Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 179
>Chapter Title: Village
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Bai Lingmiao followed closely beside Li Huowang, silently hurrying along the road while occasionally pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from both herself and Li Huowang.
Now that the three hottest days of summer were drawing nearer, the weather was growing increasingly hot and dry. Even traveling during the morning when the sun wasn't too intense, sweat kept pouring out nonstop.
After wiping away the sweat once more, Bai Lingmiao thought for a moment before speaking up with a suggestion to Li Huowang.
"Senior Brother Li, it's too hot in the afternoon. How about we rest this afternoon and set out early tomorrow morning?"
"Mm."
Li Huowang pulled the map out from the carriage and examined it anew.
They were still within the borders of Si Qi, so the old map hadn't been discarded and could still be used.
"No lunch at midday today. Let's hurry. There's a village up ahead; we'll stay there overnight."
The moment they heard there would be beds to sleep on, everyone perked up at once, their footsteps quickening.
After walking another hour, when everyone was parched and dry-mouthed, they finally spotted patches of cleared fields alongside the road.
Behind the fields lay a large cluster of black-tiled houses all joined together. The village had arrived.
"You can see flowers blooming along the edge of the fields. These flowers are such a vivid red."
Bai Lingmiao's eyes lit with delight as she started toward them, only for Li Huowang to yank her back.
"Don't go. Those flowers aren't right."
Li Huowang eyed warily the large blooms that curled inward before unfurling, their edges slightly crinkled and shrunken.
"These are other shore flowers."
He didn't recall who had told him, but in Li Huowang's memory, these flowers carried an eerie aura.
Li Huowang's words instantly created an awkward silence as everyone stared blankly, unsure what he meant.
"Haha, you're not as good as me—you got it wrong."
A bright, hearty child's voice rang out from nearby.
Everyone turned toward the sound and saw a barefoot boy grinning there, a bamboo basket even taller than himself slung on his back. He looked no more than seven or eight.
"These aren't other shore flowers. I'll tell you, these are crab flowers. My mom said you can't feed them to pigs—pigs get bellyaches from them and lose weight easily."
The boy reached into the basket on his back and drew out a sickle, casually hacking off a few crab flowers.
His dismissive manner made it clear he saw them all the time—likely a local from the village.
After pondering for a moment, Li Huowang walked over.
"Kid, what are you up to?"
"Cutting pig grass. My family has two pigs! They eat the pig grass I cut every single day. How many pigs does your family have?"
Upon learning that Li Huowang's family didn't have a single pig, the boy laughed so hard his mouth wouldn't close.
"Haha! Your family is so poor—not as well-off as ours."
"Yeah, my family's dirt poor. Do you live here? Can you take us to check it out?"
"Sure!"
Without a shred of caution, the kid led Li Huowang and the others straight into the village.
"By the way, is the war still going on?"
"War? No war. Third Uncle, who got conscripted before, has come back."
"Oh, that's good news. No war is best."
From such an innocent child, Li Huowang quickly pried every scrap of information with a few casual questions.
The village was called Qian Family Village, home to a few hundred souls—not too big, not too small.
The villagers farmed the fields in summer and foraged for mountain goods in the nearby woods during winter to scrape by.
In Si Qi, mountain villages like this were a dime a dozen—nothing special.
Such villages tended to be wary of outsiders, but under a barrage of copper coins, Li Huowang secured a temporary stay at the kid's home.
Inside a shabby guest room, Li Huowang set the two hefty swords down on the table, feeling a wave of relief wash over him instantly.
As he reached to unfasten the Heavenly Book from his waist, his hand met empty air.
Only then did Li Huowang remember—his Heavenly Book had been expended entirely during the previous clash.
"Sigh."
Truth be told, Li Huowang felt a twinge of regret.
The Heavenly Book demanded a steep price, but it required no training or cultivation.
Pay the corresponding cost, and you gained the corresponding power.
Without it, handling trouble now meant relying solely on the swords from the nun.
"Right, there's still this."
Li Huowang drew out the Fiery Robe True Scripture wrapped in white wax and began studying it intently.
For every gain, there was a loss—this thing was still unfamiliar; it would take plenty of practice.
Once he mastered it, he'd have another lifesaving tool in hand.
Bai Lingmiao entered carrying a plate of roasted sweet potatoes, saw that focused silhouette from behind, and quietly backed out.
Standing at the doorway with the plate of roasted sweet potatoes in hand, she paused to think before a sly smile crept across her face. She headed toward the room she shared with Chun Xiaoman.
"Sister Xiaoman, want some freshly roasted sweet potatoes?"
But the moment Bai Lingmiao stepped inside, she saw Chun Xiaoman clutching her stomach and retching into a spittoon.
Panic-stricken, she set down the sweet potatoes and hurried over to gently pat her back.
It took a good while of patting before Chun Xiaoman finally caught her breath, slumping on the bed's edge in lingering shock, one hand on her neck as she gulped air.
"Sister Xiaoman? Did you eat something bad? That doesn't make sense—we all eat from the same pot. How come you're sick and no one else is?"
Chun Xiaoman shook her head.
"It's nothing. Probably kicked off the quilt while sleeping last night and caught a summer chill."
"But when we sleep together, you never kick the quilt."
Seeing the puzzlement in Bai Lingmiao's eyes, Chun Xiaoman hurriedly added:
"Little sister, go to the kitchen and boil some ginger soup for me, alright? I beg you—I'm really suffering here."
"Alright then."
Only after watching Bai Lingmiao depart, glancing back every few steps, did Chun Xiaoman exhale in relief.
She then flung back the quilt on the bed, revealing a blood-red bamboo slip at once.
Heavenly Book—this was what Chun Xiaoman had found in that cave and secretly stashed away.
Having witnessed Senior Brother Li wield it multiple times, she knew full well what it signified.
Yet she'd clearly overestimated her own tolerance. The mere thought of those gruesome, horrifying rituals—"Urp~!"
In that instant, she finally grasped exactly what Senior Brother Li had endured before—and how immense the cost.
Even so, after the retching passed, Chun Xiaoman clenched her teeth and pressed on with her reading.
Compared to this agony, what gnawed at Chun Xiaoman more was owing favors to others.
She refused to accept it—every time trouble arose, it was always Senior Brother Li charging ahead, leaving her looking utterly useless.
Ever since she'd killed her own father, Chun Xiaoman had vowed never to be dead weight.
"Senior Brother Li can endure it—so can I!"
Chun Xiaoman seized the Heavenly Book with both hands and read on through gritted teeth.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen as she boiled the ginger tea, Bai Lingmiao gazed into the stove's flames, her face etched with worry.
"Vomiting like that, and she's been so off lately. Could she really be pregnant?"
"It can't be Senior Brother Li's—I sleep right beside him every night."
"Then whose could it be? Gouwa's? Gao Zhijian's? Or Sun Baolu's? But when did Sister Xiaoman ever..."
Bai Lingmiao pressed her thighs together, a flush rising to her cheeks.
Yet once the embarrassment faded, deep concern for her sister's plight welled up in Bai Lingmiao.
On a grueling journey like this, pregnancy would make traveling near impossible.
Lost in her fretting, she suddenly sensed someone standing right behind her.
Inhaling that scent identical to her own, Bai Lingmiao furrowed her delicate brows.
"What is it?"
Behind her, the two gods' red veil quivered faintly.
"Bring the drum. There's work to be done in the village."
PS: My grandma really told me, back when I was little, that crab flowers can't be fed to pigs.
(End of chapter)