Chapter 347: Arrival

Chapter 347: Arrival

Gouwa, his hoe slung over his shoulder, walked down the mountain path with a light step. Though he had just buried many corpses, he didn’t know any of them, and thus their deaths did not dampen his joy.

He now had a house, land of his own, and more importantly, his wife was about to give birth. Everything he had dreamed of in his sleep had come true at this very moment.

“Oh my, I, Cao Cao, am truly blessed with divine foresight—every move I made was correct. If it weren’t for my brilliance, how could such things be mine?”

If the road hadn’t been so long, he would have wanted to return home in triumph, telling everyone of his success, to live out his glory in his hometown.

He glanced secretly at the people behind him. After quickening his pace and creating some distance, he carefully pulled a book from his chest.

As he fondled the strange characters on its cover with his fingers, a black-haired hand suddenly reached out and snatched it away.

“Hey! What’s wrong with you!” Gouwa cried out, reaching to grab it back, only to be stopped by a sharp glare from Chun Xiaoman.

He reluctantly withdrew his hand. “In the absence of tigers, monkeys rule the mountain. Look at you, all full of yourself. People might think you’re the one who saved us from Qingfeng Temple!”

“Where did this book come from?”

“I... I bought it from the peddler. For my future son’s calligraphy lessons!”

“Don’t lie. That peddler has only come twice in this time. They never sold books!” Xiaoman flipped through the pages, her eyes scanning the unfamiliar script.

Gao Zhijian, standing nearby, translated the title aloud. “*The Scripture of Hardship and Enlightenment Through Meditation*.”

Even though Xiaoman couldn’t read, she could tell something was off about the name—it felt like a martial art or spiritual technique.

“Tell me, where did this thing really come from? You’ve been acting suspicious since we started.”

Feeling the tension rising, Gao Zhijian, who held a shovel, raised an eyebrow and stepped forward.

“What’s going on? Am I breaking some law? Why are you making such a fuss? This book is mine—it was found!”

With a furious look, Gouwa stretched out his arm and reclaimed the book from Xiaoman.

“Found? Can you just find books like that anywhere?”

“Of course it’s found!” His voice dropped slightly. “It came from the cellar beneath Bai Family Ancestral Hall…”

“You—!” Xiaoman was about to speak when Gouwa quickly put his finger to his lips, signaling silence.

He glanced nervously at the pale-faced Bai Lingmiao behind him and leaned close to Xiaoman. “Sister, think about it. Do you really believe the Bai family went to all that trouble just for fun?”

“Think again. That elder brother of ours returned looking like a ghost. We all know his supernatural abilities. Could the Bai family really have forced him into such a state? Impossible. They must have some background!”

“And don’t forget—think about it! Regardless of what they used or how they acted before, they’re all dead now. So everything they had belongs to us now~!” Gouwa’s face lit up with excitement.

Hearing this, Xiaoman’s expression turned cold. “What good does learning that stuff do? Are you going to learn how to use living people as foundation stones? If you dare try, don’t blame me for not showing family loyalty!”

“Hey~! You’re being too rigid. We can just learn those techniques that don’t involve killing, right? Those that kill people—we won’t learn them.”

“I’m telling you, there’s a lot inside those rooms! And lots of books too. There must be divine martial arts in there!”

“When we learn these easy ones that don’t require killing, if we master them, who dares mess with us?”

Xiaoman looked down at the long sword at her waist, her face showing hesitation.

Now that Elder Brother Li had truly left, if danger ever came, could her sword really protect her?

She reached out and took the book from Gouwa once more, studying it closely before speaking. “Let’s not tell Miaomiao yet. She’s in a bad state. Let’s figure out what’s going on first among the three of us.”

“Fine, I’ll listen. The gain here is big enough for all three of us.”

Inside Yinling City, Li Huowang dismounted from his horse, tied it to the stable of the inn, but was surprised not to see his beloved steed, the bun dog.

He circled his carriage several times, then saw the dog sitting on its hind legs, paws resting on the feed trough, stealing another horse’s grain.

“Are you still eating like this?” Li Huowang picked him up. “I brought you along so you’d watch the carriage, not eat other horses’ food.”

“Woof woof woof!” Seeing his master return after so long, the bun dog was overjoyed, wagging his tail and wriggling like a worm.

Just as the dog tried to lick Li Huowang’s boots, he was firmly held by the head.

“What happened? Did you get hurt? Who did this?” Li Huowang frowned, seeing the torn ear of the dog.

The bun dog didn’t understand what was being said, just wagging his tail and trying to crawl into Li Huowang’s arms.

“Come here,” Li Huowang grabbed the back of his neck and dragged him toward the main hall.

“Owner, I paid you well, why can’t you even keep a dog under control?”

Faced with Li Huowang’s accusations, the fat innkeeper looked helpless.

“Ah, sir, this isn’t my fault. Your dog ran off on its own.”

“You know, your dog is a female. She went out and fought another female dog over a male dog. She lost and got bitten like this.”

The bun dog didn’t understand what they were talking about, sitting innocently while watching Li Huowang.

This situation left Li Huowang speechless, unsure how to react. “Where’s the dog that bit it?”

“She already ran. Those dogs are strays—they run off after mating.”

Li Huowang gave the bun dog a gentle tap on the head and turned to walk upstairs to his room.

After a long journey, barely managing meals and sleep, Li Huowang collapsed into bed and slept for a day and night.

When he woke up, he asked the kitchen to send some seasonal dishes, washed up, and began eating heartily.

While eating, he pondered how to bring up the matter of Zhuge Yuan without directly confronting the clerk.

Simply walking up to the clerk and asking who Zhuge Yuan was would be too blunt.

“Better to contact Tuoba Danqing first. Wait until I confirm the current situation with the clerk. Based on his appearance earlier, this mission seems to have failed badly.”

Just as Li Huowang thought this, a cooing pigeon call echoed from the rafters above.