Chapter 67
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 67
>Chapter Title: Parcel
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Regardless of what had happened before, with a person's death, everything dissipates. With Li Zhi's death, the entire incident finally came to a close.
Although they had encountered danger, the rewards were substantial.
First off, Li Huowang now understood the reason behind the nefarious schemes of the Zhengde Temple monks.
“The Heart-Su is what transforms from the Great Beginning into form—possessing form and substance, yet not a complete body. This is called Heart-Su. The Heart-Su is the origin of substance, yet not a formed body.”
These were the words Li Zhi had said to him before dying. In the eyes of people in this world, he was an extremely rare Heart-Su.
Li Huowang wasn’t well-versed in classical Chinese, but drawing on his hazy school memories, he managed to grasp the general meaning.
According to this, the Great Beginning was some kind of substance from which all matter formed, while Heart-Su was something that existed before the Great Beginning took shape.
He had translated it, but the content only left Li Huowang more baffled.
“I’m clearly a living person with flesh and blood—a perfectly ordinary human. How could I possibly be the ‘origin of substance, yet not a formed body’? That doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Something so profoundly metaphysical couldn’t possibly connect to a living person.
If a thing hadn’t even formed into matter, how could it possibly be alive, capable of thought and movement?
Li Huowang racked his brains but couldn’t solve this puzzle.
No matter how he puzzled over it, though, the actions of Danyangzi, Abbot Xin Hui, and Li Zhi made it clear what the cultivators of this world believed.
“Forget what Heart-Su really is. Right now, I’m Tang Monk’s flesh—everyone wants a bite.” Li Huowang said with a self-deprecating chuckle as he walked along the road.
He had completely lost trust in the people of this world. Anything anyone said could be a lie, all to deceive him.
It made him suspect that everyone he encountered had some ulterior motive.
Yet life went on, and troubles had to be tackled one bite at a time.
At the very least, Li Zhi’s words should be true. After all, a dying man’s words are honest.
The man had even hoped Li Huowang would burn paper money for him at Qingming. There was no benefit to him in lying at a place like this.
Besides, Li Huowang had no other choice right now.
“Hey! Wait up!!”
Hearing the shout, Li Huowang and the others turned just as a honest-looking man came chasing after them, something clutched in his hands.
“Where are you all headed? Where’s that fellow villager of mine who jumps the big god? You know, the husband-and-wife pair who were with you.” The panting man asked.
Li Huowang certainly wasn’t going to say he’d killed the man.
“He had some business, so he left ahead with his wife.”
The man didn’t suspect Li Huowang at all and instead shoved a heavy bundle into his arms.
“Oh, in that case, this is the parcel from his room. He forgot it when he left—could you deliver it to him for me? Thanks.”
Li Huowang remembered this colorful parcel. The first time they’d met, Li Zhi had been carrying it on his back.
Before Li Huowang could say anything else, the man delivered the item and turned to leave.
Walking once more along the bumpy dirt road, Li Huowang gazed down at the parcel in his arms with a complicated expression.
There was no way he could deliver this to Li Zhi now—he was dead.
In that moment, a sudden thought flashed through Li Huowang’s mind.
“Could there be something valuable inside Li Zhi’s parcel?”
With that, Li Huowang got straight to it and untied the cloth-wrapped bundle.
There was nothing eye-catching inside; all the items looked worn and old.
First up was a sheet of milky-white drum skin, likely a spare for his shamanic rituals.
Li Huowang grabbed it and tossed it toward the roadside. Jumping the big god had left him with a bad impression—seeing this thing felt inauspicious.
“Hey, don’t throw it! It’s good hide. Who knows, it might come in handy later.” Bai Lingmiao caught it with both hands.
“What for? Patching clothes?” Li Huowang noted that Bai Lingmiao was far thriftier than he was when it came to some things.
“We’re completely broke now. Saving a little is still saving.”
Seeing her carefully place it on the donkey cart, Li Huowang shook his head and kept rummaging through the parcel.
Next, he pulled out half a string of copper coins. Judging by the mix of shiny new and dull old ones, Li Zhi must have scrimped and saved for a long time to gather them.
He hefted the weight in his hand and let out a soft sigh.
He had no idea what Li Zhi had been saving for, but it was clear the man had put in a lot of effort.
“Buy some food with this.” Li Huowang tossed the coins into Bai Lingmiao’s arms.
Bai Lingmiao, who had been fretting over their finances, lit up with joy at the sight of the coppers.
But her delight quickly turned back to worry.
“Senior Brother, we really need to find some honest way to make money. These coins won’t last long.”
“An honest living? What are you thinking—joining Lv Zhuangyuan’s troupe and singing opera like them?”
Bai Lingmiao shook her head vigorously, like a rattle-drum.
“My dad would kill me if he knew I was singing opera. I meant some other proper trade.”
Li Huowang reached in and pulled out a round jade pendant threaded on a cord, placing it in her hand.
“Don’t worry about money. Find a prosperous place and sell this one, and we’ll have everything we need.”
“I’ve got more! I’ve got more!” Gouwa pulled a stack of red envelopes from his robes and handed them over.
Li Huowang glanced at him in surprise.
“These are the red envelopes Danyangzi gave out for those dead disciples, right? When did you swipe them?”
“I grabbed them when I left Clear Wind Temple. Saw no one else took them, heh heh, so I just pocketed them.” Gouwa’s voice carried a sly note of pride.
Just then, Li Huowang’s hand paused. He felt something round and bulging inside the parcel.
Pulling it out, he was surprised to find a gourd about the size of two palms.
“Looks a bit like a gourd for holding elixirs. Since when do jumping shamans refine pills?” Li Huowang wondered to himself as he examined it.
He lifted the gourd and shook it twice, but nothing came out.
As Li Huowang squinted with one eye and brought it up to peer inside the mouth, the upper half of the gourd suddenly split open.
The tiny gourd mouth instantly sprouted rows of barbed white teeth, snapping viciously toward Li Huowang’s face.
*Chomp!* Fortunately, Li Huowang pulled back fast. Had he been a moment slower, half his face would’ve been torn off.
Still shaken, Li Huowang stared at the gourd in his hand as it reverted to its original shape.
This thing was alive! Li Zhi had actually used it to store items, which meant whatever was inside had to be extraordinarily precious. But what exactly was in there?
As if sensing something, the bell at Li Huowang’s waist trembled faintly.
“Wait here a bit.” With a thought, Li Huowang turned and headed into the woods.
Amid the dense trees, the bell rang out, and soon the Wandering Lord was summoned.
“What’s inside this thing?” Li Huowang held up the gourd and asked the Wandering Lord before him.
“Shā xīn.”
Li Huowang stared at the gourd in disbelief.
“What? You’re really saying this thing contains yang lifespan!?”
(End of chapter)