Scary

"Th-ther-there's... there's... shit!"

"My eyes aren't blind. Stop crowding forward—are you trying to eat it? I know you're stupid, but you're not stupid enough for that, are you?"

"Gouwa, stop talking. There are people on the road."

"Hehehe, as you say, Senior Brother Li."

Before long, Lu Zhuangyuan saw those people emerge from the woods.

The moment he saw what they looked like, Lu Zhuangyuan sucked in a sharp breath. No wonder his younger son had said there were ghosts just now—these people looked far too frightening.

There was a skinny man with patches of black and white across his face, a white-haired woman, a freak with bowlegs lying across someone's back, and even someone whose entire face was covered in hair.

Lu Zhuangyuan had traveled far and wide and could be considered well-informed, yet the sight before him still frightened him.

"Father, I'm scared." Lu Xiucai kept shrinking back, as though he wanted to tuck himself as far behind his father as possible.

You think you're scared? Aren't I scared too? Lu Zhuangyuan cursed his younger son furiously in his heart. If not for the handsome Daoist among that group, along with several normal-looking Daoist Children, he would likely have turned and run long ago.

Trembling, Lu Zhuangyuan cupped his hands toward Li Huowang. "May I ask, Daoist master... are these all spirits and monsters you have subdued?"

The moment those words left his mouth, he drew a great many hostile stares.

"What did that old bastard say? Looking for a beating? Who are you calling spirits and monsters?"

Lu Zhuangyuan saw the handsome Daoist wave a hand, silencing the aggressive black-and-white-faced monster. This only made him more certain of his guess.

"Sir, may I trouble you to ask where this road leads?"

"Wu Li Gang! Wu Li Gang is just ahead, not far at all. Hehehe."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Zhuangyuan secretly scorched the horse's rump with the tip of his dry-smoking pipe. The horse neighed and bolted down Forest Path, dragging the cart behind it.

"Hey! My horse! My horse! Hurry, catch up!" Lu Zhuangyuan and the others pretended to panic as they chased after the horse.

They ran like the wind, and before long, they had left those things far behind.

They ran for an entire Double Hour. Only when he saw his younger son run until he vomited did Lu Zhuangyuan whistle for the horse to stop.

After stopping, he ignored his younger son and immediately went to check on the horse pulling the cart. In this troupe, the horse was more valuable than people.

The sky was gradually darkening. Night was almost upon them.

"My dear mother, what in the world were those things? They scared me half to death." Lu Juren panted heavily, drenched in sweat.

Lu Zhuangyuan kicked him. "Can't you see it's getting dark? Hurry into the woods and gather some firewood!"

Beside Forest Path, a warm bonfire rose. Softened coarse-grain buns were fed into everyone's mouths, and the sweet fragrance of food soothed their frightened hearts.

"Look at you all, scared into such miserable shapes. When you're out on the road, what does it matter if you run into something strange? The more it's like this, the less you can panic—I'm telling you," Lu Zhuangyuan said to the others.

"Father, maybe they weren't spirits and monsters. I thought they looked rather like people, and that young Daoist even called you sir."

Hearing his daughter-in-law say that, Lu Zhuangyuan shook the water gourd in his hand.

"Whatever they were, we stay out of it. Remember this well: when you're away from home, if you want to live a long life, then anything you can avoid, don't go touching."

This could be called Lu Zhuangyuan's philosophy of life. No matter what, it was by relying on this one principle that he had lived to such an age.

And he intended to pass it on to both his younger son and his elder son. After all, once he grew old, this troupe would have to rely on them to take over and travel from performance to performance.

Handing the water gourd to his nephew beside him, Lu Zhuangyuan looked toward his granddaughter, who was lying in her mother's arms.

Watching her grind a small piece of bun with the baby teeth that had only just grown in, Lu Zhuangyuan found her more and more delightful the longer he looked.

He turned and fished out a salted duck egg from a round jar on the cart. After carefully peeling open a small hole, he brought the yolk, glistening with oil, to his granddaughter's mouth. "Come, come, Nannan, suck on this. This is fragrant."

Watching his granddaughter suck with all her strength, Lu Zhuangyuan's eyes narrowed into smiling slits.

Though it was a pity she was not a grandson, affection skipped a generation after all. He cherished this little granddaughter beyond measure.

Sensing this was a good opportunity, Luo Juanhua immediately said, "Father, look, Cui'er is already this big. Shouldn't she have a set of clothes? She can't keep wearing costumes every day."

The moment his daughter-in-law mentioned money, Lu Zhuangyuan's smile vanished at once, his features wrinkling together.

He was just about to refuse, but when he saw the loose, baggy costume on his little granddaughter, his heart softened again.

After taking several puffs from his dry-smoking pipe, Lu Zhuangyuan, with even more wrinkles on his face, walked to the cart and used a long copper key to unlock the chest.

After feeling around inside for quite a while, he counted out fifty copper coins.

"Don't buy cloth in town. It's expensive. In a couple of days, when we reach Wu Li Gang, ask around to see whose women weave cloth. Buy a few feet from their household. Remember to ask several households and find the cheapest one."

"And remember, buy cotton cloth, not hemp cloth. Xiuer's skin is tender; hemp cloth will chafe her terribly."

"I understand." Luo Juanhua beamed as she accepted the copper coins. She had thought it would already be quite good if she could get enough money for hemp cloth. Who would have thought this iron rooster would actually crow this time?

Children were small, and making clothes would not require much cloth. Perhaps she could even skim a little off this time.

Once he saw his granddaughter finish the egg yolk, Lu Zhuangyuan divided the remaining egg white among the adults.

Though each person received only a little, they were still delighted to taste some saltiness. It was not easy to get a chance to eat meat.

The sky had already turned dark. After dinner, there was nothing much to do. They listened to Lu Zhuangyuan tell several old stories of unknown origin, then prepared to sleep.

Lu Juren was on watch for the first half of the night. After walking all day, he was already exhausted, but he still forced himself to stay alert, staring at the fire to keep it from going out.

"Son, go sleep. I'll keep watch." Lu Zhuangyuan sat beside his son and began puffing on his dry-smoking pipe again.

Yawning, Lu Juren said, "Father, I'm not sleepy. You go sleep."

"Quit your nonsense and go to sleep. This old man needs less sleep."

As the two argued before the bonfire, Lu Zhuangyuan suddenly covered his son's mouth and pointed toward the dark woods in the distance.

"Hehehe~" A woman's sharp, thin laugh suddenly rang out to their right.

Lu Zhuangyuan and his son instinctively looked over, but saw nothing except darkness.

"Hehehe~ Tell me, do I look more like a person or a god?" The pitch-black woods began to sway, as though something inside was about to emerge.

Lu Zhuangyuan immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Well-traveled as he was, he knew that something was asking him for a seal.

This was not something he could answer carelessly. One wrong answer, and it might bring ruin upon his household.

But the problem now was, what exactly was it in the woods that was asking him for a seal?

The woods swayed rhythmically in the night, giving off an eerie rustling sound.