Chapter 215
Chapter 215
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 215
>Chapter Title: Yang Kid
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“Ploop~” Yang Kid closed his eyes and plunged his head heavily into the crystal-clear river water.
After shaking it vigorously a few times, he yanked it back up, a look of pure relief on his face.
He finished washing up and drinking all at once.
“The water here is so sweet.”
He wiped the droplets from his chin with his hand, picked up a bucket of water, and hurried back.
The long trek of training, plus no longer going hungry, had filled out his body. He was no longer as scrawny as he’d been back when he was a beggar.
His frame had some meat on it now, his face was no longer sallow, and he’d even shot up a bit in height.
“Morning, Brother Cao Cao.” Yang Kid greeted Gouwa, who was buzzing around a woman.
Seeing Gouwa too busy to respond, Yang Kid smiled and headed toward the pot.
He wasn’t some clueless kid anymore. The precocious boy knew exactly why Gouwa was being so attentive.
There was no fire under the pot yet—the others weren’t up. He’d have to wait until everyone woke before putting the noodles in.
After setting down the bucket, he grabbed a piece of firewood from under the pot and walked over to Chun Xiaoman, who was seriously practicing her swordplay nearby.
He stood beside the flashing glint of her blade and swung his own stick in imitation, full of focus.
He was so absorbed, he matched Chun Xiaoman’s concentration.
Seeing this, Chun Xiaoman flicked her wrist and thrust toward Yang Kid.
Yang Kid flailed in panic and stumbled backward, landing on the soft grass.
Chun Xiaoman, gripping her sword in one hand, said to Yang Kid sprawled on the ground, “Get up. Keep practicing. Just swinging on your own won’t cut it if you want to learn.”
There had been a time when Li Huowang sparred with her, but he was in no shape for that now.
Yang Kid nodded eagerly and thrust his stick at her.
He loved practicing swordplay and didn’t mind the hardship. Once he got good, even if he went back to begging, no one would dare bully him.
After practicing for a good while, as soon as he saw Bai Lingmiao climb out of the ox cart,
Chun Xiaoman sheathed her sword with a flourish. “Alright, go make breakfast. They’re all up.”
“Okay!” Yang Kid dashed back excitedly. But when he reached the pot, his features scrunched up.
Someone had taken over his job and was using a fire starter to light the fire.
It was a chubby woman, one of the ones Senior Brother Li had rescued from the bandit lair before.
Actually, back at the pass, a bunch of them had died because of those horsemen. She’d survived by luck.
“Move!” He shoved past her, snatched the fire starter, and reclaimed his spot.
The chubby woman didn’t get mad. She smiled shyly and said, “Hey, little fellow from back home, you’re here?”
Yang Kid had just tossed it out casually before, but now she was acting like they were from the same place.
He hated these women. They weren’t loyal at all.
Li Huowang had saved them, and they’d been eating and drinking on their dime for so long, but back at the pass, some had snuck away.
Worse, the ones left kept deliberately taking his chores.
That made these women especially grating to him, particularly this chubby one with the mole on her chin.
“Don’t call me fellow. We’re not from the same place.”
God knows why she just happened to be from the fake hometown he’d made up.
The chubby woman smiled, revealing a natural dimple on her left cheek.
She started helping out beside Yang Kid, chattering away at him.
“Hey, little fellow, what’s that big guy’s name? He’s so strong.”
Yang Kid glanced over and saw Gao Zhijian gritting his teeth as he hefted his giant halberd, veins bulging on his neck like blue snakes.
“What’s it to you?” Yang Kid’s voice carried a hint of irritation.
“You annoyed with me, little fellow?” The smiling woman reached out and picked at a smudge on his clothes.
“Don’t touch me!” Yang Kid’s sudden outburst made the chubby woman step back, looking hurt. “What’d I do? I finally meet someone from back home. I just want to get close.”
“I was sold off ages ago. First time seeing a real townsman.”
Seeing her like that, Yang Kid swallowed the harsh words on the tip of his tongue.
“Just stay out of the way from now on. Don’t steal my work.”
“Our benefactor’s hurt. I... I just want to help him out.”
Hearing this, Yang Kid looked toward the distant ox cart.
That’s where Li Huowang was staying. All the recent events flooded back into his mind, filling him with worry.
Senior Brother Li was their pillar. He absolutely couldn’t have anything happen to him.
Sparks from the fire starter ignited the dry grass in the pit, and the grass flames caught the firewood.
Yang Kid stood up, looked at the chubby woman, and tilted his chin. “You go fetch water.”
The chubby woman didn’t mind being bossed around by a kid so much younger. She nodded vigorously instead and turned to grab a bucket.
Yang Kid brushed the dirt off himself and walked anxiously toward the ox cart.
As he got close, he heard voices.
“What exactly are you trying to say? What do you want before you’ll leave with Peng Longteng?”
Yang Kid circled to the other side of the cart and saw Li Huowang leaning against the window.
Compared to his previous charred-black state, he looked much better now.
But that improvement was downright horrifying.
A head half-skinned, half-covered, dotted with scattered black scabs.
His lips had burned away, leaving his two rows of white teeth exposed, clacking open and shut.
It wasn’t just the gruesome look—he was staring bug-eyed at the empty air outside, mumbling to himself.
“Monk, help me out. Go ask him. Ask what unfinished business he has.”
“I know he’s pitiful. I sympathize too. But why’s he clinging to me?”
“Why isn’t he haunting Peng Longteng, the one who killed him?”
Suddenly, Li Huowang’s solitary eye snapped toward Yang Kid.
The sight made Yang Kid’s scalp crawl, his legs nearly bolting in panic.
He suddenly understood why Senior Brother Li’s cart was always kept so far from the rest of them.
Right now, Senior Brother Li was way scarier than any past evil spirit.
“Something you need?”
Yang Kid’s hands trembled, not knowing where to put them.
“L-Li... Li Senior Brother, you okay?” he asked, his voice laced with fear and concern.
Then he watched as Senior Brother Li ignored him completely and kept muttering to the empty air.
Deeply worried, Yang Kid shuffled back to the big iron pot, three steps at a time looking back, only for Gouwa to grab his shoulder.
“How’s Senior Brother Li?”
Yang Kid shook his head glumly. “I think Senior Brother Li’s illness is acting up again. Maybe we should find a doctor.”
“Pfft, what doctor can treat Senior Brother Li’s condition? Even that bald leper back then could only suppress it.”
Gouwa stood beside him, frowning as they racked their brains together.
“I still remember what that Black Tai Sui looked like when the old leper fed it to him, but where the hell do we find one of those now?”
(End of chapter)