People

Chapter 615: People

"Kid, are you really going? We barely made it over from there, and now you're going back? Not worth it."

"Kid, the Later Shu is far away. Forget the ocean south of it. This round trip... a year or so is the minimum."

When Yang Xiaohai said he was going to find his parents, the others who had escaped the Qingfeng Temple with him all tried to talk him out of it.

They had all suffered hardship on the road. The saying "leave your hometown and your life becomes cheap" wasn't just talk. In these times, any long journey carried risk.

With the mountains high and the roads long, who knew what dangers lay ahead.

Faced with everyone's advice, Yang Xiaohai remained silent. Carrying his pack, he looked over at Li Huowang, who was sitting in a wooden armchair. "Senior Brother Li… do you think I should go?"

"They're your legs. If you want to go, you don't need to ask me. Gouwa, give him your Withered-Wood Ruyi. Something to protect himself on the road."

"Huh~?"

"Stop hemming and hawing. Hurry up. And get him a cart. Walking that far will wear out his shoes."

Soon, Yang Xiaohai's travel gear had multiplied. The cart was piled high with provisions, enough to last them all the way to the Later Shu.

"Take this silver. Use it for expenses, or to buy your way out of trouble."

When Yang Xiaohai took the heavy bag of silver, he looked at a loss. "Senior Brother Li, I can't take this. I…"

"Take it. The village doesn’t need the money right now. I'm still not healed, so I can't go with you. Since you want to go, then go. These days, the realm is at peace. The talismans I taught you and the Withered-Wood Ruyi should be enough to protect you from ordinary evils."

Hearing this, Yang Xiaohai was so moved he fell to his knees. He kowtowed to Li Huowang several times, then jumped onto the cart and, together with the woman who had been with him, drove away from Niuxin Village.

Gouwa, holding his daughter, suddenly stepped forward and shouted, "Xiaohai! When you pass through Qingqiu, drop in on Sun Baolu! Tell him I got married and had a daughter!"

"Okay! Senior Brother Gou! Got it!"

Yang Xiaohai left. The others drifted back to their own homes.

On the way, Gouwa grumbled. "The kid's gone. Who's gonna cook for us? Zhao Wu, how's your cooking?"

Zhao Wu shot him a look. "Look at my legs. Do I look like I can cook?"

"Crap. So nobody's cooking. What do we do? Chun Xiaoman, can you handle it?"

"Screw off."

"Since no one's cooking, then we'll stop eating from the communal pot." Li Huowang's words drew everyone's attention.

Eating together had been an old habit from their journey. But now, Gao Zhijian had become emperor. Sun Baolu had gone home. The Lyu Troupe had settled in the capital. Several more had died on the road. They couldn't even fill a table anymore.

"You've all started your own families. And you're not short on money. From now on, cook for yourselves. Stop running to the Bai Family compound every day."

Upon hearing this, Bai Lingmiao, who was at Li Huowang's side, showed a hint of happiness.

"Don't do that, Senior Brother Li," Gouwa said, looking disappointed. It was too comfortable to just show up with an empty mouth at mealtime.

"Less talk. That's the decision." Li Huowang finished speaking, took Li Sui's hand, and walked towards the Bai Family compound.

Gouwa scratched his head, then looked at Zhao Wu. "Hey, you don't have a family yet. Who's gonna cook for you now? Quick, talk some sense into him."

"Don't try to use me as your excuse. I can cook for myself. I'll be fine." Zhao Wu said, ignoring Gouwa's surprise. Picking up his crutch, he hobbled step by step towards the storehouse.

It was called the storehouse, but it was really an empty compound no one lived in, cleared out specifically to hold the things Gao Zhijian had sent.

Gold, silver, fabric, and all sorts of imperial gifts filled the main hall. Setting an abacus on the table, Zhao Wu began his inventory.

This was Zhao Wu's job. In all of Niuxin Village, only he could do it. His family had sold rice. He'd grown up to the sound of an abacus clicking. No one could match his reckoning skills.

Back on the road, they'd been poor. They'd had almost no money, so there was nothing for Zhao Wu to calculate.

But now, with Niuxin Village's expenses and rations, so much money and grain… his value became clear.

He was the one carefully clicking the abacus: how much the village earned, how much it spent, where every copper went, how much old rice there was, how much old rice to sell each year, how much new rice to stockpile.

Doing all this alone was exhausting. But Zhao Wu was happy to do it. Because it was the only way he felt like he wasn't a useless cripple who couldn't carry or lift a thing.

"Five hundred pearls? Why did Gao Zhijian send so many pearls? No one in the village uses them." Zhao Wu shook his head gently, picked up his brush, and carefully noted it down.

This kind of work took all day. By the time his stomach growled loudly and the sky had darkened, he'd missed Yang Xiaohai's call for dinner.

And only then did Zhao Wu realize that Yang Xiaohai had just left. From now on, he'd have to cook for himself.

"Tch. Someone leaves, and already things feel off." Picking up his crutch, Zhao Wu limped towards the kitchen.

When he got to the kitchen, it was dark. Zhao Wu decided to grab something he could eat raw and be done with it. He didn't want to be late for Wu Fuzi's evening lessons.

Thinking about what Wu Fuzi had said about him just yesterday, Zhao Wu felt a fire in his chest. Wu Fuzi had said that, for reading ability, Zhao Wu had the most talent in all of Niuxin Village.

He already knew eight hundred characters now. He could barely call himself a literate man.

"It's so dark. Where's the oil lamp." Zhao Wu fumbled around the kitchen.

He lifted a steamer lid. His hand touched a cool, soft, spindle-shaped thing. He picked it up and stuffed it into his shirt. "Sweet potato's good too. I'll eat it on the way. Can't be late."

With that thought, Zhao Wu's movements quickened. But just as he was shoving a third sweet potato into his shirt and reaching for a fourth, his hand touched a bony claw in the darkness.

"Ghost!!"

In the span of a few breaths, there was a loud CRACK. The kitchen door exploded into splinters. Li Huowang stood there, his body covered in writhing black tentacles, a spine-blade in his hand. His face was full of murderous intent as he swept his gaze over the inside of the room.

"Senior Brother Li! There's a ghost! In here!" Zhao Wu, forgetting his crutch completely, scrambled on all fours behind Li Huowang.

"Quiet!" Li Huowang pulled out a glowing, sickly green fluorescent stone from his pocket and tossed it into the dark kitchen.

He quickly saw the man huddled in the corner, his clothes ragged. The man’s shoulders were trembling. He seemed to be eating something.

"Turn around!" Li Huowang leveled his blade.

When the man turned and saw what Li Huowang looked like, he forgot about the sweet potato he was stuffing into his mouth. Shaking all over, he fell to the ground and kowtowed frantically. "Spare me, Great Immortal! Spare me!!"