Mutated Tao

As Li Huowang observed those women, he overheard the conversation between Sun Baolu and Puppy.

“Old Sun, those bandits were really wicked. But all the women they captured look pretty decent. Should I pick one of them to be my wife? I don’t mind if they are dirty; it’s fine as long as they can bear children,” wondered Puppy.

“Forget it; they’ve just come out from that place. Don’t bully them,” said Sun Baolu.

“Tsk! What are you saying? I’m not taking a concubine, but openly marrying a wife. I may not be that good-looking, but they would definitely be climbing up the social ladder if they were to marry me,” said Puppy. After a moment, he continued, “Old Sun, do you want one too? If we miss this opportunity, it won’t be so easy to find such pretty wives.”

“Forget it, they are all so pitiful.”

“Hey, we are helping them! Think about it, even if they return, people will still gossip about them, and they won’t be able to marry anyone! At least with me, they will be able to have warm meals,” said Puppy.

At that moment, Li Huowang reached to remove his blanket, and stood up. He ignored Puppy who was spouting nonsense, and made a beeline for Lu Zhuangyuan who was drinking porridge.

The Lu Family Troupe appeared a lot more refreshed after a night of rest; their faces were cleaner, and their clothes were neater.

As he saw Li Huowang approach them, Lu Zhuangyuan hurriedly stood up. At the same time, he stuffed the bowl he was holding to his younger son, and his expression turned into one of utmost respect.

“Ah yes!” Lu Zhuangyuan nodded and received it. “Sorry for the trouble. You had to return this small thing to me personally.”

“If you feel guilty, then do me a favor. We need your assistance,” said Li Huowang.

Lu Zhuangyuan was surprised. This Daoist had supernatural abilities, and so was not sure what kind of help he could offer.

On the other hand, Li Huowang turned to look back at the others who were eating. “Help us put on a disguise and some makeup.”

Soon after, everyone’s faces had theater makeup. Even Li Huowang’s coin veil was decorated with a long beard.

Once all of their weapons were stashed onto the carriages, they could no longer be recognized as a messy group of escorts, but a large theater troupe of about twenty people.

“From now on, you will lead this theater troupe. That means, we are all under your command. You will be the one to answer if anyone asks questions,” said Li Huowang as he looked at Lu Zhuangyuan.

Hou Laoer had pointed out that they were quite conspicuous. Hence, Li Huowang’s objective was for them to change their looks.

Lu Zhuangyuan also understood the situation immediately, and patted his chest while assuring them that there would be no problems.

“Senior Li, will this do?” Puppy asked. He had a white circle drawn on his nose.

Li Huowang’s beard shook with his head as he said, “No matter what, we have to try. We’ll be found far too easily if we continue like before. We can’t fight the entirety of Hou Shu.”

Currently, Li Huowang’s entire face was black, he had a fake beard, and he was wearing a set of theater clothes. It was completely different from his look as the red-robed Daoist from before. He was completely unrecognizable.

“Senior Li, have some food,” said Bai Lingmiao who was wearing an opera costume as she poured some porridge for him.

Li Huowang was about to begin eating, but as he scanned the rest of them, he noticed that Chun Xiaoman had not applied any makeup.

Bai Lingmiao hurriedly explained, “Sister Xiaoman has too much facial hair. She needs to shave it off before applying the makeup.”

“Then shave it off quickly; don’t waste any more time. Who knows when those people will catch up with us,” said Li Huowang as he threw over his sharp sword, and began to eat his porridge.

“There’s no need for that thing; we’re not beheading anyone. I will shave her face,” said Luo Juanhua. Then, she removed two strings from her wrists and walked over to help.

The string heads intertwined, and the black hair on Chun Xiaoman’s face was quickly shaved off, revealing her white skin underneath.

By the time Li Huowang finished eating his porridge, Xiaoman’s face had also been completely shaved off all the hair.

At this point, the other disciples from the Zephyr Temple looked at her curiously. Chun Xiaoman’s face had always been covered in hair, and this was their first time seeing what she truly looked like.

Luo Juanhua had been extremely meticulous, even shaving off the hair on her neck cleanly.

Chun Xiaoman looked at the rest of them nervously. In reality, even she herself did not know what she looked like either.

Xiaoman quickly walked up to a mirror and examined her face carefully.

At that moment, she saw a young maiden about sixteen years of age, with a delicate, slightly round face, and a straight nose. She was not some stunning beauty, but could still be considered pretty.

While Chun Xiaoman did not know about the others, she was definitely satisfied with her appearance. She felt extremely moved as she used her hairy hands to support her face. After all, nobody would want to remain as a hairy monster their entire life. She also wanted to be like other women, to get married and to bear kids.

Xiaoman is actually so young…

Li Huowang thought to himself, and then began to pester them, “Stop gawking; hurry and put the makeup on her. No place in Hou Shu is safe for us right now.”

Hearing this, Lu Juren took up his brush and began to paint on Xiaoman’s face. Despite her reluctance, the dense ink gradually covered her appearance once again.

Ta ta ta!

At that moment, horse hooves suddenly sounded as a group of fierce-looking men quickly rode past them. One of them turned back to glance at them, but did not pay much attention to a theater troupe like theirs.

Li Huowang instantly had a feeling that this wasn’t a good omen. “Hurry, those people must be related to the bandits and have likely come to look for us,”

Li Huowang’s words instantly caused the slightly relaxed atmosphere to tense up.

After they all finished their porridge, they quickly packed up and left.

In the following period, Li Huowang avoided all the major roads and took smaller paths.

Whether it was due to the make-up or their choice of routes, it took them ten days to safely arrive at a small town nestled among several rocky hills.

This town was not very large, and there seemed to be just one major street running through it. Even so, it seemed quite busy due to the constant flow of travelers passing through this hub.

When he saw the bustling street, Li Huowang breathed a sigh of relief. They were a little closer to being able to leave Hou Shu.

“We’ll rest here tonight, and continue on our way tomorrow,” announced Li Huowang before leading the group in.

Just a few steps in, Li Huowang’s eyes gleamed as he saw the old man they had bumped into along the way previously,” Senior? Where are you going?”

Hearing this voice, Jin Shanzhao turned around and saw a middle-aged man with a long beard. However, the voice sounded quite familiar, and so he asked in surprise, “Oh? Is that you, Daoist? Such a coincidence.”

“Coincidence?” Li Huowang’s eyes shrank, and then he quickly walked up to the old man and said, “Hit me.”

“Hmm? What for?”

Thump!

Suddenly, Li Huowang’s fist landed onto Jin Shanzhao’s chest, causing the latter to stumble back.

“Daoist? Why did you do that? Have I offended you somehow?” asked Jin Shanzhao as he struggled to catch his breath.

Li Huowang did not respond to him, and instead looked down at his fist.

I can touch him, and this sensation… Seems like he’s not a hallucination, unlike Monk.

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