“Junior Li, go east,” Zhuge Yuan said after observing the mountains and rivers around them.
Li Huowang nodded and walked east without deviating even an inch. He climbed past the hills and waded through the waters.
“The left is blocked, and the right is crooked. We cannot walk this path any further. Head west for two Li.”
Li Huowang followed, but he needed clarification. “Senior Zhuge, is Shangji Guankou not in a specific place?”
“No. Shangji Guankou is alive. They're extremely good at moving and hiding. Thankfully, the Feng Shui around them would change every time they move. We just need to use the metal and water detection method to find traces of them amidst nature.” Zhuge Yuan calculated something with his fingers while looking at the sky.
Li Huowang nodded and said nothing as he continued walking.
He felt more confident and calm with Zhuge Yuan guiding him, especially in a foreign place like the Great Qi.
Under Zhuge Yuan's guidance, Li Huowang walked in circles until midnight. He only stopped when he saw a town with some lights in the distance while he was walking through a dried field with cracks in the ground.
The town had a decent size, so it wouldn't be an issue for him to find an inn there. Li Huowang looked at Li Sui and then at Zhuge Yuan. “Senior Zhuge, let’s stop here for now and rest.” Li Huowang then approached the town with Li Sui.
“Junior Li, rest well. According to my calculations, we'll catch up to them by tomorrow.”“Then that’s good. I hope everything goes well.”
The Qi Kingdom's situation wasn't too bad, but Li Huowang felt a sense of foreboding for some reason.
He wasn’t sure whether his instinct warning him of imminent danger or if it was just a feeling because he hadn’t met any danger so far. Still, he maintained his guard.
Just as he got closer to the town, he caught a whiff of burning wood.
Someone was guarding the entrance of the town, but Li Huowang frowned at how unprofessional the guards were. They were all drinking soup by a bonfire.
The guards didn’t even react when Li Huowang approached them.
He entered the town but failed to find an inn. More specifically, no one had their doors opened. The streets were deserted.
He sighed and decided to find a house that still had a light in it. He soon found one. The house had a small courtyard. Inside the courtyard was someone wearing a white towel on their head while cooking something on a small stove.
The man had been adding firewood to the stove, and he turned around upon hearing Li Huowang’s footsteps.
Li Huowang saw that the man had pale skin and a fragrant scent. Li Huowang was immediately suspicious of the man.
“Do you need something, Daoist?”
That man stood up and looked at Li Huowang before staring at Li Sui behind him. Thankfully, Li Sui was wearing her veil.
Li Huowang took one look at the man and raised his guard up further. The man's feet were bound!
The man’s feet were half the size of an ordinary human's feet. He was also wearing three-inch shoes women usually wore.
The man was reaching for something behind him when Li Huowang immediately unsheathed his sword and placed it on the man’s neck.
“What are you doing?!”
“Junior Li, wait. Don’t be so rash. This is the Qi Kingdom. You don’t have any enemies here. This man is just an… escort," Zhuge Yuan said, and then he proceeded to explain further.
Li Huowang then learned that there were men selling their bodies as a profession in the Qi Kingdom. Men with bound feet were one of such people.
Li Huowang sheathed his sword. The man slumped to the ground with his pants wet, and he kowtowed to Li Huowang.
“Please! The money is at the bottom of the chest! You can have it! Please spare me!”
Li Huowang looked at what the man had been reaching for behind him. It was a red handkerchief.
“I’m not here to rob you! I’m here to stay the night. Stand up. I will be staying at your house tonight. Take this. If it’s too much, just think of it as my apology.”
Li Huowang dragged the man up and placed several broken pieces of silver into his hands.
“T-t-that's..." the man stammered, but Li Huowang had already entered his home.
The house was small and simple; it was surprisingly clean as well.
There was an altar to the left with two painted clay pots. Li Huowang was immediately attracted to it.
Staring at the long ears and three-pointed mouth of the pots, Li Huowang turned around and looked at the man. “What are you worshiping?”
The man smiled sheepishly, “We worship Sir Rabbit. Everyone in my line of work prays to him.”
“Hoh. I knew it.”
It was already late at night, and Li Huowang didn’t want to talk too much to the man. He needed to rest as well.
He walked up the second floor and used a drawer to block the stairways. Only then did he fall asleep on the bed.
Li Sui huddled at his side like a dog and closed her eyes, but her ears twitched as she monitored her surroundings for danger.
Time ticked by just like that. Li Huowang was still sleeping when he heard the sound of cracking firewood outside.
Sunlight shone in through the window, and Li Huowang opened his eyes upon hearing footsteps outside.
Li Sui was already taking a peek through the window gap.
“Dad, there are people outside. They all wear the same white towel, and they're whispering to each other... They're done talking. The man threw one more firewood into the stove and left with them.”
Li Huowang got out of bed and took his weapons. “They probably left to report to the officials.”
Li Sui nodded and followed him down the stairs.
The man with bound feet had left, but the fire in the stove was still going strong.
What was he cooking for an entire night? Li Huowang walked out of the courtyard to leave the town.
When he walked through the streets, he saw that everyone was cooking something. He frowned when he noticed it.
“Senior Zhuge, is this a tradition of the Qi Kingdom?”
“I don’t think so. Junior Li, what month is it? Is the Dragon Boat Festival around the corner? I remember that it would take an entire day and night to cook the dumplings.”
Li Huowang took a deep breath before shaking his head. “No. The leaves wrapping the dumplings would be fragrant, then, but I can’t smell anything at all. Anyway, it doesn't matter as long as they don’t hinder us.”
Li Huowang picked up his pace and walked to the entrance of the town.
And that was when he saw rows of steaming stoves before him...
“What's going on here?”
The townspeople were carrying heavy stoves outside of the town.
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