Chapter 225: Wu Yue

Chapter 225 Wu Yue

Just as the beautiful woman's head was about to strike the rug, Li Huowang reached out and helped her up.

"Madam, you honor me; fellow disciples in distress ought to help one another, I cannot bear such a grand gesture."

After being repeatedly stopped by Li Huowang, the grateful woman finally ceased and sat down beside him.

Trembling with lingering fear, she spoke to Li Huowang, "After Bao'er went missing again, we nearly turned all of Qingqiu upside down, yet still could not find him. My heart died then, truly believing I would never see him again. Thanks to Buddha's grace, Bao'er has returned whole and unharmed."

Having said this, she drew a string of prayer beads from her sleeve, turning them as she bowed toward the north.

Seeing this action, Li Huowang paused, "May I ask which Bodhisattva you are worshipping?"

Perhaps due to all he had endured previously, Li Huowang was exceptionally sensitive to such mystical matters; here, such things surely held problems.

Wu Yue seemed to misunderstand Li Huowang's intent, thinking he was mocking her, and explained helplessly, "Benefactor, I did not mean that. Bao'er's return is entirely due to your merit, not some ethereal Bodhisattva."

"Ever since marrying into Qingqiu, I no longer worship Bodhisattvas, yet I have believed in Buddhism all year round; it is a habit formed since childhood, truly difficult to change,"

"No, no, no, I am not mocking, I am truly just curious, which Bodhisattva exactly are you worshipping?" Li Huowang holding the honey water said seriously.

Hearing this, Wu Yue was immediately filled with surprise. "Bodhisattva... is it not the Goddess who saves from suffering? Why distinguish between Bodhisattvas?"

Seeing Sun Baolu's mother answer thus, Li Huowang sighed slightly within, muttering inwardly, "There are too many fools in these worlds, believing anything alike; it is merely blind faith, they are no better than Dan Yangzi."

Yet from another angle, for Baolu's mother, this counted as a good thing; after all, in this already mad world, compared to worshipping a false Bodhisattva that is nothing, worshipping a true "Bodhisattva" is clearly more dangerous.

"Madam, please sit, I was merely curious asking casually. By the way, earlier I saw Baolu embracing a woman, is she his lover?" Li Huowang began shifting topics, attempting to ease the somewhat tense atmosphere.

"Yes, that is his older sister; she clung to him since childhood, and they were betrothed as children, but when Baoer disappeared, she cried herself nearly to death that day."

"Older sister?" Li Huowang was surprised by her reaction; regarding his son doing such improper things, why did the mother look so kind? Moreover, the woman Sun Baolu hugged earlier clearly looked like a Qingqiu person, not even of the same race as Sun Baolu.

"They do not share a father; I carried Baoer when I married from Liang Kingdom to Qingqiu, by then Zhuo'er was already born. Though not sharing parents, they were close since childhood, so we arranged a child marriage, intending to double the kinship."

Seeing the woman before him obviously possessed a skin tone different from the surrounding Qingqiu people, Li Huowang clearly guessed this point.

Just then, a dark-skinned, short and stout Qingqiu man nearby approached with a smile, raising the horn cup in his hand and extending it toward Li Huowang.

He spoke a heap of brief Qingqiu words to Li Huowang, then extended the horn cup forward once more.

Wu Yue beside hurriedly explained, "The father of the child says, thank you for saving his second son, saying may Eternal Heaven bless you, granting you immortality."

"Qingqiu's toast words are truly quite special." Li Huowang nodded toward him, similarly raising the horn cup in his hand to clink against his cup.

Taking advantage of the pause while drinking honey water, Li Huowang sized up the couple before him; to tell the truth, Sun Baolu's two parents truly did not match at all.

This man had a short body, yet his face was a large flat pancake; grow a bit more hair and he'd become a monkey, looking completely unworthy of Sun Baolu's so beautiful mother, one wonders how he managed to marry her.

"Could Sun Baolu's mother have been bought by his father?" Recalling the slave trade at Woman Mountain earlier, Li Huowang speculated wildly in his heart.

"Senior Brother Li!" Drunken Sun Baolu suddenly pounced from somewhere, collapsing into Li Huowang's arms and sobbing loudly. His mouth continued babbling drunken words.

"Senior Brother Li! I cannot bear to part from you! I will not go home! I want to accompany you to Liang Kingdom!!"

Seeing such an undignified son, Sun Baolu's father quickly set down his wine cup, dragging him outside the tent to sober up.

Seeing Sun Baolu's somewhat disheveled back, Li Huowang smiled and took it lightly.

Sun Baolu was speaking nonsense; having arrived home, and with family harmonious, how could he possibly continue walking with himself.

Furthermore, the road ahead was not long; past Qingqiu lies Liang Kingdom, not far according to the map.

If Ox Heart Mountain is not far from here, perhaps later there will be time to come visit.

Li Huowang sat cross-legged again, similarly grabbing a piece of roasted lamb chop sprinkled with black seasoning with both hands and biting into it.

For a moment fragrance spread everywhere, rich meat juices exploded in Li Huowang's mouth, he distinctly found this lamb chop especially delicious.

Not knowing if it was his perception enhancement applied to food, but Li Huowang, having lived through two worlds, indeed ate such delicious lamb chops for the first time.

Soft tender smooth mutton paired with salty sour seasoning, taking a bite was truly incomparable enjoyment.

No wonder no one else spoke, all were crouching over sheep bones and cow bones gnawing away.

Facing such delicacies, Li Huowang refused to waste, immediately putting aside everything to feast heartily.

Although the Qingqiu men danced in a circle shaking their heads, truly nothing to watch, yet those exaggerated limb movements brought the atmosphere inside the big tent alive, causing smiles to hang on everyone's faces inside the tent, even including Li Huowang.

After others ate and drank their fill, they also began following those Qingqiu people dancing arm in arm.

The Lu Family troupe's performance was most eye-catching, after all their main business is singing opera, that novel singing style and movement caused the surrounding Qingqiu people to cheer one after another.

Li Huowang watched everything before him with a smile on his face. "They look truly happy, why is it that when staying by my side, there is only sorrow and pain forever?"

Just as Li Huowang was staring blankly at what was before him, keen perception sensed someone nearby staring at himself.

That was Sun Baolu's mother's gaze; he slowly turned his head to look, finding the other party now looked deeply troubled. Completely lacking the composure of just now.

"Madam, is there something you wish to tell me?"

Li Huowang's words finally made the somewhat hesitant Wu Yue make up her mind, "Benefactor, meeting for the first time, I do not know if I should speak this, how about you do not go to Liang Kingdom, stay in Qingqiu instead? That place is no good land."

(End of Chapter)