Jianye City

"Fifth Brother, quickly come in. Where have you been these past few days? Your Sixth Sister and I were so worried about you, we thought something had happened to you."

Seeing the shirtless boy helping Zhao Wu walk inside, Li Huowang followed, feeling that things weren't so simple.

"Why are you back?" The person behind the abacus spoke flatly, and Li Huowang knew he was right.

Zhao Wu, who had been so excited just now, gradually lost the emotion on his face and stated in a trembling voice, "Dad, I was kidnapped with a sack over my head. They took me to a very far place. These friends of mine brought me back."

Looking at the several black cloaks at the door, Zhao Wu's father waved his hands impatiently, "Disperse, disperse! How can we do business if you block the door like this?"

Their attitude made Li Huowang very unhappy. What does the discord between you father and son have to do with us outsiders?

He snatched the Longsword from Zhao Wu's hand, raised it high, and with a flash of cold light, the sharp blade directly chopped down on the wooden counter, almost cutting it in half.

"What are you doing? The constable in town is my relative!" Zhao Wu's father retreated in fear.

Li Huowang took out a tael of silver with his right hand, and in front of him, slowly shaved off a small piece along the cold blade, then pushed the Silver Shard in front of him. "To buy rice!"

In the small backyard of the rice shop, Zhao Wu was pouring tea for Li Huowang. "Senior Brother Li, calm down. My dad is just like that. Deep down, he's actually pretty good."

Li Huowang picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. He didn't care if he was good or not. He was too lazy to care about other people's family affairs. He didn't come here just to send Zhao Wu back.

"These suicide notes are domestic. Since you're familiar with Jianye City, find a reliable biao hang and send them all over there." Li Huowang pushed seven or eight notes in front of Zhao Wu.

Zhao Wu took them with both hands and nodded solemnly. "Senior Brother Li, don't worry, I guarantee I'll get these things done!"

"Okay, that's it. Stay at home and behave yourself, we're leaving." Li Huowang stood up after speaking.

"Are you leaving so soon? Why don't you have lunch at my house? I was able to come back alive thanks to everyone."

Zhao Wu was obviously a little reluctant. This parting might mean they would never see each other again.

"Forget it, don't bother." Li Huowang patted Zhao Wu on the shoulder. Judging from his father's attitude just now, this meal would probably be uneasy.

"Remember the words I taught you these past few days, especially your name. Being able to write your own name means you're not completely illiterate."

Just as Li Huowang was giving his last instructions, a female Medicinal Guide with black hair all over her body suddenly rushed forward, put her mouth to his ear, and said in a very low voice, "After you go home, investigate carefully. Maybe you weren't kidnapped, but sold by your dad!"

These words silenced everyone. When Zhao Wu's Third Brother came over carrying rice, Li Huowang waved his hand, told the fool to take the rice, and left with the others.

Walking on the crowded road, Li Huowang and the others were looking for an inn to stay in.

"Why do you think Zhao Wu was sold by his father?" Li Huowang turned to the woman who had said the last words to Zhao Wu.

This woman with hypertrichosis was very silent along the way, and usually didn't talk to others. It was really surprising that she suddenly spoke today.

"Even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs, he might not be that bad."

As soon as Li Huowang said this, the woman's body trembled inexplicably, and she said with sadness in her voice, "A tiger doesn't eat its cubs, but people are more poisonous than tigers! Because I was sold by my parents!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone stopped and looked at her in shock.

"Two taels of silver, a mere two taels of silver! He sold me like livestock! Without even looking back."

Feeling the pain in her heart, Bai Lingmiao walked over, gently hugged her, and patted her back comfortingly.

Li Huowang thought for a while and then spoke again. "He sold you, are you still going back?"

"Go back!" The woman growled through gritted teeth.

Seeing her chest heaving rapidly with excitement and the extreme hatred in her voice, Li Huowang immediately guessed that her purpose in going back was probably different from Bai Lingmiao and the others.

"Donglai Inn, let's stay there tonight." Li Huowang pointed to the plaque on the left side of the street and walked in first.

"Welcome, esteemed guest! Are you here for a meal or to stay?"

"To stay, how much is a room?"

"We have three types: A, B, and C. Type A rooms are ninety Wen including meals, Type B rooms are sixty Wen without meals, and Type C rooms are twenty Wen, but you have to share with others."

"Esteemed guest, you have a total of seven adults and five children, twelve people in all. You can choose four Type B rooms. Our inn has spacious rooms, and it's no problem for three people to sleep in one room. It's also safer for two adults to sleep with one child."

"Alright, let's do as you say."

"Okay! Twelve distinguished guests, four Type B rooms! Upstairs, please! Watch your step."

At night, Li Huowang leaned against the window, watching the ancient people walking on the street outside.

After rushing around all the way, he finally had time to sit down and carefully observe this world, which was completely different from his past.

Strong men leading horses, scholars with fans, children carrying lanterns, and hunchbacked vendors carrying food on shoulder poles.

Everything here was so real, yet so out of place with him.

Different faces flashed before his eyes, and as he watched, Li Huowang suddenly felt a trance. The next second, all his muscles tensed instantly. He saw Yang Na on the street!

That delicate face was now covered in tears, her expression so sad that she couldn't even catch her breath from crying. "HuoWang, wake up!"

"Ha!" Startled and covered in cold sweat, Li Huowang quickly took a step back, then quickly lunged back to look down.

He found that it was not his Childhood Sweetheart Yang Na, but a young woman who looked somewhat similar to her.

"That's right, I'm so old now. If Yang Na really existed, how could she still be a girl..."

Li Huowang slid down the wall, his eyes blankly staring at the wooden beams above. "Are the hallucinations starting again?"

"Knock, knock, knock," a knock suddenly sounded on the door.

"Come in, the door's not closed." Li Huowang thought it would be Gouwa, who was staying with him, but it turned out to be Bai Lingmiao.

With a smile on her face, she held a lotus leaf package in both hands and presented it to Li Huowang. The lotus leaf was opened, revealing several steaming hot buns inside. "Senior Brother Li, are you hungry? Eat a bun."

Li Huowang reached out, grabbed one, and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing it in large bites.

Bai Lingmiao held the buns, squatted on Li Huowang's left side, and quietly watched him. As soon as she saw that he had finished eating, she immediately handed him a new one considerately.

"This place is quite special, selling buns late at night," Li Huowang said.

"Isn't it common to sell buns late at night? If it's special, then what about the fool who dips his buns in vinegar!"

"Hehe, I wonder where he's from, eating them like that."

While chatting with Bai Lingmiao, Li Huowang suddenly remembered something, "I didn't give you any money, where did you get the money to buy the buns?"

Bai Lingmiao's eyes darted away evasively, but she first placed the remaining buns on her lap, then took out several large Silver Shards from her waist and presented them to Li Huowang with both hands.

"Senior Brother Li, I pawned that gold anklet. It's too hard on you alone. I can't do anything else, so I can only help you this way."