Chapter 818: Great Qi

Chapter 818: The Great Qi

Seeing that Li Huowang didn’t even glance in his direction, the big teapot, accompanied by the young man, withdrew with tactful discretion.

“A lucky fruit, a hibiscus cake—please enjoy your tea, Master. If the tea runs out, just call out and I’ll bring more.”

Li Huowang lifted the teacup, took a delicate sip, and continued listening to the storyteller on stage spout nonsense.

“Just picture that great sage Zhuge standing atop the walls of Youdu City, suddenly shaking his dragon staff in hand, eyes wide open!”

“Hey!”

“You watch those cultists like field mice—falling one after another like wheat stalks. Guess what? They were so frightened they actually died from fright!”

At the climax of the tale, cheers erupted throughout the teahouse, with some wealthy patrons tossing coins onto the stage as rewards.

“Heh, now that’s interesting—the storyteller has been turned into a character in his own story.”

Hearing someone say this, Li Huowang turned his head toward his left, where a middle-aged man with black whiskers sat. “Do you know Zhuge Yuan?”

“Of course. I’m a native of the Great Qi,” he replied, raising his empty teacup. “Big Teapot!”

“Coming right up~! Hold tight.”

From the second floor, a long bamboo spout extended, a stream of tea falling from the air and landing perfectly into the man’s cup—exactly eight parts full.

“You know him, yet you can still listen?”

“Hmph, what else am I supposed to do? All my relatives are gone, no place to go for New Year greetings. So I came here to pass the time with stories. You see, there might be other people from the Great Qi in this teahouse too.”

Li Huowang nodded knowingly at the scene before him. “Though the story is fabricated, Zhuge Yuan did indeed save the Great Qi.”

“Hmph, who knows? Just listening to those monks brag, I think it’s mostly about collecting offerings. Anyway, let’s drink.”

The man raised his cup and took a sip. But immediately, he choked, turning red in the face and nearly collapsing.

Li Huowang picked up a piece of cake beside him, placed it in his mouth, chewed slowly, and listened while savoring its sweetness.

The storyteller’s voice grew wilder and wilder. Zhuge Yuan was now creating heaven and earth himself. Li Huowang could take no more and stood up to leave.

“Master, please don’t go yet. Come back often. Twenty coins is very reasonable.”

Reminded by the big teapot, Li Huowang reached into his robe and felt around. Twenty fresh copper coins lay neatly arranged on the table.

But just then, Li Huowang realized the man from the Great Qi beside him had vanished. No idea when he’d gone.

“His skills suggest he’s not an ordinary citizen. Who is this guy?” Li Huowang pondered as he left the teahouse.

After wandering for a while, seeing no other place to go, Li Huowang turned back. “Fine, back to cultivation.”

Even though the troubles were resolved, having stronger power never hurt.

Li Huowang arrived at Niuxin Mountain, entered his cave, and slowly closed his eyes.

Cultivation had become increasingly difficult as he progressed, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He gently guided the primordial energy within his body.

Time passed in a state of selflessness. When Li Huowang opened his eyes again, night had fallen.

As he walked toward Bai Family Compound in Niuxin Village, he passed by Gouwa’s house.

“Senior Brother Li, where have you been these days? I thought you’d run away again,” Gouwa said, holding a bowl and stepping out.

“Days? Did I leave for a long time?” Li Huowang asked, puzzled.

“That’s right! We last met on the second day of the first lunar month, and now it’s Lantern Festival,” Gouwa said, offering the bowl to Li Huowang. Inside were over a dozen round, white glutinous rice balls bobbing in the soup.

“What?! Have I been cultivating for so long?” A wave of drowsiness hit Li Huowang, but immediately followed by a much stronger hunger that pushed the sleepiness aside.

Without delay, Li Huowang snatched the rice balls from Gouwa and devoured them greedily.

After finishing the soup and rice balls, Li Huowang lay down on the ground and fainted dead away.

He slept for three days and nights. When he finally awoke, everything seemed to spin.

The villagers from Niuxin Village rushed to his side in concern. Gouwa didn’t stop talking. “Senior Brother Li, next time you cultivate, you should find someone to keep watch. Otherwise, you might starve yourself to death.”

“If you hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have done anything,” Li Huowang pulled back the blanket, grabbed the tea, and drank it in large gulps.

After finishing the water, he looked at the others—Gouwa, Zhao Wu, Yang Xiaohai, and Lü Xiucai.

“Where’s Xiao Man?” Li Huowang asked.

“She went off with the White Lotus Holy Maiden. Didn’t you know?”

“Alright, I’m fine. Go back,” Li Huowang began thinking about how to avoid such situations in the future.

After speaking, he noticed the others didn’t leave. “What? Still something?”

“Oh, yes, but it’s not a big deal. Remember, we took in refugees from the Great Qi, right?”

“Yeah, I remember. What happened?”

“They’re all gone.”

“Gone? What do you mean?”

“They’re just... gone. Suddenly disappeared. But don’t worry—it’s only the Great Qi people. None of ours are missing.”

“All of them from the Great Qi? When did this happen?”

“Just after noon on the second day of the New Year.”

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang frowned. He recalled the man from the Great Qi who had vanished while listening to the story.

“Only the Great Qi people in Niuxin Village? What about elsewhere?”

“I asked the peddler. Everyone from the Great Qi in other places is gone too. I’ve sent word to Gao Zhijian—he’s the emperor, hopefully he can handle this.”

“How could all the people from the Great Qi vanish? That’s impossible. What happened?” Li Huowang walked to the window, his brow furrowed, staring at the stars.

“Wait… Could it be?” Suddenly, Li Huowang remembered something. He grabbed the rib bone sword beside his bed and threw it hard. A rift instantly flew across the sky above Niuxin Village.

But unlike before, the strange black water that used to pour out from the rift was gone! Instead, light shone through.

“Indeed!” He threw another rift, kicked off the window with one foot, and leaped straight into the rift.

When he emerged in the Great Qi, he was shocked to see that the once-crumbled land had restored itself. Grass was already growing over an inch high.

“Who’s there?” Li Huowang spun around, startling a Great Qi man who had been eating grass on the ground.