Chapter 269
Chapter 269
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 269
>Chapter Title: Pi County
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When Bai Lingmiao delivered those two bowls of rice, Li Huowang saw the two wheat harvesters trembling with excitement, constantly bowing to her in thanks and saying something.
Compared to Li Huowang's group, who still needed wild vegetable soup to cut the greasiness, those two wheat harvesters had no such issue. With nearly devout expressions, they held the bowls in both hands and ate that bowl of rice with preserved meat one bite at a time.
The rice in the bowls was quickly polished off, but the two of them carefully picked out the preserved meat and wrapped it up in cloth, clearly planning to save it for later.
The old wheat harvester ran to the stream by the field, washed the two bowls spotless, then revealed his missing teeth and grinned as he brought the bowls back to Li Huowang.
The old wheat harvester seemed to want to say something, but his tongue-tied mouth couldn't form the words. In the end, Li Huowang spoke first.
"Old timer, with such bountiful harvests in the Great Liang fields, why are you still out here working the land at your age?"
"That... that's all the landlord's. Good harvest or not, it ain't got nothin' to do with us folks. I don't get even half a grain of rice."
After the old wheat harvester spoke, it was as if the barrier between them had shattered. He smiled at Li Huowang once more.
"Taoist Master, thanks for your grain. So much oil and fat in it. One meal fills you up like three."
"No need to be polite. It's just a meal. Old timer, have you been threshing around these parts? Ever been to Pi County?"
Li Huowang finally revealed his true purpose.
"Course I been there! Plenty o' times! Heck—that Pi County grain land? These past years, I've threshed it all!"
Once they got onto a topic he knew well, the wheat harvester's confidence surged back. His two hands, thick with calluses, gestured animatedly in the air.
"I'll tell ya, cuttin' wheat's a real skill. Them young hotheads got no knack for it, can't keep up with me! Take how ya grip the sickle handle—just right, not too high, not too low. Gotta be perfect-like~"
Li Huowang looked up and cut him off.
"Old timer, have you been to Pi County recently?"
"Yep! Was there just before. I'm headin' back to pick up my nephew, or else I'da threshed all them Pi County grain fields myself! Now, cuttin' wheat, ya see—that takes real technique—"
"You really went there? Didn't you notice anything different about the people there?"
Right now, Li Huowang wasn't worried that something might be wrong there—he was afraid the problem might not be big enough.
If the issue wasn't severe enough to draw the Surveillance Bureau, then he'd have come all this way for nothing.
And he needed to clarify the timeline too. If the Surveillance Bureau had already been there, it'd be a wasted trip.
Seeing Li Huowang's expression grow grave, the old wheat harvester grew nervous. He scratched the back of his head and mumbled,
"The folks there? Nothin' different 'bout 'em. Paid us full, fed us decent. But they all like stayin' inside, don't come out much. Leave the money an' food outside the door for us to grab ourselves."
Acting all jittery, pale-faced, and preferring to hole up indoors? Li Huowang silently analyzed these three odd details in his mind.
No matter what, it looked like the Surveillance Bureau hadn't arrived to handle it yet.
Remembering everything they'd encountered before, Li Huowang probed further.
"Anything else? Any changes in their appearance compared to normal folk?"
"No changes. Folks is folks—what's there to differ? Still just one nose, two holes."
Li Huowang knew full well that people were all the same, but he suspected the ones living in Pi County might not be people at all.
"Whatever's going on there, I hope it's big enough." Li Huowang thought to himself.
Seeing the other man fall silent, the old wheat harvester thought for a moment, then turned to head toward his nephew.
But halfway there, he turned back.
"Oh right, one more thing I forgot. In Pi County, they sure know how to beat kids—real fierce-like!"
"Just after I collected my pay, passin' under a window, heard a kid inside cryin' somethin' awful~ Tsk tsk tsk, broke yer heart to hear it~"
Li Huowang stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Is that really just beating kids? Or are they doing something else with the children?"
His mind couldn't help recalling how the water bandits had once used boys and girls to summon the River Earl. For this utterly mad world, Li Huowang always planned for the worst.
And after hearing this, a new worry stirred in his heart.
He wanted the trouble in Pi County to be big enough to attract the Surveillance Bureau. But he didn't want it so big that it put them all in danger.
By the time Li Huowang snapped back to reality, the old wheat harvester was gone, and night had fallen.
Li Huowang shook his head and stood to wash up by the stream at the field edge.
"The more I think, the more tangled it gets. Whatever—I'll see the situation there first and plan accordingly."
The two wheat harvesters parted ways the next day. After all, Pi County's wheat was all harvested, and it wasn't on their route—they were off to thresh elsewhere.
Days passed one by one. They met other fellow travelers on the road, and Li Huowang always found ways to probe them for info on Pi County.
Unfortunately, these people either knew nothing or said there was a plague in Pi County and advised Li Huowang's group not to go. No useful information came of it.
The one relief on the road was running into not a single horse bandit or robber. Who knew if the Great Liang's bandit purges were finally working.
Finally, amid Li Huowang's anxious mood, they arrived at Pi County.
"Is this Pi County?" Li Huowang stood on a hillside, gazing down at the square county town below with his fully healed new eyes.
It was an overcast day, the whole sky a dull gray. Under such lighting, the entire Pi County looked exceptionally eerie.
Seeing the shape of the town, Li Huowang finally understood why it was called Pi County.
Because the county town's rough outline formed the character for "pi."
"This place looks off just at a glance. Everyone, stay sharp."
With that to the others, Li Huowang set off toward this so-called Pi County.
Just inside the county walls, Li Huowang sensed something wrong. Compared to the last county town, there were far too few people here.
The streets were empty and deathly quiet. The occasional passerby hurried along with their head down.
Li Huowang felt many gazes upon him, all peeking from behind windows. Glancing around, he could picture plenty of folks with their butts sticking out, sneaking looks at his group of outsiders.
Just then, a disheveled woman in a hemp skirt, her hair in a bun and cradling a child, approached from the opposite direction. Her face was gaunt and worn.
As she drew near, she clearly startled at the sight of Li Huowang and the others. Biting her lower lip, she clutched her fussing child tight and scurried past along the eaves.
At the moment she was closest, Li Huowang's eyes narrowed slightly as he inexplicably sniffed the air.
"Woof." Mantou sat on the ground, red tongue lolling, pawing at Li Huowang's hem with his white front paws.
Li Huowang patted the dog's head.
"You smelled it too, huh? Yeah, blood and rust on her."
(End of chapter)