Chapter 26: Frightening

Chapter 26: A Frightening Encounter

"There's... there's... there's... there's shit!"

"My eyes aren't blind, stop crowding in, are you trying to eat it? I call you a fool, but you aren't that foolish, are you?"

"Gouwa, keep quiet, there are people on the road."

"Hehe, as you say, Senior Brother Li."

Before long, Lü Zhuangyuan saw the group of people emerging from the woods.

Upon seeing their appearances, Lü Zhuangyuan instantly drew a sharp breath; no wonder his youngest son had just cried out about ghosts, for they were truly terrifying to behold.

A gaunt man with a face mottled in black and white patches, a white-haired woman, a bow-legged freak lying on someone's back, and even a person whose entire face was covered in thick hair.

Lü Zhuangyuan, having traveled far and wide, could be considered a man of vast experience, yet he was still thoroughly spooked by the scene before him.

"Father, I'm scared," Lü Xiucai shrank back continuously, as if trying to tuck his body as far behind his father as possible.

"You think I'm not scared?" Lü Zhuangyuan cursed his youngest son fiercely in his mind; if it weren't for the handsome Taoist priest and a few normal-looking Taoist acolytes among the group, he would have turned and fled long ago.

Trembling, Lü Zhuangyuan clasped his hands and bowed to Li Huowang. "May I ask, Reverend Priest, are... are all these the demons and spirits you have subdued?"

As soon as these words left his mouth, he was instantly met with a barrage of hostile glares.

"What are you babbling about, old fool! Looking for a beating, are you? Who are you calling a demon?"

Lü Zhuangyuan watched as the handsome priest waved a hand to silence the aggressive black-and-white-faced freak, further cementing his suspicions in his heart.

"Good sir, may I trouble you to ask where this road leads?"

"Wuligang! Wuligang is just ahead, not far at all. Hehehe."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lü Zhuangyuan secretly burned the horse's rump with his smoking pipe; the horse neighed and bolted down the forest path, pulling the cart behind it.

"Hey! My horse! My horse! Catch up, quickly!" Lü Zhuangyuan led the others in a feigned panic, chasing after the horse.

They ran with lightning speed, and in no time at all, they had left those creatures far behind.

They ran for a full two hours, and only when he saw his youngest son vomiting from exhaustion did Lü Zhuangyuan blow a whistle to make the horse stop.

Once they halted, he ignored his youngest son and immediately went to check on the draft horse; in this traveling opera troupe, a horse was far more precious than a person.

By now, the sky was gradually darkening, and evening was fast approaching.

"Good heavens, what on earth were those things? They scared me half to death," Lü Juren panted heavily, his face drenched in sweat.

Lü Zhuangyuan kicked him. "Can't you see it's getting dark? Hurry into the woods and gather some firewood!"

Beside the forest path, a warm fire was kindled, and softened mixed-grain buns were passed to everyone's mouths, the sweet fragrance of the grain soothing their frightened hearts.

"Look at you all, scared out of your wits; when you're out on the road, running into some bizarre things is nothing, and I tell you, the more times like this, the more you must not panic," Lü Zhuangyuan said to the others.

"Father, perhaps those weren't demons at all; they looked quite human to me, and that young priest even called you 'good sir.'"

Hearing his daughter-in-law say this, Lü Zhuangyuan gave the water gourd in his hand a shake.

"Whatever they are, we won't get involved; you all remember this well, when you're out in the world and want to live a long life, if you can avoid certain things, don't ever go near them."

This could be called Lü Zhuangyuan's philosophy of life; after all, relying on this very principle, he had lived to such a ripe old age.

And he intended to pass this wisdom on to his youngest and eldest sons, for when he grew old, they would be the ones to take over the troupe and travel from town to town.

Handing the water gourd to his nephew beside him, Lü Zhuangyuan turned his gaze to his granddaughter, who was resting in her mother's arms.

Watching her gnaw on a small piece of bun with her newly sprouted baby teeth, Lü Zhuangyuan felt a growing swell of joy the more he looked at her.

He turned and fished a salted duck egg from a round jar on the cart, carefully peeled a small opening, and brought the oozing, oily yolk to his granddaughter's lips. "Come, come, Nannan, suck on this, it's delicious."

Watching his granddaughter suckle at it with all her might, Lü Zhuangyuan's eyes instantly crinkled into smiling slits.

Though it was a pity she wasn't a grandson, the bond across generations was strong, and he adored this little granddaughter beyond measure.

Sensing a good opportunity, Luo Juanhua immediately spoke up: "Father, look, Cui'er is all grown up now, shouldn't she have her own clothes? It's not right to keep her wrapped in stage costumes every day."

At the mere mention of money by his daughter-in-law, Lü Zhuangyuan's smile vanished instantly, his features scrunching together.

He was about to refuse, but seeing the loose, baggy stage costume on his little granddaughter, his heart softened.

Puffing on his pipe a few times with a clacking sound, his face more wrinkled than ever, he walked to the cart and took out a long brass lock to open the chest.

Reaching inside and fumbling around for a good while, he counted out fifty copper coins.

"Don't buy cloth in town, it's too expensive; wait a couple of days until we reach Wuligang, then ask around for women who weave cloth, buy a few feet from their homes, and remember to ask several families to find the cheapest one."

"Also, remember to buy cotton, not hemp; Xiu'er's skin is tender, and hemp would chafe her terribly."

"I understand," Luo Juanhua beamed as she took the copper coins; she had thought herself lucky just to get enough for hemp, never expecting the old miser to actually cough up money this time.

Children were small and didn't need much cloth for an outfit, so she might even be able to skim a little off the top for herself this time.

Once he saw his granddaughter finish the yolk, Lü Zhuangyuan divided the remaining egg white among the adults.

Though each person got only a small share, they were quite happy to taste a bit of saltiness, as it was a rare treat to have something so rich.

Night had fully fallen, and with nothing else to do after eating, they listened to Lü Zhuangyuan tell a few old tales he'd picked up from somewhere before settling down to sleep.

Lü Juren was on duty for the first watch of the night; he had walked all day and was utterly exhausted, yet he forced himself to stay awake, keeping his eyes on the fire to ensure it didn't go out.

"Son, go to sleep, I'm keeping watch," Lü Zhuangyuan said, sitting beside his son and once again puffing on his pipe with a clacking sound.

Yawning, Lü Juren said, "Father, I'm not sleepy, you go to sleep."

"Stop talking nonsense and go to sleep. An old man like me needs less sleep."

Just as the two were arguing by the campfire, Lü Zhuangyuan suddenly clamped his hand over his son's mouth and pointed toward the dark woods in the distance.

"Hehe~" A sharp, thin woman's laugh suddenly rang out to their right.

Lü Zhuangyuan and his son instinctively looked over, but saw nothing but darkness.

"Hehehe~ Tell me, do I look more like a human or a god?" The pitch-black woods began to sway, as if something inside was about to emerge.

Lü Zhuangyuan was instantly drenched in a cold sweat; with his vast experience, he knew this was a creature seeking a spoken blessing to attain divinity.

He absolutely could not answer carelessly, for a wrong answer could bring ruin and death upon his entire family.

But the problem now was, what exactly was in the woods asking for this blessing?

The nighttime forest swayed rhythmically, emitting an eerie rustling sound.

(End of Chapter)