Disguised

Li Huowang was watching the women when the voices of Sun Baolu and Gouwa drifted into his ears.

"Old Sun, these bandits sure have an eye for quality. Every woman they grabbed is a looker. What do you say I pick one out for myself? I don't care that they're soiled, long as she can pop out a kid."

"Forget it. They just came out of that place. Don't be a bastard to them."

"Tsk! That's not how I see it. It's not like I'm taking a concubine. I'm talking about a proper wife with a proper ceremony. Sure, I ain't much to look at, but if they married me, that'd be them moving up in the world, wouldn't it? Old Sun, you want one too? Miss this chance and you won't find a wife this pretty again."

"They've suffered enough. Leave them be."

"We're helping them! Think about it. Even if they go back, they'll be pointed at and talked about. They'll never get married! They'll end up as lonely widows. At least with me, they'd have a hot meal."

Li Huowang pulled the blanket off himself and stood up.

He ignored Gouwa's idle chatter and walked toward Lü Zhuangyuan, who was drinking his porridge.

After a full night's rest, the Lü family troupe looked much better. At least their faces were clean and their clothes weren't a mess.

When he saw Li Huowang approaching, Lü Zhuangyuan quickly stood up, shoved his bowl into his youngest son's hands, and his eyes filled with respect.

"This is yours, isn't it?" Li Huowang returned the pipe he'd been holding onto.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lü Zhuangyuan bobbed his head and took it with both hands.

"Sorry to trouble you, Little Daoist. Such a small matter, and you took the trouble to return it yourself."

"If you feel bad about it, then do me a favor. Seems like I could use you right now."

Lü Zhuangyuan was surprised. This little Daoist was so miraculously capable, what could he possibly need help with from someone like him?

Li Huowang turned to look at the others, who were eating normally. "There is something. Help us disguise ourselves. Everyone gets makeup."

Soon, everyone had painted opera makeup on their faces. Even Li Huowang's copper coin mask was adorned with a long beard.

Once all their weapons were loaded onto the cart, the somewhat disorderly escort team was gone. In their place was a full opera troupe of over twenty people.

"From now on, you lead this troupe. We're all your people. When others ask questions, you do the talking."

With Hou Laoda's identification, their previous appearance was too conspicuous. They needed a change of identity. That was Li Huowang's goal.

Lü Zhuangyuan was a savvy old hand. He caught on immediately and thumped his chest, swearing it would be no problem.

"Senior Brother Li, will this work?" Gouwa asked, his face full of bitterness under the white circle painted on his nose.

The long, opera-style beard on Li Huowang's face swayed as he shook his head. "Worth a try. If we just walked down the main road as we were, it'd be too easy for them to find us. We can't fight the entire Back Shu."

Right now, his face was covered in black paint and a beard, and he was wearing a full set of official opera robes. He looked completely different from the red-robed Daoist he'd been before.

Unless they took off all the makeup, he'd be unrecognizable.

"Senior Brother Li, time to eat." Bai Lingmiao, her face painted in a dan opera role, walked over with a bowl of porridge.

Li Huowang took it and was about to drink, but he quickly scanned the group. The only one left without makeup was Chun Xiaoman.

Seeing where Li Huowang was looking, Bai Lingmiao hurriedly explained, "Sister Xiaoman has too much hair on her face. She needs to trim it before we can put on the makeup."

"Hurry up and shave it. Don't waste time. No one knows how long until those people get here."

As he spoke, Li Huowang tossed out the sword that could cut clean through iron, then picked up his bowl and drank the porridge in big gulps.

"No need for that. It's not a beheading. I know how to do face-threading." Lü Zhuangyuan's daughter-in-law, Luo Juan, put down her bowl, pulled two red strings from around her wrist, and went over to help.

The strings twisted against each other, quickly snipping away the black fuzz on Chun Xiaoman's face at the roots, revealing patches of white skin.

By the time Li Huowang's bowl of porridge was empty, most of the hair on Xiaoman's face was gone.

The other senior and junior disciples who had come out from Qingfeng Temple couldn't help but look over with curiosity.

Chun Xiaoman's face had always been covered in hair. This was the first time they'd ever seen what she really looked like.

Luo Juan was meticulous. She even cleaned up Xiaoman's neck.

Chun Xiaoman looked uneasily at the others, her heart beginning to pound.

To be honest, she didn't even know what she looked like herself.

Xiaoman quickly stood up and walked in front of the bronze mirror, studying her own face carefully.

What she saw in the mirror was the delicate face of a sixteen-or-seventeen-year-old girl. Her face was slightly round, her nose straight and refined.

It wasn't a stunning beauty, but it was certainly pretty.

She didn't know about the others, but Chun Xiaoman was absolutely satisfied. She cupped her own face in her still-furry hands, tears welling up in her eyes.

No one wanted to be a hair-monster for their whole life. She wanted to be like other women too. She wanted to get married and have children.

"So Xiaoman is that young..." Li Huowang murmured to himself, then started to hurry them along.

"Stop gawking. Get the makeup on. We need to move. The entire Back Shu is dangerous for us now."

Lü Juren picked up his brush. With a flick and a lift, the thick ink covered Xiaoman's face, and her look of reluctant yearning was gone.

Clop-clop-clop! The sound of hooves suddenly rang out. A group of fierce-looking men on horseback charged past them.

Some of them took a long, hard look at the opera troupe in front of them, but they didn't stop for long.

That was not a good sign.

"Move. Let's go. They've probably hired bandits to look for us."

Li Huowang's words made the mood, which had just started to lighten, turn heavy again.

No one had time to finish their porridge. They scrambled to pack everything up.

For the next stretch, Li Huowang didn't dare take the main roads. He stuck to the smaller paths as much as possible.

Whether it was because of the makeup or the route he'd chosen, ten days later, Li Huowang and his group actually managed to reach a small town nestled among a few rocky hills without incident.

The town wasn't big. It only had one main street. But it seemed to be a transport hub, so there was a fair number of people coming and going.

Seeing the bustling street, Li Huowang let out a small sigh of relief. Not bad. We've put a little more distance between us and the Back Shu.

"We'll rest here for the night. Keep moving tomorrow." Li Huowang led the group into the town.

He hadn't taken more than a few steps when his eyes lit up. He recognized the old man he'd met by chance on the road before.

"Old sir? Where are you headed?"

Jin Shan Zhao turned around. When he saw the long-bearded old-man opera character who had spoken, he recognized the voice. A hint of surprise flickered across his face.

"Oh? Is that you, Perfected One? What a coincidence."

"Coincidence?" Li Huowang's pupils contracted slightly. He walked quickly up to the old man. "Hit me."

"What? Why?"

"Wham!" Li Huowang's fist slammed into Jin Shan Zhao's chest, making the old man stumble back three steps, clutching his chest.

"Perfected One? Why would you do this for no reason? Have I done something to offend you?" Jin Shan Zhao was gasping for breath from the blow.

Li Huowang ignored him. He just lowered his head to look at his own fist, muttering to himself.

"I can touch him. And this feeling... It seems he's not an illusion like that monk."