Chapter 35: Confusion

Chapter 35: Bewilderment

"Father! Father! Look, braised pork!! Braised pork!!" With a lion's head meatball stuffed in his mouth, Scholar Lü stared fixedly at the plate being served.

The moment this glistening plate of braised pork hit the table, six or seven pairs of chopsticks darted over in an instant; by the time they withdrew, not a single shred of the preserved mustard greens underneath was left.

"Look at you all, eating like starving ghosts! Slow down, or outsiders will think the Lü family has no manners!"

"Father, forget about manners. We couldn't even eat this well during the New Year in the past. Look at that chunk of fat on your chopsticks—you're eating no less than we are." The youngest son's teasing earned him a rap on the head with a pair of chopsticks.

Seeing his brother get scolded, Juren Lü swallowed his food and stepped in to smooth things over. "Father, just let everyone eat. We went through quite an ordeal last night just to earn this meal."

At these words, a look of relief at having narrowly escaped death surfaced in the eyes of everyone who was wolfing down their food.

Last night was truly terrifying. The master and that demon were battling it out below, and those of them performing on the stage were so frightened they nearly wet themselves.

Immediately after, they all turned in unison to look at Li Huowang, who was gazing at the sky in deep thought before the house.

An involuntary trace of awe crept into everyone's eyes; if it weren't for this master last night, they likely wouldn't be enjoying this meal today.

Don't let his youth and lack of a mustache fool you; this young Daoist priest is truly no ordinary man.

However, when another servant brought out another dish, their attention immediately shifted.

"Hey! Chicken! Look! It's roast chicken!" Those pairs of chopsticks hovered over the round table, flickering like snake tongues, eager to strike.

Just as the chopsticks were about to tear the chicken to pieces, an old, patina-covered smoking pipe blocked the bird's head. "Stop right there! No one touches this chicken! Wait until I go invite the young Daoist priest to eat with us."

"Father, don't bother calling him. Daoists don't eat meat; you'd be making him break his vows."

"Bullshit! It's monks who don't eat meat! I'm telling you right now, if I come back and see even a sliver of skin missing from this chicken, you'll see how I deal with you!"

After shooting a vicious glare at his most restless youngest son, Zhuangyuan Lü wiped his greasy mouth with his hand, smeared it vigorously under the table edge, and turned to walk toward Li Huowang.

"Young Daoist priest, hehehe, young Daoist priest?" Zhuangyuan Lü's face, crinkled with wrinkles, couldn't have looked more amiable.

"Young Daoist priest, you've been busy all night. Care to join us for a bite? Look, the Hu family has served up plenty of rich, hearty dishes."

Lost in thought, Li Huowang turned to look at him. After a moment's consideration, he asked hesitantly, "Troupe Master Lü, you saw those memorial tablets fall over on their own, right? That scene wasn't just my hallucination, was it?"

"Oh my, young Daoist priest, how would I know? Without your skills, I wouldn't dare look around. For the rest of the performance, I was singing on stage with my eyes shut tight."

Li Huowang sighed softly. He recalled the words whispered in his ear once more; though faint, it was unmistakably the voice of his master, Danyangzi. Across both worlds, he was the only one who would call him 'child'.

Logically, hearing his master's voice again should have made him extremely tense, but Li Huowang found himself lost in bewilderment, for he couldn't even trust himself.

"I'm a lunatic, and a severe one at that. If my illness relapsed because I didn't eat the Black Taisui, causing a bit of mild auditory hallucination, it would be perfectly normal."

"But those memorial tablets suddenly toppling over, and the Joyous Gods appearing and vanishing out of nowhere... none of this makes sense. Could it be that..."

Li Huowang recalled the bizarre physical transformations of Danyangzi right before his death, and his expression darkened. "Could he really have... ascended to immortality?!"

"No! Danyangzi couldn't possibly become an immortal. The so-called ascension technique and the inner elixir he consumed were clearly things I made up on the spot, spouted out of thin air. How could they help someone achieve immortality? Unless what he achieved wasn't immortality at all!"

But if he wasn't an immortal, then what had he become? Why was he haunting me? A trace of grim irritation twisted Li Huowang's face.

"Young Daoist priest? What are you thinking about? We're all on the same side now. If you have any troubles, just say the word."

Zhuangyuan Lü's words brought Li Huowang back to his senses. He took a deep breath and made up his mind. "True or not, I don't have many options right now. I'll head to the so-called Western Capital first and check out the Buddhist temple Zhuangyuan Lü mentioned. If it's real, they might know something. I still know far too little about everything in this world."

"Troupe Master Lü, it's nothing. Just recalling some trivial matters. Let's go to the table and eat."

Hearing Li Huowang say this, Zhuangyuan Lü nodded happily in agreement, and the two turned and walked toward the dining table inside.

Upon reaching the table, Zhuangyuan Lü's expression instantly froze. He saw that, aside from the roast chicken, every other dish had been licked so clean the plates hardly needed washing.

"Ah, what a satisfying meal! Even the Emperor himself couldn't enjoy anything better." With a mouth full of grease, Scholar Lü slouched back against his chair and unbuckled his belt.

Zhuangyuan Lü offered Li Huowang an awkward smile. Unable to lose his temper in front of an outsider, he could only hold the roast chicken with both hands and place it before Li Huowang. "Young Daoist priest, this chicken is quite plump. I'm truly sorry for the embarrassment."

Li Huowang smiled, picked up his chopsticks, tore off a strip of chicken, and popped it into his mouth. "It's fine. The chicken is quite delicious."

He had only taken a few bites when a group of people walked through the corridor and entered the room, led by Zhuangyuan Lü's employer, Hu Jianghe.

"Excellent, excellent! The ancestors were thoroughly pleased with the performance. The incense and candles on the table were burned clean. This is a good omen!"

Hearing the praise, Zhuangyuan Lü beamed and quickly replied with modesty, "It's what I should do, what I should do. It's merely my duty."

"Troupe Master Lü, if you ever pass through here again, you must come to the Hu residence for a cup of tea," Hu Jianghe said courteously.

As he spoke, a burly man beside Hu Qinghe stepped forward with a tray covered by a red cloth. The cloth was lifted to reveal ten gleaming silver ingots neatly arranged.

"The agreed ten taels of silver. Keep it safe."

"Oh, many thanks for the reward, Master Hu! Rest assured, Master Hu, whenever there's work in the future, just send word, and the Lü Troupe will rush over as fast as we can, no matter where we are."

After Master Hu left, the Lü family gathered around the tray, eyeing the ingots with covetous desire.

Just as Scholar Lü reached out to touch the largest sum of money he had ever seen in his life, his hand was swatted away by an old smoking pipe.

Zhuangyuan Lü first took four ingots from the tray and stuffed them into his pocket. Looking at the remaining six, his eyes betrayed a deep reluctance to part with them.

Yet in the end, he forced a smile again and carried the silver over to Li Huowang, who was still eating.

"Hehehe, come, come, young Daoist priest. As we agreed, six for you and four for me. Here is your share."

(End of Chapter)