Mutated Tao

Everyone was dazzled. Rare items that were seldom seen in bustling markets were commonplace here.

Puppy bought a well-crafted red rattle drum from a stall. He burst into laughter after swinging it around a few times.

“You’re already so old, but you're still having fun playing with a toy? How embarrassing,” Lu Xiucai said with his arms crossed in contempt.

“Why do you even care? At least, I'm better off than you. Those women in those brothels had almost sucked your soul away. You drool all over the place, probably thinking of them,” Puppy retorted as he tucked the drum into his arms.

Lu Xiucai wanted to retort, but Lu Zhuangyuan said, “We’ve already arrived, so let’s go and find a place to stay before anything else.”

Lu Zhuangyuan felt like he hadn’t done much except look around, yet found that two hours had already passed.

He saw that Puppy didn’t respond, so he led the group to find an inn. After a while of searching around, they entered the smallest inn they could find.

Although it was an extremely small inn, Lu Zhuangyuan’s eyes widened in surprise when he inquired about the prices. It was too expensive.

“Sixteen bowls of plain noodles~”

After the waiter left with a disdainful look, Lu Zhuangyuan cleared his throat and said, “Actually, noodles aren’t bad. It’s been a while since we’ve had noodles, so let’s have something different.”

Lu Xiucai wasn’t paying any attention to the noodles. His brows furrowed, and he approached Puppy, “What now? We’ve arrived in the Shangjing capital, but it’s so huge. How do we find Master and Mistress?”

Puppy picked up two chopsticks from the bamboo tube and put them in his mouth, “Why the hurry? Impatience won’t get you anywhere. Do you understand? Let’s finish the noodles first. I, Cao Cao, am so smart. Can’t I think of a solution?”

“Hmph, you’re smart. If you were smart, there wouldn’t be any fools in the world.” Lu Xiucai didn’t ask any further questions. He reached into his pocket and took out a bronze coin sword's broken hilt tied with hemp rope. Then, he filled them in patiently one by one.

The plain noodles soon arrived. They were the cheapest meal, but they were still a delicacy for these weary travelers.

While the entire Lu Family Troupe slurped down their noodles, several people dressed in silk and satin walked into the inn.

They stopped to chat with a middle-aged man from the inn.

“Oh! Innkeeper Wu, nice to meet you.”

“Hahaha, Old Wang, how’s your theater troupe doing these days?”

“Oh my, isn’t this our Mr. Zhao? Why do you look so gloomy? Did your pharmacy go bust?”

Lu Zhuangyuan looked over excitedly. After a while, he abandoned his noodles and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He then shook off the dust on his clothes and moved closer to where the conversation was happening.

“What’s your dad up to?” Puppy asked Lu Xiucai.

“Hmph! What else can he do? The old man went to buy his own coffin!” Lu Xiucai replied impatiently. Laughter soon erupted from where Lu Zhuangyuan had gone.

“Where’s this? This is Shangjing! Do you think that you’re qualified to buy a theater here just because you’re surnamed Ji? Even if you have money, there's no guarantee that you can buy one!”

“With just this meager amount of silver, you still dare to dream of buying a theater troupe in Shangjing! Hahaha! Even the tips my family’s troupe gets in one night is worth more than this!”

Lu Zhuangyuan returned with an ugly look. He sat back at his previous seat and began eating his noodles without a word.

After swallowing the noodles, he stood up firmly and said, “Let’s go! We’ll find another inn. We’re not staying no matter how cheap this place is!”

“Oh, look at the actors from the lowly nine classes. They actually have some backbone.”

“You bitch!” Lu Xiucai cursed and lifted the broken hilt of a bronze coin sword in his hand. However, Lu Juren moved immediately and hugged him to stop him. “Xiucai! Don’t kick up a fuss!”

Lu Juren let him go as soon as they were out of the inn.

Lu Xiucai kicked Lu Juren away and exclaimed, “I can't care less about all this! I’m not some damned actor. I can use supernatural powers! Puppy, let’s go and find Master!”

Puppy whispered a few words to Lu Juren before running toward Lu Xiucai. “Hey, slow down. Why are you moving so fast? Do you even know where Senior Li is right now?”

Puppy’s words made Lu Xiucai stop disgruntledly on the stone bridge. Lu Xiucai stared at the boats in the distance with disdain and said, “Look at them! They have supernatural powers right before them, but these idiots aren't even trying to learn them! They only think about those lowly theater troupes every day! They’re so arrogant to their own people, but they can’t even lift a finger to fight back against outsiders!”

“Hehe, weren’t you planning to kill your dad? Why are you so resentful toward him for being so weak?”

“Of course, I’m going to kill him! Do you really think that I’m just boasting? I’ll go back now and kill that damned old man!”

“Alright, alright. Are you going to find Senior Li or not? Did you come all this way just for a stroll?”

Lu Xiucai turned around and asked, “You have a method to find Master, right? Where is it?”

“Just follow me, Xiucai. Be polite. Your Master is my Senior, so you should call me Senior Uncle.”

Lu Xiucai followed Puppy as they wandered through the bustling capital. Puppy headed straight to the entrance of an inn and restaurant.

He soon found the people he was looking for. It was a group of beggars eating leftovers.

Puppy held up a sling of bronze coins and tossed it up and down in his hand as he walked around the beggars.

When their eyes were all drawn to the coins, Puppy chuckled and said, “I’m looking for someone. Whoever finds them will receive this as their reward.”

“This is your method?”

“Shh! Don’t interrupt!” Puppy waved the coin in front of the beggars. “I’m looking for two people. A male Daoist with red Daoist robes and two swords on his back. The other is a woman with a skin so fair that her skin has the same color as a dead pig."

“I know! Six days ago, Little Grapefruit said he was delivering a letter to someone in the south of the city! That person seemed to be wearing red Daoist robes!”

“Oh? Then where’s Little Grapefruit? Is he here? Where did he deliver the letter to?”

“He didn’t come back after delivering the letter. The city south is occupied by other beggars. I dare not go find him.”

A grubby hand reached for the sling of coins, but the sling was retracted. “What can I do with your outdated information? I asked you where they are right now.“

“When you see them, bring me to them, and then this sling will be yours.”

Under the influence of money, the beggars dispersed and began their search.

“Let’s go back, Xiucai. All we have to do now is to wait,” Puppy said smugly.

“Can we really find Master just like that?” Lu Xiucai asked, sounding doubtful.

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