Chapter 86: Depart

Chapter 86: Setting Off

"What's wrong with him? Isn't Senior Brother Li quite good?" As if sensing her belongings being slandered, Bai Lingmiao looked somewhat displeased.

"He..." Xiaoman hesitated, "Do you really think Senior Brother Li has no problems? If he were fine, why would Baldy try to capture him as a medicinal ingredient back then?"

The room fell silent. Having lived together for so long, everyone knew each other inside out. Compared to the physical flaws of others, Li Huowang's mental issues were far more troublesome.

It was just that everyone deliberately avoided this topic.

Bai Lingmiao's expression dimmed. "So what if he's like that? Am I any better? Back home, people called me the White-Haired Demon, and everyone was terrified when they saw me. But Senior Brother Li never looked at me differently, and he even saved my life several times."

"For someone like me to even find Senior Brother Li, it's something I never dared to dream of. I'm already overjoyed that he doesn't despise me."

Seeing this, Xiaoman stopped trying to persuade her. She just sighed lightly and slowly closed her eyes. "Sleep."

The bedroom gradually quieted down, leaving only the faint sound of their breathing.

Hearing the breathing behind her gradually grow shallower, Xiaoman turned around to look at the delicate girl before her.

Gazing at those long eyelashes, Xiaoman reached out and gently stroked the girl's cheek. The sensation, as smooth as a freshly peeled boiled egg, filled her with deep infatuation.

"...I... know... don't rush..." Bai Lingmiao mumbled faintly in her sleep.

Xiaoman's brows, hidden beneath her thick fur, furrowed slightly as she quietly leaned her face closer.

"Bang!" The sound of the door being kicked open made Xiaoman sit up instantly. She drew a dagger from under her pillow and shielded Bai Lingmiao.

"Senior Brother Li? You came down from the mountain?" she asked in surprise, looking at the young man before her.

The one who pushed the door open was Li Huowang, who had just descended from Henghua Mountain.

"Where's the gold?" Li Huowang asked tersely.

"It's all with Sha... Gao Zhijian. He's guarding it."

Li Huowang glanced at the sleepy-eyed Bai Lingmiao, then turned and walked toward the other guest rooms.

"What's wrong? Who came?" Bai Lingmiao sat up hazily.

Xiaoman gently hugged her back down and said softly, "It's nothing. Go back to sleep. We'll talk about the rest tomorrow."

By the next day, Xiaoman held Bai Lingmiao's hand and found Li Huowang in another guest room.

She keenly noticed the yellow mud by his feet. It seemed her Senior Brother Li had been running around outside all night, though she had no idea what he had been doing.

"You're here? Sit down. Let me tell you about the rest of our journey." Xiaoman watched as Li Huowang unrolled a map.

"This is where we're heading next. I need to go there first to retrieve something. Once I have it, I'll see you all home."

Having said that, Li Huowang didn't wait for the others to voice their opinions. He rolled up the map, turned, and walked toward the door. "Pack your things. We set off at noon today."

"Senior Brother Li! What happened on the mountain? Is the place we're going dangerous?"

Seeing Bai Lingmiao quickly follow him, Xiaoman asked the others, "What's going on? What is Senior Brother Li doing? Why is he rushing back again?"

"How would I know? Senior Brother Li never consults us anyway. It's already a rare occurrence that he gave us a heads-up in advance today," Gouwa said bitterly, his face twisted in a grimace.

"If we're going, we're going. Why do you look so miserable?"

The moment those words were spoken, Gouwa burst into tears, weeping profusely.

"Senior Brother Li gave all the gold away! He didn't leave a single coin! If I had known this, I shouldn't have gone to the brothel. I should have bought a wife first!"

"What?! Gave it all away? Didn't you guys try to stop him? You know perfectly well Senior Brother Li's mind isn't right!" Xiaoman cried out anxiously.

"I did try! I tried to stop him the whole way yesterday when he was giving the gold away! But how was I supposed to stop him?"

Xiaoman turned and hurried outside, but her efforts were destined to be in vain. Having stayed up all night, the gold had already been delivered to the An Ci Nunnery.

"Don't worry, I still kept some money for our travel expenses."

With heavy hearts, Xiaoman and the others set off on their journey once more. In this matter, they had no say in the decision.

Li Huowang was the one who killed the river bandits, and he was the one who looted the gold. If he wanted to give it away, no one had the right to stop him.

It was just that the sudden plunge from extreme wealth to utter destitution created a stark contrast that was truly hard to adjust to.

Xiaoman opened her eyes. She glanced at Li Huowang, who sat like a sculpture by the bonfire, gazing at a red bamboo slip. She quietly slipped out from under the covers and walked toward the misty morning forest.

Arriving at a secluded patch of grass, Xiaoman took out a book, drew the long blade from her waist, assumed a stance, and began to practice the moves from the book.

The blade slashed through the air. Though her movements looked clumsy, Xiaoman's eyes were resolute, and she practiced with extraordinary diligence.

"Phew~" The blade halted. She was startled to see Li Huowang standing right where the tip of her sword was pointing.

Li Huowang was still the same Li Huowang, his face above the scarred neck etched with exhaustion.

"Where did you get this book?" Li Huowang walked over, picked the book up from the ground, and flipped through it. He found only illustrations of little figures holding swords, without a single word of text. It looked like a sword manual.

"Didn't you tell us before to buy whatever we wanted? I went to find an escort from the escort agency, so I traded some gold with him for this book," Xiaoman replied.

"In these times, anyone who can be an escort knows real martial arts. I paid a hefty price for it, so it's genuine."

Then, Xiaoman chuckled softly. "After he killed my father, I kept thinking, if I had a blade in my hand back then, would he have dared to sell me and my sister?"

"So I want to get stronger, to protect myself and protect others."

Hearing Xiaoman's words, Li Huowang nodded silently, then turned and walked back toward the bonfire.

Watching his retreating figure, Xiaoman hesitated for a moment. Finally, she gritted her teeth and called out, "Senior Brother Li, Junior Sister Bai is truly sincere about you. Please don't let her down!"

Li Huowang didn't stop his stride, walking briskly out of the forest. "Show this book to the others too. Perhaps they can learn something from it."

They stopped and went along the way. Even with a horse-drawn carriage, the two-hundred-li journey still took many days.

As they neared their destination, Li Huowang led the others to settle in the closest village to the location.

In a modest farmhouse courtyard, the others, bored with idleness, were gathered in a circle playing leaf cards. Gouwa, thoroughly bored, yawned and asked Sun Baolu across from him.

"Where did Senior Brother Li go? I haven't seen him all day. We're almost there, so why are we still lingering here? This isn't like his style at all."

(End of Chapter)