Chapter 255
Chapter 255
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 255
>Chapter Title: Mutton
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The ox cart's wheels, which had been still for so long, began rolling again, carrying them toward the border between the Liang Kingdom and Qingqiu.
On the road, Gouwa shaded his eyes with his hand and kept fanning his sweaty face.
"It's such a hot day, Senior Brother Li. Why not just leave tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow will be hot too. What about the day after? That'll be hot as well. Should we wait until autumn then? If it's that great over there, why'd you even come along? Wouldn't it be better to stay with Baolu and herd sheep?"
Hearing Li Huowang's jab, Gouwa glanced at the remaining women, chuckled sheepishly, and said nothing more.
He wasn't that stupid. His wife was practically in the bag—why stay behind? No meat was better than a wife. Besides, traveling with Senior Brother Li meant he'd never go hungry for it.
Noticing Gouwa's gaze, the pear-faced woman first glanced at Li Huowang, then shot Gouwa a coy look as if bashful.
"Hoo~" Li Huowang slowly unrolled the sheepskin paper in his hand, examining the so-called Immortal Capital Subduing Seal. This was one of the few unexpected gains from their trip beneath Qingqiu, aside from the Black Tai Sui.
"Senior Brother Li, what's that?" Zhao Wu asked from the driver's seat.
"A cultivation method for supernatural powers."
Li Huowang's words immediately drew burning gazes from the others.
"So, have you tried practicing it, Senior Brother Li?"
"Nope, not daring to. It was pried from its mouth by force, after all. Better safe than sorry—who knows if it's tampered with."
He was all too familiar with tampering in cultivation methods. That's how he'd escaped from Clear Wind Temple back then. He had no desire to end up like Danyangzi.
Li Huowang pulled out the copper coin sword from behind his back, toyed with it in his hands for a bit, then sheathed it again.
"Hmm, need to find someone to test it on."
"Senior Brother Li! Me! Pick me!" Li Huowang looked up to see it was the sole surviving Daoist boy, Yang Xiaohai, his eyes alight with eagerness.
"Do your job. Stay out of grown-up business."
Something this risky couldn't be tested on their own. He needed someone whose status fit just right—someone whose problems wouldn't matter.
"Senior Brother Li, quick, look at this!" Chun Xiaoman reached into the tent and pulled out a gold box inlaid with agate and gems. The gold ingots inside looked awfully familiar.
Li Huowang paused. He remembered this—it was Sun Baolu's mother's dowry. She must've slipped it in last night.
He understood her intent. He'd restored Sun Baolu's body to normal, so this gold was her thanks.
He glanced back. The tents were long gone, replaced by vast green fields.
"Whatever. It's a kind gesture—might as well accept it. It'll make good traveling money. Once we reach the Liang Kingdom, we can set up a proper household."
The next stretch of road was peaceful. Perhaps because Qingqiu was so vast and sparsely populated, or maybe their luck had finally turned after so much misfortune—no incidents occurred.
A full month passed like this. Even though the three hottest summer months were over, the weather grew hotter still.
An ugly bird's cry pierced the sky. Li Huowang, studying the sheepskin map, glanced up at the fuzzy speck overhead before returning to the map.
He held it out to Bai Lingmiao beside him.
"Can you read it? Do you remember where your Niuxin Mountain is?"
Though the Liang Kingdom map from Qingqiu wasn't detailed, it showed the rough layout.
They were nearing Liang territory—it was time to pinpoint their destination.
"This isn't right... and this doesn't match either." Bai Lingmiao stared uncertainly at the simple lines snaking across the map.
Picking her hometown out from these crude strokes was understandably tough. Not her fault—Li Huowang got lost on it himself sometimes. It was just too rudimentary.
Li Huowang folded the map away, thinking to himself: "Looks like once we're in Liang, we'll need a new map and to ask locals about Niuxin Mountain."
"Right, weren't you from Liang? Where exactly?" Li Huowang turned to Gouwa.
"No worries, I don't need to go back. I was raised on scraps from every house. Saves the villagers some grain if I stay away."
Gouwa grinned, utterly unenthused about returning home. His eyes were glued to the pear-faced woman beside the cart.
Li Huowang saw through it but said nothing. He eyed the sun overhead.
"About time for lunch. We're nearly out of Qingqiu—let's slaughter a sheep."
Everyone perked up at that, grinning ear to ear. Meat wasn't scarce in Qingqiu, but they'd been poor their whole lives—they could never get enough.
Li Huowang wasn't being extravagant. Liang clearly lacked Qingqiu's endless grass for grazing. Better eat them now before they starved en route.
"Baa~~ Baa~~" Gouwa dragged an old sheep by the horns from the flock toward the distant riverbank.
After so many sheep on this journey, everyone knew the drill: bleed it first, skin it, then gut it. Simple steps.
The pale sheep carcass was rubbed with salt and spices, then skewered on the twelve-foot-long halberd and roasted between two carts over a fire.
If Peng Longteng saw her weapon abused like this, she'd probably rise from the dead in rage.
Watching the dried sheep dung blaze below and the sizzling, oily whole roast above, Gouwa licked his lips with a chuckle.
"Heh heh heh, this here's turning the original broth into the original meal. Pure bliss."
Chun Xiaoman swatted the back of his head, and Gouwa shrank his neck before heading toward the women gathering wild veggies.
By the time the roast was done, so was the veggie-sheep-offal soup on the other side. Greasy meat paired perfectly with the light broth.
Everyone clustered in groups on the grass, digging into the feast.
Gouwa cracked open his sheep's head with a grin, yanked out the long tongue, and dropped it into the pear-faced woman's veggie bowl.
"Hong'er~ Here, saved this just for you. Sheep tongue."
The woman called Hong'er bashfully cradled her bowl, nibbling daintily at the tongue with her fingers.
She made no objection as Gouwa sidled up close with his skinny frame.
Meanwhile, Yang Xiaohai angrily refused the round-faced woman's plea for his sheep tail.
From the ox cart, Zhao Wu watched the scene, a flicker of envy deep in his eyes.
But a glance at his own limp limbs drew a soft sigh from him. He turned his full attention to his bowl of veggie-sheep-offal soup.
(End of Chapter)