Mutated Tao

Chun Xiaoman spoke while still wiping Bai Lingmiao’s body, “I don’t think it’s inappropriate. Since you’ve already slept with Senior Li, it’s not really a taboo. So, don’t slouch and stand straight.”

However, Bai Lingmiao was so embarrassed that she couldn’t say anything. She still felt that this topic was something private, and that it shouldn’t be discussed with anyone else.

The women bathed for a long time. It was only when the skies were getting dark that they dried themselves off and wore their clothes.

Because of the fact that they had departed before dawn, most of them were already tired. Thus, all of them went to sleep quite early except for the ones who were standing guard at night.

“Since I have a lot of hair, I could only dry them halfway. Hope you won’t hate them,” said Xiaoman.

Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao hugged Chun Xiaoman with all her might and shoved her face into Chun Xiaoman’s dense hair. “How could I hate it? I love my dear Xiaoman.”

Xiaoman raised her hairy legs, tickling Bai Lingmiao all over.

“Hey, stop it! I’m ticklish!” said Bai Lingmiao.

“You love me? I think you love Senior Li more than you love me. I think that you will just wait for me to fall asleep before putting on your undies and then get into Senior Li’s blanket,” said Xiaoman.

“Senior Li is still wounded and I’m just going to go there to take care of him,” defended Bai Lingmiao.

“Do you think he needs your care? I think there’s only one thing you can take care of for him, hehe…” chuckled Xiaoman.

“Xiaoman, why are you like this too?”

Both of them were whispering to each other underneath their blanket when they saw someone carefully approaching the river.

“Who’s that?” asked Bai Lingmiao.

“Who else? It’s Sun Baolu. He never bathes with anyone. He’s even more afraid of someone peeping at his body than us,” replied Xiaoman.

Nothing happened that night except for some wolf howls.

When Li Huowang woke up, he was hugging Bai Lingmiao.

“Senior Li, you were having a nightmare,” said Bai Lingmiao as she carefully rubbed his chin, feeling concerned.

“Don’t worry. I’m used to it.”

Li Huowang had bags under his eyes when he woke up. He looked toward the Women’s Mountain one more time before finally deciding to let his guard down for a bit.

I never revealed anything, so they probably don’t know that I’m a Strayed One. Even more so since they were just disciples. Regardless of whether they can be considered good or bad, we should be safe for now.

After they finished washing up, Sun Baolu brought a bowl of brown liquid to him. “Senior Li, time to eat.”

“What is this?” asked Li Huowang, his sharp sense of smell almost causing him to start retching from the noxious scent.

“It’s fresh lamb’s milk mixed with lamb blood and some salt. Not only does it taste great, it’s quite good for people with injuries too,” said Sun Baolu as he took a sip before giving the bowl to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang took a sip and almost puked; however, he somehow suppressed the feeling and forced himself to drink it.

While it was definitely nutritious, it was not his cup of tea.

Meanwhile, Sun Baolu hopped up and down in excitement. “Senior Li, don’t you think I was right? As long as we bring enough lambs, we don’t have to worry about our meals!”

Li Huowang used his sleeves to wipe his mouth and gave back the bowl. “Sure… Anyway, we should be reaching your home soon after leaving Women’s Mountain right?”

Sun Baolu's eyes lit up upon hearing this question. “Yes! Let’s go! They should be just ahead!”

Even though the scenery around them looked the same to Li Huowang, Sun Baolu was still able to point out the differences.

“There! That mountain! I used to herd lambs over there! I lost my left molar tooth when I fell down over there! Oh, I also saw a white wolf in the east! I’m not joking, it really was a white wolf! My parents said that it was impossible but I definitely saw it with my own eyes! And look! Do you see the marks on the ground? This must be where my people set up their tents before! We are quite close!”

As they got closer and closer, Sun Baolu became more and more excited. In the final two days, Sun Baolu didn’t sleep a wink and stood guard for both nights.

On the third day, after they walked over a small hill, they finally saw something different—on the grassy green plains was a herd of white lambs and black cows.

There were several large tents close to the lambs, and most importantly, humans.

“HEEEEY!” Sun Baolu cried out as he ran toward his people. He abandoned everything and ran as fast as he could.

When Li Huowang and the rest approached them, they saw that Sun Baolu was being hugged by a group of crying people. They were his tribesmen! Even though they don’t understand the language of Qing Qiu, Li Huowang could still feel the strong bond they had between them.

Seeing this scene, Li Huowang felt a burst of warmth in his heart. While he was happy about the fact that he had managed to bring Sun Baolu back to his home, he was even happier to see that Sun Baolu was being treated with kindness.

At that moment, Li Huowang saw a woman carrying a basin of milk out from a nearby tent. When she saw Sun Baolu, her face froze. Then, she threw down the basin and ran toward him.

Her voice instantly caught Sun Baolu’s attention and he started crying when he saw her. Under everyone’s gazes, both of them hugged each other and started crying.

“Wow… so he was telling the truth. He really did have someone waiting for him,” said Puppy, feeling jealous.

While both Sun Baolu and the woman were hugging each other and cherishing the moment, an old man hobbled over to them. The old man was wearing several colorful ribbons on his neck. Then, he started speaking to Sun Baolu in Qing Qiu’s native language.

From the looks of it, the old man’s position was quite high; his words instantly caused both Sun Baolu and his woman to calm down.

Sun Baolu talked to the old man for a while before excitedly bringing him toward Li Huowang. Then, he excitedly introduced Li Huowang and everyone else to his tribe.

Li Huowang had no idea what Sun Baolu was telling them, but he soon had a rough understanding of what he had said. That night, Li Huowang was served with an entire rack of roasted lamb ribs and honey water.

That night, everyone finally had the chance to eat some meat again. None of them held any reservations and eagerly dug into the meat, directly using their hands.

The campfire was bright and warm. A crowd of people hollered at Sun Baolu while the latter was busy giving everyone a toast with a cup of wine.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang took in the festive scene and drank from his cow horn cup. “Is this bee honey? It’s sweet but not overpowering.”

“It’s ant honey. It’s even rarer than bee honey,” replied a voice.

Li Huowang raised his head and saw a beautiful lady. Even though she was wearing Qing Qiu’s garbs, her white skin gave her away as someone who was not born here.

When the woman saw Li Huowang staring at him, her eyes became red with tears as she kneeled down in front of Li Huowang. “Thank you for sending my son home from so far away! Thank you Daoist Li!”

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