Mutated Tao

There was a well within the village. There was even a fireplace close to the guest house. Thus, all they needed to do was to place their pot onto the fireplace and they could easily cook a meal.

As he drank the wild vegetable soup and ate the grain bun, Li Huowang felt the ulcer on his lips slowly receding.

At that moment, Li Huowang asked Gao Zhijian about the previous night. “Did anything come close to us last night?”

“N-no. No on-one was he-here,” replied Gao Zhijian.

Li Huowang glanced at Bun and saw that the dog was fine as well. He recalled the strange wedding from yesterday.

Even though everything seemed normal, Li Huowang felt that the gaze of the man was off. He wasn’t sure when he had obtained the power to determine one’s emotions through their gaze, but he could tell that the man who was staring at him yesterday was doing so not out of curiosity, but out of wariness.

“We will rest for today and depart tomorrow morning. Puppy, since we don’t have enough food for our travels, go and gather some rations for our trip today. Gao Zhijian and Chun Xiaoman, both of you can go with him as well. Don’t be careless,” instructed Li Huowang.

“Sure, leave this to me, the great Cao Cao!” answered Puppy.

Li Huowang glanced at Bai Lingmiao, who was whispering something to Chun Xiaoman, before continuing with his meal.

Given that this was one of their rare rest days, Li Huowang took the chance to practice the Fiery Scripture.

However, even now he had no idea how to gather or invoke the feeling of compassion within his heart.

Just as he had barely managed to gather the white wax into a pile, he suddenly detected someone staring at him.

Li Huowang quickly stowed away the Fiery Scripture and opened the window, only to find the Village Protector sniffling and smiling at him.

Is it him? Maybe I can get some information from him.

Li Huowang immediately ran down and took some of the grain buns from the kitchen before approaching the Village Protector.

Li Huowang shook the grain buns in front of him and saw the man was staring intensely at the buns. “I will give you a bun for every question you answer. Deal?”

“Alright!” The stupid Village Protector nodded.

“What’s your name?” asked Li Huowang.

“I have no idea, but my mother said my surname is Hua,” replied the Village Protector.

“Alright, here’s your bun.”

The Village Protector was so happy about receiving a bun that his snot flew out.

“Here’s another question. Who was the man hitting the gong yesterday? What is his job?” asked Li Huowang.

“That’s Hou Laoer. He’s a soldier. His brother, Hou Laoda, was the one getting married so he recently came back here,” replied the Village Protector.

“A soldier? For the kingdom of Hou Shu?” mumbled Li Huowang.

That means he’s working with the kingdom!

Li Huowang had been here for quite a while, but other than the soldiers guarding the borders, he had never met an official or a representative of the kingdom.

Now he was quite curious. How did the officials govern their countries that were riddled with evil beings in this bizarre world?

The Village Protector did not answer him but stared at the grain bun.

Seeing this, Li Huowang gave him another bun and the Village Protector once again started talking, “I don’t know what kind of soldier he is nor his rank. All I know is that he’s a soldier and that he wields a large spear. The spear is so heavy that I can’t even lift it.”

Hearing this, Li Huowang frowned and glanced in the direction of the Hou family’s house. It was just further up the path, with the stone lions protecting the gates.

“Where is he now?” asked Li Huowang.

“He left. After Hou Laoda’s wedding ceremony was over, he directly left,” replied the Village Protector.

Hearing that Hou Laoer had already left, Li Huowang sighed in relief. Still, he would rather face a human than some evil being.

Li Huowang didn’t know if he would cross paths with that man again, but if his hunch was right, then the state officials were probably very busy with the disappearance of ‘decay’ from the world.

Just then, an old voice came from behind, “Village Protector, did that man give you food?”

Li Huowang recognized the old man; it was the father of the groom from yesterday’s wedding. The old man was still wearing his hat and coat from yesterday.

“Greetings, good sir,” greeted Li Huowang.

“Aiya, you were already our guest yesterday. There’s no need to be so polite,” said the old man.

While the two were talking, the Village Protector saw that there were no more grain buns to be had and left.

Staring at the Village Protector’s dirty back, Li Huowang asked the old man, “Sir, I’ve heard that the Village Protectors can protect a village from disasters. Is this true? Did he help this village before?”

Even though Gao Zhijian had just mentioned it in a passing remark, it was something entirely possible within this bizarre world.

“It’s just a story that we came up with so that a mentally retarded person without any family wouldn’t die from hunger. Anyone smart enough would be able to tell,” said the old man.

“I see. You must be quite kind then.”

“I’m afraid not. Our ancestors have told us that a single village can only contain a single Village Protector. After all, we can’t feed too many people for free. That said, will you be passing by Ji City? I recall that you are offering escort services, correct?” asked the old man.

Li Huowang was surprised. From the looks of it, the old man hadn’t just found him by chance, and had been actively searching for him.

“My eldest daughter is staying there. Could you pass a message to her? I need you to tell her that her brother just got married and so we will be expecting a new addition to our family. How much silver would that require?” inquired the old man.

“No need for payment. You already invited us to dinner last night. There’s no reason for us to request payment just to pass on a message.”

After hearing Li Huowang’s words, the old man did not continue insisting. He then told Li Huowang the address of his eldest daughter.

After remembering the address, Li Huowang suddenly recalled about Hou Laoer. “I thought your second son just left? Why did you not ask him to pass the message instead? He should arrive faster while traveling on his horse compared to my carriage.”

“My second son is rushing back to his camp. How could he possibly go to Ji City? In fact, it took him such a long time just to appeal to leave his post for two days. Sigh, I hope they are not going to war again,” lamented the old man.

“Old man, what is the rank of your second son within the camp? He must be someone of a high rank,” asked Li Huowang.

Li Huowang’s question was something that the old man loved to hear. He purposely spoke in a louder voice as he started boasting, “Of course! He’s a Small-arms soldier.”

“A Small-arms soldier? What is that?” asked Li Huowang.

“Oh, you don’t know? Well, I didn’t know in the beginning either. But he told me that the Small-arms soldiers are essentially the guards that stand beside the general. How could a soldier guarding the general not be someone of high-ranking? Look at my house, my ox-carriage, and the two stone lions by the door of my house. All of those were gifts from my second son,” boasted the old man.

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