Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 164
>Chapter Title: Arrival
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“Clink clink clink.” The sound of copper coins clashing rang out as the copper coin mask settled over Li Huowang’s face.
Sniffing the distinctive smoky scorch on the copper coin mask, Li Huowang felt an unprecedented sense of security.
“Once we reach Anci Nunnery, let the abbess and the others take a look. If even they can’t see through it, then this thing’s worth a fortune.”
Li Huowang stood up with the mask on, a hint of excitement in his voice as he shouted to the others behind him, “Let’s go! Hurry to Heng Hua Mountain!”
Bao Tie’s carriage wheels started rolling again, heading toward Siqi.
As they drew closer to the lake-dotted, river-veined lands of Siqi, the roadside vegetation burst back to life, and even the air grew humid.
However, the journey back wasn’t smooth sailing. Siqi’s border defenses grew increasingly tight.
Fortunately, Siqi’s border with Hou Shu stretched long, and with some border troops redeployed, their defenses couldn’t cover everything.
Seizing a gap during a border troop rotation, Li Huowang and the others slipped from Hou Shu back into Siqi.
One crisp morning, Li Huowang was tightly bound to a tree with arm-thick chains while his fellow disciples silently watched him rave.
After so many episodes, they’d grown accustomed. They weren’t as shocked as before, having come to understand his condition all too well.
After a while, clarity returned to Li Huowang’s eyes. He looked up at the bright sun overhead, then at the lush green trees by the road, and slowly let out a breath.
No matter what they’d faced on the road, they were almost there.
“Let’s have lunch. Once we eat, we move out. Pick up the pace, and we should reach Heng Hua Mountain before dark.”
Li Huowang said this to Bai Lingmiao as she untied him.
Glancing at Li Huowang’s left sleeve—which showed no change after all these days—Bai Lingmiao’s eyes flickered with sorrow.
She turned, picked up the wooden bucket, and headed to the nearby river to fetch water.
The clear river water was pristine, but the bucket—and Bai Lingmiao’s tears—plunged into the stream together.
“You feel sorry for Senior Brother Li?”
Chun Xiaoman, who’d come along, spoke softly.
“He’s crippled now! That hand of his is never coming back!”
Bai Lingmiao choked out the words.
Chun Xiaoman seemed about to offer some comfort but found herself at a loss for where to start.
Seeing her this heartbroken meant she’d fully claimed Senior Brother Li as her man.
“This time it was just one arm, but what if there’s a next time? Why is it so hard for us just to go home?!”
Watching her closest friend Bai Lingmiao break down like this, Chun Xiaoman felt the pain echo in her own chest.
Though Li Huowang hadn’t explained it to them, Chun Xiaoman could tell from traveling together that the red bamboo slip at his waist was traded for by sacrificing parts of his body for supernatural powers.
As long as that thing stayed with Li Huowang, the troubles piling on him would only grow.
Chun Xiaoman’s heart softened as she watched Bai Lingmiao grow even more distraught. She pulled her into a hug.
At root, it all came down to their lack of strength. If they had the power to handle this easily, they wouldn’t be in this mess.
But convincing Senior Brother Li to toss the bamboo slip? Near impossible. Sure, the cost was steep, but so was the power.
She steeled herself inwardly. “If worse comes to worst, I’ll have Senior Brother Li teach me how to use that bamboo slip.”
If anyone could use it, why not her?
Bai Lingmiao and Senior Brother Li were both people she cared about deeply. Seeing either hurt pained her.
And she’d already sworn off marriage anyway, so it didn’t matter for her.
“If it were my hand that got severed…”
Chun Xiaoman glanced down at the heartbroken Bai Lingmiao, then at her own hands covered in black fur.
“That’d be fine too!”
After whispering comforts for a bit, the two resumed fetching water. The others were waiting for their meal—they couldn’t delay the journey.
The wooden bucket dipped back into the cool water, filling up.
“Wait.” Chun Xiaoman dipped her furry hand in the water and gently wiped at the tears in Bai Lingmiao’s eyes.
“There’s a bit of dust here. Let me clean it off.”
“Thanks, Sister Xiaoman.”
“No need to thank me—we’re sisters. One day, I’ll be godmother to your kids.”
Chun Xiaoman had just grinned and said this when Bai Lingmiao’s expression turned to horror.
“Sister Xiaoman! Look behind you!”
Chun Xiaoman’s hand shot to her sword hilt. She whipped around to see corpses bobbing horizontally in the clear river water, drifting slowly toward them.
Soon, everyone had gathered at the riverbank, staring silently at the bodies floating by.
Judging by their clothing, these were Siqi soldiers. There must’ve been fighting upstream.
In such chaotic times of war, life for the common folk was miserable. Mixed among the soldier corpses were plenty of ordinary people, their eyes brimming with despair.
“So many floating in the water. How many must’ve died up there?”
Gouwa leaned against a tree trunk and sighed.
“Guess we can’t drink river water anymore. Have to stick to well water from now on.”
While the others fretted over that, Li Huowang pondered something else.
“You’ve all seen plenty of corpses. Don’t you think these look too fresh?”
Li Huowang’s words drew everyone’s eyes to the details of the bodies.
Unless they’d died that very day, corpses in water usually looked horrifying—nothing like this.
“Yeah, look—these dead folks still have color in their faces!”
“If they could move, they’d look just like the living.”
Li Huowang eyed the scene, his gaze narrowing. These corpses filled him with a deep unease.
“Were they killed by some special power to end up like this? Has some other sect gotten involved in this mortal war?”
“Or am I overthinking it? In this world, maybe wars with bizarre sects involved are the normal ones?”
After mulling it over by the river for a while, Li Huowang led the others away.
Perhaps because of all the corpses, everyone’s mood hung heavy. No one spoke the whole way to the town at the foot of Heng Hua Mountain.
When the familiar townscape—visited several times before—came into view again, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
“Senior Brother Li, it’s getting late. You still heading up the mountain? Or should we wait till morning after breakfast?”
“No rush.” Li Huowang stepped into a pastry shop wafting with sweet aromas.
When he emerged, he had a towering stack of pastry boxes on his back. He’d nearly bought the place out.
“I’m off. You all stay at the old inn—it’ll be easy to find you later. Oh, where’s Gouwa? I just saw him.”
“He went to the outhouse.”
Just then, Gouwa strolled out from a nearby alley, looking quite relieved.
“Heh, this place’s outhouse is spotless. Not a single fly or maggot in sight.”
(End of chapter)