Chapter 615
Chapter 615
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 615
>Chapter Title: Person
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Chapter 615: Person
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> “Kid, you really have to go? We went through hell to get here from there, and now you’re heading back? No need for that.”
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> “Kid, Hou Shu is far away, not to mention the sea south of Hou Shu. Round trip, you’re looking at at least a year and a half.”
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> Hearing Yang Kid say he was going to find his parents, the others who had come out of Clear Wind Temple together all tried to talk him out of it.
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> They had all suffered along the way. The saying “those far from home have cheap lives” wasn’t just talk—this era, any long journey came with risks.
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> The roads were long and treacherous—who knew what dangers lay ahead.
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> Faced with the others’ persuasion, Yang Kid remained silent. He turned to look at Li Huowang, who sat nearby in a grandmaster chair with his luggage already strapped to his back. “Senior Brother Li, do you think I can go?”
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> “Your feet are on your legs. Whether you go or not is up to you, not me. Gouwa, give him your rotten wood ruyi for protection on the road.”
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> “Huh~?”
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> “What huh? Hurry up. And get a carriage for him too. Such a long way on foot, his shoes will be worn to shreds.”
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> Soon, Yang Kid’s travel gear was piled high. All sorts of dry rations filled the carriage, enough to last them to Hou Shu.
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> “Take this bag of silver. Use it for travel expenses, or to settle any trouble on the road.”
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> When Yang Kid took the heavy bag of silver, he was at a loss. “Senior Brother Li, I can’t take this. I...”
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> “Take it if I say so. The village doesn’t lack money. My wounds haven’t healed yet, so I can’t go with you. If you want to go, then go. The world’s at peace now. For ordinary evil spirits, the talismans you’ve learned and the rotten wood ruyi will keep you alive.”
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> Hearing this, Yang Kid knelt excitedly and kowtowed a few times to Li Huowang before jumping onto the carriage and leaving Niuxin Village with the woman on board.
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> Gouwa, holding his daughter, suddenly stepped forward and shouted, “Kid! When you pass Qingqiu, check on Sun Baolu for me! Tell him I got married and had a daughter!”
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> “Got it! Senior Brother Gou!”
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> Yang Kid was gone. The others headed back in twos and threes.
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> On the way, Gouwa couldn’t help complaining, “With the kid gone, who’s gonna cook for us? Zhao Wu, how’s your cooking?”
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> “Look at my legs—do I look like I can cook?” Zhao Wu, leaning on his crutch, rolled his eyes at him.
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> “That’s bad. No one to cook now. What do we do? Xiaoman, can you?”
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> “Scram.”
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> “No more communal meals from now on.” Li Huowang’s words drew everyone’s attention.
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> Communal eating had been a habit carried over from the road. But now, Gao Zhijian was emperor, Sun Baolu was home, the Lv Troupe had settled in Shangjing, and several had died along the way. The remaining folks couldn’t even fill a table.
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> “You’ve all got families now. And we’re not short on silver. Cook for yourselves from here on. No more running to the Bai family courtyard every day.”
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> Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao’s face lit up with a faint smile beside Li Huowang.
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> “Don’t, Senior Brother Li.” Gouwa looked regretful. The days of just showing up for meals had been too easy.
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> “Enough talk. That’s how it is.” With that, Li Huowang took Li Sui’s hand and headed to the Bai family courtyard.
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> Gouwa scratched his head regretfully and turned to Zhao Wu. “Hey, you’re not married yet. No one’ll cook for you now. Hurry and talk Senior Brother Li out of it.”
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> “Don’t count on me taking the fall. I can cook myself.” Ignoring Gouwa’s surprise, Zhao Wu crutched his way step by step toward the storeroom.
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> It was called a storeroom, but it was really an empty courtyard cleared out just to store Gao Zhijian’s gifts.
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> Gold, silver, cloth, and all sorts of tribute items filled the main hall. Zhao Wu set an abacus on the table and began tallying.
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> This was Zhao Wu’s job. In Niuxin Village, only he could do it. His family had sold grain; he’d grown up to the clack of abacus beads. No one could match him at mental math.
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> On the road, they’d been poor, nothing much to count. But now, with so many in Niuxin Village—their food, clothes, expenses, all that money and grain—his skills shone.
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> How much the village earned, spent, where it went, how much old grain there was, how much old grain to sell each year, how much new grain to store—he tracked it all with his abacus.
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> It was exhausting alone, but Zhao Wu loved it. Only then did he feel like he wasn’t a useless cripple who couldn’t lift a hand or shoulder a load.
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> “Five hundred pearls? What’s Gao Zhijian sending so many pearls for? No one in the village needs them.” Zhao Wu shook his head lightly and noted it down carefully.
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> He tallied all day. By the time his stomach growled and dusk fell, there was no call to dinner from Yang Kid.
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> Only then did Zhao Wu realize Yang Kid was gone—he’d have to cook for himself from now on.
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> “Sigh, one person leaves and it feels off already.” Grabbing his crutch, Zhao Wu hobbled toward the kitchen.
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> By the time he reached the kitchen, it was dark. Zhao Wu planned to grab something to eat raw, not to miss Master Wu’s evening lesson.
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> Thinking of Master Wu’s praise yesterday, Zhao Wu’s heart warmed. He’d said Zhao Wu had the highest aptitude for literacy in all of Niuxin Village.
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> He knew eight hundred characters now—barely a scholar.
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> “So dark. Where’s the oil lamp?” Zhao Wu groped around the kitchen.
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> Lifting a steamer lid, he felt something cool and soft, spindle-shaped. He grabbed it and stuffed it in his bosom. “Sweet potato’s fine. Eat on the way. Don’t be late.”
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> Speeding up, Zhao Wu shoved a third sweet potato in his bosom. Reaching for a fourth, he touched a bony, emaciated claw in the dark.
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> “Ghost!!”
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> In mere breaths, with a “boom,” the kitchen door exploded. Li Huowang stood there, black tentacles writhing over his body, spine bone sword in hand, eyes scanning the room with murderous intent.
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> “Senior Brother Li! Ghost! There’s a ghost in here!” Zhao Wu scrambled behind him, forgetting his crutch, using hands and feet.
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> “Quiet!” Li Huowang pulled out a grimly glowing fluorescent stone from his bosom and tossed it into the dim kitchen.
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> Soon he spotted the ragged man huddled in the corner, shoulders shaking as if eating something.
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> “Turn around!” Li Huowang leveled his sword.
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> When the man turned and saw Li Huowang, he dropped the sweet potato from his mouth, trembling as he prostrated and kowtowed repeatedly. “Great Immortal, spare me! Great Immortal, spare me!!”