Chapter 146: Later Shu

Chapter 146: Later Shu

"Brother Li, until we meet again!"

"Have a safe journey!"

"Take care!!"

Amidst the enthusiastic farewells of the escort guards, Li Huowang and the others departed from the Longtong Escort Agency.

Watching them gradually fade into the distance, the smile on Wang Chengxing's face slowly faded as he turned to look at Escort Chief Zhao beside him.

"Master, did you happen to notice the sword strapped to that man's back? It's no ordinary blade; it feels steeped in a heavy, murderous aura."

Zhao Qin nodded, his brows slightly furrowed. "Nonsense, did I need you to tell me? Of course I know. I know the origin of that sword; it is the personal blade of General Zixiong."

"What? General Zixiong's personal sword? Then why haven't you done anything about it for the past half month?"

"Done? What am I supposed to do?" Zhao Qin turned his head to look at Wang Chengxing.

"Am I supposed to steal his sword, or pry into its origins? Or perhaps secretly report him to the authorities?"

Seeing Wang Chengxing fall silent, Zhao Qin continued, "Do you take me for a blind man? Did you not notice how peculiar that man is?"

"The red bamboo slips at his waist, the various iron implements on his hem, not to mention that gourd. Let alone those maimed individuals around him, but what does any of that have to do with me?"

"He stepped in and healed Fengxia. I obliged his request to help him find the sword manual and vouched for him. As long as everyone saves face, that is enough."

"I didn't tell him that we used to be common foot soldiers, did I? That is what they call seeing through something without speaking of it."

"Yes, yes, Master's consideration is thorough. It was this disciple who was rash."

Having been cooped up in the stable for half a month, the carriage horses were clearly long tired of it; the moment they exited the city gates, they immediately broke into an excited gallop.

"Giddyap, giddyap!" Zhao Wu, who was driving, shouted for a good while before the carriage finally slowed down.

He turned his head and asked Li Huowang, "Senior Brother Li, which way are we heading now?"

"To the border. We've finished our business here in Siqi, so we should leave first. Besides, this place is a bit chaotic; the sooner we get to the Liang Kingdom, the better," Li Huowang said.

As soon as he said this, a look of unease suddenly crossed his face, and he turned to look at Bai Lingmiao beside him.

"Since there's a war here, could the Liang Kingdom also be embroiled in conflict? Then your family—"

Hearing this, before Bai Lingmiao could answer, Lü Zhuangyuan walked over, his smoking pipe in hand.

"Heh, Little Daoist Lord is overthinking it. The Liang Kingdom is worth five Siqis, and its emperor is formidable. Others respectfully call it the Great Liang. If there's to be a war, it'll only be them striking others; how could anyone dare strike them?"

Only then did Li Huowang realize that compared to other nations, Liang was both a large and a powerful country.

Clearly, Lü Zhuangyuan had done his homework regarding their destination.

Li Huowang nodded in understanding. This was fine; once they reached the Liang Kingdom, there would be no more worries.

At this moment, Li Huowang keenly noticed that something was different about Lü Zhuangyuan. "Escort Chief Lü, have you encountered some joyous news?"

Compared to the old man whose face was previously crumpled with wrinkles, he now looked visibly several years younger, an irrepressible smile plastered on his lips.

"Hehe, nothing, nothing, hehehe." Lü Zhuangyuan tried to hold it in, but the beaming smile on his face betrayed him.

Unable to contain his joy, he turned and climbed onto his own carriage, returning with a large cloth bag in his hands to present before Li Huowang. "Come, come, eat eggs, eat eggs."

Two eggs, dyed a vibrant red, were pressed into Li Huowang's hands.

It wasn't just Li Huowang; everyone present received a share. Handing out eggs for no reason was entirely unlike Lü Zhuangyuan's usual stingy demeanor.

The moment he received the red-shelled eggs, Zhao Wu was the first to realize their implied meaning.

"Brother Juren? Is your sister-in-law with child? Congratulations, congratulations! Wishing you a son soon."

Faced with Zhao Wu's congratulations, the smile on Lü Juren's face, however, looked exceedingly forced.

Lü Zhuangyuan beside him naturally picked up the conversation.

"Have you seen my daughter-in-law's belly? How about it? It's pointed, and she's been craving sour foods lately. There's no mistake this time; it's definitely a grandson!"

On the carriage, Luo Juanhua held her head high with pride, looking at this moment like a triumphant general returning from victory.

"Make sure you all come for the full-moon banquet," Lü Zhuangyuan said, growing happier by the minute, his eyes crinkling into invisible slits.

Eating his egg, Li Huowang's gaze shifted between the father and son, whose attitudes were starkly contrasting, feeling as though the egg he was eating was tainted with some other peculiar flavor.

However, he was not one to pry into gossip and had no interest in meddling in other people's family affairs. Li Huowang hopped onto the carriage and began to pull out a map.

"The name of the next country... the next one..." Staring at the two utterly unfamiliar square characters on the map, Li Huowang was momentarily stunned.

He had previously thought illiteracy was no big deal, but now it seemed to severely hinder him in every aspect.

Sighing lightly, Li Huowang poked his head out of the carriage window. "Escort Chief Lü, what is the name of the next country we'll pass through on the way to Liang?"

"Hmm... I think it's called the Later Shu Kingdom."

"Later Shu?" Li Huowang muttered to himself, gazing at the circular pattern on the map in his hand.

"Escort Chief Lü, do you happen to know if there are any renowned sects in the Later Shu Kingdom? Or perhaps any dangerous malevolent spirits?"

"Heh, Little Daoist Lord, aren't you asking me in vain? How would I have the ability to know such things? Knowing that Later Shu is right next to Siqi is already quite an achievement for me."

True enough, as an opera singer, Lü Zhuangyuan naturally could not possibly know the specific details of foreign lands.

"Do any of you know anything about the Later Shu Kingdom?" Li Huowang asked his fellow senior and junior martial brothers and sisters.

It was best to learn as much as possible in advance about the places they were about to pass through.

But to Li Huowang's disappointment, the only response he received was a unanimous shaking of heads.

It seemed none of them had been captured in Later Shu.

"Senior Brother Li, I remember there was a Daoist acolyte from Later Shu, but he drowned the last time."

Hearing Chun Xiaoman's words, Li Huowang let out a soft sigh.

Now they could only take it one step at a time, but fortunately, it was much better than before.

He no longer had the crisis of Danyangzi hanging over him, and compared to when he first left the Qingfeng Temple, he had gained quite a few abilities to protect himself.

Li Huowang had just jumped down from the carriage when he saw Lü Zhuangyuan approaching with a fawning smile.

"Oh, oh, look at my brain, regarding Later Shu, I almost forgot. When I was still a young lad, I heard my blind second uncle talk about it a bit.

"My second uncle said that the people in Later Shu don't watch our operas; they seem to watch something else... Right, I remember now, they seem to like watching Nuo opera."

"Nuo opera?"

"Yes, isn't the name strange? Called Nuo opera. My second uncle also said that Nuo opera doesn't use theatrical makeup."

"When they perform, they wrap the actors' entire heads in red cloth, and then put on various wooden masks to sing the opera."

Li Huowang stopped him, not letting Lü Zhuangyuan continue.

Let them watch whatever opera they pleased; it had nothing to do with him anyway. He wasn't Lü Zhuangyuan, going over there to steal their business.

(End of Chapter)