Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 40
>Chapter Title: Latter Half of the Night
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"Hmm? What the hell is this?"
Li Huowang furrowed his brows slightly as he stepped into the woods where the Fool was standing around.
The moment he entered the woods, Li Huowang's pupils shrank. He saw the Fool squatting in front of a small dirt mound alongside that Old Beggar from earlier, both of them huffing and puffing as they shoveled food into their mouths.
Atop the small dirt mound sat several sheets of yellow paper, firmly held down by a stone.
Suppressing his rage, Li Huowang charged over and kicked the Fool to the ground.
"Get up! You dare eat grave offerings?! Are you tired of living? Didn't I tell you not to talk to this beggar?!"
The Fool climbed to his feet, looking wronged.
"I didn't... didn't... didn't talk to him."
"Kneel! Kowtow and apologize right now!"
Li Huowang ordered sternly.
Once the Fool had kowtowed several resounding times toward the grave mound, Li Huowang yanked him up by the arm.
This damned place was full of all sorts of things—he didn't dare take chances. If he didn't handle it right, trouble would come knocking immediately.
With a sharp "clang," Li Huowang drew the long sword from his back and pointed it straight at the Old Beggar's nose.
Coldly, he said,
"I don't care what your game is—stay away from my people! Otherwise, don't blame me for getting nasty!"
Without waiting for a reply, Li Huowang dragged the Fool away and left.
"I'm not a beggar. I'm a monk."
The man muttered under his breath before resuming his squat and devouring the dead man's offerings.
Back on the road, the group continued onward. Li Huowang's expression was grave as he began instructing the others.
"Don't sleep so soundly these next few nights. Something might happen."
Even though the Fool had already kowtowed and atoned, who knew what temper the thing in that grave might have? Li Huowang wasn't about to gamble.
Hearing this, the others immediately understood and nodded lightly.
As the sun dipped below the western mountains and night fell, the people on the road filed into the roadside woods to gather firewood and build fires.
Circling the two donkey carts, Li Huowang built the campfire roaring high. He also had the others chop plenty of firewood from the woods.
There was no moon tonight. Darkness blanketed everything. The surrounding branches swayed in the breeze, as if countless things lurked within, peering out at the people around the fire.
As time wore on, the surroundings grew utterly still. Everyone else had fallen asleep.
But Li Huowang didn't sleep. He sat in silence, as if waiting for something.
Aside from keeping an eye on the surrounding woods, he devoted most of his attention to that Old Beggar.
If that thing came looking, it would surely target him first.
And if it did come, all the better—it would give him a chance to see just what this guy was really about.
In that long wait, the first half of the night slipped by, giving way to the latter half—the time when drowsiness hit hardest.
"Brother Li, that spot over there... was there a face just now?"
Gouwa, on night watch with him, spoke with a tremble in his voice.
Li Huowang whipped his gaze that way, but saw nothing in the darkness.
"You sure?"
He whispered as low as he could.
Gouwa swallowed hard.
"Not sure. Maybe... maybe I was seeing things."
"Don't talk. Stay quiet."
Pretending to stare into the campfire ahead, Li Huowang flicked his eyes sideways.
After waiting quietly for a bit, under the faint glow of the fire, he spotted an ugly face slowly emerging from the darkness, a cruel smile twisting its features.
What sent a chill crawling over Li Huowang's scalp was the sight of more heads slowly rising behind it. Streaks of white glinted faintly below the heads, now appearing, now vanishing.
"Wait—white glints?"
Li Huowang shot to his feet, snatched a burning branch from the campfire, and hurled it over.
"Halt! Who are you people?!"
His shout exploded like thunder in the stillness, jolting the others awake from their sleep.
As the tumbling branch revealed that the heads had legs and cast shadows, Li Huowang realized these were living people.
Not just Li Huowang—everyone else saw them too, along with the massive cleavers in their hands.
"Bandits!! Run!!"
That terrified yell sent the crowd into instant chaos. Everyone grabbed their valuables and scattered like frightened birds.
"Damn it! They spotted us! Get the horses over here!!"
Hoofbeats soon thundered as the bandits charged after the travelers, blades raised.
"Into the woods! Their horses can't maneuver in the trees!!"
Hearing the Old Beggar's shout, the others veered away from the road and plunged into the surrounding forest.
They could run, but not Li Huowang and his group with the donkey carts—donkeys couldn't outpace horses.
Hearing the hoofbeats closing from behind, Li Huowang skidded to a halt and spun around. He saw a tall horse carrying a scruffy-bearded bandit swinging his blade down at an old woman.
"No time to dodge!"
Li Huowang whipped out a pill and shoved it into his mouth. Heat surged through his body in an instant.
Just as he kicked off to charge the bandit—
The Old Beggar suddenly burst from the side and shoved the fallen old woman out of the way.
Gao Deqiu atop the horse eyed the Old Beggar with disdain. He didn't even raise his blade—just yanked the reins, rearing the horse's hooves to stomp the man flat.
A cruel grin spread across his face, eager for the bloody spectacle to come. When he played bandit, this was his favorite thrill aside from women.
But in the next instant, he saw a figure charge from the front. A fist smashed heavy into the horse's head.
*Thud!*
With the horse's shrill neigh, its forward charge veered hard. It toppled sideways.
Gao Deqiu, plummeting toward the ground, could do nothing but watch the horse's caved-in head as its eyes bulged wider and wider.
The next moment, with a dull *thunk*, his own head met the same fate as his mount.
Seeing their comrade under attack, the other bandits jammed fingers in their mouths, whistling shrilly as they rushed to help.
But Li Huowang, fueled by Danyangzi's forged pills, made them quickly realize they'd bitten off more than they could chew.
Dull thuds echoed constantly along the dim dirt road. After losing several men, the bandits fled in panic.
"Retreat! These guys are tough! Might be from the Bureau of Celestial Surveillance!"
Li Huowang stood there, fists dripping blood, gasping for breath.
He turned to the Old Beggar behind him. After that little display, he was certain—this guy wasn't a tiger. He was a pig.
Under Li Huowang's gaze, the Old Beggar rose and shuffled to the body of someone slain by the bandits. He knelt, pressed his palms together, and murmured something softly.
As Li Huowang drew nearer, he made out the words.
"Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha..."
The poorly pronounced chant repeated over and over.
After dozens of recitations, the Old Beggar shuffled into the woods beside the road and began clawing at the dirt with his hands.
(End of chapter)