Bewilderment

"Dad! Dad! Look, braised pork!! Braised pork!!" Lu Xiucai, with his mouth full of lion's head meatballs, stared straight at the plate being served.

As soon as the glistening braised pork was placed on the table, six or seven pairs of chopsticks instantly darted towards it. By the time the chopsticks retreated, not even a shred of the preserved dried vegetables underneath was left.

"Look at you all, eating like starving ghosts! Slow down, or people will think we Lu family members have no manners!"

"Dad, forget the manners. We usually can't eat this well even during the New Year. Look at the fatty meat on your chopsticks; you're not eating any less than us." The youngest son's teasing earned him a chopstick to the head.

Seeing his younger brother get hit, Lu Juren swallowed the food in his mouth and began to smooth things over, "Dad, just let everyone eat. We suffered quite a bit last night to get this meal."

As soon as these words came out, a look of relief after escaping death appeared in the eyes of everyone who was wolfing down their food.

Last night was truly terrifying. The expert and the monster were fighting below, and they, who were performing on stage, were almost scared into wetting their pants.

Immediately afterward, they all looked towards the front of the house, watching Li Huowang, who was lost in thought as he gazed at the sky.

In everyone's eyes, a trace of awe involuntarily appeared. If it weren't for this expert last night, they probably wouldn't be able to eat this meal today.

This young Taoist priest might not be old, and he might not have any hair on his lip, but he's definitely not an ordinary person.

However, when another servant came to serve dishes, their attention immediately shifted again.

"Hey! There's chicken! Look! There's roasted chicken!" Those pairs of chopsticks were like snake tongues, wriggling above the round table.

Just as the chopsticks were about to tear the chicken into five pieces, an old, well-worn smoking pipe blocked the chicken's head. "Stop! No one is allowed to touch this chicken! I'll go invite the little Taoist priest over to eat together."

"Dad, don't call him. Taoists don't eat meat. You're making the Taoist priest break his vows."

"That's a load of bull! Only monks don't eat meat! I'm telling you, if I come back and see even a little bit of skin missing from this chicken, see how I deal with you!"

Lu Zhuangyuan glared fiercely at his most restless youngest son, wiped his oily mouth with his hand, rubbed it hard on the table, and turned to walk towards Li Huowang.

"Little Taoist priest, hehehe, little Taoist priest?" Lu Zhuangyuan's face, with all its wrinkles squeezed together, couldn't have been more amiable.

"Little Taoist priest, you've been busy all night, have something to eat? Look, the Hu family is serving dishes that are full of oil and substantial!"

Li Huowang, who was lost in thought, turned to look at him. After thinking for a while, he hesitantly asked, "Lu Ban Master, you saw those memorial tablets fall down on their own, right? That scene wasn't my hallucination, was it?"

"Oh my, little Taoist priest, how would I know? I don't have your abilities, and I wouldn't dare to look around randomly. This old man was singing on stage with his eyes closed the whole time."

Li Huowang sighed softly. He recalled the words he had heard again. Although they were very soft, he was absolutely sure that it was his Master Danyangzi's voice. Only he would call him 'child' in either world.

Logically speaking, hearing his Master's voice again should have made him very nervous, but Li Huowang fell into confusion because he couldn't even trust himself.

I'm mentally ill, and the kind that's very serious. If it's because I haven't eaten Black Tai Sui and my illness is relapsing, having a few minor auditory hallucinations is perfectly normal.

"But those memorial tablets that suddenly fell, and the God of Joy that suddenly appeared and disappeared, all of this can't be explained. Could it be..."

Li Huowang remembered the strange changes in Danyangzi's body before he died, and his expression became ugly. "Could it be that he really... became an immortal?!"

"No! Danyangzi couldn't have become an immortal. His so-called Immortal Ascension Technique and the Inner Elixir he consumed were clearly things I made up, random fabrications. How could they help someone become an immortal? Or maybe what he became wasn't an immortal at all!"

But if he's not an immortal, then what exactly did he become? Why is heentanglementme (pestering me)? A look of ferocious annoyance appeared on Li Huowang's face.

"Little Taoist priest? What are you thinking about? Everyone here is on the same side now. If you have any difficulties, just say the word."

Lu Zhuangyuan's words brought Li Huowang back to his senses. He took a deep breath and made up his mind, "Regardless of whether it's true or false, there aren't many countermeasures I can take right now. First, I'll go to the so-called West Capital City and check out the Monk Temple that Lu Zhuangyuan mentioned. If it's real, they might know something. I still understand too little about everything in this world."

"Lu Ban Master, it's nothing. I was just thinking about some trivial matters. Let's go to the table and eat."

Hearing Li Huowang say this, Lu Zhuangyuan nodded happily. The two turned around and walked towards the dining table inside the house.

When they arrived at the table, the expression on Lu Zhuangyuan's face suddenly froze. He saw that, apart from the roasted chicken, the other dishes on the table had been licked clean, so clean that there was no need to wash the plates.

"Ah~ That was so satisfying! I reckon even the emperor doesn't enjoy this much." Lu Xiucai, his mouth full of oil, leaned lazily against the back of the chair, loosening his belt.

Lu Zhuangyuan smiled awkwardly at Li Huowang, not wanting to make a scene in front of outsiders. He could only place the roasted chicken in front of Li Huowang with both hands. "Little Taoist priest, this chicken is quite plump. I'm really sorry for the unsightly display."

Li Huowang smiled, picked up his chopsticks, tore off a piece of chicken, and stuffed it into his mouth. "It's fine, the chicken is quite delicious too."

He had barely eaten a few bites when a group of people walked into the house through the long corridor. Leading the way was Lu Zhuangyuan's employer, Hu Jianghe.

"Excellent, excellent, the ancestors are extremely satisfied. The candles on the table were eaten clean, this is a good sign!"

Hearing the other party praise him, Lu Zhuangyuan's face was full of smiles as he hurriedly said modestly, "It's what I should do, what I should do, it's my duty."

"Lu Ban Master, if you ever pass by here again, you must come to our Hu family for a cup of tea," Hu Jianghe said politely.

As he spoke, a strong man next to Hu Qinghe came forward carrying a tray covered with a red cloth. When the red cloth was lifted, ten bright and shiny small sycee were neatly placed there.

"Here's the agreed-upon ten taels of silver, please accept it."

"Oh, thank you for the reward, Lord Hu! Lord Hu, rest assured, as long as there's work in the future, as long as someone brings a message, no matter where the Lu Family Troupe is, we will come as quickly as possible."

After Lord Hu left, the Lu family members surrounded the tray, their eyes greedily fixed on the sycee in the tray.

Just as Lu Xiucai was about to reach out and touch the most money he had ever seen in his life, he was knocked away by an old smoking pipe.

Lu Zhuangyuan first took out four sycee from the tray and stuffed them into his pocket. He looked at the remaining six, his eyes revealing a strong reluctance.

But in the end, he still put on a smile again and came to Li Huowang, who was eating.

"Hehehe, come, come, little Taoist priest, as we agreed, you get six and I get four, this is your share."