The sun slowly dipped westward, and a village by the roadside gradually appeared before them, houses of varying heights scattered about beneath dark roof tiles.
"You see? This is the village I was talking about." Smiling, Li Zhi pointed at the broad stretch of black tiles before striding inside.
"Follow me. I've got a fellow townsman here, so we can stay at his house for free."
Watching his retreating back, Li Huowang lightly waved his hand, and the two Donkey Carts headed in as well.
As they walked along the yellow dirt road between the houses, Li Huowang and the others looked around at their quiet surroundings.
Yet strangely, there was not a single person to be seen, neither in the fields nor in the courtyards.
What's going on? Where are all the villagers? Li Huowang wondered.
Just as he thought that, Li Zhi poked his head around a corner ahead. His old face was more excited than words could describe.
"Hey!! Get over here, there's a spectacle to watch! Looks like the old man's climbing the ashes with his daughter-in-law!! Her face is scratched all to hell—what a show!"
"Climbing the ashes? What's that?" No one answered Li Huowang. When he turned to look, the others all wore awkward expressions, while Bai Lingmiao lowered her flushed face in embarrassment.
"Senior Brother Li, let's not go join the crowd. That's someone else's family business."
Li Huowang gave her a puzzled look, then turned and strode toward Li Zhi.
The moment he rounded the corner, the view opened up before him. Men, women, old, and young dressed like farmers stood packed three layers deep around the entrance of a house. Li Zhi stood at the edge of the crowd, standing on tiptoe and bracing himself against someone's shoulder as he craned