The County Town

Li Huowang was alone now. In the past, he would have sent one of his junior brothers to gather information, but not this time. The target of his inquiries was the Jian Tian Si, and involving anyone else was too great a risk.

As for himself, he had a unique advantage. By leaving his colored phantom body beneath the earth, his physical form could remain completely hidden. Even if someone traced him, his increasingly sharp senses would give him ample warning.

The people of the county town were scattered like white sesame seeds on a baked flatbread, each lost in their own affairs. It was not until nightfall that they reconvened at the inn.

“Senior Brother Li, the sheep are all sold out! The moment people heard they were from Qingqiu, they went crazy for them! I even bought some fine grain—I’ve been eating nothing but roughage, and my shits are getting all clogged up.” Gouwa, his arm slung around Zhao Wu’s shoulders, grinned as he handed a heavy pouch of silver to Li Huowang.

“Give it to Zhao Wu. He keeps the books.”

Li Huowang’s voice was flat. He turned and walked into his room, collapsing onto the bed. The dull, stabbing ache in his feet from a full day of walking pulsed up his legs.

If there was anything worse than being watched by the Jian Tian Si, it was finding no trace of them at all. He knew it was foolish to expect results in a single day, but the disappointment still settled in his chest like a stone.

“This won’t work. I’m looking for a needle in a haystack. I need a different approach. I have to find a way to make contact with them, and fast.”

Li Huowang rubbed his temples, thinking in the dark room.

A pair of pale hands tipped with long, sharp black nails slid out from under the bed. They gently pulled off his shoes and socks, then lowered his tired feet into a basin of warm water.

The room fell silent. For half a shichen, there was no sound at all.

Then Li Huowang sat up abruptly.

“Wait. Think about when that old lama showed up before! Yes, that’s it! If the Jian Tian Si only deals with things the local government can’t handle, then all I have to do is get close to those kinds of troubles. The more I do, the faster I’ll draw them out!”

His voice was alive with sudden excitement.

“That makes sense!” The monk standing beside Peng Longteng nodded vigorously in agreement.

Li Huowang realized his earlier approach had been wrong. Instead of tracking the Jian Tian Si directly, he should be looking for the strange and horrifying incidents that would inevitably summon them.

The thought ignited him. He pulled his feet from the basin, barely drying them before shoving them back into his shoes and rushing for the door.

But the moment he threw it open, he nearly collided with Lü Zhuangyuan.

“Heh, little Daoist, have you eaten yet?” Lü Zhuangyuan asked with a grin.

“Something on your mind?” Li Huowang’s expression cooled as he gripped the doorframe.

“Well… how’s the scholar doing? If he’s not behaving, give him a good beating! I know how it works—no pain, no gain. Don’t go easy on me.”

“He’s working hard, but he doesn’t know his characters, so it’s slow going,” Li Huowang said bluntly.

“Ah, little Daoist, I don’t know why my luck is so bad. I finally get a grandson, and then this happens…”

“Get to the point. I have urgent business.” Li Huowang could tell the old man was circling something. Lü Zhuangyuan wasn’t the type to come complaining for no reason.

“Right! Daoist, remember? That loan I mentioned—for setting up the troupe again. I spent the whole day looking. This place has everything! Costumes, bronze mirrors, instruments, all for sale! So…”

“You still won’t give up?” Li Huowang thought Lü Zhuangyuan’s troupe had no chance against the established Liang troupes with their professional singing.

“Well… I wanted to try. I thought of a way to scrape by on what the big troupes leave behind.” Lü Zhuangyuan kept smiling.

“Fine. Go to Zhao Wu for the money. He has enough silver on hand.”

Li Huowang pushed past him and hurried down the stairs.

Lü Zhuangyuan’s revival plans were immediately forgotten.

For the next several days, Li Huowang threw himself into the search for the Jian Tian Si, leaving early every morning and returning late. He questioned the townspeople, but dismissed minor incidents—a death or two, a case of possession—as too small to attract the bureau. In his time here, he had come to understand what the Jian Tian Si cared about. They only focused on major disasters: events that could kill tens of thousands, like the ghost town the Zuowandao had massacred, or things that threatened to overturn the established order. But such incidents were rare. He found no strange or evil events, only gossip and domestic squabbles.

Of course, if he removed his copper coin mask and revealed himself as a Heart-Element, he would draw the Jian Tian Si’s attention immediately—but that was not what he wanted.

Bai Lingmiao lay in bed, her eyes half-open in the darkness, watching Li Huowang sleep with his head buried in the covers. Worry crept into her heart.

“Senior Brother Li has been waking before dawn every day. He only comes back after I’ve fallen asleep. I don’t know what he’s looking for.”

Bang bang bang!

Suddenly, a frantic pounding on the door shook the frame.

“Master! I made it! I have a shentong!”

Li Huowang’s bloodshot eyes snapped open, fixed on the door. Lü Xiucai.

He sat up, threw off the blanket, and headed for the door. Just as he was pulling on his shoes, he paused. He turned to look at Bai Lingmiao on the bed.

“Did you find your family?”

At his question, a hint of a smile touched her eyes. She reached under her pillow and pulled out a map, handing it to him.

“Senior Brother Li, I found it. But you’ve been out so much lately, I never had a chance to tell you.”

Li Huowang spread the map open. Among the winding lines, a single red thread stood out, leading to the Ox Heart Mountain.

“The merchant who sold this said it would take nearly a month by ox cart. It would be much faster on horseback, but we don’t know how to ride.”