Chapter 612: People

Chapter 612: Man

"Child, are you really leaving? We’ve come all this way from over there, and now you’re going back— isn’t that unnecessary?"

"Child, Shu is far away, let alone the sea to the south of it. You’ll be gone for at least a year or more, maybe even longer."

Upon hearing Yang Xiaohai say he intended to go find his parents, those who had come out with him from Qingfeng Temple began to persuade him.

They had all endured hardship on the journey; as the saying goes, “a man’s life is cheap in the countryside,” and it wasn’t just idle talk. In these times, traveling long distances always carried risks.

The mountains were high, the roads long—what dangers might one encounter along the way?

Faced with their words, Yang Xiaohai remained silent. Carrying his luggage, he looked toward Li Huowang seated in the chair beside him. "Senior Brother Li, do you think I can go?"

"The feet are on your legs. If you want to go or not, don’t ask me. Gouwa, give him that wooden talisman. He’ll need it for protection on the road."

"What~?"

"What what? Hurry up! And bring him a horse-drawn cart too. Walking such a long distance on foot, he'll wear out his shoes before he gets there."

Soon, Yang Xiaohai's baggage suddenly increased greatly. The cart was filled with various provisions, enough to last them through the entire journey to Shu.

Take this money, it will cover your expenses and help you deal with troubles along the way."

When Yang Xiaohai took the heavy bundle of silver, he felt somewhat overwhelmed. "Senior Brother Li, I can't take this—I..."

"Take it if I tell you to take it. The village has no shortage of money. My wounds haven’t healed yet, so I can’t accompany you. Since you want to go, then go. These days are peaceful. A common evil won’t harm you. Your talismans and that wooden talisman should keep you safe."

Hearing this, Yang Xiaohai knelt down and bowed several times to Li Huowang before leaping onto the cart and leaving Niu Xin Village with the woman on board.

Gouwa, holding his daughter, stepped forward suddenly and shouted loudly, "Xiaohai! When you pass through Qingqiu, stop by to see Sun Baolu and tell him I’ve married and had a daughter!"

"Got it! Senior Brother Gou! I got it!"

Yang Xiaohai left, and the others slowly returned one by one.

On the way, Gouwa couldn’t help but grumble, "Now that this kid’s gone, who’s going to cook for us? Zhao Wu, how’s your cooking?"

"You look at my legs—do I look like someone who can cook?" Zhao Wu, leaning on his crutches, gave him a glare.

"That’s bad news. No one to cook anymore. What now? Xiao Man, can you handle it?"

"Get lost."

"Since no one’s cooking, we won’t have communal meals anymore." Li Huowang’s words drew everyone’s attention.

Originally, eating together was an old habit formed during their travels. But now, Gao Zhijian had become emperor, Sun Baolu had returned home, the Lü family had settled in Shangjing, and several people had died on the way. There weren’t even enough people left to sit around a table.

"Now that most of us are married and don’t lack money, we’ll start our own kitchens. No need to run to Bai Family Compound every day."

Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao beside Li Huowang smiled slightly.

"No, Senior Brother Li," Gouwa said regretfully. Every day when he just showed up to eat, it was so easy and carefree.

"Stop talking nonsense. Let’s do it." After speaking, Li Huowang led Li Sui toward Bai Family Compound.

With a disappointed expression, Gouwa scratched his head and looked at Zhao Wu. "Hey, you're still unmarried. No one will cook for you after this. Go convince Senior Brother Li."

"Don’t count on me to replace you. I’ll cook for myself. No need." Zhao Wu ignored Gouwa’s surprise and walked slowly with his crutches toward the storage yard.

Though called a storage yard, it was actually a large empty courtyard used solely to store items sent by Gao Zhijian.

Gold, silk, and various imperial gifts filled the main hall. With a counting board placed on the table, Zhao Wu began tallying everything.

This was Zhao Wu’s job. In Niu Xin Village, only he could do it. His family sold rice, and he grew up surrounded by the clicking of abacuses. In terms of arithmetic, no one could surpass him.

During their journey, they were poor, with little money to calculate.

But now, with so many people in Niu Xin Village needing food and clothing, and so much grain and money, his value became clear.

How much money the whole village made, how much they spent, where they spent it, how much old rice they had, and how much new rice needed to be stored each year—all were carefully calculated by Zhao Wu using his abacus.

Doing this work was tiring, but Zhao Wu was happy to do it because only this way could he feel he wasn’t a useless person who couldn’t carry anything.

"Five hundred pearls? Why did Gao Zhijian send so many pearls? No one in the village uses them." Zhao Wu shook his head lightly, picked up a pen, and wrote it down carefully.

He kept writing like this all day. When his stomach growled and dusk fell, he hadn’t heard the call of “dinner time” from Yang Xiaohai.

Only then did Zhao Wu realize that Yang Xiaohai had just left, and he would have to cook for himself from now on.

"Suddenly losing someone... feels strange." Holding his crutch, Zhao Wu hobbled toward the kitchen.

By the time he reached the kitchen, night had fallen. Zhao Wu planned to grab something raw to eat quickly, not to miss Master Wu’s evening lesson.

Thinking about Master Wu’s praise yesterday, Zhao Wu’s heart burned with excitement. He had claimed that among all the people in Niu Xin Village, he had the highest understanding of reading.

Now he knew eight hundred characters, barely qualified as a scholar.

"It’s so dark. Where’s the oil lamp?" Zhao Wu fumbled around in the kitchen.

Lifting a steamer lid, he touched something cool and soft shaped like a spindle and stuffed it into his chest. "Sweet potatoes also work. Take some on the road. Don’t be late."

Thinking of this, Zhao Wu hurried his movements. Just as he stuffed the third sweet potato into his chest and reached for the fourth, he felt a bony, emaciated claw in the darkness.

"Ghost!!"

In a few moments, "Bang!" the wooden door of the kitchen exploded open. Li Huowang, covered in black tendrils, stood inside wielding a spine sword, eyes full of killing intent, scanning the room.

"Senior Brother Li! There’s a ghost! There’s a ghost in here!" Zhao Wu didn’t even bother with his crutch, crawling to the back of Li Huowang.

"Quiet!" Li Huowang pulled out a pale green phosphorescent stone and threw it into the dimly lit kitchen.

Soon, he saw a man crouched in the corner, ragged clothes clinging to his body, shoulders trembling as if eating something.

"Turn around!" Li Huowang held his sword horizontally.

As the man turned, seeing Li Huowang’s face, he dropped the sweet potato in his mouth and trembled on the ground, bowing repeatedly to Li Huowang. "Great Immortal, spare me! Great Immortal, spare me!!"

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Next chapter updates at 11:32 PM

(End of Chapter)