The Riverside

Chapter 225: The Riverside

“Hey! You woman!” Gouwa grumbled, watching Chun Xiaoman treat him like a beast of burden.

But he only dared to mutter it under his breath, afraid that if he spoke any louder, she’d draw her blade on him.

By now, Chun Xiaoman had already arrived before Li Huowang, who was sitting cross-legged. “Brother Li, why are we in such a hurry today?”

Li Huowang patted the ground beside him. “A potential threat. It’s just a hunch, but to be safe, it’s better to leave early.”

He glanced back towards Woman Mountain. From the looks of it, regardless of whether the Lion Dance Palace was another institution like Zhengde Temple, they probably hadn’t noticed him.

“Should I make contact, ask them about the Zuowandao agent, North Wind?... No, making contact rashly like this is too dangerous. If I want to get rid of the Heart-Element, I have to find another angle.”

Mantou trotted over on his little legs, da-da-da, and dropped a stone he’d dug up from somewhere at Li Huowang’s feet before continuing to wag his tail and stare at him.

“Brother Li, you don’t have to keep everything bottled up inside. You’re already ill; if you keep stewing on things, you’ll only make yourself sicker. If you tell us about some things, we can all figure it out together.”

Li Huowang patted Mantou on the head, then turned to look at Chun Xiaoman, who had spoken. In a calm tone, he recounted his experience from the previous night.

“The hallucination next to you told you that the lion dancers had more hands than feet? And then you remembered that their hands really were more than their feet?”

Overwhelmed by the sheer absurdity of it, Chun Xiaoman suddenly felt that Sun Baolu’s earlier comment might be right.

Li Huowang keenly sensed her distrust. He wasn’t angry, just a little disappointed, letting out a soft sigh.

He looked at the three hallucinations of varying heights beside him and muttered to himself, “See? This is why I always keep things to myself and don’t tell anyone.”

When you tell people certain things, it doesn’t help them understand you. It only makes them think you’re truly insane.

“Daoist, it’s fine. If they don’t get it, that’s their problem. You can tell me. I’m on your side.”

Li Huowang completely ignored him. He tilted his head slightly, looking at Chun Xiaoman’s empty sleeve. “Are you used to it yet? Having only one hand?”

Chun Xiaoman’s expression flickered. “Saving everyone was worth losing a hand. If you hadn’t taken me in, I’d have been dead long ago.”

After thinking for a moment, Li Huowang decided to explain a little more. He reached his hand into his empty left eye socket, his fingers touching the newly formed, shriveled eyeball.

“That ability I have, the one that regrows limbs… it’s not that I’m holding out on you. It’s just that you really can’t use that method. The process, you wouldn’t be able to survive it.”

Chun Xiaoman nodded. “I know. If I could use it, you wouldn’t have kept it from me, Brother Li. You’re not that stingy.”

Having said that, she opened her mouth as if hesitating, wanting to add something more. But in the end, she closed it and turned to walk toward Bai Lingmiao, who was picking wild vegetables in the distance.

She came to Bai Lingmiao’s side, squatting down beside her and using her hand to pick some weeds out of the basket. “If you really are going to spend your life with him, you need to find a way to cure his dementia. The way things are now just won’t do. It’s affecting his everyday life.”

Bai Lingmiao was still reminiscing about the previous day’s events, a smile on her face as she nodded.

Chun Xiaoman gently bumped her with her shoulder. “Are you listening? I’m talking to you.”

“I’m listening, Sister Xiaoman. Honestly, I don’t care if he has this illness. As long as he’s still Brother Li.”

Chun Xiaoman looked at the young girl beside her with a mix of frustration and pity. “You never listen to advice. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t even bother.”

Still smiling, Bai Lingmiao opened her arms and gave Chun Xiaoman a light hug. “Thank you for worrying, Sister Xiaoman. I understand.”

Looking at the delicate face in front of her, Chun Xiaoman’s heart instantly softened. “Alright, alright. The sun’s too strong. Cover your eyes.”

“I’m fine digging up vegetables with my head down. As long as I don’t look up.”

Summer was almost here, and a lot of wild vegetables were sprouting up on the grass.

Half of them went into the bubbling noodle pot, and the rest were stored in the oxcart for tomorrow’s meal.

Wild vegetable and barley noodles. They were a bit scratchy on the throat, but everyone ate them with relish. After all, that soup was swimming in lard.

After the meal, many of the men went off to bathe in the river together. The weather was getting warmer, and the sticky feeling from sweating was becoming unbearable.

When the men were done, it was the women’s turn.

Bai Lingmiao and Chun Xiaoman, supporting the heavily pregnant Luo Juan, made their way toward the river, surrounded by the women rescued from the bandits’ den.

The thought of so many women bathing naked was enough to stir the hearts of the other men.

But Li Huowang, sitting there deep in thought like a stabilizing sea god, kept anyone from even daring to turn their heads.

However, the scene down by the river was completely different. The setting sun had dyed the entire water a brilliant red.

Crimson water was cupped in delicate hands, then slid down skin as fine and white as solidified milk, leaving behind glistening, translucent droplets.

Even Chun Xiaoman, a woman herself, was momentarily stunned by the sight.

Luo Juan, standing nearby, had noticed it too and couldn’t help but admire, “Tsk, tsk, tsk, what smooth skin. When your man gets ahold of you in bed, he won’t rub it raw, will he?”

Bai Lingmiao’s face flushed red as she crouched down, covering herself in the shallow water. “Sister Luo, what are you saying!”

“There’s no men around, why are you shy for? When you get to my age, you’ll understand. Blushing is just a show for men.”

Then, holding her belly like a watermelon, she waddled over, her eyes gleaming. “Hey, what’s your man like in the sack? Is he any good? How long can he last?”

Seeing Bai Lingmiao ready to bury her head underwater, Chun Xiaoman stepped in helplessly to mediate. “Sister Luo, the girl is shy. Don’t make things difficult for her.”

Luo Juan looked a bit disappointed. “I could tell she didn’t know about these things, so I wanted to teach her. If she doesn’t want to hear it, fine.”

“Besides, this is nothing. Back at the pond in our village, all the women would wash clothes and talk dirty. The stuff they talked about was way more oily than this. The men would hear it from a distance and just turn around and walk away.”

With that, she hugged her belly and waddled like a crab towards her daughter, who was being held by another woman.

Chun Xiaoman reached out and grasped Bai Lingmiao’s smooth arm, helping her out of the water. “Alright, she’s gone. Get up before you drown yourself.”

Bai Lingmiao patted her chest, still shaken. “Usually Sister Luo’s not so… open. You scared me to death.”

“They’re all like that at her age.” Chun Xiaoman picked up a cloth to help Bai Lingmiao dry off.

“When we get to Sister Luo’s age, will we become like that too? How embarrassing… How can she say things like that out loud?”

Bai Lingmiao’s face was flushed with shyness as she watched Luo Juan laughing heartily in the distance, holding her daughter.