Chapter 491: Night Visit

Chapter 491: Night Visit

"Alright, get lost. Stop showing off here," Chun Xiaoman raised her bamboo pole and pushed away the smug Gouwa, then stepped before the man on the verge of collapse. After carefully weighing her words, she asked slowly, "Why did you come to our village? Why kill anyone who crosses your path? When did we wrong you?"

In response to Chun Xiaoman's inquiry, the man hurriedly spilled everything he knew, afraid that even a moment's delay would bring the rope to his own body.

"We... we were driven out by those mounted soldiers. We ran from famine and had eaten all our food on the way. So we followed the witch's orders to find a village far from the government's reach for sustenance. It just so happened that this was the furthest from the county town."

"Mounted soldiers?" The man's vague statement left Chun Xiaoman utterly confused. So they'd been troubling Niu Xin Village for no particular reason?

"Who are you exactly? Why are those Liang soldiers chasing you?"

"We are the Law Sect!" Upon mentioning this, the follower of the Law Sect calmed down considerably, lifting his chin high as if that name alone gave him strength.

"Do you still believe in laws or justice? There are so many Buddha and gods! They never give us a second glance. Why should those court dogs look down upon us, the people of Yu'er God!"

"Hmph! Only those great shamans who can communicate with Yu'er God speak! Don't look at these Liang dogs now, so arrogant! They're like grasshoppers after autumn—soon they'll be gone!"

"Just recently, Yu'er God appeared in a miracle! That night darkness was His divine power! When He fully descends to earth, hahahaha! Then the Law Sect will become the state religion! Our Law Sect members will take turns being emperors! No taxes, no forced labor! We'll eat meat every day!"

"What nonsense is this? Are they mad?" Gouwa stared at the man in disbelief.

Though Gouwa couldn't understand, Lü ZHUANGYUAN, who had seen much of the world, sensed something familiar in their words.

"Oh my! These aren't bandits seeking money! These folks are trying to rebel like Prince Xian!" He slapped his thigh anxiously.

"End of the road, end of the road! We fled so far to escape war disasters, but we haven't even settled in for a few days when it's about to start again!"

"Rebellion? Just from those useless people?" Lü Xiucai scoffed dismissively, but recalling that strange little woman, the disdain gradually faded from his face.

Though they didn't understand much else, everyone present understood the word "rebellion"—it meant war, death, famine.

Chun Xiaoman, visibly nervous, quickly knelt before the man and asked, "How many followers does your Law Sect have?"

"Of course! In the entire Jiangnan region alone, there must be at least a million! And all under heaven are children of Yu'er God! Some have realized early, others not yet!"

"You too! I advise you to surrender early and submit to our Yu'er God!"

Though this sounded boastful, it still intimidated everyone present.

Zhao Wu frowned and said, "We've killed so many of them. Won't they retaliate against us?" No one could answer such a question; each heart carried a heavy stone.

"Don't panic. Brother Li has taken Miao Miao away for some time. They should be back soon."

This instantly improved everyone's mood. To them, Li Huowang was like a god among men.

As long as he was around, these so-called rebellious Law Sects were nothing.

"Miss Chun, I think we should stockpile more grain. We can't worry about the autumn harvest. If this world truly falls into chaos, then grain will be life itself," experienced Lü ZHUANGYUAN thought further ahead than others.

"Mm, Zhao Wu, take out some gold to pawn. Let's fill up the granaries first! We'll discuss other matters once Brother Li returns."

"Zhi Jian, arrange for several villagers to guard the night shifts in rotation, just like we did on the road. Better yet, bring two dogs along! Some things they can see that humans cannot."

With Li Huowang absent, the others began moving under Chun Xiaoman's command. The natural leader, Gao Zhijian, would have been better suited, but he stammered.

Just as the lights blazed in Niu Xin Village, in the capital city, someone knocked on the wooden gate of Li Huowang's small courtyard. "Is Master Er at home?"

Li Huowang, awakened from a nightmare, instinctively reached for the weapon beneath his pillow.

"Master Er at home? Please open the door, my master requests your presence."

Listening to the drumbeats echoing from several streets away, Li Huowang noticed it was only the third watch. He didn't know many people in the capital—what person would come knocking at this hour?

"Brother Li, there are twelve people outside, plus a grand sedan chair," Miao Miao whispered softly, describing what she saw.

"Get dressed and pack your belongings. Wait upstairs. If they're hostile, we'll kill them and leave the capital under cover of night!" Li Huowang draped himself in a red Daoist robe, hiding the purple-tassel sword behind his back, walking toward the courtyard gate.

Just as Li Huowang's hand reached the wooden bolt, the faceless, skinless face of Hongzhong Zuo Wang Dao suddenly popped out from within the lock. "I've looked into it. The one speaking is a eunuch."

Li Huowang's eye twitched slightly. He reached into the faceless, eyeless head and gently pulled, opening the gate.

His keen sense of smell immediately detected a mixture of fragrance and urine odor. Hongzhong was right—the fat-faced, beardless man before him was indeed a eunuch.

What surprised Li Huowang even more was that this old eunuch held a jade cat he recognized very well.

"Hehehe~Greetings, Lord Er Jiu," the old eunuch respectfully bowed with the jade cat in his arms, his voice filled with flattery. "Please board the sedan chair. My master invites you to his estate for a meeting."

It seemed the young emperor, having recovered, had remembered this insignificant figure.

When Li Huowang entered the sedan chair, which was as big as a house, eight strong bearers lifted it simultaneously, carrying him toward the Liang imperial palace.

Eight bearers, though heavy, moved smoothly, giving Li Huowang the feeling of riding in a carriage. He had experienced the highest class of sedan chair—eight-bearer sedan.

Once inside the vermilion wall, the sedan didn't stop but continued toward the emperor's sleeping quarters. Only when reaching the entrance did they slowly tilt the chair, inviting Li Huowang to alight.

The sleeping quarters had golden roofs and red gates, golden glazed tiles shimmering silver under moonlight. On the same gleaming ridges, rows of glazed beasts sat, each wearing the distinctive mask of the Liang emperor.

(End of Chapter)