. “You child really are stubborn. Go ahead and look, then. Maybe once you’ve hit a brick wall, you’ll turn back.”
“Then we’ll talk after I hit that wall. If I’m forever stuck between reality and illusion, it’s not much better than being dead.”
“Hmm, well said, well said…”
Seeing her reaction, Li Huowang’s heart stirred. “Abbess… do you have any guidance on how to free myself from the Heart element?”
“What guidance could I have? If I did, my son wouldn’t be mad. Keep looking if you want; I won’t stop you. How about this—I’ll sell you a weapon for self-defense on the road.”
“A weapon?” Li Huowang followed Abbess Jingxin’s pointing hand toward the pitch-black corner of the wall, where a long sword leaned slantwise in the filthy spot.
Li Huowang walked over and gripped it. He nearly couldn’t lift it—the sword was very heavy.
Holding the sword, Li Huowang came before Abbess Jingxin and lightly drew the blade from its sheath. In an instant, an intensely concentrated baleful aura filled the entire room.
Some kind of heat wave surged repeatedly into Li Huowang’s head, making his eyes bloodshot and his body tremble uncontrollably. He felt something flowing endlessly from the hilt into his body.
Li Huowang used all his strength to slide the longsword back into its sheath. Everything slowly returned to normal as he panted with lingering fear.
“It’s from the military school. A bit of baleful aura is normal. For ordinary people, it’s easy for it to backfire on the wielder, but you’re a heart element, so this little bit can’t disperse your confusion.”
“This sword can kill people and slay spirits. Perfect for self-defense on the road. From now on, don’t use the [Great Thousand Record] anymore. It looks like it hurts.”
Li Huowang stared in shock at the longsword in his hand. Even with no knowledge of such things, that single moment told him this sword was extraordinary—definitely a treasure.
“Abbess, you just said you’re selling me this sword? But I can’t pay for it right now.”
No money? Then write an IOU. Thirty thousand taels of gold—with interest included. And also, just in case— I mean, just in case you truly find a way to free yourself from the Heart-Su, you must tell me.”
Li Huowang looked at the abbess before him with a very complicated expression. He could tell the earlier words were just for show; what she really wanted was that last part.
(End of chapter)