The Market Fair

"From now on, your name will be Gao Zhijian," Li Huowang said to the fool, who was carrying a wooden staff on his shoulder.

"I... I... I-I-..."

Li Huowang reached out and pushed down the thick finger the fool was pointing at his own chest.

"Stop the 'I' business. Remember, you're not 'Fool' anymore. That's your full name from now on—Gao Zhijian. You hear me?"

"You know how to read, right? Snap off a branch and write it on the ground a bunch of times. Keep at it until you've got it memorized."

"Oh…" The fool, who had no say whatsoever in his own name, drooped his head and trudged off toward the woods.

Li Huowang watched his broad back retreat and let out a quiet sigh.

"Whatever. I said I'd give him a name, so I had to follow through. Call it a gift for coming back from the dead."

The truth was, Li Huowang had wanted to name the fool for a while. Calling him "Fool" all the time really grated on the ears. But ever since leaving that reed island, he hadn't been able to think of a fitting name, so he'd put it off until now.

The fool was lacking in wits, so Li Huowang gave him the name Gao Zhi—hoping the guy could make up for it a little through the name itself. As for the jian at the end, that was Li Huowang's wish for him: that he could keep enduring through his miserable life.

"Senior Brother Li! Senior Brother Li! Give me a name too, come on! Calling him 'Fool' sounds bad, but 'Gouwa' isn't exactly easy on the ears either."

Frowning slightly, Li Huowang turned to look at the shifty-eyed young man beside him.

"His head doesn't work right. Does yours not work either? You're a grown man—can't you come up with a name for yourself?"

He started walking toward the campfire, but Gouwa tailed him, refusing to let up.

"Aiyo, Senior Brother Li, you're the one who knows how to read! You'll definitely pick a better name than me, a cowherd."

"I'm not greedy. Just give me a name that sounds impressive. The bigger-sounding, the better."

Li Huowang let out a scoff. "Oh? You want something impressive? How about Cao Cao? Think you can handle that name?"

Gouwa clearly didn't catch the reference. His face lit up, and he clapped his hands together, hopping a good foot off the ground.

"Great! Cao Cao's a great name! Sounds auspicious! I'm calling myself Cao Cao from now on!"

Before Li Huowang could say another word, Gouwa had already scurried off into the crowd, excitedly announcing his new name to everyone else. And since they had no idea what the name really meant, they all stood up to congratulate him.

Watching this ridiculous scene unfold, Li Huowang shook his head in silent exasperation.

He looked up at the sky, already brightening. "Enough dawdling. Let's keep moving. We need to reach the town by today."

"Once we're there, we'll have a proper meal. You all must be sick of wild greens by now, right?"

That single sentence instantly snapped everyone to attention. They started swallowing hard.

The dry rations had fallen into the water along with the donkey cart. They had plenty of gold, but out in the middle of nowhere, there was no one to sell them food.

With no grain, they'd had to eat wild greens just like the old monk. All the way here, their faces had taken on the sallow tint of a vegetable-only diet. And sometimes, there weren't even enough greens to go around.

The former drug ingredients, all visibly thinner from hunger, pushed forward with renewed urgency, driven by the promise of food.

Maybe it was the lure of a meal that did it. A half-day's journey took only two hours.

At the base of a towering, mist-shrouded mountain sat a bustling little town.

The town was almost too bustling. Li Huowang and his group squeezed in but could barely find room to stand.

He tilted his head slightly to dodge a horizontal carrying pole, then quickly lifted his right foot to avoid stepping in chicken shit.

Li Huowang pressed deeper into the thicket of clamoring vendors, the noise pressing in from all sides.

"What's so special about this place? Why are there so many people?"

The stone-brick road, already narrow, was now completely lined with squatting sellers and buyers, all haggling at the top of their lungs.

People selling woven bamboo baskets. Selling game hunted from the mountains. Selling vegetables grown in their own fields.

Selling chickens. Selling dogs. Hell, even selling saplings.

The combined din of all these voices buzzed like a swarm of flies. Li Huowang felt like a thousand insects were circling his head.

"Senior Brother Li, Cao Cao knows what's up! It's the first of the month—market day! Folks from all the villages within a ten-mile radius came to trade," Gouwa explained from beside him.

Li Huowang nodded in understanding. He'd almost forgotten. People in this world held big markets.

Every month on the first and the fifteenth, they'd gather spontaneously at one spot to form a market and trade with each other.

Watching the lively crowd, a sudden impulse hit Li Huowang.

He wanted to ring that Daoist bell of his and see just how many Wandering Lords had shown up to this market fair.

But that was just a passing thought. He wasn't a kid anymore. He had more important things to do.

Li Huowang's gaze traveled upward, past the dense crowd and the distant buildings, finally settling on a towering mountain peak.

That was Mount Henghua. The nunnery on that mountain was Li Huowang's destination. They might be able to help him get rid of Danyangzi, who was slowly eating away at his body.

He was about to move forward when he noticed that everyone else had come to a stop in front of the same stall.

They were all staring fixedly at the goods on display. Drool was practically hanging from the fool's chin.

"What's this?" Li Huowang walked over and tapped on one of the scorched yellow discs. It gave off the smell of wheat.

"Senior Brother Li, it's guokui flatbread. You can eat it."

Bai Lingmiao was trying her hardest not to swallow, but in the end, she failed.

Seeing the desperate look in their eyes, Li Huowang felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. When it came down to it, they were all pitiable souls.

He fished some gold ornaments out of the fool's bundle and used his razor-sharp longsword to quickly cut them into small gold nuggets.

"Buy it. All of you, go buy it. We've got money now. Buy whatever you want from this market!"

He pressed a handful of gold nuggets into everyone's hand, except for Gao Zhijian's.

Everyone's faces flushed bright red with excitement. They couldn't contain themselves.

Li Huowang watched the newly rich former ingredients scatter to the stalls around them, buying all sorts of things they needed—and things they definitely didn't.

He glanced at Gao Zhijian, who was gnawing on a piece of guokui, and said, "Come with me. Since we've got money now, it's time to upgrade our ride."

Before long, Li Huowang had acquired two brand-new horse-drawn carriages.

The horses were tall and strong, and smart as a whip. A light tug on the reins was all it took to keep them steady; they didn't run wild at all.

They were a world apart from the two sickly, stubborn old donkeys from before.

When the others had finished their shopping and gathered near the carriages, Li Huowang noticed that they had all changed into new clothes and shoes. They were also carrying all sorts of snacks in their arms. Even Bai Lingmiao was no exception.

Joy was written all over everyone's faces. It was easy to tell just how happy they really were.