Departure

Chapter 86: Departure

“What do you mean by that? Senior Brother Li is perfectly fine, isn’t he?” Bai Lingmiao sounded a little unhappy, as if her belongings were being slandered.

“He…” Xiaoman hesitated. “Do you really think Senior Brother Li has no issues? If he didn’t, why would that Bald-headed Li have tried to take him as a human ingredient back then?”

The room fell silent. In truth, after spending so much time together, everyone knew each other inside out. Compared to the others' physical oddities, Li Huowang’s problem between his ears was far more troublesome.

It was just a topic everyone deliberately avoided.

Bai Lingmiao’s expression dimmed. “So what if it is? Am I really that much better off? Back home, everyone called me the White-Haired Demon. People were scared just to see me. But Senior Brother Li never treated me differently. And he’s saved me several times.”

“For someone like me to have found Senior Brother Li… I never could have dreamed of it. He doesn’t despise me. I’m already very happy.”

Hearing this, Xiaoman didn’t try to persuade her further. She just let out a soft sigh and slowly closed her eyes. “Go to sleep.”

The bedroom gradually quieted down, leaving only the sounds of their light breathing.

When she heard the breaths behind her grow shallow, Xiaoman turned over to look at the delicate young woman beside her.

She watched those long lashes. Xiaoman reached out and gently brushed her fingers across Bai Lingmiao’s cheek. The touch, like a freshly peeled hard-boiled egg, filled her with fascination.

“…I… I know… don’t rush…” Bai Lingmiao mumbled faintly in her sleep.

Xiaoman’s brow, hidden beneath her thick hair, furrowed slightly. She quietly leaned closer.

Bang!

The sound of the door being kicked open made Xiaoman bolt upright. She pulled a short dagger from under her pillow and shielded Bai Lingmiao.

“Senior Brother Li? You came down from the mountain?” she asked in surprise, staring at the young man in the doorway.

The one who had pushed the door open was Li Huowang, who had just come down from Henghua Mountain.

“Where’s the gold?” Li Huowang cut straight to the point.

“It’s all with Fool Gao. He’s guarding it.”

Li Huowang glanced at the groggy, half-awake Bai Lingmiao, then turned and walked toward the other guest room.

“What’s wrong? Who was that?” Bai Lingmiao sat up, still dazed.

Xiaoman gently pulled her back down and whispered, “It’s nothing. Go to sleep. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

By the next day, Xiaoman was holding Bai Lingmiao’s hand in another guest room, watching Li Huowang.

She keenly noticed the yellow mud on the edge of his shoes. It seemed her Senior Brother Li had been running around outside all night. No telling what he’d been up to.

“You’re here? Sit down. I’ll tell you about our itinerary from now on.” Xiaoman watched as Li Huowang unrolled a hand-drawn map.

“This place is where we’re heading next. I need to go there first to pick something up. Once I get it, I’ll see you all home.”

After saying that, without waiting for anyone else to voice an opinion, Li Huowang rolled up the map and turned to walk out the door. “Pack everything up. We leave at noon.”

“Senior Brother Li! What happened on the mountain? Is the place we’re going dangerous?”

Seeing Bai Lingmiao quickly follow him, Xiaoman turned to the others. “What the hell is going on? What is Senior Brother Li doing? Why is he running back to the place we came from?”

“How should I know? Senior Brother Li never discusses things with us. The fact that he gave us a heads-up today is already a rare kindness.” Gouwa’s face was twisted with bitterness, his voice mournful.

“If we’re leaving, we’re leaving. Why the long face?”

If he hadn’t said anything, it might have been fine. But as soon as he did, Gouwa’s tears started flowing freely.

“Senior Brother Li gave all the gold away! There’s nothing left! If I’d known this was going to happen, I shouldn’t have gone to the whorehouse. I should have bought myself a wife first!”

“What?! He gave it all away?! Why didn’t any of you stop him?! You all know Senior Brother Li’s head isn’t right!” Xiaoman shouted, panicked.

“I did stop him! Yesterday, while he was giving away the gold, I tried to stop him the whole way! But how was I supposed to actually stop him?!”

Xiaoman turned and rushed out the door, but it was already a lost cause. He hadn’t slept all night, and the gold had already been delivered to Anci Nunnery.

“Don’t worry. I kept back some money for the road.”

With heavy hearts, Xiaoman and the others set out again. In this matter, none of them really had any say.

The river bandits had been killed by Li Huowang. The gold had been taken by him too. If he wanted to give it away, no one was in a position to stop him.

But the sudden plunge from extreme wealth to having nothing was still a shock to the system that was hard to shake.

Xiaoman opened her eyes. She looked at Li Huowang, who was sitting by the bonfire like a statue, staring at the red bamboo slip. She slipped quietly out from under her blanket and walked toward the misty forest.

Finding a quiet, grassy clearing, Xiaoman pulled out a book, drew the long knife from her waist, and began practicing the stances shown on the pages.

The blade cut through the air. Though her movements were clumsy, her eyes were fixed and determined as she studied with utter seriousness.

Whish—

She stopped mid-swing, startled to see Li Huowang’s figure blocking the tip of her blade.

It was still the same Li Huowang. His face, above the scar-covered neck, was etched with exhaustion.

“Where did you get this book?” Li Huowang walked over, picked the book up off the ground, and flipped through it. Inside, there were only simple figures holding swords, no text at all. It looked like a sword manual.

“You told us to buy whatever we wanted, didn’t you? I went to find an escort from a courier agency. I traded the gold for this.” Xiaoman replied.

“In times like these, any escort who’s worth his salt has real skill. I paid a big price for this book. It’s the real deal.”

Then, Xiaoman let out a quiet laugh. “After my father sold me off, I kept thinking… if I’d had a knife in my hand back then, would he have dared to sell me and my little sister?”

“So I want to get stronger. Strong enough to protect myself and protect the others.”

Hearing this, Li Huowang silently nodded, then turned and walked back toward the bonfire.

Xiaoman watched his receding back, hesitating. Finally, she grit her teeth and called out, “Senior Brother Li, Junior Sister Bai really cares for you. Please… don’t let her down.”

Li Huowang didn’t stop. He strode out of the forest with long, even steps. “Show this book to the others too. Maybe they can learn something from it.”

They traveled in fits and starts. Though they had a cart now, the two-hundred-li journey still took several days.

When they were almost at their destination, Li Huowang led the group to settle down in the village closest to the location.

Inside a small, humble farmyard, the others, bored, had gathered in a circle to play Leaf Cards. Gouwa yawned out of sheer tedium and said to Sun Baolu across from him.

“Where did Senior Brother Li go? I haven’t seen him all day. We’re almost there, so why are we still hanging around here and not moving on? That’s not like him.”