Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 25
>Chapter Title: Forest Path
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“Clang~” The long sword clashed against the Heavenly Book, producing an ear-piercing friction sound that made everyone else in the room instinctively cover their ears and step back.
“Not even a mark on it. Changming’s sword isn’t up to the task. Isn’t he a sword cultivator? This blade shouldn’t be ordinary.” Li Huowang held the sword and pondered for a few seconds before gripping the hilt with both hands and swinging it down hard again.
He gritted his teeth and hacked away several times in a row. Finally, something changed—but not with the so-called Heavenly Book. The change came from the sword in Li Huowang’s hand.
With a “clang~”, the blade split in two at the point of impact, turning the perfectly good sword into a broken one.
Staring at the broken sword in his hand, Li Huowang was momentarily stunned. The weapon he’d just acquired was gone, just like that.
Glancing around, Li Huowang hurried over and snatched the sword from the dead Changren’s grasp. “Good thing there’s a spare.”
“Shing—” The sword slid into its sheath. Li Huowang circled the Heavenly Book, pondering his next move.
He’d originally planned to destroy this so-called Heavenly Book, but now it seemed the thing really was something special. Hard to say it wasn’t some kind of treasure.
Since he’d resolved to stop wallowing in self-destruction, he naturally wouldn’t toss away something so valuable. “No matter what, I’ll hold onto it for now. Worst case, I can pawn it for some silver.”
As for the unrealistic notion of achieving immortality with it, Li Huowang had completely abandoned that. He’d seen what happened to those who’d tried before. He had no desire to end up the same.
Li Huowang grunted with effort as he hugged the stone slab and weighed it. It was far heavier than he’d imagined, but still within what he could bear.
After wrapping it in cloth and slinging it onto his back, he turned to the others waiting nearby. “Let’s go. We’re leaving this place.”
Lamp oil was splashed into Danyangzi’s foul-smelling cavern. Flames raced along the oil across the floor, igniting everything flammable in the room—including Changming, Changren, and Xuanyuan on the ground.
The blaze was fierce. Watching the scene, Li Huowang finally understood that human corpses were natural kindling.
As they retraced their steps, they set fire to every room they passed. The scorching flames flickered and began to merge, consuming everything burnable within Clear Wind Temple and blackening everything that wouldn’t burn.
“Cough cough~” Thick smoke started making the others cough. Everyone quickened their pace.
After the time it takes to burn three incense sticks, they all stood under the sunlight, silently watching the smoke billowing from Clear Wind Temple’s entrance.
The dense smoke roiled upward, enveloping all the darkness and evil within Clear Wind Temple, vanishing into the bright sky.
Li Huowang tilted his head back and chuckled again. Sword and stone slab on his back, he turned toward the distant forest path. “Let’s go.”
The others, laden with food, followed. Unbeknownst to them, Li Huowang had become their leader.
Gazing at the approaching forest path, Li Huowang’s mood was no longer downcast.
“Ah, this place looks so strange. Who knows what people and events lie ahead? Suddenly, I’m kinda looking forward to it.”
Sunlight warmed his face as he breathed in the fresh air. His spirits began to lift.
“Senior Brother Li, slow down. My eyes hurt.”
Li Huowang turned to see Bai Lingmiao clutching her eyes in the sunlight.
He went to her, cradling her face and examining her closely. To his surprise, he could see the blood vessels behind her pupils through their centers—the pinkish hue was just the reddish vessels lit up by the light.
“This… must be some kind of defect,” Li Huowang guessed to himself.
He wasn’t a doctor and didn’t understand these things, but he knew enough. He recalled that most of those old albino fortune-tellers and masseurs were blind.
It seemed Bai Lingmiao’s condition made her eyes defective, far more fragile than normal.
This wouldn’t do. Li Huowang tore a strip from the hem of his cyan Daoist robe and gently blindfolded her eyes. “From now on, whenever it’s sunny out, cover them like this.”
“But… then I won’t be able to see.”
“No problem. I’ll lead you.” Li Huowang took her soft right hand and led the others at a brisk pace into the woods.
After stumbling a few steps, Bai Lingmiao fell into a jog alongside Li Huowang.
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“Thud thud thud~” Lv Zhuangyuan rapped his tobacco pipe hard against the playbox, his wrinkled face creased even further.
Once he’d knocked out the clogged black tobacco shreds, he stuffed in fresh ones from the pouch, lit them with a fire starter.
After a satisfying draw, he shouted toward the woods ahead of the horse. “Little pup! You done yet?”
“Almost! Almost!” came a boy’s reply from that direction.
“Lazy ass grinding shit and piss everywhere. Taking forever to drop a load. Folks’ll think I’m starving you, feeding you clay!” Lv Zhuangyuan grumbled at his youngest son between drags.
His gaze shifted to the back of the cart, taking in his entire troupe on the forest path. Besides the cart hauling costume and instrument boxes,
there was his eldest son’s family of three, plus two distant nephews from the village. The troupe might be small, but these were the assets he’d scraped together over the years.
It was this little play troupe that kept his whole family fed in these hard times.
“Dad, water and flatbread.” Lv Juren offered his father the food and water gourd.
“Eat what? It ain’t mealtime! You think grain grows on trees? You know the price of food these days? Your girl’s two and you’re still treating you like a babe! So damn thoughtless!”
Chewed out thoroughly, Lv Juren didn’t get mad. He just grinned dopily, stepped back, and let his wife take the items.
“How’d it go? Scolded again? You’re such a glutton for it.” Luo Jinhua stowed the food and tickled their darling daughter perched on the box.
“A couple scoldings don’t hurt. Ever since Mom died, Dad’s been like that.”
“Sigh, head of the house, did you tell Dad what I said last night?”
“Wait till things settle. No gigs lately, so money’s tight.” Lv Juren’s face fell at the topic.
“Tch! So tight you can’t spare coin for granddaughter’s clothes? She’s still in costume rags.”
“Costumes… actually could—”
“Aaah! Ghosts!!!” A terrified shriek cut off the couple’s talk, tensing the entire troupe.
Moments later, the others saw a bare-assed boy come charging out of the woods, bawling and flinging himself into Lv Zhuangyuan’s arms.
“Ghosts my ass! Ghosts in broad daylight? Pull up your damn pants!”
Lv Zhuangyuan scolded his youngest even as he shielded Lv Xiucai behind him, pipe gripped tight, eyes warily fixed on the woods.
Shadows stirred within. Someone was coming.
(End of chapter)