Chapter 163
Chapter 163
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 163
>Chapter Title: Unexpected Harvest
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
Li Huowang stuffed a slice of scorched golden mantou into his mouth with one hand, chewing slowly.
>
>
> His eyes stared blankly at the campfire before him as he pondered in his mind about any possible oversights for the road ahead.
>
>
> They were on the road to Siqi now, and beside them were three second-hand old carriages—obtained by selling off those camels and adding a bit of silver.
>
>
> To keep going on such a long journey, they couldn’t do without carriages.
>
>
> A chopstick holding several slices of steaming hot bacon was brought to Li Huowang’s mouth along with the noodles, waiting for him to open up.
>
>
> Li Huowang, brow furrowed slightly, shifted his head away a little. “I can eat by myself. No need to feed me.”
>
>
> “Senior Brother Li, how are you supposed to eat with just one hand? Let me feed you until it grows back. Right, how long until your hand grows back, anyway?”
>
>
> Hearing the concern brimming in Bai Lingmiao’s words, Li Huowang raised his right arm and looked at the empty sleeve cuff. A trace of bitter smile flickered in his eyes as he murmured, “It’ll grow back soon. Very soon.”
>
>
> “But it’s been three days since it got cut off. How come there’s not even a hint of anything?” Bai Lingmiao reached out and rolled up Li Huowang’s sleeve, peering at the healed incision.
>
>
> “It’s already the third day?” Li Huowang’s pupils contracted sharply, as if struck by a sudden realization. He shot to his feet and glanced around the barren Gobi, searching for something.
>
>
> He soon spotted his target and headed toward a large boulder in the distance.
>
>
> “Senior Brother Li, where are you going? The noodles are gonna clump up if you don’t eat now!”
>
>
> “I’m going to relieve myself. Don’t follow!”
>
>
> Reaching the giant rock that resembled a small hill, Li Huowang gazed out at the distant figures that had shrunk to mere specks before stepping into the rock’s shadow.
>
>
> Behind the boulder was nothing but barren earth—and that was exactly what Li Huowang wanted.
>
>
> Facing the massive stone, he sat down cross-legged, a hint of hesitation crossing his face. But in the end, he drew his sword and sketched a human figure onto the wall.
>
>
> “Mom, you’ve had it rough lately.” Li Huowang spoke softly to the figure on the rock.
>
>
> “Mom, I’m clear-headed now. Could you grab my phone for me? It’s her birthday today. I want to call her.”
>
>
> “Don’t untie me. You dial it for me—the second contact down is her number.”
>
>
> Pulling out a sharp little shovel, Li Huowang carefully traced the figure’s face. In short order, a crude yet somewhat familiar visage took shape before him.
>
>
> Li Huowang couldn’t draw to save his life; it looked awful. But to him, that mural was more beautiful than anything. “Happy birthday, Nana.”
>
>
> “Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~”
>
>
> All alone, Li Huowang smiled at the mural he’d drawn on the boulder, singing the tune softly and tenderly.
>
>
> The sound didn’t carry far before the Gobi’s merciless gale tore it to shreds.
>
>
> “Sorry, Nana. I can’t be by your side for your birthday this year. This is the best I can do to celebrate. I’ll make up the gift when I get the chance.” With a smile, Li Huowang reached out and gently caressed the mural’s face.
>
>
> With that said, Li Huowang leaned in and planted a soft kiss on the painting before pushing himself up to his feet with one hand.
>
>
> But the moment he turned around, he came face-to-face with a figure under a red veil—Bai Lingmiao’s second spirit. She had witnessed the entire scene, warm yet eerie.
>
>
> “Shut up.” Li Huowang threw the two words at her before turning and heading back toward the distant carriages.
>
>
> When he returned, he found the others had all eaten their fill and were chatting idly.
>
>
> Li Huowang reached over and took the bowl of noodles from Bai Lingmiao’s arms, setting it straight on the ground. With one hand gripping the chopsticks, he slurped them down noisily.
>
>
> After wolfing down more than half, a sharp metallic clink made his body tense up instinctively. He knew that sound.
>
>
> He looked up toward the source and saw it coming from Gouwa. The man sat on the ground, prying at something with his knife.
>
>
> Li Huowang stood and walked up behind him. “What are you doing?”
>
>
> Li Huowang’s voice made Gouwa jump. He turned to Li Huowang with an awkward grin and lifted the object from the ground.
>
>
> “Nothing much. Just seeing how fast we’re burning through coin, figured I’d scrounge up some extra for the group.”
>
>
> It was rows of old blackened copper coins, looking like they’d been burned recently. Li Huowang recognized the thing: the brass mask that had been on the face of the dwarf shadow puppeteer.
>
>
> He even remembered how Erbing had taken it and worn it on her own face.
>
>
> The mask of coins, charred black from the fire, was covered in fresh scratches. Clearly, Gouwa had been trying to pry the coins free for use.
>
>
> “I just couldn’t stand seeing it tossed in the ashes to waste. That’s over a hundred coppers, right? Too much waste to throw away, so I picked it back up.”
>
>
> “I wasn’t gonna pocket it or anything. Was gonna pry ’em loose and hand them over to Junior Sister Bai to hold. But damn, who knew these skinny little chains linking the coins would be so tough? Can’t budge ’em no matter what.”
>
>
> Li Huowang took the item and ran his hand over the coins, easily wiping away the soot.
>
>
> The inferno hadn’t harmed it in the slightest. Thin old chains threaded through the square holes in each coin, linking them into a bizarre coin mask.
>
>
> The coins were just like any ordinary ones—round outer rim, square inner hole, encircled by four large characters Li Huowang didn’t recognize.
>
>
> “Daoguang Tongbao.” Gao Zhijian translated it for Li Huowang.
>
>
> “Daoguang Tongbao?” Li Huowang had no idea what country’s money this was, and he didn’t care. What mattered was the intrinsic value of the thing itself.
>
>
> After some careful thought, Li Huowang called over Mantou and fitted the mask over its head to check for any problems.
>
>
> What happened next surprised him: even as Mantou shook its head vigorously and pawed at it right in front of him, Li Huowang felt like there was no dog there at all.
>
>
> That night, the dwarf had worn this mask to sneak up on him completely undetected. Without the second spirit’s warning beforehand, he might’ve fallen right for it.
>
>
> Later, when Erbing had worn it to hide in the crowd, he hadn’t been able to pick her out quickly.
>
>
> These two instances made it clear: this was some kind of artifact that concealed one’s presence.
>
>
> “This thing seems useful to me.”
>
>
> Li Huowang eyed it as his gaze gradually lit up. “This isn’t just useful. This is a huge boon to me!”
>
>
> He didn’t know why, but in this world, anyone with even a scrap of ability could spot that he was a heart elemental with ease.
>
>
> This thing might change all that. From now on, he wouldn’t be Tang Monk meat anymore!
>
>
> (End of chapter)