Chapter 69: Eating

Chapter 69: A Meal

Sheet by sheet, the yellow paper curled in the flames, turning to black ash that spiraled upward on the rising heat.

Li Huowang watched the scene with a complex expression.

"Li Zhi, oh Li Zhi, I've burned the spirit money you asked for. I only hope it reaches you."

The words had barely left his lips when he saw the black ash swirl before him, as if in response to his words.

In that moment, Li Huowang suddenly found himself understanding the minds of the superstitious.

Compared to the cruel and desperate finality of death, where everything vanishes into nothingness, the idea of becoming a ghost and continuing the cycle of reincarnation was truly a beautiful fairy tale.

Tossing the last stack of yellow paper into the fire, Li Huowang stood up and brushed the ash from his clothes.

"Let's go. We'll find an inn in town to rest; everyone is soaked to the bone."

He was about to leave when Bai Lingmiao's words from beside him made him turn. "Senior Brother Li, Sister Xiaoman is gone."

Li Huowang scanned the crowd for a moment and indeed failed to spot the woman afflicted with hypertrichosis.

"Oh, I remember now. She told me before that her home is somewhere around here."

No one replied. After what had happened, everyone knew what Xiaoman intended to do upon returning home, and the already heavy atmosphere grew even more oppressive.

"Uh, Senior Brother Li, how about we go look for her? Maybe we can stop her," Gouwa said with an awkward smile, reaching under his bamboo hat to scratch his greasy hair.

Li Huowang glanced at him, then turned and walked toward a hanging inn sign.

"Let's find an inn and settle in first. This is Xiaoman's hometown, so she knows the area well. She'll come find us when she's done."

These words silenced Bai Lingmiao, who had been hesitating to speak. She clutched the hem of her garment and followed quietly behind.

The sky was a dreary gray, drizzling with light rain. She didn't need to blindfold her eyes with cloth; her pink pupils were filled with sorrow.

Dry rooms were quickly secured. Some washed their hair, others bathed, and once everything was settled, they all gathered in the main hall for a meal.

With little travel money left in their pockets, the dishes on the table were mediocre, mostly vegetables. The only things that could be called meat dishes were bitter melon stir-fried with eggs and pork cracklings stir-fried with chili peppers.

Yet everyone ate with great relish, for the simple reason that the lard in the dishes was generous, smelling fragrant and filling the stomach well.

It was the Qingming Festival today, and the inn had few guests. Nearby, an errand boy was chatting idly with the accountant.

"Hey, scholar, did you know? I heard the borders are probably going to war again."

"Stop talking nonsense. What do you know? A lowly waiter has no business discussing state affairs."

"I don't like hearing that. I may be just a humble waiter, but if nothing else, I have the best ear for news. I heard that this time, our Siqi plans to strike east."

"East?" Li Huowang, who was eating normally, pricked up his ears. To the east lay the territory inside the pass.

He didn't have many acquaintances over there; his only worry was the Lu family troupe.

But thinking of the highly smooth-talking Lu Zhuangyuan, he set his mind at ease. The old man was as slippery as an eel; he should be fine.

The waiter lowered his voice. "Scholar, let me tell you, a while ago, all the merchants doing business over there were rushing back. They must have heard something."

Li Huowang shook his head as he ate. This wretched place was already in such chaos, with evil spirits and bandits everywhere, yet those in power weren't busy governing the people's livelihoods and actually had the leisure to send troops to war. Truly incompetent.

The enthusiastic waiter was about to say more when his eyes suddenly lit up, and he hurried to greet someone at the inn's entrance.

"Oh! Miss! Please come in. Are you here for a quick bite or a room for the night?"

Hearing the commotion, Li Huowang and the others turned simultaneously, just in time to see a woman carrying a short blade and wearing a black gauze bamboo hat walk in.

Few people in the entire town dressed like that. Seeing the back of her hand covered in black hair, Li Huowang easily guessed her identity.

"Waiter, bring another set of bowl and chopsticks, and tell the kitchen to add two hearty dishes."

"Right away! Coming right up!"

Li Huowang nudged the fool beside him with his elbow. The foolish big brother tactfully shoveled a few large mouthfuls of food, took his bowl, and squatted away from the table to eat.

Xiaoman walked over to Li Huowang and sat down.

The black gauze hat was removed, revealing the black hair on her face, soaked wet from her tears.

Li Huowang took a breath and shoveled a few fierce mouthfuls of rice. He caught a faint scent of blood on Xiaoman.

"Here are the chopsticks and bowl~~ Oh! My heavens!!"

Waving away the frightened waiter, Li Huowang placed the bowl and chopsticks in front of Xiaoman. "Eat."

Her face twisted in agony, Xiaoman stared at the empty bowl before her, as if recalling something. "He sold my sister too. She was sold to an old man in his fifties. She died in childbirth early this year."

The only sounds at the table were the clinking of chopsticks against bowls and the sounds of chewing and swallowing. No one spoke a word.

"He's scum! I hate him! I wish I could eat his flesh and drink his blood!"

Xiaoman gritted her teeth, squeezing the words out through clenched jaws.

Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao, sitting nearby, leaned over with a heartache expression, wrapping her fair, jade-like arms gently around her.

"My mother tried to persuade me, saying that no matter what, he's still my father, and that killing one's own father invites divine punishment. But I'd rather face divine punishment—I must kill him!"

Scooping a few spoonfuls of vegetable and tofu soup into his empty bowl, Li Huowang lifted it to his mouth and poured it in, saying softly as if in casual conversation, "The heavens in this place are blind."

The table gradually fell silent. The others sat quietly in their places, watching Xiaoman in silence.

Their eyes held a trace of anger and sorrow. They were all medicinal ingredients; they could deeply empathize with Xiaoman's plight.

Until they reached home, none of them could be certain they hadn't been sold by their own families.

As the anger faded from Xiaoman's eyes, leaving only profound bewilderment, she said, "My home is gone. I tore it down with my own hands. I don't know where to go next."

"Stir-fried donkey meat, braised river fish~! Enjoy your meal, guests!" The waiter set down the two dishes and fled as if escaping for his life.

Li Huowang took Xiaoman's empty bowl, filled it to the brim with a heaping mound of white rice, and pushed it toward her. "Eat."

With that, Li Huowang used his chopsticks to pick a fish bone from the braised fish to use as a toothpick, picking his teeth as he headed toward the second-floor rooms.

Seeing this, the others dispersed in twos and threes, and soon the main hall was left with only Bai Lingmiao keeping Xiaoman company.

Tears slipped from the hair on Xiaoman's face, falling continuously onto the rice.

Trembling, she picked up her chopsticks, lifted the bowl, and took large mouthfuls of the rice mixed with her own tears.

The more she ate, the more her tears flowed, until finally, holding the bowl, she broke down into loud, wailing sobs.

(End of Chapter)