Chapter 370
Chapter 370
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 370
>Chapter Title: Double Joys Descend
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Chapter 370: Double Joys Descend
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> As the rooster crowed, the bustling Silverling City gradually awoke. The quiet streets slowly filled with pedestrians, donkeys, and horses.
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> Everyone was busy with their own affairs. No one would notice the excited red-robed Daoist sitting on the tiles of an inn, and likewise, no one could understand Li Huowang's mood at this moment.
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> “Daddy?” Sensing something unexpected, Li Sui tentatively touched Li Huowang’s rapidly beating heart with her two tentacles.
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> Even though an hour had passed, Li Huowang still couldn’t calm down. He kept flipping the letter in his hand over and over, reading its contents.
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> No one could understand what this letter meant to him. It meant he wouldn’t be trapped in pain and confusion forever. His life wasn’t filled only with suffering and despair—he still had hope!!
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> As long as he could find a way to escape the hallucinations from the North Wind. As long as the bitterness finally turned to sweetness, then all the suffering he’d endured these years would be worth it!
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> He could live like a normal person too, spending a peaceful lifetime with the one he loved!
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> It was right at this moment that the persistent death wish that had always lingered in Li Huowang’s heart completely vanished like smoke. At this moment, he had a goal—his one and only goal. He couldn’t die. He had to live! Live to escape the confusion of the Heart Elemental!
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> “Huowang, why’d you run up to the roof?” Bai Lingmiao’s words pulled Li Huowang’s mind back sharply.
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> He flipped over and leaped down, hugging her tightly. With excitement, he stared at her delicate face. “There’s a way now! There’s a way!”
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> Not only had his own goal become clear, but Bai Lingmiao’s problem had been solved too. This was truly double joy descending.
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> Jixiang had said in the letter that he’d found connections in the military school, and they had a way to dispel the baleful aura!
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> “What exactly happened? What madness are you on about now?” Bai Lingmiao asked, thoroughly puzzled.
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> Li Huowang shook his head gently and pecked her pink lips. Bursting with excitement, he said: “Come on! Pack our things. We’re heading to the capital!”
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> In Bai Family Village, a crowd dragging along children was gathered around the Bai family hall, watching the spectacle.
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> Lv Zhuangyuan had completely shed his usual slick and roguish demeanor. He sat imposingly on the grand master’s chair. Before him knelt five boys of varying heights, each holding a cup of tea.
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> The tallest one spoke first. “This disciple, Zhan Yuansheng, voluntarily joins Master Lv Zhuangyuan’s troupe to learn the pear garden trade. All silver earned during this period belongs entirely to the master. In case of natural disasters or man-made calamities, each shall accept their fate. Whoever selfishly runs away from home or disobeys shall be beaten to death without mercy!”
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> After speaking, he offered the tea in his hands to Lv Zhuangyuan. Lv Zhuangyuan suppressed his delight, took a sip, and the youth knelt down, kowtowing three resounding heads before Lv Zhuangyuan and solemnly calling out “Master.”
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> Then the second, the third, all the way to the fifth disciple. Once it was done, Lv Zhuangyuan, still maintaining his dignified pose, spoke in a profound tone: “Three years to produce a Zhuangyuan, but it takes ten years to produce a leading dan! Don’t think we’re lowly ninth-rate—we may be that, but in the three hundred sixty lines of work, every one can produce a Zhuangyuan!”
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> “My disciples, train hard and don’t slack off! One day, become famous performers whose names shake the ages!”
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> After painting that grand picture, Lv Zhuangyuan cleared his throat lightly and said to his eldest son nearby: “Juren, you take them first to test their physiques.”
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> Once they had all left, Lv Zhuangyuan hopped down from the grand master’s chair, dropping the pretense entirely. He grinned like a plucked monkey, delighted beyond measure.
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> Gouwa, clutching a handful of melon seeds nearby, teased: “Master Lv, your Lv Family Troupe is getting more and more prosperous by the day. Why not head to Silverling City tomorrow and buy a theater!”
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> Though it was teasing, the words hit right on Lv Zhuangyuan’s sweet spot. His face broke into a flower-like smile. “Hahaha, auspicious words! Borrow your auspicious words!”
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> Zhao Wu, leaning on his wooden crutch nearby, asked puzzledly: “Master Lv, where’d you find these kids? Their parents really willing to let them come sing opera with you?”
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> Generally speaking, as long as a family had even a scrap of thin farmland, they wouldn’t send their kids out to sing opera. It was too shameful to speak of.
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> “Heh, willing or not—they’ve got to have kids first.” Lv Zhuangyuan smugly pulled his pipe from behind his back and puffed on it contentedly.
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> “These are little beggars this old man picked up while traveling the fair circuit. Who’d refuse when it comes with food and shelter? Aye, it’s strange—Great Liang’s so prosperous, yet there are still beggars.”
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> “What’s strange about that? No place lacks a few unfortunates. But with all this land now, you could be a proper landlord. Why keep on with the singing?”
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> Lv Zhuangyuan thought of the fields surrounding Oxheart Village, his heart itching. But in the end, he nodded. “Aye, having fields and singing opera don’t conflict.”
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> Truth be told, Lv Zhuangyuan still wasn’t at ease. After all, these fields weren’t truly his. Without their owner Li Huowang around, if they decided to kick him out one day, there’d be nothing he could do.
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> But if he built a theater, every brick and tile would be solidly earned by his own hands. Living there would feel secure.
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> He’d actually wanted to discuss this matter with Miss Bai, but with everything that had happened in her family, he’d never found the right moment.
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> He’d planned to wait until Miss Bai’s spirits improved, then send his daughter-in-law to sound her out. But unexpectedly, Miss Bai had vanished off somewhere, just like the little Daoist master.
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> “Gouwa, where exactly has Miss Bai gone? Any word on when she’ll be back?”
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> Lv Zhuangyuan asked the shifty-eyed fellow. After all, the entire Bai Family Village was her property. Without her there, no one to discuss how many tenants to hire or what crops to plant.
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> One or two of them acting like immortals, as if they could live off dew alone, untouched by mortal concerns. At the very least, they could leave those mortal concerns with this old man before departing!
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> Hearing the question, Gouwa’s face lit up with irrepressible joy. “Ah, right right—my wife’s pregnant. I’m gonna be a dad! It’s still early though, at least New Year’s or Qingming next year.”
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> Lv Zhuangyuan’s face creased into wrinkles as he looked disdainfully at Gouwa, thinking to himself with great contempt: “Did I ask you about that? Just had to show off. You’re becoming a dad? Well, I’m becoming a grandpa.”
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> “What about Chun girl then? Haven’t seen her around lately either?”
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> Gouwa tossed a salted melon seed into his mouth, cracking the shell with his teeth as he replied: “How should I know? She’s not my wife. Besides, with that temper of hers, who could manage her?”
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> Hearing the guarded tone in those words, Lv Zhuangyuan let out a chuckle and took his leave.
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> Gouwa spat out the melon seed shell from his mouth and turned smugly away from the Bai family hall. He could still tell friend from outsider.
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> The things he’d found in the basement of the Bai family ancestral hall—he’d share those with his fellow sufferers, sure. But with the Lv Family Troupe? No chance.
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> Wandering east and west through the somewhat desolate Bai Family Village, Gouwa arrived at the gate of a high-walled courtyard at the east end of the village. He grabbed the tiger-head knocker and pounded. “Fool, open up! What’re you locking the door for in broad daylight?”
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> (End of chapter)
> ```