Chapter 327
Chapter 327
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 327
>Chapter Title: Good Fortune
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>Li Huowang stared at the seventy-nine Lifespan Pills floating in the bloodwater, his heart unable to calm down for a long time.
“What does it mean that he gave me these Lifespan Pills?”
Maybe he wanted Li Huowang to swallow them, or perhaps he wanted to explain why he had turned out like this.
This question was destined to have no answer, because this Ren Xiao was already dead—deader than dead could be.
With his sword pointed at the corpse in front of him, Li Huowang paused for a moment before swinging his blade down, dismembering the entire body of the Ren Xiao into eight pieces to ensure it couldn’t move again.
He then bent down, collected the seventy-nine Lifespan Pills into his gourd, and turned to the terrified elders.
“Don’t stop! Keep moving!”
The elders looked utterly exhausted, but their earlier nauseating actions left Li Huowang with no inclination toward respecting the old or cherishing the young.
If he hadn’t been unable to carry so many children by himself, he would have run them through with his sword one by one.
Under their slow shuffling, Li Huowang and the others gradually left the cave.
But just as they emerged from the cavern, Li Huowang began rummaging around in the dim space. He wanted to eliminate any future threats.
Since the other side had wanted to refine pills from infants, he surely had some pill recipe or cultivation method.
Li Huowang wouldn’t feel at ease without destroying it, fearing that after he left, another Ren Xiao would pull the same stunt.
As he searched, Li Huowang unexpectedly found something new—like a pill furnace the size of a watermelon, placed beside an enormous one.
Next to the furnace were numerous infant corpses. It looked like the Ren Xiao had used this large furnace for pill refining here.
The difference was that before refining pills, he first deboned them.
Looking at the small pill furnace, Li Huowang suddenly remembered a skill he had learned from Danyangzi back then: pill refining.
With these things, he could replenish the pills that had long since been used up.
Next, Li Huowang found some books written in strange script inside the karst cave.
These might have been the script used by the Ren Xiao. Not knowing if any contained recipes for refining pills from children, Li Huowang burned them all in one go.
After rummaging through everything, when a grayish-white stone slab appeared before him, a strange expression crossed Li Huowang’s face.
“Heavenly Book? Another Heavenly Book?”
“Where the hell do these things come from? Why are they everywhere?”
Li Huowang pondered this as he held the heavy Heavenly Book in his hands.
“Could it be that the Ren Xiao’s pill recipe for refining infants from before came from this?”
Li Huowang examined it closely and found that this Heavenly Book was identical to the one Danyangzi had obtained—no difference even in a single character. It was still a Buddhist scripture urging people toward goodness.
“You know what this thing is?”
Li Huowang asked Hong Zhong, who was peeking over from the side.
Hong Zhong smiled mysteriously, shaking his head lightly as he spoke.
“Hehe, don’t know. Hehe, don’t know.”
With a flick of his wrist, Li Huowang tossed the Heavenly Book into the icy underground river.
Hong Zhong panicked at the sight.
“Hey! Why’d you do that? This could be a real treasure! Quick, fish it out!”
“If it’s such a treasure, go fetch it yourself.”
With that, Li Huowang scooped up the wailing child on the ground and boarded the small boat they had arrived in.
The boat was tiny, and rowing upstream made it even tougher. It took several trips to ferry everyone to shore.
When Li Huowang returned to Cangshui County with a group of children and elders, the entire county exploded in an uproar.
Li Huowang’s appearance was utterly terrifying at that moment, but everyone’s attention was fixed on the crying children.
The families who had lost children always rushed to the front.
Those who found theirs knelt before Li Huowang in gratitude, while those who didn’t collapsed in grief, wailing loudly.
Magistrate Lou led the crowd forward to perform a grand salute to Li Huowang.
“Thank you, sir! You are Cangshui County’s greatest benefactor!”
“Don’t bother with the formalities yet—the matter isn’t over.”
Li Huowang then recounted the elders’ involvement to Magistrate Lou.
“What? So those elders were accomplices to the evil?”
Magistrate Lou stared at the elders in shock. He had thought they were among those rescued by the sir.
“According to Great Liang law, what would be the punishment for what they’ve done?”
Li Huowang eyed the terrified elders standing in place.
“They should be torn apart by chariots!”
Magistrate Lou’s eyes turned exceptionally cold.
“That’s drawing and quartering? Isn’t that a bit theatrical? Besides, they’re all so old—how about beheading instead?”
Magistrate Lou unusually pushed back.
“What are you saying, sir? What does a person’s age have to do with their crimes? A crime is a crime, regardless. If we spare them for their age, wouldn’t those infants in the underworld die even more resentfully?”
Li Huowang thought it over carefully before cupping his hands toward Magistrate Lou.
“Magistrate Lou is right. Carry on then. I’m off.”
Magistrate Lou quickly grabbed Li Huowang.
“Why so hasty, sir? Please give this official a chance to host a welcome banquet for you.”
Glancing at his tattered clothes and bloodstains, Li Huowang nodded.
“Fine. Haven’t slept in two days—I’ll rest up. Trouble Magistrate to have some clothes made for me.”
Back at the inn, Li Huowang collapsed into bed and passed out immediately. Even the intense pain throughout his body couldn’t overcome that overwhelming fatigue.
He didn’t know how much time passed before a “gurgle gurgle” woke him from hunger.
Rubbing his eyes, he looked out the window—it was still daytime, though he had no idea which day.
“Daoist, you slept a full day and night. That official came by earlier, but saw you sleeping and left.”
Li Huowang glanced at the grinning monk.
“You seem awfully happy?”
“Of course I’m happy! We did a good deed—a huge one! Shouldn’t we be happy about doing good?”
“Should, should.”
Li Huowang brushed it off, endured the pain as he sat up, stripped off his foul-smelling clothes, and changed into the new ones on the stool beside him.
Magistrate Lou had clearly put thought into it—the new robes matched exactly what Li Huowang wore: the same dark red, the same Daoist style.
And he hadn’t made just one; the tailor had made five identical sets.
“Heh, Magistrate Lou is considerate.”
Li Huowang remarked as he dressed.
Once dressed, Li Huowang headed to the backyard, ready to hitch up the carriage and leave.
“Daoist, that official still wants to treat you to a meal. You’re not going?”
“Nah, wastes time. With the trouble sorted, let’s head back to Yiling—long road ahead.”
To Li Huowang now, everything else was secondary.
Just as Li Huowang reached the backyard stable, he froze.
His carriage had been washed spotless, not a speck of mud on the wheels. The horse’s coat was sleek, clearly groomed with care.
All sorts of mountain goods and cured meats were piled around the carriage, while Mantou lay amid them, gnawing on a large bone.
“Woof woof!”
Seeing his master return, Mantou bounded over excitedly, tail wagging furiously. After a few days apart, he looked a whole lot plumper.
Looking at all this, the monk grinned again. He said to Li Huowang,
“See, Daoist? What did I tell you? Good people get good rewards, right?”