Lu Family Troupe

"Hey! There's nothing to be afraid of in this kind of thing. When going far away, just stick together and have more people." Lu Zhuangyuan shared his experience with Li Huowang.

"Oh? More people, more yang energy, so those things won't dare to act?"

"Nah!" Lu Zhuangyuan reloaded his pipe and continued smoking. "How many people can it eat? If you really encounter it, just run faster than others. Worrying about these is not as good as being careful of bandits robbing silver and killing people, and man-eating tigers in the forest."

Li Huowang didn't know how to continue the conversation for a moment. It seemed he couldn't connect with him.

"Come, come, the buns are baked, eat them while they're hot." Luo Juanhua brought over several white steamed buns skewered on branches, baked until golden brown.

Li Huowang took them and handed them to the children beside him, all of whom he had picked up along the way.

As soon as these guys saw they could leave Qingfeng Temple, they didn't care about anything and rushed out directly, without considering the consequences at all.

By the time he encountered them on the road, they were almost starving.

As fellow disciples, Li Huowang couldn't really watch them suffer, so he brought them along.

Seeing there was hot food, the others didn't stand on ceremony. They were indeed a bit hungry this late, so they grabbed the buns and ate them heartily.

Watching that big fool gobble them down one after another, Lu Zhuangyuan's eyes twitched. These were all white flour buns, which he usually couldn't bear to eat. He regretted being so generous just now.

Just then, a sentence from Li Huowang made him forget his heartache. "Old man, do you have a map? To be honest, we're not locals. We're a bit lost walking in this forest and don't know where we are."

Yes, Li Huowang had gotten lost before. Everywhere was the same forest, and he couldn't determine his location at all. Asking others yielded nothing.

They came from all over the country, and they were very clear about where their homes were, but when asked where they were currently, they couldn't say.

To avoid suspicion, it seemed Danyangzi wasn't just looking for a Medicinal Guide nearby.

"What? Map? No, but I know all the roads here. Where do you want to go? Ask me!"

"Well, many places. Take a look at which place is the closest." Li Huowang took out a large pile of paper slips from his sleeve.

"What's this? What's written on it?" Lu Zhuangyuan held the paper slips far away, his wrinkled face furrowed as he strained to see.

Although his name was Zhuangyuan, if he really was a Number One Scholar, he wouldn't be out here performing.

Lu Zhuangyuan could read, but he didn't know many characters. With Li Huowang's translation, he finally understood all the addresses on them.

After all, he was an old troupe leader who had traveled north and south for so many years. Putting aside other things, Lu Zhuangyuan was still very knowledgeable about geography.

However, knowing where these places were didn't mean Li Huowang could easily get there.

"Goodness, there's even Liang Kingdom. Wasn't that the one that fought with our Qi Kingdom a few years ago?"

Lu Zhuangyuan squatted down and used the head of his pipe to draw on the ground, presenting a simple map to Li Huowang.

If one were to describe the map he drew, it would be like a large pancake dropped on the ground, completely shattered.

Their current location was in the upper left corner of the pancake. Moving from left to right, various countries of all sizes were intertwined.

"It seems a bit like the time of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in the past, without a great unification." Li Huowang thought to himself as he looked at the map on the ground.

Although he hadn't held any hope, when he saw this map, he confirmed that he really hadn't traveled to some dynasty in ancient times, but to an even more special place.

"This old man only travels around the northern part of this area. I know this area, but once I leave the country, I really can't tell which is which. I just heard that the operas they sing are different from ours."

Bai Lingmiao, who was beside him, felt a pang in her heart. Her home was in Oxheart Mountain in Liang Kingdom, which sounded very, very far from here.

Li Huowang keenly sensed her abnormality and gave her a reassuring look. "Don't panic."

Lu Zhuangyuan looked at the bizarre group of over a dozen people in front of him, and the thoughts that had been suppressed by fear immediately became active again.

"Um, this young Taoist priest, you see, there's Jianye Town on your note, and our Lu Family Troupe happens to be going that way too!"

"Hehe, how about we team up?"

"Jianye Town? Who's is this?" Li Huowang rummaged through the notes.

"Senior Brother Li, my home is in Jianye Town." Zhao Wu suddenly spoke up from the side.

"And there's a security escort agency in town. As long as you give them silver, they can deliver the Nanping note for you."

Hearing this, Li Huowang didn't hesitate and stuffed the paper back into his pocket. "Alright then, old man, I'll have to rely on you to show us the way. Let's go to Jianye together."

Whether it was map information or anything else, relying on the old troupe leader's word alone was a bit unconvincing.

Whether it was searching for the Black Tai Sui that could suppress his hallucinations, or delivering letters for others, he should go to a place like the town where information circulated first. Besides, their food was almost gone.

And if possible, Li Huowang also wanted to find the so-called reputable sects.

In such a dangerous place, it was really impossible without strength. Anyone could trample on you at will, and he didn't want to be captured by another Danyangzi at will.

The smiling Lu Zhuangyuan waved his hands repeatedly, "Aiya, you're too kind, you're too kind, don't mention it."

That's what he said, but Lu Zhuangyuan was overjoyed in his heart. Having such an expert by his side was like having a free bodyguard!

This trip, at the very least, he had earned back those white steamed buns and five salted duck eggs.

"Ha~" The fool next to him yawned widely. He was full and wanted to sleep.

Seeing the others with their eyes glazed over, Lu Zhuangyuan tactfully stood up. "Before I knew it, we've been chatting until the second watch. Little Taoist priest, you should rest first, I'll keep watch."

"No need, I'll keep watch tonight." Li Huowang wasn't really being polite, but it never hurt to be cautious.

After all the commotion, everyone was tired. Two groups of people with different goals fell asleep around the warm bonfire, while Li Huowang and Lu Zhuangyuan, sitting there alone, looked at each other in silence.

The next morning, Li Huowang was woken up by Gouwa, who had been guarding the second half of the night. "Senior Brother Li, the opera troupe is packing up."

"Let's go, let's set off too." Li Huowang, carrying his Longsword and stone slab, stood up and followed the opera troupe's footsteps with the others.

As soon as they set off, both sides were obviously a little restrained, and no one spoke. They would occasionally steal glances and whisper something to their companions.

However, this didn't include the leaders, Li Huowang and Lu Zhuangyuan. Along the way, the two chatted happily.

Li Huowang wanted to get more information about everything here from Lu Zhuangyuan, and Lu Zhuangyuan wanted to build a closer relationship with the expert. Anyway, nice words didn't cost money, and it wouldn't hurt to say a few more.

"Aiya, little Taoist priest, you're so powerful at such a young age, your future achievements are limitless! Hahaha."