Chapter 833: Help

Chapter 833: A Favor

Dugua, dressed in silk and wearing a melon-shaped hat, crouched beneath the village tree, holding a bowl to his chest as he slurped up his noodle soup with a satisfying *slurp, slurp*.

The meat sauce in the dish was seasoned with chili, and he sweated profusely from the heat of it.

Beside him, Zhao Wu held a steamed bun made of white flour, stuffed it into his mouth, and took a bite before bumping him with his shoulder. “Hey, did Brother Li say where that grain is going? Is it being sold or what? Did he say anything about bringing it back?”

As the village accountant, Zhao Wu couldn’t help but feel puzzled when he saw the numbers on the ledger vanish one by one.

“That wasn’t mentioned. He’s practically a god now—always flying high and low,” Dugua said with a trace of dissatisfaction.

Every day, he watched his family's grain being carted away without any return, and it pained him more than death. He had never seen such a wastrel.

“What if there’s a famine and our village runs out of food?” Zhao Wu calculated that soon, the granary under the ancestral hall would be so empty that rats could run through it.

“Hey, I asked Brother Li about that. What do you think he said?” Dugua licked the last bit of sauce from the bottom of his bowl with his tongue.

“What did he say?” Yang Xiaohai came over with his own bowl to join the conversation.

“He said there’s no such thing as famine. Didn’t that big guy bring back all that gold and jewels? Couldn’t he buy enough grain with that?”

“Even if not, we could just have everyone in the village carry a bowl and beg their way all the way to the capital. Our Great Liang Emperor would still feed us, wouldn’t he?”

“Is that what Brother Li said? That doesn’t sound like his tone at all. Could it be you made it up?” Zhao Wu looked skeptical.

“He really said that. I just added a little more to his words,” Dugua replied.

“You talk too much. Everything you say gets exaggerated,” Zhao Wu retorted.

Hearing this, Dugua’s face turned red. He quickly shot back, “Zhao Wu, I heard you haven’t given up on Xiao Man yet. You even sent a peddler to deliver a message to her. How many characters do you know? Just write a letter yourself.”

This made Zhao Wu furious. He grabbed his walking stick nearby and swung it at Dugua. “Don’t pry into other people’s business! I know plenty of characters! My teacher said I could even pass the county exam!”

While they argued, Yang Xiaohai ran along the dirt path toward the advancing procession. “Senior Sister Bai! You’re back!”

Upon hearing Bai Lingmiao’s return, both men dropped their quarrel and hurried forward to greet her.

“Junior sister, hasn’t Xiao Man returned yet?” Zhao Wu peered into the grandly arranged retinue of the White Lotus Sect.

“Move aside! I sent someone to fetch her!” Dugua pushed Zhao Wu aside and went straight to Bai Lingmiao, who was gently tapping a child’s head.

“Junior sister Bai, Brother Li has gone mad again. You should stop him. He’s almost emptying our whole house!”

He then painted a vivid picture, embellishing the story of Li Huowang’s actions.

“No need to worry. As long as I’m here, he won’t manage to empty it.”

“Exactly. When you find him later, scare him a bit. Tell him that if he keeps doing these things that harm others for his own benefit, you won’t be with him anymore!”

“Even though we’re rich now, we can’t live like this. Otherwise, even mountains of gold and silver will be emptied.”

Bai Lingmiao shook her head lightly. As she stepped sideways gracefully, the ceremonial guards parted, revealing a cart loaded with grain, its wheels deeply imprinted in the ground.

Soon, bags of grain were carried into the secret chamber beneath the ancestral hall. The once-empty space began to fill up again with the sounds of life returning.

“Junior sister Bai, where did all this grain come from?” Dugua stared in disbelief.

He took a step forward, about to suggest they just leave it outside instead of carrying it in, since they’d have to lug it out again when Brother Li needed it.

But then he thought better of it and said nothing. It was better this way—at least it would prevent further waste. “Junior sister Bai, where did all this grain come from?”

“It was donated by members of the White Lotus Sect. Not only poor people believe in the White Lotus. And don’t tell him that I brought it myself.”

“You really aren’t going to try to stop him?” Dugua looked surprised. Two people going crazy together—had they lost their minds?

“If he wants to do something, why should I hold him back? Since he’s my man, I should help him achieve what he desires.”

Dugua scratched his cheek, which was half-white, half-yellow, hesitating slightly before asking carefully, “Are you two okay?”

Ever since the New Year, this couple had seemed strange to him.

Bai Lingmiao shook her head and turned to sit in the ornate sedan chair, carried by white donkeys heading toward the village entrance.

“So this is it? It’s not easy to come back. Let’s eat something first before leaving, Kid! Go kill a pig!”

“Next time. The Mother of the Unborn is returning to her place. There’s a lot to do in the White Lotus Sect. Someone will refill the granary regularly. We’ll just have to endure the effort of guiding them.”

“If you don’t let me speak, how will Brother Li notice something’s off? He’s not blind—he must see that this place is like a grain basin that never empties.”

“It’s fine. I know him. As long as there’s enough grain, his personality won’t pay attention to such trivialities.” Bai Lingmiao’s sedan didn’t stop; gradually, it left the village of Niu Xin behind.

“Oh, by the way, Senior Brother Zhao Wu, Senior Sister Xiao Man said not to send any more letters. She says she can’t read.”

The grand procession of the White Lotus Sect departed, leaving Dugua and Yang Xiaohai laughing at Zhao Wu’s misfortune.

———

Li Huowang bent down and entered a cellar. Inside, Miao Guihua followed a monk in sprinkling water on the floor to keep the air cool and humid.

The monks and the citizens of Great Qi carefully picked apart the mushrooms, placing them into newly woven baskets.

Their faces looked healthier. Though they ate only one dry and one wet meal a day, at least the food was real, honest grain.

This cellar was larger, with baskets filled with soil hanging densely from the walls and floor. These were black earth from outside the city, perfect for growing mushrooms.

After a quick scan, Li Huowang found his target deep within the cellar—Abbot Chantu of Zhengde Temple was bent over, carefully harvesting mushrooms.

“A great abbot of Zhengde Temple also grows mushrooms? Isn’t he supposed to help people have children?”

Chantu stood upright. “May the Buddha be with you, Mr. Li. In these times, adults are starving. Who still wants children?”

“Let’s go upstairs and chat,” Li Huowang raised his chin and left the cellar.

In a desolate ruin, Li Huowang asked Chantu, “Are your people watching closely? Has the Mo sect caused any trouble?”

Chantu shook his head. “Though the Mo sect are heretics, they still have brains. They understand priorities.”

“The Mo sect’s weapons are powerful. With them involved, Youdu is slowly returning to its original form.”

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