38 Jianye
"Fifth brother, come in quickly, where have you been these days? Your sixth sister and I have been so worried about you, we thought something had happened to you."
Upon seeing the shirtless boy helping Zhao Wu walk inside, Li Huowang stepped forward to follow, sensing that things weren't so simple.
"Why are you back?" The moment he heard the person doing accounts speak in an indifferent tone, Li Huowang knew his guess was correct.
The emotional excitement that had filled Zhao Wu just moments ago gradually disappeared from his face, and with a trembling voice, he said, "Dad, I was abducted with a sack over my head, they took me to a far place, it was these friends of mine who brought me back."
Looking at the several black bamboo hats at the door, Zhao Wu's father waved his hands impatiently, "Disperse, disperse! With you all crowding the entrance, how are we supposed to do business?"
The other party's attitude irked Li Huowang. What do your father-son issues have to do with us outsiders?
Snatching the longsword from Zhao Wu's hand and lifting it high, the cold gleam of the blade came in a flash, striking directly onto the wooden counter, almost splitting it in two.
"What are you trying to do? The town's arrest officer is my relative!" Zhao Wu's father said as he retreated in fear.
Li Huowang pulled out a silver tael with his right hand and, in front of him, slowly shaved off a small piece along the gleaming blade, then pushed the silver fragments toward him. "For rice!"
In the small backyard of the rice shop, Zhao Wu was pouring tea for Li Huowang. "Brother Li, calm down. My dad is just like that, but at heart, he's actually quite good."
Li Huowang downed the tea in one gulp. Whether his heart was good or bad didn't concern him; he wasn't here just to deliver Zhao Wu.
"These letters of last words are domestic ones. Since you're familiar with Jianye City, find a reliable courier service and send them over," Li Huowang said as he pushed seven or eight notes across to Zhao Wu.
Zhao Wu took them with both hands, nodding solemnly. "Brother Li, rest assured, I guarantee to get it done!"
"Alright, that's it then. You stay at home and be good; we're leaving," Li Huowang declared as he rose to his feet.
"Are you leaving so soon? Why not have lunch at my place? I owe my life to all of you."
Zhao Wu obviously didn't want to part. This goodbye might mean they would never see each other again.
"Forget about it, don't bother," Li Huowang patted Zhao Wu on the shoulder, considering his father's attitude just now, that meal was likely to be anything but peaceful.
"Remember the characters I've taught you these past few days, especially your name. Being able to write your own name means you're not completely illiterate."
As Li Huowang was giving his final piece of advice, a woman covered in black hair, the Medicinal Guide, suddenly rushed forward and whispered into his ear with an extremely low voice, "After you get back home, you'd better check. You might not have been abducted but sold by your dad!"
Her words silenced everyone. When Zhao Wu's third brother came carrying the rice, Li Huowang gestured for the idiot to take the rice and led the others away.
On the bustling street, Li Huowang and his companions were looking for an inn to stay at.
"Why do you think Zhao Wu was sold by his father?" Li Huowang turned and asked the woman who had whispered to Zhao Wu last.
The woman with hirsutism, generally silent and reticent, had spoken so little that Li Huowang was somewhat surprised by her sudden words.
"Even tigers don't eat their young; he may not be that bad," he said.
At these words, the woman's body started to shake inexplicably, her voice filled with sorrow as she said, "It's true that tigers don't eat their young, but humans are much more venomous than tigers! Because I was sold by my own parents!"
Upon hearing this, everyone stopped and looked at her in shock.
"Two taels of silver, just two taels! He sold me like one would sell an animal! Without even turning his head back once."
Sensing the woman's pain, Bai Lingmiao went over, gently hugged her, and began to softly pat her back in comfort.
After a moment's thought, Li Huowang spoke again. "If he sold you, are you still going back?"
"I'll go back!" the woman hissed through clenched teeth.
Looking at her chest heaving with excitement and the extreme hatred in her voice, Li Huowang could immediately guess that her reason for returning was probably different from Bai Lingmiao and the others.
"Donglai Inn, we'll stay there for the night." Li Huowang pointed toward the signboard on the left side of the street with his hand and took the lead in entering.
"Dear guests, please come in. Are you looking to rest or to stay for the night?"
"To stay, how much for a room?"
"We have three types here, Class A rooms are ninety Wen with food included, Class B rooms are sixty Wen without food, and Class C rooms are twenty Wen, but you'll have to share with others."
"Sir, you have a total of seven adults and five children, twelve people in all. You can choose four Class B rooms. Our inn's rooms are spacious, and it's not a problem to have three people sleep in one room. It's safer for two adults to sleep with one child together."
"Okay, we'll do as you said."
"Alrighty! Twelve esteemed guests~ four Class B rooms~ please head upstairs~ watch your step."
At night, Li Huowang leaned against the window, watching the ancient people walking on the street outside.
After traveling all day, he finally had time to sit down and properly observe this world that was completely different from his own past.
There were strong men leading horses, scholars with fans, children carrying paper lanterns, and hunchbacked peddlers burdened with food on their carrying poles.
Everything here was so real, yet so utterly foreign to him.
Face after face flashed before his eyes. As he watched, Li Huowang suddenly felt a moment of absent-mindedness, and the next second, his muscles tensed up instantly—he saw Yang Na on the street!
That delicate face was now tear-stained; her expression so sorrowful that she couldn't catch her breath. "Huowang, please wake up!"
"Ah!" Li Huowang, startled into a cold sweat, quickly stepped back, then lunged forward again, looking down.
But he found that it wasn't his childhood friend Yang Na, just a young woman who bore some resemblance to her.
"Of course, I've grown up so much; if Yang Na really existed, how could she still be a young girl..."
Li Huowang leaned against the wall and slowly slid down, staring blankly at the wooden beam above. "Is the hallucination starting again?"
"Knock knock" The knocking on the door suddenly sounded.
"Come in, the door is unlocked." Li Huowang thought it would be Gouwa who shared a room with him, but it turned out to be Bai Lingmiao.
She approached with a smile, holding a lotus leaf-wrapped package in her hands, which she presented to Li Huowang. Opening the lotus leaf, he saw steaming hot buns inside. "Brother Li, you must be hungry. Have some buns."
Li Huowang grabbed a bun and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing voraciously.
Bai Lingmiao sat to the left of Li Huowang, quietly watching him with the buns in her hands. As soon as she saw him finish, she thoughtfully handed him another one.
"This place is quite special, eh? To have buns for sale late at night," said Li Huowang.
"Isn't it common to have buns for sale late at night? If you're talking about special, you should mention the fool, dipping buns in vinegar before eating!"
"Hehe, I wonder where he's from to have such a way of eating."
As Li Huowang was casually conversing with Bai Lingmiao, something suddenly occurred to him, "I didn't give you any money, where did you get the money to buy the buns?"
Bai Lingmiao's gaze shifted evasively, but first, she placed the remaining buns on her lap. Then, she took out several large pieces of silver from her waist, held them in both hands, and presented them to Li Huowang.
"Brother Li, I pawned that golden anklet of mine. It's too hard for you alone. I can't do much else, but this is how I can help you," she said.