Donkey Cart

Looking at the six taels of silver, Li Huowang didn't bother to decline and stuffed it into his pocket. He really needed the money right now.

"Well, Little Taoist Priest, enjoy your meal. We'll go prepare, and we'll continue on our way tomorrow."

Having eaten and drunk their fill, the Lu family were also sleepy and wanted to go back to catch up on sleep, after not sleeping all of last night.

After the Lu family left, Li Huowang was the only one left in the room. He looked at the roasted chicken in front of him, which was bigger than his head, thought for a moment, and said to the servant beside him, "Is there anything to pack this in?"

Before long, Li Huowang led a donkey out of Wu Li Gang. The donkey was pulling a cart, and the cart was piled high with sacks of grain.

Six taels of silver wasn't much, so he had to be careful with it, but he couldn't afford a horse. Buying an old donkey was still possible.

With this thing, at least he wouldn't have to carry the grain and stuff along the way.

When Li Huowang came out, he saw that the others were still huddled in the Rice Straw Pile in the fields.

They hadn't entered the village, obviously afraid that their strange appearance would scare the villagers.

When Li Huowang walked over, he found them roasting Dried Sweet Potato over a fire.

Li Huowang reached out and pulled a fragrant Roasted Chicken from the cart. "Eat this."

Having eaten dry rations for so many days, how could the group resist seeing this? They rushed over excitedly.

A dozen people sharing one chicken meant that each person didn't get much, but everyone gnawed on it with great care. They even carefully bit the chicken bones into small pieces and swallowed them.

"Senior Brother Li, where did this chicken come from? And this Donkey Cart, where did you go last night?" Bai Lingmiao asked, holding the chicken neck in both hands.

Li Huowang sat on the Rice Straw Pile with his eyes closed, briefly describing the cause and the process.

When she learned that Li Huowang had risked his life to get this, Bai Lingmiao put down the chicken neck in her hand. She crawled to Li Huowang's side, listening to the sound, and looked at him with a distressed expression.

"Senior Brother Li, I'm sorry, we burdens have been a drag on you. If it weren't for us, you wouldn't have had to work so hard."

Li Huowang opened his eyes and looked at the girl in front of him, who had a blue cloth strip covering her eyes. "It has nothing to do with you. Since that thing could come to the Hu Family Ancestral Hall, it must have been targeting us long ago. Even if last night's events hadn't happened, we would have run into it sooner or later."

"And..." Li Huowang paused, remembering when he had completely fallen into illusion in Qingfeng Temple. "And, who will be a burden in the future is really not certain."

Li Huowang thought for a moment and looked at the girl in front of him again. He reached out and took her hand.

Bai Lingmiao shyly shrank back, but stopped immediately.

But after a while, Li Huowang thought again, lying on the Rice Straw Pile, he closed his eyes, turned his gaze to the side, and slowly released his grip.

However, at the moment of release, those soft hands quickly chased after him and held on tightly.

After a good night's rest, the two groups with different goals set off again.

Their next target was Jianye Town, which would be Li Huowang's first time entering a large gathering place in this world.

"Little Taoist Priest, Wu Li Gang is not far from Jianye Town. According to our schedule, we should arrive in about four or five days." Lu Zhuangyuan reported to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang turned his head to look at Zhao Wu, who was being carried by the idiot. "How is it? You're almost home, are you happy?"

Zhao Wu had said before that his home was in Jianye. After getting to know him these days, Li Huowang had a preliminary understanding of Zhao Wu.

He felt that the other party's brain was very useful, but because his body was inconvenient and he couldn't read, he hadn't been able to unleash his potential.

"Zhao Wu, now that we're almost at your home, what's the matter? You have to treat us brothers to a restaurant, right?" Gouwa teased from the side.

However, Zhao Wu's reaction was unexpected. A wry smile appeared on his face. "What good would it do for a useless person like me to go home? I can't lift anything or carry anything. Staying at home would just make me a burden."

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere became quiet. His words struck a chord with all the Medicinal Guides.

Those who could stay in the material room, apart from Li Huowang, had something wrong with them to varying degrees. Even if they returned to their original places, they would still be the freaks who were feared or hated.

Escaping the fear of death after leaving Qingfeng Temple was great, but returning to an environment of contempt and hostility was nothing to be happy about.

Sensing the somewhat somber atmosphere, Li Huowang turned to look at Zhao Wu. "Who says you're useless? While we have some free time, I'll teach you alchemy. Remember as much as you can, and you won't starve if you become a barefoot doctor when you go home."

Zhao Wu was stunned by this news, and then his expression became excited, his eyes filled with intense desire. "Senior Brother Li, I don't want to learn alchemy. Can you teach me to read?"

"Why learn to read? It's better to learn a few more pill formulas so you can make a living as a doctor when you go home, isn't it?" Li Huowang couldn't understand the feelings of these locals.

It wasn't that learning to read was useless. Of course, learning to read was very useful, but it took five years to finish elementary school. Teaching a illiterate who couldn't even write his own name to read was a huge project that would take several years.

"It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter if I can't learn much, I'll learn as much as I can."

Although Li Huowang didn't understand Zhao Wu's desire for knowledge, he could certainly teach him since he wanted to learn.

"You idiot, put Zhao Wu on your back onto the Donkey Cart, I'll teach him to read."

Zhao Wu knew nothing, so Li Huowang could only start with simple characters like wood, mouth, and person.

As he taught, Li Huowang noticed that it was very quiet nearby. He looked up and found that everyone, including the Lu family, was listening attentively.

Not only were they listening attentively, but their faces also showed reverence, as if Li Huowang was doing something solemn and sacred.

"Hehehe, that, little Daoist priest."

Smiling, Lu Zhuangyuan held two pieces of cured meat in one hand and dragged his youngest son towards them with the other.

Just as Li Huowang was waiting for him to speak, a cloud of dust rose from the Forest Path behind them.

Before long, a horse stopped in front of them, and a young, chubby boy jumped off.

Lu Zhuangyuan obviously knew this person in Wu Li Gang and quickly cupped his hands in greeting. "Yo, yo, yo, Young Master Hu, please slow down. Where are you going?"

"I'm not going anywhere! I'm going to join you in the opera! That way I can listen to opera every day!"

Young Master Hu's voice was very childish, full of excitement. Although he looked strong, his voice hadn't changed yet.

"Oh dear, please don't joke like that. Go back quickly, don't worry your grandfather."

"Don't worry, I'll pay to listen to the opera!" He forced a golden longevity lock into Lu Zhuangyuan's hand.

Lu Zhuangyuan's expression was very conflicted at this moment, holding the gold in his hands, he was in a dilemma.

But soon, someone came chasing after him on horseback, relieving his embarrassment.

"Dad! Don't pull me! I'm not going back! I want to perform!"

"Slap~!" The loud slap on Young Master Hu's face startled everyone around him, and the young man's face quickly swelled up.

"You actually want to be an actor! You dare to be an actor, how cheap are you?! That's the lowest of the low! If you dare to be an actor and disgrace the Hu family, I'll fucking beat you to death!"

Snatching the longevity lock from Lu Zhuangyuan's raised hand, the man carried his son and rode away on two horses.

After he left, Li Huowang looked back at Lu Zhuangyuan, waiting for him to finish what he had been saying.

Lu Zhuangyuan awkwardly stood there holding two pieces of cured meat, opening his mouth several times as if wanting to say something, but no sound came out.

The usually smooth and worldly old man was, for the first time, as helpless as a child.

In the end, he still said nothing, forcing a smile as he nodded at Li Huowang, then pulled his son towards the carriage beside them, his already somewhat hunched back even more pronounced.